VAMike23
The Virginian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
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A few days ago DD did a nice, and thorough, early analysis from which much chatter ensued. Now that it's gameday, I have a laundry list of items I'll be watching for:
1) 3-pt shooting UCONN - As Geno mentioned the other day, he wants to see an average of 20 attempts or so each game. "I gotta think a lot of the time, we make 8, 9, 10 of them." I think tonight we will need to have 3-pt shooting of around 7-19, 8-22 or better. If we're cold and/or they are able to deploy an effective perimeter D (likely Tara's 2nd big gameplan point after stopping Stef), then it could be a long night.
2) 3-pt shooting Stanford - Bottom line, if someone like Samuelson or one of their guards has a hot shooting night from beyond the arc, Stanford probably wins.
3) Dolson's fouls - Unlike last year, Stef is strong enough and experienced enough to hold her own and cause some hurt for the Cardinal on the inside. But she needs to avoid silly fouls because the O Sisters are going to be taking it to her with their athleticism, and they will probably succeed in drawing some whistles...but how many? And how early? Hopefully Stef will play smart, hands-up defense like she did most of last year and let our help defenders do what they need to do. This is where we miss Maya most: help defense.
4) Tiff's demeanor - Of course Tiff will remember the last game. Everybody but the freshmen will still have a sour taste from last year. So it would be easy to think Tiff might overcompensate and try to push, push, push by giving 110% tonight. I hope she takes a deep breath and plays with composure, not too high, not too low. It will be tough in a big rematch game like this, but we need her to be steady and pick her spots without trying to overdo. Having Caroline out there should help immeasurably. If she has one of those games where she is just really hot, we win hands down. It has ever been thus for the Huskies during Hayes' tenure.
5) Zone defense - Although I agree that UCONN is a M2M team for the most part, Geno has run the zone a fair amount in the early games and I think tonight he will use it more than usual. Stanford's strength is inside and they no longer have Pohlen and KP. When we're in the 2-3, that means we will have ....
6) The Other Big - Geno has said that if we get solid contributions from the other big guys, we should be OK. I believe it won't just be a case of looking to see who can hold the fort while Stef is on the bench--it will also be who is doing the best job on the court alongside Stef, probably in zone situations. I think that person is likely to be Heather Buck. Speaking of Buck....
7) Buck Breaks Out - I'm hoping that Heather is our wildcard tonight. I'm giving her the lucky 7 spot on the list. I hope to see lots of minutes (for her), some putbacks, and solid D and rebounding against the O Sisters. I love Kiah and have talked her up often over the summer and this fall, but I'm not sure as a forsh she will be ready to impact this game as hoped. (Please prove me wrong, Kiah!) But I think Heather is ready, because A) she knows what to expect, and B) she seems to be more focused now on what she knows she can do well. She had a great moment in the sun last year against Griner, but she is ready to expand on that and give us some grit inside for substantial minutes tonight. If Heather disappears, either Kiah will have to step up HUGE or we will have to shoot very well from outside.
Go Huskies! Maybe get high-fives from both Maya and Sue during the introductions for that WINNING mojo !! And may the forsh be with you!
1) 3-pt shooting UCONN - As Geno mentioned the other day, he wants to see an average of 20 attempts or so each game. "I gotta think a lot of the time, we make 8, 9, 10 of them." I think tonight we will need to have 3-pt shooting of around 7-19, 8-22 or better. If we're cold and/or they are able to deploy an effective perimeter D (likely Tara's 2nd big gameplan point after stopping Stef), then it could be a long night.
2) 3-pt shooting Stanford - Bottom line, if someone like Samuelson or one of their guards has a hot shooting night from beyond the arc, Stanford probably wins.
3) Dolson's fouls - Unlike last year, Stef is strong enough and experienced enough to hold her own and cause some hurt for the Cardinal on the inside. But she needs to avoid silly fouls because the O Sisters are going to be taking it to her with their athleticism, and they will probably succeed in drawing some whistles...but how many? And how early? Hopefully Stef will play smart, hands-up defense like she did most of last year and let our help defenders do what they need to do. This is where we miss Maya most: help defense.
4) Tiff's demeanor - Of course Tiff will remember the last game. Everybody but the freshmen will still have a sour taste from last year. So it would be easy to think Tiff might overcompensate and try to push, push, push by giving 110% tonight. I hope she takes a deep breath and plays with composure, not too high, not too low. It will be tough in a big rematch game like this, but we need her to be steady and pick her spots without trying to overdo. Having Caroline out there should help immeasurably. If she has one of those games where she is just really hot, we win hands down. It has ever been thus for the Huskies during Hayes' tenure.
5) Zone defense - Although I agree that UCONN is a M2M team for the most part, Geno has run the zone a fair amount in the early games and I think tonight he will use it more than usual. Stanford's strength is inside and they no longer have Pohlen and KP. When we're in the 2-3, that means we will have ....
6) The Other Big - Geno has said that if we get solid contributions from the other big guys, we should be OK. I believe it won't just be a case of looking to see who can hold the fort while Stef is on the bench--it will also be who is doing the best job on the court alongside Stef, probably in zone situations. I think that person is likely to be Heather Buck. Speaking of Buck....
7) Buck Breaks Out - I'm hoping that Heather is our wildcard tonight. I'm giving her the lucky 7 spot on the list. I hope to see lots of minutes (for her), some putbacks, and solid D and rebounding against the O Sisters. I love Kiah and have talked her up often over the summer and this fall, but I'm not sure as a forsh she will be ready to impact this game as hoped. (Please prove me wrong, Kiah!) But I think Heather is ready, because A) she knows what to expect, and B) she seems to be more focused now on what she knows she can do well. She had a great moment in the sun last year against Griner, but she is ready to expand on that and give us some grit inside for substantial minutes tonight. If Heather disappears, either Kiah will have to step up HUGE or we will have to shoot very well from outside.
Go Huskies! Maybe get high-fives from both Maya and Sue during the introductions for that WINNING mojo !! And may the forsh be with you!
