CD Post-Game

[UConnCat]

Disappointed in first half; didn't guard, didn't run offense. Played tentatively. She thought they outplayed ND for much of second half.

After the steal on the final play, with a foul to give UConn fouled Diggins three times down the court and it wasn't called.

On the final play, the play was for Stewie on the lob. They've been working on the play and thought they had a mis-match. CD thought Stewie could've shot the ball. On not calling a timeout, after first mentioning the difficulty they might have had in-bounding the ball CD suggested at the end of the interview that it might've been a mistake. [My thoughts: in-bounding the ball in the corner would have been very difficult. Maybe call the TO when Kelly still had the ball before it went to KML in the corner.]

Heartbreaking for the kids. Tough loss.

Bria and Kelly want to win so badly sometimes go too fast and try to make difficult plays/passes.

ND has three of top guards in the country better than our guards at certain things. McBride player of the year in the conference.

 

[msf22b]

Thanks for posting that; excellent points.

 

[superjohn]

Wow I feel worse about the coaching after reading this. To call that lob play on the inbounds is inexcusable, to have 2 timeouts and not use them when you are in trouble is inexcusable and to not foul when you have a foul to give is inexcusable.

 

[UConnCat]

Wow I feel worse about the coaching after reading this. To call that lob play on the inbounds is inexcusable, to have 2 timeouts and not use them when you are in trouble is inexcusable and to not foul when you have a foul to give is inexcusable.

Did you read my post? They fouled Diggins three times down the floor and they weren't called.

I don't agree that the lob play was inexcusable when you realize the difficulty our guards were having starting offense. It was a play they've been working on.

The timeout should have been called.

 

[EricLA]

Thanks for the post Cat! I agree heartbreaking loss for the team, but they came back really well in the 2nd half. And I thought Stewie really stepped up this game. She played tough! Whatever was ailing her mentally the past month seems to have been cured!

 

[VAMike23]

Did you read my post? They fouled Diggins three times down the floor and they weren't called.

I don't agree that the lob play was inexcusable when you realize the difficulty our guards were having starting offense. It was a play they've been working on.

The timeout should have been called.

This.

 

[Kait14]

Did you read my post? They fouled Diggins three times down the floor and they weren't called.

I don't agree that the lob play was inexcusable when you realize the difficulty our guards were having starting offense. It was a play they've been working on.

The timeout should have been called.

But when Notre Dame scores at will, leaving 16 seconds on the clock when the shot clock is off is inexcusable. Giving the ball to Stewie up top might have been a better idea, but I don't think she really knows how to control her body yet. I can't wait for Amanda to get a hold of her in the offseason. Put some muscle on that girl and she will be an absolute beast

 

[UConnCat]

But when Notre Dame scores at will, leaving 16 seconds on the clock when the shot clock is off is inexcusable. Giving the ball to Stewie up top might have been a better idea, but I don't think she really knows how to control her body yet. I can't wait for Amanda to get a hold of her in the offseason. Put some muscle on that girl and she will be an absolute beast

Ideally you'd like to leave no time for ND but I'm sure Geno was just looking for a way to score and put the pressure on ND to tie the game. I think the play call suggests that Geno doesn't have confidence in his guards' ability to make a play against ND and it's hard to fault him for that after watching the past 2 games against ND.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Thanks for the post Cat! I agree heartbreaking loss for the team, but they came back really well in the 2nd half. And I thought Stewie really stepped up this game. She played tough! Whatever was ailing her mentally the past month seems to have been cured!

Amen, brother...

 

[ghostmutt]

Cat, thanks, as always, for the post-game recap.

A couple things:

1) A lob pass is a difficult one to catch when the recipient of the pass has weak hands (or at best, so-so hands). It is especially difficult to catch when everyone in the gym knows who the pass is going to.

2) The play didn't officially break down until Kelly passed to KML in the corner. Kelly actually stepped on the baseline at about 11.8 before that. (So we can thank the refs for not calling her out of bounds before we blame them for not calling the fouls on Diggins.) KML needed to be coming to meet that pass, instead of camping out in the corner, so she'd have a chance at a layup along the baseline.

2) DeMayo and Brooks were also on the crew for the game at South Bend. If we know two things about them now, it's that a block/charge will be called a charge 8 times out of 10; and also that they will insert themselves into every part of the proceeding except the final 1:30, at which point they just sit back to see WTF happens! Hey hey! (Caveat: Unless it's to call a foul on Stef Dolson 90 feet from the basket. The Dolson Exception is Addendum D to the Women's Basketball Rule Book.)

3) The fouls. First was Bria and Diggins colliding mid-air at 9.2, when Diggins picked off KML's pass. Right in front of DeMayo and the UConn bench. Meh. When there is a high floater pass like that, even if it's not a 50/50 ball (Diggins clearly had possession; Bria hit her in the back), they often don't call it because both players are going for the ball. Bria wasn't intentionally trying to foul Diggins...yet.

4) The next foul was Bria's reach across Diggins' arms at 7.6 as Diggins drove along the sideline. The camera didn't have a good view of it. It looked like weak sauce. If there is one thing that would infinitely benefit this team playing against opponents of equal ability: When you give a foul, it must be a good one in which the player dribbling the ball or driving the lane cannot maintain possession (i.e., knock her on her butt). Diggins shielded the ball with her body, and also appeared to push Bria off with her off-hand (the left), so that Bria lost her balance and fell when Diggins switched her dribble to her left hand. That actually was an offensive foul on Diggins, but...refer to Point No. 2.

3) Kelly came running across court toward Diggins at 6.1 with arm outstretched (intending to foul). But Kelly didn't get there in time, and Diggins switched hands to get away from the sideline and free of Bria. At 5.6, it looks like Bria's left hand hits Diggins' right leg as Bria is falling. DeMayo's behind the play, but still right there. You can argue that Kelly shields him from the play, but you're probably better off arguing that he chose not to call anything because he simply didn't believe anything would come of Diggins' last-second, mad dash down the court. Passive reffing is as bad as overzealous reffing, so Dennis gets for this game.

A couple takeaways here:

• When your teammate gets stuck in jail, move to get yourself open to help her! Don't just park yourself in the corner because Coach drew the play up that way.
• When you know you have a foul to give, foul the #$@! out of her. Rip her headband off, if the situation requires.
• Dennis the Mayo and Geno have some backstage feud going on, I think. DeMayo used to be a great one for coming to the bench to explain a contested call or a rule, but now they just glare at each other.
• Always run back on defense even if you think you're out of the play. (Stef...) That way your freshman teammate doesn't have to guard a 4-on-1 fastbreak where your man scores the winning basket.

Anyway, still proud of these kids. There might have to be a team "Come to Jesus" meeting before the NCAAs, but they'll be okay.

 

[UConnCat]

Cat, thanks, as always, for the post-game recap.

A couple things:

1) A lob pass is a difficult one to catch when the recipient of the pass has weak hands (or at best, so-so hands). It is especially difficult to catch when everyone in the gym knows who the pass is going to.

2) The play didn't officially break down until Kelly passed to KML in the corner. Kelly actually stepped on the baseline at about 11.8 before that. (So we can thank the refs for not calling her out of bounds before we blame them for not calling the fouls on Diggins.) KML needed to be coming to meet that pass, instead of camping out in the corner, so she'd have a chance at a layup along the baseline.

2) DeMayo and Brooks were also on the crew for the game at South Bend. If we know two things about them now, it's that a block/charge will be called a charge 8 times out of 10; and also that they will insert themselves into every part of the proceeding except the final 1:30, at which point they just sit back to see WTF happens! Hey hey! (Caveat: Unless it's to call a foul on Stef Dolson 90 feet from the basket. The Dolson Exception is Addendum D to the Women's Basketball Rule Book.)

3) The fouls. First was Bria and Diggins colliding mid-air at 9.2, when Diggins picked off KML's pass. Right in front of DeMayo and the UConn bench. Meh. When there is a high floater pass like that, even if it's not a 50/50 ball (Diggins clearly had possession; Bria hit her in the back), they often don't call it because both players are going for the ball. Bria wasn't intentionally trying to foul Diggins...yet.

4) The next foul was Bria's reach across Diggins' arms at 7.6 as Diggins drove along the sideline. The camera didn't have a good view of it. It looked like weak sauce. If there is one thing that would infinitely benefit this team playing against opponents of equal ability: When you give a foul, it must be a good one in which the player dribbling the ball or driving the lane cannot maintain possession (i.e., knock her on her butt). Diggins shielded the ball with her body, and also appeared to push Bria off with her off-hand (the left), so that Bria slipped and lost her balance when Diggins switched her dribble to her left hand. That actually was an offensive foul on Diggins, but...refer to Point No. 2.

3) Kelly came running across court toward Diggins at 6.1 with arm outstretched (intending to foul). But Kelly didn't get there in time, and Diggins switched hands to get away from the sideline and free of Bria. At 5.6, it looks like Bria's left hand hits Diggins' right leg as Bria is falling. DeMayo's behind the play, but still right there. You can argue that Kelly shields him from the play, but you're probably better off arguing that he chose not to call anything because he simply didn't believe anything would come of Diggins' last-second, mad dash down the court. Passive reffing is as bad as overzealous reffing, so Dennis gets for this game.

A couple takeaways here:

• When your teammate gets stuck in jail, move to get yourself open to help her! Don't just park yourself in the corner because Coach drew the play up that way.
• When you know you have a foul to give, foul the #$@! out of her. Rip her headband off, if the situation requires.
• Dennis the Mayo and Geno have some backstage feud going on, I think. DeMayo used to be a great one for coming to the bench to explain a contested call or a rule, but now they just glare at each other.
• Always run back on defense even if you think you're out of the play. (Stef...) That way your freshman teammate doesn't have to guard a 4-on-1 fastbreak where your man scores the winning basket.

Anyway, still proud of these kids. There might have to be a team "Come to Jesus" meeting before the NCAAs, but they'll be okay.

How ironic that when UConn is actually trying to foul Diggins and actually touches her, no call.

For Stewie's bad hands, she made an incredible catch on that pass. CD thought she could have still taken a shot; of course, who knew it would be the only opportunity for a shot in that possession.

Once it was clear Kelly had no place to go with the ball she needed to back it out or a timeout needed to be called. It was a lack of composure.

I want another shot at ND. 2011 redux.

 

[MarlboroughMike]

Ideally you'd like to leave no time for ND but I'm sure Geno was just looking for a way to score and put the pressure on ND to tie the game. I think the play call suggests that Geno doesn't have confidence in his guards' ability to make a play against ND and it's hard to fault him for that after watching the past 2 games against ND.

I don't have a replay but I did, I thought I had a good angle at the game on the lob. My recall is that Stewart went up and caught the ball one handed and come down off balance. She may have had a shot after she recovered, but it was iffy.
ND played three top notch guards against our one ( Ferris). Unless Banks comes back near where she was when she got hurt or Bria magically picks up a step, we will have a problem against guard oriented teams ( as we will in the tournament).
I thought we needed a ball handler in at the end (Moriah) - that lob was not as open as it will be portrayed. MJ made some mistakes, but she handled the ball well when she didn't pick up her dribble.

 

[ghostmutt]

She caught it one-handed and falling away from the basket. She could have tried to tip the ball in instead of bringing it down, but no one was on the weak side to get the rebound if she missed. Stef flashed to the top of the key to...what? Confuse the ND defense?

Stewie made a great leap to corral the ball. It's more a question of why a smart coach like Geno would draw up a difficult play that calls for instinctive reaction from a player who tends toward tentativeness and over-thinking. Who also happens to be a freshman never before called upon to make a game-winning play.

 

[ASweet3781]

I can't bring myself to watch the end again but a poster on the mens board all but called CD a liar and was positive that UConn made no effort to foul Diggins. I can't bring myself to watch the end again. Is this true? This sort of confusion is a pretty good example of why these close games always go against us.

 

[Kait14]

I can't bring myself to watch the end again but a poster on the mens board all but called CD a liar and was positive that UConn made no effort to foul Diggins. I can't bring myself to watch the end again. Is this true? This sort of confusion is a pretty good example of why these close games always go against us.

It looked like Bria was half-heartedly trying.. There was no shove as there should have been. When Skylar was running up the sideline Bria should have shoved her out of bounds, it's a no brainer play

 

[ghostmutt]

I can't bring myself to watch the end again but a poster on the mens board all but called CD a liar and was positive that UConn made no effort to foul Diggins. I can't bring myself to watch the end again. Is this true? This sort of confusion is a pretty good example of why these close games always go against us.

I had the same initial reaction, but he's wrong. Bria fouled Diggins three times, and Diggins fouled Bria once. Bria swiped at Skylar's arms just as Skylar pushed off with her left hand to free herself. DeMayo was in good position to call...something, anything.

If Bria realized they had one to give, she needed to foul hard to stop Diggins' momentum and make sure the intent to foul was clear.

That's what's so troubling/tantalizing about this team. The correct instincts are there. I just imagine the wheels spinning in their heads ("Is this it? Am I doing it right?") so that the correct thing is always executed just a little too slowly, a little too softly.

 

[Gurleyman]

When you are on the weak side, the fundamental thing is to flash into the corner when someone drives in from the opposite baseline. That's the best spot for a bailout, and you don't want to come towards the driver because you don't want to bring a help defender into the play to potentially stop a layup.

Now, Kelly never really turned the corner, and in the split second when it became clear a layup was out of the question, KML could have come closer to shorten that pass. But there wasn't a big window to make that read, so I can't really fault her too much. She needed to think timeout on the catch. Or throw it up to the rim if she didn't think she can stay inbounds (falling out of bounds with it would have been better, but that's asking a lot of a player to concede a turnover). The balloon in the general direction of Bria was the worst choice of all. Easy steal, and now both yourself and Faris are coming from out of bounds, and Dolson from la-la land.

Personally, I think Bria and Kelly were going for steals. I can't get in their head, but I don't think either of them were thinking about a foul. They didn't try to maintain contact the way a deliberate fouler usually does. You reach in and grab arms, waists, etc. you don't poke at the ball and pull your hand back. They aren't calling that unless an advantage is gained. Although they have rarely been behind, so there's a chance they just don't know how to foul on purpose.

 

[Gurleyman]

When you are on the weak side, the fundamental thing is to flash into the corner when someone drives in from the opposite baseline. That's the best spot for a bailout, and you don't want to come towards the driver because you don't want to bring a help defender into the play to potentially stop a layup.

Now, Kelly never really turned the corner, and in the split second when it became clear a layup was out of the question, KML could have come closer to shorten that pass. But there wasn't a big window to make that read, so I can't really fault her too much. She needed to think timeout on the catch. Or throw it up to the rim if she didn't think she can stay inbounds (falling out of bounds with it would have been better, but that's asking a lot of a player to concede a turnover). The balloon in the general direction of Bria was the worst choice of all. Easy steal, and now both yourself and Faris are coming from out of bounds, and Dolson from la-la land.

Personally, I think Bria and Kelly were going for steals. I can't get in their head, but I don't think either of them were thinking about a foul. They didn't try to maintain contact the way a deliberate fouler usually does. You reach in and grab arms, waists, etc. you don't poke at the ball and pull your hand back. They aren't calling that unless an advantage is gained. Although they have rarely been behind, so there's a chance they just don't know how to foul on purpose.

Let me amend that last point. Just saw the replay again, and Bria definitely looked like she was trying to foul at mid court as she fell. Faris did a gentle drive by.

 

[snowkot]

I agree that the weak side ally-oop to a player who cannot dunk is at best very ambitious and at worst ill-advised.

Tie game - ND has no timeouts. I have 2. Most every coach I've ever seen take this as "it's my shot or no shot - run the clock down to 6 seconds, run your offense and shoot late. Either win or its OT.

Even if by some miracle Stewart scores off the inbound, you've given a team with no timeouts 16 seconds or so to inbounds, bring the ball up court comfortably and potentially beat you with a late 3 (like we haven't seen that before).

Coach: "Stewie made a great catch and next time she is in that situation after she catches it, she is going to square up, attack the basket, score and get fouled but she is too young to understand that right now."

I disagree with this. She's terribly off balance - but even if she can get her feet reset and attack the basket - make, miss or foul - this leaves too much time on the clock - at least 12 seconds - for a team out of time outs - to come down and beat you. To me - better to do what she actually did - reset the offense, and run a play for the last shot.

It's Giants - Pats 2011 Super Bowl all over again - where Bellichick let the Giants score in return for the ball.

I also agree with others here - Stewart - who stepped up with some spectacular late-game heroics - made a phenomenal play just to catch the ball (what was it - one handed?).

From there - with 2 timeouts in our pocket - it all went south. Again.

Too bad no last second timeout - with what 1+ seconds left? Christian Laettner white and blue courtesy phone. Christian Laettner...

I'd love to see the stats on the defensive breakdowns. I think Faris limited McBride to what - 2 points? Phenomenal defense - harassed McBride to distraction and just ruined her game. Too bad it took until 3/4 of the game was over before we got the match-up right...

 

[bruinbball]

Kelly did do a great job on McBride, but it was just too little too late. I would love to have McBride on any team I coached or played on. She really rises to the occasion in the big games unlike her com-padre who gets all of the accolades but usually shoots around 30% doing so in big games.

We have to face it, and I said it earlier this year, we have not won a game decided by one bucket or less since the Baylor game in early 2010. For us to win the title (which, unfortunately, many fans have decided this team is incapable of - but I am optimistic we still can) we will have to win one of those games. I was glad to see us fight back and close that 6 point gap in he last couple of minutes last night. This team has the fight and I hope with all of my heart we can find that composure to depend on each other and play smart basketball at the end of a close one to pull out a victory.

Last night really showed my how little confidence Bria has in her offensive game. She was really the only one that had SEVERAL open looks for the three but never attempted even one - that will have to change.

I really feel that cutting the reins loose offensively for this team will beat all but two teams in WCBB easily by double-digits, but we will have to play stellar team ball to beat Baylor and ND. It can be done.

 

[trisailin]

Once again, my take-away from this game is that this team CAN win these games. (Either that or ND and Baylor are really really bad teams since they were only able to beat an awful team with an awful coaching staff by only a few points each time)

 

[UConnCat]

I can't bring myself to watch the end again but a poster on the mens board all but called CD a liar and was positive that UConn made no effort to foul Diggins. I can't bring myself to watch the end again. Is this true? This sort of confusion is a pretty good example of why these close games always go against us.

I'm not sure the UConn boy's board is the best place to go for an accurate description of what happened in the women's game. Bria said afterwards that she did her best to foul Diggins without it appearing to be intentional. The refs weren't going to call a foul in that situation unless Diggins was shoved and then the refs would have probably called an intentional foul.

 

[sparky]

CD said what she's supposed to. The bottom line is Bria makes bad decisions with the ball and over penetrates. Speed is great but speed without purpose is detrimental. The last play was a bad call. Too much time left. I personally think it was Geno who wanted to stick it in ND's ear with that grand stand play. In any event we need to regroup and kick some ass in the tourney

 

[UConnCat]

CD said what she's supposed to. The bottom line is Bria makes bad decisions with the ball and over penetrates. Speed is great but speed without purpose is detrimental. The last play was a bad call. Too much time left. I personally think it was Geno who wanted to stick it in ND's ear with that grand stand play. In any event we need to regroup and kick some ass in the tourney

Seems to me that fans are all over the place. Bria makes bad decisions but a play to get the ball directly to Stewart with the opportunity to score was a bad play. So, where do you go with the ball? To the point guard who makes bad decisions and over penetrates? It's not like Geno can put the ball in the hands of a trusted guard who he knows can make the right play. Even Kelly plays with her hair on fire in pressure situations, e.g., her play with the ball on the last possession. Guard play/ball handling has been an issue all season and it reared its ugly head again last night.

 

[Joobie]

Bottom line....ALL Of this could have been avoided IF the shot clock had recycled like it was suppose to!