I have heard Geno mention a number of times, most recently in the DePaul post game, that this year's team is a 'poor shooting team'.
Which begs the question how does this year's team shooting performance to date compare to previous teams? Below is a table showing stats since 2000-01 season after first 6 games. Note: This is raw and hasn't been adjusted for quality of opponent.
Although the 2020-21 team is a bottom third for 3FG% (17th of 21) and FT% (16th of 21) they are 8th in overall FG%, eFG% and TS%. Which is above average and just outside the top third over the that period.
So is it recency bias or one of the many things that Geno says to try to motivate his players.
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UCONN has been fortunate to have a number of shooters over the last decade who consistently shoot in the 40%+ range when given clean looks (ex. Kia Nurse, KLS, Crystal Dangerfield, Megan Walker, KML, Jefferson, etc.) Surprisingly, despite shooting for incredibly high percentages at UCONN, none of these players have been very efficient shooters in the WNBA. I think their high percentages at UCONN is a direct result of playing in a more efficient offensive system that prioritizes with ball movement and getting high quality looks. I think cleaning up the offensive efficiency will result in improved percentages for UCONN's 4 three point shooters (Bueckers, Westbrook, Makurat, and Williams).
In a limited sample of games, the ball movement this year looks stronger than it did in 2020 and 2019, but it's far from the really crisp offense we saw from 2013-2018. From 2013-2018, it seemed like every single 3 point shot was a wide open catch and shoot set shot. Once Nurse/Williams graduated, the ball movement just wasn't the same in 2019 and we saw percentages drop big time for returning 3pt shooters Dangerfield and KLS. Last year the 3pt percentages were good but the ball movement wasn't good by UCONN standards. I think the reason for the high percentages was playing a weaker schedule and Walker/Dangerfield really elevating their play. Walker became one of the best catch and shoot wings in the country with a quicker release and a much slimmer frame, and Dangerfield became one of the best 3 point shooters off the dribble. Most players don't shoot nearly as well dribbling the ball before shooting a 3, but Dangerfield was unique and very efficient at dribbling into her shot. In regards to ball movement, I just watched highlights of the UCONN/Tennessee game last year and compared it to UCONN/SC in the 2018 Elite 8 and the difference in ball movement is night and day.
Anyway, back on track....the team's ball movement in 2020/21 appears to be a lot more passing oriented than the last 2 teams were, and I think that stems from Paige/Williams/Westbrook playing very pass first oriented basketball compared to the trio of Dangerfield/Walker/Williams who were all more in scoring mode a year ago. So far the team appears to be more turnover prone, and in the last game there were numerous times where I thought players overpassed (Westbrook/Bueckers/ONO), but it's to be expected that the offense isn't going to be a well oiled machine this early in the season. You have a freshman point guard who is expected to be the big time playmaker, Westbrook is a new transfer still finding her role, and Williams/ONO are playing much different roles. Then add in Covid, games being canceled/postponed, no fans, the season being a mess, etc and it makes a lot of sense why UCONN (and every other team) doesn't like as crisp as they would any other year.
Assuming the team continues to play consistently and isn't interrupted too frequently by covid, I think these players will gel more offensively and we'll see less turnovers, cleaner looks, and a higher percentage of shots being knocked down. Westbrook, Bueckers and Makurat all have strokes that look like they can consistently hit 40% or higher when given clean looks. Bueckers especially looks like she has a great jumpshot. Williams I'm not as convinced about but I think she can hit upper 30s. Realistically those will be your 4 perimeter shooters this year, and I think all of their numbers will improve as the offense becomes more efficient. I don't see this team having ball movement as consistently excellent as it did from 2013-18, but the tools are there for this team to be really good by the end of the season.
