Houston Postgame Thread

[Carnac]

Geno answers the mystery about Evelyn early on in the post-game presser today:

Every boneyard poster should watch this post game presser. Geno gives his “state of the team” observations and his point of view on some things (players) some posters don’t understand and are concerned about.

 

[JPT333]

Kyla Irwin with 3 reb, 3 ast, & 0 pts. Gotta do better than that as a starter, especially against a lesser opponent like Houston. She looks lost out there more often than not.

 

[Centerstream]

Yes. That is pretty disgraceful. Even our" A" team played with little consistency. They are perfect for 10 minutes, and then barely average for the next 10. I would like to see Gene go " off the charts." Specifically, play the bench players for most of the AAC games...win or lose. Who cares about some meaningless
record ( e.g. Undefeated in the AAC)? If The NFL champions beat a high school team 1 million times straight...is that a meaningful accomplishment? Let our starters play the first quarter, and 50% of the third quarter. That's it. Win or lose. Make it a real " development "program. And I haven't even had a cocktail yet. Seriously when we play teams like Houston , and it is 25-2 at the end of the first quarter, what do we learn? Who can watch?

Really???? One word "asinine". But your opinion is just as meaningful and correct as anyone else's is.
But I guess any of us Keyboard Coaches can propose what the G.O.A.T. coach should have done and should do, no matter how they may sound to others.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Kyla Irwin with 3 reb, 3 ast, & 0 pts. Gotta do better than that as a starter, especially against a lesser opponent like Houston. She looks lost out there more often than not.

So you think Geno just keeps her out there for 30 minutes for no good reason?

 

[eebmg]

Kyla Irwin with 3 reb, 3 ast, & 0 pts. Gotta do better than that as a starter, especially against a lesser opponent like Houston. She looks lost out there more often than not.

Lost? By all accounts. she knows everything about where she and her teammates should be.Unduly passive is far more accurate.

 

[HopJim]

Kyla was on the bench so that Makurat and Griffin could get more minutes. Would you sub her in for a guard?! Position still matters. She is, after all, one of the starters.

With a 30-40 point lead, would not have any of the top 4 starters in, particularly the last 5-8 minutes. Having Williams play the point is OK, but Molly needs experience with this as well. Particularly against poor competition, the play gets sloppy and too much risk of injury.

 

[HopJim]

Kyla Irwin with 3 reb, 3 ast, & 0 pts. Gotta do better than that as a starter, especially against a lesser opponent like Houston. She looks lost out there more often than not.

Kyla's impact goes well beyond stats. This being said, her current production coincides with her "big game" and the result - unfortunately now other teams are guarding her. Kyla's offensive potential is limited and she is not big enough or athletic enough to be a solid defender against at top "big."

 

[CocoHusky]

Kyla's impact goes well beyond stats. This being said, her current production coincides with her "big game" and the result - unfortunately now other teams are guarding her. Kyla's offensive potential is limited and she is not big enough or athletic enough to be a solid defender against at top "big."

Other teams are not guarding Kyla and Baylor certainly did not. Kyla’s game has become way too depended on her making that first shot. If she makes that first shot she becomes confident and energized. A miss results in her becoming invisible and UCONN playing 4 against 5. Ironically Kyla’s first miss in the Baylor game was a layup, which is entirely within her control.

 

[oldude]

Other teams are not guarding Kyla and Baylor certainly did not. Kyla’s game has become way too depended on her making that first shot. If she makes that first shot she becomes confident and energized. A miss results in her becoming invisible and UCONN playing 4 against 5. Ironically Kyla’s first miss in the Baylor game was a layup, which is entirely within her control.

Kyla is not really a high volume shooter, nor does she have a shooter’s mentality, i.e. no conscience. She’s only going to take 3-5 shots per game under most circumstances.

A high volume shooter will typically shoot themselves out of a cold shooting spell. Through the years I’ve watched players like DT, Maya, KML & Lou come out, miss their first 5 or so shots, only to heat up later in the game because they just keep shooting the ball.

With that thought in mind, it was good to see Anna jack up 9x3’s yesterday. While she only made 3, it can only help UConn to have another player on the floor with a shooter’s mindset.

 

[Boreifs]

With a 30-40 point lead, would not have any of the top 4 starters in, particularly the last 5-8 minutes. Having Williams play the point is OK, but Molly needs experience with this as well. Particularly against poor competition, the play gets sloppy and too much risk of injury.

Geno made a big deal about working on cohesion with his bench players. He only has three guards, so playing someone out of position is certainly not going to achieve that goal. Makurat can certainly play guard, but he seems to want her at the three. This is where not having Westbrook this year really hurts this team, since she is essentially a combo guard.

 

[jabstep]

I remember when Crystal was a freshman and Geno was constantly on her. Megan looked lost a lot of the time as a freshman and some of the time as a Sophmore. They both play like All Americans now. Next year Geno will have plenty of girls to teach. I wonder if Paige will come right into the point guard position and be the next Maya. I cant wait to see.

 

[MilfordHusky]

We played a very mediocre team from an equally mediocre conference. How many conference games have we won without a loss. UConn is a good team but not a great team. Three key players provided the vast bulk of the scoring again. ONO played better but look at the competition level she played against. If she had played that way against Baylor, we might have won the game.

We couldn't control the schedule. Yes, Houston is not Baylor, but the decisive 1st quarter was a good statement by the Huskies. We could have played down to the level of the competition, but we didn't. One small step forward. Hopefully, we have lots of steps forward.

 

[psconn]

The player in question is Jasmyne Harris. Last season she played the first half vs UConn and then the coach sat her down for the 2nd half. Subsequently, she was suspended for the remainder of the season while she supposedly dealt with some “personal issues.”

Harris was allowed back on the team this year after going through counseling, completing community service projects along with several other requirements established by Coach Hughey. She started the first 5 games for Houston and was their leading scorer. But once again, she was suspended from the team, without comment from the University.

Oh, I do remember seeing a mention of this somewhere. Why would Meghan characterize this as a "mental illness" on a broadcast (even if that is the underlying problem). I think Meg should have stuck with "personal issues" or "violation of team rules" unless the player came out publicly and admitted treatment for a "mental illness".

 

[Longtime fan]

I think that Griffin may be the most talented player on the team- bar none. She has displayed moments of dazzling brilliance. She may lack confidence, and she certainly was awkward several times (two travels?). But on the other hand, she's the most exciting player on the team. And often she is the most aggressive player on the team as well.

Wonder whether she'll blossom into a full-fledged first team All American next year? She could.

I sympathize with your enthusiasm, but she is not yet the most talented player on this team. Not by a long shot. She has to first; play under control, and second; provide some offense other than lay-ups. She is exciting. And will be much more so when the game slows down for her, and she regains the confidence she had as a senior in HS. Where, basically, no one could stop her.

 

[Longtime fan]

Really? That is the word you want to use? Unbelievable.

Use any word you like, but Houston should not be able to match this team , point for point, over a full quarter.

 

[meyers7]

Use any word you like, but Houston should not be able to match this team , point for point, over a full quarter.

Know what winning a quarter gets you???