Congrats to Stanford

[ballhawk]

I was at the game and I agree Stanford played better and deserved the win. Their guards were quicker, their post players were tall and as good rebounders and they had a deeper bench. KML played all 45 minutes and Stewie played 44. Last year's Uconn team was legendary and two AA cannot easily be replaced. Given all that we only lost by two in ot on their home court. Uconn will learn from the loss and emerge a more complete team. The sky isn't falling.

 

[blkkirk]

Congrats to Stanford! Truly a great effort and win for there team.

 

[watanabe]

Tara Thumped Geno last night.
She faced the reality of the season and went out side her comfort range (and ego) and got ADVICE. Huge pay off.
Good job Tara, good lesson. Maybe there are some smarts over there in Stanford after all.
Watch out Tara, the next game will have Geno on his toes. Good wake up call.

 

[alexrgct]

Tara did not "thump Geno". Rather, Tara did a great job fielding a new incarnation of the Cardinal in the post-Ogwumike era. That is what great coaches do. The "Geno got out-coached" motif when UConn (gasp!) drops a game is a lame approach, IMO.

Otherwise, I appreciate the "sportspersonship" on the board. WCBB does not exist to the exclusion of programs other than UConn, nor does it exist solely for UConn to dominate. UConn had one of the greatest seasons ever in 2013-14. This season won't be at that level, but it will still be a joy to watch and appreciate. In any case, congrats to Stanford, and thanks to all for appreciating a great game for the sport.

 

[HGN]

Yep, got to give Stanford its props.....They played extremely well and 'earned' the victory. It was not handed or given to them. They 'earned' it the old fashion way. They played hard and took it.

But we all know this is November..........WCBB NC's are "earned" in April.

UConn knows when it's time to "Earn" something.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

There were definitive strategical moves made by Vanderveer prior to that game that I don't think Geno adjusted to. Trapping Stewart and even Tuck in the paint paid off big time as did using Samuelson to face guard KML. Stanford players also sagged off Jefferson and Nurse when they had the ball on the perimeter. Then you have the decision not to foul with the 3-pt lead in the dying seconds, a decision even Geno seemed to regret in his press conference. If we're being honest, I don't see how one can come to any other conclusion than Geno got out-coached last night.

 

[CL82]

Tara Thumped Geno last night.
She faced the reality of the season and went out side her comfort range (and ego) and got ADVICE. Huge pay off.
Good job Tara, good lesson. Maybe there are some smarts over there in Stanford after all.
Watch out Tara, the next game will have Geno on his toes. Good wake up call.

Yes, it was a quite a two point OT thumping.

 

[UConnCat]

There were definitive strategical moves made by Vanderveer prior to that game that I don't think Geno adjusted to. Trapping Stewart and even Tuck in the paint paid off big time as did using Samuelson to face guard KML. Stanford players also sagged off Jefferson and Nurse when they had the ball on the perimeter. Then you have the decision not to foul with the 3-pt lead in the dying seconds, a decision even Geno seemed to regret in his press conference. If we're being honest, I don't see how one can come to any other conclusion than Geno got out-coached last night.

Geno surely knew what Stanford's defensive strategy would be: 1) play a sagging man defense 2) double team Stewie in the lane, 3) face-guard Kaleena and 4) force UConn's unproven perimeter shooters to make shots. It was the same strategy Stanford used in the 2010 game when Maya was a senior. Sometimes players other than your superstar need to make plays and make shots. If Kiah Stokes makes a foul line jumper or 2 then that's one less defender to double team Stewie. If Stokes sets better screens than Kaleena gets more open shots. We're not talking about a loss if Moriah makes a couple of perimeter shots. Geno wasn't out-coached; the Stanford players outplayed the UConn players.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Geno wasn't out-coached; the Stanford players outplayed the UConn players.

I agree with the latter, not the former. Take everything that happened; the lack of adjustments, and at times pure confusion, and replace Geno with, say, Holly Warlick. Would anyone not be saying she was out-coached? Three minutes to go in the game and UConn was STILL trying to force the ball into Stewart with her back to the basket. The Cardinal players were so accustomed to trapping by this point that the one help defender got there before the pass was half completed and stole the ball. They were moving to trap before the passes were being made. By that point, I'd expect someone of Geno's caliber to come up with another way.

 

[Aluminny69]

Yes, it was a quite a two point OT thumping.

Well, since most people picked UConn to win by 20, that's a 22 point swing......

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Great game plan by Stanford last night. They played to their strengths and we didn't. Crowd also helped them. I have no doubt we will crush them if we see them again in the NCAA tournament.

 

[UConnCat]

I agree with the latter, not the former. Take everything that happened; the lack of adjustments, and at times pure confusion, and replace Geno with, say, Holly Warlick. Would anyone not be saying she was out-coached? Three minutes to go in the game and UConn was STILL trying to force the ball into Stewart with her back to the basket. The Cardinal players were so accustomed to trapping by this point that the one help defender got there before the pass was half completed and stole the ball. They were moving to trap before the passes were being made. By that point, I'd expect someone of Geno's caliber to come up with another way.

It's then up to the players to not pass in to the post if they see the double team coming. Or get the ball in to the post earlier so Stewart can make a decision to try to score or pass out of the double. Geno teaches his players to read and react, to think for themselves. What happened last night was a lack of composure down the stretch by some UConn players. If they maintained their composure and made the right reads and made the shots they typically make then the OT loss doesn't happen and we aren't talking about Geno or Tara getting out-coached. I just don't get this "out-coaching" thing that happens so much on this board after a loss. It doesn't make sense to me, and certainly not after a 2-point overtime loss. Sometimes things are just as they appear: one team making more plays than the other team.

 

[EricLA]

FWIW I do think Geno was out-coached. Our defense was like swiss cheese. That means one of three things.

1. Geno did not prepare the team for the kind of offense Stanford would run (in spite of the fact that it was announced many times that Tara spent time with Mike D'Antoni learning a new guard oriented offense)
2. Geno was unable to make in-game adjustments to stop Stanford's offense
3. Geno tried all these things but the team did not execute, or do what he asked

I tend to think it's not #3 - this has to be the most points a team has scored on UCONN in a very long time. When was the last time a team almost put up 90 against us? IMHO it's up to the coaches to not only scout the other team, but to prepare our kids and make adjustments when necessary.

Case in point (just one) - UCONN up 3 with 20 seconds left. They should have put at least 4 players out on the perimeter to stop the 3 point shot. Instead, they stick to man-man and leave a wide open Orrange. Sure the odds were she'd miss, but she was wide open. How does that happen?

I don't want to get into nit picking the coaches, but I wanted to give at least an example of Geno not instructing his players well enough. You can say "kudos to Orrange for making the shot", but the fact that she was so wide open contributed.

There's a terrific thread on the men's board where a couple posters point out all the errors they saw the UCONN coaches make in their strategy, and while it's not a popular opinion, it's objective and fair IMHO.

 

[pap49cba]

Geno's mantra about how players need to "figure it out for themselves" doesn't seem to be taking hold given UConn's recent record in tight games.

And the fact that many players don't have experience playing in tight games at the finish can apply equally to the coaching staff. They don't have a lot of experience either given the huge number of blow-outs. Not a criticism, merely an observation. (And perhaps something THEY need to work on.) I thought Tara totally out-coached the UConn staff coming down the stretch. Stanford made sure they set up a three to tie, and we had Chong taking a two instead of kicking out to someone who could take a three. And as others have said, the very last possession was a joke.

Yet inspite of all this and the questionable calls UConn could have won this game. My single biggest concern is that UConn does not have an on-court leader like Stef, Bria or Maya. And frankly, I don't see KML filling this role. It just is not in her DNA.

In my view, TBS needs to put her USA jersey on and declare that from this point forward this is HER team.

 

[ASweet3781]

FWIW I do think Geno was out-coached. Our defense was like swiss cheese. That means one of three things.

1. Geno did not prepare the team for the kind of offense Stanford would run (in spite of the fact that it was announced many times that Tara spent time with Mike D'Antoni learning a new guard oriented offense)
2. Geno was unable to make in-game adjustments to stop Stanford's offense
3. Geno tried all these things but the team did not execute, or do what he asked

I tend to think it's not #3 - this has to be the most points a team has scored on UCONN in a very long time. When was the last time a team almost put up 90 against us? IMHO it's up to the coaches to not only scout the other team, but to prepare our kids and make adjustments when necessary.

Case in point (just one) - UCONN up 3 with 20 seconds left. They should have put at least 4 players out on the perimeter to stop the 3 point shot. Instead, they stick to man-man and leave a wide open Orrange. Sure the odds were she'd miss, but she was wide open. How does that happen?

I don't want to get into nit picking the coaches, but I wanted to give at least an example of Geno not instructing his players well enough. You can say "kudos to Orrange for making the shot", but the fact that she was so wide open contributed.

There's a terrific thread on the men's board where a couple posters point out all the errors they saw the UCONN coaches make in their strategy, and while it's not a popular opinion, it's objective and fair IMHO.

Agreed.

 

[katiecrum1992]

I must admit, I was a little upset after last night.
But Stanford played well, and for that I commend them. I also like the mutual respect between Auriemma and Vanderveer. Both are leading great programs.
This will be a learning experience for us to take into the tougher non-conference schedule.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Is this congratulatory thread going to morph into a whining thread?