Geno - This one was on you

[Papa33]

This one stat tells most of the story:

===> Irwin: 32 minutes, 0 for 4 shooting, 2 rebounds, 3 personal fouls and ZERO points.

And, how about that 4th quarter:
===> 6 points scored.
===> The reason: No post presence, thus allowing Baylor to defend the perimeter with numbers as there were JUST 3 players on the floor that were ever going to shoot.

Self-styled sports mavens love to reduce issues to misleading simplicity. Reductio ad absurdem, it is called. UConn loses a game, or (you fill out the rest), and it's for a single reason: Geno's a lousy coach (and an utter failure in recruiting), the game strategy was a disaster, a player let the team and fans down, etc., etc. In most cases the single-cause argument simply ignores what most of us saw and almost all of the game statistics.

Case in point. Uconn took 9 more shots than Baylor (69-60), lost the rebound battle by only 1 (43-44), had the same number of turnovers (10). and made one more 3-pointer than Baylor. Looks like, despite our height and esperience disadvantage, we played Baylor fairly even, no? So what— at least statistically— was the problem?

At their best Uconn teams' scoring efficiency (points per possession) has been widely admired and envied. But this 2019-2020 Husky edition has been struggling to score at times, even against inferior opposition. Last night, our starters shot 31%— not nearly well enough against a strong team. Even more troubling, in my view, is the fact that only 8 of the made baskets were assisted. That is not the Uconn norm, and that points to serious problems with our *team* offense. It's not just lapses in individuals' shooting (Walker 5-20, ONO 0-8, Williams 0-5 from outside the arc, Irwin 0-4)); it's a problem with a team still in the process of creating the UConn ideal of coordinated movement of players and passes. Watching this year's team, I see static moments, ball handlers not finding teammates cutting and therefore having to create shots on their own; shots taken under pressure, etc. Might that not result in lower numbers of assists and lower shooting efficiency?

Yes, Kyla's reluctance to shoot does allow her man to sag off and clog cutting lanes, but she did take 4 shots last night; she just didn't make them. But her defense, given her height disadvantage, was actually pretty effective. I don't think her time on the floor was a defining factor of UConn's ineffective offense. Consider, for example, our offensive problems in the game vs. Miss State in 2017: State's strategy was to interrupt and anticipate our movement, and we were constantly looking for teammates who weren't breaking open: cuts, screens, flow all suffered, and we didn't get the open shots we usually created. Much the same last night.

But we're not even halfway through the season; this team has its work cut out for it. But easy explanations and solutions won't get it done.

 

[southofnorth]

Anna should be starting for no other reason than she will improve every game she plays from now until our last game in March...Irwin will always be Irwin and that is a big problem...

And when Geno feels Anna is in a position to start/play more minutes than Kyla, he will do so. The suggestions that Irwin was the problem really seems like scapegoating. She can make perimeter shots as we have all seen this year, but she's never played in against a team the caliber of Baylor until this game. When she's already considered the fifth scoring option it can't be easy to just step up in a game of that magnitude.

 

[southofnorth]

The concept of anyone who posts on this board telling Geno Auriemma that he doesn't know what he is doing is the height of hubris. The basis for your comment is what you saw as a SPECTATOR. You were not involved in the practice. You were not involved in the pregame shootaround or walk through. You were not involved in the coaches meeting. In other words your assessment is based in ignorance. Your lack of information is only exceeded by your arrogance. Please do not tell me how much you know about basketball or what a great coach you are. You are not privy to the inner workings of the team and as such your opinion is unqualified. Thank you

I agree with the first sentence, but everything after that misses the point of a fan-lead discussion board. Everyone's opinion on here is just as qualified as yours is. Some people know more about basketball/UConn women's basketball than others. Some on this board have been coaches so they can sympathize/criticize Geno because they've been in a similar role. The rest of us can comment as spectators because that's the point of a fan-lead DISCUSSION board. We all see things a little differently and, although we are not "privy to the inner workings of the team", we still see the results in the games they play. The idea that we can't make suggestions or guesses as to what might've worked better or what issues this team will face is bogus. One last time: this is a discussion board.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Ah yes, the modern day twitter / message board over reaction. The Sky is Falling, run for your lives!!!!!!!!

 

[Dokey]

My 2-cents, from afar (saw the replay). What I saw was a Uconn team that was #1 because it was their turn (as with Stanford, etc). With the exception of CW we were outplayed-- they are a much more talented team than US. We do not have post players that are (yet) capable of handling them, both on offense and defense. Hence the collapse. Big and competent bodies do matter, and our inability to attract and hold such players is now playing its tricks on Us (and for a time). At some point you have to play in traffic and we have problems. Remove CW and we are not in the equation, as she is, to my mind, our only big time player.
As for Kyla, there is nothing to come after. She is there and I suspect that one of the Freshmen will be given a starting spot during conf.play. This is not a critique, but a view that we need a different set of skills at that position or re-enforcement elsewhere to compete with teams outside the AAC.

But, I was hardly disappointed and thought we competed well and fell behind when the big and strong showed that they too are fit and skilled. (Look at T'Cooper. She frustrated, a little, Dangerfield all game with here size, skill and experience).

Yes, all this indicated is that UConn was paying for substandard recruiting years, primarily a failure to secure a true big, but that the bones of a great team is in place with the necessary recruits coming in. In the Unbeatens thread I argued that Meg might be the only current UConn player who could crack the Oregon starting line up, though CW is moving up. The time has come to continue preparations for next year by making court savvy Anna the fifth starter while giving Aubrey enough minutes in games against lesser opponents to learn how to play in the UConn system. Neither might start next year but would be reliable coming off the bench.

 

[Triad]

This one stat tells most of the story:

===> Irwin: 32 minutes, 0 for 4 shooting, 2 rebounds, 3 personal fouls and ZERO points.

And, how about that 4th quarter:
===> 6 points scored.
===> The reason: No post presence, thus allowing Baylor to defend the perimeter with numbers as there were JUST 3 players on the floor that were ever going to shoot.

Seriously....

Few will like this but : THE BUCK STARTS AND STOPS WITH THE COACHING STAFF Players for the most part do as they are told or trained to do, with the internal talent available to them.
Having said that: When playing another team that team can and does change how you play or whether you win or lose.
The flaws of this team were apparent from the OKLA game and on. 3 players cannot play 11 and win that's just basic physics and math.
How does Geno fix this? God ONLY knows. I doubt the real fix exists this year.
Everyone forget Olivia is a student learning Div One basketball. and under weight for the position, but most assuredly has talent coming out the kazoo (a musical instrument)
Danger is not up to par physically. The list goes on and on.
All here should remember that 3 guys went against 11 and helf them to within 2 points for nearly 3 plus quarters. Even IRON MEN can't run on rusty legs.

 

[Triad]

My 2-cents, from afar (saw the replay). What I saw was a Uconn team that was #1 because it was their turn (as with Stanford, etc). With the exception of CW we were outplayed-- they are a much more talented team than US. We do not have post players that are (yet) capable of handling them, both on offense and defense. Hence the collapse. Big and competent bodies do matter, and our inability to attract and hold such players is now playing its tricks on Us (and for a time). At some point you have to play in traffic and we have problems. Remove CW and we are not in the equation, as she is, to my mind, our only big time player.
As for Kyla, there is nothing to come after. She is there and I suspect that one of the Freshmen will be given a starting spot during conf.play. This is not a critique, but a view that we need a different set of skills at that position or re-enforcement elsewhere to compete with teams outside the AAC.

But, I was hardly disappointed and thought we competed well and fell behind when the big and strong showed that they too are fit and skilled. (Look at T'Cooper. She frustrated, a little, Dangerfield all game with here size, skill and experience).

I would have posted most of what you say and much has credibility. But if you continue to look at the replay--see that this "less talent" (not so) undersided (true) team with only 3 REAL effective STARTERS played against 11 talented taller Baylor players for 30 minutes and stayed within 3 points plus or minus. For those 30 minutes the game was anyones to win or lose.
Some believed Uconns conditioning would over come Baylor. Not so. The best conditioned players are no match for FRESH off the Bench player. I believe the talent for the FF is on this team. But that doesn't help when 4 top teams have 9,10,11, 13 players of high quality an Uconn has 3 or 4 or even 5.

 

[Longtime fan]

This one stat tells most of the story:

===> Irwin: 32 minutes, 0 for 4 shooting, 2 rebounds, 3 personal fouls and ZERO points.

And, how about that 4th quarter:
===> 6 points scored.
===> The reason: No post presence, thus allowing Baylor to defend the perimeter with numbers as there were JUST 3 players on the floor that were ever going to shoot.

Seriously....

Kyla is Kyla. If she were a more high level athlete and basketball player, she could have driven to the hoop on Cox, who was clearly still hobbling and not fully recovered from her surgery. The lane to the basket was clear. But Kyla ( and others ) often misses open lay-ups, and she doesn't have the moves or speed to execute this idea. It is a limitation of the players we have. A person like Aubrey could do that in a flash, but she
can't ( presently) do the larger job that Kyla is doing....distributing the ball, getting people in the right places and creating movement. Aubrey is still a freshman and very much learning what to do and where to be. The fact is; we had three quality players on the court who, due to the lack of contribution from everyone else, resorted to a type of freelancing...or so it appeared to me. And that didn't work; they couldn't convert three point shots, and there was chaos when they tried to drive to the hoop, due to Baylor's size and athleticism. As many have said; Baylor is bigger, deeper, faster and better. They have some great athletes everywhere. We did well to hang close for three periods, but we had no one who was reliable all game. Danger was way off on her shooting, Megan was cold, then hot, and Williams was hot then cold. No one else was useful. Olivia requires a separate discussion.

 

[Centerstream]

Why are people this upset I thought this was supposed to be a rebuilding year?

And according to the Preseason Polls, the #2 team is supposed to beat the #5 team.
The haters on this forum keep saying that we weren't a #1 team so maybe you have proven to be right, in January. And of course everyone of you can coach and recruit better than Geno and his coaches.
I don't believe in rebuilding years because when March and April arrive, the cream rises to the top and I believe that we will be there because that is what Geno is working towards.

 

[Steelerone]

Ladies and gentlemen can we take a step back. To begin with this wasn't The University of Pennsylvania at New Kensington we were playing.. The last time I looked we were playing the current Ncaa champions. And rather than firing our coach maybe we can give him a second chance. Part of the problem is two of our less than successful recruiting classes but this appears to have be rectified in the future. We are not going to get the top five in the Hoopgurlz every year and, if you have been following the women's college basketball programs for the past few years you will see that teams like Mississippi State, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas A&M have upgraded their recruiting and hired coaches who have built excellent programs. This game was nip and tuck until the fourth quarter and that is when, unfortunately, (and I think we all realized this) the weakness of our bench came into play. Can we rectify that this year. If Geno can't no one can.

 

[Florida Fan]

I'd like to remind people: If your sense of well-being or self worth is dependent upon how some 18 to 22 year old women who you've never met play a game, you need to seek help.

Have you checked the costs for individual psychotherapy? This is so much cheaper.

 

[cohenzone]

Why are people this upset I thought this was supposed to be a rebuilding year?

Are people “upset” or just making observations.

 

[HuskyNan]

@UConnCat - Let me school you, just a little.

With ONO in the game: we have a rebounder, a shot blocker and a post player that forced Cox and Smith to defend in the blocks regardless of whether her shot was falling or not. That effectively keeps them off the perimeter, preventing them for providing help defense....We create open shots via ball movement.

With Irwin in the game: when UCONN is on defense, whom on Baylor is she going to guard. And, when Baylor was on defense, they payed absolutely no attention to her as she was never going to make a shot, always passing off.

With Griffin in the game: we have an athletic player that is going to get rebounds and can actually play defense.

And finally, with both Liv and Griffin in the game: we now have 5 players on the floor that have to be guarder; we have post play; we have interior defense; and, we can actually win the ball back instead of after a Baylor made basket.

That 4th quarter proves my point.

Lol, you schooling Cat on women’s basketball.

thanks. I needed a chuckle

 

[WestCoast]

All message boards have their own version of Big Mick. Oregon State has a regular poster whose love of Oregon's WBB program shines through in all that he writes.

Perspective is often missing following a disappointing loss.

Every D1 program in the nation would take ONO and her bright future and appreciate her talents. Geno knows what he is doing with this year's squad. They will be ready in March and April. I fully expect that UConn will play an inspired game next month against Oregon and all will be well again for UConn fans.

 

[huskies29]

Wow. Some amazing comments. As a longtime UConn fan this has always been a rebuilding type season to me where they can have a great record for the season and have some success in the tournament and may even make the final 4 again which imo would be an overachievement based on the talent, shortage of height and depth of the team this year. Next year will be a different story as the reinforcements and big talented players come in and we should be back to the standard UConn team of a nation champion possibility again. Don't denigrate a player like Kyla who has hung in with this team for 4 years and while maybe not the most talented player out there gives it everything she has and contributes in a lot of ways to the teams success. Sit back and root this team of overachievers on and see where they end up going!!

 

[Martin]

Kayla was terrible. She is not ready for this type game. Too slow doesn't jump, They were shooting over her at will. At least Griffin would get us some rebounds. Geno you screwed up.

The problem with Kayla isn’t Kayla. The problem with Kayla is Geno. Leave the player alone.

 

[PoppaBear]

Didn't Mick promise an 18 pt. UConn win?

 

[DefenseBB]

Let’s all agree that far too many of us are spoiled and expect 39-0 teams who win National Championships winning every game by 30+.
That said, I was at the game and For as good as her game was last night Christyn’s free throw shooting was that bad. Liv's inside shooting was so bad, she couldn't hit the water if she fell out of a boat. She needs to use the glass more. Not sure why everyone is picking on Aubrey who provides energy and hustle on defense. Yes, she doesn’t know the offense well enough yet but she needs playing time. Kyla is a liability on offense but so it DiDi Richards for Baylor so it wasn’t 3 vs. 5 as many have suggested. Anna sees the court well, moves without the ball well and rebounds better than most. Aubrey, Anna and Kyla all have roles on this team. We miss Batouly and her strong inside presence, even if for only 5 min a game. If anything we needed Crystal Dangerfield to shoot more.
Let us all remember 2012-13 season at 35-4 with some young players having to learn and grow and that seemed to turn out pretty well for us.
Losing S—ks, I get it, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water here and you know, actually support OUR TEAM when they need us to.
Come on, this is a journey, not just a destination so let’s deal with the ups and downs with aplomb and grace.
Go Huskies!
Respectfully,
DefenseBB

 

[Twolf]

Are people “upset” or just making observations.

Observations and opinions are one thing, but statements made as fact, or demeaning coaches or players are another thing altogether. The incomparable success that this program has attained has spoiled a lot of fans, and has fanned a great deal of jealousy among other programs, along with their supporters. When this ends, and it will, well informed people will realize just how amazing it was, and how difficult it was to attain. Those who point to recruiting failures, need to hit that trail sometime, especially at the elite level, and find out just how precarious it is to earn a commitment from an athlete when others are using your age, your demanding style, and your continued success as negatives against you. I do know for a fact that there are a greater number of players, and parents, who want immediate success at the college level, and that isn’t what Geno’s program was built around. If what UConn has achieved was easy everybody would do it.

 

[Watchdog]

With Anna we get no points in any game. We have given her plenty of time to let it go. Time to give someone else a chance. Griffin is raw but not afraid to put it up and there's 12 to 20 points a game in that girl somewhere.

Makurat's improvement since the first three games this year has been stunning. She's been open many times the past several games but has been overlooked by Williams and Dangerfield for some reason. Maybe they don't have confidence in her or maybe they think they have to do it all by themselves in tough situations ("hero ball"). At any rate here's some of what I posted last night in another thread:

Makurat, the best shooter on the team the past 8 games, had 3 points on 1 for 2 from the field and could have had more. The announcer mentioned how well she's been shooting after starting the season poorly and if you look at the stats they should be getting her the ball more:
Firsts 3 games: 1 for 13 overall (7.7%) and 0 for 10 on 3's (0%)
Games 4 and 5: 4 for 13 overall (30.8%) and 2 for 9 on 3's (22.2%)
Last 8 games: 16 for 34 overall (47.1%) and 12 for 22 on 3's (54.5%)

 

[oldude]

Makurat's improvement since the first three games this year has been stunning. She's been open many times the past several games but has been overlooked by Williams and Dangerfield for some reason. Maybe they don't have confidence in her or maybe they think they have to do it all by themselves in tough situations ("hero ball"). At any rate here's some of what I posted last night in another thread:

Makurat, the best shooter on the team the past 8 games, had 3 points on 1 for 2 from the field and could have had more. The announcer mentioned how well she's been shooting after starting the season poorly and if you look at the stats they should be getting her the ball more:
Firsts 3 games: 1 for 13 overall (7.7%) and 0 for 10 on 3's (0%)
Games 4 and 5: 4 for 13 overall (30.8%) and 2 for 9 on 3's (22.2%)
Last 8 games: 16 for 34 overall (47.1%) and 12 for 22 on 3's (54.5%)

Anna certainly has upped her game. But as nice as it was to see her knock down a 3, it was stunning to see her miss a wide open 10 ft shot from the baseline that she would probably make 9/10 times in practice. The stage is still pretty big for Anna. Like all freshmen, she’ll have to get used to the pressure to be able to execute during the biggest games.

 

[BobbyJ]

Anna certainly has upped her game. But as nice as it was to see her knock down a 3, it was stunning to see her miss a wide open 10 ft shot from the baseline that she would probably make 9/10 times in practice. The stage is still pretty big for Anna. Like all freshmen, she’ll have to get used to the pressure to be able to execute during the biggest games.

Makurat has a problem that I'm not sure she can overcome at this point in her development. It will take a lot of offseason work with and against a trainer/defender. She is a standstill shooter. She's never learned to shoot on the move other than simple layups and can't or won't get shots off in traffic. Plus she can't get off the floor to separate from the defender. Seems to need to have two feet under her most of the time. We'll see if she can make the necessary changes.

 

[Otter5]

Instead Of blaming Geno, recruiting and everything else except the obvious-the ball goes through the net more and we win. Not going to win many shooting 29% FG's, a lot of easy misses.

Baylor

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
L. CoxF	40	6-15	2-4	2-2	1	5	6	4	1	4	2	2	16
N. SmithF	34	9-13	0-1	2-3	3	9	12	1	1	0	1	2	20
J. LandrumG	28	0-2	0-2	0-0	2	6	8	2	0	0	0	3	0
T. CooperG	40	8-19	4-11	7-9	0	6	6	5	1	0	7	2	27
D. RichardsG	30	1-5	0-0	2-2	3	4	7	5	1	1	0	3	4
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
C. BickleF	6	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Q. EgboC	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
M. UrsinG	14	2-5	1-3	0-0	0	5	5	1	1	0	0	1	5
TEAM		27-60	7-21	13-16	9	35	44	18	5	5	10	14	74
		45.0%	33.3%	81.3%

UConn

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
K. IrwinF	32	0-4	0-3	0-0	0	2	2	0	1	0	0	3	0
M. WalkerF	38	5-20	3-8	5-7	3	5	8	3	2	0	2	4	18
O. Nelson-OdodaF	23	0-8	0-0	0-0	2	4	6	1	1	1	1	3	0
C. WilliamsG	40	8-17	0-5	5-9	4	5	9	1	0	0	2	1	21
C. DangerfieldG	39	6-16	4-8	0-0	2	4	6	2	2	1	2	4	16
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
M. BentG	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
A. GriffinG	9	0-2	0-1	0-0	2	2	4	0	0	0	1	0	0
A. MakuratG	18	1-2	1-1	0-0	1	1	2	1	1	0	1	1	3
TEAM		20-69	8-26	10-16	17	26	43	8	7	2	10	16	58
		29.0%	30.8%	62.5%

 

[oldude]

Makurat has a problem that I'm not sure she can overcome at this point in her development. It will take a lot of offseason work with and against a trainer/defender. She is a standstill shooter. She's never learned to shoot on the move other than simple layups and can't or won't get shots off in traffic. Plus she can't get off the floor to separate from the defender. Seems to need to have two feet under her most of the time. We'll see if she can make the necessary changes.

Good point. I hadn’t really thought about that aspect of Anna’s game. Apparently she learned how to shoot from watching old highlight films of Red Klotz....

 

[Dokey]

With Anna we get no points in any game. We have given her plenty of time to let it go. Time to give someone else a chance. Griffin is raw but not afraid to put it up and there's 12 to 20 points a game in that girl somewhere.

No