Dorka's got a Deuce

+1 
Geno basically says this near the end of this amazing interview:

www.ctpost.com/sports/article/A-loaded-roster-gives-UConn-women-an-16093579.php

Dorka is no 5, but she runs the floor fantastically well and hits the boards effectively. She and Aaliyah in there together, as compared to Liv, may hurt the interior defense somewhat. And the offense might lack a high post (tough position to learn, though Aaliyah continues to surprise). But it would be "Showtime" on the offense.

Instead of just looking at stats I should have looked at some video first. There is a highlight video of Dorka on Youtube from the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2017. Just a young kid. It will knock your socks off. She is the whole package. She can REALLY run, she has great hands, can use both hands shooting layups equally well, is a relentless rebounder, is a very good ballhandler and passer. She plays with an edge (that word again). In one sequence there's a tie up and Dorka just rips the ball away from the other girl so hard you wondered if the arm came with it. This was 4 years ago! With the right coach she wouldn't have been just all big 10, she would have been an All American. Based on her rebounding prowess I seen no reason why she can't be a good shot blocker, and with her quickness and foot speed a solid defender overall.

Thanks so much, Ken, for the shoutout on Tubman. Indeed, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the depth of her courage.

The 3 pt stats you cite are from this past year. The previous year she hit 40% from 3--though I suspect that's still not what Geno wants. She has a shockingly low FT %. She will really need to work on that.

I get it. I believe I've watched EVERY game she's played at UConn. I'm not here to make excuses for her - or any player or coach. But...........cut her some slack. I've written before and will again:  maybe she's doing the best she can.

Try to be a little bit kinder. We need kindness in this world and in sports, not just harsh assessment. 

I don't think grrrr was attacking Liv per se, but rather stating that she has, indeed, underperformed at key moments. Maybe the concern is exactly what you say: that she's doing the best she can. All the UConn players sitting on the bench are there because their best is just not quite good enough. This is Geno's own words:

“I think Aaliyah made incredible progress from day one,” Auriemma said. “She’s really physical, she plays hard every possession, she competes for everything, she did a great job finishing around the basket, she offensive rebounded, which was crucial for us, and she defended. I could see her next year getting the bulk of the touches among all of the post players. I have incredibly high expectations for Aaliyah, and for where she's going in the future. And Liv is going to be a senior. If Liv stays the same, then it’s obviously going to be a difficult senior year for Liv. If Liv adds some things to her game and makes the adjustments she needs to make, she's going to be a big factor and we're going to be fine.”

I'm a big Liv fan. I think she brings a great deal to the high post, which is probably the hardest position in basketball to play. But, between talking up Aaliyah and bringing in Dorka, Geno is clearly trying to increase his options.

Let's not go overboard. Geno has perhaps exaggerated the weaknesses of a key player at least once or twice before, right?

Liv could be AA next year. She wasn't that far away this past season. Yes, she needs to continue improving. Her offense was good, her defense was very good. She played strong in some key moments... against tough bigs late vs SCar and TN. She didn't handle AZ or Baylor anywhere near as well, and she would agree.

This was not the season to get tougher. Fewer practices, managers filling in for practice players. Not enough early tests vs strong inside defenses.

Adding Dorka may be a big help for Liv. Allowing her to play with less fear of foul trouble, knowing that it isn't a guard coming in behind her

This discussion seems to be going in a slightly different direction than originally intended (or at least I intended). It's not whether Liv is good or not, but whether Dorka adds value underneath that conceivably could take time from Liv and change the direction of the offense.

Liv is post player, for sure. Dorka is not a natural post, and, even if Aaliyah becomes one (as Geno apparently suggests: "I could see her next year getting the bulk of the touches among all of the post players."), it is a really, really hard position to learn. She might not learn it sufficiently to take a lot of time away from Liv. And with Amari coming in, that would probably not be a good use of Aaliyah's time. 

Aaliyah and Dorca together create a very different look than when Liv is on the floor. Much faster, much more threatening offensively. Maybe a true read and react motion 5-out. Probably less good defensively. That may have been what Geno was after with Aaliyah and Aubrey together, but, ultimately Geno didn't trust Aubrey enough with the offense.

More chemicals for that mad scientist named Geno to mix and match.

Right: over the season, Liv gradually moved from low to high post. She was really effective at facilitating the 2 and 3 man plans off the wings. When she went low in big games, well....

The key to this was Geno's presser just before Azzi committed in which he said that: 1. he had a class of super high character kids; and 2. for the first time in a while he can have them play his offense rather than fit the offense to them. What he imagines is a far more mobile, up-tempo team.

Liv is probably not exactly what Geno wanted in a big, but he (and Liv) have made do. What he really wants is a more fluid offense that doesn't require the big to "set up". Obviously there is only one Stewie. But it's that type of player he most wants. Dorka is a long, long way from Stewie, but she will provide a lot more fluidity on offense. Geno has to decide if it's a good trade-off.

What on God's green earth does Dorka have in her grill? A mouthguard?