Watch out for UConn

[PacoSwede]

Wow! Yet another very interesting discussion.

IMHO, not enough was said about the potential impact of Moriah and Morgan on next year's team.

IMO, Morgan, if she plays as advertised, will have a significant impact on Kelly's minutes.

I also believe that Caroline's minutes will be impacted by the quality of our opponents as well as by Moriah's ability to run the team against all of our opponents.

Lastly, Kelly is not now nor has she ever been an effective PG for UConn. (The ability to dribble the ball up the mid-court line, mostly uncontested, does not make a player an effective PG.)

All of this is, of course, just my opinion.

Peace

John Fryer

I'd be surprised if Morgan doesn't have an impact on the minutes of Kiah, Stef, Bree and Heather, too. Not just Kelly. And I'm not sure what 'significant' signifies.

Geno is going to use players to maxmize the team's effectiveness. Kelly, whatever faults/shortcomings you see in her, certainly is among the top 3 in regard to her positive impact on the team's effectiveness. I venture to say she could be No. 1 in that area. The idea that she is going to lose more minutes than anyone else loses as a result of the changed roster is ... ludicrous.

 

[doggydaddy]

Lastly, Kelly is not now nor has she ever been an effective PG for UConn. (The ability to dribble the ball up the mid-court line, mostly uncontested, does not make a player an effective PG.)

All of this is, of course, just my opinion.

Kelly is just effective....period. And it's not opinion. Leading the team in assists is no accident. And neither is her team leading 2.1 assist to TO ratio.

You really think she just dribbles the ball up the mid-court line? Wow.

 

[bruinbball]

I think Kelly must have dove and landed on John Fryer one game. He must not have liked it and holds it against her ever since ;0)

 

[doggydaddy]

I think Kelly must have dove and landed on John Fryer one game. He must not have liked it and holds it against her ever since ;0)

I don't get it, John. You "like" this post, but won't respond and debate your crazy opinion about Kelly.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Kelly is a nightmare for opponents, especially when she is left free to maximize her best and considerable athletic/basketball skills. Her team play, court sense, passionate play, and intense competitive nature should be like fine wine for all UCONN fans next season.

 

[OneTrickPony]

One Kelly story illustrates her value...UCONN is playing Notre Dame and much has been made of the way Natalie Novosel and Skylar Diggins have been living at the free throw line by launching themselves into defenders. Speculation is Coach Auriemma has been judiciously lobbying the referees, but nobody thinks he's been successful. The game starts and during one of her first few excursions into UCONN territory Diggins is picked up at mid-court and guarded closely by Kelly. After Kelly deftly cuts off a few unsuccessful crossovers she suddenly steps back just as Diggins lurches forward...a priceless look on her face as she's called for travelling! Kelly maintains an absolutely straight face, which must have been very very hard...and the referees whistles were a bit quieter thereafter...

 

[msf22b]

I adore and appreiate Kelly as much as the next guy but the game is ultimately about putting balls in the hoop and stopping others from doing the same.

Merely anecdotally, it appears that Morgan is one of the best lock-down defensive assets to come out of High School in some time. How do we know? She gives Bree fits... She's athletic, has size and reputedly has strong offensive moves as well. If all this transfers smoothly to the college game (and that's always a question), then she will play significant minutes.

It seems almost impossible for Bree not to live up to her billing so there are going to be less minutes to go around and that's not even considering Mo Jeff who just might be the finest pure point recruit in years.

We're just going to have to wait and see where the minutes go, but at the end of the day, UConn thrives.

Thanks to Nan, Ice and others who demonstrated that Geno has solved the problem of big, talented rosters before.

 

[JoePgh]

I think Kelly will be the starting PG and will get the majority of minutes there -- something like 20 for her, 15 for Moriah, and 5 for Caroline. Kelly and Caroline will get more minutes at other positions -- Kelly backing up KML at the 3, and Caroline backing up Bria at the 2.

Kelly has never really been the PG -- her past role has really been the "4" in the 4-guard offense. So I don't see how anyone can say that she has not done well at it. But her passing flair, minimal turnovers, understanding of the offense, decision-making under pressure, and leadership all suggest that she would excel at the PG role. The fact that Breanna and Morgan will now hold down the "4" position (in my opinion) will not cost Kelly any minutes if she is the PG.

The only thing that prevents Kelly from being a 1st-team All-American is her wobbly jump shot. On a team loaded with other scorers (and other jump shooters), that is not a reason for her not to be a PG. There are effective WNBA point guards (e.g., Armintie Price in Atlanta) who are not accomplished jump shooters, but they do everything else.

I absolutely believe that Moriah is just as good an athlete as Kelly, with all the requisite physical skills for PG, and is a much better shooter. But I can't believe that any freshman (not Maya, Renee, or Diana, even) could run an offense with as many options as UConn's offense without making a lot of suboptimal and even bad decisions. It will be a while (probably her sophomore year) before the college game and Geno's offense "slows down" enough for her to allow her to claim the primary PG role. (Not that it will actually slow down physically, but it will take a while for her cognitively to process it and make good decisions in real time.) Asking her to do that in 2012-13 would be like asking an extremely talented rookie out of college to come into New England and run the Patriots' offense better than Tom Brady -- it just won't happen.

 

[cferraro04]

The all time UConn three point team, eat your heart out Harry:

Breanna Stewart at the 5
KML at the 4
Caroline Doty at the 3
Bria Hartley at the 2
Moriah Jefferson at the 1

 

[OneTrickPony]

The all time UConn three point team, eat your heart out Harry:

Breanna Stewart at the 5
KML at the 4
Caroline Doty at the 3
Bria Hartley at the 2
Moriah Jefferson at the 1

And don't forget that Morgan Tuck won the 3-point contest at the McDonalds All-American game should someone need a break!

 

[Buzzyboy]

I think minutes is going to be gained at a premium...and because of the talent and the depth...I don't think you are going to see too many 30 minute games from our players. We have a lot of players and I think the minutes will be more evenly spread around.


You have 35.1 minutes from Tiffany Hayes and Michala Johnson. Where are the minutes going to come from for the new guys, Kiah Stokes has to get more minutes and Brianna Banks will probably see her minutes go up. So, I am expecting additional minutes to come from Stefanie Dolson (2), KML (4), Kelly Faris (4.9), Caroline Doty (4.6) and Bria Hartley (6.2). That would give us 56.8 minutes to give to the new kids, Kiah and Brianna. That would make the minute spread look something like this.

Stefanie Dolson last year's minutes - 23.9 This year - 21.8
Kiah Stokes last year's minutes - 13.4 This year - 17
Morgan Tuck This year - 12
Heather Buck last year's minutes - 8.8 This year - 8.0
Breanna Stewart This year - 20
KML last year's minutes - 28.2 This year - 24.2
Kelly Faris last year's minutes - 28.9 This year - 24
Caroline Doty last year's minutes - 20.6 This year - 16
Bria Hartley last year's minutes - 33.2 This year - 27
Moriah Jefferson This year - 15
Brianna Banks last year's minutes - 12.3 This year - 15
Lauren Engeln last year's minutes - 6.6 This year - 10

If what I've heard of her is right I think Morgan Tuck will average more minutes a game than Kia Stokes. I can't imagine her only having 12 minutes a game. It's been said that she's got a wonderfully rounded game, doing it all. The implication is that she is very seasoned as well so I think she'll be on the court at least a few minutes more than you have her charted for.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I think Kelly will be the starting PG and will get the majority of minutes there -- something like 20 for her, 15 for Moriah, and 5 for Caroline. Kelly and Caroline will get more minutes at other positions -- Kelly backing up KML at the 3, and Caroline backing up Bria at the 2.

Kelly has never really been the PG -- her past role has really been the "4" in the 4-guard offense. So I don't see how anyone can say that she has not done well at it. But her passing flair, minimal turnovers, understanding of the offense, decision-making under pressure, and leadership all suggest that she would excel at the PG role. The fact that Breanna and Morgan will now hold down the "4" position (in my opinion) will not cost Kelly any minutes if she is the PG.

The only thing that prevents Kelly from being a 1st-team All-American is her wobbly jump shot. On a team loaded with other scorers (and other jump shooters), that is not a reason for her not to be a PG. There are effective WNBA point guards (e.g., Armintie Price in Atlanta) who are not accomplished jump shooters, but they do everything else.

I absolutely believe that Moriah is just as good an athlete as Kelly, with all the requisite physical skills for PG, and is a much better shooter. But I can't believe that any freshman (not Maya, Renee, or Diana, even) could run an offense with as many options as UConn's offense without making a lot of suboptimal and even bad decisions. It will be a while (probably her sophomore year) before the college game and Geno's offense "slows down" enough for her to allow her to claim the primary PG role. (Not that it will actually slow down physically, but it will take a while for her cognitively to process it and make good decisions in real time.) Asking her to do that in 2012-13 would be like asking an extremely talented rookie out of college to come into New England and run the Patriots' offense better than Tom Brady -- it just won't happen.

There is no way anyone will convince me that Kelly Faris is a quality point guard who can run UConn's offense. I'm not talking about one or two trips down the court, I'm talking about for a game and then another and another. I think her passing skills are outstanding for her position as a forward but nowhere where they need to be handling the ball every trip down the court. Not only that, it would stymie one of her best attributes, her rebounding. She'd no longer be in position to rebound as much as she has in the past. I'm hopeful Caroline Doty has had an opportunity to work on her leg strength and her mobility and she'll be much further along than last year. People forget she's had 3 ACL's in 5 years, really minimizing her playing time and nothing makes you game ready as much as actually playing. Her maturity as a leader is important to the team.

 

[Alydar]

For all their talent the 3 freshmen have zero experience playing with their teammates. That wouldn't matter much in an offense like Tenn's where individuals are expected to create their own shot but UConn runs a sophisticated offence where everyone needs to know not only her own assignment but needs to know where everyone else is on the court and where they are going. They also play a help defense that involves mutiple switches. And it needs to happen fast. That takes time. And a lot of practice. Geno has several times said that players don't get to play in a game until they show that they can run the plays and play defense IN PRACTICE. This squad has so much talent that Geno will have many options as far as who is on the floor together. Synergies can't be predicted successfully. There is no way to know yet who plays best with whom.

 

[bruinbball]

There is no way anyone will convince me that Kelly Faris is a quality point guard who can run UConn's offense. I'm not talking about one or two trips down the court, I'm talking about for a game and then another and another. I think her passing skills are outstanding for her position as a forward but nowhere where they need to be handling the ball every trip down the court. Not only that, it would stymie one of her best attributes, her rebounding. She'd no longer be in position to rebound as much as she has in the past. I'm hopeful Caroline Doty has had an opportunity to work on her leg strength and her mobility and she'll be much further along than last year. People forget she's had 3 ACL's in 5 years, really minimizing her playing time and nothing makes you game ready as much as actually playing. Her maturity as a leader is important to the team.

I don't disagree with the PG by name for Kelly but I think she could do it, but the way Geno has had it the last three years - there is not a Renee or Sue controlling the ball for a majority of the possession. Joe, I think you are off on Kelly's rebounding. Last year her numbers were down because she was down low battling the big girls. In 2010-2011 she had 256 rebounds, 6.7 per game compared to 199 total rebound or a 5.2 average. In 10-11 they had Maya to help defend the post and large players allowing Kelly to be more reactive as opposed to last year it was always required she block out first,

 

[Tonyc]

We all all assuming these freshman will play up to the capabilities we think they can play at. This is college and there will be a learning curve for all 3. Breannas learning curve may not be a big as the others and alot of that has to do with her experience in the USA games and her height but she still has a learning curve. When that learning curve shrinks these 3 will be stars at UConn. With that said Breannas presence will make easier for Stef Kiah and Kelly. Breanna can not be left alone. There is no playing off Kelly this season to double down in the middle. There is no doubleing Stef and Kiah and both should be able to score more effectively because of Breannas presence. Why I think we beat Baylor and beat them by double digets? We have expereinced athletic height. Griner will need more help underneath and cannot get in foul trouble. Geno is a very good at game planning and getting his players to do what he expects. Last years game at Baylor is a game we couldve won. This years game will be.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

We all all assuming these freshman will play up to the capabilities we think they can play at. This is college and there will be a learning curve for all 3. Breannas learning curve may not be a big as the others and alot of that has to do with her experience in the USA games and her height but she still has a learning curve. When that learning curve shrinks these 3 will be stars at UConn. With that said Breannas presence will make easier for Stef Kiah and Kelly. Breanna can not be left alone. There is no playing off Kelly this season to double down in the middle. There is no doubleing Stef and Kiah and both should be able to score more effectively because of Breannas presence. Why I think we beat Baylor and beat them by double digets? We have expereinced athletic height. Griner will need more help underneath and cannot get in foul trouble. Geno is a very good at game planning and getting his players to do what he expects. Last years game at Baylor is a game we couldve won. This years game will be.

You have to love the early sunday morning Tony Post.

 

[Huskymaniac]

I think he is right. I think this team plus a motivated Geno will result in a team that neither the zebras nor a jolly green giant can beat. It is just too bad they can't play 40 games. We can't let Baylor and their questionable ways keep that record alone.