DePaul Postgame Thread

[Linart]

Maybe she misses the weather back home.

What in the world is going on with Edwards? The biggest mystery of Connecticut basketball. Ever....

What Geno needs to do is sit her down and show her the tapes of games--not this year's "you should have done this, you shouldn't do that"--but last year's tapes. Maybe showing her what she's done and what she's capable of would jump-start her confidence.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Maybe she misses the weather back home.

It was below zero this morning in Storrs, and there's a foot or more of snow on its way for this weekend. Should feel right at home weather wise.

 

[Charliebball]

A&M demolished that team by 20. They look good because they play in the Big East, in the Sec they would be an under 500 team. Again people inflating the Big East, but when Uconn plays another legit ranked opponent will go back to square one.

I don't know of anybody here that thinks the Big East is a strong conference..........many believe it's a negative for UConn to be playing against such soft competition, but they really don't have a choice at this point........that said Depaul beat Kentucky by nine and lost to ND by five so they are certainly a pretty decent team that can compete with the best of them when they are shooting well.................

 

[noirwestern]

Can’t read through this whole thread so maybe someone has already said this, , but while everyone contributed, I’m pretty sure without Nika, the others would not have had nearly the chance to shine. She was THE principal ball handler and handled her role great. And Geno did a great job of reorganizing the troops after probably the worst quarter of basketball maybe any Geno team has played including in losses. Outside of that quarter, the team played fine. Edwards unfortunately is still struggling and Westbrook was secured to the bench during our final quarter. Go figure the younger players would be the glue.

DePaul as usual is really hard to play. Bruno is kind of the Andy Landers of the Big East. Good teams, stuck for most of his tenure being in a league with a great other program and for a while more than one, and never quite enough to be a national power (Georgia did sort of better at that at times. ). Someone on page 1 of the thread said they saw Morrow as a dirty player. To each their own, but I didn’t see her that way at all. She has great footwork, great instinct and great touch. Impressive as heck and I’m glad she wasn’t seriously injured. Just my view.

It was a great win for a team still trying to get the troops in order and the general will hopefully soon be back with the troops.

Andy Landers? After watching the non stop fouling that went on I see a more Matthew Mitchellesque approach to the game than anyone else. For years it's been a given that a less talented team would try to pull off a win by being overly physical with UConn but didn't really expect it from DePaul.

 

[BobbyJ]

Different kind of work with a national team made up largely of professionals versus a college team. I doubt Aaliyah spent anywhere near as much time on strength and conditioning or developing individual skills as she would have at UConn. Getting ready for the Olympics involves setting up a rotation and spending a lot of time getting those players to work together effectively.

I suspect it became clear early on that Aaliyah was not going to be a primary contributor for Canada. As a result, I also suspect that she spent more time watching than doing.

I believe you touched on a key in my bolded area. Last season, aggression in limited minutes and a lot of layups, many open, masked what I saw as a lack of solid fundamentals. 1) Has some understanding of early post positioning but no idea what to do when she gets the ball. 2) Inability to get off the floor quickly and hesitation gets her constantly tangled up with the defenders. 3) Inside she's a two handed shooter. By that I mean she hasn't learned to shoot with either hand and arm extended to release with one hand. She needs two hands touching the ball and turns to face the rim and exposes the ball to the defense. If you do this you better be able to get off the floor and power up like Morrow or you can't get shots off in traffic. She better find an instructor this summer and learn this plus footwork because she's got serious competition coming this fall from Brady and Patterson.

 

[billybud]

I don't know of anybody here that thinks the Big East is a strong conference..........many believe it's a negative for UConn to be playing against such soft competition, but they really don't have a choice at this point........that said Depaul beat Kentucky by nine and lost to ND by five so they are certainly a pretty decent team that can compete with the best of them when they are shooting well.................

No doubt that UConn is one of, if not the best of women's teams...Coming up on winning 170 straight conference games may lend to some not crediting the team as much as they should.

 

[hoopsfan22]

And she's starting to get into more of a shooting rhythm which always is the biggest criticism of her game. I think she's been double digits now the past few games. She just needs to make 2 or 3 threes a game and average 8-10 points like she has to force defenses to cover her.

 

[RedStickHusky]

What in the world is going on with Edwards? The biggest mystery of Connecticut basketball. Ever....

Charde Houston called...

 

[cohenzone]

Andy Landers? After watching the non stop fouling that went on I see a more Matthew Mitchellesque approach to the game than anyone else. For years it's been a given that a less talented team would try to pull off a win by being overly physical with UConn but didn't really expect it from DePaul.

Seriously non stop fouling? A little over stated. I’m a huge UConn fan and all I saw were 3 terrible charging calls and no more inside garbage than normal.

The Andy Landers reference was not as to style of play , but as to a solid program that was never quite nationally relevant except for a few seasons. That’s Bruno and DePaul.

BTW, when Landers was in Hartford to do color on a UConn game a few years ago he was next to me in the McD breakfast line the next morning at Bradley for a dawn flight. He must use 3 bottles of black hair dye.

 

[Huskee11]

We all love to nitpick this, that, and the other thing, me included. But to me the big picture takeaway from last night was that Azzi Fudd is going to help tremendously for the remainder of the season. If that is what she can do after a two month layoff and virtually no practice, then look out. And while it is not logical, it also makes me think or at least hope that similarly, Paige will be up to speed quickly once she is able to return.

Other "big deals" are Christyn playing very well and showing no ill effects, other than mentioning she (understandably) felt a bit winded; and Caroline once again demonstrating that she is a steely-eyed hired gun on offense.

We are now 10 deep - 5 at the guard/small forward instead of 3 - and with Paige waiting in the wings.

Felt like the cavalry arrived last night.

 

[oldude]

BTW, when Landers was in Hartford to do color on a UConn game a few years ago he was next to me in the McD breakfast line the next morning at Bradley for a dawn flight. He must use 3 bottles of black hair dye.

I wish I had enough hair on my head to use hair dye.

 

[cohenzone]

The horrible pass by Azzi should have gone to Nika but she was busy running to the opposite side of the court, not to the ball or just getting free in the backcourt. Strange sequence and a repeat of many times we had trouble putting the ball in play. This is a major fix that needs to happen quickly as other coaches will see this fault.
In the 2nd qtr we had too many players, with our small line-up, that didn't want the ball or turn their backs to it!!!!!

I was actually surprised he had Azzi inbounding with so little game experience. While I agree inbounding issues are usually because the intended receivers can’t make themselves available, that pass had no chance. All‘s well that ends well.

 

[cohenzone]

I wish I had enough hair on my head to use hair dye.

You and me both.

 

[BBallF]

Evian a liability? She’s the best one on one defender we have. Right now the only point guard we have as NM is not it. She’s a calming influence and sees the floor extremely well. Right now she seems to be lacking confidence. But NM is a complete liability. She cannot play defense, yes she will get steals against weak teams but last night she was blown by on a number of occasions. She is not strong in the ball and will play with her back to the basket - as a point guard you cannot do that. Also she was avoiding bringing up the ball at crunch time. Why do you think Depauls guards were all over her - they knew she was the weak link.

Disagree. Evina had 3 turnovers and sat on the bench during crunch time as did AE. Why do you think that was? Both were lackluster on defense in what I saw, Evina doesn't even want to shoot anymore or try to score and AE was just a problem even handling the ball and got beat getting back on defense on two very glaring occasions. I think Evina has a world of talent but she is playing at a very low level far below her talent right now. She had 3 turnovers last night in 24 minutes so I don't see how ball handling was a plus for her. She has been throwing lazy passes all year. I really am completely befuddled by her.

Nika had a solid game last night against a very chippy team. She had 12 points on 5-8 shooting with 5 assists but 4 turnovers including an important one in the last minute. That needs to improve but the refs were allowing physical restraint by the guards. They stunk in general. I just don't know why the refs in the women game are so inferior. I truly hope E and AE get reborn but right now they have to be limited subs only based upon past performances.

 

[Geew1992]

Surprised that Geno didn't ask the refs to look at the video on that play. A flagrant would have given the ball back to UConn, effectively ending the game.

I remember during the 2013 NC, Monique Reid pretty much did the same thing to Dolson. There was no need for Geno to even ask. The announcers acted like it was just another foul too.

 

[eebmg]

question that keeps bugging me is why this Morrow kid wasnt on UCONN’s radar.

In the Depaul presser, Morrow said she has been dealing with knee injuries and had surgeries. This might explain her low ratings

It is amazing she plays so well with a bum knee that in her own words is always in pain and requires alot of off court therapy.

 

[Boreifs]

I was actually surprised he had Azzi inbounding with so little game experience. While I agree inbounding issues are usually because the intended receivers can’t make themselves available, that pass had no chance. All‘s well that ends well.

Many times, a coach has the intended shooter throw the ball in, since defenses tend to ignore that person briefly once the play starts.

 

[uconnfan68]

Different kind of work with a national team made up largely of professionals versus a college team. I doubt Aaliyah spent anywhere near as much time on strength and conditioning or developing individual skills as she would have at UConn. Getting ready for the Olympics involves setting up a rotation and spending a lot of time getting those players to work together effectively.

I suspect it became clear early on that Aaliyah was not going to be a primary contributor for Canada. As a result, I also suspect that she spent more time watching than doing.

If she wasn’t all in, and practicing on her own when not with the team, then it’s all on her. She’s definitely missing the gear she had last year.

 

[uconnfan68]

I believe you touched on a key in my bolded area. Last season, aggression in limited minutes and a lot of layups, many open, masked what I saw as a lack of solid fundamentals. 1) Has some understanding of early post positioning but no idea what to do when she gets the ball. 2) Inability to get off the floor quickly and hesitation gets her constantly tangled up with the defenders. 3) Inside she's a two handed shooter. By that I mean she hasn't learned to shoot with either hand and arm extended to release with one hand. She needs two hands touching the ball and turns to face the rim and exposes the ball to the defense. If you do this you better be able to get off the floor and power up like Morrow or you can't get shots off in traffic. She better find an instructor this summer and learn this plus footwork because she's got serious competition coming this fall from Brady and Patterson.

And JUMP while shooting layups.

 

[Boreifs]

In the Depaul presser, Morrow said she has been dealing with knee injuries and had surgeries. This might explain her low ratings

It is amazing she plays so well with a bum knee that in her own words is always in pain and requires alot of off court therapy.

I mentioned earlier that she missed most of her senior year, but she was a total stud as a junior and started out even better as a Senior. Coming from a high profile school like Simeon, it was totally ridiculous to ignore her. Bruno didn’t.

 

[meyers7]

I must have missed your definition of "CFD" for Caroline. Would you please post it again? Thanks.

It wasn't mine. I stole it from samanthabrown3 and DD.

Caroline Freaking Ducharme

 

[Boreifs]

If she wasn’t all in, and practicing on her own when not with the team, then it’s all on her. She’s definitely missing the gear she had last year.

Practicing on one’s own while the team is in a bubble seems fairly unreasonable.