Couple of thoughts after the game

[UcMiami]

1. Kiah Stokes has a beautiful free throw shot. She looks pretty good on the 15 ft. FG attempts as well just doesn't quite have the confidence to take them very often. Also has made a nice baseline move twice now in two games.
2. The ONLY player on Uconn with an A/TO ratio below 1.0 is Morgan Tuck! (8 A/11 TO) Everyone else including the walk ons is above the 1.0 mark.
3. This game raised the margin of victory to 37.8 points (NCAA record territory) and dropped the defensive FG% to 30.9. Smart me - I predicted that with Morgan out and the team playing more zone we should expect the team to struggle maintaining those stats and they go out and improve on both.
4. Geno complains that this team is too nice - tonight that was a pretty vicious beat down with no mercy. 19-0 to start, 35 point spread by half time and added another 26 to the margin in the second half with KLaw playing 7 minutes.
5. Team ended up shooting 76% and 89% from 3 in the second half.
6. In the first 10:35 of the second half the team went 10 for 10 from the field with 5 three pointers. Stewart broke the string by missing a lay-up and in the process costing Bria an assists. Of course Stewart tapped in her own miss and the next offensive possession Bria hit a three followed by Kiah getting a conventional 3 pt play. The next miss by Chong was rebounded by Jefferson and led to another Stewart 3 followed by a Jefferson 3 followed by a Jefferson lay-up, followed by another Stokes 3 pt play, followed by a Jefferson lay-up. That takes us to the 2:02 mark of the second half where for the first time Uconn misses a shot and does not get the offensive rebound. Up to that moment Uconn had missed two shots in the second half and had rebounded both misses and scored!!!
7. As a summary of point 6 - Uconn went 18-20 with two offensive rebounds in the first 17:58 of the second half including 8 three pointers.
8. Luckily for SMU Uconn also committed 9 turnovers during those 18 minutes or the score might really have gotten out of hand!!!

 

[UcMiami]

As an addendum to the OP:
9. Geno was very happy with the last 2:02 of the second half because the team finally started valuing the basketball and stopped turning it over!!! Of course they went 1-5 from the field during that time so it wasn't all roses, but at least zero turnovers!

 

[Kibitzer]

Every starter played at an All-American level in this game. But no way do the voters honor more than two at the end of the season, when they vote.

So who gets in? And who gets screwed?

If they pick a (five player) team by position, Stef gets in as the center. She also gets some benefit by being a senior -- last chance for her, etc., may sway a few votes.

Moriah is unlikely to make it this year -- but a virtual lock next year, when Sims and McBride (and Hartley) are all in the WNBA.

Bria has been simply sensational recently but no question but that McBride and Sims both pull in a lot of votes. Tough competion at guard.

How can Stewie or Kaleena be denied? I'll tell you how. By voters either favoring Thomas and Ogwumike or by assigning a quota of two AA's to UConn -- or a combination of both factors. (I didn't say I agree, I am guessing how the voters may think.)

My best guess as to how this will play out? I think Stewie is a lock but that Stef and Kaleena and Bria will all get sufficient recognition to justify their jerseys going up on The Wall.

When?

Stef and Bria on Senior Night.

Moriah? Next year.

Stewie and Kaleena? Ask Geno.​

 

[UcMiami]

Kib - by current criteria both Stef and Bria have made the wall and the jerseys go up on senior night. KML made the wall last year along with Stef so that will happen on her senior night and one has to believe Stewie earns it this year. I do believe that 4 of the five starters are worthy of selection this year and I suspect three get onto the 10 player squad - the two seniors and Stewart. The reason I say 4 of 5 is that Kaleena missed so many games and struggled when she returned that she is only starting now to play up to that level. She has a month to impress and I think she will, but at this moment in time she hasn't done enough this year to justify AA selection.

 

[Phil]

2. The ONLY player on Uconn with an A/TO ratio below 1.0 is Morgan Tuck! (8 A/11 TO) Everyone else including the walk ons is above the 1.0 mark.

That's very impressive and I did not know that.

 

[DobbsRover2]

The biggest thing that happened last night was that the team took over the lead for the best assists per game average among the all-time UConn teams. SNY sometimes garbles up the facts on this point, but 2013-14 is now in the lead. And I'm surprised that Sue Bird was not asked by Geno about this stat, because I'm sure that she would tell you that the biggest accomplishment of her senior year was that team's ability to finish off the season at 0.01 apg ahead of the previous year's team.

The battle royal is on between 2013-14 and Jen's 1994-95 team for the ultimate championship, and it's very close. Here's the top 4 all time.

1. 2013-14: 22.50
2. 1994-5: 22.45
3. 2001-02: 21.69
4. 2000-01: 21.68

The reward for this year's team if they finish on top is lifetime jobs working the dishes at Geno's restaurant. But if you go there, just be careful if you hear Bria yell out, "Who ordered the eggplant parmigiana?" because she might try a bounce-pass delivery from three tables away.

 

[Phil]

Weirdness - in the first half, only two turnovers. Then, in the second half they were averaging a turnover every minute (or close to it) for quite some time. Adding to the weirdness—their inability to hang on to the ball coincided with their inability to miss a shot. Absolutely perfect shooting ten for ten, coupled with one of the worst stretches of turnovers this season—what an odd combination.

 

[Phil]

6. In the first 10:35 of the second half the team went 10 for 10 from the field with 5 three pointers. Stewart broke the string by missing a lay-up and in the process costing Bria an assists. Of course Stewart tapped in her own miss and the next offensive possession Bria hit a three followed by Kiah getting a conventional 3 pt play. The next miss by Chong was rebounded by Jefferson and led to another Stewart 3 followed by a Jefferson 3 followed by a Jefferson lay-up, followed by another Stokes 3 pt play, followed by a Jefferson lay-up. That takes us to the 2:02 mark of the second half where for the first time Uconn misses a shot and does not get the offensive rebound. Up to that moment Uconn had missed two shots in the second half and had rebounded both misses and scored!!!

I knew most of that but it is still quite impressive. With all the turnovers, I didn't realize they hadn't missed a shot until the announcers mentioned they were (IIRC) 8 for 8. I followed it for some time after. This will help our season feild goal percentage, which is hardly the most important stat, but I'd like to finish on top.

 

[UcMiami]

I knew most of that but it is still quite impressive. With all the turnovers, I didn't realize they hadn't missed a shot until the announcers mentioned they were (IIRC) 8 for 8. I followed it for some time after. This will help our season feild goal percentage, which is hardly the most important stat, but I'd like to finish on top.

It wasn't until I was typing that point that I realized I wasn't sure exactly how many shots in a row they had made - as I went through the play-by-play I got to Stewarts miss, noticed she got the tip-in and that Bria then made the next shot, so I started checking further because the first miss I had remembered was Chong's and there was Jefferson with the rebound and Stewart's three. At this point it was really getting a little surreal! Finally at 2:02 Stef misses and SMU rebounds.
That was just such an amazing stretch of game action from a shooting perspective - the turnovers were equally weird as players were airmailing passes all over the place - Jefferson even double dribbled!
Amazingly - shooting 59.7% means Uconn falls further behind in the field goal percentage race as ND's last game (against Duke no less) they shot 61.8%!!!

 

[Kibitzer]

Kib - by current criteria both Stef and Bria have made the wall and the jerseys go up on senior night. KML made the wall last year along with Stef so that will happen on her senior night and one has to believe Stewie earns it this year. I do believe that 4 of the five starters are worthy of selection this year and I suspect three get onto the 10 player squad - the two seniors and Stewart. The reason I say 4 of 5 is that Kaleena missed so many games and struggled when she returned that she is only starting now to play up to that level. She has a month to impress and I think she will, but at this moment in time she hasn't done enough this year to justify AA selection.

I agree, and especially the highlighted statement. To paraphrase some commercial, her greatness is guaranteed to amaze.

And as I get into discussions with the trio of wcbb's match of mlb's Bill James (UCMiami, Dobbs and Phil), I sit in awe of your individual and collective talents. Then I simply recall Al Davis's focus on what is really, really (thx Geno) vital:

"Just win, baby."​

 

[huskybill]

Weirdness - in the first half, only two turnovers. Then, in the second half they were averaging a turnover every minute (or close to it) for quite some time. Adding to the weirdness—their inability to hang on to the ball coincided with their inability to miss a shot. Absolutely perfect shooting ten for ten, coupled with one of the worst stretches of turnovers this season—what an odd combination.

I think some of the turnovers came because the team was ordered to make a lot of passes before every shot in the second half. We ended up with only 6 steals. I think they all were in the first part of the first half when we pressed. Little Mo, embarrassed by the fact that she has a high HBR, had 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

 

[huskybill]

Kib - by current criteria both Stef and Bria have made the wall and the jerseys go up on senior night. KML made the wall last year along with Stef so that will happen on her senior night and one has to believe Stewie earns it this year. I do believe that 4 of the five starters are worthy of selection this year and I suspect three get onto the 10 player squad - the two seniors and Stewart. The reason I say 4 of 5 is that Kaleena missed so many games and struggled when she returned that she is only starting now to play up to that level. She has a month to impress and I think she will, but at this moment in time she hasn't done enough this year to justify AA selection.

I certainly agree with your point about Kaleena. And usually All American status is awarded before the NCAAs so Kaleena may not have enough time to impress the voters. But the voters sometimes vote on reputation and that should be in Kaleena's favor.

BTW, is this the first time I ever agreed with you on anything?

 

[DobbsRover2]

I think some of the turnovers came because the team was ordered to make a lot of passes before every shot in the second half. We ended up with only 6 steals. I think they all were in the first part of the first half when we pressed. Little Mo, embarrassed by the fact that she has a high HBR, had 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

It did seem a little odd that there weren't more steals against an SMU team that overall wasn't the sharpest in passing, but they threw a lot of balls away, there were a lot of near-steals that UConn might have gotten in more pressing circumstances, and Keena Mays is an excellent player and ball handler and SMU kind of relied on her to drive into the paint and make something happen.

 

[huskybill]

Huskybill is there for the tough games and by there I mean at the BoneYard halftime meetings. At yesterday's surprisingly large event, (attended by about half of the announced 7800 crowd), the main talk was about the great job Geno was doing with his substitution pattern. I hadn't thought about that at all, and didn't realize how great it was until halfway through the second half. He had to peruse up and down the bench to try and pick the right sub for the job. OK, sometimes he wasn't sure and put in two at a time. But, overall, he did a great job and he should get credit for it.

 

[sTu]

Huskybill, it was good to see that the Human Growth Hormones you have been taking are actually starting to visibly show the result and that you have added a centimeter to your listed height.

 

[blackbird]

I think Uconn's three All Americans this season should be Stewart, Hartley, and Jefferson.

Kaleena missed too many games and had a rough patch after the fact. She's having a lesser version of Bria's junior season. Stef's a great player, but I don't think she's been as good as the three above.

That being said, Moriah won't make a team. (She'll be the best point guard in the country, next season though.) So, I expect Stewart to definitely get some recognition. Bria certainly should. And if there's a third Uconn player, it'll be Stef..as Moriah is the newcomer and Kaleena's had injury/rough patches.

 

[huskybill]

Huskybill, it was good to see that the Human Growth Hormones you have been taking are actually starting to visibly show the result and that you have added a centimeter to your listed height.

But then I got delisted again.

 

[UcMiami]

I think some of the turnovers came because the team was ordered to make a lot of passes before every shot in the second half. We ended up with only 6 steals. I think they all were in the first part of the first half when we pressed. Little Mo, embarrassed by the fact that she has a high HBR, had 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

Yeah agree about Mo - but come on, she could have been a little more subtle about it than a double dribble out front! So obviously an attempt not to be too exceptional!

And on your other question - I think about three years ago I posted something about the weather being cold and you agreed that it wasn't what you would call warm - I took that as a sign of a meeting of the minds and was very pleased of a few days! (In retrospect perhaps I was reading to much into your post!)

 

[Icebear]

Sorry, anyone thinking that Stef has not been one of the two central players to UCONN's success does not understand basketball and how crucial she is too everything UCONN does on the court. To suggest that the best center in the country and probably top 3 draft picks isn't a first team AA is simply nonsense.

 

[Zorro]

First team AA; Dolson, Hartley, Stewart. Second team; KML and MoJet. (In a sane and fair world. Won't, of course, happen,)

 

[VAMike23]

Sorry, anyone thinking that Stef has not been one of the two central players to UCONN's success does not understand basketball and how crucial she is too everything UCONN does on the court. To suggest that the best center in the country and probably top 3 draft picks isn't a first team AA is simply nonsense.

Which type of 1st-team AA squad do you have in mind -- would you put her on a 5-player squad that is comprised of the best players regardless of position? (I'm assuming, but don't know for certain, that at least one of the major AA teams is put together that way.) I think on any 10-player squad she makes it but not sure about 5 if position is not a factor.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Just noticed that MoJeff got two offensive rebounds last night and Bria got her second block of the season. I will claim credit for goading them both into supreme feats.

 

[blackbird]

Sorry, anyone thinking that Stef has not been one of the two central players to UCONN's success does not understand basketball and how crucial she is too everything UCONN does on the court. To suggest that the best center in the country and probably top 3 draft picks isn't a first team AA is simply nonsense.

Awards are given based on performance. She hasn't been better than Stewart or Hartley this season. Anyone thinking otherwise doesn't understand basketball. Awards aren't given based on how crucial a player is..(although, I think this "2 central players" is a bit odd. Sure, Uconn's offensive and defensive structure is centered around the fact that we have a 6'5 skilled post and a 6'4 skilled post. Geno would be silly not to. That doesn't mean those two have performed better than those around them. And it also doesn't mean they are more important. At this point, I don't think any Uconn player is more crucial than the other, especially given the depth.)

She's a great player. And she'll be Uconn's third All American if Uconn gets a third All American. But I have no problem saying some of her teammates have performed better than her. Against the top 25:

Hartley- 18.14 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.2 apg

Stewart- 20.4 ppg, 8.14 rpg, 2 apg

Dolson – 9.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3,5 apg

Jefferson – 9.14 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5 apg

Sure, stats aren't everything..but when's the last time someone was an All American that didn't average double digit points against the top teams?

And Despite the slight statistics edge, I think Jefferson's been better as well. But that's up for debate. (And I'd argue it's easier for a 6'5 player to get a rebound than it is for a player to get an assist, making the statistics a wash.) What's not up for debate, is who Uconn's best two players have been.

 

[Icebear]

Yes, ones using position consideration. Without a doubt any using 10 on the first team.

BB, I do believe that Stef has been better than everyone but Stewie including Bria. You may not be impressed with her numbers but it is almost a double double. She has assists like a guard and often makes the pass before the assist to the correct position, she sets continual picks and screens (sometimes as many as half a dozen per possession), most games the offense runs through her, she has had numerous double doubles, she is rebounding better than when she was an AA last year. She makes the best entry passes into Stewie in the low post, she forces teams to guard her in the high and low post and consistently finds the open shooter for 3. There is not another center in the country that runs the court better than Stef. She plays tremendous D and regularly cuts off flashers passing their defender and stops them completely. Just like Kelly statistics come nowhere near telling the story of Stef's importance. How far do you think this team would get without her.

She is likely a top 3 draft pick and will go higher than Bria. Consider a top 3 pick not being a AA. Foolishness is what that would be. No one on the team has a more complete skill set and BB IQ than Stef.

 

[hoophuskee]

Awards are given based on performance. She hasn't been better than Stewart or Hartley this season. Anyone thinking otherwise doesn't understand basketball. Awards aren't given based on how crucial a player is..(although, I think this "2 central players" is a bit odd. Sure, Uconn's offensive and defensive structure is centered around the fact that we have a 6'5 skilled post and a 6'4 skilled post. Geno would be silly not to. That doesn't mean those two have performed better than those around them. And it also doesn't mean they are more important. At this point, I don't think any Uconn player is more crucial than the other, especially given the depth.)

She's a great player. And she'll be Uconn's third All American if Uconn gets a third All American. But I have no problem saying some of her teammates have performed better than her. Against the top 25:

Hartley- 18.14 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.2 apg

Stewart- 20.4 ppg, 8.14 rpg, 2 apg

Dolson – 9.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3,5 apg

Jefferson – 9.14 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5 apg

Sure, stats aren't everything..but when's the last time someone was an All American that didn't average double digit points against the top teams?

And Despite the slight statistics edge, I think Jefferson's been better as well. But that's up for debate. (And I'd argue it's easier for a 6'5 player to get a rebound than it is for a player to get an assist, making the statistics a wash.) What's not up for debate, is who Uconn's best two players have been.

Name a better enter than Dolson this year.