What changes do you think Geno will make before ND and the NCAA's

[Jonathan Husky]

I think Geno will seriously have to consider having KLM play the 4 instead of Kelly. Kelly would move back to the 2 or the 3. He needs a scorer at the 4 to take the heat off the center. KLM is a good rebounder and will try to fill Maya's position. I also think he will give Stef a quick hook if she is not effective and replace her with Kiah. Although she will start I don't think Caroline will get a lot of minutes. At this stage of her recovery from the ACL she is overnatched against the quicker opponent guards.

My guess is that the team that will play the most minutes the rest of the way is Bria, Tiffany, Kelly, KLM and Kiah. It is by far our most ath;etic team.

 

[Enigma64]

I don't think changing the linup at this time matters that much. The only thing I hope changes are the number of turnovers. Our defense is solid and in the last two losses we've shot and rebounded better than the other team... the turnovers have killed us.

 

[JoePgh]

I think the twin towers concept will get more playing time. I can't support this with evidence, but my impression from the stands was that it was the most effective lineup against St. Johns. However, there is no question that it would change the character of the team and lead to less full-court defense and more half-court play at both ends.

 

[dtbtbtb]

I love Stef and Caroline but I do think that the best 5 we can have on the floor are Kiah, KML, Kelly, Tiff, and Bria. It's the line that is good rebounding, defense and got the best scoring options on the floor. I think that in this point it seems that the upside of Kiah is unlimited and it will be a good idea to utilize her much more.
The other option is to go to the 2 posts with both Stef and Kiah in the starting 5 which means that Kelly or Caroline will need to come from the bench.

 

[dtbtbtb]

I think the twin towers concept will get more playing time. I can't support this with evidence, but my impression from the stands was that it was the most effective lineup against St. Johns. However, there is no question that it would change the character of the team and lead to less full-court defense and more half-court play at both ends.

In the post season it is much more of Half court game as teams are better prepared to deal with the press so UConn need to be less reliant on easy scoring from the press and be much better in the half corts with feeding the post and cutting down the turnovers.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I think GA needs to have a "come to Jesus meeting" with Faris. Shoot or sit.

For those of you that think that Faris can't score, you're wrong. Her shooting % is the same as KML as is her playing time. KML is the better 3 point shooter but that doesn't mean Faris can't shoot the 3. The problem is - she won't. She has played the same minutes as KML but has taken well less than half the shots. She's shot less than one third as many 3s as KML. Her 3 point shot is only a bit behind Hartley, .316 to .338.

I am a Faris fan. In the past I agreed with the conventional wisdom that she didn't need to score. Well now she does. If opponents are going to cheat off Faris to double the post she needs to be hoisting them up. If they go in great. If they don't go in - also fine. At least they will have to guard her.

 

[Icebear]

Kelly did take the big shot yesterday and gave us the lead late in the game.

The first step is to show the willingness to shoot. The second is to practice the up fake to get the opponent coming out in the air. The third is to go by the opponent and then go all the way to the hoop or take the shorter step up mid jumper and follow it to the boards.

 

[alexrgct]

Here's the interesting thing about KML, and I don't see it mentioned much: she's a really, really good entry passer. I don't know, however, that she would be a great passer into the post position from inside the perimeter.

The other question is whether she would be effective shooting primarily mid-range shots or posting up. I think she has the potential to do these thngs, but don't know if that's how she can best contribute right now.

The big problem UConn has, unfortunately, is not positional (though the power forward spot has been a question mark all season). It's between the ears. Does UConn believe in close games? Can Geno hit the right buttons psychologically? Can he get them to have the mindset of, "You should be undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation right now, and you should play with the confidence of a team that actually is just that."? The thing is, as imperfect a team as this is, they had plenty of opportunities to beat St. John's, they lost the ND game the only way they possibly could have, and they had their opportunities against Baylor, too. So the next time a game tightens up, is someone or someones going to rise to the moment, or is there going to be a collective, "Oh no, not again- someone else make play here, please" kind of response?

My belief is that we will not see a change n the starting lineup, but we may see Geno employ certain lineups more frequently over the course of a game (twin towers, maybe KML at the 4 if he believes she can be consistently effective at that role). But ultimately, the fundamental question is whether the kids who are on the floor, whoever they are, will make plays when the going gets tough.

 

[magic]

I think the twin towers concept will get more playing time. I can't support this with evidence, but my impression from the stands was that it was the most effective lineup against St. Johns. However, there is no question that it would change the character of the team and lead to less full-court defense and more half-court play at both ends.

I think this makes sense. the game will slow down in the tournament anyway, with the better teams and defense.

 

[VAMike23]

1) Geno said that they're going to have to think about "how they go about attacking the [opponents'] defenses" from here on out.
2) In the same conversation, he said that right now he believes there's a "better likelihood of a good result if you throw it in to Kiah" as opposed to Stefanie.
3) Lastly, turnovers are killing us lately and a number of these turnovers are occurring when we try to feed Stef in the post. Two reasons for this: First, once she gets the ball, Stef is lately more prone to turnovers when defenses harass her and double her. Second, she is not effectively as 'big' of a target as Kiah, since Kiah is more athletic, can grab the ball out of the air from a bigger area than Stef, and does not get caught with her weight on her heels as often.

So I think what might happen is that we'll see Stef's time at the high post go up, and the time she spends on the block go down. Not like a complete either/or, just less of one and more of the other. If Geno sees that the opponent is more susceptible to the high post + motion and back cuts, Stef will be in there a lot. Stef's passing is also better utilized from the high post and right now she has the better FT-line jumper of the two. If Geno thinks that we should attack the post directly against teams with more quickness (like SJ) than real size (like SJ), Kiah's minutes at the 5 will go up.

 

[Blueballer]

Geno and staff are famous for not showing the other teams everything in the regular season. The players we have are not going to change but they always add new plays and defensive wrinkles that were not used in the regular season. I still think it's Baylor's Tourney to lose but I have confidence we will give the field a good run this year!

 

[magic]

I love Stef and Caroline but I do think that the best 5 we can have on the floor are Kiah, KML, Kelly, Tiff, and Bria. It's the line that is good rebounding, defense and got the best scoring options on the floor. I think that in this point it seems that the upside of Kiah is unlimited and it will be a good idea to utilize her much more.
The other option is to go to the 2 posts with both Stef and Kiah in the starting 5 which means that Kelly or Caroline will need to come from the bench.

I like the two posts with BH, TH and KF or KML. After watching the look on KML's face the other day, I'm not sure she is ready yet. I believe that KS is a very athletic player . I like the way she runs the floor.

 

[msf22b]

Whatever! The real test of the staff and their vaunted reputation is whether they can bring the team to an optimum level and stop the bleeding.

 

[bruinbball]

Kelly did have some sloppy turnovers against St. Johns -mostly forcing passes- however, her last turnover came with 17:45 left in the second half. In the first half, she had 4 turnovers and 4 assists. She wasn't fumbling the ball around in the clutch. I like to see her distributing but we can have the forced passes into double/triple teams.

Her shooting was 4/7 for the game. I would take that any day of the week from her. Her taking that 3 to give them the lead shows that she isn't scared to shoot with the game on the line. I know there were still over 3 minutes left but it was good to see that shot drop.

UConn giving up 17 offensive rebounds and only having 5 second half assists is not playing UConn basketball.

 

[NCorBust]

My guess is that the team that will play the most minutes the rest of the way is Bria, Tiffany, Kelly, KLM and Kiah. It is by far our most athletic team.

I hope you are 4/5 ths correct. I like Bria, Tiff, Kaleena, Kiah, and Stef for the most minutes and the most scoring. In fact I'd like to see all on the floor at the same time.

 

[Scotter]

I suspect very little changes. The starting lineup will almost certainly stay the same and likely so will the playing time. It was just a loss. The starters will continue to start for the same reasons they have been starting all season. They lost to a good team that played well on a day when UConn was out of sync. I suspect any changes Geno makes will be subtle enough that the vast majority of fans don't even notice them, and that probably includes me.

 

[sTu]

It is not that Faris cannot score it is WHEN one scores that can be more important.

I think GA needs to have a "come to Jesus meeting" with Faris. Shoot or sit.

For those of you that think that Faris can't score, you're wrong. Her shooting % is the same as KML as is her playing time. KML is the better 3 point shooter but that doesn't mean Faris can't shoot the 3. The problem is - she won't. She has played the same minutes as KML but has taken well less than half the shots. She's shot less than one third as many 3s as KML. Her 3 point shot is only a bit behind Hartley, .316 to .338.

I am a Faris fan. In the past I agreed with the conventional wisdom that she didn't need to score. Well now she does. If opponents are going to cheat off Faris to double the post she needs to be hoisting them up. If they go in great. If they don't go in - also fine. At least they will have to guard her.

 

[boontonbomber]

i would really like to see klm getting the ball down inside more often. she's strong, a good rebounder( maybe the best on the team), and has shown the ability to draw fouls when down low. having her hanging around on the wing waiting for the ball to get to her when she's open is just not making best use of her strengths. when she does cut middle she rarely gets the ball. her entry passes might suffer, but she'll make effective passes wherever she is on the floor.

 

[Icebear]

Fo;ks it is KML, not KLM.

 

[EricLA]

I'd like to see KLM not fly around so much and stop with the beverage service.

 

[Icebear]

I just realized a psychological/behavioral trigger that may cause people to constantly miss KML's name on the board. Any guesses? Note: it is deeply embedded.

 

[iri10]

I just realized a psychological/behavioral trigger that may cause people to constantly miss KML's name on the board. Any guesses? Note: it is deeply embedded.

 

[connboy77]

KML, KML, KML, KML, KML KML, KML

 

[Icebear]

Exactly, with all the focus on the German airline connection this core childhood lesson had completely escaped me. It is completely reinforced by the alphabet but even more with the use of one of our earliest songs.

 

[vtcwbuff]

More likely is that two fingered typists like me transpose the closely spaced letters when one index finger is a bit quicker than the other.