Eric Frede said halfway through the 4th quarter

[msf22b]

that Uconn had a lot to be happy about with regard this game (paraphrase).

I disagree

Walker was 0 for 4
Williams wasn't looking to shoot...even that last drive seemed half-hearted

The team had god-awful lulls.....in the 2nd quarter and to start both the third and the fourth

Against a real team they would find themselves 15 or 20 behind if they played like that.

Decent team, yes...National Championship team: I have my doubts

 

[hoopsfan22]

that Uconn had a lot to be happy about with regard this game (paraphrase).

I disagree

Walker was 0 for 4
Williams wasn't looking to shoot...even that last drive seemed half-hearted

The team had god-awful lulls.....in the 2nd quarter and to start both the third and the fourth

Against a real team they would find themselves 15 or 20 behind if they played like that.

Decent team, yes...National Championship team: I have my doubts

If a team that starts three #1 recruits, the best point guard from her class, and whose fifth starter is a NPOY candidate, isn't a national championship team, then I don't know what is.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Ever take a week long business trip. At the end you are exhausted. These 18-21 year olds just had a week long business trip and at the end of a too easy victory were tired and run down is the way I saw it

 

[JoePgh]

As usual, you mention only the negatives, presumably because you take the positives for granted. I'm referring to Napheesa's 30-10 game, Lou's 5-for-8 3-point shooting, Crystal's amazing assists, ONO's strengthening post play and 6 blocks, Mikayla's defense and passing, and a defense that held the opponent in the mid forties for the third straight game.

I know it was a weak opponent, but even so, do you expect perfection in every possible dimension? What rival team do you see that satisfies your expectations? Were you impressed by Baylor's offensive efficiency in last night's game?

 

[Centerstream]

Yeah, WSU should have folded after the first quarter like AAC teams are supposed to do.
I do think not having Geno there changed the team's performance and that is not a slam against CD...but the difference in their coaching approach seems to be polar opposites.
Last game the haters complained that The Seniors were MIA...wahhhhh.
This game they stepped up (or returned to normal) but Megan and CW were MIA...wahhhhhh.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Ever take a week long business trip. At the end you are exhausted. These 18-21 year olds just had a week long business trip and at the end of a too easy victory were tired and run down is the way I saw it

It was actually only a three day trip. They left Storrs on Saturday and will be on their way back in the next hour or so.

 

[Centerstream]

It was actually only a three day trip. They left Storrs on Saturday and will be on their way back in the next hour or so.

Yeah and luckily there was no time zone changes .

 

[wbball novice]

I'm with Eric Frede!

 

[hoopsfan22]

Yeah and luckily there was no time zone changes .

LOL it was one time zone. Central time isn't so bad. I often make that trip to and from the same day.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Yikes! For the post-Geno era of UCONN women's basketball I hope you will have The Dr. of Death Jack Kevorkian on speed dial.

that Uconn had a lot to be happy about with regard this game (paraphrase).
I disagree
Walker was 0 for 4
Williams wasn't looking to shoot...even that last drive seemed half-hearted
The team had god-awful lulls.....in the 2nd quarter and to start both the third and the fourth
Against a real team they would find themselves 15 or 20 behind if they played like that.
Decent team, yes...National Championship team: I have my doubts

 

[Boreifs]

that Uconn had a lot to be happy about with regard this game (paraphrase).

I disagree

Walker was 0 for 4
Williams wasn't looking to shoot...even that last drive seemed half-hearted

The team had god-awful lulls.....in the 2nd quarter and to start both the third and the fourth

Against a real team they would find themselves 15 or 20 behind if they played like that.

Decent team, yes...National Championship team: I have my doubts

Hopefully, you are nicer on the podium.

 

[msf22b]

I certainly expected some posters to challenge my view.

But I must admit to being disappointed in the arguments rendered.
Let's see if I can recall them all.

1. There was the spirited discussion of the difficulties of travel until it was admitted that it was only a three-day, one time zone; not so bad, not much of an excuse.
2. I'm not sure how to answer hoopsfan; we're not so far apart. I do expect a bit more consistency from all the #1's; that's sort of my point.
I think most will concede that Megan has not consistently played as if she was the best player in her class and that's not a knock...perhaps she will in the future and Ms Williams has many games in which her O doesn't show up, tonight being a good example. But I am willing to excuse her performance on freshman blahs. But my essential point is that having a handful of #1's is a guarantee of bupkis unless their names are Moore or Stewie...and that goes for UConn just as much as it does for UTenn.
3.Centerstream...I am not a hater (I know you didn't exactly so label me)
I observe and enjoy excellent play and have little patience for the alternative.. It goes directly to my point that one group played better in one game and the other in this. It's almost March, we need consistent play, especially this season when the talent differences between teams are so slim.
4. JoeP raised an important point....I did leave out the positives and their certainly were some....the splendid opening burst....The play of Ono...I thought Mikayla looked better the other day...With regard Pheesa's scoring....so many layups...I bet she wasn't all that impressed.
i didn't see Baylor last night...but know for certain that we have no defense against their posts and that they make Phee uncomfortable.
I also fear Notre Dame which is beginning to come around...they have some consistency issues of their own and their leading light is a chucker who can be bothered into losing her composure...but so much upper class experience; height, heft et al...If they don't win it all this year, it will be a case of coaching malpractice from Ms Muffit.

But back to our performance: no one discussed the killing lulls..i can't find a play by play....but for the equivalent of 3/4 of a period where we were in the low 40's halfway through the 2nd, 'till a third of the way into the 3rd, the offense just stopped with the exception of a little outburst just before the half. I do not believe we can win in the final 4 with that sort of output. And it wasn't as if WS was doing anything special, except perhaps trying a bit harder.

 

[cohenzone]

that Uconn had a lot to be happy about with regard this game (paraphrase).

I disagree

Walker was 0 for 4
Williams wasn't looking to shoot...even that last drive seemed half-hearted

The team had god-awful lulls.....in the 2nd quarter and to start both the third and the fourth

Against a real team they would find themselves 15 or 20 behind if they played like that.

Decent team, yes...National Championship team: I have my doubts

Yo can disagree, your prerogative. But if a team cabinet stop particular players, might be a bad idea for others to take the ball away from them. Walker had a great game last time. I’m sure you’ve studied all of the other recent games o ge 6 or 7 potential National Champs too see the scoring lines.

 

[msf22b]

Oh and Jordy...

I was more an executive, artistic director type than a real conductor.
And as such; I encouraged great playing and teamwork and reviled the alternative.
At the point that my orchestra realized that they could play consistantly
wonderfully without my hounding them, they chucked me out...

Still doing it; 20-odd years later; makes me proud.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno was sick this week. I wonder if some players had something as well. UConn doesn't mention if a player is ill and rarely does a player miss a game due to illness (as opposed to injury).

 

[Ukonnfan]

Walker did have a not-so-good second half. Geno will let her know about it.

 

[the Q]

Shooting is the biggest concern.

This is not a typical UConn shooting team.

It’s not quite as good defensively.

It will need to stay hot for the last 3 or 4 games of the year to cut down the nets. But it’s not impossible.

I would ageee this isn’t the UConn team I’m betting big on. But it’s good enough to be there.

 

[oldude]

It’s unfortunate that as great as UConn WBB has been, and continues to be, it will never satisfy some fans expectations. If UConn doesn’t score 100 points, win by 60, shoot 70% from the floor with all 5 starters in double figures, criticism of the players and/or coaches seems to bubble up from a place I don’t quite understand.

For those that feel this sense of angst, I strongly encourage you to go back and watch some of the close UConn games from past championship seasons on uconnhuskygames. What you will see is great UConn teams that shoot badly, turn the ball over and otherwise play less than satisfying basketball.

My absolute favorite “ugly game” was the 2010 championship game vs Stanford. UConn couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean. The Huskies fell behind by double digits in the 1st half, clawed their way back in the 2nd half and somehow managed to win 53-47.

The young ladies on this team are not perfect, but they most certainly are extraordinary.

 

[paisan]

Megan was bad . She looked like she was sleep walking. Ono was much more effective in every aspect. It seems to me that When Walker has a bad start she plays the entire game that way.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Yet another lackluster effort against a second tier team in a second tier conference. I cringe when I think of next year without KLS and Pheesa. It's going to be brutal.

 

[Tonyc]

I will agree that without Geno the team did not look like it has in the past few games. We have been improving and we are looking much better each and every game. Our outside shooting is still a little to quick and by that I mean to many times we dont have our feet set and we rush our shots. In the second half we moved the ball much quicker and you saw our treys falling. Thats because by moving the ball quickly defenses cant get to us fast enough and we have that split second to set our feet and a better chance of making out shots.

Our outside shooting has been inconsistent. We saw that in our 2 losses. We also saw that in the 4th qtr we were still in the game. At this point in the season we have exploded for over 100 pts 3 times. Everybody was involved and scoring well. Point is we are much more improved then we were a month ago and not many teams can say that. We have a little more depth we can count on. Ono and MC are contributing more and are threats on offense and defense.

We are not invincible this season. We are still really really good and ranked 2 in the polls. That says alot. Come regional finals we will find out who can play under that kind of pressure and who cant. Thats where UConns experience will come in. I like our chances alot.

 

[oldude]

Yet another lackluster effort against a second tier team in a second tier conference. I cringe when I think of next year without KLS and Pheesa. It's going to be brutal.

Take some comfort in the recent past. After 2015-16, we all lamented the loss of 3 AA’s, no size, no experience, no depth and only 2 returning starters, one of whom was coming back from a broken foot. Under Geno, UConn will find a way to be competitive next season.

One more comforting thought. Every other top team, with the possible exception of Oregon, will lose critical players after this season. I for one feel much better about UConn’s chances next season then I would if I were a fan of Baylor, Louisville, MS St or ND.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Take some comfort in the recent past. After 2015-16, we all lamented the loss of 3 AA’s, no size, no experience, no depth and only 2 returning starters, one of whom was coming back from a broken foot. Under Geno, UConn will find a way to be competitive next season.

One more comforting thought. Every other top team, with the possible exception of Oregon, will lose critical players after this season. I for one feel much better about UConn’s chances next season then I would if I were a fan of Baylor, Louisville, MS St or ND.

Domers about to lose all 5 of their starters, I suspect. I really hope they don't cut down any nets this year, because if they don't, it's gonna be a few seasons before they're serious title contenders again, because the Domer bench is astoundingly bare beneath the surface of the best starting 5 in WBB right now.

 

[BroadwayVa]

that Uconn had a lot to be happy about with regard this game (paraphrase).

I disagree

Walker was 0 for 4
Williams wasn't looking to shoot...even that last drive seemed half-hearted

The team had god-awful lulls.....in the 2nd quarter and to start both the third and the fourth

Against a real team they would find themselves 15 or 20 behind if they played like that.

Decent team, yes...National Championship team: I have my doubts

You are correct in that you suspect the words of those on TV. That's smart. They own those jobs by patronage or can speak distinctly (sometimes) they don't ALWAYs know what they are talking about.

Chrystn Williams last drive didn't required huff and puff, she saw and open pass and MADE the layup. Walker was effective rebounding and defensively. Scoring is nice, but she learned to be important in other ways.

I too am not sure Uconn will be in the FF or NC. HOWEVER, let us not take away either the FF or NC until it happens.

The real take aways for me from that game was ONO's offensive/defensive play it is improving. Coombs is a very very good on the ball defender--@oldude was right

The most important takeaway was @ Christine Dailey as a coach: She is superb, a coach, cheerleader, instructor. She rotated kids out taught them, rotated in and they played better. I think Christine Dailey will be an excellent replacement for Geno (if she doesn't retire first).

 

[Bigpetunia]

Ho hum...those who extract gloom or glee from any given team's performance against any other given team, and then attempt to apply that emotion to expectations about team #1's anticipated performance vs. any other given team haven’t watched a lot of sports.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Take some comfort in the recent past. After 2015-16, we all lamented the loss of 3 AA’s, no size, no experience, no depth and only 2 returning starters, one of whom was coming back from a broken foot. Under Geno, UConn will find a way to be competitive next season.

One more comforting thought. Every other top team, with the possible exception of Oregon, will lose critical players after this season. I for one feel much better about UConn’s chances next season then I would if I were a fan of Baylor, Louisville, MS St or ND.[/QUOTE


Your have casuistry of that there is no doubt.
You were right about Coombs being a very good defender the more time she gets the more it shows. In Kansas she showed her stuff.
Your first paragraph. I don't know whether to cheer it of --argue the opposite. Your last sentence in that paragraph is usually correct. This year, if he hasn't recruited a big overseas somewhere, I can't see the light at the end of this tunnel. Uconn, without new blood, next year will have: Aubrey, Danger, CW, Walker, Ono that's a pretty good start but it puts Uconn back into this years problems--6,7,8th players, SIZE. 4 of those mentioned will need a terrific soph/Jr jump. Geno usually comes through--I just wonder where, how????

 

[Ozimoto]

Yes, well. These kids are human after all. If you want perfect basketball every possession every time out I suggest that you develop robots to play the game.

 

[KaneoheHuskie]

My only concern with this team offensively is that there are times they stop moving. We can get away with this against the easier opponents on our schedule. But, against better teams we don't seem to have that playmaker who can blow by people on the dribble. Napheesa is incredible inside, but when we stop moving other teams with larger interior players crowd the middle (Baylor, Louisville) and she becomes less effective. We rely on passing, screens and motion, but when we stop moving so does our offense. We become an outside shooting team, which is ok when we're hot, but if we're cold, especially against the better teams, we are in trouble.

The last two games worry me, because while there were flashes of brilliance and some pretty awesome runs, there were long periods where we couldn't score. Not to be mean, these were nowhere near the caliber of teams we will face late in the tournament.

I am liking what I am seeing, CD is coming on, Megan is more out of her funks than in and KLS is having some better games. While these nagging feelings of dread are greater this year I am hoping we will still prevail.

 

[Teacherdeb]

It’s unfortunate that as great as UConn WBB has been, and continues to be, it will never satisfy some fans expectations. If UConn doesn’t score 100 points, win by 60, shoot 70% from the floor with all 5 starters in double figures, criticism of the players and/or coaches seems to bubble up from a place I don’t quite understand.

For those that feel this sense of angst, I strongly encourage you to go back and watch some of the close UConn games from past championship seasons on uconnhuskygames. What you will see is great UConn teams that shoot badly, turn the ball over and otherwise play less than satisfying basketball.

My absolute favorite “ugly game” was the 2010 championship game vs Stanford. UConn couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean. The Huskies fell behind by double digits in the 1st half, clawed their way back in the 2nd half and somehow managed to win 53-47.

The young ladies on this team are not perfect, but they most certainly are extraordinary.

I was there...and you are correct.... it was staggeringly ugly, but the trophy looks just the same as the prettiest wins.

 

[HuskyNan]

Ho hum...those who extract gloom or glee from any given team's performance against any other given team, and then attempt to apply that emotion to expectations about team #1's anticipated performance vs. any other given team haven’t watched a lot of sports.

Quoting your post so I can like it again

+1