diggerfoot
Humanity Hiker
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2011
- Messages
- 1,615
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Like every other Boneyarder I don't agree with every other Boneyarder (did that make sense). Rather than engage in a variety of different "pissing" matches I'm laying out some (serious) evaluations to date in my very own, separate thread. Join in or ignore as you see fit.
OVERALL PLAY
I've really got nothing to complain about on defense. Do some individuals miss an assignment here and there? Absolutely. In regards to recent events that Taylor kid makes a lot of people seem like they are missing their assignment. Fortunately, she fails to do damage after causing some havoc. Otherwise, I think our team defense is as good as ever even with incorporating all the newbies. The offense does not seem to work as well as it did earlier for a few reasons; one is we are playing better teams. Another reason cited is the physical nature of the games. In regards to that, about four or five players on Maryland were physical in the way that people are intending. With Penn State I saw something different, except for Green. All other Penn State players were more of the "in your grill" type of physical than the "muscling" type of physical. Come on now, we were much bigger and stronger than their players except for Green. Auriemma did not complain about too many fouls being called because he thought the game needed to be less physical. With one exception, we were not pushed around by Penn State to the level people seem to think, at least nowhere near the extent of Maryland. Yet the "in your grill" physical, like the "muscle" physical, did have a disrupting affect. I think the combination of physical play that disrupted us points not so much to getting stronger or tougher as to getting more developed, quick and fluent in running the offense.
THE BEST
KML: I know Faris might be the favorite for many, but I've like what I've seen the most from KML. Not being around last year means this is my first year of seeing a lot of her and my overall impression is she is just as smart as Faris at playing this game and a very potent weapon to boot. I saw Taylor blow by her once like she was standing still, but I saw Taylor blow by Jefferson for crying out loud. For the most part KML is very, very team savvy of where she needs to be when.
Faris: The otherwise easy choice for "best" to date, so I'll just be a tiny bit contrary. Remember how for about five years in a row all the pundits were saying "People don't give UConn enough credit for their defense?" Um, when everyone is saying that we are getting credit for our defense. Faris is the microcosm for that. I don't want to hear how much Faris is underappreciated when I read comments on ESPN forums from even opposing fans appreciating Faris's defense. Sorry, just the pet peeve of a logician. Other than that in the Penn State game I say one of the "old" Faris moves on offense that made me cringe. Three point shooting needs to be an unconscious activity. No surprise that quick release shooters are generally good shooters. Faris reverted on one play to getting the ball in plenty of time for a shot beyond the arc, yet pausing and lifting her left leg as the defender approached. The intended effect is "see me? I'm about to go to my left" and then she goes to her right, though the whole "fake" has taken so long that no one gets fooled. Of course, Faris is such a smart player that disaster is generally avoided, but nothing has been accomplished as well. Just had to get all that out, though Faris is the second most valuable player, and I won't argue further with those who think she is the first.
Dolson: Dolson is starting to get some knocks on here that I don't think are entirely justified. In contrast to ETT's comment, I think her footwork is still exemplary, particularly on defense. I will concede that she falls down more than she should, even given the physical play, and that this is due to footwork more than being muscled, but she is the best hedge defender out there from what I can see. No one gets by her once they are in the paint. She anchors the best defense in wcbb well. On offense Auriemma just might have made a mistake by saying how the it runs through Dolson, though teams would have figured that out anyways. There is a very conscientious effort to disrupt Dolson out there. It's not just that they muscle her out of the blocks, they try to muscle her wherever she is, because she can be key to the offense in low or high post. I disagree she is spending too much time on the high post. She shoots or provides a screen from there generally when the offense has been disrupted somehow. When we run a set offense, every one can see the original intent is to go through Dolson either at the low blocks or at the elbow, and no one sees that more than the opponents. I really don't fault Dolson for what we've seen from her recently, our offense has to get more developed and versatile as the season progresses. I don't doubt we will. As for how Dolson is handling the physical play, she did very well the first half against Maryland so being muscled is not a problem for her per se. I do think she wore down in the second half of that game. She was ineffective against Penn State, but I think that had to do with a lot of factors besides her.
POINT GUARD
Once again, I did not see many games last year, so I assumed Hartley's AA status reflected improvement in a few areas over her freshman year. I'll concede that her injury might be a factor in mitigating improvements, yet what I see is a freshman Hartley in terms of facilitating the offense. Man, I want her out there when the game is on the line, and I can see good defense from her. Yet she does not seem to be a natural point guard to me. That presents a bit of a problem. Doty is more of a natural point guard, but I think there are still some issues with both her body and head. Doty has missed some shots in a manner that screams "I'm thinking too much about this!" Right now I'm most comfortable with her as the floor general, but I can see where one might want a better solution. That leaves Jefferson, who simply needs more experience. Once she "gets it" all she will be a very huge asset to the team, but her inexperience is what it is. This will take time, meanwhile I think the floor general role on the floor will be the biggest "if" on the team for awhile.
POST ENTRY
The biggest problem with our point guard play right now reverts back to Dolson. There are times when I see her working as hard to get the ball as possible (and down low, mind you), but we have limited ability to get it to her at the right place at the right time. No wonder she then comes to the high post when nothing gets rewarded at the low post. This along with the muscling may be causing her some frustration. Meanwhile, Stewart was seen as the answer for a potent high-low combination but there are three problems here. She's not getting the ball in the right place at the right time (same as Dolson); she's not at the right place at the right time (freshman!); and muscling effects her right now much more than it does Dolson, Faris or KML.
All the problems I've cited should be fixed over time, and they are not as big a deal as perhaps I made them seem. We have the best interior defense in basketball (yes, I mean that ETT, and it's no reflection on the single best interior defender in basketball); we should keep that in mind whenever an isolated incident of players like Taylor makes a defender seem slow. Our offense is no slouch either. If you think otherwise, what offense out there do you see as working better than ours? Our lowest margin of victory is still 15 points. What team has been more impressive than that? (Keep in mind that Stanford beat Baylor with an injured Sims).
OVERALL PLAY
I've really got nothing to complain about on defense. Do some individuals miss an assignment here and there? Absolutely. In regards to recent events that Taylor kid makes a lot of people seem like they are missing their assignment. Fortunately, she fails to do damage after causing some havoc. Otherwise, I think our team defense is as good as ever even with incorporating all the newbies. The offense does not seem to work as well as it did earlier for a few reasons; one is we are playing better teams. Another reason cited is the physical nature of the games. In regards to that, about four or five players on Maryland were physical in the way that people are intending. With Penn State I saw something different, except for Green. All other Penn State players were more of the "in your grill" type of physical than the "muscling" type of physical. Come on now, we were much bigger and stronger than their players except for Green. Auriemma did not complain about too many fouls being called because he thought the game needed to be less physical. With one exception, we were not pushed around by Penn State to the level people seem to think, at least nowhere near the extent of Maryland. Yet the "in your grill" physical, like the "muscle" physical, did have a disrupting affect. I think the combination of physical play that disrupted us points not so much to getting stronger or tougher as to getting more developed, quick and fluent in running the offense.
THE BEST
KML: I know Faris might be the favorite for many, but I've like what I've seen the most from KML. Not being around last year means this is my first year of seeing a lot of her and my overall impression is she is just as smart as Faris at playing this game and a very potent weapon to boot. I saw Taylor blow by her once like she was standing still, but I saw Taylor blow by Jefferson for crying out loud. For the most part KML is very, very team savvy of where she needs to be when.
Faris: The otherwise easy choice for "best" to date, so I'll just be a tiny bit contrary. Remember how for about five years in a row all the pundits were saying "People don't give UConn enough credit for their defense?" Um, when everyone is saying that we are getting credit for our defense. Faris is the microcosm for that. I don't want to hear how much Faris is underappreciated when I read comments on ESPN forums from even opposing fans appreciating Faris's defense. Sorry, just the pet peeve of a logician. Other than that in the Penn State game I say one of the "old" Faris moves on offense that made me cringe. Three point shooting needs to be an unconscious activity. No surprise that quick release shooters are generally good shooters. Faris reverted on one play to getting the ball in plenty of time for a shot beyond the arc, yet pausing and lifting her left leg as the defender approached. The intended effect is "see me? I'm about to go to my left" and then she goes to her right, though the whole "fake" has taken so long that no one gets fooled. Of course, Faris is such a smart player that disaster is generally avoided, but nothing has been accomplished as well. Just had to get all that out, though Faris is the second most valuable player, and I won't argue further with those who think she is the first.
Dolson: Dolson is starting to get some knocks on here that I don't think are entirely justified. In contrast to ETT's comment, I think her footwork is still exemplary, particularly on defense. I will concede that she falls down more than she should, even given the physical play, and that this is due to footwork more than being muscled, but she is the best hedge defender out there from what I can see. No one gets by her once they are in the paint. She anchors the best defense in wcbb well. On offense Auriemma just might have made a mistake by saying how the it runs through Dolson, though teams would have figured that out anyways. There is a very conscientious effort to disrupt Dolson out there. It's not just that they muscle her out of the blocks, they try to muscle her wherever she is, because she can be key to the offense in low or high post. I disagree she is spending too much time on the high post. She shoots or provides a screen from there generally when the offense has been disrupted somehow. When we run a set offense, every one can see the original intent is to go through Dolson either at the low blocks or at the elbow, and no one sees that more than the opponents. I really don't fault Dolson for what we've seen from her recently, our offense has to get more developed and versatile as the season progresses. I don't doubt we will. As for how Dolson is handling the physical play, she did very well the first half against Maryland so being muscled is not a problem for her per se. I do think she wore down in the second half of that game. She was ineffective against Penn State, but I think that had to do with a lot of factors besides her.
POINT GUARD
Once again, I did not see many games last year, so I assumed Hartley's AA status reflected improvement in a few areas over her freshman year. I'll concede that her injury might be a factor in mitigating improvements, yet what I see is a freshman Hartley in terms of facilitating the offense. Man, I want her out there when the game is on the line, and I can see good defense from her. Yet she does not seem to be a natural point guard to me. That presents a bit of a problem. Doty is more of a natural point guard, but I think there are still some issues with both her body and head. Doty has missed some shots in a manner that screams "I'm thinking too much about this!" Right now I'm most comfortable with her as the floor general, but I can see where one might want a better solution. That leaves Jefferson, who simply needs more experience. Once she "gets it" all she will be a very huge asset to the team, but her inexperience is what it is. This will take time, meanwhile I think the floor general role on the floor will be the biggest "if" on the team for awhile.
POST ENTRY
The biggest problem with our point guard play right now reverts back to Dolson. There are times when I see her working as hard to get the ball as possible (and down low, mind you), but we have limited ability to get it to her at the right place at the right time. No wonder she then comes to the high post when nothing gets rewarded at the low post. This along with the muscling may be causing her some frustration. Meanwhile, Stewart was seen as the answer for a potent high-low combination but there are three problems here. She's not getting the ball in the right place at the right time (same as Dolson); she's not at the right place at the right time (freshman!); and muscling effects her right now much more than it does Dolson, Faris or KML.
All the problems I've cited should be fixed over time, and they are not as big a deal as perhaps I made them seem. We have the best interior defense in basketball (yes, I mean that ETT, and it's no reflection on the single best interior defender in basketball); we should keep that in mind whenever an isolated incident of players like Taylor makes a defender seem slow. Our offense is no slouch either. If you think otherwise, what offense out there do you see as working better than ours? Our lowest margin of victory is still 15 points. What team has been more impressive than that? (Keep in mind that Stanford beat Baylor with an injured Sims).