If you could run a few plays...

[AzzisBraids]

Geno is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball so take that part out of the equation and let's just dialogue. We all have our opinions and everyone is a "coach" these days. If you could run a few plays, set up a scheme, put in a line-up for a reason, run the defense or offense, what would you do? Here's my take:

1. More Paige and Sarah Strong pick and rolls: That has to be the most effective thing I've seen so far and now that Strong has found her 3-point shot, it's almost unstoppable.
2. Paige as PG: I've seen great things happen when she brings the ball up. The wings are open more, the paint is less clogged and her vision is more acute. They've been deploying her in clogged areas. Sarah has been relocating, credit to her IQ, because she's she sees what is happening.
3. More Backscreens to free up the posts: Someone not named Bueckers needs to backscreen. If you watch, she will backscreen a guard or post but the defense predicts this and throws attention in the mix to stop any actions with her present. A Shade, Chen, or Strong backscreen will benefit Ice, Jana (or everyone.)
4. Experimenting with Morgan Cheli - She ran the point guard for her high school team, leads this team in 3 point shooting and has great size. I'd love to see her run the point, play the 5 and do some out of the box things. I think she can figure it out.

Happy Holidays friends!

 

[Cuango]

Geno is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball so take that part out of the equation and let's just dialogue. We all have our opinions and everyone is a "coach" these days. If you could run a few plays, set up a scheme, put in a line-up for a reason, run the defense or offense, what would you do? Here's my take:

1. More Paige and Sarah Strong pick and rolls: That has to be the most effective thing I've seen so far and now that Strong has found her 3-point shot, it's almost unstoppable.
2. Paige as PG: I've seen great things happen when she brings the ball up. The wings are open more, the paint is less clogged and her vision is more acute. They've been deploying her in clogged areas. Sarah has been relocating, credit to her IQ, because she's she sees what is happening.
3. More Backscreens to free up the posts: Someone not named Bueckers needs to backscreen. If you watch, she will backscreen a guard or post but the defense predicts this and throws attention in the mix to stop any actions with her present. A Shade, Chen, or Strong backscreen will benefit Ice, Jana (or everyone.)
4. Experimenting with Morgan Cheli - She ran the point guard for her high school team, leads this team in 3 point shooting and has great size. I'd love to see her run the point, play the 5 and do some out of the box things. I think she can figure it out.

Happy Holidays friends!

Morgan is likely to become a very good player for us! She’s essentially a 6’2” point guard who can shoot the three and who has a high basketball IQ! Her issue right now is a predilection for committing too many fouls. Now, I know she’s not as bad as she showed in the Iowa State game but she has committed 9 fouls in the last two games! Hopefully that was a point of emphasis over the past few practices because at 6’2” with pg skills, she has the capability to be a game changing player for us! She is exactly the kind of big, multi-skilled player Geno loves! One wonders (and hopes) if she is picking the brain of Caroline? I hope so, as they share a lot of similarities! How great it would be to see them on the court together soon! I’m pretty bullish on Morgan (and Allie). I think this class is going to make some major noise for us!

 

[Bone Dog]

Experimenting with Morgan Cheli - She ran the point guard for her high school team, leads this team in 3 point shooting and has great size. I'd love to see her run the point, play the 5 and do some out of the box things. I think she can figure it out.

I watched many of Morgan’s HS games and she was impressive. A court leader and a high energy defender. She was the tip of the spear of her team’s full court press. She can definitely figure it out. I suspect part of her current struggles come from adapting to a new role as a spot up shooter and cutter. When she gets out on the break, you see all her instincts on display. I love watching her in transition.

One wonders (and hopes) if she is picking the brain of Caroline? I hope so, as they share a lot of similarities! How great it would be to see them on the court together soon! I’m pretty bullish on Morgan (and Allie). I think this class is going to make some major noise for us!

I agree. Morgan has many of Caroline’s virtues and a bit more foot speed. What she doesn’t have, yet, is Caroline’s low post craftiness and general court savvy. It would be awesome if those two could find a lot of practice time together, even just 1 v 1. Caroline could teach her a lot.

 

[oldhusky]

Rather than a play to run in a game, I would like to see the team focus on feeding the post in practice, post moves, and passing out of the post. I don't think Ice even seems to want the ball in the post, and when she does get it she tends to fall away too much and spin to the basket too little. In essence develop more of a low post game for her.

A bigger issue is working on getting the ball to Jana. She clearly does want it down low, and has more low post potential, but also has some rough edges. She tries to force up a shot when doubled down low too often. Uconn unlike many programs, expects their bigs to be good passers, and that is currently a weakness for Jana.

With her drilling on getting it to her, making quick decisive decisions when she gets it, a move to score or a quick pass as she sees a double coming, needs to become like muscle memory or instinctive. When that happens in practice incorporate it more as a strategy in the game.

I think Geno works largely on the chemistry between his main players, but elevating low post play from Ice and Jana, particularly Jana, might be the one area that could produce the greatest improvement in the team, and Jana could join the top player group.

 

[diggerfoot]

Geno is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball so take that part out of the equation and let's just dialogue. We all have our opinions and everyone is a "coach" these days. If you could run a few plays, set up a scheme, put in a line-up for a reason, run the defense or offense, what would you do? Here's my take:

1. More Paige and Sarah Strong pick and rolls: That has to be the most effective thing I've seen so far and now that Strong has found her 3-point shot, it's almost unstoppable.
2. Paige as PG: I've seen great things happen when she brings the ball up. The wings are open more, the paint is less clogged and her vision is more acute. They've been deploying her in clogged areas. Sarah has been relocating, credit to her IQ, because she's she sees what is happening.
3. More Backscreens to free up the posts: Someone not named Bueckers needs to backscreen. If you watch, she will backscreen a guard or post but the defense predicts this and throws attention in the mix to stop any actions with her present. A Shade, Chen, or Strong backscreen will benefit Ice, Jana (or everyone.)
4. Experimenting with Morgan Cheli - She ran the point guard for her high school team, leads this team in 3 point shooting and has great size. I'd love to see her run the point, play the 5 and do some out of the box things. I think she can figure it out.

Happy Holidays friends!

I wholeheartedly agree with your first suggestion. Strong appears to be the most savvy post since Dolson, and may be savvier. Let’s get back to frequently running the half court offense through the high post! I’d buy you a beer over that one if I could.

I disagree slightly with your second recommendation. Yes, Bueckers can do virtually anything better than any other guard, but the fact that she can does not mean she should. The more you broaden the role of a player the more you engage both their physical and mental effort and things like shooting percentages and A/T ratios will suffer. We’ve had a recent example of that. Chen is proving quite capable of being the point on offense, though I’m not suggesting that should be her exclusive role either. Rather I think whoever is best available in the changing of possession be the point of attack, be it Bueckers, Chen, Arnold or even Cheli. That makes for quicker transitions and more versatile play calling to thwart defenses in the half court.

 

[Bone Dog]

Uconn unlike many programs, expects their bigs to be good passers, and that is currently a weakness for Jana.

This sounds just about right. From watching Jana’s high school games and FIBA games, it was easy to see that she didn’t get much practice in passing out of the post, low or high. Since she was the main scoring option in almost every game, there weren’t a lot of people to pass it to. Also, since the guards she played with in those days struggled to get her the ball in the post, I imagine it didn’t seem wise to pass it back out whenever they managed to get the ball to her. I suspect her current situation, on a team with great guards and an emphasis on effective passing, must feel like a sea change.

 

[BBallF]

Geno is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball so take that part out of the equation and let's just dialogue. We all have our opinions and everyone is a "coach" these days. If you could run a few plays, set up a scheme, put in a line-up for a reason, run the defense or offense, what would you do? Here's my take:

1. More Paige and Sarah Strong pick and rolls: That has to be the most effective thing I've seen so far and now that Strong has found her 3-point shot, it's almost unstoppable.
2. Paige as PG: I've seen great things happen when she brings the ball up. The wings are open more, the paint is less clogged and her vision is more acute. They've been deploying her in clogged areas. Sarah has been relocating, credit to her IQ, because she's she sees what is happening.
3. More Backscreens to free up the posts: Someone not named Bueckers needs to backscreen. If you watch, she will backscreen a guard or post but the defense predicts this and throws attention in the mix to stop any actions with her present. A Shade, Chen, or Strong backscreen will benefit Ice, Jana (or everyone.)
4. Experimenting with Morgan Cheli - She ran the point guard for her high school team, leads this team in 3 point shooting and has great size. I'd love to see her run the point, play the 5 and do some out of the box things. I think she can figure it out.

Happy Holidays friends!

Like #1 and #3. I can see #2 as a change of pace. Paige can play anywhere. She proved that last year. Hard no for me for # 4. Morgan doesn't have the lateral quickness and speed yet to defend smaller faster points. For example, I think our KK drives right by her. Part of her fouling is due to the speed issue because she is using her arms and hands to play defense instead of her feet. Jana does this too at times. I love Morgan but I like where she is right now. A strong, mix it up, rebounding wing with a great 3 and a sense for the open spot on the break or in the half court set. Hey, you never know. Geno may try this out in the BE games but I would be surprised if he did with both KC and KK there.

 

[JellyBean]

I would just let them play rather than run plays. Running plays gets you into either forgetting because there are 3-5 options and you ain't one of them so you really don't care. Or you are overthinking and you miss scoring opportunities because you are trying to get the ball to the whoever the play is designed for. I would just press and run. Use these players natural skills.

As for lineups. Paige, Chen, Ash/Azzi, Ice, and Sarah in a Horn Set or 1-4 High. Ice and Sarah at the elbow. Paige and Ash/Azzi on the Wings. For a defensive press, I would use this lineup in a 1-2-2 setup with Paige at the 1 spot on defense with Ash/Azzi & Chen at the front 2 spot followed by Ice and Sarah for anything long. Active hands and feet. Off the bench, I would use this same lineup, on defense, with Q at the 1 spot, Morgan, KK/Allie, Jana and Aubrey. Just depends on who is healthy. But we got too much length and quickness not to be pressing more.

 

[The deacon]

I watched many of Morgan’s HS games and she was impressive. A court leader and a high energy defender. She was the tip of the spear of her team’s full court press. She can definitely figure it out. I suspect part of her current struggles come from adapting to a new role as a spot up shooter and cutter. When she gets out on the break, you see all her instincts on display. I love watching her in transition.

I agree. Morgan has many of Caroline’s virtues and a bit more foot speed. What she doesn’t have, yet, is Caroline’s low post craftiness and general court savvy. It would be awesome if those two could find a lot of practice time together, even just 1 v 1. Caroline could teach her a lot.

Bone Dog, without any foundation for this statement other than my observations of Caroline during games at the XL Center and a bit on TV, I harbor the belief she's already landed on the concept of coaching as her future in the game. Working with Morgan would be a great way to get started. Who knows, maybe Geno/CD and their successor could find room on the staff for Caroline?

 

[Conndog]

I would like to see better in-bounding plays!

 

[bballnut90]

1. More Paige and Sarah Strong pick and rolls: That has to be the most effective thing I've seen so far and now that Strong has found her 3-point shot, it's almost unstoppable.
2. Paige as PG: I've seen great things happen when she brings the ball up. The wings are open more, the paint is less clogged and her vision is more acute. They've been deploying her in clogged areas. Sarah has been relocating, credit to her IQ, because she's she sees what is happening.

These two are my picks. I know Geno likes running a motion offense that's more structured, but Paige and Strong might be the two best PNR players in the country if they utilized it more frequently. Run a small ball lineup with Strong at the 5, have shooters in the corner to spread the floor and just let them run their two man game and either attack or find an open shooter on every play down. Both are great passers/scorers/decision makers and developing that skill set that will translate to the pros. No shade to their teammates, but both are head and shoulders better than anyone else on the roster, so I don't understand why everything isn't being run through them. And I've never understood the logic to keep Paige off ball for so much of her career.

 

[hoophuskee]

These two are my picks. I know Geno likes running a motion offense that's more structured, but Paige and Strong might be the two best PNR players in the country if they utilized it more frequently. Run a small ball lineup with Strong at the 5, have shooters in the corner to spread the floor and just let them run their two man game and either attack or find an open shooter on every play down. Both are great passers/scorers/decision makers and developing that skill set that will translate to the pros. No shade to their teammates, but both are head and shoulders better than anyone else on the roster, so I don't understand why everything isn't being run through them. And I've never understood the logic to keep Paige off ball for so much of her career.

If she is the pg then why wouldn't you blitz her when she comes over halfcourt if you are the Defense? As a result, she is going to pass the ball, thus getting it out of her hands. Once the ball is out of her hands, then how is it that UCONN can run a pick and roll with her?

And throughout her career, Paige has been to two FF's and a Finals. You don't understand that this has traslated into overall success?

 

[Zonepress]

Geno is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball so take that part out of the equation and let's just dialogue. We all have our opinions and everyone is a "coach" these days. If you could run a few plays, set up a scheme, put in a line-up for a reason, run the defense or offense, what would you do? Here's my take:

1. More Paige and Sarah Strong pick and rolls: That has to be the most effective thing I've seen so far and now that Strong has found her 3-point shot, it's almost unstoppable.
2. Paige as PG: I've seen great things happen when she brings the ball up. The wings are open more, the paint is less clogged and her vision is more acute. They've been deploying her in clogged areas. Sarah has been relocating, credit to her IQ, because she's she sees what is happening.
3. More Backscreens to free up the posts: Someone not named Bueckers needs to backscreen. If you watch, she will backscreen a guard or post but the defense predicts this and throws attention in the mix to stop any actions with her present. A Shade, Chen, or Strong backscreen will benefit Ice, Jana (or everyone.)
4. Experimenting with Morgan Cheli - She ran the point guard for her high school team, leads this team in 3 point shooting and has great size. I'd love to see her run the point, play the 5 and do some out of the box things. I think she can figure it out.

Happy Holidays friends!

Nice post thank you!!

Love GA but find the offensive concept to be very flaws

 

[bballnut90]

If she is the pg then why wouldn't you blitz her when she comes over halfcourt if you are the Defense? As a result, she is going to pass the ball, thus getting it out of her hands. Once the ball is out of her hands, then how is it that UCONN can run a pick and roll with her?

And throughout her career, Paige has been to two FF's and a Finals. You don't understand this has traslated into overall success?

I don’t foresee teams blitzing her since I don’t think that’s ever been a tactic used against her. If she gets blitzed, she passes the ball and it creates a temporary 4 on 3 to find an open scorer (likely operating through Strong in the high post). Paige has had a great career and found a lot of success but I’ve never understood why she isn’t the primary ball handler and facilitator when she’s as efficient and skilled as she is. Geno talks about her being the best passer in the country (which I fully believe) but she’s averaged under 4 assists per game the past 3 seasons which tells me her passing and facilitating skills aren’t being utilized near enough.

 

[BBallF]

I don’t foresee teams blitzing her since I don’t think that’s ever been a tactic used against her. If she gets blitzed, she passes the ball and it creates a temporary 4 on 3 to find an open scorer (likely operating through Strong in the high post). Paige has had a great career and found a lot of success but I’ve never understood why she isn’t the primary ball handler and facilitator when she’s as efficient and skilled as she is. Geno talks about her being the best passer in the country (which I fully believe) but she’s averaged under 4 assists per game the past 3 seasons which tells me her passing and facilitating skills aren’t being utilized near enough.

Who is she going to pass the ball to? They will just face guard Sarah and then you have, right now, KC, Ash and Ice trying to score your points.If Azzi is 90% as against Ole Miss you can then see a double on Paige leading nowhere. Paige has averaged 4 assists per game her last two years of playing and 5+ her freshman year when she was passing too much. JuJu takes an average of 3 more shots per game than Paige, that is it. However she shoots at least 4 free throws more per game. She only shoots 46% from the field versus Paige's 56%.

In certain circumstances I think Paige should have the ball from the inbounds, like when you need a basket that is game defining, since there is a likelihood of no double. Remember the NC State Elite 8 game? I think the biggest area for correction right now besides a full court press as a way of life is for Paige and Sarah to shoot more, at least 4 more shots per game each. Your best scorers and shooters should be scoring and shooting. If others are taking a lot of 3s or shots they are not proficient at, like Saturday night, you lose. Paige and Sarah were 45% from the field in an off night and with Ash they were 46.6%. Take the rest of the team and they were 35%. Who should be taking most of the shots?

A point guard who has to initiate is at a glaring vulnerability to the double if that passer is your leading scorer too. One exception that proves the rule is CC since her range gave her 15 foot like jumpers proficiency from 25 feet.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Never mind. I thought this thread was going to be about dating tactics.

 

[oldude]

I would spread the floor and run the high screen and role with Paige and Sarah until the cows come home……