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.
Yes, and another observant post.
Geno's issues this year on offense have been manifold. As has been noted by many and alI is that Geno likes to run variations off of a triangle offense. He is especially fond of variations off the pinch post. Last year frankly Meg's poor passing skills limited the pinch posts effectiveness. This year he is beset by with Paige's inexperience in running the triangle, Anna's poor shooting when the ball is reversed to run the triangle on the other side, and inconsistent outside shooting overall. He is also limited by Liv's effectiveness from the right block versus the left block. Liv loves, as we know, to set up on the right block, use her right leg drop to shot the left side lay up, drive right across the lane, or spin right for a fade away. Teams will continue to bring weak side help to prevent all of it. When Geno talks about Liv having patience he means recognizing when and where the help is coming from, dropping that left leg and/or using the up and under, or getting the ball back out to your wings.
He is limited as well by his bench, meaning AG's, Mir's, and Nika poor shooting and inexperience with the triangle. To this point neither AG or Mir have even shown they have anything beyond 5 feet and Nika is, yes, 0 for America. With Aaliyah he has a great option however for either she or Liv to step high or to the pinch post and hit each other on the block, a wing on the dive or Paige or CW in the strong side corner.
With 5:15 in the 3rd for the first time last night Geno played Liv and AE for the first time together. On their first possession together AE did a nice dive cut and Liv found her for an easy 2. On the next offensive possession, and for the first time that night, the offense had a nice flow and pace. They set the triangle right with Liv at the pinch. She found CW on a nice cut inside and CW hit AE on another nice dive cut for 2. Again, good flow and pace. On the third possession Evina is told to set up on the right, AE and Liv set up on both elbows with Liv on the right, they switch elbows and AE dives inside. CW misses the pass and they reset. Liv hits AE on the left block and AE's inexperience doesn't allow her to take her mark inside with her one on one advantage. Now they improvise with great movement. Paige hits Evina in the strong side corner, Liv moves to the left block, and finds CW on the weak side for her first 3 of the night. In the chat I was glowing about how finally this team looked like a UConn team. On their 5th possession together UConn's movement caused a foul on AE in the lane, a tipped ball out of bounds which maintained possession, and a sweet two man game off the left block with Paige and Liv for a 2 point bucket by Paige. This is the best UConn has looked all night. On their next possession AE's inexperience in giving Liv a pass inside caused a lane violation. Now during her entire time on the floor AE's voice is always on and distinctive. On the next possession AE runs through the lane and opens it up for a sweet bounce pass to a wide open Liv for an easy two. On their next possession AE's inexperience throws a pass to Liv that is tipped for a TO and 2 FT's for DePaul. Liv is pulled to the bench and that was the extent of their time together on the floor. That for me was the best UConn looked all night on the offensive end and was their most productive.
Now all of UConn's good stuff is run on variations off the triangle and the pinch post. Frankly in this offense Anna has been ineffective this year mostly in the strong side corner, but also at the top of the triangle or at the pinch post. Paige, instead of swinging the ball to the other side or taking the shot, too often last night chose to force the ball into double and triple help. Folks, Paige is a smart cookie and that will change. But encouraging her to shoot 20 shots a game is the same as telling a shoot first freshman to pass the ball: This is going to take a period of adjustment.
