DePaul Postgame Thread (merged)

[GetReal2day]

And what criticism do you have about Serah for the game she played against TN?

She was mostly invisible and overwhelming in the first half and her best so far in the 2nd half against Tenn. I am just saying I am NOT impressed and I believe Jana would have been a better option right now if she had started from the get go. Now I am sure there are some “Geno” reasons for Jana not getting time. Everyone is saying we will need her and yet she is getting very limited action.

 

[my2cents]

We are not getting any real challenges until the Final 4, IMO. We will most likely be playing the likes of Texas and UCLA. If that's the case, I see Jana being more effective against Oldacre and Betts, rather than Serah, because Jana brings more bulk to the party.

 

[ucmiami2]

I was curious about the offensive rebounding so decided to check DePaul's stats for the year - they are actually an outstanding offensive rebounding team and truly commit to it sending three or four players, while surprisingly not being too bad on transition defense.
Year to date for a 5-20 (2-12) bad team, they lead their opponents in very few categories in box score: TO - they have commit 407 while forcing 449 basically 1 fewer per game; Steals - they have 235 and have given up 212 again close to a margin of 1 per game; and Offensive Rebounds - 342 vs 264 a margin of over 3 per game.

DePaul for the year gets 33% of the rebounds when they take a shot - impressive for a shorter team with a .200 winning percentage - they get out-rebounded on the year by 4+ per game, and defense rebounds by 7+. And with Uconn playing a trapping defense, when they did not get a TO or Steal, the defense was then scrambling to cover wide open shooters, leading to bad positioning for rebounds - how often did you see a Uconn interior defender running out to contest an open three, leaving the lane open for a DePaul rebounder to cut in. Jana (and others) swatting at rebounds was largely because a DePaul player was in better rebounding position and she was trying not to get called for another over-the-back foul.

A trapping defense is a lot of fun to watch when it results in steals and TOs, it is frustrating when a team escapes the trap and attacks, and really frustrating when they make their open shots, and/or rebound their misses. The trap worked to perfection in Q1, and didn't when DePaul settled down and greatly reduced both TO and Steal numbers.

 

[jeff30189]

In a world where you never know what might happen from day to day, its refreshing to come here and see absolutely nothing has changed.

Undefeated, won 20+ games in a row by a margin of at least 25 points, and its the same old moaning, criticizing and finger pointing. Can't you allow yourselves to be happy once in a while?

• Serah is having the same adjustment issues that Dorka had, only Dorka had a second year to show how they paid off. As long as she is a post presence, deters drives to the basket, grabs some rebounds, blocks a few shots and can reliably guard a talented big (aka Betts) then she's serving her purpose.
• Jana hasn't progressed sadly - same problems with holding onto the ball, same challenges with put backs and bunnies - but she's got 2 more years here so cross your fingers. She and Vukosa will be a handful next year even if they only average a double-double between them.
• The bench is as good or better than any other bench in D1 and it allows that suffocating 40 minute full court press that will wear down even the best opponents in the tournament. Allie, Heckel and Blanca could start for almost anyone, oh and by the say they're sophmores.

 

[HuskyNan]

• Serah is having the same adjustment issues that Dorka had, only Dorka had a second year to show how they paid off. As long as she is a post presence, deters drives to the basket, grabs some rebounds, blocks a few shots and can reliably guard a talented big (aka Betts) then she's serving her purpose.

DePaul was 6-14 on layups last night

 

[ucmiami2]

We are not getting any real challenges until the Final 4, IMO. We will most likely be playing the likes of Texas and UCLA. If that's the case, I see Jana being more effective against Oldacre and Betts, rather than Serah, because Jana brings more bulk to the party.

Don't sleep on the E8 game - Geno has called it the hardest game to win in the NCAAs, though of course he is 16-0* since 2008 so maybe he is blowing smoke! 😎

* The 2023 NCAA loss was at the S16 and not the E8

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

She was mostly invisible and overwhelming in the first half and her best so far in the 2nd half against Tenn. I am just saying I am NOT impressed and I believe Jana would have been a better option right now if she had started from the get go. Now I am sure there are some “Geno” reasons for Jana not getting time. Everyone is saying we will need her and yet she is getting very limited action.

Ability to beat opponents (Serah (35.5) vs Jana (25.5)) as discerned by the best WCBB coaching staff ever, in practices and games, not good enough for you?

• Everyone can argue a hypothetical (what if Jana started), but should we trust you over Geno and CD and company?

 

[Blond D.]

It amazes me how a team can score 31 points in the 1st quarter and struggle to score 13 in the second.

Does anyone know why the team has started "tapping" rebounds instead of grabbing rebounds. I feel like it is a "coached" thing because quite a few players have started doing it. The team lost a couple last night because of it.

Only 10 turnovers is good. They probably would have have 0, if they didn't try making the impossible pass every time or forcing a pass to a post that is being well defended.

I was wondering about those "tap outs" myself. I'm constantly yelling at the TV "GRAB the D**N ball"

 

[Basingstoke]

Allie, Heckel and Blanca could start for almost anyone, oh and by the say they're sophmores.

Blanca's a freshman...

 

[vtcwbuff]

Sort of a meh game. The crowd had no energy and the big Q1 lead lulled the Huskies to sleep.

I have said all year that this is a 3 quarter team. Sometimes they start off cold but most games it is the 2nd or 3rd quarter where they slack off.

 

[vtcwbuff]

My biggest surprise of the game was Candace Parker’s positive reviews especially after her partner pointed out the victory over the LadyVols was the largest margin in the series history.

I wasn't surprised at all. Most players move on beyond college rivalries, even though most fans do not.

 

[freshler40]

I was curious about the offensive rebounding so decided to check DePaul's stats for the year - they are actually an outstanding offensive rebounding team and truly commit to it sending three or four players, while surprisingly not being too bad on transition defense.
Year to date for a 5-20 (2-12) bad team, they lead their opponents in very few categories in box score: TO - they have commit 407 while forcing 449 basically 1 fewer per game; Steals - they have 235 and have given up 212 again close to a margin of 1 per game; and Offensive Rebounds - 342 vs 264 a margin of over 3 per game.

DePaul for the year gets 33% of the rebounds when they take a shot - impressive for a shorter team with a .200 winning percentage - they get out-rebounded on the year by 4+ per game, and defense rebounds by 7+. And with Uconn playing a trapping defense, when they did not get a TO or Steal, the defense was then scrambling to cover wide open shooters, leading to bad positioning for rebounds - how often did you see a Uconn interior defender running out to contest an open three, leaving the lane open for a DePaul rebounder to cut in. Jana (and others) swatting at rebounds was largely because a DePaul player was in better rebounding position and she was trying not to get called for another over-the-back foul.

A trapping defense is a lot of fun to watch when it results in steals and TOs, it is frustrating when a team escapes the trap and attacks, and really frustrating when they make their open shots, and/or rebound their misses. The trap worked to perfection in Q1, and didn't when DePaul settled down and greatly reduced both TO and Steal numbers.

Excellent analysis and points to strength of some teams. This is especially true for DePaul but a weakness of a full court pressing team like TN getting beat in that second half of the recent game. It's really a case of what works most of the time.
Geno is a master of creating an edge that works against teams. Our press is nasty against a team with a weak backcourt which gives up the ball early for easy UConn layups. This didn't work against DePaul so well. This game was a great teaching moment in how to break a well-designed press. The injuries to several of our guards may also have resulted in a less tight press than usual. The demoralizing aspect of opponents losing the ball early is worth a lot for the Huskies. This also doesn't measure the much shorter clock available to teams being pressed. I would love to see a stat that shows the number of times a Huskie opponent ran out the clock due to this impact. Is that stat included in turnovers?

 

[ucmiami2]

Folks - Jana's minutes have been reduced by a third with Serah's arival. Her shooting percentage is higher (59% vs 52%), and her scoring is up per minute played. And she is getting most of her minutes playing with the bench, which however we like to tout their skills is not as well oiled an operation as the starters. I like what she brings to this team - she is a traditional post as is Serah and the value both bring will be most telling when we face other traditional post players, not when playing the DePauls of the world who run out forwards and guards and play mostly 4 and 5 out offenses. I still have fond memories of Morgan Tuck and Stewie (and Gabby) making mincemeat of very good traditional post players.

We have the best of both worlds with Sarah, Serah, and Jana - we can bang down low, and then completely change the dynamic with Sarah and the small line-up. That is why getting Blanca back is so important to the team - she adds length and Gabby like athleticism to that small line-up. If Ayanna can continue improving with her minutes, I would like to see her get some run with that small line-up with Sarah on the floor - right now she mostly replaces Sarah in the 4th Q.

NB - We have gotten 11 ppg at 58+% and 7.3 rebounds (3.5 OR) in 653 minutes or 27 minutes per game from our traditional posts. In the same time on court Sarah average 8 rebounds but only 32 offensive boards - Serah in her 19 minutes per game has 46 O boards to lead the team, Jana has 37 in her 10.8 minutes to place 2nd, and Ash has 34 in her 26 minutes a game. This is a team riding their two stars Sarah and Azzi offensively, and their pressure defense and the two headed post presence accounts for 41 blocks in the same number of minutes that Sarah gets 37.

 

[hoophuskee]

It amazes me how a team can score 31 points in the 1st quarter and struggle to score 13 in the second.

They score so much from the perimeter. So if they aren't getting steals for layups, if they get hot early, there is a high chance they will regress to the mean. As a result a terrfic 3pt shooter shoots less than 50%. That means more shots in terms of % are going to eventually miss.

 

[ucmiami2]

Ability to beat opponents (Serah (35.5) vs Jana (25.5)) as discerned by the best WCBB coaching staff ever, in practices and games, not good enough for you?

• Everyone can argue a hypothetical (what if Jana started), but should we trust you over Geno and CD and company?

View attachment 116801

Wow - interesting stats, who did you steal this from! 😎
Do you know how the various rotations are defined? My guess is something like:
A = primary rotation whether the starters or the small line-up with Sarah as the 'post'.
B = rotation of post/power forward - Jana replacing Serah?
C = rotation of 2 or 3 starters with 2 or 3 bench
D = end of game rotation with 4 or 5 starters sitting. (Interesting to see that Sarah is in big negative numbers in C and D!)

 

[oldude]

I wasn't surprised at all. Most players move on beyond college rivalries, even though most fans do not.

Keep in mind that Candace’s issue with UConn and Geno had more to do with the 2016 Olympic team which selected Stewie, just out of college, while leaving her off, when she was an established veteran in the W. In addition, it was just within the last couple years when Candace publicly offered up her dislike of Geno.

If she has finally gotten over it, that’s great. She was a great basketball player and hopefully establishes herself as an exceptional reporter.

 

[Tonyc]

We came out on fire again. Shooting over 70% and scored over 30 pts in the first qtr. Azzi and Sarah carried the team. Therefore, less rebounds and not many teammates scored. It looked like to me Geno called off the pressure out of respect for Depaul who was over matched. Calling off the pressure D, was like letting the air out of a balloon which for me takes away some of the energy. From there UConn coasted. We didnt score alot of points in the second quarter and we didnt score as many points as we did in our first meeting and thats ok. Everybody got to play which was good and at times it looked like more of a practice working on different combinations and minor tweaking of players. Geno had a chance to take players out talk to them and send them back in. This is a good thing.

It was clear to me that UConn was trying to get Serah more involved with their passes into the middle. This was a good game to work on that. It was very apparent we need alot more work on how to execute getting the ball to Serah and Serah getting into position so the passes to her are catchable. I did like seeing KK and Ash dribble drive and a couple of pull up jumpers. This is good improvement for the tournament. I will agree that we are getting better both individually and working as a team. Allie has got to be the biggest surprise this season. She is very smooth and has a good head knowing what to do.

When its tournament time our starters will get more minutes. We saw that against Tenn and UConn responded with confidence and without hesitation. Last year Paige was there to take over games. This year everybody is stepping up when needed especially on defense. Our defense by far the best Ive seen. Unfortunately, the teams we play in the NCAAs havent played against our defense and those teams who dont have good ballhandlers at every position and who arent quick will have problems.

UConn is winning games by over 39 pts. Some teams are less talented than others however against the good teams theyve played the game and it was never in doubt. This UConn team is complete with depth. They have scorers, shooters a second to none Defense, they are quick, full of energy and athletic. UConn execution doesnt allow them to have to think, they just do what they were tuaght and there really isnt any second guessing. There isnt a team that can say that. Most of all UConn has a winning attitude and the belief in what they do. It works, they know it works, and they keep doing it. Belief and confidence will bring them number 13.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Wow - interesting stats, who did you steal this from! 😎
Do you know how the various rotations are defined? My guess is something like:
A = primary rotation whether the starters or the small line-up with Sarah as the 'post'.
B = rotation of post/power forward - Jana replacing Serah?
C = rotation of 2 or 3 starters with 2 or 3 bench
D = end of game rotation with 4 or 5 starters sitting. (Interesting to see that Sarah is in big negative numbers in C and D!)

The Rotation Stint Type splits are my concoction. &1

• (a) Winning Time Rotations: Any five in the Top Rotation &2 that also includes Azzi and Sarah; these rotations have maximum spurtability;
• (b) Pocket Bridge Rotations: bridge rotations (i.e. not Winning Time Rotations) designed to give one player in a Winning Time Rotation a breather;
• (c) Top Bridge Rotations: not (a) or (b), and involves a significant number &3 of Top Rotation Players;
• (d) Bottom Bridge Rotations: not (a), (b) or (c).

For next year, I can see how Geno and CD’s laboratory is self-perpetuating in a deeper Top Rotation (9/10 instead of 8 &2) with more high-quality (1)/(2)’s and (5)’s with the addition of Jovanna, Olivia and hopefully Sara (Okeke), along with returning little-used players like Morgan.

&1 The idea of stratifying Rotation Stints came from the observation in last year’s championship run that some rotations are better than others (better spurtability) in winning games;

• With a deep quality roster (the new norm), rotation stint bandwidth (stratification) is the precious resource to meet various program goals (win games, win March/April, farm system development, preparation for next-level “plug and play” “basketball player”) in a fast-paced mix-match that maximizes the deep quality roster.
• The stratification allows for some insights into the “sausage-making” in Geno and CD’s program.

&2 “Top Rotation”: KK, Azzi, Ash, Sarah, Serah, Kayleigh, Allie, Blanca.

&3 “Significant Number”:

• 4+ of the Top Rotation but not including Azzi and Sarah;
• 3+ of the Top Rotation and 1 of (Azzi, Sarah);
• 3 of the Top Rotation and both of Azzi and Sarah;
• 3 Starters.