Louisville Postgame Thread

[eebmg]

Blowing smoke. He said C had a great week of practice earlier this week and now look how that turned out

Actually, I think he said pretty good about CW's practice week. He was really enthusiastic about Dorka's practice.

 

[Vowelguy]

It seems she goes out of her way to to be impartial.

I suspect every broadcaster on the face of the earth would view that as an enormous compliment.

 

[ABCDFE]

The Edwards/Nelson/Dorka/Williams/Ducharme combo worked well. Westbrook was lost .. Williams is a sad Husky. She never really developed into a force ...

I’ve been thinking that we over valued some our recruiting classes and of course a couple of dry years in terms of recruits (Molly Bent year etc). Before Paige’s recruiting class i would say we got only Crystal and Megan to play well, others probably can call them misses. However I am starting to think that the last couple of years we are adding the type of horses we need to win a championship. I’m hopeful that Ice and AP will be we impactful interior players that we desperately need and have lacked for so long

 

[Florida Fan]

Some thoughts on the Louisville game:

• This was always going to be a really tough game today. A shorthanded UConn team played hard against a very good Louisville team. To paraphrase a quote attributed to Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), “Reports of UConn WBB’s death are greatly exaggerated.”
• The more I see of Caroline, the more I love everything she brings to this team. She kept the Huskies in the game today.
• Geno threw a 2-3 zone at Louisville to start and then switched back and forth between zone and man during the 1st half. That gave Louisville some trouble at first, but once the Cardinals started knocking down 3’s, they forced the Huskies out of the zone.
• It’s extremely difficult to play with only 3 guards on your active roster. There’s no rest for anyone and it greatly limits the adjustments UConn could make at both ends of the court.
• On paper UConn had an advantage in the paint. But Louisville did a really good job of denying easy entry passes to UConn’s post players.
• Hopefully, UConn will get some of the walking wounded back after Christmas.
• Everyone, hang in there.

Ono was free at the foul line, in the second half, and had a lane to drive through, the better choice versus her other offensive options. Louisville defense effectively smothered enough of our guards to do the job. Just say'n.

 

[phil sampieri]

She acts like she cant wait for season to be over. Acts very lethargic, at times looks lost. Certainly not the same player who singlehandedly destroyed N.D. On their home court as a freshman. She has never lived up to the expectations as the #1 recruit coming out of high school.

She is only dangerous when she has 4 teammates who scorers.She suffers 2hen she is the # 1 option.

 

[eebmg]

I think Caroline has a better all around game than KLS.
Also more of a “big picture” court awareness.
JMHO

I think we are forgetting how KLS played such good team defense and really improved on individual defense and Caroline is not yet in the KLS class as a pure shooter and as a passer but I give Caroline the edge on rebounding, movement and perhaps an aggressiveness KLS did not show as a freshman.

 

[rubymae4]

Started strong- 2 quick fouls- sat down and lost her mojo.

That’s what I saw too. She was super tough and playing hard until she sat, and wasn’t able to maintain. That said, I noticed a difference in half court offense when she wasn’t in the game—she is a great facilitator.

I give EW a break. She’s juggling a lot of responsibilities right now, and I’m sure it’s wearing on her.

 

[Tonyc]

CW should want the ball in the 4th and she should make plays. She hasnt. Early in the game she was making plays. Evina is playing point guard under alot of pressure. Still she needs to want the ball and make plays We lack our point guard just like Stanford and some other teams. We also are lacking a bench right now. Dont blame not playing the kids who left. We have Paige CW and Azzi all HS number 1's Evina HS number 2 Caroline HS number 3-5 and HS number 3&4 next year coming in next season. We're loaded for the next 4-5 years. Lets face it unless your a superstar your not cracking the lineup and may not be able to get alot of playtime. We've got a tuff road ahead of us this season but we can do it when we all get healthy and get a few games under our belt. We can also do it when our seniors step up and make plays. Now the holiday layoff and Dec 29 we got Marquette another really tuff game.

 

[topogigio]

Wonder if Saylor P. is kicking herself in the backside?

 

[SARG 2011]

Hopefully the break helps to recharge some of the players both mentally and physically. I will be in DC for the Jan 5th game cheering as loud as I can. While we are not accustomed to the team losing come post season these minutes that CD and Dorka are getting will be invaluable. How many times in years past have we had serious doubts about our bench....not anymore. Some are saying we are not a top 10 team right now. Well 4 of the top 10 teams lost this weekend and AZ didn't even suit up. I still like our chances, lots of season left.

 

[SLY63]

I refuse to "bash" a specific player (and won't start now), but one truth in sports is that there are players that show flashes of brilliance, but don't show consistency and just can't turn it on when needed. Those players are solid complimentary players and you need them for those games when they are producing, but they will always have good games and not so good games. We have a number of those players and shouldn't expect more out of them or be surprised when they follow a 20 point game with a 6 point game.

 

[Vowelguy]

We have Paige CW and Azzi all HS number 1's Evina HS number 2 Caroline HS number 3-5 and HS number 3&4 next year coming in next season.

It befuddles me that you (and others) still talk about HS rankings like they matter.

CW was 1 and Ono was 3. WHO CARES? It sure as hell doesnt mean that they are the first and third best seniors.

 

[Vowelguy]

Wonder if Saylor P. is kicking herself in the backside?

Stop it.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I find it distasteful to see so much negativity around CW. Can't you see she's doing everything she can to contribute? She's trying her best. It's not a situation where she isn't trying. Her game is just not suited for playing against zone defenses. She's certainly trying and in some environments she would be more suited. She's still a great player. Not every game is going to be an all star performance for any player.

 

[Husky fanatic]

The difference in the game was LVille shot over 53% from 3. I thought we played hard and we played with guts. We need CW and Evina to find a way to score. When they do thats when we get better. Hoping the holiday break does the team well and Nika and Azzi come back 100% healthy and 100% on the court.

It took a page and a half before this was mentioned. Shot about 20% over their season average. Hailey was about 35% over her average

 

[my2cents]

Now I know why this site is called the "Boneyard".
By the time , we fans, dissect and chop up ONE game, all the meat is gone and we are just left with bones.

 

[Argonaut]

Each game since Paige’s injury, the team has gotten better. If they played GT the way they played Louisville, it would have been a smooth victory (conversely, if they played Louisville the way they played GT they would have lost by at least 20).

As long as they continue to improve as a unit, I’m pleased with it.

 

[cohenzone]

We can’t overlook missing Griffin. Hope she can recover. She is able to disrupt passing lanes and handle 3 point shooters. We are missing not only the best player in the country, but our best perimeter defender who would see minutes in a game like this. We haven’t seen a healthy Fudd nor, for that matter, a healthy Muhl, our second best ball handler. Team played really well in general. Neither Westbrook nor Williams are natural facilitators.

If we ever get our full team back by end of Feb we will be a tough out.

I don’t see Williams as being the sulking no show some do. Her main game is driving and cutting with an occasional good outside game. Louisville clogged the lane which takes away much of her game. The edge Ducharme seems to have is a quicker release and more consistent outside shot that serves to open driving lanes.

 

[BobbyJ]

Ducharme is going to be an All-American. A superstar. 2 full years with her, Paige and Fudd will be insane.

Ducharme is starting to remind me a bit of Ashley Joens, who is one of the best players in the country right now. But even bigger and possibly a better shooter at least now as a Freshman. Just a restless worker on both ends, specifically on the offensive end whether it be with the ball or without the ball. She's a bucket.

Honestly, for the future, rather lose and have her go off than win a close game where we are carried by CW and EW.

If Bueckers comes back this year healthy and ready to play, I would cut bait and try to salvage the season by playing those three the vast majority of the minutes at the 1,2,and 3. GA is just spinning his wheels with the other two.

 

[BRS24]

Some thoughts:

The team has just finished final exams. Not a fun time to balance everything, and get through the gauntlet, so to speak.

The last thing that EW, ONO, CW are thinking about is the WNBA draft. The team has 3 goals each season - win the conference, win the conference tourney, win the NCAA tourney. It's been this way for years. So, if any of the seniors are thinking about the draft in April, then they haven't been listening to the coaching staff for the last 3-4 years.

As much as I love seeing them beat everyone, a loss is not the end of the world. These are still kids. Just because a few seniors are not performing to anyone's expectations is not a reason to toss them aside. As many have said before, we have NO idea what goes on at practices behind closed doors, what is going on in any of the player's lives outside of basketball.

It's is, after all, still December.

On edit:

 

[LwrcasefaN]

If CW would stop second guessing herself and play downhill...she would be a different player. She would live at the line. Aaliyah looked better. I wish they would have used her to pick off the harassers on Evina bringing the ball up the court. It disrupted the offense and if you ever played basketball that wears you down. UConn in general doesn't seem to pick as much as I remember. And the dribblers...are going too wide when they do get a screen...effectively negating the reason for the screen. BUT...despite the loss, I saw a relaxed team dealing with their current reality as best they can. Overall, I thought they played well. Just hope there are no more injuries as there's almost a staring 5 sitting and just watching.

 

[Discograd]

ONO still has not learned how important it is that she stay out if foul trouble. Another aspect of basketball iq.

 

[Carnac]

Note… UConn starters out scored Louisville starters 60-47. Walz got 22 points from his bench, Geno got 4. Louisville won by 5.

 

[BRS24]

 

[Postie]

I find it distasteful to see so much negativity around CW. Can't you see she's doing everything she can to contribute? She's trying her best. It's not a situation where she isn't trying. Her game is just not suited for playing against zone defenses. She's certainly trying and in some environments she would be more suited. She's still a great player. Not every game is going to be an all star performance for any player.

I agree CW is at her best in transition.If everyone remembers her breakout game against ND she was scoring in transition.She was probably the fifth option on that team and ND had to account for Collier,Nurse,KLS and Gabby.UConn half court offense hasn’t been great for a few years now.If you play everyone inside the paint UConn can’t run there half court offense.