I think I can....I knew I could

[Tonyc]

Well you plant your seeds and some grow fast, some grow slow, and some take a long time. Well we are beginning to see all the work put in payin off. Christyn is out of her slump playin with confidence. Nika had her break out game the other day and now Edwards had her break out game and tore it up yesterday. Yeah we're comin around at the right time. Mondays game will be a big one. Marquette is a pretty good team with something to prove to the NCAA. They will come out playin hard.

So all season we have been waiting for alot of things to happen and alot of things are beginning to happen with this team. We've had a couple of kids have breakout games and our defense is looking tuff. We all can see how this team is developing into a force that will be retconned with. With that said we are still a bunch of underclassman with alot of fight, determination and guts. They dont quit theyre relentless.

Edwards was last nite, the beast of the Big East. She proved it last nite and now we all look forward to Monday nite. Nika is no longer hesitant to take a shot, shes shooting when shes open. Im so excited where this team is and how theyre playing. The mental side is something we havent seen in a while. They are so mentally tuff and relentless. We've come a long way this season and we're in the right place at the right time. It reminds me of the old book I had as a kid with the little train. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can when going up a steep hill and when he reached the top... I knew I could, I knew I could, I knew I could.

 

[Bama fan]

 

[Kaizen]

Everyone expects Paige will be good but not so good, this is my feeling.

The big surprises are Nika and Aaliyah. As a freshman they are exceptionally good. They can be a starter in any college team. Nika controls the ball really well and now she can shoot three. Aaliyah's energy is in every where. She is always in the right place when you need her.

 

[BBallF]

Very positive as always Tonyc. I would add Evina to that mix as well. Yesterday, she was 3-3 from the field when Geno took her out with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter and she didn't go back in until 4:40 left in the second. She then made her next 2 shots and was 5-5 with 12 points by half. She only went 1-7 for the rest of the game and wound up with 12 shots which ties her season high. Quietly, she is reasserting herself on offense.

We all know about her floor game. She is second on the team in both assists and steals and .10 behind AE and AG for being tied for the second best rebounding % per game on the team. But the shots were few and far between before and she was deferring wide open 3s and not taking drives to the basket or finishing when she did. Only she knows how her knee is but we are a different team if both Nika and her take approximately 10-12 shots each per game because it opens up the floor for everyone else because the defense has to adjust. It hasn't happened fully yet. In the last 2 games they took a combined 22 and 18 shots respectively but not 10 each and the numbers before were woefully less. Is this recent change a mere happenstance or is it the people who are in charge of keeping the train going who have made a subtle adjustment? Whatever the answer, I was happy that E kept on shooting yesterday even when she started missing even though she did pass up a couple of shots that were open. For us to win our last game this season, E has to now assert herself every game on the offensive from here on in. She seems clearly capable of doing so.

Like I have been saying, we need all 5 cylinders in the train's engine going on offense. We have not yet seen all 5 going at the same time at a higher gear yet but it has been close in the last 2 games and at least they have all worked at different times before and we know all the cylinders on the little train do work.

The conductor seems to be a pretty good one so we may see it very soon and surely no later than late March or early April when there will be a lot of other trains on the track as well.

 

[Carnac]

Well you plant your seeds and some grow fast, some grow slow, and some take a long time. Well we are beginning to see all the work put in payin off. Christyn is out of her slump playin with confidence. Nika had her break out game the other day and now Edwards had her break out game and tore it up yesterday. Yeah we're comin around at the right time. Mondays game will be a big one. Marquette is a pretty good team with something to prove to the NCAA. They will come out playin hard.

So all season we have been waiting for alot of things to happen and alot of things are beginning to happen with this team. We've had a couple of kids have breakout games and our defense is looking tuff. We all can see how this team is developing into a force that will be retconned with. With that said we are still a bunch of underclassman with alot of fight, determination and guts. They dont quit theyre relentless.

Edwards was last nite, the beast of the Big East. She proved it last nite and now we all look forward to Monday nite. Nika is no longer hesitant to take a shot, shes shooting when shes open. Im so excited where this team is and how theyre playing. The mental side is something we havent seen in a while. They are so mentally tuff and relentless. We've come a long way this season and we're in the right place at the right time. It reminds me of the old book I had as a kid with the little train. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can when going up a steep hill and when he reached the top... I knew I could, I knew I could, I knew I could.

Marquette enters the game tomorrow as the 2nd place team in the conference at 14-3 / 17-4. Like you, I expect them to play like it. They will come out hard giving it everything they have. BUT.......................It won't be enough. UConn is running like a well oiled machine right now. This IS NOT a good time to play UConn, especially in Gampel. This will be an excellent last "tune-up" game before the conference tournament that begins on Friday March 5, to dot the i's and cross the t's. I expect UConn to win this one by 20+. Massey predicts UConn wins this one 76-57.

 

[Huskee11]

I have noticed that we tend to worry a lot around here. Me included. And fine, there are always things to worry about.

So much that we move on and forget what we were worrying about five minutes (oh ok, ten minutes) ago.

Like what?

Things like Christyn`s offense, which has definitely come around. Nika`s shooting, same thing. Evina`s health - I thought she was moving great, really playing fast, against Butler. Paige`s ankle - looked good to me. Geno`s grumpiness - well, he and his "slimes" seem to be getting along just fine. Aubrey`s three point shooting - ok, you got me there.

It is a long season. Even this not so long season, it has been especially wearing on the coaches and players. Things ebb and flow. But I agree with Tony, they seem to be in the right place at the right time. Which, of course, is why Geno gets the big bucks.

 

[chrissaran]

Nika is at times still hesitant to take a shot.

 

[Carnac]

I have noticed that we tend to worry a lot around here. Me included. And fine, there are always things to worry about.

So much that we move on and forget what we were worrying about five minutes (oh ok, ten minutes) ago.

Like what?

Things like Christyn`s offense, which has definitely come around. Nika`s shooting, same thing. Evina`s health - I thought she was moving great, really playing fast, against Butler. Paige`s ankle - looked good to me. Geno`s grumpiness - well, he and his "slimes" seem to be getting along just fine. Aubrey`s three point shooting - ok, you got me there.

It is a long season. Even this not so long season, it has been especially wearing on the coaches and players. Things ebb and flow. But I agree with Tony, they seem to be in the right place at the right time. Which, of course, is why Geno gets the big bucks.

Yes. More than one poster expressed "serious" concern about Creighton before the game. You know how that one turned out (81-49). IMHO, that loss to Arkansas did us much more good than harm, because we are playing so much better since. Sometimes "wake-up" calls do just that. That one was perfectly timed, and achieved its purpose. Many posters have expressed their satisfaction with the team being in a good place (and good frame of mind) right now.

 

[VA Huskie]

Well you plant your seeds and some grow fast, some grow slow, and some take a long time. Well we are beginning to see all the work put in payin off. Christyn is out of her slump playin with confidence. Nika had her break out game the other day and now Edwards had her break out game and tore it up yesterday. Yeah we're comin around at the right time. Mondays game will be a big one. Marquette is a pretty good team with something to prove to the NCAA. They will come out playin hard.

So all season we have been waiting for alot of things to happen and alot of things are beginning to happen with this team. We've had a couple of kids have breakout games and our defense is looking tuff. We all can see how this team is developing into a force that will be retconned with. With that said we are still a bunch of underclassman with alot of fight, determination and guts. They dont quit theyre relentless.

Edwards was last nite, the beast of the Big East. She proved it last nite and now we all look forward to Monday nite. Nika is no longer hesitant to take a shot, shes shooting when shes open. Im so excited where this team is and how theyre playing. The mental side is something we havent seen in a while. They are so mentally tuff and relentless. We've come a long way this season and we're in the right place at the right time. It reminds me of the old book I had as a kid with the little train. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can when going up a steep hill and when he reached the top... I knew I could, I knew I could, I knew I could.

As a pretty small kid back in the ‘50’s, that was my favorite book. Just read it to my granddaughter the other day.

 

[Bigboote]

Well you plant your seeds and some grow fast, some grow slow, and some take a long time.

Maybe Geno's new nickname should be Totoro:

 

[msf22b]

No doubt, its really coming together Tony.
As you know, I'm a prime worrier.
The question is what happens first:
Does the coherence and maturity continue to bloom in the NCAA's
as it did suddenly in Stewie's year 1 (remember, she was a freshman too).
Or do they run into a hot-shooting buzzsaw with heft that stops them dead in their tracks.

I suspect the former, but there is a little birdie in my ear that whispers sweet nothings....