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Post by rockymtblue2 on Feb 8, 2021 11:38:30 GMT -5
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Post by bulkey on Feb 8, 2021 11:53:29 GMT -5
Having Nika at point (first, getting playing time because of Anna's injury, and then, getting to start because of Aubrey's) has repositioned Paige physically on the court. She no longer brings the ball up and looks for players to pass to. She now looks to get the pass and shoot.
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Post by swash on Feb 8, 2021 11:59:22 GMT -5
My biggest "worry" about this is whether the rest of the team will be ready and willing to pick Paige up if she has a bad shooting night. Play is play. These things go in cycles. We'll be delighted if Paige never misses again, but the fact that she's lit it up lately just shows that she can (which is awesome), not that we can put into the bank that we'll always see 30/night at 50-60% efficiency. |
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Post by bulkey on Feb 8, 2021 12:04:05 GMT -5
My biggest "worry" about this is whether the rest of the team will be ready and willing to pick Paige up if she has a bad shooting night. Play is play. These things go in cycles. We'll be delighted if Paige never misses again, but the fact that she's lit it up lately just shows that she can (which is awesome), not that we can put into the bank that we'll always see 30/night at 50-60% efficiency. There's going to be reversion to the mean; that's inevitable. But Paige has many ways to be effective. And she fights her way back to efficacy. She was really, really cold against Tennessee, and yet came back, ankle taped, to hit the big shot. Great players have very short memories. |
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Post by swash on Feb 8, 2021 12:11:41 GMT -5
Having Nika at point (first, getting playing time because of Anna's injury, and then, getting to start because of Aubrey's) has repositioned Paige physically on the court. She no longer brings the ball up and looks for players to pass to. She now looks to get the pass and shoot. Paige and Evina shared that role before, with Christyn as pressure release valve when needed. Nika adds another option, and she's better at it than CW (who isn't terrible, but that's not her bailiwick). I think the recent ascent of Paige is less about repositioning than about the team adding specific motions (structure, picks, etc) to free her up ... and her understanding that once that happens, she has to take the shot - else the effort would have been wasted |
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Post by bulkey on Feb 8, 2021 12:18:58 GMT -5
Having Nika at point (first, getting playing time because of Anna's injury, and then, getting to start because of Aubrey's) has repositioned Paige physically on the court. She no longer brings the ball up and looks for players to pass to. She now looks to get the pass and shoot. Paige and Evina shared that role before, with Christyn as pressure release valve when needed. Nika adds another option, and she's better at it than CW (who isn't terrible, but that's not her bailiwick). I think the recent ascent of Paige is less about repositioning than about the team adding specific motions (structure, picks, etc) to free her up ... and her understanding that once that happens, she has to take the shot - else the effort would have been wasted Good point: definitely the motion plays are starting to get worked in to the offense in practice and games more effectively: we saw that spectacularly at Marquette. Still, for the quick shots, whether 3s or drives, off the initial set, Paige is in a better position to score when playing off the ball. When Nika's in the game, there's no question about where Paige sets up. Nika will continue to get her big minutes; she's really earned them. But it's unlikely that she'll start against a big team like South Carolina...assuming Aubrey's ready. So, interesting to see if Evina takes on more responsibility at the 1. |
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Feb 8, 2021 15:23:58 GMT -5
I don't know. Geno says Nika changes the defense for the better, and it is not just her individual efforts. We are starting to have nice problems as the depth/talent takes hold. Nika's passing is hard to give up on the offense, though Evina is far from shabby. Aubrey is light years away from Nika's ability to read and react. Depends what you are looking for, but Aubrey is no point guard - more like a small forward.
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Post by chicagogg on Feb 8, 2021 15:51:54 GMT -5
I'm thinking Nika is a solid starter for tonight, and the foreseeable future. She frees up Paige to be Paige, and makes a lot of solid contributions herself. As they both said last week - they're twins, why wouldn't they play well together?
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Post by UConnChapette on Feb 8, 2021 16:10:06 GMT -5
You know what is so fun? There are so many possible starting combinations. No matter who is in the line up at tip off, there are players with unique strengths to come in off the bench and change the complexion and pace that will require Dawn to make offensive and defensive adjustments.
For as short a time as these players have had to figure out how to play together (7 freshmen!!!) the last few games they have played like a veteran squad. Granted, some of the competition has not been top 10 caliber teams. But the freshmen are playing with such maturity and do not seem to be intimidated by anyone they play.
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Post by bulkey on Feb 8, 2021 16:12:39 GMT -5
It's a good problem, but a challenge nonetheless, to have Paige, Christyn, Evina AND Nika on the court at the same time against a big team. That's one area of rotation.
The other good problem/challenge is to find minutes for the 3 bigs.
Swash highlighted the picks and screens that are now being set for Paige. I'm sure the coaching staff has progressively been working these into the practices, not giving the kids too much to learn at any one time.
And so what else jumped out at me in the Marquette game was how effective Liv was in setting the pick. There's a growing cohesion to the team, where individual roles are being subordinated to the overall team strategy.
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Post by doggydaddy on Feb 8, 2021 16:31:23 GMT -5
It's a good problem, but a challenge nonetheless, to have Paige, Christyn, Evina AND Nika on the court at the same time against a big team. That's one area of rotation. The other good problem/challenge is to find minutes for the 3 bigs. Swash highlighted the picks and screens that are now being set for Paige. I'm sure the coaching staff has progressively been working these into the practices, not giving the kids too much to learn at any one time. And so what else jumped out at me in the Marquette game was how effective Liv was in setting the pick. There's a growing cohesion to the team, where individual roles are being subordinated to the overall team strategy. The only mismatch when UConn has the four guards on the court at the same time is Saxton. She is tough at 6'2" in the post. But if you are just comparing height? South Carolina 6'5" Boston 6'2" Saxton 6'1" Beal 5'9" Cooke 5'7" Henderson UConn 6'5" ONO 6' Westbrook 5'11" Williams 5'11" Bueckers 5'10" Muhl It's not a huge advantage for South Carolina. |
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Post by bulkey on Feb 8, 2021 16:44:02 GMT -5
It's a good problem, but a challenge nonetheless, to have Paige, Christyn, Evina AND Nika on the court at the same time against a big team. That's one area of rotation. The other good problem/challenge is to find minutes for the 3 bigs. Swash highlighted the picks and screens that are now being set for Paige. I'm sure the coaching staff has progressively been working these into the practices, not giving the kids too much to learn at any one time. And so what else jumped out at me in the Marquette game was how effective Liv was in setting the pick. There's a growing cohesion to the team, where individual roles are being subordinated to the overall team strategy. The only mismatch when UConn has the four guards on the court at the same time is Saxton. She is tough at 6'2" in the post. But if you are just comparing height? South Carolina 6'5" Boston 6'2" Saxton 6'1" Beal 5'9" Cooke 5'7" Henderson UConn 6'5" ONO 6' Westbrook 5'11" Williams 5'11" Bueckers 5'10" Muhl It's not a huge advantage for South Carolina. True, Sexton would pose a challenge if UConn goes small. But I'd also worry that Liv would get into foul trouble early guarding Boston without weak side help from Aaliyah or Aubrey. Guess we'll see in a couple of hrs! |
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Post by semper on Feb 8, 2021 18:46:06 GMT -5
15 minutes. Butterflies.
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