I Haven't Got Time for the Pain

[oldude]

In another post I commented that when UConn’s starting 5 + Z & MW are at their best, there isn’t another team in the country that can stay with them. Unfortunately, as a result of numerous chronic injuries, it’s unlikely that the Huskies will be at their best for the rest of the season.

So what to do? Geno limits practice time for all of the walking wounded, attempts to control PT when he can, holds players out of games as he did last night with Crystal and continually tries to develop a deeper bench. Of course, there’s a downside to all of this.

If a team doesn’t practice hard together, execution and timing in games suffers, as they did last night in a rather ugly game. It also suffers when you are playing reserves who are not yet ready to play prime time minutes. Still, a win is a win, however it looks, and against UCF, the modern equivalent of the old Rutgers teams, I doubt that any UConn win will ever be pretty.

Secondly, in order to limit minutes for some players, other players have to step up and play more minutes. Lou is playing far more minutes than she should on a bad ankle. Kia is a warhorse, jumping back and forth between the 2 guard and pg roles, and she continues to take hits that would place other players on the disabled list. Last night, against the relentless UCF pressure, Kia looked tentative for the 1st time this season and was beaten up to boot.

There’s no real end in sight for this season. If the Huskies can win their last big OOC game vs Louisville on Monday night, they will once again earn the #1 overall seed in the Big Dance, and let’s face it, UConn will win the rest of the AAC regular season and conference championship games, and hopefully give the walking wounded some rest at the same time. This is one instance when being a member of a relatively weak conference benefits UConn.

But heading towards the NCAA’s, there are far too many questions. Can the inflammation in Crystal’s shins be relieved enough so that she plays freely and dominates games like she did in the season opener against Stanford? Can Gabby continue to play like the best athlete in WBB with a painful hip flexor? Can Lou avoid coming down on someone’s foot again? Can the Huskies avoid injuries to any other key player? Can Geno get greater contributions out of someone, anyone on the bench?

After Gabby toughed it out with another Gabulous performance in the statement win over SC, she was asked about her soar hip by ESPN reporter, Holly Rowe. She responded in a manner that indicated she was resigned to dealing with it by saying, “My hip is my hip.” Perhaps, Gabby could have answered the question by borrowing a Carly Simon’s lyric, “I haven’t got time for the pain.”

 

[GoUconn7961]

Geno, the coaches and the team have to deal with what they have. There's no other way around it. Nope - they might not win an NC if the freshmen don't develop faster and the nagging injuries don't heal. As they say.. "it is what it is." The team hasn't lost a game yet so there's that...

Let's focus on the positive.

 

[oldude]

Geno, the coaches and the team have to deal with what they have. There's no other way around it. Nope - they might not win an NC if the freshmen don't develop faster and the nagging injuries don't heal. As they say.. "it is what it is." The team hasn't lost a game yet so there's that...

Let's focus on the positive.

There are recent precedents to this situation for the Huskies, although not involving as many players at the same time. During the 2015-16 season, Tuck, suffering from micro-fractures, was limited in practice and kept out of a number of games. Towards the end of the season, Geno turned her loose and Tuck was tremendous, helping UConn win their 11th championship and earning 1st Team AA honors in the process.

Last season, Kia was shut down for several weeks with a stress reaction in her foot. She played some in the conference tournament and then exploded in the NCAA's, setting a record for 3-pt shooting in the tournament.

It is my sincere hope that Geno and the UConn training staff will work their magic once more this year.

 

[GoUconn7961]

There are recent precedents to this situation for the Huskies, although not involving as many players at the same time. During the 2015-16 season, Tuck, suffering from micro-fractures, was limited in practice and kept out of a number of games. Towards the end of the season, Geno turned her loose and Tuck was tremendous, helping UConn win their 11th championship and earning 1st Team AA honors in the process.

Last season, Kia was shut down for several weeks with a stress reaction in her foot. She played some in the conference tournament and then exploded in the NCAA's, setting a record for 3-pt shooting in the tourname
It is my sincere hope that Geno and the UConn training staff will work their magic once more this year.

All they can do is their best to manage the situation. Unfortunately injuries take time to heal, and players take time to develop. I wish there was a magic pill, but there isn't. I think they're doing pretty good considering everything they have to deal with (including public opinion)...

 

[Ozimoto]

If they win the NC again with all of the challenges they have, it will be the end of a very satisfying year.

 

[cohenzone]

Not to beat a kind of dead horse, but I’m not sure why GA used such a short bench last night. A 25 point lead over UCF is like a 40 point lead against anyone else. It was pretty clear that our kids who got little test, especially Kia, were exhausted going into the 4th quarter. It led to being bothered much more by their pressure. I get that he goes by how the kids practice, but it seemed more like the starters bore the consequence of not being rested for some frequent stretches during the game. There is a line from Fiddler on the Roof when the beggar doesn’t get his usual help from a guy whose business was down. The beggar says “Just because you had a bad week, why should I suffer?”

 

[MD#12Fan]

I like reading your posts. Very intelligent. You're not bathing in the KoolAid, so to speak. I'm new here, so I'm trying to find my own little niche.
I think all this injury talk is overblown. These are twenty year old athletes at their absolute physical primes. I played D3 hoops and if you weren't in the training room, you weren't playing. I also did a dozen marathons and your best day ever was right around the corner from being outstretched on a table. We're not talking about 30-35 year olds playing an 82 game schedule. The winter olympics start tomorrow and we'll be rooting for our American darling, Lindsay Vonn, who at 33 years old will be tearing down the downhill slope at 60+ mph with multiple (?) reconstructed knee surgeries. This team is only a week away from blowing out USC. Everybody in CBB is hurt and tired.
I think Geno is playing with us a little bit. Regarding the subs, he's throwing spaghetti against the wall, seeing if any sticks, trying to see if there is anyone he can count on in a pinch. Personally, (I said in another post) I think they can play with 6.
Everything isn't about being tired. They made those mistakes last night because they made the wrong play. Dribbling into pressure, not protecting the ball, not faking the ball, not making aggressive moves, playing tentatively, etc. UConn doesn't respond well always to physical contact. Not enough and-ones inside, not enough offensive rebounds, etc.
Gabby's my favorite player, but she's not POY or 1st team AA until she learns when to be aggressively looking for her own shot and when to be looking to pass. She's a senior. It's time to figure this out! As an ex-gunner, I'll tell you, you can't shoot well if you are thinking you should be passing and vice versa really. She needs to pull her J with authority. A player with her fundamental soundness should be bottom from that key area. I'm thinking of Chris Paul as a good example. When he pulls, he commits to it and his shots are always soft and on-balance. To me that is the absolute key to getting #12. Points aren't everything (duh) but in this case I want to see scoring from that high post. The team should be getting points from that position on the floor period! If our opponents have to guard her there it will look like "the parting of the Red Sea" for UConn.
Some musings from the peanut gallery.....

 

[bags27]

Please people. Stuff happens. There's no more static game than baseball, and most ball players play hurt most of the season. Anytime you fine tune your body to the height of fitness and play accordingly, strains and sprains happen.

You want to talk about injuries? cast your eyes toward South Bend. Our Notre Dame friends will read this thread and think we're wusses.

 

[oldude]

Not to beat a kind of dead horse, but I’m not sure why GA used such a short bench last night. A 25 point lead over UCF is like a 40 point lead against anyone else. It was pretty clear that our kids who got little test, especially Kia, were exhausted going into the 4th quarter. It led to being bothered much more by their pressure. I get that he goes by how the kids practice, but it seemed more like the starters bore the consequence of not being rested for some frequent stretches during the game. There is a line from Fiddler on the Roof when the beggar doesn’t get his usual help from a guy whose business was down. The beggar says “Just because you had a bad week, why should I suffer?”

While I agree in general with your comments, my sense is that UCF is the kind of team that is capable of overwhelming UConn’s reserves, so Geno may have been reluctant to throw the youngsters to the wolves.

 

[Kaizen]

 

[cohenzone]

While I agree in general with your comments, my sense is that UCF is the kind of team that is capable of overwhelming UConn’s reserves, so Geno may have been reluctant to throw the youngsters to the wolves.

Yes, I think that’s true. But I’m talking about relatively brief rests starting toward the end of the first half. Missing Crystal was more of an issue for Kia than it would be against most opponents.

 

[oldude]

When I started this thread I was reasonably certain that a BY’er would add a link to the song. Good stuff.

 

[LasVegasYank]

Nice post of Carly Simon.

My wife and daughter along with a friend of hers, my wife's co-worker and her daughter went down to NY so that they could see Phantom of the Opera and I could do a bit of train shopping. I drove my van to New Haven and took a train to Grand Central, walking to the theater to drop them off.

Afterwards, we met up and walked back to Grand Central. Lo and behold, Carly Simon was performing in the lobby! We stopped to listen for a bit and when I caught her eye I waved at her and she waved back. What a kick that was.

We then boarded our train for New Haven replete with memories of the day.

 

[oldude]

Nice post of Carly Simon.

My wife and daughter along with a friend of hers, my wife's co-worker and her daughter went down to NY so that they could see Phantom of the Opera and I could do a bit of train shopping. I drove my van to New Haven and took a train to Grand Central, walking to the theater to drop them off.

Afterwards, we met up and walked back to Grand Central. Lo and behold, Carly Simon was performing in the lobby! We stopped to listen for a bit and when I caught her eye I waved at her and she waved back. What a kick that was.

We then boarded our train for New Haven replete with memories of the day.

Great acoustics in Grand Central. That concert is posted on YouTube.

 

[Orangutan]

You want to talk about injuries? cast your eyes toward South Bend. Our Notre Dame friends will read this thread and think we're wusses.

 

[Bronx23]

At first glance I wondered why some of the bench other than MW didn't play until the very end.
As I read the other comments I had a thought.
Last year we lost to MS who in some ways reminded me of UCF. Very good pressure defense and heater skeleton offense. This is clearly a style we have a bit more difficulty than most others. So maybe it was preparing them for what might be coming. Also their injuries may well continue and as many of you pointed out, just have to be lived with.
So all in all, a good prep for down the road.
Bronx23

 

[oldude]

Maybe I should have titled this thread more optimistically:

“Thank God We’re NOT ND!”

 

[BroadwayVa]

In another post I commented that when UConn’s starting 5 + Z & MW are at their best, there isn’t another team in the country that can stay with them. Unfortunately, as a result of numerous chronic injuries, it’s unlikely that the Huskies will be at their best for the rest of the season.

So what to do? Geno limits practice time for all of the walking wounded, attempts to control PT when he can, holds players out of games as he did last night with Crystal and continually tries to develop a deeper bench. Of course, there’s a downside to all of this.

If a team doesn’t practice hard together, execution and timing in games suffers, as they did last night in a rather ugly game. It also suffers when you are playing reserves who are not yet ready to play prime time minutes. Still, a win is a win, however it looks, and against UCF, the modern equivalent of the old Rutgers teams, I doubt that any UConn win will ever be pretty.

Secondly, in order to limit minutes for some players, other players have to step up and play more minutes. Lou is playing far more minutes than she should on a bad ankle. Kia is a warhorse, jumping back and forth between the 2 guard and pg roles, and she continues to take hits that would place other players on the disabled list. Last night, against the relentless UCF pressure, Kia looked tentative for the 1st time this season and was beaten up to boot.

There’s no real end in sight for this season. If the Huskies can win their last big OOC game vs Louisville on Monday night, they will once again earn the #1 overall seed in the Big Dance, and let’s face it, UConn will win the rest of the AAC regular season and conference championship games, and hopefully give the walking wounded some rest at the same time. This is one instance when being a member of a relatively weak conference benefits UConn.

But heading towards the NCAA’s, there are far too many questions. Can the inflammation in Crystal’s shins be relieved enough so that she plays freely and dominates games like she did in the season opener against Stanford? Can Gabby continue to play like the best athlete in WBB with a painful hip flexor? Can Lou avoid coming down on someone’s foot again? Can the Huskies avoid injuries to any other key player? Can Geno get greater contributions out of someone, anyone on the bench?

After Gabby toughed it out with another Gabulous performance in the statement win over SC, she was asked about her soar hip by ESPN reporter, Holly Rowe. She responded in a manner that indicated she was resigned to dealing with it by saying, “My hip is my hip.” Perhaps, Gabby could have answered the question by borrowing a Carly Simon’s lyric, “I haven’t got time for the pain.”

Not a cheery ; the sun is shining--we'll be good type article I expected from you.
One more tough game left: Louisville! The rest are AAC with minutes to be allowed for the BENCH and it's development. The kind of needed development probably won't come. Uconn needs Walker to become a Freshman Maya (won't happen), Touly to become a Uconn A. Jones (won't happen), Coombs to be come the best Frosh Coombs she can be (it may happen but won't help in the NCAA), Molly will remain to be Molly, Irwin (has been progressing with many more minutes may become what we expect Touly to be). During the AAC games the best Geno can expect is to sit his starters for 10 maybe more minutes each game, and get some minor progress from his bench. Yet I doubt any Uconn fan and many NCAA coaches expect Uconn NOT to win another NC.

 

[oldude]

Not a cheery ; the sun is shining--we'll be good type article I expected from you.

Well, it depends on how you look at it. I’m actually a “glass half full” kind of guy, but I want to be realistic. The Huskies have the most talented team in WBB. If they can navigate the injuries and develop just a little more bench strength, UConn will win a 12th banner this season, but it’s going to be a challenge.

For now, I won’t even consider the alternative scenario.

 

[donalddoowop]

While I agree in general with your comments, my sense is that UCF is the kind of team that is capable of overwhelming UConn’s reserves, so Geno may have been reluctant to throw the youngsters to the wolves.

That is why I did not understand why Geno said her felt bad for the starters because the reserves gave up so many points. The starters were in until the last few minutes, at least two of them were. After all the reserves entered at about two minutes and twelve seconds, UCF scored four points and UCONN scored two. That was a nice play the reserves ran to get BC a three foot shot.

 

[oldude]

That is why I did not understand why Geno said her felt bad for the starters because the reserves gave up so many points. The starters were in until the last few minutes, at least two of them were. After all the reserves entered at about two minutes and twelve seconds, UCF scored four points and UCONN scored two. That was a nice play the reserves ran to get BC a three foot shot.

I thought what Geno was trying to say was that he felt sorry for the starters because he had to play them a lot of minutes. He then indicated that he had to do a better job developing his bench.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Well, it depends on how you look at it. I’m actually a “glass half full” kind of guy, but I want to be realistic. The Huskies have the most talented team in WBB. If they can navigate the injuries and develop just a little more bench strength, UConn will win a 12th banner this season, but it’s going to be a challenge.

For now, I won’t even consider the alternative scenario.

Realistic is GOOD! Following you, your glass runith over.
IF, IF Uconn can develop the bench talent, I agree. But it is very late in the season. Walker I give you for the NCAA--Batouly shows moments of really good play, she is a "could be", in dire need Irwin. Beyond that any development I feel will come next year.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I thought what Geno was trying to say was that he felt sorry for the starters because he had to play them a lot of minutes. He then indicated that he had to do a better job developing his bench.

Geno's long minutes use of his "core" teams has been nearly the same for a number of season, maybe forever. His current issue isn't (just) the long use of his "core" but the lack of progress in development of his bench players. The time for development, for this year, seems long past. It is probably why he was "miffed" with AEH. Her potential was high, her effort (apparently) was low. He sure could use her off the bench. From what I saw she was second to Walker in game ready. I know; dead horse.