ND complaints thread (further merged)

[ctdad]

Okay, as an Irish fan, just because you don't want to hear it, I will address your whine.

Had Achonwa played, Dolson would have been forced to guard her, bringing SD a couple of steps closer to the foul line and possibly opening up a few driving lanes for McBride and Loyd. Without NA, Dolson is able to sag off Braker by 6 feet, clogging the lane and coupled with Stewart playing free safety, eliminated the drive game. Stewart was still back there, so I'm not saying it would have made a huge difference, but getting a shot up over one person is different than trying to get it up over 2. Achonwa also has played well against Dolson in the past.

However, all that being said, IMO Achonwa's presence would have changed only the margin, not the outcome. As well as UConn played, they still win this game by 10 even if ND has Achonwa.

 

[jimazee]

Achonwa certainly would have made some difference...but don't forget Ms. Stokes when you break down the inside game and open driving lanes, etc.

 

[Icebear]

Making a difference is different than saying the score would be closer. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

Wonder what they're saying about this on the ND board.

 

[ctdad]

Wonder what they're saying about this on the ND board.

Pretty much what I said, at least among the regulars. With Achonwa, the Irish would have had a difficult task winning the game, and likley need UConn to play average (relatively speaking) at best. Without her, the task was going to be near impossible, requiring the Irish play almost perfectly and the Huskies to play poorly (for them). Odds of that were extremely low, given the Husky D and UConn ended up playing very well, even relative to their normal excellence.

 

[Deadrody]

Pretty much what I said, at least among the regulars. With Achonwa, the Irish would have had a difficult task winning the game, and likley need UConn to play average (relatively speaking) at best. Without her, the task was going to be near impossible, requiring the Irish play almost perfectly and the Huskies to play poorly (for them). Odds of that were extremely low, given the Husky D and UConn ended up playing very well, even relative to their normal excellence.

Again, in fantasy hypothetical land, UConn also has Morgan Tuck to play inside AND outside. Which at least partly makes up for the difference in having Achonwa

 

[Deadrody]

She looked stunning on the sideline... as did Ivey!

Indeed she did. Indeed she did.

 

[Deadrody]

Okay, as an Irish fan, just because you don't want to hear it, I will address your whine.

Right. I'm whining by complaining that ND fans would consider "what coulda been" in the face of UConn's history with players missing time with injuries.

I didn't even include Nykesha Sales' achilles, either.

 

[huskeynut]

Injuries are a part of the game. ACL injuries especially in the women's game now seem to be the norm.

Now I realize ND only had a week to plan for games without Natalie, but this is a part of coaching that needs to be dealt with.

Every team has faced this. You play the game the best you can and then move on.

 

[ctdad]

Tuck was not a starter, and as much as she would have brought to UConn's team, her minutes come at the expense of somebody else. And, she played what, 8 games this year? Uconn had all season to adjust to her absence, not a week.

And UConn, without her, was obviously good enough to win it. I already said given the way UConn played, the only difference in ND having Achonwa is the score, not the outcome. Nothing woulda, coulda about that.

 

[TDiNozzo]

I've been reading everything I could find the last 2 days..... I haven't found any but, but, buts.... where did you find them to even worry about it?

 

[Shenandoah]

Okay, as an Irish fan, just because you don't want to hear it, I will address your whine.

Had Achonwa played, Dolson would have been forced to guard her, bringing SD a couple of steps closer to the foul line and possibly opening up a few driving lanes for McBride and Loyd. Without NA, Dolson is able to sag off Braker by 6 feet, clogging the lane and coupled with Stewart playing free safety, eliminated the drive game. Stewart was still back there, so I'm not saying it would have made a huge difference, but getting a shot up over one person is different than trying to get it up over 2. Achonwa also has played well against Dolson in the past.

However, all that being said, IMO Achonwa's presence would have changed only the margin, not the outcome. As well as UConn played, they still win this game by 10 even if ND has Achonwa.

And UConn wins by 21+ IF Morgan Tuck is playing...

 

[HoopsFan21]

And UConn wins by 21+ IF Morgan Tuck is playing...

A lot of people forget the kind of player Morgan Tuck is. We're talking about a top 5-caliber recruit, not some end of the bench mop up time player. She was first off the bench when healthy as a freshman and could shoot from outside or play down low. A very talented player that would start anywhere else in the country and could pretty much play anywhere on the court and do a multitude of things very well. I will say that even if UConn had Tuck, that only means we would see more of Tuck instead of Kiah, so I'm not sure it makes a big difference either way. We saw a lot of Tuck last year because she often came in for Doty at the first media time out. UConn didn't exactly light it up shooting-wise, I think somewhere around 45% for the game. Had their outside shots hit their mark, that game would have been really ugly.

 

[Aluminny69]

And UConn wins by 21+ IF Morgan Tuck is playing...

Umm, ND beat UConn three out of four times when BOTH Achonwa and Tuck played.

As a UConn fan, let me say but,but but. I noticed the difference almost immediately. Give Geno credit, he had an advantage and he took it. UConn went at the middle/lowpost from the opening tip. (What does this say about how bad Maryland was?) When comparing the loss of Achonwa to the loss of Tuck, the point is Tuck missed most of the season, Achonwa missed a few games at the beginning of the season, but was playing the best I had seen her play right up until the end of the Regional final game. That's a big difference.

All I can say is that it would have been a different game. ND might have had a few more drives to the basket, and UConn might have a few less points in the paint. It's all pure speculation.

 

[msf22b]

Not exactly on point but in the ball-park are Muffit's closing description of her problems inside:

. We couldn't play them man to man and we couldn't play them zone.
So they went off and running. We couldn't rebound. We had no answer, really, for anything they did.

 

[HuskyNan]

Umm, ND beat UConn three out of four times when BOTH Achonwa and Tuck played.

As a UConn fan, let me say but,but but. I noticed the difference almost immediately. Give Geno credit, he had an advantage and he took it. UConn went at the middle/lowpost from the opening tip. (What does this say about how bad Maryland was?) When comparing the loss of Achonwa to the loss of Tuck, the point is Tuck missed most of the season, Achonwa missed a few games at the beginning of the season, but was playing the best I had seen her play right up until the end of the Regional final game. That's a big difference.

All I can say is that it would have been a different game. ND might have had a few more drives to the basket, and UConn might have a few less points in the paint. It's all pure speculation.

If Achonwa had played, Geno would have game-planned differently, and so would Muffet, so the game we saw the other night would never have happened. We have no way to know what the final outcome would be.

 

[boontonbomber]

Comparing Achonwa's loss to our losing Tuck is just not apples to apples. Achonwa's loss, I think, would be more comparable to us losing Dolson, considering the way Achonwa had been playing. Of course, Uconn still wins, but it would hve been much closer in the second half. I'm sorry that she didn't play.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Tuck was not a starter, and as much as she would have brought to UConn's team, her minutes come at the expense of somebody else. And, she played what, 8 games this year? Uconn had all season to adjust to her absence, not a week.

And UConn, without her, was obviously good enough to win it. I already said given the way UConn played, the only difference in ND having Achonwa is the score, not the outcome. Nothing woulda, coulda about that.

She played very well in last year's semi-final.

 

[zakalex]

But but but they missed Achonwa, sure. But we missed Nakeisha, Shea, Svet, Kalana, Mel, and others. Injuries happen and good coaches coach beyond them. Or not.

 

[UConn990411]

UConn didn't have a single game end closer than 10 points.

Yeah, Achonwa would have made the game more competitive, but the result would've been the same.

 

[JoePgh]

Even such a good coach as Geno could not win an National Championship against Notre Dame in 2001 when Svet and Shea were unavailable. If you were implying that a better Notre Dame coach could have won Tuesday night's game without Achonwa, I think that you are quite mistaken.

 

[ctfjr]

I can't believe this thread was started by a UConn fan. Enough already - nobody that matters is but butting anything.

Ya know, if Bria had hit every 3 point attempt and everyone else didn't miss their shots we would have won by 60. So what.
We won a great game - enjoy it - why be petty

 

[chrissaran]

There's no sense arguing over what might have happened if Natalie had played. We know what did happen. You play with who you have. When the Giants beat the unbeatable Patriots they won without three offensive starters. What happened to all the rebounding ND did against Maryland? UConn happened.

 

[uconnfan68]

If Achonwa had played, Geno would have game-planned differently, as would Muffet, so the game we saw last night would never have happened. We have no way to know what the final outcome would be.

Actually we do. We would have won by at least 21 points. At least they did in the parallel universe I stopped by the other day.

 

[Teacherdeb]

Upon rewatching the championship game, I had to pause and replay several sequences in which it was glaringly evident that the Notre Dame player was falling down to look as if fouled. Michaela Mowbrey especially. I hadn't really looked at this "technique" deliberately before, but sheesh! Some ND players are totally fakin' it- trying to sell fouls. I know this is nothing new to some, but the first time I really saw it. I just think it is like cheating. I wouldn't want my players relying on that.