We Are What we Are

[Tonyc]

We've had a couple of kids leave. Bottom line imo they left because they werent getting enough playtime and the future doesnt look like it will be any different for them. Most likely they were frustrated, want to play and decided it was in their best interests to go somewhere else where they would play. Looking ahead UConn is loaded with talent with more coming in the next 2 years. The kids coming in the next 2 years are all top 5 players. On the team now all top players. UConn has a bunch of top 10 players on their roster to go along with the NPOY and NHSPOY. When UConn gets 100% they will be almost unbeatable. So with that said we need to wait til UConn gets healthy and the timetable on that is unforeseen. It may be in a few weeks it may be in a few months. As for Paige it may be February and it may take longer. Understand one thing. Geno is not bringing anybody back before they are 100% healthy then it will take time for them to get back to 100% on the floor. It would be great to have them back for Sunday but it would even be better to have them back 100% in all facets before tournament time.

So right now we are what we are. We are being developed and gaining experience. It will be up and down as we have seen in the past 2 games. When we're hitting outside shots we look really good, when were not we dont look good. How long will it take to get up to speed? We dont know. We have a tuff Louisville team on Sunday. We could loose that game or we could win that game. The important thing now is we are who we are and we will gain experience on Sunday in a win or a loss and our inefficiencies will be exploited which will only give us something to work on to get better. There is no magic to this. It takes time.

As far as seedings. When we get everyone back we will imo be almost unbeatable. It wont matter where we are in the polls or in the NCAA brackets we could and should win every game. If we dont get everyone back then we are what we are. We are still very good and very talented the only thing we need to be is with our development. Right now we need to hit outside shots and foul shots. We have height. That means everybody needs to be able to do that . We saw Dorka and Liv hit some outside shots however when Caroline Evina and CW hit outside shots on a consistent basis we will be much better for various reasons opening up the middle.

We now have a very short bench which means more kids will play. Foul trouble could be an issue but we have the height to back it up. That extra height will get minutes. After LVille we have our Christmas break which will give us time to relax, and work on some of the things we need to work on to get better. We have a very talented team with alot of top players many of whom lack experience on the college level. They will get better. When they do we will look alot better. When we start hitting outside shots and making foul shots we will be a tuff out. We also have a bunch of kids injured who we cant count on right now. So were back to square one...We are what we are.

 

[Performance]

We've had a couple of kids leave. Bottom line imo they left because they werent getting enough playtime and the future doesnt look like it will be any different for them. Most likely they were frustrated, want to play and decided it was in their best interests to go somewhere else where they would play. Looking ahead UConn is loaded with talent with more coming in the next 2 years. The kids coming in the next 2 years are all top 5 players. On the team now all top players. UConn has a bunch of top 10 players on their roster to go along with the NPOY and NHSPOY. When UConn gets 100% they will be almost unbeatable. So with that said we need to wait til UConn gets healthy and the timetable on that is unforeseen. It may be in a few weeks it may be in a few months. As for Paige it may be February and it may take longer. Understand one thing. Geno is not bringing anybody back before they are 100% healthy then it will take time for them to get back to 100% on the floor. It would be great to have them back for Sunday but it would even be better to have them back 100% in all facets before tournament time.

So right now we are what we are. We are being developed and gaining experience. It will be up and down as we have seen in the past 2 games. When we're hitting outside shots we look really good, when were not we dont look good. How long will it take to get up to speed? We dont know. We have a tuff Louisville team on Sunday. We could loose that game or we could win that game. The important thing now is we are who we are and we will gain experience on Sunday in a win or a loss and our inefficiencies will be exploited which will only give us something to work on to get better. There is no magic to this. It takes time.

As far as seedings. When we get everyone back we will imo be almost unbeatable. It wont matter where we are in the polls or in the NCAA brackets we could and should win every game. If we dont get everyone back then we are what we are. We are still very good and very talented the only thing we need to be is with our development. Right now we need to hit outside shots and foul shots. We have height. That means everybody needs to be able to do that . We saw Dorka and Liv hit some outside shots however when Caroline Evina and CW hit outside shots on a consistent basis we will be much better for various reasons opening up the middle.

We now have a very short bench which means more kids will play. Foul trouble could be an issue but we have the height to back it up. That extra height will get minutes. After LVille we have our Christmas break which will give us time to relax, and work on some of the things we need to work on to get better. We have a very talented team with alot of top players many of whom lack experience on the college level. They will get better. When they do we will look alot better. When we start hitting outside shots and making foul shots we will be a tuff out. We also have a bunch of kids injured who we cant count on right now. So were back to square one...We are what we are.

Great post, thank you. You are right on target with everything you stated.

 

[Blue Ghost]

We've had a couple of kids leave. Bottom line imo they left because they werent getting enough playtime and the future doesnt look like it will be any different for them. Most likely they were frustrated, want to play and decided it was in their best interests to go somewhere else where they would play. Looking ahead UConn is loaded with talent with more coming in the next 2 years. The kids coming in the next 2 years are all top 5 players. On the team now all top players. UConn has a bunch of top 10 players on their roster to go along with the NPOY and NHSPOY. When UConn gets 100% they will be almost unbeatable. So with that said we need to wait til UConn gets healthy and the timetable on that is unforeseen. It may be in a few weeks it may be in a few months. As for Paige it may be February and it may take longer. Understand one thing. Geno is not bringing anybody back before they are 100% healthy then it will take time for them to get back to 100% on the floor. It would be great to have them back for Sunday but it would even be better to have them back 100% in all facets before tournament time.

So right now we are what we are. We are being developed and gaining experience. It will be up and down as we have seen in the past 2 games. When we're hitting outside shots we look really good, when were not we dont look good. How long will it take to get up to speed? We dont know. We have a tuff Louisville team on Sunday. We could loose that game or we could win that game. The important thing now is we are who we are and we will gain experience on Sunday in a win or a loss and our inefficiencies will be exploited which will only give us something to work on to get better. There is no magic to this. It takes time.

As far as seedings. When we get everyone back we will imo be almost unbeatable. It wont matter where we are in the polls or in the NCAA brackets we could and should win every game. If we dont get everyone back then we are what we are. We are still very good and very talented the only thing we need to be is with our development. Right now we need to hit outside shots and foul shots. We have height. That means everybody needs to be able to do that . We saw Dorka and Liv hit some outside shots however when Caroline Evina and CW hit outside shots on a consistent basis we will be much better for various reasons opening up the middle.

We now have a very short bench which means more kids will play. Foul trouble could be an issue but we have the height to back it up. That extra height will get minutes. After LVille we have our Christmas break which will give us time to relax, and work on some of the things we need to work on to get better. We have a very talented team with alot of top players many of whom lack experience on the college level. They will get better. When they do we will look alot better. When we start hitting outside shots and making foul shots we will be a tuff out. We also have a bunch of kids injured who we cant count on right now. So were back to square one...We are what we are.

Good read. Geno is using this time to build for the tournament. That's what really matters. We will be okay.

 

[LoboDays]

“They will be almost unbeatable”. We already have 4 years of building that legacy and there seems to be nothing ahead to stop us.

 

[msf22b]

Yes, it would be good if we can hit outside shots
but even depleted; UConn is a transition team
and we have the mobile bigs to assist.

Everyone is concerned about Aaliyah...I can't even bother to read that thread
The other day, she started to look like herself
She'll be fine and a terror soon
And if this is the new Dorka...bring it on

I'm not saying this is surely going to happen
but even depleted, UConn has the personnel to terrorize woman's BB.
I hope Geno gives the kids that message

 

[TCC Kid]

We've had a couple of kids leave. Bottom line imo they left because they werent getting enough playtime and the future doesnt look like it will be any different for them. Most likely they were frustrated, want to play and decided it was in their best interests to go somewhere else where they would play. Looking ahead UConn is loaded with talent with more coming in the next 2 years. The kids coming in the next 2 years are all top 5 players. On the team now all top players. UConn has a bunch of top 10 players on their roster to go along with the NPOY and NHSPOY. When UConn gets 100% they will be almost unbeatable. So with that said we need to wait til UConn gets healthy and the timetable on that is unforeseen. It may be in a few weeks it may be in a few months. As for Paige it may be February and it may take longer. Understand one thing. Geno is not bringing anybody back before they are 100% healthy then it will take time for them to get back to 100% on the floor. It would be great to have them back for Sunday but it would even be better to have them back 100% in all facets before tournament time.

So right now we are what we are. We are being developed and gaining experience. It will be up and down as we have seen in the past 2 games. When we're hitting outside shots we look really good, when were not we dont look good. How long will it take to get up to speed? We dont know. We have a tuff Louisville team on Sunday. We could loose that game or we could win that game. The important thing now is we are who we are and we will gain experience on Sunday in a win or a loss and our inefficiencies will be exploited which will only give us something to work on to get better. There is no magic to this. It takes time.

As far as seedings. When we get everyone back we will imo be almost unbeatable. It wont matter where we are in the polls or in the NCAA brackets we could and should win every game. If we dont get everyone back then we are what we are. We are still very good and very talented the only thing we need to be is with our development. Right now we need to hit outside shots and foul shots. We have height. That means everybody needs to be able to do that . We saw Dorka and Liv hit some outside shots however when Caroline Evina and CW hit outside shots on a consistent basis we will be much better for various reasons opening up the middle.

We now have a very short bench which means more kids will play. Foul trouble could be an issue but we have the height to back it up. That extra height will get minutes. After LVille we have our Christmas break which will give us time to relax, and work on some of the things we need to work on to get better. We have a very talented team with alot of top players many of whom lack experience on the college level. They will get better. When they do we will look alot better. When we start hitting outside shots and making foul shots we will be a tuff out. We also have a bunch of kids injured who we cant count on right now. So were back to square one...We are what we are.

Tony, often I don't see things your way. Today, I agree. The most important thing you wrote was" (using my words) Geno won't bring anyone back until they are ready. Geno, with the "cash cow", Player of every year--Paige won't be back until she is near perfect. If Uconn does not reach the NC's this year that's ok. If Uconn loses Paige for the next 3 years --next to hell I can't think of anything worse. Thanks tony.

 

[TCC Kid]

Yes, it would be good if we can hit outside shots
but even depleted; UConn is a transition team
and we have the mobile bigs to assist.

Everyone is concerned about Aaliyah...I can't even bother to read that thread
The other day, she started to look like herself
She'll be fine and a terror soon
And if this is the new Dorka...bring it on

I'm not saying this is surely going to happen
but even depleted, UConn has the personnel to terrorize woman's BB.
I hope Geno gives the kids that message

You are a fan, you bleed blue. I like each word. The talent, including a quiet assassin, Caroline. Edwards, too will lose the funk and --Uconn will dance big in the big dance--you are a fan.

 

[huskiemaniac]

The entire season hinges (pun intended) on Paige's knee.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Always good to hear from Tonyc. Last few times I’ve been on the BY, I though I had mistakenly logged onto Volnation.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I honestly don't see Paige even playing the rest of this season especially if she elects to have surgery. And that is fine. Whatever is best for her long term. Nika, Azzi & Aubrey will return. So yes, we are who we are and it would be great if the entire fan base would get behind them.

 

[msf22b]

You are a fan, you bleed blue. I like each word. The talent, including a quiet assassin, Caroline. Edwards, too will lose the funk and --Uconn will dance big in the big dance--you are a fan.

Ball
I'm sorry to disappoint you.
But, i've always been known on this board as absolute realist...even a contrarian.
I'm a fan of beautiful BB
Which is what UConn produces on its best days
Never been accused of bleeding blue....never...

Still, what I wrote above is a viable option, based on the facts on the ground
And I, for one would like to see it transpire.

 

[Longtime fan]

I honestly don't see Paige even playing the rest of this season especially if she elects to have surgery. And that is fine. Whatever is best for her long term. Nika, Azzi & Aubrey will return. So yes, we are who we are and it would be great if the entire fan base would get behind them.

I tend to agree that Paige will elect surgery. It will give far better assurance of long term stability. As for the others, I have concerns about Aubrey. Certainly her ankle injury is now behind her, but backs are tricky.. Particularly when we know that she had it in HS. It is possible that only surgery will make her right. And it can be 100% healing, depending on the problem ( of course ). We'll soon see. My guess is she will not play until after the Xmas break. And that is when it will be decided. Azzi and Muhl will take well into January to return. So we have 7 players ( assuming Piath has taken care of her academic obligations ). Three guards and four BIGs. Mix and match. I think Geno will "play it" as; Williams and Westbrook start. Olivia starts. Edwards starts. The fifth stater will vary. He may want Caroline to develop as a starter. She can shoot.

 

[Skeets]

The entire season hinges (pun intended) on Paige's knee.

Your post originally annoyed me, but unfortunately it's very true. Paige, get better and only come back when you're ready.

 

[HuskyNan]

Always good to hear from Tonyc. Last few times I’ve been on the BY, I though I had mistakenly logged onto Volnation.

You can all thank me for showing Tony how to separate his posts into paragraphs. It took me 20 years but he finally got it.

You know I love you @Tonyc. ❤️

 

[CL82]

-Paige won't be back until she is near perfect

She won’t be back until she’s medically ready. But no matter what she does to maintain her fitness level, it always takes time to get back in the game shape and into the flow of the game. Even Paige won’t be perfect when she gets back, she’ll get there eventually though.

 

[JonathanXIV]

You can all thank me for showing Tony how to separate his posts into paragraphs. It took me 20 years but he finally got it.

You know I love you @Tonyc. ❤️

And much appreciated!

 

[uconnfan68]

I tend to agree that Paige will elect surgery. It will give far better assurance of long term stability. As for the others, I have concerns about Aubrey. Certainly her ankle injury is now behind her, but backs are tricky.. Particularly when we know that she had it in HS. It is possible that only surgery will make her right. And it can be 100% healing, depending on the problem ( of course ). We'll soon see. My guess is she will not play until after the Xmas break. And that is when it will be decided. Azzi and Muhl will take well into January to return. So we have 7 players ( assuming Piath has taken care of her academic obligations ). Three guards and four BIGs. Mix and match. I think Geno will "play it" as; Williams and Westbrook start. Olivia starts. Edwards starts. The fifth stater will vary. He may want Caroline to develop as a starter. She can shoot.

Must have missed the news that she had successful surgery yesterday, which including meniscus repair.

And I just saw the timestamp from the announcement and you may have posted before it. My bad.

 

[fireford]

She won’t be back until she’s medically ready. But no matter what she does to maintain her fitness level, it always takes time to get back in the game shape and into the flow of the game. Even Paige won’t be perfect when she gets back, she’ll get there eventually though.

One solution would be to phase her in gradually off the bench her first couple of games back but then Geno would have a severe case of hemorrhoids from not playing her enough so that probably wouldn't work.

 

[TCC Kid]

Ball
I'm sorry to disappoint you.
But, i've always been known on this board as absolute realist...even a contrarian.
I'm a fan of beautiful BB
Which is what UConn produces on its best days
Never been accused of bleeding blue....never...

Still, what I wrote above is a viable option, based on the facts on the ground
And I, for one would like to see it transpire.

Thank for the kind and gentle words. I appreciate your Uconn comments. You sounded so positive I just assumed you like me --are wrapped in blue. I like people that enjoy basketball at it's finest. As I rode the horse drawn bus from Canada to Springfield mass with James A. N. we discussed this kind of Womens basketball, at least his wife did.
Obviously, kidding/

 

[Skeets]

You can all thank me for showing Tony how to separate his posts into paragraphs. It took me 20 years but he finally got it.

You know I love you @Tonyc. ❤️

Anything that makes me laugh gets an automatic "like".

 

[amishboy]

We've had a couple of kids leave. Bottom line imo they left because they werent getting enough playtime and the future doesnt look like it will be any different for them. Most likely they were frustrated, want to play and decided it was in their best interests to go somewhere else where they would play. Looking ahead UConn is loaded with talent with more coming in the next 2 years. The kids coming in the next 2 years are all top 5 players. On the team now all top players. UConn has a bunch of top 10 players on their roster to go along with the NPOY and NHSPOY. When UConn gets 100% they will be almost unbeatable. So with that said we need to wait til UConn gets healthy and the timetable on that is unforeseen. It may be in a few weeks it may be in a few months. As for Paige it may be February and it may take longer. Understand one thing. Geno is not bringing anybody back before they are 100% healthy then it will take time for them to get back to 100% on the floor. It would be great to have them back for Sunday but it would even be better to have them back 100% in all facets before tournament time.

So right now we are what we are. We are being developed and gaining experience. It will be up and down as we have seen in the past 2 games. When we're hitting outside shots we look really good, when were not we dont look good. How long will it take to get up to speed? We dont know. We have a tuff Louisville team on Sunday. We could loose that game or we could win that game. The important thing now is we are who we are and we will gain experience on Sunday in a win or a loss and our inefficiencies will be exploited which will only give us something to work on to get better. There is no magic to this. It takes time.

As far as seedings. When we get everyone back we will imo be almost unbeatable. It wont matter where we are in the polls or in the NCAA brackets we could and should win every game. If we dont get everyone back then we are what we are. We are still very good and very talented the only thing we need to be is with our development. Right now we need to hit outside shots and foul shots. We have height. That means everybody needs to be able to do that . We saw Dorka and Liv hit some outside shots however when Caroline Evina and CW hit outside shots on a consistent basis we will be much better for various reasons opening up the middle.

We now have a very short bench which means more kids will play. Foul trouble could be an issue but we have the height to back it up. That extra height will get minutes. After LVille we have our Christmas break which will give us time to relax, and work on some of the things we need to work on to get better. We have a very talented team with alot of top players many of whom lack experience on the college level. They will get better. When they do we will look alot better. When we start hitting outside shots and making foul shots we will be a tuff out. We also have a bunch of kids injured who we cant count on right now. So were back to square one...We are what we are.

I think there's a lot of wisdom in what you say, but am I the only one who was surprised by how devastated (or, to quote Geno, "disheveled") the team was by the loss of Paige Bueckers (and Aubrey Griffin and Nika Muhl)?

They had several days to prepare to play without them, and with 4 other starters returning from last year, plus a very highly-rated freshman class (plus a very impressive transfer), I just figured they'd initially struggle a little against GT but eventually get their bearings. Instead, it seemed like most had an utter lack of confidence in themselves and their teammates, and, going forward, that's what worries me more than whether Paige returns this season, whether and how soon the freshman develop, etc. [Nevertheless, they seemed a little better against UCLA, so maybe I'm just being Debbie Downer, and they'll rip off a 15-game winning streak, just to shut me up again.]

 

[Bigboote]

I think there's a lot of wisdom in what you say, but am I the only one who was surprised by how devastated (or, to quote Geno, "disheveled") the team was by the loss of Paige Bueckers (and Aubrey Griffin and Nika Muhl)?

They had several days to prepare to play without them, and with 4 other starters returning from last year, plus a very highly-rated freshman class (plus a very impressive transfer), I just figured they'd initially struggle a little against GT but eventually get their bearings. Instead, it seemed like most had an utter lack of confidence in themselves and their teammates, and, going forward, that's what worries me more than whether Paige returns this season, whether and how soon the freshman develop, etc. [Nevertheless, they seemed a little better against UCLA, so maybe I'm just being Debbie Downer, and they'll rip off a 15-game winning streak, just to shut me up again.]

They had something like 4-5 days to prepare to play without Paige, but only one day to prepare to play without Nika. It's one thing to play without your starting point guard, but something else entirely to play without the starter or backup. And they played much better two days later.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Just watched SC vs. Maryland. South Carolina seems to CONSTANTLY have inside rebounding position. It's an integral part of their game plan. The inside players move to get in the premium rebounding slot sometimes at the beginning of the play. They are that focused. So many players on some teams just stand around. It may seem like a little thing but an extra 5 rebounds can easily be 6 more points per game. That is a huge skew right there just from better rebounding positioning. Often they are offensive rebounds with immediate putbacks. The way for us to beat SC is better 3 point shooting and keeping the turnovers down with near equal rebounding.

 

[Bigboote]

Just watched SC vs. Maryland. South Carolina seems to CONSTANTLY have inside rebounding position. It's an integral part of their game plan. The inside players move to get in the premium rebounding slot sometimes at the beginning of the play. They are that focused. So many players on some teams just stand around. It may seem like a little thing but an extra 5 rebounds can easily be 6 more points per game. That is a huge skew right there just from better rebounding positioning. Often they are offensive rebounds with immediate putbacks. The way for us to beat SC is better 3 point shooting and keeping the turnovers down with near equal rebounding.

They did the same tonight against Duke. OTOH, they only put up 55 points.