Was the "Piano" well tuned, in the first qtrs, not so much.Was the piano on time? Was it positioned to help the pianist be successful?
Watch Makurat when she comes back. They do the exact same things. Neither of them have any idea how to get a shot off in traffic. Even on layups they barely leave the floor. On 3s they take a 4 inch hop. Just never learned it in Europe and it doesn't look like it's going to change.I jumped out of my chair when CW made that first shot. I could see that she was being aggressive, and it looked like the game plan was to feed her. Now, something that has bothered me for awhile. Why doesn't Nika shoot more, and I'm not talking about 3 pointers. MoHow many times does she dribble into the lane, and kick it out, and even pick up her dribble. st times she has a bunny of a shot opportunity, but refuses to take it. We need her to be more aggressive as a shooter to force the defense to defend her more. If ONO is outside pulling their big, the lane will be open. Although she excels in other areas, she is really one less option offensively. FYI, I still love Nika, but she can do more.
While I share your appreciation of AG and her athleticism, energy, and some skills, the three point thing is not a point in her favor. She made a very pretty three last night, but her average is abyssmal. Currently at .231 and below nearly everyone else. I am not saying she will not get better. I hope she does for her sake and for the team's. I wish she would get better at finishing around the hoop before she tries the long bombs. I am glad we have her, and cannot wait to see just how good she becomes.Despite disagreeing, I 100% respect and appreciate your opinion regarding/concerning Edwards (my personal opinion is that ultimately, if not this year, possibly next season, that Edwards 'could' leap ahead of ONO, as the starting center). As it relates to AG being 'that cog' that will lead this team to a possible championship, I stand by my statement, bias or no bias, or the fact that my "Slip is Showing" in my statement (See Below). [Her line last night, despite the minutes, 7 points, 1 very smooth 3 pointer, and tying for the team lead in total boards, is very impressive]. View attachment 64567
People say the team is tired. In the past we always prided ourselves that were in better shape than the other guys. So if we are tired playing every other day, what is going to happen in the Big East tourney, 3 games in 3 days. And unlike past years where we exploded out to a 30 to 10 lead in the first quarter and coasted, with starters only needing 20 to 25 minutes, we don't seem to do that, even against the weaker teams. I can see Paige needing to play 35+ minutes every game. and most of the other starters too. And we always used to say practices were harder than games, Game days were almost a day off. Only good news is other top teams seem to have some rough games against much weaker opponents this year. Maybe just Covid and all its disruptions.
Your right about finishing around the hoop. I can't remember the name of the 6'0' forward on UCLA but her around the basket move make her a potential All American. Get her to Study her film on her and Pheesa and work all summer on those and threes. Her foul shooting has improved.While I share your appreciation of AG and her athleticism, energy, and some skills, the three point thing is not a point in her favor. She made a very pretty three last night, but her average is abyssmal. Currently at .231 and below nearly everyone else. I am not saying she will not get better. I hope she does for her sake and for the team's. I wish she would get better at finishing around the hoop before she tries the long bombs. I am glad we have her, and cannot wait to see just how good she becomes.
Quite a compliment to suggest that Georgetown's defense is " on a par with South Carolina." I can't agree. But it does suggest how ragged the UCONN offense was against Georgetown. We look as though no one ( save Paige ) can score, even when CW hit her first shot.....CW scored a lot beat her "success ratio" was low. Evina is off, Muhl has never really been "on"; and everyone misses put backs from underneath. Aubry especially...she is getting like Mir...."the hoop is up there somewhere..." And you can see the clear and open shots that no-one wants to take. This team, yesterday against Georgetown, was passing their way out of opportunities into poor, rushed shots. Geno needs to find a way to elevate this team, or they will not hold up in the big dance. I mean, it makes sense. Given that we have so many freshmen playing. Maybe rest will do it. Or maybe we need a whole new set of cardboard cutouts.So I said before the game that I would not be surprised to see the final MOV be in the 25 point range.
I said that because even tho their record was 1-9, their last 2 games were single digit losses to Seton Hall and Marquette. Not sure if G-town had some injuries early on or what, but IMHO, they were not as bad as their record. At least as of lately.
First, congrats to Christyn for scoring some points. She hit 3-pointers early and I worried that result might convince her she’s back to being a shooter. At numerous times in the 1st half, she had about 50% of UCONN’s total shot attempts. She’s NOT the person who should be taking half our shots.
Maybe that was a conscious effort by Geno to try to boost her confidence, but the sooner she realizes she’s not a shooter, and rather a slasher, the better off she will be. It’s games like this that lead to games like 2-12 from 3. Today she was 3-9. Just way too many attempts IMHO, I don’t care how wide open she is.
Last point on CW – 19 points on 19 shots. Paige, 19 points on 10 shot attempts. Who really should be taking most of the shots?
Having said that, good effort by her on defense and better hustling as far as my untrained eyes could see.
Turnovers in the first half were tough to see and sloppy. Seems like it was cleaned up in the 2nd half. Nika played hard as always. Evina seemed off tonight. I get that Geno is building towards March, but I’d like to see more of Edwards and Griffin, and less of Westbrook, Williams, and ONO. If Anna doesn’t come back (even if she does she may well be super rusty and out of shape), we will need Liya and Aubrey.
Both Nika and LIya seem to be playing just as hard but without the fouls. That’s great to see.
Overall, it seems like Georgetown’s defense is about on par with South Carolina’s. Not a stellar offensive performance by any stretch. Credit to Georgetown for playing hard. Our defense was pretty solid keeping that Morris kid from scoring a bunch. A pair of 12 point quarters sandwiched around a pair of single digit scoring quarters. Ugly win for sure tho...
Yes in fact we've been through this grading phenomena in past years and we learned that the evolution almost always goes downhill.It does not make sense to me to grade the players every game. UConn could win the NC looking like they did tonight and some people would still complain. I believe that most of the players are not only physically tired but also mentally tired. I hope they play well enough in upcoming games so that Mir can play more and also Piath, Saylor, and Chassion. Mir's help may be needed in the tournamentIn fact .
Historical visits to the practice of "grading" individual players performance in games has usually resulted in threads going downhill. As such in the past we have not allowed the practice. Please refrain from this technique in the future or it will be deleted.I watched paint dry tonight. Nice to see Christyn score but shooting percentage was not good. Tonight was Evina's night off. Perhaps she and Christyn are alternating. Have you ever tried to drive a car on 2 cylinders? Not a lawnmower but a car. Eric @ LA is pretty spot on with his assessment. Paige B+ Christyn B Olivia B Evina C+ Nika B- Aubrey B Aaliya B- Just not a WOW game
People say the team is tired. In the past we always prided ourselves that were in better shape than the other guys. So if we are tired playing every other day, what is going to happen in the Big East tourney, 3 games in 3 days. And unlike past years where we exploded out to a 30 to 10 lead in the first quarter and coasted, with starters only needing 20 to 25 minutes, we don't seem to do that, even against the weaker teams. I can see Paige needing to play 35+ minutes every game. and most of the other starters too. And we always used to say practices were harder than games, Game days were almost a day off. Only good news is other top teams seem to have some rough games against much weaker opponents this year. Maybe just Covid and all its disruptions.
So are you saying "We don't need more COWBELL" because you don't like the sound?Geno's analogy about role players missed the mark with the piano. All the players are in the "band" so to speak. I think the "cowbell" sound is the sound of too many shots clanging off the rim.
Yes I agree how far UConn goes this year is up to Liv .. I would MUCH rather see Liv take 19 shots than CW. Liv is 4th in the country in FG%, eh?Well my take is a win is a win is a win. I believe how far Uconn goes this year is up to Liv. Geno has to play her more. She's the only true rebounder and Shot blocker they have. They won't win a Championship with AE when the real bigs come to town. it was a sloppy game Nika needs to learn to take open shots and play within herself. AG needs to make driving layups. Evina didn't have it tonight. CW made some shots but missed far too many. they have the talent to go all the way but too much inconsistency. If they played a good team today they would have lost. Time to regroup and get better.
Whatever the tournament challenges', WE have to get better, plain and simple. And we have to get well physically and we have to shoot better, or it's better luck next year.I agree. But it's for 2 reasons. Paige. And no one this year is as good as Oregon, South Carolina, and Baylor were last year.