Good question. My answer is the former. I like a healthy Caroline alternating between the 3 and the 4. Games might begin with Nika Azzi Paige Caroline Aaliyah and then switch to Paige Azzi Caroline Ice Aaliyah if we want to get bigger.If Caroline is healthy and playing well, what is the better backcourt, Nika/Paige/Azzi or Paige/Azzi/Caroline?
The difference is that with Nika at PG, she's deciding whether to pass to Paige or another player.I can see this thread being mildly different, but because Caroline enters the season with far more health questions than Nika, and KK is unproven. I think it will be Nika to start and finish the season because if Geno lets her team with Azzi and Paige I expect great things, and there will be little reason to look for another combination, if it aint broke, don't fix it.
Nika is the incumbent and a senior, comparing her to potentially Caroline or KK, the potential third guard starter that would result in Paige being the starting PG. Neither of those factors insures she will start if she is clearly beaten out by one of those players, but given Caroline's health issues and KK's lack of game experience, the burden of proof is on them to show at some point they are better. If it is close Geno probably stays with what I think he will start with, namely Nika, but over the course of the season could somebody pass her, sure but I think that player will have to be truly great, not very good, because the starters with Nika and a healthy Azzi and Paige should be so good that tweaking that lineup won't seem to make sense.
I can see this thread being mildly different, but because Caroline enters the season with far more health questions than Nika, and KK is unproven. I think it will be Nika to start and finish the season because if Geno lets her team with Azzi and Paige I expect great things, and there will be little reason to look for another combination, if it aint broke, don't fix it.
Nika is the incumbent and a senior, comparing her to potentially Caroline or KK, the potential third guard starter that would result in Paige being the starting PG. Neither of those factors insures she will start if she is clearly beaten out by one of those players, but given Caroline's health issues and KK's lack of game experience, the burden of proof is on them to show at some point they are better. If it is close Geno probably stays with what I think he will start with, namely Nika, but over the course of the season could somebody pass her, sure but I think that player will have to be truly great, not very good, because the starters with Nika and a healthy Azzi and Paige should be so good that tweaking that lineup won't seem to make sense.
Because clarifying which others that should be starting on the floor can help folks decide who should be playing PG.I'm not sure why Caroline is a question. She is not a point guard at all!
You've omitted that in the 2022 NC game against Scar, Paige started the game and Nika didn't.I am going to keep typing this and say Nika will be technically the starting PG while Paige will be facilitator in chief.
And I will keep reminding people that UConn has a track record with this.
Guess now’s the time to be ridiculousIt's the end of June, 2023 and you want to know who the starting point guard will be in March 2024.
Ridiculous.
The reason is most of the posters here feel that when Nika and Paige are both in the game at the same time, Nika should be the principle PG, not because she is the better PG but because Paige is the way way better SG. Nika standing in the corner waiting for a wide open three is not a good scenario. She is only effective offensively as a PG.I'm not sure why Caroline is a question. She is not a point guard at all!
In prior seasons when together on the court Nika at the point and Paige off the ball has already been demonstrated as the best use of their respective abilities.
And Nika had a foot injury before that game and that was a while back in her development. 21-22 Nika is not 23-24 Nika.You've omitted that in the 2022 NC game against Scar, Paige started the game and Nika didn't.
The box score shows that Paige played 39 minutes and Nika played 16.
It's very clear that Geno favored Paige.
FWIW Carol played 22 minutes scoring 9 points while Nika scored 2.
Nika's PT last year was an anomaly due to so many injuries.
South Carolina 64-49 UConn (Apr 3, 2022) Box Score - ESPN
Box score for the South Carolina Gamecocks vs. UConn Huskies NCAAW game from April 3, 2022 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.www.espn.com
I like having Paige Azzi Caroline as the guards, but if this is the primary setup, the backcourt will lack quickness. This is why I think it makes more sense to start Nika Paige Azzi with Caroline and Aaliyah in the front court. Then Geno can sub to make the basic set up even quicker, or bigger and stronger. This way these are all choices and noting is forced on Geno.
And Nika had a foot injury before that game and that was a while back in her development. 21-22 Nika is not 23-24 Nika.
I think of the front court as the 4 & 5. With Caroline and Aaliyah, that's 6'3" and 6"2. Play the 6'5, 6'4, 6'3 & 6'3 lineup you seem to be indicating and we'll be slow. I think Geno prefers a quick team if he has one. I've mentioned it already elsewhere: although the lineup I'm imagining is likely to be small with respect to some teams, I think it will pose more problems for them than their size does for us. And we can bring in plenty of size as needed. You may prefer starting with the big lineup -- that can make sense too. But I prefer starting the game with our fiercest lineup at both ends of the court. And if Ice or Jana really develop by January, then one of them can start before Caroline.So a front court of 6'3, 6'2 and 6'? When you have 6'5, 6'4, 6'3 & 6'3 on the team? I know Geno has played small lineups but it's usually been due to necessity. Ducharme and Griffin are both best suited to play the 3 and there are multiple options at both the 4 and 5.
That's quite an excuse since Paige was not 100% either due to the tibia fracture surgery, yet she played 39 minutes.And Nika had a foot injury before that game and that was a while back in her development. 21-22 Nika is not 23-24 Nika.
I would be surprised if Caroline were the 4. I understand your reasoning, and it would be a way to have both Nika and Caroline in the starting lineup, but I think it’s unlikely. As several people have said, Nika will be in the starting lineup if she is a better complement than Caroline or any other player to Paige and Azzi.I think of the front court as the 4 & 5. With Caroline and Aaliyah, that's 6'3" and 6"2. Play the 6'5, 6'4, 6'3 & 6'3 lineup you seem to be indicating and we'll be slow. I think Geno prefers a quick team if he has one. I've mentioned it already elsewhere: although the lineup I'm imagining is likely to be small with respect to some teams, I think it will pose more problems for them than their size does for us. And we can bring in plenty of size as needed. You may prefer starting with the big lineup -- that can make sense too. But I prefer starting the game with our fiercest lineup at both ends of the court. And if Ice or Jana really develop by January, then one of them can start before Caroline.
But until that happens my guess for starting tournament PG is Nika, and the rest of the starting 5 is Paige Azzi Caroline Aaliyah. I don't know about you, but I love the idea of freaking out opponents with a starting 5 driven by Nika on offense and defense... then bringing in the big girls to wear them out in the paint and from the perimeter.
One last thought: others have mentioned Dawn's plan to isolate Nika in order to contain our offense. She understood what made UConn go. Isolating Nika will be a whole lot harder with a healthy Paige and Azzi playing next to her.
I would be surprised if Caroline were the 4. I understand your reasoning, and it would be a way to have both Nika and Caroline in the starting lineup, but I think it’s unlikely. As several people have said, Nika will be in the starting lineup if she is a better complement than Caroline or any other player to Paige and Azzi.
I think that you're on the right track because there needs to be logical subs and perhaps based on the match ups, their aliments & the recent performances of each player.Right. You start with Bueckers, Fudd and I would add Edwards. Then you fill the other 2 spots with whomever makes you best. Geno likes is starters to also be the most versitile group, able to execute the entire offense and that usually is why upperclassmen play, but exceptional freshmen have started so it's not chiseled in granite.
I just think that starting all three of your best and really the only experienced guards on the team -
1. leaves Geno with no experienced guards to sub in
2. severely squeezes a bunch of talented front court players into a handful of minutes
3. forces the starting wing, power forward and post to play out of their best position. That's OK during a game but to start you should have all five starters at their most effective position.
Nice post, @oldhusky. You raise an interesting question. What exactly is Caroline’s best position? We often call her a guard, but I think that’s using the term loosely. I tend to think of her as a small forward, though that term is not a perfect fit either. She’s slow for a 1 or a 2 and though she’s tall enough to play the 4 she’s not as strong as many power forwards. She can be a clutch perimeter shooter but is not as reliable as Azzi or Paige.and Nika, Azzi and Caroline can be used almost exclusively at their best position.
I love this post!! Pertaining specifically to the NCAA Tourney, is if Arnold is going to start in NCAA's then something has gone terribly wrong but as you say Muhl will start by playoff time and you never said KK would start at playoffs. I think it would be a disaster and yet 3.2% voted for her/ so they think so. And as bballf implies similarly, Nika has the experience of a senior. In other words, an implication of "less mistakes." Unless someone thinks she is a mistake driven player and looks to use one basketball game as a case in point or disregard the minutes she had to play with a depleted lineup then imo it's a shallow argument. Anyhow, this team has "home run hitters."Here are the reasons why I would like to bet a large pizza* with the first take in the Connecticut area, that Muhl will be the starting PG come tournament time, with the usual proviso of excepting injuries.
1. Two point guards can start, most famously Bird and Taurasi.
2. The de facto point does not have to be the better of the two, such as Conlon and Taurasi.
3. While who ends the game matters, so does who starts, and Auriemma has shown a preference for starting players who will make few mistakes or surprises, he knows instead what he is getting. An example is starting Doty when injuries prevented her from being what she could have been.
4. For a similar reason Auriemma has started seniors over better players, such as Webber over Sales, or one might argue Chong over Dangerfield.
5. None of these other examples involved a player who was two times Big East DPOY and has set single game and season assist records, with an efficiency that at midseason that was similar to Caitlin Clark’s.
In regards to points 3 and 4, I find that Muhl‘s greatest asset offensively is her decision making. One could argue that Fudd, Ducharme and maybe Arnold can pass just as well, and shoot better, but their A/T hints at making mistakes.
In the same year that Muhl had an A/T ratio near 1.5, Fudd’s was under one. In the game that led others to say “look, Fudd should be the PG,” the Texas game when Muhl was lead guard first half and Fudd lead guard second half, Muhl ended up with 9 assists, 3 turnovers, Fudd with 4 assists, 7 turnovers. In the OSU game when Muhl had that same 4/7 line, Fudd’s was 1/4. And Ducharme’s A/T has been consistently worse than Fudd’s.
So Fudd and Ducharme (or Arnold) may be finishing games instead of Muhl, but a large pizza says that Muhl will start the games both at the beginning and end of the seasons, to start the games with fewer mistakes and surprises for Auriemma.
*Loser pays for the pizza that we share together in BY fellowship.