Most Improved

[MilfordHusky]

Of the Nasty Nine, all but Paige have improved since early in the season. Liya looks like Thor of Yore! Nika was ready to rip someone’s heart and lungs out last night. Christyn was really pumped and is now the Queen of the Post-season—first player to be on the All-Conference Tourney Team 4x since Stewie. That’s pretty heady company.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Monica is staying at Iowa

 

[SVCBeercats]

I have to say Ducharme. I attended the first game of the season and she looked like a deer caught in headlights. She is a different player now.

You are right! You have to go with Caroline. “I hate to think about where we’d be without Caroline right now,” Auriemma told SNY after the win over St. John’s. Listen to Geno summarize why it has to Caroline. Remember this is a kid who was receiving paltry minutes before all of the injuries. This is the DePaul 1-26-2022 post game presser where Caroline won the game with a lst second shot.

 

[Dynastic]

Pretty much everyone has improved!

I agree… from adversity comes change and a new sacrifice/challenge. Bravo Ladies!

 

[DEpup]

It's Edwards. I'm not sure this is even debatable. She was pretty close to useless for a stretch of the season. Confidence was drained.

She's currently playing like one of the better bigs in the country, in my opinion.

I get people saying Ducharme, but she really peaked mid-season, and hasn't really come back to 100% after the head injury.

Nika is a decent option too, her defense and ball handling/passing ability was never a question, but she has shot much better in recent weeks which is very important.

I feel like Edwards really just returned to her end of last year form so I'm not in the Edwards most improved camp although I am super happy she is back to herself again. If I were Geno, I wouldn't let those Canadian national team coaches anywhere near her again. It seems like they messed with her head.

 

[sun]

I'm going to say Azzi is the most improved.
At the beginning of the year she seemed lost.
Now she seems to be in constant motion like a non-stop pinball on the court.
Each movement is so well choreographed, she bumps into players to check them, and sells each fake or court movement to the defense like a veteran quarterback would.
That doesn't even include her movement with the ball or her jump shooting ability.
That's why Geno didn't take her off the court in the title game except for 4 minutes, more PT than anyone else.
It seems like she doesn't do anything wrong on the court.
Her defense looks pretty flawless too, and she doesn't skip a beat.

I don't know where she learned it, if it was from Geno or not.
But wherever she got it from, Geno must be very, very pleased.
A+++++ for Azzi!
If she keeps it up, she's going to be an All American, and it will be sooner rather than later.

 

[PacoSwede]

RE: caroline & azzi -- since they're frosh, they are expected to improve significantly, and they did (bravo!), but it's hard to judge how much they improved because we don't know where they started -- plus both were affected by major injuries.

RE: nika -- i, unlike some BYers, believed she was damn good last year, so her improvement has not been extreme. in fact, i was kind of hoping she would boost her game even more (sophomore jump). but she has been dealing with nagging injuries all year, though hiding it, so i understand. She was a big contributor, like last year. Improved? Sure. A super surprise? No.

RE: Liya -- hard to judge because she regressed so much from her freshman year ... does her current great play represent simply a return to her prior self, or a real improvement from it, which i believe to be the case. A recovery or an upgrade? To compare it to others' growth is a no-go for me.

 

[CB360]

AE and Nika.

My two choices for sure! 1 that hasn't been mentioned is TEAM Defense. I know not a player but.........

 

[DrummerDee]

Juhasz
Edwards
Williams
Ducharme

 

[Jingo]

I'm not sure about this season, but over the course of her UConn career I think Olivia has made remarkable improvements. In total contrast to her freshman year, she is no longer a "frail, stringbean" type. Although she still prefers to play in the high post and make passes, she now has a jump shot that is reliable enough that it needs to be guarded (as Tamari Key failed to recognize in the Tennessee game). She can also mix it up with anyone on the boards. Against all but the best competition, she can score in the paint. She is better at the free throw line, and she doesn't get into foul trouble every game.

Given that Ms. Boston is not likely to be in this year's WNBA draft, I wonder what center(s) would be drafted ahead of Liv. Nalyssa Smith is not really a center (more a power forward, which is where she plays for Baylor). People will talk about Cunane or Kitley, but I think Liv is better suited to the WNBA game than either of them, particularly with respect to speed and agility.

Liv's passing ability is what sets her above the other centers in the draft. Since there is no substitute for height, Liv will be the first Husky drafted, a sure 'lottery pick' as I have been saying for the past two years, eh?
It's hard to say who has improved more: 1) Dorka 2) Nika 3) Caroline 4 ) Azzi 5) AE 6) EW .. I guess you could say the WHOLE TEAM has improved except for Paige.

 

[psconn]

Nothing really new to add.

If you just count this season, start to present, it would be Aaliyah but as others have pointed out she regressed alot from the end of last year to the start of this year. Hard to say where she is with respect to her peak last year but she's doing very well now.

I love what E is doing. She used to be so tentative- hesitant to shoot when open, walking the ball up like she was trying to sneak up on someone, and tossing lazy passes. So different from her dynamic pre- transfer style. Still makes a bad pass here and there, but she looks way more assertive driving the ball up court, slashing to the rim and confidently taking outside shots. I love this E.

Nika is better at keeping opponents in front of her now. She is more aggressive going after rebounds. Not only does she take open 3s now, she actually fakes and drives for layups once in a while. Don't know how many times I screamed at my TV when Nika would dribble in the paint and have open opportunities to get to the hoop or pull up mid-range BUT never even looked at the hoop. Expanding her tool bag like this makes her so much for effective. I think her ceiling has yet to be reached.

Jury's out on Caroline. She was obviously crushing it until the head injury. I think this is the typical ups and downs that freshmen have rayher than some lingering medical problem. She showed us what she can/will be. And she will be all that and more as her career continues.

Azzi has been a little up and down but is clearly a great player... as she was supposed to be.

So who is the MIP? It's very close, but I'm saying E.

 

[topogigio]

Dorka gets my vote. In the beginning of the year, I didn't understand why Geno signed her. Now she is in constant motion, throwing her body around seemingly enjoying the physical aspect of the game. Has also become one of the more consistent 3 point shooters.

Gotta agree here, although many of the players have demonstrated steady growth throughout the season, Dorka is playing at a complete different level since the season began. Her defense has been outstanding; along with rebounding, passing, hustle, and those 3 pointers!

 

[HuskyNan]

Of the Nasty Nine, all but Paige have improved since early in the season. Liya looks like Thor of Yore! Nika was ready to rip someone’s heart and lungs out last night. Christyn was really pumped and is now the Queen of the Post-season—first player to be on the All-Conference Tourney Team 4x since Stewie. That’s pretty heady company.

Miss March

 

[Jingo]

Dorka gets my vote. In the beginning of the year, I didn't understand why Geno signed her. Now she is in constant motion, throwing her body around seemingly enjoying the physical aspect of the game. Has also become one of the more consistent 3 point shooters.

And passer!

 

[Florida Fan]

Edwards has really cranked it up the last several weeks.
Who you got?

Dorka, Evina

 

[DEpup]

I'm going to say Azzi is the most improved.
At the beginning of the year she seemed lost.
Now she seems to be in constant motion like a non-stop pinball on the court.
Each movement is so well choreographed, she bumps into players to check them, and sells each fake or court movement to the defense like a veteran quarterback would.
That doesn't even include her movement with the ball or her jump shooting ability.
That's why Geno didn't take her off the court in the title game except for 4 minutes, more PT than anyone else.
It seems like she doesn't do anything wrong on the court.
Her defense looks pretty flawless too, and she doesn't skip a beat.

I don't know where she learned it, if it was from Geno or not.
But wherever she got it from, Geno must be very, very pleased.
A+++++ for Azzi!
If she keeps it up, she's going to be an All American, and it will be sooner rather than later.

Did she get better or did her foot get better?

 

[mbr33ct]

Just like the Badass award, let's give it to the whole team. Considering how the season went to where they are now...yeah I would say the whole team improved.

 

[sun]

Did she get better or did her foot get better?

My guess is that her BB IQ increased considerably.
I doubt that she graduated from high school with all of that knowledge.
She wasn't putting it into practice playing on Team USA during the summer.
And she doesn't have brains in her feet.
I'll bet that someone has been teaching her, she's been studying hard and working the lessons into her game.

 

[Woof 101]

While I agree with most all above, there is improvement in the entire team. Obviously Paige is still in the game shape portion of recovery.
So addressing the thread title Most Improved, I have to say that would be Geno's, mood, blood pressure and migraines.

 

[Jingo]

Nothing really new to add.

If you just count this season, start to present, it would be Aaliyah but as others have pointed out she regressed alot from the end of last year to the start of this year. Hard to say where she is with respect to her peak last year but she's doing very well now.

I love what E is doing. She used to be so tentative- hesitant to shoot when open, walking the ball up like she was trying to sneak up on someone, and tossing lazy passes. So different from her dynamic pre- transfer style. Still makes a bad pass here and there, but she looks way more assertive driving the ball up court, slashing to the rim and confidently taking outside shots. I love this E.

Nika is better at keeping opponents in front of her now. She is more aggressive going after rebounds. Not only does she take open 3s now, she actually fakes and drives for layups once in a while. Don't know how many times I screamed at my TV when Nika would dribble in the paint and have open opportunities to get to the hoop or pull up mid-range BUT never even looked at the hoop. Expanding her tool bag like this makes her so much for effective. I think her ceiling has yet to be reached.

Jury's out on Caroline. She was obviously crushing it until the head injury. I think this is the typical ups and downs that freshmen have rayher than some lingering medical problem. She showed us what she can/will be. And she will be all that and more as her career continues.

Azzi has been a little up and down but is clearly a great player... as she was supposed to be.

So who is the MIP? It's very close, but I'm saying E.

Caroline and Dorka shouldn't be limited to 15 minutes while others are getting 30+ minutes .. that's bad for chemistry, eh?

 

[sun]

Caroline and Dorka shouldn't be limited to 15 minutes while others are getting 30+ minutes .. that's bad for chemistry, eh?

Nah, the basket needs to eat too.
The more net the better.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

All very good and deserving choices. So I'm going with Synergy...she is the sum total of all of the parts that is UConn Women's Basketball.

The UConn 2021-2022 WBB Team: dramatically changed from a Paige-centric, rely-on-Paige team to each one growing to contribute significantly to their emergence as a formidable team. While they haven't reached their peak as a team, the synchronicity in mind, spirit and effort has been forged in the crucible of setbacks emerging from the tunnel of gloom immersed in intermittent dark clouds to a rare unity and caring.....laying the foundation for rapid growth that we now witness.

They are but at the start of their final journey for this year, still far from the polished team they seek to be but brimming in joyful exuberance for each success large or small by and for each other. And they now carry the aura of resilience.....an assurance that there is no obstacle they cannot overcome, each one contributing as both their unique and overlapping skills are called upon solve every riddle in split-seconds time.

As they now refine and polish the each element needed to function as perfectly a team as possible, it bodes well for their quest: their holy grail, the NC #12!

 

[tchalla1]

I'm going to say Azzi is the most improved.
At the beginning of the year she seemed lost.
Now she seems to be in constant motion like a non-stop pinball on the court.
Each movement is so well choreographed, she bumps into players to check them, and sells each fake or court movement to the defense like a veteran quarterback would.
That doesn't even include her movement with the ball or her jump shooting ability.
That's why Geno didn't take her off the court in the title game except for 4 minutes, more PT than anyone else.
It seems like she doesn't do anything wrong on the court.
Her defense looks pretty flawless too, and she doesn't skip a beat.

I don't know where she learned it, if it was from Geno or not.
But wherever she got it from, Geno must be very, very pleased.
A+++++ for Azzi!
If she keeps it up, she's going to be an All American, and it will be sooner rather than later.

Very good points made about Azzi! And plus factor in the heavy pressure on her being the No.1 HS player and all the accolades such as getting NIL deals before even playing collegiately. She has really lived up to her fame, she looks so polished and seasoned--and I too recognize the playing time as emblematic of Geno's trust in her. I'd wager to say she'll get SERIOUS All-American consideration next year.

BTW, I went to college in Colorado back in the late 70s, early 80s and there was a Nuggets player named Dan Issel and whenever he shot a 3, the announcer would say, "Issel with the Missile!" So it's shame we can't say when Fudd hits a 3, "Fudd with the Scud!" But I guess that kind of cold war missile terminology is outdated nowadays, lol...

 

[TeamFirst!]

If you discount the normal improvement of freshmen, who should almost always win this sort of contest, I'd go with Liv.