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Who will UConn miss more? |
Stefanie Dolson |
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81% |
[ 27 ] |
Bria Hartley |
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18% |
[ 6 ] |
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Total Votes : 33 |
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GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 8269 Location: Heisenberg
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Posted: 10/18/14 2:02 pm ::: Who will UConn miss more: Dolson or Hartley? |
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And why. |
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linkster
Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Posts: 5425
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Posted: 10/18/14 4:26 pm ::: |
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Barring injuries neither will be missed in the sense that people will wish they were still there playing. Despite both being first round WNBA draft picks after being 4 year starters, neither led the team in scoring in any of those years. Last season they combined to score 29 points/gm but UConn won by an average of 35 points. Dolson did lead the team in rebounding but she had 9.3/gm in her 32 minutes while Stokes, her replacement, averaged 7.1/gm in her 18 minutes. With the same disparity in minutes they both averaged 2.3 blocks/gm. The numbers back up my impression watching last year that Stokes was both a better rebounder, a better shot blocker & also runs the floor better. The only possible loss is Dolson's perimeter shooting and her passing. What may be missed from Hartley is her leadership and her late game shooting but from all accounts Jefferson has the leadership issue covered while both Lewis and Stewart are better scoring options than Hartley ever was. And UConn has Chong, Williams, Nurse and Edwards fighting for her minutes.
What may be missed for a while is the efficiency of their halfcourt offense and the defense. Much of UConn's success is due to the precision in which they play. That precision will be compromised by the need to play the 4 freshmen however the in longer term the defense may end up even better.
Historically, UConn has missed 2 players, Taurasi and Moore. Each's graduation led to a multi-year failure to win the NC, with Taurasi's departure also resulting in missing the FF. As good as Hartley and Dolson were, neither rose to that level.
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Fighting Artichoke
Joined: 12 Dec 2012 Posts: 4076
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Posted: 10/18/14 4:56 pm ::: |
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I picked Dolson. I agree with much of what linkster wrote, but one contribution that he neglected to mention was Dolson's skill in setting picks. Those picks were a big part of UConn's half-court offense, and while Stokes has the body to set picks, setting picks is also a great way to pick up fouls if you don't do it correctly. Given that UConn has only one eligible post on the bench, Kiah cannot be picking up unnecessary fouls while she learns the way to set picks without getting called for fouls.
The options that Geno has for Hartley's position are numerous, so if Chong doesn't work out, he has Nurse, Edwards and Williams ready to step up. The depth at the 2 also means that foul difficulty among this group will probably not be too crucial. It will be more problematic if Moriah gets in foul trouble, as Hartley could always slide over to the 1 if necessary. It would be a bit more sketchy if Chong, Edwards, or Nurse had to play the 1 for extensive minutes, as they haven't played PG at the college level yet.
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013 Posts: 7865 Location: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted: 10/18/14 5:35 pm ::: |
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Dolson. Stokes is NOT Dolson.
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linkster
Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Posts: 5425
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67122 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 10/18/14 7:30 pm ::: |
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linkster wrote: |
Historically, UConn has missed 2 players, Taurasi and Moore. Each's graduation led to a multi-year failure to win the NC |
The lack of NC's coincided with Charles' departure, not Moore's.
Lobo's graduation also resulted in a NC drought.
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You and Pinocchio are probably related
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PhillyCat
Joined: 18 Jun 2012 Posts: 226
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Posted: 10/18/14 8:49 pm ::: |
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linkster wrote: |
Historically, UConn has missed 2 players, Taurasi and Moore. Each's graduation led to a multi-year failure to win the NC, with Taurasi's departure also resulting in missing the FF. As good as Hartley and Dolson were, neither rose to that level. |
Maya Moore graduated in 2011. UConn won the National Championship in 2013 and 2014.
UConn will miss Hartley's ability to push the ball in transition and I don't think either Nurse or Chong will do it as well from the 2-guard spot. Still, the team will miss Dolson more at both ends. Although Stokes is a better defender and has a better instinct for rebounds, Dolson was the vocal leader of the defense and UConn will miss her big body in the lane. UConn's offense often ran through Dolson. She used her big body to set hard screens which put KML and Stewart in a lot of catch-and-shoot situations. She was also a tremendous passer with great vision who could quickly reverse the ball before defenses could adjust.
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mercfan3
Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 19828
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Posted: 10/18/14 11:43 pm ::: |
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Whose better, Stokes or Chong? There's a bit part of your answer.
I would say we'll miss Hartley more. Geno loves his senior guards, and to not have one..
I also think that, being as Stewart is a post player..or post is fine, and the only question mark the team really has is in the backcourt.
btw: Uconn didn't miss Moore in the slightest. They finished in exactly the same place. (FF to Notre Dame) and actually put up a better fight to a better Notre Dame team without Moore.
_________________ “Anyone point out that a Donald Trump anagram is ‘Lord Dampnut’”- Colin Mochrie
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willtalk
Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Posts: 1106 Location: NorCal
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Posted: 10/19/14 1:11 am ::: |
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mercfan3 wrote: |
btw: Uconn didn't miss Moore in the slightest. They finished in exactly the same place. (FF to Notre Dame) and actually put up a better fight to a better Notre Dame team without Moore. |
You seem to forget that the main reason they lost that year was not the lack of quality players but a lack of numbers and depth. Gino pretty much recognized and called that early on. They lost to ND mainly because they ran out of gas during their game. Up until that time they looked and played pretty good ball.
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RP
Joined: 17 Jul 2010 Posts: 1299
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Posted: 10/19/14 2:04 am ::: |
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As much as I like Hartley, she did not play well after the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, and UConn still rolled. Dolson was one of the main reasons why.
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Homyonkel
Joined: 05 Jul 2013 Posts: 123
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Posted: 10/19/14 1:51 pm ::: |
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To me, it is clearly Dolson. Besides the passing and screening already mentioned and that Stewart couldn't really be defended, most of the opponent's defense was based on where Dolson was, and in effect, that determined UCONN's offense.
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chienboo
Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Posts: 331 Location: New York
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willtalk
Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Posts: 1106 Location: NorCal
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Posted: 10/20/14 1:22 am ::: |
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Just realized I had forgotten to give my reason for picking Dolson. I believe Hartley could be replaced more easily than Dolson. Dolson's place in the offense reminded me a lot of what Vladi Divac did for the Sac KIngs as a point center. That in out passing game opened up the offense and once he was gone so was the effectiveness of the their offense. Points and rebounds can be replaced but not the positives from Dolsons passing from her position.
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