Greatest Play in UConn WBB History? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Greatest Play in UConn WBB History?

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meyers7 said:
To say the least.

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Love the TV commentary:

(Female announcer) "Taurasi is big time! She is the real deal if, you hear what I'm sayin'. I mean she must have UCONN blue running through her veins right now. She just came out an knocked down a 3. She is so poised."

(Male announcer) "Here's a woman, Lisa, that just doesn't know how to lose."
 
I nominate the play at 15:05 in the 2nd half of the April 8, 2014 National Championship victory over Notre Dame, capping that perfectly beautiful 40-0 season. It was not an instance of Diana's or Maya's insane basketball skills, Stewie's singular athleticism, or Moriah's supersonic speed. Rather it was the epitome of what UConn Women's Basketball is all about, how it is played, and why it is alone at the top.

Following a missed shot by Bria and the rebound by Stef under the basket, the ball was kicked out top to Hartley. The ball is quickly passed from Bria to Moriah to Kaleena (all outside the 3-point line) who then makes the bounce pass to Stef at the baseline who then throws another bounce pass into the lane to a cutting Stewie who finishes with the lefty layup. In little more than 3 seconds, every player gets a touch, every player passes the ball, and the basket is made. The embodiment of teamwork, of UConn Women's Basketball.

Gene Hackman would have been proud.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2013-2014-womens-basketball-replays/
 
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My nomination(S) are any number of plays/shots that DT made against Texas down the stretch to pull out an improbable victory at the 2003 Final Four. UConn went on a 11-3 run down the stretch to win the game 71-69 when most thought the game was over. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/recap?gameId=234000062. A memorable game and F4 as UConn went on to beat the Lady Vols in the Championship game 73-68. The 2nd of DT's championship.
 
Huskies Rule said:
I nominate the play at 15:05 in the 2nd half of the April 8, 2014 National Championship victory over Notre Dame, capping that perfectly beautiful 40-0 season. It was not an instance of Diana's or Maya's insane basketball skills, Stewie's singular athleticism, or Moriah's supersonic speed. Rather it was the epitome of what UConn Women's Basketball is all about, how it is played, and why it is alone at the top.

Following a missed shot by Bria and the rebound by Stef under the basket, the ball was kicked out top to Hartley. The ball is quickly passed from Bria to Moriah to Kaleena (all outside the 3-point line) who then makes the bounce pass to Stef at the baseline who then throws another bounce pass into the lane to a cutting Stewie who finishes with the lefty layup. In little more than 3 seconds, every player gets a touch, every player passes the ball, and the basket is made. The embodiment of teamwork, of UConn Women's Basketball.

Gene Hackman would have been proud.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2013-2014-womens-basketball-replays/
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I love, love, love that play. I was going to get around to nominating it...I swear. The problem with it is that it doesn't look like a real, game-situation play. It looks like practice where a coach is explaining how a play should look when everything goes just as planned when the play is drawn up, when the defense is offering no opposition to the offense so the offense can get a feel for the play. It's the diametric opposite of Geno's "can't guard a chair" where the coach set out five chairs to represent where the defenders are, except the offense must practice the play several times even though it's just chairs to get it to look that good. Or better yet, it looks like part of a movie script and everyone is executing a scene so it looks perfect in the movie. Even the Globe Trotters can't run that play when they're playing the Washington Generals. It reminds me of Secretariat's move in the first turn of the Preakness where he passes every other horse like it's standing still. Things like that just don't happen in unscripted life. Hackman would have been proud indeed. "That's a wrap!"
 
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RegisteredUconn said:
I love, love, love that play. I was going to get around to nominating it...I swear. The problem with it is that it doesn't look like a real, game-situation play. It looks like practice where a coach is explaining how a play should look when everything goes just as planned when the play is drawn up, when the defense is offering no opposition to the offense so the offense can get a feel for the play. It's the diametric opposite of Geno's "can't guard a chair" where the coach set out five chairs to represent where the defenders are, except the offense must practice the play several times even though it's just chairs to get it to look that good. Or better yet, it looks like part of a movie script and everyone is executing a scene so it looks perfect in the movie. Even the Globe Trotters can't run that play when they're playing the Washington Generals. It reminds me of Secretariat's move in the first turn of the Preakness where he passes every other horse like it's standing still. Things like that just don't happen in unscripted life. Hackman would have been proud indeed. "That's a wrap!"
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Text book, five passes in seven seconds, every player had a touch. And right after it you could see by the look on LMM's face that she knew the game was over.
 
I'm back to that play, the one beginning at 15:05...

True perfection is a thing of such beauty as to be rare indeed. Approximately .01% of all major league games have been perfect. Basketball, of course, has no perfect game. But what about the perfect play? Again, no such thing. But what if we defined one? What would it look like, what are the characteristics? Efficient? OK, that sounds good/important. What's that first rule of design? Form follows function? (OK, full disclosure, I don't know that it's the first rule.) What's the function of offensive basketball? Score the ball. So, inbound the ball, 93 foot heave, swish. Perfect play, right? Well, no, not many of those are going in. A game full game of full-court shots wouldn't be efficient at all. Not to mention dull as hell.

Got to get the ball closer to the basket. How about some dribbles? Inbound the ball, player dribbles the ball the length of the court and scoops in a lay-up. I've just described Ketia Swanier at the end of the DePaul game. Perfect play? Maybe not. What are the other 4 players for? One to inbound but the others might as well be in the locker room.

More players? How many? Well, all of them would be best.

Multiple players means passes. Unless you want a situation where one player loses possession and another regains it.

Geno: OK, here's what we're going to do. Bria, you dribble around for a while then lose possession. Mo, you swoop in and grab the ball, but then you lose it. Kaleena, somehow you get it back. I'm not sure how, but, heh-heh, I don't actually have to do it, just tell you to, heh-heh. Then the ball get's knocked out of your hands and...
CD: Correct me if I'm wrong coach but that doesn't sound all that efficient. Even the explanation isn't efficient...
Geno: CD if I want any crap out of you I'll unscrew your head and dip it out. Now where was I...

Let's stick with passes. How many passes? To get 5 players involved requires at least four passes. Efficiency demands the minimum so each player can touch the ball only once and the last player to touch it must finish the play.

What else? Gotta score, right? Sure, but what kind of shot? 3-pointer? Maybe, but even Kaleena behind the arc wasn't as automatic as a lay-up. Still, it's 2 points versus 3 points. What about resulting fouls? Lay-ups are more likely to generate +1's than 3 pointers. If we count +1's along with the odds of making the shot, what generates more scoring, the 3-point shot or the lay-up? I sure don't know. Also, what about the fact the the 3 point shot is more difficult than the lay-up? Shouldn't difficulty county for something? I suppose, but which way? Shouldn't the perfect play be designed to produce the least difficult shot, not the most difficult one? Don't make me go back to the merits and demerits of launching full-court missiles... I imagine the debate about the shot resulting from the perfect play will remain moot. The 3-point shot because of it's higher value versus the lay-up because of it's ease of execution and greater +1 potential. Perhaps there are two perfect plays. One that ends in a 3-point shot and one that ends in a lay-up.

Anything else? How about dribbles? Not essential, right? So no dribbles. Player movement, steps? Again, not essential. No steps. That it? Pretty much, just something crisp, quick: no player holding the ball, no clock stoppage, no time out in the middle of the play or ball swatted out of bounds then the play continued with the in-bound pass.

Let's re-cap. The perfect play has all 5 players touch the ball, once each, four passes, no player movement beyond what's needed to complete the passes and shot, resulting is either a successful 3-point shot or a lay-up. Look at our play again, beginning at the 15:05 point when Bria passes to Moriah. Five Players, four passes, one lay-up. Four seconds from beginning to end. The only place you'll ever see that play again is in the pre-game lay-up line.

Completing the circle, there have been 23 perfect games in 135 years of professional baseball. Does any one stand out? A case can be made for Don Larsen's because it was done on baseball's most difficult stage: The World Series. UConn executed that play not in some exhibition game against Schlub U. but in the National Championship Game against a to-that-point undefeated foe. The most perfect basketball play ever.
 
Sonny44 said:
Text book, five passes in seven seconds, every player had a touch. And right after it you could see by the look on LMM's face that she knew the game was over.
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Sonny, see my post after yours. I was in the process of composing my post and didn't see yours until I (finally) finished. One nit, it was four seconds, not seven, I watched in slo-mo, the ball went through the hoop at 15:01. Your Muffet observation was the "perfect" add.
 
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That same game at about 6.5 minutes in the first half there was another great play. Breanna makes a great block, the ball heads out of bounds, we will lose possession. But wait, MoJett flies out of bounds and bounces the ball off the hapless Wright and we keep the ball. The block was great, but Mo makes it unforgettable.
 
While the "Greatest play in UConn history" is open to debate, as several players qualify, in my view, for sheer volume of incredible, clutch, and jaw dropping plays, Taurasi's performances are unparalleled.
 
Man, that 2014 Championship game was fun to watch again. And again.
You guys are killing my weekend chore productivity.
 
GMaybe not the greatest single play, but in my opinion the greatest single possession. So typical of why UCONN has been the best for years now. 2013 National semi-final against Notre Dame. UCONN had lost all three previous meetings that season. The Huskies had built a double digit lead in the second half, but Notre Dame had gone on a 9-2 run to trail by only 6pts with 6:13 to go. All the momentum had swung to the Irish, forcing Geno to call a timeout. Breanna missed a long range jumper, and Kelly Farris grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Bria Hartley. Hartley immediately fired up a three point attempt and missed. Farris again gathered the rebound and passed it back out and eventually Stephanie Dolson gets fouled. Dolson made the first free throw, but missed the second. Kelly Farris got her third offensive rebound of the possession off the missed foul shot, and passed it out to Breanna, who drove the lane and scored, putting UCONN up by 9, and they never looked back winning by a bunch, ending Skylar Diggins' college career, and went on to blow out Louisville two nights later in the final. After the game I'm sure the talk was about whomever the leading scorer was that night, but the clip that I show my middle school girls team every year is that game from the 6:13 minute mark. Yes UCONN gets the stars to come play, but it's the intensity, and hard work that the coaching staff insists upon that separates UCONN from the schools that also bring in tons of talent, but are not left standing at the end of the season.
 
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A couple we forgot.:eek:
Heather Buck's break away layup near the end of the 2013 championship game against Loolville. It came at crucial time when we were in danger of winning by less than 30 points.

AND, almost as big.

Kiah Stoke's 3-pointer against whomever, wherever, whenever.

:D
 
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