DePaul Postgame thread [merged]

[cgshuskie]

Hello.... Don't the coaches know that all of the Big East has figured out Uconn's basic plays and as a result they are packing the paint to take away Aalijah's drives to the basket. Can't they come up with a few new wrinkles. Every team knows exactly what the Huskies are going to run. An Aalijah won't pass the ball when she is covered by three opposing team players after she misses another lay up. Poor planning and heart breaking. Other teams shoot prayers against Uconn and they go in......

 

[Beemer]

Thank God I re-filled my blood pressure medication today. Just saying.

DePaul pretty much dared Nika to shoot from 3 point land and at first it looked like they were right to do that, she started 0-3. I don't know what happened (maybe some Red Bull at the half) but then she proceeded to go 3-3. But it was those 2 free throws at the end, I literally jumped out of my recliner when the second shot went in! Plus she played the entire 40 minutes. She should have no trouble sleeping tonight!!

I thought Ayanna really stepped up when needed, this should definitely be a tremendous boost for her confidence & maybe now Geno will be more willing to use her.

Amazed that Dorka came back, that ankle injury looked bad & painful too. Gutsy performance from her today.

 

[Kurebeach50]

We sure have a lot of "coaches" on this board. Absolutely amazing.

A win to clinch a tie for the regular season title. DePaul is always a difficult game on their court. This team does not quit. They scrap and claw to win. It ain't pretty but who cares.

Nan mentioned Maya's heroics and don't forget Ketia Swanier's end to end dash for a win.

Remember Tug McGraw's line when he was with the Mets - "You Gotta Believe."

On to Monday night.

My favorite Tug McGraw quip came when he was asked if he preferred grass or turf - he responded, “I don’t know, I’ve never smoked turf” !

 

[HuskyNan]

It an opinion board, folks. Feel free to offer your opinion but be aware someone may (probably will) disagree

 

[sno-cat]

Please help me understand basketball scoring. Why doesn't the official point total of 72 equal the sum of the individual parts total of 86?

 

[tchalla1]

WTF… she literally kept them in the game… just keep hating

Lol so I guess Geno is hating too, when he talks about Aubrey's need to be more consistent... Hating and constructive critique are two entirely different things. Now put your pom-poms down for a few minutes and breathe reality's air...

 

[hoopsfan22]

I’d say there is one but she’s sitting on the bench in a knee brace.

Paige could be in that class, but being able to remain on the court is a big part of what makes a great player great. How many games were there where Diana, Maya, or Stewie said they couldn't go? There was a time where we kept puke buckets behind the bench for players that refused to take the day off. Times have changed, but you bring back those 2014/15/16 UConn teams and they would smoke every team in today's so-called better top 25.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

At this moment in time, UConn is a very average team.

Lucky to win today.

This is probably the most painful season since the beginning of the Geno Auriemma era in the mid-1980's. I can only think of 2007, the season after Diana Taurasi left, as in any way comparable. We lost seven games that season, and failed to advance past the, what?, Sweet Sixteen? But we didn't have the talent that year. We did start a major rebound the following season, however, when Tina Charles arrived on campus.

This year it's all about searing injuries. We have had essentially a Top Five team sitting on the bench with terrible injuries: devastating knee injuries to Paige and Azzi, serious concussion with unshakable symptoms to CD. Without a top point guard, and with Lou fading due to overwork and possible injury, the opponents just clog the middle, forcing either a miss or a turnover from the front court players. And that is effective against us game after game.

I don't think this team is capable of winning the Big East tournament, and a Sweet Sixteen opponent could be extremely difficult to get by. Just too many injuries, to many minutes for the walking wounded. The most painful season we've ever been through.

 

[npignatjr]

I totally agree--shotty play by Nika today, although she was clutch at the end,,,, I disagree on Aubrey though--did you see how many bunnies she missed, and driving into situations with no planned strategy or outcome. She must have had 4-5 TOs. Each game, you never know what you're going to get from her... The usual thing with Aubrey is brilliant play one game then the next, she's quite mediocre. She is haunted by inconsistency,

Nika played mostly well a couple bad passes 1 TO given to her was a good pass that went through Aaliyah s hands. Scored last 5 clutch points. Played real defense. Aubrey today was both brilliant and bad both sides of the ball. 5 turnovers while really handling the ball much. Airballed at least 3 layups.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Thank God I re-filled my blood pressure medication today. Just saying.

DePaul pretty much dared Nika to shoot from 3 point land and at first it looked like they were right to do that, she started 0-3. I don't know what happened (maybe some Red Bull at the half) but then she proceeded to go 3-3. But it was those 2 free throws at the end, I literally jumped out of my recliner when the second shot went in! Plus she played the entire 40 minutes. She should have no trouble sleeping tonight!!

I thought Ayanna really stepped up when needed, this should definitely be a tremendous boost for her confidence & maybe now Geno will be more willing to use her.

Amazed that Dorka came back, that ankle injury looked bad & painful too. Gutsy performance from her today.

How did she start 0-3 when she was 3-5 for the day? I believe she missed her first, hit her next two and then missed another in the first half.

 

[HuskyNan]

Please help me understand basketball scoring. Why doesn't the official point total of 72 equal the sum of the individual parts total of 86?
View attachment 84432

The field goal total includes three point shots. For example, Lou took 4 total shots, three of them were threes. She made 3 points on three pointers (1-3) and two points on two pointers (1-1). She was overall 2-4.

 

[Geew1992]

Lol so I guess Geno is hating too, when he talks about Aubrey's need to be more consistent... Hating and constructive critique are two entirely different things. Now put your pom-poms down for a few minutes and breathe reality's air...

Lmao…Pom poms… ya might wanna check my posts but okay I’ll be that

 

[tchalla1]

Nika played mostly well a couple bad passes 1 TO given to her was a good pass that went through Aaliyah s hands. Scored last 5 clutch points. Played real defense. Aubrey today was both brilliant and bad both sides of the ball. 5 turnovers while really handling the ball much. Airballed at least 3 layups.

Good assessment, but careful: saying that Aubrey had an up and down game: inconsistent, will get you labeled a hater....

 

[npignatjr]

Thank God I re-filled my blood pressure medication today. Just saying.

DePaul pretty much dared Nika to shoot from 3 point land and at first it looked like they were right to do that, she started 0-3. I don't know what happened (maybe some Red Bull at the half) but then she proceeded to go 3-3. But it was those 2 free throws at the end, I literally jumped out of my recliner when the second shot went in! Plus she played the entire 40 minutes. She should have no trouble sleeping tonight!!

I thought Ayanna really stepped up when needed, this should definitely be a tremendous boost for her confidence & maybe now Geno will be more willing to use her.

Amazed that Dorka came back, that ankle injury looked bad & painful too. Gutsy performance from her today.

Check the game play by play.

 

[Bone Dog]

Is anyone else frustrated by the Fox Sports commentators, Sarah Kustok and Lisa Byington? They did the Villanova game, too, and they were terrible in that one as well. Lots of chatter about themselves -- even nostalgia photos of themselves -- and can't seem to find the time to tell us what's happening in the actual game, like who was that last foul on? Was that a turnover, a foul, a jump ball, etc.? How many fouls did Aaliyah have, or Aneesah, etc.? I found myself trying to pick up vital information from the PA speaker, which is barely audible on TV.

 

[npignatjr]

There is something in what you say, but if I had to choose between an Aubrey who is afraid to shoot and
contributes little or nothing on offense and an Aubrey, mistakes and all, who plays aggressively on the
offensive end, I would choose the latter.

Today's game included both, kept both teams in the game

 

[Bone Dog]

In case anyone's wondering, Nika is shooting really well this season, especially from the FT line. 71.1% isn't dazzling, but it's a huge improvement over the past two years. And she seems to be even better when it comes to clutch free throws. I don't dread seeing her go to the line at the end of close games.

 

[Jonathan14]

I have to say it was a relief to watch a game where the referees didn’t become part of the storyline. Were they perfect? Of course not; I don’t think anyone expects them to be. But there seemed to be relative consistency in what they did and didn’t call - and no 15-minute video reviews. Hallelujah!

 

[darkstar1]

Thank goodness Morrow is only 6'1". Can you imagine if she was Dorka's/Boston's size at 6'5"? She would be unguardable, and unstoppable.

I’m impressed whenever I see Morrow play. She was definitely the best and most impactful player on the court today. Morrow is very good. Tough, aggressive and very good hands. Took a village to cover her. Definite all American imho.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Aubrey was like a Clint Eastwood movie today. The good,the bad,and the

 

[Geno-ista]

Is/was Lou ill? Geno just said she hadn't practiced for 3 days.

Early in the season she was hampered by a foot injury I believe. During the entire season I’ve seen her go down and fall a couple times per game when making a turn to get back on defense after made lay ups- alone on the court. I believe She has a chronic foot and/or ankle issue. She is really banged up- so today they went to Aubrey. Lou is probably as tough as any player we’ve ever had.

 

[browns]

In case anyone's wondering, Nika is shooting really well this season, especially from the FT line. 71.1% isn't dazzling, but it's a huge improvement over the past two years. And she seems to be even better when it comes to clutch free throws. I don't dread seeing her go to the line at the end of close games.
View attachment 84433

What a lot of people don't realize is for the year Nika is shooting 38% from the 3...35% is considered a good 3 point shooter anything over that is really good...people always say have to have Caroline for her long range shooting but for her career she's only a 31% 3 point shooter
Maybe Nika should take a few more each game

 

[Soxx]

The last few minutes we looked like UConn BB. We made plays. The problem is team chemistry and what I saw alot of was holding the ball over our heads and waiting for someone to get open usually down low then telegraphing the pass and of course it was stolen. To offset that we need to look down low then pass the ball to someone else if the player down low isnt open. Just keep moving the ball and moving ourselves looking to make passes and receive passes. To much holding the ball and trying to force it down low and again TELEGRAPHING passes.

Not sure you are right about team chemistry. Both coaches and players have competed on close they all are—strong chemistry.

 

[browns]

Any one notice when Dorka tied up Morrow and fell to the floor with the ball and Morrow was trying to take the ball away Lou came in and put both arms around Morrow and sort of pushed her back...stick up for one another

 

[BB Dawg]

An ugly win is still a win.

Our ability to make FTs is clutch.

Said it in the chat, but AP played great today. I am in total support of her getting more playing time if she continues to play like this. We couldn't have gotten the win without her. Played some great defense.

We make so many mistakes consistently, it's truly frustrating and heartbreaking to see. Clearly they do not have productive practices because these constant mistakes that are uncharacteristic for UConn.

EDIT: The real good thing to me is that they retained their BE #1 seed.

EDIT 2: Inez also gave us some good minutes.

All 8 players played well today. That was the difference in the 4th Q. I hope they rest all the starters in the 2nd half on Monday.

 

[BB Dawg]

Reading another post reminded me: Kudos to Patterson. Early in her time in the game, she looked a little lost on defense, but she really came back well. A great opportunistic basket, and wonderful defense.

Perhaps even more perplexing than the 18 turnovers was how DePaul, a team that plays only one kid as tall as 6'1" was able to block 7 UConn shots? We make 4 blocks, but DePaul blocks 7?

Tired legs? Just not got the spring anymore?

Many of them we fed into AE and they had 3 bodies on her. I also think they fed her so often that at least 5 were turnovers.- Thinking it was a game plan for Uconn and DePaul was ready.

 

[JDForever]

Nika played mostly well a couple bad passes 1 TO given to her was a good pass that went through Aaliyah s hands. Scored last 5 clutch points. Played real defense.

Except with 17 seconds left when she allowed People's an easy layup to make it a one point game. Thankfully she redeemed herself with the free throws.

 

[jfan]

It's great that UConn won, but that last turnover on the inbounds play says it all about the condition of the team right now. Dorka missed at least one (Griffin) and maybe two players who would have had a chance at the ball, and passed it to someone who was covered. To no one's surprise, DePaul got the ball. It was that way the whole game.

One other observation: Earlier in the season, UConn had great success getting the ball in to a big, Edwards of Juhasz, who would then go to work. What's clear now is that every team they come up against has devised defenses against that pass-in. And you know what? UConn still tries to force it in there, time after time. And loses the ball, time after time. I know there's some truth in the old saying about riding the horse that got you there, but a time comes when you have to recognize that the horse has gone lame.

Agree. This team is the worse in years turning the ball over. I appreciate Patterson playing good defense today. But let's not get excited. DePaul is not a Top 25 team. The same for Yanna. First time she touches the ball has a turnover.

 

[HuskyNan]

Except with 17 seconds left when she allowed People's an easy layup to make it a one point game. Thankfully she redeemed herself with the free throws.

She was in foul trouble and didn’t want to pick up another one. Also, the clock was UConn’s friend and a foul would have stopped the clock

 

[Littlemin]

Except with 17 seconds left when she allowed People's an easy layup to make it a one point game. Thankfully she redeemed herself with the free throws.

I am pretty sure her job there was to not let her shoot a 3 pointer, a two didn’t really hurt them, it was going to come down to making foul shots.