Charlie Creme Interview on Uconn

[kidfrom360]

Long video, but great interview. Charlie’s POV on this year’s team and their positioning heading towards March. Section around UConn starts around 23:30-25:30.

Charlie Creme Interview

 

[kidfrom360]

 

[Bigboote]

"You say the team that lost Paige Bueckers is actually better, you'd think you should be wearing a strait jacket, but. . ."

 

[CL82]

"Geno was coaching last year's team incrementally to be at their best in March." That is a great observation. The goal isn't to win in November, or even January, the goal is to get the pieces ready to be successful in the postseason.

 

[BobbyJ]

"You say the team that lost Paige Bueckers is actually better, you'd think you should be wearing a strait jacket, but. . ."

This schedule is revealing nothing. I’ll wait until the first week of April to see if this team is better without Bueckers.

 

[Old Man UConn]

No way any team is better without Paige. They had 2 game wreckers with Strong and Paige. Fudd is struggling and does not pass and defend like Paige. Wildcard is Blanca, KK is more steady than last year but Jana will be playing in March and April. If Allie can do just a little like last night they become a better version of themselves

 

[DRBackup]

No way any team is better without Paige.

That's not what anyone said. This team never had Paige. Last year's team did, and this year's team is not last year's team.

Obviously, adding Paige to any team makes them a lot better. But you take Sarah Strong and make her a sophomore and she is also better. Plus Blanca and Serah Williams and KK another year of experience. Then you add enough health / depth so Geno does not have to pull his punches and, yes, this team is better than last year.

 

[DEpup]

I actually think this team is overall better than last year. Paige is amazing but even Maya couldn't win a title by herself in 2011 so it is more that one person even when that person is Paige. Here's why I think they are better:
1. Good talented player depth that can fuel an elite defense and weather injuries. Defense travels and can win you a lot of games when you start 0 for 10 from 3 like last night.
2. In almost all cases, players are coming in and playing their natural position. That means a lot. You can see how Paige is just over the top in the pros playing her natural position.
3. Chemistry and you saw it last night when Allie was going off and how everyone was so excited. Prior to the TN game last year, something was not right chemistry wise with that team and they brought it together by March. This team seems to have already built chemistry and that matters a lot.

 

[PacoSwede]

I actually think this team is overall better ...

3. Chemistry and you saw it last night when Allie was going off and how everyone was so excited. Prior to the TN game last year, something was not right chemistry wise with that team and they brought it together by March. This team seems to have already built chemistry and that matters a lot.

i was wondering if anyone has speculated on the reason(s) for that. i'm interested, if there has been any discussion.

 

[AzzisBraids]

It's a tough pill to swallow but this team is further along than last year's team and from almost every statistical category is better. I've already seen a few comments about how a team without Bueckers can't be better and they'll wait until April but the proof is in the pudding.

Everyone on the team individually leveled up and they added key pieces to bolster their odds. This team is somehow better and any other notions beyond that are more emotional than logic based because the facts, stats, media, pundits all can't be crazy.

 

[ucmiami2]

The question in March/April will be 'IF the team needs a superstar in a game, does this team have someone to step up?' We will not know that answer until the season is over, and maybe not even then if they roll. Last year, Paige and Chen certainly were important, and against USC in their only challenging NCAA tournament game in the E8, they both brought it in what ended as a 14 point win. At the FF however Azzi and Sarah led the way in the last two 'non-competitive' wins (34/23 MOVs) and they remain on this years team.

No one is replacing Paige, but
Chen has been replaced by Kayleigh in what is a fairly even swap - more offense from Chen maybe, but better defense from Kayleigh.
Serah is completely new and brings more than the injured Ice brought last year.
Blanca is a super frosh that adds a new dimension
Allie is no longer a 'lost freshman' (that role replaced by Kelis.)
KK, Ash, and Sarah are all improved with their confidence soaring. Azzi has added 'defensive stopper' to her resume and is fully healthy.
Jana is improved, though she seldom gets to play in her role against true posts, but is there when needed in the post season.
Ayanna and Caroline - yet to be determined but provide experience and depth.

And the team as a whole is deeper, with better distribution by position, front court to back court, allowing for Geno to play magician during games. The defensive pressure is better, the offense is spread better and is scoring more. So, more points, more wins, zero losses to date, better MOV, better defense - that sounds like a better team.

 

[BobbyJ]

It's a tough pill to swallow but this team is further along than last year's team and from almost every statistical category is better. I've already seen a few comments about how a team without Bueckers can't be better and they'll wait until April but the proof is in the pudding.

Everyone on the team individually leveled up and they added key pieces to bolster their odds. This team is somehow better and any other notions beyond that are more emotional than logic based because the facts, stats, media, pundits all can't be crazy.

So you’ve got this team breezing through the NC tournament and winning the FF games by 25-30 pts? And if/when they don’t they are still a better team because they looked great and piled up stats against this regular season schedule?

 

[AzzisBraids]

So you’ve got this team breezing through the NC tournament and winning the FF games by 25-30 pts? And if/when they don’t they are still a better team because they looked great and piled up stats against this regular season schedule?

That's a better question for Charlie Creme than me. We have the luxury of hindsight. All we have is the present right now, the future is to be determined. The NCAA tournament hasn't started yet. Right now, this is UConn team is better and deeper than last years.

I can also say that comparing this team to last is Apples and Oranges. So I get your point but the facts and results all point to this team being better. Here's a question, defensively, is this team better than last year's team? There's your overall answer.

 

[ucmiami2]

Interesting notes on Uconn single year team records:
Assists: 863 - current year 537 and need 326 to tie. (current average is 24.4 per game so at that average need 14 games to break it.)
Steals: 477 - current year 352 and need 125 to tie. (current average is 16 per game so at that average need 8 games to break it.) (2024-5 had 455 in third place.)
Current shooting % is tied for 5th best at .527
Current 3 point % is 9th at .393
Current scoring average is 2nd best at 90.18
Current scoring defense is 8th best at 50.45

Pretty decent representation in the top 10 lists for this team to date.

 

[boontonbomber]

Paige was a good defender, but this is a much better defensive team, every night. Which they will need in the tourney, since they may not be as good offensively without Paige. And not just because of her scoring, but the effect she had on everybody else's game.

 

[Suebird10fan]

This year’s January team is significantly better than last year’s January team. Will this year’s postseason team be better than the team that took a wrecking ball to the rest of WCBB in late March and early April of last year? Possible but that’s a really high bar.