Dont worry about UConn.

[Tonyc]

Watching LSU/TX I noticed TX outshot LSU and everything else was relatively equal. LSU is quick and as good as TX defense has been LSU's quickness I believe was the difference.

Vandy looks well coached. One superstar and they know how to win. The SEC is a tuff conference. Many of their teams will have multiple losses because of their schedule. So much for stacking your conference by merging with other conferences. Geno had some tuff OOC teams scheduled who lost players through injury or the portal which has made UConns SOS a little less than what it might have been. Now we had ND and Tenn left in our OOC schedule and both are good tests. Maybe not like SC or TX but still good tests. They are just as good of a test as they are in their own conference.

UConn has speed quickness and depth at every position. No other team in WCBB has that. UConn has 2 AAs in Sarah and Azzi and both are go to players with experience. The ND and Tenn game will bring UConn back to reality meaning UConn wont take them lightly and the starters will most likely play more minutes than theyve been playing. I agree when UConn gets those 30 and 40+ leads they seem to get bored and part of that is Geno stopping the pressure which slows down the energy they had. He also clears the bench which again plays a little softer because of lack of energy thats a result of playing suffocating defense. UConns defense eats up opponents and then when Blanca and Kayleigh come in they wreak havoc. and take it to another level. This is the difference between UConn and everybody else. Overwhelming defense that creates havoc for opponents and creates energy for UConn.

ND and Tenn will be good tests. Both teams will be up for this game. So will UConn.

 

[JellyBean]

Alot of great games were played over the weekend. That LSU/Texas game was really good because it just showed that on any given day, any team can get got. For the past few days all we heard was how LSU was this or that. They have a soft schedule and they got exposed. On an on it went. They beat #2 Texas and not a word about their "soft" schedule. Just an example of on any given day you can get got.

The reason why I am not too worried about UConn, they got multiple scoring options, and it is early in the season. Coach Auriemma talks about how when you walk into a gym and see your team for the first time and go, okay I got this, so we can run this system. Or we don't have this, so we have to do this instead. With this team, I love the make-up of the team. We got speed. We got quickness. We got size. We go small ball, we got plenty of ball handlers. So, when the Lady Vols press us, we have to attack and make our shots. With the multiple handlers out there, as long as we are attacking and finishing, we are good. This is why I am not worried about UConn.

 

[Cuango]

Watching LSU/TX I noticed TX outshot LSU and everything else was relatively equal. LSU is quick and as good as TX defense has been LSU's quickness I believe was the difference.

Vandy looks well coached. One superstar and they know how to win. The SEC is a tuff conference. Many of their teams will have multiple losses because of their schedule. So much for stacking your conference by merging with other conferences. Geno had some tuff OOC teams scheduled who lost players through injury or the portal which has made UConns SOS a little less than what it might have been. Now we had ND and Tenn left in our OOC schedule and both are good tests. Maybe not like SC or TX but still good tests. They are just as good of a test as they are in their own conference.

UConn has speed quickness and depth at every position. No other team in WCBB has that. UConn has 2 AAs in Sarah and Azzi and both are go to players with experience. The ND and Tenn game will bring UConn back to reality meaning UConn wont take them lightly and the starters will most likely play more minutes than theyve been playing. I agree when UConn gets those 30 and 40+ leads they seem to get bored and part of that is Geno stopping the pressure which slows down the energy they had. He also clears the bench which again plays a little softer because of lack of energy thats a result of playing suffocating defense. UConns defense eats up opponents and then when Blanca and Kayleigh come in they wreak havoc. and take it to another level. This is the difference between UConn and everybody else. Overwhelming defense that creates havoc for opponents and creates energy for UConn.

ND and Tenn will be good tests. Both teams will be up for this game. So will UConn.

Going to be interesting to see how they play Hidalgo. She has absolutely owned us during her time at ND.

 

[Bone Dog]

Last season’s loss to ND, Hannah didn’t “totally own us.” KK pretty much shut her down inside the arc. But she did go on a hot streak from 3 and that was devastating. But that happened not because of a defensive flaw. They simply had too many perimeter shooters last season in Hannah, Olivia and Sonia. This is not the case now. If KK can defend her like she did last season, that will be enough. That means forcing her to go left.

As for @JellyBean’s second observation, I’ve been wondering about this too. Geno has two certified “bucket getters,” and that’s already a lot. But he also has several others who can score in double figures on any given night: Ash, Blanca, Kayleigh, Allie and Serah. That’s just the current rotation minus Jana, and even she can go off on occasion.

• The question is, do the other top teams have this many scorers? And does Geno have enough defenders to manage them.
• Texas has Booker, Lee and Carlton, but the team is not stocked with perimeter threats. Oldacre has begun asserting herself in positive ways on offense and could become the fourth scorer. And Rori has been known to go off.
• SC has Joyce and Medina, of course, and Tessa, and Latson (if she comes back soon), and Raven has been scoring more this season. And Agot has been showing a significant scoring spark recently. Tessa is the primary perimeter threat, though Raven has been taking more 3-pointers. That may not be enough to prevent opponents from packing the paint against Joyce and Medina.
• LSU has a balanced trio of core scorers in Flau’jae, Mikayla, and Milaysia, but several others are turning out to be quite opportunistic scorers, like Zakiya, Amiya and Grace. Only Flau’jae and Mikayla are substantial perimeter threats.
• UCLA has several threats in Lauren (of course) Kiki, Angela, Gabriela and Gianna. That’s a lot. But Gabriela and Gianna are the main perimeter threats, and they are burning it up. Kiki and Charlize also take some 3s but not at quite the same clip.
• Vandy has three main scoring threats, Mikayla, Justine Pissot and Aubrey Galvan, but only Justine is a substantial perimeter threat — although Aubrey got hot late against LSU.

What I see in this list is that only UCLA has real scoring depth comparable to UConn. Texas and LSU depend more on defensive intensity to win.

And Vandy is the outlier in this group. If Blakes can be slowed down, it isn’t clear how they can win. But that’s the challenge, rather like stopping Dyaisia Fair on Syracuse was, and it’s easier said than done. If KK and Kayleigh can slow her down, I don’t think Galvan and Pissot can make up the difference.

Can Azzi slow down Booker? And can KK and Kayleigh contain Rori? If so, I don’t believe Texas can contain Sarah Azzi and Blanca.

Can KK contain Raven, and Azzi do the same to Latson? If they can, it’s up to Serah and Jana to contain Medina, an it will be up to Joyce to see what she can do with Sarah — they are a very good matchup. And Ash will have to contain Tessa. This will be a very good game, if it happens.

Perhaps the UCLA game will be the most competitive matchup. Betts can only be slowed down, and this can’t fall only to Sarah. Jana and Serah have to play a major role. Azzi might be able to contain Gabriela, but that’s will be an interesting challenge. KK and Kayleigh can probably contain Kiki and Charlize. That leaves Gianna for Ash and Blanca to manage. And if Sarah isn’t stuck doubling down on Betts, I think she can manage Angela. But all of these will require great effort to prevail.

I’m very optimistic about all these possible games, mainly because in March wins are mainly a function of teams, not individual matchups. Paige led the team to a dominant championship run because the team was more in sync than anyone they faced. This will be the key this season too. Think about what Paige did to UCLA — she brought every ounce of her physicality to the court, absorbed fouls, threw herself into every play, risked everything. It helped that Azzi was on fire in the first half, and that Sarah was in the second half. But it was Paige’s ferocious intensity that carried the team. Who will supply that energy this time?

 

[Bald Husky]

I'm not worried about guarding anyone. Our defense will prevail, but if they cannot shut down one superstar, no worries. The rest of their team will be and that is a fact. Go with it.

 

[WiseWillie]

Going to be interesting to see how they play Hidalgo. She has absolutely owned us during her time at ND.

It has been our inability to corral her quickness to the basket and stay in front of her when she was driving left or right. She would start her drive at the top of the key and the defender would be caught trying to catch up and usually end up fouling during the act of shooting (she has over the years perfected a drop and fall that every ref will see) resulting in either a 2 plus 1 or at least two foul shots. Will it be better this time around? Expect a rotation of one or more defensive hawks KK, Azzi, Ash or Kayleigh to be given the job of containing her.

 

[YKCornelius]

It has been our inability to corral her quickness to the basket and stay in front of her when she was driving left or right. She would start her drive at the top of the key and the defender would be caught trying to catch up and usually end up fouling during the act of shooting (she has over the years perfected a drop and fall that every ref will see) resulting in either a 2 plus 1 or at least two foul shots. Will it be better this time around? Expect a rotation of one or more defensive hawks KK, Azzi, Ash or Kayleigh to be given the job of containing her.

Nope, Bone Dog had it right regarding last season: UConn played her off to the right in order to force her to go left. When she wasn't able to go to her right, she wisely stayed outside the arc and hit her (largely uncontested) threes. The scout last year was spot on.

This year, it is more of the same for HH. She continues to show an inability to go left, so I expect UConn's scout to emphasize playing off of her right side almost exclusively. Michigan double-teamed Hidalgo's right side and shut her down completely - forced her to jack up contested threes.

Bottom line: we should not try to stay in front of HH. Let her drive by to the left and simply stay on her right side. She will be switching the ball to her right hand because she is unable to shoot with her left - even lay-ups.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

You see @Tonyc I was cruising along, not a care in the world. Then you told me not to worry! 😉

 

[ABCDFE]

Nope, Bone Dog had it right regarding last season: UConn played her off to the right in order to force her to go left. When she wasn't able to go to her right, she wisely stayed outside the arc and hit her (largely uncontested) threes. The scout last year was spot on.

This year, it is more of the same for HH. She continues to show an inability to go left, so I expect UConn's scout to emphasize playing off of her right side almost exclusively. Michigan double-teamed Hidalgo's right side and shut her down completely - forced her to jack up contested threes.

Bottom line: we should not try to stay in front of HH. Let her drive by to the left and simply stay on her right side. She will be switching the ball to her right hand because she is unable to shoot with her left - even lay-ups.

I’m amazed you typed "we should not try to stay in front of HH" seriously. Yes, she favors her right, but your suggested strategy of acting like a traffic cone against one of the quickest guards in the country is fascinating. So basically she drives left and because she doesn't feel as comfortable using her left hand she has no ability to make a layup at all or spot up jump shot or make a right pass? Why so much Shade against HH?

Willie was most likely recalling the game a couple of years ago where she utterly dominated us with quickness on offense and defense. To shade a player like HH to the point where you are suggesting to just let her go to her left without even guarding her, is quite myopic and utterly disrespectful to that player. I wonder how your scouting report would go over if you went into Geno's office and told him hey today I'm thinking KK and and the guards should only guard HH on if she's on one side of the court.

You don't have to shade someone else’s observation or a player's abilities just to shine a light on your own arrogance.

 

[YKCornelius]

I’m amazed you typed "we should not try to stay in front of HH" seriously. Yes, she favors her right, but your suggested strategy of acting like a traffic cone against one of the quickest guards in the country is fascinating. So basically she drives left and because she doesn't feel as comfortable using her left hand she has no ability to make a layup at all or spot up jump shot or make a right pass? Why so much Shade against HH?

Willie was most likely recalling the game a couple of years ago where she utterly dominated us with quickness on offense and defense. To shade a player like HH to the point where you are suggesting to just let her go to her left without even guarding her, is quite myopic and utterly disrespectful to that player. I wonder how your scouting report would go over if you went into Geno's office and told him hey today I'm thinking KK and and the guards should only guard HH on if she's on one side of the court.

You don't have to shade someone else’s observation or a player's abilities just to shine a light on your own arrogance.

My own arrogance? Ouch! You doth cut me to the quick!

Yes, Hannah Hidalgo's freshman year she was breathtakingly brilliant against UConn. A remarkable game both offensively and defensively. Last year, another extremely impactful game where she was a major factor in the Irish's win in South Bend.

I am not suggesting to "just let her go left" and am certainly not suggesting to not guard her. Rather, I am unequivocally stating that the scout on HH should be to force her to go left, and to stay on her right side whenever possible.

I think if I went into Geno's office with this scout he would grin and say, "Tell me something that we don't know. That's been the scout on her since the last time we played them."

Look, I invite you to do any one of several things: (1) Watch last year's game (it's on YouTube) and observe how UConn was guarding Hannah when she had the ball. If you do, listen to Rebecca Lobo who says several times throughout the game that the book on HH is to make her go left. Goodness, the TV folks even showed a diagram of her shots freshman year as proof of their pre-game scout.

(2) Look at game film of ANY Notre Dame game this year and count how many times she goes to her left to shoot when she is inside the arc - you will be able to use the fingers on one hand. Then of those times she goes to her left to shoot, subtract the number of times she suddenly stops to square to the basket to shoot a jump shot (always with her right hand). What will remain is the number of times she attempts a lay-up or floater going to her left. That number will be either zero, one or two. Finally, look to see if she makes the shot or not. If she makes it, see if the ball comes out of her left or right hand.

(3) If you don't have time to look at a lot of film like I have, then simply take a look at Notre Dame's four losses this year. You will see that the scout that these teams used is similar to what I described above - overplay HH to her right in order to force her to go left. The scout I am posting here is nothing new.

(4) If you are really crunched for time, then you can go to ESPN's shot chart for specific games and see for yourself where HH's shots come from when she shoots inside the arc. However, even though these shot charts are eyebrow-raisingly clear, this option is not as good as looking at game film. The charts only tell you where she shot from, but not if she was going to her left or right. It is only a partial story, even if it seems compelling.

I am surmising you don't have much experience with a scouting report since you think I am suggesting to only guard HH if she is on one side of the court. That is laughable. Hannah can make shots on the left side as well as the right side as well as straight on.

Once again, the scout is to force her to go left and overplay her on the right side knowing that she can only score using her right hand to shoot.

If you think highlighting a player's weaknesses/tendencies is casting "shade" or being "disrespectful", not much I can help you with there. That is what a scouting report does.

Go Huskies!

 

[ABCDFE]

My own arrogance? Ouch! You doth cut me to the quick!

Yes, Hannah Hidalgo's freshman year she was breathtakingly brilliant against UConn. A remarkable game both offensively and defensively. Last year, another extremely impactful game where she was a major factor in the Irish's win in South Bend.

I am not suggesting to "just let her go left" and am certainly not suggesting to not guard her. Rather, I am unequivocally stating that the scout on HH should be to force her to go left, and to stay on her right side whenever possible.

I think if I went into Geno's office with this scout he would grin and say, "Tell me something that we don't know. That's been the scout on her since the last time we played them."

Look, I invite you to do any one of several things: (1) Watch last year's game (it's on YouTube) and observe how UConn was guarding Hannah when she had the ball. If you do, listen to Rebecca Lobo who says several times throughout the game that the book on HH is to make her go left. Goodness, the TV folks even showed a diagram of her shots freshman year as proof of their pre-game scout.

(2) Look at game film of ANY Notre Dame game this year and count how many times she goes to her left to shoot when she is inside the arc - you will be able to use the fingers on one hand. Then of those times she goes to her left to shoot, subtract the number of times she suddenly stops to square to the basket to shoot a jump shot (always with her right hand). What will remain is the number of times she attempts a lay-up or floater going to her left. That number will be either zero, one or two. Finally, look to see if she makes the shot or not. If she makes it, see if the ball comes out of her left or right hand.

(3) If you don't have time to look at a lot of film like I have, then simply take a look at Notre Dame's four losses this year. You will see that the scout that these teams used is similar to what I described above - overplay HH to her right in order to force her to go left. The scout I am posting here is nothing new.

(4) If you are really crunched for time, then you can go to ESPN's shot chart for specific games and see for yourself where HH's shots come from when she shoots inside the arc. However, even though these shot charts are eyebrow-raisingly clear, this option is not as good as looking at game film. The charts only tell you where she shot from, but not if she was going to her left or right. It is only a partial story, even if it seems compelling.

I am surmising you don't have much experience with a scouting report since you think I am suggesting to only guard HH if she is on one side of the court. That is laughable. Hannah can make shots on the left side as well as the right side as well as straight on.

Once again, the scout is to force her to go left and overplay her on the right side knowing that she can only score using her right hand to shoot.

If you think highlighting a player's weaknesses/tendencies is casting "shade" or being "disrespectful", not much I can help you with there. That is what a scouting report does.

Go Huskies!

Thou speakest like an angel, yet walkest with the fork-tongue of a serpent...

Nah Dawg, you don't get to repivot. You wrote: "Bottom line: we should not try to stay in front of HH. Let her drive by to the left and simply stay on her right side. She will be switching the ball to her right hand because she is unable to shoot with her left - even lay-ups."

You are shading the player plain and simple, I don't know what else to tell you. Looks like you're the definitive authority on who gets to shade or who doesn't. You do not believe an elite player like HH can shoot with her left hand even layups (ever??), and you surmise that we shouldn't even stay in front of her because she is incapable of adjusting her game, even a little (what about a crossover move)?

You’re a person of many principles—it’s just a shame you’re so careful never to use any of them on yourself.

 

[ABCDFE]

My own arrogance? Ouch! You doth cut me to the quick!

Yes, Hannah Hidalgo's freshman year she was breathtakingly brilliant against UConn. A remarkable game both offensively and defensively. Last year, another extremely impactful game where she was a major factor in the Irish's win in South Bend.

I am not suggesting to "just let her go left" and am certainly not suggesting to not guard her. Rather, I am unequivocally stating that the scout on HH should be to force her to go left, and to stay on her right side whenever possible.

I think if I went into Geno's office with this scout he would grin and say, "Tell me something that we don't know. That's been the scout on her since the last time we played them."

Look, I invite you to do any one of several things: (1) Watch last year's game (it's on YouTube) and observe how UConn was guarding Hannah when she had the ball. If you do, listen to Rebecca Lobo who says several times throughout the game that the book on HH is to make her go left. Goodness, the TV folks even showed a diagram of her shots freshman year as proof of their pre-game scout.

(2) Look at game film of ANY Notre Dame game this year and count how many times she goes to her left to shoot when she is inside the arc - you will be able to use the fingers on one hand. Then of those times she goes to her left to shoot, subtract the number of times she suddenly stops to square to the basket to shoot a jump shot (always with her right hand). What will remain is the number of times she attempts a lay-up or floater going to her left. That number will be either zero, one or two. Finally, look to see if she makes the shot or not. If she makes it, see if the ball comes out of her left or right hand.

(3) If you don't have time to look at a lot of film like I have, then simply take a look at Notre Dame's four losses this year. You will see that the scout that these teams used is similar to what I described above - overplay HH to her right in order to force her to go left. The scout I am posting here is nothing new.

(4) If you are really crunched for time, then you can go to ESPN's shot chart for specific games and see for yourself where HH's shots come from when she shoots inside the arc. However, even though these shot charts are eyebrow-raisingly clear, this option is not as good as looking at game film. The charts only tell you where she shot from, but not if she was going to her left or right. It is only a partial story, even if it seems compelling.

I am surmising you don't have much experience with a scouting report since you think I am suggesting to only guard HH if she is on one side of the court. That is laughable. Hannah can make shots on the left side as well as the right side as well as straight on.

Once again, the scout is to force her to go left and overplay her on the right side knowing that she can only score using her right hand to shoot.

If you think highlighting a player's weaknesses/tendencies is casting "shade" or being "disrespectful", not much I can help you with there. That is what a scouting report does.

Go Huskies!

I did just a simple search of HH highlights and her Triple Double game against Bellarmine, which was the first video that popped up. HH does have have the ability to make plays going to her left. This was just one game. I have not gone through every one of her games in her career. Your bottom line of not staying in front of her assumes she can't make any positive plays on the left side of the court I think is overdone, incorrect and in fact shading a player more than is warranted. You also said "she will be switching the ball to her right hand because she is unable to shoot with her left - even lay-ups". This is incorrect in this video clip she goes good length of the court and uses her left hand for a layup with contact in this video.

In this video there are 4 instances that I saw that she went left and was effective:

1) 0:40 mark - left side drive finish with right hand
2) 1:07 mark - left side drive against contact finishes with left hand
3) 4:28 mark - drives left makes proper pass
4) 5:08 mark - drives left makes proper pass