Mad Props to Heather.

[Cafe Poliziano]

I thought Auriemma made a huge mistake with Buck last night. She was very active and effective against Griner while Dolson looked as if she were playing wearing lead sneakers. Dolson had 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 25 minutes. Buck had 4 rebounds and 0 turnovers in 15 minutes. Griner scored 25 points against Dolson and none against Buck.

Yet Geno sits Buck for most of the second half????

Geno did make a huge mistake, it was painfully obvious that Griner was going through Dolsen like a hot knife through butter, Buck neutralized Griner for the most part which in effect made the game 4 on 4 on offense. Geno sometimes does not see the forest through the trees, he has lost a couple of high stress games doing things of this nature.

 

[Icebear]

Heather played Griner tough and did a tremendous job although Griner did score on her at least once but not nearly like she did against Stef. I saw a real reason for this in watching the game in the two defensive postures of Stef vs Heather.

Stef played Griner most of the time in a relatively straight up, arm bar in the back postition, where as, Heather played Griner in a much lower legs flexed wide stance position, bodying up against Griner much lower and with more leg strength. This position, also, left Heather able to respond more quickly to Griner's movement and often able to leap up and tap away the entry pass. Heather used her lower body strength against Griner while stef attempted to use her body mass and was not in as athletic position and often bit on the first fake stepping in that direction allowing Griner to pass her to the opposite side with her long strides. When the trap help got there in time to help we had some success but often that was not happening and Stef could not handle Griner alone while Heather was more effective slowing her alone.

 

[Icebear]

That is very accurate. As I said in another post I was hoping for Ms. Banks to come in to pester Sims for awhile. I felt for Caroline.

That was a risk I would have taken early in the game to see how well Brianna might have done staying in front of Simms and forcing her to change her play.

 

[Icebear]

Geno did make a huge mistake, it was painfully obvious that Griner was going through Dolsen like a hot knife through butter, Buck neutralized Griner for the most part which in effect made the game 4 on 4 on offense. Geno sometimes does not see the forest through the trees, he has lost a couple of high stress games doing things of this nature.

Not so much through Stef as getting her to bite on the fake and then wheeling away to the opposite side with the hook.

 

[HuskyNan]

Stef played Griner most of the time in a relatively straight up, arm bar in the back postition, where as, Heather played Griner in a much lower legs flexed wide stance position, bodying up against Griner much lower and with more leg strength. This position, also, left Heather able to respond more quickly to Griner's movement and often able to leap up and tap away the entry pass.

Yes, Heather kept her center of gravity lower against Griner and used her arms to poke away passes while Stef, as you say, kept her arms and body straight up. The defensive position also allowed Heather to pivot quickly and box out effectively. I thought the uniqueness of Heather's D may have been something that Griner needed to adjust to, which is why she was more effective in the first half. Rotating centers with different styles of D might be a good way to slow down an outstanding center like Griner.

I've admired Heather's fundamentals since she was a high school player. I was hoping the Heather we're seeing this year might be the one we saw in her sophomore year but 'twas not to be, I suppose. She still has time to be an important role player for this team.

 

[John Fryer]

Dolson also sets a lot of screens to free people up - she kind of knows how to toe the line of moving just a little, so she doesn't get called for the moving screen.

Are you making a joke?

SD has gotten called for setting moving screens in just about every game.

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

Not so much through Stef as getting her to bite on the fake and then wheeling away to the opposite side with the hook.

Not saying SD did not do some things, but in this game Griner scored at will on SD, unlike when Buck was in the game, it was very obvious SD could do nothing to stop BG, while it was just as obvious that Heather was quite effective in disrupting BG's game. Geno's decision to not play Buck most of the 2nd half is the biggest single reason for the loss. I'm not the only one to say as much. The Women played with great skill and heart and the loss is not on them, it is on the coach this time.

 

[Icebear]

Are you making a joke?

SD has gotten called for setting moving screens in just about every game.

Peace,

John Fryer

Because she gets called for moving screens on some doesn't mean she does set a lot of good ones, too. I would state, however, that Heather sets many good screens, as well.

 

[rington]

I thought that when Heather hit the deck in the first half that she injured her wrist. You could see her holding up her arm towards the bench after she fell and then she went out at the next whistle. I wonder if it was bothering her?

My husband and I were calling for Geno to put Heather in with Stef in the second half. Heather does a really great job of clogging up the paint and even though she's a liability on offense, I thought she might open up some opportunities for Stef if they were in together.

I thought of that myself: playing them at the same time. Maybe we will see it in the future.

 

[Icebear]

Not saying SD did not do some things, but in this game Griner scored at will on SD, unlike when Buck was in the game, it was very obvious SD could do nothing to stop BG, while it was just as obvious that Heather was quite effective in disrupting BG's game. Geno's decision to not play Buck most of the 2nd half is the biggest single reason for the loss. I'm not the only one to say as much. The Women played with great skill and heart and the loss is not on them, it is on the coach this time.

I can't say that it is solely on either the players or Geno. All made tactical errors or failed to execute at moments. That is the nature of the game.

My only objection about the Griner-Stef match up was your use of the term "through." Griner's scoring on Stef had little to do with going through her as much as out maneuvering her. Most of Griner's points against Stef were scored outside of 5-6 feet not inside tight.

 

[Icebear]

Nan, I, too, would have liked to see us try both Stef and Heather simultaneously.

I thought that when Heather hit the deck in the first half that she injured her wrist. You could see her holding up her arm towards the bench after she fell and then she went out at the next whistle. I wonder if it was bothering her?

My husband and I were calling for Geno to put Heather in with Stef in the second half. Heather does a really great job of clogging up the paint and even though she's a liability on offense, I thought she might open up some opportunities for Stef if they were in together.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Geno did make a huge mistake, it was painfully obvious that Griner was going through Dolsen like a hot knife through butter, Buck neutralized Griner for the most part which in effect made the game 4 on 4 on offense. Geno sometimes does not see the forest through the trees, he has lost a couple of high stress games doing things of this nature.

Heather played very well--best in her career but she can't score and she changes the offense for the other 4 players. Geno playing Heather more would not have made much difference unless we could contain Simms ,who scored 23. Unfortunately, Caroline hurt UConn more than Dolson. She just doesn't have the speed now to stay with Baylor's guards. We needed the speed of Banks but apparently Geno doesn't feel she is ready yet for this type of competition . He also wasn't happy with Stokes at this level. By mid season Banks and Stokes will be much better and maybe they can improve Heather's offense. She was really strong on defense.

Later in the season we will be better and we should be pleased that e played the best team in the country almost even.

 

[Replicant]

Heather was incredible! Really hope this was the corner we've all been waiting and hoping she'd turn. No reason it shouldn't be. If she just realizes that she pretty well shut down the premier center in wcbb, then maybe, just maybe she'll realize she can handle anyone. Besides having a strong base, she stays low and wide and moves her feet really, really well.

 

[Icebear]

Heather was incredible! Really hope this was the corner we've all been waiting and hoping she'd turn. No reason it shouldn't be. If she just realizes that she pretty well shut down the premier center in wcbb, then maybe, just maybe she'll realize she can handle anyone. Besides having a strong base, she stays low and wide and moves her feet really, really well.

She has pretty much played like this most of the month of December. Last night was just graduation night to show she could do it against the best.

 

[snowkot]

As I said - every game's different, but this one - frustration wise - reminded me of last year's semi-final loss where Buck couldn't get on the floor at all despite Dolson playing only 25 foul-hampered, largely ineffective minutes.

The standard disclaimer - there's no questioning Coach's attitude about the culture and approach to the development of young college students against the backdrop of the game of basketball (regardless of gender). I believe he's as close as there is to being in a world by himself there. Same with recruiting - has there ever been a better recruiting tandem than he and Chris Daily?

However, I sometimes find his on-court, intra-game decisions fustrating in games where the score is nip and tuck, or his team is losing. Nobody's perfect (ask Coach about the Stanford semi's from 4/2008), and I reckon last night was one of those nights.

The good news is that Heather has improved immensely and we can look forward to her becoming a very useful 5 in the games to come. UConn is no longer a one-woman show when it comes to playing the post.

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

I can't say that it is solely on either the players or Geno. All made tactical errors or failed to execute at moments. That is the nature of the game.

My only objection about the Griner-Stef match up was your use of the term "through." Griner's scoring on Stef had little to do with going through her as much as out maneuvering her. Most of Griner's points against Stef were scored outside of 5-6 feet not inside tight.

Through, around, next to, it amounts to the same thing, BG scored at will on SD and did not on HB, It looks to me that as a point of physical strength HB is much stronger than SD, to bad Heather won't put herself in a position to score 8 or 10 points a game, if she did that consistently she could be our starting center. Maybe this is the point in HB's career that she realizes she can push any other center in WCBB around, she now needs to score points as well.

 

[Icebear]

Through, around, next to, it amounts to the same thing, BG scored at will on SD and did not on HB, It looks to me that as a point of physical strength HB is much stronger than SD, to bad Heather won't put herself in a position to score 8 or 10 points a game, if she did that consistently she could be our starting center. Maybe this is the point in HB's career that she realizes she can push any other center in WCBB around, she now needs to score points as well.

Actually, there is a big difference between those things in defending them and that is why Heather was a better defender in the game yesterday. Heather stayed in positions from which she was better able to respond to Griner's actions and to deny her the ball more often. I absolutely agree that at this point Heather is much stronger than Stef. Stef has added a lot of conditioning strength but doesn't have as much power strength as Heather. I would, also, observe that Griner was much stronger physically than as a freshman or sophomore. She has added mass to her frame in the form of muscle.

 

[Pete]

I thought that when Heather hit the deck in the first half that she injured her wrist. You could see her holding up her arm towards the bench after she fell and then she went out at the next whistle. I wonder if it was bothering her?

My husband and I were calling for Geno to put Heather in with Stef in the second half. Heather does a really great job of clogging up the paint and even though she's a liability on offense, I thought she might open up some opportunities for Stef if they were in together.

I was looking for him to do that also. I thought it would have been a geat move

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

As I said - every game's different, but this one - frustration wise - reminded me of last year's semi-final loss where Buck couldn't get on the floor at all despite Dolson playing only 25 foul-hampered, largely ineffective minutes.

The standard disclaimer - there's no questioning Coach's attitude about the culture and approach to the development of young college students against the backdrop of the game of basketball (regardless of gender). I believe he's as close as there is to being in a world by himself there. Same with recruiting - has there ever been a better recruiting tandem than he and Chris Daily?

However, I sometimes find his on-court, intra-game decisions fustrating in games where the score is nip and tuck, or his team is losing. Nobody's perfect (ask Coach about the Stanford semi's from 4/2008), and I reckon last night was one of those nights.

The good news is that Heather has improved immensely and we can look forward to her becoming a very useful 5 in the games to come. UConn is no longer a one-woman show when it comes to playing the post.

I agree with you here, I just am not sure Geno will continue to play Heather as much as he should, with HB and SD on the floor at the same time with KML, BH, and TH or KF who could get into the paint to score on us ?? really who?

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

Actually, there is a big difference between those things in defending them and that is why Heather was a better defender in the game yesterday. Heather stayed in positions from which she was better able to respond to Griner's actions and to deny her the ball more often. I absolutely agree that at this point Heather is much stronger than Stef. Stef has added a lot of conditioning strength but doesn't have as much power strength as Heather. I would, also, observe that Griner was much stronger physically than as a freshman or sophomore. She has added mass to her frame in the form of muscle.

Hence my point, that BG scored at will on SD and not on HB, technically speaking you have a point but that is mincing words in this case.

 

[Icebear]

Doty is our highest % 3pt shooter up (45.5%) until last night taking the second most 3s only to KML. Last night was the only night where CD' was a liability and it was specifically because she was in part asked to do a task she simply cannot do speed wise on her leg.

 

[Pete]

Are you making a joke?

SD has gotten called for setting moving screens in just about every game.

Peace,

John Fryer

I think she got called for 2 last night

 

[Icebear]

Hence my point, that BG scored at will on SD and not on HB, technically speaking you have a point but that is mincing words in this case.

Wasn't trying to mince words but now I understand you weren't choosing the word carefully or I should say precisely which I could not tell in the original post. We do agree on the impact of the matchup on the game.

 

[Icebear]

I think she got called for 2 last night

One for sure, she had three fouls and the other two were on defense I think. One being the payback under the hoop called by Dickerson and I think the other sent Griner to the line on a shooting foul but I am not sure about that one.

 

[tower1]

Heather kept Griner away from the basket and was much more aggresive. She is stronger than Stef and more active on defense. Stef has more offense but gives up alot more than she is scoring. Buck doesn't give you any points but also neutralized Griner, so it was 4 0n 4 not 5 on 4. That gives us a better chance to win.
I disagree with coach Auriema in that the offense was going to win this game. They played better defense and won.
Caroline hurt us in that she doesn't handle the pressure from quick guards too good. She turned the ball over 2 or 3 times in a row at one time. And our guards have to drive into Griners chest to try and get her to foul not away. She just reachest out and swatts the ball. Those are like tunovers.
This was another big game that our opposing coaches adjusted better than our coach at half time.