I'm not getting all this anger directed at Bria

[Bigpetunia]

Well, OK, sweetheart....you get your wish. I shall cease and desist from all future posts...the forum can be as saccharine as you want it to be. I thought about painting on a couple of dimples, and maybe a few freckles, and joining in the majority predilection to avoid any and all objective analysis...just not me. Good luck to the Huskies, and to all.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Well, OK, sweetheart....you get your wish. I shall cease and desist from all future posts...the forum can be as saccharine as you want it to be. I thought about painting on a couple of dimples, and maybe a few freckles, and joining in the majority predilection to avoid any and all objective analysis...just not me. Good luck to the Huskies, and to all.

Sweetheart, I love it when folks go "woe is me."

FYI - Repeating the obvious is not analysis. Saying you're disappointed is not analysis.

Beating a dead horse about how you feel about someone whose performance you have no control over is a kind of bullying.

And, while you aren't reading this, you also know that this board isn't all saccharine. That's just lazy analysis.

 

[pap49cba]

They are 27-2 and just beat a team that took ND to OT by 35 points.

You think we might be expecting a WEEEEEE bit too much from the team? Is only perfection ok? Geno is the coach, so that is what he coaches for. Why, in heaven's name, is that what the fans expect?

Unbelievable.

Right on DD. As Geno said earlier this week, if we don't win Monday night we might as well cancel the rest of the season. (Said with tongue firmly in cheek.)

The great irony is ND lost three in a row to Uconn and won the National Championship. As Geno said, "I guess they didn't get the memo."

Some Uconn fans have become so spoiled it's a joke. And you're right. For many, perfection is the only outcome that is acceptable. If we won by 40 and had five players in double figures but the FT % was 50% they'd moan about that.

 

[EricLA]

I've not paid attention to the Bria bashing comments, mainly because i think people who write them are a bit crazy, and frankly arguing with crazy people just ends up making me crazy...

But i do feel that there's a difference between bashing and criticizing. Something is going on with Bria. Confidence? Between her ears? She's back to starting and looks 100% out there from a physical standpoint. She moves like greased lightning, and her defense against USF was really good, and they have some athletic guards. Also, she had a few boneheaded passes, but without CD on the court for much of the game and Bria at the point I thought she looked good. Not great, but she's not a true PG.

Can't fault or criticize a kid, IMHO, who's out there giving all she has to the best of her abilities. Her shots not falling have zero to do with her effort or intensity. Will her lack of offense hurt UCONN in a big game? Of course. Going 0-11 against ND or Baylor would be hard to overcome. But Geno played her 32 minutes. Clearly he saw something he liked.

I mean this as no insult to Caroline, but her offense is actually far less than Bria's this year, and even if Bria scored 0 points, I'd actually rather see her on the court over Caroline vs. a team with athletic guards due to Caroline's limited mobility. Would I rather see Bria score? Duh - yes. Will 0-whatever hurt us in a big game? Of course. But if she plays with 100% effort then I have zero to complain about in that regard.

 

[psconn]

Well, OK, sweetheart....you get your wish. I shall cease and desist from all future posts...the forum can be as saccharine as you want it to be. I thought about painting on a couple of dimples, and maybe a few freckles, and joining in the majority predilection to avoid any and all objective analysis...just not me. Good luck to the Huskies, and to all.

Oh crap! Now we've done it! NOW what are we going to do?!?!

 

[doggydaddy]

Well, OK, sweetheart....you get your wish. I shall cease and desist from all future posts...the forum can be as saccharine as you want it to be. I thought about painting on a couple of dimples, and maybe a few freckles, and joining in the majority predilection to avoid any and all objective analysis...just not me. Good luck to the Huskies, and to all.

You really should try quoting the person so we know who you are calling sweetheart. If it's me, you are not my type.

 

[svetbird]

I am not mad, just baffled and disappointed. Her game is so off she doesn’t look like she belongs on the court. For an all American that is crazy. If Geno can help get her head on straight this team is unbeatable. She is the difference between final four and championship. We can win it without her (boy will it be tough to though) but if she plays like last year, it is us not Baylor who would look unstoppable.

 

[Forty_four]

The bar has been set very high at Uconn and the expectations from fans go with it. Geno and the past teams set the bar and each team hence must play up to those expectations. Geno is not happy with Bria but he is trying to let her play and shoot through this slump to gain her confidence, which she has totally lost by passing up shots that she should be taking. She is an AA which everyone knows and the expectations for her are even higher than for most on this team. Her past performance in big games is what made her an AA. But when you are shooting this badly and as the games gain importance, and you play for a program that has NC aspirations every year, then you are open for critism for poor play. If this was a male player of AA caliber on the mens team, he would be highly and heavily critized by many on the mens board, but when that approach is taken on this board, then many core contributors take great offense that one of "theirs" is facing such heavy critism.

I still have faith in Bria that the next shot is going to fall and I believe she is still the best option for Geno to be on the floor over Caroline and MO but I also believe she has to face the critism of a bad shooting performance that has lingered most of the year. Being the competitors that she is, she would be the first one to tell you that she is stinking it up right now. And it is not about her intensity or effort, probably she is trying to hit the five run homer.

It is upsetting that many posters have almost ganged up on a few naysayers and seem to be trying to silence the critism. Their is always two side to the story and both should be allowed to be aired on this forum.

With that said, I hope she breaks Wilts single game scoring record on Monday!

 

[msf22b]

They are 27-2 and just beat a team that took ND to OT by 35 points.

You think we might be expecting a WEEEEEE bit too much from the team? Is only perfection ok? Geno is the coach, so that is what he coaches for. Why, in heaven's name, is that what the fans expect?




Some of us are taking our cue from the boss himself. For example today, he was quoted as saying:

. We are going to play it game by game instead of 'this is what we've got.' This is kind of an unusual year, everything has been so unsettled. I don't remember a year as unsettled as this one where right from Oct. 15 nothing has been quote (sic, emphasis mine) right and maybe that is just the way it is going to be."

It's obvious that as good as the team is, it somewhat different from his expectations. Seems completely proper for some on the fan board to be as confused and concerned, It doesn't make us negative, just realists.

 

[doggydaddy]

I'll say it again. 27-2. Only lost to last years 40-0 NC team and by one point with a chance to win against #2 ND.

And after KML's 32 point game with 6-12 on 3's, the focus is what didn't go right.

 

[Forty_four]

I'll say it again. 27-2. Only lost to last years 40-0 NC team and by one point with a chance to win against #2 ND.

And after KML's 32 point game with 6-12 on 3's, the focus is what didn't go right.

Because you dont have to fix what did go right.

 

[doggydaddy]

Because you dont have to fix what did go right.

We don't fix anything. We watch.

 

[OneTrickPony]

People are acting like she's not making shots on purpose. Do you think she wants to be a shooting slump? I especially don't understand the mocking "All American" stuff which seems very Middle School, imo. Bria has played at a very high level for more than two years but since she's been slow to recover from her injury, mentally, and her confidence in her shot is wavering, she's somehow not worthy of our support. To quote our friend doggydaddy - unbelievable.

The kid is a shooter. The only way she's going to get her confidence back is to keep shooting. I hope she ignores all the nay-sayers and just keeps shooting until she's out of her slump.

Amen...

 

[OneTrickPony]

I think people enjoy expecting more from college women who play basketball and less from themselves when they're at their daily work.

Few would dare to have the same standards for themselves as they have for Bria.

Quite so...

 

[OneTrickPony]

You say " it's hard to see what is gained by not mentioning the obvious."

I say " it's hard to see what is gained by mentioning the obvious."

Quite...

 

[doggydaddy]

The bar has been set very high at Uconn and the expectations from fans go with it. Geno and the past teams set the bar and each team hence must play up to those expectations.

Again, 27-2 with the only losses were a hard fought battle with last years National Champs and a 1 point loss to #2 ND. They are leading the country in several offensive and defensive stats.

Is the bar really higher than this for the team for UConn fans?

It is upsetting that many posters have almost ganged up on a few naysayers and seem to be trying to silence the critism. Their is always two side to the story and both should be allowed to be aired on this forum.

So, you are ok with the "naysayers" and call the responses "ganging up" and trying to silence them, but it sounds to me that you are trying to silence the critics of the critics.

Yet you say both sides should be allowed to air.

Huh?

 

[OneTrickPony]

I'll be so bold as to say that without Bria and Breanna playing with abandon, we have substantially diminished chances against Baylor...we can, most probably defeat everyone else (even Our Lady's demons)...this is a simple decision really, and one these ladies made long ago...

 

[OneTrickPony]

Well, Nan, while I respect your posts enormously, I find this thread a little bewildering. Maybe I'm not reading the Board carefully enough, but I don't see much in the way of bashing Bria or anyone else here. Missing shots on purpose? Are you kidding? Can we posters not lament the obvious, that Bria's diminished production this year, for whatever reason, constitutes a huge disappointment, and a major concern insofar as our post-season prospects are concerned, without fear of being labeled "bashers" or a bullies? Her case speaks for itself, and it's hard to see what is gained by not mentioning the obvious. I see very little mean-spirited commentary...just lots of expressions of disappointment, some of which are mine....for which I make no apology. No one is rooting for Bria to regain her lost form more than I. But if the rules of the Board suggest that subjects such as these ought not even be broached, and that our role here is just to play Pollyanna, we can certainly comply...just won't be a very interesting forum.

They can be broached...and they can be rebutted...I'm sorry but dubbing you Mr. Obvious lends too much credence to your observations...let's leave it with a piece of well-deserved advice...try rooting for our Bria with a trifle more optimism and try to bear your huge disappointments with a bit more grace...or perhaps, a bit more restraint...

 

[OneTrickPony]

Well, OK, sweetheart....you get your wish. I shall cease and desist from all future posts...the forum can be as saccharine as you want it to be. I thought about painting on a couple of dimples, and maybe a few freckles, and joining in the majority predilection to avoid any and all objective analysis...just not me. Good luck to the Huskies, and to all.

Big of ya, Petunia...you are well away...

 

[tomcat]

Well, I've made observations about her play, but I'm not sure I would call it "bashing," and those observations did not start when she entered her slump. Right now, I'm not angry with her, just sad that for whatever reason, she's so far off her game, especially after the super season she had last year. As we have seen in the past with others, a player's psyche is a fragile thing at times, and what would be far worse than everything bad in this season would be if it carried over. I'm sure we're all hoping that doesn't happen.

 

[tomcat]

You say " it's hard to see what is gained by not mentioning the obvious."

I say " it's hard to see what is gained by mentioning the obvious."

I guess what is gained is mainly that we can have a discussion of what UConn looks like if Hartley continues at her current level. I'm not sure anyone's trying to bash her, but at some point you have to look at how the team is playing with her in there, and how far it can get under those circumstances. That's a legitimate avenue of discussion, isn't it?

 

[Dawson]

I would never mock one of our girls, but I will say I have no idea why she gotten so many minutes with the play she has had over the past couple games. I get that our backcourt is sparse, but there is no reason she should have played 32 minutes today or 36 against Pitt considering how in hand both games were and how bad she has been playing.

 

[DaddyChoc]

They are 27-2 and just beat a team that took ND to OT by 35 points.

You think we might be expecting a WEEEEEE bit too much from the team? Is only perfection ok? Geno is the coach, so that is what he coaches for. Why, in heaven's name, is that what the fans expect?

Unbelievable.

BINGO

 

[DaddyChoc]

I've not paid attention to the Bria bashing comments, mainly because i think people who write them are a bit crazy, and frankly arguing with crazy people just ends up making me crazy...

But i do feel that there's a difference between bashing and criticizing. Something is going on with Bria. Confidence? Between her ears? She's back to starting and looks 100% out there from a physical standpoint. She moves like greased lightning, and her defense against USF was really good, and they have some athletic guards. Also, she had a few boneheaded passes, but without CD on the court for much of the game and Bria at the point I thought she looked good. Not great, but she's not a true PG.

Can't fault or criticize a kid, IMHO, who's out there giving all she has to the best of her abilities. Her shots not falling have zero to do with her effort or intensity. Will her lack of offense hurt UCONN in a big game? Of course. Going 0-11 against ND or Baylor would be hard to overcome. But Geno played her 32 minutes. Clearly he saw something he liked.

I mean this as no insult to Caroline, but her offense is actually far less than Bria's this year, and even if Bria scored 0 points, I'd actually rather see her on the court over Caroline vs. a team with athletic guards due to Caroline's limited mobility. Would I rather see Bria score? Duh - yes. Will 0-whatever hurt us in a big game? Of course. But if she plays with 100% effort then I have zero to complain about in that regard.

well said Eric

 

[doggydaddy]

I guess what is gained is mainly that we can have a discussion of what UConn looks like if Hartley continues at her current level. I'm not sure anyone's trying to bash her, but at some point you have to look at how the team is playing with her in there, and how far it can get under those circumstances. That's a legitimate avenue of discussion, isn't it?

This micro analysis of her play (every turnover, supposed defensive lapse, missed shot) when the team is winning by 60, 40 and 35 the last 3 games including the last game where they beat a team by 35 that took ND to OT is where I have issue.

How is the team playing with her in here? Considering she is playing so many minutes, the team is doing just fine with her in there.

There are many reasons a team plays at the level they are playing, both good and bad. And Hartley, while not playing her best ball, contributes plenty in a positive way as well as negative at times.

Thread after thread and post after post discussing only the bad is piling on.