Fuller: Bench play needs to improve for UConn

[bschwartz]

LINK
http://elmcitytoeaglevillenhr.blogspot.com/2014/03/bench-play-needs-to-improve-for-uconn.html

"I thought Kiah gave us some good minutes today.," Auriemma said after the AAC final "The inconsistency that she plays it is just so frustrating and so infuriating. When she plays well she is really good and when she doesn't play well she is a lot, lot less than good. We talked about it that she needs to be somebody that we can count on as does Brianna Banks and as does Saniya Chong.

 

[meyers7]

In general they need to. To win this years NC, not sure if they need to, but it would be really nice to get some contributions from them in the next 6 games.

 

[magic]

Can't agree more. But, I wonder how the play of these three can be turned around in two weeks of practice. It's been a little baffling to me. When Morgan and KML both went down earlier in the season, I thought the three all played very hard and well in their absence. I'm not talking numbers here. Aside from Kiah, I thought Saniya and Brianna looked way more confident earlier in the season.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

I think with GA coaching them and the support of the assistant coaches UCONN will be just fine.

I expect those three to get a lot of minutes in the first 2 NCAA games. Last year against Idaho (i think) Tuck and Jefferson had career highs and Stokes had a double double.

2 good games like that for Stokes, Banks, and Chong, will help their confidence.

Sidebar: Chong was the starter when KML went out. I dont understand how she could start 4 games and then get hardly any time when KML returns? She must be in a "practicing" slump.

 

[EricLA]

Can't agree more. But, I wonder how the play of these three can be turned around in two weeks of practice. It's been a little baffling to me. When Morgan and KML both went down earlier in the season, I thought the three all played very hard and well in their absence. I'm not talking numbers here. Aside from Kiah, I thought Saniya and Brianna looked way more confident earlier in the season.

Totally agree. I'm not sure why, but it appears Kiah has come on strong, Brianna has faded a bit, and Saniya has more or less disappeared. If it's a confidence thing for all 3 then Geno needs to spend the next 3 weeks similar to what he did with the team last year - show Saniya and Brianna especially how to get their mojo back for the NCAA's...

 

[Zorro]

1) Kiah's play has already turned around. She is a consistent monster on defense and we have plenty of offense without her contributing much.
2) I have more confidence in BB than most here do, but, even if I am wrong, both she and Sanaya are unlikely to get more than a few minutes in an important game anyway, so what the hey?
3) We have had only one player foul out all season, and that was Banks. Just what makes anyone think that is going to suddenly change at the Dance? If anything, my guess is that the refs at the Dance, whoever they are, are going to be more reluctant to spoil the show by fouling important players out of the game, not wanting to spoil the show. (That, of course, IS a guess.)
4) It is hard to see how this is going to matter through the first four games. We could probably START Stokes, Chong and Banks and take care of any team we play through the first four rounds.
5) If Geno chooses to do it (I think he probably won't) he can give Banks and Chong enough playing time through those four games to knock a lot of the rust off.
6) In the Final Four, most teams, not just UConn, play a very tight lineup. Barring injury, with breaks every four minutes, all five of our starters are in excellent shape to go 40 minutes, if necessary or desirable.
7) If, as looks likely, it comes down to a showdown with ND, not only are our starters better than theirs at every position, (possible exception for Lloyd) but they are more vulnerable to foul problems than are we. Kiah has become a virtual sixth starter, so we would have to have at least two players in serious foul trouble to really get to the "bench".

Therefore, be of good cheer. We have arguably the five best players at their positions in wcbb. We are not guaranteed a NC, but it is one helluva good bet.

 

[diggerfoot]

OK, I'm clearly about to overstate the case here, but only to convey the general principle at work. Imagine you were playing a pick up game with some NBA all-stars, including all-stars also on the bench. Contrast that with playing with said NBA all-stars, but no all-star back up. You were the one expected to fit in with the other all-stars.

As great as this coaching staff is at molding a team, there are some individual hang-ups to overcome here. In the first scenario you would tend to defer, be somewhat timid and feel like the team was not really expecting you to step up, because of the other back ups. In the second scenario you would still tend to defer, but with a little less timidity and with greater expectations of yourself to fulfill the team's needs.

As a freshman Chong certainly would fit this profile coming into a star-studded program. From the loads written about Stokes her personality would seem to fit this profile. Banks is not handicapped by being new nor by her personality, yet I suspect her injuries has led to thinking less of herself as being expected to fulfill the teams needs.

These are all fixable, but not easily.

 

[Aluminny69]

1)
3) We have had only one player foul out all season, and that was Banks. Just what makes anyone think that is going to suddenly change at the Dance? If anything, my guess is that the refs at the Dance, whoever they are, are going to be more reluctant to spoil the show by fouling important players out of the game, not wanting to spoil the show. (That, of course, IS a guess.)

Moriah Jefferson fouled out of the last regular season game against Louisville.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I would like to see Banks flash in the paint for a quick pull up jumpers, good leaper and athletically strong.

 

[Bigpetunia]

"Downright dreadful" ?? Wow...what a whiner! Where's the outrage here?

 

[cohenzone]

The way the team has performed, it's a little hard to say that for the purposes of winning, the 3 bench players need to "improve". Obviously, in the case of foul problems or injury, having every bench player do more than just take up space on the floor (and at least In Kiah's case, and I think BB as well, they do more than take up space)would be great. They typically don't need to score much, but if they can hold their own on D, that's fine. Is UConn unbeatable regardless of bench play, who knows. Unbeatable as opposed to not being beaten are two different things. Will UConn need strong bench play to beat the couple of teams that might have a chance against them? Time will tell. When I was in hs, in the men's game, Loyola of Chicago famously played 6 players almost all the time (but not at the same time), with the 6th man not seeing that much time, and won the NC. I don't see the scheduling as a problem. with the every other day schedule, separated by 5 days per weekend round. That's more than manageable. BTW, the 3 days in a row did seem to me to be having an impact in the last 10 minutes or so against Ville.

 

[Icebear]

As we now enter the tournament Geno is now stretched between two possibilities. One is getting the three from the bench minutes and ramped up to potentially contribute to the pursuit of #9. The other is not exposing them on the court and any potential weaknesses he wants to hide as long as possible in case they are needed so that opponents cannot strategize to exploit those weaknesses. Geno is a master at hiding his team's weaknesses. It is hard to say how he will approach the tension between these two issues.

 

[Suebird10fan]

1) Kiah's play has already turned around. She is a consistent monster on defense and we have plenty of offense without her contributing much.
2) I have more confidence in BB than most here do, but, even if I am wrong, both she and Sanaya are unlikely to get more than a few minutes in an important game anyway, so what the hey?
3) We have had only one player foul out all season, and that was Banks. Just what makes anyone think that is going to suddenly change at the Dance? If anything, my guess is that the refs at the Dance, whoever they are, are going to be more reluctant to spoil the show by fouling important players out of the game, not wanting to spoil the show. (That, of course, IS a guess.)
4) It is hard to see how this is going to matter through the first four games. We could probably START Stokes, Chong and Banks and take care of any team we play through the first four rounds.
5) If Geno chooses to do it (I think he probably won't) he can give Banks and Chong enough playing time through those four games to knock a lot of the rust off.
6) In the Final Four, most teams, not just UConn, play a very tight lineup. Barring injury, with breaks every four minutes, all five of our starters are in excellent shape to go 40 minutes, if necessary or desirable.
7) If, as looks likely, it comes down to a showdown with ND, not only are our starters better than theirs at every position, (possible exception for Lloyd) but they are more vulnerable to foul problems than are we. Kiah has become a virtual sixth starter, so we would have to have at least two players in serious foul trouble to really get to the "bench".

Therefore, be of good cheer. We have arguably the five best players at their positions in wcbb. We are not guaranteed a NC, but it is one helluva good bet.

Brilliant EZG! Can you repost this once a day?

 

[meyers7]

7) If, as looks likely, it comes down to a showdown with ND, not only are our starters better than theirs at every position, (possible exception for Lloyd) but they are more vulnerable to foul problems than are we. Kiah has become a virtual sixth starter, so we would have to have at least two players in serious foul trouble to really get to the "bench".

Therefore, be of good cheer. We have arguably the five best players at their positions in wcbb. We are not guaranteed a NC, but it is one helluva good bet.

We haven't really discussed this yet, I suppose doggy will do that if we end up playing ND. But....

Dolson vs Anchonwa - Anchonwa is good, SR has experience, but Dolson is just better.
Hartley vs Loyd - Loyd is gonna a great one, already is really good. Future AA. But I'll take our already AA Senior vs a Soph, especially with the way she has played this year. Close though.
Jefferson vs Allen - Easily take our Soph, potential future AA/NL award winner over their Freshman
KML vs McBride - Close. Both big time shooters. Both AAs. Might give McBride the nod here because KML is not 100%
Stewart vs Braker - Really? This pretty much offsets any other perceived weaknesses itself.

 

[meyers7]

As we now enter the tournament Geno is now stretched between two possibilities. One is getting the three from the bench minutes and ramped up to potentially contribute to the pursuit of #9. The other is not exposing them on the court and any potential weaknesses he wants to hide as long as possible in case they are needed so that opponents cannot strategize to exploit those weaknesses. Geno is a master at hiding his team's weaknesses. It is hard to say how he will approach the tension between these two issues.

I doubt other teams are going to spend a lot of time strategizing how to exploit Stokes, Banks and Chong. I imagine most of their time will be spent on how NOT to get exploited by Dolson, Stewart, KML, Hartley and Jefferson.

 

[Tonyc]

With all UConn has overcome this season to go undefeated there is no doubt what they can do. Whether theyre hot to cold they win big. Almost impossible to defend and almost impossible to get inside to score against them. So what will ND or any other team do to outscore them? I dont think there is a team that can. This team is a very confident relaxed bunch that is almost impossible to defend one on one. If you double team anybody who do you leave open? UConn will win number 9 the question is who will be in the FF and how much will UConn win by?

 

[EricLA]

"Downright dreadful" ?? Wow...what a whiner! Where's the outrage here?

Nothing to whine about. He was correct...!

 

[DobbsRover2]

Was this any more than a motivational tool to keep everyone involved and also an extra table setter for future tourneys?

Of course Geno doesn't want anyone left out of the attention on a small team, and tomorrow there will be a piece saying that Briana needs to be doing a lot more high-5ing and Tierney gotta sink a 3 in round 1.

 

[doggydaddy]

"Downright dreadful" ?? Wow...what a whiner! Where's the outrage here?

You're right. I'm outraged you are calling Geno a whiner!!

Outraged!!!!!

 

[baggerbob]

Notre Dame didn't have Stewie in the semi-final last year , and nothing has changed except Stewie is one year older, and getting better every game. To make matters worse for Notre Dame Bria is back better then ever, Stef is the best center in the game, Moriah one of the best point guards, KML rounding into form, and Kiah the best 6th person in the college game.

 

[msf22b]

The problem for us is the remote possibility that Loyd plays completely out of her mind and that McBride has one of her anti-UConn games of yore.

It is possible that next to Stewie, Jewel is the number one unique athletic BB talent in the land, capable of astonishing feats. McBride's potential for mayhem we are all aware of.

It would seem that the combination of Steff and Kia can neutalize Achonwa, but with the other two and possibly Maybrey going off as well, her quick cuts could be problematic.

Tthat makes it 4 serious concerns on the Notre Dame side against our unique 5 starting 5, with additional players giving Notre Dame an edge.

To just place names across from the opposing position player is in my view an oversimplification.

This is also the only team is recent memory other than Griner's Baylor to defeat us. They will certainly not be fearful at the outset.

McBride can be guarded; Morgan among others, gave her fits last spring, I worry plenty about Loyd.

 

[caramel]

As well as the practices coming up,I think,and I believe the coaches realize,that practice only does so much for timing,confidence,and handling pressure.I am hoping all three girls get a number of minutes at least the first two games(10 minutes per game or so each)not only to build confidence,but get into the flow of the offense with real opponents in the lanes and in their face.
Kiah has been very good defensively over the season.Given more time the first two games,if the ball comes to her often,she might realize it is time to score.I would hope this is preached to her in practice,to take it to the hoop when she gets it inside,not just pass it out.Don't get me wrong,she is becoming a good passer.Another scoring threat would not hurt,especially in the later rounds against higher rated teams.
Banks,to me,just needs a kick start confidence wise.Earlier in her career,she was driving to the inside more,and not as timid to shoot,when it was a good choice.She seems to me to be forcing a shot more often.Again,a good thing to work on with her in these practices.
Chong has the toughest task,because all freshmen struggle.Remember Dolson as a freshman during her struggles.Same goes for Stewart and others.Confidence is the hardest thing to instill in a freshman.There is so much to learn,so much fear of making a mistake.This young lady is without a doubt going to a very special player at Connecticut,IMO,and like Stewart last year,all it may take is one game,to light a spark in her play,one game to tell her she can be as good as she really is.
It's not that the team needs another star,but in later rounds,it may need some help,and in my thinking,one of these girls will step up,step forward,and surprise.

 

[Zorro]

Moriah Jefferson fouled out of the last regular season game against Louisville.

Oops; you got me. SR. moment. OK, 2 players all year. I make it an even money bet that none of our starters fouls out in the tourney. It is always possible, though, that one of the starters picks up two early on and has to acquire some first-half splinters, which would be troubling but probably not fatal.

 

[Zorro]

Brilliant EZG! Can you repost this once a day?

Aw shucks. Ain't nobody never called me brilliant but my mama, and, come to think of it, she never did either.

 

[Zorro]

As well as the practices coming up,I think,and I believe the coaches realize,that practice only does so much for timing,confidence,and handling pressure.I am hoping all three girls get a number of minutes at least the first two games(10 minutes per game or so each)not only to build confidence,but get into the flow of the offense with real opponents in the lanes and in their face.
Kiah has been very good defensively over the season.Given more time the first two games,if the ball comes to her often,she might realize it is time to score.I would hope this is preached to her in practice,to take it to the hoop when she gets it inside,not just pass it out.Don't get me wrong,she is becoming a good passer.Another scoring threat would not hurt,especially in the later rounds against higher rated teams.
Banks,to me,just needs a kick start confidence wise.Earlier in her career,she was driving to the inside more,and not as timid to shoot,when it was a good choice.She seems to me to be forcing a shot more often.Again,a good thing to work on with her in these practices.
Chong has the toughest task,because all freshmen struggle.Remember Dolson as a freshman during her struggles.Same goes for Stewart and others.Confidence is the hardest thing to instill in a freshman.There is so much to learn,so much fear of making a mistake.This young lady is without a doubt going to a very special player at Connecticut,IMO,and like Stewart last year,all it may take is one game,to light a spark in her play,one game to tell her she can be as good as she really is.
It's not that the team needs another star,but in later rounds,it may need some help,and in my thinking,one of these girls will step up,step forward,and surprise.

Never mind Dolson as a freshman. Rember (gasp) the immoral Diana as a freshman? (1/15 in the semi-final. Other than that, right on!