What Is [goin on] With Aaliyah Edwards? [Merged Thread]

veryolddog · Dec 5, 2021

The problem wih MS Edwards is the same problem with all of the rest of the UConn players except for Paige.

Stymie · Dec 5, 2021

Aaliyah improved meteorically over the course of her freshman year.
I believe many projected her improvement to continue at the same rate.

CocoHusky · Dec 5, 2021

JoePgh said:
The post that I was responding to said this:
"The entire Frontline of AE, Ono, and Dorka has underperformed. They are getting outplayed and outhustled by smaller front lines."
Do you believe that this statement is true, i.e., that Seton Hall outplayed and outhustled UConn's front line?

I do believe the statement to be true as it applies to this season. "Outhustled" is not quantifiable. If I were forced to provide evidence I would submit the following:

SH is the 5th game of the season. It is also the first game of the season in which Dorka, or Liv or AE have scored in double figures in points. Aaliyah was scoreless in the USF game. Each of the UCONN opponents (Arkansas, Minnesota, USF, SC & SH) has had a front court player score double figures against UCONN (Goforth (17), Sissoko (10), Mununga (15), Boston (22), & Cooks (13).
(6'1", 6'2", 6'0" 6'3" 6'4" are the heights for Goforth, Sissoko, Mununga, Boston, & Cooks. Boston is a beast so let's take her out of the equation and insert Brea Beal who is 6'1". Beal played roughly the same amount of minutes as AE did in the SC game and scored the same amount of points (6) but got one more rebound.
After 5 games UCONN is +14 rebound margin and Paige has the 2nd most rebounds on the team.

So yes this evidence could lead me to conclude that AE, Ono, and Dorka are underperforming because of the numbers put up by our generally shorter opponents thus far on the season.

CocoHusky · Dec 5, 2021

FormerCTrez said:
Why is it that I sometimes view a few BY posters as angry parents? The type of parents who are only happy when the kids maintain a 5.0 and nothing less. Because, if the grade is 3.0 - 4.0, it means that the kids have failed, and are doomed for life.
BYers, you can do much better than this! Imagine how you would feel if some of these comments were posted about your kid or relative.

Parents that have raised kids that are talented enough to play for UCONN WBB are more than smart enough to avoid the BY.

cancontent · Dec 5, 2021

hjoerring said:
My take is that she (and all the others) isn't Paige. They see her as guilty for not being Paige B. No one is going to like this but, I'll say it: This is a very good team-- I don't know if its more (or not) a championship team than the others we normally compare it to; but, the players are playing tight, even scare. Paige is undoubtedly the best player, but there are others who can match much of what she is doing. All three starting guards can shoot from outside, go to the basket and pass. Edwards can actually put the ball on the floor and go to the basket, so why is she holding on to the ball at the top of the key forever waiting for a cutter and a pass? Why do the others disappear at crunch time? I no longer think its a question of talent. It is role play-- they must first and foremost set screens and screens and more screens. I am now convinced that Geno is comfortable with 2 scorers in a game. It worked until it didn't with Samuelson (after the big 3 existed) and, I doubt that it will with PB+. I have listened to his post game comments and its clear that it is all about PB and and the others as problems. Of course there are others who can see motivation in everything. Not me. So there is a congruent between the Boneyard and Geno. No one seems to be having fun out there, and that is for the coaches to solve. But the Team is ranked 2. That is not due to Uconn's influence on WBB! But I see red lights flashing both for this Board (which has dipped a little) and the Team.

1) I agree based on what I watched during her HS, OSBA and early years with Canada Basketball. I've noted it before, but she never played a true post when she was at Crestwood. Any games you watch from those years, she was primarily outside with others playing the 5 position. I don't know if you can say it's her natural position, but she's more than just a post player in my opinion.

2) I can see where you're coming from on this point. Sometimes I wonder if players are fighting certain instincts as they run through it. I believe it will smooth out soon enough.

Charliebball · Dec 5, 2021

JoePgh said:
So how is that consistent with a 50-12 advantage for UConn in points in the paint vs. Seton Hall? Or a 14-7 advantage in offensive rebounds? Or Seton Hall's two top rebounders (Sidney Cooks and Kailah Harris) each getting outrebounded by Dorka, Paige, and Aaliyah?

A lot of posters here, particularly those who say the most negative things, fail (as in this case) to offer any evidence for their scalding accusations, and ignore evidence that is readily available from the box score.

Seton Hall is ranked over 100 as a team for a reason...........part of that is a fairly weak front court..........if UConn can't consistently outrebound Big East teams, then they are in for a long season......

UcMiami · Dec 5, 2021

I think this whole thread is fairly typical of the boneyard in early season. People remember the FF team of the previous year and can't understand why a new team in it's first half dozen games isn't playing at the standard of a team that is at the end of a 30+ game season. What happened to that instinctive flow, clear communication on defense, etc? Well, that was last year and this new team is just getting started. We got spoiled from 2012-2016 when the leaders of each returning team were upper classmen starting with Doty, Faris, Dolson, and Hartley and transitioning through KML, Stewart, Jefferson, and Tuck. That was serious leadership and unfortunately neither Westbrook, Williams or Ono are quite that level or leader and Paige is not quite ready to lead anywhere but on the court.

Specific to Edwards - the Olympics are great, but there is a huge difference in how the international game is played and she had to work on her transition to the softer NCAA game last year and this (as did Nika.) Edwards seems to be making that transition quicker this year, by the way.

And 'sophomore jump' is not something that necessarily occurs in Nov. or Dec. often it shows in retrospect at the end of the year. I remember MoJeff was consistently a slow starter every year - I suspect that if one compiled her stats for just Jan-FF her shooting percentages would be closer to .600 and .500 from 3 because she was usually around .400/.250 in Nov and Dec.

The team has also had a rotating injury list all fall which I doubt has helped chemistry on the floor. Dorka particularly is suffering from that as she tries to learn the offense and defense on her new team.

hjoerring · Dec 5, 2021

Charliebball said:
Seton Hall is ranked over 100 as a team for a reason...........part of that is a fairly weak front court..........if UConn can't consistently outrebound Big East teams, then they are in for a long season......

One of the few things I remembered from my undergraduate days was going to a conference with my advisor as we sat listening to one of his enemies presented data from a research. My advisor turned to me and said 'he has all the facts in the world-- as you can hear-- but no theory. Ask him to explain and he will just cite more facts. It would be to say this about you, given what I have always acknowledged as your past contribution; but, you have entered into a 'fact' more that is leading you to parcel out the dross from the gold. Uconn bigs do not, in general, stay under the basket ready to rebound as other teams big do. Both Stanford and SoC play that way-- even though Boston is stepping out (leaving their other bigs to do just that. I'm not surprised that a motion offense-- or whatever you call it, isn't (necessarily) a good rebounding team. Nor am I surprise that a guard can swoop in and rebound. And you know that many smaller teams can out-rebound bigger teams due to a host of factors. Still, these problems are best understood in the modes of play and players rolls.

Mdoggie · Dec 5, 2021

Sorry @oldude @cancontent @EricLA
Just tryna get these negative Nancy to see themselves.

cancontent · Dec 5, 2021

Mdoggie said:
Sorry @oldude @cancontent @EricLA
Just tryna get these negative Nancy to see themselves.

I'm not following you here. If you think I took offense to anything you posted, that isn't the case.

GG · Dec 5, 2021

Great game by AE today. She is one of my favorites.

FormerCTrez · Dec 5, 2021

LCConnFan, I’m not suggesting that you, or any other poster shouldn’t state your criticism. After all, no one on this board is a robot. At least that’s what I believe. Also, this is a free world, and everyone is capable of freely expressing him/herself, whether that be good or bad. All I’m suggesting is that we should be mindful of the type ofcriticism we dish out towards other people's kids. I don’t know about you, but I surely wouldn’t be happy to listen to, or read the constant barrage of negativity towards my child.

PS: 1) It’s okay if Geno disagrees with me. I’ve disagreed with him on numerous occasions. 2) In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

FormerCTrez · Dec 5, 2021

CocoHusky said:
Parents that have raised kids that are talented enough to play for UCONN WBB are more than smart enough to avoid the BY.

Your point is well taken.

Centerstream · Dec 10, 2021

Or maybe Aaliyah is better suited coming off the bench. Just a suggestion.

hoopsfan22 · Dec 10, 2021

Centerstream said:
Or maybe Aaliyah is better suited coming off the bench. Just a suggestion.

Yep. Not sure why we didn't start the season with the lineup that really clicked in the second half of last season. Maybe Nika was still slowed by injuries, I'm not sure, but it appears that we tried to fix what wasn't broken.

CocoHusky · Dec 10, 2021

Bumping this thread for additional considerations.
Aaliyah Edwards had her second scoreless game of the season last night while playing 23 minutes of the game.
She appears to be lost compared to the player she was in the last 3 games of last season.
The missed wide open layup in a closely contested game and the passes she fumbled in good scoring position are very fatal to UCONN chances. What is going on with her?

oldhusky · Dec 10, 2021

Something is wrong and I have no idea what it is. Aaliyah hasn't even vaguely resembled the player from last year. The GT game was the low-point of an extremely bad season so far. The strange thing is because she was so flustered early in the game, when she went up for that layup, I almost expected her to miss it. I don't recall feeling that way about anybody else ever.

Coming into this season I thought Aaliyah would be much improved, not so much rebounding or in close scoring, but in the areas she was not so good at like fouls and assists to turnovers, along with expanding her range a little. I also thought of the players on the roster, only Paige and Azzi were more likely to get on the wall (I know Paige has already qualified).

The decline is so severe that it is beyond comprehension for me without some known reason. Of the many things I am hoping for in the next few games, very high on my list is a breakout game by Aaliyah to get out of this funk.

HopJim · Dec 10, 2021

Not sure its expectations as much as some of her play at critical times. I remember two plays yesterday that stopped UConn's comeback both times. One was a turnover pass that was made to the wing with no one within 20 feet; the other a missed unguarded layup with no one within 15 feet. Last year's version of AE was my favorite on the team due to her relentless hustle and play. Hopeful she will rebound, but the AE we see this year is a half step slower and just average when playing against average competitors.

AmeriConn · Dec 10, 2021

CocoHusky said:
Bumping this thread for additional considerations.
Aaliyah Edwards had her second scoreless game of the season last night while playing 23 minutes of the game.
She appears to be lost compared to the player she was in the last 3 games of last season.
The missed wide open layup in a closely contested game and the passes she fumbled in good scoring position are very fatal to UCONN chances. What is going on with her?

An anomaly for sure.

JellyBean · Dec 10, 2021

AE is going through something. With her speed, size, and athleticism, she should be destroying some of the teams we have faced this season. If there is a sports psychologist on campus, maybe a visit could help, if they are open to that type of thing. I hope that she and the coaching staff are in the loop and working together.

CocoHusky · Dec 10, 2021

request that one of the moderators merge these threads