DePaul Postgame thread [merged]

[Bone Dog]

Just musing again on our passing problems, and especially the lack of good ball fakes in the half court offense. There's good reasons why our passing game is lackluster. It's easy to blame Nika for it, but she's not the problem, or at least not the main problem. I said above that she seems to have developed a bad habit of telegraphing passes. But everyone is passing tentatively.

I watched a replay of last year's Indiana game, just to see how marked the difference is, and it is very striking. Everything was just a lot crisper, and the passing was decisive. None of this picking up the dribble and then wondering what to do with the ball. Now the personnel on that team was quite different. ONO gave a lot of stability in the front court. And the backcourt was really stacked with ball handlers; Paige, of course, but also Christyn and Evina and Azzi and Caroline and Nika. This was a really solid unit. No one ever got the ball away from Christyn, that's how sharp her handles were. And Evina could have been the starting PG on pretty much any team in the nation. Nika was the weakest guard in that lineup. Now she's the strongest we have, and she's really strong -- that's how much progress she's made.

And Paige, above all, always seemed to know where the ball was going by the time she crossed half court. In the first half of the season, Nika was playing like that. She seems to have lost that confidence, and probably so have the people she's trying to get the ball to.

 

[HuskyNan]

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.

Yanna and Patterson are the same person

 

[topogigio]

Just musing again on our passing problems, and especially the lack of good ball fakes in the half court offense. There's good reasons why our passing game is lackluster. It's easy to blame Nika for it, but she's not the problem, or at least not the main problem. I said above that she seems to have developed a bad habit of telegraphing passes. But everyone is passing tentatively.

I watched a replay of last year's Indiana game, just to see how marked the difference is, and it is very striking. Everything was just a lot crisper, and the passing was decisive. None of this picking up the dribble and then wondering what to do with the ball. Now the personnel on that team was quite different. ONO gave a lot of stability in the front court. And the backcourt was really stacked with ball handlers; Paige, of course, but also Christyn and Evina and Azzi and Caroline and Nika. This was a really solid unit. No one ever got the ball away from Christyn, that's how sharp her handles were. And Evina could have been the starting PG on pretty much any team in the nation. Nika was the weakest guard in that lineup. Now she's the strongest we have, and she's really strong -- that's how much progress she's made.

And Paige, above all, always seemed to know where the ball was going by the time she crossed half court. In the first half of the season, Nika was playing like that. She seems to have lost that confidence, and probably so have the people she's trying to get the ball to.

@BoneDog, you have hit the nail squarely on the head with your last sentence and specifically one word - confidence. All the injuries, tired bodies and minds, have impacted the teams’ overall confidence. Fortunately, talent and will power has helped overcome, but it has been a tough fight! Need to get the mojo working again!

 

[Fore!]

First off, the team held on for a win. It has been a perplexing season. The tight games continue late into the fourth quarter. At this point, the question has to be asked. Is UConn overrated or does the Big East deserve credit for being an under appreciated, competitive conference?

Thankfully, the team showed the emotion that had decidedly been low-key in the last couple of games. Unfortunately, this team seems to be consistent in its inconsistency. A player will have a good individual game, followed by a subpar one.

Collectively, I feel the team has allowed doubt to creep in over the past 10 games. It happens to teams all the time. Some never recover and their season is essentially over. It won't happen to this team, but their margin of error has dwindled.

On high notes, it was great to Ines take an outside shot and make it. Hopefully, today was a huge confidence builder for Ayanna - the most productive minutes for her in a long time. Caroline, who never says no to a shot, looked much better after the St. John's game.

It looks like every game beginning in the Big East tourney to the Big Dance will be entertaining and close. It's been awhile since UConn entered the tournament and wasn't confidently penciled in to make the Final Four. This year, if they make it, it will have been earned.

What about last year’s team; 2nd seed had to go through 1st seed NC State to get to the final four. Lots of injuries too.

 

[maple]

Last year UConn had to come from behind in the 4th quarter to win a 2 point game over DePaul at their place.

DePaul ended their season with a 20 point loss in their first BE Tournament game and a 30+ point loss
in their first NCAA Tournament game.

UConn played in the national championship game.

March is a strange time when it comes to basketball.

 

[MSGRET]

Just musing again on our passing problems, and especially the lack of good ball fakes in the half court offense. There's good reasons why our passing game is lackluster. It's easy to blame Nika for it, but she's not the problem, or at least not the main problem. I said above that she seems to have developed a bad habit of telegraphing passes. But everyone is passing tentatively.

I watched a replay of last year's Indiana game, just to see how marked the difference is, and it is very striking. Everything was just a lot crisper, and the passing was decisive. None of this picking up the dribble and then wondering what to do with the ball. Now the personnel on that team was quite different. ONO gave a lot of stability in the front court. And the backcourt was really stacked with ball handlers; Paige, of course, but also Christyn and Evina and Azzi and Caroline and Nika. This was a really solid unit. No one ever got the ball away from Christyn, that's how sharp her handles were. And Evina could have been the starting PG on pretty much any team in the nation. Nika was the weakest guard in that lineup. Now she's the strongest we have, and she's really strong -- that's how much progress she's made.

And Paige, above all, always seemed to know where the ball was going by the time she crossed half court. In the first half of the season, Nika was playing like that. She seems to have lost that confidence, and probably so have the people she's trying to get the ball to.

Playing on average of 36.3 minutes the whole year and almost 40 minutes a game the last month you kind of get burned out both mentally and physically, it's not confidence. She had 8 assists today and should have had at least 12, She hit 3 of her 6 three pointers and went 4 for 4 at the Stripe. She scored the last 5 points and only had 4 T/O's with at least one of them that should have been given to AE for not catching a perfectly good pass.

 

[JDForever]

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

The clock stopped after the uncontested layup.

 

[Fore!]

I was wondering the same thing

Simple; the dreaded spellcheck! I tried typing Nika’s name multiple times and each time spellcheck would change it.

 

[AJay11]

Geez, just because they (Stanford) lost a game to another #1 seed does not make them “just as vulnerable as UConn”! Let’s stick somewhere close to reality here. Utah is a good team who has dominated their conference. Losing to them certainly isn’t a bad loss for the Cardinal. Of course it’s not good but let’s face it, it’s not like losing to St Johns!

Stanford's been squeaking (struggling/surviving) out wins against unranked opponents all season and some of those teams have the same record as a DePaul and St. John's. I only mention their vulnerability because one would think they would be dominating those matches with a full squad. And no offense, but I watched part of their matches vs UCLA and Colorado and they were missing shots/FTs (credit the other teams defenses...I guess). I also say this because I read that Uconn dropped in rankings because of their close games with Creighton and Villanova (and not necessarily because of the St. John's loss). It just seems UConn is right in the mix of having and not having a shot at the Final Four. With the exception of SC and Indiana, the 5-6 teams under seemed to be untested or have struggled in some regard. I listen to Chasing Perfection and it was mentioned that there's more of a chance that none of the "number 1 seeds" make it to the Final 4 vs. all four making it. As for reality...I think it's more about perspective than anything else.

 

[uconnfan68]

Stats. Hmmm, Ayanna had an offensive rebound and putback. ??

View attachment 84422

And looked great doing it.

 

[uconnfan68]

telling that Patterson and Bettencourt got minutes and Deberry did not

Bad matchup for Amari. Morrow is way to quick.

 

[dtbtbtb]

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.

I liked as well her mid range game...she used to be just a bully around the basket and now she is more difficult to stop. If she becomes a good 3 point shooter she;ll be even harder to stop

 

[Centerstream]

This is a good one. I am pretty sure the person doesn't know who is Yanna but, may know who is Patterson .... LOL

Oh, I thought that they meant Yanni and Patterson.... but I can't recall where I know the name Yanni from....

 

[Conndog]

She had 4 head scratching TOs and some iffy passes her teammates saved. She just seems not quite herself lately but I can say that for all the starters but Aubrey. Big props to Aubrey for her play today

It's those ill-advised passes that drive me nuts- she really scored today though, and at the end that 3 was huge

 

[Lynx23]

Geno says there are no longer really great teams, but a bunch of really good teams. I guess that's parity? I think it really comes down to the lack of a Stewie/Maya/Diana type player that could elevate a really good team to a spectacular one.

We have two sitting on the bench.

 

[npignatjr]

The clock stopped after the uncontested layup.

Different type of stoppage.

 

[npignatjr]

We have two sitting on the bench.

So far only Paige has shown that through 1complete season, 2 years ago. Those 3 were there for 4 years, their good fortune, what career will either or both might have is still up in the air.

 

[Outrigger]

Keep seeing comments like this one. Not all three-point field goals are created equal. Nika for her career and this year as well is not a good three-point shooter. That is why defenders let her stand alone and motionless and size a three up for as long as she wants and dare her to go ahead and pull the trigger.
The threes that Nika takes are shootaround or stand on the court by yourself threes. If she was a decent three-point shooter she would be averaging around 60% or more on the wide-open, take forever if you wish to, threes that the defense gifts her. In the same circumstances Azzi would probably average around 90%, Paige and Lou 80% plus to 90%, and Caroline probably 70% or so. But those three at their healthy best are respected/feared scorers, so most of the time they are guarded tightly, double-teamed and closed upon quickly by the defense - so the true degree of difficulty of their quick triggered threes is typically much, much, much higher.

Fortunately, once in a while Nika has a game where she hits her threes well and she did so today. She is always a giant on the floor, has great stamina, fire, heart, and leadership - but she is a bad outside shooter from everywhere.

 

[Bigboote]

I just wanna say that I thought the team played very well in the first half when Ines was in -- her ± was +5. I hope to see more of her in the next game.

This game was really exciting -- kudos to DePaul for a good game plan, and kudos to UConn for pulling it out. The last two times UConn wasn't really challenged in a season, they fell in the final four in overtime. There was a lot of talk at the time that they needed to be challenged. They lost some games last year during the regular season and won their first F4 game in a few years. I still have hope.

 

[Wessex]

They are?? Who says?

I'm just the messenger for someone who does not use a computer,* but he says Kara Wolters and Meghan Culmo have commented on this.
*age ninety-five

 

[sun]

I thought that Carol made the best shot of the game when she side stepped the defender and made the bank shot from a distance, while pushing off with one leg.
Every basket in this game was needed but that shot could have been a buzzer beater in most any game, a real beautiful shot!
Carol tried really hard to deliver some points in this game and she did good.

The game showed how ready that teams are to deal with the pressure of finishing out games at the end.
Even though UConn finished out the game, DePaul showed that they could be the 4th or 5th Big East team selected for March Madness.
I thought that DePaul played better than St. John's did, but lost because UConn played better too.

 

[Boreifs]

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.

You should look at the replay. Patterson didn’t switch on the play when Nika was screened, assuming that Peoples was going to take a three.
In general, I have found many of the comments here at best patronizing and at worst disgusting. DePaul always plays UConn tough at home, even in the Stewie and company days. I wonder how many of our critics ever played a game under any sort of pressure, let alone as part of a fabled program on National TV. Let’s appreciate the Fab Five while we still can and maybe pretend that you are talking to their parents when you decide to be the “discerning” critic of note.

 

[OldSchooler]

Apologies to anyone who has already brought this up, but . . .

Why-oh-why did Doug Bruno use his final time-out at 17.0, right after Peoples' drive down the lane pulled DePaul to 69-70?

a) He should have known that Geno was going to call a time-out in order to advance the ball to midcourt.

b) He should have seen Dorka out of bounds under the basket, already signaling to the ref for a time-out.

c) Clearly, DePaul would have to force UConn to the foul line, but at worst, that would put DePaul down by 3, and they would need that time-out to advance the ball themselves to set up a final play.

d) As it turned out, Nika hit those 2 FTs, leaving DePaul with 7.7 seconds to possibly tie the game with a 3, but they had to inbound the ball under UConn's basket and go the length of the court, instead of starting at midcourt.

 

[Littlemin]

We have two sitting on the bench.

No, Uconn doesn’t. They may yet get to that level and I know it is a radical concept but not until they prove it to on the court to the level Taurasi, Moore and Stewart did. Both have sat out more games than they have played through no fault of their own but you have to do it to be included with those who have, not have fans say they “could’ve”. Sports are strewn with players who didn’t but maybe “could have“ for a myriad of reasons.

 

[freshler40]

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.

Agreed. We need some play by play, updates on reviews etc. That type of comment is what is interpreted for posting on the caption line for those of us who are hearing impaired. Many of us need the caption comments to correctly follow the games. Our eyes certainly help but we live in a limited dimension world.