A “Simple” Solution

[amishboy]

I find it a little puzzling that the women continue to “struggle” (by UConn standards, that is; as Geno has frequently noted, our expectations (based on their history of success) are that they’ll win the championship every year).

Looking back at their history, though, what strikes me is that during championship seasons, they’ve often had 2 (or more) players selected as first team All Americans.

• In 1995, we had Rebecca Lobo & Jen Rizzotti (WBCA)#
• In 2000, we had Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph
• In 2002, there was Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, & Swin Cash (plus Asjha Jones & Tamika Williams)
• In 2003, only Taurasi was an AA
• Ditto 2004
• In 2009, Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery, & Tina Charles were all AA
• In 2010, Maya & Tina
• In 2013, Stefanie Dolson & Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis were AA
• In 2014, we had Breanna Stewart & Bria Hartley
• In 2015, “””””””” Breanna, Moriah Jefferson, & KM-L
• In 2016, “”””””””””””””””””,””””””””””””””””””, & Morgan Tuck

In 2017, despite having Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse, and Azura Stevens, we lost; in 2018, we added Megan Walker and still lost!

To put it simply, we seem to continue to recruit well (Williams, Bueckers, and Fudd were all ranked as #1 recruits), and we have very good seasons, but somehow not quite good enough. In a sense, since 2017 we haven’t had at least 2 great players who have played great, at the same time, in the Final Four. So what’s going on? Has Geno lost his “touch”? Is Dawn Staley now a better coach than Geno? Or do we not have enough players with “onions”?

 

[Gus Mahler]

I would cite lack of height and depth as the primary reasons for no NCs. BTW, Stef Dolson was also AA in 2014.

 

[LoboDays]

All sports have gears. The individuals and teams who win close games are able to change gears and put things in overdrive. We are all disappointed with our performance in the 4th quarter today but maybe overlooking that SC stepped it up and played great. They had another gear to go to. We didn’t. I don’t know how you change this. But if you stay in the same gear during crunch time…..bad things will happen.

 

[Cornell Lt]

WCBB is a completely different animal theses days. The number of quality players has greatly increased which has resulted in more teams getting more skilled players thus evening the playing field. There will never be another WCBB dominant run the likes of UConn '98-'17.

 

[cohenzone]

WCBB is a completely different animal theses days. The number of quality players has greatly increased which has resulted in more teams getting more skilled players thus evening the playing field. There will never be another WCBB dominant run the likes of UConn '98-'17.

Absolutely true. And BTW, don’t sell
UConn’s phenomenal success short, beginning with the Tennessee rivalry and inspiring more press coverage as the reason why so many superior female athletes are playing hoops these days.

And look at yesterday, if Boston had chosen UConn, chances are nobody could touch us, Dorka probably isn’t on the team and Boston and Olivia would’ve made beating UConn inside pretty much impossible. She is that impactful especially if surrounded by other talent which her presence attracts. They are kind of like us 20 years ago but time will tell if they can sustain as we have. A lot of high level competition including us.

 

[Dokey]

I find it a little puzzling that the women continue to “struggle” (by UConn standards, that is; as Geno has frequently noted, our expectations (based on their history of success) are that they’ll win the championship every year).

Looking back at their history, though, what strikes me is that during championship seasons, they’ve often had 2 (or more) players selected as first team All Americans.

• In 1995, we had Rebecca Lobo & Jen Rizzotti (WBCA)#
• In 2000, we had Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph
• In 2002, there was Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, & Swin Cash (plus Asjha Jones & Tamika Williams)
• In 2003, only Taurasi was an AA
• Ditto 2004
• In 2009, Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery, & Tina Charles were all AA
• In 2010, Maya & Tina
• In 2013, Stefanie Dolson & Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis were AA
• In 2014, we had Breanna Stewart & Bria Hartley
• In 2015, “””””””” Breanna, Moriah Jefferson, & KM-L
• In 2016, “”””””””””””””””””,””””””””””””””””””, & Morgan Tuck

In 2017, despite having Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse, and Azura Stevens, we lost; in 2018, we added Megan Walker and still lost!

To put it simply, we seem to continue to recruit well (Williams, Bueckers, and Fudd were all ranked as #1 recruits), and we have very good seasons, but somehow not quite good enough. In a sense, since 2017 we haven’t had at least 2 great players who have played great, at the same time, in the Final Four. So what’s going on? Has Geno lost his “touch”? Is Dawn Staley now a better coach than Geno? Or do we not have enough players with “onions”?

It depends on who you recruit and how well you do it. Geno failed to get Boston or other dominant bigs and the stretch of flops in Final Four reflect that. We continue to add great guards. Is there some reason that big bigs look elsewhere? Did keeping Azura Stephens on the bench cost us a NC? Did doing so tell big bigs their position was secondary? It probably has been a combination of failures.

 

[hjoerring]

There is a famous line in The Brothers Karamazov, when they finally looked over their lives, and one concluded that he had spent a life time (sowing and then) gathering flowers when he could have (sowed and thus) reaped an harvest of fruits. Stanford has, now, a monopoly on the flowers-- at least what it is willing to hoard. SC is reaping a harvest of fruits, and Uconn is really playing catch up to these two-- despite what we are seeing. An honest assessment would say, in my view, that we have not been good at getting the flowers we have to work well with the fruits we have gotten. (the team is very uneven/equal))-- rather than complimentary.

We just got a commit from a top guard and a noisy group of Boneyarders could care less because she isn't a Paige clone. Think about that. Even the great one himself-- GA, cannot say enough about Paige and Fudd to the media. He must have sold his Porche to get Fudd. I am disappointed at how he carries on about the two and, it is probably affecting team play. This is cheap psychology. If you are in the medical world you know that it is necessay to change your patient's drug cocktail because over time the body adjust. I think CD needs to reel him in a bit.
Having said all those things, South Florida showed that we are no where near championship character. For a couple of years we have been playing what I would called the mechanical Princeton Motion. Take away the backdoor plays and we are lost. Saying that we lost to SC because of tiredness, boards (see So Fl a smaller team), etc., is begging the question. The togetherness is not there, and there is a lack of full understanding of the motions and why. This means that good teams are not running after us, they are not forced to move because we are just running side-to-side in a fixed pattern. If the coaches cannot fix this we will end up gathering flowers while others harvest fruits.

 

[cohenzone]

It depends on who you recruit and how well you do it. Geno failed to get Boston or other dominant bigs and the stretch of flops in Final Four reflect that. We continue to add great guards. Is there some reason that big bigs look elsewhere? Did keeping Azura Stephens on the bench cost us a NC? Did doing so tell big bigs their position was secondary? It probably has been a combination of failures.

Well, DeBerry is supposedly a high level big I guess she is nicked up and not yet playing

 

[oldude]

More & more, I am coming to the belief that you don’t win championships in WBB without at least one supremely talented, powerful player in the post. WBB is still a game played below the rim. Being able to field a team with “some muscle” in the paint is critical.

Looking back over the last 8 WBB champions excluding Stewie, who we’ll call “lean” here is a list of physical post players on each championship team:

• 2013 - Steph, Kiah, Tuck
• 2014 - Steph, Kiah, Tuck
• 2015 - Kiah, Tuck
• 2016 - Tuck
• 2017 - Wilson, Coates
• 2018 - Shepard, Turner
• 2019 - Cox, Brown
• 2021 - Brink, Jerome, Bellibi

I continue to hope that some combination of Liv, Dorka, Aaliyah & Aubrey will give UConn that physical presence this season. If not, hopefully Ice & Ayanna will fit the bill.

 

[cohenzone]

Let’s not forget that we have a very experienced, excellent defending player in Griffin not yet playing. She changes how an offense flows including the ease of driving and making entry passes.

What’s kind of confounding and why you have to take Geno speak with a grain of salt is his almost total lack of playing time for Muhl who he has touted as representing the toughness the team is missing. We all know her apparent shortcomings, but maybe she wears down the opposing guards a little too. Hard to bring toughness to a line up if you are only playing a few minutes. I know, I know, who are you going to sit when she is in there. But maybe against a high quality team rotating her in more often both affects the game flow and avoids the others from
being worn down. She is a decent passer and has her moments as a shooter. Fortunately, there are only a few games where our stamina and being overmatched at a few positions is an issue.

 

[Oracle9]

The problem I have found with Uconn is its insistence on playing finesse, I know it's pretty to see precision cuts and passing. Problem is most of the team's aren't playing that way it's super physical now- not just in the SEC. Notice how they body up Paige every chance they get-like really hit her. This "cutesy" style gets you only so far. Also the recruiting has to change, we get enamored with highlights, but some of these players haven't played in tough leagues if we're being honest.We need more tough minded players, ones that are good (they don't have to be all McDonald's AA) with a "dog" mentality like Bria, Steph, DT, Maya. Just saying

 

[Conndog]

Boy, would I love having Kiah Stokes on this squad. She was tough as could be, she got tons of rebounds and played great defense too.

 

[sno-cat]

If only Geno had listened to the boneyard we would have won the NC every year! The obvious solution is to get rid of Geno and use artificial intelligence to capture the boneyard‘s vast store of advanced basketball knowledge and have a robot sit on the bench and relay our directions to the team. It would even save UConn a lot of money.

 

[amishboy]

Let me throw out another question: do others feel that Geno plays his rotation too many minutes (thereby leaving them a little rundown)?

It's understandable during a single game, like SC, where you want to go with your best throughout, but I'm thinking more about over the course of a season. I feel as if the 9-10-11-12 players could get more playing time, given the number of blowouts we typically have, whether in the AAC previously or even in the BE currently. If we can't get the best bigs, at least at the moment, maybe we could compensate by having fresher legs, to play an even more swarming defense. Given the ongoing recruiting success, even if it seems focused at times on guards and wings, no one should be as deep as we should be.

 

[CL82]

It depends on who you recruit and how well you do it. Geno failed to get Boston or other dominant bigs and the stretch of flops in Final Four reflect that. We continue to add great guards. Is there some reason that big bigs look elsewhere? Did keeping Azura Stephens on the bench cost us a NC? Did doing so tell big bigs their position was secondary? It probably has been a combination of failures.

You know that we actually have quite a few post players, right? In all likelihood at least two of them will be playing in the WNBA. One more may get there, but even if she doesn’t she’ll have a long and lucrative pro career.

 

[Blue Ghost]

The problem I have found with Uconn is its insistence on playing finesse, I know it's pretty to see precision cuts and passing. Problem is most of the team's aren't playing that way it's super physical now- not just in the SEC. Notice how they body up Paige every chance they get-like really hit her. This "cutesy" style gets you only so far. Also the recruiting has to change, we get enamored with highlights, but some of these players haven't played in tough leagues if we're being honest.We need more tough minded players, ones that are good (they don't have to be all McDonald's AA) with a "dog" mentality like Bria, Steph, DT, Maya. Just saying

I have to agree with this. We are a finesse type of team and for the most part can dominate other teams. But when we come up against the tall physical or athletic type of teams we have a hard time. We don't have a physical big inside and we seem to lack the athletic type of player that can dominate when everything breaks down. There are times when Crystal looks like she can be that person but is not consistent enough. We are very dependent on Paige to make a play.

 

[D J B]

If only Geno had listened to the boneyard we would have won the NC every year! he would have been fired years ago.

 

[jchusky]

no competition before, ND was the only "tough test" but even they couldn't match Uconn's talent. It was until Stewart Jefferson graduated that you could finally have a shot. Then the transfer portal exploded and now it leveled the playing field.

 

[Longtime fan]

Absolutely true. And BTW, don’t sell
UConn’s phenomenal success short, beginning with the Tennessee rivalry and inspiring more press coverage as the reason why so many superior female athletes are playing hoops these days.

And look at yesterday, if Boston had chosen UConn, chances are nobody could touch us, Dorka probably isn’t on the team and Boston and Olivia would’ve made beating UConn inside pretty much impossible. She is that impactful especially if surrounded by other talent which her presence attracts. They are kind of like us 20 years ago but time will tell if they can sustain as we have. A lot of high level competition including us.

The SC dominance began when they recruited Wilson. This was to be expected because she was a native South Carolina person. Staying home made her a state-wide hero from day one. And she was the best BIG in America for four years. And that enticed Boston to go there. Now she is the best BIG in America. And Dawn had phenomenal recruiting classes. So they are the UCONN of this ( and much of the last ) decade. The difference is there is so much more talent, so teams like Arizona and Stanford ( and maybe now Texas, etc ) are getting there, too. UCONN has a lot but it isn't always developing as we hoped. Walker, for example, was the number one recruit but was never world class. Williams was less than touted for her first two years. Paige, clearly, is world class. How long will it take for AZZi to start dominating? Will she? Personally, I think she'll be a superstar against the Big East, but that is a poor measuring stick. The issue is; will she become so good that GENO must sit someone down so she can start? And, we need others to surprise us with how good they can be. Edwards?. Aubrey? Mir? DeBerry? Descharmes? Dorka? Muhl? My personal favorite is Piath ( chance - 5% ?).

 

[Drew8]

The talent gap is leveling out between the best players and the field. You can see it in International competition, the WNBA and the NCAA.

 

[hoophuskee]

I find it a little puzzling that the women continue to “struggle” (by UConn standards, that is; as Geno has frequently noted, our expectations (based on their history of success) are that they’ll win the championship every year).

Looking back at their history, though, what strikes me is that during championship seasons, they’ve often had 2 (or more) players selected as first team All Americans.

• In 1995, we had Rebecca Lobo & Jen Rizzotti (WBCA)#
• In 2000, we had Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph
• In 2002, there was Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, & Swin Cash (plus Asjha Jones & Tamika Williams)
• In 2003, only Taurasi was an AA
• Ditto 2004
• In 2009, Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery, & Tina Charles were all AA
• In 2010, Maya & Tina
• In 2013, Stefanie Dolson & Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis were AA
• In 2014, we had Breanna Stewart & Bria Hartley
• In 2015, “””””””” Breanna, Moriah Jefferson, & KM-L
• In 2016, “”””””””””””””””””,””””””””””””””””””, & Morgan Tuck

In 2017, despite having Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse, and Azura Stevens, we lost; in 2018, we added Megan Walker and still lost!

To put it simply, we seem to continue to recruit well (Williams, Bueckers, and Fudd were all ranked as #1 recruits), and we have very good seasons, but somehow not quite good enough. In a sense, since 2017 we haven’t had at least 2 great players who have played great, at the same time, in the Final Four. So what’s going on? Has Geno lost his “touch”? Is Dawn Staley now a better coach than Geno? Or do we not have enough players with “onions”?

What's going on is that fans have insanely unrealistic expectations since Stewart and Jefferson left.

For example, last year UCONN loses a junior that was First team A/A the prior year. She shot 45% from 3. Do we think "she might've helped a little?" How many teams in the past 12 have had a 1st Team A/A leave early then go on the following year and win a championship the very next? In summary UCONN was about a number 5 team that prior year. They lose their two best players (Danger and Walker) in which one leaves unexpectedly early (Walker). and there is compaling going on why UCONN "only got to the FF" in 2021?

 

[hoophuskee]

More & more, I am coming to the belief that you don’t win championships in WBB without at least one supremely talented, powerful player in the post. WBB is still a game played below the rim. Being able to field a team with “some muscle” in the paint is critical.

Looking back over the last 8 WBB champions excluding Stewie, who we’ll call “lean” here is a list of physical post players on each championship team:

• 2013 - Steph, Kiah, Tuck
• 2014 - Steph, Kiah, Tuck
• 2015 - Kiah, Tuck
• 2016 - Tuck
• 2017 - Wilson, Coates
• 2018 - Shepard, Turner
• 2019 - Cox, Brown
• 2021 - Brink, Jerome, Bellibi

I continue to hope that some combination of Liv, Dorka, Aaliyah & Aubrey will give UConn that physical presence this season. If not, hopefully Ice & Ayanna will fit the bill.

Kiah "was dominant?"
SC won when Coates wasn't playing as much. SC essentially became "less dominant" in the post, yet more effective.
The 2017-2018 ND team didn't have Turner. They had Westbeld, Shepard and Nelson. They got "more dominant" the next year in the post and lost.

You think last year Stanford's posts "were dominant?" Their best two players were their pg and Jones.

IMO balance is best.

 

[Viet Vet]

This will likely engender polarized replies (frankly, by design). I have commented before on what I consider a lack of "toughness" on this, and several previous, squads. The definition of toughness is very much in the eye of the beholder. For purposes of this post, I am going to define it as combat veterans do; "who do you want next to you in a foxhole going to war?"

UConn has had number of very, very accomplished players, highly successful, whom I would categorize as, "silent assassins." These are players who go about their business in a highly effective manner, at the height of their peer group, without the moniker of "tough". I would include (granted, not a complete list) Rebecca, Stewie, Maya, Bird, Collier and Renee.

My "in a foxhole with me" list (again not complete) includes Rizzotti, Jamelle, Ralph, Taurasi and Tina.

We need more of the latter. While the aforementioned five represent my All-Star Toughness Team, it is, and probably always be, headed by my MVP..........................Jamelle.

The lists are incomplete. I invite comment.

 

[amishboy]

What's going on is that fans have insanely unrealistic expectations since Stewart and Jefferson left.

For example, last year UCONN loses a junior that was First team A/A the prior year. She shot 45% from 3. Do we think "she might've helped a little?" How many teams in the past 12 have had a 1st Team A/A leave early then go on the following year and win a championship the very next? In summary UCONN was about a number 5 team that prior year. They lose their two best players (Danger and Walker) in which one leaves unexpectedly early (Walker). and there is compaling going on why UCONN "only got to the FF" in 2021?

In 2019-20, the team had Walker, Dangerfield, Williams, and ONO. The next year, after Walker & Dangerfield left, we still had Williams, ONO, and Bueckers, the POY (as well as Westbrook). So expectations for more than “only got to the FF” were unrealistic? I disagree.

 

[Charliebball]

Absolutely true. And BTW, don’t sell
UConn’s phenomenal success short, beginning with the Tennessee rivalry and inspiring more press coverage as the reason why so many superior female athletes are playing hoops these days.

And look at yesterday, if Boston had chosen UConn, chances are nobody could touch us, Dorka probably isn’t on the team and Boston and Olivia would’ve made beating UConn inside pretty much impossible. She is that impactful especially if surrounded by other talent which her presence attracts. They are kind of like us 20 years ago but time will tell if they can sustain as we have. A lot of high level competition including us.

that would be a scary combo but I believe ONO signed after Boston didn't........there's a good chance she might have gone elsewhere if Boston chose UConn......