I noticed a bit of doom and gloom on here lately... My $.02

[hoophuskee]

I think most of those that are a bit of doom and gloom stems from that they don't believe much in CWill and/or Liv.

The win vs Tenn was underrated as well so that fueled the doom and gloom. The win was impressive.

The over-analyzing of the Georgetown game is a bit over-the-top. UCONN was missing two quality players. One of which is their best.

I might join the doom and gloom group if the current injury situation doesn't improve. Losing your best player (or if injury sustains a limitation for her) is not good no matter how one tries to twist it. Secondly, Geno had started Anna at the beginning of the season for a reason. He had an expectation of what her skills could add to the team. If she has a sustained injury- losing a player which Geno had a certain high expectation of and was projected to be a core player without having a "no-doubt" replacement is not "good" for this team no matter how one tries to twist it.

 

[southofnorth]

[Shrugs] Undefeated is undefeated. My attitude toward this season (and COVID in general) follows the March Madness model... survive and advance. Let's see how we do against Arkansas.

Not trying to contradict what you said, but your post reminded me of something. I forget which game (maybe Stanford in the 2014 FF?), but I remember Stef Dolson saying something along the lines of “we don’t just survive and advance, we dominate and conquer”. I like that mentality, but think this season is really more of a “survive and advance” year for everybody!

 

[Golden Husky]

With UCONN's lackluster win over Tennessee (sure their length gave us problems), and the "bad practice" win over Georgetown, I've noticed a decidedly downtrodden slant to numerous posts regarding UCONN's chances at a final 4, where they belong in the rankings, etc. But i wanted to recap a few things, and maybe give a little perspective (at least my perspective!).

• I HATE Tennessee. As much as it bugged me that we didn't slaughter them, their next game out they crushed #12 Kentucky. Tennessee seems to be for real this year, and if they actually had a good point guard, would probably be a top 10 team (Horston is a stud, but she's just NOT a good PG).
• Stanford lost not 1, but 2 games last week. In a row. They are on a 2 game losing streak (the last time UCONN had one of those I think dinosaurs roamed the earth)...
  • Sure one of those losses was to a really good UCLA team but the other was to a 6-6 Colorado team, who while better than their record, has losses to Denver, a decent Washington State team, 6-7 USC, and followed up their big Stanford with with a loss to ASU.
  • There are 0 good things you can say about Stanford's loss to Colorado, unless you are a Colorado fan.
• #1 L'ville needed some Q4 heroics to overcome a 7-6 Wake Forest team, who is actually a decent team, but boasts losses to ND, GTech, UNC, and had a squeaker over an average Miami team.
• #2 NC State needed a monster last 4 minutes to overcome an 11 point deficit to a 7-7 Va Tech team who is 2-7 in the ACC. After starting the season 6-0 feasting on the likes of Appalachian State and Richmond, Tech has lost 7 out of their last 8 - none of the losses are bad, (ND 2x, FSU, GA Tech, etc.) but they are near the bottom of their league. Still, they are a solid team. But so are Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall.
• SC, for all the accolades some seem to want to lay at their feet, held off a feisty LSU team, 6-7 on the season and 4-3 in the conference. LSU is sort of a Jekyll and Hyde team with losses to Pacific, BYU, UCF, but just a 1-point loss to Tennessee, and with wins over aTm and Alabama

My basic point is that at this time it does not appear that ANY team looks invincible, or even close to it. And UCONN had NO trouble with DePaul, SHU or Villanova, the 2, 4, and 5 teams in our league. We are supposed to play Marquette (#3) twice, SHU and DePaul once more, and are not scheduled to face 'Nova. I'm NOT saying the Big east is as good as the SEC, ACC or Pac-12, but I'd love to see Marquette, SHU or Villanova face off against Colorado, Wake Forest, Va Tech, etc.

I fully realize that you can't say "Team A beat team B by 20, team B beat team C by 20, therefore team A should beat team C by 40", but for as much as UCONN is failing the eye test according to Geno, and probably most fans too, I just wanted to throw out a little perspective of what other top teams are doing.

Wow, that's a lot of "Likes" (including mine). You're going to need a bigger hat, @EricLA

 

[Waquoit]

Paige has shown us that she is an absolute star who can win games in the clutch. That's something the program hasn't had since Stewie graduated. The team has a bunch of good players with her. UConn is in good shape.

 

[Carnac]

With UCONN's lackluster win over Tennessee (sure their length gave us problems), and the "bad practice" win over Georgetown, I've noticed a decidedly downtrodden slant to numerous posts regarding UCONN's chances at a final 4, where they belong in the rankings, etc. But i wanted to recap a few things, and maybe give a little perspective (at least my perspective!).

• I HATE Tennessee. As much as it bugged me that we didn't slaughter them, their next game out they crushed #12 Kentucky. Tennessee seems to be for real this year, and if they actually had a good point guard, would probably be a top 10 team (Horston is a stud, but she's just NOT a good PG).
• Stanford lost not 1, but 2 games last week. In a row. They are on a 2 game losing streak (the last time UCONN had one of those I think dinosaurs roamed the earth)...
  • Sure one of those losses was to a really good UCLA team but the other was to a 6-6 Colorado team, who while better than their record, has losses to Denver, a decent Washington State team, 6-7 USC, and followed up their big Stanford with with a loss to ASU.
  • There are 0 good things you can say about Stanford's loss to Colorado, unless you are a Colorado fan.
• #1 L'ville needed some Q4 heroics to overcome a 7-6 Wake Forest team, who is actually a decent team, but boasts losses to ND, GTech, UNC, and had a squeaker over an average Miami team.
• #2 NC State needed a monster last 4 minutes to overcome an 11 point deficit to a 7-7 Va Tech team who is 2-7 in the ACC. After starting the season 6-0 feasting on the likes of Appalachian State and Richmond, Tech has lost 7 out of their last 8 - none of the losses are bad, (ND 2x, FSU, GA Tech, etc.) but they are near the bottom of their league. Still, they are a solid team. But so are Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall.
• SC, for all the accolades some seem to want to lay at their feet, held off a feisty LSU team, 6-7 on the season and 4-3 in the conference. LSU is sort of a Jekyll and Hyde team with losses to Pacific, BYU, UCF, but just a 1-point loss to Tennessee, and with wins over aTm and Alabama

My basic point is that at this time it does not appear that ANY team looks invincible, or even close to it. And UCONN had NO trouble with DePaul, SHU or Villanova, the 2, 4, and 5 teams in our league. We are supposed to play Marquette (#3) twice, SHU and DePaul once more, and are not scheduled to face 'Nova. I'm NOT saying the Big east is as good as the SEC, ACC or Pac-12, but I'd love to see Marquette, SHU or Villanova face off against Colorado, Wake Forest, Va Tech, etc.

I fully realize that you can't say "Team A beat team B by 20, team B beat team C by 20, therefore team A should beat team C by 40", but for as much as UCONN is failing the eye test according to Geno, and probably most fans too, I just wanted to throw out a little perspective of what other top teams are doing.

Great post Eric. I also have noticed a little “tension“ in the yard lately. Your post is exactly what we need right now to calm us down, and help us keep things in perspective.

You like Tennessee more than I do!! I’m with you on really wanting to give them a beat down, and help Evina have the last laugh. That photo of the team greeting her as she entered the locker room after a media interview was priceless.

She’ll never admit it, but to return to that arena, play well and leave with a win meant a lot to her. We will never know the level of anxiety she had in the days leading up to that game. Her team knew, and had her back. That was a wonderful thing to see.

The Georgetown game however left an extremely bitter taste in a lot of our mouths. Talk about playing down to the level of an opponent’s skill and ability. We know UConn is a much better team than they displayed.

We were expecting a 5 course meal during that game, but all we got was some cold soup and some stale unsalted crackers. Of course the yard is upset. You get one of the most under achieving teams in the conference your arena, and you play uninspiringly and down to their level? WTH?!?

Yes, the natives are restless, and rightly so. Your scouting report of the other elites is just what the doctor ordered. It’s nice to know that the other elites are struggling too. I feel better already.

 

[chrissaran]

Can't agree more. Be supportive of the team. There's a lot of basketball to be played. We'll be there in the end.

 

[Performance]

Just thinking that if I was able to get out of the house everyday, get to coach young, competitive athletes, and get paid about $2.4M bucks a year to do it, there's no way I'm going to get tired and out of sorts. I'll trade places with him.

Easy to say when your not trying to navigate a young team through covid and all the uncertainty surrounding schedules ( playing not playing etc.) the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

 

[BobbyJ]

Easy to say when your not trying to navigate a young team through covid and all the uncertainty surrounding schedules ( playing not playing etc.) the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

He’s being compensated nicely to endure those devastating struggles with a full staff of help. You’re right, his grass is a lot greener than most anywhere.