Greatest Play in UConn WBB History? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Greatest Play in UConn WBB History?

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I have to go along with the crowd voting for Diana's three quarter court trey at the half buzzer. When you watch the replay you see that even Geno is dumbfounded! And of course she hit another buzzer beater at the end of regulation as I remember.

But a little off topic: I would like to add that DT had the greatest moment outside of play as well. My vote being for her "call me" gesture to the Cameron crazies after she took down Alana Beard and the blue devils!
 

ctfjr

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I forget exactly which TN game it was, but it was at their house. DT gets fouled on her shot (pretty sure she made it) and then she comes over & punches that orange wrapped basket support.
 
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I have to go along with the crowd voting for Diana's three quarter court trey at the half buzzer. When you watch the replay you see that even Geno is dumbfounded! And of course she hit another buzzer beater at the end of regulation as I remember.

But a little off topic: I would like to add that DT had the greatest moment outside of play as well. My vote being for her "call me" gesture to the Cameron crazies after she took down Alana Beard and the blue devils!
Here you go...

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/85/90/4b/85904b61402c886b2569c9525acaaf50.jpg
 
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Call me very jealous of you for having been there. Obviously I did not dedicate as many brain cell to the memory as you did. Did JMo get fould or did she just miss the layup?
She just missed it. As athletic as she was, and as accustomed to playing with DT as she was, she may have been just as surprised by that pass as the rest of us.
 

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I recall that Ann Strother commented that she learned quickly that she wished she could coat her hands with stickum so as to be better prepared to receive Diana's surprise passes.
 

MilfordHusky

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One of the biggest shots ever had to be Diana's 3 from the top of the key late in the 2003 semifinal against Texas in 2003. UConn had been down by as many as 9 and Diana's 3 put UConn ahead by 2 late in the game. Diana's shot came after Ann missed a FT and Wilnett grabbed the rebound. Geno has said that the 2003 team had no business winning that game against Texas.
Dee had so much audacity. And still does.
 

Icebear

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My personal favorite is Dee's left-handed jumper falling out of bounds. A shot that could not have been made right-handed.
 

CocoHusky

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My personal favorite is Dee's left-handed jumper falling out of bounds. A shot that could not have been made right-handed.
Video please if possible. I don't remember that one.
 
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To say the least.


Love the TV commentary:

(Female announcer) "Taurasi is big time! She is the real deal if, you hear what I'm sayin'. I mean she must have UCONN blue running through her veins right now. She just came out an knocked down a 3. She is so poised."

(Male announcer) "Here's a woman, Lisa, that just doesn't know how to lose."
 
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I nominate the play at 15:05 in the 2nd half of the April 8, 2014 National Championship victory over Notre Dame, capping that perfectly beautiful 40-0 season. It was not an instance of Diana's or Maya's insane basketball skills, Stewie's singular athleticism, or Moriah's supersonic speed. Rather it was the epitome of what UConn Women's Basketball is all about, how it is played, and why it is alone at the top.

Following a missed shot by Bria and the rebound by Stef under the basket, the ball was kicked out top to Hartley. The ball is quickly passed from Bria to Moriah to Kaleena (all outside the 3-point line) who then makes the bounce pass to Stef at the baseline who then throws another bounce pass into the lane to a cutting Stewie who finishes with the lefty layup. In little more than 3 seconds, every player gets a touch, every player passes the ball, and the basket is made. The embodiment of teamwork, of UConn Women's Basketball.

Gene Hackman would have been proud.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2013-2014-womens-basketball-replays/
 
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Wbbfan1

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My nomination(S) are any number of plays/shots that DT made against Texas down the stretch to pull out an improbable victory at the 2003 Final Four. UConn went on a 11-3 run down the stretch to win the game 71-69 when most thought the game was over. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/recap?gameId=234000062. A memorable game and F4 as UConn went on to beat the Lady Vols in the Championship game 73-68. The 2nd of DT's championship.
 
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I nominate the play at 15:05 in the 2nd half of the April 8, 2014 National Championship victory over Notre Dame, capping that perfectly beautiful 40-0 season. It was not an instance of Diana's or Maya's insane basketball skills, Stewie's singular athleticism, or Moriah's supersonic speed. Rather it was the epitome of what UConn Women's Basketball is all about, how it is played, and why it is alone at the top.

Following a missed shot by Bria and the rebound by Stef under the basket, the ball was kicked out top to Hartley. The ball is quickly passed from Bria to Moriah to Kaleena (all outside the 3-point line) who then makes the bounce pass to Stef at the baseline who then throws another bounce pass into the lane to a cutting Stewie who finishes with the lefty layup. In little more than 3 seconds, every player gets a touch, every player passes the ball, and the basket is made. The embodiment of teamwork, of UConn Women's Basketball.

Gene Hackman would have been proud.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2013-2014-womens-basketball-replays/
I love, love, love that play. I was going to get around to nominating it...I swear. The problem with it is that it doesn't look like a real, game-situation play. It looks like practice where a coach is explaining how a play should look when everything goes just as planned when the play is drawn up, when the defense is offering no opposition to the offense so the offense can get a feel for the play. It's the diametric opposite of Geno's "can't guard a chair" where the coach set out five chairs to represent where the defenders are, except the offense must practice the play several times even though it's just chairs to get it to look that good. Or better yet, it looks like part of a movie script and everyone is executing a scene so it looks perfect in the movie. Even the Globe Trotters can't run that play when they're playing the Washington Generals. It reminds me of Secretariat's move in the first turn of the Preakness where he passes every other horse like it's standing still. Things like that just don't happen in unscripted life. Hackman would have been proud indeed. "That's a wrap!"
 
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I love, love, love that play. I was going to get around to nominating it...I swear. The problem with it is that it doesn't look like a real, game-situation play. It looks like practice where a coach is explaining how a play should look when everything goes just as planned when the play is drawn up, when the defense is offering no opposition to the offense so the offense can get a feel for the play. It's the diametric opposite of Geno's "can't guard a chair" where the coach set out five chairs to represent where the defenders are, except the offense must practice the play several times even though it's just chairs to get it to look that good. Or better yet, it looks like part of a movie script and everyone is executing a scene so it looks perfect in the movie. Even the Globe Trotters can't run that play when they're playing the Washington Generals. It reminds me of Secretariat's move in the first turn of the Preakness where he passes every other horse like it's standing still. Things like that just don't happen in unscripted life. Hackman would have been proud indeed. "That's a wrap!"
Text book, five passes in seven seconds, every player had a touch. And right after it you could see by the look on LMM's face that she knew the game was over.
 
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I'm back to that play, the one beginning at 15:05...

True perfection is a thing of such beauty as to be rare indeed. Approximately .01% of all major league games have been perfect. Basketball, of course, has no perfect game. But what about the perfect play? Again, no such thing. But what if we defined one? What would it look like, what are the characteristics? Efficient? OK, that sounds good/important. What's that first rule of design? Form follows function? (OK, full disclosure, I don't know that it's the first rule.) What's the function of offensive basketball? Score the ball. So, inbound the ball, 93 foot heave, swish. Perfect play, right? Well, no, not many of those are going in. A game full game of full-court shots wouldn't be efficient at all. Not to mention dull as hell.

Got to get the ball closer to the basket. How about some dribbles? Inbound the ball, player dribbles the ball the length of the court and scoops in a lay-up. I've just described Ketia Swanier at the end of the DePaul game. Perfect play? Maybe not. What are the other 4 players for? One to inbound but the others might as well be in the locker room.

More players? How many? Well, all of them would be best.

Multiple players means passes. Unless you want a situation where one player loses possession and another regains it.

Geno: OK, here's what we're going to do. Bria, you dribble around for a while then lose possession. Mo, you swoop in and grab the ball, but then you lose it. Kaleena, somehow you get it back. I'm not sure how, but, heh-heh, I don't actually have to do it, just tell you to, heh-heh. Then the ball get's knocked out of your hands and...
CD: Correct me if I'm wrong coach but that doesn't sound all that efficient. Even the explanation isn't efficient...
Geno: CD if I want any crap out of you I'll unscrew your head and dip it out. Now where was I...

Let's stick with passes. How many passes? To get 5 players involved requires at least four passes. Efficiency demands the minimum so each player can touch the ball only once and the last player to touch it must finish the play.

What else? Gotta score, right? Sure, but what kind of shot? 3-pointer? Maybe, but even Kaleena behind the arc wasn't as automatic as a lay-up. Still, it's 2 points versus 3 points. What about resulting fouls? Lay-ups are more likely to generate +1's than 3 pointers. If we count +1's along with the odds of making the shot, what generates more scoring, the 3-point shot or the lay-up? I sure don't know. Also, what about the fact the the 3 point shot is more difficult than the lay-up? Shouldn't difficulty county for something? I suppose, but which way? Shouldn't the perfect play be designed to produce the least difficult shot, not the most difficult one? Don't make me go back to the merits and demerits of launching full-court missiles... I imagine the debate about the shot resulting from the perfect play will remain moot. The 3-point shot because of it's higher value versus the lay-up because of it's ease of execution and greater +1 potential. Perhaps there are two perfect plays. One that ends in a 3-point shot and one that ends in a lay-up.

Anything else? How about dribbles? Not essential, right? So no dribbles. Player movement, steps? Again, not essential. No steps. That it? Pretty much, just something crisp, quick: no player holding the ball, no clock stoppage, no time out in the middle of the play or ball swatted out of bounds then the play continued with the in-bound pass.

Let's re-cap. The perfect play has all 5 players touch the ball, once each, four passes, no player movement beyond what's needed to complete the passes and shot, resulting is either a successful 3-point shot or a lay-up. Look at our play again, beginning at the 15:05 point when Bria passes to Moriah. Five Players, four passes, one lay-up. Four seconds from beginning to end. The only place you'll ever see that play again is in the pre-game lay-up line.

Completing the circle, there have been 23 perfect games in 135 years of professional baseball. Does any one stand out? A case can be made for Don Larsen's because it was done on baseball's most difficult stage: The World Series. UConn executed that play not in some exhibition game against Schlub U. but in the National Championship Game against a to-that-point undefeated foe. The most perfect basketball play ever.
 
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Text book, five passes in seven seconds, every player had a touch. And right after it you could see by the look on LMM's face that she knew the game was over.
Sonny, see my post after yours. I was in the process of composing my post and didn't see yours until I (finally) finished. One nit, it was four seconds, not seven, I watched in slo-mo, the ball went through the hoop at 15:01. Your Muffet observation was the "perfect" add.
 
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That same game at about 6.5 minutes in the first half there was another great play. Breanna makes a great block, the ball heads out of bounds, we will lose possession. But wait, MoJett flies out of bounds and bounces the ball off the hapless Wright and we keep the ball. The block was great, but Mo makes it unforgettable.
 
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While the "Greatest play in UConn history" is open to debate, as several players qualify, in my view, for sheer volume of incredible, clutch, and jaw dropping plays, Taurasi's performances are unparalleled.
 

FairView

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Man, that 2014 Championship game was fun to watch again. And again.
You guys are killing my weekend chore productivity.
 
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