Jim Fuller is wrong....UConn bench not "often downright dreadful".....

[tomcat]

You know, in previous years -- many of them -- we all could say (mostly seriously) that our bench could start for 95% of the teams in the country. Maybe some of us just forgot to take stock of things before repeating that mantra this year.

I love what Kiah does defensively, but her inconsistency is maddening. Banks seems to be on her way back, but is still far from the confident player we saw before her knee imploded. Chong is a freshman and has disappeared. Not the first, won't be the last. Maybe she'll discover herself in the tournament and maybe it;ll take until next year. I think that odds are she'll be fine, but it probably will take time. Meanwhile, any minutes the team gets from TLaw and Pulido are good minutes, IMHO.

As benches go, it's thin, but we all knew this going into the season. It's survived a variety of injuries to starters, the team is still undefeated, and we have little about which to complain. As several said, the shooting may have been dreadful, but the bench really has not been.

 

[easttexastrash]

Post away. The history you have with cognitive error suggests you have nothing to lose.

Nothing against msf22b, but that is funny as all get out.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think the scoring for UCONN, against better teams, is going to come exclusively from the starting 5. I looked at the last 5 games against top 10 teams and saw only three FGs were made by players not in the current starting lineup.

 

[EricLA]

Your replymakes sense, Eric. I think what people in this thread are really objecting to is what Jeff Jacobs called "volume". Certainly the bench could contribute more - most here know this - but the word "dreadful" might have been too loud, so to speak. Good points often get drowned out in too much noise.

Makes sense. I should have noted that "dreadful" was a bit over the top...

 

[cohenzone]

David Naples, I think you should climb down a bit; Of course there were some alarming words-- probably to get our attention. But you cannot claim that our bench minus Kia are thrustworthy. If they have to provide anything more than 2 min of breather for the starting 5 we are in trouble. That Chong has scored in double figures is against the point bec that came early on during the year. Playing time- maybe. But we do not have a person coming off the bench that have shot the ball consistently and command the opposing team to defend her.

The issue to me is what does our bench need to be trusted to do? If the idea is that they can't be trusted to score more than a few points, than I say, BFD. They don't need to score. They haven't been needed to score and if we need them to score in the last few rounds of the NCAAs, it means something bad that hasn't happened all year and if we need our bench to score like the starters, we're in deep trouble. It would mean our starters aren't scoring because of how they are being defended, so what should we really expect from the bench. Or it means a starter is not available due to injury or foul trouble, and we can't expect the bench to replace that at least in the Final Four.

What our bench needs to do isn't score, it's to play solid defense and keep the lead (hopefully the lead) at least about where it was when they entered the game. Arguably, if KS comes in to be part of a 3 big line up, our D gets better. When BB comes in to give a guard a rest, arguably our D is at least as good. That's what they need to do for this team. Not to mention that when KS comes in, the rebounding gets a lot better. Worrying about how they score and develop for next year is a pointless discussion when is comes to what they need to contribute to this year's team. If one of them scores a bunch against a team like ND or UT or any other in the FF, great, because it probably means we're killing whomever.

 

[msf22b]

Her name is not Justin.


I don't blame you for not posting your probable cockamamie theory on Chong not being developed properly. You've already shown how wrong you've been. Why do it again?

I'm not so sure that is was ever established that I was wrong about Moriah;
Surely I was wrong about Tuck
As for Chong, In due course I'll commit.

 

[easttexastrash]

The issue to me is what does our bench need to be trusted to do? If the idea is that they can't be trusted to score more than a few points, than I say, BFD. They don't need to score. They haven't been needed to score and if we need them to score in the last few rounds of the NCAAs, it means something bad that hasn't happened all year and if we need our bench to score like the starters, we're in deep trouble. It would mean our starters aren't scoring because of how they are being defended, so what should we really expect from the bench. Or it means a starter is not available due to injury or foul trouble, and we can't expect the bench to replace that at least in the Final Four.

What our bench needs to do isn't score, it's to play solid defense and keep the lead (hopefully the lead) at least about where it was when they entered the game. Arguably, if KS comes in to be part of a 3 big line up, our D gets better. When BB comes in to give a guard a rest, arguably our D is at least as good. That's what they need to do for this team. Not to mention that when KS comes in, the rebounding gets a lot better. Worrying about how they score and develop for next year is a pointless discussion when is comes to what they need to contribute to this year's team. If one of them scores a bunch against a team like ND or UT or any other in the FF, great, because it probably means we're killing whomever.

This is all based on the starters being available to play. Could UCONN beat ND, ore even UT or Baylor, if Stewart were unavailable? I'm not sure that the a answer would be yes at the moment.

 

[DobbsRover2]

This is all based on the starters being available to play. Could UCONN beat ND, ore even UT or Baylor, if Stewart were unavailable? I'm not sure that the a answer would be yes at the moment.

And I wonder if Baylor could beat Ball State if Sims was unavailable to play. Talking about what-ifs.

 

[msf22b]

And I wonder if Baylor could beat Ball State if Sims was unavailable to play. Talking about what-ifs.

Ah, Ball State
Team of Dreams

 

[cohenzone]

This is all based on the starters being available to play. Could UCONN beat ND, ore even UT or Baylor, if Stewart were unavailable? I'm not sure that the a answer would be yes at the moment.

You can say the same about almost any good team. UConn managed pretty well without KML against some top teams. But say it was Stewart. Show me how any team would fare based in their bench as opposed to UConn's bench if UConn was missing Stewart, Baylor was missing Sims, MD was missing either of their guards, Stanford was missing O, LVille missing Shoni etc. I'd take our remaining starter and any one of our bench players and love our chances.

I think it's a pointless discussion if you only look at UConns bench and no one else's if tote star is missing. If it has to be supposed that every other team, without key injuries has a bench so much better than UConns that it would obviously make a key difference, it sure hasn't looked that way. Losing Stewart would hut a lot, but I suspect more in O than on the D that Stokes brings. So far it's looked like they score enough given their D that they would have a solid winning chance even if none if the subs made a shot. I don't think any team has a sub like Stokes. Banks and Chong have both been starters and are capable if burning any team that sloughs off if them. UConns bench scoring seems like an academic issue that relates very little to the current status of the team and assumes scoring is what would kill UConn without a key starter in ways that no other top team would be affected by losing a top scorer.

 

[easttexastrash]

You can say the same about almost any good team. UConn managed pretty well without KML against some top teams. But say it was Stewart. Show me how any team would fare based in their bench as opposed to UConn's bench if UConn was missing Stewart, Baylor was missing Sims, MD was missing either of their guards, Stanford was missing O, LVille missing Shoni etc. I'd take our remaining starter and any one of our bench players and love our chances.

I think it's a pointless discussion if you only look at UConns bench and no one else's if tote star is missing. If it has to be supposed that every other team, without key injuries has a bench so much better than UConns that it would obviously make a key difference, it sure hasn't looked that way. Losing Stewart would hut a lot, but I suspect more in O than on the D that Stokes brings. So far it's looked like they score enough given their D that they would have a solid winning chance even if none if the subs made a shot. I don't think any team has a sub like Stokes. Banks and Chong have both been starters and are capable if burning any team that sloughs off if them. UConns bench scoring seems like an academic issue that relates very little to the current status of the team and assumes scoring is what would kill UConn without a key starter in ways that no other top team would be affected by losing a top scorer.

Well, the thread title is discussing UCONN's bench. And I agree that any team without its star could struggle.

 

[DavidinNaples]

David Naples, I think you should climb down a bit; Of course there were some alarming words-- probably to get our attention. But you cannot claim that our bench minus Kia are thrustworthy. If they have to provide anything more than 2 min of breather for the starting 5 we are in trouble. That Chong has scored in double figures is against the point bec that came early on during the year. Playing time- maybe. But we do not have a person coming off the bench that have shot the ball consistently and command the opposing team to defend her.

Hjoerring....Thanks for the kind offer, but I'll not be climbing down today. Not even a bit. Four reasons.
1. It's my birthday and I'm celebrating. Momma said never celebrate and climb.
2. Fuller's column INCLUDED Kiah in the key reserves who "often" played "downright dreadful." He was wrong.
3. In my OP, I said "There is plenty of room for improvement for UConn's non-starters I the NCAA tournament." I'm 100% right! you said so yourself.
4. Our bench, ALL of it, IS "trustworthy" and I trust Geno to use it when and how UConn needs them. They WILL provide more than "2 minutes of a breather" and will rise to the occasion.

One final point. How is MoJeff playing this year? I ask, because in last year's FF she shot 1-5, had 0 rebounds, 4 turnovers and only 3 assists in 25 minutes. I don't remember that putting us in any trouble.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Hjoerring....Thanks for the kind offer, but I'll not be climbing down today. Not even a bit. Four reasons.
1. It's my birthday and I'm celebrating. Momma said never celebrate and climb.
2. Fuller's column INCLUDED Kiah in the key reserves who "often" played "downright dreadful." He was wrong.
3. In my OP, I said "There is plenty of room for improvement for UConn's non-starters I the NCAA tournament." I'm 100% right! you said so yourself.
4. Our bench, ALL of it, IS "trustworthy" and I trust Geno to use it when and how UConn needs them. They WILL provide more than "2 minutes of a breather" and will rise to the occasion.

One final point. How is MoJeff playing this year? I ask, because in last year's FF she shot 1-5, had 0 rebounds, 4 turnovers and only 3 assists in 25 minutes. I don't remember that putting us in any trouble.

 

[hjoerring]

Perhaps your picture might help- but, you may have to attached a written text under the picture because he thinks he is actually coming down. Must be the birthday blues- over 30 blues. I worry that his omparison of MJ last year with today's SC is valid. Many thought that she should have started- or was capable, a bad tournament notwithstanding.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Actually I disagree. I was at all 3 games in person. Did they give the starters a rest? Sure. They averaged about 15 minutes each in the first 2 games, against Cinci and Rutgers. Did they do anything other than take up space on the court as 1/5 of a team? Rarely. Banks had a few nice steals, and played some terrific defense on Shoni Schimmel. The rest of the time, honestly, it was like watching 5 on 4.

Compare what they did to what Kiah did. Sure there were some times she missed a layup or had a rebound squirt out of her hands, but she was active and actually looked like a UCONN basketball player. Unfortunately for Saniya, especially, she simply did not.

There's a reason they got a grand total of 7 minutes combined against L'ville in the final game (only 2 for Saniya) - they aren't ready to play at the level required for a UCONN basketball player. And the frustrating thing is that I've seen them look much better earlier in the year - heck Chong dropped 17 points at one point, started against SMU playing 25 minutes and scored 5 points while dishing out 4 assists. It's not like she can't do it - but both seem to have regressed for some reason.

Can they still develop? Sure. Saniya is, after all, only a freshman. Brianna is coming off an injury from last year. Our starting 5 is so much better than every other team out there that it's sometimes easy to overlook how unprepared our reserve guards seem to be to contribute at a high level. Can they give the starters rest? If Tuck were 100% healthy, we'd have a core of 7 players and would not be as worried about our 2 reserve guards. Of course. Other than that, at this point, I don't see that they are doing much else out there.

These 2 need to work exceptionally hard over the summer because given the incredible talent coming in next year in the guard spots, I could see them easily both dropping behind Nurse and Williams right out the gate. And I'm not trying to pile it on them. I love them both like the rest of the team, but the reality is they aren't very good at the moment, but count me among the fans rooting big time for the light bulb to go back on in their heads!!

You might be in line to get some harsh remarks based on criticism of "our girls" but you are spot on. You'd expect these kids to have really evolved since the beginning of the season and yet there's nothing to suggest they have (and in Chongs case, maybe regressed). Banks is coming off a serious injury and had a nagging issue for part of the season but athletically she seems to be where she was. It's her game and her basketball skills which seems to be at best inconsistent. Chong evidently needs a confidence boost because it seems she lacks in that area for some reason despite a nice start to the season. I hope something clicks because the Huskies could surely benefit from a stronger bench.