DePaul Postgame Thread

[MSGRET]

UConn beat the 18th ranked team by 23 points and some people think the sky is falling. While the 17th ranked team plays team that is not in the top 300 and only wins by 28. I'm comfortable with this team, DePaul is a good scrappy defensive team who had a one of the worst shooting game's I've seen against Louisville. This game should help us against Baylor because of the physical play of DePaul.

 

[CTisballers]

This can’t be a final four team if we can’t hit 3s free throws and turn the ball over. These UConn blow outs doesn’t seem like a normal UConn blow out.

 

[Dokey]

Baylor could be a nightmare if UConn continues to play like this.,

 

[Alydar]

But she often finds herself wandering around the court on defense and offense without a clear idea of where she should be.

But when she is near the ball she gets a hand on it. She is clueless for now but once someone shoots she knows exactly what to do and she is really really good at it. If she had a taller outside shooting Husky on the floor they could swap positions at either end of the floor. Between Bueckers Edwards and McClean Geno has hit a grand slam and I like Muhl's aggressive play. At some point there will be a game where the refs let them play and she'll shine. And as time passes she'll learn techniques to accomplish the same thing without fouling.

 

[Boreifs]

Like I said, teams have scouted her. Last year they let her shoot 3s. Now they know she can’t go by them and just stay close. The other option to me is starting Edwards. You start the game controlling the boards, and if they double ONO, Edwards gets 15 a game on cuts and garbage. Let Makurat give one or the other 4-5 minute breaks when you can afford it against good teams.

I agree. Edwards needs starter minutes; she has a much greater upside than Anna does.

 

[eebmg]

Personally, I am glad Paige keeps looking for others and implicitly expects top players to do their share. It is her Pass First mentality that makes her so special and a true joy to watch. This harping for Paige to take more shots drives me nuts because most of those shots she passes out of are contested like that baseline shot before half and the driving lanes are snuffed out by a well coached team when outside shooting is subpar. Geno admits as much when he says 'Passing first is great when you have Klay Thompson and Steph Curry but they are not available'. Well, Azzi, Caroline and Saylor will be coming next year but regarding this year, if Christyn and Evina expect to make the jump to the next level, their shooting has to improve.

Aaliyah should be starting. Not only is she physical but she defends well on the court and had pretty good lateral movement. She also cuts well and will get better with more use. I am also glad Mir is out of Geno's doghouse. He says she is improving and she is another player who is aggressive and moves without the ball. Today she did not finish her shots but I see her pushing Aubrey hard for minutes.

 

[eebmg]

The game from DePaul's perspective

Poor shooting dooms DePaul in 75-52 loss to UConn - The DePaulia

DePaul and UConn have been playing each other every season since the Huskies left the Big East in 2013. But the two teams are finally back to playing two times in the regular season with UConn making its return to the conference in 2020. Both of these programs are the only Big East teams...

depauliaonline.com

 

[Littlemin]

McLean is certainly getting the “backup quarterback” treatment by some here. She is very athletic, no question, but has shown very little “basketball feel or savvy”, pretty much the same as Griffin. Pure athleticism can dominate in high school and AAU but does not translate to college. Last night, she played 8 minutes; went 1-5 shooting with 3 rebounds and both stats were largely accumulated by one sequence where she rebounded two of her own misses only to miss a third time. Hopefully she takes to the coaching available, works hard and develops.

 

[Slovak-blue]

My first post, I couldn’t watch the game but I followed the thread. I found the game later and watched it. It wasn’t quite as bad as it sounded in the thread. I thought Paige balanced shooting and passing pretty well. She blends in with this team so well. AE is always in the thick of the action. I am always watching her. My favorite player. So many scoring options this year. This team is so much more fun to watch than last year so far. We were so predictable last year. Olivia and CW are both active and working hard. Baylor should be a great year for us, win or lose, we will learn a lot.

 

[bluedevil]

I agree. Edwards needs starter minutes; she has a much greater upside than Anna does.

This reminds me of last season when Geno started Kyla Irwin for a few games...Anna needs to come off the bench..like when Kyla started its 4 on 5..

 

[huskeynut]

Let's see: we held DePaul to 25% shooting from the field, 24% from 3 point land. Their prime scorer was held to 8 points. Pretty darn good defense last night against and run & gun pretty good shooting team.

Offense: 5 players in double figures included 4 of the 5 starters. 21 assists on 29 made baskets. Now shooting 50% from the free throw isn't good enough. This must improve.

As to who should play and who should get more minutes - I'll let the coaching staff make those decisions. Aubrey was hampered with back spasms last night. Mir maybe very athletic but has yet to exhibit she understands the offense or the defense. Great athlete, yes. But that's not enough at this level of college ball. Nika has a lot to learn. Edwards is the real deal. Her knowledge of the offense and defense at this stage is surprising and welcomed.

I'll take Paige's stats last night all the time. As good as she is, she is still learning the game as its played for an elite D1 program. She'll be fine.

Finally, DePaul is a scrappy team. They come at you every minute of the game. Let's give Doug and his crew some credit.

 

[BBallF]

First 2.5 games of the season Paige was the PG and the team was doing just fine in the transition game. In fact that transition games propelled UCONN to lead the nation in FG% because UCONN was shooting mostly layups. Paige was not wasted there. Paige is a playermaker in the mold of Jen Rizzotti that can facility as well as score. DT was one of a kind.

I rewatched the first two quarters of last night's game and I think we are both wrong because we are assuming that there is a set position by player for the 1 and 2 with Paige being the 2 and Evina being the 1. Actually, the 1 is being played interchangeably between the two of them depending on who gets the inbounds pass , who gets the the first outlet pass after a defensive rebound or steal, etc. I didn't see any real improvement in either the fluidity of the half court offense or Paige getting assists in the half court set when she initiates the offense at the 1. I am only talking about the half court set not transition. The difference for me is that the first cut is by the PG and it goes to the corner. Geno wants Paige to get more shots, she had 15 last night, but she could easily have taken 20. I don't think rigidly setting positions is the answer especially when you have an experienced PG in Evina who can create for others as well. Also, If you think Paige is more like Jen I can't agree. Sure, there is only one GOAT, but Paige has an astonishingly complete offensive game for her years and she reminds me more of D because she is so gifted.

 

[eebmg]

...but Paige has an astonishingly complete offensive game for her years and she reminds me more of D because she is so gifted.

For me, Paige is a mix of Diana and Sue. And Azzi seems like a mix of Diana and Maya.

 

[eebmg]

Nice summarizing article on why Paige has to shoot more (although I am still a believer in getting the others to play to their potential)

Journal Inquirer

Serving towns east of the Connecticut River

www.journalinquirer.com

When the game is on the line, Bueckers isn’t shy. When Hopkins High needed a basket her last two seasons, she responded.

Or look back at the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup. Bueckers took 83 shots over seven games. But in the semifinal against Belgium and in the gold-medal game against Australia, she took 37. Why? Team USA needed a late rally to beat Belgium and overtime to slip past Australia. Bueckers also had 38 assists in the tournament, more than the next three assist leaders on her team had combined with the most memorable delivery being her inbound lob pass to Hailey Van Lith for a layup that forced the extra session.

 

[eebmg]

and Doug one again explaining the Singular greatness of Geno and the program

Bruno’s respect for Geno goes way beyond the wins

STORRS — DePaul coach Doug Bruno has 727 career wins, among the top 30 women’s...

www.ctinsider.com

“Believe me,” Bruno said. “I have all the respect in the world for Coach Summitt, Coach Wooden, Coach Tara, all these great coaches who have put together these programs that are in that speaking point of which one is the top five. I’m one of the only people old enough to remember Coach Wooden’s team, watched Coach Wooden’s teams, watched them in person. I’ll put Geno’s teams ahead of Coach Wooden’s teams, because of who he has had to play and the amount of Top 25 competition he has had to compete against in both the old Big East and also his nonconference schedule. That’s why I unabashedly say it’s the best program in the history of college basketball, men or women.”

On Tuesday, the Big East announced the UConn game at DePaul on Jan. 1 will be the first-ever women’s basketball game broadcast nationally on Fox.

“It’s huge,” Bruno said. “Val Ackerman, our commissioner, has just been nominated for the Naismith (Hall of Fame) and is so deserving. This is another aspect of what Val does. For Fox to identify that women’s basketball deserves to be on the big station, I consider it an honor to be part of it. At the same time I’m not delusional about why. It’s because of UConn and what Geno has done to make it a national brand. It’s also about an entire league and what Mike Tranghese and Dave Gavitt did before that.”


But beyond being the greatest coach, he is also the most entertaining


“After they watch tonight’s game, they might change their mind,” Auriemma said. “Does Fox show cartoons? I mean, other than some of their news.”

 

[eebmg]

McLean is certainly getting the “backup quarterback” treatment by some here. She is very athletic, no question, but has shown very little “basketball feel or savvy”, pretty much the same as Griffin. Pure athleticism can dominate in high school and AAU but does not translate to college. Last night, she played 8 minutes; went 1-5 shooting with 3 rebounds and both stats were largely accumulated by one sequence where she rebounded two of her own misses only to miss a third time. Hopefully she takes to the coaching available, works hard and develops.

Maybe I am grading on a curve but Mir above all else is a competitor and is not afraid to mix it up. Except for last game, she is a very good interior finisher. The attempts last night were not easy (just close) and she cuts hard on slip screens. Geno says she is improving but the main issue is that she does not like practice and until she gets that straightened out, she will be relegated to bench minutes

 

[Jmsdawg]

DePaul was my first UCONN game watched this year. I was impressed. UCONN is better than I thought, I expected the freshman to have an adjustment phase before they would be able to contribute at a significant level, I was wrong. Right now, UCONN is number 1 IMHO.

 

[Rb335]

I’m not positive, but I think Anna playing the 4 has to be contributing to her growing pains. If I recall, we saw videos of her essentially playing point guard in high school, and last year she was always playing on the wing. This season, she sometimes looks lost on offense while setting screens and cutting. I’ve watched her set screens and then float out to the wing only to notice our wing players are in the exact same spot.

Last year she was always on the wing and received open looks via other players penetration into the lane. Also they did run a few plays for her where she curled at the top of the key, similar to Lou.

This year it just looks like her role is very different, and she’s uncomfortable. She’s visibly thinking a ton, and once she does get an open look, it seems like she is trying too hard to make shots.

I don’t think her defense is as bad as a lot of people say, and she rebounds and passes the ball well. But her shot needs to develop because the version on the floor right now is becoming an offensive liability. It’s frustrating because I know she is capable of being a double digit performer consistently. We’ll be a much better team when she figures it out.

 

[eebmg]

Afterthought.

I know CW is getting alot of assists and that is great but I would nix that behind the back pass she tried to feed Paige on a transition layup. Poor Paige laid out for the pass and looked like she could have pulled multiple muscles.

 

[Ralph]

When I saw that pass I thought it was awful. Then they showed the play again from a different angle, and you saw a DePaul player hit Paige and push her. Without that I think Paige would have caught the ball and scored.

 

[Bronxjeff]

Fun factoid... Piath Gabriel has scored more points this season than Nika Muhl.

Anna seems to be back to lacking confidence and her shooting has suffered. Aside from Paige, our 3 point shooting is just not good. Edwards is just a beast. Paige is something special. Westbrook took a step backwards in the scoring department. ONO nice job in the post, but FT's - come on!

DePaul's FT defense is fierce. UCONN played better defense than offense. Geno may be right - worst shooting team in 37 years. Williams 2-7 on 3's - meh, but the rest of her game was quite good IMHO. Mixed bag to end 2020, but a 23 point win over a DePaul team who is pretty good is not copped liver!!

I haven't copped liver in a long time! For some dopey reason, reminds me of a song my dad would sing when we were making excuses, "he didn't STEAL the pork chops, they only STUCK to his thumb". Emphasis added to hint at the tune...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[RedStickHusky]

When I saw that pass I thought it was awful. Then they showed the play again from a different angle, and you saw a DePaul player hit Paige and push her. Without that I think Paige would have caught the ball and scored.

Sonja Morris ran right up her back on that play... should've been called. EDIT: @Biff convinced me with a replay, probably not a bad no call...

 

[CocoHusky]

I rewatched the first two quarters of last night's game and I think we are both wrong because we are assuming that there is a set position by player for the 1 and 2 with Paige being the 2 and Evina being the 1. Actually, the 1 is being played interchangeably between the two of them depending on who gets the inbounds pass , who gets the the first outlet pass after a defensive rebound or steal, etc. I didn't see any real improvement in either the fluidity of the half court offense or Paige getting assists in the half court set when she initiates the offense at the 1. I am only talking about the half court set not transition. The difference for me is that the first cut is by the PG and it goes to the corner. Geno wants Paige to get more shots, she had 15 last night, but she could easily have taken 20. I don't think rigidly setting positions is the answer especially when you have an experienced PG in Evina who can create for others as well. Also, If you think Paige is more like Jen I can't agree. Sure, there is only one GOAT, but Paige has an astonishingly complete offensive game for her years and she reminds me more of D because she is so gifted.

UCONN opened the second half with Paige posting up with her back to the basket in a horns set. The sequence after that she rejected 2 screens that were set for her on the right side of the floor and went left into a second defender and got her shot blocked. Those sets are traditionally NEVER run for the 1 or the 2 in the UCONN offense. There is a great difference between Evina initiating the offense vs Paige initiating it. Evina is doing well but the significant difference is that Evina needs a screen or two to get by that first defender and Paige does not. Paige compromises that first defender with the dribble and gets to the second level defender with a live dribble. In summary Evina cannot create for others like Paige can. I understand Geno dilemma because Paige also happens to be the teams best shooter right now.
Ideally you want you best shooter to be taking the most shots but IMO this is history repeating itself in a negative way. The latter half of last season Geno essentially did the same thing to Crystal when CW was having her crisis of confidence. Crystal was a senior and her game suffered from this change, Paige is a freshman.