SCORING (LACK OF) [merged thread]

When 3 of your starting 5 players (Dolson - 10 ppg, Kelly 6.6 ppg, Doty 6.0 ppg - these are current averages for this season) are only contributing 22.6 ppg, any team will have a very, very , very difficult time winning any kind of championship! Does anyone out there agree with this premise??

No.

For Comparison, the number 1 & 2 teams in the rankings using their 3, 4 & 5 scorers:


Baylor
Williams, Destiny 10.1
Hayden, Kimetria 8.9
Pope, Brooklyn 8.3
Total 27.3

Stanford
Kokenis, Toni 10.0
Tinkle, Joslyn8.2
Samuelson, Bonnie 5.0
Total 23.2

So I would say no to agreement.

Not necessarily. In the past, UConn got more scoring from one or two players and averages like the one mentioned by the OP were a perfect compliment to the stars' scoring. This year, scoring is more of a premium. As long as the scoring cylinders do not completely shut down, UConn is fine with what they are getting from the aforementioned players.

Reasons:

1) Our almost 4 point lead in scoring defense over the #2 defender in the country
2) We lead the nation in scoring margin
3) we lead the nation in opponents shooting %
4) Our #3 scorer comes off the bench at 14 pts per game.
5) Our first 4 scorers total 54 points per game in 111 minutes and the next three add another 18 in 66 minutes per game for an average of 72 points from 177 minutes of play.
6) Our #2 shooting % in the country
7) We share the ball better and set up players to score with more assists than anyone.

No. It's only a problem when the scorers (Hayes, Hartley and Lewis) in the lineup don't score. UConn has been ranked in the top 4-5 in scoring offense all year. Add to that the fact that they have also been the #1 defense all year.

Hayes, Hartley and Mosqueda-Lewis typically produce 40-45 points per game. In the SJ game the three scorers produced 30 points. If they had an average scoring night UConn would have won by double digits. It's quite likely they might have scored more had they not given the ball to the other team quite as often.

Try answering your question yourself with the facts below for 5 UCONN NCs. In addition to avarage points I included games games palyed and started for the top scorers.

2009-10 NC
Moore, Maya......39-38 ..18.9
Charles, Tina......39-39 ..18.2
Greene, Kalana...39-39.. 11.4
Hayes, Tiffany....39-37 ..10.2
Doty, Caroline....39-38 …6.8

2008-09 NC
Moore, Maya.....,,,..,,... 39-38 ..19.3
Montgomery, Renee.,,. 39-39 ...16.5
Charles, Tina……..,,... 39-39 ...16.5
Greene, Kalana.…...,... 39-39 ...,8.7
Doty/Hayes, Caroline…17-17 ....8.6
Hayes, Tiffany..........,,. 39-17 ....8.4

2003-04 NC
Taurasi, Diana....... 35-34 ..16.2
Turner, Barbara..... 35-33 ..13.7
Strother, Ann.....,... 35-33 ..11.0
Moore, Jessica...,... 35-34 …9.5
Battle, Ashley....,... 35-1 .,....7.3
Conlon, Maria....... 35-34 .....5.9

2002-03 NC
Taurasi, Diana..... 37-37 ...17.9
Moore, Jessica..... 38-38 ...10.6
Strother, Ann...... .38-38 ...10.1
Turner, Barbara.... 38-7 …10.0
Battle, Ashley...... 37-13 ….8.3
Conlon, Maria......38-29 .....6.9

2001-02 NC
25 Abrosimova, Svetlan ..19-19 ...14.1
32 Cash, Swin................ 35-33 ..12.2
03 Taurasi, Diana……... 33-14 ..10.9
10 Bird, Sue................... 34-34 ..10.9
33 Ralph, Shea............... 30-30 ….9.7
15 Jones, Asjha.............. 35-23. …8.7
11 Schumacher, Kelly.... 29-14 ….6.3

It's a statistical non-issue.

Most teams don't have a 14 ppg player getting starter minutes.

I can't wait for the next thread that has a reason UConn can't win an NC.

Well, I agree it will be very difficult to win a championship, but I believe that because it is very difficult to win a championship, not because of the mix of scoring. Championships have been won with close to balanced scoring, and they have been won with superstars and a supporting cast, and everything in between.

Starting is immaterial. It's like an honorary degree. Go by minutes played per game and you might have a point. Even though KML and Stokes don't start, their points still count.

Abolutely nothing with today's team.

To me , averages don't mean diddly! I want to know whether you are a scoring contributor " every game"! That is the problem with these three. Their contributions come and go. It leads to inconsistency. In order to beat a team like Baylor. You need to be able to move BG out of her zone, or get scoring from everyone on the court to make up for it. She takes away dribble drive penetration. Geno always talks about winning championships , and how you can't play if you can't score. Lip service?

I agree completely. But that's why all five playeers on the court must contribute this year. EVERY GAME!