Couple of thoughts after the game | The Boneyard

Couple of thoughts after the game

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UcMiami

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1. Someone mentioned in the game thread that AAC teams seem to be battling harder than some of the old big east teams did. I think this is a valid point. The bottom half of the old BE could be pretty miserable and I have enjoyed watching these new teams compete. They are overmatched, but at least for now the excitement of playing Uconn seems to be giving them fire - after 10+ years of being blown out of the gym once or twice a year teams like Providence and Seton Hall were maybe more resigned to their fate. If these coaches and programs can build on what they have this year the AAC could be quite interesting quite quickly. It sure doesn't hurt that some of them are probably on national broadcast networks for the first time in their history and that will raise their profile in recruiting.
2. I thought KML had a nice game even if she didn't score a lot - 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals to go with the 8 points. The assist to Kiah was a thing of beauty.
3. People complained about the lack of a post game offensively, but SF played a defense with basically three players in the lane at all times - left a lot of open 3s but made getting the ball inside pretty tough. I also thought they were playing very physically in there - for all the attention to the hand check stuff on the perimeter the other supposed emphasis on cleaning up the freedom of movement in the lane has pretty well gone by the boards, certainly in terms of post play. Probably not a bad thing as the fewer fouls called on Uconn the better with Tuck gone for the year.
4. Kiah didn't have a wow kind of game but I thought she was pretty effective in her minutes - she had three TOs but the first was a bad bounce pass from Bria that never got up to her knees while she was getting bumped from behind, another was her moving screen - Uconn posts should start falling down when the screen player pushes into them as the refs see the feet moving to maintain balance and decide the screen is moving instead of it being a reaction to the defender pushing them. Don't remember the third one.
5. Kiah and Stewart don't get credit for the number of rebounds they keep alive - Stef as well. There were a lot of those that happened today. I think part of our rebounding issue is our guards/wings tend to leak out for fast break opportunities and teams are getting quite a few rebounds on balls that come over the posts and bounce on the floor/scramble kinds of boards. I guess Geno prefers the trade off.
On Edit:
6. I really like Moriah's form on her jumpers - she had a highly contested mid-range J in the second half she made that was just beautiful. I suspect that we will see a steadily improving shooter from mid to 3 range over the next 2 1/2 years as she gains in confidence. She is already hitting 55.6% from the floor and 75.6% on FTs. It is just her 3 ball that is south of 30%.
 
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1. Someone mentioned in the game thread that AAC teams seem to be battling harder than some of the old big east teams did. I think this is a valid point. The bottom half of the old BE could be pretty miserable and I have enjoyed watching these new teams compete. They are overmatched, but at least for now the excitement of playing Uconn seems to be giving them fire - after 10+ years of being blown out of the gym once or twice a year teams like Providence and Seton Hall were maybe more resigned to their fate. If these coaches and programs can build on what they have this year the AAC could be quite interesting quite quickly. It sure doesn't hurt that some of them are probably on national broadcast networks for the first time in their history and that will raise their profile in recruiting.
2. I thought KML had a nice game even if she didn't score a lot - 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals to go with the 8 points. The assist to Kiah was a thing of beauty.
3. People complained about the lack of a post game offensively, but SF played a defense with basically three players in the lane at all times - left a lot of open 3s but made getting the ball inside pretty tough. I also thought they were playing very physically in there - for all the attention to the hand check stuff on the perimeter the other supposed emphasis on cleaning up the freedom of movement in the lane has pretty well gone by the boards, certainly in terms of post play. Probably not a bad thing as the fewer fouls called on Uconn the better with Tuck gone for the year.
4. Kiah didn't have a wow kind of game but I thought she was pretty effective in her minutes - she had three TOs but the first was a bad bounce pass from Bria that never got up to her knees while she was getting bumped from behind, another was her moving screen - Uconn posts should start falling down when the screen player pushes into them as the refs see the feet moving to maintain balance and decide the screen is moving instead of it being a reaction to the defender pushing them. Don't remember the third one.
5. Kiah and Stewart don't get credit for the number of rebounds they keep alive - Stef as well. There were a lot of those that happened today. I think part of our rebounding issue is our guards/wings tend to leak out for fast break opportunities and teams are getting quite a few rebounds on balls that come over the posts and bounce on the floor/scramble kinds of boards. I guess Geno prefers the trade off.


You are spot on hope some of the less knowledgeabble BYs read it
 
1. Someone mentioned in the game thread that AAC teams seem to be battling harder than some of the old big east teams did. I think this is a valid point. The bottom half of the old BE could be pretty miserable and I have enjoyed watching these new teams compete. They are overmatched, but at least for now the excitement of playing Uconn seems to be giving them fire - after 10+ years of being blown out of the gym once or twice a year teams like Providence and Seton Hall were maybe more resigned to their fate. If these coaches and programs can build on what they have this year the AAC could be quite interesting quite quickly. It sure doesn't hurt that some of them are probably on national broadcast networks for the first time in their history and that will raise their profile in recruiting.
2. I thought KML had a nice game even if she didn't score a lot - 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals to go with the 8 points. The assist to Kiah was a thing of beauty.
3. People complained about the lack of a post game offensively, but SF played a defense with basically three players in the lane at all times - left a lot of open 3s but made getting the ball inside pretty tough. I also thought they were playing very physically in there - for all the attention to the hand check stuff on the perimeter the other supposed emphasis on cleaning up the freedom of movement in the lane has pretty well gone by the boards, certainly in terms of post play. Probably not a bad thing as the fewer fouls called on Uconn the better with Tuck gone for the year.
4. Kiah didn't have a wow kind of game but I thought she was pretty effective in her minutes - she had three TOs but the first was a bad bounce pass from Bria that never got up to her knees while she was getting bumped from behind, another was her moving screen - Uconn posts should start falling down when the screen player pushes into them as the refs see the feet moving to maintain balance and decide the screen is moving instead of it being a reaction to the defender pushing them. Don't remember the third one.
5. Kiah and Stewart don't get credit for the number of rebounds they keep alive - Stef as well. There were a lot of those that happened today. I think part of our rebounding issue is our guards/wings tend to leak out for fast break opportunities and teams are getting quite a few rebounds on balls that come over the posts and bounce on the floor/scramble kinds of boards. I guess Geno prefers the trade off.
On Edit:
6. I really like Moriah's form on her jumpers - she had a highly contested mid-range J in the second half she made that was just beautiful. I suspect that we will see a steadily improving shooter from mid to 3 range over the next 2 1/2 years as she gains in confidence. She is already hitting 55.6% from the floor and 75.6% on FTs. It is just her 3 ball that is south of 30%.

UC - you hit the nail on the head.

Sometimes we forget to give credit to our opponents for coming out and being competitive. USF usually plays us tough and I admire their grit. Yes they packed the lane to negate our post play. But you pick your poison when you do that. USF could not contain Bria or Stewie.

Kiah played a strong game. When she was in with Stef and Stewie, USF players stayed away from driving the lane for close in shots. And there was a lot pushing and shoving down low. Refs didn't call most of it. Only the real obvious ones.

Stewie and Bria's points came within the flow of the offense. Neither player was forcing shots. That is a very good sign.
 
Based on our recent 3-point shooting, it was a sound strategy. Based on today's shooting, it was not. Defending the Huskies is like trying to herd jackrabbits.
 
Hopefully on the sixteenth, everyone will be healthy. I'll be sitting down close. I wizened up and bought season tickets, so I didn't have to sit in the upper deck. They played Maryland tough and started out well today. I expect another strong effort from the Bulls.
 
I saw Kiah drive to the basket - I had to rewind and stand next to the screen to be sure it was her, but she did and even though the shot was blocked, I think that it was the first time I saw her do it - I like it - if she starts doing that and making the shots, she is going to be a scary player.
 
I did not see the game yet, but I will be watching while the women are watching the Grammy's or whatever they watch.......
 
Just watched Geno's presser and he agrees with my #5 re guards leaking out and us losing rebounds. (But my head isn't getting swollen!:cool:)
 
The tap out and keeping the ball alive is something Kelly and Stef have long been masters of during the game a number of folks used to complain about Stef doing that. If you can't grab it keep it alive and when possible direct it to a teammate. As ucM notes it does need people to be around to pick up those balls. Getting the balance right from game to game between leaking out and sweeping up is the challenge.
 
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UC, I agree very much with no. 1. I thought these games would be boring, but they aren't. The kids are playing their hearts out, and the coaches are no slouches either.
 
UC, I agree very much with no. 1. I thought these games would be boring, but they aren't. The kids are playing their hearts out, and the coaches are no slouches either.

Interesting game to watch in person, as off the ball play was very physical in the post. For sure, this will be how UCONN is played by most teams.
 
"You are spot on hope some of the less knowledgeabble BYs read it"
If the less knowledgeable BYs read it, what makes you think they'll understand it. Besides it's more than 2 sentences.
 
I expect Louisville to be an ugly slug-fest.
Yep, Louisville is committing almost 20 PFs a game compared to UConn's saintly and nation-leading 11.7 average (even Presbyterian has given into evil ways and fallen way behind the Huskies), so a fair amount of Cardinal fouls are very likely to be called in the 2-4 games this year.
 
"You are spot on hope some of the less knowledgeabble BYs read it"
If the less knowledgeable BYs read it, what makes you think they'll understand it. Besides it's more than 2 sentences.
Yeah, I'm thinking if UcM could do more of a graphic novel form of the summary with a lot of color animations of MoJeff shooting jumpers and Kiah driving to the basket, that would really help.
 
I saw Kiah drive to the basket - I had to rewind and stand next to the screen to be sure it was her, but she did and even though the shot was blocked, I think that it was the first time I saw her do it - I like it - if she starts doing that and making the shots, she is going to be a scary player.
I too loved it. Hope we'll see more of that.
 
Yeah, I'm thinking if UcM could do more of a graphic novel form of the summary with a lot of color animations of MoJeff shooting jumpers and Kiah driving to the basket, that would really help.
What - you think my name is Biff?!!
(And how is that subscription to the BY mag coming along?)
 
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