Guess who was at the game

[veryolddog]

To be very succinct: what Tony said. ND is suppose to have a good group of recruits next year and they will be a contender again. However, in my opinion, because UConn is going into the Big East, I think that recruiting will not be so difficult for UConn in the future especially if there is a respectable showing this year and also next year with the new class that is coming in.

 

[The B]

Hmm .. mebbe I missed this .. I'll look harder and respond... thanks!

You did miss that

 

[winlots]

What did you expect? I kind of expected her to be one of the top scorers on the team. She is. And she gets the 2nd most shots on the team, so I'm not sure how Geno's gonna get her "more" involved. What are you looking for?

MEYER: spaghet and red wine, and I'm gettin it tonight.

 

[Hope]

only thing that irks me -- every year -- is slacking off from the free throw line. with very few exceptions, they are all capable shots, be simply slack off at times.

and all should take note of the techniques of elena and sue and maybe try to give em a try

In the baseball movie "Moneyball," all the assistant coaches/scouts would assemble in the war-room and question Brad Pitt (who was the GM) as to why he wanted a certain player, with supposedly mediocre skills, to play for the team. Brad would turn and point to Jonah Hill—who was his newbie player analyst—and Jonah would say, "because he gets on base." I think the same analogy applies to Basketball. Why do you want so-and-so to play for the team? "Because she makes her FTs!" Yeah, I hate missed FTs too. (Great movie, BTW!)

 

[HopJim]

Well some Boneyarders met by section 217 at the half. We chatting and 3 girls walked by and one was really really tall and I said Hi what are your names. Amari DeBerry, Caroline Ducharme(41 on Hoopgirls) and Azzi Fudd. Azzi said Paige was still sitting behind the bench and she was. So it was great to see them there. Deberry is really tall. Like wow tall.

Some thoughts on the game. ND has Sam Brunelle at 6'2 and Cosgrove at 6'3 and everybody else is around 5'10. Not a good situation and imo for the next couple of years it will be tuff to rebuild even with who they have coming in. There is no nucleus to lead their team and MM will have to build a nucleus but she needs more players and that takes recruiting time and building experience. I would expect their schedule to be filled with cupcakes next season. The problem at ND and why so many transferred out is because there was lack of playtime and I know that as fact. MM played the starters almost the entire game even in blowouts. Kids got tired of sitting and saw the writing on the wall and left.

With Tenn and MSST loosing yesterday and UConn winning again I think its fair to say we are better then advertised. We are really good but we are not invincible. I think alot of fans look at UConn this season and dont see what we've seen the past few seasons. They dont see a team that is invincible. We look for the dominance we had and it doesnt appear to be there....yet. We do have the talent and we do need more experience. We are building a nucleus for future seasons to lead our incoming classes. When I look at where Megan ONO Molly and Kyla were and where they are today as players I like to think that Big Mak and Griff will aspire to that level before March. That will carry us. I also look at how Megan Kyla are performing and I think the UConn coaches see that 8 deep is something they need to maintain especially next season with 5 top recruits coming in.

Geno played 8 deep and that is huge. I believe it will show those thinking about coming to UConn that they wont be sitting they will see playtime. One thing Ive learned in sports. You can practice all you want but if you dont play the game you will never get better and just be a player who practices really good. I remember watching Diana shoot in the gym with my daughters. She would stand in one place and shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot and I lost count at around 30. She didnt miss very often but in the game she did miss shots and under pressure in the most intense part of the game she came through and thats why she is DT. So by playing 8 deep kids know they have a chance even with all the stars at UConn. They know they will play. IMO this is where the game has come.

So where are we at? We are undefeated and preseason many didnt think we'd be there. Heck back in April many thought we would look like ND looked yesterday. Some thought Geno lost his touch? Look at yesterday and look at those who have commited and verbaled and with the kids that were their yesterday Im really optimistic that we are looking at teams in the future that will give our 111 game win streak a challange. So our next challange is @ Depaul after a long layoff. That game will be a measure of where we are. DePaul will be a good test.

You know I look at this team and the potential and I am confident Geno will bring it out. ONO has to much potentical, so much talent its just a matter of time. CW shows us at moments she is a tremendous scorer, dont forget shes only a soph. Megan is a first team AA. Who in the country is playing as good as Meg? CD played well yesterday and is still not at 100%. Kyla and Molly are not so much a surprise this season. Theyve been locked up for so long and now given the chance and they are responding in a great way. We've already seen what Mak and Griff can do and how they are matureing as the season progresses. We are truly in a good spot right now. One last note. We are getting better on defense. In the first half ND got it down low with backdoors, in the second half they didnt . We are young and learning and stuff like that shows me we are making progress.

Thanks for the input! While thrilled these 3 saw UConn play, likely not an accident they came for the ND game. Likely doesn't mean much for either team at this point but you never know.

 

[EricLA]

I know this will not be a popular opinion but I am not convinced Geno has an eight player rotation. Yesterday 7 players played more than 10 minutes. Molly had 9 minutes in a rout and in the first game Danger returned from back spasms. When I see eight players in a competitive game I will change my view.

You are correct - UCONN does not have an 8 player rotation. Against Baylor, Oregon, and SC, I doubt very much he goes even past 6. IF he chooses to start Kyla the rest of the season, and bring Anna and Aubrey off the bench, then possibly 7. But in a tight game, who knows.

UCONN got the lead up to 34 or so against ND, and then were outscored by 10 down the stretch. ND is NOT good by any stretch of the imagination. THIS is why he does not go 9 deep. Maybe against the dregs of the American we will see Molly get 15 minutes and Evelyn get 8 minutes, but not even against the middle of the AAC pack will we see that IMHO...

 

[Carnac]

I was going to start a thread "How good are we?" to solicit everyone's thoughts but Tony summed it up well.

The biggest reason that we are better than anticipated in my opinion is that Meg, who I expected to be good, has emerged as a star. The irony is it hard to notice, because her play is so effortless and undemonstrative, but she is a force to be reckoned with.

Liv's soph jump is everything that we hoped for, but I get the sense it is only the beginning. I expect her to continue to grow a lot over the season as she becomes more confident in her decidedly bad ass role with the team.

Christyn surprisingly has not been as dominant as I expected but she is a extraordinary talent. Look for Geno to figure out how get her more involved.

Crystal wasn't healthy last night, but she had the Huskies doing whatever they wanted. Great court vision plus near unlimited range is nice combo to have in a point guard.

I think Geno and CD just might have something here. I look forward to tougher tests on schedule as they'll give us an better understanding.

Those tougher tests you want are on the way. And they will definitely give us a better understanding of EXACTLY what kind of team we have, and how we match-up against some of the "elite" teams in Div 1.
The teams UConn has played so far DO NOT represent the "elite" top 6-7 type teams they'll see in the later stages of the NCAA tournament. Those teams are good for practice and an opportunity to play and bond against someone else, but none of them will be still be around the second week of the tournament.

First up is #6 Baylor (8-1) in 1 month on Jan 9 @ XL Center (ESPN/ESPN2). The reigning national champion. Four of their 8 wins came against items you would find in a bakery. Their only defeat was a 74-59 loss to #5 South Carolina at the Paradise Jam Tournament in November. You can bet Kim will have her team ready to play.

#3 Oregon (7-1) comes to Gampel on Monday February 3 (ESPN2). The most impressive win on their schedule so far is a 81-64 win over #17 Syracuse. Their one loss was courtesy of #8 Louisville, 72-62.

Rounding out the trifecta is @ #5 South Carolina (9-1) Monday Feb 10 (ESPN2). They have impressive wins over #4 Maryland and #2 Baylor, but lost to #17 Indiana 72-57 at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam in Nov.
This game may prove to be the most challenging game remaining on their schedule. Five players on their twelve man roster are freshmen. The Gamecocks don't have anyone on their schedule between now and their date with UConn that would appear to seriously challenge them.

Last but not least is their date with the #23 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (7-1) on Thursday Jan 23 @ the XL Center. A marquee game nationally televised on (ESPN) that most of WCBB and its fans will be watching. The Lady Vols don't really have any impressive wins to speak of. They beat a 15th ranked (at the time) Notre Dame 74-63. They lost to unranked Texas at home 66-60 on Dec 8. Other than Texas, Tennessee, Colorado state and Stanford, their preseason schedule is comprised of mid-major programs.

Tennessee travels to Palo Alto (CA) to take on the #1 Stanford Cardinal (8-0) in 9 days on Dec 18. Maples Pavilion is one of the most difficult arenas in the country to win in if you're a visitor. I'm looking for The Cardinal to be 10-0 after that game. Stanford hosts Ohio State 3 days before on Dec 15.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Would really be interested in any first hand report on Mir. She sounds very interesting.

Agreed. I will as soon as I can.

 

[meyers7]

MEYER: spaghet and red wine, and I'm gettin it tonight.

Ah, but what kind of red wine?

 

[winlots]

Ah, but what kind of red wine?

MEYER: good grief, Man. Even tho you are in the ranks of my favorite Yarders, certain things cannot be revealed in a public forum. Supply and demand issues you know. Will give you hints though: closest think to the old homemade red you can find. Inexpensive.

 

[meyers7]

MEYER: good grief, Man. Even tho you are in the ranks of my favorite Yarders, certain things cannot be revealed in a public forum. Supply and demand issues you know. Will give you hints though: closest think to the old homemade red you can find. Inexpensive.

Ah, a cheap blend. Got it.

 

[mbr33ct]

This is just my hunch...I believe Fudd was at the game?