RadyLady
The Glass is Half Full
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
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All great concerns. One of our saving graces is and will be especially in March and April, we are 8 deep right now. We have 3 great role players for Geno/Chris to move in and out depending on the game and the opponent. The difference is, our role players would be starting for almost every team we play against. Our starters will have the freshest legs they have ever had at the end of every game. This is a huge advantage that we haven't had in a very long time. We are so different than the last two years, and in some ways, we may be just as difficult to beat. And if EKmark gets healthy and can help us like Gabby, it gets worse for the opponents. We are so overly critical of our own team by definition. Then you watch Duke play So Carolina and you wonder how anyone will score 60-65 pts against us. I have become very optimistic.
I have started a bunch of posts on this thread and deleted each and every one. I just am flummoxed at what to say... Overly critical is exactly how I feel when I read these threads. Did not anyone take away anything positive from the game? It seems that even with a 34 point win against an aggressive, well coached and good team, there is nothing but doomsday written in the stars for this team if the score is close, if the defense doesn't tighten up if, if, if....
I saw a lot of improvement even after a long break, certainly this is a much improved team from the one that landed in California, especially after the first 5 minutes or so. UConn wasn't losing by any stretch, they just weren't steamrolling the other team. If things were out of hand early on, Geno would have called a time out and reigned this team in, but he doesn't do that. He wants the team to figure things out for themselves...which, they do, and that's why you see them fix the issues and gradually pull away.
In California, it seemed that after the UC game folks were elated at the performance and crowing about how good we were, etc, and then throwing the team under the bus after we lost by 2 in overtime to Stanford. Geno can't coach close games, this one can't shoot, that one is too something or other, and why aren't the freshmen getting minutes when it seems the upperclassmen cannot play, etc.
Is it...is it possible that unless this team plays an absolutely perfect 40 minutes of basketball, people will not be happy? And by absolutely perfect, that means that no UConn player misses a shot and no one from the opposing team gets any points - UConn 172, the other team zip.
What kind of fun is that? Don't forget, these teams that come to play UConn all come wanting to beat the team at the top of the heap, and has been at the top for years. At this point, I will make a note that the team at the top is.....UConn. These teams are not going to roll over easily, at least not at first, and maybe not for the full 40 minutes. And that is what makes the game interesting: how does UConn solve the problem that is this other team...
I will agree about that last play of the first half...that was a head scratcher, but I will chalk that up to a freshman zone out. We were ahead by 20 points. Had we not been ahead by much, likely Geno would have called a time out and set up a play to end the half.
What I saw was a very good DePaul team (love Doug Bruno) play out of their minds the first 5 minutes attacking the PAINT for God's sake - why would they do that? Aren't they the team that shoots nothing but 3s? I KNOW (Craig Ferguson impression).
Then I saw...some personnel changes...defensive changes..UConn went to zone and added Stokes...and things started to change, the game turned to UConn's favor and never went back. Then it became a good game to see Gabby get some good minutes and work on her game in a game situation (enough game in one sentence for you?). Stokes the terminator wasn't needed as the game was decided, why not play Gabby? Chong, who lost her starting position likely because of her lack of defense at Stanford, harassed the hell out of the DePaul guards - she was fun to watch. Now we will watch as she puts the offensive and defensive games together and whammo - a solid player and energy off the bench. Stewey played relaxed and got her shot off well, and you saw some great moves with her and Morgan working together setting screens getting free to make those shots. You saw Kaleena never stop moving, never stop working, getting steals, sinking shots, grabbing rebounds....You saw Nurse and MoJett working together in the back court - yeah, there were things that didn't go well, but that gives them something to work on at practice.
I saw a lot of good things - a lot. Every single starter and two of the subs had at least 3 assists - 3! That's amazing! In total there were 28 assists against 40 made baskets. Every single player with the exception of Tuck (which was odd, but o well) and Chong had at least 4 rebounds, and Mo was the one with "only" 4 - everyone else had at least 6 - that's an incredible effort.
And that is just a quick look at the box score. There are so many positives to take away from this game, so many, and all this for a team that lost two starters last year, two all Americans and the leaders of that championship team.
This for a team that is finding it's identity and it's voice.
I wrote a poem years ago - I think that it was Tina's senior year. It was just before the championship game, and folks on the Boneyard were wringing their hands about whether or not we could win this game..mind you, we were undefeated thus far, and as it turns out, in midst of that 90 game winning streak. We had blasted our way through the schedule that year and I was so surprised to hear folks express doubt about whether we could pull it off.
I think that the name of the poem was I believe. It was put into the Boneyard archives by someone who managed those records..I can't remember who that was.....
But it was about believing in the team, a team that had worked so hard and become so good...please note that to become so good you had to start from somewhere and that probably was a place that was not as good. But to get to that place of being "so good" they had to work hard, which is what I believe this team is now doing - working hard. And they will get there. It may not always be pretty, but I believe that you can always take something positive away from every game. Hopefully come March and April, that will be another trophy.
I believe.