The Best Group of Guards Ever?

[boontonbomber]

I think Geno does not mind the right players going 1-1 and breaking down a defense if the time on the shot clock is right and the player knows how to read the help defense.

Paige has broken down alot of defenses 1-1 and almost always does it at the perfect time. Crystal and Moriah also have done their share and have shown it at the next level (if Moriah is ever healthy). CW is probably an enigma since she has the moves but often does it against multiple defenders

I do think the forwards/wings have that issue more in our system. and I guess it boils down to our players really not liking to take risky shots like other team players who seem to have no issue making mostly wilds shots and letting their teammates go after O Boards

Paige does , and will do, what she wants to do. She can certainly get to the basket. Crystal has definitely shown it at the next level, and I've loved seeing that part of her game, which she rarely showed at UConn. Moriah is healthy, is not getting much playing time, but when she does I don't see her breaking down defenders much. Your comment about forwards/wings and wild shots is silly. If a wing /forward is no threat to break down a defender, pretty tough to get shots off with the defender in your face. I've been very pleased to see Samuelson finally adding that to her game. But she has certainly been working from behind.

 

[CocoHusky]

You may be correct that Geno didn't say say the words "they were a better team with Nika", but in reading the quote you have shown, it certainly lends itself to be interpreted as the team is better with Nika out there ( my assertion) than that he had no better option (your assertion). It has been quite apparent (judging from your posts on her) since preseason last year that you don't value Nika Muhl and didn't see her as a significant piece in UCONN's success this past season or going forward. Over that same timeframe I and others on the Boneyard anticipated that she would be, feel she has been and believe she will continue to be a significant piece. No one has said they believe she is the best or most important player on the team so why you make comments like "Good effort to try and grow the legend of Nika-hype on." is beyond my ability to understand. Why so much animosity towards one of our players. Geno obviously values her as do those who have spoken positively about her. Your negative read on her imo is not going to dissuade any of the posters or Geno into believing Nika is not a valuable member of the Team.

Several strong cautions here. You should try never to “judge” anyone from your personal interpretation of anything posted here. If anyone could be certain of what Geno thinks or values the BY would probably go out of business. You began your last post by stating that Geno apparent believes differently. My respond to that is “Duh” because Geno is not posting here-you are. Since this is me and you posting it would be literally impossible for me and you to value the players in the same way. There is never any animosity in my critique of any UCONN player. I value productivity that is backed up by statistic that are quantifiable. What Geno said was UCONN is a “different” team with Nika. I can certainly see how someone who values Nika more than I do would interpret that as UCONN being a better team or that Nika’s ascension into the starting lineup was not the result of an injury. The real dilemma is not having different values for the players it is failing to take into account the other perspective. A poster that values Nika will submit a narrative that Nika outworked everyone and “made” Geno put her in the starting lineup. A poster that values Aubrey will point out that Geno did not give her enough of an apportunity (2 games) to prove she can start. That was a real post by the way. During my tenure on the BY there has only been 1 UCONN player that I have not criticized that was Morgan Tuck.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Of course, I don't think Geno thinks that his job is to get them best prepared for the next level.

It seems many on this board think that one of the best reasons for choosing UConn is because Geno prepares his players for the next level better than most.

 

[oldude]

It seems many on this board think that one of the best reasons for choosing UConn is because Geno prepares his players for the next level better than most.

Supporting that position, UConn WBB has generated 25 first round draft picks in the WNBA, 10 more than TN, the next closest program.

 

[CocoHusky]

You certainly have got that right , about Geno discouraging "breaking down defenders". And it shows up very clearly at the next level, where UConn players appear to struggle with the dribble drive. It has become a big part of the game, and I have thought for awhile that UConn players are not well prepared to do the "one-on-one" stuff. Of course, I don't think Geno thinks that his job is to get them best prepared for the next level.

Nah I don’t think that at all. Geno definitely thinks it is part of his job to get players prepared for the next level and the results have been outstanding. Geno also could not make an effective recruiting pitch without accepting that responsibility. Every recent UCONN recruit has stated that preparation for the next level is the reason they chose UCONN. This is just a Geno philosophical difference. There is a great clip on the internet somewhere of Geno conducting a practice prior to the London olympics. Geno was instructing Seimone Augustus who is probably one of the best ever at taking people off the bounce. Geno instruction to her was telling. Paraphrased Geno told Seimone when coming off the screen that the dribble is always going to be there and to use it as a last resort after you have exhausted all the other options.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Too much talk about offense. The best teams win with defense and rebounding. Nika is quick and tough, Williams has really developed into a good defender, but after that there is a lot of flash but not enough consistency. Jefferson, Hartley and Faris were quick and tough. The backline must help and rebound; think Stewart and Tuck. That 2016 undefeated team could have Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck, Nurse and Gabby on the court at the same time. They gave up just 51 points per during the tourney. Certainly they are not the only UConn team that has played that kind of shutdown defense. It was great fun to watch those UConn teams frustrate teams with a defensive effort that they obviously took great pride in. That Arizona team last year really shut down UConn, and they did the same to a really good Stanford team, though couldn't score enough. With the talented teams that are out there, I don't see UConn just going out and out-scoring them all. If they don't get much better at they defensive end I don't see them winning it all.

Brutally honest about last year's team defense, especially in the first half of the year....they did improve to be a very good, not lock down defense. But it's more than a little harsh for a team that only had four (two in the starting five) who had enough experience with the read and react switching defense. 8 first-timers on the team makes it virtually impossible to get them to be a coordinated defensive unit quickly - and one of the newcomer, starting fiver was not fully recovered from surgeries. That they eventually became one is a credit to the coaching staff and the team's willingness to work at it until they get it.

The heritage of this team requires that it must have a defensive backbone in pursuit of the NC and so they must grow into one almost immediately because most of their non-conference schedule is near the start of the season. As such, it would be a surprise if the optimal offensive potential of the team will be deployed early in the season in search of reaching it. Expect then to see those who had significant roles at the end of last season in most of these early games. Azzi and Caroline may see the most minutes among the newcomers but I wouldn't count out Dorka, assuming she can assimilate quickly and transition quickly into the read-and-react switching defense.

Because of the overall length of the whole team, the defensive potential is exciting but the team is unlikely to be a great full-court pressing one. To achieve that, they need more speed all-around - you have maybe three who have shown enough speed. But if they can learn to read and react quickly to switch and close out opponents as their offense tries to execute, then this team can mix it with zone defense variations that take advantage of their length all around.

Those Stewie teams did not become great defenses early, so we shouldn't demand that last year's team achieve that, most significantly because of the limitations the pandemic imposed on their preseason. This time, they have a better chance: enough of them have grown with the defensive schemes last year and the newcomers will benefit from a full preseason.

I submit that the mix of players on this team and the cross-section of experience will provide a good platform for it becoming an excellent defensive team early, as needed to get through the array of tough non-conference opponents. South Carolina will be difficult but beatable by this team even at their home court.

Will this team go unbeaten, probably not, but it is probably the one team in the country with the best chance to be.

 

[jchusky]

Brutally honest about last year's team defense, especially in the first half of the year....they did improve to be a very good, not lock down defense. But it's more than a little harsh for a team that only had four (two in the starting five) who had enough experience with the read and react switching defense. 8 first-timers on the team makes it virtually impossible to get them to be a coordinated defensive unit quickly - and one of the newcomer, starting fiver was not fully recovered from surgeries. That they eventually became one is a credit to the coaching staff and the team's willingness to work at it until they get it.

The heritage of this team requires that it must have a defensive backbone in pursuit of the NC and so they must grow into one almost immediately because most of their non-conference schedule is near the start of the season. As such, it would be a surprise if the optimal offensive potential of the team will be deployed early in the season in search of reaching it. Expect then to see those who had significant roles at the end of last season in most of these early games. Azzi and Caroline may see the most minutes among the newcomers but I wouldn't count out Dorka, assuming she can assimilate quickly and transition quickly into the read-and-react switching defense.

Because of the overall length of the whole team, the defensive potential is exciting but the team is unlikely to be a great full-court pressing one. To achieve that, they need more speed all-around - you have maybe three who have shown enough speed. But if they can learn to read and react quickly to switch and close out opponents as their offense tries to execute, then this team can mix it with zone defense variations that take advantage of their length all around.

Those Stewie teams did not become great defenses early, so we shouldn't demand that last year's team achieve that, most significantly because of the limitations the pandemic imposed on their preseason. This time, they have a better chance: enough of them have grown with the defensive schemes last year and the newcomers will benefit from a full preseason.

I submit that the mix of players on this team and the cross-section of experience will provide a good platform for it becoming an excellent defensive team early, as needed to get through the array of tough non-conference opponents. South Carolina will be difficult but beatable by this team even at their home court.

Will this team go unbeaten, probably not, but it is probably the one team in the country with the best chance to be.

not only that players like Faris were tough as nails, this team I've said it before physicality is the biggest issue. Are they going to rise up to the challenge if they get in those type of games or will they fold?

 

[Inthepaint]

So here’s the plan. Start the game with 4 guards and build up a 20+ lead. Then bring in the Big lineup to beat the opponents into submission……

As long as we are all pre-judging and fantasizing...
Let us, for arguments sake, say that Azzi turns out to be the best thing to hit the college ranks since, well, Paige Bueckers.
Saylor, Caroline, Amari all make the transition to D1 college play ASAP
Dorka shows the talent she showed at OSU and adds the intensity and competitive edge required to satisfy Geno and us.
Everybody from last year returns in the pink of health and fitness, fully motivated to do whatever it takes to finally climb to the top of the heap this year.
That gives us how many different potential combinations to send out on the floor come game time?
Now, just to make things a little more interesting...
Would Geno want to continue to preserve continuity for each & every game by using what he thinks are the BEST 5 players to start, or would he use the wealth of talent to tailor the line up to counter the opposition.
Would he be sending out the same crew to start against Louisville as he would against St.Johns? Against South Carolina and Providence?
So forth and so on.

 

[eebmg]

As long as we are all pre-judging and fantasizing...
Let us, for arguments sake, say that Azzi turns out to be the best thing to hit the college ranks since, well, Paige Bueckers.
Saylor, Caroline, Amari all make the transition to D1 college play ASAP
Dorka shows the talent she showed at OSU and adds the intensity and competitive edge required to satisfy Geno and us.
Everybody from last year returns in the pink of health and fitness, fully motivated to do whatever it takes to finally climb to the top of the heap this year.
That gives us how many different potential combinations to send out on the floor come game time?
Now, just to make things a little more interesting...
Would Geno want to continue to preserve continuity for each & every game by using what he thinks are the BEST 5 players to start, or would he use the wealth of talent to tailor the line up to counter the opposition.
Would he be sending out the same crew to start against Louisville as he would against St.Johns? Against South Carolina and Providence?
So forth and so on.

Geno will put out what he feels are the best 5 at the beginning and try to ground the opponent into the mud in the first 5 minutes in order to develop the best habits and continuity. Something we did not always do last year. Changes would only come if things change in practice. I hope our depth manifests itself with a higher pace throughout the game and more all out defensive pressure.

 

[BBallF]

With the caveat that it may be a difference of definition, I don't agree that the entire group of PB, , CW, and EW can break their defenders down off the dribble. While PB and CW do have that ability (CW more than PB, imo) to a certain extent, I don't consider either one an ankle-breaker. Obviously, hasn't played a minute of college ball yet, but there was little evidence of this in the FIBA games this summer. EW just isn't that type of guard, perhaps due to the knee.

EW was not consistently that type of a guard last year although she did do it occasionally especially when she was on the right side of the court and crossed over to her left. We have had lengthy posts about the 2 year turn around for a knee injury so I am hopeful that you will see more drives and finishes and more drives and pull up Js from her this year. That will really help this team because she will likely have a taller and not as quick defender on her so that will create an additional match up problem.

 

[BBallF]

Nope. She worked incredibly hard in practice, improved her play over the course of several games and earned the spot. Any other questions?

I would also add that she was by far the best on ball defender at the point position, especially after she figured out the refereeing here in America. If she didn't steal or deflect it she slowed down the offensive set by the opposing team.

 

[BBallF]

With the caveat that it may be a difference of definition, I don't agree that the entire group of PB, , CW, and EW can break their defenders down off the dribble. While PB and CW do have that ability (CW more than PB, imo) to a certain extent, I don't consider either one an ankle-breaker. Obviously, hasn't played a minute of college ball yet, but there was little evidence of this in the FIBA games this summer. EW just isn't that type of guard, perhaps due to the knee.

I forgot to add that I hope the FIBA games for Azzi were the result of the other team members and the offense used. Not a lot of sharing going on from certain players. I don't know how much we will need her to drive and finish this year as opposed to spot up or one or two dribbles and pop. Don't get me wrong, it is always a benefit however. If PB or CW or Evina gets by their man and Azzi is open, she can make it from anywhere on the court. The same actually is true for CD III also except for the dribble part based upon my limited viewing of her so far. No matter what, this is going to be a very exciting team and I think a very cohesive and close bunch as well. And I think one that is generally pissed off about last year.

 

[Zarathustra]

I forgot to add that I hope the FIBA games for Azzi were the result of the other team members and the offense used. Not a lot of sharing going on from certain players. I don't know how much we will need her to drive and finish this year as opposed to spot up or one or two dribbles and pop. Don't get me wrong, it is always a benefit however. If PB or CW or Evina gets by their man and Azzi is open, she can make it from anywhere on the court. The same actually is true for CD III also except for the dribble part based upon my limited viewing of her so far. No matter what, this is going to be a very exciting team and I think a very cohesive and close bunch as well. And I think one that is generally pissed off about last year.

Also.. don't forget that AZZI did a very nice job shutting down Australia's
Ms. Melbourne ( one of their "stars" ) in the FIBA U 19 Championship game
in Hungary this summer. There may not be any "I" the in world "TEAM", but
( somewhere) there is an "A" (Azzi) in the USA WBB spelling of " De - Fence"!

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

not only that players like Faris were tough as nails, this team I've said it before physicality is the biggest issue. Are they going to rise up to the challenge if they get in those type of games or will they fold?

You don't see anyone on this team with that kind of toughness? In all the teams that Faris was a member of, how many team members were as tough as she was, as you put it? The whole team? If you say so, then we don't remember the same teams.

As for this team, we shall have to see.....but of the six in the regular rotation towards the end of the season, there were three who were up to the challenge: Nika, Aaliyah and Christyn came on later. Because of her delicate post-surgery, extended recovery situation, I did not expect Evina to mix it up physically but there were games where she did, showing promise for the future.

I suppose you are haunted by the memory of Paige being manhandled by Arizona with no fouls called even on the most blatant contact that sent her sprawling a few feet. It is right as a fan to question but I will wager that if Arizona tries that tactic again this time, the story will end differently....

No, not let the game devolve to a wrestling contest....but the score will show what this team is made of.

 

[BBallF]

Also.. don't forget that AZZI did a very nice job shutting down Australia's
Ms. Melbourne ( one of their "stars" ) in the FIBA U 19 Championship game
in Hungary this summer. There may not be any "I" the in world "TEAM", but
( somewhere) there is an "A" (Azzi) in the USA WBB spelling of " De - Fence"!

In agree 100% about her. I watched her defense very carefully in FIBA. She is smart, sees the whole floor, but is a "sticky" on ball and on player defender. That will get her a lot of minutes in addition to her shooting skills which are top shelf.

 

[CocoHusky]

You don't see anyone on this team with that kind of toughness? In all the teams that Faris was a member of, how many team members were as tough as she was, as you put it? The whole team? If you say so, then we don't remember the same teams.

Kelly Faris shared the court with some Major Major defensive Dawgs in both the front court and the back- what are we even talking about here! In the interest of saving you some time here is a list of defensive Stallworths who were teammates of Faris and not on the Huskies Wall of Honor.
Kalana Greene, Kia Stokes & Brianna Banks. Keep in mind that these were the role players on Faris' UCONN teams. This current version of the Huskies does not have a single post defender with the chops of a Stokes or the perimeter defense of a Greene or Banks.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Kelly Faris shared the court with some Major Major defensive Dawgs in both the front court and the back- what are we even talking about here! In the interest of saving you some time here is a list of defensive Stallworths who were teammates of Faris and not on the Huskies Wall of Honor.
Kalana Greene, Kia Stokes & Brianna Banks. Keep in mind that these were the role players on Faris' UCONN teams. This current version of the Huskies does not have a single post defender with the chops of a Stokes or the perimeter defense of a Greene or Banks.

Were those three the kind of defenders you say they were as freshmen even with the benefit of a full preseason? Did they defend better than Aaliyah or Nika as freshmen without taking into account the lack of proper preseason?

Sure, it has taken Christyn 2.5 years to realize how committed she must be to become a good defender but when she did, she turned into a very good one.

If you compare, you must compare properly: not how the past looked at their peaks to the start of some of these players life with UConn WBB..

 

[CocoHusky]

Were those three the kind of defenders you say they were as freshmen even with the benefit of a full preseason? Did they defend better than Aaliyah or Nika as freshmen without taking into account the lack of proper preseason?

Sure, it has taken Christyn 2.5 years to realize how committed she must be to become a good defender but when she did, she turned into a very good one.

If you compare, you must compare properly: not how the past looked at their peaks to the start of some of these players life with UConn WBB.

Yes.
Absolutely.
Both Nika, Aliyah and Christyn improved their defense as the season went on. A fair comparison would also take into account the players that were on the rosters, which these players had to battle for playing time. That list would include 3 from UCONN's mount Rushmore (Stewie, Maya, Tina) and a slew of players that were would become AA (KML, Tuck, Moriah, Dolson, Harley, & Montgomery) + a bunch of really terrific players like (Tiffany Hayes, Caroline Doty, & Britney Hunter ).
UCONN roster last year was 11 players , no returning AA. That roster with the exception of Paige could not successfully compete for minutes against even that last last tier of players when they were freshman and healthy in the case of the Hunter and Doty.

 

[Kaizen]

Yes.
Absolutely.
Both Nika, Aliyah and Christyn improved their defense as the season went on. A fair comparison would also take into account the players that were on the rosters, which these players had to battle for playing time. That list would include 3 from UCONN's mount Rushmore (Stewie, Maya, Tina) and a slew of players that were would become AA (KML, Tuck, Moriah, Dolson, Harley, & Montgomery) + a bunch of really terrific players like (Tiffany Hayes, Caroline Doty, & Britney Hunter ).
UCONN roster last year was 11 players , no returning AA. That roster with the exception of Paige could not successfully compete for minutes against even that last last tier of players when they were freshman and healthy in the case of the Hunter and Doty.

A nice story for Brianna Bank,

After two years and two national championship rings, Banks tore her ACL. The currently-winningest machine in college basketball kept churning while she fought to recover, and she started getting left behind.

“With a program like that, once you’re out of the loop, (Auriemma) just kind of moves on,” said Rice. “And Geno is always recruiting top recruits, so it was like she never got her footing back up under her. She started not getting as much playing time, she got a little depressed.”

Banks decided to look into her transfer options, and caught the attention of Penn State head coach Coquese Washington, who actually went to school with Rice’s husband (Banks’ stepfather) Terrell Miller in Flint, Mich. When Washington heard Banks was planning to transfer, she got in touch with Miller and that was that.

https://www.centredaily.com/sports/college/penn-state-university/psu-basketball/article61407167.html

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Yes.
Absolutely.
Both Nika, Aliyah and Christyn improved their defense as the season went on. A fair comparison would also take into account the players that were on the rosters, which these players had to battle for playing time. That list would include 3 from UCONN's mount Rushmore (Stewie, Maya, Tina) and a slew of players that were would become AA (KML, Tuck, Moriah, Dolson, Harley, & Montgomery) + a bunch of really terrific players like (Tiffany Hayes, Caroline Doty, & Britney Hunter ).
UCONN roster last year was 11 players , no returning AA. That roster with the exception of Paige could not successfully compete for minutes against even that last last tier of players when they were freshman and healthy in the case of the Hunter and Doty.

Since we are talking about defense, let's not muddy the waters. As good as Ms. Hunter was before the injuries at Duke and the surgeries that followed, she wasn't as mobile when she came to UConn. KML was the weak link on defense for the teams she was on. Her freshman year, Stewie had problems defensively the better part of the year and Tina wasn't much better, if even she was. As much as I like Morgan, her knee issues was a problem early on defensively. Dolson was a good positional defender but no good on-ball. Neither Bria nor Renee were quick enough for the press during their freshman year. Caroline was indeed a hardnosed young lady but I wouldn't consider her great defensively to the point that her work on that end during her freshman year were not memorable to me. Moriah and Stewie became really great defenders their last three years - among the best ever seen at UConn, if not the best, and as a team, owed their defensive balance to the presence of a Kiah and a Kia as well as a Gabby later.

As for how last year's group compared with previous players based on their offense AND defense, your comments are fair with some exceptions but insofar as the freshmen go, you are judging them on the development under the most difficult of conditions, no preseason and a year with so many interruptions, hence the eye test is solely the final verdict, with sentiment for the past a significant factor as well. I am not suggesting the outcome would necessarily be different but there are possibilities of it being so.

Stefanie Dolson turned out to be an excellent player as an upperclassman BUT if you compare her freshman performance with Aaliyah's, the latter had a better year. Do you really remember Tiffany to be great her freshman year? I would disagree. As great as Moriah became in the last three years, she was only good as a freshman, sort of like how Nika became for a number of games once she was in the starting lineup, except Moriah shot the ball more.

I could go on but everything here cannot escape the realm of speculation since there is no directly relevant data with which to compare the key freshmen of last year to the past - clearly, they were a disadvantaged group in development, though that did not stop Paige from becoming what she showed everyone in the world she is.....to the rave reviews of no other than DT and Sue.

 

[oldude]

Since we are talking about defense, let's not muddy the waters. As good as Ms. Hunter was before the injuries at Duke and the surgeries that followed, she wasn't as mobile when she came to UConn. KML was the weak link on defense for the teams she was on. Her freshman year, Stewie had problems defensively the better part of the year and Tina wasn't much better, if even she was. As much as I like Morgan, her knee issues was a problem early on defensively. Dolson was a good positional defender but no good on-ball. Neither Bria nor Renee were quick enough for the press during their freshman year. Caroline was indeed a hardnosed young lady but I wouldn't consider her great defensively to the point that her work on that end during her freshman year were not memorable to me. Moriah and Stewie became really great defenders their last three years - among the best ever seen at UConn, if not the best, and as a team, owed their defensive balance to the presence of a Kiah and a Kia as well as a Gabby later.

As for how last year's group compared with previous players based on their offense AND defense, your comments are fair with some exceptions but insofar as the freshmen go, you are judging them on the development under the most difficult of conditions, no preseason and a year with so many interruptions, hence the eye test is solely the final verdict, with sentiment for the past a significant factor as well. I am not suggesting the outcome would necessarily be different but there are possibilities of it being so.

Stefanie Dolson turned out to be an excellent player as an upperclassman BUT if you compare her freshman performance with Aaliyah's, the latter had a better year. Do you really remember Tiffany to be great her freshman year? I would disagree. As great as Moriah became in the last three years, she was only good as a freshman, sort of like how Nika became for a number of games once she was in the starting lineup, except Moriah shot the ball more.

I could go on but everything here cannot escape the realm of speculation since there is no directly relevant data with which to compare the key freshmen of last year to the past - clearly, they were a disadvantaged group in development, though that did not stop Paige from becoming what she showed everyone in the world she is.....to the rave reviews of no other than DT and Sue.

One of the challenges in comparing the abilities of different classes of players, even over a relatively short 5-10 year period, is that there has been a significant increase in both the number of really talented players as well as their overall skill level.

Kids are coming out of HS “college ready.” There are literally hundreds of young players with size and remarkable skill. Many players are way too talented to lock down defensively, and just about everyone can shoot the 3. The best you can do is limit the damage.

Several players immediately come to mind: Ashley Owusu, Caitlyn Clark, Chelsea Dungee, Aari McDonald and UConn’s own Paige Bueckers to name a few. Players with that kind of talent are going to get their points almost every time they lace up their sneakers, regardless of who’s defending them.

That’s one of the challenges in making comparisons of UConn players from different classes. The players they’re competing against today are just plain better.

 

[CocoHusky]

Since we are talking about defense, let's not muddy the waters. As good as Ms. Hunter was before the injuries at Duke and the surgeries that followed, she wasn't as mobile when she came to UConn. KML was the weak link on defense for the teams she was on. Her freshman year, Stewie had problems defensively the better part of the year and Tina wasn't much better, if even she was. As much as I like Morgan, her knee issues was a problem early on defensively. Dolson was a good positional defender but no good on-ball. Neither Bria nor Renee were quick enough for the press during their freshman year. Caroline was indeed a hardnosed young lady but I wouldn't consider her great defensively to the point that her work on that end during her freshman year were not memorable to me. Moriah and Stewie became really great defenders their last three years - among the best ever seen at UConn, if not the best, and as a team, owed their defensive balance to the presence of a Kiah and a Kia as well as a Gabby later.

As for how last year's group compared with previous players based on their offense AND defense, your comments are fair with some exceptions but insofar as the freshmen go, you are judging them on the development under the most difficult of conditions, no preseason and a year with so many interruptions, hence the eye test is solely the final verdict, with sentiment for the past a significant factor as well. I am not suggesting the outcome would necessarily be different but there are possibilities of it being so.

Stefanie Dolson turned out to be an excellent player as an upperclassman BUT if you compare her freshman performance with Aaliyah's, the latter had a better year. Do you really remember Tiffany to be great her freshman year? I would disagree. As great as Moriah became in the last three years, she was only good as a freshman, sort of like how Nika became for a number of games once she was in the starting lineup, except Moriah shot the ball more.

I could go on but everything here cannot escape the realm of speculation since there is no directly relevant data with which to compare the key freshmen of last year to the past - clearly, they were a disadvantaged group in development, though that did not stop Paige from becoming what she showed everyone in the world she is.....to the rave reviews of no other than DT and Sue.

No intention to muddy the waters. Hunter and Dolson were cited as an example of the many quality players that were a part of the Faris teams not for there defensive ability. Recall that your original premise was that there were no players of Faris defensive ability on the Faris teams. I contend there were. These three Faris teammates (Kalana Greene, Kia Stokes & Brianna Banks) had significant competition to get on the floor to show those defensive skills.