When Ice and Morgan Return To The Court ...?

[Skeets]

This is exactly why @EricLA is right. The notion that our ‘second 5’ is a top team in itself only makes sense if we mean that potentially they might eventually become comparable with what other top teams actually are right now. And even this is implausible on its face in almost every case, since it includes so many assumptions that run contrary to our experience. Still, as an expression of our enthusiasm for the non-starters, it is a wonderful bit of hyperbole. As it happens, I am a fan of enthusiasm and hyperbole. But I must also admit that this one can’t be taken nearly as seriously as some of our other habitual enthusiasms.

Please noticed that I didn't say "Top team". I said a pretty good D1 team. You think otherwise?

 

[Bone Dog]

Please noticed that I didn't say "Top team". I said a pretty good D1 team. You think otherwise?

I am aware. Your post was much more judicious. I wasn’t thinking of what you said in particular, but of the more general phenomenon @EricLA was talking about. This often shows up as a casual remark, as for example the one that introduced the idea in this thread by @Ct Dog. Not everyone who invokes this trope is so judicious.

As for your question, my guess is that our second 5 as they’re playing right now would be a mediocre D1 team. That’s probably a lot better than the second 5 on any other team would do. However, if we were to rewrite reality and get them a ton more playing time than they’ve actually earned so far, I suspect they’d be more than a pretty good team. Some would need to improve their conditioning in order to play 25+ minutes in D1 games. One way to see this would be to ask if they could win a starting spot on other teams. Blanca and Kayleigh could probably become the regular starters on most if not all D1 teams. I suspect they’d have been competitive for starting spots on Iowa or UNC or USC as is, but probably not UCLA or Texas or LSU. Jana and Allie are probably only a couple months away from starting on most if not all top 100 teams.

If the fifth player were Kelis, even though the skies the limit for her talent, she is still pretty green. Could she start as an SG on Gonzaga? Yes, maybe, but probably not right away. If it were Morgan, we can all see the problem. Same if it were Ice or Ayanna or Carol.

If we’re talking only about potential, I’d say some second five on the current roster could well become the top D1 team. After all, I have a feeling many of them will be starting for UConn within a year or two.

 

[Tonyc]

I believe Morgan and Ice will redshirt. They are really good players but as of now there arent enough minutes to play the players who are healthy let alone those coming back from injury. Its that simple.

 

[sun]

NCAA Division 1 players are just about the equivalent of semi-pro players.
I don't know about each of their individual medical status, but if either of them are cleared to return to practice, IMO they have an obligation to their teammates, the school and themselves to make every effort to return and try to hone their BB skills to make a comeback before the end of the season.
Aubrey did last year as have other injured players.
If it's necessary to redshirt, then that's their choice.
But I think that they owe it to the university to try to earn their scholarship and NIL money.
Why would either of them want to sit on the bench and use a redshirt year if they didn't need to and while they can still be an asset to the team?
This could end up being a dream season, and to not participate when they may be able and medically cleared to put in the work would be a lot like giving up on the university, their teammates and themselves.
There's a certain amount of personal pride involved to try to contribute to the team.
I hope that they both get the required medical clearance so that the issue of whether to redshirt or not can be put to rest.

 

[Old Man UConn]

The last we heard from Geno (maybe two weeks ago) is that Ice and Morgan are not going to return until "at least" the new year. Since there are only two games left in 2025, what are the implications if one or both of them returns in the first game of January, which is at home against Seton Hall on January 3?

Of course, we all know that Geno did not remotely guarantee that would happen. One or both of them may be further delayed. But his comments suggest that sometime in the first few weeks of January, they should be physically able to return, and would by then have had time for some amount of regular practice.

There has been a lot of discussion recently, both by Geno himself and on the Boneyard, about how many players can be in the "regular rotation", I.e., getting minutes before garbage time and/or in competitive games. He suggested that 10 "regular rotation" players might be the max, or might be too many.

Recently, the regular rotation has included the 5 starters plus Blanca, K9, and Allie, with Jana "on the borderline". That is either 8 or 9 regular rotation players, near Geno's self-declared maximum.

His problem in the new year will be that both Ice and Morgan were solidly in last year's regular rotation, and they earned their place there. Ice was the first front court player off the bench (behind Jana and Sarah). She had developed a fairly reliable midrange jump shot that proved critical in a few games, something that Serah Williams has yet to show. And she rebounded at least as well as Serah has done this year. But she never showed the kind of close-in post moves that Serah has demonstrated, and Geno noted that she preferred to take jump shots than to really mix it up in the paint.

Before her injury (in February, as I recall), Morgan was often the first player off the bench, and had somewhat the same role that Blanca now has as a 6-2, aggressive, do-it-all player. Morgan was very good at that, although perhaps not as good as Blanca has been this year. And it's important to note that Morgan was coming off a high school injury last year, and surprised the coaches with how quickly she picked up the system despite missing all the preseason practices. So it seems likely that she will need minimal ramp-up time this year to get back to her last year's level of play once she is physically healthy.

What do you think Geno will do when these two players become available? Will he add them both to the regular rotation, bringing the rotation to 10 or 11 players depending on how he views Jana? Or will they both "wait their turn" behind Serah and Blanca respectively? Or maybe one of them will bull her way into the rotation? I can easily imagine that Geno may come to see Morgan as a more reliable backup PG and ball handler than Kayleigh. Or he may find that Blanca gets in foul trouble often enough (just as Morgan did last year) that it becomes reasonable for them to split minutes in that "hybrid" guard/forward role. It's harder for me to see how Ice can break in to the regular rotation, especially if Geno continues to give heavy minutes to the "small lineup" option with Sarah as the 5.

I suppose it will be a "good problem" to have, but that doesn't make it any less vexing for Geno.

If Morgan cannot come back as a full time player, consider a redshirt year. By doing this she gets a full healthy year. he could contribute this year but presently there is no PT for her, ICE would/will be valuable player.

 

[Stagnant]

The “no playing time” argument for Morgan. I don’t buy that at all. Morgan’s strength is her versatility. You can put her anywhere on the court.

Geno actually needs someone off the bench to become consistent and reliable. Again, look at the Michigan and Iowa games. Geno only really trusts his top 6 players. Jana, Allie, and Heckel are trying to get to that point… but they aren’t there yet. And the proof is those games. Heckel 1 minute in the first half. Jana won’t play if the game is in single digits. And Allie is in the same boat as Heckel. May come in during the first half of a close game; but if she makes a mistake… she will be pulled.

It is true though that the season is really moving now. There should be progression if Morgan is coming back. We should see her participating in warm ups pretty soon. We should hear that she is practicing. The next two weeks are crucial.