Kutztown Postgame Thread

[cgshuskie]

Sun is on the right track about Amari. She seems not to be a banger, no matter what we may hope for. She is not an energizer bunny, not a quick mover and not a Moses Malone type. She is more of a finese player, like Sun demonstrated. Amari is, unfortunately or fortunately, not like ONO or Tina Charles or Steph Dolson. As Sun stated, she is a 'finese' type player. She will learn to block shots and rebound, develop a small hook shot. a small mid range jumper and perhaps a 3. Her size alone, down low, changes opponents shots.
That may be all we can hope for. All big guys aren't energizers........

 

[Forego]

Maybe she was hard to see because of those yucky grey warm up suits. Not the best color choice. Keep everything Blue please (with an occasional white)

Yeah - at least they could have tried harder to match them to the color of Geno’s hair. Recommend having an auction to sell them and donate the proceeds to charity. Don’t forget to include the grey game uniform’s in the auction too.

 

[nastynatty]

The biggest takeaway for me was how Nika has transformed herself physically and how she has taken control of this team and also has taken ownership and responsibility. You need a true point guard to make getting to the Promised Land of the Final Four that much easier. We always loved her energy and passion as a player but now there are more skills, smarts and discipline. It was great to see.

She was reminding me a bit of Evina on her drives to the basket. Just turned on the jets and hit another gear. Love to see it.

 

[BBallF]

I did rewatch the entire game again today, paying special attention to Amari in the 4th qtr. On the positive side, Amari did do some nice things on defense, she set some high screens and had a couple nice passes from the high post. On the negative side, she missed her one shot, forced a couple passes that ended up turnovers and was stripped of the ball twice. So from a statistical perspective Amari's time on the court was basically a wash. What concerned me is that at 6'5" Amari was the biggest player on the court, by a lot, and she didn't play like it. I would love to have seen her post up hard down low, demand the ball from her teammates and crash the offensive glass like a freight train.

Mayber it's not Amari's fault? Maybe Geno, Jamelle and CD want Amari to be a point center, playing a finesse game at the top of the key rather than using her god given size to own the paint? Yeah, that must be it.......

Clearly not it as you know. At the end of the day it's not the stats it's the eye test and she seemed weak physically out there with no fluidity and no tensile strength and you can't, I repeat just can't, have the ball stripped from you by a smaller D2 player two times. The light hasn't gone on yet for her and it is painful to watch because we know her skill set.

It's just not that difficult. You play as hard as you can for as long as you can in practice in order to get PT. As you practice, so you play. Geno lives by that mantra.

 

[Centerstream]

I'd start Lou and bring Caroline off the bench. Lou is a better shooter. Her defense is adequate and will get better. Caroline is a sure thing where Caroline is an expectation and hope.

Uh....what?

 

[sun]

View attachment 80445So in 10 minutes of play she had 0 pts, took one shot, 0 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 3 T/O's, 1 Blk, and 3 Stl's. Compared to Ines who played 8 minutes, had 4 pts, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 0 fouls, 0 T/O's, 0 Blk's, and 0 Stl's. By the way, it a appears that many people on here has focused on Amari, that is why they are VERY disappointed.

What's the big deal about Amari going 0-1?
Her only shot was rebounded for a FG basket by Ayanna I believe.
That means that Amari's shot wasn't too far off and ended up scoring points anyway in UConn's favor.
Ayanna had much worse shooting with many more misses than Amari considering all of her missed put backs.
And Amari didn't put her own teammates at risk by slamming into them while trying to secure a RB either.
That looked ugly when it happened in the 4th quarter.
I'm glad that Ines appeared to not be hurt.

 

[oldude]

Clearly not it as you know. At the end of the day it's not the stats it's the eye test and she seemed weak physically out there with no fluidity and no tensile strength and you can't, I repeat just can't, have the ball stripped from you by a smaller D2 player two times. The light hasn't gone on yet for her and it is painful to watch because we know her skill set.

It's just not that difficult. You play as hard as you can for as long as you can in practice in order to get PT. As you practice, so you play. Geno lives by that mantra.

In football, the most damming criticism of a player is that they are “soft.” That would be my take on Amari right now. Jamelle, or somebody, has to find a way to light a fire inside Amari, to get her to play with some genuine aggression. As I said before, I don’t care if she fouls out in 5 minutes. That would be a step in the right direction.

 

[MSGRET]

What's the big deal about Amari going 0-1?
Her only shot was rebounded for a FG basket by Ayanna I believe.
That means that Amari's shot wasn't too far off and ended up scoring points anyway in UConn's favor.
Ayanna had much worse shooting with many more misses than Amari considering all of her missed put backs.
And Amari didn't put her own teammates at risk by slamming into them while trying to secure a RB either.
That looked ugly when it happened in the 4th quarter.
I'm glad that Ines appeared to not be hurt.

I will just give you a simple answer. If a 6'5" player can't get at least 1 rebound or basket in 10 minutes of play against a DIV II team then she will not be playing anything except mop up minutes.

 

[Mdoggie]

The biggest takeaway for me was how Nika has transformed herself physically and how she has taken control of this team and also has taken ownership and responsibility. You need a true point guard to make getting to the Promised Land of the Final Four that much easier. We always loved her energy and passion as a player but now there are more skills, smarts and discipline. It was great to see.

She is my número uno!

 

[BBallF]

She was reminding me a bit of Evina on her drives to the basket. Just turned on the jets and hit another gear. Love to see it.

She threw at least a few no look passes and the one long perfect pass on the break to Lou in the third quarter with about 4:25 left was Bueckersesque. She has much greater confidence now by all indications and her passing choices and court vision are really flawless. I think she knows it too.

 

[BBallF]

She is my número uno!

Mine too. If I didn't know better I would say she grew an inch from last year. It's the toning and strength. She seems more upright. She is a much improved player. it's not just bravado anymore. You can tell she has worked her butt off.

 

[Bama fan]

Clearly not it as you know. At the end of the day it's not the stats it's the eye test and she seemed weak physically out there with no fluidity and no tensile strength and you can't, I repeat just can't, have the ball stripped from you by a smaller D2 player two times. The light hasn't gone on yet for her and it is painful to watch because we know her skill set.

It's just not that difficult. You play as hard as you can for as long as you can in practice in order to get PT. As you practice, so you play. Geno lives by that mantra.

I share your concern over Amari and her lack of performance. But please tell me what you mean by "no tensile strength". Tensile strength is generally the ability of a material or shape to resist being pulled apart, or stretched beyond the point of elasticity. unless one is being drawn and quartered, it seldom applies to humans.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Just as Enes Kantor looks like an NBA center sometimes, there are other times when he doesn't. Especially on defense. Quickness is a huge asset in sports. Amari is not the solution yet even though the girl seems to be trying very hard. She's depth and we should feel lucky we have her but there is a reason why she isn't getting much PT. I hope she gets more blow outs so she can continue to develop.

Meanwhile I think Inez may well get significant PT this year. She's athletic. I think she may emerge as a rotation player before the end of the year if we have injuries.

 

[cgshuskie]

I meant, "Lou is a sure thing, Caroline is an expectation and hope"!

 

[BBallF]

I share your concern over Amari and her lack of performance. But please tell me what you mean by "no tensile strength". Tensile strength is generally the ability of a material or shape to resist being pulled apart, or stretched beyond the point of elasticity. unless one is being drawn and quartered, it seldom applies to humans.

I certainly was not being medieval. I meant it to apply to her having the ball ripped out of her hands twice yesterday. It was probably imprecise but she clearly has a lack of grasping strength which is disappointing for a 6'5" player.

 

[Majic Hands]

After the game I was agreeing with the posters comments that we were pleasantly surprised by everyone. . . except.

I re-watched the game and Amari did better than I thought
Yep, she missed her shot. But she took the shot. She missed a couple passes that were close and would have probably been on someone's replay if she had been a little more accurate with the passes.

If I remember correctly the camera & talking heads were disengage from the game and I'm thinking she got some stuff done. We just didn't get to see it.

Starter material? No. However I'm holding out for Amari getting it figured out this year. Starter? Probably not but maybe being inserted for a few minutes here, a few minutes there.

Golly Gee I like this Team!
Gonna go look at her stats.

 

[Alydar]

Geno played a little zone and that may be when we see Deberry play.

 

[Gus Mahler]

I share your concern over Amari and her lack of performance. But please tell me what you mean by "no tensile strength". Tensile strength is generally the ability of a material or shape to resist being pulled apart, or stretched beyond the point of elasticity. unless one is being drawn and quartered, it seldom applies to humans.

Or on the rack!

 

[BobbyJ]

In football, the most damming criticism of a player is that they are “soft.” That would be my take on Amari right now. Jamelle, or somebody, has to find a way to light a fire inside Amari, to get her to play with some genuine aggression. As I said before, I don’t care if she fouls out in 5 minutes. That would be a step in the right direction.

Toughness and aggression. It's in the gut. Doesn't matter who's talking to her. If you ain't got it, you're not going to just eventually find it.

 

[oldude]

Toughness and aggression. It's in the gut. Doesn't matter who's talking to her. If you ain't got it, you're not going to just eventually find it.

Maybe so. Maybe it’s just a case of lack of confidence. I doubt that Geno and his staff have given up on Amari yet. The Huskies could certainly use 5-10 mpg from a confident, aggressive Amari, assuming that player can be found.

 

[oldhusky]

In the little bits and pieces of getting to see Amari play, I sometimes wonder how her stats would be if she was given significant playing time. The categories that I think might be pretty good for a C would be blocked shots and assists. She is not just tall but long and appears to be a good shot blocker and clearly she has some talent finding cutters to the basket.

As for scoring some say she is a good shooter, and maybe she could hit a decent percentage of jumpers from mid-range, but I don't think she would ever be a high volume scorer, because I can't see her getting many baskets from close range on offensive putbacks, and it seems like she never posts up. It seems she plays very vertical, doesn't get low and spread out for low post position, or for boxing out on rebounds.

I could be way off, but I suspect her rebounding numbers for a long, mobile (if not quick) 6-5 player would be very low, and suspect she would be pushed around by shorter but more physical C's inside.

For every talent that suggests a good upside there seems to be a downside. 6-5 and long shot blocker sounds like a good foundation for a very good defensive player, but not if you can't play good position defense, and get overpowered on the inside.

Some great passes get our hopes up, but those are often followed by a careless turnover, and when you have a 6-5 good perimeter spot up shooter you think, wow combine that with inside scoring and you really have something, but she does almost nothing around the basket.

She remains an enigma and my expectations for her are sinking, but when we get those blowouts against some Big East teams, I will remain very interested in the last few minutes hoping to see signs of life from Amari in mop up minutes.

 

[ballerfan]

It’s obvious that Amari has a lot of talent. My biggest concern is that Geno no longer talks about her. I think he mentions every player except Amari. So something is going on or not going on.

 

[Littlemin]

Most players are what they are, not all, but most. DeBerry and Patterson in some aspects are alike, big players who seemingly dominated in HS in large part to that fact. Their difference though appears obvious, albeit a small sample size, Patterson just brings it, tremendous effort and DeBerry less so. I think Patterson‘s results against Kutztown are overrated by many here but her intensity and effort were undeniable and offer a very solid base on which to build. As Husky Nan posted, you just can’t teach that. I believe she will seem more of a project against bigger, better players than many think but her willingness to go out and get after it will keep her getting the court time needed to improve.

 

[HuskyNan]

Most players are what they are, not all, but most. DeBerry and Patterson in some aspects are alike, big players who seemingly dominated in HS in large part to that fact. Their difference though appears obvious, albeit a small sample size, Patterson just brings it, tremendous effort and DeBerry less so. I think Patterson‘s results against Kutztown are overrated by many here but her intensity and effort were undeniable and offer a very solid base on which to build. As Husky Nan posted, you just can’t teach that. I believe she will seem more of a project against bigger, better players than many think but her willingness to go out and get after it will keep her getting the court time needed to improve.

This happened to pop up on Twitter this morning

 

[Littlemin]

This happened to pop up on Twitter this morning

Words to the wise!
I am a huge fan of Chris Voss, a very successful FBI hostage negotiator, who wrote a tremendous book on the art of negotiating; I do a ton of that (business not hostage) and his book, “Never Split the Difference” has over the years become my negotiating Bible. My favorite quote of his -
“When the pressure is on, you don’t rise to the occasion - you fall to your highest level of preparation”

 

[Bigboote]

This happened to pop up on Twitter this morning

"Don't do the easy wrong." It's an incredibly simple, yet very powerful idea.

It's akin to something I've learned from a lifetime of playing music: "Practice doesn't necessarily make perfect, but practice makes permanent." That is, if you do something incorrectly over and over again, you won't learn to do it well. That's why, for most freshmen, Geno breaks them down (disabuses them of bad habits), then builds them up (builds good habits in them). This may be why posts take longer to develop in the UConn system. They're used to getting by on height/brute force, but need to learn positioning, footwork, etc.

 

[Bone Dog]

This is what I’ve learned, too, from a lifetime of teaching kids in this same age group, 18-23. I have to set the standard. Geno emphasized the criticism part of the task, and that’s real. But he didn’t mention the other side , though I’m sure he does this, too — the kindness and generosity. Tough love isn’t just about being tough.

As Geno says, some kids arrive already motivated. Those you only have to point them at the challenge and they go. They can take the full force of criticism and deserve the praise you eventually give too. But for the kids who don’t have that at the beginning, I don’t think you can instill it just by yelling at them, all criticism, ‘all tough no love.’ It’s not all ‘boot camp’ and anyone who thinks it can be hasn’t spent much time around kids this age. Sometimes, a kid can’t find that inner drive without a little finesse from their coaches and teachers.

 

[Wilderness]

This is what I’ve learned, too, from a lifetime of teaching kids in this same age group, 18-23. I have to set the standard. Geno emphasized the criticism part of the task, and that’s real. But he didn’t mention the other side , though I’m sure he does this, too — the kindness and generosity. Tough love isn’t just about being tough.

As Geno says, some kids arrive already motivated. Those you only have to point them at the challenge and they go. They can take the full force of criticism and deserve the praise you eventually give too. But for the kids who don’t have that at the beginning, I don’t think you can instill it just by yelling at them, all criticism, ‘all tough no love.’ It’s not all ‘boot camp’ and anyone who thinks it can be hasn’t spent much time around kids this age. Sometimes, a kid can’t find that inner drive without a little finesse from their coaches and teachers.

And I'll bet you've had those memorable students who respond to an excellent grade with, "How could it be better?" - who seek feedback. Wish we could work out how to make that infectious. Good post.

 

[Bama fan]

Or on the rack!

Oh , for a good old auto da fe!

 

[freshler40]

Did other posters also show concern about the rebounding aspects of Dorka? She always seemed to immediately take down the rebound to waist level instead of holding the ball up high where guards might not steal it. She also did this before a put back. Against better competition she won't get a shot off. Where are our coaches as this was also a problem w/her last season.
In other aspects, she showed a lot of quickness and desire to shoot with no hesitation.