MD Postgame Thread

[Bama fan]

The original Magnificent Seven was in 1960, long before Chris Pratt was even born.

Where the devil did Chris Pratt come from? I must have missed the reference.

 

[oldude]

Where the devil did Chris Pratt come from? I must have missed the reference.

Chris Pratt was cast in the 2016 remake of the Magnificent Seven, which I never watched, knowing that it could not possibly be as good as the original. Evidently, the poster confused my referencing of “Chris (Yul Brinner)” as one of the survivors of the original Magnificent Seven, with Chris Pratt who stared in the 2016 remake.

 

[donalddoowop]

Playing on international teams doesn't mean that a player has had extensive experience playing in game environment last yesterday's. FIBA competitions in Europe are different than what we expect coming from North America.

Bettencourt's FIBA history is one tournament of competition at the "B" level, which means their team isn't of the level that could compete at the FIBA world championships based on what I understand. Contrast her experience with Muhl, who has been playing on national teams since 2015, I'm not sure how Bettencourt can be criticized about experience.

And where would she have experience playing against players like Miller, Sellers and Meyers overseas? It's not going to be at the B level of European FIBA tournaments.

Ines Bettencourt - Player Profile - FIBA.basketball

The official website of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and the governing body of Basketball. FIBA organises the most famous and prestigious international basketball competitions including the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the FIBA World Championship for Women and the FIBA 3x3 World...

www.fiba.basketball

Nika Muhl - Player Profile - FIBA.basketball

The official website of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and the governing body of Basketball. FIBA organises the most famous and prestigious international basketball competitions including the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the FIBA World Championship for Women and the FIBA 3x3 World...

www.fiba.basketball

If you believe what you just posted, then you should be marveling at Ines' calm, positive demeanor on the court.

 

[cancontent]

If you believe what you just posted, then you should be marveling at Ines' calm, positive demeanor on the court.

Why wouldn't I believe what I posted? I was supporting @HuskyNan's opinion, where another poster made it sound like Bettencourt should have been better equipped for playing in that environment because they assumed she has played for several national teams when she's only played for one.

"Nan, this was one of the most level headed, balanced comments I have read in many years.
While I appreciate your desire to defend Ines, having played on several national teams, she has more experience than most frosh. Her performance is not solely her fault since with UConn being down so many guards, other teams are doubling her more, exploiting her issues. It is what it is."

I'm not trying to diminish what Bettencourt accomplished yesterday. I'm not sure how you've taken my reply as a slight towards her.

 

[CL82]

actually caught him not complaining, but mentioning how the scheduling was done by someone else, and he wasn't really happy with it!

I’ve heard Geno say on many occasions that he schedules so that the team has losses early in the season because it exposes their weaknesses and gives the team time to correct them.

 

[CL82]

If you believe what you just posted, then you should be marveling at Ines' calm, positive demeanor on the court.

She’s a baby, who looked overwhelmed against Princeton. I was very impressed by her demeanor and game play in the Maryland game. Prior to coming to Connecticut the largest attendance she has ever had at a game was for the FIBA nationals and that was only 200 to 300 people. It’s a brave new world for her and she’s doing remarkably well all things considered.

 

[Papa33]

Yes UConn had too many turnovers. Expected to have more than usual with player combinations that are new to them. To me that was not a help but they would have likely won fairly easily if Maryland was not on fire from the 3 point line. Every time UConn get it down to about even Maryland would hit 2 more es. I agree that was called by problematic 3 point defense but tough D is difficult when there is mostly no bench. Players could not afford to foul and it hurt an incredible performance by this great team. I was super proud of all of them!

For all the explanations for our loss vs. Maryland, Zinethar's observation make the most sense to me. Yes, several of our "starters" were MIA's because of injuries, but that meant that players who remained were not veterans and were relatively new to each other. And that meant playing with teammates with differing habits and tendencies. Timing of cuts, screens, etc were different. Doesn't take much to get our offense (and perhaps to a lesser extent, out defense) out of wack.

 

[HuskyNan]

Amari is nursing a sore calf. She was noticeably limping when Geno pulled her out for good

 

[SARG 2011]

Great photos

 

[SARG 2011]

Love the Caroline hair pic and Ines looking locked in

 

[cancontent]

Thank you. Some things need to be taken into perspective and the FIBA competition component is one of them. FIBA participation provides some benefit but it all depends on when and where they played.

Obviously UCONN staff saw something in Bettencourt which is why she's with the program. Imagine where she'll be after her experience this season.

 

[The deacon]

Love the Caroline hair pic and Ines looking locked in

Me, too, Sarge, and maybe for me the best is the early-season sophomore Caroline already taking on a leadership role advising Ines.

One point: Caroline's shooting has been inconsistent as a Husky player, as good a scorer as she's sometimes been. If you see the photo of her jumpshot, you'll note the flying elbow. Tuck that baby in and she'll be better... anyone else's thoughts?

By the way, for those concerned about a perceived inability for the post-surgery Caroline to elevate, she's got pretty good liftoff in that photo. At 6'2", she's not gonna have too many players challenging her shots.

 

[wingsfan055]

The danger w/Dorka coming back too early is its very easy to re-injure the thumb if its not mostly healed - especially playing in the trenches. I'm sure she'll wear a flexible, soft cast on it when she gets back, but all it takes is a serious slap from a player, bad ball bounce on her thumb, etc and she's gone for another few months...

 

[hoophuskee]

If they are good enough for UConn they should be ready to help the team. A little time would be better to prepare them than no time. It must be tough to have the team win by 40 and not see any court time. Our scholarship players are better than most team's

If they win by 40, the bench gets minutes.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

This was posted earlier in the thread but bears repeating. Players were put into unfamiliar roles, with a short turnaround from Princeton, on the road against a ranked team. three (Lou, Amari, Caroline) had some kind of physical issue (foot, calf, neck, respectively). Of course they wore down.

Context is always helpful for understanding the dynamics of events. The performance of the 7 must be viewed relative to the circumstances and the mental preparedness they are in. As such, I have expressed much admiration for how they played in a last-line-of-defense situation for the team....in shuffled positions, new roles save a few, floor leadership roles in place of those disabled, etc.....and I posted elsewhere how, in statistical measures, they were able to function with recognizable symmetry to similar effectiveness prior the injuries hit, if short on overall efficiency.......except for a few crucial measures. They only had two intervening days to practice in these reconfigured roles.

To do this away against the team that had earlier defeated Notre Dame spoke volumes of what they are as UConn WBB players.

The chatter sometimes grates because people tend to measure performance relative to well-oiled UConn WBB teams while forgetting context. Among many things, the team tried to make it easier for Ines and things went fairly well when they moved into positions for her to deliver the ball but a lot of times, they remained stagnant, leaving Ines in "what-to-do" moments leading to a breakdown of flow, a mistake or a TO - a product of only 2 days practice working together. That things didn't breakdown more is a credit to all of them. The same thing can be said on the other side of the ball.....switching defense needs familiarity to function well in concatenato. The mental side of players in different and more important roles than previously can undermine performance.....hiccups here and there aside, these girls performed well beyond my expectations. So, shame on me for underestimating them.

Mental burdens? Aubrey becoming a needed go-to scorer alongside Lou, with the Coach's challenge thrown in. Lou and Caroline to carry the scoring burden more; Aaliyah everything she can do, she must; Ines the PG.....Ayanna and Amari, more of themselves.....all these in limited practice time playing UConn way, probably with instructions to just play and not think too much - tall order. And yet, they managed most of the time.

And so I raise eyebrows at even mildly critical comments which ignores context but I usually stay quiet. Since I have just been told that this is the BY - Anything Goes? (Cue Ella) So, I have chimed in above and one more below:

"Ines small compared to MD guards, looked like a high school girl" Aside from the fact that she just left the Azores and has just turned 18 after getting to UConn at the last possible minute, the comment's emphasis on size made me wonder: Ines is 5'9".....Nika is just an inch taller but what should one say about Crystal, Moriah, Renee, Rita, Jennifer......

Best to stop.....

But, I understand that they all want UConn to win ALL the time.....with the best of UConn way, perfectly.

 

[donalddoowop]

Great photos

Three of the best guards in the country sitting down on the job.

 

[HopJim]

Thank you. Some things need to be taken into perspective and the FIBA competition component is one of them. FIBA participation provides some benefit but it all depends on when and where they played.

Obviously UCONN staff saw something in Bettencourt which is why she's with the program. Imagine where she'll be after her experience this season.

I'm sure that no matter what her age and experience, Ines is receiving the same feedback regarding her performance as high school All Americans. Geno does not mark on a curve.

 

[Bald Husky]

Although I was a little upset when we lost, no way was I mad. I'm probably upset because they did something I didn't think was going to happen, and that was having a chance to pull it out. I think the experience gained by Ayanna and Ines is invaluable, as they have proved that they may be counted on later in the season to help out of some tough spots. As far as Ines, I was happy with her play and poise. She showed me a lot today, and only one negative thing stood out to me. She did not shoot, although she has shown that she can hit the outside shot and can go to the hoop. She had multiple open shots but refused to take them, so that has to be corrected. It's possible she is getting mentored too much by the wrong guard, Nika instead of Paige. LOL. Love them all.

 

[Valleyfan]

Agree with the general consensus, this undermanned UCONN team fought hard and gave Maryland a game. As some have stated, my guess is that they knew they’d have to play a perfect game to win, but they have a championship mindset thanks to their coach.

Some as also been made about the turnovers, especially by AG and CD. I agree and would love to see them handle the ball better. I somewhat disagree about them playing out of position. They should know multiple positions. CD is described as a tall guard as much as she is described as a small forward. For us now, AG is playing 4 more than she plays 3. In any event, both need to get more comfortable handling the rock. Both would aspire to get to the next level, where they will be asked to dribble. I won’t even get into how the 7 footers on the men’s side are skilled dribblers, but even our alumni playing in WNBA now (Breanna, Gabby) played 5 for us and dribble a lot, as does Katie Lou and Phesa.

 

[Zarathustra]

If you believe what you just posted, then you should be marveling at Ines' calm, positive demeanor on the court.

In one FIBA "B" championship game, against North Macedonia i believe, Ines coach took her out
because she was destroying the opposition, offensively and defensively. She was too quick,
to determined, just too much. He took her out about halfway through the FIRST QUARTER.
She did go back in, but in a supporting role. You can recognize her; she is the one with
the pink shoes!!, More good things to come especially with UCONN tutoring from NIKA, Paige,
and Azzi. I'm looking froward to her getting that needed experience in many Big East games.
Go Ines!

 

[donalddoowop]

In one FIBA "B" championship game, against North Macedonia i believe, Ines coach took her out
because she was destroying the opposition, offensively and defensively. She was too quick,
to determined, just too much. He took her out about halfway through the FIRST QUARTER.
She did go back in, but in a supporting role. You can recognize her; she is the one with
the pink shoes!!, More good things to come especially with UCONN tutoring from NIKA, Paige,
and Azzi. I'm looking froward to her getting that needed experience in many Big East games.
Go Ines!

I always erase any basketball game UConn loses. Not this one, only because I wanted to watch Ines and Amari play a lot. I enjoy watching them both but especially Ines. I like the way she handles herself. If given the chance, I believe she will develop into a really good point guard.

 

[Khal Drogo]

I get a kick out of the two posters who disliked me saying if I were a Uconn player I would be disappointed and feel like I gave a winnable game slip away. That is not in any way meant as a knock on the players effort, in fact, I said in the post the team played very hard. But the players who played proved they were competitors by how hard they played and how else should a competitor feel?

People hit the dislike much more here than on the men’s. I’d rather see some dialogue. Papa33 should change his name to dislikemike

 

[Bone Dog]

People hit the dislike much more here than on the men’s. I’d rather see some dialogue. Papa33 should change his name to dislikemike

The dreaded Red Thumb Brigade -- it gets a bit tedious. Yes, thumbs down the posts where folks trash players. But not the ones where they analyze the games. No one's a bigger cheerleader than me, but I also like to tell the truth where I can.

And it's always open season on coaches, right?