Duke Postgame Thread

[Blond D.]

I would love to see the UCONN post players learn to use fakes to avoid getting blocked so much.

a slight hesitation works too.

 

[Majic Hands]

Yep. I'll admit. Disappointing would be how I would describe my feelings about Amari's outing today.

I think that's a real and valid discrimination of how "I" feel. Probably not nearly as bruised inside that Amari is dealing with this evening.

Some comments here on the BY have/are beginning to be personal attacks, belittling, and not things a "fan" of this team would say. . . Ever.

Some people really need to say nothing if they haven't anything good to say. These player are still kids. Kids we claim as our team.

 

[Beemer]

I believe this game was also a first for Nika- she had ZERO fouls despite playing her usual in-your-face defense.

 

[CTBballfan243]

I too am pleased, but not that much surprised. She's 24, and has 4 full years of D1 basketball experience under her belt. If she hasn't got it by now, she never will. That's why she's cool under pressure. She's been there and done that.

Lou is a gamer, a go-to player. I wish that Lou could have spent more time with us, but it was not in the cards. She came to us at the right time. She was not the player 4 years ago she is now.

She developed fast at a mid-major program that facilitated her growth and development. She would not have gotten the minutes here as a freshman that she did at Fairfield. She's at the right place at the right time. The basketball gods are smiling on her. To say that we are happy to have her is a gross understatement. Geno has said many times this summer how glad he was to have Lou. She came to UConn to dot her i's, cross her t's and polish up her game, cleaning up the little things she needs to - to make herself attractive to GM's and coaches in the WNBA and teams overseas.

We'll being playing Iowa Sunday. Oregon State peed in the bed only scoring 22 points in the second half, losing to the Hawkeyes 73-59. Clark had 28/9/8

Clarke will get her points, the key will be holding their post players below their average and our post players being able to give UConn something on offense.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I believe this game was also a first for Nika- she had ZERO fouls despite playing her usual in-your-face defense.

Wow! Geno must be happy with that statistic!

 

[#12in21]

I believe this game was also a first for Nika- she had ZERO fouls despite playing her usual in-your-face defense.

Saw on twitter that she is only the second Uconn player to have back to back double digit assist games. The first being Jen Rizotti two and a half decades ago!

 

[oldhusky]

I knew Uconn had the best point guard in the country, but I thought her name was Paige Bueckers.

I can't wait to see the Nika, Paige, Azzi lineup next year.

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!

 

[Carnac]

No. 3 UConn women defeat Duke 78-50 in first game of Phil Knight Legacy tournament​

PORTLAND, Ore. — Head coach Geno Auriemma jokingly quipped that he was a little upset he couldn’t be his “normal, cranky self” when he walked into UConn women’s basketball’s locker room after its first game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.

The reason why? Auriemma didn’t have much to complain about defensively following the No. 3 Huskies’ 78-50 victory over Duke at the Chiles Center Friday.

No. 3 UConn women defeat Duke 78-50 in first game of Phil Knight Legacy tournament

Head coach Geno Auriemma jokingly quipped that he was a little upset he couldn’t be his “normal, cranky self” when he walked into UConn women’s basketball’s locker roo…

www.courant.com

 

[Carnac]

I believe this game was also a first for Nika- she had ZERO fouls despite playing her usual in-your-face defense.

Nika has finally learned how to keep her hands to herself, and only chest bump teammates. G-r-e-a-t!!!

 

[Ozimoto]

A little late joining in so I will try not to repeat other too much. The way the game started I thought it was going to be a grind. Duke was the most active and disruptive defense the team has seen to date in my opinion. However, our defense was pretty darn good too and I wasn't too concerned that the first quarter was a little tight score wise.

There was no panic in them. They kept it together, figured it out and slowly and methodically pulled away.

 

[Bills Fan]

I think Ines is a long ways away from confidently leading this team at the point. She seems to have one move; go really fast and then pull up and see what's what. But I don't see her ( yet ) as a confident dribbler with both hands and behind the back. Nor have w witnessed any slick passing skills. Aubrey was in a bit of a reluctant funk again today. She keeps telling herself that shooting ( other than lay-ins) is not an option. Her indecisiveness causes turnovers. She also blew about 4 lay-ups today. Not her best showing. Ayanna looks good on foul shots. Would love to see her break free for a 12-14 footer ( or a three for the matter ). It is possible that De Berry just isn't very good. Hate to think this, but she does little ( good ) to impress. Lou was sizzling today. And everyone else did their jobs well.

Longtime, no disagreement that Ines is not ready to lead this team, as of today. However, we have to remember that she basically had no time to adjust to UCONN basketball getting on campus as school was getting ready to begin. How intimidating her situation must be to a very young foreign player. That's why I am hoping she gets more minutes as we progress into Conference play. I believe she has demonstrated a load of poise given her age and experience with the team. Can she lead the team at this point? Of course not, but we will only see her ability if she is given (make that earned) time on the floor.

One additional item, we really need Yanna to re-think her game. Four fouls in 12 minutes just doesn't cut it. We need her to be able to be an important part of the front court for at least 20 minutes. JE and/or Chris need to work with her. She is too good of an athlete to be fouling like this

 

[Bills Fan]

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!

oldhuskie, I like the way you think. Just one added item, don't forget about Ines. I think she will be able to contribute next year.

 

[VA Huskie]

Longtime, no disagreement that Ines is not ready to lead this team, as of today. However, we have to remember that she basically had no time to adjust to UCONN basketball getting on campus as school was getting ready to begin. How intimidating her situation must be to a very young foreign player. That's why I am hoping she gets more minutes as we progress into Conference play. I believe she has demonstrated a load of poise given her age and experience with the team. Can she lead the team at this point? Of course not, but we will only see her ability if she is given (make that earned) time on the floor.

One additional item, we really need Yanna to re-think her game. Four fouls in 12 minutes just doesn't cut it. We need her to be able to be an important part of the front court for at least 20 minutes. JE and/or Chris need to work with her. She is too good of an athlete to be fouling like this

She’ll learn!

 

[Bone Dog]

Just to get it out there: Nika drove to the rim in the half court offense a few times. Once ended with a nifty reverse layup — I bet coach P taught her that move. She got mugged the other times, bu-u-ut… she made her free throws. She went 4-4 from the line!

This is exactly what we wanted her to do when we were all talking about her this summer… and she’s doing it!!! And she looked so awesome doing it. I suspect a switch was flipped recently and her basketball mind is working in new ways. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

 

[DefenseBB]

I can't help wondering what on earth is going on at Ore St. I mean, between Texas and Duke we faced almost 13' of post player in Taylor Jones and Kennedy Brown who transferred out of Ore St. But the very next season Scott Pruitt has an answer and the recruiting there doesn't miss a beat, and this year they have Jelena Mitrovich and Reagan Beers, who probably total 13'4".

First, his name is Scott Rueck, a very successful coach not only at OSU but also at D3 George Fox University where he won an NCAA Title
Second Jelena Mitrovic is a Red Shirt Junior, this is her 4th season with OSU. She has lost quite a bit of weight and is in significantly better basketball conditioning.
Third, Raegan Beers was the #10 prospect coming out of HS by HoopGurlz (listed at 6'2"!) this past year.

Of more pressing concern is the flow out of very highly touted recruits like Destiny Slocum (Ark), Sasha Goforth (Ark), Taylor Jones (Tex) and Kennedy Brown (Duke) as you mentioned, Taya Corosdale (Duke), Greta Kampschroeder (Mich) who all were getting significant playing time but left, leaving most of us scratching our heads about what is going on with Maryland Left coast.

 

[ballerfan]

I am so impressed by UConn this year. Really fun to watch, especially Nika.

Lou is going to to score 30 points some game this year. There is a scenario in which she’ll be the team’s highest scorer the season, but it will likely be Azzi instead.

For the first time this year, Azzi got the Paige Bueckers treatment from the defense, and she scored « only » 14 points. I think other teams are going to study what Duke did. Fortunately Azzi has Lou and AE on offense, as well as Nika running the show, UConn made them pay for the coverage of Azzi. It’s too bad that Paige didn’t have this team around here during the tournament last year.

Duke shot only 32 percent. Some of that was UConn’s defense, but it is was a lot of poor shooting. It should have been a UConn win but a closer game.

 

[TeamFirst!]

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.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I love our scoring efficiency. Even when Azzi has an off game she still puts up solid, efficient numbers.

 

[Bone Dog]

First, his name is Scott Rueck, a very successful coach not only at OSU but also at D3 George Fox University where he won an NCAA Title
Second Jelena Mitrovic is a Red Shirt Junior, this is her 4th season with OSU. She has lost quite a bit of weight and is in significantly better basketball conditioning.
Third, Raegan Beers was the #10 prospect coming out of HS by HoopGurlz (listed at 6'2"!) this past year.

Of more pressing concern is the flow out of very highly touted recruits like Destiny Slocum (Ark), Sasha Goforth (Ark), Taylor Jones (Tex) and Kennedy Brown (Duke) as you mentioned, Taya Corosdale (Duke), Greta Kampschroeder (Mich) who all were getting significant playing time but left, leaving most of us scratching our heads about what is going on with Maryland Left coast.

Yeah, autocorrect got me with the coach’s name. Sigh.

Thanks for the info — though I already knew all that and more. I think you assumed I was aiming a criticism at Rueck, though this would be a misreading. A numbered list of responses like yours can often feel like some sort of accusation. Perhaps you had a different tone in mind.

The fuller picture you’ve provided is useful for framing a question. Given Rueck’s recruiting record, obviously something is going very right at Ore St. But the steady stream of transfers out is puzzling. Do you have any information on this, or even just a theory?

 

[triaddukefan]

Is it safe in here?

 

[eebmg]

View attachment 81112

Is it safe in here?

We love Duke's hospitality.

 

[eebmg]

Some nice quotes in

UConn women's basketball team defeats Duke in first round of Phil Knight Legacy Tournament

UConn women's basketball defeated Duke to open the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament thanks to a second-straight 20-point game from Lou Lopez Senechal.

www.ctinsider.com

"She just gets the ball and knows what she wants to do. There's no hesitation and she's a terrific, terrific shooter and her mid-range game is really really good and she has a mature game."

A quote equally applied to Azzi and Lou


and this is funny

Everybody's bought in for what they have to do to make our defense better. And, you know, I just appeal to them too I say, 'Look, in a normal world at UConn if you don't feel like guarding anybody, I just bench you and I don't have the opportunity to do that. So I'm stuck with you guys. So you're gonna have to do it because it's the right thing to do and if you want to really win.' And they've bought into everything."



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."

 

[msf22b]

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.

Sounds like my old self...worry-wart city

-You may be correct in your analysis Team-first but
Caroline is still shaking off the rust...Remember last season...not much was expected of her, even by the staff...I wouldn't judge any of her output or performance for another coupla weeks...I expect her to surprise to the good.

-According to Geno...Nika is the heart and soul of the team...I don't hear him complaining about her positioning...and her defense (w/o fouling) is significantly improved. The hint of negativity in your post regarding her usage may directly contradict the team's game plans. I haven't noticed a whole lot of fast-breaks against us of late.

-I'm sure Geno has given Aaliyah the green light to take those 15-footers (probably encouraging her)...Its always advantageous for a forward to draw the other team's big(s) away from the hoop. She seems much more comfy and consistent at the foul line, taking those shots is just an extension of that.

So yes, there may be a small downside to Alliyah's new shot, Nika's positioning, Caroline's spot on the floor but your concerns may be slightly overblown or even a direct contradiction to coach's instructions.

 

[Forego]

I swear I saw Ayanna get called for a foul as she was running towards a player but not touching her.

Lou is channeling Evina with the calming influence. Kid is awesome.

Sort of like the fouls called on anyone who Ihas been assigned to guard Aliya Boston. I swear they call fouls on those players during time outs.

 

[Zarathustra]

It’s a small sample size but I thought Ines played well in her limited minutes. I really want her to do well so she can let Nika get some rest. I hope Ines is a quick learner

It was nice to see Ines! Did you notice during a foul shot by UCONN,
Geno had Ines next to him on the side of the court with on-going coaching and " suggestions"!!???
Ines will be very helpful to Nika (but, please let Nika get her 10 assists a game!!)