Who sits when Azzi comes back and why? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Who sits when Azzi comes back and why?

Azzi is the 2023 version of Shea/Diana/Maya off the bench. Bazinga!
 
darrell said:
Ease Azzi into the lineup by coming off the bench until she’s fully ready to go. After that, Aubrey becomes the 6th-Woman again.

I think Aubrey is the best option because she can sub for the Guards and Bigs.
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The trouble is, Aubrey might be our best defender, even compared to Nika, and she also is so dangerous on fast breaks because of her speed.
 
I expect point guard duties to be shared between Nika, Azzi, and Lou. Lou, Aubrey, Caroline, and Azzi will be attacking the basket from outside and inside positions. Yanna and Caroline will help down low along with Aubrey. We will be able to operate better as a team once we have shooters in all positions!
 
The only problem with bringing Azzi in off the bench is that once she gets in the game, no sane coach would ever take her out. That being said, I hope the current starting five stay in tact until the end of the season because they have more than earned it.
 
123me said:
Why would you look at it as "replacing" which has such a negative connotation. Azzi will only be adding to the team. She will help give Nika and Lou breathers. Azzi is not the best perimeter defender (personally i give that to aubrey). However, Azzi doesn't need to be "the best". She needs to be damned good, which is is. She is a big guard and a good defensive rebounding guard. And she will open up the pain on the offensive end which is invaluable.


Coached say time and again that once you get to the elite 8/final 4 ALL teams play good defense. you have to be able to score in the presence of good defense to win it all. You know what Muffets first advice to Megan Duffy was? "you need to be able to score against them (UConn)." The top teams all have great defense (SC, Stanford, UConn). Azzi will be a good defender, and a GREAT offensive threat. That is not "replacing" anything, only adding to the team making us stronger.
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I said replace because she is one of the best players in the country and when she is healthy she will move back into the starting lineup. My underlying thought was would Geno put Dorka or Aubrey in the 6th person role? I like Dorka's length and I like Aubrey's quickness and defense.
 
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hoopsnloops32 said:
Geno said today Caroline was returning this week and that Azzi was going to be back very soon.
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No, Geno did not say that. He said that IF she can get through two consecutive practices with no bad after-effects, then we might be looking at a return against Marquette or Georgetown. Obviously that is a "big if".

Regarding Azzi, he endorsed her statement that she should be returning "a lot sooner than March". That is a forecast, not a promise.
 
Pre-injury Azzi was having a Player of Year caliber season. Not maybe an All-American, POTY! We had the same discussions Paige's freshman year and you were all wrong then and you are all wrong now. When Azzi is able to return, she is a starter, period. It won't definitely be for Lou, but if not Lou then it's definitely Aubrey.
 
You have 120 mins to distribute between 3 positions. So far we've been making 3 players (plus Inês occasionally) cover all of these. When Azzi is back, we just divide that among 4 players. It's not about who starts, but about who plays. When Caroline comes back, she takes some of those minutes from the 1-3, and some of it from the 4, which until now has been divided unevenly between Aaliyah and Dorka (with some going to Ayanna and Amari)
 
Rowdy831 said:
I said replace because she is one of the best players in the country and when she is healthy she will move back into the starting lineup. My underlying thought was would Geno put Dorka or Aubrey in the 6th person role? I like Dorka's length and I like Aubrey's quickness and defense.
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Starters won’t matter. Time will be shared by all. The current starters need more rest, and Azzi and CD should prevent a dropoff in production.
 
JoePgh said:
No, Geno did not say that. He said that IF she can get through two consecutive practices with no bad after-effects, then we might be looking at a return against Marquette or Georgetown. Obviously that is a "big if".

Regarding Azzi, he endorsed her statement that she should be returning "a lot sooner than March". That is a forecast, not a promise.
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No he didn’t say if she can get through two consecutive practices. He said if she manages to get through practices in one piece she’ll plan this week. You make it sound like she hasn’t been able to get through consecutive practices when we know that’s not the case.
 
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Azzi likely will have a minutes restriction early on. I'm pretty sure she'll come off the bench for at least the first few games. Whom will she replace? It may depend on how the game goes. If anyone has 2 early fouls or looks out of synch per Geno, that player will be replaced. If it's Nika or Lou, that's a natural fit. If it's a front court player, we will go small.
 
I wouldn’t mess with the chemistry of this staring 5 the rest of this year. Caroline and Azzi off the bench.
 
Rowdy831 said:
I see a lot of comments about how much better the team will be once Azzi returns. She is an incredible shooter and that helps on offense but who will she replace and how will that impact the defense?
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Who started and came off the bench when Azzi came back earlier in the season? Azzi started and Aubrey subbed for post and backcourt players. No change.
 
Bone Dog said:
Before it’s all over, we’ll end up with the rotation Geno designed for the Texas game. More or less. Nika Azzi Lou Aaliyah Dorka. That’s how Geno envisioned the team.
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Absolutely! The quote below tells you when Azzi is back she will start and play 30+ minutes per game against the top 10 teams. Thanks to JoePgh for quote.
"Geno elaborated on the thinking behind this position during his press conference, where he said that the only way for this roster to beat SC is to take and make enough 3's to offset the 2's that the Gamecocks are inevitably going to get on the offensive boards."
 
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None.
There will be a "needed" redistribution of minutes when Caroline and Azzi are able to integrate themselves back into the team dynamics.
 
The chemistry that this team has now make them a NC caliber team, so Geno will not disrupt what they have done to this point. What we need is players to come off the bench to give the starters a breather as well as put points on the board. 0 points by the bench yesterday, so having Caroline and Azzi come off the bench gives us a different look. We all know how great Azzi is, and next year will be a different story. Azzi and Caroline will get their minutes, and their minutes will depend on how the game is going. We don't want to overwork them unless we need them to play more for us to be successful. Having these options will make us better, but not disrupt what the present starters have accomplished. Besides, with what they have gone through, none of them deserve to be replaced in the starting line-up this late in the season. Go Huskies
 
Bald Huskie said:
The chemistry that this team has now make them a NC caliber team, so Geno will not disrupt what they have done to this point. What we need is players to come off the bench to give the starters a breather as well as put points on the board. 0 points by the bench yesterday, so having Caroline and Azzi come off the bench gives us a different look. We all know how great Azzi is, and next year will be a different story. Azzi and Caroline will get their minutes, and their minutes will depend on how the game is going. We don't want to overwork them unless we need them to play more for us to be successful. Having these options will make us better, but not disrupt what the present starters have accomplished. Besides, with what they have gone through, none of them deserve to be replaced in the starting line-up this late in the season. Go Huskies
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I agree. Azzi and CD come off the bench. First of all, they will not be in full game shape. Secondly, the 5 warriors are playing very well together. and have clearly bonded. They just need a true cavalry. Those two are it.
 
First world problems..... I would hate to have to worry about that... lol

Also I think that Azzi will come off the bench. This will help limit her time, and also give the team a boost when needed. Same with Caroline. I think they both come off the bench. Provide the boost.
 
IMO Azzi will eventually become a starter again this year once she's back in top shape & in full rhythm.
Which current starter sits will depend on the production & health of the other UConn players, who their opponent is and how UConn matches up with them.
Aubrey is a very athletic, & strong player.
There were a lot of discussions about this topic at the beginning of the season before Carol was healthy.
I suspect that one of the bigs may end up being the 6th player, either Dorka or Edwards depending on their total fouls, rebounding & points during upcoming games.
After Azzi returns their production could be affected by re-establishing UConn's outside game.
I think that Azzi will be allowed to make up for some PT that she missed due to injury to help her tune up shooting under pressure.
 
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cgshuskie said:
Azzi will not start but will come off the bench and replace Aubrey. We need Lou in the game to take advantage of
her shooting. Azzi helps Lou. Also, we need the bigs to clean up misses. Go Huskies
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I agree! Outside of the typical non-players, no one sits for Azzi. Azzi shall trade off with a Starter here and there. This combo of 5 is WORKING. Don't mess with what works. Azzi, will bring some RUST to her first few games. That will work out. Azzi and Paige are outstanding talents--next year is their Year to shine. Caroline?? She too is a talent. From the Talk from CD and Geno Caroline is almost a minute to minute decision. Has she a RED SHIRT opportunity here?
cferraro04 said:
They will both go through the limited minute protocol...7-10 minutes in the first half and 7-10 minutes in the second half. Azzi and Caroline will come off the bench for the rest of the season. If she gets a start it will only be if one of the current starters is a no go or can only play limited minutes. Truth be told both Azzi and Caroline's injuries were very untimely...not, that any injury is timely. But, it gave this starting five plenty of time to build their team chemistry...this staring five likes each other, they trust each other...they have earned the right to be on the floor.

With that being said both Azzi and Caroline have a skill set that is much needed for UConn to be successful in the post season. They will both get significant minutes coming off the bench...Azzi will get slightly more than Caroline.
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Again, I'd rather have them 1000 percent ready in the 2023/24 season than risk anything now.
It appears this is SC's year. Yea, I know, the big game isn't here yet and that could be a total change. Let this 7 or 9 have this year. Dance with the girls that brung ya this far.
One stretch during the SC game told you everything you need to know---Dawn went into Boston 3 times in a row, no Uconn defender could stop those layups. Uconn will go far, maybe even to the NC Game--but unless this team drastically changes (can it change, can one 6ft 5 come in to dominate Boston?--SC gets my nod (reluctantly) to win it all.
 
Getting the outside shooting game going was just proved to be sorely needed by the loss to Scar.
Azzi will be given a chance to shine if UConn wants to make it to the FF.
Once the outside game starts working then UConn can go back to the inside/outside game again because it should help to open up the packed lane.
There's no better way to get the outside game going without having both Azzi & Lou on the court at the same, time, hopefully from the get go.
Lou has been getting assaulted due in part to not having an outside shooting partner.
 
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No one sits. They have good chemistry as evidenced by Q1. You don't mess with that. Them playing off the bench could keep players fresh and avoid what we saw in Q2.
 
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