Where UConn's Starting Lineup is Heading | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Where UConn's Starting Lineup is Heading

So many good points in this thread. By and large, I agree with @oldude: Geno tends eventually to settle on a 5+2 or 5+3 rotation by February-March. He seems to think of the first half of the season as the experimentation phase and the second half as the time to perfect the group he's settled on. So, the folks who think he should have a big rotation are right to expect this in the sense that he will have one in November thru January. But by the middle of February, there will be very little change in his rotation, unless injury or other external contingency forces it. Churning lineups in late February or March is disruptive and he seems to prefer to avoid this.

That said, this season Geno has scheduled an interesting 'ladder' of progressively more challenging games leading up to Louisville, ND, ISU, USC in December. That will be a challenging stretch, and we'll see if can get his young team ready for it. Unfortunately, ND may not be at full strength by then -- Westbeld, Citron are questionable and Watson and Bransford are out -- but I suspect the matchup between Jana and Kate Koval will be really good. And the USC game should be a highlight of the OOC portion of the season. Juju is going to get a rematch with Paige, which should be great to see. Plus, USC has reloaded their roster with Kiki, TVO and Heckel, while Geno has added Sarah, Jana, Chen and, if all goes well, Azzi. If everyone is up to speed, this should be a great game.
 
The deacon said:
Interesting take on it all, Bone Dog... however, based on all Geno says, it would not be a surprise to him if Morgan is very much part of the rotation, and increasingly impactful... I'll take his word for it. We haven't seen enough to make a valid assessment.

I'm also curious how so many here just assume Azzi will be so great that she'll leapfrog many top players for extensive PT. As I've said on several other threads, I'm hopeful about her, but to assume she'll be the player she showed herself to be only in one brief burst of brilliance several years ago is, at best, presumptuous.
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"Hopeful" is the right word for Azzi, not "optimistic."
 
hoophuskee said:
For a player like Azzi who had a very good frosh year (btw her frosh year better than Shade or KK.). And with her ceiling we saw her match Clark offensively. None of our guards outside of Paige have near that ceiling. That;s why it would be an enormous disappointment if Azzi is only part-time. Just pray she is healthy. If she is not starting then she isn't 100% unless its when she just comes back and needs time to get a rhythym.

In regard if she does come back and starts, then I favor Chen or KK over Ash. I'd rather have the better passer, KK or Chen pass the ball to Paige than have Paige pass the ball to Ash. Paige is a far superior scorer. SO give me the better passer that is going to look for Paige and also look for Sarah and what seems Jana to score.
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Ash's passing against BU looked pretty darn good . . . and all those steals!
 
Not going to add a starting group, but will say this team would allow Geno to play all of them if he chooses. There are no real weak spots. Some might be better defensively, and others offensively, but all are unselfish team players from what I've seen so far.
 
I don’t really see a world where KK is starting over Chen. Chen and Paige are the veterans on a pretty young team (given injuries). I could see KK taking a similar role Aubrey once had being that energizer off the bench. I see KK and KC splitting time with KC starting as a 5th year vet. If everyone is at their best and healthy I see it being PB, Chen, Azzi, Sarah, Jana. But at the end of the day I think the rotations will really come down to chemistry because it looks like mostly everyone has the talent.
 
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oldude said:
OK. In 2020-21, Paige led the Huskies in both assists and scoring, while earning consensus NPOY honors. There’s several ways to construct a lineup. IMO, having Paige initiate the offense with Azzi & Ashlynn spotting up for 3-pt opportunities, Sarah roaming inside & out and Jana posting up down on the blocks, beats every other combination UConn can put out on the court.

Paige will still get her shots, whether on give and goes with Sarah, high screens with Jana, exchanging PG/SG roles with Azzi occasionally or simply beating her defender off the dribble.I
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LwrcasefaN said:
I don't think he will vary greatly from that strategy, but the opponent and distribution of top talent has spread further over the years. Imagine being the opponent and not knowing which UCONN team you're going to be up against. Sometimes, it only takes changing a single piece on the floor and as you suggest, it may not be right at the start of the game. I always thought when Gabby was added to the floor...it just added an exponential burden to the opposition because she could contribute on both ends of the floor in a complimentary way.
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I don't think Geno would want to wear Paige down. Maybe we should just wait for him to decide, and we will love it.
 
Dugway said:
It is because of the potential for foul trouble that, at least for the time being, I think he should continue to start Ice. At some point in the future, yes, she should be the starter. As for USF, I worry that Jana would get two quick fouls.

Yesterday's game said to me that she is in fact truly incredible. She can be a Double-Double Machine for this team, but not gonna happen if she has to sit the majority of the games in foul trouble. That starter role, including the hype, the pump of additional adrenalin, ... well, I guess I'm sayin that she has enough to control right now without that. I'd start Ice this weekend, but we will see.
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I don't think you sit a player (Jana), that is capable of 17 or more points and 10 or more rebounds, in favor of a player that may score 4 pts and 6 rebounds. You start your best, and if they pick up a couple of fouls you bring in your back up. And you will continue to try to keep that starter in as much time as possible, but, assure she is in at the end of a close game. Ice has to develop a lot more to be in that starting line up.
 
oldude said:
Beg to differ. I think the big debate is Azzi, Kaitlyn or KK? Whatever the final starting lineup ends up being, these are nice problems to have, as opposed to last season when Geno had no real decisions to make after Azzi, Caroline & Aubrey all went down.
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I just don’t see Geno having two point guards on the bench. Paige is also the best off the ball defender on the team and is most effective offensively from the wing. A three-wing rotation of Paige-Azzi-Ash would be unstoppable; enabling Quadance and Ali to play almost every fourth quarter. Of course, this all becomes moot if Carol ever joins the mix. Given the play of Sara and Jana, four guards doesn’t look likely, particularly if Morgan and Audrey end up getting their minutes at the four.
 
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I say make Azzi our 6th woman once healthy for the rest of the year. Assuming she comes back well. I say this because there will be important in season games, tournament games, maybe even a Championship game for the starters, when the ball don’t fall. I guess I’d rather trust Azzi to get the team back in the game than Q, Aubry, KK, Ash. You think any one of them could shoot this team back into the game? So I say develop Azzi to that role.
 
oldude said:
That’s an interesting take. But consider that last season’s leading scorer in WBB, and consensus NPOY, CC, brought the ball up, initiated the offense and also led the country in assists.
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Yes, but CC wanted to shoot the ball as often as possible, and her coaches and team needed her to score big numbers every night. While Geno wants Paige to score more and more assertively seek her shot, he’s not looking for her to play like CC did.
 
The thing that’s amusing about this thread is that it assumes is concerned about starting the 5 “best” players.

We have 39 years of evidence that he uses additional factors.

Eg
Webber over nykesha
Amy Duran over some of the tassk
Diana’s frosh year
Mayas Frosh year
Etc
Etc

Geno has repeatedly shown he is more concerned with playing time than starting.
 
Kaizen said:
I will put Chen as the starter at this moment.
For some reasons I fell safe when Chen was on the court.

My starting five,
Paige,
Sarah,
Jana,
Ashlynn,
Chen (If Azzi is not ready)
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I feel like Chen is a lock as a starter considering she's a senior and she looked very comfortable out there. I doubt Azzi immediately starts, but I bet a series of rotations for strategic purposes and not "because this is the best we have" mentality continues moving into the future. Even Paige had to get back into game rhythm, so I think it will take Azzi some time considering she's been dealing with knee issues since sophomore year. I am not surprised KK is coming off the bench.
 
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Boreifs said:
I just don’t see Geno having two point guards on the bench. Paige is also the best off the ball defender on the team and is most effective offensively from the wing. A three-wing rotation of Paige-Azzi-Ash would be unstoppable; enabling Quadance and Ali to play almost every fourth quarter. Of course, this all becomes moot if Carol ever joins the mix. Given the play of Sara and Jana, four guards doesn’t look likely, particularly if Morgan and Audrey end up getting their minutes at the four.
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Don’t get hung up on pg’s. On UConn’s best teams, everyone passes the ball. Keep in mind that Azzi played pg for the USA under-19 world championship team, and Sarah appears to be the best passing forward since Gabby.
 
Majic Hands said:
My take for the starters for the first game, I missed by 1. Sara started the game not Jana.

After watching two games I’m inclined to ink in Sara, Paige, Kaitlyn, Ash, as starters.

I watched every game Jana played in the FIBA tournament including Jana going down with the Achilles injury. I suspected she would be rusty and excited to get on the floor.

Oh boy! Did I ever underestimate the emotional exuberance gushing out in the exhibition game. Immediately followed by the angst of a poor performance.I totally get Geno bringing her in off the bench for her first game.

I’m penciling in Jana as a starter for the next game. After her next start I’ll be inking her into the starting lineup. I could create a really long post as to all the reasons I’m thinking this.

I think Ice is substantially better and more fit than last year but so is ever returning player from last season.

But what do I know Geno might have a different starting lineup for the rest of the season.

I’ve been hoping for a team where players come into the game, all game long without the team losing its intensity, scoring and defensive ability. Could this become that team.
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Please Majic, her name is SARAH, not Sara
 
I think it is just a matter of time before Jana and Azzi start. Jana can probably make twice as many mistakes as Ice and still be a better player, just needs to reduce them somewhat. Azzi's talent is clearly above her competition once she is ready to go.

Along with the more obvious Paige and Sarah, that leaves a three way battle between Ashlynn, KK, and Kaitlin for the last starter spot with Paige playing the 3 if teamed with KK or Kaitlin, or the 1 with Ashlynn at the 3.
 
Vowelguy said:
Geno has never ever done this.
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There is a first time for everything. It's been many years since he's had enough good players to even contemplate it. I never thought I'd see a barely 6' PG at PF but we did last year.

The game is changing with the super teams having more depth similar to pro teams IMO. Therefore, I expect to start seeing pro type strategies.
 
oldude said:
That’s an interesting take. But consider that last season’s leading scorer in WBB, and consensus NPOY, CC, brought the ball up, initiated the offense and also led the country in assists.
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On a totally different kind of team in which CC had to score close to 30 a game and shoot many times more than Paige and make plays through passes for Iowa to win and in which they also did not have the supporting cast that Paige has this year. I think Sarah, Jana, Ash, and Paige for sure as starters but I'm thinking Chen also for now. Azzi would be devastating as the 6th man. If Azzi gets it fully back, she has to start and then Paige gets moved to the point. Chen subs in for Paige , Ash or Azzi and they slot over. The offense is not a traditional position dependent one except for the high post initiation pass which can be Paige at times. So many possible permutations with this talent. A nice problem to have.
 
Love the discussion. I actually like that Geno started Ice even though I do think Jana has a higher upside. In a sense he is rewarding her seniority. Additionally Ice can do all the little things. She can screen well, grab rebounds and I think she's actually improved a bit defensively. I think it's ok to have Jana come off the bench and be Jana. I think Azzi definitely starts. I think some of the slow starts kinda go away with an aggressive Azzi. But I would start KC or KK and put Shade on the bench. I think Shade is great. She'll get her minutes. I'd just rather have another ball handler to push pace aside from Paige in the starting lineup.
 
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I don’t see Morgan as a 4. But she is pretty high up the depth chart right now if the team needs height/size for some reason.
 
DEpup said:
There is a first time for everything. It's been many years since he's had enough good players to even contemplate it.
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DEpup said:
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Wanna bet?

Unless Genos players are basically equal from 1-10, hes not doing 5 for 5 subs in meaningful games.

Years ago he laughed at Matthew Mitchell’s “40 minutes of dread”.

‘Every time they subbed, they brought in worse and worse players, it was great!’
 
Maybe it’s just me but I suspect Geno is going to use Kaitlyn and KK all season long. They’ll split 40 mins at PG initially. But when Azzi comes back the platoon will get more complicated and Paige and Azzi will get some minutes as PG and some at the 2 and the 3. This will probably mean KK and Kaitlyn’s minutes are reduce to maybe 15 each. i doubt we’ll ever see the two of them on the floor together.

In an interview last week, Geno talked about having Paige and Azzi on the floor together. But he also mentioned the importance of having Azzi on the floor when Paige sits. I can imagine him playing the two of them for 25 minutes or so, but only 20 minutes together. When they’re both on the floor with Ash, he might sit KK or Kaitlyn.

Similarly, in the frontcourt I doubt we’ll ever see Jana and Ice on the floor together. In that same interview Geno mentioned this and suggested there weren’t a lot of situations in which that would make sense. This means they split 40 minutes. One or the other may get a larger share, I suppose. But Sarah is likely to play at least 25 minutes in every game.

It’s easy to see that a lot of combinations are possible within these parameters. It won’t just be about deciding on a starting lineup for Geno. By the end of February, he’ll have figured out which lineups work best together, which patterns of substitution, and when to use them. It may seem very casual and improvised to us. But there will be a method to it all.
 
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Nice discussion and nice problems to have.

I noted all 3 of Ice, Sarah, and Jana played both high post and low post already in the BU game. While not yet perfect, all 3 are athletic enough to defend on perimeter too, so Geno in heaven defensively. Also this group of 3 will now have 3-4 years to play together.

Geno training them so any combination of the 3 can play together.
 
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Bone Dog said:
Maybe it’s just me but I suspect Geno is going to use Kaitlyn and KK all season long. They’ll split 40 mins at PG initially. But when Azzi comes back the platoon will get more complicated and Paige and Azzi will get some minutes as PG and some at the 2 and the 3. This will probably mean KK and Kaitlyn’s minutes are reduce to maybe 15 each. i doubt we’ll ever see the two of them on the floor together.

In an interview last week, Geno talked about having Paige and Azzi on the floor together. But he also mentioned the importance of having Azzi on the floor when Paige sits. I can imagine him playing the two of them for 25 minutes or so, but only 20 minutes together. When they’re both on the floor with Ash, he might sit KK or Kaitlyn.

Similarly, in the frontcourt I doubt we’ll ever see Jana and Ice on the floor together. In that same interview Geno mentioned this and suggested there weren’t a lot of situations in which that would make sense. This means they split 40 minutes. One or the other may get a larger share, I suppose. But Sarah is likely to play at least 25 minutes in every game.

It’s easy to see that a lot of combinations are possible within these parameters. It won’t just be about deciding on a starting lineup for Geno. By the end of February, he’ll have figured out which lineups work best together, which patterns of substitution, and when to use them. It may seem very casual and improvised to us. But there will be a method to it all.
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If Azzi is realy really healthy at some point in huge games I can see Paige playing all 40 and Azzi 35. Depending on who is playing well, Paige is a 1,2,3,4. You can put her anywhere. And in big games I can see Sarah play minimum 25 minutes as you state but up to 35. and within those 30-up to 35 minutes she could also play some center. For example, Koval might not be any good for ND and then ND may elect play fast. It doesn't have to be specifically ND but a team or teams that are hot that love to play fast. Maybe NC State as another example. As a result, Ice's minutes get cut in certain situations. Geno is not the only one that could employ small ball.

Jana - a lot of of her minutes comes down to foul trouble and stamina from having to compete inside. Foul trouble could also result from having to defend a smaller team too. Thus if Ice needs more mintes or is struggling you could very well see Sarah as the center and Griffin as the PF with Jana in foul trouble. Edwards was a 6'2 center and did play with Griffin. Thus, so can Sarah. On the flip-side Jana as a maximum is a 30 minute player in huge games imo if all goes well.

Ice's passing could be very underrated. Very interested to see how she progresses throughout the year. If she is the passer that Meg says - and she starts hitting that outside shot with consistency (which she is more than capable of) she might be much better by season's end while she continues to work on scoring inside and overall rebounding.
 
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I am not sure that starting is as important as the five who will play the most minutes. At UConn WBB, that usually is the group who starts but not always.

While Paige is likely the top PG in College - some will nominate a couple of Notre Dame guards but no, no one is as good on both sides of the ball. However, Coach G can put her to better use off the ball part of the time.

When healthy, there is no other guard at UConn who can space the floor as Azzi can.

Though Ashlynn and KK gained a lot of experience last year against a tough OOC schedule, the years of experience that KC has accumulated with enough tough opponents exceeds theirs. In addition, KC is a bright kid, so she will acclimate quickly to the demands on UConn WBB PG. If she does, then it would be best she starts.......she is better controlled and has shown - in limited exposure - quick decision-making, good offense and defense to complement Paige and Azzi.

Frontcourt will eventually be Jana and Sarah - their rebounding and versatile skillset on offense and defense stand out. As soon as Jana controls her excitement about finally playing and contain her eagerness, you will have to go back to Stewie and company for more or comparable talent to Jana, Sarah, Ice and Ayanna with Caroline and Aubrey enhancing this group, especially for pressing defense and speed of play with the latter.

So, my nominees for the five who will work the most minutes against tough opponents during a game when the full roster is healthy to play, are:

Paige
Azzi
Kaitlyn
Sarah
Jana

If Coach G wants to use the press most of the game, Aubrey and KK will likely see more minutes than usual.

After these, the use of the rest of the roster in different lineup combinations depends on the opponent. If all remain healthy, Coach G will have the luxury of using his deep roster to best advantage. That will be challenge to get the most performance from any lineup combination to play at the desired speed, spacing and switching. Lots of practice needed......yep, will require a lot of practice as well as giving in-game experience to those lineup combinations - fortunately, there are easier games in the schedule.

In another thread, I said that this team will be good enough come March to win #12. No change in that assessment.
 
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