Md. Game thread

[Buzzyboy]

I don't agree. OFC Butler could / will help but more importantly they need to take care of the basketball and hustle. Those aren't "Butler" strengths. They lazy passing, poor shot selection and gambling a bit too much imo.

That big body girl from Maryland had something like 24 or 26 points. UConn had no answer for her and Butler would have made a difference, if what she accomplished in her freshman year holds true. Another issue was that girl off the bench who hit three pointers after three pointers. Meanwhile UConn was so much sloppier than we've been accustomed to UConn teams being. Kia Nurse's performance tonight was bipolar with a few really nice things and some serious ugliness! I thought Collins was quite sloppy with the ball though she worked hard.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Outside shooting, outside shooting. Please recruit more outside shooters.

I am bewildered why KLS is so off on her shooting. She's doing a bunch of things pretty well but her stroke is definitely what we've seen previously. She's had open looks that she typically was deadly on and yet, she's off. Someone said that her weigh room regiment might have thrown things off and maybe there is some truth to that.

 

[Buzzyboy]

They don't have a lot, really. There's a reason most of these teams are playing constant zone.

In my mind KLS coming into Storrs was a proven quantity and yet her stroke has been off, even when she's wide open. I'm at a loss to figure out why but she's going to find it. Too much weight room???

 

[Buzzyboy]

Well, they've all hit threes I guess.

If you are saying all of them are good/dangerous 3-pt shooters---okay.

I think Moriah proved herself last year and KLS based on what she's done previously SHOULD be. The others are suspect though I know Saniya had a reputation in high school of being a good three point shooter. Morgan and Stewie are good in that ten to fifteen foot range but not very consistent beyond that.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Of course she would. But you think MD was only scoring in one area? You need to check their 3 pt shooting stat. Secondly, what makes you think our offense would run as well in which Stewie and Tuck could get as many layups as they got? How do you know our offense will click with Butler? You do realize Stewie and Tuck scored a lot in the game too. And you do realize there are two parts of a game- offense and defense, right?

Did you see the interior passing that UConn did? There was some beautiful entry passes that Stewart was able to score on and if Stewie was playing more of a three or four, those passes would have gone to Butler who I think would have had some great success in scoring on. I think her presence would have helped UConn a great deal tonight, assuming she was in game shape.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I don't know about standing around. But I'm with nan. I think their is a mis-perception when a player misses shots - "they are standing around or "they are settling" You and I had a disagreement last time about KLS. You had said she shouldn't be taking shots from when a player is close to her. Yet from what I saw tonight the only 3 she hit was when in fact two (not one but 2) players were close to her.

The other shots she is wide open and not only missed but they weren't even close.

That is the part that's unsettling and I feel will be resolved. She's too much of a pure shooter to not resolve whatever issues she's having with her stroke. I'm looking forward to that but like the effort she's making in other areas.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Well if that I what you meant - okay but here is what you said and in italics below was my response then you replied to be sarcastically making it sound like I suggested we couldn't use Butler at all -- which I didn't bother to post below:


“UConn is really missing Butler tonight. They need another big to bang down low.”

I said below then you came back with a sarcastic comment. Secondly MD did shoot 6-11 from 3 in the 2nd half. So yes we could have used Butler in one specific aspect. But again what is Butler going to do defending the 3? And how would she have affected our offense? MD shot 6-11 from - and was it mostly because we were doubling Jones? IMO no way.

When I ad sent the post - it was jut the start f the 2nd half I think. CONN did clear up the turnovers But to get beatdown the court like we did - totally unacceptable. And just the unforced turnover in the 1st half. Terrible.


"I don't agree. OFC Butler could / will help but more importantly they need to take care of the basketball and hustle."

I think if Butler were playing Stewie would have been able to play further away from the basket and with her wingspan she could have intimidated outside shooters when closing on them to rush their shots and throw off their stroke. That's some of what Britney Griner was doing for Baylor, closing on outside shooters and throwing them off their rhythm. Those long arms coming at you would cause most people to rush their shot and affect them badly.

 

[hoophuskee]

That big body girl from Maryland had something like 24 or 26 points. UConn had no answer for her and Butler would have made a difference, if what she accomplished in her freshman year holds true. Another issue was that girl off the bench who hit three pointers after three pointers. Meanwhile UConn was so much sloppier than we've been accustomed to UConn teams being. Kia Nurse's performance tonight was bipolar with a few really nice things and some serious ugliness! I thought Collins was quite sloppy with the ball though she worked hard.

Yes I have said two times that Butler could have helped. But with that said - what did Jones (she had 24 points for the game) do defensively? To start the 2nd half Morgan Tuck bricked two threes and missed an inside shot all within the 1st three minutes. After that she was 3-3 in 2nd half and overall Stewie was 6-9. What has Md shown that they can stop that? And both Stewie and Tuck had 3 assists each with no turnovers while Jones had no assists (for the whole game also) and three turnovers in the 2nd half. While Jones was definitely a menace, so were Stewie and Tuck. How do we know how well Butler can play offensively? Would it have taken away from the efficiency that Tuck and Stewie have along with their ability to make passes and not turn the ball over like Jones did?

And as you said the three point shooting. They were 6-11 in the 2nd half. So the game vs MD was much more than Jones and her offense. Md can shoot too. What is Butler going to do about that? Anyhow, Jones defense had no impact but maybe if she were guarding Butler it would? Butler as a big body might clog the lane and as a result make it harder for us to spread the floor. I can remember Tuck beating Jones off the dribble and getting fouled. Could Jones guard Butler without committing the fouls she had chasing UCONN's Tuck and Stewie? She was in foul trouble. Would she have been if Butler got plenty of minutes?

At the time of the poster titletown making his comment about what was needed- I disagreed in terms of what were more important needs. I felt was more important to start 2nd half for UCONN than the ability to stop Jones was to take care of the ball and hustle much more. The plays getting beat down the court and the unforced errors were controllable errors that can be fixed. As Geno said in the post game- the errors weren't caused and he felt his team could have gotten about 12 more points without the silly unforced turnovers.

 

[Kevin G]

There's a difference between playing in a game versus practice. In practice you screw up and the whistle blows so coach can yell at you. In a (close) game you screw up and you lose taking whatever streaks the team had going with it. Huge difference. I don't care how difficult they make the practices. They are still just that - practices. The last time Butler played in a game was March 2014. That's almost two years ago. I think some type of easing in to games is called for especially when recovering from an injury.

Good points but disagree. UCONN could have used Butler against Maryland to help make Jones' shots a bit more difficult. Butler screwing up is complete speculation and a big "what if" just like if she came in and did a tremendous job. Could have gone either way but we will never know. I do believe that if you put a 6'5 post player with good foot work and long arms against a 6'3 post versus a 6'2 post then shots may not come as easy.

 

[Siestakeyfan]

UCONN women against MD certainly didn't win pretty: they threw the ball away Repeatedly, got beat down the court Repeatedly, missed easy shots, and were generally manhandled.
Helping out near basket opens up OPEN three pointers and MD made some.

GENO has some work to do !
All teams will SCRUTINIZE this MD replay tape. Refs want close games due to advertisers $$$$. Talent is growing in Women's basketball as audience increases.
Kiah Stokes was VERY Athletic and strong, UCONN needs a BIG center, Badly, as MD made CLEAR Mon. Night !

However give MD credit they played well. They cut off the baseline, and over all played well especially near basket. MD vs ND will be a Great Game. Another thing MD did was play very physical. Thus the foul calls and some NO calls.

For UConn. Some rust, played way to fast at times thus the turnovers most of which were unforced. That was a huge problem in the first two quarters. Slowing it down and maintaining poise would've been better.The refs let a lot go underneath. Too many times Stewie was pushed off her feet. Twice her posting up and just lambasted off her feet and no call... except for the fans reaction. A couple of times UConn went to the basket Gabby Collier, Morgan and Moriah Jefferson in particular and were banged missing easy shots and NO call. Then a touch call from a guard. UConn adjusted and won in the second half with very few turnovers.

Katie Lou Collier and Chong all showed signs of breaking out. Chong especially. Chong looked like she did in high school. Very encouraging could've been Saniyas breakout game. She was confident, made some great defensive plays when it counted. Gabby has developed and continues to get better. Now the wait for Butler. The question remains when will she play. Im hoping Wednesday against Cincinnati.

This game was a wakeup game for underclassman. Likely will see improvement over the next few games. They need to contribute more. They need to take charge and not defer to Mojeff Tuck and Stewie. They need to be confident to take charge of situations. Saw some of that which is encouraging.

 

[Siestakeyfan]

UCONN women against MD certainly didn't win pretty: they threw the ball away Repeatedly, got beat down the court Repeatedly, missed easy shots, and were generally manhandled.
Helping out near basket opens up OPEN three pointers and MD made some.

GENO has some work to do !
All teams will SCRUTINIZE this MD replay tape. Refs want close games due to advertisers $$$$. Talent is growing in Women's basketball as audience increases.
Kiah Stokes was VERY Athletic and strong, UCONN needs a BIG center, Badly, as MD made CLEAR Mon. Night !

However give MD credit they played well. They cut off the baseline, and over all played well especially near basket. MD vs ND will be a Great Game. Another thing MD did was play very physical. Thus the foul calls and some NO calls.

For UConn. Some rust, played way to fast at times thus the turnovers most of which were unforced. That was a huge problem in the first two quarters. Slowing it down and maintaining poise would've been better.The refs let a lot go underneath. Too many times Stewie was pushed off her feet. Twice her posting up and just lambasted off her feet and no call... except for the fans reaction. A couple of times UConn went to the basket Gabby Collier, Morgan and Moriah Jefferson in particular and were banged missing easy shots and NO call. Then a touch call from a guard. UConn adjusted and won in the second half with very few turnovers.

Katie Lou Collier and Chong all showed signs of breaking out. Chong especially. Chong looked like she did in high school. Very encouraging could've been Saniyas breakout game. She was confident, made some great defensive plays when it counted. Gabby has developed and continues to get better. Now the wait for Butler. The question remains when will she play. Im hoping Wednesday against Cincinnati.

This game was a wakeup game for underclassman. Likely will see improvement over the next few games. They need to contribute more. They need to take charge and not defer to Mojeff Tuck and Stewie. They need to be confident to take charge of situations. Saw some of that which is encouraging.

 

[hoophuskee]

Did you see the interior passing that UConn did? There was some beautiful entry passes that Stewart was able to score on and if Stewie was playing more of a three or four, those passes would have gone to Butler who I think would have had some great success in scoring on. I think her presence would have helped UConn a great deal tonight, assuming she was in game shape.

I saw the Hi-Lo sets between Stewie and Tuck. How many easy baskets did we see Stewie get late in the 2nd half? It was almost unfair with her long arms, wasn't it? Who says Butler can be better or juts as good as than what Stewie can be or what Tuck can be? So now my number 1 option to get the ball inside will no longer be to Stewie? Is that what we want? Every time now - we will make it very, very obvious that Butler will be inside and more than likely Stewie at the top of the high low set because we don't know if Butler can play other than a few from the basket, right? At least with Stewie and Tuck they are interchangeable - giving the defense something to think about. Even during the play they move in and out, right? And now - if I'm the defense can't the zone sag even more with Tuck's man? Therefore more sagging will result in harder to make passes and harder to drive, right?

IMO there is sooo much "more" to take into consideration with Butler that "just put her in for defense and as for our offense it will be okay." For example, Butler forces Tuck to play on the perimeter much more. If Tuck isn't able to stretch the floor then she is playing at a position which she is far less effective (who can make a better post pass for example, KLS or Tuck? From the high-low Tuck. From the wing which Tuck would forced to be playing more, imo KLS. ) when we go high-low and Stewie is part of the "high." And our defensive transition will be slower with Butler at the 5 and Tuck on the wing.

 

[hoophuskee]

UCONN women against MD certainly didn't win pretty: they threw the ball away Repeatedly, got beat down the court Repeatedly, missed easy shots, and were generally manhandled.
Helping out near basket opens up OPEN three pointers and MD made some.

GENO has some work to do !
All teams will SCRUTINIZE this MD replay tape. Refs want close games due to advertisers $$$$. Talent is growing in Women's basketball as audience increases.
Kiah Stokes was VERY Athletic and strong, UCONN needs a BIG center, Badly, as MD made CLEAR Mon. Night !

However give MD credit they played well. They cut off the baseline, and over all played well especially near basket. MD vs ND will be a Great Game. Another thing MD did was play very physical. Thus the foul calls and some NO calls.

For UConn. Some rust, played way to fast at times thus the turnovers most of which were unforced. That was a huge problem in the first two quarters. Slowing it down and maintaining poise would've been better.The refs let a lot go underneath. Too many times Stewie was pushed off her feet. Twice her posting up and just lambasted off her feet and no call... except for the fans reaction. A couple of times UConn went to the basket Gabby Collier, Morgan and Moriah Jefferson in particular and were banged missing easy shots and NO call. Then a touch call from a guard. UConn adjusted and won in the second half with very few turnovers.

Katie Lou Collier and Chong all showed signs of breaking out. Chong especially. Chong looked like she did in high school. Very encouraging could've been Saniyas breakout game. She was confident, made some great defensive plays when it counted. Gabby has developed and continues to get better. Now the wait for Butler. The question remains when will she play. Im hoping Wednesday against Cincinnati.

This game was a wakeup game for underclassman. Likely will see improvement over the next few games. They need to contribute more. They need to take charge and not defer to Mojeff Tuck and Stewie. They need to be confident to take charge of situations. Saw some of that which is encouraging.

I agree with much of what you say. But I don't agree with that we were helping out that much underneath the basket. How often did we hear that Jones was overpowering one defender? Often. Secondly, is we were helping out - then she would have had more than zero assists for the entire game. It's partly why I think Doris was yet again- wrong. There is probably a reason why this year so far that MD's Jones is averaging just a little above one assist per game. She's probably not too-hot-of-a-passer. So Doris was suggesting a team should break-away from their offense they are comfortable running - i/e. change their style - and feed a low post who possibly can't pass? This isn't the NBA Doris.

And imo KLS, and NC did not show breakout games. With KLS imo there will be no such thing as "a breakout game." She would have to nail shots for several consecutive games. So I am hopeful KLS will "breakout" but it would have to be after several games. I wouldn't be surprised once ro twice she is on fire only to "rebrick" the following game. If she has one game in which her 3's are on fire - no telling if the next game she'll "re-brick." And I'm not so sure this year NC will have a breakout game which games that follow she'll score and score and score and be consistent. I think NC will just be more consistent in her defense and better decision-making and score mildly. She's a tweener. And the team won't rely on her to score. And we have so many other possibilities that can score too.