Georgetown Postgame Thread

[HopJim]

Most points well-made but a few add-ons:
-Nika is playing as fast as I have seen, driving down the court on a straight line. Realizing that some of the slow, methodical guard play I criticized earlier in the year likely due to her past injury. Playing best ball of her 2 years at UConn.
-Concerned that Azzi is not setting her feet on her 3 pointers. Recurring foot issues?
-While I try to downplay games against low end teams, UConn as is seems strong enough to make Final 4. Good luck figuring out who should get the major minutes.
-Williams appears to be an X-factor for the NCAA's. Difficult to characterize her current game. With her athletic drives to the basket, better scorer than last year but her 3-point shooting frustratingly inconsistent. If Fudd and Williams both are on their game, no one would want to play the Huskies. Any Paige time a bonus.

 

[Boreifs]

Steph averaged just under 1 x 3 per game during her jr & sr years at UConn. As a jr, Steph shot almost 44% from the arc. She fell off to around 27% as a sr.

My memory did not serve me correctly.

 

[jaundicedeye]

Stefanie was 16-49 from three in her career at UConn. She wasn’t a prolific three point shooter.

She was effective from the high post as a passer and could shoot the three and, of course, she was not prolific. She was never tasked to be so. Has UCONN ever had a center known to be a prolific three-point shooter? I am not aware of any of Geno's offenses calling for such a role.

 

[DEpup]

I don’t remember her as a three-point shooter, although she was a fabulous high post player. Her shots came from the elbow or

She was effective from the high post as a passer and could shoot the three and, of course, she was not prolific. She was never tasked to be so. Has UCONN ever had a center known to be a prolific three-point shooter? I am not aware of any of Geno's offenses calling for such a role.

I agree. Prolific is a stretch. UConn centers of late are asked to find a spot they are comfortable from and putting up a couple 3 pt shots a game to keep an offense honest. Tuck would take a couple as did Dolson. While centerless, Pheesa and Azure would put up a few. Now Liv is trying and it looks like Dorka, Deberry, and even Aaliyah are getting into a couple 3 pt shots here and there..while not prolific, the threat does force an opponent to strategize the possibility.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

On paper, people may look at the game and say "oh it was a blowout - great game for UCONN". But really, to me, it was a mixed bag. Very sloppy Q1 with 8 TO's. The TO's returned in Q4 with more sloppy play. At times, it looked like they were trying to feed one player or another instead of running offense and looking for the "best available shot". At times, the defense was stellar, and I thought overall the defense was better than the offense, but still, some troubles especially in stopping Clougherty from 3.

I thought there was a tough stretch offensively when Fudd and Muhl were NOT on the floor. Most of the Q4 TO's came during that span. We had 21 total - not good. In fairness, credit to Georgetown for never quitting and playing hard, but some of our TO's were just poor unforced plays.

On the flip side, some tremendous individual efforts. Muhl, even tho she had some sloppy TO's, also had a great steal in Q1 followed immediately by one from Westbrook. then Christyn's crossover drive to the hoop - that was awesome.

• Overall solid game offensively with again, everyone scoring and lots of players in the 7-9 points category (in fact 6 of them)
• Georgetown does turn the ball over a lot and UCONN took advantage - 21 steals
• Really great all around game for Nika - career high in steals, very solid scoring, really pesky defense, and ran the point well
• Another nice game from Williams
• Finished Q4 strong with Deberry and Gabriel coming in and doing things.
• Azzi may be the best 3-point shooter on the team, but she sure is streaky. Another 1-7 shooting game from 3. Still, I love her on the floor and she does so much more than shoot the 3.

Overall, if you just look at the score, you might say "oh, great game". But there were a lot of uneven stretches and I think the coaches will have a lot to review on the game tape. As we get towards the end of the season, I think the coaches must be looking for consistency for longer stretches and we are not there yet.

Part of the sloppiness was ONO with 4 PF's, 4 TO's, and no offensive rebounds. Gabriel outplayed her in limited minutes.

 

[oldude]

Part of the sloppiness was ONO with 4 PF's, 4 TO's, and no offensive rebounds. Gabriel outplayed her in limited minutes.

What’s it been, a couple weeks since you took a cheap shot at Liv, who’s working her way back from an injury? Piath outplayed Liv only if you completely ignore the fact that Liv had a perfect shooting game from the floor and foul line, tied for the team lead in rebounds while playing only 23 minutes, adding an assist and a steal.

 

[HopJim]

Ono does post up . but then gets double teamed. Also because Ono keeps ball low sometimes she is stripped of ball. Piath does not get double teamed so it is easier for her to make a shot.

Not sure comparing Piath to ONO is a worthwhile conversation. It is too early to judge Piath. She gets in very seldomly and when she does, the other team's subs are in - i.e. she is usually guarded on one defender that is 6"+ shorter than her. Let's save this discussion for the future.

 

[HopJim]

In reviewing stories on the Athletic, Bleacher Report and the corresponding reader comments, it seems as if most people have written off UConn and believe the team is overrated being in the top ten. They certainly are not getting credit for overcoming injuries to key players like teams such as Indiana, Michigan, etc. Its going to be a shock in the tournament when UConn comes out and plays really well with their pressing defense and inside/outside offense now that they have such a strong and experienced starting five and bench.

I would rather have UConn underrated and have other teams surprised. It was not long ago we lost to Villanova and barely beat some average teams. We have killed the past few teams, but these have been low level programs. Let them think what they want - even without Paige, I believe we can make the Final 4. We don't know what she can contribute but what a great conversation to have.

 

[Jingo]

Not according to Jingo.

Never said that Mdawg .. I luv Azzi and her shot IS picturesque, eh?

 

[Longtime fan]

Stephanie Dolson. Remember her?

She was a pretty complete player from day one, however. Not hugely hyped. Grew with the job. Great hands and a superb passer.

 

[Longtime fan]

I would rather have UConn underrated and have other teams surprised. It was not long ago we lost to Villanova and barely beat some average teams. We have killed the past few teams, but these have been low level programs. Let them think what they want - even without Paige, I believe we can make the Final 4. We don't know what she can contribute but what a great conversation to have.

We must all restrain our expectations for Paige this year. She won't be 100% ready until next season, truth be told. The issue is; should she attempt to come back at all this year? A few minutes in the BE tournament is one thing. Forty minutes in the elite eight is quite another. I just hope no mistake is made.

 

[Boreifs]

What hypothesis? I gave my opinion, which does not require Massey to validate. What is your opinion? Is our defense at full strength (from injuries), better than our offense, as Massey seems to say?

After last night’s game, if you have any question about whether our defense is better than our offense, I don’t know how to answer.

 

[housekeys]

After last night’s game, if you have any question about whether our defense is better than our offense, I don’t know how to answer.

That is right. You don't know how to answer.