Louisville Postgame Thread

[maple]

I was a little disappointed in how the bench was used/not used. 1st game and it was never never in doubt. Sarah is so damn special in every aspect of the game.

I assume Geno wanted to give the starters a decent amount of playing time to start to gel. I wouldn’t read too much into it.

 

[Vowelguy]

Did Ashlynn Shade play?

Post in thread 'Louisville Postgame Thread'

Yesterday at 7:45 PM

• HuskyNan

• 

 

[boontonbomber]

Louisville won the last 3 quarters by 3 points. If teams shut down KK early on,UConn could be in trouble.

 

[Blond D.]

Stat of the night - UConn is 396-0 when leading by 20 at the half 😂

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

 

[PJCLaw]

A UConn win is a win

Sarah Strong is a big bucket getter. Led the team in points, rebounds and assists. They will need to lean heavily on her all season long. Azzi Fudd's shot was off and foul trouble limited her a bit, but she still managed a strong 20 points. The offense needs to run and flow between these two

Azzi needs way more touches than she was getting and they need to realize when it's a fast break and she's on the inverted wing, they need to get her the ball. She often got the ball very late and had to get creative which she showed she can do that, but it's not sustainable.

KK shot the ball really well, she's growing as a point guard and game manager
Heckel is faster than I thought and she is a sharp cutter and her pass awareness is going to be really good.
Serah Williams made some good moves but need to get used to moving quicker at this level. She was a step slow all game and Louisville had her number.
Shade made some nice buckets.
I'd like to see more of Ziebell

I disagree big time to your comments that "Azzi's shot was off" "Azzi needs way more touches"...Azzi was 9 for 20, so she shot almost 50%. How many more touches do you think she needs? There were few games last season where anyone, PB included, had 20 shots, so, again, how many more touches do you think Azzi needs?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

• No Paige to make the team look good when shots aren’t falling
• Shooting 4-26 from three despite many wide open looks
• Ranked opponent on a neutral site
• Still a double digit win

I don’t mean to sound harsh or anything but people that expect postseason form on November 4 should be flogged

That's against the Geneva Convention.

 

[Vowelguy]

Also : bummer on attendance. Lotsa empty seats.

3640/5710 capacity (64%)

 

[jeff30189]

Ouch. Dreadful performance. They should beat Louisville by 30, at least, without braking a sweat. Did Sera Williams play in this game?

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.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Oh one more thing, Sareh has to find more speed inside.

 

[JellyBean]

So many positives from this game. From the way the team attacked on both ends of the floor to the way each player embraced their role on the team. This team is going to be scary to match up against.

 

[Happydad745]

I thought UConn played very well considering all the new talent being injected into the lineup. 3 pointers were not good, but many hit close enough to only need a small adjustment. Sarah Strong is a big wow! I did not care for the 16 fouls we had, and was a little concerned when the lead dwindled to 10.

 

[WiseWillie]

Fun game to watch early on. The guards will be exciting led by KK and Azzi. Three point shooting will get better as they had some great looks.

I expect Williams to improve and to mesh well with Sarah. One of my favorite plays was the great pass from Sarah to Serah for a layup in first half.

I think the "a" and "e" are reversed. It was a pass from Serah to Sarah that Rebecca made an effort to mention in a replay that showed the ball going spot on into Sarah's shooting hand so that all she needed to do was put the ball up. You are right about Serah. She looked a little tentative and unsure whether to shoot or pass several times when she had the ball but she has experience and will settle in as she gets more comfortable with the UConn offensive sets. Right now besides knocking the first game jitters off I would like to see her become a tenacious force on defense and command the paint.

 

[DemonDeac22]

Nice first game without all-world Paige and with 2 newcomers learning how to play UConn basketball in their first game of the season against a strong top-ranked opponent. This team will jell once they get more real game experience playing with each other. Loved KK’s offensive aggressiveness and Heckel was a very pleasant surprise.

Does anyone know what injury held Blanca out tonight?

 

[1974yankees]

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.

 

[HCCForever]

I think the "a" and "e" are reversed. It was a pass from Serah to Sarah that Rebecca made an effort to mention in a replay that showed the ball going spot on into Sarah's shooting hand so that all she needed to do was put the ball up. You are right about Serah. She looked a little tentative and unsure whether to shoot or pass several times when she had the ball but she has experience and will settle in as she gets more comfortable with the UConn offensive sets. Right now besides knocking the first game jitters off I would like to see her become a tenacious force on defense and command the paint.

You are correct. It was at the 8:43 mark of 3rd quarter.

 

[ConnMotors]

Seriously; the starters were still playing with five minutes left in the game. As someone said earlier Sarah and Azzi played 38 minutes. So much for a deep bench. I know that it was bus lag. They have another talented team coming up against Florida State. This is as close that we will ever get to playing in the ACC.

 

[BRS24]

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.

Dreadful? That's a strong word for Serah Williams' first real game at UConn, against quality competition. She has said that "everything" was more intense than at WI. It was reported that she was still learning the offensive sets and her teammates' tendencies, so I will give her grace and space to grow.

 

[Stagnant]

I was a little disappointed in how the bench was used/not used. 1st game and it was never never in doubt. Sarah is so damn special in every aspect of the game.

I just think you saw the rotation. There was no “garbage time” today. Louisville didn’t allow us to land the kill shot and they cut the game to 10 late.

Caroline, Fisher, and Ayanna will probably play against Loyola.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

This was a real mixed bag - some good things for sure, and some not so good things.

Was really impressed with:

• Sarah - she really can do it all and I love that the announcers are already talking her up as a NPOY candidate
• Azzi - her shot really was off 9-20, but she's special
• KK - more offense and almost 3 point shooting than we saw from most of last season
• Kayleigh - really worked hard and showed an all court game
• The defense especially in the first half was energetic
• Lots of open looks

The team got a lot of good looks, but the shooting was not good. 4-26 from 3. L'ville made a nice run and really showed some good stuff. Geno was pretty happy after the game ("we shot 4-1000 for the game from 3" LOL.

9-20 is pretty good for a perimeter player overall

 

[Gael]

For me, this was a mixed drink, cognitive dissonance, and a bundle of surprises.

First, I never thought UConn would so dominate the first 10 minutes of the season—as if all rust had been sandblasted away in preseason practice—only to corrode over, and lose, the next 30 minutes. A lot of that was all the missed arc shots (4-26), which probably was mostly a statistical aberration. The wrong tail of the bell curve wagging . . . at probably the right and only time.

Second, I never would have predicted the scoring margin. No, not THAT scoring margin! The margin between the points scored by the two alternating point guards, KK and K9 (27), and the points scored by the two alternating centers, Williams and JEA (6). Give long-stemmed roses to the PGs; Popeye's spinach to the Cs.

One of those centers started on last season's NC team, and other, who took that starting position away, has been predicted to be a top 10 draft pick. There needs to be improvement in getting the paint ball into Serah and Jana when they are in their preferred positions to score. Whatever those positions are. Same with Ice. This is both a teamwork issue and an individualistic post positioning and post move issue. Time and learning will resolve these issues.

There's no such problem with Sarah Strong. Throw the ball anywhere near her zip code when she's in the paint, and she'll catch and deliver the mail. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays [that] courier from the swift completion of [her] appointed rounds."

Third, I was surprised at the substitution and play patterns, given the two preseason games. Almost no pressing. Little transition game. No Blanca at all, and no explanations given (that I heard) about her availability. Only six minutes for Ziebell. No minutes for Fisher, Ducharme, Patterson or Malou-Mamel. And for all the height on the team, there was for a while a four guard lineup on the floor with Serah (not Sarah).

The drink could have been better, but it was tasty. And mostly made my mouth water for the much stronger stuff I know will be served in future games.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I enjoyed the game and hanging out with RoadWarrior. It was a pro-UConn crowd.

The first quarter was solid. The fourth quarter was weak. How good is Louisville? I can't say.

Sarah does more on the court than anyone in the nation.

Azzi showed a lot of movement and a substantial repertoire. She'll shoot better.

KK made a bunch of shots, but apparently several with her foot on the line. She was a terror on defense.

K9 looked really good, especially for a sophomore at a new school. She made several great cuts.

Serah did not have a good game. She'll get better.

Ash shot poorly before halftime, as she tends to do sometimes.

I was disappointed that Blanca and Gandy were not in uniform--and that Morgan wasn't there at all.

On the way out, I thought I was at a Beatles concert. There were a couple dozen teenage girls screaming in the hallway. I paused for a moment to see what was going on. They were screaming P-A-I-G-E!

 

[Linart]

Did anyone else notice that when the Louisville players were introduced, they seemed subdued, almost apprehensive. When our players were introduced, they bounded out laughing and smiling. That carried over to the entire first quarter.

 

[Linart]

Slightly OT, but Quadence Samuels started for victorious NC State today and played 30 minutes.

 

[ec33]

For me, this was a mixed drink, cognitive dissonance, and a bundle of surprises.

First, I never thought UConn would so dominate the first 10 minutes of the season—as if all rust had been sandblasted away in preseason practice—only to corrode over, and lose, the next 30 minutes. A lot of that was all the missed arc shots (4-26), which probably was mostly a statistical aberration. The wrong tail of the bell curve wagging . . . at probably the right and only time.

Second, I never would have predicted the scoring margin. No, not THAT scoring margin! The margin between the points scored by the two alternating point guards, KK and K9 (27), and the points scored by the two alternating centers, Williams and JEA (6). Give long-stemmed roses to the PGs; Popeye's spinach to the Cs.


Third, I was surprised at the substitution and play patterns, given the two preseason games. Almost no pressing. Little transition game. No Blanca at all, and no explanations given (that I heard) about her availability.

 

[Gael]

Thanks. I don't do any social media unless someone or a search engine puts something in front of me.