Husky Practice

[MilfordHusky]

Not much new on Lou, but the new info is consistent with the June/July info.

Two thoughts: (1) I’m glad Lou got to play with Paige in June. She would have really liked to play with her for a full season. (2). How many UConn games did Lou watch on TV or in person while at Fairfield?

 

[CocoHusky]

Every post player needs to have that shot, with both hands.

You mean with either hand. A jump hook with both hands would be UGLY!

 

[JordyG]

You mean with either hand. A jump hook with both hands would be UGLY!

Here's a one handed hook shot that's pretty ugly in itself:

 

[tkaes]

Here's a one handed hook shot that's pretty ugly in itself:

IMO, Green has had long standing anger issues. I'm not at all surprised that he has now digressed into attacking a teammate. It's clear to me that he instigated the incident the moment he started walking from the side towards Poole.

If I owned the Warriors I would suspend him for 6 months without pay and insist that he successfully complete an anger management program. Unfortunately the PA probably wouldn't allow it.

 

[Alydar]

Nah…again. You said the star went down and “suddenly”Nika was asked to start working on this and that. There is plenty of evidence to show that Nika was asked to start working on this and that well before Paige went down. See my prior post on the matter noting the date of the Mike Conley article and the time Paige went down. What I say or think will never reach Nika ears. Geno was the one doing the asking and again him asking had nothing to do with Paige going down. Or were you talking about a different star going down?

Once again you miss the point. It's not a question of when you said it. Rather it's the fact that you claim knowledge that she hadn't been working.

Do you have a list of what Muhl has and has not been working on for the last two years?

 

[donalddoowop]

You mean with either hand. A jump hook with both hands would be UGLY!

I thought the same thing.

 

[Carnac]

While I agree that SC is the top team and therefore the most likely team to make it to that final weekend, I have to disagree with two things in your post. First, injury is not the only way for them to miss that final weekend. They could simply get beaten.
Second, they are clearly not the only team that matters! It is certainly conceivable that we could win the championship without ever playing the Gamecocks. After all, it (the tournament) is single elimination, lose and you’re out. As I said, there’s no question they are currently the favorite but there are a lot of games to be played before we come to that final weekend.
Finally, all credit to SC for winning last year, but let’s not pretend they beat anything but a mere shell of UConn in that final. If I were compiling a list of games to show the history of the competition between SC and UConn I would not even include that game.
It would be like Billie Jean King including her “victory” over Bobby Riggs on a list of her most impressive wins. Completely irrelevant and non representative of her true accomplishments. Let’s see what happens this season with (knock on wood) fully healthy teams. I’m not saying they aren’t the favorite but at least they will be actually playing UConn rather than the Little Sisters of the Poor!

I'm ALWAYS interested in the opinions of most of my colleagues in the Boneyard, whether they agree with me or not.
You: "injury is not the only way for them to miss that final weekend. They could simply get beaten."
Of course they could. That goes without saying. But But I don't think so. Like this past tournament, I think SC will be extremely focused and determined to make it to the final four. I reviewed their path to the championship from last year. They got a "well timed" wake up call by losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final. That loss strengthened their determination and resolve.

It's a given that they were not going to lose in the first two rounds. In the third and fourth round games, they beat #5 North Carolina 69-61. That was their closest game. Next, they beat Creighton by 30. In the Final four semi-final game, they beat #1 seed Louisville by by 13. I don't think they or UConn will be seriously challenged until the 4th game of the tournament.

I have more faith in them reaching the final four than you appear to have. It doesn't mean either of us are right or wrong, just that we have a different perspective of the Gamecock's chances of returning to the championship game. We really can't continue this until March, after the tournament brackets are revealed. Then you can share with me which one their 6 likely opponents are going to beat them.

You: "Second, they are clearly not the only team that matters!"
Every team in UConn's tournament bracket matters because they must defeat all six to win the tournament. Again that is a given. There are dynamics in place here I didn't think I had to mention. I'm saying that again this year, SC will probably be the best team UConn may see in the tournament. We won't know that until March. The only way they won't see each other is if one of them loses before their paths would cross.

I wrote my comment assuming that they will see each other again in March, and if they do, UConn had better be ready to play, and Geno has figured out how to beat them. After the tip in the championship game, UConn was less than 40 minutes from winning the championship. They haven't been that close sine 2016. Only one team stopped them from hoisting the trophy......South Carolina. We lost to them TWICE last year. So THEY are the team I'm focusing on. Of course UConn has to get to the final four, but their long term focus needs to be on the team that knocked them off for the championship. Now, if someone else does UConn's house cleaning for them, so be it. I'm not counting on it. If UConn wins the NC, I don't care who they beat. I can't emphasize that strongly enough.

You will probably disagree with these comments also, that's ok. You're probably not the only poster that does not agree with this take. This IS NOT something we can hash out today. In the meantime, I'm going to stand by this take. We'll have to wait until the final four to see which one of us is right.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think it's just prudent to think in terms of having to beat. the best team to win an NC -- look at me, talking about prudence in the summer, when I usually trumpet irrational optimism! But the 'worst' case scenario (i.e. best case) is that we beat SC in the NC game to win. Of course, it's possible someone else will knock them off and we'll have to beat Texas or Louisville in the NC game. I'll take that, too.

As the legendary Al Davis famously said, "Just win, baby!"

 

[GEAinAustin]

Louisville won't smell a N.C. game. S.C. has been and will be in the foreseeable future ,the team to beat.

 

[HopJim]

Every post player needs to have that shot, with both hands.

Name me one player who is outstanding with a jump hook (Boston?) with one hand, let alone 2. ? Fully support bigs having this in their arsenal of shots, just lower priority for 6'5" players.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Name me one player who is outstanding with a jump hook (Boston?) with one hand, let alone 2. ? Fully support bigs having this in their arsenal of shots, just lower priority for 6'5" players.

The guy who mastered it was 7'2".

 

[Cuango]

What is rocket surgery? How many top 10 teams can you name that has five scorers on the floor at all times? UConn won two NC with Jefferson not being a scoring threat. Five scorers on the floor at all times are not always needed for a team to be a title contender, imo.

The point is, any team will be better if they have five scoring threats instead of four. Not sure why this is controversial or seen as some sort of put down for Nika? If she can raise her shooting (and free throw) percentages, we will be a better team. Similarly, if Amari can become an effective defender, scorer, rebounder, if Azzi becomes more comfortable with her midrange game, Caroline shoots a higher three point percentage, or basically anyone gets better at anything, the team will be better! Again, not controversial or a put down of any kind!

 

[CocoHusky]

Once again you miss the point. It's not a question of when you said it. Rather it's the fact that you claim knowledge that she hadn't been working.

Do you have a list of what Muhl has and has not been working on for the last two years?

As a matter of fact I do.....

“I’ve definitely been working on my pull-up,” Muhl said. “Overall, my scoring game, I’ve been working on it a lot. I think that’s what I’m lacking. “The coaches have been really keying on that,” Bueckers said.
Her goal as a junior is to be a more consistent contributor by simplifying what she tries to do on offense. “A lot of that is just footwork in the paint, jump-stopping, using a pump fake, using all of our footwork and pivots, and just making sure we’re making the game simple on us. It’s easy to shoot outside shots and 3s.

Why talk with UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has Nika Muhl thinking about offense

UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl is focused on developing her offensive game this summer after talking with coach Geno Auriemma.

www.ctinsider.com

In short, Muhl doesn’t need to bother much with barrages of 3-pointers. She needs to get more comfortable finishing at the basket and making consistent pull-up jumpers, just enough to keep defenses honest and support the likes of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. That is what Geno Auriemma expressed to Muhl after the season, and she has made embracing the “non-glamorous” offensive parts of the game a priority.

Why talk with UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has Nika Muhl thinking about offense

UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl is focused on developing her offensive game this summer after talking with coach Geno Auriemma.

www.ctinsider.com

 

[Alydar]

As a matter of fact I do.....

“I’ve definitely been working on my pull-up,” Muhl said. “Overall, my scoring game, I’ve been working on it a lot. I think that’s what I’m lacking. “The coaches have been really keying on that,” Bueckers said.
Her goal as a junior is to be a more consistent contributor by simplifying what she tries to do on offense. “A lot of that is just footwork in the paint, jump-stopping, using a pump fake, using all of our footwork and pivots, and just making sure we’re making the game simple on us. It’s easy to shoot outside shots and 3s.

Why talk with UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has Nika Muhl thinking about offense

UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl is focused on developing her offensive game this summer after talking with coach Geno Auriemma.

www.ctinsider.com

In short, Muhl doesn’t need to bother much with barrages of 3-pointers. She needs to get more comfortable finishing at the basket and making consistent pull-up jumpers, just enough to keep defenses honest and support the likes of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. That is what Geno Auriemma expressed to Muhl after the season, and she has made embracing the “non-glamorous” offensive parts of the game a priority.

Why talk with UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has Nika Muhl thinking about offense

UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl is focused on developing her offensive game this summer after talking with coach Geno Auriemma.

www.ctinsider.com

I see nothing in any of this that she only recently started to do those things. I never disagreed about what she was working on. I only thought it was disrespectful to say that up until this off-season she hadn't worked on them. Unless you knew that for a fact that is.

I think I've asked you the same thing too many times.

 

[Zarathustra]

Is that Amari with the baby hook shot?

Some pretty slick passing there. It's less than a month to the action begins!

 

[CocoHusky]

I see nothing in any of this that she only recently started to do those things. I never disagreed about what she was working on. I only thought it was disrespectful to say that up until this off-season she hadn't worked on them. Unless you knew that for a fact that is.

I think I've asked you the same thing too many times.

Read the articles and stop changing up your questions.

"But with her college career half over, and with her coach expressing the need for a little more in other areas, Muhl is spending the summer trying to refine the offensive part of her game."

Recently=this summer, aka summer of 2022.

From a different article.
Mühl spent her time in Storrs during the summer session (June '2022) working with assistant coach Morgan Valley to improve her offensive abilities and although only lasted for a little more than a month, Mühl’s progress on offense was already evident.

UConn WBB Weekly: With Paige Bueckers out, Nika Mühl is now UConn’s most important player.

It doesn't matter when Nika started working on the offensive aspects of her game as you seem determined to find proof for. What matters is that in the eyes of her coaches the results (the only thing that matters) where not where they needed to be as she was about to enter her junior campaign. Hopefully you also realize that if this is something Nika has been working on before this summer and has only achieve these results then that would be more of a cause for concern?

 

[Gus Mahler]

A correction in the 2nd paragraph....If it's not broke, don't fix it.

In my work, I like to take the Tim the Tool Man Taylor approach: "If it ain't broke, you can still fix it."

 

[UConnCat]

Although its a new Lou article, a lot of the same quotes from an article before. Nevertheless the article did confirm that they haven't had their first official practice yet. Also Lou really is a vet at 24 yrs young.

Didn't think so since typically there is media availability after the first practice. Geno tends not to conduct the team's first practice on the first date allowed by the NCAA. Chris once explained that they intend to play in to April and don't want to make an already long season longer.

Last year the first practice was October 8th and the first game was November 14th.

In 2020 the first practice was October 15th and the first game was November 10th.

We know for sure that the first official practice will be this week,

 

[Notyetready]

In my work, I like to take the Tim the Tool Man Taylor approach: "If it ain't broke, you can still fix it."

I wish I could fix something.

 

[cgshuskie]

South Carolina has got to get motivated for a NC this year. This will be tricky for them. They are the national champs but it is not easy to repeat. Same thing with Stanford who won in 2021. They both have point 'guard' problems that we can (and will ) exploit. We have the motivation for an NC this year! Go Huskies

 

[MilfordHusky]

South Carolina has got to get motivated for a NC this year. This will be tricky for them. They are the national champs but it is not easy to repeat. Same thing with Stanford who won in 2021. They both have point 'guard' problems that we can (and will ) exploit. We have the motivation for an NC this year! Go Huskies

Yes, repeating is difficult. Other than UConn, no one has done it since 1998. Over-confidence and the occasional bad break will make it a challenge.

 

[jdote33]

Yes, repeating is difficult. Other than UConn, no one has done it since 1998. Over-confidence and the occasional bad break will make it a challenge.

Didn't Baylor do it with BG and Tennessee do it with Candace Parker.

 

[WFFL]

Didn't Baylor do it with BG and Tennessee do it with Candace Parker.

Baylor did not

 

[WFFL]

Im praying lou lives up to these lofty expectation . The pressure is like no other playing at UCONN. You don't produce and trust us fans will let her know.

 

[UConnCat]

Didn't Baylor do it with BG and Tennessee do it with Candace Parker.

No and yes.