The freshmen

[Centerstream]

It's true that Geno has told her to set up for corner 3s. In one of her interviews over the summer, Q said exactly this. In this sense, Geno wanted her to focus on one dimension, more or less.

But she seems to have more than this to offer. We've seen her running the floor in transition and getting transition layups, as well as getting a quick score in the lane on an inbounds play. She seems to be pretty crafty around the rim. What she doesn't seem to have is a midrange game, a dribble-stop jumper, floaters, back to the basket post moves, etc. In other words, Geno can develop other dimensions as soon as he has a reason to.

On the defensive side, she also needs to develop a bit, mainly in focus and intensity. She's got quick feet and long arms, which is the foundation. And in the Marquette game, she dove for a couple of loose balls and seemed willing to take up Geno's challenge to crank up the energy. I think we can see that she's not afraid to throw herself into it, and no amount of coaching can supply this if she doesn't already have it. The rest will come in time. And I suspect when he said in the presser yesterday that he wants her to have more practice and playing time, he was signaling that he wants her to develop in these other areas.

I was replying to a post that said Q was the best shooter of the 3. What I highlighted in your reply seems to agree with what I was asking about in my reply.

 

[HuskyNan]

If you are referring to me, not so. I do have a sense though that they’re timetable may be shorter than you do.

Please allow me my assessment and i will allow you yours.

?? Huh?

 

[Bone Dog]

I was replying to a post that said Q was the best shooter of the 3. What I highlighted in your reply seems to agree with what I was asking about in my reply.

Sorry. Sloppy writing on my part. I wasn’t disagreeing with you so much as expanding on something your post suggested to me. I tend to think out loud so to speak.

 

[Galaxyshooter]

Is Ice Brady considered one of the Freshmen?

 

[Rb335]

I don't understand what you are referring to or basing this on. I am not trying to argue with you but of these 3 freshmen, Q, so far, seems to be one dimensional. She appears to be more comfortable being in a corner, or on a wing, and shooting the 3 than being more involved in the motion. But this could be by design too.

Does anyone keep stats on "air balls"? Not trying to be cruel, but just off the top of my head, I think of these three, Q has the most. But she has made for it by her number of makes.

My basis is that by my eye and the stats, Q seems to be the best 3 point shooter of the freshman. She’s shooting the highest percentage from 3 of the freshman, and has made the same number as Shade on 8 fewer attempts.

I can agree that she is a bit one dimensional at times. But her one dimension has consistently been that she can shoot the 3. I’m not saying she’s the best player of group, or playing the best basketball. She’s not even the best at generating open looks. But when she gets the really open looks, I’ve liked her ability to knock them down.

My post was intended to highlight how perimeter scoring from the freshman will be important. I tried to include positives about all three, to highlight how huge their impact has been and will be.

 

[Dogstar]

If you are referring to me, not so. I do have a sense though that they’re timetable may be shorter than you do.

Please allow me my assessment and i will allow you yours.

Their timetable? As freshmen they've played...what 2 months? I thk they're doing great and their future looks extremely bright. I can't wait to see their sophomore leap and their junior jump.

 

[MilfordHusky]

One game doesn't change the season stats much, but the trio is still doing well:

Ash 10.6 ppg, shooting 54/35/100

KK 9.7 ppg, shooting 55/40/69

Q 6.3 ppg, shooting 46/39/50.

In comparison, P. Buckets is scoring 19.3 ppg and shooting 54/51/81.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[oldude]

View attachment 94870

I‘m not quite prepared to say that Ashlynn is the equal of Azzi, the player she essentially replaced in the starting lineup. But what is clear is that Ashlynn is more aggressive shooting the ball than Azzi, she gives relentless effort on both ends of the court and her strength and conditioning permit her to play the entire game at an extremely high performance level.

 

[HuskyNan]

I‘m not quite prepared to say that Ashlynn is the equal of Azzi, the player she essentially replaced in the starting lineup. But what is clear is that Ashlynn is more aggressive shooting the ball than Azzi, she gives relentless effort on both ends of the court and her strength and conditioning permit her to play the entire game at an extremely high performance level.

I was thinking Ash was more like Lou, a clutch shooter when the team needs a bucket

 

[Bone Dog]

View attachment 94870

... and 40 makes out of 69 shots is way efficient, 58%. Of course, she's shooting 54% for the entire season and, no surprise, 100% on FTs

 

[oldude]

I was thinking Ash was more like Lou, a clutch shooter when the team needs a bucket

Interesting comparison. I have always felt that in each game someone on the team needs to “take the lid of the basket” by knocking down a 3, taking the pressure off the rest of the team to start knocking down shots as well.

Lou was that player last year, same as the other Lou a few years ago, and you are correct that Ashlynn has become that player on this year’s team. I don’t know if it’s by design or not, but over the stretch of games that Ashlynn & KK have started, Ashlynn frequently puts up the first shot for the Huskies, often makes it, and then it’s off to the races for UConn.

 

[HuskyNan]

Ashlynn

3 point FG, 20-58, 34.5%
2 point FG, 38-50, 76.0%
Total FG%, 58-108, 53.7%

she also has a total 12 turnovers and 17 fouls in 14 games (347 minutes). At least 1 of the fouls was a Phantom Phoul yesterday

 

[mmeade258]

Ashlynn Shade is the REAL DEAL!

She plays with so much joy & every time she does ANYTHING to help the team
She’s so excited & smiling. It’s truly a joy to watch her play.

 

[AmeriConn]

“FRESHY”

 

[reelfan]

I credit Tanya for developing the freshmen. She has shown a real knack at growing guard play over the years and continues to do so.

 

[tower1]

My basis is that by my eye and the stats, Q seems to be the best 3 point shooter of the freshman. She’s shooting the highest percentage from 3 of the freshman, and has made the same number as Shade on 8 fewer attempts.

I can agree that she is a bit one dimensional at times. But her one dimension has consistently been that she can shoot the 3. I’m not saying she’s the best player of group, or playing the best basketball. She’s not even the best at generating open looks. But when she gets the really open looks, I’ve liked her ability to knock them down.

My post was intended to highlight how perimeter scoring from the freshman will be important. I tried to include positives about all three, to highlight how huge their impact has been and will be.

Q is not as good as Shade shooting the ball. She misses too much which I call turnovers. She needs to stop shooting as soon as she gets in the game. Shade is way ahead of Q playing defense . Q is going to get better but she is not there yet.

 

[HuskyNan]

Q is not as good as Shade shooting the ball. She misses too much which I call turnovers. She needs to stop shooting as soon as she gets in the game. Shade is way ahead of Q playing defense . Q is going to get better but she is not there yet.

Q has a higher 3 point field goal percentage and is shooting a respectable 45.6% overall. After a recent game Geno wisecracked that he told Q to keep shooting even if she missed her first few shots and she looked at him like, “Are you crazy? Of course I’ll keep shooting “. He also said, “I love that”.

 

[Zarathustra]

View attachment 94870

NICE stat analysis!!

 

[Conndog]

I’m also a Q fan and agree that the comparison to Aubrey is not all that apt.

Similar in height, but what else? Sure, maybe Q could bulk up to approximate Aubrey’s strength, but can she ‘speed’ up?

And they’re not all that similar in personality, at least as it shows up on the offensive side. Aubrey is a finisher and a reluctant midrange and perimeter shooter. Q is a dynamite perimeter shooter who doesn’t take a lot of midrange shots but seems unafraid to go to the rim either on the break or on an inbounds play. We haven’t seen her slash to the rim in a half court set.

And on defense, it’s hard to find a real similarity. Q will improve, make the right switches, figure out how to disrupt the passing lanes, block more shots with those long arms.

Q is already a clever rebounder and she’ll improve at boxing out, but she may never be the ‘energizer bunny’ Aubrey often is when it comes to rebounding. For one thing, she’s not much of a leaper while Aubrey might as well wear a cape some nights.

When Aubrey is ‘on’ I think opposing teams feel like she is everywhere — blocking their shots, stealing their passes, turning every mistake into a fast break layup — while Q is harder to spot on defense, a subtler presence. She doesn’t present opponents with the “shock and awe” campaign Aubrey does.

I suspect that Q can develop her game in some of these areas, but we will primarily know her as a deadly perimeter shooter who plays subtle but effective defense, sneaks into the paint to steal a rebound from the bigs, and can get out on the break. And we’ll be very pleased with the contribution she makes.

If I were @Carnac (where is he anyway?) I might predict a career average stat line like 14 pts, 50% fgs, 40% on 3s, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 2 blocks. A line like this will get her into the W.

I like Q too and think she has great potential. She doesn't have to be Aubrey 2. I agree it would help her to get stronger and put on a little weight. I also hope she will develop more of an inside game offensively- in my opinion, her outside shooting is too streaky. Team needs her to box out and grab rebounds which she is doing to some degree. It's a fun ride so far this season watching them all gel and get better!

 

[Majic Hands]

My thoughts on our four freshman.

Ash: Is UConn ready. I don't see anything she needs to stop doing or adjust. I think she's recognizing when she wasn't in the right position and gets it. Ash is getting better every game. Geno sent the Ash the freshman to shoot the intentional foul shots for the team. Just-Say-N.

KK: Is ready to play at the collegiate level. I don't think she has figured out yet that she's no longer playing against average high school players. Hasn't figured out yet that sometimes you have to go with the odds/percentage at this level. I've seen her sprint out ahead of her teammates to attack the basket but it's well defended with "experienced" players all of which see her coming resulting in a change of possession. Yes I'm being nitpicking, I'm hoping for more with her being surrounded by some of the best collegiate player for the next three years. Next year I'm not expecting her to be the least experienced PG on the floor. If she wants to be the coach on the floor she's got a lot to learn quickly.

Q: I apologize, I'm dyslexic and don't have time to find copy/paste her name. Has taken the do what you do best to heart. So she is shooting whenever the ball hits her hands. Once she gets up to speed I think she will begin to pick the spots when she wants to shoot and her percentages will go up. She could become the most prolific three-point shooter the team has for the next three years. Knowing that Aubrey wasn't available and that she was getting minutes that would have been Aubrey's added pressure but I think she grew her game last night. She was a contributor. I'm giving her a pass on her 3 point shooting against Georgetown. Holy Cow she's playing for "UConn" in front of her home town crowd for the first time!

Ice: Yes, I consider Ice to be a freshman. Ice hasn't had a fast start. I think she's on pace for a freshman. Looking at her game last night again Georgetown I think her development may be quicker than most bigs. I'm hoping that by the time we get to the tournament she will be an effective big whether at the 4 or 5 spot.

Well there you go. That's my thoughts on our friendship through the Georgetown game. I'm hoping to get to watch them for three more years.

 

[Galaxyshooter]

I‘m not quite prepared to say that Ashlynn is the equal of Azzi, the player she essentially replaced in the starting lineup. But what is clear is that Ashlynn is more aggressive shooting the ball than Azzi, she gives relentless effort on both ends of the court and her strength and conditioning permit her to play the entire game at an extremely high performance level.

maybe she's not as good as Azzi but I was taught your best ability is your availability and she is definitely more available and durable than Azzi now imagine if they're both available next year and if Paige stays..OMG!!!

 

[Dogstar]

I agree with a lot

I’m also a Q fan and agree that the comparison to Aubrey is not all that apt.

Similar in height, but what else? Sure, maybe Q could bulk up to approximate Aubrey’s strength, but can she ‘speed’ up?

And they’re not all that similar in personality, at least as it shows up on the offensive side. Aubrey is a finisher and a reluctant midrange and perimeter shooter. Q is a dynamite perimeter shooter who doesn’t take a lot of midrange shots but seems unafraid to go to the rim either on the break or on an inbounds play. We haven’t seen her slash to the rim in a half court set.

And on defense, it’s hard to find a real similarity. Q will improve, make the right switches, figure out how to disrupt the passing lanes, block more shots with those long arms.

Q is already a clever rebounder and she’ll improve at boxing out, but she may never be the ‘energizer bunny’ Aubrey often is when it comes to rebounding. For one thing, she’s not much of a leaper while Aubrey might as well wear a cape some nights.

When Aubrey is ‘on’ I think opposing teams feel like she is everywhere — blocking their shots, stealing their passes, turning every mistake into a fast break layup — while Q is harder to spot on defense, a subtler presence. She doesn’t present opponents with the “shock and awe” campaign Aubrey does.

I suspect that Q can develop her game in some of these areas, but we will primarily know her as a deadly perimeter shooter who plays subtle but effective defense, sneaks into the paint to steal a rebound from the bigs, and can get out on the break. And we’ll be very pleased with the contribution she makes.

If I were @Carnac (where is he anyway?) I might predict a career average stat line like 14 pts, 50% fgs, 40% on 3s, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 2 blocks. A line like this will get her into the W.

I agree with a lot of ur points but let not compare a freshman to a seasoned veteran it's not fair, a better comparison would probably be to wait until the end of the season and compare their freshman campaigns. It's only been 3 months.

 

[MSGRET]

I believe that one of the reasons that Ash is so good at the charity strip is that she lines up her right foot with the center of the hoop. When I played in Jr. High our coach taught us to line up your shooting foot with the center of the basket. I thought he was crazy, but I went from a 55% FT shooter to an 87%. He said that it lines the body and forces the eyes to see the center vs having both of your feet on the line doesn't always see center, I never doubted him after that.

 

[Bone Dog]

I agree with a lot

I agree with a lot of ur points but let not compare a freshman to a seasoned veteran it's not fair, a better comparison would probably be to wait until the end of the season and compare their freshman campaigns. It's only been 3 months.

The freshmen have to play against seasoned veterans every game. If that's not a comparison, I don't know what is.