UConn-USC Postgame Thread (The Huskies back to the Final Four!!!)

[WiseWillie]

It's a shame that the people who should know better (collectively they are known as the "media") do not recognize Paige for what she does on both ends of the court. (I'm not taking anything away from CC)

The "media" when it comes to this tournament (as well as through most of the year) is really only Disney subs ESPN and ABC (and the sports writers who were taken off their primary cover of the NBA or MLB and required to put out a piece on women's basketball and to comply simply just regurgitate and parrot what they hear being pushed out on ESPN,or even simpler, just take the summaries ESPN feeds them).

It is more than obvious that ESPN has made a business decision to make a concerted commitment to promoting and pushing CC as a way to boost their ratings. And let us not forget the NCAA and WNBA also have a very definite interest in using CC as a way to boost interest in women's basketball.So it's a three-headed promotion game using the talents of a young basketball player. It's almost a recast of "A Star Is Born". There will always those who will use someone's stardom for their own vested/financial interests.

It would be interesting to see the disparity in the hours spent over the last year devoted to CC compared to the scant minutes over the year on Paige (or a number of other talented players).

The USC-UConn game was hardly over and the ESPN commentators started talking about "Caitlin versus Paige". It's almost no different than promoting a movie or road show. To ESPN, it's not a sport played by highly talented women that deserves appropriate attention and analysis for their abilities and skills. To them, it's simply entertainment.

 

[BRS24]

Almost spit out my drink after reading a quote from Geno about having to change clothes after getting doused by the team, before doing a presser - "something something, underwear sticking to my ass"

 

[Fore!]

There were many no-calls and God-awful calls (especially most of the ones on Nika) but one play I replayed several times I think sums it up pretty well was when in the fourth Q JuJu from the wing position did a back cut to the basket that was wide open. Two points. But the reason it was so open was because Aaliyah wasn't able to make the switch to stop her because she was being held (literally right in front of the ref who was twiddling his thumbs or something). On replay you can see it clearly. Terrible.

But guess we should forget the griping since we got the dub and are moving on to the Final Four! (with a happy, positive attitude - while hoping - praying - that the officiating is better - and most of all fair!)

If we were to forget about griping, it would put the Boneyard out of business!

 

[hussybulldog]

I remember not too long ago when many BY fans would post ad nauseum that Geno could not coach in close games. I wonder where they are now???????

Should the coaching be as simple as, don’t miss the FS!

 

[WiseWillie]

The crow I ate this morning for breakfast was absolutely delicious. I did not think we stood a chance.
What a gutsy, masterful performance by the players and the coaching staff. It was a coaching masterclass.
Now, I'm going to go watch the replay in a relaxed state of mind.

Get some Tums. Eating crow gives you indigestion.

 

[freshler40]

I think JUJu is a great player but she likes to lean into the defensive players to get that and 1 call I wish they would stop that .. but as a defender you have to be ready for that also .. Ash was leaned into on her 1st fouls imo

Ju Ju has great body control, shoots from a high position and leans into the defensive player to create contact. I don't know the rules on such activity but most calls favor the shooter. The freshmen play by Ju Ju has created a star that might not stay four years. She seems WNBA ready unless the nels speak otherwise. Our defensive scheme was to double team her and create a defensive wall inside. It generally worked and created lot of turnovers. She is impressive for sure.

There was one call, in the 2nd half that went against Edwards as she was putting up a layup. There wasn't room to land but the refs saw it as offensive, and we lost two or perhaps three points.

Credit to USC. Their coach had their players skintight on defense. That did create many foul calls in the first half. I can't remember another game this year that had those calls made against UConn or other teams. The adjustment we needed, was to have more awareness on how USC was playing defense and creating offensive fouls. Another change, when we played defense, was to play off or behind the pick as KK mostly did but Nika didn't. USC picks were very solid.
When Ice is on the court, she sets excellent picks for Paige. Ice needs to roll on the inside toward the hoop soon after for a possible return pass or clear out. Our men's team does that very well.

On to the final four. A great effort by our team and coaches on both sides. All games played Monday evening were a credit to basketball and speak highly of the current development of the game.

 

[cohenzone]

You ahoulda has the flu.

I actually do know how to spell. Type, not so much. And nearsighted.

 

[hussybulldog]

You are mistaken about Paige’s ‘religion’. She is a very spiritual person, maybe even religious. There is a vast difference most people don’t understand. You or I can be speaking about God, a higher power or the Divine. That is not religious. A believe in this force is spirituality not religion. Believing in a certain dogma is religion. Paige is an example of a generous, kind and compassionate individual. These are qualities all religions hold, or ought to hold. Go Paige

Express your disagreement, no need to be self righteous your experience is different from Paige’s , so you could very well misunderstand her. We should ask one of the reporters at next post-game to ask Paige whether she is spiritual , or / and religious.

 

[HuskyNan]

The "media" when it comes to this tournament (as well as through most of the year) is really only Disney subs ESPN and ABC (and the sports writers who were taken off their primary cover of the NBA or MLB and required to put out a piece on women's basketball and to comply simply just regurgitate and parrot what they hear being pushed out on ESPN,or even simpler, just take the summaries ESPN feeds them).

It is more than obvious that ESPN has made a business decision to make a concerted commitment to promoting and pushing CC as a way to boost their ratings. And let us not forget the NCAA and WNBA also have a very definite interest in using CC as a way to boost interest in women's basketball.So it's a three-headed promotion game using the talents of a young basketball player. It's almost a recast of "A Star Is Born". There will always those who will use someone's stardom for their own vested/financial interests.

It would be interesting to see the disparity in the hours spent over the last year devoted to CC compared to the scant minutes over the year on Paige (or a number of other talented players).

The USC-UConn game was hardly over and the ESPN commentators started talking about "Caitlin versus Paige". It's almost no different than promoting a movie or road show. To ESPN, it's not a sport played by highly talented women that deserves appropriate attention and analysis for their abilities and skills. To them, it's simply entertainment.

People need to get over the media coverage of Caitlin

1. She’s an extraordinary player, setting records, and drawing many new eyeballs to the women’s game. She’s good for women’s college basketball
2. Did UConn fans forget the wall to wall coverage of Diana, of Stewie, Arike Ogumbuwale, Sabrina Ionescu, et al? ESPN does it every year, to publicize the game and drum up interest. It’s nothing new. UConn fans complaining about it sounds like sour grapes

 

[WiseWillie]

They mentioned during the broadcast that Geno had them prepared for that, including watching for her legs kicking out on jump shots. Chauncey Billups used to do that all the time. Paige, as a senior AA, former POY, I don't know what see can do to draw fouls. Maybe the refs figure she is looking to avoid contact, so they don't see it. But she takes really hard hits without a call. Juju just needs to drive and if anyone looks at her, they're sending her to the line. It ruins the flow of the game.

Two brutal fouls that weren't called; Paige getting hacked really hard, just over half court, on a pass attempt to AE, which gave Paige a turnover and led to a three pointer down the other end. The announcers kind of mentioned it in passing, like nothing to see here. Then Marshall's over the shoulder take down on AE under the basket, went totally unnoticed by the refs and the announcers. There was also one where Aaliyah got hit hard repeatedly on a drive to the basket. The refs finally had to call a foul once she was hit hard for like the third time.

I do think the officiating, even when bad, tends to even out in the end. But to my eyes, it was very one-sided. You can't go by the number of fouls in the end, if a losing team is trying to shorten the game by intentionally fouling.

CC gets the same treatment by refs as JuJu. She is an expert at initiating contact and then do a patented haphazard flop making sure that she gets the call. Paige on the other hand mostly tries to avoid contact and therefore doesn't get foul calls but lately have noticed when needed she is learning how to draw contact on many drives to the basket forcing refs to give her the call. Guess if you can't beat them you need to join them.)

 

[cohenzone]

To the eternal disappointment of my mother, I am not a particularly religious individual. I am also not fond of individuals who employ religion when it suits them.

But I have enormous respect for people who truly live their religious beliefs, like Paige. Paige is generous, kind and respectful in her dealings with everyone she comes in contact with.

I am not religious at all but if it works for people it’s fine with me so long as they don’t try to push it on me and so long as they aren’t big phonies. She is not a phony. God belief. religious tenets all personal.

 

[NYCer20]

Apologies if this was posted already but made me think back to first time I saw Paige play, her 8th grade year when Hopkins made state. I was like, huh, that kid is really good. But this guy was way ahead of the curve. Couldn't get the tweet to load but it's from a MN hoops guy named Gary Knox. From 2013:

"Remember the name: Paige Bueckers. 6th grade, think Diana Taurasi. Best 6th grade G I've ever seen. St. Louis Park."

 

[Jaml]

Debbie Antonelli is one the more biased announcers in ESPN's stable. She is a know ACC homer. She has nev er coach a game as far as I know. But she spouts off as an expert. She has no love for UConn.

At one point in the game, she was suggesting how Geno should be coaching the game.

Was she the one actually pleading for Duke to get the ball into the post to get Aaliyah in foul trouble? I think she wanted to go over to Kara Lawson and tell her what to do. Whomever it was, she was definitely rooting against UConn IMHO.

 

[Ron and Vida]

I don’t think my heart will stop racing until tomorrow — at least!!

FINAL FOUR HERE WE COME!!!! GO UCONN MBB!!!! GO UCONN WBB!!!!

I was disappointed when the Huskies weren’t selected for the Albany regional
In hindsight I should have been excited about them being selected for their bracket in Portland

 

[WiseWillie]

Ju Ju has great body control, shoots from a high position and leans into the defensive player to create contact. I don't know the rules on such activity but most calls favor the shooter. The freshmen play by Ju Ju has created a star that might not stay four years. She seems WNBA ready unless the nels speak otherwise. Our defensive scheme was to double team her and create a defensive wall inside. It generally worked and created lot of turnovers. She is impressive for sure.

There was one call, in the 2nd half that went against Edwards as she was putting up a layup. There wasn't room to land but the refs saw it as offensive, and we lost two or perhaps three points.

Credit to USC. Their coach had their players skintight on defense. That did create many foul calls in the first half. I can't remember another game this year that had those calls made against UConn or other teams. The adjustment we needed, was to have more awareness on how USC was playing defense and creating offensive fouls. Another change, when we played defense, was to play off or behind the pick as KK mostly did but Nika didn't. USC picks were very solid.
When Ice is on the court, she sets excellent picks for Paige. Ice needs to roll on the inside toward the hoop soon after for a possible return pass or clear out. Our men's team does that very well.

On to the final four. A great effort by our team and coaches on both sides. All games played Monday evening were a credit to basketball and speak highly of the current development of the game.

Good observation on Nika. She hardly ever goes behind the pick and instead either collides with the offensive player or the screener and throws up her head or arms like someone punched her and someone will need to switch to pick up her player. that she has been blocked from covering. Most times its ok because someone will be there to switch but when it doesn't her player will be open to drive and score. Sure that it drives Geno crazy but she's been doing it for years. But, hey, that is such a small part of the overall benefit of having Nika on the floor.

 

[Ralph]

is there a way to watch replays of the tournament games.

 

[ThisJustIn]

But due to her long tenure, she always gets assigned to the biggest games.

Also, because conferences/coaches give her positive reviews.

 

[ABCDFE]

It doesn't matter. He is the coach of the year.

I think JUJu is a great player but she likes to lean into the defensive players to get that and 1 call I wish they would stop that .. but as a defender you have to be ready for that also .. Ash was leaned into on her 1st fouls imo

I thought Fair had some of the body contortions to try and draw the foul as well. I wish those were reviewable and can also be changed to offensive fouls so those players don’t resort to those type of plays because to me it takes away the purity of the game and the hard work of the defensive player

 

[ABCDFE]

It’s one of those Debbie Antonelli‘s finest moments!!

I felt she was very fair and also very complimentary of UConn, Geno, and the players. IDK maybe I’m getting soft.

 

[Ron and Vida]

I think JUJu is a great player but she likes to lean into the defensive players to get that and 1 call I wish they would stop that .. but as a defender you have to be ready for that also .. Ash was leaned into on her 1st fouls imo

No one is better at that than Skyler

 

[JellyBean]

Hats off to Ice Brady for having the confidence to take those shots. She was on a mission after having a mediocre game vs. Duke.
These freshmen NEVER get down on themselves!!

Well said. I was so proud of Ice for not only taking and making the shot but also for having the courage & confidence to take those long and mid range shots.

 

[oldude]

Well said. I was so proud of Ice for not only taking and making the shot but also for having the courage & confidence to take those long and mid range shots.

Having watched HS videos of Ice draining outside shots with her sweet, left-handed shooting stroke, I had recently commented that it was just a matter of time before Ice gained the confidence to consistently make those shots at the college level. Well it appears that the time is now.

 

[BRS24]

Here's a Q for you hoop experts - Paige managed to steal the ball 2x from JuJu on an entry pass and Antonelli commented both times that it was a defensive scouting item. Any ideas on what Paige was doing or anticipating that JuJu would do?

 

[oldude]

Here's a Q for you hoop experts - Paige managed to steal the ball 2x from JuJu on an entry pass and Antonelli commented both times that it was a defensive scouting item. Any ideas on what Paige was doing or anticipating that JuJu would do?

Paige is one of the best “off ball” defenders in WBB. Her anticipation to jump a passing lane is excellent. It’s something she’s done her entire career.

Antonelli’s suggestion that it had something to do with pregame scouting is nonsense. Anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of basketball would know that USC would take every opportunity to get the ball to their top scorer. Paige was just doing “Paige things.”

 

[msf22b]

No one is better at that than Skyler

It's legal...completely legit