DePaul Postgame Thread

[eebmg]

One thing Bruno said at the Presser is that if SC did not pull out, they would not have been able to schedule the UConn game. Very karmic

 

[eebmg]

I mentioned earlier that she missed most of her senior year, but she was a total stud as a junior and started out even better as a Senior. Coming from a high profile school like Simeon, it was totally ridiculous to ignore her. Bruno didn’t.

So did she have other P5 suitors?

 

[Carnac]

I have made the suggestion that Aaliyah’s summer away from UConn with the Canadian national team hurt her development as a basketball player. She missed much of the off-season strength and conditioning work with Andrea Hudy and she really didn’t get much of an opportunity to play practice or real games as the last player on Canada’s 12 player roster.

I think Aaliyah has been playing catch-up ever since. My hope is that she salvages something this season and she works incredibly hard this off-season, coming back ready to contribute next season.

OD, I've been in denial up to now. When the players returned and began to workout together, someone mentioned that Edwards was now tougher than last year. I thought, oh joy!! But when the season started, we didn't see the sophomore leap most of us expected to see. You and others suggested that she had regressed, possibly due to her time away from the team this summer with the Canadian Olympic Team. I though just the opposite., that the time she spent with them benefitted her more. I was wrong. if you can't believe your eyes, what can you believe? She doesn't pass the "eye test" now.

I've come over to your side (way of thinking) on this. Last night she had 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers and no points in 8 minutes of play, and didn't play in the 2nd half. I love Aaliyah Edwards, but at times she appeared to be a liability out there. The things she did last year that endeared her to our hearts, she no longer does. She needs to catch up.....NOW. Do what's necessary to rejoin the rotation and provide some meaningful production.

Now that Williams and Azzi are back, she may not be the 6th man any longer, and may see her minutes decline. The talent is there and we need her badly. I'm hoping she can get herself squared away soon, like THIS WEEK. We're entering the second half of the season. We need all hands on deck.

We host Tennessee in 10 days. That's not going to be a cake walk. Right now they're ranked 4th in the top 25. They're 18-1 losing only to #3 Stanford 74-63. They've already defeated 5 top 25 programs. The Lady Vols are back.

 

[oldude]

If she wasn’t all in, and practicing on her own when not with the team, then it’s all on her. She’s definitely missing the gear she had last year.

Aaliyah committed many hrs a day to being part of the Canadian Olympic team, which basically holed themselves away in a hotel in FL, and then she’s supposed to find a court and weight room to practice/workout on her own without a coach or teammates, and maybe without a ride as well. That’s not a realistic expectation.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Azzi and CW looked like they didn't miss a beat. Very impressed with how sharp Azzi looked after not playing for two months.

Pregame Geno reported she had a lone workout and hit 25 out of 25 and only 1 of them hit the rim. I'd say that's sharp.

 

[Redux]

We host Tennessee in 10 days. That's not going to be a cake walk

So you think they have a chance against UCONN.

 

[NU2BY]

Pregame Geno reported she had a lone workout and hit 25 out of 25 and only 1 of them hit the rim. I'd say that's sharp.

That sounded a bit exaggerated, but whatever it was isn't important. What she displayed in the game was! We've been waiting for you Azzi Fudd.

 

[NU2BY]

So you think they have a chance against UCONN.

What do you think?

 

[BobbyJ]

Pregame Geno reported she had a lone workout and hit 25 out of 25 and only 1 of them hit the rim. I'd say that's sharp.

Remember, this wasn't exactly a master of the understatement speaking here. He was in front of a microphone.

 

[Zinethar]

Like someone else mentioned earlier EW and AE are currently playing with little energy and seem not to be themselves. That would suggest an injury or health issue to me. AE used to bang well underneath but lately is easily pushed out of position so she is often too far under the basket to make the easy put back. I don't know if she got COVID but it could be a lingering issue. Only other thing I can think of is an injury we are not aware of. I seriously doubt it is lack of desire in either case.

 

[Redux]

this wasn't exactly a master of the understatement speaking here

Actually, he is. He just prefers to swing the other way most of the time. He can report accurately but I think he finds it boring and not useful to his byzantine ends.

 

[fomalhaut]

One comment on the refs. The game was a last minute arrangement and I am assuming that all the respectable refs were previously assigned and to move them to this game would have involved moving several refs at the last minute. So we ended up with the JV refs from Chicago High School Association.

It's because of the refs that Aneesha was hurt in the second period. Any competent team would have fouled her out in the first period.

I want to know who called time out and why after Charm's winning bucket. There is no need to check the clock in a play on situation.

I assume you're being sarcastic, but these are all regular refs who have worked Connecticut games earlier this year.

The worst part of the refereeing for me was not the imbalance of calls, but the way they let the physicality get out of hand.

 

[HuskyNan]

A&M demolished that team by 20. They look good because they play in the Big East, in the Sec they would be an under 500 team. Again people inflating the Big East, but when Uconn plays another legit ranked opponent will go back to square one.

Do you like ANYTHING about the team?

 

[schmendrick]

From the Depaul side

Women's basketball: Aneesah Morrow's big night is not enough to upset No. 10 UConn - The DePaulia

DePaul has had its chances to beat UConn in the past, but the Huskies have always found a way to pull out a victory. On Wednesday, with UConn traveling to Chicago to face DePaul on short notice after the Big East rescheduled the Dec. 31 postponement, the Blue Demons once again found themselves...

depauliaonline.com

“I thought we let our guard down with the collection of threes that took place there in the second half and then down the stretch defensively,” head coach Doug Bruno said.

No guarding Azzi and her quick release, Doug will learn soon enough.

 

[cohenzone]

Many times, a coach has the intended shooter throw the ball in, since defenses tend to ignore that person briefly once the play starts.

True, but in that situation just getting the ball in was the most important thing. Don’t know if she was the intended shooter, but one way or the other, she had a learning experience and the team survived.

 

[Carnac]

So you think they have a chance against UCONN.

They're down to two BIGS losing forward/center Keyen Green for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. 6'6" Tamari Key (10.1/8.4) is slender (like ONO) but not as aggressive. While 6'5" Emily Saunders gets minimal minutes and is averaging 1.4 ppg. Jordan Horston (15.4 ppg) is the player we should be concerned about. Absolutely we have a chance. A very good chance. The worst thing Tennessee could do is come into the XL Center and think they're going to "Cadillac it" for 40 minutes. It's hard to beat UConn at home.

 

[freshler40]

I think it may be the last minute. But it is play on and not a time out. The opposing player must quickly come and pick up the ball and then has 5 seconds to inbound. In this game the ref under the basket signaled time out right away as the basket was made. The refs met at the scorers table. The announcers were confused as to what they could be doing. That sure looks like a homer move.

Numerous times UConn was very slow putting the ball in play after a basket. This allowed the defense to set up a full court press which was very effective. Our Husky men had that problem for a while but solved it by quickly putting the ball in play and also looking downcourt for fast break options. We need to follow that option more. Integrating new players on the fly hurt our result especially in the second qtr when we went small. Our rolls were somewhat confusing for the players. When we went small, in the second quarter, DePaul ran off a number of unanswered points, a Hugh swing and almost cost us the game. A great come-back for us and teaching moment. More practice will surely help.
It also seemed that the mid-West refs did buy the backing down bumps that Morrow frequently used down low. In the men's game that now is often call an offensive foul. Are these rules different????

Our bigs need to front a big more, not just play from behind. We had the height advantage but gave it up by allowing the pass into their post. We didn't seem to adjust in this game as it was hard to do during game time or we didn't see what was happening soon enough. Morrow was a major handfull. She and others on DePaul played the Duke acting card well. We should learn from this a lot.

 

[oldude]

That sounded a bit exaggerated, but whatever it was isn't important. What she displayed in the game was! We've been waiting for you Azzi Fudd.

I’m shocked, shocked to hear that Geno would exaggerate…..

 

[LwrcasefaN]

They're down to two BIGS losing forward/center Keyen Green for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. 6'6" Tamari Key (10.1/8.4) is slender (like ONO) but not as aggressive. While 6'5" Emily Saunders gets minimal minutes and is averaging 1.4 ppg. Jordan Horston (15.4 ppg) is the player we should be concerned about. Absolutely we have a chance. A very good chance. The worst thing Tennessee could do is come into the XL Center and think they're going to "Cadillac it" for 40 minutes. It's hard to beat UConn at home.

Tamari isn't exactly slender. She blocks a lot of shots, but I'm still on the fence when it comes to defending players her size. Though better of late...she fouls quite frequently. Horston is a volume shooter and great rebounder. Just box her out. Personally, I'd play a fair amount of zone against them. Having said that...if the refs let them hand check perimeter players...UCONN better be ready for a dogfight. In the 4th qtr against Texas...I wanted to call in an assault. lol

 

[STLCardinal]

I want to know who called time out and why after Charm's winning bucket. There is no need to check the clock in a play on situation.

The officials called time out because they are not competent enough to know ahead of time that one trailing official needs to look at the clock after a made basket. That needs to be addressed. Giving a timeout at the end of a game to a team who has none should not happen. This line about we want to make sure the right time is on the clock is lame. Do your job, on the run, or do something else for a living. There are way too many things officials in women's basketball are bad at. And there are way too many things that the officiating committee allows to happen because of the inability of their officials to do their job properly. For example, this touching the ballhandler twice in the same possession foul. If they are pushing them, physically impeding their progress, then call a foul. If not, then play on. Point of emphasis my backside. The only time emphasis should play into any of it is if a team or player is trying to get away with something that's against the rules. Then, let them know your not gonna let them, by calling it. Period. And how about some consistency. I know there's gonna be some differences among officials but my gosh, one game they allow physical assault and the next you get called for burping out loud.

 

[NU2BY]

I’m shocked, shocked to hear that Geno would exaggerate…..

Yeah, me too.

 

[HuskyNan]

I see we’re no longer discussing the game