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Post by Oldfan (Joe) on Mar 6, 2022 13:29:14 GMT
Dan Connolly wrote an article about a week a ago stating that time is Uconn's biggest enemy as Geno with all his players back might not have enough time to figure out his 9 person rotation. That Azzi, with all her lost time, might not be able to integrate into his rotation and and both she and Caroline gain the experience necessary to handle the pressure of the NCAA Tournament.
With that in mind, the Tournament is not the time for freshman growing pains so should Geno shorten his rotation to just 7 players who are familiar with each other, 8 at most and not rely on either freshman to contribute in the relentless spotlight of March which neither are used to at this point in their careers.
I think Geno just might be considering shortening the rotation and relying on Paige, Edwards, Nika and his seniors to pull the Huskies through.
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Post by storygordon on Mar 6, 2022 13:56:41 GMT
He may. It was his standard during the 11 NC years and others, but I don't recall any time he had so many excellent players on the roster.
My expectation is that he will play who he sees as most effective in the given situation. The score is a result of many variables including the bounce of the ball.
A recent article cited his 2015-16 roster as being similar. Really? I don't think so. You decide:
uconnhuskies.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/2015-16
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Post by ismhuskyfan on Mar 6, 2022 14:13:16 GMT
Dan Connolly wrote an article about a week a ago stating that time is Uconn's biggest enemy as Geno with all his players back might not have enough time to figure out his 9 person rotation. That Azzi, with all her lost time, might not be able to integrate into his rotation and and both she and Caroline gain the experience necessary to handle the pressure of the NCAA Tournament. With that in mind, the Tournament is not the time for freshman growing pains so should Geno shorten his rotation to just 7 players who are familiar with each other, 8 at most and not rely on either freshman to contribute in the relentless spotlight of March which neither are used to at this point in their careers. I think Geno just might be considering shortening the rotation and relying on Paige, Edwards, Nika and his seniors to pull the Huskies through. And keep two pure shooters from contributing? I think not!! CD and Fudd will see plenty of PT. They are our future and at least two NCs.
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Post by jerryangel on Mar 6, 2022 16:11:18 GMT
Dan Connolly wrote an article about a week a ago stating that time is Uconn's biggest enemy as Geno with all his players back might not have enough time to figure out his 9 person rotation. That Azzi, with all her lost time, might not be able to integrate into his rotation and and both she and Caroline gain the experience necessary to handle the pressure of the NCAA Tournament. With that in mind, the Tournament is not the time for freshman growing pains so should Geno shorten his rotation to just 7 players who are familiar with each other, 8 at most and not rely on either freshman to contribute in the relentless spotlight of March which neither are used to at this point in their careers. I think Geno just might be considering shortening the rotation and relying on Paige, Edwards, Nika and his seniors to pull the Huskies through. And keep two pure shooters from contributing? I think not!! CD and Fudd will see plenty of PT. They are our future and at least two NCs. In the last 10 games, Azzi has been the leading scorer for the team, four times. She has also been in the starting lineup, minus SR day, for UCONN's 8 game winning streak. Removing Azzi from the starting lineup , nevermind, the entire rotation, would be devastating. Caroline may struggle to get more minutes,(unless she starts shooting better) the deeper UCONN goes in the NCAA's, but I suspect Azzi is in the starting lineup to stay and playing 30 minutes a game, the deeper UCONN advances. It would be malpractice for Geno to not only yank Azzi out of the starting lineup, but to take her out of the rotation? No way does Geno does that.
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Post by momandapplepie on Mar 6, 2022 17:40:18 GMT
I think the notion that Senior experience is essential to a team's success weakens in proportion to talent level that team possesses. Today's elite players like Azzi have played in so many high profile AAU events and so many international tournaments representing US basketball that I do not think they are going to freeze up under the spotlight of the NCAA tourney.
Seems like I am agreeing with Jerry a lot this year and this time is no exception. I think Azzi has earned every single minute she gets. How do you sit one of the most accurate 3pt FG% snipers in the country?! UConn's website has Azzi at .464 (45/97), which will be good for third in the country once she reaches the minimum 100 attempts to qualify for the list. Azzi must play....and her vast experience playing with BFF Paige Bueckers on National teams for many years will be an intangible combat multiplier for us too.
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Post by jbb1985 on Mar 6, 2022 18:46:59 GMT
We'll see. But Auriemma seems to like his rare option for fresh legs and not much drop off. I can see a 8-9 player rotation of Bueckers, Williams, Edwards, ON-O and Fudd starting, with Muhl, Westbrook, Ducharme and Juhasz playing significant minutes. That's 9. Can't see the seniors playing 35+ MPG. They were inconsistent enough when playing long minutes. Hard to leave frosh that Geno has said play like seniors on the bench.
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Post by putterguy on Mar 6, 2022 20:00:16 GMT
Azzi has to play and Caroline needs to get out of her funk and CW can not disappear in the big games . That has always been the big bug-a-boo with crystal. Evina to play big too . Ono is up and down. One game she looks like all-american and next minute lost
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Post by jerryangel on Mar 6, 2022 22:14:08 GMT
We'll see. But Auriemma seems to like his rare option for fresh legs and not much drop off. I can see a 8-9 player rotation of Bueckers, Williams, Edwards, ON-O and Fudd starting, with Muhl, Westbrook, Ducharme and Juhasz playing significant minutes. That's 9. Can't see the seniors playing 35+ MPG. They were inconsistent enough when playing long minutes. Hard to leave frosh that Geno has said play like seniors on the bench. The "fresh legs" approach is contributing to the stellar defense the team is playing. They start to press as soon as the game starts, instead of falling back into a zone, when they were dealing with so many injuries. This is Geno's wheelhouse, having a team that can press and play man to man defense for most of the game. I love what I'm seeing.
However, Geno eventually has to get Paige into the starting lineup. (If she isn't having issues with her knee. We do not know how she is feeling) Paige is still getting her timing back and it isn't going to happen instantaneously. The last couple of games, she has attempted several slick passes that were just off, due to timing issues. If her knee is good to go, Geno knows that Paige needs to start when she is ready to. And I'm sure she will tell him when she is ready.
Right now, Geno seems to be embracing the, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, philosophy, which means a starting lineup of Azzi, Liv, Nika, Ali, and CW.
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Post by richp1942 on Mar 6, 2022 22:45:45 GMT
Caroline's minutes are going to decline. Paige's time is going to climb ten minutes a game and Caroline is going to be odd woman out. She is in a slump. She has more airballs and turnovers than made shots. And she cannot guard guards. No way that Azzi is kicked to curb. I believe Paige will be in the starting lineup soon. Today's game is not going to shift the dynamics. Paige had her worst gamme since she was three. And Azzi was 1 for 9. Happens. The team goes as far as the bigs go. Olivia has a history of disappearing in big games and Dokka thinks she is a shooting guard. If they show up and Edwards continues her reclamation project, UConn has a chance. But if Dorka finishes games with 3 rebounds and Olivia is sitting next to Geno four minutes into the game with two personals, it will be an earlier exit. Williams has to remain aggressive and come out strong.
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Post by Oldfan (Joe) on Mar 6, 2022 22:49:01 GMT
Guaranteed if Fudd and Ducharme continue their dismal freshman tournament jitters shooting, minutes will be at a premium for both for he will not allow them to jeopardize the Huskies chances in NCAA shooting 0-9 from three - definitely a very quick hook by the maestro.
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Post by momandapplepie on Mar 6, 2022 23:21:55 GMT
Caroline's minutes are going to decline. Paige's time is going to climb ten minutes a game and Caroline is going to be odd woman out. She is in a slump. She has more airballs and turnovers than made shots. And she cannot guard guards. No way that Azzi is kicked to curb. I believe Paige will be in the starting lineup soon. Today's game is not going to shift the dynamics. Paige had her worst gamme since she was three. And Azzi was 1 for 9. Happens. The team goes as far as the bigs go. Olivia has a history of disappearing in big games and Dokka thinks she is a shooting guard. If they show up and Edwards continues her reclamation project, UConn has a chance. But if Dorka finishes games with 3 rebounds and Olivia is sitting next to Geno four minutes into the game with two personals, it will be an earlier exit. Williams has to remain aggressive and come out strong. C'mon Rich...how about giving Dorka's shooting some love, bro? She is 5th on the team in 3pt FG shooting % at .333 (15/45). That is better than both Westbrook and Ducharme. She was 3/4 today from the arc, 3/5 the last game against Marquette, and 2/3 before that against DePaul. Does that not make her a legitimate 3 pt threat that must be guarded on the perimeter, thereby opening up the paint for our guards to penetrate? I also do not fear ONO going to the bench four minutes into the game. I think the combo of Edwards and Dorka more than capable of holding down the middle, with DeBerry spelling them for a minute here and there if necessary. I see no early exit for us in the tourney, although that is always a distant possibility. Rather, I see the very real possibility of a 12th NC. #1 Seed Louisville just lost to unranked Miami, and even shorthanded we should have already beaten them too. We can beat them. #1 Seed NC State lost to Notre Dame, a team we beat handily. We can beat them. #1 Seed South Carolina beat us on the strength of a 16-3 4th quarter blowout because four of our starters played 32 (Evina), 34 (ONO), 38 (Paige), and 39 (Williams) minutes and ran out of gas. That won't happen again with the deep and experienced team we have now, forged out of necessity due to an unprecedented number of injuries. We can beat the Gamecocks now. I don't know much about #1 Seed Stanford. They are the defending champs and haven't lost since blowing a 14-point halftime lead at South Carolina just before Christmas so they are a concern. But they've had some close league games against mediocre teams (7 point win at home over 7-15 Washington State) so that tells me they can be had too.
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Post by storygordon on Mar 7, 2022 1:09:05 GMT
In the past Geno has often had six players he could trust. This year he has nine, none of them automatons.
Given that who starts is, or should be, meaningless at this level on this team, coupled with the sisterhood that is evident, Geno has a selection challenge complicated by factors beyond his control like the bounce of the ball and how the game is being called.
Add to this the new, improved parity that seems evident and we are potentially seven games away from a conference championship and the possibility of a 12th NC.
I care about this team winning the two tournaments, but some of it is beyond their control. They are playing as a unit which has been shaken into disarray and is coming together a little more every day. Olé!
Tomorrow's championship is against Villanova for the Big East Championship. Olé!
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Post by richp1942 on Mar 7, 2022 3:14:02 GMT
Monandapple Pie,
Early means before the Final Four. IMHO, the Huskies have enough three point shooters to go around. They need Dorka's rebounding after the second or third round. The defense has been excellent. But they also have not played a decent team for a while. Second, the best defense means nothing if you cannot rebound. Paige needs to be at least 85 precent. Williams needs to continue to take charge. Olivia and Dorka need to step up. There are a lot of questions.
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Marco
Husky4ever
Posts: 2,591
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Post by Marco on Mar 7, 2022 3:34:56 GMT
Stanford can have trouble with TOs, FT shooting, 3s I think.
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Post by Oldfan (Joe) on Mar 7, 2022 12:16:05 GMT
Stanford can have trouble with TOs, FT shooting, 3s I think. Two of their starters shoot over 40 percent from three. Their 6th player also shoots 40 percent from three. Their FT could be a problem as Jones is their best with the Hull sisters shooting over 70 percent.
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