Baylor Post Game Video Comments Prior To Presser

[JavaMan]

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[easttexastrash]

That is funny that Jones said that she was happy not to lose by 30 like she did at Duke. She also kind of called out the post players for not being more mentally prepared.

I thought Mulkey's analysis was spot on and she gave UCONN lots of credit for toughness. UCONN just wanted this game more than Baylor.

 

[BigBird]

Pretty honest assessment, in my opinion. I was wondering and posting some of the same things. The height advantage was more than equalized by UConn quickness and heart. Gabby, Phee, and Nat gave Baylor fits in the block.

Baylor seemed a step slow all night. They played flat-footed much of the game. They got a few 50/50 balls early, but as the game progressed, BU accomplished less. UConn staged a 30-20 run to finish it off.

 

[Sonny44]

Very honest assessment, but I just don't understand Kim. She seems to have mellowed significantly. Is she not well or possibly just fatigued?

 

[BroadwayVa]

Pretty honest assessment, in my opinion. I was wondering and posting some of the same things. The height advantage was more than equalized by UConn quickness and heart. Gabby, Phee, and Nat gave Baylor fits in the block.

Baylor seemed a step slow all night. They played flat-footed much of the game. They got a few 50/50 balls early, but as the game progressed, BU accomplished less. UConn staged a 30-20 run to finish it off.

\

It is interesting you speak of Uconn's quickness--Kara Walter spoke of that in the pre-game --how Uconn's quickness could over come Baylor's bigs.
B.B. --Did you see that in the early part of the second half he RAN his people more on offense--trying to run the legs off of Bu's bigs.
Good posting--BB..

 

[BroadwayVa]

That is funny that Jones said that she was happy not to lose by 30 like she did at Duke. She also kind of called out the post players for not being more mentally prepared.

I thought Mulkey's analysis was spot on and she gave UCONN lots of credit for toughness. UCONN just wanted this game more than Baylor.

Geno ALWAYS want the games more!! Then his kids do it for him..
The 30 point comment --interesting. Isn't Jones a buddy buddy with Moriah??
Or is that a different Jones. ///???

 

[j66kicker]

That is funny that Jones said that she was happy not to lose by 30 like she did at Duke. She also kind of called out the post players for not being more mentally prepared.

I thought Mulkey's analysis was spot on and she gave UCONN lots of credit for toughness. UCONN just wanted this game more than Baylor.

I dunno. I sense that they got some unexpected defense from UCONN and just didn't know what to do. Lots of, "We'll look at the film." I really don't think she knows what happened to them yet.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

I think she used the 'we'll look at the film' as sort of a dodge. She knows darn well what happened - Nina Davis for some reason decided not to show up or her teammates decided to not get her involved in the game. Next Big12 game, she'll light it up, you watch. She, like Alaina Coates have a lot in common for me - they play when they want...

 

[UcMiami]

Really good interviews. Everyone needs to remember these are really early season games, and even teams like Baylor with lots of experience returning are experiencing a lot of change from where they were at the end of last year.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

No excuses. That was a good coach talking about her team. Didn't blame it on anyone, gave UConn a lot of credit, and pointed out that she and her coaches need to figure out WHY certain players on her team weren't successful.

This is a dangerous team, if they ever figure out the guard spot.

 

[JordyG]

Very honest assessment, but I just don't understand Kim. She seems to have mellowed significantly. Is she not well or possibly just fatigued?

Or maybe like Geno time has matured her approach. Guys, even coaches grow up. I think Mulkey is a great recruiter and a very good, not great coach. Her on court antics rub me the wrong way, but as a person and a mother this is a very good woman. The type of person you wouldn't mind having in your foxhole. Clearly she sees her team with an honest, gimlet eyed approach, and playing tough teams early and OOC in tough environments will only benefit this team down road. And it's about time, for make no mistake, UConn beat a very talented team yesterday. If UConn sees them in March this will be a team that has learned some of its lessons well.

This UConn team is as I've said they'd be well before the season started. They are hard nosed, gritty, tough, tough minded and fierce. They play with a chip on their shoulder and a target on their backs. They play with a lot of emotion and they're fully invested in what it takes to wear that jersey. Again, I think every victory is going to have a different star, and every team that plays them is going to know they've had to earn everything they get on the court. Right now after watching ND struggle against two very limited unranked teams, it seems Geno's team deserves consideration as the #1 team in the country. I wouldn't have said or thought that in August, but there it is. Yesterday really put the WCBB world on notice, didn't it?

 

[msf22b]

I dunno. I sense that they got some unexpected defense from UCONN and just didn't know what to do. Lots of, "We'll look at the film." I really don't think she knows what happened to them yet.

My thought as well
Jeez, even I could look at the film and figure out what went wrong
Don't they get paid the big bucks to figure it out on the fly?

 

[toadfoot]

I have to take exception to one of the comments by Jones.

1. Calling this UConn team experienced, especially when compared to Baylor, was pretty funny. Cave, Prince, Jones & Davis are seniors. UConn's seniors are Chong and Lawlor. This is the least experienced UConn team in several years. Not sure if she's looking for an excuse or she's just completely unaware how youthful UConn is this year. I suspect the latter.

At any rate I was pleasantly surprised at how well the "kids" played. Predicted to my wife that Baylor would win a close one. Happy to be wrong!

 

[UcMiami]

I have to take exception to one of the comments by Jones.

1. Calling this UConn team experienced, especially when compared to Baylor, was pretty funny. Cave, Prince, Jones & Davis are seniors. UConn's seniors are Chong and Lawlor. This is the least experienced UConn team in several years. Not sure if she's looking for an excuse or she's just completely unaware how youthful UConn is this year. I suspect the latter.

At any rate I was pleasantly surprised at how well the "kids" played. Predicted to my wife that Baylor would win a close one. Happy to be wrong!

All but three members of this team have been to a final four and won an NC - more experience than any other player in the country!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Baylor seemed a step slow all night.

That is who they are. They are slow. That is their Achilles Heel. Another weakness is their bigs thinking they can get away with the old (Willis Reed) jab that elbow out on the move to the basket. They actually got away with it aa bit too much last night.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think she used the 'we'll look at the film' as sort of a dodge. She knows darn well what happened - Nina Davis for some reason decided not to show up or her teammates decided to not get her involved in the game. Next Big12 game, she'll light it up, you watch. She, like Alaina Coates have a lot in common for me - they play when they want...

That statement is ludicrous. Nina Davis is not one who just shows up when she wants. She had a horrible game and I suspect that some of this has to do with the fact that Mulkey has made the decision that Brown and Mompremier are the players that she wants the ball going to and Davis is kind of the odd woman out. She did not come back this year prepared to shoot from the outside and therefore there will be times when she is not a big part of the offense. Last night was one of those nights.

 

[mysticmajor]

ETT, I think part of Nina Davis' challenge was the quality of the defense, but on the other hand I'm sure the game plan was to leverage the 'bigs'. Who would have thought prior to the game that the undersized Huskies would do such a stellar job stopping those post players! I know that I was nervous about it.

 

[CocoHusky]

"It feels good to not get beat by 30 like when I was at Duke."
Alexis Jones

 

[easttexastrash]

ETT, I think part of Nina Davis' challenge was the quality of the defense, but on the other hand I'm sure the game plan was to leverage the 'bigs'. Who would have thought prior to the game that the undersized Huskies would do such a stellar job stopping those post players! I know that I was nervous about it.

They played incredible defense. And the guards played great defense in preventing good entry passes.

This game will make Baylor a better team in the long run and get them more prepared for a possible meeting later in the season. There is certainly no shame in losing a hard fought game to a UCONN team at home.

 

[easttexastrash]

"It feels good to not get beat by 30 like when I was at Duke."
Alexis Jones

I pointed that out in my initial post to this thread. I thought that was funny and she kind of giggled when she said it. She knows it's a tough place to play.

 

[Hope]

That is funny that Jones said that she was happy not to lose by 30 like she did at Duke. She also kind of called out the post players for not being more mentally prepared.

I thought Mulkey's analysis was spot on and she gave UCONN lots of credit for toughness. UCONN just wanted this game more than Baylor.

Alexis Jones referred to us as UCONN as most players seem to do. But Kim said CONNECTICUT, not UCONN. When we beat Texas last year coach Karen Aston said CONNECTICUT. Brenda Frese said both UCONN and CONNECTICUT. I am of the opinion that the top coaches don't like to use the brand UCONN and it bothers me. I think it's a purposeful slight. I think it was Lauren Cox who made an alphabetical list of teams she was considering and put UConn at the tail end of that list. Maybe i'm being a little bit paranoid or overly sensitive; but there it is.

 

[JordyG]

That statement is ludicrous. Nina Davis is not one who just shows up when she wants. She had a horrible game and I suspect that some of this has to do with the fact that Mulkey has made the decision that Brown and Mompremier are the players that she wants the ball going to and Davis is kind of the odd woman out. She did not come back this year prepared to shoot from the outside and therefore there will be times when she is not a big part of the offense. Last night was one of those nights.

Ms. Davis' struggles really go back to the game last year against Oregon State where Rueck decided to back off Davis daring her to shoot from 15. UConn did the same. Her outside shot has always been "funky". An unorthodox shot has more components than a smooth orthodox one, meaning more things that can go wrong, meaning inconsistency. Davis is only 5'11" and as a forward has taken advantage of her quickness up front for years. As Baylor has gotten bigger and teams began to pack the paint with their 2/3 zones her outside shot became more exposed. It seems in order to help that team it appears she has some work to do.

 

[Boreifs]

Baylor is not a team set up to succeed.

1) Their height is neutralized by the fact that Davis can't play anything but the four, so playing a "twin towers" set happens only when she is on the bench.

2) They have absolutely no depth at the three guard positions. The Freshman looked like the proverbial "deer in the headlights" whenever she was subbed in. By the end of the season, she may be much better, but that still leaves them with only one backup for three players.

3) Who is the point guard? Even if she is designated as a two, Alexis Jones is the one driving to the basket and handling the ball for the great majority of the time. With a shoot first mentality and a tendency to play off the bounce rather than the pass, she is not the right type of player to reliably pinpoint passes into the post.

4) With all that height, they don't ever use a high-low set, which would enable a 6'4" player to pass to someone 6'7". Mulkey can't be blamed for this, because none of her bigs demonstrated any ability to hit a jumper from the free throw line or the elbow, which would enable a team to stack the middle defensively and prevent any advantage created from using such a set.

5) They are a good defensive team, but they are slow and deep only in the post positions. With that kind of roster, their guards will always be tired in the fourth quarter and vulnerable to the turnovers and fast breaks that ultimately defeated them.

 

[CocoHusky]

I have to take exception to one of the comments by Jones.

1. Calling this UConn team experienced, especially when compared to Baylor, was pretty funny. Cave, Prince, Jones & Davis are seniors. UConn's seniors are Chong and Lawlor. This is the least experienced UConn team in several years. Not sure if she's looking for an excuse or she's just completely unaware how youthful UConn is this year. I suspect the latter.

At any rate I was pleasantly surprised at how well the "kids" played. Predicted to my wife that Baylor would win a close one. Happy to be wrong!

What she actually said was "UCONN has some experienced player on that team". She also went on to say "Some of the Baylor teams are "acting young" and this was their first big game". About those big games, Baylor has not advanced pass the Elite 8 in the last 4 years that UCONN was winning Championships.

 

[CocoHusky]

Who would have thought prior to the game that the undersized Huskies would do such a stellar job stopping those post players!