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BC Post Exhibition Thread

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EricLA said:
Have to admit I was disappointed in Blanca, Jana, Ayanna, and Kayleigh. I have no doubt they will get better, but after a summer of working out, and a bunch of practices already under their belts, I expected more. Not sure what to make of Carol, Ice or Allie. It's good people got to see how much work Gandy needs so they can stop thinking she will help at all this season. Great kid, bright future, lots to improve on.
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Blanca missed the summer practices. She was still in Europe. She's learning the US college game and her teammates, the refs, our language, and the US culture after having played the EU professional game. She is a freshman. IMO, I think posters need to be gentle on her and on making judgements. Watch her smooth and purposeful movements, quickness, and instincts combined with her athleticism. There were some jaw dropping moments from her today even without playing with the team this summer. I thought Blanca and Serah flowed really well together today - watch for this over the next few months and I'll bet I'm right - I'm looking forward to the chemistry developing.

I did think Blanca had some nerves today, but I'm excited about watching her game, and I think she will be a starter or the first off the bench very soon (yes, you can remind me if I missed this call)

And there was about a 2-3 minute stretch early in the 2nd half where the team flowed amazingly - it was like mid-season form. Way early to see that, so I'm really optimistic as we continue!
 
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Impressions:
1. Serah was better than I expected, probably because of Geno's early expectation-setting comments.
2. Sarah is the existential basketball player. Whether the start of the season or the end, she just IS. And BC had no answer for her.
3. As someone mentioned earlier, BC can sure shoot threes. If they had a quality big, they would be very interesting.
4. The announcing team was not good. The guy, whoever he is, had a seemingly incurable case of verbal diarrhea. Ashley Battle was better than last year but seemed to lapse into only-slightly-related anecdotes. She's almost too conversational. And their refusal to do play-by-play was more than annoying.
5. Heckel seems to have no idea how to play within herself. If she can keep the speed but focus on the finish, she will be a valuable player. Right now, not so much.
6. Gandy is a real project, one that could take years.
7. Blanca looks like she could be the real deal, but right now she is trying to do too much all at once.
8. Based on what we saw today, Caroline is not all the way back. I hope she gets there, but I think we may be wishing for too much.
9. Once in a while, you could see the swarming defense that was the reason why UConn won its last games. It'll take them a while to get there, but it looks like the elements are there.

All in all, it looked like almost any exhibition game -- a few good things, a lot of not-so-good ones, and new players who looked, well, new. It will be interesting to see how much progress is made between now and the next exhibition.
 
tomcat said:
Impressions:
1. Serah was better than I expected, probably because of Geno's early expectation-setting comments.
2. Sarah is the existential basketball player. Whether the start of the season or the end, she just IS. And BC had no answer for her.
3. As someone mentioned earlier, BC can sure shoot threes. If they had a quality big, they would be very interesting.
4. The announcing team was not good. The guy, whoever he is, had a seemingly incurable case of verbal diarrhea. Ashley Battle was better than last year but seemed to lapse into only-slightly-related anecdotes. She's almost too conversational. And their refusal to do play-by-play was more than annoying.
5. Heckel seems to have no idea how to play within herself. If she can keep the speed but focus on the finish, she will be a valuable player. Right now, not so much.
6. Gandy is a real project, one that could take years.
7. Blanca looks like she could be the real deal, but right now she is trying to do too much all at once.
8. Based on what we saw today, Caroline is not all the way back. I hope she gets there, but I think we may be wishing for too much.
9. Once in a while, you could see the swarming defense that was the reason why UConn won its last games. It'll take them a while to get there, but it looks like the elements are there.

All in all, it looked like almost any exhibition game -- a few good things, a lot of not-so-good ones, and new players who looked, well, new. It will be interesting to see how much progress is made between now and the next exhibition.
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very accuratel post!!!
 
Azzi Sarah and Ash looked good and under control. To many others played to fast and out of control at times. It takes time to learn UConns system and be able to execute it while not thinking. Ice looked good as did KK. I saw Allie take a couple of good shots and made some nice moves. Allie has improved. Jana made some good moves. Dont forget Jana is coming back from an injury.

Our newbies and underclassmen need to learn our system, play under control and that will come with practice. Theyve got the hustle and are coachable. Blanca is special with alot of talent and some good moves. She had great potential.

The key to start the season is team chemistry and that comes from playing together and working at practice. Azzi Sarah Ash Serah KK Ice are there. We've got some early tuff games. Fla St Ohio St Michigan and Utah. We are quick and play really tuff defense. Many opponents are going to panic playing against our suffocating defense. That will turn into alot of easy baskets.

We have got alot of talent. We also have alot of inexperience at the UConn level. Transfers and players coming back from injury will take time to get up to speed. We will only get better when they do. Im sure we will see that improvement against Southern CT on Oct 26.
 
I was at the game, so let me offer some in-person reactions. (I also recorded the game but haven't yet watched the replay.) The comments below are about the newcomers other than Gandy, who played too few minutes to support any evaluation. I will try to be objective even when the comments are not flattering.
  1. As others have noted, Serah is really, really good, especially as a rebounder. The combination of her, Jana, and Sarah (even though all three probably won't play together) should give up very few offensive rebounds to any other team, even the other top teams. Today, BC got 7 offensive rebounds to UConn's 10, even though BC out-rebounded UConn 37-28 overall. (And since missed shots and turnovers were nearly equal, you can't blame the rebounding differential on fewer rebounding opportunities for UConn.)
  2. To my eyes, Blanca looked like a Top 20 freshman if she had been rated by Hoopgurlz or a similar service, but not a Top 5 freshman. She does not appear to be an especially good finisher, nor does she seem to be a 3-point shooter. Her ball handling also needs work -- she had 5 turnovers in 20 minutes, highest on the team.
  3. Kayleigh did not play as well today as she did in both of USC's games last year against UConn. She had 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. It was probably nerves, but as of now (and as others have noted), UConn has a depth problem at point guard behind KK. If Kayleigh and Kelis do not calm down and play better, this may be the area where Morgan can help when she returns from her injury.
  4. Kelis was a little fish today. She has a lot to learn. I was surprised that she was not a better one-on-one defender against BC's quick guards. When she came into the game in the first half, she got two fouls in her first 30 seconds because she let her opponent get around her and then appeared to foul out of frustration. On the positive side, she did grab 3 rebounds in 7 minutes.
The veterans returning to the team played pretty much as one would expect. Azzi and Ashlynn were 12-for-16 from 3. As others noted, Allie played more and earlier than expected (13 total minutes), did not make any big mistakes, and made one 3-point shot out of 3 attempts. She may end up ahead of Kayleigh and Kelis in the guard depth chart. Ice played OK at best, but she had zero rebounds in 12 minutes, which is NOT good enough. Ayanna and Caroline will be fine, but they need more minutes than they got to shake off the rust from such a long time away from real competition.
 
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The backups didn’t look that great at all, Blanca I think will get a lot better because I can see it. Surprised by K-9, I really like her game but she looked just slow and actually, out of shape kind of. Or just not strong, weird. Loved Allie on offense, I think she can help us this year. I hope I’m wrong but besides our starters, the women looked like they have slow feet on defense. It’s early. Also I see some complaints about Jana, but I like her and heard she hasn’t been practicing that much. She rebounds well, I expect a really good year from her.
 
DEpup said:
My take is I think the coaches have been fooling us downplaying Serah. She is totally as advertised.

K9 and Blanca just seemed out of control and maybe just really excited. Amped up...I doubt Blanca starts this year when she can be the spark off the bench that changes the game that Geno likes so much. Ash to me is just the experience you want to start the game when you already have a 3 headed monstor scoring at the start.

Just not sure where Patterson's head is at when she is right at the basket. She also seemed confused on defense.

Allie played well. I thought she survived much better on defense than she did last year.
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I think Ayanna has the athletic ability to be much better, but she seems to get flustered easily. If she had a couple of reliable moves she can use when she gets the ball down low, maybe just 2 or 3 things, then she would likely be more productive. On defense, she gets too close to her opponent and doesn’t have space to react to any moves- she picks up too many fouls from poor defensive positioning. Just my opinion.
 
1. Great to see the young women back in action again. The most encouraging thing I saw
was that it appears that Serah is going to give us the kind of low post play we were hoping
for.
2. Know the new TV contract means a lot more money for UConn, but it's not a good deal
for the fans who will be watching on TV. I fear that the sort of broadcast we got today will
likely be the norm this season. I miss Alan and Meg already. Call the game please. I don't
have a 72 inch TV screen. Call the game.
 
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JoePgh said:
I was at the game, so let me offer some in-person reactions. (I also recorded the game but haven't yet watched the replay.) The comments below are about the newcomers other than Gandy, who played too few minutes to support any evaluation. I will try to be objective even when the comments are not flattering.
  1. As others have noted, Serah is really, really good, especially as a rebounder. The combination of her, Jana, and Sarah (even though all three probably won't play together) should give up very few offensive rebounds to any other team, even the other top teams. Today, BC got 7 offensive rebounds to UConn's 10, even though BC out-rebounded UConn 37-28 overall. (And since missed shots and turnovers were nearly equal, you can't blame the rebounding differential on fewer rebounding opportunities for UConn.)
  2. To my eyes, Blanca looked like a Top 20 freshman if she had been rated by Hoopgurlz or a similar service, but not a Top 5 freshman. She does not appear to be an especially good finisher, nor does she seem to be a 3-point shooter. Her ball handling also needs work -- she had 5 turnovers in 20 minutes, highest on the team.
  3. Kayleigh did not play as well today as she did in both of USC's games last year against UConn. She had 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. It was probably nerves, but as of now (and as others have noted), UConn has a depth problem at point guard behind KK. If Kayleigh and Kelis do not calm down and play better, this may be the area where Morgan can help when she returns from her injury.
  4. Kelis was a little fish today. She has a lot to learn. I was surprised that she was not a better one-on-one defender against BC's quick guards. When she came into the game in the first half, she got two fouls in her first 30 seconds because she let her opponent get around her and then appeared to foul out of frustration. On the positive side, she did grab 3 rebounds in 7 minutes.
The veterans returning to the team played pretty much as one would expect. Azzi and Ashlynn were 12-for-16 from 3. As others noted, Allie played more and earlier than expected (13 total minutes), did not make any big mistakes, and made one 3-point shot out of 3 attempts. She may end up ahead of Kayleigh and Kelis in the guard depth chart. Ice played OK at best, but she had zero rebounds in 12 minutes, which is NOT good enough. Ayanna and Caroline will be fine, but they need more minutes than they got to shake off the rust from such a long time away from real competition.
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I just want to say that I was thinking about Azzi at point guard. And when KK got subbed out for a bit after getting hurt… it looked to me like Geno considered Azzi at point guard too.
 
ed4ourgirls said:
1. Great to see the young women back in action again. The most encouraging thing I saw
was that it appears that Serah is going to give us the kind of low post play we were hoping
for.
2. Know the new TV contract means a lot more money for UConn, but it's not a good deal
for the fans who will be watching on TV. I think the sort of broadcast we got today will
likely be the norm this season. I miss Alan and Meg already. Call the game please. I don't
have a 72 inch TV screen. Call the game.
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My biggest takeaway is how much I am going to miss Alan and Meg. In time, the team will mesh and be fine but listening to announcers who do NOT cover the game, but instead just blab about whatever pops into their heads is awful. This is especially bad early in the season when we are still learning the new players and need to know when they foul, rebound, shoot, turn the ball over, etc. Heck, we're UCONN fans! We don't need to know how good we are, what we did in the past, who's attending the game, anecdotes about Geno, how much we miss Paige, etc. Just call the game!
 
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You can see Blanca’s potential after she cleans up here turnovers and learns the offense. Allie in the top 9 currently and looked pretty good. Being a big Jana fan, I thought she played pretty well in limited minutes.Ice to Serah looked good in high low. Lots of fun to be had watching them grow over the course of the season.
 
I saw Blanca dribble up the court and pull up from three; and it grazed the rim and missed. And I just thought it was the kind of shot that gets you pulled if you take it during the regular season in a real game. Reminded me of a shot Qadence might have taken during year 1.
 
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
Geno dubbing Bianca The Queen of Turnovers was interesting. Funny. The man is not worried.
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When Blanca walked past Geno on her way to the bench he gave her gentle and uplifting reassurance. He knows what she has for capability and how to nurture those skills and her mindset. He is the master. She will be outstanding. I think he is smiling inside about the player he has in Blanca!!!
 
People have covered most of the analysis, but one thing that struck me was how mobile our bigs were on defense. Both Sarah and Serah were guarding out near the 3pt line and doing well out there. Blanca and Ayanna are very quick for 6-2, and having 4 players at 6-2 or greater with that kind of mobility is pretty rare. All of them can run the floor as well, way better than most bigs.
 
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oldhusky said:
People have covered most of the analysis, but one thing that struck me was how mobile our bigs were on defense. Both Sarah and Serah were guarding out near the 3pt line and doing well out there. Blanca and Ayanna are very quick for 6-2, and having 4 players at 6-2 or greater with that kind of mobility is pretty rare. All of them can run the floor as well, way better than most bigs.
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Yea. Sarah did in fact at times guard their point. That’s wild.
 
Appreciated my gifted Courtside seats left of the basket.

1) Glad folks were ok with KK's play. I was muttering "She needs to get her mojo back". edited 'cause clearly aliens stole my brain! Concerned about the point guard role.
2) Was intrigued by the swarming defense/3 trapping. Have too recover more quickly 'cause that right corner was magic for BC's 3 point shooters
3) Was glad they were playing a D1 team. BC was solid, played hard and took advantage of UConn's errors
4) Sarah IS A MENACE on offense and defense. Watching her quick hands was mesmerizing.
5) Heckel will want to forget this game
6) REALLY enjoyed watching the refs interact with the players - explaining calls and joking. Anyone know who the two fans who got to shoot courtesy of the ref?
 
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Lurker said:
When Blanca walked past Geno on her way to the bench he gave her gentle and uplifting reassurance. He knows what she has for capability and how to nurture those skills and her mindset. He is the master. She will be outstanding. I think he is smiling inside about the player he has in Blanca!!!
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I thought Blanca had a good sense of where to be on both ends. I suspect that she will be more effective in a lineup that gives her driving space. Being a big team is a gift and a curse. So are most things, right.
 
Anyone have any thoughts on Fisher? I saw her miss a couple of shots and get called for some fouls. But didn’t notice her too much tbh.
 
I appreciated Blanca's instincts, so I think that will work out, long term.

I was surprised by Kayleigh's game, both offensively and defensively. As folks have said maybe nerves? (Though she has played on the big stage before, but maybe this is different?)

Azzi is, hands down, the best shooter-- in the second half; I'd like to see her be the best shooter for 40 minutes, but that's just me being difficult.

Sarah Strong is the real deal. Again. Still.
 
ThisJustIn said:
Appreciated my gifted Courtside seats left of the basket.

1) Glad folks were ok with KK's play. I was muttering "Need to give her back #4" 'cause I felt her mojo was missing. Concerned about the point guard role.
2) Was intrigued by the swarming defense/3 trapping. Have too recover more quickly 'cause that right corner was magic for BC's 3 point shooters
3) Was glad they were playing a D1 team. BC was solid, played hard and took advantage of UConn's errors
4) Sarah IS A MENACE on offense and defense. Watching her quick hands was mesmerizing.
5) Heckel will want to forget this game
6) REALLY enjoyed watching the refs interact with the players - explaining calls and joking. Anyone know who the two fans who got to shoot courtesy of the ref?
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?? Arnold has never had #4. Samuels had it for the year before last and it was empty last year.
 
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So glad I’ve gotten to see the kids play.

So many different talents, personalities, aspirations that Geno & CD get to refine, teach, habits to change.

Good first look at the wonderful lovely hot mess of kids that haven’t learned to work together as of yet. Let alone figure out what their potential is.

Looking forward to seeing lots of improvement in the 2nd exhibition game.
 
Only thing to add. Williams, Heckel. and Quinones were overly anxious and rushed shots (actually just threw up some prayers). To be expected in first practice game outing in front of a very large crowd. The three of them are quite skilled and will provide valuable minutes as the season progresses. I thought Caroline showed some flashes of her freshman self. I wish that kid a very successful season!
 
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