The difference I see between UCONN and most other teams

[EricLA]

I watched most of the sweet 16 games and came away with a not surprising, but to me, somewhat interesting set of observations.

There IS obviously truth to the fact that UCONN generally gets many of the top players - ones that they want and are willing to play more "team" and less "me" ball. But the thing that stood out to me when watching Texas especially...

There were several UCONN offensive possessions where Texas really played terrific defense. On ONLY a few of them, UCONN did look discombobulated. The reason it was so easy to spot was because UCONN usually looks so good on offense and if they miss a shot, generally it's not a forced shot, but a good one that is just missed.

My point is that during the times Texas played their best defense, UCONN continuously moved the ball, probed, passed, and moved their bodies. They continued with the motion offense until someone from Texas got slightly out of position and BAM - whoever had the ball took a shot. We would try screens, back cuts, you name it - whatever it took to get a player open.

Unless someone like Moriah had a completely open lane to the basket, there was approximately zero one on one play.

I then payed attention to every other team out there - even Notre Dame, who I think runs better offense than anyone not named UCONN. All of the "top" teams, to a greater or lesser extend (ND was the "least" extent), WOULD do some passing of the ball. But usually after a few passes, one player would dribble the ball around the perimeter, try to penetrate and jack up a shot, or dump the ball into the post and hope that they could manufacture a shot.

I know this is not a great revelation to most UCONN fans, but I really payed attention to the entire UCONN team when on offense (not just the ball) and saw how hard they worked to get someone open for the best shot. I think this is the main reason why our offense is the best in the nation and "looks" the best to any casual observer who watches UCONN play vs. anyone else.

It goes back to the way Geno teaches offense. I'm not sure that he has too many "set" plays per se. What I think he does do is teach them HOW to run offense - setting screens, ball movement, back door cuts - all those things aren't plays per se, but ways of playing offense that gets the best chance for an open shot.

Again, not a surprising revelation to most probably, but to me it really highlighted why UCONN is usually so much better than everyone else...

 

[UcMiami]

Nice.
Geno and Uconn do run offensive sets but that is not the same as plays The choreography of where picks are set, down screens, and movement is scripted, but the script is constantly changing depending on how the defense is reacting to each step and the players are taught to read those reactions and adjust. And if the defense covers everything then it is reset and a different dance is run until the open shot appears.

And I agree about how most other teams play with individuals probing the defense in more uncoordinated moves.

The other thing is that the speed discipline and accuracy in other games is just not at the same level - the three teams that stood out so far to me are Baylor, ND, and Uconn - the others were at times unwatchable.

 

[BRS24]

Great post. I remember seeing either an article or video about Geno making the team play offense vs. ghosts, i.e., they had to create plays and imagine defensive positions. It reminds me of chess players that can play all possible future moves in their heads.

 

[TFintheMix]

I am a WBB novice but the UConn competitive difference is GREAT coaching and impressive talent. There is excellent talent up and down the roster. Against most teams, there is a decline in ability when they go to their bench. That is not the case with UConn. The incredible coaching is evident in execution. It doesn't matter if UConn is up by 3 or 20, the disciplined execution on both sides of the game can sometimes be draw dropping. I especially like that UConn players don't waste their dribble. Finally, player development is underestimated. Year to year, you see UConn players across the roster get better and more efficient. That is not always the case in all top programs, especially after the top 2-3 players on the team.

 

[EricLA]

Nice.
Geno and Uconn do run offensive sets but that is not the same as plays The choreography of where picks are set, down screens, and movement is scripted, but the script is constantly changing depending on how the defense is reacting to each step and the players are taught to read those reactions and adjust. And if the defense covers everything then it is reset and a different dance is run until the open shot appears.

And I agree about how most other teams play with individuals probing the defense in more uncoordinated moves.

The other thing is that the speed discipline and accuracy in other games is just not at the same level - the three teams that stood out so far to me are Baylor, ND, and Uconn - the others were at times unwatchable.

I agree with you on Baylor and ND. I would also add Stanford to that mix - they try hard but don't have the talent at this time to keep up with the "big boys". I think Baylor is a team to watch for sure - adding Alexis Jones and a terrific recruiting class including 2 very good post players (Brown and Mompremier)...

 

[huskeynut]

Eric - I agree with you 100%. I have noticed the same things.

 

[TFintheMix]

Personally, I am intrigued by what type of impact a more mature Diamond Deshields will have on the TN program.

 

[Bonpland]

When I watch UCONN play (which is every game televised since '93) I see belief in a system. I said in an earlier thread that I thought that the talent gap is exagerated by our opponents. Through the tournament you see outstanding talent every night, and I realize that if KML or Stewie had gone elsewhere we would not be all hoping for a three-peat in a week, but I don't believe that if they had wound up at Stanford or Syracuse (or anywhere else) that they would be two-time National Champions right now either.
Discipline may be the hardest thing to teach today's athletes who grow up modeling themselves after larger than life sports heros, but disciline is what exhibits itself nightly when UCONN plays. Geno's greatest talent is finding players with large enough egos to believe that they can do it all, and then convincing them that it doesn't matter how many points they score as long as the team succeeds.
After training his group of elite athletes to control their nutured desires, they learn to see a different court than others do, one where the assist to set up the "three" is as prestigous as the shot itself.
Kara Lawson said recently that Uconn adjusts its offense on the fly, it's the players, not the coaching staff, who are making critical decisions as they are moving, screening, deeking, and driving.
I've watch great athletes these past two weeks, but only one team looks like that kind of strategic juggernaught.
When we lost to Stanford, we gave up 88 points (what?) and looked confused when their gaurds drove and their shooters hoisted up deep three's. The new parts were not yet intergrated into the machine. When they step out on the court now they are Geno's latest high speed turbine.
Any team can lose in the NCAA's, but if the unthinkable happens it won't be because our players don't know how to make the parts mesh, or when it's important to sacrifice self for the good of the team.

 

[Hongster]

Great thread! Yes, I agree, a moving offense has a better chance to score, by continue moving eventually the defense will break down, but the individual has to recognize a play is about to develop then seize the opportunity and BAM! score! For the most part Uconn starts are very good at it.
Moving picks and screening is the art of the game without that teams will struggle to win.
As you have notice ND used that tactics quite often and the results have been very successful for Jewell Loyd and Linsay Allen. If we have a chance to play against ND for the NC, I hope Geno has an answer for them.

 

[CocoHusky]

Eric,
I agree with everything you stated just like to embellish slightly. The five UCONN starters are unique (offensively & defensively) maybe in the history of NCAA-similar to last year’s UCONN starters.
Offensively each starter has the ability to make any shot from the basket out to the 3 point line. That is a lot of area & too many people to have to defend. Each starter also has the ability to make the right pass on time all the time. Add in the impeccable spacing and you have a team that is almost impossible to defend.
Defensively the five starters always know what to do now & what to do next. You don’t have to go more than a few possessions to determine what the scout was and what UCONN wants to take away. If & when the opponent figures out UCONN simply moves on to taking something else away.
Kara Lawson: “UCONN is not only the best team offensively they are also the best team defensively by far.”
Man I love watching this team play!

 

[chrissaran]

Tennessee is losing three seniors: Isabelle Harrison, Ariel Massengale and Cierra Burdick. Mercedes Russell if healthy will help. Diamond by herself will not change an entire team, but she will certainly make a difference.

 

[boontonbomber]

Back when the "Wizard" was winning 10 championships in 12 years, in the end it was the UCLA defense that won the day. They were early masters of pressure defense all over the floor. And I think that is the biggest difference between UConn and everyone else. All of the good teams can score, just not so much when they run up against Uconn. Some teams, early on, may have success, but UConn never lets up at the defensive end, and the difficulty in getting good looks evetually wears most teams down. And it often happens within the first 8-10 minutes . A team can have not-so-good games offensively at times, but a good defensive team can bring their D every single night. And UConn does that.

 

[iamcbs]

I watched most of the sweet 16 games and came away with a not surprising, but to me, somewhat interesting set of observations.

There IS obviously truth to the fact that UCONN generally gets many of the top players - ones that they want and are willing to play more "team" and less "me" ball. But the thing that stood out to me when watching Texas especially...

There were several UCONN offensive possessions where Texas really played terrific defense. On ONLY a few of them, UCONN did look discombobulated. The reason it was so easy to spot was because UCONN usually looks so good on offense and if they miss a shot, generally it's not a forced shot, but a good one that is just missed.

My point is that during the times Texas played their best defense, UCONN continuously moved the ball, probed, passed, and moved their bodies. They continued with the motion offense until someone from Texas got slightly out of position and BAM - whoever had the ball took a shot. We would try screens, back cuts, you name it - whatever it took to get a player open.

Unless someone like Moriah had a completely open lane to the basket, there was approximately zero one on one play.

I then payed attention to every other team out there - even Notre Dame, who I think runs better offense than anyone not named UCONN. All of the "top" teams, to a greater or lesser extend (ND was the "least" extent), WOULD do some passing of the ball. But usually after a few passes, one player would dribble the ball around the perimeter, try to penetrate and jack up a shot, or dump the ball into the post and hope that they could manufacture a shot.

I know this is not a great revelation to most UCONN fans, but I really payed attention to the entire UCONN team when on offense (not just the ball) and saw how hard they worked to get someone open for the best shot. I think this is the main reason why our offense is the best in the nation and "looks" the best to any casual observer who watches UCONN play vs. anyone else.

It goes back to the way Geno teaches offense. I'm not sure that he has too many "set" plays per se. What I think he does do is teach them HOW to run offense - setting screens, ball movement, back door cuts - all those things aren't plays per se, but ways of playing offense that gets the best chance for an open shot.

Again, not a surprising revelation to most probably, but to me it really highlighted why UCONN is usually so much better than everyone else...

ESD~

To your exact point, there was one particular play in the 2nd half where your observation was abundantly evident. Moriah passed the ball to Morgan at the pinch post the Texas D reacted swiftly Saniya who had set a screen was open on the corner and Morgan passed her the ball, KML had screened for Moriah and was open. There was no close on Saniya, but she recognized that rather than take the trey herself she had standing right next to her and wide open, the greatest 3-point shooter in WCBB history, so she passed the ball to KML. She missed the trey but that play for me exemplifies why UConn is better than everyone else. A deadly scorer with a wide open shot passes the ball to a wide open teammate who's a better shooter than she is. That unselfishness and attention to the smallest detail is what separates them form everyone else.

 

[EricLA]

ESD~

To your exact point, there was one particular play in the 2nd half where your observation was abundantly evident. Moriah passed the ball to Morgan at the pinch post the Texas D reacted swiftly Saniya who had set a screen was open on the corner and Morgan passed her the ball, KML had screened for Moriah and was open. There was no close on Saniya, but she recognized that rather than take the trey herself she had standing right next to her and wide open, the greatest 3-point shooter in WCBB history, so she passed the ball to KML. She missed the trey but that play for me exemplifies why UConn is better than everyone else. A deadly scorer with a wide open shot passes the ball to a wide open teammate who's a better shooter than she is. That unselfishness and attention to the smallest detail is what separates them form everyone else.

Great observation. Man I love watching our team play ball!!

 

[CocoHusky]

Full disclosure after the Texas game I brought streaming S/W so I could re-watch the game in slow motion. After the 10th time two things I‘ll never forget. 1) First five minutes of the second half and the absolute joy on Geno face when Texas called a time out. I have seen Geno happy/proud/ crying before but the look on his face was proud pop tongue hanging -just priceless. Geno referenced it in his press conference. 2) There was another play where KML was slightly ahead of the pack Stewie and Kiah trailing slightly. You could see the lights clicking instantly. KML- well I’m not going to beat anyone to the basket what am I doing I’m a 3 point shoot. Stewie- I bet KML pulls this ball back let me set a screen for her because I know she likes the three ball. Kiah-Let me set a screen for KML just in case she decides to pull it back. Net result. Stewie’s screen legally wipes out the lone Texas defender. KML drains the 3 and Kiah screen is not needed. All of this was done at game speed no hesitation. How do you beat that kind of team chemistry.

 

[Fiftyish]

2) There was another play where KML was slightly ahead of the pack Stewie and Kiah trailing slightly. You could see the lights clicking instantly. KML- well I’m not going to beat anyone to the basket what am I doing I’m a 3 point shoot. Stewie- I bet KML pulls this ball back let me set a screen for her because I know she likes the three ball. Kiah-Let me set a screen for KML just in case she decides to pull it back. Net result. Stewie’s screen legally wipes out the lone Texas defender. KML drains the 3 and Kiah screen is not needed. All of this was done at game speed no hesitation. How do you beat that kind of team chemistry.

Great description and dead accurate on their thinking. How much practice and playing time do you think it took to get that kind of seamless playmaking?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Discipline. Watching most of the tourny games revealed (as I knew already) that disciplined teams have better success.

UConn plays a very disciplined game. With the talent they have, and the disciplined system on the court, yikes.

A lot of what UConn does isn't really unique to UConn, they just do it better because they are more disciplined and more talented. Just adding talent to another team won't make a difference; just adding a more disciplined system to another team won't make the difference. It takes both, as well as belief, IMO.

 

[sarals24]

The other thing that sets apart UConn is each player's versatility. It was touched on earlier, but how many teams have five players who can shoot the three? And three that can go inside/outside effectively? And two guards that can consistently finish in traffic?

I'd say ND has the best chance of staying with UConn, but after watching them the other night I don't think Turner and Reimer can effectively guard Tuck and Stewie. Guard play is about equal, especially if Allen continues her hot streak, but KML is better than Cable/Westbald/Huff.

And offensively, ND just doesn't have the firepower. Loyd has to take a lot of shots to get her points, and Turner did a LOT of standing around outside the key and handing off the ball to teammates. I thought she would do a lot more, honestly.

 

[stormsurge]

One thing that stands out to me is the constant pressure and execution UConn exerts. Invariably (almost) the other team lets up for a few minutes or doesn't play as well and UConn pulls away. A few of these runs and the other team gets demoralized and buried. You hear about teams not playing to the level of their opponent or to the score but with UConn it really seems that they do not play to their opponent or to the score.

 

[HoopsFan21]

ND has the guard edge. Allen + Loyd is a better duo than Mo + Kia. I think Mo is better than Allen, but not by as much as junior NPOY candidate Loyd is over Kia the frosh. That said, the two teams use their guards a bit differently such that neither of ours are looking to score 20 or 30 every night whereas for ND they pretty have to in order to win.

 

[baggerbob]

Full disclosure after the Texas game I brought streaming S/W so I could re-watch the game in slow motion. After the 10th time two things I‘ll never forget. 1) First five minutes of the second half and the absolute joy on Geno face when Texas called a time out. I have seen Geno happy/proud/ crying before but the look on his face was proud pop tongue hanging -just priceless. Geno referenced it in his press conference. 2) There was another play where KML was slightly ahead of the pack Stewie and Kiah trailing slightly. You could see the lights clicking instantly. KML- well I’m not going to beat anyone to the basket what am I doing I’m a 3 point shoot. Stewie- I bet KML pulls this ball back let me set a screen for her because I know she likes the three ball. Kiah-Let me set a screen for KML just in case she decides to pull it back. Net result. Stewie’s screen legally wipes out the lone Texas defender. KML drains the 3 and Kiah screen is not needed. All of this was done at game speed no hesitation. How do you beat that kind of team chemistry.

I think Kara made the same point after the game, and showed in slow motion that play. She explained the screens by Stewie, and Kiah, to set up KML shows how ingrained into doing the right thing Uconn players are.

 

[Icebear]

Loyd has faded as the season wore on.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I watched most of the sweet 16 games and came away with a not surprising, but to me, somewhat interesting set of observations.

There IS obviously truth to the fact that UCONN generally gets many of the top players - ones that they want and are willing to play more "team" and less "me" ball. But the thing that stood out to me when watching Texas especially...

There were several UCONN offensive possessions where Texas really played terrific defense. On ONLY a few of them, UCONN did look discombobulated. The reason it was so easy to spot was because UCONN usually looks so good on offense and if they miss a shot, generally it's not a forced shot, but a good one that is just missed.

My point is that during the times Texas played their best defense, UCONN continuously moved the ball, probed, passed, and moved their bodies. They continued with the motion offense until someone from Texas got slightly out of position and BAM - whoever had the ball took a shot. We would try screens, back cuts, you name it - whatever it took to get a player open.

Unless someone like Moriah had a completely open lane to the basket, there was approximately zero one on one play.

I then payed attention to every other team out there - even Notre Dame, who I think runs better offense than anyone not named UCONN. All of the "top" teams, to a greater or lesser extend (ND was the "least" extent), WOULD do some passing of the ball. But usually after a few passes, one player would dribble the ball around the perimeter, try to penetrate and jack up a shot, or dump the ball into the post and hope that they could manufacture a shot.

I know this is not a great revelation to most UCONN fans, but I really payed attention to the entire UCONN team when on offense (not just the ball) and saw how hard they worked to get someone open for the best shot. I think this is the main reason why our offense is the best in the nation and "looks" the best to any casual observer who watches UCONN play vs. anyone else.

It goes back to the way Geno teaches offense. I'm not sure that he has too many "set" plays per se. What I think he does do is teach them HOW to run offense - setting screens, ball movement, back door cuts - all those things aren't plays per se, but ways of playing offense that gets the best chance for an open shot.

Again, not a surprising revelation to most probably, but to me it really highlighted why UCONN is usually so much better than everyone else...

I'd like to compare UConn with almost any other team and count the dribbles. We move the ball by passing. I think some teams dribble more than twice as much as we do.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Loyd has faded as the season wore on.

Agreed. Maybe she's tired. I hope her shot is still off in Tampa.

Stewie has outplayed Jewell and everyone else over the past month or two.

 

[baggerbob]

Agreed. Maybe she's tired. I hope her shot is still off in Tampa.

Stewie has outplayed Jewell and everyone else over the past month or two.

The most impressive part of Stewie in this game was the 2nd half, she used all of her speed, length, and desire to mess up Dayton's offense. There were bad shots, travels, passes thrown out of parts, she seemed to be all over the place.