Doom & Gloom thread

[donalddoowop]

Geno said it all in his post game press conference:

"this is not your typical UConn team....we kinda suck this year....we need to get better".....

the fact is that this team can beat anybody if they are playing at the top of their game but when they're not, they could loose to any of 10-15 teams in the big tournament......time will tell

Is this typical UConn coaching?

 

[Charliebball]

Here's where I see things:

1) clearly something is wrong with Lou. Is it the lack of strong pre-season conditioning (coming off the surgery) catching up with her? She looks spent, with nothing left in the gas tank

Ono needs to bulk up and pack on "Dangerfield Type Muscles". She came into this season, thinking that she would be a big contributor, simply based on her size and what she did in High School. A "Tierra McCowan" she's not (yet). Coombs cannot be counted on to produce

KLS was always going to be targeted by opponents this season and she's simply not the kind of player that consistently get her own shot.............she must be pretty exhausted at this point in the season and it has clearly effected her performance...............why she's on the court in the fourth quarter against an AAC opponent up twenty points is beyond me................if it makes you feel any better McCowan averaged 6.6 ppg, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a freshman.................from a skills standpoint ONO is a far better player then McCowan could ever wish to be and I expect she will be outstanding in the next few years........

 

[HopJim]

It is all about the DEFENSE. When opposing teams score 70+ , we are in trouble, no matter what our offense is doing. We do not play well on defense; no lock down defenders, no steals, no forcing turnovers, no post defense.

Not sure if Geno experimenting with defenses is good or bad. Not working against the teams with big, powerful 4's and 5's. Hopefully leads him to an answer for NCAA's. Wondering if our best defense would be to somehow ramp up the offense.

 

[Charliebball]

Is this typical UConn coaching?

I can't answer that but I do know that for the most part the players have not stepped up in the past two big games............

 

[bbballfan23]

Not sure if Geno experimenting with defenses is good or bad. Not working against the teams with big, powerful 4's and 5's. Hopefully leads him to an answer for NCAA's. Wondering if our best defense would be to somehow ramp up the offense.

I think we would plan to run & jump and press against big teams like them with poor guard play. I think we need to press every team not named ND.

 

[Charliebball]

Not sure if Geno experimenting with defenses is good or bad. Not working against the teams with big, powerful 4's and 5's. Hopefully leads him to an answer for NCAA's. Wondering if our best defense would be to somehow ramp up the offense.

as Walz pointed out in his pregame press conference, UConn's best defense is their offense......................it's pretty simple, if UConn doesn't shoot well they usually don't win..............

 

[HopJim]

The problem with playing against bad teams is it makes what some of the things you do look better than what they really are. You think you are better than you are.

Not sure if the issue is "playing against bad teams" or little experience playing against teams with true centers. Might be same issue. At least against Baylor and Louisville, you got the sense that we mentally sped up, resulting in missed layups, Crystal shooting fall aways, etc. issues we normally never have. Solvable by NCAA's?

 

[HopJim]

Lou was really bad. She is looking tired. The lack of conditioning and practice in the summer is now showing up. The defense of the starters was abysmal again. Pheesa shot well but otherwise seemed in a fog. They have both seemed to be unable to carry the team in the big games. As pointed out in the past the past failures in recruiting will haunt us.

Lou is shooting differently this year. Maybe because she now has an ankle that works, she is shooting (and missing) true jump shots. Often now shoots on the move. The past three years, she typically took what was a set shot where she normally only elevated 1-2 inches.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

2005-09 all over again? starting to look that way..

That thought has crossed my mind a lot in the past month or so. And, well, we got through that (though Geno might not want to).

 

[paisan]

Not sure if Geno experimenting with defenses is good or bad. Not working against the teams with big, powerful 4's and 5's. Hopefully leads him to an answer for NCAA's. Wondering if our best defense would be to somehow ramp up the offense.

There is no coaching answer ...you can’t coach 6’5” and the strength of Brown or McGowan.

 

[BigBird]

Louisville played better, but i think maybe, the team in striped uniforms won thegame.

Ah yes. The Notre Dame defense: You have to cheat us to beat us.

 

[Carnac]

This UConn team doesn't have it,

By it I mean those one or two players you knew would take control when the game is on the line. KLS and Pheesa are great, but during the really tight games of the last few years, especially this year, where they have less back up, they seem to try and force things way too much. KLS, especially, who was supposed to the next it start, seems to be more of an outside specialist that can run really hot or really cold. Pheesa while an excellent scorer and rebounder, loses her prescence, especially when facing any decent big in the middle. I knew this year was going to be especially tough after losing Azura. But, I always though Napheesa and Katie Lou would have enough of it to carry us. Now I am not so sure.

“Sometimes it is what you see. Regardless of what we want it to be, it is what it is. That’s where I’m at right now.” - Geno Auriemma

 

[willtalk]

KLS was always going to be targeted by opponents this season and she's simply not the kind of player that consistently get her own shot...she must be pretty exhausted at this point in the season and it has clearly effected her performance.....why she's on the court in the fourth quarter against an AAC opponent up twenty points is beyond me......if it makes you feel any better McCowan averaged 6.6 ppg, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a freshman.......from a skills standpoint ONO is a far better player then McCowan could ever wish to be and I expect she will be outstanding in the next few years...

Out of necessity KLS has had to take on an expanded role for this team. She is not able to just be a catch and shoot scorer. She has always been more than a catch and shoot player but her expanded role is being required against really good opposition. Much like she was forced to attempt to create her own shot against a top level defender like Richards from Baylor. She has ball skills in place, but they have not yet been adjusted to this high a level of competition. She is in respect to what necessity has forced on her, much like a freshman who needs to adjust to the speed and athleticism of the higher level of competition.

In respect to you comparison of Ono and McCowan---- They are entirely different types of players. Ono is more a finesse player where McCowan utilizes power and strength. You can not realistically compare McCowans freshman states with Ono's. Not only are the different types of players but players are often at different stages of development coming out of college. Post players in general do reach their peaks out of high school. McCowan is a player who had the size and height to be a power post. She just developed and honed her skill level and that is what made her that much better her last two years. Ono skill level is more developed but the question is if she can improve her strength? There are a lot more tall skill level players coming out of high school today than ever were in the past. The qualities that elevated McCowan and made her the force she was was less skill but rather height combined with size/strength. In todays WCBB game Ono is more a forward than she is a post. She is just playing the post out of necessity based on her height. Oregons Sabbelly is physically similar to Ono but she is not playing the post, because she her skills resemble those of a wing.

Uconn fans have been used to having players with huge potential top sides entering their program. They expect them to end up as All Americans. Well that might not always be the case. Especially with this freshman class. That might still turn out to be true, but then again it might not. This recent freshman class was not strong in the Uconns position groups of need. Getting the top players in a weak group does not equate to what it might have meant in past classes.

 

[Longtime fan]

For some reason Lou looks a little less mobile than usual. Good defense but not the same energy and tenacity compare to her better games. The offense was passing as much to create and out guys look tentative for stretches. Obviously defense isn’t as good as before but we need all 5 to score double digit and have one of our big 3 have a really good night mike 25-30 points.

Let's talk about today's had-earned victory over Cincinnati. For one thing, it is clear that the dominating UCONN defense has vanished. In the past, when things got tense, we could always rely on our stultifying defense. Now, we look like every other team on defense, and less effective than many. Cincinnati had far too many open looks. Who is supposed to be defending?

Lou is now 11 for her last 44 from three point range. The offense seems to be as follows; A. Let Crystal create something herself, or B; Force it into Phessa and let her score. It doesn't matter if she is triple-teamed when you make your pass. Lou is competing hard underneath and with drives, but she can't get free for a patient set-up of her outside shots. The screens aren't working.

I have never seen a heralded player at the D-1 level miss so many put-backs under the basket as Megan Walker recorded today. He breakout game against Tulane isn't paying benefits. If she and Williams don't start participating in the offense, we can all go home.

We are experiencing more "on us" non-forced errors ( resulting in turnovers ) than I can recall. It seems the players really are not in sync. A player anticipates a teammate to cut left, and she cuts right. Crystal and Lou are great at the foul line, and most everyone else is a crap shoot. UCONN discipline used to get far better results. And winning at the free throw line often means winning at the tournament.

The starters played a ton of minutes, two days after a disheartening loss in front of 17,000 at Louisville. Does no one believe that this will take a toll in March? Or that it might already be happening? I would rather play the bench and lose an AAC game, if it means a long-term benefit for the starters.

Olivia has the worst ( weakest? ) " hands" I have ever seen. If someone in the stands sneezes, she'll lose control of the ball. Her teammates often overlook her, even when relatively open, because ( IMO ) they have no confidence that she will handle the pass. I'm sure she is working on strength, but it isn't taking so far.

How long has it been since Geno was not able to " clear the bench" to soak up some garbage time in a game against Cincinnati?

Does it seem to anyone that this team is regressing?

 

[Charliebball]

Out of necessity KLS has had to take on an expanded role for this team. She is not able to just be a catch and shoot scorer. She has always been more than a catch and shoot player but her expanded role is being required against really good opposition. Much like she was forced to attempt to create her own shot against a top level defender like Richards from Baylor. She has ball skills in place, but they have not yet been adjusted to this high a level of competition. She is in respect to what necessity has forced on her, much like a freshman who needs to adjust to the speed and athleticism of the higher level of competition.

In respect to you comparison of Ono and McCowan---- They are entirely different types of players. Ono is more a finesse player where McCowan utilizes power and strength. You can not realistically compare McCowans freshman states with Ono's. Not only are the different types of players but players are often at different stages of development coming out of college. Post players in general do reach their peaks out of high school. McCowan is a player who had the size and height to be a power post. She just developed and honed her skill level and that is what made her that much better her last two years. Ono skill level is more developed but the question is if she can improve her strength? There are a lot more tall skill level players coming out of high school today than ever were in the past. The qualities that elevated McCowan and made her the force she was was less skill but rather height combined with size/strength. In todays WCBB game Ono is more a forward than she is a post. She is just playing the post out of necessity based on her height. Oregons Sabbelly is physically similar to Ono but she is not playing the post, because she her skills resemble those of a wing.

Uconn fans have been used to having players with huge potential top sides entering their program. They expect them to end up as All Americans. Well that might not always be the case. Especially with this freshman class. That might still turn out to be true, but then again it might not. This recent freshman class was not strong in the Uconns position groups of need. Getting the top players in a weak group does not equate to what it might have meant in past classes.

I agree with much of what you said................my ONO comparison was a statistical comparison as clearly they are nothing alike as players..............if you go back and look at some of ONO's high school games you will see a whole bunch of offensive moves that she has yet to even use at this level..............she is not your typical 6'4" kid, not Stewie by any means but she clearly has much more to offer................most of us on the BY have a fascination with rankings but as you say, rankings don't always prove to be good indicators of a player's future on the court.........