Fuller: UConn thrived off electric atmosphere at UC Davis

[pap49cba]

"I heard the public-address announcer talk about this is the largest crowd they have ever had in here for a women's game," Auriemma said. "You know how I feel when we walk into the building and that is the case. I think that is great for women's basketball, it is great for the home team. I always wish they would play really, really well so a lot of people will come back. We enjoy being in that environment. The hardest thing is to walk into the gym and there are 300 people in the gym, you feel like you'd rather be in a gym practicing. But when you walk into a gym like this, the energy level is there and it is exciting to know what it going on, it gets our juices flowing too."

"She is a pretty aggressive kid and she doesn't hesitate," Auriemma said of Nurse. "She is a little bit older (basketball wise) than a lot of freshmen, she has more experience than most normal freshmen and she gives us something coming off the bench. I was not happy with Saniya in the beginning of the game. It is like everybody that Saniya goes near makes an open 3 because they are open and by the time she gets there the ball is already gone. We knew that once Kia got into the game for us that things would change defensively and they did and then Saniya got a lot better. It is funny how that works as the game went on defensively. Kia is different, she is not like most freshman, the kid has something special in her."

LINK

 

[Kibitzer]

It was just yesterday that I suggested that one or more of our Boneyard stats experts try to quantify the effect of subsitutions, with Nurse and Tuck specifically in mind.

Coincidentally, Jim Fuller did something like what I had in mind when -- in the linked article -- he cites what happened (statistically and very positively) in the minutes after Nurse entered the game. He provides stats to verify how Kia sparked a UConn explosion.

This is the same script that crafty Red Auerbach wrote for Frank Ramsey 50+ years ago, then refined with John Havlicek, now followed to perfection by Geno and Kia.

 

[MilfordHusky]

If Kia Nurse coming into the game always triggers a 39-0 run, she'll be the best 6th "man" in history.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Saniya better start getting into better position defensively or she's gonna see less time then last year.

 

[uconnfan68]

Saniya better start getting into better position defensively or she's gonna see less time then last year.

She played very well. I didn't see the first few minutes, but what I saw was fine. Kia Nurse is not a typical freshman. She played like a senior.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

She played very well. I didn't see the first few minutes, but what I saw was fine. Kia Nurse is not a typical freshman. She played like a senior.

She made her shots but otherwise was quiet, and she's not quick-footed defensively which means she's going to have to rely on technique and smarts because Geno has a better defensive option behind her.

 

[Icebear]

We get it, Slu, you don't like Saniya. Please find a new drum.

 

[DaddyChoc]

We get it, Slu, you don't like Saniya. Please find a new drum.

or is related to Nurse

 

[Sluconn Husky]

We get it, Slu, you don't like Saniya. Please find a new drum.

Doesn't seem you get anything because your assertion is a false one. If you have a hard time with blunt analysis you probably shouldn't read my posts. Just a heads up.

 

[Icebear]

I don't see a lot of analysis. I see speculation and assertion. I see unnecessary casting of players into specific roles far too prematurely. I see little space being given to players for development. Mostly stuff I think better left to staff who see players everyday and for whom Geno and staff lay out plans. It serves no purpose to try and out guess them.

 

[JudgeSCR]

Soniya doesn't yet have great defensive instincts and has yet to master the kind of defensive spacing that Geno requires.

When a player stands at the three point line or crosses from one side of the court to the other Geno doesn't have his defensive player follow all the way to the three point line (unless the player is a serious danger from three) but instead they slough off to be in a position to provide help defense. Soniya has a tendency to give too much ground and when her player gets a pass she is not able to anticipate or close out effectively. That kind of defensive anticipation and positioning is a hard and slow learn if you aren't a defensive minded guard. Bria Hartley had the same learning curve.

Kia Nurse is a more defensive minded player. She gets spacing, has great instincts and is a better one-on-one defender. Different skill sets. The question is how quickly can Soniya learn? Geno will show little patience with Kia in the wings. Sonia will start but that first substitution can come quickly.

 

[rvwsleep]

We get it, Slu, you don't like Saniya. Please find a new drum.

I'm at a loss as to why he should "find a new drum". It wasn't a personal attack. In fact I haven't read one comment on this board that is even close to being as negative as what their coach reportedly tells them in practice.
What you see is Slu's opinion. If you think it's inaccurate and think in fact that Chong is quick defensively and that there isn't a better defensive option behind her you can state your case in a rebuttal.
Please help me to understand your opposition to him making that post.
Do you think Slu should not voice his opinion because it might not reflect positively on a UConn player ?
Do you think the purpose of the Boneyard is that we act as cheerleaders in support of the team ?

For the record, I disagree with Slu's earlier comment "Saniya better start getting into better position defensively or she's gonna

see less time then last year." I think she is already in a better position defensively. It started after she was taken out of the game

when the player she was guarding hit a couple of 3's. Her defense was much more effective after she was put back in.

 

[CL82]

rvw - it's a tone thing. Express the same thought without the "or she's gonna see less time then last year" and it likely would elicit the negative response.

 

[Icebear]

I'm at a loss as to why he should "find a new drum". It wasn't a personal attack. In fact I haven't read one comment on this board that is even close to being as negative as what their coach reportedly tells them in practice.
What you see is Slu's opinion. If you think it's inaccurate and think in fact that Chong is quick defensively and that there isn't a better defensive option behind her you can state your case in a rebuttal.
Please help me to understand your opposition to him making that post.
Do you think Slu should not voice his opinion because it might not reflect positively on a UConn player ?
Do you think the purpose of the Boneyard is that we act as cheerleaders in support of the team ?

For the record, I disagree with Slu's earlier comment "Saniya better start getting into better position defensively or she's gonna

see less time then last year." I think she is already in a better position defensively. It started after she was taken out of the game

when the player she was guarding hit a couple of 3's. Her defense was much more effective after she was put back in.

You are correct it is a reaction to his numerous previous comments and tone as cl82 suggests.

 

[pinotbear]

rvw - it's a tone thing. Express the same thought without the "or she's gonna see less time then last year" and it likely would elicit the negative response.

I agree with what CL82 says about tone - fairly often, a posters entirely valid opinion or position is weakened by hyperbole, going too far, piling on, call it what you will. I would just add that, on occasion, folks will employ the argument that rw does - "Geno says ______, why can't I"?

For me, that argument has always been a frail one because Geno has an entirely different relationship with his players than we fans do. Not only do they know each other a whole lot better, and a whole lot longer, but, it's a relationship that they both willingly engaged in. The best analogy I can come up with is, I would accept comments and criticisms from close friends or immediate family in a very different way than I would random strangers or very casual acquaintances.

 

[rvwsleep]

I agree with what CL82 says about tone - fairly often, a posters entirely valid opinion or position is weakened by hyperbole, going too far, piling on, call it what you will. I would just add that, on occasion, folks will employ the argument that rw does - "Geno says ______, why can't I"?

For me, that argument has always been a frail one because Geno has an entirely different relationship with his players than we fans do. Not only do they know each other a whole lot better, and a whole lot longer, but, it's a relationship that they both willingly engaged in. The best analogy I can come up with is, I would accept comments and criticisms from close friends or immediate family in a very different way than I would random strangers or very casual acquaintances.

For clarification purposes I didn't say "Geno says ______, why can't I." I simply pointed out that Geno is much more extreme in his criticism of the players than any post here by magnitudes of degree. I agree, we do have a different relationship to the players than Geno does. He's their coach, his opinion counts. We're fans, our opinion doesn't count for much if anything. Our relationship with the players is ostensibly one sided. I'm sure they take his criticisms seriously while they probably don't know that criticism on the Boneyard even exist or if they do they don't care about it.
On a scale of 1 to 100 in importance, his opinion would be a 100 and ours would be a 1 at best.
And while I don't think a posters criticisms would be accurate if they did criticize one of the players to the same extent that Geno does, what if they did go to the same extent ? What if they said that "Stewart forgot how to shoot" ? So what ? What possible effect would it have on Stewart ?
It would however be a big deal on the Boneyard. There would be rational responses pointing out Stewart's shooting statistics disproving the statement and then there would be the other kind, those that attack the poster personally and tell him to go post somewhere else. Here's the problem, if the criticism is not personal in nature, where do you draw the line on what an acceptable post is ? My thoughts are that if the mods have not deleted the post, then the post is a legitimate point of discussion, whether that post is to your liking or not.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

You are correct it is a reaction to his numerous previous comments and tone as cl82 suggests.

My numerous previous comments? Such as?

rvw - it's a tone thing. Express the same thought without the "or she's gonna see less time then last year" and it likely would elicit the negative response.

What tone would that be? It was an opinion based on years of watching Auriemma coach. He is the one who was critical of Saniya's defense in the press. She had defensive issues last year and in high school. If she doesn't improve in that area, at least in Geno's eyes, does anyone really think he'll hesitate to use Nurse--who he constantly praises--instead?

This constant mothering/shielding of players in response to benign observations and descriptions on a message board purportedly for chat purposes is annoying.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

For me, that argument has always been a frail one because Geno has an entirely different relationship with his players than we fans do. Not only do they know each other a whole lot better, and a whole lot longer, but, it's a relationship that they both willingly engaged in. The best analogy I can come up with is, I would accept comments and criticisms from close friends or immediate family in a very different way than I would random strangers or very casual acquaintances.

One big difference is Geno's comments are directly to his players or in the press. Saniya Chong doesn't know I exist. So it can't be that my benign comment is hurting or insulting her since she'll never know about it.

How 'bout this? Saniya probably needs to improve her defense based on what we've seen, what her coach says, and who she has behind her. My hope is that she does. Is that more acceptable?

 

[JoePgh]

I think that I would agree with Sluconn more than Icebear, not necessarily about Saniya, but about the general subject of what evaluative comments about UConn players are appropriate to post.

I notice a possibly understandable double standard that many Boneyard members apply in judging posts with evaluative comments.

If the post is highly positive ("Player X could be as good as Maya by the time she graduates"), other posters rarely say that one game isn't enough to judge or that the opposition wasn't strong enough to warrant such a conclusion.

But if the post suggests any weakness or limitation in the player's current performance or potential, then many people will react by questioning the sufficiency of the evidence, or they will say that we should let the coaches decide (as if we had any option to do otherwise).
If two exhibitions and one game against weak opposition is enough evidence to draw positive conclusions about Kia, why isn't it enough evidence to draw negative conclusions about Saniya? (Not saying I agree with Sluconn's conclusions.)

I think some people believe that the only welcome posts are complimentary, cheerleading types of posts. The Boneyard would be very boring if that were all that we could read here. It would be like reading Pravda during the Cold War.

 

[rvwsleep]

I think that I would agree with Sluconn more than Icebear, not necessarily about Saniya, but about the general subject of what evaluative comments about UConn players are appropriate to post.

I notice a possibly understandable double standard that many Boneyard members apply in judging posts with evaluative comments.

If the post is highly positive ("Player X could be as good as Maya by the time she graduates"), other posters rarely say that one game isn't enough to judge or that the opposition wasn't strong enough to warrant such a conclusion.

But if the post suggests any weakness or limitation in the player's current performance or potential, then many people will react by questioning the sufficiency of the evidence, or they will say that we should let the coaches decide (as if we had any option to do otherwise).
If two exhibitions and one game against weak opposition is enough evidence to draw positive conclusions about Kia, why isn't it enough evidence to draw negative conclusions about Saniya? (Not saying I agree with Sluconn's conclusions.)

I think some people believe that the only welcome posts are complimentary, cheerleading types of posts. The Boneyard would be very boring if that were all that we could read here. It would be like reading Pravda during the Cold War.

Bingo

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I'm not drawing any permanent conclusions right now. I just think Saniya is still a step slow on defense and Geno has a man-crush on Nurse. UConn will survive if Saniya were to lose her starting spot but I certainly don't wish that on her. I want her to improve in that area.

 

[jsloanjr]

Good points by all toda.....Saniya is a different player this season frm last and Ithink she will be fine nill only get better...........Lets see how she does on Monday nigh........Iike her 2014/2015 game much better..........Best wishes, Saniya.........