Disturbing tendencies

[Longtime fan]

I'm going to get killed for posting this, but here goes:

Yes, I know it's early.
Yes, I know the team is tired after a loooong road trip.
Yes, I know the players are just getting used to each other. But,

Unlike past UConn teams, this is not a team that is searching for perfection. Its performance is so far from perfect that you might say that during the second half of games, it is searching for above average.

They seem to use their first team to destroy the opposition in the first quarter and a half. As soon as they get to that point, with or without starters, the quality of play lags considerably. They rely less on the extra pass and more on kicking it out to the three-point shooter, who may or may not be on target. If it's Kia, no problemo. Otherwise, the results are not very pretty. Their defense gets sloppy and forget about pinpoint passes.

Is it a chemistry thing? Well, it's hard to say how much the insertion of Azura has changed the way the rest of the starters do things, but it does seem that this starting five can more easily be thrown off-stride than the previous starting five. We'll know more when KLS comes back and plays herself into form.

Meanwhile, IMHO, it seems the coaching staff has not come up with a go-to way of getting the team back on track. That's fine now, but against Notre Dame and other such teams, it may not be. Especially come tournament time a few months down the road.

Does this mean UConn will lose games? Probably not. They are bigger, stronger, in better shape and better coached than almost everyone else. And yes, they are a work in progress. It's just that they offer us something we don't see very often --an obvious need for lots of progress. I have as much faith in the coaching staff as the next guy does, but this team does worry me. And somehow it's just not as fun winning games because your players and bigger and taller and longer and higher-rated (which means the folks who complain, 'UConn gets all the good players' appear to be right, even when, factually, they are not.)

It's much more fun winning because your team outplays the other guys. And right now, this team spends a lot of time getting by on talent -- who they are, rather than how they play.

It may be my imagination, but Geno seems less enthusiastic about this outstanding freshman class than he has in previous years. I realize it is a strategy of his. But Lexi ( the player from Texas...is that her name?) for example, seems so far in the dog house as to not even see a bone lying in the yard. I'm sure that will eventually change. Also, while Azura is improving her game, she is not much of a defender, unless her height and length advantage is overwhelming. Her outside shot is still unreliable. What is she , 1-8 on uncontested threes? I think the team has a long way to go. They likely would benefit by losing to N.D.

 

[Bajan Best]

The title of this thread is "Disturbing Tendencies" Perhaps it would have been more accurate to have named it, "Are we living up to expectations?" After all, we have shown a tendency to beat teams by an average of almost 30 points. The only thing disturbing about that is the opponents sense of hopelessness to acquire a win against UCONN.

However, let it be said.. If you purchase a Mercedes Benz, when you sit in it you will expect it to look and feel different from the Hyundai. This UCONN team (The Mercedes) is returning more AA's than any other team in the country (The Hyundai's) and added a few more significantly talented players. Not only that, they have also arguably the best coaching staff in the world. All other teams have lost key players and are making adjustments and learning along the way just like UCONN but with less talent, So it's only natural that everyone in America expects to see a greater margin of Victory this year in the games played.

But what exactly does this all mean, Geno has one expectation of his team and that is that his team gets better each day, and if that happens baring injuries we can safely say the results will be another National Championship, Give Geno the best players in the country and you can almost guarantee the end result.

This current team is not yet firing on all cylinders, but I can't wait to see when that happens, here's hoping the game against Notre Dame gives us a picture of what that may be like. No real need for us to be defensive/aggressive to another poster's point of view, after all, that is all it really is.

 

[winlots]

The title of this thread is "Disturbing Tendencies" Perhaps it would have been more accurate to have named it, "Are we living up to expectations?" After all, we have shown a tendency to beat teams by an average of almost 30 points. The only thing disturbing about that is the opponents sense of hopelessness to acquire a win against UCONN.

However, let it be said.. If you purchase a Mercedes Benz, when you sit in it you will expect it to look and feel different from the Hyundai. This UCONN team (The Mercedes) is returning more AA's than any other team in the country (The Hyundai's) and added a few more significantly talented players. Not only that, they have also arguably the best coaching staff in the world. All other teams have lost key players and are making adjustments and learning along the way just like UCONN but with less talent, So it's only natural that everyone in America expects to see a greater margin of Victory this year in the games played.

But what exactly does this all mean, Geno has one expectation of his team and that is that his team gets better each day, and if that happens baring injuries we can safely say the results will be another National Championship, Give Geno the best players in the country and you can almost guarantee the end result.

This current team is not yet firing on all cylinders, but I can't wait to see when that happens, here's hoping the game against Notre Dame gives us a picture of what that may be like. No real need for us to be defensive/aggressive to another poster's point of view, after all, that is all it really is.

BAJAN: VERY well said, top to bottom..... and concluding sentence particularly impressive.

 

[huskeynut]

If ND wins, and that's a big if, this board is going to be dead for a while, except for all the negative ones.

 

[Tenspro2002]

The only disturbing tendencies I see are the growing number of negative "fans" (and I use that term extremely loosely). This is one of the toughest schedules UCONN has ever started with. We've beaten 4 ranked teams and 2 state Universities. We are not playing Holy Cross or Fairfield. The closest anyone has got is 18 points. Not even close to single digits. Were any games ever even in doubt after halftime?

No, we don't need to worry about the team, we need to worry about the so-called "fans". We could use some new ones around here. Pathetic.

HELL, WE ARE UCONN. WE ARE BAD FOR WBB!!!

Love your gif, but hate your message.

The word "fan" is not synonymous with cheerleader. A fan is not a pollyanna who thinks everything is rosy and that nothing is wrong.

A fan is someone who wants the team to win and perform well. Well, we haven't been performing to our usual standards, and performing at that level is no guarantee of future wins.

 

[Stinger92860]

IF by chance ND does beat UConn....I don't want to be on this board come next Sunday evening, onto next week and beyond.

If they do its not a bad thing. Lots of season left.

 

[BroadwayVa]

If ND wins, and that's a big if, this board is going to be dead for a while, except for all the negative ones.

If this board is dead--for any length of time--it shall not exceed 10 second--the BY can't be shut up that easily.

 

[noirwestern]

I don't have qualms about the early play of the team per se; it's just that we really haven't gone up against a good team yet so it's really hard to say where we are. You can point to the ranking of the opposition so far but, seriously, Stanford and Maryland are mere ghosts of tough teams past and the two California teams have one or two good players and when has that ever been a problem for our bunch? ND will be the first test and I for one hope they bring their best.

 

[hoophuskee]

Love your gif, but hate your message.

The word "fan" is not synonymous with cheerleader. A fan is not a pollyanna who thinks everything is rosy and that nothing is wrong.

A fan is someone who wants the team to win and perform well. Well, we haven't been performing to our usual standards, and performing at that level is no guarantee of future wins.

A fan also appreciates his or her team winning. A fan appreciates it when his or her team has played other good teams and has blown out every one of his or her opponents. A fan appreciates the dynasty of the team he or she follows and can recognize that 20 year olds are not perfect.

You know while there are some fans that certainly are cheerleaders there are also some fans that see ghosts around every corner. Here are some examples. OFC if you believe in one or two etc below maybe fine but after a point it gets really absurd. We can all disagree on things we prefer etc. One or two never bother me -- but the accumulation. It' s like we're fans but at opposite sides of the universe on what we liek to see/ feel what is is best.

1- For example the ones that invented a scenario in their minds that the team would suffer because of a problem with minutes this year. Every year we have to hear "THIS YEAR" will be "THEEE problem." Blah. Blah Blah.
2- Or the ones who think it is vital to give decent minutes to the 13/14/15th players on the bench.
3- Or the ones who think it is more important to develop players 9-15 rather than reward players 1-7.
4- Or the ones that thought players predominantly ranked in high school around 15-50 would have a good chance to break into the lineup this year with a lineup in which UCONN has 6 players already on the all-american watch list along with the 7th player a number ranked recruit along with eventual Camara who was previously ranked around 12-18 three years ago meaning she probably is better. But let's criticize Geno because he's not giving minutes to the lesser player or criticize the freshmen that they aren't near as good as the college all-americans even though they were never ranked to be as good?
5- Or the type of fan from last year in which UCONN playing at ND pointed out all the wrong UCONN was doing in the game and when UCONN won, didn't mention one good thing the whole game that UCONN did. How many fans don't appreciate beating a rival while UCONN plays well? After all - leading up to the season - UCONN wasn't supposed to be that good. So why BOTHER to say at least ONE good thing? Damn cheerleaders!
6- Or the fans that think Geno Auriemma OWES THEM explanations on player personnel decisions.
7-- Or the fans that watched UCONN play a good schedule and blow every one out so after 5 games in which one of their superstars and another valued player have played little to nothing- they are somehow "disturbed" the the 20 year olds haven't annihilated the good teams who have scholarship player's too- by more. They are not just a "mere disappointed" but actually "disturbed." How dare these kids "disturb" us fans and only "merely" blow teams out. Damnit I sit on my couch and demand more!!!

8/9 -- Or this winner that the fan demands UCONN exhibit proper sportsmanship yet in the next breath suggest UCONN play 40 minutes of hell / press the whole game - because OUR BENCH PLAYERS NEED MINUTES. So let's criticize Geno for not employing this non-stop running tactic and lets wipe out teams like SMU by 90 points instead of 50. Let's really try hard to wear them down for a FULL 40 minutes. That'll teach SMU who's boss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Press!!! Press!!! Press!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mbr33ct]

The title of this thread is "Disturbing Tendencies" Perhaps it would have been more accurate to have named it, "Are we living up to expectations?" After all, we have shown a tendency to beat teams by an average of almost 30 points. The only thing disturbing about that is the opponents sense of hopelessness to acquire a win against UCONN.

However, let it be said.. If you purchase a Mercedes Benz, when you sit in it you will expect it to look and feel different from the Hyundai. This UCONN team (The Mercedes) is returning more AA's than any other team in the country (The Hyundai's) and added a few more significantly talented players. Not only that, they have also arguably the best coaching staff in the world. All other teams have lost key players and are making adjustments and learning along the way just like UCONN but with less talent, So it's only natural that everyone in America expects to see a greater margin of Victory this year in the games played.

But what exactly does this all mean, Geno has one expectation of his team and that is that his team gets better each day, and if that happens baring injuries we can safely say the results will be another National Championship, Give Geno the best players in the country and you can almost guarantee the end result.

This current team is not yet firing on all cylinders, but I can't wait to see when that happens, here's hoping the game against Notre Dame gives us a picture of what that may be like. No real need for us to be defensive/aggressive to another poster's point of view, after all, that is all it really is.

I hear in the Mercedes Benz user manual there is this quote; "The first 1000 miles (1500km) - The more cautiously you treat your vehicle during the break-in period, the more satisfied you will be with its performance later on."

 

[meyers7]

A fan also appreciates his or her team winning. A fan appreciates it when his or her team has played other good teams and has blown out every one of his or her opponents. A fan appreciates the dynasty of the team he or she follows and can recognize that 20 year olds are not perfect.

You know while there are some fans that certainly are cheerleaders there are also some fans that see ghosts around every corner. Here are some examples. OFC if you believe in one or two etc below maybe fine but after a point it gets really absurd. We can all disagree on things we prefer etc. One or two never bother me -- but the accumulation. It' s like we're fans but at opposite sides of the universe on what we liek to see/ feel what is is best.

1- For example the ones that invented a scenario in their minds that the team would suffer because of a problem with minutes this year. Every year we have to hear "THIS YEAR" will be "THEEE problem." Blah. Blah Blah.
2- Or the ones who think it is vital to give decent minutes to the 13/14/15th players on the bench.
3- Or the ones who think it is more important to develop players 9-15 rather than reward players 1-7.
4- Or the ones that thought players predominantly ranked in high school around 15-50 would have a good chance to break into the lineup this year with a lineup in which UCONN has 6 players already on the all-american watch list along with the 7th player a number ranked recruit along with eventual Camara who was previously ranked around 12-18 three years ago meaning she probably is better. But let's criticize Geno because he's not giving minutes to the lesser player or criticize the freshmen that they aren't near as good as the college all-americans even though they were never ranked to be as good?
5- Or the type of fan from last year in which UCONN playing at ND pointed out all the wrong UCONN was doing in the game and when UCONN won, didn't mention one good thing the whole game that UCONN did. How many fans don't appreciate beating a rival while UCONN plays well? After all - leading up to the season - UCONN wasn't supposed to be that good. So why BOTHER to say at least ONE good thing? Damn cheerleaders!
6- Or the fans that think Geno Auriemma OWES THEM explanations on player personnel decisions.
7-- Or the fans that watched UCONN play a good schedule and blow every one out so after 5 games in which one of their superstars and another valued player have played little to nothing- they are somehow "disturbed" the the 20 year olds haven't annihilated the good teams who have scholarship player's too- by more. They are not just a "mere disappointed" but actually "disturbed." How dare these kids "disturb" us fans and only "merely" blow teams out. Damnit I sit on my couch and demand more!!!

8/9 -- Or this winner that the fan demands UCONN exhibit proper sportsmanship yet in the next breath suggest UCONN play 40 minutes of hell / press the whole game - because OUR BENCH PLAYERS NEED MINUTES. So let's criticize Geno for not employing this non-stop running tactic and lets wipe out teams like SMU by 90 points instead of 50. Let's really try hard to wear them down for a FULL 40 minutes. That'll teach SMU who's boss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Press!!! Press!!! Press!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was gonna answer, but pretty much covered everything.

Only thing I would add is that "fans" are not whiny little @#$%&* either.