Yanna putting in work

[Zonepress]

I haven't really seen any clear evidence that Watkins is much bigger than Ayanna, though she is regularly listed as being 1 inch taller. In that freshman year, when Ayanna arrived at Storrs already a bit of a body builder, she looked bigger than she does now, so perhaps it will turn out to be visually obvious when we play SC this season. At least, she looks more slender in these videos than I remember from three seasons ago when she outmuscled Monika Czinano in the Iowa game. Maybe a way to think about is to compare both Ayanna and Watkins to Aaliyah, who I think is bigger than the two of them. Ayanna as a freshman seemed to be as strong as Aaliyah, who is very strong.

But all that being said, I agree with your overall assessment. I suspect Watkins will come back already more developed in her skills than Ayanna. And just for context, Saniya Feagin had better offensive skills and comparable defensive skills to Watkins and went in the 2nd round of the draft, which is where I'd expect Watkins to go, if she returns to form. Ayanna still has a ways to go to make it to the draft -- returning to her freshman year form isn't likely to be enough. And that is entirely up to her and whatever competitive fire she brings this season. I'm optimistic.

And just to finish an earlier thought, Aaliyah went in the first round of the draft because she was much more skillful on both ends of the floor than Feagin or Watkins and certainly more so than Ayanna three season ago.

all I can say, is that Watkins at 63 as prove that she can be a center at the highest level and be successful
ayanna it’s not a center and yes, she looks much thinner than she did as a freshman, which will only work to advantage because your future is playing away from the basket
From what I saw as a freshman I think she has the ability to guard people away from the basket
her offense was very limited
to get playing time I suspect her office would have to improve pretty significantly, and hopefully that’s the case
You have to root very hard for any player who has lost two years did injuries

 

[Dogstar]

You can do a lot of moves when there is no defense.

True...and it's the same thing with jump shots

 

[Dogstar]

It befuddles me why people refer to her as Yanna, since there is another player on the roster with the same pronunciation.

but there is only one Ayanna

I thk thts wht her teammates call her while it's a Hard "J" whn pronouncing Jana....but I may be wrong.

 

[Dogstar]

I don’t see 90 points a game happening for UConn. They could do it perhaps if that was the goal but it is not. UConn runs offensive sets. I also don’t see opponents wanting to quicken the pace with the Huskies or believe that putting up shots early in the shot clock would be a good strategy. And think about past dominant years. UConn would have double the points of others for thirty minutes in many games but then scoring slowed down as they’d coast to victory and they’d “only” win by 35 and that’d be less than a double up most times. The end of a blowout scoring dropped in general.

I’ll expect the Huskies to crush most teams, especially in conference, but a 90+ pt average will be hard to come by for a full season. An undefeated championship season is more likely to me and of course preferable. Not that that the above is either or.

I agree, I'd say 75-80 pts a game while holding opponents to 50-55

 

[oldhusky]

I see Ayanna's competition as mostly Ice at the 4 position, behind Sarah. They are both more 4's than anything else. With this roster, however, there are many possibilities.

When Sarah is out, going with more of a 3 like Caroline or Morgan at the 4 could certainly happen, particularly if their overall level of play is significantly better than Ice or Ayanna.

The is potential competition from the other direction as well. If Jana really improves in her second year, Geno could go with a three big rotation, sometimes playing Jana at the 5 with Serah moving to the 4, which she can certainly play. That would be similar to the Liv, Dorka, Aaliyah rotation a few years ago.

We might wind up with regular designated backups behind each starter and that is probably a good thing if all of backups are at a very high level, but threats to playing time could come from players one position smaller or bigger with this roster. With that depth, every sub in a contested game should be very good, no weak links.

 

[rubymae4]

It’s great to see her moving well. It looks like she’ll get some summer work in which will help her come fall.

 

[Vowelguy]

Hard "J" whn pronouncing Jana....but I may be wrong.

Not correct.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Soft Y?

 

[Bone Dog]

I see Ayanna's competition as mostly Ice at the 4 position, behind Sarah. They are both more 4's than anything else. With this roster, however, there are many possibilities.

When Sarah is out, going with more of a 3 like Caroline or Morgan at the 4 could certainly happen, particularly if their overall level of play is significantly better than Ice or Ayanna.

Interesting way to think about Ayanna. Both Ice and Ayanna were tentative shooters in the half court offense. This is definitely something for each of them to work on, and if this video is to be believed Ayanna already has been. Both of them are good at setting solid screens, though Ice may have a slight advantage here. On defense, they seem comparable though Ayanna may be a more sure-handed rebounder, and perhaps a slightly better shot blocker.

One thing that stands out to me is that Ayanna was capable of doing rim runs in transition, like a big Aubrey, and Ice really doesn't have the speed for this. I hope Ayanna still has this skill. If she does, I think this puts her at least on a par with Ice on the depth chart at the 4.

 

[cferraro04]

I agree, I'd say 75-80 pts a game while holding opponents to 50-55

This team will sleepwalk to 75 points. The three-headed monster, by itself, will average 65 points.

That leaves 25 points for the other 12 players: I would be hard pressed to think that if these players get into the game that they wouldn't score the following points. KK - 5; Quinonez - 8; Shade - 7; Jana - 5; Ice - 4; Cheli - 4; Ziebell - 4; Caroline - 4; Patterson - 2; Heckel - 4; Kelis, Gandy combine for 2. (This totals 49 points). The reason why the bench won't average 49 points is that there are going to be 3-4 players who will be a "DNP". Just not enough minutes to go around.

So, for UConn to average 75 - 80 points, and not push into the 90s; one of three things could happen: 1. The three-headed monster has to play beneath its ability. 2. The 12 nonstarters have to do nothing. They would have to have virtually no offense. 3. The injury bug will have raised its ugly head again.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

IMHO I can't see this team NOT averaging between 85 to 90 points next season!
They'll be only 2 out of the 15, Kelis and Gandy that won't average between 5-8 points a game!

 

[Dogstar]

Not correct.

I said I may be wrong

 

[Forego]

There appears to be some disagreement regarding how Jana’s name is pronounced. If anyone is interested, SVCBeercats started a thread on December 31, 2022 titled “Jana El Alfy at 16 says Hello!”. The thread includes a YouTube clip where Jana introduces herself and says her name. Unless you are someone who is convinced that the video of the moon landing was produced on a sound stage, or that the world is flat, this should resolve the issue. Next week we will work on solving the issue of Bria Hartley’s height in hands.

 

[Skeets]

This team will sleepwalk to 75 points. The three-headed monster, by itself, will average 65 points.

That leaves 25 points for the other 12 players: I would be hard pressed to think that if these players get into the game that they wouldn't score the following points. KK - 5; Quinonez - 8; Shade - 7; Jana - 5; Ice - 4; Cheli - 4; Ziebell - 4; Caroline - 4; Patterson - 2; Heckel - 4; Kelis, Gandy combine for 2. (This totals 49 points). The reason why the bench won't average 49 points is that there are going to be 3-4 players who will be a "DNP". Just not enough minutes to go around.

So, for UConn to average 75 - 80 points, and not push into the 90s; one of three things could happen: 1. The three-headed monster has to play beneath its ability. 2. The 12 nonstarters have to do nothing. They would have to have virtually no offense. 3. The injury bug will have raised its ugly head again.

The 3-headed monster will not average 65 points. They won't put up enough shots or play enough minutes to average 65 points. That's not UConn basketball.

One thing that will help the team average 80 to 85 points is that when Geno plays the end of the bench in the 4th quarter (or maybe some time in the 3rd quarter for the bottom of the BE) those 5 kids are pretty good and are highly motivated.

 

[PacoSwede]

fwiw, i placed ayanna as a starter when in preseason a couple of years ago everybody was going ga-ga about jana being a superstar ... of course, that was just a wild guess on my part, but i was confident about it. but then yanna was injured.

yanna, though, has very poor vision in one eye. it isn't mentioned much here, and i think many BYers aren't even aware of this. clearly, it is an obstacle she has to deal with (depth perception is somewhat important in basketball ) but yanna could conquer, i think.

 

[Bone Dog]

The 3-headed monster will not average 65 points. They won't put up enough shots or play enough minutes to average 65 points. That's not UConn basketball.

One thing that will help the team average 80 to 85 points is that when Geno plays the end of the bench in the 4th quarter (or maybe some time in the 3rd quarter for the bottom of the BE) those 5 kids are pretty good and are highly motivated.

Sorry, Sensei. I’m with @Skeets on this one. There will be blowouts, of course, even 100 point games. But averaging much more than 80 points for an entire season stretches all sorts of parameters, and especially the number of shot opportunities in a game. But it’s also out of character for UConn. We blew out some of the best teams in D1 last season. But it wasn’t by scoring 90+ points. It was by choking off their offense. We beat powerhouses like SC and UCLA by holding them under 60 points.

But I share the enthusiasm that dreaming about offensive marvels represents. Dreaming of a team that could average 90+ points is a pleasure I like to indulge.

 

[uconnfan68]

I agree, I'd say 75-80 pts a game while holding opponents to 50-55

It's whatever Geno wants. His 3rd 5 are better than most D1 teams. He'll choose to run clock and run plays to keep the scores down. If he wants to send a message, we could easily average over 100.

 

[Geew1992]

IMHO I can't see this team NOT averaging between 85 to 90 points next season!
They'll be only 2 out of the 15, Kelis and Gandy that won't average between 5-8 points a game!

Idk how many points anyone will average but yall really sleeping on kellis

 

[psconn]

I know that SC is really excited about having Watkins back healthy next season. In my view, a healthy Yanna is every bit the equal of Watkins in terms of strength, athleticism and style of play…..just one more incredible tool in Geno’s toolbox.

Fully recovered both are strong and athletic but "Style of play" ?

Help me understand your thinking, one is a big, dynamic guard -- ball handler, passer and proficient shooter and defender at 3 levels. Basically everything runs through JuJu. All American.

Yanna is a strong rebounder and athletic low post pounder. it is unlikely that she will ever be the focus of the offense. Her role was defending and doing the dirty work in the paint. She might, hopefully, get very good at that.

Based only on what we have seen to date though, I'm not feeling this anymore than I did the Stewie/Jana comparison.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Fully recovered both are strong and athletic but "Style of play" ?

Help me understand your thinking, one is a big, dynamic guard -- ball handler, passer and proficient shooter and defender at 3 levels. Basically everything runs through JuJu. All American.

Yanna is a strong rebounder and athletic low post pounder. it is unlikely that she will ever be the focus of the offense. Her role was defending and doing the dirty work in the paint. She might, hopefully, get very good at that.

Based only on what we have seen to date though, I'm not feeling this anymore than I did the Stewie/Jana comparison.

psconn- -- -olddude was referring to Watkins of SoCar not Juju of USC the G!

 

[psconn]

psconn- -- -olddude was referring to Watkins of SoCar not Juju of USC the G!

 

[HuskyNan]

Not correct.

From the media notes at UConn huskies.com

 

[MSGRET]

I believe that this team will have the highest point per game average of any UConn team when you take in consideration that their are 20 games in the Big East. Right now with 6 of their 9 non conference games already known; Tennessee & Ohio State at home, USC & USF on the road and Louisville & Iowa on neutral courts. Louisville at Ramstein AB in Germany and Iowa in the Champions Classic at MSG.

That leaves 3 non conference games and a multi team event like the Cayman Islands Classic. Geno wants to renew the ND home and home series. Then you should have the homecoming game for Ice in San Diego on the same away trip to USC, that only leaves one game and Geno has already stated that they may not renew the South Carolina home and home at the end of the season.

The only game that is known that UConn plays next year that may be a challenge is USC, even without JuJu. The other known games that are to be played should be cake walks and many of them above or very near 90 points.

 

[oldude]

I believe that this team will have the highest point per game average of any UConn team when you take in consideration that their are 20 games in the Big East. Right now with 6 of their 9 non conference games already known; Tennessee & Ohio State at home, USC & USF on the road and Louisville & Iowa on neutral courts. Louisville at Ramstein AB in Germany and Iowa in the Champions Classic at MSG.

That leaves 3 non conference games and a multi team event like the Cayman Islands Classic. Geno wants to renew the ND home and home series. Then you should have the homecoming game for Ice in San Diego on the same away trip to USC, that only leaves one game and Geno has already stated that they may not renew the South Carolina home and home at the end of the season.

The only game that is known that UConn plays next year that may be a challenge is USC, even without JuJu. The other known games that are to be played should be cake walks and many of them above or very near 90 points.

The Huskies will undoubtedly run roughshod over most of their opponents. The one thing that will keep UConn’s scoring average down is just how quickly Geno calls off the dogs, either taking off the press or emptying his bench. I could see a situation where UConn frequently doesn’t press after the first half and starts to empty the bench midway through the 3rd qtr.

 

[PacoSwede]

The Huskies will undoubtedly run roughshod over most of their opponents. The one thing that will keep UConn’s scoring average down is just how quickly Geno calls off the dogs, either taking off the press or emptying his bench. I could see a situation where UConn frequently doesn’t press after the first half and starts to empty the bench midway through the 3rd qtr.

ya realize that no matter how far the husky bench is 'emptied' the players on the court in most cases would be frontline players for the opponent. ... so any 'bloodlust' must still be kept under control by someone.

 

[MSGRET]

The Huskies will undoubtedly run roughshod over most of their opponents. The one thing that will keep UConn’s scoring average down is just how quickly Geno calls off the dogs, either taking off the press or emptying his bench. I could see a situation where UConn frequently doesn’t press after the first half and starts to empty the bench midway through the 3rd qtr.

Last year Geno played 9 players who averaged 11.3 to 30.2 minutes per game played with the remaining 3 eligible players playing 3.7 to 8.2 minutes per game played. I don't see him playing Azzi, KK and Sarah less than 25 minutes on average, with the other 2 starters averaging around 18 to 20 minutes.

 

[HGN]

You can do a lot of moves when there is no defense.

Very true…but I’m just glad to see her do anything, defense or no , without pain.

 

[Dogstar]

This team will sleepwalk to 75 points. The three-headed monster, by itself, will average 65 points.

That leaves 25 points for the other 12 players: I would be hard pressed to think that if these players get into the game that they wouldn't score the following points. KK - 5; Quinonez - 8; Shade - 7; Jana - 5; Ice - 4; Cheli - 4; Ziebell - 4; Caroline - 4; Patterson - 2; Heckel - 4; Kelis, Gandy combine for 2. (This totals 49 points). The reason why the bench won't average 49 points is that there are going to be 3-4 players who will be a "DNP". Just not enough minutes to go around.

So, for UConn to average 75 - 80 points, and not push into the 90s; one of three things could happen: 1. The three-headed monster has to play beneath its ability. 2. The 12 nonstarters have to do nothing. They would have to have virtually no offense. 3. The injury bug will have raised its ugly head again.

You and I can agree tht the 24-25 team was a great team right? They stayed relatively healthy (compared to recent years), besides KK and Ash, the rest of bench was so-so, maybe the portal players will hold their own but the freshman will be Question marks until we see them against D-1 talent. We lost Paige, Kaitlyn and Aubrey, a lot of scoring, rebounding, assists experience and maturity, they won the NC and SET the record for PPG scored in the history of UCONN wcbb at 81.7 while giving up 52.2. The 3 headed monster as you call them and I'm assuming tht you mean Azzi, Serah, and Sarah, would have to average 21.5 pts a game each...and tht ain't happening, minutes and possessions won't allow it, not in the system tht UConn runs esp when opponents try to slow it down and muck up the game. 2 players may approach it but not 3. I hope I'm wrong and you're right but every year we have posters predicting the same numbers and its yet to happen and I don't see it happening this year...but I hope it does lol

 

[MilfordHusky]

If Ayanna is healthy, I'll be interested in seeing what she can do.

 

[jazz]

I think Yanna could be the women's version of Kevin Freeman. I think she has a similar game. She isn't the biggest player, but strong and uber athletic. That would be awesome if she could reach that level and I think she can. Maybe not next year, but later on. I can't see where anybody has confirmed this, but I do believe she was top 3-5 in her class.

My apologies for those who do not like a male comparison, but when I think of Yanna, Kevin Freeman is the first to come to mind.

I really hopes she puts it together this year. If you got your big on Serah and your athletic big on Sarah, who are you going to have to stick with Yanna?

If she just comes off the bench and gets rebounds and a few put backs, that would be huge. But I think she may have a bit more in the tool box...