Georgetown Postgame Thread

[Florida Fan]

Some thoughts on the Georgetown game:

• Did anyone else celebrate when Christyn hit her first two 3’s? 8/19 is nothing to write home about, but it’s a hell of a lot better than putting up an 0-for.
• Yet another painfully slow start. Fatigue? Lack of concentration? Playing with a Wilson basketball?
• Paige with a somewhat low-key 19 pts and 9 assists.
• Good defensive effort, again. Maybe that's just this team's personality; start slow and win ugly?
• It certainly doesn't feel like it, but on Monday UConn will be the consensus #1 team in the country. I think that is a reflection of a season when no team has settled into a consistent level of play.
• UConn just completed and won 5 games in 10 days, including a tough stretch against Marquette, SC & Seton Hall. Getting used to playing every other day is good practice for the Big Dance. The team is reasonably healthy and in need of a couple well-deserved days off.

"Reasonably healthy?" Paige and Evina might need some help. Walking without limping would give me more confidence.

 

[BobbyJ]

Despite all the complaining people ( I might include myself among them) are doing, this team is closer to winning a National Championship than it was last year.

Yeah, compared to last year you’re right. IMO, they had no chance. This year they’re definitely no powerhouse but last year’s better teams have lost just enough talent to give them a shot. Against good teams their margin of error is slim but without Bueckers I don’t even see a FF.

 

[jaundicedeye]

CW................19 against 1-10 Georgetown? Big Whoop!

It most certainly is! Who else was doing it? Did you watch the game?

 

[oldude]

"Reasonably healthy?" Paige and Evina might need some help. Walking without limping would give me more confidence.

At this point in the season, players are banged up on every team. The fact that UConn has only one player unable to play (Anna) counts as reasonably healthy in my book.

 

[and one]

It most certainly is! Who else was doing it? Did you watch the game?

Agree. CW may not be shooting well but at least she is willing to take the shot when she is open. Possession after possession everybody but CW and Paige were gun shy about taking a jumper.

 

[Woof 101]

Just a few here as all the technical stuff will be covered time and again. That and the thread heading in other directions.
Did announcer man put the maloocchio (maloik) on UConn early in the game? Asked announcer woman do you think UConn is the best passing team in the nation. The team then proceeded to have a terrible passing game. 16 turnovers and most of them were on errant passes ; ( Although Paige did get her pocket picked on the first play of the game. Tonight was another example of UConn getting the best out of opponents efforts.

Nice to see CW making shots but maybe taking too many. She was always in good position for rebounds tonight and is strong for her size, nice job there.

Yet another painfully slow start. Fatigue? Lack of concentration? Playing with a Wilson basketball?

I think as I said above UConn is circled on every opponents calendar. For many that is a recruiting tool, your going to play UConn. We're on the same Paige though, I got a good chuckle tonight with Geno's post game interview when they rolled the ball rack by behind him stacked with NIKE balls.

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?

First Eric no attack and I say that on most my replies because I mean it and the printed word does not always come across as polite as the spoken. On most teams the open man takes the shot. The clock winding down it is the one that can create their own (PB). Tonight I have to say @JordyG hit nothing but net.

This game was about shots for CW and trying to get his second best offensive option into some sort of rhythm so that the scoring pressure is off of Paige. This team cannot win a championship without other offensive options. Period. Now I know some people want to see Paige score 30 or 40 points every game, but in

For my complaint department tonight I would like to see Evina taking more mid range jumpers she is very good at those. That and the officials to stop calling a jump ball after AE comes down with a rebound and gets swatted by multiple defenders before one can get a hand on the ball and they call it a tie up / jump.

 

[phil sampieri]

anyone have a replay link I didn't catch it live

You are lucky as I have taped toed whaever every game our girls have play and rewatched each a few times afterwards but this one will go with the few games we lost as in-rewatched. Rest up ladies.

 

[paulied]

Some thoughts on the Georgetown game:

• Did anyone else celebrate when Christyn hit her first two 3’s? 8/19 is nothing to write home about, but it’s a hell of a lot better than putting up an 0-for.
• Yet another painfully slow start. Fatigue? Lack of concentration? Playing with a Wilson basketball?
• Paige with a somewhat low-key 19 pts and 9 assists.
• Good defensive effort, again. Maybe that's just this team's personality; start slow and win ugly?
• It certainly doesn't feel like it, but on Monday UConn will be the consensus #1 team in the country. I think that is a reflection of a season when no team has settled into a consistent level of play.
• UConn just completed and won 5 games in 10 days, including a tough stretch against Marquette, SC & Seton Hall. Getting used to playing every other day is good practice for the Big Dance. The team is reasonably healthy and in need of a couple well-deserved days off.

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.

 

[Crossover]

Maybe resting PB will be helpful, because beating the 189th ranked team by 23 is embarrassing. I'd hate to be at the next practice.

You obviously did not listen to Geno's post game interview. He was not embarrassed. He was sympathetic to the team given the fact that they have played 5 games in 10 days, and was happy to just win and move on.

 

[msf22b]

The team is doing fine. Five games ten days. The rest of the season they can work on their weaknesses and maybe have one other tough game leading up to the Big East is fine.

Without a doubt, the team is tired; mentally and physically...And they haven't practiced for a while and it shows...and they're young...remember the Freshman wall? Not permitted this year.

But suppose you were a scout...from somewhere on the backside of Mars...knew nothing much about this year's team...what kind of a report would you submit after watching this game?

Mediocre shooting percentage, especially from the outside, Bueckers excepted, Williams hit a few early, then wore out her welcome, going 3 for 9.

At times (against the zone), passed the ball around the perimeter like it was a hot potato reminiscent of Holly's, UTenn offense...and as the shot clock wound down. a poor pass (often intercepted) or a failed long range shot.

Front court players invariably in poor position and not very helpful to the offense.

Georgetown is not a very good team, with only 1, maybe 1 and a half real ballers...and UConn pressed them on D to good effect...but its a real question whether they can be as effective in this respect against a good team.

I had been led to believe that a UConn team would appear as a superlatively coached, team that runs a coherent offense and exploits its opponents weaknesses... Except for their effective pressing, none of this was apparent. Offense featured poor shooting and a lack of strong playmaking.

Conclusion: Not a really good team. A sweet 16 or possibly an elite 8 team...unlikely higher.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Lets see, someone rated Paige a B+ and Nika a B- when Paige had 19 points on 10 shots, 9 assts, 2 TO and Nika had 3 points on 5 shots ( half of Paige's shots) 6 assts/3 TO. I would go see the principal on that lousy grading.
Paige has no interest in scoring a lot of points against a poor team, just get the W , hopefully get your teammates some confidence and move on.
I think the thing that concerns Geno, is all the poor shooting and turnovers when Paige is not handling the ball.

Players are scored on how well they executed their roles. Like Geno said, Nika rolls out the piano and Paige plays the piano. If the guy doesn't roll the piano out there is no concert. Nika plays defense and pushes the offense.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Maybe resting PB will be helpful, because beating the 189th ranked team by 23 is embarrassing. I'd hate to be at the next practice.

Geno said he's giving them 2 days off. they just did something really tough. 5 games / 10 days and travel.

 

[donalddoowop]

Lets see, someone rated Paige a B+ and Nika a B- when Paige had 19 points on 10 shots, 9 assts, 2 TO and Nika had 3 points on 5 shots ( half of Paige's shots) 6 assts/3 TO. I would go see the principal on that lousy grading.
Paige has no interest in scoring a lot of points against a poor team, just get the W , hopefully get your teammates some confidence and move on.
I think the thing that concerns Geno, is all the poor shooting and turnovers when Paige is not handling the ball.

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 tournament.

 

[hoophuskee]

But suppose you were a scout...from somewhere on the backside of Mars...knew nothing much about this year's team...what kind of a report would you submit after watching this game?



Conclusion: A sweet 16 or possibly an elite 8 team...unlikely higher.

I don't agree with how you’re are phrasing the question to get to your conclusion even if it for a smidgen if that is what you are doing. But why bring up this game? It’s the wrong question to ask in hoop imo.

Anyhow, FOR FUN -- if I were from Mars - and would have the capability of looking at a game-- it would mean I'd have incredible capabilities to review many games and analysis, and not just one to which to draw any type of conclusion.

As a result, the game that would 1st catch my eye is South Carolina. I'd notice that UCONN had one player that was unstoppable. When UCONN had a 6-point lead - I'd notice that UCONN then seemed to go away from this one super player - then the other team took momentum and the lead. Then I'd further notice that when UCONN went back to this one player - this terrific SC team whose defense was highlighted as a great strength - couldn't stop her even though they knew everything was going through her.

Then I'd go back into other of the tougher games. I'd notice the Tenn game UCONN started to pull away and this one super player got hurt - then all of sudden the other team made a late run. The super player then comes back in and suddenly she hits the game's deciding shot.

Then I'd look at the game they lost. I'd notice this same super young player in the 4th quarter again show she is unstoppable.

Then I'd look at the history of the game and see that this one player is on a roll rarely ever reached by another player in terms of efficiency considering she’s a guard and taking as many shots. And I’d notice that this particular game of hoop is so influenced by just one player. So I'd review the negative reviews on UCONN as to how to stop this 1 player but notice from all the analysis that no that one has come up with a plan, other than some saying what she is doing "can’t be done." But with S.C. something was done that others would’ve said the same negative thing.

And so watching this game tonight and see that this one super player didn't shoot much I'm sure they would conclude that this game was nothing more than an exhibition game for UCONN. And from that, they'd go back to review the SC game and conclude that if no one has an answer how to stop this one great player then UCONN’s chances are just as good as anyone else's.

 

[pvdoggy]

Without a doubt, the team is tired; mentally and physically...And they haven't practiced for a while and it shows...and they're young...remember the Freshman wall? Not permitted this year.

But suppose you were a scout...from somewhere on the backside of Mars...knew nothing much about this year's team...what kind of a report would you submit after watching this game?

Mediocre shooting percentage, especially from the outside, Bueckers excepted, Williams hit a few early, then wore out her welcome, going 3 for 9.

At times (against the zone), passed the ball around the perimeter like it was a hot potato reminiscent of Holly's, UTenn offense...and as the shot clock wound down. a poor pass (often intercepted) or a failed long range shot.

Front court players invariably in poor position and not very helpful to the offense.

Georgetown is not a very good team, with only 1, maybe 1 and a half real ballers...and UConn pressed them on D to good effect...but its a real question whether they can be as effective in this respect against a good team.

I had been led to believe that a UConn team would appear as a superlatively coached, team that runs a coherent offense and exploits its opponents weaknesses... Except for their effective pressing, none of this was apparent. Offense featured poor shooting and a lack of strong playmaking.

Conclusion: Not a really good team. A sweet 16 or possibly an elite 8 team...unlikely higher.

If I was from Mars as you said, I would not know anything about either of these teams so I would not have any preconceived notion of one supposedly being superior to the other and all I saw was one team beating the other pretty handily by 24 pts. My conclusion has to be the team that won is pretty damn good.

 

[Golden Husky]

UConn had assists on 78% of its baskets, which usually means some pretty basketball. Not so much tonight.

 

[Boreifs]

Wow you are right. Next 4 games are at QUEENS, N.Y., CINCINNATI, OHIO, OMAHA, NEB. and INDIANAPOLIS, IND..

Good news are those games are all in SNY/ Fox Sports.

Marquette is on CBS Sports Network.

 

[Carnac]

As a UConn fan I'm aware that people have their favorite players and want to see that player score 30 points every game and win a championship. Some want to see UConn win every game by 50 points. Unfortunately this team ain't built that way. What occasionally amuses me is how some just see the game projected on their own eyelids and not what's there in front of their eyes. Since the ARK game Geno has scratched the 4 or 5 out system and went to multiple screens and sets for Paige. To facilitate that he's also gone to Nika who is his second best passer and a good screener while playing Paige off the ball.

Tonight Geno's offense centered around getting CW the ball in space for her to get off the schnied. That meant going back to 4 or 5 out. That meant Paige playing on the ball. There were no horn sets. There were no down screens, back screens, curl screens, double screens, stagger screens, flare screens, flex screens (one of Geno's favorite for Paige), or those away screens that Geno also loves. This game was about shots for CW and trying to get his second best offensive option into some sort of rhythm so that the scoring pressure is off of Paige. This team cannot win a championship without other offensive options. Period. Now I know some people want to see Paige score 30 or 40 points every game, but in the history of basketball I've never seen 4 players set screens and play defense while one player does all the scoring. It just ain't gonna happen. Paige had 6 shots in the half for a reason, and that reason is championships are all about team and players. Not player.

People also forget that this is one tired young team. These guys have never experienced anything like the schedule they've gone through this season, and many are unprepared to play through this kind of fatigue. Most young players have poor practice, dietary, sleeping and waking habits. That stuff gets shaved off as they approach their senior year, but these 7 freshmen barely know court play. Managing their off court affairs at this level is a mystery to them. This will change but it will take time. They've only played 17 games in their college careers. The absolute best thing about this game was Geno's decision to get CW more shots. Geno though is in a bind. Clearly he would love to play 4 or 5 out. He's won 11 championships playing this read and react style. He knows this style is a recipe for winning yet he also knows this team cannot play that kind of spacing game and win at this time. This team has problems getting easy baskets. They get few in transition, few from the block, not enough from TO's and little from the perimeter. He needs to find the right balance between style and players. Let's hope he finds it. By the way, without being the focus of the offense Paige still scored 19 had 9 assists and shot 60% from the field. Not too shabby.

Well said JordyG.

 

[BostonBay]

Not a good game. This team is still taking WAY TOO MANY 3's. Problem is: Paige is the only consistent outside shooter. EW has been slumping of late with her jump shot. CW, ONO, AG should not be taking 3s, period. So, it baffles me why this team cant have more consistent inside plays called, especially with a big lineup. A perimeter/3's reliance is a recipe for another E8 or FF loss. Now is the time to establish more balance. I just dont see it.

Oh well. It will be fun to see Paige try to carry the team on her back in the Tourny anyway.

 

[Dokey]

Tired team, tired game.

 

[Cuango]

Lets see, someone rated Paige a B+ and Nika a B- when Paige had 19 points on 10 shots, 9 assts, 2 TO and Nika had 3 points on 5 shots ( half of Paige's shots) 6 assts/3 TO. I would go see the principal on that lousy grading.
Paige has no interest in scoring a lot of points against a poor team, just get the W , hopefully get your teammates some confidence and move on.
I think the thing that concerns Geno, is all the poor shooting and turnovers when Paige is not handling the ball.

We desperately need Anna to come back shooting 38-42% from three!

 

[RedStickHusky]

One game, at the end of a rough stretch. Got the win, got cw going a little bit, and get a couple days off as a reward. Obviously not in post-season form tonight; I don't think Geno expected them to be. I'm not taking away much else from this one.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Anyone else get the impression that Paige went for 19 and 9 (should've been more) while taking it easy for the night.

 

[jabstep]

I think Aubrey is the wild card to us winning the whole Palozza. She is by far the best athlete on our team. Did anyone see the beautiful 3 she took and hit with a swish no rim at all. I bet if she was told to do more of that and set some screens for her we might see something. We have a few games to work on it. She also gives us someone who comes up with th ball on defense and rebounds well. We are seeing Nika and Christyn shoot why not Aubrey.

 

[Phillyconn]

The team beat S.C. They won. They won. You never saw what Paige did either and yet you witnessed it and it seems you are still trying to deny it.

One big advantage of playing in the Big East is that UCON can do different things to work on their weaknesses (which is in part why those that criticized UCONN being in the Big East were wrong.).

While the team necessarily can't win it all with Paige having to score over 30 - it definitely can't win it all if Paige isn't the focal point to take the most shots unless someone shows a great efficiency as well. To not give as many shots as you can to a player who is shooting over 55% from 3 and can drill 2pointers just as easy is mistake.

Paige Bueckers is putting up historic numbers. Until shown she can be stopped- why should UCON try to stop her from shooting the ball if no other team shows they can? Let's not have UCONN be the ones to stop Paige Bueckers who IS CURRENTLY breaking all the rules.

In the interim run whatever offense you want to get players going. But in the Big Games-- Bueckers needs to shoot.

Some players come up from time-to-time that prove to be game changers. You don't fight this. Instead force the other team to do something more extreme in order to stop Bueckers. But for now - sure run whatever offense to get others going. But it still has to be better than what CWill showed in order to change Paige from a scorer to a passer. Worry about winning the current game in which you have a legit shot to lose and not the next game.

When has one player won a championship? Greatness, imho is making teammates look good also, like DT. Paige has that ability, let her be Paige. Don’t turn her into Allen Iverson. Paige has passing abilities the likes of which I’ve never seen. Don’t make her one dimensional. The only way to win a title this year is by playing team ball. PB can average 30 pts a game, but 21 pts with 10 assists makes the team better. I think Geno realizes this.
I am a 76ers fan. A friend of mine asked if I would trade Ben Simmons for Bradley Beal of the Wizards. Bradley Beal is an unstoppable 3 level scorer. The answer is no, because Ben Simmons, who can’t shoot a lick, gets teammates the ball in rhythm, which makes shooting percentages higher, his penetration down the the lane leads to easy lay ups for other players. He is an all star who can’t shoot but coaches love him.
PB is Ben Simmons with a Larry Bird like Jumper! Well, better than Bird. Let her orchestrate! It’s her greatest strength.