KLS

[rt bb fan]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

 

[pinotbear]

 

[GoUconn7961]

Whoa.. There's a lot to process there. I think only Geno can answer that..

 

[WiseOne]

Uhhhh...Lou did hit two 3 pointers that didn't count if that helps. She didn't just disappear! Calm down, she'll figure it out! No need to take her out of the game and mess with her confidence going into the elite 8! Lou will not "disappear" (as you say) in the elite 8! Go UCONN

 

[HumblePie]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

Ever consider that there's always more behind decisions of others than meets the eye? Granted, Lou did not have her best game and her defense is/was terrible, but simply having her in the game gives the opponent a constant source to fear. Who else would you have played instead of Lou? Who else has the ability to blow a team (any team) out at any given time??? BTW, she was credited with six (6) rebounds (as so many on this site seem to worry about), and as @WiseOne pointed out above, Lou did hit two 3s that didn't count.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

Email Geno right now. How could he have missed your perspicacious analysis? (Irony)

 

[bags27]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

You make some good points: they're good points because I thought the same at the time I didn't understand why Geno would take Gabby or Pheesa out, but not Lou. For example, with either Gabby or Pheesa out, and if the other shoots an outside shot, there is almost zero chance of UConn getting the offensive rebound.

But maybe we're looking at the wrong end of this. Precisely because Geno leaves Lou in so much, maybe, just maybe (I know it's a very long shot) it means that Geno actually might know more than you and me. Maybe Lou supplies intangibles that no one else can give the team. Despite her turnovers, missed shots, and sometimes being slow-footed in man defense, Lou is an incredibly smart player. She adds tremendous stability. In an investment portfolio, we'd say she was "low beta." For reasons that only that stupid and unsuccessful head coach of UConn knows, Geno trusts Lou.

 

[HuskyNan]

You make some good points: they're good points because I thought the same at the time I didn't understand why Geno would take Gabby or Pheesa out, but not Lou. For example, with either Gabby or Pheesa out, and if the other shoots an outside shot, there is almost zero chance of UConn getting the offensive rebound.

But maybe we're looking at the wrong end of this. Precisely because Geno leaves Lou in so much, maybe, just maybe (I know it's a very long shot) it means that Geno actually might know more than you and me. Maybe Lou supplies intangibles that no one else can give the team. Despite her turnovers, missed shots, and sometimes being slow-footed in man defense, Lou is an incredibly smart player. She adds tremendous stability. In an investment portfolio, we'd say she was "low beta." For reasons that only that stupid and unsuccessful head coach of UConn knows, Geno trusts Lou.

Even if Lou is missing shots, she must be guarded. Saniya wouldn't have gotten space to shoot her threes if Molly were on the floor instead of Lou. And, you never know when Lou's 0-fer is going to turn into 10-10.

 

[HopJim]

Uhhhh...Lou did hit two 3 pointers that didn't count if that helps. She didn't just disappear! Calm down, she'll figure it out! No need to take her out of the game and mess with her confidence going into the elite 8! Lou will not "disappear" (as you say) in the elite 8! Go UCONN

Good points. Lou, even when not scoring, is a facilitator. She attracts attention wherever she goes, often pulling players away and opening the court up for passes to Gabby, Phessa and Kia.

 

[eebmg]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

I guess if you don't play any defense, you are not tired so playing 40 minutes is easy.

Every once in a while, Geno's hyperbole hit's a nerve of mine. I realize he wants to get under Lou's skin and she needs it but I do not see her not 'trying' to play defense. Some days are just less successful than others.

I do think it is still an issue that when her shooting starts off not very well, she tends to let it get into her head. I think her carelessness with the ball was a lot worse than her defense. The good news is she usually follows up a subpar performance with a good one.

 

[Vowelguy]

Omg , this is a spoiled fan base.

 

[mrmojack]

She had a bad game. She had as many turnovers as rebounds, 6. She just seemed to be a little off. I would
think she will bounce back nicely on Monday evening.

 

[Bliss]

Lots on her mind; Big Dance for her and Karlie and her dad was there. Every game she plays is not always going to be spectacular. She's on the big stage and she's what - nineteen? I think she's awesome even on an "off" day.

 

[Fiftyish]

She had a bad game. She had as many turnovers as rebounds, 6. She just seemed to be a little off. I would
think she will bounce back nicely on Monday evening.

I agree. Was very surprised at the turnovers. Shake it off and bring it on.

 

[phil sampieri]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

As the saying goes - better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak (write) and remove all doubt. She is next the best other than Chong at breaking the press, when she camps outside she must be faced guarded which helps open the lane , she has improves drastically in r defense, she scored 14 points, some assists etc. etc. horrendous. Go buy a book on how to understand basketball

 

[UcMiami]

All very good responses to one of 'those posts' where dislike buttons would come in handy.
'Everyone has to play defense except Lou' sounds a lot like 'the worst post player in the world' (Lobo, Wolters, Charles, Stef, Stewart), 'can't guard a chair' (Maya, Napheesa), 'can't jump over a piece of paper' (Stef again), 'got as many rebounds as a dead man' (Wolters again) etc. etc. - quite an impressive list of AAs who obviously should never have played a minute of basketball on any of Uconn's championship caliber teams. Of those from whom much is expected by Geno, much is publicly needled!

For a less than stellar game from Lou, 15 important points, and 6 important rebounds, floor spacing and drawing defenders out, ball handling even with only two assists and 6 TOs, and a calm steadiness. What surprised me was only three shots attempted in the second half plus two waved off. Seemed that the defense was more focused on her in the second half and that the team was looking elsewhere quite often when she would flash open. And yeah, Lou provides something that neither Gabby nor Napheesa provide - the ability to cover for one of them in the defense while consistently spacing the floor to the arc on offense. When Napheesa or Gabby are on the bench and Natalie is not in the game, Lou moves down to a forward spot with her 6'3" frame. None of the other three players who played yesterday can do that. And for all her 'frailty' that some people seem worried about she seems to be a player that can function better than others over 40 minutes of a game and she seldom fouls. Maybe she doesn't expend quite as much energy as Gabby does every minute she is on the floor, but I would say she matches everyone else in that regard.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Wow! Lou had a poor game and UConn by 15. Lucky UConn. Also, According to many--Lou had a bad day on defense. I decided to examine that a bit.
Canada scored 20. Who was guarding her most of the time? IMO it was not Lou. Billings scored 17 and had mucho rebounds. Who was guarding her? Don't think it was Lou. That leaves Korver with 15 points. (remember the rest of UCLA starters scored 5 or so each--someone on UConn played better defense).
Korver had 15 points that mostly came from 30 feet out. Korver had 2 rebounds and 0 assists. Was Lou the primary defender on Korver? Maybe. So Lou had 15 points too, plus 6 rebounds. Poor defense? OK--it was not a good day, but not as bad as some believe.
However, Lou did look tired. Gabby and Pheese also said they were tired at the end. UCLA did have two athletes that were equal or better than UConn yesterday. But the other 3 starters were not as good as UConn. And as we know here on the BY, UConn had the best TEAM. Looking forward to Oregon. Go Huskies.

 

[oldude]

Agree with all who point out that Lou opens up the court for her teammates simply by being on it.

Would also point out that hitting 3 point shots consistently is not as easy as some on this board seem to think it is. Yesterday senior Sidney Wiese, the all-time leader in 3-pt shots in the Pac12 was 0-10 from 3 in their loss to FSU.

 

[AdamOwe]

It was the shoes?

 

[tonehill68]

What happened in the second half of UCLA game? KLS disappeared Her shooting was horrendous, and she was not moving like in the first half. Also Geno said at Uconn in order to play you have to play defense , and not just be a scorer, the exception being Lou. Some people try or put an attempt at playing defense Lou doesn't even attempt to try. So why is Lou playing 40 mins during UCLA game, he didn't take her out for a breather like he did Gabby & Napheesa ?

I think could be fatigue that played a factor or it could be that she couldn't find her rhythm. I like to place the credit for that to UCLA's game plan in the second half to be physical with Katie Lou.

 

[HumblePie]

I agree. Was very surprised at the turnovers. Shake it off and bring it on.

Yes, she was credited with six (6) turnovers, but if you watched the game (or even the replay) it wasn't like she simply passed the ball out of bounds. In most cases (4 as I recall) she was hammered trying to take the ball between two defenders. Personally I believe she was fouled. Poor decisions on her part? Maybe, but she's done it before and we all cheered. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Just want to say that I have been writing a series of obsequious, supercilious, unctuous, sycophantic, pettifogging posts hoping to get my likes equal to my posts.

Fun to laugh at oneself.

 

[connie]

Even if Lou is missing shots, she must be guarded. Saniya wouldn't have gotten space to shoot her threes if Molly were on the floor instead of Lou. And, you never know when Lou's 0-fer is going to turn into 10-10.

Exactly. This often happens in football. Your number one receiver will invariably draw the attention of an opposing team's top cornerback. This has the effect of opening up the field to secondary targets. The statistics at the end of the day may show that your top guy didn't really produce much. But that hardly tells the story.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Here's my appraisal of yesterday:

Positives
- We won
- Collier, Williams, and Chong were solid-to-excellent
- From the 7:00 mark in 1Q to the 6:00 mark in 2Q, we dominated by something like 33-6

Concerns
- For 3/4 of the game, we were even -- at home -- with a team that nobody considered to be a legitimate contender
- Over the last 22 minutes of the game, we allowed almost 50 points; perimeter defense continues to be an issue, especially considering that allowing another team to get hot from deep is virtually the only way we will be threatened
- Lou wasn't great, and aside from the 10/10 game her shooting has been so-so lately
- None of our starters got any meaningful rest ahead of a quick turnaround
- Of the #1 seeds, we were the least impressive in this round

Someone elsewhere said that Nate Silver's projections have basically erased our favored status -- Baylor is almost even. Wish I'd gotten some big money on "the field" when it was like 4:1.

 

[Dabber]

I think could be fatigue that played a factor or it could be that she couldn't find her rhythm. I like to place the credit for that to UCLA's game plan in the second half to be physical with Katie Lou.

Agree. Don't have the stats in front of me but as I recall Lou has logged many more minutes than the rest of the starting line-up - - - - this could be why she may seem a little "off" but I'll take her game any day, over anyone else on that bench. Go Lou!