Jana vs Tenn | The Boneyard

Jana vs Tenn

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seeya27

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Was she injured, in the doghouse, or simply a bad fit against a pressing team like UTenn?
 
For the most part she's played very limited minutes against better teams this season. Geno traditionally likes to play his starters longer minutes against ranked teams, close games or otherwise.
 
There are a few high quality front courts against whom El-Affy could be effective. Tennessee is not one of them. Tennessee requires quick thinking and acting to counter. That has not been in her wheelhouse. Put her up against someone like Betts or Beers and she will do OK, as last year proved. I do not know if she will ever be a quick thinker though.
 
topogigio said:
Too much speed and quickness for TN, which doesn't fit well into Jana's strengths. Remember, she was a starter in the run to the championship last year. Her time will come, again!
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Probably next year. Did she stay on campus over the summer? I feel like she would benefit from that. She's a junior next year often that's when Connecticut players put it all together.
 
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She's the most productive rebounder on the team.
 

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Wow and people say I am harsh! When Geno needed Jana in the first half to defend the paint, he put her in and she did a very good job. And she didn't commit ANY fouls in her limited minutes!

The biggest problem yesterday was the two Tennessee bigs-Spearman and Barker, play a lot on the perimeter, are long, athletic and quick so it would be out of Jana's current skill range to defend the 3 pt shot. Heck Serah Williams struggled doing that yesterday.

Very few other teams we play have a "traditional big" for Jana to match up against. BUT teams like UCLA, Texas, SC and Oklahoma do. Jana will be critical for us in the NCAAT.

I have been very encouraged by her improved passing, her movement on the screens and her right to the hoop shooting without trying to put the ball on court with a dribble or bringing the ball down for smaller players to grab. She has already made some very good strides and I look forward to this improvement and Geno's trust level.

She had some injury set backs this year which was akin to 1 step forward to 2 steps back. We saw improvement, then a concussion that left her out a few games and now she is returning.

We should all be optimistic on her, she is a coaches kid and I do think she is a quick thinker, so yeah, I take umbrage with @diggerfoot on his comments as he has ZERO proof of that statement.
 
I get that people are wanting Jana to see more minutes, but Serah's ability to switch 1-5 and defend on the perimeter is really underrated. Tennessee was mostly in a 5 out offense and the set up of UConn's defense this season demands the ability to switch 1-5. Serah excels at this, and Jana is still working on it.

I think there will be times were it's appropriate for Jana to get more minutes - when a team isn't playing 5 out for instance - but this wasn't the game.
 
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DefenseBB said:
Wow and people say I am harsh! When Geno needed Jana in the first half to defend the paint, he put her in and she did a very good job. And she didn't commit ANY fouls in her limited minutes!

The biggest problem yesterday was the two Tennessee bigs-Spearman and Barker, play a lot on the perimeter, are long, athletic and quick so it would be out of Jana's current skill range to defend the 3 pt shot. Heck Serah Williams struggled doing that yesterday.

Very few other teams we play have a "traditional big" for Jana to match up against. BUT teams like UCLA, Texas, SC and Oklahoma do. Jana will be critical for us in the NCAAT.

I have been very encouraged by her improved passing, her movement on the screens and her right to the hoop shooting without trying to put the ball on court with a dribble or bringing the ball down for smaller players to grab. She has already made some very good strides and I look forward to this improvement and Geno's trust level.

She had some injury set backs this year which was akin to 1 step forward to 2 steps back. We saw improvement, then a concussion that left her out a few games and now she is returning.

We should all be optimistic on her, she is a coaches kid and I do think she is a quick thinker, so yeah, I take umbrage with @diggerfoot on his comments as he has ZERO proof of that statement.
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You are correct that I have no quantifiable proof, for that is not something quantified by any existing metrics. My remark came in response to her holding the ball too long at least twice in two minutes. Do you take umbrage then because in watching those two minutes you did not see hesitation? Or that I should have made this observation sooner and multiple times after every game I witnessed it, so it could be examined and picked at each time?

If the former, we disagree. For my part I do not take umbrage that you saw no hesitation in those two minutes, but to each their own. If the latter, be aware I meant more to defend El-Affy. I do not expect every player to be perfect, not even Strong. Tennessee happens to be a bad match-up for El-Affy. Had she came back to defend Betts, I believe she would have received many more minutes and a much different take and thread would exist. The tone of the BY would be praising rather than questioning what happened. In my mind there is no question of her value given her strengths, and take no umbrage if you feel she has no weaknesses.

For the record, you may be right in thinking problems with reaction time may be overcome. I do not think that’s as easily fixed as a skill deficiency, but time will tell, and it’s not a big deal to me if it’s not.
 
seeya27 said:
Was she injured, in the doghouse, or simply a bad fit against a pressing team like UTenn?
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I was there. Jana played quite well in her short time on the court, and brought much needed toughness. I think the "problem" was that Serah played by far her best, most composed and most complete game of the year so it made sense to reward her with minutes and hopefully boost her confidence. And, as always, it made sense for UConn to play lots of small ball.
 
diggerfoot said:
You are correct that I have no quantifiable proof, for that is not something quantified by any existing metrics. My remark came in response to her holding the ball too long at least twice in two minutes. Do you take umbrage then because in watching those two minutes you did not see hesitation? Or that I should have made this observation sooner and multiple times after every game I witnessed it, so it could be examined and picked at each time?

If the former, we disagree. For my part I do not take umbrage that you saw no hesitation in those two minutes, but to each their own. If the latter, be aware I meant more to defend El-Affy. I do not expect every player to be perfect, not even Strong. Tennessee happens to be a bad match-up for El-Affy. Had she came back to defend Betts, I believe she would have received many more minutes and a much different take and thread would exist. The tone of the BY would be praising rather than questioning what happened. In my mind there is no question of her value given her strengths, and take no umbrage if you feel she has no weaknesses.

For the record, you may be right in thinking problems with reaction time may be overcome. I do not think that’s as easily fixed as a skill deficiency, but time will tell, and it’s not a big deal to me if it’s not.
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Diggerfoot, for what its worth, I agree with your assessment of Jana's last game, and of how she has played across much of this season during the limited minutes she has received. She indeed holds the ball a lot, and often reacts slowly.

I'm just not a fan of the last sentence in your first post (#4 - "I do not know if she will ever be a quick thinker though"). For me, quick thinking is correlated with experience, which goes hand-in-hand with playing time and practice time.

If it were not for that last sentence, I would have given you a like. I agree completely with the rest of your thoughts.

As a daughter of a coach, and as a bench player who seemingly is absorbed with what the coaches are saying in the huddles, I believe her issue is that she is often becomes a victim of watching the game, vice executing what she should be doing every second when she is on the court.

To evaluate my contention that she gets caught watching the play unfold, I would invite everyone to review the game footage and focus solely on Jana during her brief playing time (last 2:17 of the second quarter) - just like she and the coaching staff will be doing in the film room. Two examples underscore my assessment:

The first is at the two minute mark when K9 drives the lane and throws up a wild miss from the left side. Jana has plenty of time to get set for some physical Lady Vol contact, but doesn't, and is easily pushed aside by Talaysia Cooper, thus missing the opportunity for the offensive rebound.

The second is 45 seconds later when Sarah receives an inbounds pass in the left corner from K9. For the entire inbounds play, Jana stands in one spot outside the lane on the right and simply watches, rather than move into the lane for rebounding position. Jana finally moves after Sarah takes the jump shot, but by then it is too late and Jana is easily boxed out by Barker as Civil gathers the rebound and takes off down court. Frustrating.

I'll close by saying I agree with the favorable impressions of Jana, and that her near-term and long-term value to the team is immense. I am confident Jana can once again step-up against the elite bigs UConn will face in the Big Dance - just like she did last year.

Go Huskies!
 
If UConn faces a big/physical team, like UCLA or possibly TX, I expect we will see more of Jana. TN not a good matchup for her.
 
YKCornelius said:
Diggerfoot, for what its worth, I agree with your assessment of Jana's last game, and of how she has played across much of this season during the limited minutes she has received. She indeed holds the ball a lot, and often reacts slowly.

I'm just not a fan of the last sentence in your first post (#4 - "I do not know if she will ever be a quick thinker though"). For me, quick thinking is correlated with experience, which goes hand-in-hand with playing time and practice time.

If it were not for that last sentence, I would have given you a like. I agree completely with the rest of your thoughts.

As a daughter of a coach, and as a bench player who seemingly is absorbed with what the coaches are saying in the huddles, I believe her issue is that she is often becomes a victim of watching the game, vice executing what she should be doing every second when she is on the court.

To evaluate my contention that she gets caught watching the play unfold, I would invite everyone to review the game footage and focus solely on Jana during her brief playing time (last 2:17 of the second quarter) - just like she and the coaching staff will be doing in the film room. Two examples underscore my assessment:

The first is at the two minute mark when K9 drives the lane and throws up a wild miss from the left side. Jana has plenty of time to get set for some physical Lady Vol contact, but doesn't, and is easily pushed aside by Talaysia Cooper, thus missing the opportunity for the offensive rebound.

The second is 45 seconds later when Sarah receives an inbounds pass in the left corner from K9. For the entire inbounds play, Jana stands in one spot outside the lane on the right and simply watches, rather than move into the lane for rebounding position. Jana finally moves after Sarah takes the jump shot, but by then it is too late and Jana is easily boxed out by Barker as Civil gathers the rebound and takes off down court. Frustrating.

I'll close by saying I agree with the favorable impressions of Jana, and that her near-term and long-term value to the team is immense. I am confident Jana can once again step-up against the elite bigs UConn will face in the Big Dance - just like she did last year.

Go Huskies!
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Fair enough. Does a good reaction time result more from quick reflexes, quick thinking or both? Hard to tell for any player and it depends on the situation.. I still think it has more to do with thinking than reflexes in El-Affy’s case, but I could be wrong. In either case the fact remains that she should do better against classic bigs.

Fwiw, I consider myself a slow thinker, taking time to process, so I meant no insult.
 
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Quick or slow thinker — whatever. She does hold the ball too long. Part of the problem is a habit she’s had since high school, namely bringing the ball down. As soon as she does this, she finds herself having to grapple with defenders and can’t make a quick move or pass. Break that habit, get used to keeping the ball high, and she’ll be able to make much quicker decisions. Rewatch her two minutes against Tennessee and you’ll see her bring the ball down, and then it begins.
 
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