DePaul Postgame Thread

[Carnac]

Smackdown from start to finish. Couldn't be more happy with how the team played.

• Aaliyah and Aubrey with double-doubles. And Liya outplayed Morrow by a lot. AA!!!
• Lou - the only player who hit a 3-pointer. LOVE LOVE LOVE her.
• Dorka 1 board away from a double-double
• Nika back to her double digit assists (had 4 TO's sin Q1 but cleaned it up nicely by the end of the game)
• This is the kind of game i'd like to see from Aubrey every time out. She CAN play great defense AND score. She is SPECIAL!
• Who was that new kid? Ayanna Patterson - we missed you!! What a nice up and under!
• Some solid play by DeBerry and Bettencourt

And OMG welcome Jana!

Hope this team brings a lot of what we saw to Knoxville for a Thursday night smackdown...!!!

Nothing would please me more!! ..............a "convincing" win.

 

[Redux]

As for Nika, whatever she’s doing, she should just keep doing it.

I read some of the posts about her and I wonder whether parallel universes may be a real thing!

Maybe there is a universe where the weakness of this team is a Nika that doesn't score enough.

But not here, not now. Nika has other things to do and, over the long haul, when the opportunities are there and the team needs her points, she shows just enough to keep defenses somewhat honest.

 

[Boreifs]

Doug Bruno most overrated coach this side of Andy Landers. If he’d been coaching a men’s program he would’ve been gone years ago. Pulls an upset once in a blue moon.

You obviously don’t live in Chicago. His camps are legendary and he habitually schedules the second toughest schedule in the nation. If you ever saw the campus that he has to work with, you would never ever badmouth his program. The men haven’t been relevant for 30 years; his program makes the tournament every year and would have this year without the injuries suffered.

 

[Next 12]

All of these comments are about Jana and NIKA And Aaliyah is making me sorry I couldn't see the game live. I have to wait SJC243 posts the game and I am having trouble with waiting. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

All-American Aaliyah Edwards was dominant tonight. Physically tough, high energy, almost Maya-like. Best player on the floor, which is becoming a regular thing.

Lou shot 50% from the arc and just about 50% overall--as usual.

Dorka scored, rebounded, and blocked shots. One board short of a double-double.

Aubrey ran by people. She gets to the basket so easily. She has a unique glide mode. Double-double.

Nika had double-figures in assists again, still leading the nation by a wide margin.

All THREE of the bench player contributed. Amari looks lax at time, but she makes some nice plays and can score. Yanna looked rested and less rushed. She ran down an DePaul player and caused a missed layup--a block or intimidation by the sound of a locomotive? Ines is looking more comfortable and scored back-to-back baskets.

I hope Jana had fun. This is a great group to be part of.

 

[The deacon]

I think Aaliyah might also be a better defensive player than Naz, as well as perimeter shooter, but it is a very fair comparison.

 

[The deacon]

Nika is having a fantastic year, but I think in order to beat the best teams, she will need to score points. Going into TN she does have much confidence to hit a few 3s. Aubrey is backing off that shot and we need another threat

The bigger concern for me about Nika is her TOs. She's averaging nearly 4 per game since Thanksgiving, and those would haunt the Huskies vs. SC.

 

[Next 12]

Correction, sorry I got it wrong. I meant MJL243 and I thank you ahead of time . GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno beefed up the roster of the DNP team:

Paige
Azzi
Ice
Carol
Jana

One of the better teams in the nation!

 

[tomcat]

Each player had her moments. It was great to see DeBerry play a solid game, and to see Patterson back in the lineup, playing decent minutes as well.

 

[phil sampieri]

Did anyone notice when Morrow and Lopez got into snd Lopez told her go you know what and Morrow on just one instance bumped Edwards going down court. Message don’t piss Edwards off

 

[HuskyNan]

Official stats

 

[DEpup]

Edwards has become UConn's version of Naz Hillman but with a better outside shot........by the time she graduates she's going to be WNBA ready

I would say she's becoming a version of Tina Charles. Tina didn't do the outside shooting until she became a pro.

 

[LarryLegend]

honestly dont know how Nika does it. She never appears to be tired and takes some nasty falls.

Deberry past few games is making me believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny

 

[Lynx23]

All-American Aaliyah Edwards was dominant tonight. Physically tough, high energy, almost Maya-like. Best player on the floor, which is becoming a regular thing.

Lou shot 50% from the arc and just about 50% overall--as usual.

Dorka scored, rebounded, and blocked shots. One board short of a double-double.

Aubrey ran by people. She gets to the basket so easily. She has a unique glide mode. Double-double.

Nika had double-figures in assists again, still leading the nation by a wide margin.

All THREE of the bench player contributed. Amari looks lax at time, but she makes some nice plays and can score. Yanna looked rested and less rushed. She ran down an DePaul player and caused a missed layup--a block or intimidation by the sound of a locomotive? Ines is looking more comfortable and scored back-to-back baskets.

I hope Jana had fun. This is a great group to be part of.

Aubrey reminds me of Andre Jackson on the men's side.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Aneesah Morrow is a wonderful BB player and I wish we had her on our team.

I'm still surprised people think Morrow is UConn caliber. She forces one bad shot after another and displays questionable body language. I don't find her to be a team player.

Beyond that, she's shooting about 35% the last month and a half.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

 

[jaydee602]

Another fun game to watch. Wanted Dorka to come back in for one more rebound. Of course I was rooting for Nika to get 2 more rebounds to get a double double without even scoring a point (of course I really wanted her to score!). I'm really loving this group!

The way this season is going, Dorka would have returned for one more rebounded & sprained her ankle! Can't blame Geno for being overly cautious.

 

[HuskyNan]

I'm still surprised people think Morrow is UConn caliber. She forces one bad shot after another and displays questionable body language. I don't find her to be a team player.

Beyond that, she's shooting about 35% the last month and a half.

DePaul has superstar-itis. The team keeps waiting for Morrow, or Darrione Rogers, to bail them out and when Morrow is bottled up, they don’t know what to do.

As for Morrow, don’t forget she’s only a sophomore. Last year she surprised people but this year defenses are geared to stopping her. She still has to learn how to pass out of double teams, roll to the basket, and get the ball back for a bucket. Right now, she forces it up and looks for a foul. She’ll learn

 

[Next 12]

I'm still surprised people think Morrow is UConn caliber. She forces one bad shot after another and displays questionable body language. I don't find her to be a team player.

Beyond that, she's shooting about 35% the last month and a half.

Granted that's the way she is now. If she played for GENO , she would not do what she has to do because of the team she is on now. GENO would corral her excesses and make her more team orientated. I guess I was addressing her rebounding ability which UCONN has finally attained this year. GENO would make her a complete player in the UCONN style. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[Huskee11]

Very cold, clammy, un-Egyptian like weather in Connecticut today but a pretty decent crowd made it to Gampel nonetheless.

Jana was introduced to the crowd in the first half and got a warm reception. Also a great roar when Ayanna came into the game.

I have seen two games at Gampel in three days and I can`t say enough about the defensive effort UConn is giving. They can be in any game including South Carolina with that defensive effort.

Other impressions:

Both Aaliyah and Dorka both outplayed Morrow, and by a lot. Heck, Amari didn`t fare too bad either.

Aubrey Griffin seemed out of sync early but wow that changed in a hurry. She is a unique player and can take it to the hoop like no one else I have seen currently playing college basketball. Makes everyone on defense seem like they are standing still.

If we hit our shots better in the first half Nika would have had at least 15 assists.

Lou is so great! I hope she gets a shot in the WNBA. She is just a scorer, a big time player. By the way, that contact in the second quarter with her and Morrow seemed way more than "incidental" when watching it in person. That was scary.

I liked how all of our bench players played. Ines is playing faster than she did earlier in the season. Amari is showing signs - she still does inexplicable things which seem to be due to lack of focus, or maybe nerves - but she may get there yet. Ayanna is also a work in process but the talent and effort is there.

Watching Doug Bruno is worth the price of admission. Tonight if he wasn`t angry at his players, he was angry at the referees. Exasperation personified.

I always worry when DePaul comes to town, and afterwards wonder why I was worrying. (I know, close call last year in Chicago.) This is not a vintage DePaul team. They are undisciplined and play weak defense even by DePaul standards. They miss Held and Morris.

We will need to cut down on the turnovers. The game seemed sloppy at the start. The turnovers seem to be mostly from mental lapses of one sort or another - lazy passes, passes to players who are guarded, low percentage passes. Correctible. I think. I hope.

Another game with players crashing to the floor left and right. I spend half the game holding my breath. I wish the game was less physical.

Now onto Tennessee and we seem to be in good shape for the shape we are in!

 

[cohenzone]

Smackdown from start to finish. Couldn't be more happy with how the team played.

• Aaliyah and Aubrey with double-doubles. And Liya outplayed Morrow by a lot. AA!!!
• Lou - the only player who hit a 3-pointer. LOVE LOVE LOVE her.
• Dorka 1 board away from a double-double
• Nika back to her double digit assists (had 4 TO's sin Q1 but cleaned it up nicely by the end of the game)
• This is the kind of game i'd like to see from Aubrey every time out. She CAN play great defense AND score. She is SPECIAL!
• Who was that new kid? Ayanna Patterson - we missed you!! What a nice up and under!
• Some solid play by DeBerry and Bettencourt

And OMG welcome Jana!

Hope this team brings a lot of what we saw to Knoxville for a Thursday night smackdown...!!!

You obviously don’t live in Chicago. His camps are legendary and he habitually schedules the second toughest schedule in the nation. If you ever saw the campus that he has to work with, you would never ever badmouth his program. The men haven’t been relevant for 30 years; his program makes the tournament every year and would have this year without the injuries suffered.

Sorry if people don’t like it. He seems like a great guy, but his program is rarely relevant nationally, usually plays a style that good programs have little problem handling and he doesn’t seem to adapt. His camp might be top notch and do a lot for kids. I’m all for it. It has zero to with coaching competitive D1 hoops I don’t judge if it’s better or worse that a lot of schools don’t demand as much of the ladies’ teams as they do the men, but I guarantee you that DePaul gives Bruno more leeway than it does the men coaches. Arguably the men’s coaches generally face tougher competition overall. UConn men’s fans grumble about Hurley because they have lost early in the NCAA pointing to it as not acceptable. And the administration looks at such things. Bruno’s DePaul makes some NCAAs, they are not close to being a threat to ever win it. I made a simple statement. He is overrated compared to coaches at other programs and is never on the chopping block . Maybe that’s a better way for college sports, it also a fact. Harry Peretta was a legend who was given miles more rope than they would give any Villanova men’s team coach. If you want to have a serious discussion about how “big time” programs have different expectations for female hoops from male (changing at some schools) let‘s do it. A “dislike” is a cop out, which I appreciate you didn’t do. I never use the thumb’s down.

For the record I give Edwards the Badass and people can dislike it all they want.

 

[#12in21]

Yes, she admits it although tonight’s game was a good example of why it’s a smart idea.

I think Nika may have a black eye tomorrow. She got whacked in the face and the right side was red and puffy.

That was a good look on Nika freshman year. It would send a message to Tennessee on Thursday that we are a tough bunch. Tonight's game once again showed we can give as much as we take in terms of physicality. We have a tough group of players.

 

[choochoo]

I have a new nick name for Morrow, Elbows!