Iowa Postgame Thread [merged thread]

[j66kicker]

I forget - who was #1 in assists all time when DT graduated?

Ha ha. I believe that, since Jefferson is #1 and Taurasi is #2, then one can infer that Taurasi had to be #1 at the time she graduated.

 

[UcMiami]

I remember Geno and Chiney having a hug as she was subbed out of her last game at the FF in 2014 - she actually initiated it on her way to the bench.

I think one of the reasons for the leading questions in sports reporting at the college level especially is partly due to quite a few players answering questions with one word replies or just a few, and they are trying to get a better answer. Uconn players tend to have CD training behind them before they get in front of a mike and are generally better at it, but I have seen quite a few post games where the players are pretty silent. It is getting better overall probably because kids are more media savvy in HS will all the internet platforms. But I think the older reporters are having a hard time breaking old habits.

 

[j66kicker]

Yes, of course, its always something else: Turnovers, shooting percentage? PER is a stat that takes all of that into account and Clark is 12% higher than Paige. Now winning and team performance of course: well, it is College sports after all and there is no draft or other means to equalize talent. Therefore, talent can be stockpiled. And in a game with very few really good players, Uconn has a very costly but effective international talent and recruitment program to insure they get way more than their fare share of talent. And at the end of the day, talent wins games.

UConn gets way more than their fair share of talent, but not by outspending everyone. We don’t have a Phil Knight sugar daddy, so we make due. Napheesa Collier recently said she chose UConn despite the superior facilities of some of the other suitors. Kelly Graves, Jose Fernandez and Jeff Walz were recruiting the same international players UConn recently signed, and obviously had the resources to do so. These kids just wanted to play for Geno.

 

[UcMiami]

Ha ha. I believe that, since Jefferson is #1 and Taurasi is #2, then Taurasi had to be #1 at the time she graduated.

Interesting little tidbit that never gets stated but may become relevant for Paige since she has a rather short (games) freshman season: the career leader in assists per game at Uconn is Sue Bird at 4.96 - she had a career of only 118 games because of her injury as a freshman.
Behind her are:
Jen at 4.71 (135 games)
DT at 4.50 (144)
Danger at 4.47 (134)
Moriah at 4.25 (155)
Rene at 4.21 (150)
Paige right now is at 6.07 (27)
Birds best season as a senior she was at 5.92 (39)

 

[hoophuskee]

That was a real killer. I think it was a 9 or 10 point margin, on back to back possessions Warnock had a pass go right thru her hands and out of bounds. UConn might've scored after both, I think any chance of a rally was done at that point.

UCONN had some unforced turnovers too.

 

[hoophuskee]

Tuck in her last 2 years better than Edwards. Not saying Edwards won't be better. She probably will.

1--- With Tuck you didn't have to worry too much about foul trouble.

2-- Edwards doesn't hit ft's as well. With Tuck you could low post her and even if team had to give fouls she was a better converter. Edwards needs to be more opportunistic because of the quality of guards she plays with - though she has been but that's the benefit of playing with offensively filthy passing guard play.

3-- As counter to Edwards being so good at OREB and converting more on the inside-- Tuck in big games - like the nickname that James Worthy had-- "Big Game James" - so was Tuck "BIG" - and some of it - was on the perimeter in which she at least equals Edwards inside effectiveness because Tuck helped open the floor. That allows her team to have a flow of movement on the inside. Or in some cases --bigs just couldn't guard her. Thus UCONN's offense got a good shot any time they wanted. Which is why for example Rebecca would say for example vs SC that they couldn't beat UCONN because they can't score enough. SC was a 3 or 4 team.

4-- Tuck was a a better passer.

 

[freshler40]

We went seven deep, all with serious contributions, not many teams can do that. If Nika is able to play it gives us another defensive notch up, more steals and disruption with a press option. Our coaches have prepared our defensive plans well and aren't afraid of resting a player for a few minutes. We have quick hands and great field vision, another missing element for many teams. Shooting well can come or go but when you have Liv, Edwards and the guards looking to clean up misses we are a tough out!

 

[freshler40]

UCONN had some unforced turnovers too.

Yes, a number of them but at each higher level of this these games, the opposition has things we haven't seen for our young team. In some cases these teams also have played quite a few more games than we have. This is valuable experience for them.
We do adjust well with the coaching staff watching the fine points. I love that Liv is willing to distribute, going from 19 points to 4 with a big smile on her face, happy to help! She also pulled down a number of key rebounds. Williams was beyond great, perhaps her best game as a Husky. She was everywhere. Westbrook had another Hugh game and seems to read, as does Paige, what the team needs. This can't be taught. This is leadership. We are blessed fans, what a wonderful package to watch.

 

[BRS24]

Yes, of course, its always something else: Turnovers, shooting percentage? PER is a stat that takes all of that into account and Clark is 12% higher than Paige. Now winning and team performance of course: well, it is College sports after all and there is no draft or other means to equalize talent. Therefore, talent can be stockpiled. And in a game with very few really good players, Uconn has a very costly but effective international talent and recruitment program to insure they get way more than their fare share of talent. And at the end of the day, talent wins games.

Wait. I'm sure many other Yarders can back me up with data, however UConn does not go the international route as much as USF and other schools. Nika seemed to be a surprise to many, and some even discounted that she would make a difference at UConn, and we've seen how that turned out.

I'd argue that for 2020, the #1, 23, and 25th ranked players (Paige, Aaliyah, Mir), along with 2018 #1, 5 (Christyn, Olivia) and 2017 #2 (Evina) is more indicative of UConn's talent pool.

Then add 2021 #1, 5, 15, 30 (Fudd, Ducharme, DeBerry, Poffenbarger), 2022 #3, 5 (Patterson, Brady) and there's the recruiting depth. Remember that a mere few years ago, we had chicken little, sky is falling, Geno/UConn has lost his recruiting touch and then bam, 2020 and 2021 happen.

Technically, Kia Nurse and Kelly Schumacher are foreign players from Canada, however the last non-NA foreign player to make a significant impact was Abrosimova (97-01).

2017 was an odd year. We got #1, 13, 16, 29 (Walker, Coombs, Espinoza-Hunter, Gordon), and only Walker played 3 years.

Lastly, Raoul (WBB blogger) noticed that half of the top 10 recruits in the 2018 recruiting class will have transferred, and 11 of the top 25 (44%).

 

[BRS24]

And to think there's an espn dot com article with quotes from Tara D about how the games are not being called as tight in the tourney as regular season. It was refreshing to see a lot of contact uncalled.

and ps, Geno threw a comment out there about yesterday's officiating, saying something along the lines of he thought it was fine, let the kids play, so just maybe he's greasing the wheel for more of the same Monday.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

it is a lie that others on this site have tried as well, for some reason.

Gee, maybe the reason is that this is a UConn fan board? Right or wrong, fans on this board should be given the opportunity to support UConn players in debates about “who is better”. You call it a lie, I call it an opinion, and as such those opinions should be expected on a UConn fan board.

 

[Stymie]

Interesting Iowa presser, both the coach and Clark repeatedly said the final score was not indicative of the game, just a ballooning of the score at the end. Uh, yeah that’s called closing out the game and what the best teams do.

 

[Vowelguy]

Wait. I'm sure many other Yarders can back me up with data, however UConn does not go the international route as much as USF and other schools. Nika seemed to be a surprise to many, and some even discounted that she would make a difference at UConn, and we've seen how that turned out.

Technically, Kia Nurse and Kelly Schumacher are foreign players from Canada, however the last non-NA foreign player to make a significant impact was Abrosimova (97-01

Schumacher is actually American but had gone to high school in Canada.

JUCO transfers Tihana Abrilic and Rashidat Sadiq were also nonUS.

 

[Tonyc]

Both teams shot the ball really well. UConn went on a run and Iowa answered with some great clutch treys. Great game and great for WCBB. UConns defense is what caused Iowa to shoot from deep and they made alot of shots. UConn stepped up and Iowa stepped up. Give everybody credit.

 

[VidNick]

I dont see your point in this post. If you are just trying to argue with me that Clark is a better player, I will stop that.

Childhood, I mean no disrespect in my comments. Win shares was being used to measure Paige vs Clark. I said it was not valid. I explained why I do not think it is a great statistic for such comparison: number of "team" wins is the bedrock of the equation. I just took a fast look at the calculation. The defensive piece of the equation appears to be dependent on points allowed by the 'team'. Uconn plays great team defense, the best in the game. This year they also played some pretty inferior opponents. I would be curious as to how many win shares Paige earned from defense? Maybe somebody has that info?

Anyway, the whole win shares thing has piqued my interest: looks like a good afternoon with Excel, which I will undertake some rainy day.

As an aside: is this info is coming from herhoopstats? If I am remembering correctly, I looked at their stats for PER (which I did spend a few hours putting a spreadsheet together) and they appeared way high, with numerous players in the 30's.

 

[BRS24]

Schumacher is actually American but had gone to high school in Canada.

JUCO transfers Tihana Abrilic and Rashidat Sadiq were also nonUS.

Yes, I saw that, but I was trying to make the point of significant contributors irt the comment of "Uconn has a very costly but effective international talent and recruitment program"

 

[VidNick]

Like TN? - Oh wait you actually have to develop the talent to win titles.

To be clear, I am not a TN/Pat Summit fan, going back to the days they were the evil empire.

When Tennessee had Holdsclaw, Catchings, Lawson and Parker they won the Championship. Name one Tennessee player since Parker who is close to these players in ability? Did Pat lose her ability to develop great talent or did Pat lose her ability to recruit great talent?

The Uconn-TN rift came to a head over Maya Moore, where Uconn 'recruitment' practices came under question. (UT filed NCAA complaint alleging UConn violations). Maybe if Pat had Maya, she would have a couple more titles and Geno a couple less? Who knows.

 

[VidNick]

Hmm. I wonder who the uncoachable player is in the game today... Could it be Clark? It's not like Bluder could really force her to do things she doesn't want to do. Bluder has to know that Clark is the goose that laid the golden egg for her program.

This may be true, but neither you or I know. Sitting on the bench and watching will do wonders for players needing to get with the program.

 

[ABCDFE]

UConn gets way more than their fair share of talent, but not by outspending everyone. We don’t have a Phil Knight sugar daddy, so we make due. Napheesa Collier recently said she chose UConn despite the superior facilities of some of the other suitors. Kelly Graves, Jose Fernandez and Jeff Walz were recruiting the same international players UConn recently signed, and obviously had the resources to do so. These kids just wanted to play for Geno.

This is why once Geno retires, one significant advantage disappears. Geno is as close to a celebrity/spokesperson for WCCB (possibly basketball in general) as there is. Let’s hope he stays for another ten years.

 

[Zanzman]

Clark’s a shooter, Paige is just a great all-around player. Very Taurasi like. Eight assists and nine rebounds. Westbrook also almost had a triple double. Anna made a big splash too, a lot of positives for UConn in this game going forward. Add to that, Nika is almost ready.

To be clear, I am not a TN/Pat Summit fan, going back to the days they were the evil empire.

When Tennessee had Holdsclaw, Catchings, Lawson and Parker they won the Championship. Name one Tennessee player since Parker who is close to these players in ability? Did Pat lose her ability to develop great talent or did Pat lose her ability to recruit great talent?

The Uconn-TN rift came to a head over Maya Moore, where Uconn 'recruitment' practices came under question. (UT filed NCAA complaint alleging UConn violations). Maybe if Pat had Maya, she would have a couple more titles and Geno a couple less? Who knows.

Lawson didn’t win a ncaa championship

 

[jazz]

GA = Geno, CD = Chris Dailey, J = Jamelle, PB= Paige, NM = Nika, EW = Evina, Liv = Liv, CW = Christyn, AE = Aaliyah, AG = Aubrey Griffin, Mir = Mir, PG= Piath, AM = Anna, the Polish Rifle, PS or Poff = Saylor, AC = Autumn.

My 2 cents on the overall and guard/wing play:

We switched well for the most part but lost some shooters on the backside. There continues to be an increase in intensity with this team over last 6 games. They seem to be playing faster and better. Shows what our offense can do when others not named PB can hit outside shots. Iowa hit us hard in the 3rd and until that last 3 pointer, we still played them even in that quarter. That really shows how good our offense was in this game!

CW – I’ll start with the star among star performances. She put on a show. Again, nobody can keep her from getting to the cup and boy can she finish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, CW is as good as it gets finishing at the rim (including bigs). She is also our best player at creating her own shot…yes better than PB as well. The difference is that PB usually hits the shot. CW continues to be a dog on defense with a terrific performance helping to shut down/limit one of the best offensive players in the nation. She limited penetration, challenged shots, didn’t pick up fouls and never seemed to tire. I think this was her best performance at Uconn.

I wasn’t quite ready to take the cheese, but now I am completely sold on her as an excellent defender. She has come full circle from an awful display of defense in the first half of the year to now becoming a rock. She understands now that she can impact the game in more ways other than just shooting the ball, and to be honest, she didn’t shoot particularly well at 4-13 outside of 2 feet in this game. But now, it doesn’t matter as much since she is playing great defense and even crashing the boards as well. She is no longer a one-trick pony! Hopefully she shoots better against Baylor who has better, taller and more athletic players to limit her drives to the basket.

EW – Another star performance. She hit 3 3 pointers, had a good mid-range game, was a beast on the boards and showed off her passing skills throughout. Played good enough on defense as well. Had her best game in a Uconn jersey!

PB – A bit off on some shots that she normally makes. Almost had a triple double but yet it didn’t seem to be her best game due to some early misses. But she sure has great timing. Seems to always hit the daggers when we need them and she did that in the 4th to put no doubt in the outcome. I feel like she is getting close again to a breakout performance. I think she goes for 25-30 against Baylor.

AM – She’s baaaackkkk!!! She gives us a great shooter off the bench who can also pass, rebound and is an underrated defender. A great luxury to have coming off the bench! I can see her coming in and consistently giving us a nice offensive punch with her shooting and passing, not to mention her presence opens things up for our bigs to operate.

 

[jazz]

GA = Geno, CD = Chris Dailey, J = Jamelle, PB= Paige, NM = Nika, EW = Evina, Liv = Liv, CW = Christyn, AE = Aaliyah, AG = Aubrey Griffin, Mir = Mir, PG= Piath, AM = Anna, the Polish Rifle, PS or Poff = Saylor, AC = Autumn.

My 2 cents on the bigs play:

Liv- Has turned into a surprising weapon with her passing skills. I thought she might have problems sustaining this if she was guarded closely but she can really put the ball on her teammates where they need it to be effective. She makes AE better and AE makes her better. This is a killer combination. Now teams have to guard her closely even if they don’t want to, not because she might hit the shot, but because she will kill them with the pass. Great performance without scoring much. Ripped down a lot of rebounds in traffic.

AE – if they voted on AA again, I think she makes it. I’ve said it before and will say it again, she is THE key to our success. She is unstoppable with the team’s second big matched up with her. She really makes Liv a better player. She has become a dominate player. Give her two if she gets the ball in the paint and then she gets out on the break and hits the foul line jumper as well. Rips down rebounds and plays great defense. She was on Clark a few times on the switch, and with the exception of one time, she stopped her cold. Has great feet. Must have played soccer in her younger days. Moves laterally so easily and quickly. Even had some really good passes as well. As I said a week or so ago, she will continue to get 15 and 10. She is just too damn good not too. Not as many rebounds as they went to Liv and EW.

AG – quiet game but did some things really well. Helped extend the lead from 4 to 9 in the second quarter and then again from 8 to 12 in the 3rd. This team does not slow down one bit when she is in the game. Really nice player to have coming off the bench.