Fuller: Geno Not Satisfied with Defense | The Boneyard

Fuller: Geno Not Satisfied with Defense

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Pre-posturing for South Carolina that is all this is. "If we are still there in the first week of February, I am not going to be too happy".
UCONN @ South Carolina 8 February 2016 is the only meaningful game left on the schedule until NCAA regionals. Last year it was the benching of Morgan and Stewie one game before SC.
 
Interesting that Geno mentioned KML on Defense. I was thinking the same thing. She was slow but somehow always in the right place. The girls hustle all over the court but the magic of last year just isn't there yet. Going to be interesting how the defense comes together over the rest of the season.
 
As usual, Geno had a lot of perceptive points, and it's obvious he doesn't make use of rose-colored glasses. I found these points particularly notable:

  • UConn is on pace to block 100 fewer shots than last year -- which shows the impact of the Stokes Eraser.
  • Opponents' shooting percentage is 4 points higher than last year.
  • On the positive side, UConn is getting more opponents' turnovers than last year.
  • As noted above, Kiah and KML (especially K) may have had some defensive limitations, but they knew exactly where they were supposed to be on defense and were able to overcome some physical limitations because they knew that.
  • UConn is playing more players than last year (which is generally a good thing) but it makes it harder to play a consistent quality of defense and have the same communication and coordination.
  • Beyond the stats, the quality of shots that opponents are getting (layups and wide-open looks) are something that would not be seen nearly as often on any of the previous NC teams.
  • "This is where we are in the first week of January. If we are still there in the first week of February, I won't be happy. If we are still there in the first week of March, then all we can do is cross our fingers and hope we make every shot."
I have to agree that the defense, even in recent games, continues to be below what UConn is accustomed to. What I particularly noticed in the Maryland game was that there were probably at least 3 instances where Maryland completed a court-length pass for a layup after UConn had just scored a basket. I'm not sure that happened even once last year.

But if the first step in solving a problem is to acknowledge it and focus on it, then I really expect defense to be back to the UConn norm by tournament time -- though probably not up to the level of the last two years.
 
Just as a reflection of strength of schedule using Massey:
2015 through 11 games Uconn has played two teams Massey rated offensively in the top 10 - #3 DePaul and #4 ND
2016 through 11 games Uconn has played four such teams #2 Ohio St, #3 ND, #5 DePaul, and #6 Maryland

Interestingly while the statistics are not as good, Massey still currently rates Uconn as #1 in defense.

Of course Geno is not satisfied, and I am sure he isn't satisfied on the offensive end either (where Massey also ranks us at #1) and he will not be satisfied until after the last game of the season - that is what being a coach is.
 
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vtcwbuff said:
Wait until they are few more games into the conference schedule. Defense ranking will skyrocket.

Has anyone ever heard Auriemma say that he was satisfied with the defense?
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That is true. But I would like to see it tighten up against better competition. I'm sure it will.
 
UcMiami said:
Just as a reflection of strength of schedule using Massey:
2015 through 11 games Uconn has played two teams Massey rated offensively in the top 10 - #3 DePaul and #4 ND
2016 through 11 games Uconn has played four such teams #2 Ohio St, #3 ND, #5 DePaul, and #6 Maryland

Interestingly while the statistics are not as good, Massey still currently rates Uconn as #1 in defense.

Of course Geno is not satisfied, and I am sure he isn't satisfied on the offensive end either (where Massey also ranks us at #1) and he will not be satisfied until after the last game of the season - that is what being a coach is.
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Still, Geno will have to go some in the dissatisfied department to match Pat Sumitt. One national tournament when the Vols left unexpectedly early, Pat was so mad that she made the team have a practice session--even though the season was over. Did I make that up or is my memory still (somewhat) reliable?
 
UcMiami said:
Just as a reflection of strength of schedule using Massey:
2015 through 11 games Uconn has played two teams Massey rated offensively in the top 10 - #3 DePaul and #4 ND
2016 through 11 games Uconn has played four such teams #2 Ohio St, #3 ND, #5 DePaul, and #6 Maryland

Interestingly while the statistics are not as good, Massey still currently rates Uconn as #1 in defense.

Of course Geno is not satisfied, and I am sure he isn't satisfied on the offensive end either (where Massey also ranks us at #1) and he will not be satisfied until after the last game of the season - that is what being a coach is.
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Yup, it's Geno Auriemma... he'll never be satisfied with anything his team does. I mean it's the main reason he wins as much as he does.
 
vtcwbuff said:
Wait until they are few more games into the conference schedule. Defense ranking will skyrocket.

Has anyone ever heard Auriemma say that he was satisfied with the defense?
Expand ...
The only time I ever heard of him happy with defense was de fence around the flowers in his yard.
 
Well they're ranked #300 and something in 3-point defense, so he has a point. I didn't even know there were that many schools where you could be ranked that low.
 
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Sometimes it's like some of the people on The BY have never watched UCONN play the toughest SOS this season. I've said it before and I'll say it again... some UCONN fans are spoiled. :eek: But it's not your fault... you are a product of Geno's high standards and success. :)
 
UConn has passed Maryland and Sacramento St and are now the #1 Scoring Offense Team:)
 
For those who are interested in such things - UConn is currently 10th in defensive points per possession, according to WBB State. I would expect them to finish 1st (as usual) given that UConn's has already played its toughest opponents for the most part while many of the teams ahead of UConn have played significantly easier (to say the least) schedules to-date.

By the way, despite that tough schedule, UConn is already 1st in offensive points per possession. That certainly fits with what saw in games like the DePaul game. Even when UConn can't get stops, they'll usually simply outscore the opposition.

If Geno gets too down about UConn's defense, he can always put on some Notre Dame tape and laugh. So far, Notre Dame is tied for 129th in defensive points per possession.
 
HoopsFan21 said:
Well they're ranked #300 and something in 3-point defense, so he has a point. I didn't even know there were that many schools where you could be ranked that low.
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A textbook example of lies, damn lies and statistics.
 
reno tony said:
Sometimes it's like some of the people on The BY have never watched UCONN play the toughest SOS this season. I've said it before and I'll say it again... some UCONN fans are spoiled. :eek: But it's not your fault... you are a product of Geno's high standards and success. :)
Expand ...

No, it's their fault. They're spoiled. ;)
 
HoopsFan21 said:
Well they're ranked #300 and something in 3-point defense, so he has a point. I didn't even know there were that many schools where you could be ranked that low.
Expand ...
Again, a quick look at the stats and it shows of their 11 games they have 5 teams in the top 50 for 3 point percentage shooting (four in the top 25), and 2 more ranked in the next 50.
 
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UcMiami said:
Just as a reflection of strength of schedule using Massey:
2015 through 11 games Uconn has played two teams Massey rated offensively in the top 10 - #3 DePaul and #4 ND
2016 through 11 games Uconn has played four such teams #2 Ohio St, #3 ND, #5 DePaul, and #6 Maryland

Interestingly while the statistics are not as good, Massey still currently rates Uconn as #1 in defense.

Of course Geno is not satisfied, and I am sure he isn't satisfied on the offensive end either (where Massey also ranks us at #1) and he will not be satisfied until after the last game of the season - that is what being a coach is.
Expand ...
Some of the defense I've seen this year, in my limited ways, reminds me of the type defense that victimized UConn in the loss to Stanford. That game, their weakness on the perimeter hurt them badly although they also had issues then with penetration that Chong, in particular, had no ability to stop. Hopefully their focus in practice will be to alleviate that gap in perimeter defense, which of course, resulted in numerous three point shots being rained down on the Huskies with Notre Dame, Maryland and of course, DePaul. Inevitably, UConn will improve defensively because Geno will make it happen.
 
I've seen a lot of over pursuit on defense. For example, an opponent drives to the basket, three of our defenders go after her, resulting in a dish and and an easy basket for her wide open team mate.
 
UcMiami said:
Again, a quick look at the stats and it shows of their 11 games they have 5 teams in the top 50 for 3 point percentage shooting (four in the top 25), and 2 more ranked in the next 50.
Expand ...


HoopsFan21 said:
Well they're ranked #300 and something in 3-point defense, so he has a point. I didn't even know there were that many schools where you could be ranked that low.
Expand ...

That #300 stat doesn't mean a whole lot. As UcMiami points out, they are undefeated against the #1 ranked schedule in WCBB. As Orangutan posted, UConn is #10 in points against per possession
(Does it really matter if your opponents points come from 2 or 3 ? The total points given up does).
And as father canine pointed out to me, if you exclude 3 games (ND, DePaul and Colgate), UConn's defense against the 3 would stand at 25.6%. Not too shabby. It's something to address but not a huge concern. Let's see what the % looks like at the end of the season.
 
rvwsleep said:
That #300 stat doesn't mean a whole lot. As UcMiami points out, they are undefeated against the #1 ranked schedule in WCBB. As Orangutan posted, UConn is #10 in points against per possession
(Does it really matter if your opponents points come from 2 or 3 ? The total points given up does).
And as father canine pointed out to me, if you exclude 3 games (ND, DePaul and Colgate), UConn's defense against the 3 would stand at 25.6%. Not too shabby. It's something to address but not a huge concern. Let's see what the % looks like at the end of the season.
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I'm with ya. On my list of things to be worried about these days, UConn's perimeter defense is about 1,057th.
 
All that I can say is that full court pressing defense, while we've done it a bit recently, has been nearly absent from our repertoire, certainly when compared against our history. Maybe with Chong back and Ek playing with some confidence he'll have them fiddling around on the other side of the mid-court line more. Gabby and 'Phese are naturals, and with Lou at mid-court to challenge cross-court press-breaking pass attempts, I think we'd be great at it.
 
So ... one game and uconn has moved up about 75 places in the ranking. A few more games like that and it will not be such a talking point.
 
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JoePgh said:
What I particularly noticed in the Maryland game was that there were probably at least 3 instances where Maryland completed a court-length pass for a layup after UConn had just scored a basket. I'm not sure that happened even once last year.
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There were at least 2, if not 3, of those in the Maryland game. I was shocked. It may have happened last year, but not 2 in any game, as far as I can recall.
 
I like this statement:

"UConn leads the country in scoring margin which is nothing new since that has been the case in each of the last eight seasons including a season ago when UConn set the Division I record with a scoring margin of 40.6 points per game."

The last eight seasons:

The Maya Moore (and Lorin) era.

The KML (and Kiah) era.
 
After last night's game the team's 3 pt fg defense jumped 42 points. Scoring margin increased to 37.1.
 
In the Tulsa post game Geno made an offhanded remark concerning Chong's defense and a woman in the stands having a heart attack during the game.
This kind of behavior from Geno is unconscionable, in my opinion. That comment was extremely insensitive and disrespectful to not only the poor woman, but also her family and all who witnessed the event.
Hopefully Uconn Health or Yale-New Haven was able to save this poor soul.
I feel Geno owes everyone involved, including the post game TV viewers, a very sincere and PUBLIC apology!!!!!!!
Geno, come on man, you crossed the line this time.
 
HairyDog said:
In the Tulsa post game Geno made an offhanded remark concerning Chong's defense and a woman in the stands having a heart attack during the game.
This kind of behavior from Geno is unconscionable, in my opinion. That comment was extremely insensitive and disrespectful to not only the poor woman, but also her family and all who witnessed the event.
Hopefully Uconn Health or Yale-New Haven was able to save this poor soul.
I feel Geno owes everyone involved, including the post game TV viewers, a very sincere and PUBLIC apology!!!!!!!
Geno, come on man, you crossed the line this time.
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A woman did not have a heart attack in the stands. Geno was making a sarcastic/hyperbolic joke. If you watched the post game coverage the announcers emphasized that fact to the viewers.
 
Biff said:
A woman did not have a heart attack in the stands.
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That leaves the indignation of HairyDog, a huge Saniya fan, confined to Geno's criticism of the player's defense.

Perhaps the occasion indeed calls for "a very sincere and PUBLIC apology!!!!!!!" (to quote HD) -- just not from Geno.
 
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