We're looking pretty dog gone good

[Tonyc]

A couple of thoughts after reading these threads. I dont see anybody not getting enough earned playtime. We have so many top players on the roster not to play them. They all need to be developed for this seasons future and beyond. Some will develop faster then others and those coming back from injury will come back at their own pace also. With that said having the roster we have is a good thing because many of these kids coming back from injury may not be able to play alot of minutes and the concern of reinjury wont be some much of a concern.

Chen brings experience to a very young and talented team. Last season we lacked experience and enough scorers. Chen is here for one season and that gives those coming back from injury time and those youngsters time to develop and learn the system. The addition of Chen gives us another option at the point and a point who can score and more importantly play defense. She will not take anybody's place. She will allow everybody else to develop with the undue pressure of having to score much like we had last season. She also is another option so we wont have to worry about foul trouble or being tired from playing to many minutes.

I am looking forward to seeing the improvement in Ash KK Q and Ice all who played alot of minutes last season. They gained alot of experience and helped UConn to the FF. With Aubrey coming back and Chen now committed our defense is going to be even better. I believe alot of us havent really thought about how much more improved our defense will be.

This is a loaded roster with some of the best WCBB players in the country. They are going to be very tuff to beat. They also have players who need time to get back on track and players who need experience to develop. With the addition of Chen that answers that question. We dont have to play injured players or inexperienced players for long minutes, like we did last season.

If there is one thing we lack its another big. Perhaps we get one and perhaps we dont. It may not effect us as much as we think because we have Jana. A healthy Jana will fill that gap. Geno has said he likes what he sees in Jana and that she is very athletic. With Ice getting significant time last season and Sarah coming in along with Yana coming back from injury we have the height that we lacked last season.

Those of you concerned about players taking other players position or not getting enough playtime I dont see it. Players coming back from injury are going to need time to readapt and players who havent played college ball are going to need to to develop and more importantly gain confidence. There will be plenty of time for everybody because not everybody will be ready at the start of the season.

 

[BBallF]

I think if last season proved anything (as if it needed to be proven with 11 rings) it was that we have the best coach ever in women's basketball and perhaps ever in basketball. Honestly, getting to the Final Four last year with 4 freshmen and only 7 players and so many weaknesses and missing pieces was arguably his best job ever. Having an embarrassment of riches this year, assuming we stay healthy, is a nice problem to have and I have no doubt that that it will be a benefit, not a detriment in the long run. In short, he will handle it and make it work well. Another big would be the icing on the cake but I think that a NC will depend ultimately on one player and that is Paige. She is absolutely due to have a FF for the ages.

 

[Bone Dog]

Thank you, @Tonyc, for a much needed shot in the arm.

Players coming back from injury are going to need time to readapt and players who havent played college ball are going to need time to develop and more importantly gain confidence.

This is especially pertinent and easily forgotten as happens every summer. Even Sarah will need time to adjust to the level of D1 play at the basketball capitol of the universe.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think if last season proved anything (as if it needed to be proven with 11 rings) it was that we have the best coach ever in women's basketball and perhaps ever in basketball. Honestly, getting to the Final Four last year with 4 freshmen and only 7 players and so many weaknesses and missing pieces was arguably his best job ever. Having an embarrassment of riches this year, assuming we stay healthy, is a nice problem to have and I have no doubt that that it will be a benefit, not a detriment in the long run. In short, he will handle it and make it work well. Another big would be the icing on the cake but I think that a NC will depend ultimately on one player and that is Paige. She is absolutely due to have a FF for the ages.

We thought there was an embarrassment of riches last year and look what happened At least Kaitlyn has no history of injuries and the now-sophomores seem durable (knock on wood)

 

[WiseWillie]

We thought there was an embarrassment of riches last year and look what happened At least Kaitlyn has no history of injuries and the now-sophomores seem durable (knock on wood)

Knock on wood? Been knocking on wood so much my orthopedist said I have carpel tunnel syndrome and need to wear a wrist brace.

 

[BRS24]

Based on the infinite loop of challenges that UConn has had over the last few years, I'm thinking (hoping?) that the current players have all bought in with the potential of a larger roster of available players. Less worrying about PT, and more focus on winning games without 5-6 players bearing the weight of 35+ MPG.

 

[Rowdy831]

So you have:

1s-Paige, KK, Morgan and Kaitlyn.
2s-Azzi, Ash, Allie
3s-Sarah, Caroline, Aubrey and Q
4s- Ice and Ayanna
5s-Jana

With no setbacks or new injury issues the team should be ready to go at full strength by the time conference starts which means they will have a lot of options and all of them will be pretty solid ones at that. As with any team it will come down to chemistry which is much easier to predict when you have a great leader and they have Paige.

My keys to success come down to the 4s. If Ayanna comes back at 100% I expect her to be the one that has the breakout season and will be a great complimentary player to Jana. Ice will will also be very important but I don't think she needs to be a starter to make a big impact for the team.

 

[Bone Dog]

So you have:

1s-Paige, KK, Morgan and Kaitlyn.
2s-Azzi, Ash, Allie
3s-Sarah, Caroline, Aubrey and Q
4s- Ice and Ayanna
5s-Jana

With no setbacks or new injury issues the team should be ready to go at full strength by the time conference starts which means they will have a lot of options and all of them will be pretty solid ones at that. As with any team it will come down to chemistry which is much easier to predict when you have a great leader and they have Paige.

My keys to success come down to the 4s. If Ayanna comes back at 100% I expect her to be the one that has the breakout season and will be a great complimentary player to Jana. Ice will will also be very important but I don't think she needs to be a starter to make a big impact for the team.

Well said. Agree about Ayanna.

And when you put the list that way, it's a lot easier to see how Jana will thrive on a team like this. There will not be a ton of pressure on her offensively or defensively by February once the team gets rolling.

And I especially agree about the impact of Paige as team leader. She took over a lot of this role from Nika last season, since the previous season Nika was the clear leader and floor general. Paige will need to do even more of this next season... at least until Morgan and KK and Sarah fully take the reins.

 

[jcoton56]

We certainly appear to be doomed.Doomed Isay!

 

[CTBballfan243]

A couple of thoughts after reading these threads. I dont see anybody not getting enough earned playtime. We have so many top players on the roster not to play them. They all need to be developed for this seasons future and beyond. Some will develop faster then others and those coming back from injury will come back at their own pace also. With that said having the roster we have is a good thing because many of these kids coming back from injury may not be able to play alot of minutes and the concern of reinjury wont be some much of a concern.

Chen brings experience to a very young and talented team. Last season we lacked experience and enough scorers. Chen is here for one season and that gives those coming back from injury time and those youngsters time to develop and learn the system. The addition of Chen gives us another option at the point and a point who can score and more importantly play defense. She will not take anybody's place. She will allow everybody else to develop with the undue pressure of having to score much like we had last season. She also is another option so we wont have to worry about foul trouble or being tired from playing to many minutes.

I am looking forward to seeing the improvement in Ash KK Q and Ice all who played alot of minutes last season. They gained alot of experience and helped UConn to the FF. With Aubrey coming back and Chen now committed our defense is going to be even better. I believe alot of us havent really thought about how much more improved our defense will be.

This is a loaded roster with some of the best WCBB players in the country. They are going to be very tuff to beat. They also have players who need time to get back on track and players who need experience to develop. With the addition of Chen that answers that question. We dont have to play injured players or inexperienced players for long minutes, like we did last season.

If there is one thing we lack its another big. Perhaps we get one and perhaps we dont. It may not effect us as much as we think because we have Jana. A healthy Jana will fill that gap. Geno has said he likes what he sees in Jana and that she is very athletic. With Ice getting significant time last season and Sarah coming in along with Yana coming back from injury we have the height that we lacked last season.

Those of you concerned about players taking other players position or not getting enough playtime I dont see it. Players coming back from injury are going to need time to readapt and players who havent played college ball are going to need to to develop and more importantly gain confidence. There will be plenty of time for everybody because not everybody will be ready at the start of the season.

It’s premature to say “We’re looking pretty dog gone good”. UConn hasn’t done anything yet, we don’t even know who willl be healthy enough to play. I will take a wait and see approach, I remember when there was talk of 5 straight National Championships after Paige and Azzi signed with UConn. On paper UConn looks good, unfortunately, the games are played on the court. Hopefully things work out for UConn. We just need to take things 1 day at a time.

 

[Charliebball]

UConn looks great in the backcourt but is missing that one powerful defensive presence that's needed to battle the bigs of South Carolina and other strong rebounding front courts........Beers would be the answer but sadly, the odds of landing her have faded....

 

[Charliebball]

that ends that......






Skim Milkey

@SkimMilkey
·
23m

Raegan Beers, YOU are a Sooner.

 

[Bone Dog]

I’m relieved. No Beers. Geno can focus on Jana, whom he is very high on. I don’t care who else folks are dreaming of. This roster looks darn good to me. And in case anyone worries that looks can be deceiving, I’m with you. It looked bad in January and yet it turned out really well. I expect we’re are once again in the running for an NC. If all goes well, not only will we get one, but Jana may prove instrumental in it. Will there be some struggles finding her way in the system early on? Of course there will be. But that will be one of the things we remember most fondly about next season.

As you can see, I’m in full @Carnac mode.

 

[Charliebball]

I’m relieved. No Beers. Geno can focus on Jana, whom he is very high on. I don’t care who else folks are dreaming of. This roster looks darn good to me. And in case anyone worries that looks can be deceiving, I’m with you. It looked bad in January and yet it turned out really well. I expect we’re are once again in the running for an NC. If all goes well, not only will we get one, but Jana may prove instrumental in it. Will there be some struggles finding her way in the system early on? Of course there will be. But that will be one of the things we remember most fondly about next season.

As you can see, I’m in full @Carnac mode.

To place such lofty expectations on a freshman coming back from a serious injury is tricky.........Jana is clearly a talented player but as we've seen so many times before it takes time for bigs to become accustomed to college ball...........my sense is it's going to be all hands on deck in the front court with Jana, Ice and Ayanna all attempting to prove themselves as the season progresses.......hopefully all three quickly develop into the kind of players we thought they'd be when they were recruited.....

 

[Bone Dog]

my sense is it's going to be all hands on deck in the front court with Jana, Ice and Ayanna all attempting to prove themselves as the season progresses....

Are you trying to steal my turban?

 

[huskeynut]

I am very happy with this roster. The addition of Kaitlin covers the most likely delayed return of Azzi and Caroline. Both will be questions marks and need time to settle in. Let us not forget the fine play of KK and Ash last season. These two will be there and will continue to grow. I'm not forgetting Q and Ice. Q is special and Ice showed us she can play down low and board.

Then we have the frosh. I'll say it now, Jana is going to be a rock in the low post. Strong will take a little while but she has the talent and the body to bang away. The two guards, Morgan and Allie, will see minutes and develop nicely.

Ayanna I have no idea. We will see but she could be a big help down low. We will not see Aubrey until mid January at the earliest. And she to will need time to get in game shape.

And then, "we have Paige and you don't" says it all. She is the undisputed leader of the pack!

 

[Charliebball]

Are you trying to steal my turban?

No that belongs to Carnac........

 

[drsteven]

UConn looks great in the backcourt but is missing that one powerful defensive presence that's needed to battle the bigs of South Carolina and other strong rebounding front courts........Beers would be the answer but sadly, the odds of landing her have faded....

Defensive presence isn't just about inches, points and rebounds, which Beers would have given, but if you look at our opposing gender counter parts, it wasn't inches, or points or rebounds that gave us defensive presence, it was all heart, Clingon have us fight, desire, and grit to not give up those precious inches down low, or to make it a physical struggle for the opponent to gain those few inches.

 

[Bigboote]

It’s premature to say “We’re looking pretty dog gone good”.

Are you kidding? If Tonyc wasn't saying we're looking pretty darned good now, I'd be scared as hell about the upcoming season!

 

[Huskee11]

Our perimeter game is going to be amazing, simply loaded with future first round WNBA prospects.

We will need Jana, Ice and Ayanna to fight like crazy inside against the other premier teams like SC, USC, LSU, ND and Texas. Sarah and Aubrey (when healthy) as well, even though they are technically perimeter players.

That is it. We need to at least get a draw on the inside game. Have to hold our own.

I am hoping that Jana is fully recovered to start the season and makes me wonder what the heck I was worried about.

 

[Skeets]

We are putting a lot of pressure on Jana. After all she is only an incoming freshman. But her father was the coach back home, so that helps my concern a little bit. Let's give her a little bit slack and hope she doesn't need it. Also, I never consider Ayanna a big. Maybe an undersized 4, but she has leaps and can get up off the floor. I still want to see the kid who can push Ash out of the starting rotation. Ash can be the new Nika on defense, but score more on offense. As I said in another thread, 1 tough kid.

Paige will be Paige, hopefully Azzi comes back 100% and Aubrey too, Ice continues to progress, somehow find the minutes for KK that she deserves. I want to see lots of minutes for the freshmen, especially in the BE games which should not be competitive. Sarah? What about Sarah? What about Chen. OMG! (I'm in Tony mode.)

Finally I want to see everyone healthy.

 

[Charliebball]

Defensive presence isn't just about inches, points and rebounds, which Beers would have given, but if you look at our opposing gender counter parts, it wasn't inches, or points or rebounds that gave us defensive presence, it was all heart, Clingon have us fight, desire, and grit to not give up those precious inches down low, or to make it a physical struggle for the opponent to gain those few inches.

UConn has lacked an intimidating shot blocker since ONO graduated..........her ability to shut down drives to the lane and interior shots was of major importance to the UConn defense...........South Carolina's frontcourt is extremely athletic, and they are all hungry for the ball at both ends of the court............you're simply not outrebounding them consistently with less athletic six foot forwards.........with her great physical abilities (if healthy) Ayanna Patterson's play next season on the defensive end and on the boards may be more important than most people realize...........

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

I’m relieved. No Beers. Geno can focus on Jana, whom he is very high on. I don’t care who else folks are dreaming of. This roster looks darn good to me. And in case anyone worries that looks can be deceiving, I’m with you. It looked bad in January and yet it turned out really well. I expect we’re are once again in the running for an NC. If all goes well, not only will we get one, but Jana may prove instrumental in it. Will there be some struggles finding her way in the system early on? Of course there will be. But that will be one of the things we remember most fondly about next season.

As you can see, I’m in full @Carnac mode.

My thoughts as well. But if Geno and the players decide on another post, knowing what they know now and for the program’s future — it’s their team after all — I’ll be comfortable with it as well.

Now to address the Big angst on the board — Bigs. As in, South Carolina’s Bigs#. And really those Bigs for all the marbles in April, as I think most would agree that UConn’s team will be enough, G*d-willing, for any team with the exception of SC because of those Bigs.

Things to consider:

• None of those Bigs are named Boston or Cardoso;
• Only 5 players can play at the same time for a team and playing more than 3 6’3+ players at a time is mostly non-sensical;
• Our injured players’ one-year surgery anniversary is January 2025, so perhaps Aubrey and Yanna will be available and fully contributing by April; and
• Geno knows how to win a national championship against athletic tall line-ups, i.e. Tennessee’s 1999 team that boasted Catchings (6’2), Jackson (6’2), Snow (6’5), Pillow (6’3), Stephens (6’4), with the 1999 team (TASSK second year) which is similar to the 2024 team.

# Kitts (6’2), Edwards (6’3), Watkins (6’3), Feagin (6’3), Tac (6’5), Walker (6’4). As a group, only 3 have D1 experience.

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

Guys... let's all breathe.. We are good. We are more than good... With Sarah, Morgan, and Allie coming to Storrs, plus Jana, Azzi, Aubrey, and Ayanna coming back from injury, add in Ice's progress, and sprinkle in our amazing freshman class of KK, Ashlynn, and Q, we are going to be a freight train running thru every team. The trick is having a really strong OOC schedule. Respectfully, it appears that Big East play will basically be seen as practice sessions for Uconn to try out different plays and different starting 5 combinations.

WE ARE GOOD GOOD FOLKS !!!