Jana's Lay Up

[BBallF]

It seems that every game Jana has a wide open bunny that she misses. To my eyes, it looks like she is shooting the lay up, whether put back or not, quickly and in a push up motion. It is not a fully controlled shot, especially if she is off balance. A simple counter to that is a baby jump shot where she releases it at the top of her jump. She is strong enough to shoot it well, it is harder to block, and will eliminate the lack of control. Think Ash shooting her jumper from 3 feet off the backboard. When Jana gets that shot, and she will, it will transfer her into an unstoppable inside force.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

It seems that every game Jana has a wide open bunny that she misses. To my eyes, it looks like she is shooting the lay up, whether put back or not, quickly and in a push up motion. It is not a fully controlled shot, especially if she is off balance. A simple counter to that is a baby jump shot where she releases it at the top of her jump. She is strong enough to shoot it well, it is harder to block, and will eliminate the lack of control. Think Ash shooting her jumper from 3 feet off the backboard. When Jana gets that shot, and she will, it will transfer her into an unstoppable inside force.

I saw her miss 4 in a row in a recent game.

 

[Conndog]

It seems that every game Jana has a wide open bunny that she misses. To my eyes, it looks like she is shooting the lay up, whether put back or not, quickly and in a push up motion. It is not a fully controlled shot, especially if she is off balance. A simple counter to that is a baby jump shot where she releases it at the top of her jump. She is strong enough to shoot it well, it is harder to block, and will eliminate the lack of control. Think Ash shooting her jumper from 3 feet off the backboard. When Jana gets that shot, and she will, it will transfer her into an unstoppable inside force.

But she does need to learn how to make the bunny shots- if you are saying she shouldn't try because she has difficulty with them and attempt a baby hook shot instead, I disagree. By all means, she can and should add a baby hook to her repertoire. But a wide open bunny shots needs to be taken when it presents itself.

 

[WiseWillie]

I saw her miss 4 in a row in a recent game.

Jana is improving and is motivated. Those missed bunnies won't be missed and she will develop more confidence in her footwork around the basket and correct positioning of her body and hands before making a layup or even a 10 footer. As she gets more game time experience these things will be worked out. She just needs more game time experience.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Jana is improving and is motivated. Those missed bunnies won't be missed and she will develop more confidence in her footwork around the basket and correct positioning of her body and hands before making a layup or even a 10 footer. As she gets more game time experience these things will be worked out. She just needs more game time experience.

I hope you’re right, given that we’re at the halfway point in the season.

 

[and one]

Jana isn't the first Huskie who had found it difficult to put the ball in the basket from short range. Most got better with that over time. I'm sure Jana will too.

 

[my2cents]

She has a bad habit of pulling the ball down to just above her waist when she shoots. She becomes more like 5'11" than 6'5", plus it's very slow. When she is wide open she speeds up her motion to not get blocked and she throws it over the rim.
I am sure they are working with her to catch it and go up with one motion.

 

[Rowdy831]

She isn't playing loose yet. As she gets more comfortable with Geno she will become more comfortable in the game. I noticed in the last game when Geno was getting on her she was not liking it at all. One other thing that would help her is if the players passing to her remembered she is 6'5 not 5'6, give her the ball up top to help her be able to find the rim.

 

[mrmojack]

I would just watch Sarah, she doesn't miss.

 

[Steve Frohock]

She is certainly not the 1st or only Husky to miss layups. I've been screaming at my TV for years. I really think it's something in the coaching that is missing. I don't know what and I certainly have no solution but it's been a recurring problem for years.

 

[ERWUC65]

If one was to listen to all the noise about Jana on this thread, one would wonder where to start to fix everything. Granted, she seems to be struggling in the games and yes, it is obvious than she takes Geno's criticisms a bit too seriously, but she seems to have the desire to get better and be a starter. Looking back in pre-season, Geno gave us a premise that she had the 'bones' to be a good player, basing that mostly on physical abilities, not so much on mind set and confidence. Taking stock of the comments above, it would seem that most of the issues can be addressed with practice, practice, practice of individual skills in lieu of team play. Better hands - receive 100 passes; no more bunnies - take 100 layups with each hand, post play under pressure; presence under the basket - 100 rebounds while being bumped and blocked. Not being privy to UConn practices I wonder if those players needing this type of improvement are facilitated during regular season.

 

[sun]

I noticed that Jana has begun to make some mid-range shots. She's been blocking shots, displaying some good footwork by making BB moves with the ball, she's handled some hot passes, she's made some good passes, and she works up quite a sweat when she's playing because she's hustling the best that she can.

She makes some mistakes in the heat of the moment just like every player does, Some make more mistakes while others make less mistakes.

They mostly all come in as high school players & spend 4 or more years trying to hone their skills. Every player blows shots, blows passes, create turnovers & make bad decisions occassionally, you name it. If they don't then their not human. We should all know by now that not every player is on the same path of progression and won't automatically become a WNBA pro level player. by attending UConn.
But that doesn't mean that they don't contribute to winning in some way, shape or form.
Geno needs to make compromises foe the sake of the team's needs. He needs to balance the team's needs with the team's assets. All of the players try to get better each & every day. They all put in the work.
We don't need to like any player's mistakes but we should recognize what each one does right and not just dwell on what they do wrong.
After all, Geno recruited each & every UConn player and if a player isn't up to UConn standards then who is to blame besides Geno?
Since he gets the credit when they do well then he needs to take the blame when they don't do as well as expected because he recruited them.
If they don't improve to his satisfaction then he won't allow them to play as much.
It's the same process that been in effect for years.
Maybe Jana deserves a C+ this year or a B- as the overall grade compared to all Division 1 centers.
She's trying the best that she can and UConn doesn't have another superbig as an option.
Geno hunts for prospects that are diamonds in the rough & sometimes they have quite a few flaws.

 

[donalddoowop]

She also made a layup in that game. I saw Betts miss two layups on the same shot sequence. She missed, got the rebound and missed again. I have seen other veteran post players miss layups. However, those players are taking more than three or four shots and it does not stand out as much. If Jana averaged as many as 8 to 10 shots a game, she would make most of them. Morgan Tuck was notorious for missing layups.

 

[oldhusky]

Jana's evolution to the college game against top competition is probably a more difficult road than for most. How she is being used at Uconn and how she played in Egypt are completely different in my view. If you watch her games there, she rarely was able to post up and get a good entry pass. and yet she was by far the big scorer on her team.

There were several reasons for that. First as the obvious star of her team she was frequently surrounded down low, and in addition her guards were quite frankly terrible at getting her the ball. She frequently had to come out to the perimeter to get the ball, and then create her own offense, with drives and spinning moves that she was pretty good at, and of course a lot of her points came from offensive rebounds.

Now her role seems to be purely as a low post player, she has great passers to get her the ball, and she faces less double teams, but much bigger and better defenders, and she is surrounded by other scorers and three point shooters, and is no longer the first scoring option for her team.

She is used to trying to score every time she gets the ball. Reading and reacting to the defense is relatively new to her. She rushes things, brings the ball down too low more than she should, tries to dribble in traffic etc., and doesn't kick the ball back out often enough. Slowly but surely some of those things are getting better, and that trend should continue. She has passed out of the post more lately instead of forcing something, and I think that is a major difference from the way she played in her homeland. Reading the defender and knowing when to just go up quickly, and when to make a counter move under control, or kick it out in a team concept is still fairly new to her.

The talent is there, and her rebounding in particular is badly needed on this team, and overall she is still a plus as a starter for this team. It is a package of potential combined with still way too many mistakes, but the basketball IQ, instincts, and muscle memory will improve IMO and if fans look at some of her games for her national team they will see how very different that kind of play was from what Geno is trying to mold now.

 

[BBallF]

But she does need to learn how to make the bunny shots- if you are saying she shouldn't try because she has difficulty with them and attempt a baby hook shot instead, I disagree. By all means, she can and should add a baby hook to her repertoire. But a wide open bunny shots needs to be taken when it presents itself.

Not a baby hook shot, a baby jump shot. You go straight up and release the ball at the top of your jump at eye level or above, just like Ash's or Paige's.

 

[BBallF]

She has a bad habit of pulling the ball down to just above her waist when she shoots. She becomes more like 5'11" than 6'5", plus it's very slow. When she is wide open she speeds up her motion to not get blocked and she throws it over the rim.
I am sure they are working with her to catch it and go up with one motion.

That's right. Keep the ball up and go straight up.

 

[BBallF]

She also made a layup in that game. I saw Betts miss two layups on the same shot sequence. She missed, got the rebound and missed again. I have seen other veteran post players miss layups. However, those players are taking more than three or four shots and it does not stand out as much. If Jana averaged as many as 8 to 10 shots a game, she would make most of them. Morgan Tuck was notorious for missing layups.

Sarah rarely if ever misses. Her form, footwork and positioning are perfect and....she shoots a baby jumper underneath.

 

[Bone Dog]

I’m with @oldhusky on this. I’m not worried about the layup-itis Jana seems to be afflicted by. This too shall pass, as the preacher says. Or maybe, “love the sinner, hate the sin.” I love her intensity. That’s a precious quantity and Jana has plenty of it. She’ll make progress on all the technique issues.

I’m also reminded of the team a hobbled Paige led to an NC game. They were also afflicted by layup-itis and not just Aaliyah. Liv, Dorka, even Christyn missed a bunch of them. Injuries haunted that team and there were stretches after Azzi was sidelined by foot pain that only Caroline could be counted on to make a bunny. She played like Sarah during her best stretch when she carried the team in several tough games.

Aaliyah overcame her layup-itis the following year and became our most reliable scorer next to Lou and Azzi (when she was available). I also remember how Aaliyah developed her ability to drive to the hoop down the lane or along the baseline. This became a hallmark of her game and must have been quite intimidating to smaller players who sometimes got stuck covering her on a switch. Someone that large moving quickly and nimbly with the ball, yikes! I’m very encouraged to see Jana doing the same thing. It was a feature of her high school game and was probably one reason Geno recruited her. She’s had a few drives in the last couple of games and I hope to see more of the same going forward.

Edit: I’m also reminded of something Dorka did with regularity, namely diving for loose balls. She often hit the floor in a scrum. This was a sign of the intensity of her commitment to the team and the game. Very few bigs ever do this. I’m not encouraging any player to dive for loose balls, certainly not a big coming off knee surgery. But Jana’s intensity shows up in other ways and I was glad to see her fighting off a double team for a rebound in that play against Georgetown. The ref blew a whistle mistakenly and that may have distracted from what Jana was really doing. Ransom and Jenkins wanted to trap her and it turned out to be not so easy. If Jana does more of this, fewer players will be eager to challenge her for rebounds.

 

[freshler40]

She isn't playing loose yet. As she gets more comfortable with Geno she will become more comfortable in the game. I noticed in the last game when Geno was getting on her she was not liking it at all. One other thing that would help her is if the players passing to her remembered she is 6'5 not 5'6, give her the ball up top to help her be able to find the rim.

Our guards give too many bounce passes into both Sarah and Jana, even when double teamed. Give them the high pass lob when they have sealed off the defensive player especially when posts have inside position and the court is stretched.

 

[GoUconn7961]

When teams were preparing to play against Griner a lot of coaches had their practice players use a broom to simulate her height and presence on the court.
That might be a good tool for Jana to practice those bunnies and rebound put backs. If she can get around the broom to put a bunny in and get around the broom for a rebound put back it might build that confidence during a real game.

Just a thought.

 

[oldude]

All Bigs take time to develop at the college level, with the exception of Stewie who is a freak of nature. When Betts showed up at the college level, she was an awkward, inconsistent player who struggled frequently. Now she is the most dominant Big in WBB.

As for Jana, she hasn’t yet played a full season of college basketball, and she was set back for a full year by her Achilles injury. Geno has made the clear decision that he needs to start Jana and live with her mistakes while she becomes the player we all hope she will be, and I completely agree with that decision.

Jana actually has really good hands and she is capable of scoring with either hand in the paint. But right now, the game is still moving too fast for her, which is why she misses layups. It will slow down as she gets more comfortable on the court.

With that said, Jana’s potential is enormous. While she’ll frustrate us with a head scratching miss on a bunny layup, she will also tantalize us with an aggressive drive to the basket, making a difficult layup while getting fouled for an “and one.”

For UConn to win #12 this season, Jana will have to be a key part of that effort. So there is a sense of urgency for Geno and his coaches to accelerate Jana’s development, so that once March rolls around, Jana is ready to battle the best Bigs in the country.

 

[Bone Dog]

For UConn to win #12 this season, Jana will have to be a key part of that effort. So there is a sense of urgency for Geno and his coaches to accelerate Jana’s development, so that once March rolls around, Jana is ready to battle the best Bigs in the country.

Exactly. And Jana doesn’t have to ‘win’ those matchups. She just has to slow down players like Betts, and give them something else to think about besides protecting the rim against our slashing guards. This will in turn force opposing guards to defend against drives and not merely smother our perimeter shooters.

 

[BobbyJ]

I’m with @oldhusky on this. I’m not worried about the layup-itis Jana seems to be afflicted by. This too shall pass, as the preacher says. Or maybe, “love the sinner, hate the sin.” I love her intensity. That’s a precious quantity and Jana has plenty of it. She’ll make progress on all the technique issues.

I’m also reminded of the team a hobbled Paige led to an NC game. They were also afflicted by layup-itis and not just Aaliyah. Liv, Dorka, even Christyn missed a bunch of them. Injuries haunted that team and there were stretches after Azzi was sidelined by foot pain that only Caroline could be counted on to make a bunny. She played like Sarah during her best stretch when she carried the team in several tough games.

Aaliyah overcame her layup-itis the following year and became our most reliable scorer next to Lou and Azzi (when she was available). I also remember how Aaliyah developed her ability to drive to the hoop down the lane or along the baseline. This became a hallmark of her game and must have been quite intimidating to smaller players who sometimes got stuck covering her on a switch. Someone that large moving quickly and nimbly with the ball, yikes! I’m very encouraged to see Jana doing the same thing. It was a feature of her high school game and was probably one reason Geno recruited her. She’s had a few drives in the last couple of games and I hope to see more of the same going forward.

Edit: I’m also reminded of something Dorka did with regularity, namely diving for loose balls. She often hit the floor in a scrum. This was a sign of the intensity of her commitment to the team and the game. Very few bigs ever do this. I’m not encouraging any player to dive for loose balls, certainly not a big coming off knee surgery. But Jana’s intensity shows up in other ways and I was glad to see her fighting off a double team for a rebound in that play against Georgetown. The ref blew a whistle mistakenly and that may have distracted from what Jana was really doing. Ransom and Jenkins wanted to trap her and it turned out to be not so easy. If Jana does more of this, fewer players will be eager to challenge her for rebounds.

1) Not even close. The only resemblance was being the same height. Strong is a top 10 player in the country already.
2) El Alfy never had knee surgery. She tore her Achilles tendon.

 

[Bone Dog]

1) Not even close. The only resemblance was being the same height. Strong is a top 10 player in the country already.
2) El Alfy never had knee surgery. She tore her Achilles tendon.

You’ll forgive me for speaking loosely about an injury.

As for Caroline, when it comes to layups, she had an array of little flip shots, hooks, floaters and reverses all tied together with brilliant low post footwork. She made those shots. Review the first game against DePaul that season, when Geno designed the game saving play for Caroline and she came through. Afterwards, when asked about it, Azzi said something to the effect of “who else would we have chosen?” On a team afflicted by layup-itis, Caroline played a role quite similar to what Sarah does now. Even more, she did it without Paige or Azzi having her back in every game.

It’s easy to forget how great Caroline was that season. And how sad it was to see how her hip pain slowed her down in the second half of the season.