DePaul Postgame Thread

[TCC Kid]

Some thoughts on the DePaul game:

• Whew...............................................
• This was a really important win for the still shorthanded Huskies on the road against their top BE rival. With just one more OOC game vs a ranked opponent, UConn needs to continue to take care of business in the BE to secure the best seed possible for the Big Dance.
• Morrow is the real deal. She plays with incredible savvy, poise and toughness for a freshman. I know recruiting rankings should never be considered gospel. But please tell me how in god’s name Morrow was not even listed among Hoopgurlz top 100 players for 2021?
• Really great to see both Christyn & Azzi back in uniform and on the court tonight as the Huskies get a little healthier and a little deeper. They both came up big tonight. Just one more piece of the puzzle remaining.
• DePaul leads the nation in scoring at 92 ppg. I was feeling pretty good after the Huskies held the Blue Demons to only 11 pts in the first qtr. Unfortunately, that was followed by a 29 pt 2nd qtr.
• This was a GUT CHECK GAME for UConn. Caroline!!!!!!!!

This was a game for the UConn team and Geno to know: They are a very good scoring team (with the right combination in the game). Dorka, Fudd, Caroline, Ono have a lot to be proud of. Evina, Nika, Edwards still need some work. Doug Bruno is a much better coach than many may expect. As a very nice guy he sometimes doesn't get the credit he deserves. I like that kid Morrow. She's as tough as nails and knows how to score.
I agree with all the above. A GUT CHECK game it was. But Caroline showed she is as mentally tough as any player in America. Geno was right, give him 6 Carolines and stand back. I'm so pleased with Fudd only her second game, a tight came, and she was shooting like ti was practice time. Good show young lady.

 

[TCC Kid]

If CW & Azzi Fudd can keep that up then I hope the coaches can really simplify things for EW and AE so they can regain some confidence. basically, with the pressure off, get them to focus on doing 1 thing

I wasn't so sure, but AZZI made a believer out of me. I think this kids is the REAL DEAL!! CW can be great she can take over a game. I sometimes think she needs to be in the right "mood" as she was in DePaul. Uconn fans have to be pleased with this nights success. As much as Defense is needed, you can't go all the way with out a terrific OFFENSE, and these kids are offensive! (in a nice way)

 

[hookshot]

Before ONO fouled out, she looked at refs and asked something like, what the heck, look at my hair, and you know, she was right. Exactly how do you get hit in the head and your hair get really messed up and no foul?

I fear that the Evina you once knew may be gone. Once a player loses confidence in themselves as evidenced by hesitation syndrome, it is a hard journey back. Perhaps Evina and Edwards can help each other, to re-discover themselves - hope so

 

[meyers7]

Good

• Williams and Fudd were back... and played well (32 extra points)
• UCONN shot 59%/40%. some of the best shooting this year (helps when you have people who can make baskets playing) (and in a few weeks we'll get our best shooter back )
• 4 players in double figures scoring (Ducharme, Williams, Fudd and Muhl)
• Out rebounded DePaul (barely but still)
• Won a close game. doesn't happen often
• CFD, clutch.
• Staying undefeated and beating our top rival in the league
• Keeping DePaul to 29% 3pt shooting

Bad

• Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers - 20 (vs 19 assists, anything under 1 ratio isn't good) Gave DePaul 12 more shots than us
• Edwards, wow. I don't know if she might not be 100% physically?? Otherwise she's way, way in her head. Geno definitely needed to sit her down the 2nd half. Not sure what's up with Westbrook either.
• Getting abused by a 6-1 FR. We had no answer for Morrow. 30pts / 14 rbs / 3 steals

 

[TCC Kid]

I continue to long for the day when Paige, Caroline & Azzi are on the court together for this UConn team. They will be an unstoppable combination.

Id add CW and Dorka to that group. It would appear that if they are hitting on all 6 cylinders (I added ONO) Uconn become more than competitive, the NC game, if not the title becomes a more realistic goal.

 

[meyers7]

This was a game for the UConn team and Geno to know: They are a very good scoring team (with the right combination in the game). Dorka, Fudd, Caroline, Ono have a lot to be proud of. Evina, Nika, Edwards still need some work. Doug Bruno is a much better coach than many may expect. As a very nice guy he sometimes doesn't get the credit he deserves. I like that kid Morrow. She's as tough as nails and knows how to score.
I agree with all the above. A GUT CHECK game it was. But Caroline showed she is as mentally tough as any player in America. Geno was right, give him 6 Carolines and stand back. I'm so pleased with Fudd only her second game, a tight came, and she was shooting like ti was practice time. Good show young lady.

Yes, we need to remember (or realize) Doug has coached with Geno (and against him) a lot. They probably talk basketball extensively when they are together. So if anyone know Geno's offense and how to disrupt it, it would be Doug.

 

[NU2BY]

Nika is fine as a back-up PG but I never want to see her "try to make a play" during crunch time again. Gives me Chong flashbacks. Pass the ball to a scorer, please.

Absolutely!!!

 

[oldude]

Id add CW and Dorka to that group. It would appear that if they are hitting on all 6 cylinders (I added ONO) Uconn become more than competitive, the NC game, if not the title becomes a more realistic goal.

Assuming Paige comes back healthy, the challenge for Geno will be to accelerate the amount of time it takes to get the team operating like a finely tuned machine. Normally, that process takes an entire season. Geno will have maybe a month to get all the pieces working together and executing.

For most coaches that would be impossible. But no coach in basketball is better at getting his team prepared for the Big Dance than Geno.

 

[hookshot]

The team runs smoother with her in the lineup for whatever reason. I dunno Geno sees it too I guess. He's the hall of fame coach so he must know what he's doing. I liked the lineup and rotation last night for the most part now that we have enough players to have an actual rotation. I think when Paige gets back Dorka or Caroline will come off the bench. There's a month left before the post-season, so it's important to start developing some continuity with the lineups and rotation.

It's no mystery - she does what a point guard is supposed to do which is to advance the ball to the people who can put the ball in the basket, and do so at a high pace. Think Kalid El Amin from the men's team of yesteryear versus Cole from the current team, who, while very talented, tends to keep the ball in his own hands

 

[RoadMaster]

Doug Bruno post game.. Great perspectives (from his players as well)

 

[NU2BY]

• CFD

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

 

[TCC Kid]

Yes we win, ONO, CD, CW, Nika and Azzi and Doka 12 rebs all my girls...

View attachment 72739

If a huge Caroline fan and her final scoring was amazing. This game would be in the "L" column without the killer 3's and layup by Fudd. It is near impossible to choose which of the starter plus Fudd won this game. It was a TEAM win. Now this is basketball at its best.

 

[Stymie]

So you'd rather play Nika than Paige, Caroline, CW, Azzi and Evina. Got it. I rest my case. It's one thing to play well against Seton Hall and Xavier. It's a totally different situation against the top teams where you NEED more from that slot than 3.9 points a game and overall not great numbers. Nika had a really good game tonight and is a terrific person and is getting better recently. I'm happy for her. I hope she's fantastic the rest of this year and becomes Sue Bird but I'm playing Azzi, CW, Caroline, Paige and Evina more than I'm playing Nika unless something changes. It's nothing personal. It's about the team. They are a better team with better players on the floor. It's precisely why you make tough choices. It has nothing to do with whether you like a player or not. It's about the team being optimized for success. For one thing, I want Azzi on the floor for 30 minutes going forward and then what do you do when Paige comes back? Azzi looks healthy to me and adjusted to college ball. I was the one who said just a few days ago they should maybe go with 4 guards sometimes because they will have depth at guard. And what do they do the very next game? They went with 4 guards and Caroline at the 4 for around 15 minutes today. I guess that makes me a real dummy then doesn't it. I suggested they consider it and the very next game Geno does it. Guard will be a strength in a few weeks and may be already if Azzi is healthy. She was the #1 prospect in the country for a reason. It's for the good of the team. Azzi can knock down 3 pointers as well as anyone. Currently, at a .458 rate. We NEED that. She's shooting.500 for 2 pointers. This team needs that. It was a great game tonight by pretty much everyone. Let's keep the ball rolling forwa rd.

I agree with many of your points BUT I can not see giving Evina more court time than Nika at this point.
Seems like Evina and Aayliah are way, way off their games.
Evina may have the experience to reconnect.
Aayliah—I am dumbfounded

 

[Stymie]

The only legit charge call I saw was Ducharme on Held. The rest were...bogus. I didn't think Morrow was dirty, but I did think she fouled out and she flops too much. She's a really good player. I'm trying to think of a more energetic and physical big in wcbb and off the top of my head...none come to mind. She played like Charles Barkeley.

Good, smart players will take what the officials will let them get away with.

 

[hookshot]

One comment on the refs. The game was a last minute arrangement and I am assuming that all the respectable refs were previously assigned and to move them to this game would have involved moving several refs at the last minute. So we ended up with the JV refs from Chicago High School Association.

It's because of the refs that Aneesha was hurt in the second period. Any competent team would have fouled her out in the first period.

I want to know who called time out and why after Charm's winning bucket. There is no need to check the clock in a play on situation.

Good point on the clock, and you may be right about the Chicago High School refs, they would be pretty familiar and accepting of Murrow's game - regardless, we can admire a player who knows where she needs to be, how to get there, and how to stay there.

 

[NU2BY]

The team runs smoother with her in the lineup for whatever reason. I dunno Geno sees it too I guess. He's the hall of fame coach so he must know what he's doing. I liked the lineup and rotation last night for the most part now that we have enough players to have an actual rotation. I think when Paige gets back Dorka or Caroline will come off the bench. There's a month left before the post-season, so it's important to start developing some continuity with the lineups and rotation.

You can't be serious! You would have Caroline, our best player to date, demoted to coming off the bench? When Paige gets back (and healthy) we will have the ability to start different players depending on who we play. But for me, my starting lineup would always include Paige, Caroline, Azzi, Liv and Dorka. Geno on the other hand will most likely start Christyn for either Azzi or Dorka. No way Caroline goes to the bench!

 

[HopJim]

Nika is a good player but we have a lot of good players. She started the season at number 8 or 9 in the rotation. When we are healthy that's probably where she ends up. We just have too much talent to rely on Nika for more PT than any other player today. She played more minutes today than anyone. My concern is what happens when we play top competition? Her game inevitably is less impactful. And I'm not liking how she handled the offense today. Too much time screwing around 35 feet from the basket, picking up her dribble, not doing much to create good shots. When she tries to drive to the basket God help us. Least likely player on the court to create a scoring opportunity on the drive. Shooting .389 for 2 and .250 from 3 so far and 3.9 points a game. Is that helping us? I'd rather have Paige, Azzi, Caroline, CW and Evina. That makes Nika injury depth. Why do I even have to say it? She's a good player on a team of great players.

You missed one other of Nika's tendencies that is causing turnovers and at times, the offense to slow down. She often gives up her dribble prior to passing. Let's the other team double her or to double another UConn player. Caroline is often open on a cut, but Nika's passing is so mechanical that she doen't even try to get CD the ball. We should be happy we have Nika and her energy as a Huskie but have to agree that she will likely be 8-9 in the rotation once we are at full strength.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

More weakness in the front court. Though DePaul put just one player on the court who was six feet tall or over (6'1"), they pulled down only two rebounds fewer than Connecticut. And they caused UConn's starting front court, who were all taller than all of Depaul's players, to record 13 personal fouls.

Great to see Williams rebound performance. Great to see Azzi show a little of the brilliance of which she's capable. Good to see double-digit points from Dorka. Ducharmes is already one of the best in college basketball. But UConn will have to rebuild its front court next year. Indeed, don't be surprised of Gabriel gets more minutes on Sunday in an audition for a greater role. ONO's 6 points, 6 rebounds, and five fouls against the second best team in the conference is not a game highlight.

 

[hart2hart]

Wowser, what a game! Couldn’t almost watch the second half! Let’s build on this Exciting Win!!
CD that composure on the last play! Very, very impressive!

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Wow…what a game. A hard fought win, with some ugly stretches but they pulled it off. The freshmen came to play and it’s good to have Azzi back.

Caroline - 8/12, 19 points with a game winner…wow. That’s all I can say, the way she never gets too high and never gets too low is impressive. Even when she pulled off the game winner, she kept a straight face I love it! What a great player she’s turning out to be already. I can’t speak highly enough of how she’s stepped up.

Azzi - WOW! It’s good to have her back! She looked like she didn’t even miss a beat. I was surprised she looked a lot calmer than she did the last time we saw her. She had a few nice defensive plays (3 steals), especially the block on Morrow and then of course some great makes with a hand in her face. She’ll really help this team out if she can stay healthy.

Liv - Didn’t have her best outing, granted she was facing one of the toughest posts she will face all season. Morrow is the real deal, I don’t know if there’s another big girl with a motor like her. Liv had some pretty dumb fouls in my opinion. Morrow also likes to flop.

Dorka - I thought she did a nice job rebounding and made some nice passes.

Nika - When the pressures on, it doesn’t really seem like she can handle it and ends up with a travel/turnover. She was good for most of it, but makes me nervous at the end.

CW - Had a really nice game coming back from Covid, she made some great drives. She needs to continue doing what she’s good at, driving.

AE - Non factor once again, when she had the opportunity to make a few layups she couldn’t do it.

Evina - Thought she was also pretty much a non factor, she had a timely 3 but that was really it. She doesn’t look very confident out there.

Overall a good game and really nice to get CW and Azzi back. I think they’ll learn a lot from this game. 58.6% from the field, 40% from 3, not bad.

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

 

[Zinethar]

You can now see who is emerging as the keys for this team -- CD, CW, Dorka, Azzi, ONO

I mostly agree but think you are selling Nika short. She is the engine that runs the team. Due, I think, to being told to keep her fouls down as she was needed in the game some of her aggressiveness has been kept in check (like diving for lose balls).

 

[NU2BY]

You missed one other of Nika's tendencies that is causing turnovers and at times, the offense to slow down. She often gives up her dribble prior to passing. Let's the other team double her or to double another UConn player. Caroline is often open on a cut, but Nika's passing is so mechanical that she doen't even try to get CD the ball. We should be happy we have Nika and her energy as a Huskie but have to agree that she will likely be 8-9 in the rotation once we are at full strength.

Thank you for this HopJim.

 

[HopJim]

The only legit charge call I saw was Ducharme on Held. The rest were...bogus. I didn't think Morrow was dirty, but I did think she fouled out and she flops too much. She's a really good player. I'm trying to think of a more energetic and physical big in wcbb and off the top of my head...none come to mind. She played like Charles Barkeley.

In some ways, Morrow reminded me of a super-sized version of Nikka. Pushes every time she either defends or takes ball to basket. By the rules, fouls every play but knows the refs won't call them.

 

[TCC Kid]

Assuming Paige comes back healthy, the challenge for Geno will be to accelerate the amount of time it takes to get the team operating like a finely tuned machine. Normally, that process takes an entire season. Geno will have maybe a month to get all the pieces working together and executing.

For most coaches that would be impossible. But no coach in basketball is better at getting his team prepared for the Big Dance than Geno.

The weakest part of the puzzle is the Post play. NOW. ONO is ONO she is very active under the boards, still in that close she misses layup. She is swarmed usually and that leads to SOME missed layup. Luckily, she is getting help from Dork and Caroline and Edwards (when she isn't fouling). With Paige, Caroline, Fudd (in her second game I'm impressed), CW, Dorka, ONO they become a competitive team. Muhl, Nika she's fast but in or near the pack she isn't a great ball handler. She has a pretty fair 3 ball and attacks openings (few except Caroline and cW are doing that). As good as she can be she is, at times she is a liability.
c

 

[Stymie]

Azzi needs to play more. She's exactly what this team needs. Great game by lots of players tonight. I hated how it took so long to set up the offense though. They monkeyed around outside way away from the basket and didn't even try to start the offense for 10-15 seconds at a time. Gotta say most of that was Nika. Nika had a good game overall but she didn't run the offense well. This is the best we can expect from Nika. Azzi and Paige are better and no way I'm taking Caroline out..

I wholeheartedly agree with starting(?) the offense 10-12 feet behind the top of the key.
I believe this gives the other team the opportunity to relax a bit.
Playing defense requires much more energy than playing offense.
Even if you don’t intend on taking a shot for 10-15 seconds ( unless a great shot materialize) , being closer in keeps much more pressure on the defense.
JMHO

 

[TCC Kid]

Thank you for this HopJim.

Caroline uses the very effective bounce pass. Nika throws the straight on, easily picked off, pass.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I remember the beginning of the season that a few were a bit down on Azzi; maybe even harsh.
I believe that her injury was the cause of what appeared to be shooting woes.

I bet the early critics may be singing another tune after this game. Let's hope all the good we saw against DePaul will continue for the duration of the season.

 

[mbr33ct]

Good

• Williams and Fudd were back... and played well (32 extra points)
• UCONN shot 59%/40%. some of the best shooting this year (helps when you have people who can make baskets playing) (and in a few weeks we'll get our best shooter back )
• 4 players in double figures scoring (Ducharme, Williams, Fudd and Muhl)
• Out rebounded DePaul (barely but still)
• Won a close game. doesn't happen often
• CFD, clutch.
• Staying undefeated and beating our top rival in the league
• Keeping DePaul to 29% 3pt shooting

Bad

• Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers - 20 (vs 19 assists, anything under 1 ratio isn't good) Gave DePaul 12 more shots than us
• Edwards, wow. I don't know if she might not be 100% physically?? Otherwise she's way, way in her head. Geno definitely needed to sit her down the 2nd half. Not sure what's up with Westbrook either.
• Getting abused by a 6-1 FR. We had no answer for Morrow. 30pts / 14 rbs / 3 steals

I like to add missed layups, missed layups, missed layups to your Bad section also.

 

[TCC Kid]

Yes, we need to remember (or realize) Doug has coached with Geno (and against him) a lot. They probably talk basketball extensively when they are together. So if anyone know Geno's offense and how to disrupt it, it would be Doug.

I've seen them for years. After the games they usually find a nice Italian eatery, and there are hundreds in Chicago, and talk, probably about anything other than basketball. But Doug, Geno's buddy, has coached with Geno with the USA and Olympic teams, much like Dawn so all 3 know each others game pretty well, I agree. I like Bruno.

 

[oldude]

The weakest part of the puzzle is the Post play. NOW. ONO is ONO she is very active under the boards, still in that close she misses layup. She is swarmed usually and that leads to SOME missed layup. Luckily, she is getting help from Dork and Caroline and Edwards (when she isn't fouling). With Paige, Caroline, Fudd (in her second game I'm impressed), CW, Dorka, ONO they become a competitive team. Muhl, Nika she's fast but in or near the pack she isn't a great ball handler. She has a pretty fair 3 ball and attacks openings (few except Caroline and cW are doing that). As good as she can be she is, at times she is a liability.
c

Post play gets a whole lot easier when you have a bunch of guards and wings who can spread the floor and knock down shots. As you point out, Liv was “swarmed” last night every time she touched the ball in the low post. Put Paige, Caroline, Azzi & Christyn in the lineup and opposing teams can’t afford to double any of UConn’s posts.