Game observations

[doggydaddy]

It was great to see the team in action again. It's been a long off season. Here are a few of my observations based on watching the All-Access video twice. Of course, they were playing against a much weaker opponent, so my optimism might be over the top for some.

Geno was like a mad scientist last night with his substitution pattern. I would guess he had around 20 different lineups during the course of the game. I loved the Stokes, Dolson, Stewart front line. And I loved how he made both groups of Yarders happy by starting Jefferson in the first half and Tuck in the second. He is keeping us guessing.

Hartley looked like the Hartley of two years ago. Better shooting, ball handling and decision making.

Watch Jefferson's feet when she is playing on the ball defense. So quick. I don't think the hand checking rule will impact her much. She is so quick, she gets to the spot with her body and not her hands.

Dolson is slimmer, quicker, smarter and prettier (my wife pointed that out).

KML moves so well for a "big boned" woman. Not as athletic, but she is turning into the versatile player that Moore was for UConn.

Stewart padded her stats by missing a shot, rebounding and then putting it in the basket. Did that a few times. What a selfish player...lol.

Tuck rushed a few outside shots, but using her ample posterior, she easily carved out space in the post for easy entry passes. And she finished around the hoop better than last year.

Stokes looked engaged this game. I heard from someone she wasn't engaged with the first night scrimmage. I was worried.

Banks. Banks. Banks. Much closer to 100% than 80%. She showed NO fear in her knee. Months ago, I saw an interview with her on her rehab and I knew she would be ready for the season. Of course re-injury is always there for fans to worry about. But we don't have to worry about her performance.

Chong looked nervous early. Better later. I am looking forward to the second exhibition game to see her improvement. I loved the skills I saw.

Walk-ons were great. I can only imagine how they feel in a huddle with players like Stewart etc. They didn't embarrass themselves and look to be 3-5 minute players. It will help.

Overall, the game was what you would expect. But if you look past the skill and size disparity, there was a lot to be happy with this early in the season.

 

[DavidinNaples]

Doggy....awesome write-up.!!! No pre-season warm up for you... Go Huskies..!!


PS.. My favorite line up was the "Kib special" w/ Tuck starting the 2nd half...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Right on Doggy. Want to underscore one of your observations: Ms. B. Banks was a crouching, leaping tigress out there. Letting go of half a season of frustration no doubt. She has to get it a little more in control, but her fearlessness was a joy to see.

The walk ons: they were both in the front of the walk out line and you could see the butterflies ... holy cow I am actually here!

 

[Kibitzer]

It is certainly unlikely that any future UConn opponents (e.g., Duke, Stanford, etc.) would actually scout an exhibition game. But they surely had someone check out the reported accounts of the game. If so, two things surely caught their attention:

1. Score 101-35. No surprise, they simply demolished a decent team. That accounts for their skill.​

​

2. When they were ahead by 46 points, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis went after a loose ball with a vengeance, bashing a journalist and destroying his chair in the process. That tells us all we need to know about their attitude.​

 

[pap49cba]

Has Stewie bulked up at all?

 

[UConnCat]

Has Stewie bulked up at all?

A little. What those arms may lack in bulk they have in length...

 

[RadyLady]

Right on Doggy. Want to underscore one of your observations: Ms. B. Banks was a crouching, leaping tigress out there. Letting go of half a season of frustration no doubt. She has to get it a little more in control, but her fearlessness was a joy to see.

Banks had to be an explosion waiting to happen all through her rehab. How wonderful it was to see her out there finally free to play basketball...talk about joie du basketball

The walk ons: they were both in the front of the walk out line and you could see the butterflies ... holy cow I am actually here!

what a wonderful moment it must have been for them

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Like to underscore one other point from a couple of our more organized and thorough reporters: much of the offense that was run was atypical and the clearest indicator of that was how much time Stewie was hanging out on the wing. Geno seemed bent on observing ball movement with about as many different combinations as he could throw out there.

 

[Icebear]

The team clearly did not know what they were doing since they were in high-low post orientations several times with Stef hitting Stewie in the low post.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The team clearly did not know what they were doing since they were in high-low several times with Stef hitting Stewie in the low post.

I didn't know bears could do tongue in cheek.

 

[pinotbear]

I didn't know bears could do tongue in cheek.

well, sure, when some Yahoo doesn't have a death grip on their tongue...

 

[Icebear]

I didn't know bears could do tongue in cheek.

We can but we often forget not to bite down.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

well, sure, when some Yahoo doesn't have a death grip on their tongue...

Pinot, I got an inside scoop last week from the makers of your bear avatar (HQ in my small town). The whole bear production series is going kaput after this season. Why I do not know, as they remain very popular. Just sayin'.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Interesting to think what was on the walk-ons' minds in the huddle. 2-time Olympic and HOF coach. 3 players who have already made AA status, including a historically great shooter. A few more who could be AAs, including a Final Four MOP and most versatile player in the nation. And several of the fastest players they've ever seen. Being among a very impressive group.

 

[Kibitzer]

Interesting to think what was on the walk-ons' minds in the huddle. 2-time Olympic and HOF coach. 3 players who have already made AA status, including a historically great shooter. A few more who could be AAs, including a Final Four MOP and most versatile player in the nation. And several of the fastest players they've ever seen. Being among a very impressive group.

It's easier for them to get off their butts and join the huddle than to drive all the way to Springfield, Mass., and then look for a place to park.

 

[Tonyc]

Got back from the game late and played golf early this morning so Im chiming in now. We are big. We are very quick. MoJeff BB Bria and Saniya are going to reek havoc on defense. Opposing guards will have their hands full just getting the ball up the court. Underneath its going to be tuff for opponets to get a shot off. We are big quick and patient.

We shot the ball well. KML Bria and Breanna from the outside. Morgan terrific around the basket with plenty of moves. Mojeff can get to the basket quickly. KML is become a complete player inside outside on defense tipping passes. BB is back and so is Bria. Good news for us. Just thinking of KML and Breanna for 2 more years together. WOW There aren't to many noticeable flaws or weaknesses with this team. Im sure Geno and CD will find things to tweek but overall I was impressed with the way they passed the ball, cut and got their shots. When they get it going they get it going in a hurry. This team is very tuff to defend as a team. Defenses might be able to slow them down but they wont be able to stop them from scoring. To many options inside and out.

 

[Geno-ista]

Well - I'm going to chime in also. I was impressed with ticket sales of ver 7000. Upper deck was really full. the lower season ticketholders were kind of scarce. Probably 4-4500 at the game- not bad! We played 3 bigs alot. And one thing that really impressed me was perimeter defense with the bigs on the wings. Nobody was going around or by Morgan or Kiah when they were guarding around the 3 pt line! Another thing that I noticed was our physical strength. Kiah was defending with the forearm crossed and looked much more aggressive and different than in the past- giving no ground! KML- just extended her forearm and sent her defender flying. And Bria went for a loose ball, was in an awkward position almost on one leg, and an opposing player crashed into her and ricocheted off of her. They are all a year older and stronger and extremely quick. Gannon was very spirited and competed and never let down. They didn't give up many uncontested fast breaks. We really worked for good shots and didn't take the first open threes- we ran alot of offense. Moriah went down after stopping very awkwardly- I happened to just see it all happen almost in slow motion. I thought the inside of her knee was gone. But it looked like they were treating the ankle- thank God! Not that that can't come with it's own issues. It was fun to get back to Gampel!
Steph showed some nice footwork on some fast breaks also! We have so many different ways to play the game with so much talent. Watching all the different line ups was really interesting- We will have so much talent that will be relatively fresh coming off the bench thoughout the game---It is almost daunting! Morgan was really facilitating offense as usual. When she starts draining the outside jump shot- forget about it. Her moves to the hoop from anywhere around the basket are unreal. She is quick and light on her feet for a big girl!!!

 

[Fightin Choke]

It was great to see the team in action again. It's been a long off season. Here are a few of my observations based on watching the All-Access video twice. Of course, they were playing against a much weaker opponent, so my optimism might be over the top for some.

It's how the Huskies were supposed to look against inferior competition. Your analysis does not seem over the top, but just honest. I'll bet UConn has games like this one later this season when live bullets are flying, especially once conference play begins, and probably before that as well.

 

[doggydaddy]

It's how the Huskies were supposed to look against inferior competition. Your analysis does not seem over the top, but just honest. I'll bet UConn has games like this one later this season when live bullets are flying, especially once conference play begins, and probably before that as well.

I believe you are right about future games. Healthy, this team is explosive offensively with a dominating defense. I am really trying to find a weakness.

 

[Tonyc]

I believe you are right about future games. Healthy, this team is explosive offensively with a dominating defense. I am really trying to find a weakness.

May not be a weakness I can agree with. Tweaking the players and team on cuts, and where they need to be can be improved however compared to other teams UConn is at a level of execution that no other team in WCBB is at. ND last season had good chemistry. Their M O was drive the lane, lean into a defender and get the call. They beat UConn that way and most other teams. Many teams don't have that chemistry. The scary thing about this UConn team is the belief and confidence they have. I saw it at the Gannon game. UConn executed their plays and never were concerned about what their opponets were doing. Their anticipation of passes and getting steals was remarkable. The team as a team and individually as a team can be tweaked but over all they will manhandle opponets. There will be games when opponets don't score 10 points in a half. That may sound over the top to many of you but wait and see. I am looking forward to our early season games against Stanford, MD and Penn St. MD and Penn St on the road. Im sure Brenda has MD believing they can beat UConn at home with their injured players back. It should be a battle however if MD doesn't play solid defense it will be over at half time.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Tony...thanks for being the passionate fan you are.

Oz