Loyola Postgame Thread

[CL82]

Its pretty simple. We need to finish our shots down low. Second we must take some time on our outside shots. Stop Set and Shoot. We're playing fast which is ok however we must use poise when shooting whether its close to the basket or from outside.

"Be quick, but don't hurry." Wise words.

 

[Ozimoto]

Its apparent that Geno wants to play fast this year. At times, the team plays too fast and that leads to turnovers and missed shots, especially layups. Once they get to the point of playing fast and under control, this team should be playing beautiful basketball. The seeds have been planted. There was some great pick and roll action on a number of occasions.

I had a mental image of Geno the wizard standing over his cauldron and mixing ingredients with his line ups. Once he figures out the right catalyst for each combination it will be a sight to behold.

 

[BobbyJ]

I would really like to know what Geno said to Sarah on the bench early on. He didn't look very happy with her

He just FOUND something. It's good for the rest of the team to see her get chewed occasionally also. And she understands it too.

 

[Happydad745]

I've always enjoyed watching UConn play, but this was boring at times. Nice to see Caroline hitting from 3 point land.

 

[Bigboote]

I just noticed another "whoa" looking at the box score. ELEVEN players had assists. Only Ayanna and Gandy didn't have an assist. And five players had at least three assists: KK, Sarah, Azzi, Ashlynn, and BLANCA. I remember one really impressive assist from Blanca, but I didn't notice her dishing out three.

On to bunnies: Gael mentioned that UConn was 25-40 on bunnies, and there's been some discussion whether that (0.625) is okay or downright awful. Basketball Reference has field goal percentages from different distances for the WNBA. I looked at 0-3 feet for several players, just those who came to mind. The lows that I found were Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas, both just a hair of the 0.625 that UConn shot. Most frontcourt players were in the 0.70-0.80 range. I realize this isn't a great comparison, but it's the data that are available. The WNBA is way more physical than the NCAA, and defense that these women are seeing is on a whole nother level than what UConn saw last night. OTOH, those are seasoned professionals, while UConn has 18-22 year olds who still have a lot of room to grow.

(I was surprised how low the WNBA percentages are.)

 

[Bigboote]

I've always enjoyed watching UConn play, but this was boring at times. Nice to see Caroline hitting from 3 point land.

Agreed, but at the same time we saw a little of the balletic style that was so much fun to watch in the Maya-Stewie eras.

 

[bschwartz]

My favorite part of this game was at the half watching Candice Parker almost kill herself rather than be positive about UConn while my girl Renee was gushing.

As far as the game, I thought Blanca came back much more in control than the pre-season. Heckel and Allie did well and loved the 9 rebounds in under 15 minutes by Jana and 7 were offensive.

I love how Caroline is such a stabilizing force.

Finally, the defense was stifling and a beauty to watch.

Was thinking the same thing....how funny it is to see Candace talk UConn. By the way, she is totally right, you don't have to like everyone. On her podcast, she did agree with A. Boston that Sarah is the best player in the country.

 

[The deacon]

I would really like to know what Geno said to Sarah on the bench early on. He didn't look very happy with her

And vice versa!

 

[DefenseBB]

The Suits (corporations) buy seasons tickets and use them as giveaways to clients and rewards to employees. If no one wants the tickets, the seats go unused. The Boneyard has been saying for decades they should donate them to foster kids, military families, etc but for some reason they don’t bother.

I believe anyone who isn’t able to use their tickets can let UConn know and the tickets will be given to a military family. That’s how it used to be, I’m not sure if they’re still doing that

I honestly don't think the "Suits" is the reason for all the "empty seats at Gampel" last night. On the whole, in my communications with the ticket office (as both a PBA and Gampel season ticket holder for both teams), there is not many "Suits" with season tickets at Gampel for the Women's games, more at PBA but not nearly as many corporate seats as the men's games. Many businesses have stopped the practice of "client" give aways as was prevalent in the 80's, 90's and 00's. My current company gave up all of their season tickets to all sporting events and only have a few community passes (Zoo, Aquarium. Museum, etc). I do think many local businesses in Hartford have tickets to use or give away but Storrs is NOT Hartford.

I did not drive the 95 miles from Stamford to Storrs for a 7:30 PM game which would have forced me to leave at 4:30 PM and hope I would be there by 7:30. Additional, I would have been home between 11:30-midnight. The later start during the week, and a weak opponent is what I think contributed to the vast majority of empty seats. For the OSU game on Sunday, I expect about 14,000 at PBA.

 

[Husky fanatic]

If Kelis was 6’2” she and Blanca might be twins. Overall sloppy play on offense. My fave Jana got me thinking of switching Fave’s after missing her 3rd layup.

 

[BBallF]

Watching Sarah play basketball, we have almost become conditioned to some of the amazing things she does on the court. During the 2nd qtr Sarah made a quick move to attack the basket. As she shot by her defender, the Loyola player gave her a hard hip check, impeding her progress and knocking her off balance. No foul was called. 🤯

Most normal people would have sprawled onto the floor and lost the ball. As she was stumbling, Sarah had the presence of mind to scoop the basketball up off the backboard in what turned out to be an amazing and awkward layup. That play was my “shot of the game.”

Agree. It was an amazing shot which as you say is a "ho-hum" to us now. If Blanca had finished that spin move though that would have been my first place instead.

 

[BBallF]

If Kelis was 6’2” she and Blanca might be twins. Overall sloppy play on offense. My fave Jana got me thinking of switching Fave’s after missing her 3rd layup.

No, she is coming along great. Be patient. She has more moves than last year, is more aggressive and stronger and has a left hand now. She had 9 rebounds. She is a baby jumper and a little more fluidity away from being a huge asset.

 

[BBallF]

So there are a lot of knowledgable and perceptive posts above so I am only going to say one thing. Does everyone here realize what a weapon Blanca is? What I saw last night were a couple of moves that were W level and we have her for 4 years?

 

[PacoSwede]

In past years, we’ve bought lower bowl tickets on Seat Geek for mostly reasonable prices. I’ve looked a couple of times this year, but they have been $200 to $500 a ticket for lower bowl seats. It just isn’t worth it.

wow! those who didn't use their tix must be living on easy street -- and don't care a fig for fans who would love to fill their seats. pretty thoughtless & selfish if they didn't decide to give up their tix. but maybe i'm mssing something -- i'd be happy to hear another side of the story.

 

[FanSince17]

No, she is coming along great. Be patient. She has more moves than last year, is more aggressive and stronger and has a left hand now. She had 9 rebounds. She is a baby jumper and a little more fluidity away from being a huge asset.

Some of those rebounds were "Moses Malone" boards. Missed lays and rebounds from that. Maybe 5 legit. Also rebounds on opponents' missed 2nd shots, in which ideally she would have rebounded the initial shot. "Coming along great". OK. For some reason, we have short memories here. UCLA was her coming out party. SC not bad as well. I want to build on that.

 

[FanSince17]

So there are a lot of knowledgable and perceptive posts above so I am only going to say one thing. Does everyone here realize what a weapon Blanca is? What I saw last night were a couple of moves that were W level and we have her for 4 years?

She's a specimen for sure. Just can't have "the weapon" go off in our back pocket.
As former players, we know what it is like to be comfortable and in control with our games, whatever that looks like. Conversely we know what it feels like to be out of control.
Patience. Can't wait for everything to come together. What if we had zero upside?

 

[PacoSwede]

And imperfect layup stats, which were so horrible. Why, you’d almost think that a small, overmatched team that had no prayer of staying in the game unless they bumped and grabbed shooters was playing against the Huskies

don't u think that the truly formidable teams will do that too? uconn had better deal with the missed bunnies issues -- if it's a problem v. the cupcakes it surely will be a problem against the cream of WCBB. we should ignore this?

 

[bkart1978]

Shade is definitely being chased by Heckel and Allie for playing time. They each are making a strong case that they belong on the court.

Allie has made the sophomore jump that we hope for for so many players. She looks more confident and is definitely is playing better defense than last year.

I remembered Heckel at USC so I suspected that she would be an impact player. She definitely has met that expectation. I expect her to continue to get better every game. She's got incredible skills and just needs her decision-making to adjust to the context of the UConn mindset/scheme.

Shade may well be my favorite player on the team. She is incredibly focused and intense every minute she's on the court. I can see why Geno has said that he feels "more comfortable" when she's out there. She consistently seems to position herself to get rebounds, plays very tough defense and is a good facilitator looking to get other players the ball in a position to score. That said, she needs to find her three-point shot again. Last year she was the best player from deep after Azzi, if I recall correctly. Right now she doesn't seem that confident in her shot. It may be because last year's performance has left her toward the top of the opponent scout and they are not leaving her as much time to shoot. To compensate, she, smartly, is driving by more aggressive defenders and taking the ball to the basket. If I had a nit to pick, it would be that even when she has a lane she seems to look to dish off those drives.

Ashlynn is an excellent player who would start for the vast majority D1 teams, but there are two players on the bench behind her who are making a great case for playing time. If she wants to stay on the floor longer, she needs to find her offense again. Of course that's based upon a very small sample size.

I particularly noticed one possession last night where Ash was an energizer bunny face-guarding their fast point guard, who finally got the ball far outside the key with most of the shot clock burned. She's such a smart and tough player. Her three-pointer not falling for a few games is the least of my concerns.

 

[iri10]

So there are a lot of knowledgable and perceptive posts above so I am only going to say one thing. Does everyone here realize what a weapon Blanca is? What I saw last night were a couple of moves that were W level and we have her for 4 years?

She's just interesting to watch when she's out there. It's a little bit uncanny. She seems to decide that she wants to do something with the ball...and then it just happens, with scary speed and surprising coordination in someone who's 6'2" and not at all dainty.

That (the speed part especially) can't be taught, and it's probably a big part of why Geno is keen on getting her plenty of time to get acclimated.

The bit that can be taught and has to be taught before she fully reaches her potential: the actual decision-making. She doesn't always make the right choice with her drives, passes, etc. I'm confident that she'll pick this up eventually. Then the real fun begins.

 

[HuskyNan]

don't u think that the truly formidable teams will do that too? uconn had better deal with the missed bunnies issues -- if it's a problem v. the cupcakes it surely will be a problem against the cream of WCBB. we should ignore this?

I didn’t even suggest ignoring it in my comment to BobbyJ. I was reacting to the implication some posters made that UConn was missing layups due to some kind of mechanics issue and not because the other team was trying to keep them from making easy buckets.

The holding, bumping, grabbing, shirt pulling type of defense has been played against UConn for years. Geno said teams do it because they know the refs aren’t going to call all of the fouls that might be committed. Of course they need to learn to deal with it (again).

 

[DefenseBB]

Do fans of other teams have as many complaints when their teams win by 54 points, I wonder

I would say that the BY is already in Mid-season and Tournament form. Also, I did not see an inordinate number of complaints per se' just observations that we had an inability to make layups and put backs, which is a very fair observation. Serah also had at least two of her shots blocked inside which is a bit perplexing to me. Does that mean I am complaining, no, but I am observing.

For the 3rd game in mid-November, I think this team is well ahead of the last renditions of UConn since 2016-17 season (even that early season saw some interesting games). We all should know due to the vast number of quality players, there will be some "disjointedness" with playing with all the various combinations. Besides Sarah and Azzi, we have many other scorers to help carry the load but they need to learn how to pick their moments. I am looking at Ash, Serah, Kayleigh, KK, Blanca and now Allie. This is a WONDERFUL problem to have and will certainly lead to "interesting periods in games".

Again, the tone of this thread did not appear to me to be "complaining" as much as has been in the past.

 

[JoePgh]

So there are a lot of knowledgable and perceptive posts above so I am only going to say one thing. Does everyone here realize what a weapon Blanca is? What I saw last night were a couple of moves that were W level and we have her for 4 years?

I watched the game in person and then again on replay. Blanca's skills were more apparent to me on the replay. The speed and the aggressiveness are clear, but I think foul trouble is going to be a problem for her until she figures out how games are called on this side of the ocean.

I found the offensive foul call on her in the first half especially perplexing. There were two defenders trying to stop her, and neither one came close to establishing their position before contact. Did the ref call Blanca for an elbow or an arm bar (because it certainly couldn't have been a charge from what I saw)?

 

[BBallF]

She's a specimen for sure. Just can't have "the weapon" go off in our back pocket.
As former players, we know what it is like to be comfortable and in control with our games, whatever that looks like. Conversely we know what it feels like to be out of control.
Patience. Can't wait for everything to come together. What if we had zero upside?

That was her first game ever in American college basketball. So you want everything to come together for the team and Blanca in the third game which was her first? We don't have zero upside and if we did we would not be even discussing her and the team.

 

[BBallF]

Some of those rebounds were "Moses Malone" boards. Missed lays and rebounds from that. Maybe 5 legit. Also rebounds on opponents' missed 2nd shots, in which ideally she would have rebounded the initial shot. "Coming along great". OK. For some reason, we have short memories here. UCLA was her coming out party. SC not bad as well. I want to build on that.

I don't have a short memory, I have a long one when it comes to this team and I remember how much she improved during last year and how well she stepped up when needed. We are not NCAA champions without her. If you don't see improvement in her game both offensively and defensively this year then I both respectfully and strongly disagree.

 

[FanSince17]

That was her first game ever in American college basketball. So you want everything to come together for the team and Blanca in the third game which was her first? We don't have zero upside and if we did we would not be even discussing her and the team.

That's what I said. UConn has a huge upside. We can be more realistic and objective about what we're seeing and still enjoy the journey.