Duke thread; morphed immediately into UConn conditioning thread

[jsloanjr]

IMO, Duke might be the 2nd best team in the country now. Even with the lose of Gray, other players are showing up and making plays. It will be neck and neck with ND for #2 or will Louisville seek in there?

Most of these WCBB coaches need to attend Coaching 101, 102 and 103 classes. Go on ESPN 3 and replay 5 minutes of any of the games last night and you will see why.......

Most of these teams are not in good shape to run and compete for 40 minutes..........

 

[uconnfan68]

IMO, Duke might be the 2nd best team in the country now. Even with the lose of Gray, other players are showing up and making plays. It will be neck and neck with ND for #2 or will Louisville seek in there?

Most of these WCBB coaches need to attend Coaching 101, 102 and 103 classes. Go on ESPN 3 and replay 5 minutes of any of the games last night and you will see why..

Most of these teams are not in good shape to run and compete for 40 minutes.....

And KML gets her fitness questioned? If she had been shooting better they wouldn't have noticed, but that's what a month of not shooting does... make you rusty.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Some teams have gone into a funk after losing to us, for example, UNC a few years ago. To their credit, Duke has not.

They will miss Chelsea Gray again, but Alexis Jones will step up, and Duke has some bench talent.

I think, on paper, they are #2 in my view. On the court, ND's coaching and toughness cause mr to give my vote to the Irish for #2.

 

[EricLA]

IMO, Duke might be the 2nd best team in the country now. Even with the lose of Gray, other players are showing up and making plays. It will be neck and neck with ND for #2 or will Louisville seek in there?

Most of these WCBB coaches need to attend Coaching 101, 102 and 103 classes. Go on ESPN 3 and replay 5 minutes of any of the games last night and you will see why..

Most of these teams are not in good shape to run and compete for 40 minutes.....

Oddly, Stef and KML were totally gassed on several occasions against Baylor and by the end of the game, KML especially just couldn't keep up, in spite of several rests. Certain players on our team can play the full 40 minutes at close to 100% effort. Others not so much. I do get that in general our kids are among the most fit in the nation, but the Baylor kids were no slouches in that dept.

 

[Icebear]

It is possible some players like Stef were fighting colds. You would never know if that was true. It could, however, affect fatigue issues.

 

[MilfordHusky]

It is possible some players like Stef were fighting colds. You would never know if that was true. It could, however, affect fatigue issues.

I hadn't thought about that angle. Both Stef and Stewie looked more fatigued than expected. Same with Kaleena.

I recall the game that ended our streak at Stanford. Both Tiffany and Geno had the flu. Maya, very uncharacteristically, gave up on one play, suggesting that she may not have been 100% either.

 

[UConnCat]

Honestly, I don't understand comments about the conditioning of Stewart and Dolson. There's a difference between foot-speed and conditioning (how quickly one gets fatigued). Fatigue can affect foot-speed certainly, there's only so much foot-speed a particular player has, no matter how well-conditioned.

Stewart played the entire 2nd half and made big plays at the end. I saw no evidence of fatigue by her. She may have lost a footrace down the court with Nina Davis or Odyssey Sims but that's not about conditioning.

There are certainly times when action is back and forth without a stoppage that Dolson gets fatigued. That happened last year as well and isn't that unusual for a big post players who are banging with defenders in the lane. Having said that, I thought Doris' criticism of Dolson on a particular possession was unfair. Dolson was part of a trap in the corner and then didn't make it up the court as fast as the Baylor guards. Dolson was way ahead of Baylor's center on that play yet there was no mention of of that fact by Doris.

There is one UConn player who is having conditioning and foot-speed issues on UConn and that is KML. Her additional weight and reduced conditioning have made her slower and has caused her to become fatigued more quickly. BTW, this topic was raised by the Horde at practice today and KML said she is doing extra work to get back to where she was before her injury.

 

[UcMiami]

It is also just a tough time of year - no classes, lots of breaks, lots of travel, and a very long plane trip across time zones. And guards generally have more energy because their muscles are carrying around less bulk. But flu and cold season is definitely another possibility.

 

[doggydaddy]

I watched that game a few times and the fatigue factors are overstated to me.

And KML had to defend a guard, mostly Robertson, and that is never easy for her.

I guess we have to find something wrong with the team. But I really don't think conditioning is one of them.

 

[UConnCat]

I watched that game a few times and the fatigue factors are overstated to me.

And KML had to defend a guard, mostly Robertson, and that is never easy for her.

I guess we have to find something wrong with the team. But I really don't think conditioning is one of them.

I agree. Conditioning (or the lack of it) is not an issue for anyone on this team except KML. As I said, KML addressed her conditioning issues today after practice:

Jim Fuller ‏@NHRJimFuller 30m
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis still working her back into top condition for #UConn http://www.tout.com/m/abevx9?ref=twoc1drz…

 

[MilfordHusky]

I watched it on a fairly small screen, but I thought:

Stef was slow to get to passes and turned the ball over.

Stef and Stewie had potential rebounds lost.

It seemed as if their energy and aggressiveness were low the last 10 minutes. Davis (?) and her Baylor teammates were winning the battle on loose balls.

That said, I do recognize that both sucked it up and scored key baskets late.

 

[doggydaddy]

I agree. Conditioning (or the lack of it) is not an issue for anyone on this team except KML. As I said, KML addressed her conditioning issues today after practice:

Jim Fuller ‏@NHRJimFuller 30m
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis still working her back into top condition for #UConn http://www.tout.com/m/abevx9?ref=twoc1drz…

I don't think k there is any doubt KML got out of shape some during her injury. But folks are a little tough on her, I believe. Even in shape, she has struggled guarding quicker players.

I'm thrilled she recognizes it and is doing something about it.

Dolson and Stewart didn't lose their conditioning all of a sudden.

 

[UConnCat]

Geno talked about it too: http://courantblogs.com/uconn-women/mosqueda-lewis-admits-she-still-has-some-work-to-do/#more-5455

Still, Geno Auriemma agrees that she has some work to do to get herself totally back into condition.
“It’s not a concern right now, but in a few weeks it might be if it doesn’t get any better,” Geno Auriemma said. “When you miss that much time, both in games and practice for five weeks, just going on the exercise bike and treadmill isn’t going to get you in game shape. Add in the travel and Christmas holiday, it’s going to take some time.”

 

[triaddukefan]

I think its time to change the thread title

 

[doggydaddy]

I think its time to change the thread title

Duke who?

 

[triaddukefan]

Duke who?

Hands down the best mayo on the market.

 

[HGN]

Change the thread.............Because KML is never going to be a whippet , she's a Husky. Was a little thick when she got to Storrs . Probably wasn't born skinny and never will be.

Now change the thread and move on.

 

[jsloanjr]

I have zero worries about UCONN players. They are all in great shape and KML will be back in a week or 2.......On the other hand, the ACC teams have bigger issues with the top 4 team have still not played each other and its mid Jan...........Lets see what the ACC looks like in 30 days.

 

[Sonny44]

I think its time to change the thread title

You mean we've been Duped again?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

And KML gets her fitness questioned? If she had been shooting better they wouldn't have noticed, but that's what a month of not shooting does... make you rusty.

No, she is out of shape. Don't feed denial. Her coach isn't. Being a fan does not mean you have to turn your brain and eyes off.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Hands down the best mayo on the market.

If we get Dejanae Boykin, we'll have Dijonnaise.

http://www.hellmanns.com/product/detail/97900/dijonnaise-mustard