DePaul Postgame Thread | The Boneyard

DePaul Postgame Thread

oldude

oldude

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Some thoughts on the DePaul game;
  • UConn’s annual trip to Chicago to play DePaul is always one of the highlights of the conference schedule. But this year’s trip didn’t feel quite right without the presence of Doug Bruno on the sideline, one of the best coaches in WBB and Geno’s longtime friend. It was good to see Doug sitting in the stands, although I noted that he was in the upper deck, far away from the court, probably for the safety of the officials….:)
  • As the season progresses, any change to the rotation means something. In today’s game Ice, rather than Morgan, was the 1st forward off the bench in place of Jana.
  • I marvel at how frequently Sarah gets her hands on the ball on defense with steals, blocks and tips. Opponents must be aware of her all the time when they are on offense.
  • After a tough shooting game at Creighton, both Kaitlyn and Azzi seemed to have found their shooting stroke again, as they lit it up from inside and outside against the Blue Demons.
  • I’ve never said this before and I don’t expect to ever say it again. Paige was really not much of a factor tonight for UConn…. :oops:
  • Aubrey got some meaningful PT in tonight's game and she was very active. She still has a ways to go to feel completely comfortable on the court, but it's coming.
  • Sarah is really padding her rebounding stats by missing bunnies. By my count, she picked up an extra 3 rebounds off her own missed layups… ;)
  • The Huskies offense was a little disjointed tonight. But their defense was relentless, holding the Blue Demons to 58 points, forcing 20 turnovers while totaling 12 steals.
  • FINALLY, I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU GUYS SINCE WE RECRUITED HER THAT JANA CAN KNOCK DOWN 3-PT SHOTS!!!! :cool:
 
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I thought it was pretty underwhelming. Azzi, Chen, Shade, Ice, and even Q can take a bow. Everyone else struggled imo. Something seems off with Paige, but I felt this way about her last year at this time. And she kicked it up a notch. Boy, I hope she can do it again.
 
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Some things good. Some things not so good. Paige probably had her worst game of the season, but others did well.

Glad that Aubrey got a bunch of minutes.

Please dont overinterpret tonight's 3pt shooting as typical.
 
Azzi really balled out today. Quiet night for Paige, so it was nice to see others step up.

The defense was stifling as usual. It’s nice to see it happen consistently. We had some scoring slumps during the game but then followed them up by runs. For better or worse the refs mostly held their whistles and let the players play; personally I am happy to see UConn deal with the physicality.

Kind of a meh game overall but sometimes we just need games like these. Gives everyone a chance to play.
 
In the last 4 games, UCONN has shot over 50% from 3 in three of them, and shot 20% in 1 of them. I think the norm is somewhere in between. It's great to see the team firing on all cylinders from 3 like this, but against a .500 Depaul team, this wasn't a stellar performance.

Paige seems off and Sarah, while "strong" on defense, was missing too many shots. I thought Ice gave some good minutes, as did KK, Ash and even Q tonight. It was nice seeing Aubrey getting more time as well.

Shout out to the defense, altho Depaul did go 7-17 from 3 shooting over 40%. And Depaul had 2 players score 19 each both shooting over 50% so... kind of a mixed bag.

Jana continues to do surprisingly little out there, as did Morgan. Allie seems to be sliding to the back of the depth chart again.

Let's face it - Depaul is not a good team. These big east games should be slaughters, but in reality, they are practice games for Tennessee and SC (as well as the NCAA's) - for the team to work on chemistry, etc. I think this team will struggle if they rely too much on the 3 because against better teams, we tend to shoot it dreadfully, so while going 50% + in 3/4 last games is nice and fun, it could spell trouble against better teams.
 
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I echo oldude's comments regarding Sarah's hands. She seems to get her hands on the ball on every possession, kind of like Pernell Whitaker's lightning fast jab in his prime.

Tonight was the version of Azzi Fudd we expect. When she's in rhythm, it's a shock to the system when the ball doesn't go in.

I don't think Paige can play worse offensively. Hopefully, she got the last remaining stinker of her college career out of her system. She'll be forgiven (kidding) if she reverses course and lights up against UT and SC.

Kaitlyn looked like she was wearing her Princeton uniform. She's an effective offensive weapon when she's aggressively looking for her shot.

Patiently waiting for the 2 big road games to arrive.
 
I missed the first 3 minutes so I don't now if it was mentioned but Did Sarah have a wrap on her right wrist?
 
Dogstar said:
I missed the first 3 minutes so I don't now if it was mentioned but Did Sarah have a wrap on her right wrist?
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Yes, on her right wrist and thumb, which tells me she probably jammed her thumb in practice.
 
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Not much to say about this game, we had a couple of nice runs but that's about all I remember.
I thought we defended Allen pretty well but she ended up as the game's high scorer (tied with Johnson-Matthews) with 19. She started off slow and I thought it was because Sarah was defending her and then she wasn't. I didn't understand why the switch. But eventually Allen started to make her shots but the game was already decided.
Oh well, maybe it will be easier to watch the replay...
 
EricLA said:
In the last 4 games, UCONN has shot over 50% from 3 in three of them, and shot 20% in 1 of them. I think the norm is somewhere in between.
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I don't want to repost obscene material, but in a different thread I noted this team's 3 pt percentage against its 5 toughest opponents.
 
A win is a win. Defense was outstanding. The pressure forced 20 DePaul turnovers and 12 steals.

On offense, not very good at all tonight. No flow. I'll attribute some of that to DePaul's defense. They bang away on defense. Paige had a forgettable game. Three point shooting was good tonight. But that has not been the norm this season.

Looks like the team in a funk on offense. Geno and staff have a lot of work to do to get the offense flowing.
 
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Except for Tenn. and So. Carolina, I consider these games in the BE learning sessions. It enhances Uconn's chance for a high seed in the NC. It is what Uconn needs to prepare for the NC. I will always believe GENO and CHRIS know what the team has to do to play in the NC. No-one has been in more games in the NC. than GENO and CHRIS and they will have the team ready. No nitpicking or negative posts that do little to help the team. I also believe that there are players on the bench that will have break-out performances in the NC. games that will amaze everybody. GO FRESHMEN!!!!! GO SOPHOMORES!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!
 
Azzi was a playmaker and shottaker today. Her defense is really really underrated and her overall floor game is just so solid. Whenever she enters the draft she is going to make a WNBA GM very happy.

Kaitlyn Chen is playing like I knew she could, this is not a hot shooting night, she can do this whenever she wants. Azzi kept feeding her and Chen delivered. Creighton guarded everyone but her and Geno told her to be more aggressive and like I've been saying all year, she's as potent an offensive weapon as UConn has.

Sarah Strong is your BE player of the year, Shade had some solid efforts and though not a thumping, UConn found a way to win without a strong showing from Bueckers.
 
I am surprised by some of the negative posts in this thread.

UConn put up an easy 84 with their top two scorers having 19 while getting rest with 50 minutes between them.

They got 17 minutes from Aubrey. She isn't close to where she needs to be yet but the rust is coming off.

Chen probably had her best game as a Husky.

They had 21 assists and just 10 turnovers. They were 12-14 from the line.

The awkward moments from Ice and Jana around the basket are decreasing. Jana is becoming a very good screener.

I haven't heard Geno's postgame comments but I would think he and his staff are not unhappy overall with tonights performance.
 
Much of this game showed intense defense by both teams. Credit to DePaul for a strong effort and their/our 10,000 fans. This was a good experience for us as others than the two top scores for us carried the team. Paige did have some great passes for assists. Sarah is our most productive rebounder and hangs well with her missed shots. Hoping she can slow down a bit while shooting bunnies. Griffin is looking better on the boards. Five rebounds and hands on several more. She and Sarah have similar rebounding intensity.

Chen, Azzie, KK and perhaps Shade are interchangeable for our third scoring option in tough games. That is depth that most teams don't have and can be pivotal down the road. These four (4) must keep looking for their shot as it frees up our main shooters. Geno knows this as reflected in his body language when these four pass up shots. SNY did a nice job scanning Bruno and Geno with announcers commenting well on missed opportunities by our players. Geno was very engaged in coaching this game. I loved it. DePaul played a full court.

We got to the foul line more while playing to a quicker tempo. That suits this team well. With our low turnover rate (10) against solid man to man defense this game played more like early NCAA's. Our turnovers are more limited to offensive opportunities rather than careless ball handling.
 
I'm loving the defensive intensity of this team, and the individual offensive play of a number of players, but I'm missing the beauty of those long up court passes of Nika that kept the opponent's defenses off balance. They were never quite sure who to cover when racing to get back in time. We have the depth to run teams into submission. I've never heard of a team winning by slow walking a team into submission.
 
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