Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 12/6/17

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Tough day for your favorite DoggyDaddy. I had some oral surgery and dealing with the pain and swelling. Some great drugs, so if I type something that sense no makes, please forgive me!!!!

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Here is a nice Cristyn Williams highlight package. I'm not sure if I posted this before, but it sure is worth looking at again. This young lady is truly ambidextrous. Averaging 30+ ppg this year.

With the graduation of Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams, there will be two slots available in the starting lineup next season. Returning will be Collier, Samuelson and Dangerfield. Stevens moves right into the starting lineup to join those three. So who get's the 5th spot? Here are a few possibilities.

1 - Megan Walker. You can see the talent in this young woman and she will get plenty of playing time this season to prove she belongs. It makes UConn forward heavy with Dangerfield the only true guard. But if Geno thinks Katie Lou can play the shooting guard position, it's possible Walker moves into the wing position.

2 - Andra Espinoza-Hunter. She has had limited minutes but the season is still young. She is a true 2 guard and one heck of a three point shooter.

3 - Mikayla Coombs. Well, this would be a stretch but there are plenty of games left for her to show what she can do. She seems to have the freshman blahs. No confidence. But that can change quickly for someone as talented as her.

So, maybe Williams starts as a freshman? Geno rarely does it, but she is the No. 1 recruit and is a great talent. Time will tell!

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Speaking of recruits, there were three terrific players sitting behind the UConn bench. Class of 2019 Aliyah Boston, Class of 2020 Paige Bueckers, and Class of 2021 Azzi Fudd.

Geno has offered all three of these young ladies. Teammates on the U16 team, It would be quite a haul if Geno grabbed them all.

Boston is the No. 11 recruit in the 2019 class and out of Massachusetts. A 6'4" post (no. 1 post in her class) she is described by Dan Olson from ESPN as a physical low-post prospect who brings soft touch in mid-post face up game. She can finish with contact in traffic. A solid defender, rebounder and initiates fast breaks.

Bueckers is the No. 6 recruit in the 2020 class from Minnesota. A 6' point guard, Geno compares her to Diana Taurasi and has said she is ahead of DT at this stage. Great praise. Olson said this about her - Confident combo-guard with a dose of swagger; manufactures, delivers consistently off the dribble; quick off the bounce, breaks down defenders; keeps the defense honest to the arc. Whew!!

Fudd (named after Jennifer Azzi) is in the top 25 of the class of 2021. They don't rank them in order yet but Olson has said she is the best prospect in her class. The 5'11" combo guard that has some amazing skills for someone her age. More from Olson - Smooth combo-guard delivers with consistency, a shot maker that yields results; capable of taking a game over, scores in streaks; unselfish disposition, a silent assassin that competes on both ends of the floor.

All three were teammate on the USA U-16 gold medal winning team. Boston was the leading scorer at 11.8 ppg and rebounder at 8.6 rpg. Bueckers was right behind her at 11.0, and Fudd was the 5th leading scorer at 8 ppg. I'm sure that playing together on that USA team won't hurt when it comes to making their college decision.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

NISE stands for Naples Index of Scoring Efficiency. It is a simple measure of how many points a player scores versus how many shots they took. The idea is it may be better to score 10 points on 7 shots, than 25 points on 31 shots. All shots are counted, both from the field and from the free throw line. Compare the NISE of UConn and Notre Dame from Sunday's game.

UConn top 2 scorersKatie Lou - 10 shots and 8 free throws = 18
                   - 18 points on 18 shots = NISE of 0

Azura - 12 shots and 4 free throws = 16
            - 17 points on 16 shots = NISE of +1

Notre DameMabrey - 15 shots and 5 free throws = 20
               - 21 points on 20 shots = NISE of +1

Ogunbowale - 25 shots and 3 free throws = 28
                        - 19 points on 28 shots = NISE of -9

Notre Dame's Ogunbowale is not an efficient shooter. She took quite a few shots (28) to score her 19 points. By comparison, KLS and Z took only 6 more shots, but scored 35 points. As Geno has said many times, the UConn offense is set up to give the players their best shot, from the best location.

Go Huskies..!!

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UCONN LINKS

Happy returns for Samuelson, top-ranked Huskies Carl Adamec

Auriemma, Springer Get Together During Series MVP's UConn Visit Patch

For UConn’s Azura Stevens, Transfer Brings Trial by Fire NY Times

UConn women showed they’re up to the challenge against Irish Stanford Advocate

UConn Takeaways: XL Energy, Health Concerns, Kia Nurse's 3-Point Shot Courant

Analysis: Despite being outplayed, UConn finds a way to beat Notre Dame Womens Hoops