Just got to finally watch the Dayton game and was wondering

[Zorro]

why Saniya and Kiah got so little time. Both of them looked pretty good to me while they were it, while Kia looked a little overwhelmed. Any ideas?

 

[CocoHusky]

why Saniya and Kiah got so little time. Both of them looked pretty good to me while they were it, while Kia looked a little overwhelmed. Any ideas?

Credit Dayton, UCONN starters had to earn that victory. Playing the non-starters Saniya & Gabby & Kiah more minutes could have put the game in further jeopardy IMO. I am not trying to knock these players but there is a reason they are not starters.

 

[Zorro]

Well yes, but even for UConn playing your starters 40 minutes is not necessarily a good idea. Fatigue factor and possible injury or foul trouble in subsequent games. Geno has always shortened the bench in important games, but never to five, so far as I can recall.

 

[CocoHusky]

Well yes, but even for UConn playing your starters 40 minutes is not necessarily a good idea. Fatigue factor and possible injury or foul trouble in subsequent games. Geno has always shortened the bench in important games, but never to five, so far as I can recall.

I disagree. This is a regional final we are talking about. Next game is a full week away for the winner 8 months for the loser. It very very late in the season- if your players are not conditioned to go 40+ mins now they will never be. What happens if the game goes into OT like Stanford.

 

[Woof 101]

why Saniya and Kiah got so little time. Both of them looked pretty good to me while they were it, while Kia looked a little overwhelmed. Any ideas?

Yes, watch the game again and focus this time. Playing time is decided by Geno and I think most would believe he got it right.
No slander here Zorro but your mind set is that of a team that was knocked out in the early rounds of the tourney.
Players at this level are conditioned to go 80 minutes this making 40 a cake walk. That and ones that are ready for the pressure. Geno knows who he can depend on.
It's crunch time baby!

 

[Zorro]

Thank you for your kind instruction.

 

[UcMiami]

In the first half it was back and forth and Uconn needed its best offensive team on the floor as long as they could go effectively. In the second half to did not want to lesson the pressure for a minute even as the lead grew - with a team that went 7-10 in the first half from three, 15 point leads can disappear very quickly, and the last thing you want to do, having established some separation, is give the other team momentum.

 

[JonB]

I think there are a couple of points. First, it's true that Kia seemed a bit out of sorts at the beginning. It was her first Elite 8, after all. If you don't let her play through the jitters then, when is she going to get over them? It will only be worse next time. Plus, it's not like she was totally stinking up the joint. She just wasn't playing at quite the high level we've come to expect. But she settled down eventually, so all is well.

The issue in the first half was largely one of not closing out on Dayton's 3-point shooters. Neither Kiah nor Saniya is going to fix that. Even if they could, the starters must do a better job of that... and did, in the second half. At the end of the day, I think Geno got what he most wanted, a win that also tuned up the starters for the FF.

 

[ndmb]

What JonB said. The reason we were down at the half was perimeter defense, and that's not where either Saniya or Kiah's talents lie.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think ndmb has it right. Kiah is an outstanding intimidator in the post but it was the perimeter shots that were hurting the Huskies; she is not as effective more than 5' or so from the basket. Saniya, and I focused on her, was doing a decent job of closing out on players but was about a half a step slow. Definite progress over the beginning of the year but Geno needed someone on the top of her game now and Kia is a better perimeter defender at this point. Gabby seemed a bit overwhelmed in the game, hardly a shock for a freshman player.

The Dayton's excellent spacing on offense and decisive passing caused a lot of ball movement, exposing any flaws, no matter how minor, in UConn's defense. Even though the three players above are very good defenders, Geno needed his best defenders.

 

[JSB60]

While the non-substitution made sense in the context of the Dayton game, I still wonder about playing the starters 40 minutes in a close game. If the game went down to the last few possessions, fatigue could be a real disadvantage. It doesn't matter how good the condition of our starters is, and their condition is excellent, they still might be facing fresher legs at crunch time.

 

[Aluminny69]

Well, Dayton played seven players, with their two subs playing 22 and 21 minutes, scoring 15 points. So, we're saying Dayton is "deeper" than UConn? Dayton could afford to sub, but UConn couldn't? If you are saying if Geno couldn't trust Kia in this game, when was he going to trust her, then the same could be said for UConn's subs. I think the only reason Kia came out the first half was because she had two fouls.

Although Dayton was 7-10 outside the arc, they were 11-25 inside the arc. I felt that if Stokes were in the game, UConn players could have guarded the perimeter tighter, knowing that Stokes was behind them in case they got beat off the dribble. She also could have helped defend 6'4" Malott. Stokes did a creditable job the few minutes she was in. I'm not sure why UConn played zone so much the first half, it definitely wasn't very effective.

I tend to agree with Zorro on this one. But I'm sure Geno had his reasons.

 

[Sonny44]

What JonB said. The reason we were down at the half was perimeter defense, and that's not where either Saniya or Kiah's talents lie.

Correct!

 

[msf22b]

Three points:

There was (I think Stewie's) comment about their legs becoming tired, heavy (meaning Dayton).
We were essentiality playing 5, they were playing 7 so the advantage might have been with them but it wasn't.

But: A few minutes before halftime, I noticed a (single) instance in which K looked somewhat fatigued…can't remember the exact moment or the gesture but it was worrisome at the moment. In the 2nd half, no such moment. It helps when everything you shoot goes in.

Geno gave the three subs a few minutes each fairly early in the game (after Kia's 2nd foul) to show that in this type of game they could make a contribution. He obviously felt, in each instance that he was better off with the starters. And when Kia came back for the 2nd half, that was that. None of the three subs had a big immediate impact in a very tough, close, game…For example Gabby tossed a pass away for her 1st major moment. But if one of them had made important contributions in their limited time, they would have stayed.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Coach knows what he's doing. He's been here before. A trip to the final four and a chance at a 10th national title were at stake. You don't take chances this time of year, especially not in close game.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Often this year a sub will come in and have a moment or even a minute like the Gabby miscue in the Dayton game before settling down and giving some great minutes. There have also been times when a sub has immediately had a big positive impact. Trouble was, in the Dayton game there was not really a comfortable stretch in the first half where you could let a group of subs settle in without jeopardizing any momentum and possibly the game in a tight contest.

We can find all sorts of examples about how Geno has made substitutions in tight Tourney games of the past with varying types of rosters, but last year UConn had two pretty tough Regionals wins over BYU and Texas A&M when they were still being challenged in the second half. In both games the subs played 19 minutes, with Kiah getting almost all the minutes. In the Dayton game the subs got 18, so pretty much the norm here, as the starters are left in to work things out and get honed for the FF.

 

[Aluminny69]

In the Dayton game the subs got 18, so pretty much the norm here, as the starters are left in to work things out and get honed for the FF.

Somewhat misleading, as four subs came in with 2 minutes left, and UConn ahead by 21 points. (Which was also the first substitution of the second half.) So, really only 10 minutes for the subs. Kia Nurse got her second foul ( also team foul #2) with 12:07 minutes left in the first half. So, those 12 minutes were split between Chong, Williams, Stokes and Nurse (who came back in briefly.)

BTW, the question was not whether Geno knows what he is doing or not. The question was why he chose to do it. It's all fan speculation.

 

[hoophuskee]

Well, Dayton played seven players, with their two subs playing 22 and 21 minutes, scoring 15 points. So, we're saying Dayton is "deeper" than UConn? Dayton could afford to sub, but UConn couldn't? If you are saying if Geno couldn't trust Kia in this game, when was he going to trust her, then the same could be said for UConn's subs. I think the only reason Kia came out the first half was because she had two fouls.

Although Dayton was 7-10 outside the arc, they were 11-25 inside the arc. I felt that if Stokes were in the game, UConn players could have guarded the perimeter tighter, knowing that Stokes was behind them in case they got beat off the dribble. She also could have helped defend 6'4" Malott. Stokes did a creditable job the few minutes she was in. I'm not sure why UConn played zone so much the first half, it definitely wasn't very effective.

I tend to agree with Zorro on this one. But I'm sure Geno had his reasons.

I'm not sure why he didn't go back with Chong or Williams but if you want to use 11-25 as a barometer inside the arc that is good defense for this type of game.

Secondly, Stokes defensively wouldn't have been that good because any time they would get in the paint - Stokes would probably leave to help out. Their game plan was drive draw and dish. ANd if she got caught in the movement with all the picks they were doing -- she wouldn't have been able to hang as well. Their bigs could "shoot." That's probably why in 2nd half strategy of "switch everything" worked. With Stokes guarding a guard that wouldn't work as well.

Third- as other was scoring we needed to retalliate. If Stokes strength of impacting inside wasn't needed - she isn't a help at all to the offense

 

[Striper69]

I think ndmb has it right. Kiah is an outstanding intimidator in the post but it was the perimeter shots that were hurting the Huskies; she is not as effective more than 5' or so from the basket. Saniya, and I focused on her, was doing a decent job of closing out on players but was about a half a step slow. Definite progress over the beginning of the year but Geno needed someone on the top of her game now and Kia is a better perimeter defender at this point. Gabby seemed a bit overwhelmed in the game, hardly a shock for a freshman player.

The Dayton's excellent spacing on offense and decisive passing caused a lot of ball movement, exposing any flaws, no matter how minor, in UConn's defense. Even though the three players above are very good defenders, Geno needed his best defenders.

I liked that look on Geno's face when he put Saniya in...

 

[DobbsRover2]

Somewhat misleading, as four subs came in with 2 minutes left, and UConn ahead by 21 points. (Which was also the first substitution of the second half.) So, really only 10 minutes for the subs. Kia Nurse got her second foul ( also team foul #2) with 12:07 minutes left in the first half. So, those 12 minutes were split between Chong, Williams, Stokes and Nurse (who came back in briefly.)

BTW, the question was not whether Geno knows what he is doing or not. The question was why he chose to do it. It's all fan speculation.

Um, so last year was somehow very different? When do you think most of the sub minutes were racked by the subs last year? Were Banks, and Stokes, and Lawlor in at the start of the game? No, of course not. Kiah was in for 10-12 or so minutes in mid game, and the subs picked some minutes up at the end. Why is this misleading in reference to what happened with Dayton?

And of course no one but a pinhead thinks that Geno doesn't know what he's doing, though occasionally a move may backfire or be countered effectively by the opponents. And the fact that Geno has used much the same sub strategy in the past may help you fathom why he chooses to do what he does. Possibly he thinks it works?

 

[Aluminny69]

And of course no one but a pinhead thinks that Geno doesn't know what he's doing, though occasionally a move may backfire or be countered effectively by the opponents. And the fact that Geno has used much the same sub strategy in the past may help you fathom why he chooses to do what he does. Possibly he thinks it works?

That potion of my post was directed at Hoopsfan21's post. I apologize for the confusion.