East Carolina Game Thread

[BigBird]

As usual, the last 4-ish minutes were choppy, but this was a really (really) good outing for our kids. They played very good defense to the end (almost). They shared the ball, and made generally good decisions. Kia is back to form.

 

[HuskyNan]

I really like Nat, but it's more than the hand. It's very poor decisions to boot.

IMO, Natalie is thinking too much. Geno typically adds wrinkles to the team's offense as the season goes on and she seems to be sorting through her mind to find the next step when she's on the court. She's essentially a freshman so it will take time. I got shouted down last season for pointing this out but some folks had unrealistic expectations for Natalie based on her performance at Georgetown.

 

[HoopsFan21]

UCONN shot 100% from 3 today:

5-5
KLS 3-3
Chong 2-2

Mo was 2/4 and Kia was 4/7 and Stewie was 1/3 (I think) and Tuck was 1/1

 

[BigBird]

UCONN shot 100% from 3 today:

5-5
KLS 3-3
Chong 2-2

Huh?

 

[HuskyNan]

UCONN shot 100% from 3 today:

5-5
KLS 3-3
Chong 2-2

Lou missed at least 2 and Kia was, I believe, 4-6 from three.

 

[j66kicker]

Mo was 2/4 and Kia was 4/7 and Stewie was 1/3 (I think) and Tuck was 1/1

Ooops - sorry. Was looking at FTs. 11-27 on threes

 

[HoopsFan21]

Gonna need a better effort from KLS on Monday night. Just 3 points, zero rebounds, and zero assists today.

 

[BigBird]

IMO, Natalie is thinking too much. Geno typically adds wrinkles to the team's offense as the season goes on and she seems to be sorting through her mind to find the next step when she's on the court. She's essentially a freshman so it will take time. I got shouted down last season for pointing this out but some folks had unrealistic expectations for Natalie based on her performance at Georgetown.

All true, Nan. But some of her shots were major bricks. She hasn't done that in previous outings. At least, not to the extent I saw today. She will get better.

 

[HuskyNan]

All true, Nan. But some of her shots were major bricks. She hasn't done that in previous outings. At least, not to the extent I saw today. She will get better.

Her timing is definitely off and the more shots she misses, the more she has that slight hesitation. Sadly, she seems to have lost confidence. Hopefully she finds it before the post season.

It would have been helpful having Natalie play well going into the USC game but, realistically, she's probably not going to play much unless someone is in foul trouble. Even then, I think Napheesa and/or Gabby would play more instead.

 

[hoophuskee]

You going to stand by that after what we've seen here in the 4th quarter?

Wow!!!!!!!!!!

You ignore every other game and just use this one quarter to evaluate next year?

Wow. Unbelievable. I would have loved to have read your posts about Stewie and And MoJeff in their frosh years as you picked apart one quarter of their sub-par play too.

 

[huskyd]

Regardless of how this "game" went, Geno is in his Starting Five mode, something to which he gravitates every year. Expect to see a lot of the starters going long minutes on Monday. Stewart, Jefferson, and Kia will go almost the full 40. Ditto Morgan if completely healthy. Lou's height and length could be a real asset along with her ability to balloon the score. Gabby will play, although this is not an ideal game for her with SC's big interior. Napheesa's athleticism may garner some success, especially when either Coates or Wilson sit. Except for a brief appearance by Chong, no one else is likely to play. Geno seems prepared to stay with his main five. (Variables are fouls, health, and Session's ability to sink 70 footers.)

 

[UcMiami]

Natalie had surgery on her hand less than four months ago and it is really surprising to me that her two handed grip on the ball isn't viselike at this point!
Some people have unrealistic expectations!
On playing her against SC - we shall see, but exactly how many big strong post players have we seen in the last 15 games? I seem to lose count when the number get above zero. Natalie is definitely not the quickest post defender we have, but she is also playing in a conference that is surprisingly devoid of 6'5" bulky post players for a team that much more typically sees 4 guards than two bigs playing against them. I would expect she would be more effective against the SC and Baylor type of teams with strong low post games than against Uconn's typical opponent.

 

[bschwartz]

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Natalie had surgery on her hand less than four months ago and it is really surprising to me that her two handed grip on the ball isn't viselike at this point!
Some people have unrealistic expectations!
On playing her against SC - we shall see, but exactly how many big strong post players have we seen in the last 15 games? I seem to lose count when the number get above zero. Natalie is definitely not the quickest post defender we have, but she is also playing in a conference that is surprisingly devoid of 6'5" bulky post players for a team that much more typically sees 4 guards than two bigs playing against them. I would expect she would be more effective against the SC and Baylor type of teams with strong low post games than against Uconn's typical opponent.

She needs to lift and do a lot of agility drills with and without the basketball.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'm a big Lou fan but Geno is not happy with her. Would not be surprised if she doesn't play second half. Lesson no. 2

When some players got benched before the SC game last year, how did that work out?

 

[Zorro]

You going to stand by that after what we've seen here in the 4th quarter?

Hell yes!