Adamec: a detailed look back [pretty objective] at the season

[Blakeon18]

http://snyuconn.com/uconn/a-look-back-at-uconns-2015-national-champs/#more-15991

The link is to Carl's latest blog with his thoughts on the season with detailed analysis of each and every player...definitely a worth read. Hmmm.....I wonder how much of it matches the exit interviews that the coaches have with the returning players.

 

[UcMiami]

Very good analysis. And yeah, likely pretty close to the exit interviews.
The other four freshman starters for Uconn NC teams - I am guessing:
Sales
Turner
Strother
Stewart

 

[HGN]

The article was indeed a great read..............Thanks Blake.

I especially liked the part where Stewie said that maybe the team not going Undefeated may have messed coach up from winning Coach of The Year. She sort of apologized for that. I think it also put the thought in her head that they will try to win Coach of The Year for Geno next season by playing even harder and going Undefeated while also winning 4 NC's in a row.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Very good analysis. And yeah, likely pretty close to the exit interviews.
The other four freshman starters for Uconn NC teams - I am guessing:
Sales
Turner
Strother
Stewart

I believe that Tiffany Hayes started the 2009 NC against Louisville. She started a lot of games in 2009 after Doty's injury.

 

[Sonny44]

"They finished 38-1 with a 37-game winning streak. For the first time in program history, all five starters averaged in double figures scoring and accumulated at least 100 assists."
Amazing. I wonder how many teams have ever done this, especially with a freshman starter.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I believe that Tiffany Hayes started the 2009 NC against Louisville. She started a lot of games in 2009 after Doty's injury.

Yep, she started the NC and played 31 minutes. She wound up with only 17 starts in 39 games but most came in the second half of the years after Doty went down.

 

[DobbsRover2]

"They finished 38-1 with a 37-game winning streak. For the first time in program history, all five starters averaged in double figures scoring and accumulated at least 100 assists."
Amazing. I wonder how many teams have ever done this, especially with a freshman starter.

Pretty safe to say no one. Last year's squad almost certainly would have achieved the scoring and assists marks if KML hadn't gotten injured since she would almost certainly have picked up the 28 assists needed in the 12-14 games she either missed or was more limited in. No freshman starter on that squad though.

 

[UcMiami]

"They finished 38-1 with a 37-game winning streak. For the first time in program history, all five starters averaged in double figures scoring and accumulated at least 100 assists."
Amazing. I wonder how many teams have ever done this, especially with a freshman starter.

Add in them all also getting 100 rebounds and it is even rarer.

 

[BroadwayVa]

http://snyuconn.com/uconn/a-look-back-at-uconns-2015-national-champs/#more-15991

The link is to Carl's latest blog with his thoughts on the season with detailed analysis of each and every player...definitely a worth read. Hmmm.....I wonder how much of it matches the exit interviews that the coaches have with the returning players.

Good analysis of the year and team members. I give him extra credit for not dwelling into what was wrong with any player not getting playing time.
Stewie MOP bothered me a lot. I thought Jefferson should have been MOP. Moriah is outstanding and super great--in any other year she'd be MOP. But I've watched the last 4 games again and Stewie is amazing, she corals rebounds against Tx 6'7' , 6'5, 64 all at the same time with ONE hand. She's a perpetual motion machine. For the level of physical work that she had to do to just catch the ball was beyond most mortals. Yes sir eee buddy, Stewie only got 8 point in the NC game--but it's about the total package of work in the 6 games of the NCAA tourney and Stewie has no equal!!!

 

[BroadwayVa]

"They finished 38-1 with a 37-game winning streak. For the first time in program history, all five starters averaged in double figures scoring and accumulated at least 100 assists."
Amazing. I wonder how many teams have ever done this, especially with a freshman starter.

Whose the Freshman that Started? I thought Kia Nurse was 17 going on 35 with the way she carried herself. It was terribly difficult thinking of Kia as a Frosh. There was some press on her "nerves" in the NCAA tourney but I never saw them. To say she was exceptional is to spout the obvious. How great will this kid be when she is a Senior?? Maybe someone will make that a "thread" (my are all on my sewing machine)

 

[Wally East]

Very good analysis. And yeah, likely pretty close to the exit interviews.
The other four freshman starters for Uconn NC teams - I am guessing:
Sales
Turner
Strother
Stewart

Nykesha played huge minutes but came off the bench. The starters were Rebecca, Kara, Jamelle, Carla, Jen, and Pam.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Yep, she started the NC and played 31 minutes. She wound up with only 17 starts in 39 games but most came in the second half of the years after Doty went down.

Was that also Doty's freshman year?

 

[UcMiami]

Was that also Doty's freshman year?

Yes but she was out injured by the NCAAs (Syracuse )

 

[UcMiami]

Nykesha played huge minutes but came off the bench. The starters were Rebecca, Kara, Jamelle, Carla, Jen, and Pam.

Thanks - was too lazy to research.

 

[Wally East]

Thanks - was too lazy to research.

Thanks for letting it slide that I mentioned six, not five, players (Carla Berube came off the bench, too).

 

[msf22b]

For me the most significant quote in the article is Stewie's remark that this was one of Geno's most impressive coaching accomplishments.

National awards aside, he turned the single loss into a positive and quickly gained full control of the agenda
And soon thereafter the issue was no longer in doubt.

The dominance of the Huskys was inexorable.

As the Championship game unfolded there was little question of the outcome.
Any runs the Irish made were immediately answered in kind
And if the final score indicated less than a beatdown, the inevitability of another Husky victory was apparent throughout.

Geno has mastered the trick of working with the pros in the summer and making the rapid turnaround to relate to the complex issues of hismore youthful charges.

Not as easy to do as one might imagine. He got a B- (from me) in the first of the 3 championship runs, and he admitted to difficulties in relating to his gifted freshman class.

But this year, he and his staff were supreme and deserve our deepest thanks, and admiration.

You can see the love and admiration Moriah has for him in that monster, huge smile she flashed, when he ran down the court to congratulate her for chasing that out-of-bounds ball.

Another fascinating and challenging integration effort looms.

But the boss is on his game.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Good analysis of the year and team members. I give him extra credit for not dwelling into what was wrong with any player not getting playing time.
Stewie MOP bothered me a lot. I thought Jefferson should have been MOP. Moriah is outstanding and super great--in any other year she'd be MOP. But I've watched the last 4 games again and Stewie is amazing, she corals rebounds against Tx 6'7' , 6'5, 64 all at the same time with ONE hand. She's a perpetual motion machine. For the level of physical work that she had to do to just catch the ball was beyond most mortals. Yes sir eee buddy, Stewie only got 8 point in the NC game--but it's about the total package of work in the 6 games of the NCAA tourney and Stewie has no equal!!!

I disagree with the very last part of your post. Moriah was her equal or should I say exceeded Stewie. I agree with how many nuanced things Stewie did and she is SOOOO special but you could easily say exactly the same type things regarding Moriah. How many things does Moriah do that don't show up on a scorecard that make all the difference in the flow of the game. Moriah is a phenomenal defensive player and she does so much to defuse the attack of our opponents by normally shutting down the engine of our opponent, their point guard. How many times has she failed to do EXACTLY THAT! The hustle plays that she makes are often beyond comprehension on both ends of the court and how many times has she hit that big three point shot that defused a rally or broke our opponents spirit. I'm not saying that it isn't a tough choice because they are both extraordinary but my vote goes to MORIAH and even more importantly, so does Breanna's!

 

[Buzzyboy]

Whose the Freshman that Started? I thought Kia Nurse was 17 going on 35 with the way she carried herself. It was terribly difficult thinking of Kia as a Frosh. There was some press on her "nerves" in the NCAA tourney but I never saw them. To say she was exceptional is to spout the obvious. How great will this kid be when she is a Senior?? Maybe someone will make that a "thread" (my are all on my sewing machine)

Kia is superb and no one here can doubt that. I do agree that with the consensus by many that she was a bit off of her game throughout most of the NCAA tournament and I'm not suggesting that she was a NEGATIVE but that she wasn't nearly as effective as she had been for the majority of her freshman year. Could there have been a nagging injury or a fatigue issue or maybe a case of nerves???? I don't pretend to know but it did seem that she was more effective in the Final Four than she had been earlier in the tourney and I'm thankful for that. She's a great kid and an outstanding player, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. We're blessed to have her.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Here's an incredible stat/statement, mentioned w.r.t. Kaleena:

"She’s the 11th UConn player to be named to a postseason all-tournament team in all four of her years."

That reflects on the team's success, the consistency of stellar play, and how ready some freshmen are to make their marks. Wow! Simply wow!

 

[rugbymate]

"They finished 38-1 with a 37-game winning streak. For the first time in program history, all five starters averaged in double figures scoring and accumulated at least 100 assists."
Amazing. I wonder how many teams have ever done this, especially with a freshman starter.

In the regular season all 5 starters shot 50% or more...pretty sure that has never been done before. Kia dipped just below .500 with a rough final four.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Kia is superb and no one here can doubt that. I do agree that with the consensus by many that she was a bit off of her game throughout most of the NCAA tournament and I'm not suggesting that she was a NEGATIVE but that she wasn't nearly as effective as she had been for the majority of her freshman year. Could there have been a nagging injury or a fatigue issue or maybe a case of nerves???? I don't pretend to know but it did seem that she was more effective in the Final Four than she had been earlier in the tourney and I'm thankful for that. She's a great kid and an outstanding player, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. We're blessed to have her.

Not to argue because none of us (except Geno) know for sure. I don't think Kia was "off her game" during the NCAA. I believe her role changed a bit. She took the same three ball shots, she drove occasionally to the basket, she dished assists in the same quantities, made a few bad passes as she did earlier. But her job was to feed Stewie, Tuck and KML.
There are some who thought Kia's defense was lacking--not me. But she will be better. I thank you for realizing that we who are Uconn fans are Blessed to have Kia on OUR team. I feel blessed just to have eye sight to watch her--to me she's a show in herself. She reminds me of Svet. Yes I am a Kia Fan.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno said that Kia was nervous at the Final Four. Maybe because she didn't want to screw up the American tourney for her American teammates.

 

[Kaizen]

"But with Chong struggling to make shots and the Huskies’ opponents facing quality guards, she got lost in the shuffle and lost Auriemma’s trust. "

Chong has proved that she can play good games (with Stanford and Memphis). But I think she faces so many talent teammates and lose the confidence.

I like her ball handling and 3 points shooting, Wish she can find her confidence in the coming year.

 

[cbraarj]

"But with Chong struggling to make shots and the Huskies’ opponents facing quality guards, she got lost in the shuffle and lost Auriemma’s trust. "

Chong has proved that she can play good games (with Stanford and Memphis). But I think she faces so many talent teammates and lose the confidence.

I like her ball handling and 3 points shooting, Wish she can find her confidence in the coming year.

Kaizen,Chong will never be in a close game because of her defense!That is why she did not play against ND!Loyd and Allen would have had career days with her guarding them!Watch the Stanford game again!That was the worst defense from an individual Huskie player in the championship era ever!As far as Memphis,Chong,4 frosh and 2walkons would have beat them by 10 to 20 pts.Calculated move by Geno to sit stewie and tuck.

 

[Kmoney]

Kaizen,Chong will never be in a close game because of her defense!That is why she did not play against ND!Loyd and Allen would have had career days with her guarding them!Watch the Stanford game again!That was the worst defense from an individual Huskie player in the championship era ever!As far as Memphis,Chong,4 frosh and 2walkons would have beat them by 10 to 20 pts.Calculated move by Geno to sit stewie and tuck.

I really want Chong to succeed. Her defense improved as the season went on. She appears to have a great attitude. I am sure she will work on her lateral quickness and strength this Summer and we will see a more determined defender in the Fall.

She did have a defensive nightmare against Stanford, but she was one of the few players that played aggressively on the offensive end. Her offense prevented that game from "maybe" being a blowout loss.

In my opinion, Chong lost her playing time late in the season due to her offense. In several blowout victories, Geno inserted her to run the offense. On several of these occasions the offense deteriorated into bad shots and turnovers. I don't think it was always her fault, but her minutes decreased the most as the season went on.

I think we will see a new Chong next season.
Confident
Aggressive
Strong
No hitch in her jumper