Azzi Benched?

[BBallF]

She deserved it, you can't have the best shot on the team and keep it to yourself. I anticipate against Iowa she's going to get loose.

I watched her facial expressions on the bench after she came out. She was not happy. I hope she channels that frustration into today's game. I think she will big time.

 

[eebmg]

I watched her facial expressions on the bench after she came out. She was not happy. I hope she channels that frustration into today's game. I think she will big time.

Master Manipulator at work.

 

[Sifaka]

So, I can't read lips. What did Azzi say?

OK, Coach, I'll try to distract your “assistant” so you can hear yourself think, but I'd really, really rather play basketball.

 

[sno-cat]

The BY really dumped on Kara’s coaching in another recent post. This one demonstrates that the BY thinks it is more knowledgeable than any coaches.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Azzi needs to create her own shot. Every team is going to guard her tight, if she only shots when she is wide open then UConn won’t get to where they want to get. Azzi needs to be a little selfish and look for shot a lot more than what she did against Duke.

This where Paige is much better than Azzi. Paige can get and make a shot in almost any situation. Azzi will learn this skill.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Are you really getting benched when you're a starter coming out with 5 minutes left in a 20 point blow out game?

 

[SVCBeercats]

The BY really dumped on Kara’s coaching in another recent post. This one demonstrates that the BY thinks it is more knowledgeable than any coaches.

True. But no BYer is arrogant relative to basketball.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Can you read lips.

The kid's a hot dog! Seriously she had her chance to eat and did not. Passed up a number of shots. She should have had 20 points. She missed a wide open layup, a mildly contested layup, and a short jumper <10 feet. All in the first quarter. Don't be selfish. With a 20 point lead let a teammate get some playing time.
It could have been worse. See Stewart and Tuck getting benched early in Q1 versus Memphis 2015. They each got about 5 minutes of playing time. But they were well rested for South Carolina - Tuck 17 pts and Stewart 22 pts and 5 blks).

 

[Inthepaint]

Paige's reaction is priceless

Am I the only one who remembers Geno busting Paige’s chops her freshman year for not shooting enough?
Seems like every game during the halftime interview there would be some snide remark about Paige being “ on strike”
And you could see him gesturing and yelling at every opportunity he had to take her aside.
He evidently could see what a talented and potentially great player he was dealing with.
He went to great lengths to push and harangue the effort and intelligence from her.
For her benefit & the team’s.
It worked out because Paige thrives on the trust and responsibility given to her.
Now, there’s no Paige for Geno to yell at.
Nika is there and is willing and able to deal with the lecturing and sarcasm, but Nika will learn and mature at her own pace if you give her lots of minutes.
Azzi ( like Caroline ) seems to be a still water that runs deep.
Subtle, but clear messaging might work better to pull the kind of performance we all know she’s capable of. Azzi has to be reminded from time to time to swagger a bit more and push the issue. In other words, keep shooting the d—-n ball until your arms hurt.
At least that SEEMS to be Geno’s theory.
I could be wrong.

 

[eebmg]

Am I the only one who remembers Geno busting Paige’s chops her freshman year for not shooting enough?
Seems like every game during the halftime interview there would be some snide remark about Paige being “ on strike”
And you could see him gesturing and yelling at every opportunity he had to take her aside.
He evidently could see what a talented and potentially great player he was dealing with.
He went to great lengths to push and harangue the effort and intelligence from her.
For her benefit & the team’s.
It worked out because Paige thrives on the trust and responsibility given to her.
Now, there’s no Paige for Geno to yell at.
Nika is there and is willing and able to deal with the lecturing and sarcasm, but Nika will learn and mature at her own pace if you give her lots of minutes.
Azzi ( like Caroline ) seems to be a still water that runs deep.
Subtle, but clear messaging might work better to pull the kind of performance we all know she’s capable of. Azzi has to be reminded from time to time to swagger a bit more and push the issue. In other words, keep shooting the d—-n ball until your arms hurt.
At least that SEEMS to be Geno’s theory.
I could be wrong.

Geno said she is a NPOY level player and he will coach her like that. If she does not play at that level when it counts the most, we will not win it all. Getting elite players to be mad at him is a time tested mechanism . I agree that Azzi's mindset is maybe a bit more complicated than Paige but this is just part of knowing which buttons he can push before the Tournament. But we also know that
he loosens the reigns heading into march and uses the positive reinforcement approach.

I am really anxious to see how Azzi plays in this elite player matchup. As I said elsewhere, this game can really be a huge step in the NPOY race.

 

[diggerfoot]

In looking at the tweet I see the tweeter uses it to reinforce his “coaching” through all inference and implication. When pressed he deflects with an admonishment to read her lips, rather than enlightening the well intentioned inquiry. That emulates a conspiracy tactic combined with a “Coach Jumper” feel.

I tried to fit the words offered in this thread to Fudd’s lips, but they did not seem to fit to me. Maybe “being benched” was concerning her, maybe not. I thought Fudd played great and was judicious in most of her plays. She tied for the most shots taken in the game at 13, tied with LLS, who had a higher shooting percentage for the game. And as @eebmg pointed out, she was aggressive before being taken out.

As for Auriemma’s similar chastising of Bueckers, she averaged more shots per game than any other Husky in history, except for M. Moore, at about 16 per game. The best run Husky offense are not predicated at getting one person a lot of shots, but taking what the defense gives you, no matter what Auriemma utters for public consumption. They ran their offense against Duke the way the best ones always have. While Fudd may have been upset about something, and may even be directed at coach, count me skeptical that she was “benched.”

Perhaps Fudd will also average 16 shots a game or more (I think Moore averaged something like 18). Taking 13 falls well within the range for maintaining such an average. I’m not worried, unlike “Coach Jumper” apparently is.

 

[Mdoggie]

The BY really dumped on Kara’s coaching in another recent post. This one demonstrates that the BY thinks it is more knowledgeable than any coaches.

Show me where?

 

[The deacon]

While the twitter link seems to have been disabled, you can still see it on the replay. I now see that Azzi is pretty pissed.


Here is the money shot. (see time stamp) If Coach P is to earn her money, she will be in Azzi's ear the full 36 hours getting her riled for Iowa. This is the game where Azzi can get a major foothold on NPOY discussion over Catlin. Just like Paige's SC game


It is interesting that in the play before she got taken out, she did aggressively go to the basket but was stuffed. She did look a bit tired and did not have the explosive lift. I think that is a factor as well


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If 'coach' Paige and Geno are doing their jobs right, the NPOY 'race, as you called it, will be the last thing Azzi should hear about it before today's game.

Geno wants Azzi to shoot more, which is understandable, but as has been mentioned elsewhere, Azzi still is not at the level that she can get a shot any time she has the ball, which is a level both Paige and Caitlin have come close to...

More important, the NPOY 'race' is Aliyah Boston's to lose, and she won't score anywhere near the points that either Caitlin or Azzi will score. They're three very different players. Comparing what Azzi and Caitlin do today on the court is a moot point.

Azzi will do what she needs to do to help the Huskies win, which is what they'll do. Caitlin, the superior playmaker, passer and rebounder to Azzi, will do what she can do help keep the Hawkeyes in the game, futile though that'll likely be.

Azzi might or might not outscore Caitlin today. If she does, a large part of that will be that she'll be playing against a much weaker defense. This is not a knock on Azzi, rather praise. She's a wonderful team player and the thought of outscoring Caitlin should not enter her mind. Similarly Caitlin, also a wonderful team player (in spite of her naysayers on the BY), will do what she can while getting defended by Aubrey, Nika and the rest of the Huskies. You might remember that Caitlin was the MVP of the 2020 US U-19 team that also featured Azzi, Diamond Johnson, Paopao, Betts, Citron, et al. She did so by leading the team in assists because she had lots of players to pass to... not so today.

I'm just looking forward to watching the Huskies do their thing, and also enjoying watching Caitlin 'spitting into the wind,' in a manner of speaking, against perhaps the best defensive players in the nation.

 

[Mdoggie]

I totally disagree. Azzi can get her shot anytime she has the ball.

 

[eebmg]

The biggest difference is Caitlin really likes to scrap it up inside and can have 10+ FT attempts. With Azzi an automatic FT shooter, I would love her number of FT's to increase but the UConn system (when working properly) is really not designed for that. What that means is that there is less margin for error for Azzi if her shooting stroke is off. With Caitlin, she is willing to go 1 v 3 and draw fouls when she is shooting poorly.

 

[The deacon]

I totally disagree. Azzi can get her shot anytime she has the ball.

We'll agree to disagree. Some day, perhaps.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Or it may just be that Geno wanted to give the subs more time to play. He's going to need the subs to be sharp and he's going to need Azzi for the final.

 

[BBallF]

Master Manipulator at work.

For sure. All eyes on her today.