Georgetown Postgame Thread [merged]

[vtcwbuff]

". . . you need to get something, anything, out of Deberry, even for just a few minutes."

The team certainly didn't get that today. Deberry reminds me of one of my grandsons (my fav but don't tell anyone). He plays HS basketball and soccer and is a very good Xcountry runner but when it comes to team sports there is something missing. Aggression, drive, fire whatever you want to call it but I think DeBerry has the same problem.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

No, the receiver of a pass has to establish clear possession of the ball or the TO is on the passer. If anything post players, (not just Uconn), cause TOs to players feeding them because coming to meet the pass from the post is a lost art.

Yea...that's the rule, but .... Perimeter receivers should come meet the ball...agreed. Post players are trying to hold their position on the block. I was referencing the latter passes. I just saw too many passes into double and triple overage.

 

[Tonyc]

This is a game to forget. No analysis needed. Go back to practice and work it out. I felt we came out and GTown threw the first punch and we didnt punch back. I felt we were unfocused and had a lack of energy. We have shown a lot of fire in previous games we didnt today. Stuff like this happens sometimes. The refs were inconsistent and that caused GTown to get in foul trouble which resulted in the inability for GTown to play physical defense and they allowed us to score easier. On to Seton Hall on Tuesday. I hope Azzi is ok to play. We need her against Tenn and I would think we will look forward to Patterson and Caroline against SC.

 

[Blond D.]

No, the receiver of a pass has to establish clear possession of the ball or the TO is on the passer. If anything post players, (not just Uconn), cause TOs to players feeding them because coming to meet the pass from the post is a lost art.

There was several times that Nika threw a pass to Lou who had stopped when Nika was throwing it ahead of her. A lot of the turnovers were miscommunications and a few were not hanging onto the pass and few were just bad passes.

 

[Centerstream]

I love the fact that you gave a sore thumb yet had the straights to say why. That is the point of a discussion. That is the way to disagree with respect. That is the right of it.

Thank you.

 

[Huskee11]

This was a tough game to watch in person. Even during our best stretch of the game in the third period, almost all of the points were coming from the foul line. There was some degree of offensive flow in the fourth quarter, but overall a real struggle.

Georgetown is bigger than most other Big East teams, and their size and physical play - combined with our careless passing, missing shots we normally make, and referee indifference made for a very long first half.

Again like with Florida State, the referees let everything go in the first half and called a totally different game in the second half.

We held their two perimeter guards, Ransom and Faunteroy, to 5-29 shooting and 12 points between them, and we were 22-26 from the free throw line. Those are positives.

Other than that, just a midseason dud that seems to happen every year, particularly against physical teams. Our next few games - Seton Hall, Butler, DePaul - should be more free flowing.

XL is an ok venue, and 11,000 plus there today, but give me Gampel any day. Fortunately our next two home games are there.

Take the win, move on, hopefully Azzi is ok. Being at the game, I did not know what happened until afterwards.

 

[Littlemin]

Yea...that's the rule, but .... Perimeter receivers should come meet the ball...agreed. Post players are trying to hold their position on the block. I was referencing the latter passes. I just saw too many passes into double and triple overage.

All players should meet passes. If a post player has a defender on her hip or back it is very easy to meet the pass and hold position by subtly pressing back with your legs and lower body (backside and hips) and then half stepping to the ball.
Anyway, Muhl’s 5 TOs were earned but so were Edwards. My point was they can’t negate an otherwise good game for one player and totally not be put into the equation for another.

 

[wingsfan055]

Probably the worst game of the year. Easily the worst half of the year:
1). Georgetown played aggressive perimeter defense, and that threw everything off. Nika couldnt beat the perimeter with the dribble, and she had a lot of TOs with forced passing. Not just her. Outside shots were defended tightly ..and were missed. Great teams know how to adjust on the fly. We didnt adjust for the entire half.
2). Too many TOs, some forced..but not enough turning TOs into easy points to our benefit. We need more easy points.
3). This is how good teams like SC will play us. We need to develop a mid-range game. It seems like a lot of 3-pointers or forcing things inside. The mid-range or pull-up jumpers are how you beat aggressive defenses. When's the last time Nika pulled up for a jumper? The mid-range shots were there all day today if we wanted them.
4). The team looked slow and tired. Out-hussled for rebounds. I bet the flu or something is still hitting Lou and other players. AG has regressed. She lost the pop with her energy and lift.
5). Once again, a setback with our health. Hope the Azzi injury was just a shot of pain from the hit and not more ligament stretching. It didnt look like a big knock on her knee.
6). Not to pick on the bench, but Amari & Innes looked bad out there today when we had the game in hand. This is why you dont play them meaningful minutes in the 1st quarter. They're simply not ready.

 

[Topdawg]

Glad to take a win.

Our team has slow days and this was one. I was concerned about how we played in the first half. We were slow and tentative, perhaps because Georgetown was aggressive. We did better in the second half - though not as well as we have played in other games.

That said, it was good to see Aaliyah and Dorka get double doubles. Aubrey was tough on defense. Nika and Lou made their contributions.

I hope Azzi is able to play in the next game on Tuesday.

Hope we learn from this game and are able to withstand tough opponents in the weeks ahead. We had a low scoring first half. Nevertheless, we fared better than Stanford, who scored 4 and 15 points in the first two quarters in their loss against USC earlier today!

 

[Beemer]

Teams are apparently told to be VERY physical and UCONN is exposed to a lot of physical contact

And coaches will keep telling their teams to do this as long as UConn doesn't handle it well.

 

[Soxx]

Totally don't understand your Lou comment. Thus the dislike.
Seeing how it is a short time before the game in New Jersey, I doubt that Caroline or Ayanna will be cleared.

The Lou comment seems off to me as well. She mostly just plays through whatever she faces. No drama.

 

[Bama fan]

Took way too many Mike's Mangos to pull this one out... (closest "smiles" we have to "buzzed")

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going." It is refreshing to know we can always count on you and Mike.

 

[EasyEd]

Besides the starters not handling the physicality of the game very well, it seemed to me that Deberry and Bettencourt took a step backwards. Everyone wants them to play more but I can see why Geno is reluctant to play them. The person who complained that the starters were still in when up by 22 with three minutes left was not a valid complaint. After they both were on the floor at the end we lost 7 points of the lead. So they got plenty of playing time. If they got more, we may have lost.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going." It is refreshing to know we can always count on you and Mike.

We all have to do what we can to help... keep the positive MOJO.

Love these Huskies.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Nika said they didn't have it in shootaround. She didn't lay it on Georgetown, but she sure looks POed or sullen or she's falling asleep.

 

[topogigio]

At the game today, also and saw much of the same as already posted. I do give credit to Georgetown, they came in and played very tough! Yeah, they pushed, grabbed, banged, and certainly fouled, but if you get away with it, why not just keep doing it. It did catch up with them in the 3Q. Georgetown played fearless, attacked the rim, and ran very well designed plays. UConn threw too many passes away, trying to make a difficult pass rather than an simple one. A lot of standing around at times, not running offense. Defense was overall good. Nika needs a rest here and there (CD rotation could be the answer)), the lack of which causes bad passes. A win is a win, but it took a lot out of me and Mrs. Gigio.

 

[Soxx]

Say what? Leading scorer Ransom had 3 points because of Aubrey’s defense. Aubrey drove into th paint and almost single handedly got G’town’s posts into foul trouble. She was 6-8 from the line and led the team in FT attempts

I thought she had a solid game. Lock down “D.” My only concern is her increasing hesitation to shoot outside. When she misses early on, she seems to avoid shooting for the rest of the game. Gtown was sagging off her.

 

[BballFan]

A few of the little kids in the crowd were very cute. I didn’t find much else to smile about.

I will say my little one had a blast! Future cheerleader in the making!
A dear friend of mine who’s daughter was a cheerleader told me you get to watch a more basketball games out of it .

 

[JordyG]

Thank you.

We need more like you on The BY.

 

[JordyG]

The baby cheering and clapping got a lot f awws in our house

I also remember an little cheerleader in a Husky outfit that was adorable. I guess we'll leave Husky fandom in good hands.

 

[Centerstream]

We need more like you on The BY.

Thanks again, I really, really appreciate it but I gotta disagree...I've had my moments and, unfortunately, plenty of them.

 

[pvdoggy]

Nika definitely looked POed.

 

[TeamFirst!]

As Maestro said, the game plan against Uconn was and is:

"Faceguard Lou
Pack the paint
Be as physical especially in the paint as the refs allow...push the envelope to straddle the line between legal physical and illegally mugging..."

We depend on Lou for almost all our outside shooting when Azzi and Caroline are out. What should be our strength as a team, is actually our weakness sometimes due to injuries.

A couple of good developments though:

1) Aubrey has turned into maybe the best shutdown defender in women's college basketball IMO. Her last 2 games especially have been fantastic defensively. I'd take that in a heartbeat. Aubrey isn't hurting us.

2) Nika looks more confident shooting. She needs to contribute and she is improving. Bad day passing but other than that a good game.

This team is going to struggle to score against top teams without Azzi and Caroline. Today we struggled against Georgetown. Pray for Azzi and Caroline to return. We need Ayanna also.

 

[Husky fanatic]

What’s the over/under on Azzi ever playing a full seaso. May go down as one of the best players not to play a full season. Can you say Snake Bit? Dorka was without the A in Dorka today. She needs to go to the hands store and find a pair that works.

 

[JordyG]

Thanks again, I really, really appreciate it but I gotta disagree...I've had my moments and, unfortunately, plenty of them.

We all have. Trust me I've been a soapbox stinker more than a few times. The point is 1) Having the straights to admit when you're wrong and 2) Backing up your stance with some knowledge of the game instead of just blowing it out your closet just for the need to be right.

 

[huskeynut]

The only issue I have with Geno is his sub patterns… less than three minutes left , up by 22, and all of your starters are still in…This is his style… CD , imo, did a much better job subbing….
I’m worried that Azzi is injury prone ( doesn’t she have a history of this)???
Watched South Carolina prior to UConn… I can’t see UConn beating them, really can’t…. hope I’m wrong… All SC has to do is to play good defense in a half court game…. lights out.

You have an issue the Geno's sub patterns. OK.

Started the game with 8 players and was down to 7 for the entire second half. What is your sub pattern. Amari is completely inconsistent in what she will deliver. Ines is a freshman still learning a very complex system. Caroline and Ayanna are out in concussion protocol.

Geno plays those he trusts. Trust is earned in practices. You may not like it but that has been what Geno has done since arriving at UConn. Geno will not change his standard and he shouldn't. I don't want to hear that the bench can't develop unless he plays the bench. That argument is a red herring.

Do not sell this team short on SC.

 

[victor64]

Totally don't understand your Lou comment. Thus the dislike.
Seeing how it is a short time before the game in New Jersey, I doubt that Caroline or Ayanna will be cleared.

Thanks for the explanation. I try to be positive in game remarks. Lou and Nika both can be dramatic when they don’t get foul calls. UConn kids usually don’t bark at officials. They let Geno do it for them.

 

[Ralph]

Dorka may have put up a double double but for most of the game she couldn't buy a basket. The biggest disappointment for me was LLS. Not only was she not much a of an offensive factor but there was a couple of plays where she really fell asleep.

Well someone just did a thread on Lou never has a bad night. Kind of like saying this kid 8 or 8 from the charity stripe so far, or Hey, the pitcher has a no hitter going. You did this to her. It is over now, move on, never do it again.

 

[GardenState]

If Azzi can play, Azzi needs to start. Opens up the floor and helps everyone get into a better offensive rhythm from the get-go.

 

[Littlemin]

Just a few comments on this afternoon's game:

1. Thank god we have Aaliyah Edwards. She again, saved our bacon
5. Nika's turnovers continue to be an issue
6. Dorka looked lost today

More perception - as I stated in another post, Edwards had as many TOs as Muhl handling the ball much less but hers are obviously not an issue. Dorka had 4 less points, 1 less rebound, 1 less turnover, and 2 more assists than Edwards but she was lost and Edwards saved our bacon. Seriously, I think not…….…….
The fact is, Edwards had 8 of her 17 points after Uconn led by 15 so while all points matter, she led the team in scoring, she didn’t “save” anything. And that is not presented in any way shape or form as a knock, Edwards is a terrific player having a tremendous year, but she was as much off her feed today as every Uconn player was, it happens.
And oh, by the way, as Husky Nan pointed out, they played pretty poorly and still won by 15. This team has gone through a lot and came up a stinker today but gutted out a win but there is just no pleasing people who think a basketball game should be judged by style points.