While I like Tony's forecast for the future, I also understand and acknowledge your perspective. As you say, scoring 90 points is fine, but what happens when you can't/don't play any defense? You lose to an Arkansas team last year 90-87 because you couldn't stop the Razorbacks from scoring at will. Chelsea Dungee (38 pts) didn't score all of the points. She had lots of help. You CAN win games and tournaments scoring 65 ppg if you can hold your opponent to 55 or less.
We had only 7 turnovers during a recent game. Piath Gabriel had two of them in garbage time. THAT is the mindset we must have to win games. Keep your opponent off the FT line. You never want your opponent shooting at the basket when the clock is stopped. Don't allow the game to come down to who ever has the ball last wins. Be in the game every second you're on the floor. Everything you do should be done with a purpose. The six players we've been playing with lately have enough experience to play without making silly unforced turnovers, or "freshman" mistakes.
The coaches and fans NEVER expect their players to play a perfect game with no errors or fouls. But you have to be able to make stops!! No second chances at scoring for the opponent. One shot per possession. No unforced turnovers (like a bad pass, traveling, etc.). You're not going to completely keep your opponent from getting offensive rebounds, but you can keep them to a bare minimum. Always block out. Keep YOUR man from getting the rebound. When you lose a close game like we did to Villanova (72-69), you think of all of the easy bunnies, layups and free throws we missed that would have made the difference in that close 3 point loss.
I remember the good old days when UConn was extremely stingy on defense. Holding most opponents to less than 60 ppg. They took pride in their ability to play defense, and always played with a sense of urgency. If THIS team learns how to play defense before the tournament, they can go far, maybe the final four. If not, they'll bow out possibly to an unranked team like Villanova. Yes, they will have a lot of firepower if all of their injured players return in the next 3 weeks.
"Run and Gun" is nice if you can out shoot your opponents to the extent that the game is over by half time. But if you can do no better than trade baskets with them, and turn the ball over 15-20 times a game giving them all of those extra possessions, you're climbing a very steep hill, and setting your self up for failure.
If this team really wants to go deep into the tournament, they MUST play good solid defense for 40 minutes, one possession at a time. Make stops at critical times and score at critical times. Like Sue Bird told her teammates once coming out of a timeout: "when the ball comes your way, make a play."
Once our injured players return to action, Geno will have more than enough players available to rotate them in and out, keeping them fresh for the 4th quarter. Scoring is great, but scoring 90 points does you no good if your opponent scores 91. We've got 5 games left.
Let's run the table from this point forward, playing as though being sent home depended on winning each game. Let's adopt that mindset now. Play smart, play hard, make no concessions, take no plays off, have fun, and enjoy each victory with your teammates and coaches.
The BIG East tournament begins in 3 weeks (18 days) on Fri March 4. There's not a lot of time left. We MUST be ready!!
