The Azzi Experiment

[oldude]

The greatest shooters in basketball “have no conscience.” I sat through games when KML bricked her first five 3-pt shots and then went on a tear hitting shot after shot. I’ve watched games where Katie Lou couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and then, if my magic, everything started to fall for her. Having a shooters mindset is critical to being a great shooter.

Following the UConn “Exhibition Game” vs Pecs, Hungary there was considerable chatter on the BY about Azzi’s 9 for 31 shooting performance, with lots of questions and concerns about both the volume of shots that she took as well as the number of shots that she missed. I finally watched the game last night and I have a personal observation.

While I have no inside information on what Geno discussed with Azzi and the team before the game, it appears quite apparent that UConn was conducting something I will refer to as the Azzi experiment. The evidence is quite simple. Azzi is a consummate team player who always takes her shots in rhythm during the flow of the game. During the game against Pecs, Azzi shot the ball every time she had a sliver of space and several times when she was covered.

Azzi was catching and releasing the ball faster than I have ever seen her. She was taking and making some shots from “Caitlin Clark” territory. UConn, who typically runs a beautiful motion offense, was often just getting the ball to Azzi and letting her fire away. One action the Huskies ran over and over was to have Nika bring the ball up and dribble to the wing, where she would simply hand the ball to Azzi at the arc, who then fired away. Azzi made 9 pretty remarkable shots. Of course, she also missed 22 shots.

Normally, if any UConn player was firing away and missing as much as Azzi was against Pecs, she would earn herself a spot on the bench. But throughout the game, both Azzi and Geno appeared completely unfazed by the volume of missed shots. Hence, my conclusion that the shooting spree by Azzi was a plan by Geno to get Azzi to be more aggressive and comfortable taking over on the offensive end.

As I said in the postgame thread, I doubt that Azzi will ever take 31 shots or miss 22 shots in a regular season game. But having watched the Pecs game, it seems absolutely apparent that Geno wants Azzi to be far more aggressive on offense, and when she is matched up again on the court with her BFF, the show that is UConn WBB will be something to behold.

 

[PacoSwede]

this is the same speculation i had. it makes perfect sense. ... and even if we're off base, it would be a good 'experiment.'

it seems like something geno would come up with. he, unlike some people here, knows the real point of this trip was fun, education and team building (as opposed to basketball and winning at all costs), so why not 'go wild' on the court.

i fear the experiment may have negative results, though -- azzi had a below average success rate, which is likely to confirm, in her mind, that being an aggressive shooter is NOT for her -- and that's very undesirable for a player who has been overly conservative while being a husky. ...here's more speculation: that's her innate nature, and that's hard to overcome.

 

[BobbyJ]

The greatest shooters in basketball “have no conscience.” I sat through games when KML bricked her first five 3-pt shots and then went on a tear hitting shot after shot. I’ve watched games where Katie Lou couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and then, if my magic, everything started to fall for her. Having a shooters mindset is critical to being a great shooter.

Following the UConn “Exhibition Game” vs Pecs, Hungary there was considerable chatter on the BY about Azzi’s 9 for 31 shooting performance, with lots of questions and concerns about both the volume of shots that she took as well as the number of shots that she missed. I finally watched the game last night and I have a personal observation.

While I have no inside information on what Geno discussed with Azzi and the team before the game, it appears quite apparent that UConn was conducting something I will refer to as the Azzi experiment. The evidence is quite simple. Azzi is a consummate team player who always takes her shots in rhythm during the flow of the game. During the game against Pecs, Azzi shot the ball every time she had a sliver of space and several times when she was covered.

Azzi was catching and releasing the ball faster than I have ever seen her. She was taking and making some shots from “Caitlin Clark” territory. UConn, who typically runs a beautiful motion offense, was often just getting the ball to Azzi and letting her fire away. One action the Huskies ran over and over was to have Nika bring the ball up and dribble to the wing, where she would simply hand the ball to Azzi at the arc, who then fired away. Azzi made 9 pretty remarkable shots. Of course, she also missed 22 shots.

Normally, if any UConn player was firing away and missing as much as Azzi was against Pecs, she would earn herself a spot on the bench. But throughout the game, both Azzi and Geno appeared completely unfazed by the volume of missed shots. Hence, my conclusion that the shooting spree by Azzi was a plan by Geno to get Azzi to be more aggressive and comfortable taking over on the offensive end.

As I said in the postgame thread, I doubt that Azzi will ever take 31 shots or miss 22 shots in a regular season game. But having watched the Pecs game, it seems absolutely apparent that Geno wants Azzi to be far more aggressive on offense, and when she is matched up again on the court with her BFF, the show that is UConn WBB will be something to behold.

All possible and nothing to be concerned about. Something notable to me was that of the 31shots she took, only one was what I would consider off balance and forced. And that was a half turnaround, stuck in the air, one hand air ball from about 10 feet in the lane that was just a wrong decision. Getting off 30 good shots in a game while only playing roughly 30 minutes is not easy.

 

[hoophuskee]

The greatest shooters in basketball “have no conscience.” I sat through games when KML bricked her first five 3-pt shots and then went on a tear hitting shot after shot. I’ve watched games where Katie Lou couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and then, if my magic, everything started to fall for her. Having a shooters mindset is critical to being a great shooter.

Following the UConn “Exhibition Game” vs Pecs, Hungary there was considerable chatter on the BY about Azzi’s 9 for 31 shooting performance, with lots of questions and concerns about both the volume of shots that she took as well as the number of shots that she missed. I finally watched the game last night and I have a personal observation.

While I have no inside information on what Geno discussed with Azzi and the team before the game, it appears quite apparent that UConn was conducting something I will refer to as the Azzi experiment. The evidence is quite simple. Azzi is a consummate team player who always takes her shots in rhythm during the flow of the game. During the game against Pecs, Azzi shot the ball every time she had a sliver of space and several times when she was covered.

Azzi was catching and releasing the ball faster than I have ever seen her. She was taking and making some shots from “Caitlin Clark” territory. UConn, who typically runs a beautiful motion offense, was often just getting the ball to Azzi and letting her fire away. One action the Huskies ran over and over was to have Nika bring the ball up and dribble to the wing, where she would simply hand the ball to Azzi at the arc, who then fired away. Azzi made 9 pretty remarkable shots. Of course, she also missed 22 shots.

Normally, if any UConn player was firing away and missing as much as Azzi was against Pecs, she would earn herself a spot on the bench. But throughout the game, both Azzi and Geno appeared completely unfazed by the volume of missed shots. Hence, my conclusion that the shooting spree by Azzi was a plan by Geno to get Azzi to be more aggressive and comfortable taking over on the offensive end.

As I said in the postgame thread, I doubt that Azzi will ever take 31 shots or miss 22 shots in a regular season game. But having watched the Pecs game, it seems absolutely apparent that Geno wants Azzi to be far more aggressive on offense, and when she is matched up again on the court with her BFF, the show that is UConn WBB will be something to behold.

Was she open a lot in other games and didn't take them? I haven't seen the games. And I'm wondering if she wasn't aggressive in other games going after the ball to score?

 

[oldude]

Was she open a lot in other games and didn't take them? I haven't seen the games. And I'm wondering if she wasn't aggressive in other games going after the ball to score?

Geno has stated, on several occasions, that he wants Azzi to shoot the ball every chance she gets. I do recall numerous instances in past seasons when she was open, where she hesitated, the defense closed on her and she ended up passing the ball. Against Pecs, there was absolutely no hesitation from Azzi. Unless a defender was immediately up on her, Azzi fired away.

 

[Rowdy831]

The greatest shooters in basketball “have no conscience.” I sat through games when KML bricked her first five 3-pt shots and then went on a tear hitting shot after shot. I’ve watched games where Katie Lou couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and then, if my magic, everything started to fall for her. Having a shooters mindset is critical to being a great shooter.

I also watched the game over with my focus on Azzi. Her shot selection and number of shots and I came to similar conclusion that she was taking shots she normally would have passed up in regular game. What I noticed was when Azzi shoots in rhythm her shot is smooth and on the mark even when she misses. When she was forcing shots she normally wouldn't take she struggled and I understand why she did.

Azzi has a great shot and she will get wide open looks all season and I think this was just to teach her to catch and shoot. Don't think too much and clearly don't worry when they don't go in the basket. My guess is Geno wants to ensure all the players play their game when Paige comes back to full speed without thinking too much and expecting Paige to carry the load which she is capable of doing.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

If I hadn’t seen the box score I never would have thought she missed 22 shots tbh

 

[Boreifs]

A lot has been said about the double rims in the gym. One must keep in mind that Murano is a series of islands famous for glassworks and tourists, with a population of less than 5000 people. I was surprised they even had a gym, but it was certainly not built to be a major sports venue.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Once I found out how to get access, I watched the game last night, though I fell asleep after about 3 quarters. I also had particular focus on Azzi. From what I saw, her percentage looked decent. Her first misses seemed a little long. Then she rattled one out that might have been good on a normal rim. Later on, some of her misses were short. She was more aggressive than usual. Most of the shots looked like good shots; maybe a couple were a bit forced, and some of those were wide. I do think that Geno wanted Azzi to take more shots. I'm not concerned from what I saw.

On a slightly different note, I though Azzi shot poorly by her standards inside the arc/paint. It seems that she may be using the glass less than previously. I think Azzi missed at least 2 very makable shots inside the paint in every game. She'll fix those over the next few months.

Keep in mind--when Paige and Azzi are on the floor together, at least one of them should be very open. And both are knock-down shooters. I'm looking for good things from both.

 

[Next 12]

This had to be an experiment for Azzi with Geno. It goes against his philosophy of no showboating. If Azzi had made 16-17 of her 31 shots, she would have scored 50=55 points,and that's a no-no with Geno. I , personally would love to see Azzi score 30 to 40 points a game. I would love to see anyone on the team score at will. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[cohenzone]

Geno has stated, on several occasions, that he wants Azzi to shoot the ball every chance she gets. I do recall numerous instances in past seasons when she was open, where she hesitated, the defense closed on her and she ended up passing the ball. Against Pecs, there was absolutely no hesitation from Azzi. Unless a defender was immediately up on her, Azzi fired away.

He has said the same about Paige. Which presents an interesting scenario.

 

[hoophuskee]

Geno has stated, on several occasions, that he wants Azzi to shoot the ball every chance she gets. I do recall numerous instances in past seasons when she was open, where she hesitated, the defense closed on her and she ended up passing the ball. Against Pecs, there was absolutely no hesitation from Azzi. Unless a defender was immediately up on her, Azzi fired away.

I meant the other recent exhibtion games. Was she passing up shots? Or in any particular recent exhibition game not take many etc?

 

[Surly1]

I know it is the offseason, so there's a void to be filled. Realizing November is still almost 3 months away, these "games" are secondary to the overall experience and bonding amongst the players.

While I share in the excitement of what the freshman & Ice bring, for me, this season is about the realization of having Paige, Azzi & Caroline being on the court together and 100% healthy. Correct me if I am wrong, I can't recall when all have been 100% healthy at the same time over the last 2 years. We are talking about three top 5 recruits (2 #1's) and mostly we are waiting for their combined potential to be exhibited.

If this is Paige's last season, then I selfishly want to see her play as much as possible, along with Azzi, Aaliyah, Caroline, Aubrey and Nika. If everyone stays healthy, then I believe we will see a juggernaut UConn team of lore. There will be minutes for the freshmen to shine, but I want this season to be the manifestation of what we've been waiting for since Azzi & Caroline committed to play with Paige.

 

[Carnac]

With respect to being in a slump, coaches and players know if you’re in a slump, you have to shoot or hit your way out of it. You can’t sit around and wait for it to pass. It doesn’t work that way. How many times have we seen a player start out 0 for their first 5-6 shots, then get dialed in and get hot? This was an exhibition game in August. Nothing to be overly concerned about. Give Geno the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he’s doing. It was exciting to see our freshmen in action now, and not have to wait until November.

 

[Audi1954]

Wasn’t this ball they were using a totally different weight? I have to believe that could be a factor?

 

[hoopsfan22]

Wasn’t this ball they were using a totally different weight? I have to believe that could be a factor?

Sounds like something Dawn Staley would say.

 

[oldude]

I meant the other recent exhibtion games. Was she passing up shots? Or in any particular recent exhibition game not take many etc?

Good question. I don’t really know the answer. She certainly didn’t take anywhere near 31 shots in any previous exhibition game.

 

[BobbyJ]

Wasn’t this ball they were using a totally different weight? I have to believe that could be a factor?

No, it's the same size and weight.

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[MilfordHusky]

Wasn’t this ball they were using a totally different weight? I have to believe that could be a factor?

Yes, it was an unusual ball, but probably was the same ball for all 4 games.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Azzi took 25 shots in the first game--when she scored 38 points--then 17 in game 2.

 

[oldude]

I referenced Caitlin Clark in my OP. Out of curiosity, I took a look at her shooting stats from her NPOY season last year. She was 2nd in the nation in scoring at 27+ ppg behind only Maddy Siegrist. Clark was 3rd in the nation in shots per game behind Aneesh Morrow & Siegrist.

The “Holy Grail” of shooting is 50-40-90, something that I believe only Sabrina Ionescu has ever achieved. Clark did not hit a single one of the three milestones, shooting 47% from the field, 38% from the arc and 83% from the FT line, all respectable numbers. Those numbers placed her 106th, 45th and 64th respectively among all DI WBB players last season, and yet, most WBB fans and pundits consider Clark to be the best shooter in WBB.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I referenced Caitlin Clark in my OP. Out of curiosity, I took a look at her shooting stats from her NPOY season last year. She was 2nd in the nation in scoring at 27+ ppg behind only Maddy Siegrist. Clark was 3rd in the nation in shots per game behind Aneesh Morrow & Siegrist.

The “Holy Grail” of shooting is 50-40-90, something that I believe only Sabrina Ionescu has ever achieved. Clark did not hit a single one of the three milestones, shooting 47% from the field, 38% from the arc and 83% from the FT line, all respectable numbers. Those numbers placed her 106th, 45th and 64th respectively among all DI WBB players last season, and yet, most WBB fans and pundits consider Clark to be the best shooter in WBB.

Sue Bird did it in the 2001-02 season .505/.466/.942.

 

[sun]

Azzi established an exhibition game average which means that some games the % goes up & some games the % goes down.
It's very early in the season, they're on vacation, playing away games & not in control of their exercise routine or their diet, they're traveling around having fun in very hot weather & playing in some shabby conditions.
Considering all of the circumstances I'm surprised by any negative comments, especially about unofficial stats.
There must be some inconveniences & hardships while traveling in Europe that can lead to being uncomfortable.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Moriah Jefferson's 2015-16 season is also worth a mention: .557/.431/.894 (42-47). A free throw away. And in 2014-15 Moriah almost achieved a 60/40 season: .587/.496/.843. Yes, that little middle school kid could play.

 

[Gordo]

All possible and nothing to be concerned about. Something notable to me was that of the 31shots she took, only one was what I would consider off balance and forced. And that was a half turnaround, stuck in the air, one hand air ball from about 10 feet in the lane that was just a wrong decision. Getting off 30 good shots in a game while only playing roughly 30 minutes is not easy.

We must have watched different games. On at least half of Azzi's 22 misses she didn't set her feet and square her shoulders. When she does this, as all great shooters do, she will shoot around 50%. It was clear that Geno had instructed her to simply fire away every time she touched the ball. Personally, with all the (expected) talent on this team, I don't like it. I'm not sure the team will like it over the long haul either. But who am I to question Geno's methods and strategies.

By the way, this was the only game that offered us some serious competition. It was nice to see.