Why UConn WBB freshman Gandy Malou-Mamel could be a 'really big factor' next year

[boontonbomber]

Why sad? Sad for who - the fans? Maybe. Sad for Gandy? Well if Geno and co. had conversations with her that went something like "we'd love to have you and while you are a great kid, hard worker, good potential with a great attitude, your lack of basketball experience has you way behind other elite college players and your PT will be extremely limited until you get up to speed".

I'm not sure of the convo went exactly like that, but Gandy seems to be one of the happiest players on the team - always engaged, always smiling, and has garnered some nice recent compliments from Geno. It seems like she's getting exactly what she was promised and is thrilled.

Not every kid expects to come to UConn and play right away. Jess Moore, who went on to have a solid WNBA career, was redshirted her first season for non-medical reasons so never played a single second her freshman year. Turned out alright for her, I'd say.

I think she could "safely" play a couple of minutes against the rather weak competition that UConn is often going against. You don't. That's fine. No need for any more of your sermons. I'm not part of the choir.

 

[EricSD]

I think she could "safely" play a couple of minutes against the rather weak competition that UConn is often going against. You don't. That's fine. No need for any more of your sermons. I'm not part of the choir.

Sorry you are so overly sensitive. If you don't like my comments, put me on ignore. Also please be sure to read carefully, as I never said she "couldn't safely play against rather weak competition". If you are going to criticize me, at least practice reading comprehension.

 

[hoophuskee]

There are strong teams in NJ but not the league Gandy’s team played in.

Even for those that started the sport early, there is a steep learning curve for post players. They’re used to being the tallest player on the court (Gandy was the tallest player in NJ last year) and in college they have to adjust to kids that are as big or bigger, probably stronger, and far more experienced. The post in college becomes more cerebral and good footwork is essential. Just shooting over smaller players like they did in high school is no longer possible. Let Gandy develop on her own timeline.

+1 Nan.

The teams Gandy has beaten with her Gill St. Bernard were regional teams none of them a national power team. I could be wrong and if I am I apologize but I believe the context of your post meant by even being the tallest she still needs time to adjust. There's a huge difference for a team Gill St. Bernard is a Region Team vs what UCONN normally recruits as s National Power team or a h/s usa player that's gone head-to-head and done pretty well against elite competition. .

Let's put this in perspective, Kellis Fisher was approximately the 25th ranked recruit. Among UCONN players from USA, she is the lowest ranked recruit on this team ahead of only Gandy, and she has gone head-to-head vs Saniyah Hall among others. As far as I can see, Gandy never played against near this competition.

What I fear - and hope it won't turn into a reality is that next year if she doesn't get many minutes (vs. the way Geno was quoted on this thread), that posters won't hammer her or Geno for not being better. She just hasn't played vs the top competition and 1 year might not/imo probably won't be enough.

 

[boontonbomber]

Sorry you are so overly sensitive. If you don't like my comments, put me on ignore. Also please be sure to read carefully, as I never said she "couldn't safely play against rather weak competition". If you are going to criticize me, at least practice reading comprehension.

I didn't criticize; just said we disagree.

 

[EricSD]

I didn't criticize; just said we disagree.

You could have left out the "No need for any more of your sermons. I'm not part of the choir." At best, snark. At worst, rude.

 

[Cuango]

I don't understand Gandy's lack of use in blowouts. In the last game our backup 5 was out and our starter didn't play major minutes. Geno decided the backup 5 was a guard instead of Gandy. Makes me wonder if Serah was also out as well, if he even would have used Gandy then, or would he say 5 guards is better than using her?

One reason it is so puzzling is how it fits with his comments on the bigs. Reading between the lines, I think Geno has been somewhat disappointed at Serah and Jana, while his comments regarding Gandy are far more positive. Of course much of that may be due to the expectations for each of those players being so different.

I fully expected Jana to make a significant sophomore leap, and I thought Serah would be better too and have an easier adjustment as a senior than has happened so far. I didn't expect Gandy to play much, but did think we would get glimpses of how she was doing in blowouts.

As far as the competition is concerned, I know there are many that are concerned about how much playing time several of our bigs might get in the future depending on many things. From my perspective the only big that has a pretty much guaranteed role for next year is Sarah. I would add Jana to that if we don't add Okeke or a portal 5, but if we do even she could be bumped from the rotation.

Ice and Ayanna have had plenty of injuries, but haven't come close to meeting expectations either, nor has Jana. Are they good players? sure but by Uconn's standards, but they are also players that we could improve upon. If Gandy is currently at the end of that list it is not encouraging even when factoring in the fact that she is inexperienced and very much the definition of a project.

The playing time and Geno's comments seem to paint completely different pictures. I also think blowout playing time is part of the learning process, so I don't get it.

I tink Jana was showing a significant amount of improvement in the last three or four games. So much so, that I was thinking she might start taking minutes away from Serah. Unfortunately, she was injured and the question is, how much will this injury set her back?

Hopefully, not so much as I believe her obvious improvement may have been more due to an increase in desire than any physical thing. She just looked (to me) like she had become tired of sitting on the bench and had decided she was going to do something about it. It was very clearly manifest in her effort and on court attitude over these recent games. I am just hoping she does not lose any of that increased focus when she comes back!

 

[Bone Dog]

What I fear - and hope it won't turn into a reality is that next year if she doesn't get many minutes (vs. the way Geno was quoted on this thread), that posters won't hammer her or Geno for not being better. She just hasn't played vs the top competition and 1 year might not/imo probably won't be enough

It difficult to decipher this paragraph, some peculiar subjunctive construction I suspect. But now you have me thinking about what 1 year of practice might end up doing for Gandy if she gets real minutes next season.

She’s a big big. And she’s also a fast big who runs the court well. Not as well as Sarah or Blanca or even Sara Okeke (if she comes to Storrs), but better than Jana. And probably better than almost all other players 6’5” or taller. Her offensive skills are raw at best. She’ll mainly score on putbacks if she scores at all.

The real question for Geno (and us) is whether she can rebound and discourage guards from driving into the paint. And maybe defend other bigs for a while until she fouls out. My guess is she’s not very far from this standard. The key factor, I think, is footwork and understanding court positioning, and she has already said as much herself. This is stuff she can develop in practice against some of the best bigs in D1.

Worst case scenario is she gets into foul trouble quickly. But this isn’t a crisis given the many front court players Geno will have at his disposal. Can she give Geno as much as 10 mins of solid effort? I’m betting on yes. If Jana starts and plays 18-20 minutes and Gandy and Olivia each provide 8-10, I think we won’t be disappointed. There will be plenty of time to run a super big lineup occasionally, a traditional lineup and also a smallball lineup.

 

[uconnfan68]

so how come Rori Harmon got a redshirt when she played 12 games? Is it 30% of regular season, or regular season plus post season? Texas played 39 games including SEC and NCAA tourneys. Would she have lost her redshirt if Texas lost early in the NCAA tourney?

I don’t make the rulings. I simply googled about redshirt rules. AI gave me that list.

 

[JoePgh]

I don’t make the rulings. I simply googled about redshirt rules. AI gave me that list.

I think the difference is that Rori Harmon had a season-ending injury in the year that she got the redshirt. When there is a season-ending injury, the rules are different than for a "discretionary" redshirt year, which is what Gandy would need based on present circumstances.

 

[BBallF]

Yes! That has to be it, gender inequity. Please. The leaders of the sports decide what they want and then send that proposal to the NCAA for consideration. Basketball for some reason, both men and women haven't seen a priority in petitioning for a change. Maybe one day they will. As an aside though the possibility of getting an extra year outside normal channels has increased as the NCAA overall power has declined.

There is currently pending a class action lawsuit in federal court about the redshirt rules so I am not the only one who thought of this. While the lawsuit interestingly enough was initiated by football players arguing against a time period to finish their eligibility, it encompasses the "one play disqualification" rule. Also, a rule can be found to discriminate without the intention to do so. As long as you have one sport with a different rule, it creates the appearance of being discriminatory. The counter argument in football is that they need that 4 game initiation period to develop their players and to give playing experience because the teams are so big. I see no harm in a similar rule applying to all other sports. In the age of NIL and the portal, the athletes are trying to maximize their earnings, most of them never seeing any earnings for their athletic participation beyond college. Why should they have them lessened arbitrarily if someone plays one minute of college basketball?

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

It difficult to decipher this paragraph, some peculiar subjunctive construction I suspect. But now you have me thinking about what 1 year of practice might end up doing for Gandy if she gets real minutes next season.

She’s a big big. And she’s also a fast big who runs the court well. Not as well as Sarah or Blanca or even Sara Okeke (if she comes to Storrs), but better than Jana. And probably better than almost all other players 6’5” or taller. Her offensive skills are raw at best. She’ll mainly score on putbacks if she scores at all.

The real question for Geno (and us) is whether she can rebound and discourage guards from driving into the paint. And maybe defend other bigs for a while until she fouls out. My guess is she’s not very far from this standard. The key factor, I think, is footwork and understanding court positioning, and she has already said as much herself. This is stuff she can develop in practice against some of the best bigs in D1.

Worst case scenario is she gets into foul trouble quickly. But this isn’t a crisis given the many front court players Geno will have at his disposal. Can she give Geno as much as 10 mins of solid effort? I’m betting on yes. If Jana starts and plays 18-20 minutes and Gandy and Olivia each provide 8-10, I think we won’t be disappointed. There will be plenty of time to run a super big lineup occasionally, a traditional lineup and also a smallball lineup.

In Geno and CD’s fast PACE quality mix-and-match this year, they are able to carve out quality time (see ”Pocket Bridge Rotations”) for Caroline, Ice and Ayanna, despite having limitations on their games/ positions they play due to setbacks from prior injuries:

• If Gandy becomes a passable “basketball player” rotation player, with some of her better abilities becoming a weapon (for example, à la Kelly Schumacher in paint deterrence or a Kia Stokes in defense and rebounding) Geno and CD will find minutes for her, especially in the softer part of the schedule, even if some of her other skills are still developing.

More and better quality mix and match at a faster PACE is part of Geno and CD’s solution to the riddle of a deep quality roster.

• One enables the other (and vice versa) and results in faster and better learning and improvement (akin to machine learning) and flatter minutes to achieve program and individual goals;
• And the more dominant mix-match play is, the more time can be carved out of games for training the lower bench players; in 15 games this year, Geno and CD have used 69% of games (i.e. through 3/4 of the third period) to develop the key rotations for March/ April success, and the rest for other rotation players’ training.

 

[fomalhaut]

It's going to get quite interesting next season when Jana, Gandy and Olivia are competing for game playing time. Many here on the BY are going to have a favorite and there will probably be many threads and posts asking "Why isn't (enter one of the three players here) starting or getting more minutes?

Some of us have been saying that this year already.

 

[hoophuskee]

It difficult to decipher this paragraph, some peculiar subjunctive construction I suspect. But now you have me thinking about what 1 year of practice might end up doing for Gandy if she gets real minutes next season.

She’s a big big. And she’s also a fast big who runs the court well. Not as well as Sarah or Blanca or even Sara Okeke (if she comes to Storrs), but better than Jana. And probably better than almost all other players 6’5” or taller. Her offensive skills are raw at best. She’ll mainly score on putbacks if she scores at all.

The real question for Geno (and us) is whether she can rebound and discourage guards from driving into the paint. And maybe defend other bigs for a while until she fouls out. My guess is she’s not very far from this standard. The key factor, I think, is footwork and understanding court positioning, and she has already said as much herself. This is stuff she can develop in practice against some of the best bigs in D1.

Worst case scenario is she gets into foul trouble quickly. But this isn’t a crisis given the many front court players Geno will have at his disposal. Can she give Geno as much as 10 mins of solid effort? I’m betting on yes. If Jana starts and plays 18-20 minutes and Gandy and Olivia each provide 8-10, I think we won’t be disappointed. There will be plenty of time to run a super big lineup occasionally, a traditional lineup and also a smallball lineup.

yeah I didn' write that well.

1--- Concerned that next year if she doesn' play (or play very, very little considering his recent comments) posters will lose patience in the quality of the player. or
2---- Blame Geno on her lack of development citing something like his comments we see on this thread.

Just as some posters want to wait for a recruit before voicing an opinion. In other words "I'll believe it when I see it." That's happened with Paige, Sarah and Blanca to varying degress. With me with Gandy, I've always felt she is a potential jr/sr year player. Anything other than that, I'll believe it when I see it. Geno is a big time exaggerator imo.