Game Thread, Baylor

[speedoo]

LOL. Surely you're joking. It was predicted in almost every thread that UCONN's press would wear Baylor down.

No. I'm really not joking. But then again, I don't pay a lot of attention to predictions.

 

[John Fryer]

According to Doris (on sportscenter), she passed up an open shot. Doris said Geno wants to make sure she doesn't do that in March.

I wonder if the coach blasted CD, too, who didn't take a shot and didn't have an assist?

HB, after Bria, KML, Kelly and Tiff was much more effective tonight.

(I, too, was surprised that the coach didn't utilize her more than he did in the 2nd half.)

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[speedoo]

Really Speedo...give it a rest...of course, Buck did a great job on the defensive end...you would have to be blind to not to see it. I inadvertently neglected to mention her in my bench statement. I guess you missed this statement...We should be proud of our women they played well...Bria, Kelly, Heather, Tiffany and KML did their job.

OK, fair enough. I tend to get very ornery in game threads, because I find so many ill-informed posts. But yours was fine, inadvertent comment excepted.

 

[easttexastrash]

There were multiple posters who were indicating that UCONN's press was going to wear Baylor down on the assumption that the team speed and swarming defense would be too much for Baylor to handle. I questioned that assertion more than once.

UCONN, IMO, suffered more from the pace of the game because they are more perimeter oriented, and its hard to shoot threes with tired legs. Maybe KML passed up that shot because she was fatigued. Or maybe she was just deferring to the hot hand. Hartley was spectacular.

The "did Griner look slow and lazy" question WAS for that one poster, who hopefully has seen the light, although I doubt it.

 

[Ruffian75]

Absorb the sting of this defeat girls. You had this, but couldn't seal the deal. Not ready yet...but you could be in April.

I am not so sure that UConn can beat this team on a neutral court in April. Griner is getting better game by game as is Sims. That was not the same BG we saw last November. Because of BG, every team has to adjust their offensive game plan. Last night we played like a fast paced Villanova passing around the perimeter depending on treys. And on D, SD is not capable of guarding BG. She was eaten alive last night. I don't see that changing. CD was a liability. Our supposed depth this year was certainly not evident against Baylor. We can't beat them with only 5 players contributing.

 

[Enigma64]

The UConn Huskies are a prideful bunch. Dolson will work to improve her shortcomings, if she improves half as much as she did last year it will help this team in March. Dotty is harder on herself than anyone, she will come back strong. KML will only get better but I don’t know if much will change with Tiff. Kelly will always go 110% and I hope this game solidified some confidence in Buck. I think they measure pretty well against this year’s best team. I always like our chances in March. Go UConn!

 

[Icebear]

There were multiple posters who were indicating that UCONN's press was going to wear Baylor down on the assumption that the team speed and swarming defense would be too much for Baylor to handle. I questioned that assertion more than once.

UCONN, IMO, suffered more from the pace of the game because they are more perimeter oriented, and its hard to shoot threes with tired legs. Maybe KML passed up that shot because she was fatigued. Or maybe she was just deferring to the hot hand. Hartley was spectacular.

The "did Griner look slow and lazy" question WAS for that one poster, who hopefully has seen the light, although I doubt it.

Except that because Geno shortened the bench as much as he did we did not apply the press in the same way we have in many games. Not using players he considered to inexperienced to risk using in the game altered significantly his options. He likely did that for two reasons. 1) saving legs, 2) not wanting to risk fouls because he didn't want to go to the bench. Much of the game we challenged the inbounds pass but fell back into position once the ball was on the court.

And yes, Griner did look slow and lazy. She has so much more potential than Baylor is getting out of her. Her inability or unwillingness to get back on defense in transition was what helped UConn to lead at the half.

 

[easttexastrash]

Except that because Geno shortened the bench as much as he did we did not apply the press in the same way we have in many games. Not using players he considered to inexperienced to risk using in the game altered significantly his options. He likely did that for two reasons. 1) saving legs, 2) not wanting to risk fouls because he didn't want to go to the bench. Much of the game we challenged the inbounds pass but fell back into position once the ball was on the court.

And yes, Griner did look slow and lazy. She has so much more potential than Baylor is getting out of her. Her inability to get back on defense in transition was what helped UConn to lead at the half.

ROFL. My work here is done.

 

[speedoo]

I am not so sure that UConn can beat this team on a neutral court in April. Griner is getting better game by game as is Sims. That was not the same BG we saw last November. Because of BG, every team has to adjust their offensive game plan. Last night we played like a fast paced Villanova passing around the perimeter depending on treys. And on D, SD is not capable of guarding BG. She was eaten alive last night. I don't see that changing. CD was a liability. Our supposed depth this year was certainly not evident against Baylor. We can't beat them with only 5 players contributing.

Well, if you measure how teams improve based on the challenges in the remaining schedules (you know, it's about playing the best if you want to be the best) you can expect UConn to improve more than Baylor does by the time the rematch everyone wants comes in April.
Baylor's highest ranked opponent is #10 aTm, twice. But is aTm really #10? Questionable. After that, Baylor has 4 games vs. Texas and Texas Tech, both barely in the top 25 currently.
Meanwhile UConn has two games against ND, who is at worst a clear #3 team. And then there is a stretch in late Jan. - early Feb. In that 13 day stretch UConn plays Duke, Rutgers, Louisville and Georgetown, all of whom might be tougher than even aTm on Baylor's schedule.
So yeah, BG and Sims will be better by the time they get to Denver, but it is likely that all of UConn's key players, including Stef, will improve even more. And I think it's reasonable to expect Stokes and Banks to earn the trust of the coaches to become part of the rotation as well.
So I'm much more optimistic than you are.

 

[John Fryer]

Except that because Geno shortened the bench as much as he did we did not apply the press in the same way we have in many games. Not using players he considered to inexperienced to risk using in the game altered significantly his options. He likely did that for two reasons. 1) saving legs, 2) not wanting to risk fouls because he didn't want to go to the bench. Much of the game we challenged the inbounds pass but fell back into position once the ball was on the court.

And yes, Griner did look slow and lazy. She has so much more potential than Baylor is getting out of her. Her inability to get back on defense in transition was what helped UConn to lead at the half.

What I saw was KML coming off the bench and Baylor not being able to make adjustments to her until the second half.

What we all saw in the second half was Madden (sp) guarding KML and basically making it very difficult for her to get her shot.

We also saw Sims play like the AA that she almost certainly will be by the end of the season. (Did I forget did mention the two/three steals she made at the beginning of the 2nd quarter that turned the momentum of the game around?)

Oh, did I also forget to mention that, late in the 4th quarter, BG blocked a 3 point attempt by Bria?

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[Icebear]

ROFL. My work here is done.

Clearly, you don't have the ability to respond so you are going to cut and run.

 

[Icebear]

What I saw was KML coming off the bench and Baylor not being able to make adjustments to her until the second half.

What we all saw in the second half was Madden (sp) guarding KML and basically making it very difficult for her to get her shot.

We also saw Sims play like the AA that she almost certainly will be by the end of the season. (Did I forget did mention the two/three steals she made at the beginning of the 2nd quarter that turned the momentum of the game around?)

Oh, did I also forget to mention that, late in the 4th quarter, BG blocked a 3 point attempt by Bria?

Peace,

John Fryer

Don't know why you used this reply to what I was saying which was about the press as it was used or what we saw from Griner. ETT's comment aside we definitely used the press very differently last night than against aTm or Stanford.

I agree the shift of Madden to KML in the second half had an effect but only to a point because KML had some really good looks but was shorting the shot a bit. She did have to work much harder for those shots though.

Simms was terrific and very quick and most importantly very physical on defense. That certainly gave our guards trouble.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Except that because Geno shortened the bench as much as he did we did not apply the press in the same way we have in many games. Not using players he considered to inexperienced to risk using in the game altered significantly his options. He likely did that for two reasons. 1) saving legs, 2) not wanting to risk fouls because he didn't want to go to the bench. Much of the game we challenged the inbounds pass but fell back into position once the ball was on the court.

And yes, Griner did look slow and lazy. She has so much more potential than Baylor is getting out of her. Her inability or unwillingness to get back on defense in transition was what helped UConn to lead at the half.

Icebear, did we watch the same game? Or are you just a flat out Griner-hater? Inability or unwillingness to get back on defense in transition? UConn got the lead in the first half because they played well and were knocking down shots. At the half, they were 50% from three and about 56% overall. And no one is going to beat the ball upcourt when it is passed quickly and precisely. That said, I am not even sure what your referring to with that inability or unwillingness comment.

Baylor is supposed to get more potential out of Brittney Griner? How? Other coaches can do a better job than Ms Mulkey? How? Give Ms Mulkey some credit. There is a national championship in her resume as a player, an assistant coach, and as a coach.

 

[Icebear]

Yes, I watched it this morning and no I am not a Griner hater her. I think these are two things she needs to work on to become absolutely the best she can be.

The ability of UConn to exploit Baylor in transition before they could set up their D was, also, noted by Kara Lawson at the half.

Clearly, Griner has immensely improved her conditioning and added a great deal of strength and muscle. Huge assets in her development. My observation pertaining to her speed and laziness is related to several things that I saw in her play night. I have no idea whether it is related to Mulkey's coaching or not. Sometimes it is just a liability a kid has biologically in the amount of quick twitch muscle. Maybe she simply can't go any faster. If so, fine. But she doesn't put her head down and attempt to run the court like Tina learned to do. She lopes.

Mulkey made a couple of excellent adjustments from last years game or else Griner understood what was desired better. As I suggested before the game the best thing you can do with a big player is get into the body and their armpits. Griner is now defending herself against that tactic by actively and intentionally maintaing distance where she can use her reach. She even allows players to pass her and uses her immense reach to interfere with shots from behind. This year when she blocked shots or attempted to block shots she, also, no longer put her off hand on the body of the player for which she often could have been called for fouls last year. I assume this is the result of coaching by Mulkey and staff. It is an excellent preventive and growth development for Griner.

Griner may never be fast but she has added a significant number of very sound fundamentals to her offensive game this year. Her footwork and feinting in the post has really improved. She is much better at moving her defender out of position and then rolling away from the coverage. Her ability to go to the left is now almost as strong as her ability to the right.

Her relatively low rebound count of 9 in 40 minutes for a kid with her size and strength is to me a sign of her unwillingness to attempt to compete (laziness) harder for those rebounds. She can be so much more dangerous and unstoppable if she learns to compete on every possession. It really is the only thing I see where I as a coach would be all over her today. If she does this it will not matter how much UConn improves this year or next year she will completely dominate every game.

I hope that helps with the positives that I have seen develop in Griner's game since last year. There are many but there are, also, specific areas where she needs to improve.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Yes, I watched it this morning and no I am not a Griner hater her. I think these are two things she needs to work on to become absolutely the best she can be.

The ability of UConn to exploit Baylor in transition before they could set up their D was, also, noted by Kara Lawson at the half.

Clearly, Griner has immensely improved her conditioning and added a great deal of strength and muscle. Huge assets in her development. My observation pertaining to her speed and laziness is related to several things that I saw in her play night. I have no idea whether it is related to Mulkey's coaching or not. Sometimes it is just a liability a kid has biologically in the amount of quick twitch muscle. Maybe she simply can't go any faster. If so, fine. But she doesn't put her head down and attempt to run the court like Tina learned to do. She lopes.

Mulkey made a couple of excellent adjustments from last years game or else Griner understood what was desired better. As I suggested before the game the best thing you can do with a big player is get into the body and their armpits. Griner is now defending herself against that tactic by actively and intentionally maintaing distance where she can use her reach. She even allows players to pass her and uses her immense reach to interfere with shots from behind. This year when she blocked shots or attempted to block shots she, also, no longer put her off hand on the body of the player for which she often could have been called for fouls last year. I assume this is the result of coaching by Mulkey and staff. It is an excellent preventive and growth development for Griner.

Griner may never be fast but she has added a significant number of very sound fundamentals to her offensive game this year. Her footwork and feinting in the post has really improved. She is much better at moving her defender out of position and then rolling away from the coverage. Her ability to go to the left is now almost as strong as her ability to the right.

Her relatively low rebound count of 9 in 40 minutes for a kid with her size and strength is to me a sign of her unwillingness to attempt to compete (laziness) harder for those rebounds. She can be so much more dangerous and unstoppable if she learns to compete on every possession. It really is the only thing I see where I as a coach would be all over her today. If she does this it will not matter how much UConn improves this year or next year she will completely dominate every game.

I hope that helps with the positives that I have seen develop in Griner's game since last year. There are many but there are, also, specific areas where she needs to improve.

WOW! 25 points, 9 rebounds, 9 blocks, untold shot alterations, and you are not satisfied with Ms Griner's performance. UConn missed 23 shots yesterday, Griner grabbed 7 of them. One of her two offensive rebounds and putbacks was in transition when she sprinted down the court to beat everyone to the rebound. The transition baskets UConn scored at the rim were the result of good ball movement and certainly not Ms Griner's responsibility to get back on to defend. Maybe I am wrong, but Ms Griner looked plenty fast last night.

 

[Icebear]

WOW! 25 points, 9 rebounds, 9 blocks, untold shot alterations, and you are not satisfied with Ms Griner's performance. UConn missed 23 shots yesterday, Griner grabbed 7 of them. One of her two offensive rebounds and putbacks was in transition when she sprinted down the court to beat everyone to the rebound. The transition baskets UConn scored at the rim were the result of good ball movement and certainly not Ms Griner's responsibility to get back on to defend. Maybe I am wrong, but Ms Griner looked plenty fast last night.

I did not say I wasn't satisfied, frankly, I wish she had done less, I said she has a specific area in which she still has plenty of room to grow. She is the true once in a generation and unique player who could have a triple double almost any night if she applied her talents to the fullest degree. If I have a crime it is that I see exactly how mcuh more dominating and tremendous BG can be. As Geno says she is still just scratching the surface. Her potential is to be as dominating as Wilt was.

As to rebounding how many times did UConn literally tip or take away the ball from her.

 

[speedoo]

I did not say I wasn't satisfied, frankly, I wish she had done less, I said she has a specific area in which she still has plenty of room to grow. She is the true once in a generation and unique player who could have a triple double almost any night if she applied her talents to the fullest degree. If I have a crime it is that I see exactly how mcuh more dominating and tremendous BG can be. As Geno says she is still just scratching the surface. Her potential is to be as dominating as Wilt was.

As to rebounding how many times did UConn literally tip or take away the ball from her.

No, your crime is in watching that performance and then describing her as slow and lazy. She has not ever been slow and lazy when I have see her play for Baylor, and she has made major improvements since she was a frosh. And Geno, who you are so fond of quoting, has never characterized her play as anything like slow, or lazy.

 

[Icebear]

Speedoo, you right what I should say isn't lazy it is lackadaisical. But yes she is slow as one of our other posters documented last week with a stop watch. She runs down the court with all the effort of Manny on a fly ball in Fenway. I would equate her speed to her effort not her potential.