Auriemma eyes dominant frontcourt in UConn’s quest for 12th title

[hayman522]

Dawn stymied UCONN High post. Geno, if you want to play your post on the perimeter go ahead. We will concede them and take away perimeter players.

exactly what happened SC did not guard Ono or Edwards in the high post and were able to coomand the boards. What UConn needs more than anything is a big who can score effectively so that you are not playing 3 against 5.

 

[Dognusty]

exactly what happened SC did not guard Ono or Edwards in the high post and were able to coomand the boards. What UConn needs more than anything is a big who can score effectively so that you are not playing 3 against 5.

Exactly what I said earlier. SC didn't respect that shot. They
Were able to face guard with Uconn guards and allow the bigs to float to cut off driving lanes. When UConn tried to screen the bigs showed hard enough to cancel that pullup. And allowed the guards to recover when they went over top of the screen. Paige made Cardoso pay a few times for not showing close enough to the action. If Uconn had an big that could pose an consistent scoring threat I think this game could have gone differently.

 

[Geesworld]

exactly what happened SC did not guard Ono or Edwards in the high post and were able to coomand the boards. What UConn needs more than anything is a big who can score effectively so that you are not playing 3 against 5.

When you sayv post scoring, you mean from the high post right?

 

[Longtime fan]

Actually no. The Aggies beat ND in the championship in 2011. Baylor was beaten by Louisville in a 2013 regional final.

Thanks. I knew someone unexpectedly beat Baylor.

 

[Longtime fan]

of course one big wild card is Griffin's health situation.............for me she was really needed last season and might have turned the tide in a couple of those losses with her hustle and defensive pressure............if she is healthy she adds a dimension that UConn sorely lacks......

It is hard to predict what Aubrey might do. I think it is possible someone advises her to not play any more. I only hope that, if she plays, she is so sturdy that she can live her life without any fear of back problems. Her strength is all in her speed , reflexes and jumping ability. Lot's of pressure on one's back in that game. But if she is 100%, and "basketball fit," she is an asset no doubt. How Geno uses her will be left to his brilliance.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

I'm not sure what you mean by your 1st few sentences but I think you mean because I say she is a 4 it means that I'm suggesting that Geno can't or shouldn't have her ever take any outside shots? If that is your point, that wouldn't be the case. Look at history, Geno has always let his talented 4's the opportunity to shoot from the outside. He even said many years ago that he would have let Griner an opportunity to shoot more from the outside and she was a dominant 5.And if you are suggesting her growth would be stunted as a freshmen playing the 4, I don’t get that either but I'm not sure you are suggesting that. Anyhow, imo Patterson has to learn to punish players in the paint.

And I don't understand your Maya point at all. Maya was a gifted 3 point shooter. So with her athleticism combined with her super jumper, I don't understand your comparison.

In regards to Patterson's outside game, on ESPN where did you see she has a 3 point game? And with your after all comment, sure in high school she could show she has a mid-range shot but taking that shot more than a couple of times in a big tight close game with defenders near your size is a lot different than High School. Over the years don’t we hear how H/S is different than college? SO in frosh year it is possible that her mid-range won't be so hot, right?

And finally, while freshmen wings have assaulted faster at UCONN, so have players like Edwards and Griffin and I believe Patterson can be. The two aforementioned were able to compete vs 4's right away which I have no doubt Patterson will. In regards to your point of plenty of opportunities to rebound, I'm not sure what that means. When UCONN is playing against the top tier teams, she'll have "plenty more opportunities" to utilize her strength if she is at the 4 than the 3. And in terms of cohesion and chemistry, you'd want her getting acclimated to the PF spot as much as possible.

If you are right, great. If she has that shot then she can be awesome. But I remember people calling Edwards a wing. Matter of fact I think the husky website initially had Edwards listed as a g/f. At least initially, no way offensively she was a wing.

I agree with all your points on defense but I'm talking offense.

Briefly:

Every fan knows this narrative: positionless basketball players desired at UConn, meaning they can play at least two of the traditional position designations. So, part of the development process is to determine their potential to do so before arrival at UConn, if possible, and be constantly on the alert to it in order to help them become versatile and interchangeable to some degree.

I thought of Maya as the best example of that versatile player at UConn, therefore cited her as reference. Came in noted in one position, ended up capable of playing three but mostly played two. The beauty of it was that she could shift from one to the other depending on the flow of the game and after a while, didn’t need to be told by the Coach: she just read the situation. She was the one that first came to mind but the whole starting five of the 2001-2002 team had players who were highly capable in at least two positions, DT and Swin probably three in the pinch for a 3rd one.

UConn next year basically have one player most suitable for wing: Caroline. She is also part of the guard rotation. Aside from using Azzi in an emergency to play there, UConn doesn’t have anyone else with a minute’s worth of experience playing there. As creative as the coaching staff (see Gabby in her junior year) two players on the current roster are possibles for developing there: Ayanna and Aubrey. Both are athletic, so if they perform, then the potential for that position greatly improves, enhancing the resources for favorable matchups against bigger teams. Aubrey’s history is not encouraging but she is still on the roster so Coach will have to try to find somewhere she can be useful.

Ayanna? You have 4 others who are going to be developed to rotate in manning the prime two positions for bigs. Ayanna can be the 5th there, no doubt. However she also presents an intriguing prospect to help improve the athleticism and size in the wing…..the kind of wing I remember Swin showed (rotated in the post according to the flow of and player movements in the game with the two other front court players)….thus help shore up that position, especially if Aubrey doesn’t contribute enough. It has nothing to do with the scouting reports which keeps saying Ayanna is a wing.

Having seen video highlights (which naturally can mislead), I agree with the scouting reports that say she is improving her range. She definitely is NOT a poor shooter (whatever you might have meant by that). Sure, the highlights shown on YouTube are mostly post scoring but there are enough instances that show mid-range and 3-pt shooting. The stroke is quite good, smooth and consistent. With diligent work she should be able to improve her accuracy. And, if the scouting reports are right that she can defend against anybody, then all the better. It would then be possible to have a team with size up front to play against the big teams out there when matchups are needed, even as it is possible to go small with 3 or 4 guards with 2 or 1 big and be effective.

Back to work now…..good bye.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

It is perhaps the best trait of a Huskies fan to be fiercely loyal to our entire roster, but in assessing the capabilities of that roster we should be objective. Whether we are or not Geno is. The last time Geno talked about Aubrey he said she was still trying to find her place/places on the court. Maybe a track star, but to date a very limited basketball player who stalls the offense when she is out there. Hanging near the rim and pulling down rebounds is not enough. Sinking the occasional/flukey 12 footer isn't enough either. If I get mud on my face this coming season I will be delighted, but no one should be penciling Aubrey into a role she has not demonstrated she can fill.

She is on the roster, Coach needs find a way to make her useful.....never mind his needles. He will try to make her feel useful while playing.....that we know. It is a reach for her to develop into a guard, so wing is a possibility. If it doesn't work, it doesn't. She won't be the first one.

 

[bertieboy]

I have looked at maybe half the kids in the portal. I don't see a quality big that would help us. Maybe she is in the other half. Do you know of one?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Again you are grossly misusing the data to present a false narrative. The 25 board game was without Dorka and a hurt Liv. So it wasn't just Dorka as you are trying to represent.

And you can watch the 1st game again; its available on youtube. What was the bandage on Dorka's hand there for is she wasn't hurt?

There is no false narrative. The truth is UConn, even at full strength was an okay rebounding team at best while SC is one of the best rebounding teams ever.

Dorka was a loss but averaged 5.7 boards a game in 19+ minutes. Good rate, but she doesn't play enough minutes to nullify SC's advantage.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

She is on the roster, Coach needs find a way to make her useful.....never mind his needles. He will try to make her feel useful while playing.....that we know. It is a reach for her to develop into a guard, so wing is a possibility. If it doesn't work, it doesn't. She won't be the first one.

To date she has not demonstrated a wing's skill set, but you are right, I suspect that is where she'll have the best shot.

 

[hoophuskee]

Briefly:

Every fan knows this narrative: positionless basketball players desired at UConn, meaning they can play at least two of the traditional position designations. So, part of the development process is to determine their potential to do so before arrival at UConn, if possible, and be constantly on the alert to it in order to help them become versatile and interchangeable to some degree.

I thought of Maya as the best example of that versatile player at UConn, therefore cited her as reference. Came in noted in one position, ended up capable of playing three but mostly played two. The beauty of it was that she could shift from one to the other depending on the flow of the game and after a while, didn’t need to be told by the Coach: she just read the situation. She was the one that first came to mind but the whole starting five of the 2001-2002 team had players who were highly capable in at least two positions, DT and Swin probably three in the pinch for a 3rd one.

UConn next year basically have one player most suitable for wing: Caroline. She is also part of the guard rotation. Aside from using Azzi in an emergency to play there, UConn doesn’t have anyone else with a minute’s worth of experience playing there. As creative as the coaching staff (see Gabby in her junior year) two players on the current roster are possibles for developing there: Ayanna and Aubrey. Both are athletic, so if they perform, then the potential for that position greatly improves, enhancing the resources for favorable matchups against bigger teams. Aubrey’s history is not encouraging but she is still on the roster so Coach will have to try to find somewhere she can be useful.

Ayanna? You have 4 others who are going to be developed to rotate in manning the prime two positions for bigs. Ayanna can be the 5th there, no doubt. However she also presents an intriguing prospect to help improve the athleticism and size in the wing…..the kind of wing I remember Swin showed (rotated in the post according to the flow of and player movements in the game with the two other front court players)….thus help shore up that position, especially if Aubrey doesn’t contribute enough. It has nothing to do with the scouting reports which keeps saying Ayanna is a wing.

Having seen video highlights (which naturally can mislead), I agree with the scouting reports that say she is improving her range. She definitely is NOT a poor shooter (whatever you might have meant by that). Sure, the highlights shown on YouTube are mostly post scoring but there are enough instances that show mid-range and 3-pt shooting. The stroke is quite good, smooth and consistent. With diligent work she should be able to improve her accuracy. And, if the scouting reports are right that she can defend against anybody, then all the better. It would then be possible to have a team with size up front to play against the big teams out there when matchups are needed, even as it is possible to go small with 3 or 4 guards with 2 or 1 big and be effective.

Back to work now…..good bye.

Positionless basketball means positionless basketball. You’ve then identified a player needs to play at least two positions and call that positionless? IMO that is not positionless. So, is Nika also a SG in your 2 position definition of positionless? Azzi is sf or pg other than a sg? The point is- Nika is a pg. Azzi is a sg. They might incidentally play different positions which Patterson could too- but overall they are not positionless. Their best position is not multi-positions; it is one specific position.

As far as Maya She was not considered only 1 position. For any recruiting service that couldn’t understand that, then shame on them.

And using your “As we know” – so “As we know” -- Geno has said many times that he wants his players, especially freshmen, to do what they do best. What Patterson does best offensively is rebound and score in the paint. And she is arguably the 2nd worst shooter on the team. So why would the 2nd worst shooter on the team but arguably the 2nd best offensive rebounder and probably one of the better inside scorers be put on the outside for anything other than a few spot blowout minute time just to mix things up? To further that, the games I saw- she is the team’s low post player. So, if you put her out on the wing offensively, it’s like a different world to her. Even something fundamental/ simple like making a low post pass in the wing is much different than a high post pass. You can give her that in blowouts but you want her as fine-tuned as much as possible playing to her strength, which is inside where she can better cause havoc.

And how many freshmen come in an are noted as shooters as freshmen and that their 1st year they struggle a lot? So all I read was that she had a mid-range game, which means-- not a 3 point range game. So she will have no trouble as a mid-range shooter while excellent freshmen 3 point shooters struggle?

And as for the wing/ small forward, UCONN has more than just one player on the wing; they have Paige along with CD. UCONN is not playing "SC" every game. And when Nika comes in do you really think that that automatically means Paige or Azzi gets pulled? If so, can you explain the start of the 2nd quarter vs Indiana he had the three together? But more importantly vs Stanford, they played together. So one of these 3 had to be guarding Haley Jones. And Stanford is the next scary thing next to SC. So, if this lineup can guard the All-American Haley Jones in such a pressure-cooker FF game, why can’t they guard nearly every other team not named "SC" with Paige on the wing for limited minutes? She is going to get stronger, right?

What I’d like to also include is that the opposing team’s small forward is not “Breanna Stewart.” She is a college player. Not a pro. That's the player UCONN will be defending against- a college kid.

 

[hoophuskee]

There is no false narrative. The truth is UConn, even at full strength was an okay rebounding team at best while SC is one of the best rebounding teams ever.

Dorka was a loss but averaged 5.7 boards a game in 19+ minutes. Good rate, but she doesn't play enough minutes to nullify SC's advantage.

It is a false narrative. You can't just ignore they were hurt. And you are using stats of 5.7 as if it is some hard number as if Dorka was only going to see 19.8 minutes in a game like this? Geno put in DeBerry for God's sakes!

And look at last year- Geno used Liv, Edwards, and Griffin at the same time against them for a short time but this UCONN frontline was better than last year, wasn’t it? C'mon-- you can't be throwing this 5.7 rebound stuff and pretend it has an iota of meaning.

But okay- if you want to pretend – then let’s dive more into the weeds: If you are using averages then why not assume first off that Dorka would have played more than the 19.8 minutes (she averaged during the season), which means more rebounds for her than the 5.7, right? In addition, why not assume that Liv would have gotten more minutes than the 23 (which was less than her season average by the way) because there was a less of a chance that she would have been in foul trouble as early as she was, right? And why not assume that her injury also contributed to not as many rebounds and possibly more fouls? If you disregarded her injury, which it seems you are, because you make no mention of it, you might as well say any injury should never affect any player. Is that what you’re saying? Or are we only hard on UCONN?

And why not assume as they did vs SC last year that they might have done the same this year by playing Liv, AE, and Dorka together for a time? Heck, he was desperate enough to put in DeBerry, so he wouldn’t have used Dorka and Liv more in this game that demanded size and rebounding? And if you agree with any of these things then you also have to assume that some of the defensive rebounds they get and maybe even a few ORebs (granted it wouldn't be much ORebs) are numbers that you have to take away from the SC stat sheet that you are currently quoting while adding the number to the UCONN totals, right?

Yet you've just decided to exclude every bit of the bold above and just look at the 5.7 rebounds? And you are trying to say you aren't pushing a false narrative? So, you seem to be suggesting that injuries don’t count if true? . Size doesn’t count? Experience doesn’t count? And the coach (despite being desperate enough to bring in DeBerry, and last year use his 3 bigs for a time vs SC) would have sit idly by watching his team get destroyed on the glass despite the combined factors of experience and size would’ve helped while being hampered by injury??? If you disregard all this, how can you possibly suggest any stat you are using isn’t creating a false narrative?

 

[Littlemin]

All this concern about Boston and SC. Neither Mizzou nor Kentucky had a front line as good as UConn's and they both beat SC. Some coaching strategy needs to figure in there somewhere. Focusing so much on how to beat SC. There are other teams out there that has the talent to beat UConn. SC has stopped UConn's offense the last three times they played against each other. Something in that offense needs to be changed when they play SC. What adjustments have been made in three seasons? SC does to UConn what UConn used to do to them. Stanford beat SC last season and their frontline is not as big and their guards are not as quick.

Good point but those other teams had smaller players willing to mix it up and battle SC; Uconn did not. One, I repeat one, defensive rebound between Edwards and Ono in 61 minutes of play is just utterly ridiculous; Bueckers got 6 by herself in 39, and Muhl and Westbrook combined for 6 in 35 minutes. SC got more offensive rebounds than Uconn got defensive which is rare to say the least in a game between 2 teams seemingly relatively equal in talent.
I don’t generally deal with “what ifs”, if you win, you win, if you lose you lose, but It took a tremendous performance by Bueckers completely taking over against NC State to win that game and one could argue uncharacteristically poor shooting cost Stanford that game so Uconn could have easily list either of those games; obviously they did not, but maybe Uconn was going into the NC game with a little “fools gold” mind set they could compete with SC because the reality is they could not.
And excuses of being sick and playing hurt don’t cut it for me, if you play, you play; if it affects your performance to the point of being the game deciding difference maker, a player should not be on the court. Old school……….

 

[freshler40]

Good point but those other teams had smaller players willing to mix it up and battle SC; Uconn did not. One, I repeat one, defensive rebound between Edwards and Ono in 61 minutes of play is just utterly ridiculous; Bueckers got 6 by herself in 39, and Muhl and Westbrook combined for 6 in 35 minutes. SC got more offensive rebounds than Uconn got defensive which is rare to say the least in a game between 2 teams seemingly relatively equal in talent.
I don’t generally deal with “what ifs”, if you win, you win, if you lose you lose, but It took a tremendous performance by Bueckers completely taking over against NC State to win that game and one could argue uncharacteristically poor shooting cost Stanford that game so Uconn could have easily list either of those games; obviously they did not, but maybe Uconn was going into the NC game with a little “fools gold” mind set they could compete with SC because the reality is they could not.
And excuses of being sick and playing hurt don’t cut it for me, if you play, you play; if it affects your performance to the point of being the game deciding difference maker, a player should not be on the court. Old school……….

In the SC game we were a step slow at every position. Just standing in one place under the boards would have brought you more rebounds than we collected. Hustle. Both teams played on a short turn a round. The two tough earlier games drained our tank.

In any case, it was amazing, that given placement of our top draft players in this weeks draft, we consistently got to the final four. Does this show how great our other players are and the coaching by Geno and his team? We didn't have one first round choice. I'd be interested in how our other boneyarders comment on this disparity. Are the current college players just that and a gap is being developed for WNBA type players??

 

[CocoHusky]

In the SC game we were a step slow at every position. Just standing in one place under the boards would have brought you more rebounds than we collected. Hustle. Both teams played on a short turn a round. The two tough earlier games drained our tank.
In any case, it was amazing, that given placement of our top draft players in this weeks draft, we consistently got to the final four. Does this show how great our other players are and the coaching by Geno and his team? We didn't have one first round choice. I'd be interested in how our other boneyarders comment on this disparity. Are the current college players just that and a gap is being developed for WNBA type players??

Hopefully this is an anomaly but it is a reality that the program must come to grips with and reverse the trend. In the 2020 WNBA draft Megan Walker was the 9th player selected notably behind Herbert Harrigan of SC and Bella Allarie of Princeton. In 2022 WNBA draft and for the first time in a very long time UCONN had not only one but an entire class of highly ranked HS players prospects (CW, Evina, and ONO) fail to develop and improve in their time as UCONN players. It is staggering that there were 5 centers (Austin, Sabally, Egbo, Cunanane, & Cubaj) picked ahead of Olivia. Even more staggering that there were 7 (Howard, Hull, Burton, Burrell, Bell, Clouden, & Pointer) guards picked ahead of Christyn Williams and Evina. Keep in mind that these are "professional" basketball GMs making these decisions not a college coach deciding to hand out a scholarship or the BY sticking up for their favorite UCONN players. I also suspect these "failures to develop" will be used against UCONN in current and future recruiting battles.
@Jingo you tracking any of this? Whatever happened to "Liv being a lock for the WNBA lottery" and who becomes your least favorite player now that CW is moving on?

 

[pvdoggy]

Hopefully this is an anomaly but it is a reality that the program must come to grips with and reverse the trend. In the 2020 WNBA draft Megan Walker was the 9th player selected notably behind Herbert Harrigan of SC and Bella Allarie of Princeton. In 2022 WNBA draft and for the first time in a very long time UCONN had not only one but an entire class of highly ranked HS players prospects (CW, Evina, and ONO) fail to develop and improve in their time as UCONN players. It is staggering that there were 5 centers (Austin, Sabally, Egbo, Cunanane, & Cubaj) picked ahead of Olivia. Even more staggering that there were 7 (Howard, Hull, Burton, Burrell, Bell, Clouden, & Pointer) guards picked ahead of Christyn Williams and Evina. Keep in mind that these are "professional" basketball GMs making these decisions not a college coach deciding to hand out a scholarship or the BY sticking up for their favorite UCONN players. I also suspect these "failures to develop" will be used against UCONN in current and future recruiting battles.
@Jingo you tracking any of this? Whatever happened to "Liv being a lock for the WNBA lottery" and who becomes your least favorite player now that CW is moving on?

I wonder looking at this WNBA draft result how the players (ONO, CW, E) and their teammates felt, whether they underperform, whether the program did not fully develop them, or whether they are what they are and we had higher expectations of them than what they were. Either way, I agree that for a program that the fan base talks about being the place to go to get to the WNBA, this was a wake-up call. Of course, we all know that "professional" GMs are not beyond making dumb picks (I can't imagine that CW is worse than all 7 of those guards picked in front of her), but I still feel a bit sad for all 3 players. Does anyone remember what E said when she came to Uconn? One of her goals is to be the #1 pick of the WNBA. While that may have been a stretch but to fall that far down the draft has to hurt.

 

[oldude]

W

I wonder looking at this WNBA draft result how the players (ONO, CW, E) and their teammates felt, whether they underperform, whether the program did not fully develop them, or whether they are what they are and we had higher expectations of them than what they were. Either way, I agree that for a program that the fan base talks about being the place to go to get to the WNBA, this was a wake-up call. Of course, we all know that "professional" GMs are not beyond making dumb picks (I can't imagine that CW is worse than all 7 of those guards picked in front of her), but I still feel a bit sad for all 3 players. Does anyone remember what E said when she came to Uconn? One of her goals is to be the #1 pick of the WNBA. While that may have been a stretch but to fall that far down the draft has to hurt.

While I recognize that UConn has set an unmatched standard for players being drafted and succeeding in the W, UConn’s 3 seniors were among the top 21 players selected. Only three other college teams had more than one player drafted: Baylor (3), Louisville (2) & NC St (2).

Beyond that, I certainly don’t feel sad for Christyn, Liv & Evina. They have been exceptionally well prepared by Geno and his staff. If they work hard (A given) they all have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of playing in the W.

 

[Jletoile]

Exactly what I said earlier. SC didn't respect that shot. They
Were able to face guard with Uconn guards and allow the bigs to float to cut off driving lanes. When UConn tried to screen the bigs showed hard enough to cancel that pullup. And allowed the guards to recover when they went over top of the screen. Paige made Cardoso pay a few times for not showing close enough to the action. If Uconn had an big that could pose an consistent scoring threat I think this game could have gone differently.

I believe the last four years could have gone differently.

 

[pvdoggy]

W

While I recognize that UConn has set an unmatched standard for players being drafted and succeeding in the W, UConn’s 3 seniors were among the top 21 players selected. Only two other college teams had more than one player drafted: Baylor (3) & Louisville (2).

Beyond that, I certainly don’t feel sad for Christyn, Liv & Evina. They have been exceptionally well prepared by Geno and his staff. If they work hard (A given) they all have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of playing in the W.

The chance of lower picks making it in the WNBA is not very high and ince you are the wise old panda, you are probably right, but when people set goals that they clearly did not even come close to achieving, I do feel a little sad/disappointed for them, not in them. Whatever the reasons are, I have no clue.

 

[oldude]

The chance of lower picks making it in the WNBA is not very high and ince you are the wise old panda, you are probably right, but when people set goals that they clearly did not even come close to achieving, I do feel a little sad/disappointed for them, not in them. Whatever the reasons are, I have no clue.

I don’t know how many current WNBA players were drafted in the 2nd round or later, but I strongly suspect it’s several. Saniya Chong was drafted in the 3rd round, managed to play 2 years in the W and has a nice career overseas.

One thing that any WNBA GM will tell you is that draft choices from UConn are “pro-ready” as rookies. It will be interesting to see how UConn’s trio of rookies does. Hoping that all of them find a home in the W.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I think the fan expectation is that a big will come out of the portal. I haven't seen any candidates yet. I'm also thinking that Amari is a lot more than what we saw at the end of games. Something needs to happen and it will be interesting to see what that might be.

 

[hoophuskee]

Good point but those other teams had smaller players willing to mix it up and battle SC; Uconn did not. One, I repeat one, defensive rebound between Edwards and Ono in 61 minutes of play is just utterly ridiculous; Bueckers got 6 by herself in 39, and Muhl and Westbrook combined for 6 in 35 minutes. SC got more offensive rebounds than Uconn got defensive which is rare to say the least in a game between 2 teams seemingly relatively equal in talent.
I don’t generally deal with “what ifs”, if you win, you win, if you lose you lose, but It took a tremendous performance by Bueckers completely taking over against NC State to win that game and one could argue uncharacteristically poor shooting cost Stanford that game so Uconn could have easily list either of those games; obviously they did not, but maybe Uconn was going into the NC game with a little “fools gold” mind set they could compete with SC because the reality is they could not.
And excuses of being sick and playing hurt don’t cut it for me, if you play, you play; if it affects your performance to the point of being the game deciding difference maker, a player should not be on the court. Old school……….

Yet you are making excuses for NC State and Stanford.

 

[hoophuskee]

In the SC game we were a step slow at every position. Just standing in one place under the boards would have brought you more rebounds than we collected. Hustle. Both teams played on a short turn a round. The two tough earlier games drained our tank.

In any case, it was amazing, that given placement of our top draft players in this weeks draft, we consistently got to the final four. Does this show how great our other players are and the coaching by Geno and his team? We didn't have one first round choice. I'd be interested in how our other boneyarders comment on this disparity. Are the current college players just that and a gap is being developed for WNBA type players??

It happens. Just because a player puts on a UCONN uniform they aren't assured of being super. It's why all the past talk of bashing Geno's style or the players playing without heart etc - it was well-overstated /. well-over-exaggerated.

For example the last All_American, Walker, she left after her junior year. Probably would have been chosen higher in WNBA Draft than what she was in the WNBA draft as a junior if she stayed. Probably teaming up with Paige would have made UCONN a champion (possibly I say- not saying for sure.). But with all that said, where would you put Walker vs every other 1st team All-American that UCONN has had previously? Where would you rank her? I'd rank her last vs all the other 1st teamers. And yet she has been the best player (and only All-American) after Collier and KLS and before Paige. And it's not like her soph year was that great. That doesn't make you dominant- that's for sure.

Add in that now transfers are allowed in the manner they are. And at leats for now teams get an extra year for some terrific players (while UCONN lost Walker), you are not gong to be as dominant.

 

[Littlemin]

Yet you are making excuses for NC State and Stanford.

No, I’m not, Uconn won those games fair and square.
The point I was trying to make, that obviously, at least for you and probably more people, I did not explain very well is that the Uconn / NC State and Stanford games were tight competitive games that certainly could have gone either way. Not so the SC game. IMO, Uconn was not competitive, there was no time after the 1st qtr blitz did I think Uconn had a legitimate chance to win; obviously others may disagree.

 

[Littlemin]

View attachment 75505 Uconn has all the necessary talent to win the n.c. next year. They just need to play with a little fire in their eyes and be commited.

Wasn’t that what they insisted they learned from the Arizona game?