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Post by spider on Jun 30, 2024 18:28:25 GMT -5
In our national championship years, how many players played at least 10 minutes x the total number of games? 9 twice, 8 eight times, 7 once. How many will it be this year? A trip down memory lane. 94-95 (35 games): Lobo 1005, Elliott 911, Rizzotti 905, Webber 847, Wolters 761, Sales 753, Berube 626, Better 470. 99-00 (37): Bird 1052, Abrosimova 1051, Ralph 1051, K Johnson 828, Cash 768, A Jones 632, Schumacher 577, Tam Williams 509, Sauer 392. 01-02 (39): Bird 1168, Taurasi 1131, Cash 1085, Jones 961, Williams 766, J Moore 719, Conlon 691, Battle 653. 02-03 (38): Strother 1196, Taurasi 1181, Conlon 1128, J Moore 982, Battle 828, Turner 795, Crockett 569, M Valley 388. 03-04 (35): Taurasi 1115, Strother 1019, Conlon 988, Turner 933, J Moore 882, Battle 674, Crockett 369. 08-09 (39): Montgomery 1237, M Moore 1209, Hayes 1002, Greene 990, Charles 982, Dixon 604, McLaren 581, Doty 406. 09-10 (39): Moore 1098, Charles 1078, Hayes 1028, Greene 1009, Doty 986, Faris 738, Gardner 501, Dixon 466, McLaren 442. 12-13 (39): Faris 1160, Mosqueda-Lewis 1146, Dolson 1020, Hartley 987, Stewart 854, Jefferson 677, Doty 627, Tuck 554. 13-14 (40): Dolson 1292, Hartley 1274, Stewart 1221, Jefferson 1187, Mosqueda 817, Stokes 723, Chong 665, Banks 527. 14-15 (39): Jefferson 1121, Stewart 1104, Mosqueda 1092, Tuck 995, Nurse 976, Stokes 715, Chong 723, G Williams 591. 15-16 (38): Jefferson 1145, Stewart 1077, Nurse 1074, Tuck 885, Samuelson 870, Williams 708, Collier 653, Chong 410.
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Post by spider on Jun 30, 2024 18:33:23 GMT -5
Gardler not Gardner
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Post by bulkey on Jul 1, 2024 1:47:58 GMT -5
Tremendous, spider!
History makes 8 Geno’s sweet spot, but, given that Jana, Azzi, Ayanna, Aubrey, and Caroline are coming back from injury, I wonder if it won’t be 9 this year….
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Post by grrrrr on Jul 1, 2024 6:17:43 GMT -5
This is GREAT, thank you. Even if it's nine that leaves a bunch riding the bench. And, if everyone is truly healthy, I can't for the life of me guess who that might be. This team has no roster filler, none.
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Post by swash on Jul 1, 2024 6:32:02 GMT -5
This is GREAT, thank you. Even if it's nine that leaves a bunch riding the bench. And, if everyone is truly healthy, I can't for the life of me guess who that might be. This team has no roster filler, none. Press and run can keep a deep bench happy. In the past few years Geno has talked about wanting to play a fast full court game, but then injuries and concerns about foul troubles forced a quickish half court version. The stable is stacked with thoroughbreds this year... but will he? I'm guessing some personnel groups may. Some spurts regardless of lineup, too. But not a majority of the time. This team isn't suited to a steady diet of helter skelter
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Post by spider on Jul 1, 2024 9:56:23 GMT -5
I know it won’t happen, but how about 25 minutes a game for Azzi Paige Sarah Jana and 10 minutes each for the other 10? Could we average over a 100 points per game?
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Jul 1, 2024 10:13:35 GMT -5
Post by bulkey on Jul 1, 2024 10:13:35 GMT -5
I know it won’t happen, but how about 25 minutes a game for Azzi Paige Sarah Jana and 10 minutes each for the other 10? Could we average over a 100 points per game? That brings up the question of point guard. If we assume that both KK and Kaitlyn expect to split the position, has there ever been a UConn team where that's actually happened? Or, over the course of a season, does it inevitably fall to a ~30-~10 split?
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Post by swash on Jul 1, 2024 11:00:22 GMT -5
I know it won’t happen, but how about 25 minutes a game for Azzi Paige Sarah Jana and 10 minutes each for the other 10? Could we average over a 100 points per game? I think Sarah will be less than 25. Here is a short list of reasons (none of these is a knock on her at all): -Caroline will earn significant time if her physical ailments are behind her. -Later in games will also present an opportunity to play Jana and Ice together, after the risk that one or both will have foul trouble has subsided. -Ayanna is a better fit for any up-tempo stanza's. Aubrey even more so, once she gets a chance to play. -If Sarah is as good as advertised, Geno will be extra hard on her ... including periods of pine-riding banishment. -There are likely to be times when Geno plays a small lineup, replacing Sarah with some of our guards that deserve PT. Could be a straight sub or bringing in a SG and rotating Paige or someone else to the four slot. -Fitness may be her biggest area for improvement in adjusting to D1 and UConn -One of the newbies (or anyone, really) may be so good that they force their way into more minutes than the original earmark ... game to game or overall.
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Post by ucchamp on Jul 1, 2024 12:14:50 GMT -5
Geno is going to do what he said and that is play his best. IMO the best are going to be Paige, Azzi, and Sarah as 3 locks. When they are healthy and fit enough (Paige already is) I expect Azzi to start averaging near 30 minutes and in big games maybe up to 35. I expect Sarah to average near 30 for the season probably a bit under than Azzi But in big games he'll push her as much as he can as close to 35 but probably not that much. of course this all depends on how close the games are. Geno says he is going to play his best 5. A philosophy I absolutely agree with. And that starts with Paige, Azzi and Sarah. And KK is going to get least 15 minutes - a lot depends on Chen. KK could get up to 30 as well- again a lot depends on what Chen is. And imo Jana and Ice have leg up on Patterson. If Jana is as good as Geno hyped last summer then she'll probably see time 25+ minutes but that comes down to not being in foul trouble. But if she is near "Ju-Ju's level" then it means she is freak as are Paige, Azzi, and Sarah. You don't sit your freaks. You play them. Who knows what Ducharme, Patterson and Griffin will be? I don’t. If others know – great. Then that can change some things. OOOOOPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSS: I hit wrong buttons for "smile" instead it was "like" and then I tried to undo and hitign "dislike" I thought it might undo.
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Jul 1, 2024 12:18:33 GMT -5
via mobile
swash likes this
Post by doggydaddy on Jul 1, 2024 12:18:33 GMT -5
When everyone is healthy
Team 1
Paige KK Ash Ice Griffin Ducharme Morgan
Team 2
Azzi Chen Jana Patterson Strong Allie Q
Play team 1 in the first game and team 2 in the second game and alternate for the rest of the season.
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Jul 1, 2024 15:09:04 GMT -5
Post by semper on Jul 1, 2024 15:09:04 GMT -5
Yay, Doggie. I agree, but it could work for quarters in games, in alternation.
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Post by swash on Jul 1, 2024 15:20:46 GMT -5
Geno is going to do what he said and that is play his best. IMO the best are going to be Paige, Azzi, and Sarah as 3 locks. When they are healthy and fit enough (Paige already is) I expect Azzi to start averaging near 30 minutes and in big games maybe up to 35. I expect Sarah to average near 30 for the season probably a bit under than Azzi But in big games he'll push her as much as he can as close to 35 but probably not that much. of course this all depends on how close the games are. Geno says he is going to play his best 5. A philosophy I absolutely agree with. And that starts with Paige, Azzi and Sarah. And KK is going to get least 15 minutes - a lot depends on Chen. KK could get up to 30 as well- again a lot depends on what Chen is. And imo Jana and Ice have leg up on Patterson. If Jana is as good as Geno hyped last summer then she'll probably see time 25+ minutes but that comes down to not being in foul trouble. But if she is near "Ju-Ju's level" then it means she is freak as are Paige, Azzi, and Sarah. You don't sit your freaks. You play them. Who knows what Ducharme, Patterson and Griffin will be? I don’t. If others know – great. Then that can change some things. OOOOOPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSS: I hit wrong buttons for "smile" instead it was "like" and then I tried to undo and hitign "dislike" I thought it might undo. I think your times are too long for these players, but I agree with the rest. If she can play ANY defense at all, I think Jana gets more floor time than Sarah ... as much anyway. I don't think Geno was blowing smoke at all about her.
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Post by ucchamp on Jul 1, 2024 19:24:45 GMT -5
Geno is going to do what he said and that is play his best. IMO the best are going to be Paige, Azzi, and Sarah as 3 locks. When they are healthy and fit enough (Paige already is) I expect Azzi to start averaging near 30 minutes and in big games maybe up to 35. I expect Sarah to average near 30 for the season probably a bit under than Azzi But in big games he'll push her as much as he can as close to 35 but probably not that much. of course this all depends on how close the games are. Geno says he is going to play his best 5. A philosophy I absolutely agree with. And that starts with Paige, Azzi and Sarah. And KK is going to get least 15 minutes - a lot depends on Chen. KK could get up to 30 as well- again a lot depends on what Chen is. And imo Jana and Ice have leg up on Patterson. If Jana is as good as Geno hyped last summer then she'll probably see time 25+ minutes but that comes down to not being in foul trouble. But if she is near "Ju-Ju's level" then it means she is freak as are Paige, Azzi, and Sarah. You don't sit your freaks. You play them. Who knows what Ducharme, Patterson and Griffin will be? I don’t. If others know – great. Then that can change some things. OOOOOPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSS: I hit wrong buttons for "smile" instead it was "like" and then I tried to undo and hitign "dislike" I thought it might undo. I think your times are too long for these players, but I agree with the rest. If she can play ANY defense at all, I think Jana gets more floor time than Sarah ... as much anyway. I don't think Geno was blowing smoke at all about her. IMO you win with your super players. You challenge the other team (and dare them) to stop you. As long as they win I can care less but I think the team's strength is the Offense - in particular these 3. I hope you are right that Geno wasn't overhyping Jana but I also dropped her minutes in big games not only becuase I'm not as sure maybe as you and maybe others about Jana (I hope you are right!) but I think she is more apt to get into foul trouble. Coming from a different country playing center is a potential problem for a freshman. Especially with suspect refereeing with more experienced players fake fouls. So in 3 tough games let's say 3 games are tight - I can see 30, 30 but one game she plays just 15 due to foul problems. I meant to say Jana more apt for Foul Trouble. I made a typo regarding Sarah.
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Post by linkster on Jul 1, 2024 20:26:16 GMT -5
UConn has many offensive weapons. The question is going to be defense. Depth helps. UConn can make up for a lack of experience by burning a lot of energy. Geno talked about playing pressure defense last June but then everything else happened. Whoever emerges in the back court will be a good defender. Bueckers is probably the best defender on the team until Griffin gets back. If Chen can play defense then Geno will want her playing a lot. Chen has played great against great teams. Geno can trust her.
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Post by bulkey on Jul 1, 2024 21:29:58 GMT -5
UConn has many offensive weapons. The question is going to be defense. Depth helps. UConn can make up for a lack of experience by burning a lot of energy. Geno talked about playing pressure defense last June but then everything else happened. Whoever emerges in the back court will be a good defender. Bueckers is probably the best defender on the team until Griffin gets back. If Chen can play defense then Geno will want her playing a lot. Chen has played great against great teams. Geno can trust her. Paige was great on defense. But so was KK last year. She led the team in steals with 90, which is tremendous for a freshman. She had more steals than Kaitlyn at Princeton (playing a weaker schedule). Plus she averaged almost as many rebounds as Kaitlyn.
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Post by huskyharper on Jul 3, 2024 11:50:17 GMT -5
My question is who will be the lockdown defender? Geno will not want to put Paige in that position, she's too valuable everywhere else. While KK is good with the steals, she's also played "matador" defense quite a bit, swiping at the ball as a player goes by. She has great quickness, but I don't see her as a true "lock down" defender. Will she prove me wrong? I sure hope so.
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Post by bulkey on Jul 3, 2024 12:14:05 GMT -5
My question is who will be the lockdown defender? Geno will not want to put Paige in that position, she's too valuable everywhere else. While KK is good with the steals, she's also played "matador" defense quite a bit, swiping at the ball as a player goes by. She has great quickness, but I don't see her as a true "lock down" defender. Will she prove me wrong? I sure hope so. Those are all great points. Not sure the current perimeter, regardless of who plays point, could do the same job on Clark they did with Nika being the primary defender in last year's semis. It's a role that Ashlynn might be able to develop to keep her competitive minutes. You don't need real quick hands like Nika had, but you do need quick and very smart feet.
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Post by swash on Jul 3, 2024 12:22:50 GMT -5
My question is who will be the lockdown defender? Geno will not want to put Paige in that position, she's too valuable everywhere else. While KK is good with the steals, she's also played "matador" defense quite a bit, swiping at the ball as a player goes by. She has great quickness, but I don't see her as a true "lock down" defender. Will she prove me wrong? I sure hope so. Until Aubrey returns, I don't think we will have a single locker-downer. I think we'll see a somewhat easier D to score upon from outside, offset by higher scoring (more than just offset, we hope). Certainly more shot-blocking inside could help. More available players means lower likelihood and a lesser impact from one or two in foul trouble. Most of the vets are solid but not spectacular defenders. We expect they'll be good eventually, but who knows about the newbies. Don't undersell KK. She got better and better as the season went on. Size and foul troubles are her biggest detriments defensively.
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Post by swash on Jul 3, 2024 12:27:55 GMT -5
My question is who will be the lockdown defender? Geno will not want to put Paige in that position, she's too valuable everywhere else. While KK is good with the steals, she's also played "matador" defense quite a bit, swiping at the ball as a player goes by. She has great quickness, but I don't see her as a true "lock down" defender. Will she prove me wrong? I sure hope so. Those are all great points. Not sure the current perimeter, regardless of who plays point, could do the same job on Clark they did with Nika being the primary defender in last year's semis. It's a role that Ashlynn might be able to develop to keep her competitive minutes. You don't need real quick hands like Nika had, but you do need quick and very smart feet. While lost in the overall scheme at times (especially early), Qadence payed some pretty good 1v1 defense ... fouled too often, but quick hands good length and shot blocking (in a small sample). Hoping for a sophomore advance from her.
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Post by ucchamp on Jul 3, 2024 17:08:06 GMT -5
The key to UCONN is their Offense. One of them is a 5th year senior that’s a superstar perimeter player and as great of an Offensive player as UCONN has ever had. Or at least among the greatest which says a ton. They don’t want to get tied down into Defensive battles. They want to impose their will upon other teams. And having three #1 recruits (the latest one Geno said was better than he thought) going along with Jana whom Geno described as “would have been #1 if she was from USA,” then if they play their style, they should win because of their Offense.
As Geno was quoted as saying after the loss to Iowa that he could count on his thumb how many times the Defense has been an issue vs the Offense (i.e. Offense is key). UCONN’s frontcourt is loaded with inexperience. Instead of grind basketball – if the game opens up it is a high favor for UCONN. Some will say UCONN will eventually get stopped in which we lose so Defense is most important. My counter is that eventually in those tight games our Offense needs to find a way to score enough so we win. No one has our Offensive talent.
As Geno has said in the past (I don’t have a video quote); “Play to your strengths.” When recruited Paige, Azzi and now Sarah- they were the best Offensive players in their class. And with Geno hyping Jana – and we saw with our own eyes -in which many remarked that she was among if not the leading scorers in the Tourney before she got hurt with wide varierty of skills/moves etc– then with these 4 players – how can it be that you don’t win with your Offense?
UCONN needs to impose their will upon others. Just like years ago I believe Stwart and Jefferson’s jr year vs South Carolina I believe- RebeccaL Lobo was doing the game Nationally and she just came right out and said “South Carolina cannot beat UCONN” and she made reference to UCONN’s Offense was just too much and that SOCar's Defense could only be so good (i.e. the team can't get shutdown to a certain level. That's what this teams needs to strive to be imo.). Bulkey do you recall? Or do I need to find that quote?
UCONN has three/four Hammers once they are healthy. You keep pounding them until the opposing team screams “UNCLE.” UCONN doesn’t want to get caught up playing SoCar or Texas or maybe even UCLA basketball. And their Offense should be superior to ND and SoCal among others.
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Post by bulkey on Jul 9, 2024 17:35:19 GMT -5
New update by Dan Connolly Even though Sarah Strong, Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli are joining a team with plenty of established pieces (assuming everyone’s healthy), they should still see plenty of action in their first season at UConn.
“They’re all gonna play,” Auriemma said confidently.
Strong only spent a couple of weeks with the squad before departing for national team duty, but she stood out with her versatility — so much so that the head coach compared her to program great Kerry Bascom. If the early indications are true, she fits the bill as the No. 1 recruit in the nation.
As for Ziebell, everyone mentioned her shooting ability. Meanwhile, Cheli was limited with a hamstring issue, but she fits in as one of UConn’s classic big guards.
Even though the Huskies project to have a jam-packed rotation, the three freshmen seem like they’ll see the court plenty.
“Just like the last freshman class (of KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Qadence Samuels), they came in ready to contribute, ready to learn, ready to play right away, ready to make an impact right away,” Bueckers said. “They compete really hard and they're very impressive.”
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Jul 9, 2024 20:45:19 GMT -5
Post by ucchamp on Jul 9, 2024 20:45:19 GMT -5
What does "they are all going to play" mean when comparing blowouts vs tight games?
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Post by linkster on Jul 9, 2024 22:59:44 GMT -5
What does "they are all going to play" mean when comparing blowouts vs tight games? It means it's July and everyone looks good. You are right about games being different. That's why I don't like min/game stats. UConn had one of the top defenses in the country last season and UConn still has 5 of last season's 7. Four players who played a lot last season are expected to make a sophomore jump. I expect UConn to be an outstanding defensive team in 2025.
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Post by ucchamp on Jul 10, 2024 10:03:56 GMT -5
What does "they are all going to play" mean when comparing blowouts vs tight games? UConn had one of the top defenses in the country last season and UConn still has 5 of last season's 7. Four players who played a lot last season are expected to make a sophomore jump. I expect UConn to be an outstanding defensive team in 2025. While 29% of the core 7 is gone, but looking at tight games in NCAA's the last 4 UCONN played, 2 of the 7 players accounted for 37% of the total minutes. And while they accounted for 31% of the points, the stats of UCONN combining Offense and Defense might statistically look good, however South Carolina was the clear "Big Dog." So, even if they were to have beaten Iowa, no matter how good statistically the Defense was, it wouldn't have put a dent in the South Carolina machine. The Defensive numbers (and Offense) more than likely were hollow vs that Elite opponent. UCONN needs to make a big jump overall vs last year to get to that level. Three players in particular, Azzi, Sarah and Jana were either former #1 recruits or with Jana, Geno referred to her as if in USA she would have been #1. The takeaway from this is that Geno historically plays his #1 recruits between half way minutes to huge minutes if they are healthy. IMO eventually no reason to believe at least two won't get significant minutes in big games (more than half and up to 35 for 1 of them in big games). And if Azzi is playing like the Azzi of her early Soph year or Geno feels like she can be - she is gonna play big minutes at some point and is much more highly regarded for her Offense. In general what makes these current/former "#1 recruits" special is their Offense. Sure Sarah is a terrific rebounder, and Jana will provide some shot-blocking and rebounding, but what they are most special at imo is their Offense. So, if they play up to their capabilities offensively, IMO there isn't a team that can handle them. of course one can counter that if their Defense is great then no one can handle them because they will score enough. Maybe it's a question of perspective but imo Geno wasn't exaggerating in his postgame after losing to Iowa in which he stated to paraphrase in NCAA's its mostly about the Offense in which he went on to highlight that his team needed a 3rd scorer and that the Defense played well enough as he mentions that his defense in past usually plays well enough. Thus overall imo the biggest jump needed is from the Offense because for this season there are more than just one supposed super teams and with such inexperience in their front court and a certain unknown with Aubrey - there is no way overall their Defense will be that good vs the elite teams. Their excellence needs to come from the Offense.
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Jul 10, 2024 17:36:41 GMT -5
Post by linkster on Jul 10, 2024 17:36:41 GMT -5
I'm not worried about UConn's offense. There are 7 highly skilled offensive players joining the team, the 3 freshmen, El Alfy, Fudd, Chen & Ducharme. While it's unlikely that all 7 will become star scorers this season it's a near certainty (at least right now) that as a group they will give Geno multiple scoring options. And that was the basis of my comment about defense. Of that group, those who do it at the defensive end will play more than those who are "less enthusiastic" about defense. My perception of this roster is that they are all ready to dive to the floor and expend lots of energy on defense so I expect UConn to have a top defensive team. They may not shut down a few teams but they will slow them all down a lot more than their own offense will be slowed.
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