Geno's Reaction to First Two Games: New Article

[JoePgh]

The Courant has a new article with Geno's reaction to the first two games. He says that fans should get used to the fact that this year will not be easy. He says he was fairly pleased with defense against Vandy, except in the fourth quarter. Crystal is quoted as saying that the offense worked better because people weren't forgetting the plays, as they did against Cal. And in fact, the percentage of field goals that were assisted went up to over 60% from an abysmal 30-something percent against Cal.

Geno said, as he has before, that he is not necessarily concerned when shots don't go in; the real concern is when people aren't getting good, open shots. That was not a problem against Vanderbilt.

As I've said elsewhere, I think that the defensive lapses in the fourth quarter as well as the loss of shooting accuracy (mainly by Christyn and the freshmen) were the result of fitness issues, which hopefully will be corrected. By the way, contrary to what others have stated, I did not see any major defensive weaknesses for Anna -- in some cases, she intentionally "handed off" a driving player to someone else, but she did not get badly beaten in other circumstances. That is like a cornerback in football letting the safety cover the receiver's deep move while the corner covers the short move even if it is a fake. As long as it's planned, it is not detrimental to the defense, and I think that is what was occurring.

On the other hand, Evelyn was having extreme difficulty at the end of the game keeping the opposing center away from the basket. It had nothing to do with a size differential; Evelyn just wasn't moving her feet. That has to be fixed. I am still hoping that Batouly will return healthy in January and can play the role of backup center so that the team doesn't have to rely on Evelyn in that role. She is more suited to a 3 or 4 role in any case.

 

[eebmg]

I would think Geno was also not happy with the handling of the Vandy press in the 4Q. Maybe fatigue was the reason but that needs to be improved.

 

[bluedevil]

If fatigue is the problem for the above mentioned problems than some of the players sitting on the bench might just have to play..

 

[bluedevil]

then

 

[oldude]

I think we BY’ers would all do well to take our cue from the greatest coach in the history of WBB. To Crystal’s point, there was a moment during the game when a Husky was shooting FT’s. During the entire 20-30 seconds she was standing with Aubrey beyond the top of the key instructing her in detail regarding some element of the game. Clearly, while Crystal has the keys to the Ferrari, she’s determined to make sure everyone else on the team knows exactly what their responsibility is to keep that vehicle humming along.

One additional comment. Some of UConn’s missed shots are also the result of fatigue. I felt that was particularly the case with Christyn who seemed to fade some in the 2nd half.

 

[BroadwayVa]

The Courant has a new article with Geno's reaction to the first two games. He says that fans should get used to the fact that this year will not be easy. He says he was fairly pleased with defense against Vandy, except in the fourth quarter. Crystal is quoted as saying that the offense worked better because people weren't forgetting the plays, as they did against Cal. And in fact, the percentage of field goals that were assisted went up to over 60% from an abysmal 30-something percent against Cal.

Geno said, as he has before, that he is not necessarily concerned when shots don't go in; the real concern is when people aren't getting good, open shots. That was not a problem against Vanderbilt.

As I've said elsewhere, I think that the defensive lapses in the fourth quarter as well as the loss of shooting accuracy (mainly by Christyn and the freshmen) were the result of fitness issues, which hopefully will be corrected. By the way, contrary to what others have stated, I did not see any major defensive weaknesses for Anna -- in some cases, she intentionally "handed off" a driving player to someone else, but she did not get badly beaten in other circumstances. That is like a cornerback in football letting the safety cover the receiver's deep move while the corner covers the short move even if it is a fake. As long as it's planned, it is not detrimental to the defense, and I think that is what was occurring.

On the other hand, Evelyn was having extreme difficulty at the end of the game keeping the opposing center away from the basket. It had nothing to do with a size differential; Evelyn just wasn't moving her feet. That has to be fixed. I am still hoping that Batouly will return healthy in January and can play the role of backup center so that the team doesn't have to rely on Evelyn in that role. She is more suited to a 3 or 4 role in any case.

Joe: Good stuff again. On ANIA, I agree here defense while still not UConn will come along and is not BAD.
Everything Ania is good. She bangs and rebounds well. She assists well. She isn't standing around she moves on offense and defense. ANIA's passing skills are exceptional. She can thread it through 3 players to get that layup or driving layup fy ONO, Walker, CW. ASSISTS means someone scored and it does not have to be ANIA point are points.
I don't think we'll see Touly again. She has had physical issues since she arrived. Her fleeting moments have shown she can shoot and defend. If she does not return it will be UCONN's loss.
Evelyn, is like Irwin limited by physical characteristics and not much can be done about that. She just needs to learn how to play with the lack of foot quickness and speed. Her defense won't be pretty but it can be effective.