"Couldn't Keep Arkansas Guards From Driving" -- Let's Put That Claim Under a Microscope

[JoePgh]

I read the postgame thread and saw many, many comments (some quite vituperative) about the inability of UConn defenders to stop the Arkansas players from getting to the basket. And Geno did say the same thing in his postgame comments, although I think he attributed it to first-game lack of preparation. So I reviewed the game from the specific perspective of looking at all the the Razorback scoring plays identified in the ESPN Play-by-Play as either layups or free throws (since there is a good chance that the free throws resulted from UConn fouls against players driving to the hoop).

Here are the highlights of what I found. I think it lends some perspective to our view of the problem:

1. By my count, Azzi gave up three layups, and didn't give up a fourth only because the Arkansas guard was kind enough to miss her layup. Clearly she is not yet a shutdown guard at the college level. Kalana Greene, Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse need not fear that they will be eclipsed anytime soon by her defensive prowess.
2. Aaliyah Edwards was guarding Sash Goforth on the perimeter at the start of the game, and she clearly was not up to that task. I'm not sure why anyone would think that she would be -- she is, after all, an inside player who probably hasn't practiced guarding such a quick player 20 feet from the basket. After the first few minutes of the game, I didn't notice AE giving up any more layups until the end of the third quarter, by which point she had 4 fouls. Then, in the fourth quarter, she conceded a layup rather than risk getting her 5th foul, which is when Geno and Jamelle both yelled at her -- but that happened because of her fouls, not her defensive technique.
3. Dorka had some defensive problems, but they didn't seem to be in the area of guarding penetration. Both she and Liv allowed Arkansas post players to get behind them and get layups, not on drives but on passes. Ellis, a bench player for Arkansas, did this twice to Dorka within less than a minute in the third quarter.
4. These three players (Azzi, AE, and Dorka) accounted for the majority of UConn's problems with giving up layups. Caroline also committed a foul trying to defend a drive attempt, and it looked to me like a valid foul call. I did not see big defensive lapses by Paige, Evina, Christyn, or Nika. Contrary to what was stated in some posts in the postgame thread (which claimed that UConn never successfully stopped any Arkansas drive attempts), many Arkansas penetration attempts were stopped, usually by Liv and other players forming a wall, causing Arkansas to pass out to someone for an offensive reset (or, less frequently, for a 3-point attempt). For some reason, this didn't happen as much when Azzi was in the game. I suspect there is some problem of coordination between Azzi and the back line that needs to be addressed in practice.

A man-to-man defense that is working properly will not be based on the premise that perimeter defenders will never get beat off the dribble. There are just too many gifted offensive players for that to be realistic. But the defense should bend without breaking when the first defender does get beat, and that wasn't happening against Arkansas. A defender can guide her player into the help defense by guarding the baseline more than the center of the court. Post players can shift their position to face the drive, forcing a pass or a pull-up shot (which are far lower percentage options than a layup). Defenders can avoid using hands and arms at the point of contact with the driving player -- force the ref to make a borderline blocking call rather than giving him or her an easy call by holding or hacking. (AE's 4th foul occurred when she played good defense until the shot was on its way, and then she made contact with the shooter's wrist.) Past UConn teams have been able to do that. This one will learn, but it will take some amount of time.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Azzi was beaten about 8 times by my count. Not all ended directly in a shot attempt, however. Personally, I think her old nemesis 'overthinking' is largely at play here. If you think too much instead of instinctively reacting with your feet you're gonna be caught off guard. Reps in practice and time getting more relaxed with the college game should help her with this.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I read the postgame thread and saw many, many comments (some quite vituperative) about the inability of UConn defenders to stop the Arkansas players from getting to the basket. And Geno did say the same thing in his postgame comments, although I think he attributed it to first-game lack of preparation. So I reviewed the game from the specific perspective of looking at all the the Razorback scoring plays identified in the ESPN Play-by-Play as either layups or free throws (since there is a good chance that the free throws resulted from UConn fouls against players driving to the hoop).

Here are the highlights of what I found. I think it lends some perspective to our view of the problem:

1. By my count, Azzi gave up three layups, and didn't give up a fourth only because the Arkansas guard was kind enough to miss her layup. Clearly she is not yet a shutdown guard at the college level. Kalana Greene, Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse need not fear that they will be eclipsed anytime soon by her defensive prowess.
2. Aaliyah Edwards was guarding Sash Goforth on the perimeter at the start of the game, and she clearly was not up to that task. I'm not sure why anyone would think that she would be -- she is, after all, an inside player who probably hasn't practiced guarding such a quick player 20 feet from the basket. After the first few minutes of the game, I didn't notice AE giving up any more layups until the end of the third quarter, by which point she had 4 fouls. Then, in the fourth quarter, she conceded a layup rather than risk getting her 5th foul, which is when Geno and Jamelle both yelled at her -- but that happened because of her fouls, not her defensive technique.
3. Dorka had some defensive problems, but they didn't seem to be in the area of guarding penetration. Both she and Liv allowed Arkansas post players to get behind them and get layups, not on drives but on passes. Ellis, a bench player for Arkansas, did this twice to Dorka within less than a minute in the third quarter.
4. These three players (Azzi, AE, and Dorka) accounted for the majority of UConn's problems with giving up layups. Caroline also committed a foul trying to defend a drive attempt, and it looked to me like a valid foul call. I did not see big defensive lapses by Paige, Evina, Christyn, or Nika. Contrary to what was stated in some posts in the postgame thread (which claimed that UConn never successfully stopped any Arkansas drive attempts), many Arkansas penetration attempts were stopped, usually by Liv and other players forming a wall, causing Arkansas to pass out to someone for an offensive reset (or, less frequently, for a 3-point attempt). For some reason, this didn't happen as much when Azzi was in the game. I suspect there is some problem of coordination between Azzi and the back line that needs to be addressed in practice.

A man-to-man defense that is working properly will not be based on the premise that perimeter defenders will never get beat off the dribble. There are just too many gifted offensive players for that to be realistic. But the defense should bend without breaking when the first defender does get beat, and that wasn't happening against Arkansas. A defender can guide her player into the help defense by guarding the baseline more than the center of the court. Post players can shift their position to face the drive, forcing a pass or a pull-up shot (which are far lower percentage options than a layup). Defenders can avoid using hands and arms at the point of contact with the driving player -- force the ref to make a borderline blocking call rather than giving him or her an easy call by holding or hacking. (AE's 4th foul occurred when she played good defense until the shot was on its way, and then she made contact with the shooter's wrist.) Past UConn teams have been able to do that. This one will learn, but it will take some amount of time.

You saw the same game I saw and I agree on the numbers. Maybe "switching" is a problem. Sometimes after getting screened a player needs to switch right? Lots of these problems are fixable.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I read the postgame thread and saw many, many comments (some quite vituperative) about the inability of UConn defenders to stop the Arkansas players from getting to the basket. And Geno did say the same thing in his postgame comments, although I think he attributed it to first-game lack of preparation. So I reviewed the game from the specific perspective of looking at all the the Razorback scoring plays identified in the ESPN Play-by-Play as either layups or free throws (since there is a good chance that the free throws resulted from UConn fouls against players driving to the hoop).

Here are the highlights of what I found. I think it lends some perspective to our view of the problem:

1. By my count, Azzi gave up three layups, and didn't give up a fourth only because the Arkansas guard was kind enough to miss her layup. Clearly she is not yet a shutdown guard at the college level. Kalana Greene, Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse need not fear that they will be eclipsed anytime soon by her defensive prowess.
2. Aaliyah Edwards was guarding Sash Goforth on the perimeter at the start of the game, and she clearly was not up to that task. I'm not sure why anyone would think that she would be -- she is, after all, an inside player who probably hasn't practiced guarding such a quick player 20 feet from the basket. After the first few minutes of the game, I didn't notice AE giving up any more layups until the end of the third quarter, by which point she had 4 fouls. Then, in the fourth quarter, she conceded a layup rather than risk getting her 5th foul, which is when Geno and Jamelle both yelled at her -- but that happened because of her fouls, not her defensive technique.
3. Dorka had some defensive problems, but they didn't seem to be in the area of guarding penetration. Both she and Liv allowed Arkansas post players to get behind them and get layups, not on drives but on passes. Ellis, a bench player for Arkansas, did this twice to Dorka within less than a minute in the third quarter.
4. These three players (Azzi, AE, and Dorka) accounted for the majority of UConn's problems with giving up layups. Caroline also committed a foul trying to defend a drive attempt, and it looked to me like a valid foul call. I did not see big defensive lapses by Paige, Evina, Christyn, or Nika. Contrary to what was stated in some posts in the postgame thread (which claimed that UConn never successfully stopped any Arkansas drive attempts), many Arkansas penetration attempts were stopped, usually by Liv and other players forming a wall, causing Arkansas to pass out to someone for an offensive reset (or, less frequently, for a 3-point attempt). For some reason, this didn't happen as much when Azzi was in the game. I suspect there is some problem of coordination between Azzi and the back line that needs to be addressed in practice.

A man-to-man defense that is working properly will not be based on the premise that perimeter defenders will never get beat off the dribble. There are just too many gifted offensive players for that to be realistic. But the defense should bend without breaking when the first defender does get beat, and that wasn't happening against Arkansas. A defender can guide her player into the help defense by guarding the baseline more than the center of the court. Post players can shift their position to face the drive, forcing a pass or a pull-up shot (which are far lower percentage options than a layup). Defenders can avoid using hands and arms at the point of contact with the driving player -- force the ref to make a borderline blocking call rather than giving him or her an easy call by holding or hacking. (AE's 4th foul occurred when she played good defense until the shot was on its way, and then she made contact with the shooter's wrist.) Past UConn teams have been able to do that. This one will learn, but it will take some amount of time.

Couple good observations IMO and points about man-to-man D.
You're describing basic fundamentals. It's team defense.
I will bet you a steak dinner at the Aura Cafe (I'm in Alaska now, but hopefully moving to NH. Regardless, I'll get you a coupon), that Geno spent more than 50% of his FIRST practice this year on man-to-man fundamentals. Meaning that they work on this stuff exhaustively.
Remember Coach Dale practicing without a basketball? You know Geno is not that many branches away on the basketball evolutionary tree from the man himself. I bet Geno knows people that knew Naismith or people that knew people that knew Naismith.
Where was it Sunday? I'm just saying. If you take the bet, see if you can get a copy of his practice plan from the 1st day.

 

[Kaizen]

I read the postgame thread and saw many, many comments (some quite vituperative) about the inability of UConn defenders to stop the Arkansas players from getting to the basket. And Geno did say the same thing in his postgame comments, although I think he attributed it to first-game lack of preparation. So I reviewed the game from the specific perspective of looking at all the the Razorback scoring plays identified in the ESPN Play-by-Play as either layups or free throws (since there is a good chance that the free throws resulted from UConn fouls against players driving to the hoop).

Here are the highlights of what I found. I think it lends some perspective to our view of the problem:

1. By my count, Azzi gave up three layups, and didn't give up a fourth only because the Arkansas guard was kind enough to miss her layup. Clearly she is not yet a shutdown guard at the college level. Kalana Greene, Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse need not fear that they will be eclipsed anytime soon by her defensive prowess.
2. Aaliyah Edwards was guarding Sash Goforth on the perimeter at the start of the game, and she clearly was not up to that task. I'm not sure why anyone would think that she would be -- she is, after all, an inside player who probably hasn't practiced guarding such a quick player 20 feet from the basket. After the first few minutes of the game, I didn't notice AE giving up any more layups until the end of the third quarter, by which point she had 4 fouls. Then, in the fourth quarter, she conceded a layup rather than risk getting her 5th foul, which is when Geno and Jamelle both yelled at her -- but that happened because of her fouls, not her defensive technique.
3. Dorka had some defensive problems, but they didn't seem to be in the area of guarding penetration. Both she and Liv allowed Arkansas post players to get behind them and get layups, not on drives but on passes. Ellis, a bench player for Arkansas, did this twice to Dorka within less than a minute in the third quarter.
4. These three players (Azzi, AE, and Dorka) accounted for the majority of UConn's problems with giving up layups. Caroline also committed a foul trying to defend a drive attempt, and it looked to me like a valid foul call. I did not see big defensive lapses by Paige, Evina, Christyn, or Nika. Contrary to what was stated in some posts in the postgame thread (which claimed that UConn never successfully stopped any Arkansas drive attempts), many Arkansas penetration attempts were stopped, usually by Liv and other players forming a wall, causing Arkansas to pass out to someone for an offensive reset (or, less frequently, for a 3-point attempt). For some reason, this didn't happen as much when Azzi was in the game. I suspect there is some problem of coordination between Azzi and the back line that needs to be addressed in practice.

A man-to-man defense that is working properly will not be based on the premise that perimeter defenders will never get beat off the dribble. There are just too many gifted offensive players for that to be realistic. But the defense should bend without breaking when the first defender does get beat, and that wasn't happening against Arkansas. A defender can guide her player into the help defense by guarding the baseline more than the center of the court. Post players can shift their position to face the drive, forcing a pass or a pull-up shot (which are far lower percentage options than a layup). Defenders can avoid using hands and arms at the point of contact with the driving player -- force the ref to make a borderline blocking call rather than giving him or her an easy call by holding or hacking. (AE's 4th foul occurred when she played good defense until the shot was on its way, and then she made contact with the shooter's wrist.) Past UConn teams have been able to do that. This one will learn, but it will take some amount of time.

Since you watch the replay so thoroughly I will like to know how many refs' call are bad ... thanks

 

[JoePgh]

Since you watch the replay so thoroughly I will like to know how many refs' call are bad ... thanks

Watching the replay actually caused me to think that the refs did a better job than I initially thought. I didn't see any calls that I thought were impossible to justify -- which is not true in many basketball games.

When I was at the live game, I thought the call against Aaliyah (I think it was her 3rd foul) after she had stolen the ball was outrageous -- it seemed clear to me that the Arkansas player had tripped her. But on the replay, the Arkansas player had actually stolen the ball back from Aaliyah and AE then pushed the opponent after that occurred. So I guess the call was justifiable.

I referred to Aaliyah's 4th foul in my initial post above. Geno thought that was a bad call, and from where he stood, it probably did look bad. Aaliyah held her position, and the contact was initiated by the opponent. But at the end of the play, after the shot was released, Aaliyah did make contact with the opponent's wrist. It didn't appear to affect the shot, which was missed, but it was a foul.

I thought the refs called the game tightly (calling a total of 40 fouls: 21 on Ark and 19 on UConn), but they called it consistently at both ends of the floor and on both teams.

 

[Amashutcha]

The ref's no-calls on UCONN players were worse.

 

[Stymie]

I thought I saw a lot of moving screens.
Might be wrong, but I thought I did.

 

[Bigboote]

You saw the same game I saw and I agree on the numbers. Maybe "switching" is a problem. Sometimes after getting screened a player needs to switch right? Lots of these problems are fixable.

I agree, and switching defense is something that tends to get better later in the season. I think this roster has the possibility to become one of those UConn teams whose switching defense looks like a well-choreographed dance.

 

[SVCBeercats]

I read the postgame thread and saw many, many comments (some quite vituperative) about the inability of UConn defenders to stop the Arkansas players from getting to the basket. And Geno did say the same thing in his postgame comments, although I think he attributed it to first-game lack of preparation.

I don't why but I found this funny: “Kalana Greene, Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse need not fear that they will be eclipsed anytime soon by her defensive prowess.” I should frown since it is all too true. But maybe despite this very good one game analysis, UCONN's perimeter defense is found wanting as a maestro Geno suggests. He has seen much more of their defense or lack thereof in numerous practices.

Regarding Nurse, Jefferson, Faris, and Greene, they were superior defenders! Getting past any one of then was a feat to celebrate. Certainly Faris and Nurse started as freshmen primarily because of their defense. However they all benefited from playing multiple years with multiple perimeter mistake erasers. All four played with UCONN's top ten career blockers. So does this mean today's perimeter defenders get a pass? Well below is the list the top career blockers. Note number 8 after her first 3 years of play. Think how good she would be if she could stay out of foul trouble.

BTW: Greene was a phenomenal scorer and stats generator in high school as a senior she averaged 28 points, 18 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists per game.

Nurse

• Stewart 2 yrs.
• Stokes 1 yr.

Jefferson

• Stewart 4 yrs.
• Stokes 3 yrs.
• Dolson 2 yrs.

Faris

• Stewart 1 yr.
• Stokes 1 yr.
• Dolson 3 yrs.
• Moore 2 yrs.
• Charles 1 yr.

Greene

• Moore 3 yrs.
• Charles 4 yrs.

BLOCKS (Career)

1. 414 Breanna Stewart (2012-16)
2. 396 Rebecca Lobo (1992-95)
3. 370 Kara Wolters (1994-97)
4. 325 Kiah Stokes (2011-15)
5. 304 Tina Charles (2006-10)
6. 254 Stefanie Dolson (2010-14)
7. 251 Napheesa Collier (2015-19)
8. 207 Olivia Nelson-Ododa (2018-pres.)
9. 204 Maya Moore (2007-11)
10. 181 Kelly Schumacher (1998-01)

 

[Stymie]

I don't why but I found this funny: “Kalana Greene, Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse need not fear that they will be eclipsed anytime soon by her defensive prowess.” I should frown since it is all too true. But maybe despite this very good one game analysis, UCONN's perimeter defense is found wanting as a maestro Geno suggests. He has seen much more of their defense or lack thereof in numerous practices.

Regarding Nurse, Jefferson, Faris, and Greene, they were superior defenders! Getting past any one of then was a feat to celebrate. Certainly Faris and Nurse started as freshmen primarily because of their defense. However they all benefited from playing multiple years with multiple perimeter mistake erasers. All four played with UCONN's top ten career blockers. So does this mean today's perimeter defenders get a pass? Well below is the list the top career blockers. Note number 8 after her first 3 years of play. Think how good she would be if she could stay out of foul trouble.

BTW: Greene was a phenomenal scorer and stats generator in high school as a senior she averaged 28 points, 18 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists per game.

Nurse

• Stewart 2 yrs.
• Stokes 1 yr.

Jefferson

• Stewart 4 yrs.
• Stokes 3 yrs.
• Dolson 2 yrs.

Faris

• Stewart 1 yr.
• Stokes 1 yr.
• Dolson 3 yrs.
• Moore 2 yrs.
• Charles 1 yr.

Greene

• Moore 3 yrs.
• Charles 4 yrs.

BLOCKS (Career)

1. 414 Breanna Stewart (2012-16)
2. 396 Rebecca Lobo (1992-95)
3. 370 Kara Wolters (1994-97)
4. 325 Kiah Stokes (2011-15)
5. 304 Tina Charles (2006-10)
6. 254 Stefanie Dolson (2010-14)
7. 251 Napheesa Collier (2015-19)
8. 207 Olivia Nelson-Ododa (2018-pres.)
9. 204 Maya Moore (2007-11)
10. 181 Kelly Schumacher (1998-01)

I would suggest that having strong shot blockers behind you may allow you to take more chances on defense.
Kinda like an “insurance policy”.
That doesn’t comport with the defensive
Effort on display Sunday.
Poor positioning and footwork, reaching, lack of soft back up, Late/no rotation.
Not sure this is something that can be cleaned up by SC, if they meet them in the Battle.

 

[CocoHusky]

@JoePgh just a few additional thoughts some in support of your analysis and others that are contradictory.

1) As @Sluconn Husky as already mentioned not all the Arkansas drives that got by Azzi resulted in shot attempts. Keep in mind that the initial contain of the ball is the start of the defense and as you correctly point out Azzi had no help. What was most disappointing about Azzi defense was the ease with which the Arkansas guards got around her repeatedly and as I have pointed out in another post this was not the Arkansas starting PG it was a bench player (Spencer).
Azzi also ended this game without a foul-that's not necessarily a good thing. To paraphrase Geno: "If you had fouled then at least I'd know you were trying."

2) Regarding your statement: I'm not sure why anyone would think that she (Aaliyah) would be (able to guard Goforth) -- she is, after all, an inside player. I strongly disagree with this. Aliyah is a very capable perimeter defender certainly capable of matching up with Goforth. Aliyah defense was awful in this game she lost the perimeter battle and she lost the battle at the basket as well.

3) Very very strong point about the Arkansas layup which seem to come at will. Arkansas missed 23 layups in this game. 7 of those misses were in the first quarter of the game. Many of the Arkansas missed layup were uncontested. Denying penetration is not only a guard thing. UCONN bigs were also repeatedly getting beat off the bounce in this game.

4) Paige and Evina would certainly get passing grades in this game for denying penetration but Nika and Christyn would not. Nika worst lapses were on the two Arkansas possessions just prior to the half and Christyn was getting beat off the bounce pretty much for the entire 4th quarter. In addition to not denying penetration Nika, Azzi and Christyn are taking too long to disengage from the screen and get back into the play. The interesting thing about that, which is what makes me optimistic, is that Paige did not come to UCONN with the ability to deny penetration as she did in this game. Paige is also doing a phenomenal job of anticipating where the screen are coming from and fighting through them. Evina certainly did not have that kind of technique in her two season at TN-she was a rather sloppy defender. Azzi, Caroline, Nika & Christyn must improve in these areas. Not only do I believe they can, I'm confident they will.

 

[TCC Kid]

I actually posted comments about Uconn's Atypical inability to stop quick shooting, driving guards. While I believe that to be generally true--I bow to your investigation.
I have to say: After the first period Arkansas was more interested, with their drives, in attacking and creating fouls on Uconn post defenders. Often times their shots were not shot but throws towards the hoop. As a fan of this game I was a bit embarrassed by this approach, yet it was a bit effective in taking Edwards and ONO out for long stretches.. I was under the impression the Refs were not "up" to officiating a game of this nature.

 

[CocoHusky]

I actually posted comments about Uconn's Atypical inability to stop quick shooting, driving guards. While I believe that to be generally true--I bow to your investigation.
I have to say: After the first period Arkansas was more interested, with their drives, in attacking and creating fouls on Uconn post defenders. Often times their shots were not shot but throws towards the hoop. As a fan of this game I was a bit embarrassed by this approach, yet it was a bit effective in taking Edwards and ONO out for long stretches.. I was under the impression the Refs were not "up" to officiating a game of this nature.

I'm not sure there is any reason for embarrassment with this approach. UCONN WBB has successfully used this strategy ( attack the bigs with the dribble) many times in the past and I'm sure they would not hesitate to use it again should the need arise. Best example is 2014 against Duke. The refs were not a factor in this game.

2021 Game
UCONN PFs =19
Arkansas PFs =21

2020 Game
UCONN PFs =23
Arkansas PFs=13

 

[Jibariqua]

UCONN was trying to Ice a lot of the ball screens but the 2 defenders just didn't seem to be in sync with each other. The post was losing contain almost like they were cheating back towards the screener.

 

[TCC Kid]

I agree, and switching defense is something that tends to get better later in the season. I think this roster has the possibility to become one of those UConn teams whose switching defense looks like a well-choreograp

I'm not sure there is any reason for embarrassment with this approach. UCONN WBB has successfully used this strategy ( attack the bigs with the dribble) many times in the past and I'm sure they would not hesitate to use it again should the need arise. Best example is 2014 against Duke. The refs were not a factor in this game.

2021 Game
UCONN PFs =19
Arkansas PFs =21

2020 Game
UCONN PFs =23
Arkansas PFs=13

I was reaching for a word and unfortunately "embarrassed " is what reached the surface. I'm not an English major as you may see in the previous post. That will happen with me from time to time I don't do well with English--As far as the Refs go, I was taking my lead from Geno's side line interaction with the Refs as some of the calls were made.

 

[MSGRET]

I'm not sure there is any reason for embarrassment with this approach. UCONN WBB has successfully used this strategy ( attack the bigs with the dribble) many times in the past and I'm sure they would not hesitate to use it again should the need arise. Best example is 2014 against Duke. The refs were not a factor in this game.

2021 Game
UCONN PFs =19
Arkansas PFs =21

2020 Game
UCONN PFs =23
Arkansas PFs=13

I disagree a little bit, there were obvious fouls that were not called against Arkansas. Almost every drive to the basket that UConn had there was a foul. Paige was fouled so many times that she was getting PO'd. She was seen talking to the refs at least twice asking where was the foul.

 

[CocoHusky]

I was reaching for a word and unfortunately "embarrassed " is what reached the surface. I'm not an English major as you may see in the previous post. That will happen with me from time to time I don't do well with English--As far as the Refs go, I was taking my lead from Geno's side line interaction with the Refs as some of the calls were made.

I disagree a little bit, there were obvious fouls that were not called against Arkansas. Almost every drive to the basket that UConn had there was a foul. Paige was fouled so many times that she was getting PO'd. She was seen talking to the refs at least twice asking where was the foul.

The refs made some bad call on both teams throughout the game. I think there was also a @JoePgh post were he said after watching the replay the refs appear to have done a better job that he though they did watching live at the game. Sometimes that the best you can hope for. In other words try and make the bad calls evenly and call the game the same at the beginning as you do at the end. The only thing good players cannot adjust to is inconsistency and fans are always going to think the refs are for the other team.

 

[808fan]

Yes, Azzi did have trouble keeping Spencer in front of her, but she is an intelligent and hard working kid who will get better. If I remember correctly, PB also had a hard time keeping her opponents in front of her last year, but has gotten better.
CW shaded her guard, who is right handed, to go right, but the guard kept trying to go left, so it must’ve been in the scouting report. Azzi looked like either took a neutral stance or shaded her guard to drive right, which Spencer was happy to do. No tape on the frosh? Maybe if she forced Spencer to try to beat her left the outcome would be different. Most right handers like to drive right. See Griff and Ayanna. Unless you are special like PB and most defenders will have a hard time telling where the hell they’re going. The angles she took in high school will be different than college and she will adjust. You don’t keep champions down for long.
Offensively, Azzi is a double threat right now. Until she proves she can drive hard to the basket, her opponents will be all up in her face. Making it hard to get off shots. Unlike PB, who can pass, drive and shoot at a very high level. Sorry for this long post.

 

[BBallF]

I saw Evina get beat on drives and a back door. I saw CW watch the player go by her to the basket. I saw 15 offensive rebounds by a team with a one 6'2" starter and two players under 5'10". We had 7. I saw not a single charge and not a single attempt at a charge. I would have been happy with one flop. I don't think you need a play by play analysis to see that this is not a championship defense right now. Hurry back Aubrey.

 

[CocoHusky]

Yes, Azzi did have trouble keeping Spencer in front of her, but she is an intelligent and hard working kid who will get better. If I remember correctly, PB also had a hard time keeping her opponents in front of her last year, but has gotten better.
CW shaded her guard, who is right handed, to go right, but the guard kept trying to go left, so it must’ve been in the scouting report. Azzi looked like either took a neutral stance or shaded her guard to drive right, which Spencer was happy to do. No tape on the frosh? Maybe if she forced Spencer to try to beat her left the outcome would be different. Most right handers like to drive right. See Griff and Ayanna. Unless you are special like PB and most defenders will have a hard time telling where the hell they’re going. The angles she took in high school will be different than college and she will adjust. You don’t keep champions down for long.
Offensively, Azzi is a double threat right now. Until she proves she can drive hard to the basket, her opponents will be all up in her face. Making it hard to get off shots. Unlike PB, who can pass, drive and shoot at a very high level. Sorry for this long post.

UCONN was Arkansas 3rd game of the season I'm sure UCONN had game tape of at least one of the Arkansas games as those video exchanges are typically made by the Director of Basketball Operations well before game day. It was difficult to tell what the scout for this game was and what direction the UCONN players were trying to shade the Arkansas ball handlers primarily because the UCONN defenders were getting beat off the first simple Arkansas dribble-aka UCONN was playing Ole' defense. BTW Spencer was just named SEC freshman of the week and her first dribble is very explosive. Spencer is going to be a very good player but that UCONN defense was unacceptable. Azzi is a very good shooter from both long range and deep and she is also a very good passer of the basketball. She is not on the same level as Paige but very few are.

 

[The deacon]

@JoePgh just a few additional thoughts some in support of your analysis and others that are contradictory.

1) As @Sluconn Husky as already mentioned not all the Arkansas drives that got by Azzi resulted in shot attempts. Keep in mind that the initial contain of the ball is the start of the defense and as you correctly point out Azzi had no help. What was most disappointing about Azzi defense was the ease with which the Arkansas guards got around her repeatedly and as I have pointed out in another post this was not the Arkansas starting PG it was a bench player (Spencer).
Azzi also ended this game without a foul-that's not necessarily a good thing. To paraphrase Geno: "If you had fouled then at least I'd know you were trying."

2) Regarding your statement: I'm not sure why anyone would think that she (Aaliyah) would be (able to guard Goforth) -- she is, after all, an inside player. I strongly disagree with this. Aliyah is a very capable perimeter defender certainly capable of matching up with Goforth. Aliyah defense was awful in this game she lost the perimeter battle and she lost the battle at the basket as well.

3) Very very strong point about the Arkansas layup which seem to come at will. Arkansas missed 23 layups in this game. 7 of those misses were in the first quarter of the game. Many of the Arkansas missed layup were uncontested. Denying penetration is not only a guard thing. UCONN bigs were also repeatedly getting beat off the bounce in this game.

4) Paige and Evina would certainly get passing grades in this game for denying penetration but Nika and Christyn would not. Nika worst lapses were on the two Arkansas possessions just prior to the half and Christyn was getting beat off the bounce pretty much for the entire 4th quarter. In addition to not denying penetration Nika, Azzi and Christyn are taking too long to disengage from the screen and get back into the play. The interesting thing about that, which is what makes me optimistic, is that Paige did not come to UCONN with the ability to deny penetration as she did in this game. Paige is also doing a phenomenal job of anticipating where the screen are coming from and fighting through them. Evina certainly did not have that kind of technique in her two season at TN-she was a rather sloppy defender. Azzi, Caroline, Nika & Christyn must improve in these areas. Not only do I believe they can, I'm confident they will.

I enjoyed this post and found myself agreeing nearly throughout, especially your 4th point.

However, I would agree with JoePgh about Goforth and Aaliyah. Edwards is a superb athlete and likely could and will contain a fair number of opponents on the perimeter. However, Sasha is exceptional in her ability to change pace, take long strides past opponents and go to the hoop. Several of her shots were wild, but she was otherwise most impressive. I don't know what dent this Razorbacks team will make in the SEC, but I'll bet Goforth will leave a lot of rivals suffering Aaliyah's fate.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I saw Evina get beat on drives and a back door. I saw CW watch the player go by her to the basket. I saw 15 offensive rebounds by a team with a one 6'2" starter and two players under 5'10". We had 7. I saw not a single charge and not a single attempt at a charge. I would have been happy with one flop. I don't think you need a play by play analysis to see that this is not a championship defense right now. Hurry back Aubrey.

I think Dorka is clearly the answer to the offensive rebound issue. More PT for Dorka please.

 

[jabstep]

Geno is a really smart coach. He scheduled Arkansas as their first game of the year. After last year's loss to them, he used that loss as a springboard to better switch defense. It was after that loss that they became a lot better and he can now use this to challenge this team the rest of the year. Paige is better and Azzi will get better. They all will get better. That is why they came to UConn

 

[Conndog]

And with fast guards, give them extra room so you can stay ahead of them (stay between them and basket). Paige is a really excellent defender- she moves quickly to cut off her opponent when they try to drive. Maybe she should have a clinic for the team! If guards start to hit shots because the defender is laying off them to protect against them driving, then either double team that person who's hot, or switch a better defender on that person, or switch to zone perhaps.
With time and practice, new players such as Azzi will hopefully become better defenders and become used to how much faster, stronger, taller are players at college level.