UConn-Villanova postgame

[PhillyCoach]

My season seats are behind the UConn bench and many, many times, Ice simply makes poor shot decisions and when she gets yanked out of the game, like last night, Geno or CD have a rather stern discussion with her. To me, for every step Ice takes forward, she takes 2 steps back. Her game is not strong enough yet to justify her taking 18 foot jumpers like she is often prone to do and the coaching staff let her know that again when she was removed.

I also disagree with a poster who says Q wasn't effective, I actually think she has improved and does well on defense now. She doesn't look to just hoist 3 point shots any more and looks to drive and take a mid-range shot AND she gets involved underneath in rebounding (not as successful as I would like but...).

We ultimately need Ice to give Aaliyah a breather and to defend the bigger front court players to allow Paige to focus more on offense. If Ice doesn't continue her development, we are sunk. Maybe last night's limited minutes were the "shot across the bow" to Ice that she needs to keep on working and a reward to Q that her hard work has earned earlier playing time.

Yes, the game was sloppy, yes our shooting from the freshman was atrocious but we still won by 21 points and despite 'Nova closing it to 7, no one felt this game was in jeopardy.

The long discussion with Denise at the end of the game was a "jovial" chat, as Geno and Denise do have a good relationship and despite the game getting a bit "chippy" this was not a "UCF style thugfest". What hurt Villanova the most was the poor fouling by Dalce who only played 6 minutes. Until she gets her propensity to foul under control, the Wildcats will struggle as she is their 2nd best player (albeit a non-popular opposition player-just ask the UConn student section).

Lastly, at halftime, the school honored all the student athletes who attained a 3.0 or higher GPA last semester and the Women's team had 11 members recognized. The Men's team had 5.

I agree with DefenseBB - Q had a productive game. She played 14 minutes and scored 5 points, had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. She looked quick, agile, and mobile. She hustles and plays hard every second. Geno must like what she is doing in practice because she got the bench minutes.

 

[JellyBean]

No one had a good game - not UConn, not Villanova, and not the refs.

Dang! One of those games? I was not able to watch the game but heard bits and pieces. Catching up with the post game comments now.

 

[Urshurak]

To be fair, there were some awful calls on Villanova, too. I thought the sheer number of whistles created a choppy, disjointed, and ugly game.

100% agree. Officiating overall, to both teams, was inept. Something really needs to be done about it. No reason it’s this bad. Whomever is in charge of these officials, training programs, accountability, etc. is failing in their job.

 

[boontonbomber]

It’s quite okay to be demonstrative, and I love the fact that our battered teammates stand up for each other. Being nice all the time just doesn’t work. And so sometimes when people push you around, you just have to shove them on their backside(s), to let them know you’re no pushover.

UConn can ill-afford to have Paige in foul trouble, and T's can add to that total. Let Geno do the mouthing off; he's not as important.

 

[Geew1992]

View attachment 97065

These girls really do love that student section. I know there was a point in the game when Paige turned to them.

 

[HuskyNan]

100% agree. Officiating overall, to both teams, was inept. Something really needs to be done about it. No reason it’s this bad. Whomever is in charge of these officials, training programs, accountability, etc. is failing in their job.

The 4th foul on Lucy was as bad as the 4th foul on Paige. Maybe the refs were trying to even them out. …just kidding. Sorta

 

[hoophuskee]

Now I am sure Geno has some type of problem with Ines. This was a perfect opportunity to use her in a game where none of the freshman were playing well and Nika went out. She certainly couldn't have done any worse. She is fast and a good defender and knows the plays, so...?

UCONN has 3 pg's that are better than her. I don;t agree that she couldn't have been worse. Geno praised teh Defense which means the freshmen weren't all that bad. But if anything io Ice could have seen more time and even Q even though she got some time.

 

[Cuango]

Paige's efficiency numbers are quite impressive. It appears when she "shows up" the refs like on her traveling call, they retaliate by calling ticky-tack or phantom fouls against her. My advice to her is to stop the moaning and groaning every time she gets call and just let your game do the talking. Nika had a couple of timely shots, but she is throwing some horrible passes for a senior with her experience.

Paige rarely “moans & groans about calls but yesterday was atrocious reffing!

 

[Cuango]

I think it's about time people stopped feeling sorry for Aaliyah. Try watching just her, at both ends of the court, sometime. That kind of physical play is part of what will make her a very good pro.

AE missed a lot of close in shots yesterday!

 

[hoophuskee]

I don’t expect a FF - and even the 32 game and especially the S16 game could be big trouble. But with that said, the Big East teams know the UCONN Offense. While other teams can scout it- play against the same type of Offense etc it still would be a different opponent. A top quality coach like the Nova coach is - having played against UCONN quite a bit and having some prior NCAA success, it is possible her team defensively can be better prepared against the UCONN Offense despite the other team being of higher quality.

Heck last year we saw what the men did in their own conference vs out of it. And watching the 01-02 team last night again talking with Geno- I believe that year the team that probably gave UCONN their toughest test was the Big East Va Tech team.

 

[Redux]

The 4th foul on Lucy was as bad as the 4th foul on Paige. Maybe the refs were trying to even them out. …just kidding. Sorta

I'd love to see a statistical analysis on traveling calls. Officials sometimes over-react when there's a discontinuity, a stutter in movement, which can happen all the time and really NOT be a violation. Then they try to make ammends.

What I'm convinced you'd find is that the distribution is 3-5X higher than normal for a second call within 2 minutes of an initial call, and more than normally on the other team.

The common wisdom is "it all evens out." No, it doesn't. A bad call is a bad call. You can't even out the impact on the game, get a do-over; officials can't reset the game as if their original lousy call hadn't been made; the flow of the game has been changed.

 

[freshler40]

I agree with DefenseBB - Q had a productive game. She played 14 minutes and scored 5 points, had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. She looked quick, agile, and mobile. She hustles and plays hard every second. Geno must like what she is doing in practice because she got the bench minutes.

Q will be a star in some games this season and will settle in to be a hustle type player that gives you 100% when on the floor. Love her potential.

 

[FormerCTrez]

I think we have to remember KK and Ash are true freshman playing huge minutes for a very good team. No one, anywhere, could have expected them to play as much as they have before the season started. Without them playing good solid basketball the team would not be where it is today.

They re also going through their freshman year grind of college and being away from home. So there is a lot they are managing. Can’t expect them to perform at consistent level game in and game out,

Ash shot fell earlier in the season, it isn’t now. Shooters go through ups and downs, all you can do is keep shooting. It will come back around, I feel confident in that. I dont view KK as a real scoring threat for where she is in her development. I think points from her are gravy, we need her to push the pace of play and play very strong defense.

Q needs a study in the term ”shot selection”. On one hand I love her tenacity in wanting to score, but in the other hand so much seems forced or that she’s predetermined she is shooting no matter what.

I truly believe this area of her game will vastly improve as she matures.

PS: Nice post

 

[DEpup]

I agree with DefenseBB - Q had a productive game. She played 14 minutes and scored 5 points, had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. She looked quick, agile, and mobile. She hustles and plays hard every second. Geno must like what she is doing in practice because she got the bench minutes.

In a game with Vill who is guard oriented, Q is the better option than Ice. I'm still perplexed as to why Ines didn't get some minutes when Vill had some subs in.

Ice to me is in a mental conflict with herself. She is not quick enough right now to play the game she wants to play and unwilling to have a real conversation with herself and just play exclusively down low until she gets her conditioning in order. It will probably take the off season for her to get fully in shape after the injury year.

 

[FormerCTrez]

My season seats are behind the UConn bench and many, many times, Ice simply makes poor shot decisions and when she gets yanked out of the game, like last night, Geno or CD have a rather stern discussion with her. To me, for every step Ice takes forward, she takes 2 steps back. Her game is not strong enough yet to justify her taking 18 foot jumpers like she is often prone to do and the coaching staff let her know that again when she was removed.

I also disagree with a poster who says Q wasn't effective, I actually think she has improved and does well on defense now. She doesn't look to just hoist 3 point shots any more and looks to drive and take a mid-range shot AND she gets involved underneath in rebounding (not as successful as I would like but...).

We ultimately need Ice to give Aaliyah a breather and to defend the bigger front court players to allow Paige to focus more on offense. If Ice doesn't continue her development, we are sunk. Maybe last night's limited minutes were the "shot across the bow" to Ice that she needs to keep on working and a reward to Q that her hard work has earned earlier playing time.

Yes, the game was sloppy, yes our shooting from the freshman was atrocious but we still won by 21 points and despite 'Nova closing it to 7, no one felt this game was in jeopardy.

The long discussion with Denise at the end of the game was a "jovial" chat, as Geno and Denise do have a good relationship and despite the game getting a bit "chippy" this was not "UCF style". What hurt Villanova the most was the poor fouling by Dalce who only played 6 minutes. Until she gets her propensity to foul under control, the Wildcats will struggle as she is their 2nd best player (albeit a non-popular opposition player-just ask the UConn student section).

Lastly, at halftime, the school honored all the student athletes who attained a 3.0 or higher GPA last semester and the Women's team had 11 members recognized. The Men's team had 5.

At this point in her college career, Ice‘s shooting reminds me (somewhat) of Aliyah Boston, because they love taking the jump shot. I do recall Dawn Staley referring to Boston as “Jump Shot Jenny”. But look out well she turned out? We Boneyarders know she was a “bruising stud” for SCAR by the time she graduated. So, I do believe Ice’s development will include exchanging bruises underneath the basket.

 

[MilfordHusky]

My season seats are behind the UConn bench and many, many times, Ice simply makes poor shot decisions and when she gets yanked out of the game, like last night, Geno or CD have a rather stern discussion with her. To me, for every step Ice takes forward, she takes 2 steps back. Her game is not strong enough yet to justify her taking 18 foot jumpers like she is often prone to do and the coaching staff let her know that again when she was removed.

I also disagree with a poster who says Q wasn't effective, I actually think she has improved and does well on defense now. She doesn't look to just hoist 3 point shots any more and looks to drive and take a mid-range shot AND she gets involved underneath in rebounding (not as successful as I would like but...).

We ultimately need Ice to give Aaliyah a breather and to defend the bigger front court players to allow Paige to focus more on offense. If Ice doesn't continue her development, we are sunk. Maybe last night's limited minutes were the "shot across the bow" to Ice that she needs to keep on working and a reward to Q that her hard work has earned earlier playing time.

Yes, the game was sloppy, yes our shooting from the freshman was atrocious but we still won by 21 points and despite 'Nova closing it to 7, no one felt this game was in jeopardy.

The long discussion with Denise at the end of the game was a "jovial" chat, as Geno and Denise do have a good relationship and despite the game getting a bit "chippy" this was not "UCF style". What hurt Villanova the most was the poor fouling by Dalce who only played 6 minutes. Until she gets her propensity to foul under control, the Wildcats will struggle as she is their 2nd best player (albeit a non-popular opposition player-just ask the UConn student section).

Lastly, at halftime, the school honored all the student athletes who attained a 3.0 or higher GPA last semester and the Women's team had 11 members recognized. The Men's team had 5.

I think recently Ice has been 2 steps forward and 1 back, rather than the reverse.

 

[JellyBean]

View attachment 97059

Ice only got 6 minutes? Yikes. Now I really can't wait to get home to watch the replay.

 

[MilfordHusky]

While I am certainly in the camp of having Paige shoot more often, I think it is more important as to when she shoots during the game. Paige will never be a volume shooter like Caitlin Clark or JuJu Watkins. She is an efficient shooter with the ability to assert herself and take over a game. The past two contests, she's scored 30 or more, taking 15 shots each game. More importantly, she's gotten to the foul line making 18 of 20 free throw attempts. Hard to argue with her effectiveness and execution.

Recent stats for Paige, Caitlin, and JuJu:

Paige: 54/42/86 on 422 shots

Caitlin: 47/39/85 on 635 shots

JuJu: 42/35/86 on 574 shots

 

[JellyBean]

View attachment 97065

How can you not love this young lady!? KK is awesome!

 

[JellyBean]

Reading through the comments, I am really excited to watch the replay later. From the play of both teams to the officials and how they called the game, which is always interesting. But I am looking forward to watching the replay.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[jaydee602]

To be fair, there were some awful calls on Villanova, too. I thought the sheer number of whistles created a choppy, disjointed, and ugly game.

The sad part of the officiating is that all three refs have over 25 years experience. They are also veteran WNBA refs. There is no excuse for their inconsistent, curious whistles against both teams.
The erroneous traveling call against Paige was trending on Twitter to ridicule the inept officiating.

 

[HuskyNan]