Louisville Postgame Thread

[PacoSwede]

first game, so i don't expect a FF performance.

however, i was unhappy to see three things that were carried over from last season, and i hope they will be fixed this year:

1) the universal bad day on OPEN treys. and individually i see a recurring dilemma with ashlynn and azzi. we shall see if monday's was simply an off game that won't repeatedly return. but it definitely was a flaw last season, and therefore something to cause pause.

Ash continued a tendency to be an extremely streaky shooter (yet a terrific 'glue' player). she'd be absolutely awesome if she gets some consistency shooting (and not just from beyond the arc). there was some discussion here early last season about some technical problem with her shooting form. that wasn't pursued much, but could be an issue. i'm also baffled that she has failed to bring her extraordinary midrange game displayed in high school (it now might be muffled by taller and athletic rivals, or maybe confidence in the midrange has departed, or maybe the staff wants her to focus elsewhere, which would be stupid).

Azzi has been inconsistent routinely. this is not a good thing for a potential POY. i sure hope whatever causes it can be resolved. being red hot and then icy cold is a weakness the W won't like, despite her other virtues. husky fans won't either.

2) we don't have a bunch of EDDs in gampel. but at least they should be capable of sinking 75-80%. they have done so at times, but missing free throws drives me nuts (even when the other teams does it). monday had too many misses and not enough opportunities. AGAIN!

3) geno continued his obsession with limiting playtime for some. i know that this is a way to make the team super-efficient through cohesion, building chemistry among the favored few. If winning is the sole goal, it makes sense. i don't believe in that. in the long run, it can be counterproductive. uconn had an almost 30-point lead in the 3rd Q, and some very talented players who saw little or no time on the court. that's not supportive of allie, the backup bigs (including ayanna) or Kelis. and what happens when, hopefully, morgan and blanca are available? I say play these kids whenever you can, especially when the favored begin underperforming -- maybe one might be a revelation. and if they flop and it causes a loss (before the tourneys), is that so bad, considering the potential benefits, including more rest for uconn's best.

4) on the good side monday: the game could be viewed live on a major network, not just streamed. YAY!

 

[huskeynut]

During the POST GAME Pressor, Jeff Walz said that in the second
half Louisville switched to a ZONE defense. Any Boneyarder thoughts
about that??

No one should have been surprised Louisville went to a zone.

First, UConn was not hitting their 3's. Two, UConn was ripping apart Louisville's
man defense with our guards driving the lane for layups.

A zone defense is much harder to drive on. You breaka zone defense by hitting your 3's.

 

[Rowdy831]

Defensively the team looked really good. Pressure was good, help was a little slow to get back but at this point seeing a defender get too far from their primary isn't surprising. Offensively I thought the big guns were average considering almost every three they got was wide open. I love the hustle that Ash puts into her game but she really struggles with her three point shooting at times. I really like her in the drive and pull up game to get herself going.

The new center was what I expected from a player from the Big Ten. She is way behind the players that have been at UConn for a while but her athleticism and size will be a huge asset once she is 100% comfortable with her new team and how they operate. She did a good job rebounding and was a much better passer than I was expecting.

Like every year UConn is loaded from top to bottom and they not only have depth, they have it at every position and other than Sarah and Azzi they don't really drop off too much when they sub. I have said several time they would go undefeated and was wrong because of injury so this year I am just going to say they will have a great opportunity to win 13.

 

[Gael]

What happened was Louisville got hot . . .

Sort of. The Cards still were still cold from the field in Q3, shooting 4-15 (26.6%). They did get hot in Q4, shooting 9-15 (60%) and 5-7 on three-pointers (71.4%).

. . . and we started making a few dumb fouls.

Yes, absolutely. L'ville drew 11 FTAs in the second half and made all of them.

L'ville deserves credit for making adjustments and playing better in the second half, but the #1 team in the country and defending national champions shouldn't be outscored in any half by the #20 ranked team. I attribute both the hot L'ville shooting in Q4 and the excessive UConn fouling in H2 in significant part to UConn's work-in-progress team defense, which must improve—and, historically, has always done so.

 

[Suebird10fan]

It’s game one. BUT…for the most part that was a low energy affair. Almost as if there was a bug going around. Yet…they casually controlled the game.

The idea of a bug going around did occur to me. They seemed to get tired maybe mid way through q2

 

[BBallF]

Fair, on offense; the high energy D off the bench though is KKish.

Fair, on offense; the high energy D off the bench though is KKish.

Fair, on offense; the high energy D off the bench though is KKish.

In the sense of high energy yes, but they are different defenders. KK is in your pocket, physically right next to you, whereas K9 plays more of a team defense, tight but much less of a touching, physical defense and is more of an anticipatory defender.

Kayleigh is much more of a true point, moves as well as anyone on the team without the ball, understands the slots, the development of a play, has a pull up jumper, drive moves left and right, and is a good three point shooter although you didn't see it yesterday. KK scores with the ball with very strong drive moves this year and is not getting lost when she penetrates, has new form on her 3 (so much better), while K9 scores playing off of the ball with classic cuts and flashes to the ball and hoop. They both complement each other well and play well together also. They were on the floor together in one of Geno's small ball combinations last night and I thought they looked very much in sync. The combined speed is high level.

What one has to remember is that when KK comes out the defender has to now change her defense to cover Kayleigh. It's not an easy crossover because of different skill sets. I think Kayleigh really grew in the U19 tourney over the summer. She was the starting PG and she is very comfortable out there with this team. This may sound like heresy, but in the long run she may prove to be as valuable as Serah this year.

 

[donalddoowop]

The idea of a bug going around did occur to me. They seemed to get tired maybe mid way through q2

If they got tired, that would be a good reason to substitute in one of the supposedly highly talented bench players.

 

[Superhuskies]

There were no UConn chants done at the game, or did I miss that ?
I kept waiting to hear something ... ..
"UConn, Huskies, Woof !.... " - no ?
There musta been lots UC fans there....
Paige Madison B didn't start one ....herself..??

 

[REB1094]

Shamefully I wasn't able to watch a replay until now. General thoughts -

1. Game was over within 8 minutes against a top 20 team. This team, as expected, is gooooooooooood
2. 4Q was ugly. But you can get outscored by 8 in one quarter if you win the other three by 20. No worries
3. Azzi/Ash/Sarah were high volume shooters that shot 39+% each last year. Don't think we'll see 3-18 again

Individual player thoughts -

1. I said it the last few years too, but a version of KK Arnold that can shoot is a DANGEROUS player
2. lol Sarah Strong. NPOY potential
3. Not a great debut for Serah, looked uncomfortable with the ball. But she had some really good moments passing and crashing boards. Not concerned long term, I'm sure the scoring will come
4. Azzi's three was off but the rest of her game was very on. Solid game and a quiet 20
5. Welcome aboard Kayleigh! What a great game 1 from her. So good at finding open space
6. Not many minutes for Jana and Ice and not much to talk about. They need to produce. Jana definitely did look better than Ice did but we'll need one of them to step up at some point this year

I've missed basketball, let's go Huskies!

 

[boontonbomber]

first game, so i don't expect a FF performance.

however, i was unhappy to see three things that were carried over from last season, and i hope they will be fixed this year:

1) the universal bad day on OPEN treys. and individually i see a recurring dilemma with ashlynn and azzi. we shall see if monday's was simply an off game that won't repeatedly return. but it definitely was a flaw last season, and therefore something to cause pause.

Ash continued a tendency to be an extremely streaky shooter (yet a terrific 'glue' player). she'd be absolutely awesome if she gets some consistency shooting (and not just from beyond the arc). there was some discussion here early last season about some technical problem with her shooting form. that wasn't pursued much, but could be an issue. i'm also baffled that she has failed to bring her extraordinary midrange game displayed in high school (it now might be muffled by taller and athletic rivals, or maybe confidence in the midrange has departed, or maybe the staff wants her to focus elsewhere, which would be stupid).

Azzi has been inconsistent routinely. this is not a good thing for a potential POY. i sure hope whatever causes it can be resolved. being red hot and then icy cold is a weakness the W won't like, despite her other virtues. husky fans won't either.

2) we don't have a bunch of EDDs in gampel. but at least they should be capable of sinking 75-80%. they have done so at times, but missing free throws drives me nuts (even when the other teams does it). monday had too many misses and not enough opportunities. AGAIN!

3) geno continued his obsession with limiting playtime for some. i know that this is a way to make the team super-efficient through cohesion, building chemistry among the favored few. If winning is the sole goal, it makes sense. i don't believe in that. in the long run, it can be counterproductive. uconn had an almost 30-point lead in the 3rd Q, and some very talented players who saw little or no time on the court. that's not supportive of allie, the backup bigs (including ayanna) or Kelis. and what happens when, hopefully, morgan and blanca are available? I say play these kids whenever you can, especially when the favored begin underperforming -- maybe one might be a revelation. and if they flop and it causes a loss (before the tourneys), is that so bad, considering the potential benefits, including more rest for uconn's best.

4) on the good side monday: the game could be viewed live on a major network, not just streamed. YAY!

first game, so i don't expect a FF performance.

however, i was unhappy to see three things that were carried over from last season, and i hope they will be fixed this year:

1) the universal bad day on OPEN treys. and individually i see a recurring dilemma with ashlynn and azzi. we shall see if monday's was simply an off game that won't repeatedly return. but it definitely was a flaw last season, and therefore something to cause pause.

Ash continued a tendency to be an extremely streaky shooter (yet a terrific 'glue' player). she'd be absolutely awesome if she gets some consistency shooting (and not just from beyond the arc). there was some discussion here early last season about some technical problem with her shooting form. that wasn't pursued much, but could be an issue. i'm also baffled that she has failed to bring her extraordinary midrange game displayed in high school (it now might be muffled by taller and athletic rivals, or maybe confidence in the midrange has departed, or maybe the staff wants her to focus elsewhere, which would be stupid).

Azzi has been inconsistent routinely. this is not a good thing for a potential POY. i sure hope whatever causes it can be resolved. being red hot and then icy cold is a weakness the W won't like, despite her other virtues. husky fans won't either.

2) we don't have a bunch of EDDs in gampel. but at least they should be capable of sinking 75-80%. they have done so at times, but missing free throws drives me nuts (even when the other teams does it). monday had too many misses and not enough opportunities. AGAIN!

3) geno continued his obsession with limiting playtime for some. i know that this is a way to make the team super-efficient through cohesion, building chemistry among the favored few. If winning is the sole goal, it makes sense. i don't believe in that. in the long run, it can be counterproductive. uconn had an almost 30-point lead in the 3rd Q, and some very talented players who saw little or no time on the court. that's not supportive of allie, the backup bigs (including ayanna) or Kelis. and what happens when, hopefully, morgan and blanca are available? I say play these kids whenever you can, especially when the favored begin underperforming -- maybe one might be a revelation. and if they flop and it causes a loss (before the tourneys), is that so bad, considering the potential benefits, including more rest for uconn's best.

4) on the good side monday: the game could be viewed live on a major network, not just streamed. YAY!

Part 3 is right on. But he'll never change.

 

[Bigboote]

I think it was a poor coaching decision by Lindsay Gottleib. We're seeing evidence now of what Kayleigh could have been at USC if von Oelhofen hadn't been signed out of the portal at the last minute. In the end, TVO didn't add much that Kayleigh and Malia couldn't have supplied. In Lyndsay's defense, though, it would have taken a lot of nerve to go with a rotation that relied so heavily on 4 freshmen -- Smith, Heckel, Howell and Samuels. But if she'd chanced it, she might not have lost half of them after the end of the season, and her roster this season would have been a lot stronger for it.

Didn't Heckel say something like, she came to UConn to be coached up to her potential? I like Gottlieb, but something doesn't seem right when she lost half of her hyped-up best in the nation freshman class. And it wasn't Juju, because K9 and Howell transferred out after it was clear Juju would miss this season.

 

[RedStickHusky]

This may sound like heresy, but in the long run she may prove to be as valuable as Serah this year.

You could certainly make that case last night.

 

[choochoo]

You could certainly make that case last night.

i think by next year she might be all american. she has got game and then some.

 

[AzzisBraids]

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.

I haven't answered your question because my premise in my OP was Azzi needs more touches in her kill zones and I outlined where and when those moments were. You've ignored that and decided to only focus on how many more touches you think I think she needs. This isn't how many alone, it's when and where.

If you reviewed and didn't see moments where she was wide open on the wing or spotting up by the line in transition (her preference) and didn't get a touch, then we watched two different games. And that's fine, we don't need to debate that.

Also, comparing Azzi's one 20-shot first game of the season to PB's season average? I won't answer that one either because I hope that's obviously flawed. I'd love if she averaged 20 shots per game, fine by me. She won't but that'd be cool.

 

[DataNerd]

View attachment 112946
View attachment 112945

4Q was telling: Louisville scored almost 40% of total points and 63% of their treys during that time. Up to then they shot 26.5% FG. Despite narrowing the margin to 10 and having an offensive guru opposing, Geno did NOT call a TO. Later he said he wanted the on-court players to figure it out themselves. That much trust so early in the season to me speaks volumes of how he values this group.

 

[oldude]

4Q was telling: Louisville scored almost 40% of total points and 63% of their treys during that time. Up to then they shot 26.5% FG. Despite narrowing the margin to 10 and having an offensive guru opposing, Geno did NOT call a TO. Later he said he wanted the on-court players to figure it out themselves. That much trust so early in the season to me speaks volumes of how he values this group.

This UConn team is so talented that Geno is going to have to manufacture stressful situations to see how his players react, with an eye towards the big games in March. He can do some of that in practice, but the proof of the pudding can only come in real game situations.

So I have no problem with Geno allowing his team to figure things out when the game got a little tight in the 4th qtr. With that said, I never felt as if UConn was at risk of losing.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

4Q was telling: Louisville scored almost 40% of total points and 63% of their treys during that time. Up to then they shot 26.5% FG. Despite narrowing the margin to 10 and having an offensive guru opposing, Geno did NOT call a TO. Later he said he wanted the on-court players to figure it out themselves. That much trust so early in the season to me speaks volumes of how he values this group.

Thank you. What you said was one of my key takeaways from that first game. Geno said the same thing in the tuneup to last year’s finals — what if the team is executing well but their normal shots aren’t falling?

So, for me, the Louisville game was a great first game and great starting place for the team’s trajectory (the team seems to be at a better starting place than last year) and makes them more susceptible to teaching.

• 1Q showed that the starting lineup has spurtability — something Geno hasn’t had in a while;
• 4Q disabused the team that it is already in midseason form;
• KK and Kayleigh answered any pre-season angst at PG.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Part 3 is right on. But he'll never change.

This isn't rec league basketball. This is high level division 1 basketball. Geno is paid to win, and in this new "NIL" era we are in you can also say the players are paid to perform. You play the game to win, period!!!! As a fan I want to see the best players on the court, and if that means an 8 player rotation and some players rid the bench then so be it. Also, in the modern era the players have options, so it all will work itself out.

 

[FanSince17]

This isn't rec league basketball. This is high level division 1 basketball. Geno is paid to win, and in this new "NIL" era we are in you can also say the players are paid to perform. You play the game to win, period!!!! As a fan I want to see the best players on the court, and if that means an 8 player rotation and some players rid the bench then so be it. Also, in the modern era the players have options, so it all will work itself out.

Devils Advocate: I agree with you, but these are the lives of young people. IMO Geno also has a responsibility to the “careers” of these players. It’s all self-fulfilling or it’s not. I know the lore is that he doesn’t promise anyone anything but everyone needs a fair chance. I know it is an amazing experience to be at UConn regardless, but these are all blue-chip players who want to play. I went to the Louisville game and it was our top 7-8 that got us off to a good start but it was also the core group that let down in the 2nd half. He had time in between for some subbing. It was a shame!

 

[Bills Fan]

Devils Advocate: I agree with you, but these are the lives of young people. IMO Geno also has a responsibility to the “careers” of these players. It’s all self-fulfilling or it’s not. I know the lore is that he doesn’t promise anyone anything but everyone needs a fair chance. I know it is an amazing experience to be at UConn regardless, but these are all blue-chip players who want to play. I went to the Louisville game and it was our top 7-8 that got us off to a good start but it was also the core group that let down in the 2nd half. He had time in between for some subbing. It was a shame!

Who did you want him to sub in? K9 got way more minutes than I thought she would get as the "back-up PG". Blanca couldn't play and Jana and Ice played, but looked like the 2024-25 versions of their game. I think if either of them had shown any significant progress in practice they would have played more. Also affecting their PT was Geno wanting to get Serah as much time as possible to improve her fitting into the UCONN system and ICE having the misfortune of playing the planned positions of Sarah, #3 and or #4. (I'm hoping Jana is still showing the effects of her serious injury and will improve as time passes).

If you are concerned about time for Yanna, CD, Gandy and Fisher I think their time this year will be mainly in Big East games. That leaves Allie, who we hope will be much improved from last year and maybe she will, but while her time was limited somewhat due to K9's minutes, it looked to me that this could be an issue all year. That is Azzi, KK, Ash and K9 ahead of her at the Guard spots. Her one way to affect this is to come in and hit some 3s like she is capable of doing.

Not even mentioned here is the impact Morgan might have if she is able to return within a month or so. Speaking of Morgan, is there any word on why she was not even on the bench?

 

[BobbyJ]

Devils Advocate: I agree with you, but these are the lives of young people. IMO Geno also has a responsibility to the “careers” of these players. It’s all self-fulfilling or it’s not. I know the lore is that he doesn’t promise anyone anything but everyone needs a fair chance. I know it is an amazing experience to be at UConn regardless, but these are all blue-chip players who want to play. I went to the Louisville game and it was our top 7-8 that got us off to a good start but it was also the core group that let down in the 2nd half. He had time in between for some subbing. It was a shame!

The standard to meet for PT and how to go about it, particularly in practice, hasn't changed in 40 years. And the players know exactly what they have to do to earn it. Over the years the players who don't feel they can meet it have left for less competitive situations. Have you ever heard any of them publicly complain about not getting a fair chance? Only fans seem to do that.

 

[JRRRJ]

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

UConn won the first 3 quarters by 21! Without KK it's still up by 8. Sheesh!

 

[hoophuskee]

This isn't rec league basketball. This is high level division 1 basketball. Geno is paid to win, and in this new "NIL" era we are in you can also say the players are paid to perform. You play the game to win, period!!!! As a fan I want to see the best players on the court, and if that means an 8 player rotation and some players rid the bench then so be it. Also, in the modern era the players have options, so it all will work itself out.

Love your post. Your spot on. You win with superstars. IMO the comments of "use bench more,"" is fantasy / not realistic when you have superstars. And the great thing about the Louisville game is that now, the greatest coach in CBB History, will have a chance to go after his team with the play in the 2nd half. Especially the Defense. Notice that in one of his post games wither TV or talking with reporters he had a little dig on Sarahs defense.

I love how Geno establishes his core. And that's why he wins so much and why we see for example the play he ran for Azzi last year. She could have easily been pulled. Instead sticking to his philosophy keeping to his core she hit an enormous shot that he ran for her. It was no accident then in FF and Finals she went off after that. That's the beauty of his coaching. And looking forward to seeing implements down the road with their defense after they miss shots.

 

[mainerhuski]

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

Becca’s body language (crossing her arms & leaning back) when Kantner initially defended that call was priceless!

 

[mainerhuski]

During the POST GAME Pressor, Jeff Walz said that in the second
half Louisville switched to a ZONE defense. Any Boneyarder thoughts
about that??

Snappy passing & moving without the ball help break a zone, and those will come. Having said that, our fast break slowed down in the second half, and that is a great zone buster, too!