Duke Postgame Thread

[JellyBean]

Much like the Texas & NC State games, I never want to overlook any team, especially Duke. Too many upsets this season already. This was another solid performance by our beloved UConn squad. Love the unselfishness of this team. Well done, ladies. Up next, Iowa!!

 

[eebmg]

UConn Highlights Duke Game

 

[Geew1992]

1) It looks like Caroline is being impacted some by losing her 3 spot to Lou. In addition to not being in game shape or game speed yet. We all know she has what it takes so I'm glad she got some PT today to expedite her readyness. I don't think Lou is going to be moved off that 3 slot though so Caroline is in for a transition and it may be a transition she's not cut out for. Her game is movement. If you stick her in a corner and leave her there it is not ideal at least for her.

2) As some of us predicted last year ( and were dumped on for it ) the strength of this team is 3 point shooting. Lou had 3 years in a row of 40% shooting from 3. Lou is no surprise. Adding that 2nd star 3 point shooter really helps and that probably continues. It may well be that Caroline and Aubrey can help more in that regard before the year is out.

3) Geno is not going to even try Azzi at the PG slot so that discussion is apparently over barring an injury. We just are not deep enough for it anyway at this point and no doubt Nika is doing a solid job overall. She's hitting her free throws this year ( compared to last ), she's fouling less and getting more assists. Cutting her turnovers. Defense is even improved IMO. I'm still not seeing the pull up or the penetration. I don't see how it is ideal for the team for her to be hanging around the basket so much as the smallest player on our team. Wouldn't the normal slot for a point guard be to guard against the break? Others are covering well for her so that hasn't been a problem but some team is going to exploit it. The bottom line is we do not have the depth anyway so Nika gets to play virtually all game at the point and she gets to freelance. Great situation for Nika and her fandom should continue to increase. She's doing a solid job overall in maximizing her strengths and minimizing her weaknesses, and reaping the rewards she has worked so hard for.

4) AE has had a great year so far also and a lot of that is increased opportunity as well. She hit some shots from the key area today, and that's great, but against a top team we will get no rebounds if she misses those. With a small team, I'm not a fan of that play. We still haven't faced a team yet with outstanding size in the paint. South Carolina and Stanford, for example. We are going to need Dorka or it's going to get ugly. Ayanna can't catch a break on the fouls. Other teams are faking fouls clearly, and getting away with it. Look at Anessa Morrow play. Give us that kind of refereeing and Ayanna will be a major contributor. I hope Geno continues to give her PT as we are going to definitely need her.

5) We may not end up the top scoring team in the country but we may end up the best scoring team in the country considering the competition. We are going to continue to need it.

You really want to give nika a negative spin.

 

[HuskyNan]

You really want to give nika a negative spin.

He’s

 

[Bama fan]

Man-o-man-a-chevitz what a gritty performance. Various players had a timely answer at just the right times.

Man o Manescheweiz, I haven't heard that in years! Thanks for the memories.

 

[BRS24]

The speed of the college game is completely different from HS. Ayanna may be a great athlete, however it takes some frosh time to adjust. I'd bet if we looked back to our former wing/post players as freshmen, we'd see the same stats. And, we're only 4 games into the season.

 

[Brewski]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Man o Manescheweiz, I haven't heard that in years! Thanks for the memories.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Are you aware that ederly people frequently makes statements like "I haven't heard that in years"? just as an FYI, this very well could be a symptom of early onset "OlderthanSchit" syndrome. You might want to make a doctor's appointment and have a cranial physical. Especially in the case where those memories you're thankful for only last a few minutes.

BTW @Bama fan Lou had a great game last night! Don't forget!

 

[Bone Dog]

The speed of the college game is completely different from HS. Ayanna may be a great athlete, however it takes some frosh time to adjust. I'd bet if we looked back to our former wing/post players as freshmen, we'd see the same stats. And, we're only 4 games into the season.

Exactly. It’s harder to make good decisions at D1 speed, the game moves so much faster. Ayanna is physically ready for whatever game will throw at her. Now she just needs to get mentally up to this new speed. I predict come January she’ll have begun to move and think at the new speed.

 

[HuskyNan]

Exactly. It’s harder to make good decisions at D1 speed, the game moves so much faster. Ayanna is physically ready for whatever game will throw at her. Now she just needs to get mentally up to this new speed. I predict come January she’ll have begun to move and think at the new speed.

In addition, big girls right out of high school are used to being the tallest player on the court. In high school they could just reach out and block shots or grab rebounds. In college, they need to learn about defensive positioning, boxing out, and moving their feet instead of reaching.

Aaliyah and Liv were similar foul machines very early in their careers

 

[oldude]

Exactly. It’s harder to make good decisions at D1 speed, the game moves so much faster. Ayanna is physically ready for whatever game will throw at her. Now she just needs to get mentally up to this new speed. I predict come January she’ll have begun to move and think at the new speed.

The one thing I really like about Ayanna is that there is no hesitation in her game. Whatever Ayanna does on the court, good or bad, she does hard. Geno has no hesitation in putting her on the court in big games because of her effort. Once Ayanna smooths out the rough edges, she’s going to be something special.

 

[Ron and Vida]

I had always thought Caroline was the long-term starter at the 3, but the way Azzi and Nika have performed this year, makes me think with Paige they could be the best trio. Nika picks up the pace and pushes the ball up the floor quicker than Paige. Also Nika and Paige are pretty good rebounders for guards, and that lineup could do ok on the boards without a traditional 3.

If those three started, you would still have Caroline, Aubrey and Q as options at the 3 assuming Aubrey returns. Ashlyn could play the 2 or 3, and of course KK could back up the point.

You could have a defensive trio, maybe KK, Nika and Aubrey, or a shooting trio of Paige, Azzi and Caroline, or passing greatness with Nika, KK and Paige, and many other combos to address certain needs.

Could be interesting!

One thing is for dam sure.
It will be exciting!

 

[Redux]

Can Patterson learn/adapt? I see absolutely no evidence she can't. "Re-thinking" her game? Frankly, there's not a whole lot of her game that needs drastic changing. Experience and School Geno will take care of the fine tuning.

I just don't see a huge problem here. Comparison with Nika is illustrative. Nika was a masher, fouling was part of who she was but despite that DNA she is learning. Patterson looks like a tough cookie but she's really a lot more under control than Nika was, many of the calls in the last few games have been touch fouls (at least one had no contact whatsoever) and I think she has a much shorter way to go to than Nika did.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Aubrey... I gave up on her. Now she is blowing me away. We need all she can give us.

 

[Barkin Out]

Man-o-man-a-chevitz what a gritty performance. Various players had a timely answer at just the right times.

 

[Redux]

Disappointing would be how I would describe my feelings about Amari's outing today

There is no single player I root for harder than Amari when she comes into the game (probably since Molly Bent). But it's so hard with Amari it's painful. She's just a lost soul out there.

When Molly Bent came in I held my breath but it was all upside: if she did badly or just neutral that was OK because what could you hope for? When she did well in mop up it was icing on the cake. But you expect Amari to break through. Every time.

Some few UConn players with potential in the past just didn't fit, and it was obvious. But that's not the case with Amari. It's continually out front clearly that this could work. The lightbulb could come on at any moment and it's going to be amazing. But it doesn't.

 

[LoTrader]

Didn't read any of this thread. Just wanted to comment that I saw my first UCONN WBB game live and came away very impressed. My daughter came away a HUGE Nika Muhl fan. Then we watched a Point-guard less team in Oregon State and the difference between having a real floor general, and a leaderless team became very evident. What is amazing about Nika is her voice is loud. We could hear everything she was barking out. Impressive team.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

There is a play at about 1 minute in the first quarter where Nika disrupts a Duke player with the ball and Caroline joins in. The whistle blew and the players began to untangle themselves and there is a shot of Nika's face and I have never seen anything more ferocious on a basketball court. The Vikings were fierce warriors and the fiercest were know as Beserkers. Nika is our Beserker.

 

[oldude]

There is a play at about 1 minute in the first quarter where Nika disrupts a Duke player with the ball and Caroline joins in. The whistle blew and the players began to untangle themselves and there is a shot of Nika's face and I have never seen anything more ferocious on a basketball court. The Vikings were fierce warriors and the fiercest were know as Beserkers. Nika is our Beserker.

Going back to the 9th century, Croatia was often referred to as “the Land of Warriors” because Croats were considered among the most fearsome warriors in Europe. Clearly Nika has inherited her ancient ancestors disposition….

 

[DefenseBB]

Did the PKL not have any post game pressers with Geno, Kara and the teams?

I mean I have seen some of Kara’s quotes and taken on their own seem odd. To say she was disappointed her team “didn’t compete” when frankly, given the lack of quality opposition up to this game-teams ranked #252,#355,#180, #60 (Texas A&M is probably overrated to boot) and #94 Is not understanding the situation you put yourself in. If Kara really thinks this team could compete with UConn when anyone with slight knowledge of WCBB would know better, I fear she will fail in her task of being an elite coach. Always give the other team public credit and chide, admonish or cajole your team in private with logical and valid criticism.

 

[LoTrader]

Did the PKL not have any post game pressers with Geno, Kara and the teams?

I mean I have seen some of Kara’s quotes and taken on their own seem odd. To say she was disappointed her team “didn’t compete” when frankly, given the lack of quality opposition up to this game-teams ranked #252,#355,#180, #60 (Texas A&M is probably overrated to boot) and #94 Is not understanding the situation you put yourself in. If Kara really thinks this team could compete with UConn when anyone with slight knowledge of WCBB would know better, I fear she will fail in her task of being an elite coach. Always give the other team public credit and chide, admonish or cajole your team in private with logical and valid criticism.

Our observation of the Duke Team was that they were without inspiration. Absolutely no life on that team. Contrast that to UCONN, and UCONN Team is very spirited. No doubt, Duke will play their best game against Oregon State!

 

[ABCDFE]

Really happy and thankful to see CD back on the sidelines. My thoughts on the game

• Lou has been a revelation to me. I didn't think she would be as prolific as a scorer, but she is fitting in seamlessly. It is not an easy thing to do ever to be in a UCONN system and play as mature and confident as she has in just her first few games as a husky. Kudos to her basketball IQ and her belief in herself. To me, she has now become indispensable given how teams are focusing on Azzi and with Caroline still not at 100%
• AEdwards has really elevated her game and confidence. She still has a couple of plays a game where she holds on to the ball pivoting to nowhere but her energy and jumper has been great. She's also running the floor exceptionally well, which means she's in great shape early in the season
• Nika is playing lights out. Her Assist to Turnover ratio is off the charts and her +/- has been at the top or near the top in every game. To add more praise for Nika she seems to be in impeccable shape even with all the responsibility on defense and pushing the ball on offense. She's added some timely drives and taking the occasional shots to keep her defenders honest. I can't believe how much she's grown since freshman year in all facets. I'm so happy that she's starting to get the recognition from media that she deserves.
• I thought Aubrey had an ok game. She reverted back to her old self with holding the ball too long without any idea what to do, but I'm hoping that she will trust her ability to take her man one on one or find a better spot of the floor to create.
• Patterson is a beast. She reminds me of Dennis Rodman and his ability to just be so active on the boards. She needs refinement on her post moves, but she has so much upside.
• Azzi was the focal point of the defense and could tell she didn't want to force things. She still scored 14 points, but with Lou playing so well this is a game she didn't have to take over. There are some open shots still that she needs to take.
• Caroline playing more minutes brought a smile to my face. She's not there yet in terms of game shape or comfort level on the court, but you see little things that's encouraging.
• Amari unfortunately has not developed at all since last year. I'm hopeful that she will continue to get better

Glad to be playing Iowa. Need to contain 2 players and we get the W and add another highly ranked opponent on our resume. Go huskies, love this team!

 

[Bone Dog]

Didn't read any of this thread. Just wanted to comment that I saw my first UCONN WBB game live and came away very impressed. My daughter came away a HUGE Nika Muhl fan. Then we watched a Point-guard less team in Oregon State and the difference between having a real floor general, and a leaderless team became very evident. What is amazing about Nika is her voice is loud. We could hear everything she was barking out. Impressive team.

Love your post, @LoTrader

Your observation confirms what a lot of us have been thinking since the season started, that Nika has made herself indispensable to this team. I mostly get to watch games only on the TV and Nika's voice doesn't come across that way.

I also totally agree about Ore St, they seemed rudderless without a true pg to guide the substantial talent they have. I suspect Iowa will come across similarly against us -- unless Clark plays pg, they will lack that same rudder. And if she does play the point, she'll have to deal with Nika most of the game. As long as Yeaney could keep up with her yesterday, she was limited.

 

[HuskyNan]

Patterson looks like a tough cookie but she's really a lot more under control than Nika was, many of the calls in the last few games have been touch fouls (at least one had no contact whatsoever)

In the 4th quarter, right? Ayanna was moving towards the player and the ref blew the whistle. I was in total disbelief

 

[msf22b]

On the other side

"I'm disappointed in our effort today," said Duke coach Kara Lawson. "I think this is the first game I've been disappointed in my team overall. I just didn't think we played with the same competitiveness as our opponent did."

I was very disappointed in Kara's continuing the Duke "tradition" of throwing the team under the bus after a tough loss...I thought in the first quarter, her team played a very competitive game, got their three-point shooters open...which their scorers then hit...ran some great stuff.
(which she obviously taught them).

But they were worn down by stronger, more talented athletes playing within a more coherent system...OK, you lost...be gracious; take some responsibility...I don't remember her calling time-outs when Uconn pushed ahead...neither team did...they just let the kids work it out in situ....

Perhaps she hasn't assimilated the curriculum in the post-game coaching behavior 101 class that she skipped...
Disappointing nevertheless...I thought she was too bright and sensitive to behave like that.
Did she really expect to prevail, yesterday afternoon?

And where did that bogus Southern accent come from?
I sure don't remember that from her on air performances...
Perhaps its there from her UTenn period and she just turns it on and off...
Sure seemed fake to me.

 

[npignatjr]

Didn't read any of this thread. Just wanted to comment that I saw my first UCONN WBB game live and came away very impressed. My daughter came away a HUGE Nika Muhl fan. Then we watched a Point-guard less team in Oregon State and the difference between having a real floor general, and a leaderless team became very evident. What is amazing about Nika is her voice is loud. We could hear everything she was barking out. Impressive team.

Yes sometimes even on TV she can be heard.