This is why I've lost respect for Jeff Walz

[hjoerring]

I have gained a lot of respect for Jeff over the years and continue to think he is a great game coach. His players play a tough physical game of basketball and take what the refs allow, but they also know how to dial it back based on what the refs are calling. His teams have beaten a lot of teams with a lot more talent because he devises a game plan and gets his kids to buy in, and he knows how to adjust on the fly. If he ever gets really top talent watch out - he has taken very flawed teams to the championship game and he was a big part of that MD NC team.
I agree that one foul last year was over the top, but so did Jeff and he yanked the player immediately.

I agree with everything here. The one foul on Step. was overboard and, typically these exessive fouls by players have little to do with coaching as frustration of a player gone amok. Where this type of playing come bak to haunt us is international play. There some of our (US) star players come into problems beause they have difficulties keeping their ounterpart in front of them without grabbing.
As for Jeff. No question about him being one of the best in the business- just look at his reord. However, the constant cry here about him doing well with half the talent does not hold. LV is a talented team with many good players. There are at least 3-4 players on that team that Uconn would have recruited had they not gone after others who may have filled a need/or paired better!

 

[HuskyNan]

So that makes it okay? Perhaps I'm getting too old.

It's just what most teams do. And Louisville has played this way since Walz was named coach, always.

 

[Shenandoah]

What concerns me is not the elbows/forearms in the back trying to establish position, but the low bridging on rebounds. THAT is what gets people injured. That is not boxing out.

 

[Icebear]

Going back to the OP, I'll buy the physical and hold, I seriously doubt they foul on every play - that's coach speak.

Also, to the immediate preceding post - it is not disrespect to push and find out where the ref's draw the line. Generally teams who keep pushing the limit lose. Unless a team is very, very good, a significant foul discrepancy dooms them.

They certainly ignored the emphasis on freedom of movement.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Also, to the immediate preceding post - it is not disrespect to push and find out where the ref's draw the line. Generally teams who keep pushing the limit lose.

We disagree.

 

[DaddyChoc]

the Baylor game gave them a bad rep... some folks need to be careful about what they wish for. The refs could blow the whistle more often... against UConn

 

[huskeynut]

I still like and respect Jeff. He is one of the brighter coaches in the game. He use what he has available and gets the most out of his players. And there seems to be that bond between coach and player that Geno has with his team.

Louisville plays a physical game. No surprise. His teams will test the refs to see if they will blow the whistle.

But UConn is no angel when it comes to physical play. Stef gives as good a she gets. Stef uses the arm bar on defense in the back of an opposing center to establish position. Its part of the game. Kiah does the same thing. Stef will also use her physical size to move an opponent out of the way on offense to clear out in the low post. Bria will use an arm bar on offense to get space. So will others. Sometimes its called, sometimes its not.

The complaints come when it gets chippy and a lot of obvious grabbing and pushing doesn't get called. That's when players get frustrated and we saw a little bit of that last night.

The refs swallowed their whistles in this game. So be it. The team that adjusts survives. That's Uconn.

 

[stamfordhusky]

We disagree.

Who is "we"?

 

[Alanin502]

I still like and respect Jeff. He is one of the brighter coaches in the game. He use what he has available and gets the most out of his players. And there seems to be that bond between coach and player that Geno has with his team.

Louisville plays a physical game. No surprise. His teams will test the refs to see if they will blow the whistle.

But UConn is no angel when it comes to physical play. Stef gives as good a she gets. Stef uses the arm bar on defense in the back of an opposing center to establish position. Its part of the game. Kiah does the same thing. Stef will also use her physical size to move an opponent out of the way on offense to clear out in the low post. Bria will use an arm bar on offense to get space. So will others. Sometimes its called, sometimes its not.

The complaints come when it gets chippy and a lot of obvious grabbing and pushing doesn't get called. That's when players get frustrated and we saw a little bit of that last night.

The refs swallowed their whistles in this game. So be it. The team that adjusts survives. That's Uconn.

Great post!

 

[Icebear]

It is nothing different than what ND has done to us in the past and will likely do in the future.

 

[UcMiami]

However, the constant cry here about him doing well with half the talent does not hold. LV is a talented team with many good players. There are at least 3-4 players on that team that Uconn would have recruited had they not gone after others who may have filled a need/or paired better!

I agree with you here that Jeff has talented players and I was careful to say 'more talent' - Jeff has won a number of recruiting battles against Geno and against other good coaches, but he has not gotten that truly elite talent - a Stewart vs a Hammond for example or a KML vs. a Slaughter - very good players that would be important cogs in a Uconn team end up being his stars. And like many coaches including Geno he has had a hard time find post players. Neither of his NC game teams were expected to get to the FF and they derailed teams that were. Last year they were underdogs in their last four games and won the first three.

 

[meyers7]

Has a UConn player ever gone out with the intention of injuring another player?

Shea took out someone back in the day, intentionally. But probably not to intentionally "injure", but definitely to knock them on their butt and deliver a message.

 

[meyers7]

The pushing and grabbing in the post I can live with, cause it's usually allowed both ways and Dolson does her fair share. The one call on her last night where she couldn't believe it, she just grabbed the girls arm and pulled her out of the way. That was a good call by the refs.

The fouls I didn't like were the really hard fouls on Hartley on her layups. She got hammered pretty good a few times. If you are not going to call an intentional foul, then you have to at least give a little @ss chewing to the perp.

 

[CCinCT]

Has a UConn player ever gone out with the intention of injuring another player? Can't recall such an incident, but Louisville certainly tried that one on Stef last year in the final game with about 7 minutes left in the ball game down by 30.

If I'm not mistaken, the honorable Ms. Doty also handed out a lesson in court etiquette to someone who was not treating her with the proper respect. The situation was again created by refs failing to control the aggressor team.

 

[DobbsRover2]

And of course there was Caroline's facial on Bria Holmes in last year's NC, though there did seem to be some play-acting by the Card too. But she literally got in CD's face with hers and the senior responded in a way that let Holmes know that wasn't acceptable and that you may be able to do that stuff to Baylor but think again about using it on UConn in an NC game. Message sent and well-received.

I lose respect for teams that don't even try to slow UConn down with whatever is allowed them, and the Huskies get nothing much out of those games. The season is one long prep for the NC, and a game like last night in a huge yapping crowd is invaluable, and I respect Walz and his team for giving UConn its best, even if some fans think it's the worst.

UConn does not win the NC this year or any other year just by being the best at layups, and blocks, and assists. It wins by being the toughest DOBs (no relation, and a reference to female Huskies) on the court both in mind, body, and execution.

 

[DaddyChoc]

And of course there was Caroline's facial on Bria Holmes in last year's NC, though there did seem to be some play-acting by the Card too. But she literally got in CD's face with hers and the senior responded in a way that let Holmes know that wasn't acceptable and that you may be able to do that stuff to Baylor but think again about using it on UConn in an NC game. Message sent and well-received.

I lose respect for teams that don't even try to slow UConn down with whatever is allowed them, and the Huskies get nothing much out of those games. The season is one long prep for the NC, and a game like last night in a huge yapping crowd is invaluable, and I respect Walz and his team for giving UConn its best, even if some fans think it's the worst.

UConn does not win the NC this year or any other year just by being the best at layups, and blocks, and assists. It wins by being the toughest DOBs (no relation, and a reference to female Huskies) on the court both in mind, body, and execution.

Bria Smith... Holmes is with West Virginia

 

[Artifact]

One positive thing that I did see from Louisville was no 'flopping' performances from Smith & company !

 

[ctchamps]

UConn started 0-6 in the second half and that wasn't due to Villes defense. The team went cold on it's shooting. Ville played no differently first half vs. second half.

 

[HoopsFan21]

If I'm not mistaken, the honorable Ms. Doty also handed out a lesson in court etiquette to someone who was not treating her with the proper respect. The situation was again created by refs failing to control the aggressor team.

Are you talking about the flagrant she picked up for elbowing Bria Smith when the score was 7-5 early in the first half? That was a basketball play to create space but she swung her elbow too high. There was no intent to hit Smith in the face. When Vails or Reed pulled down Stef by grabbing her head, well that's not a basketball play. There's a reason UConn is the team that commits the least fouls. The physical play doesn't benefit the team, so they don't play that way if they don't have to.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Bria Smith... Holmes is with West Virginia

Too many Bria's. Maybe it was Hartley that CD whacked.

 

[Zorro]

1. Last season, L'ville had absolutely no chance of beating Baylor. They got physical, the refs let them play, and they won the game. Why wouldn't they try the same strategy against the Huskies?
2. By and large, the Huskies give as good as they get.
3. No real fan base has ever been satisfied with the refs' performance. Either they were whistle-happy, or they swallowed their whistles.
4. Given a choice between the refs being too picky and not strict enough, I'm betting that both Geno and the players would opt for the latter. They are not a bunch of hot-house delicados!
5. My reception got really bad after the half, but in the half I did see well, I can only recall one really hard foul, on Bria's breakaway, and even that was nothing out of the ordinary.
6. Back in the day when Bam-Bam was knocking people into the fifth row, we tended to think it was just fine.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Who is "we"?

The poster to whom my reply was addressed. I claimed flaunting rules disrespects the game. S/he believed otherwise. To me, it's kind of like trumping a trick in pinochle or bridge even though you have a card of the suit that was led hoping that nobody calls you on it.

 

[RadyLady]

I lost respect for Jeff the first time he showed up for a game without a tie.

Seriously?

 

[DobbsRover2]

If you rewatch the video of the game on ESPN, you will see Huskies giving some pretty good shoves to get free or bumping a Card player real well when she's trying to get a layup. All teams with a pulse give as good as they get.

Also two things we should not go crazy about the "intent" or flaunting stuff. None of us know what's in a player's head, and attributing any intent to injure is always wrong (well maybe except for the Griner-Hardcastle case), but so is saying simply that a shove or a swung elbow was completely innocent and was not done to get an advantage and make the opponents back off. As for flaunting, Stewie was doing some fist-pumping last night that got noticed. Players are not emotionless automatons on the floor, and getting excited after a great play is okay. When Sims flaps her arms after a TO, that's okay too. Some people do get a little sensitive about those things.

Favorite matchup last night was little Jude Schimmel going nearly horizontal on the floor in a desperate attempt to box out Stef. She actually did a good job pushing Stef out, but it's hard to fight for the rebound when your arms are a foot off the floor.

 

[RadyLady]

I still like and respect Jeff. He is one of the brighter coaches in the game. He use what he has available and gets the most out of his players. And there seems to be that bond between coach and player that Geno has with his team.

Louisville plays a physical game. No surprise. His teams will test the refs to see if they will blow the whistle.

But UConn is no angel when it comes to physical play. Stef gives as good a she gets. Stef uses the arm bar on defense in the back of an opposing center to establish position. Its part of the game. Kiah does the same thing. Stef will also use her physical size to move an opponent out of the way on offense to clear out in the low post. Bria will use an arm bar on offense to get space. So will others. Sometimes its called, sometimes its not.

The complaints come when it gets chippy and a lot of obvious grabbing and pushing doesn't get called. That's when players get frustrated and we saw a little bit of that last night.

The refs swallowed their whistles in this game. So be it. The team that adjusts survives. That's Uconn.

I think the next emphasis will be on cleaning up play in the post. Until that happens, I have no problem with teams testing the refs and seeing what they can get away with. I credit Geno for not complaining too much and expecting his team to play through it.

BTW, CD's point was not so much to criticize the officials but to talk about her team overcoming the physical play and figuring out how to play through it and score.

I was thinking about this this morning re Louisville/UConn vs Louisville/Baylor last year with respect to the coaching differences between Geno and Mulkey - Geno made some adjustments yet expected the team to play through Louisville's style of play, Mulkey, not so much. Both took off their jackets, though only Mulkey threw hers....just sayin'