OT: DePaul goes down big

[jchusky]

Per Pat Summitt - often misquoted - offense wins fans, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships.

And no, I don't mean it literally, just to reflect on how much good rebounding, and especially on the offensive end, can mean.

As far as the first game, I found it entertaining. Incarnate Word was a dreadful team during the season, under .500, that caught fire in their conference tourney. Gritty and fun to watch, but still not really good basketball. Howard had some really nice plays mixed in to what it seems you get when you are playing a bad team without anything to lose. Howard is good for their level of ball, the MEAC is a long, long way from the Power 5 / Big East and even the A10.

As to DePaul - who would have thought we wouldn't watch the whole game? Epic beatdown. Someone asked about DePaul's style, I can't say that was their style when he started in the '80's - but it has been for as long as we have seen them play, close on 25 years now.

and that's why I don't think Uconn can win it all. Sc and Stanford just look like they have both and at a much higher level.

 

[Stymie]

Was this the only game you saw her play? Anyone who is not impressed with Morrow is not being fair. Are you impressed with Caitlin Clark? She sometimes takes as many shots as Morrow took just to score 20 plus points. I think one thing that frustrated Morrow is that she is not used to her shot getting blocked as much as it was last night and the lackluster play of her teammates.

All I’m saying is that someone taking that many shots had BETTER score more than 10 points.
Not a critique of her overall game.
I’m much more impressed with her board work that her offensive output.

 

[HuskyNan]

Have they ever actually beat a top 5 caliber team? I'll give Bruno props for making DePaul such a consistent team the last 20 years, but I don't think they've ever pulled a notable upset. Has he ever beat UCONN in his career?

Not top 5 but DePaul beat #9 Kentucky in 2020. They’ve scared a lot of top 5 teams but just haven’t gotten over the hump

 

[Carnac]

Was this the only game you saw her play? Anyone who is not impressed with Morrow is not being fair. Are you impressed with Caitlin Clark? She sometimes takes as many shots as Morrow took just to score 20 plus points. I think one thing that frustrated Morrow is that she is not used to her shot getting blocked as much as it was last night and the lackluster play of her teammates.

Stymie raises a point that I subscribe to. I never draw a conclusion or an opinion about a player or a team early in the season. I don't care what the preseason polls say.

I always wait until they’ve played 5 games. That gives me a large enough sample size to compose an informed opinion. As you know, 1-2 games is not enough. I’ve seen Morrow 5-6 times. I also follow her in their box scores.

I’m convinced she's legit. I believe she has an on-going streak numbering in the high twenties. I assume her numbers will increase each year. What are her numbers going to be her senior year?

If her knees while up, she should be a top 5 draft pick.

 

[Carnac]

All I’m saying is that someone taking that many shots had BETTER score more than 10 points.
Not a critique of her overall game.
I’m much more impressed with her board work that her offensive output.

Stymie, allow me to chime in briefly. There may be a dynamic at work here we don't know about. Morrow is usually her team’s leading scorer. There can be several reasons for that. 1. Her coach wants her to take an abundance of shots, and her teammates are willing to defer to her. 2. Bruno’s game plan calls for them to try to feed her in the low post on a regular basis. 3. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds and has been told by the coaches to put those rebounds right back up.

I’m not throwing any shade on your take of Morrow. While you're not impressed, I am. Another reason she may take a lot of shots is that like yesterday, none of her teammates were scoring, so she at times tries to put the team on her back. The other four on the floor were standing around waiting and expecting HER to make a play much like UConn did Bueckers last year.

I believe that she has set new a record for consecutive double doubles in D1 WCBB. She probably also broke the number of double doubles scored in a single season as well. She was selected as a 2nd team AA for this year. A selection I heartily endorse.

 

[LoboDays]

She surprised us all as a freshman. She will be double teamed all the time going forward. She will need a reliable supporting cast to keep the defense honest. If not, it could get frustrating for her.

 

[Stymie]

Stymie, allow me to chime in briefly. There may be a dynamic at work here we don't know about. Morrow is usually her team’s leading scorer. There can be several reasons for that. 1. Her coach wants her to take an abundance of shots, and her teammates are willing to defer to her. 2. Bruno’s game plan calls for them to try to feed her in the low post on a regular basis. 3. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds and has been told by the coaches to put those rebounds right back up.

I’m not throwing any shade on your take of Morrow. While you're not impressed, I am. Another reason she may take a lot of shots is that like yesterday, none of her teammates were scoring, so she at times tries to put the team on her back. The other four on the floor were standing around waiting and expecting HER to make a play much like UConn did Bueckers last year.

I believe that she has set new a record for consecutive double doubles in D1 WCBB. She probably also broke the number of double doubles scored in a single season as well. She was selected as a 2nd team AA for this year. A selection I heartily endorse.

Stymie, allow me to chime in briefly. There may be a dynamic at work here we don't know about. Morrow is usually her team’s leading scorer. There can be several reasons for that. 1. Her coach wants her to take an abundance of shots, and her teammates are willing to defer to her. 2. Bruno’s game plan calls for them to try to feed her in the low post on a regular basis. 3. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds and has been told by the coaches to put those rebounds right back up.

I’m not throwing any shade on your take of Morrow. While you're not impressed, I am. Another reason she may take a lot of shots is that like yesterday, none of her teammates were scoring, so she at times tries to put the team on her back. The other four on the floor were standing around waiting and expecting HER to make a play much like UConn did Bueckers last year.

I believe that she has set new a record for consecutive double doubles in D1 WCBB. She probably also broke the number of double doubles scored in a single season as well. She was selected as a 2nd team AA for this year. A selection I heartily endorse.

Chime in anytime and feeling no shade.
My thought is that basketball is a team game.
And she puts up numbers. Big numbers.
But that is not the recipe for success.
Dating myself, but whenever I think big numbers, I think a Pistol Pete.
His huge numbers resulted in personal accolades, but did not spell team success.
I’m all about UCONN and the Big East gaining respect.
Just wishing other teams in the BE would step up.

 

[baggerbob]

Stymie, allow me to chime in briefly. There may be a dynamic at work here we don't know about. Morrow is usually her team’s leading scorer. There can be several reasons for that. 1. Her coach wants her to take an abundance of shots, and her teammates are willing to defer to her. 2. Bruno’s game plan calls for them to try to feed her in the low post on a regular basis. 3. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds and has been told by the coaches to put those rebounds right back up.

I’m not throwing any shade on your take of Morrow. While you're not impressed, I am. Another reason she may take a lot of shots is that like yesterday, none of her teammates were scoring, so she at times tries to put the team on her back. The other four on the floor were standing around waiting and expecting HER to make a play much like UConn did Bueckers last year.

I believe that she has set new a record for consecutive double doubles in D1 WCBB. She probably also broke the number of double doubles scored in a single season as well. She was selected as a 2nd team AA for this year. A selection I heartily endorse.

A volume shooter is a problem on any team. The great ones Maya, Diana, Candace, Stewie, Laureen Jackson, Sylvia Fowles, all could shoot more.
But they are more concerned with winning championships, that's why they pass the ball, and aren't league leader's in shots taken.
Make your teammates better and better shots will come.

.

 

[Carnac]

A volume shooter is a problem on any team. The great ones Maya, Diana, Candace, Stewie, Laureen Jackson, Sylvia Fowles, all could shoot more.
But they are more concerned with winning championships, that's why they pass the ball, and aren't league leader's in shots taken.
Make your teammates better and better shots will come.

.

Agreed. Bruno's job for the next 3 years is to surrender her with smart players that can shoot, play defense and make adjustments on the fly.

I’m not a DePaul or Morrow fan. Just an interested observer from afar. I will be watching her for the next 3 years out of curiosity.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

This game magnified DePaul's weaknesses. Their lack of depth was a serious problem for their style fo play. And Kierra Collier was not available for this game (not sure if she was injured?), which only exacerbated their depth issues.

But this game was also flukish in many ways. DePaul led the country in scoring but only put up 57 against Dayton, their lowest total of the season. Only UConn (60), Villanova (64), Creighton (68) and Arizona (68) had held them below 70 all season long. Dayton's defense is good but I don't think it's that good.

And Dayton, a team that averaged less than 6 made 3's per game, hit something like 10 of 12 threes in the first half alone, and at one point made 8 in a row. Some of these shots were from well beyond the arc. That's just flukish stuff, kinda like Villanova shooting over 70% in the NCAA final against Georgetown back in the 80s. Sometimes one team is hot and the other team is cold. That can happen in a "one and done" format.

Villanova had the highest shooting percentage in championship game history shooting almost 79% for the game, including 90% in the second half. When Rollie Massimino was asked how his team managed to shoot 90% from the field in the second half he replied, "We missed a shot."

 

[TeamFirst!]

Dayton's 13 3 pointers equals 39 points right there, in 23 shot opportunities? It tough for any team to win against shooting like that. That's an anomaly.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Stymie, allow me to chime in briefly. There may be a dynamic at work here we don't know about. Morrow is usually her team’s leading scorer. There can be several reasons for that. 1. Her coach wants her to take an abundance of shots, and her teammates are willing to defer to her. 2. Bruno’s game plan calls for them to try to feed her in the low post on a regular basis. 3. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds and has been told by the coaches to put those rebounds right back up.

I’m not throwing any shade on your take of Morrow. While you're not impressed, I am. Another reason she may take a lot of shots is that like yesterday, none of her teammates were scoring, so she at times tries to put the team on her back. The other four on the floor were standing around waiting and expecting HER to make a play much like UConn did Bueckers last year.

I believe that she has set new a record for consecutive double doubles in D1 WCBB. She probably also broke the number of double doubles scored in a single season as well. She was selected as a 2nd team AA for this year. A selection I heartily endorse.

I think Courtney Paris holds the record for consecutive double doubles.

 

[Skeets]

Morrow is constantly double teamed, hence the low shooting % (9-25, 36%). She did grab 7 offensive rebounds and made 4 blocks. And, oh yeah, she’s a freshman.

Man, tough crowd

At this point in the season there are no freshmen. Ask Geno. I like Doug, he's an entertaining guy, but why does DePaul collapse every year in the second half of the season. Surely Doug can see the pattern, but apparently he can't fix it...

 

[HuskyNan]

At this point in the season there are no freshmen. Ask Geno. I like Doug, he's an entertaining guy, but why does DePaul collapse every year in the second half of the season. Surely Doug can see the pattern, but apparently he can't fix it...

How many NCAA tournaments has the kid been in?

 

[Stymie]

How many NCAA tournaments has the kid been in?

There is a possibility that she never plays in one.

 

[DEpup]

I just feel like Morrow's skills changes everything and doesn't fit with the recent version of DePaul ball and then that leaves the rest of the team unsure of what to do within the flow of the offense. I think Doug needs to clearly reconcile Morrow with his style of offense next year or I see them struggling again.

 

[sun]

I credit Dayton's defense. They may be trouble for Georgia.

I agree that Dayton can take down Georgia if they play as well as they did against DePaul, and I hope they do.
Georgia's Mikayla Coombs played at UConn for 2 years.
IMO Dayton would make a good addition to the Big East but that's just wishful thinking.

 

[azfan]

no team work ，weak defence plus no effective offense ，that's the right result

An understatement. This is been a characteristic of the team all year.

 

[azfan]

Dayton’s Coach Shauna Green will be on the short list of candidates for a few P5 schools. This is her 6th year at Dayton and she’s been to the post season every year including 4 NCAA Tournaments. The Woman can coach and recruit.

Virginia would do well to hire her- eh @Dillon77 ?

I'm hoping Ray Anderson has her on a must interview list to replace CTT here in Tempe.

While I'm still reeling from her retirement this is an opportunity for the Sun Devils to make important move for the future.

Not to wish Dayton any ill but I certainly hope she becomes available sooner than later for interview.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Terrible job! I'd judge my own coaching performance that way too. Team did not beat anybody, they lost games they shouldn't have and they did not improve as the season progressed. The big 3.
2 points: 1- you can't run and gun if you don't play defense. All DePaul does is pull the ball out of the nets. Even, Paul Westhead's system was predicated on relentless full-court defense. 2- you can't have an outside game without an inside game. So, Morrow and other inside players are essential to DePaul's success. For one reason, you can't run if you can't rebound.
I actually wonder if Bruno's time at DePaul has past. Obviously a good coach. Risk-taker and innovator. Helped make DePaul a factor. Try it somewhere else?

 

[oldude]

Terrible job! I'd judge my own coaching performance that way too. Team did not beat anybody, they lost games they shouldn't have and they did not improve as the season progressed. The big 3.
2 points: 1- you can't run and gun if you don't play defense. All DePaul does is pull the ball out of the nets. Even, Paul Westhead's system was predicated on relentless full-court defense. 2- you can't have an outside game without an inside game. So, Morrow and other inside players are essential to DePaul's success. For one reason, you can't run if you can't rebound.
I actually wonder if Bruno's time at DePaul has past. Obviously a good coach. Risk-taker and innovator. Helped make DePaul a factor. Try it somewhere else?

There was some talk about Doug Bruno retiring after this season. He is 71 years old and was just named to the WBB HOF. Right now, it looks like he’ll be back next season. But retirement is a distinct possibility.

 

[Carnac]

Agreed. Bruno's job for the next 3 years is to surrender her with smart players that can shoot, play defense and make adjustments on the fly.

I’m not a DePaul or Morrow fan. Just an interested observer from afar. I will be watching her for the next 3 years out of curiosity.

Correction..............Bruno's job the next 3 years is to SURROUND her with smart players........
The auto correct on my cell phone was working real good that day, even though "surrender" was not the word I typed or meant to use.

 

[eebmg]

Correction..............Bruno's job the next 3 years is to SURROUND her with smart players........
The auto correct on my cell phone was working real good that day, even though "surrender" was not the word I typed or meant to use.

If by smart, you mean their brains give them extra height. But they got to figure out how to play some defense

 

[Carnac]

If by smart, you mean their brains give them extra height. But they got to figure out how to play some defense

By “smart”, I meant players that are not just on the floor, but players that are totally in in game. Players that always play with a sense of urgency. There are players that in your opinion were thinkers while on the court.

I remember recently that a point guard for a D1 wcbb team told her coach during a time out that the team on the floor WAS NOT running the offense. She then told the coach that she wanted to take over the game because what they were doing wasn't working.

The coach said ok. Her team pulled out a win in the last 30 seconds of the game. She was interviewed after the game. She related that conversation between her an the coach.

That's where I got this information. You’ve been watching basketball long enough to know what I’m talking about. Players have various degrees of BB IQ.