UConn - Minnesota post game thread

[oldude]

A couple thoughts:

• Another suffocating defensive effort by the Huskies. Increasingly, it looks like this UConn team’s identity will be DEFENSE, particularly if Azzi is out for an extended period of time, and Caroline continues to struggle.
• The freshmen continue to impress. Tonight’s standout was Ice, who finally showed everyone her sweet left-handed shooting stroke.
• Kudos to Coach Plitzuweit of the Golden Gophers. Her team played hard and smart, forcing UConn to beat them in the half court.

 

[Zarathustra]

Well, it was a tough game to watch. But I continue to be amazed at the intensity and ability of the freshman class. KK, especially, seemed to knock them out of the doldrums

Also, that beautiful running floater, buzzer beater, to end out the third quarter, Way to go!

 

[freshler40]

That was an odd game. Is it me, or are they very passive on the offensive end?

We defer too much. Looked for Beckers too much in the first half. Nika needs to drive more and run our offense faster. With Paige running the offence you see full court passes and a quicker shot clock. We look better when that happens. Nice to see Ice B. hit some three pointers. Love the energy of freshmen.

 

[maple]

Also, that beautiful running floater, buzzer beater, to end out the third quarter, Way to go!

That was an absolutely gorgeous bucket. Should be on Sports Center tonight.

 

[huskeynut]

Not every game will be a thing of beauty or a blow out.

This was a grind it out game. Not pretty and ugly at times. The third quarter was the difference.

Kudos again to the freshmen. They are not afraid of the spotlight. A solid 19 points from the bench.

Durcharme seems to be lost. Not sure we Azzi for a while.

 

[Centerstream]

Freshmen were good again and I was really, really impressed with how Q has no fear of going into the lane on both offense and defense.
As much as I would like to see the newbies get more time on the floor, I would rather it is because the starters are playing well and they need to catch their breath.
One thing that really, really caught my attention was our last possession with the shot clock turned off and Ashlynn took a shot with 7 seconds to go. I felt that Minnesota was in end of game mode and I thought we were too. Just seemed kinda surprising.
We need a little more attitude adjusting before we play in the Caymans.
And did anyone else notice that Azzi seemed to be acting different in the last huddle? It looked like she was concerned with something happening across the court.

 

[Rdkid]

We defer too much. Looked for Beckers too much in the first half. Nika needs to drive more and run our offense faster. With Paige running the offence you see full court passes and a quicker shot clock. We look better when that happens. Nice to see Ice B. hit some three pointers. Love the energy of freshmen.

Outside of AE and Buckets, driving hard to the hoop and/or pulling up and elevating does not happen. Griffin especially is capable of this, as are the rest of the guards. Their bigs were not shot blockers.

 

[Conndog]

A slow grind of a win. The 1st half offense was....not good. The 2nd half offense looked a bit better but needs to be even better against UCLA. The defense was absolutely outstanding throughout.

I know CD has been a great contributer to the team throughout her career and has the talent to take over games. However, If she doesn't play better, she needs to be taken out of the starting lineup. She is being outplayed by every freshman right now. She doesn't even take many shots anymore. Her defense isn't good enough to make up for lack of production like Nika and Aubrey; she is in there to be the third scorer. I'm rooting for her but, at some point, she has to produce this season.

The offense seems to start flowing better and with a sense of urgency once the freshman come in. In particular, I notice that both Q and Shade are great at moving without the ball and trying to get open shots. Far too often, UCONN's offense gets stuck in place so having that movement more consistently is a necessity.

Hope Azzi gets healthy soon. We need her threat of scoring to help open up opposing defenses.

I like what I saw of CD today- yes, she isn't aggressive offensively, but she played good defense in my opinion and snagged a few rebounds. She did get some points but also missed at least one layup. Where her 3 point shot has gone is the main question I have. I hope she is able to figure out how to assert herself close to the basket- establish position, demand the ball, and hopefully have some success there.

I was wondering where Q was, when she did enter the game, she made contributions pretty quickly. She reminds me of Aubrey actually with the long legs- isn't in Aubrey's category defensively but isn't too far behind- but on offensive end she is much smoother and much more a natural scorer.

Two things I didn't like- 1) if Ice and Aaliyah are in at same time, both shouldn't be away from basket- one needs to be down low. I noticed a couple of times they were both outside when shots were taken and they weren't around to get any rebounds. 2) I'm not sure playing both Nika and KK together makes sense either except when trying to put hammer down on defense. Two point guards simultaneously? Just doesn't work for me. Although they both had good games today!

 

[wingsfan055]

Overall, a pretty disappointing effort, especially on offense. Minnesota is not a good team, so you have to put this game in context.

• Paige and AE are the only reliable scorers right now. They're also the only 2 players that can consistently create their own shots. CD and AG are not the same players. They are both playing slower (due to injury recovery most likely) and their shots are way off. Nika has never been a scorer. So, where are the points going to come from in a half-court game?
• Yet, Geno hasn't changed the offensive scheme at all. A lot of running around the perimeter, going to spots, and cutting. Problem is we are not a good perimeter shooting team. Paige is really the only consistent outside threat. We're also not fast or athletic enough to convert on our cuts. So, we end up taking a perimeter shot with time running out. Today: 14 assists, 13 TOs. That's horrible against a team like Minnesota.
• This team needs to speed things up and get some easy points off of transition. But, to do that they need speed. I would play KK a lot more at the point as she can break down the defense in a half-court game and spur fast breaks in transition. Play Shade & Ice more as well as they also bring speed and energy.
• I would tell Paige to be more aggressive and look for her shot more or create her shot more. She can break down the defense anytime she wants and take a mid-range or pass it down low. Problem is, she is too unselfish right now. At one point, she literally turned down an open 3 and passed it to Nika to clank a 3?!? That makes ZERO sense.
• The only positive was the team defense. I think Geno laid into them after the NC State game and said move your feet. The defense looked good today, but it's hard to say as this was against a poor, offensively challenged team.

 

[SEbluebood]

Two suffocating defensive efforts in a row against slow, unathlectic teams. Not yet convinced the defense is for real until we see it against the likes of UCLA and Texas. That first half was a horrible display of basketball by both teams! Other than the win and the freshman having some moments, I am not sure there was much positive to take from the game.

 

[LarryLegend]

I think Geno has to keep Ice for his bench, relief for Edwards, until Paterson comes back. OR a certain 6 foot 5 earns some playing time. Or El Affy pulls a miracle like Aaron Rogers is trying to do.

If she hasn’t earned any playing time into her third year, she never will

 

[Conndog]

Did anyone notice after KK hit that end of quarter running 3 pointer, that everyone on UConn bench jumped up quickly except Azzi? Look at the slow motion repeat to really notice this- what I saw I didn't like. Hoping she is just being extra cautious but her movement looked very restricted.

 

[Surly1]

It was a very disjointed game, and there was no flow or rhythm. Paige looked uncharacteristically passive, and it seemed to me that she intentionally looked for and forced a couple of 3's.

As of now, with Azzi sidelined & Caroline looking completely out of sorts, the team is going to need the frosh to step up. So far, it looks like at least one of them can be counted on to have a good outing.

Ice showed her sweet stroke and one has to love Qadence's fearlessness. Once she adds some muscle to her frame and realizes she doesn't have to shoot every time, she's going to be an assassin.

On a separate note, we know Azzi is a great foul shooter, but who would have thought that Cameron Brink might be better (72 straight & counting). Depending on which team gets the first pick in the next WNBA draft, I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Caitlin Clark will be the number one pick. Cam Brink has improved year over year while at Stanford and looked awfully impressive against Duke today.

 

[HuskyNan]

Overall, a pretty disappointing effort, especially on offense. Minnesota is not a good team, so you have to put this game in context.

• Paige and AE are the only reliable scorers right now. They're also the only 2 players that can consistently create their own shots. CD and AG are not the same players. They are both playing slower (due to injury recovery most likely) and their shots are way off. Nika has never been a scorer. So, where are the points going to come from in a half-court game?
• Yet, Geno hasn't changed the offensive scheme at all. A lot of running around the perimeter, going to spots, and cutting. Problem is we are not a good perimeter shooting team. Paige is really the only consistent outside threat. We're also not fast or athletic enough to convert on our cuts. So, we end up taking a perimeter shot with time running out. Today: 14 assists, 13 TOs. That's horrible against a team like Minnesota.
• This team needs to speed things up and get some easy points off of transition. But, to do that they need speed. I would play KK a lot more at the point as she can break down the defense in a half-court game and spur fast breaks in transition. Play Shade & Ice more as well as they also bring speed and energy.
• I would tell Paige to be more aggressive and look for her shot more or create her shot more. She can break down the defense anytime she wants and take a mid-range or pass it down low. Problem is, she is too unselfish right now. At one point, she literally turned down an open 3 and passed it to Nika to clank a 3?!? That makes ZERO sense.
• The only positive was the team defense. I think Geno laid into them after the NC State game and said move your feet. The defense looked good today, but it's hard to say as this was against a poor, offensively challenged team.

Nika had 11 points today

 

[Rdkid]

Overall, a pretty disappointing effort, especially on offense. Minnesota is not a good team, so you have to put this game in context.

• Paige and AE are the only reliable scorers right now. They're also the only 2 players that can consistently create their own shots. CD and AG are not the same players. They are both playing slower (due to injury recovery most likely) and their shots are way off. Nika has never been a scorer. So, where are the points going to come from in a half-court game?
• Yet, Geno hasn't changed the offensive scheme at all. A lot of running around the perimeter, going to spots, and cutting. Problem is we are not a good perimeter shooting team. Paige is really the only consistent outside threat. We're also not fast or athletic enough to convert on our cuts. So, we end up taking a perimeter shot with time running out. Today: 14 assists, 13 TOs. That's horrible against a team like Minnesota.
• This team needs to speed things up and get some easy points off of transition. But, to do that they need speed. I would play KK a lot more at the point as she can break down the defense in a half-court game and spur fast breaks in transition. Play Shade & Ice more as well as they also bring speed and energy.
• I would tell Paige to be more aggressive and look for her shot more or create her shot more. She can break down the defense anytime she wants and take a mid-range or pass it down low. Problem is, she is too unselfish right now. At one point, she literally turned down an open 3 and passed it to Nika to clank a 3?!? That makes ZERO sense.
• The only positive was the team defense. I think Geno laid into them after the NC State game and said move your feet. The defense looked good today, but it's hard to say as this was against a poor, offensively challenged team.

You nailed it!

 

[LarryLegend]

Possibly Paige was a little tired in the second half. Understandable. The freshmen are the real deal. Agree with others though, right now this is not a top 5 team.

 

[hard2please]

we need another big scorer or else the offense will not be potent enough. either cd or azzi needs to return to form.

 

[Rdkid]

I’m not sure trying to interpret how kids are doing on the bench via the TV does anyone a service.

 

[omshanti]

Minnesota executed a great game plan defensively. Way too many turnovers by UConn. Lots of missed layups also. It was a diff game to watch. Glad they pulled it out. Sometimes good teams play to the level of an opponent so I hope that’s what happened today.

Ducharme does not look comfortable out there to me. The energy changes when she comes out. Her form on the free throw line seems off also. I hope she’s okay.

Aubrey is too gun shy. She was open consistently and doesn’t shoot. I know she is fantastic slashing and cutting but she ought to shoot more.

 

[LarryLegend]

I’m not sure trying to interpret how kids are doing on the bench via the TV does anyone a service.

Geno has said in at least one press conference that he and his staff review video of the bench after every game, looking for bad body language.

 

[cferraro04]

Wow, didn't see that coming...see what? I didn't expect Minnesota's defense to be that good...it wasn't a produce turnovers good kind of defense (only 13 turnovers). I would instead characterize it as more of a selfish, stingy kind of defense...the kind of defense that only allows their opponent to get 9 offensive boards most of them in late in the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter. It was the kind of defense that limits their opponent in the first half to 25 shots while taking 38 shots themselves. It was the kind of defense that didn't allow their opponent to make a 3-pointer until the second half and held them to only 3-15 from three while they themselves took 34 threes and made 6 of them.

For UConn at the end of the day...offense = coyote ugly; defense = a thing of beauty. The defense won this game...UConn has a problem figuring out how to make up for Azzi Fudd's missing offense...however, 19 points came off the bench today...not bad but we are going to need closer to 30 points from the bench to be able to replace the loss of Azzi.

Well, a win is a win...until we get our rhythm and we get hopefully Azzi and Patterson back...we need to keep the "Ws" coming.

 

[RoadMaster]

Also, that beautiful running floater, buzzer beater, to end out the third quarter, Way to go!

 

[pghhuskydoc]

Does Q remind anyone else of a young Swin Cash? Very long, aggressive, beautiful shot, no fear.

 

[Rb335]

Stellar defense, lackluster offense. We have to remember that Azzi is one of our top 3 players, and she’s out. You can feel her absence offensively.

Excited to see them take on UCLA. A big time matchup that will give us an idea of where we’re at. Who will step up when the lights are the brightest?