Who are our starting five next year?

[Carnac]

I think it's the core 4 from this year, plus Crystal. I think you need 2 true guards that really can handle the ball consistently.

I think the light will on on for Danger next season. She'll be much improved next season. She won't make the mistakes in judgement she made as a freshman.
She may be more of a facilitator than a scorer. She'll have plenty of willing targets to pass to. Her shooting will no doubt improve as well. She must improve on her ability to keep her man in front of her. She needs to have Kia or Gabby tutor her on the finer points of doing this.

 

[Carnac]

Anyone wanna guess how many threads we will have about this before November??

Whole thread a thrumb scroll away!

Last summer, we debated on this right up to the morning of the first exhibition game.

 

[SCspur]

Really - does anyone really think Geno will not start any of the returning starters.

It will be Kia, Lou, Gabby, Pheesa and Z. Kia and Gabby are the glue. Gabby led the team in assists. Kia is the #1 defender. This says nothing about minutes played and different situations.

First 2 off the bench will probably be Dangerfield and Camara. Not sure how the freshman will fit in all of this but I'm not going to count any of them out.

If UCONN faces a team that plays stifling defense like Miss St next year do you think they have a dependable ball handler? Just asking, because PG is not Nurse' natural position and UCONN had an uncharacteristically stat of 18 TOs and 11 assists agaisnt MSU. I think Crystal should be the starting PG because she's the best ball handler and seems to know how to handle pressure.

 

[Carnac]

Agreed!

Lexi Gordon as dark horse for next guard off bench.

I think Lexi and Mikayla are going to pleasantly surprise a lot of UConn fans this coming season.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm with those that say "take it to the bank"

Nurse, Lou, Gabby, Collier and Stevens.

Expect next year Geno to be a tyrant. He'll bench players left and right because next year he can. He "joked around" that on one play or a few Collier let her player score that we saw on tv during the tourney. Next year he won't take that as much. He's going to be in a foul mood at times for reasons that he is such a demanding great coach.

Also, Geno doesn't go overboard with positions. They can all the handle the ball and pass the ball well. If they couldn't bring the ball up the court and make simple passes after the team was so small all year- then they wouldn't be playing. Ball-handling is a basketball fundamental which this past year's great team was bale to do well. There's a reason why we had so many assists. Because they all can pass and dribble.

Danger will not beat out Stevens unless Stevens is highly overrated. IMO there is no way Geno rewards a team this deep at so many positions to a player that isn't as good as the other by starting her unless she's a senior ("been through the wars."). Next year's team does not NEED anything. They just NEED to perform to their talent. "Positions" is "irrelevant." So there is absolutely no NEED to reward a lesser player the position of "starter."

And imo no shot for Gabby to be the pg. She's an absolute beast on offense at the 4 spot / high post and offensive rebounding. But as the pf/4 on offense she will not be reigned in by position. The beauty of the offense is that she can play like a wing or a post and from the 4 she can play like a pg. Why change her excellence? But to stick her out 25 feet from the basket when the opposing team is playing a zone-- it's a complete waste for one of the game's best players.

There may be different starting lineups during the year based on effort injury practice etc. So beginning of the year may be different than end. There will be little fear UCONN will lose to "Tulane" next year so Geno will keep things interesting by reminding the players of Miss State just like how we hear he reminds Lou every day of what her sister does and just how he got on Napheesa for a few defensive shortcomings despite her having a beats offensive game.

I think Geno is sick of being nice. Those kids are gonna be "in for it" next year!! And they'll end up loving it!!!!!!!

 

[hoophuskee]

If UCONN faces a team that plays stifling defense like Miss St next year do you think they have a dependable ball handler? Just asking, because PG is not Nurse' natural position and UCONN had an uncharacteristically stat of 18 TOs and 11 assists agaisnt MSU. I think Crystal should be the starting PG because she's the best ball handler and seems to know how to handle pressure.

Rebounding wasn't a problem vs Miss State? How did they get 14 offensive rebounds off UCONN? Suppose UCONN got half of those rebounds ? Might they have gotten a few offensive fast breaks? How many fouls did 5'11 Gabby Williams have early in the 4th quarter? UCONN wants to risk putting the combination of her in the paint again to start games or Collier where the refs can potentially do a job on them? That was our big problem this year. Too small.

All year we had big threat of either Gabby or Collier being forced to guard bigs and many times they got into foul trouble. So you want us to play yet again next year putting the game in the refs hands early on by putting Gabby or Collier in foul trouble because of touch fouls because they are forced to start game guarding 6'6 or very wide centers?

 

[hoophuskee]

Yes but too lite on the ball handling.
If Kia nurse ever gets hurt we are in huge trouble

If Kia gets hurt we bring in Danger off the bench, right?

 

[oldude]

OK, the season is officially over so I can now drop my self-imposed prohibition against discussing next year's lineup so here it is:

Core 4 + Z
Danger 1st off the bench at guard
Batouly 1st off the bench at forward

Megan, Mikayla, Andrea & Lexi will all push Nat, Molly & Kyla for minutes. Lots of opportunities to earn minutes as UConn will play pressure defense for 40 minutes or until opponents yell "UNCLE!"

 

[JustinesGuy]

If Kia gets hurt we bring in Danger off the bench, right?

I'm whole concern is just having 1 natural ball handler on the court at one time.

I need either danger to take the next step or walker / Lexi to be competent ASAP

OR

Chong to have another year of eligibility due to jr year IT BAND.

 

[oldude]

I'm whole concern is just having 1 natural ball handler on the court at one time.

I need either danger to take the next step or walker / Lexi to be competent ASAP

OR

Chong to have another year of eligibility due to jr year IT BAND.

So the PG for the Canadian national team doesn't count?

Also, Mikayla is the most likely PG of the incoming freshmen. Lexi is a wing/small forward.

 

[SCspur]

Rebounding wasn't a problem vs Miss State? How did they get 14 offensive rebounds off UCONN? Suppose UCONN got half of those rebounds ? Might they have gotten a few offensive fast breaks? How many fouls did 5'11 Gabby Williams have early in the 4th quarter? UCONN wants to risk putting the combination of her in the paint again to start games or Collier where the refs can potentially do a job on them? That was our big problem this year. Too small.

All year we had big threat of either Gabby or Collier being forced to guard bigs and many times they got into foul trouble. So you want us to play yet again next year putting the game in the refs hands early on by putting Gabby or Collier in foul trouble because of touch fouls because they are forced to start game guarding 6'6 or very wide centers?

That's not what I was really asking Rebounding was certainly a problem. Miss St didn't allow UCONN to get many rebounds. I don't understand where you came from with this as I made a different point. But the thing that stuck out to me in the MSU game was the constant TOs the reason they were able to beat UCONN & Baylor was the excessive TOs.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm whole concern is just having 1 natural ball handler on the court at one time.

I need either danger to take the next step or walker / Lexi to be competent ASAP

OR

Chong to have another year of eligibility due to jr year IT BAND.

Why do you need "a natural ball-handler" and not consider Nurse "a natural ball-handler?" Nurse was "the natural ballhandler" vs USA? And Chong was not the definitive pg this year.

 

[hoophuskee]

That's not what I was really asking Rebounding was certainly a problem. Miss St didn't allow UCONN to get many rebounds. I don't understand where you came from with this as I made a different point. But the thing that stuck out to me in the MSU game was the constant TOs the reason they were able to beat UCONN & Baylor was the excessive TOs.

I don't understand your point.

First you say -- "If UCONN faces a team that plays stifling defense like Miss St next year do you think they have a dependable ball handler?"

Then you add- "I think Crystal should be the starting PG because she's the best ball handler."

So isn't it clear that you valuing ball-handling more vs Miss State rather than rebounding and thus you are saying Danger is more needed to start than any ONE of the other 4 or Stevens?

What struck you was the TO's. That struck me but what struck also me was we weren't able to get on the break because we were getting killed on the glass, and Gabby picked up her 4th foul. Usually Gabby or Collier picked up fouls/foul trouble most of the year vs the top teams. So "a pg" doesn't help them with that. I think it much more the rebounding and Gabby's 4th foul more than the passing. Can't get out and run if you can't rebound. At least with Stevens you also get a terrific athlete that can block shots and rebound.

 

[SCspur]

I don't understand your point.

First you say -- "If UCONN faces a team that plays stifling defense like Miss St next year do you think they have a dependable ball handler?"

Then you add- "I think Crystal should be the starting PG because she's the best ball handler."

So isn't it clear that you valuing ball-handling more vs Miss State rather than rebounding and thus you are saying Danger is more needed to start than any ONE of the other 4 or Stevens?

What struck you was the TO's. That struck me but what struck also me was we weren't able to get on the break because we were getting killed on the glass, and Gabby picked up her 4th foul. Usually Gabby or Collier picked up fouls/foul trouble most of the year vs the top teams. So "a pg" doesn't help them with that. I think it much more the rebounding and Gabby's 4th foul more than the passing. Can't get out and run if you can't rebound. At least with Stevens you also get a terrific athlete that can block shots and rebound.

Ok thanks for clearing that up. Yeah you make a great point. There's no doubt in my mind Geno won't make both situations stronger for next year.

 

[hoophuskee]

Ok thanks for clearing that up. Yeah you make a great point. There's no doubt in my mind Geno won't make both situations stronger for next year.

Off-topic- but what now for your team for next year? Any good transfers or star recruits? And were you a part of the celebration on campus or at the games? Men and women-- no offense but I was not rooting for the USC men-- because of winning both would have been like UCONN. But man what a year you had.

 

[Kaizen]

I still suggest:
Kia
Gabby
Lou
Collier
Stevens (1st & 3rd periods)
Crystal (2nd & 4th periods)
Megan first off bench.

 

[Glenn]

Didn't Geno say that Z could be first pick in the draft? Z as the fifth player would give us five good ball handlers, but no point guard, and matchup hell for the opposing team. That would be my lineup.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Kia at point, Lou shooting-off guard, Gabby, Stevens, and Collier at posts for offense. Take it to the bank.

Defense assignments will vary depending on opponent.

 

[Scotter]

Kia Nurse starting at point guard is no different than Caroline Doty starting at point guard for the 2009-10 team. I don't see how the four returning starters plus Stevens have any less ball-handling ability than that team's starting lineup. UConn has never required a pure point guard. It's actually a place where pure point guards struggle until they learn to play without the ball in their hands with Dangerfield being the most recent example. If you have four scorers on the floor and passing offense then you want a point guard who knows how to initiate the offense and get out of the way. Kia was doing that this year and she can certainly do it next year. How the offense reacted to losing her from the lineup should have reinforced just how much she was the one orchestrating the offense even if she wasn't bringing the ball up every position.

If Dangerfield closed the season stronger maybe the case would be stronger. She was still over dribbling not just in the half court, but transition as well. And she wasn't efficient enough or scoring to justify having the ball in her hands with the starters that much, and still needs work defensively. Dangerfield coming off the bench and leading the second unit is a good role for her to continue to develop. If Geno needs her he can put her into the game at anytime.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

IMHO The starting 5 will be:
PG Kia Nurse - if she's good enough to be PG on the Canadian National team she can play PG for Geno
SG Katie Lou Samuelson - at 6'3" she's a feisty, aggressive, Ann Strother
SF Gabby Williams - still the greatest mismatch for our opponents, she'll increase her range to 3-point land
PF Napheesa Collier - she had one off day and almost everyone is worried, she'll top this years figures
C Azura Stevens - she'll be a Stewie clone, and be National Player of the Year
F Batouly Camara - first big girl off the bench, she's the real deal, a banger under the boards with a 12' to 15' shot
PG Crystal Dangerfield - first G off the bench, will change the speed of the game that Geno loves to do
C Natalie Butler - Can be used in a big girl lineup with Azura & Batouly, she won't be buried on the bench
The 4 freshmen can be brought along at their own pace because of the number of quality players Geno has
Molly Bent and Kyla Irvin will have to battle for minutes

Geno & staff can go so many different ways with their offensive & defensive lineups
UCONN in 2017-2018 and in the future will quickly make the fans forget the disappointment of the FF Semi's!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Just hypothetically, suppose that we have sophomore Moriah Jefferson on the team next year. Does she come off the bench, because we start the 4 returning starters plus a tall and talented transfer?

 

[hoophuskee]

Just hypothetically, suppose that we have sophomore Moriah Jefferson on the team next year. Does she come off the bench, because we start the 4 returning starters plus a tall and talented transfer?

IMO- yes unless Stevens defense is weak.

 

[EricSD]

Most seem to think Azura starts and Crystal comes off the bench. That's a possibility. Geno has seen Azura practice now for a year. But I still like Crystal starting as the 1. For most of the games I paid attention to, either Crystal or Saniya were on the court at almost all times. To me that meant that Geno preferred one of them as the 1 over Kia (or Lou or Gabby).

The real question is at what point does Geno start subbing? Clearly he has a dearth of talent and I suspect somewhere at the 5 min mark he will start rotating. the problem with that is cohesion and flow. I just don't know how he will acclimate fully 10 kids who could easily be good enough for serious PT on any other team.

Danger, Kia, Lou, Gabby, Napheesa is my guess for starters.

In general, reserves off the bench in this order: Azura, Batouly, Megan, Natalie, Mikayla, Andi, Lexi, Kyla and Molly in that order. I suspect the last 4 will generally see time in the last 4 minutes of games. I see the upside for Andi and Lexi as much higher than Kyla or Molly. But their being ahead of the sophomores on the depth chart will be determined by how hard they work and how fast they pick things up. Andi is an extraordinary scorer, but so was Saniya in high school. NO idea how she translates to college (Andi). Lexi is a hard worker, but I don't see that she has as much potential as the rest of the players ahead of her.

Again just my opinion. No idea how the kids improve during the season. I hope all of them get really good really fast...

 

[Gabbyfan]

going from a short bench to a long bench means we all have to concentrate more on who develops the "trust" from Geno. If it turns out that the trusted players number approaches 8, 9, or 10 we then will see substitution based on match ups and the who is playing well at the moment. The starting five then is not as important as in the past.

 

[Sonofabeach]

I think Lexi and Mikayla are going to pleasantly surprise a lot of UConn fans this coming season.

I was watching Mikayla at the Micky D's all american game and she was doing a great job at guard... making great passes.

 

[JustinesGuy]

So the PG for the Canadian national team doesn't count?

Also, Mikayla is the most likely PG of the incoming freshmen. Lexi is a wing/small forward.

Your not getting it. Kia is terrific. I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about a line up without danger when ball handling is at a premium. Maybe I'm not making my point clear enough.

 

[JustinesGuy]

Why do you need "a natural ball-handler" and not consider Nurse "a natural ball-handler?" Nurse was "the natural ballhandler" vs USA? And Chong was not the definitive pg this year.

I was considering Kia a natural ball handler!!!! I'm saying we need a second such ball handler on the court!! I'm saying we need a balanced line up and hope danger can start.

 

[HoopsFan21]

The other thing to consider is we just lost our fastest player in Saniya. By not replacing her with Crystal means Geno is willing to go with a really slow starting line up.

 

[oldude]

Your not getting it. Kia is terrific. I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about a line up without danger when ball handling is at a premium. Maybe I'm not making my point clear enough.

Your point is clear. But respectfully I just don't agree with it. In addition to Kia, Gabby & Lou are exceptional ball handlers who both had over 100 assists this season and were successfully used at times to bring the ball up against pressing defenses. In addition, Pheesa is no slouch and Z is also capable of putting the ball on the floor and passing the ball.

This is a team that set an all-time record for assists in a season. Saniya was certainly a big part of that, but the players coming back next year will all be better and will more than make up for Saniya's loss.

As for Danger, she will have a bigger role next year, but likely off the bench. The most glaring weakness of this year's team was size, and that should be addressed by starting Z.

 

[JSB60]

Generally Geno starts his best five and will mix and match a little with positions. I'm thinking of 2002 where he started three posts. So I'd bet Azura joins the core four as a starter. Crystal first off the bench as that balances the lineup. The only difference I have with the other posts is I think Megan might push Camara for the seventh spot.