Louisville Postgame Thread

[my2cents]

Pretty much everything has been dissected already.
As a team we are generally trying to peak in March, not Nov 4th.
Serah will be fine, just first game jitters. Not sure how many times Wisconsin was on National TV. Seeing Holly Rowe there would make me nervous.
KK had a great first half, but I don't think she took a shot in second half.
How many players can get a defensive rebound, take the ball the length of the court and score at the rim? Sarah did it twice, a one woman fast break.
We make wide open threes we win by 40.

 

[PJCLaw]

She was 2 for 8 from 3 and is typically a 40+% shooter. She'd tell you her shot was off, that isn't a hot take.

A touch is anytime a player gets possession of the ball, even briefly. A shot is when you attempt to score. You kind of merged those two terms together but I used the word touches intentionally. My OP is merely that were opportunities where an Azzi touch would have benefitted the offense because Louisville wanted the ball far and away from her.

I stand by what I said as I watched the entire game and "touched" the ball on almost every possession she was in the game, sometimes more than once. A simple review of the game will reflect this. Shots are preceded by "touches" and she had 20 of those, which was way more than PB averaged last year when she led the team in scoring. Again, how many "touches" do you think she needs? That question was never answered.

 

[cohenzone]

It is always head shaking to me how some fans draw conclusions or worry about things based on how things go in a single game. Enjoy winning.

 

[UCONNRPh]

Heckel looks way better than I expected.

This was only the first game and we all know that they will get much better as the season rolls along.

I was hoping to see Blanca but I guess she is hurt? I actually had to go to the roster listing on the Uconn site to see what number she wears. I forgot.

I was wanting to see more Allie. She looked so fluid in the exhibition game. I want to see these threes that everyone one on the team talks about.....

 

[SLY63]

Random Thoughts

1. I was most impressed with Heckle
2. Seems like SS can score at will and wants to be a point forward
3. KK started off great
4. Azzi was aggressive
5. Serah Williams had her moments but still showed some hesitation
6. Love Shade's energy but she needs to hit her shots
7. Good game overall considering terrible 3 point shooting
8. El-Alfy was aggressive, I didn't see much from Ice
9. Loved when Rebecca called out Dee Cantner for almost costing us the 1995 crown

 

[cancontent]

This won't be a popular opinion, but you're not wrong.

Sera Williams was a first team Big Ten double double machine? You'd never know it from this performance. That was dreadful. At least guard your opposite big and not let them put up a 20/20 game against you with half a dozen open three point shots.

KK great game and hopefully she keeps hitting the open shots. Heckel great game, she's going to be a headache to guard because she's going to have wide open spaces to cut and drive.

Sarah and Azzi will be fine. Ash will be fine. But considering all of that sudden depth at the center position, at least one of them has to at least rebound, box out, play defense and protect the rim. One game isn't a season, but this was alot closer than it should have been.

UConn isn't running the offence through her, which will reduce the number of shot attempts she will take. Rebecca Lobo mentioned this during the early part of the broadcast.

From someone who follows the BIG10, to be fair, Serah isn't playing the same style she did at Wisconsin here. She was the primary, pretty much only scorer for that team. She was also allowed to do a lot more than she will in this offence. She's not going to get that here but that's not her primary concern. She's here to contribute and help UConn win.

 

[cancontent]

Random Thoughts

1. I was most impressed with Heckle
2. Seems like SS can score at will and wants to be a point forward
3. KK started off great
4. Azzi was aggressive
5. Serah Williams had her moments but still showed some hesitation
6. Love Shade's energy but she needs to hit her shots
7. Good game overall considering terrible 3 point shooting
8. El-Alfy was aggressive, I didn't see much from Ice
9. Loved when Rebecca called out Dee Cantner for almost costing us the 1995 crown

Glad they cut the cameras over to them when that convo was going down. Rebecca's face was clear, she wasn't having any of Kantner's excuses.

 

[BBallF]

I just want to cite two very nice offensive moments from Serah and Jana (aside from "the pass").
Serah made a beautiful step-back shot in the lane, and Jana's "and one" under the basket might be glimpses of even better things to come.
And, again, remember that we got 16 rebounds from our 3-headed center position.

Yes which is noteworthy but we only got 6 points from the 3 of them in a combined 35 minutes. I think a combined 16-18 points would make us unbeatable. Think also what that would do for the "in and out" game. If you slough off to double below, the arc is open, and so are cutters as Kayleigh showed us last night.

 

[Kat]

It was so fine to see 4 National Championship team players stroll out onto the court to start the game. They cruised, while playing a ranked opponent. It's all good. I even enjoy reading the grumpy-cats who criticize each and every thing. It feels like we're on our way to another great season.

 

[ERWUC65]

I think the wing spot is Uconn’s biggest weakness this year. Nothing against Ashlyn but she’s streaky and not someone that can consistently hit wide open shots

Pretty obvious that we need Blanca in relief there

 

[Vancat]

Really pleased Heckel did so well.
And how about Lobo? Give her a hand. She always spotlights interesting plays! That pass to the basket that she called out was super! Also loved when she highlighted the "Elevator play" last year.

 

[Bone Dog]

A couple of people have mentioned this already and it bears repeating: Louisville is a tough team. They were overwhelmed in the first quarter, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make a comeback in the second half. They were energetic, they made a lot of crisp passes and hit their 3s. Kudos to both Geno and Jeff for scheduling such a tough game for the opener. Only Duke/Baylor and Tennessee/NC State were comparable.

Also, I didn’t feel the tension others have ascribed to Dee and Rebeccah on the sideline. It seemed like friendly ribbing to me in both directions. In particular, the recurring reference to a single call in the 1995 NC game sounded to me like an effort by Ryan and Rebeccah to show the audience that Dee is not a prickly presence but someone who can take a little ribbing. There is an important guardrail here since Dee cannot make light of the ref’s role even as she accepts some goodhumored teasing. It’s an important needle to be threaded and I thought the three of them were appropriately mindful of it.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think the wing spot is Uconn’s biggest weakness this year. Nothing against Ashlyn but she’s streaky and not someone that can consistently hit wide open shots

So you’re discounting Ash’s 7 rebounds and her aggressive defense that disrupted fast breaks and caused turnovers? She tapped balls to teammates and slapped balls out of L’ville players’ hands, making a complete pest of herself.

There are scorers and there are basketball players. Ashlynn Shade is a basketball player

 

[RedStickHusky]

I think Geno was experimenting in the second half with the different line-ups and slowing the ball down to run offense. If Shade will be a streaky shooter again, I hope Allie will get more playing time. I hope Blanca is not out very long. Another freshman getting injured before getting a chance to prove herself.

Ash has so much game (defense, rebounding, passing) that her hitting shots is a bonus. She's gonna play. Seems like Sera W is the one with the most to figure out. Hopefully opening day jitters (as posted previously by @Scrutineer). Heckel was a revelation. Looks like a version of last years KK.

 

[HCCForever]

I just want to cite two very nice offensive moments from Serah and Jana (aside from "the pass").
Serah made a beautiful step-back shot in the lane, and Jana's "and one" under the basket might be glimpses of even better things to come.
And, again, remember that we got 16 rebounds from our 3-headed center position.

Serah also had an assist to Kayleigh for a layup. She wrapped the ball around her defender to Kayleigh. Lobo commented on it. Both of her best plays came in 3rd quarter.

 

[RedStickHusky]

the fact that really stands out is we've lead 396 times by 20 points at half time. How many teams have done THAT!!!

In only 25 years.

 

[Vowelguy]

When you have a hot start like last night, folks get carried away and then disappointed in the rest of the game. There was an even a comparison to the 2002 team!

 

[The deacon]

Bone Dog: Also, I didn’t feel the tension others have ascribed to Dee and Rebeccah on the sideline. It seemed like friendly ribbing to me in both directions. In particular, the recurring reference to a single call in the 1995 NC game sounded to me like an effort by Ryan and Rebeccah to show the audience that Dee is not a prickly presence but someone who can take a little ribbing.

The Deacon: Well said on all counts, Bone Dog, and I'll add that Kantner handled it particularly well given her call on Rebecca in '95 was a no brainer. Vince Lombardi would have loved to see his pulling guards run lateral interference for his running backs as well as Lobo did for her teammate on that play! LOL!

 

[Zarathustra]

After the 1st Q it looked like our fondest dreams about this team were coming true. After that is was a grind. We did lots of good things and won the game and would have looked a lot better in the win if a few of those 3s went down. As is the team isn't going to think they are too wonderful to win and know that they need to keep improving. That's a good thing.

The things that stood out to me:

Keyleigh got a ton of PT and Allie almost none. I didn't see either exhibition game but the comments on her play led me to think she'd get more minutes. Given how poorly our 3 point shooting was and that Allie's strong suit is 3 point shooting it would make sense Geno would give her more PT. No so. Keyleigh was really, really solid. I liked her game a lot.

Ash wasn't hitting her shots but as usual played her hard-nosed game. She earns her minutes.

Serah is a big body and has a history of being good. I'll give her a pass for the game - I think first UConn game jitters got to her.

Loved the first half scoring by KK.

All in all a win against a respectable team. Room to improve not withstanding the obvious talent this team has.

Note: Serah Williams had 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 21 minutes... the
points will come.

 

[Bigboote]

I'm pretty much with the prevailing opinion that this was really a pretty decent opening game. Some good, some bad, but nothing to get too high or low on.

My one remark is that after the second preseason game, I thought it would take 5 games or so for Heckel to really look like a UConn player. I take that back, it was one game. I was quite excited to see her and KK on the floor together. As I've said before, I like two point guards on the floor.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As I told RoadWarrior, if Blanca had played, we would have won by 60. 😎

 

[CL82]

We make wide open threes we win by 40.

Of course, Louisville missed a lot of open looks too. Just saying'.

I thought it was a terrific game for the first of the season. Not perfect, but to your point, that's probably an unreasonable expectation.

Williams and K9 we keep getting better. If, as I like to point out, this is probably the worst that we will see them play all season, other teams should be afraid. Very afraid.

With all the things that went wrong, there was a lot to like. The new and improved upperclassman version of KK probably being the one that brought the biggest smile to my face. I'm not particularly worried about Shade's shooting performance. In fact, I love the fact that her defensive intensity remained undiminished by the fact that she had a cold shooting day. I think she finished third on the team and rebounds. As Geno has said many times over the years, if your shot is not falling, find other things you can do to help the team. She did just that.

All in all, I would call it a solid B/B+ by the team. Not bad for the first game, but we are just spoiled because we've seen so many A/A+ games.

 

[donalddoowop]

As with others, my biggest surprise, and a pleasant one, lay in the nature of Kayleigh's contribution. Her quickness, her aggressiveness, and her ball-handling all exceeded my expectations. the PG position on this team is quite secure.
Nothing that I saw on the floor derails Sarah Strong's inevitable pathway to National Player of the Year!
Perimeter shooting was fairly awful, but I don't worry about where that's headed...that's a boat that will upright itself. On the positive side, Ash, who couldn't buy a bucket for most of the game, has emerged as a far more complete contributor in other ways...some beautiful assists and even rebounding.
My biggest disappointment was with team defense, especially in the second half. For a team that gave up only 54 points per game on average in last season's tournament, while playing three #1 seeds, giving up 66 to a team like L'ville was something of a letdown. The good news is that of all team characteristics, that is the one Geno can, as he always has, do the most with. Given the newfound luxury of the kind of team depth that he currently enjoys, and the ability to put fresh legs on the floor almost at will, I was especially surprised that he never utilized the full-court-press against a young L'ville team.
Overall, a mixed bag, as others have noted, but mostly very positive!

"A team that gave up 54 points per game on average in last season's tournament." Did you really expect UConn to play season ending level defense in their first game? Talk about unfair. Your expectations were unrealistic and unreasonable. See how they play later this month.

 

[DEpup]

Random Thoughts

1. I was most impressed with Heckle
2. Seems like SS can score at will and wants to be a point forward
3. KK started off great
4. Azzi was aggressive
5. Serah Williams had her moments but still showed some hesitation
6. Love Shade's energy but she needs to hit her shots
7. Good game overall considering terrible 3 point shooting
8. El-Alfy was aggressive, I didn't see much from Ice
9. Loved when Rebecca called out Dee Cantner for almost costing us the 1995 crown

I feel like Rebecca knew she had to do that to keep her bleed blue cred or all of UConn Nation would ask her about it.

It was smart, address it in a fun way and move on.

 

[RedStickHusky]

UConn isn't running the offence through her, which will reduce the number of shot attempts she will take. Rebecca Lobo mentioned this during the early part of the broadcast.

From someone who follows the BIG10, to be fair, Serah isn't playing the same style she did at Wisconsin here. She was the primary, pretty much only scorer for that team. She was also allowed to do a lot more than she will in this offence. She's not going to get that here but that's not her primary concern. She's here to contribute and help UConn win.

I heard her say specifically that she left to get away from having to carry a team. She might lean too far in the pass first direction at first, but she'll get it figured out.