Battle 4 Atlantis Final on ESPN2

[Carnac]

According to both schools' websites, the game is at 5 PM. On ESPN as you say.

Whenever I list a time for a game, I always state the ET time. That way everyone can figure out what time the game starts in their particular region. Usually times listed by a school is the local time in their region/state.

Sometimes I see games listed on ESPN that have already adjusted the time to my PT location. I always remember that we have folks from all 4 time regions here in the yard. Thanks for the correction. Wouldn’t want anyone to tune in late.

 

[CL82]

Let's not diminish bigs, shall we? Why do you think UConn hasn't won the NC these past six years, despite being in the FF all the time? How many of UConn's championships did not involve a top quality big or two or three? Diana's last two (they had bigs but not the best ones to come to UConn)?

Nor dismiss them. How quickly you forget that as twin towers, Lobo and Walters won an NC for UConn, Stef and Breanna did the same.....Breanna with Kiah, too. The Stanford team of Ogwumikes have beaten UConn and Candace Parker and her UT team did the same, to name just a few. So, too has Baylor with Griner with any smaller big with her, in fact, that team made Stef, later Breanna look entirely amateurish in their freshman years. When twin bigs can play well together, they can be a fearsome lot but it really depends on the pair and their guards to be successful. Otherwise, one very good big at a time is enough.

After Breanna left, Wilson and Coates were unfortunate to run into the big who outplayed them badly despite being half a foot shorter - Gabby Williams, so they continued to lose to UConn. But by the end of 2017 season, who won the championship? Wilson and company!

So much for bigs, indeed!

But Gabby Williams is a little big so is she a bigger a little?

 

[Heytherego]

it really amazes me the narrative of what Cardoso has become. I remember when she was rumored to be in Uconn's interest after the transfer and nothing but positives. Now it's "well she didn't do well in the Ncaa game" "I would rather have Dorka". Let me be clear on saying that in no stratosphere is Dorka better than Cardoso. Cardoso is one hell of an athlete and dominant player. The fact that not only she went to another school not named Uconn, but to SC with Boston? gonna be a lot of problems

I have to agree. I don’t think people are as nervous about SC with the addition of Cardoso as they should be. They’re going to be tough. Cardoso has a really high ceiling and I think she has the ability to be the most talented big in college, I can only hope (as a UCONN fan) she waits until after Boston graduates to reach her potential.

 

[Hayven]

SC will be tough. Their bigs are better than UConns. Point, blank, period. Luckily their guards can’t grasp that and often forget about the bigs. Of the two possible matchups this season, I think they will split the games, with the tie breaker coming in April.

 

[visitingcock]

. . . Of the two possible matchups this season, I think they will split the games, with the tie breaker coming in April.

That would be the best outcome for women’s basketball - with one of them beating Stanford in the semi. Hope a Cinderella is the 4th

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

But Gabby Williams is a little big so is she a bigger a little?

She jumps higher than most bigs!

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Without getting in the weeds, your closing point makes no sense. SC didn't win the NC by beating UConn. In fact the Huskies beat the Gamecockies on SC's home floor by double digits that season. It's impossible to predict who might have won had UConn faced SC in the NC, but at that point the Huskies had never been beaten by SC and had never lost a championship game. Odds are?
Now, seriously, for what big anywhere would you trade PB?

RE: your last sentence. Are you suggesting that BB is an individual sport? To win championships, you need balance among guards, wings and post with sufficient bench depth. Recent UConn WBB history and immediate post DT years tell you that. I know you know it is a team sport and you are simply besotted by PB but she alone without a balanced team won't win you championships. The four straight NCs with Stewie show that: balance!

Do you really want to make a choice between Stewie and Paige to win an NC? PB is already down one because of lack of balance and depth (and team experience).

This year, they do......so let's see how well PB & Co. will do.

 

[Kurebeach50]

Not too sure Cardoso will be able to run the floor like the Husky’s bigs, or team for that matter.
IMHO, superior guard play, talented, active front line with little drop of among them is the recipe for UCONN.

Guard play rules every level of basketball from HS to the (W)NBA.

 

[Kurebeach50]

UConn did not win against Mississippi State because of two trees: McGowan (6'7") and Okorie (6'5") and front court players no shorter than 6'1". Even guard Vivians is 6'1" The irony is it was the shortest player of their team that took the last shot to beat UConn. But it was the bigs that gave UConn the most trouble scoring, despite the heroics of one Gabby Williams.

My point simply was and still is the use to bigs: whether 1 or 2 in the front court. It has worked for UConn and has worked against UConn.

As to South Carolina not beating UConn for the 2017 NC, Their bigs got them to the title game AND their size matched Miss State's size that beat UConn to win the title. Do you still insist on "so much for bigs?"

You can win without bigs, you can’t win without guards.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

You can win without bigs, you can’t win without guards.

What does that even mean? A BB team without guards or bigs? You think a team of 5 guards has a gamblers chance to win an NC? Very long odds indeed.....maybe if they were all 6' to 6'2" athletic guards....but that would make them all borderline bigs.

Not even the Wooden UCLA teams of Hazzard and Goodrich were all guards. And DT's last 2 NCs had bigs, though not the best to play at UConn, still bigs to rebound and defend.

OK, I'll pick the guards from among the teams in recent drought for UConn, then I might agree with you: Gabby Williams came in as a guard, Katie Lou Samuelson was also a guard coming in, Christyn Williams, Kia Nurse, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Evina Westbrook, Nika Muhl and Saylor Poffenberger. Gabby would have to play the post as in her junior and senior years and the two PGs can play 1, 2 but all the rest can be rotated at 2, 3, 4. All after their sophomore years.....Oh, Megan Walker played guard in HS, too....and, of course, there was Crystal.

If that's who I can have, then I agree that there's a gambler's chance to win the NC in the past six years, against anybody. This team can full-court press, they can pass, they can play positionless (unless Crystal is part of the team) and they have at least two lockdown wing defenders. They play in waves to stay fresh while running the other team ragged.

 

[Stymie]

You can win without bigs, you can’t win without guards.F

Have had plenty of guards.
Haven’t won it since before Azure’ bolted early.
That was the shiv.
Coulda shoulda woulda...
JMHO

 

[huskyd]

RE: your last sentence. Are you suggesting that BB is an individual sport? To win championships, you need balance among guards, wings and post with sufficient bench depth. Recent UConn WBB history and immediate post DT years tell you that. I know you know it is a team sport and you are simply besotted by PB but she alone without a balanced team won't win you championships. The four straight NCs with Stewie show that: balance!

Do you really want to make a choice between Stewie and Paige to win an NC? PB is already down one because of lack of balance and depth (and team experience).

This year, they do......so let's see how well PB & Co. will do.

Of course I meant NOW. I would never compare Paige to Stewie or to any historically excellent big. There is only one Breanna Stewart.
So my question is: For whom would you trade Beuckers at this time?

 

[hoophuskee]

You can win without bigs, you can’t win without guards.

We need "enough" of both. Need some type of balance.

 

[TeamFirst!]

South Carolina beat NC state recently by 9: Cooke, No. 1 South Carolina women beat No. 5 NC State 66-57 - University of South Carolina Athletics

 

[Kurebeach50]

What does that even mean? A BB team without guards or bigs? You think a team of 5 guards has a gamblers chance to win an NC? Very long odds indeed.....maybe if they were all 6' to 6'2" athletic guards....but that would make them all borderline bigs.

Not even the Wooden UCLA teams of Hazzard and Goodrich were all guards. And DT's last 2 NCs had bigs, though not the best to play at UConn, still bigs to rebound and defend.

OK, I'll pick the guards from among the teams in recent drought for UConn, then I might agree with you: Gabby Williams came in as a guard, Katie Lou Samuelson was also a guard coming in, Christyn Williams, Kia Nurse, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Evina Westbrook, Nika Muhl and Saylor Poffenberger. Gabby would have to play the post as in her junior and senior years and the two PGs can play 1, 2 but all the rest can be rotated at 2, 3, 4. All after their sophomore years.....Oh, Megan Walker played guard in HS, too....and, of course, there was Crystal.

If that's who I can have, then I agree that there's a gambler's chance to win the NC in the past six years, against anybody. This team can full-court press, they can pass, they can play positionless (unless Crystal is part of the team) and they have at least two lockdown wing defenders. They play in waves to stay fresh while running the other team ragged.

What this means is a team of five guards (pick any five) has a MUCH better chance to win (a game or national championship) than a team of five posts !! Ball handling and quickness are what wins in the game of basketball, NOT size. Of course BOTH are nice but as I said in the post you couldn’t understand, you CAN win with all guards, you can NOT win with all posts. P.S. - UCLA’s ‘64 team did not have any size - Keith Ericson was a 6’4 volleyball player who was the Gabby Williams of his day. Per my post, five Keith Ericsons would not have won it all.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

What this means is a team of five guards (pick any five) has a MUCH better chance to win (a game or national championship) than a team of five posts !! Ball handling and quickness are what wins in the game of basketball, NOT size. Of course BOTH are nice but as I said in the post you couldn’t understand, you CAN win with all guards, you can NOT win with all posts. P.S. - UCLA’s ‘64 team did not have any size - Keith Ericson was a 6’4 volleyball player who was the Gabby Williams of his day. Per my post, five Keith Ericsons would not have won it all.

I assure you however, that there is NO coach on Mother Earth who would construct a team without a balance between guards and bigs. It has never happened and it certainly won't in the foreseeable future. It doesn't even happen in the playground. Certainly, not 5 players with none who can handle the ball. There are, however, bigs who did handle the ball exceptionally well: Magic Johnson, Ben Simmons, Luka Doncic (big body), all of whom would qualify as bigs (even if the last one is only 6'7" - Draymond Green is considered a big at 6'6")

However, though he could handle the ball you put a cap possibilities from those UCLA teams by choosing Keith Ericson as the model for the 5 bigs from that team.

In Magic Johnson's playing days, there was a lot of conversation about what would constitute an ideal team and many proposed a team of 6'9" players like him and there were two of them in that team: James Worthy was the other one.

I would even go with 5 of Luka Doncic - he can play any position, just as Magic Johnson did.

You need to define you big and your guard.......for the women, too.

Actually, it is possible to construct a team of 5 bigs for the women if we define bigs as someone 6 ft or taller. I would start with Stewie, Candace Parker and Katie Lou Samuelson - all three can handle the ball.....then there are a lot of excellent ballhandling and playing-making wings between 6" to 6'2" to round out the team. I assure you that team would win the UC.

I think we have come to the end of this conversation and your assertion has been put in doubt with players who qualify either as a big or a guard.

 

[Kurebeach50]

I assure you however, that there is NO coach on Mother Earth who would construct a team without a balance between guards and bigs. It has never happened and it certainly won't in the foreseeable future. It doesn't even happen in the playground. Certainly, not 5 players with none who can handle the ball. There are, however, bigs who did handle the ball exceptionally well: Magic Johnson, Ben Simmons, Luka Doncic (big body), all of whom would qualify as bigs (even if the last one is only 6'7" - Draymond Green is considered a big at 6'6")

However, though he could handle the ball you put a cap possibilities from those UCLA teams by choosing Keith Ericson as the model for the 5 bigs from that team.

In Magic Johnson's playing days, there was a lot of conversation about what would constitute an ideal team and many proposed a team of 6'9" players like him and there were two of them in that team: James Worthy was the other one.

I would even go with 5 of Luka Doncic - he can play any position, just as Magic Johnson did.

You need to define you big and your guard.......for the women, too.

Actually, it is possible to construct a team of 5 bigs for the women if we define bigs as someone 6 ft or taller. I would start with Stewie, Candace Parker and Katie Lou Samuelson - all three can handle the ball.....then there are a lot of excellent ballhandling and playing-making wings between 6" to 6'2" to round out the team. I assure you that team would win the UC.

I think we have come to the end of this conversation and your assertion has been put in doubt with players who qualify either as a big or a guard.

My point was to put an end to this inane emphasis on BIGS !! My point is GUARDS control basketball at ANY and ALL levels !!! I don’t propose anybody in their right mind would construct a team of all of one or the
other !!!

 

[Alydar]

SC will be tough. Their bigs are better than UConns. Point, blank, period. Luckily their guards can’t grasp that and often forget about the bigs. Of the two possible matchups this season, I think they will split the games, with the tie breaker coming in April.

Not better scorers. Bigger? Stronger? For sure. But I think Edwards is going to be a serious offensive threat. She should be single covered and can score with power or with quickness. A matchup nightmare. And Juhasz seems smart and has high level experience. I think she'll do for UConn what Shepard did for NDame.

 

[FormerCTrez]

SC has used twin towers against UConn before and has never beaten the Huskies with 2 bigs. Aja Wilson played 4 years v. UConn and never won a game. So much for bigs.

I will never rule out Dawn Staley’s squad, especially this early, mainly because:
A) Boston has vastly improved her conditioning and skill sets. She’s also talented.
B) Cardoso is also talented, she ru s the floor, and she was recruited by UCONN.
C) Staley has a better troop of guards today, than when Wilson and Coates played

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Of course I meant NOW. I would never compare Paige to Stewie or to any historically excellent big. There is only one Breanna Stewart.
So my question is: For whom would you trade Beuckers at this time?

If you said that in the beginning, we would never have had this conversation. Why even think of trading players when they have to fit into the rest of the team, which I assume you mean this UConn team.

What a silly thought regarding team building.....

 

[Longtime fan]

Glad ESPN saw the potential, now they need to add the Maryland, Stanford, NC State matchups.

How does Flo hoops work? Is it a stream on I-Pad or Mac?

 

[Centerstream]

How does Flo hoops work? Is it a stream on I-Pad or Mac?

If you look on the Apple App Store there should be an app for the I-Pad.

 

[Oracle9]

I agree. They better get their act together before next week.

SC will be tough. Their bigs are better than UConns. Point, blank, period. Luckily their guards can’t grasp that and often forget about the bigs. Of the two possible matchups this season, I think they will split the games, with the tie breaker coming in April.

 

[Longtime fan]

If you look on the Apple App Store there should be an app for the I-Pad.

Many thanks.

 

[CB360]

OH BOY!!!! I can watch a game LIVE!!