I am feeling very positive | The Boneyard

I am feeling very positive

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Given the team is decimated with injuries, we showed grit.

We ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. The reason is we have no bench right now.

The team will be different when Azzi and Nika return, which I think will be soon.

Things could be much, much worse.
 
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Given the team is decimated with injuries, we showed grit.

We ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. The reason is we have no bench right now.

The team will be different when Azzi and Nika return, which I think will be soon.

Things could be much, much worse.
I posted yesterday the glass should be half full after what I saw. It was by no means perfect but the team played pretty darned well, just got a little gassed at the end and a very good Louisville team made some pretty clutch shots.

The depth this team planned to have has not panned out but not all hope is lost if everyone can get back healthy.
 
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If CD brings that type of play every night and you get Azzi, Nika, and Paige back, no one wants us in their bracket. Plus AE had her energy back. We can be ranked 22, I don‘t care.

Edit: Oops, I forgot Aubrey
 
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Given the team is decimated with injuries, we showed grit.

We ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. The reason is we have no bench right now.

The team will be different when Azzi and Nika return, which I think will be soon.

Things could be much, much worse.
"Soon" will be mid to late January. But we ought to still beat most Big East teams.
 
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The fact that no seniors are included in the Uconn’s key personnel of hopefully in March we'll be ok, is quite serious and very alarming and a serious indictment against the seniors. What I'm hearing and reading is we're depending on freshmen and sophomores to lead us to the chip. That's not good at all bcuz if we set the expectations on them and it doesn't happen we will label them as bust. The onus should be on the seniors to lead as the freshmen and sophomores develop, while helping out, into leaders who will deliver in their junior and senior years.
 

RockyMTblue2

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I real this thread and admire you folks for your mental stamina. At the same time this song keeps popping up :

 

Majic Hands

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Against Louisville I could be disappointed. . . But, I'm not.

I've accepted the reality that every kid on the floor played to the best of their abilities.

It's not the kids fault that they haven't improved to what "MY" hope and expectations are.

I'm looking forward to Nika and Azzi getting back on the floor. What I think I'm hearing is that they are the most likely to be the first of our injured, expected to return. Hopefully to be followed by Aubrey. Back issues are a beast all to themselves.

I'm hoping that the young players will get time on the floor and become a very competitive group that can send teams home come March.

Whether Paige is back this year or not. I want the team playing so very well that when she gets back the other players aren't standing around waiting for her to win the game because they will win whether she's on the floor or not. Just easier with her there.

That's where I am. Go Huskies!
 
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The fact that no seniors are included in the Uconn’s key personnel of hopefully in March we'll be ok, is quite serious and very alarming and a serious indictment against the seniors. What I'm hearing and reading is we're depending on freshmen and sophomores to lead us to the chip. That's not good at all bcuz if we set the expectations on them and it doesn't happen we will label them as bust. The onus should be on the seniors to lead as the freshmen and sophomores develop, while helping out, into leaders who will deliver in their junior and senior years.
Must remember... every player on the TEAM has a role in which they contribute to the TEAM. Take some of the pieces away and the remaining players are required to assume different roles...ones for which they might not be best suited. But they give it "a good old college try" to help the Team. When we get the other pieces back, things will be better and the TEAM will "come together"..:);):cool:
 

MSGRET

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I believe that if both Nika and Azzi come back around Christmas time UConn has a chance to win their remaining games. Nika is one of the best defensive players on UConn and is the ONLY true point guard on the team, she should help in those two departments. In the last half of last season Nika would drive into the paint and pass out to the open shooters or pass off to someone in the paint. If she can get back to that when she's healthy it will change the offense dramatically. While Azzi is one of the best shooting guards in the Country and should help take the pressure off of Caroline Ducharme, CW, and EW. Those two will also help in opening up the paint with either their passing or shooting.
 

msf22b

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Against Louisville I could be disappointed. . . But, I'm not.

I've accepted the reality that every kid on the floor played to the best of their abilities.

I am in complete agreement and could not have expressed any better the
sentiment in your first sentence.

But I, Geno, and an important plurality of this forum take exception to your second sentence.

He's pissed we didn't win the game (a great competitor he) I'm dismayed at the
contribution and play of the upper class-men . Sad that they
1. can't say out of foul trouble and/or
2. disappear at crucial moments.

I expect the team will eventually jell around the returning personnel and the contributing current players.

It may mean reducing the role of our current upperclassmen.
So be it, if it comes to that.
 

EricLA

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Lots of good comments which I mostly agree with so I won't address them.

My question - when Nika comes back, if she's really 100% healthy, does she start? We have a glaring weakness on the floor without a true PG. Could Nika start over CD, or even Evina?

Caroline had her coming out party and showed no fear. Evina is the emotional leader and nexus for the team. IF Nika were to start, I think it's more likely to be in place of Caroline, but ultimately, I think Nika comes off the bench.

I wouldn't mind her replacing Christyn at this point. For all the "Christyn had great practices this week", we've heard that over and over for years now. Not only is she inconsistent, but she's not been good in many big games, and her 3 point shooting seems to have regressed to the point where she almost should not be taking any, AND she continues to make bad decisions.

I'm unsure what the best lineup will look like when Nika and Azzi are both 100% healthy. BUT thankfully we will have some bench depth!!! Wishing all our injured Huskies the best for a speedy (and healthy) return!!
 

Carnac

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Given the team is decimated with injuries, we showed grit.

We ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. The reason is we have no bench right now.

The team will be different when Azzi and Nika return, which I think will be soon.

Things could be much, much worse.
82, I completely agree with your take. That game showed us EXACTLY where they are, and exactly what Geno needed to see. Allow me to share a couple of observations here.........

1. Our girls DID show some grit! They played hard and never quit. That's all you can ask of any player (team). Again, I remind everyone that the gap that used to be there between UConn and the rest of WCBB is gone.....probably forever. It's gone whether you choose to accept it or not. There are other teams that are RIGHT NOW as talented as UConn, and in some cases with a deeper bench that the coaches are not reluctant to use. Look at the box score from yesterday. Look at the minutes the 5 reserves got. [Box score]

2. Our starters OUT SCORED Louisville's starters 60-47. Our starters did their job. The difference is they got no help and Louisville's players were able to make plays in the closing minutes of the game. Walz's bench scored 22 points, ours = 4. We lost by 5. Walz played 10 players, Geno played 7 with DeBerry only getting 3 minutes. Three of Walz's reserves got double digit minutes, yet his team was able to stay in the game. That "deep" bench we spoke of everyday during the summer has completely disappeared. During the game, the camera panned over to the UConn bench. I commented in the chatroom that our bench looked like a "MASH" ward. Most of the players on the bench were injured.

3. Only 1 LV starter player over 31 minutes. Ducharme and Williams played 40 minutes, Westbrook 38 and Juhasz 36. ONO would have played 36+ except for foul trouble. I think her prolonged absence was the difference in the game.
4. Our girls were tired in the 4th quarter, as opposed to the RESTED players Walz had on the floor.

5. Another disparity...LV went to the FT line 20 times making 17. We went only 10 times making 7. That's 10 points right there. Again, we lost by 5. We only turned the ball over 1 more time (14) than they did, but were unable to convert many of those TO's into points.

When you look at all of the variables, our girls really didn't play that badly. They were simply out-maned. They did the very best they could. Yes, they lost, but I'm very proud of them, and proud to call myself a UConn WBB fan!!! The sun rose this morning, and things will get better as the season progresses. I don't worry about Amari. She's a rose bud that has yet to bloom. Like all rose buds, she'll bloom when she's ready. When she does, Geno will play her. Everyone's timeline is different.

Geno tells us every year that on average, it takes most freshmen a full year to understand his system, and be able to function in it. She's still got 5 months left. Almost 1/3 of the season is already over. Now comes conference play. Time to get healthy and healed and get our wounded warriors back on the court, and more game experience for our newbies. Like the Somali pirate kept telling Captain Phillips throughout the movie "Relax, everything is going to be alright." ;)
 
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No reason to feel down. This team with all of its injuries played well despite being severely short-handed.

Ranking don't mean squat, and no one will want us in their bracket regardless of the ranking at that time. If UCONN is at its full strength, UCONN has a great chance of taking down the net if CD and some of the younger players can develop while Paige is out.

UCONN women's team will be fine.
 

eebmg

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Lots of good comments which I mostly agree with so I won't address them.

My question - when Nika comes back, if she's really 100% healthy, does she start? We have a glaring weakness on the floor without a true PG. Could Nika start over CD, or even Evina?

Caroline had her coming out party and showed no fear. Evina is the emotional leader and nexus for the team. IF Nika were to start, I think it's more likely to be in place of Caroline, but ultimately, I think Nika comes off the bench.

I wouldn't mind her replacing Christyn at this point. For all the "Christyn had great practices this week", we've heard that over and over for years now. Not only is she inconsistent, but she's not been good in many big games, and her 3 point shooting seems to have regressed to the point where she almost should not be taking any, AND she continues to make bad decisions.

I'm unsure what the best lineup will look like when Nika and Azzi are both 100% healthy. BUT thankfully we will have some bench depth!!! Wishing all our injured Huskies the best for a speedy (and healthy) return!!

I am not sure I understand this (maybe?) wide held belief that Nika is our best (natural) PG option?? Evina is statistically better in Assists per minute and A/TO ratio using last years full season stats.


I am not devaluing what Nika brings in terms of defense and energy and perhaps outside shooting if she is in a groove but I really have not seen her as effective as a PG except for short stints and always with Paige as a relief valve. In other words, how effective in assists is Nika without Paige??

From what I have seen, Evina actually hooks up with a more diverse set of players and is a more creative playmaker imo.

So when Nika comes back at a time when Paige is not back, Nika should be a defensive sparkplug off the bench that may add some perimeter threat and provides extra value by allowing Evina to rest.
 
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If you're going to have injuries...and a lot of them, then better to have them early than late. 6-3...at the break, with all these hurdles, just demonstrates how solid the program is. We could be 8-1 if we scheduled Umass and Quinnipiac. Anyone saying they want to play UCONN means right now...not in March. The top 10 will not look the same come March. Oregon and UCLA were bitten by the bug too. .In March...there are top 10 teams now...that will not be there. As far as bracketology... guess we can expect some lower ranked teams to upset the higher ranked teams. I've always believed that if you're the best, then it shouldn't matter.
 

Carnac

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Folks, I don't want to be a "buzz kill", but...............the question of who will play point guard when Nika comes back makes great fodder.
But let's wait until she does and see how Geno proceeds. Remember what he said to his charges during a practice.........."Either give me a reason to play you, or give a reason to keep you on the bench." Water seeks its own level. He probably won't have to figure out who to put at the point. The players will figure it out for him. If Nika is not his best option at the point, it ill show. Caroline may be ready to take the keys at this point. He may hand them to her, or she may just take them. :eek:
 
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The fact that no seniors are included in the Uconn’s key personnel of hopefully in March we'll be ok, is quite serious and very alarming and a serious indictment against the seniors. What I'm hearing and reading is we're depending on freshmen and sophomores to lead us to the chip. That's not good at all bcuz if we set the expectations on them and it doesn't happen we will label them as bust. The onus should be on the seniors to lead as the freshmen and sophomores develop, while helping out, into leaders who will deliver in their junior and senior years.
Why should it matter about upperclassmen or underclassmen? The object is to plan, practice, construct to the optimum group of UCONNder and execute it on game days regardless of class identity, my humble 2cents.
 
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I've accepted the reality that every kid on the floor played to the best of their abilities.

It's not the kids fault that they haven't improved to what "MY" hope and expectations are.
Everything you said, I agree with - well stated. I just wanted to emphasize this part because I think it's such an important thing to remember. Some of these young women might be just where they are supposed to be based on their life experiences.
 

Carnac

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We will win the NCAA tourney THIS year!!
Only if EVERYONE that's injured can return at or near 100%, AND...........everyone of our players plays every tournament game at or near their full potential. Everyone MUST make plays when they're in the game. To win it all, and right now, I'm not sure they can, they will have to become "GIANT KILLERS." Remember, none of the top 10 teams fear UConn anymore. :confused:

They're going to have to take down at least 3 top 5 teams. Stanford, Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Baylor, NC State, Louisville, South Carolina (the elephant in the room), Texas and probably Georgia will all be buzzing around that second weekend vying for one of the coveted final four tickets. That's potentially 12 teams vying for 4 spots. Some of them will be peaking, and playing their best basketball of the season.

UConn out of women's basketball AP top 10 for 1st time in 16 years. It's been that kind of year so far.:(

 
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As a result of many years of work on my golf game and many hours on the practice range I learned that practice and play require different mind sets. Practice requires a lot of thinking and conscious control over the mechanics of the swing but when you go to play you need to forget all the inner talk focus on your target and trust your swing, good or bad. Trying to consciously control your swing mechanics during play is a recipe for failure where one bad shot leads to another as you try in vain to keep a half dozen swing mechanics thoughts in your head. I think that ONO and Williams think too much, trying to not make mistakes. "Don't do this, don't do that", is OK during practice but I'm not the only one who sees hesitation almost every time they receive the ball. ONO especially needs to start deciding what she is going to do BEFORE she gets the ball. I can't believe that Geno coached both Tuck and Collier, two of the best sealers down low I ever saw, and hasn't tried to get ONO to do her positioning work sooner. So maybe she is just too slow-footed? Who knows but I'd say she has about 3 weeks to change or else Juhasz/Edwards will be starting. And the way ONO fouls maybe that's for the best.

Of course the return of Bueckers also means everyone will be getting the ball where and at the perfect moment.
 

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