Louisville Postgame Thread

[Dogdude]

I have pretty much 0 concerns about our shooting percentage. They have all earned a pass through their collective UConn career performances. I loved everyone's energy, and some of the passes (Serah's wrap was spectacular) were off the charts. UConn was cold, and Louisville is going to be really good this year. We've got a really fun team to watch this year, and for a first game, it's a great start.

 

[Skeets]

Explosive first quarter, all shock and awe. After that, not so much. By the 4th quarter shots were not falling for the offense and the defense looker lethargic. The kids looked like they were getting gassed, but I can't believe that.

I'm a little disappointed in Ash's offense, but her defense looked good. Hopefully going forward she puts the ball in the basket a little more often.

 

[msf22b]

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

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

My stat of the night:
We were gifted 27points from the point guard position on (about) 55%
Shooting despite K9 missing all 4 of her 3 attempts.

 

[HopJim]

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

I am happy to have Ashlyn on the wing-she has proven her ability to shoot in the highest pressure games. Is she an All American, no, but better than anyone else UConn has at this position. Other options, such as Blanca, shot 29% on threes while in Europe. In the future, suspect Geno will develop plays for her near the basket so she can use her athleticism.

 

[Newfie]

I remember last year, especially early in the season, I thought no way were we going to be anything special. I certainly never thought there was a chance in heck we would be winning a national championship.
This team will improve and grow and gel together in time. That’s probably why Geno was not overly critical after the game. I actually think it’s better that they didn’t shoot lights out and win by 40. If it comes too easy, I think it hurts us when we start playing tough teams.

 

[oldude]

I remember last year, especially early in the season, I thought no way were we going to be anything special. I certainly never thought there was a chance in heck we would be winning a national championship.
This team will improve and grow and gel together in time. That’s probably why Geno was not overly critical after the game. I actually think it’s better that they didn’t shoot lights out and win by 40. If it comes too easy, I think it hurts us when we start playing tough teams.

Well said. For all those BY’ers worried about Ash or Serah’s play yesterday I have one thing to say, “Patience grasshoppers.”

 

[Duncan Idaho]

—As many guessed, at least early in the season, KK is going to get multiple open looks. What a plus if teams have to game plan for her scoring.

—Comparing Strong to Jokic I thought was a little bit of stretch when I first heard it. Not so much anymore. Geno saying the other day in jest that he just lets her do what she wants may actually be true.

-K9 is quickly eliminating any concerns about point guard depth.

-I was expecting a little more polish on the low post from Serah. She looks hesitant which is odd considering the credentials she brought from UW. Ziegler outplayed her tonight.

-4-26 from 3 was disappointing but they got so many open looks and move the ball so well that defending them will be a nightmare. If they shoot their normal percentage it is a 30 plus point game easily.

-Under 10 turnovers for a first game is outstanding.

-Other than Blanca being out (bummer), I think this is the rotation we see for a while.

-A little sluggish in the second half but other than the 3 point percentage, a nice start to the season.

Agree on Serah. First time I saw her play. Then looking at her college stats at Sports Reference her scoring went up every year but her shooting percentage dropped every year til she was just barely a 50% shooter last year. Thought a good post player would have a higher number. But first game. So looking forward seeing her develop over the course of the season. Heckel tied her career high against a quality opponent perhaps it will serve a boost in achieving her potential she showed in HS.

 

[BBallF]

Very good post game analyses above as always so just a few additional thoughts.

First- Pleasant surprises: KK's new offensive game, Kayleigh's defense, speed and splendid movement without the ball, Serah's passing ability, especially from in to out, Jana's increase in strength, and both Azzi and Sarah being even better than last year. They are clearly the best duo in the country.

Second- Notes. Serah needs to go straight up after a first dribble when she has the ball underneath. She has a tendency to try to improve her position even when she is able to get a lay up and it resulted in her losing the better position she began with. She also passed up open shots from the foul line which she can make after she missed one. Call it nerves, uncertainty or tentativeness, I think it appropriate to give her a pass for her first game here. When she figures it out it will be lethal.

Jana is stronger but still brings the ball down to a place where it can be grabbed. She also never takes a power dribble to gain space away from the defenders who double her when she gets a rebound. She can be such a dominant player out there. She also is getting at least a half of a pass last night for not playing that much before for an injury.

The offense should go through Azzi and Sarah on every possession. Azzi has to be the one to shoot the ball at the end of a quarter and both All Americans should get a touch on every possession. They are both unstoppable players so why stop them by not giving them the ball.

We are a different team when we press and run but you were not going to see that last night all game long. Up by 21 after 3 quarters by admittedly slowed down by their match up zone and the defense became looser. All easily correctable.

This is a top 20 Louisville team we played and they will only get better considering the number of new players. I will be seeing them at Barclay's on December 20 against Tennessee.

All in all, a lot to be excited about. Hey, we ain't shooting 4-24 from the arc again anytime soon.

 

[Basingstoke]

My stat of the night:
We were gifted 27points from the point guard position on (about) 55%
Shooting despite K9 missing all 4 of her 3 attempts.

Very good post game analyses above as always so just a few additional thoughts.

First- Pleasant surprises: KK's new offensive game, Kayleigh's defense, speed and splendid movement without the ball, Serah's passing ability, especially from in to out, Jana's increase in strength, and both Azzi and Sarah being even better than last year. They are clearly the best duo in the country.

Second- Notes. Serah needs to go straight up after a first dribble when she has the ball underneath. She has a tendency to try to improve her position even when she is able to get a lay up and it resulted in her losing the better position she began with. She also passed up open shots from the foul line which she can make after she missed one. Call it nerves, uncertainty or tentativeness, I think it appropriate to give her a pass for her first game here. When she figures it out it will be lethal.

Jana is stronger but still brings the ball down to a place where it can be grabbed. She also never takes a power dribble to gain space away from the defenders who double her when she gets a rebound. She can be such a dominant player out there. She also is getting at least a half of a pass last night for not playing that much before for an injury.

The offense should go through Azzi and Sarah on every possession. Azzi has to be the one to shoot the ball at the end of a quarter and both All Americans should get a touch on every possession. They are both unstoppable players so why stop them by not giving them the ball.

We are a different team when we press and run but you were not going to see that last night all game long. Up by 21 after 3 quarters by admittedly slowed down by their match up zone and the defense became looser. All easily correctable.

This is a top 20 Louisville team we played and they will only get better considering the number of new players. I will be seeing them at Barclay's on December 20 against Tennessee.

All in all, a lot to be excited about. Hey, we ain't shooting 4-24 from the arc again anytime soon.

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.

 

[my2cents]

• 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

LOL. Flogged? Not a verb you hear every day.

 

[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. SW 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.