Do the Huskies rely too much on steals?

[RockyMTblue2]

Hey, not me! Blame this guy and the many (unidentified mostly) red flags he sees for this team. I don't know the publication or the author.

AAC Tournament kicks off with Connecticut in the driver’s seat

"The Huskies scored 29 points off 19 Bulls turnovers – the exact margin of victory. This is a credit to the UConn defense, which is among the top five in the nation. USF simply could not hang on to the ball against the quickness and anticipation of the Husky defensive pressure. But great teams – final four teams like Mississippi State (with the third-fewest turnovers in the nation) – don’t turn the ball over for those cheap baskets. Do the Huskies rely too much on steals?"

 

[bags27]

Well, the obvious flaw in the argument is that turnovers are simply gifts. UConn earns most of its turnovers.

 

[HuskyNan]

Hey, not me! Blame this guy and the many (unidentified mostly) red flags he sees for this team. I don't know the publication or the author.

AAC Tournament kicks off with Connecticut in the driver’s seat

"The Huskies scored 29 points off 19 Bulls turnovers – the exact margin of victory. This is a credit to the UConn defense, which is among the top five in the nation. USF simply could not hang on to the ball against the quickness and anticipation of the Husky defensive pressure. But great teams – final four teams like Mississippi State (with the third-fewest turnovers in the nation) – don’t turn the ball over for those cheap baskets. Do the Huskies rely too much on steals?"

Jim Clark is a UConn fan. He used to be a Boneyarder.

 

[bags27]

Jim Clark is a UConn fan. He used to be a Boneyarder.

He's dead to us now.

 

[eebmg]

It is a weird argument to me. Even if you do not get all the steals, you are making them uncomfortable and taking teams out of their game. If we had the depth we
thought we should have, you can play our style even more.,

 

[Woof 101]

First I agree with bags27 in that UConn earns what they get. Not to slander the writer as it must be difficult to come up with something new when discussing UConn. Having said that and been around many sports for many years, they idea a team basis their defensive philosophy on steals is simply silly.

The game plan is always to take advantage of your teams strong points and attack what might be the opponents weak ones. This team has several players quick enough to do the deed and not foul, taking what is being offered. The writer did mention Miss St. very low turnover ratio but he never said anything about the quote.....
"There like piranhas on a roast". We shall see in the very near future....

 

[MD#12Fan]

Yes, I think it's about getting in passing lanes, getting deflections, and trapping. I actually wish they would trap more. Our length makes trapping ideal, pressure on the ball, making the offense put air under pass in order to get it over arms, and anticipating.
Maybe the guy is saying that when we "go for steals" we become less fundamentally sound. I think the best steals are the ones when everyone is in perfect position, like Kia's on the wing when she was denying the wing. That was a fun one when Crystal picked the girl's pocket from behind. Good teams aren't going to just hand us the ball.
I hated that flat 2-3 Geno employed in the 2nd half. I kept wanting them to trap in the corners. That girl was getting open looks from the elbow. Ugh. Almost like Geno was just playing it out. Especially after the injuries.

 

[HuskyNan]

Yes, I think it's about getting in passing lanes, getting deflections, and trapping. I actually wish they would trap more. Our length makes trapping ideal, pressure on the ball, making the offense put air under pass in order to get it over arms, and anticipating.
Maybe the guy is saying that when we "go for steals" we become less fundamentally sound. I think the best steals are the ones when everyone is in perfect position, like Kia's on the wing when she was denying the wing. That was a fun one when Crystal picked the girl's pocket from behind. Good teams aren't going to just hand us the ball.
I hated that flat 2-3 Geno employed in the 2nd half. I kept wanting them to trap in the corners. That girl was getting open looks from the elbow. Ugh. Almost like Geno was just playing it out. Especially after the injuries.

Geno doesn't have enough players to play that type of aggressive defense. It takes a lot out of a player, physically, to press and trap.

 

[VaConnFan11]

I think they do.

The losses and close games have come from the other team making UConn run their half court offense. Right now teams are giving Gabby the elbow jumper and she is not making it. The defense is laying off, cutting off the passing lane to the cutters. 90% of the offense right now is either 3-pointers or layups. Very few mid range jumpers.

 

[rt bb fan]

I think they do.

The losses and close games have come from the other team making UConn run their half court offense. Right now teams are giving Gabby the elbow jumper and she is not making it. The defense is laying off, cutting off the passing lane to the cutters. 90% of the offense right now is either 3-pointers or layups. Very few mid range jumpers.

Lou makes mid range jumpers.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Yes, we can't rely on forcing great teams into turnovers. And our half-court offense has looked sluggish at times.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Very silly premise by Jim Clark. You can almost always cherry pick a stat and say if that hadn't happened, it would have been a close game. In another game, he will probably say if UConn had shot 40% instead of 64%, it would have been close. Or if UConn hadn't had outrebounded the opposition by 22, it would have been close. Etc. But the reality is that UConn gains statistical superiority in these categories because of superior players and superior coaching.

 

[donalddoowop]

I think what he says makes sense. Most of the tight games UCONN has played, including the loss to MS, they forced only a few turnovers. They get their fast break going and start to pull away from teams when they turn them over. I don't think they depend on forcing turnovers for scoring but it does help. Just because someone says something negative about UCONN does not mean that what they are saying is wrong.

 

[cbraarj]

I think what he says makes sense. Most of the tight games UCONN has played, including the loss to MS, they forced only a few turnovers. They get their fast break going and start to pull away from teams when they turn them over. I don't think they depend on forcing turnovers for scoring but it does help. Just because someone says something negative about UCONN does not mean that what they are saying is wrong.

Uconn needs to control the tempo and push the ball up the court. You are right! Uconn with the pressure can make the other team take bad shots, take them out of their offense and make them play at Uconns pace.

 

[Bleed Blue-XY]

I think what he says makes sense. Most of the tight games UCONN has played, including the loss to MS, they forced only a few turnovers. They get their fast break going and start to pull away from teams when they turn them over. I don't think they depend on forcing turnovers for scoring but it does help. Just because someone says something negative about UCONN does not mean that what they are saying is wrong.

Yes, the writer brings up a valid point. We have all seen UCONN get in tight games when turnovers are not coming rapidly and they have to rely on their half court offense. Heck we seen how the offense looked against UCF when they slowed things down and limited UCONN’s fast break points. One positive thing this year compare to last year is the team has Z who can score in the paint and draw extra defenders which will give the shooters more opportunities. Also her range outside the paint is good enough to draw a talented big out and give more room for players like Pheese and Gabby to operate.

 

[Blueballer]

I find this a bizarre take on good defense. They rely on good defense. If it results in more steals then so be it. And, not too surprising - the better the competition the fewer steals then generally get. Seems like a stretch to write an article to me.

 

[augustaTC]

NO.

 

[inthisopinion]

If the offense runs through KLS all the time nobody beats UConn. If it doesn't then they are vulnerable to the 3 or 4 teams who can hang with their talent especially the bigger teams. I think that's what happened last year vs Miss. St.

 

[donalddoowop]

If the offense runs through KLS all the time nobody beats UConn. If it doesn't then they are vulnerable to the 3 or 4 teams who can hang with their talent especially the bigger teams. I think that's what happened last year vs Miss. St.[/QUOTE
What happened in the fourth quarter of the ND game when KLS did not play or in the Maryland game when she sat out. UCONN did fine without her. However, they will need her healthy and shooting accurately for the rest of the season and they will be fine. I don't think the offense should run through any one player unless circumstances dictate that it should. If UCONN is playing a short team maybe the offense should run through AS. But if circumstances dictate the offense should run through any one player, that player SHOULD be KLS.