Some thoughts on the Memphis game:
- Yea I know. Turnovers, poor shooting and defensive breakdowns make for some ugly basketball.
- Geno tried just about every player combination he could think of to get some offensive flow and defensive intensity in the first half. I was excited to see Evelyn get some early PT, but sadly she threw the ball away on her first offensive possession, and she was soon back on the bench. Sigh……
- Liv continues to be an enigma. Against a team with some size like Memphis, we need more from her.
- Don’t know if Elvis was in the building tonight, but fortunately Crystal was. She had a nice game in front of family and friends, and she was critical hitting her shots when it seemed like all her teammates were laying bricks.
- Christyn made all her layups tonight including several “High Degree of Difficulty” shots. At the same time, she was 0-3 from the arc.
- Oh well. A win is a win is a win.
A few observations, if you don't mind:
1. If Megan is to be a first team All American, she has to make better decisions and show much better ball security. She, alone, had 6 turnovers....most of them unforced errors. This has been an issue all season. But she did hit a dagger three right when we needed it.
2. Olivia has ...what shall I say.....a terrible shooting form. She will not be much help against good teams unless she becomes an outside threat as will as an inside shot blocker ( her ability to score around the basket is also not so great at the moment). The good news is; on her 4 foul shots ( 0-4 ), not a single one missed everything entirely. She also needs massively more strength, especially with respect to her hands. She could never be a wide receiver. She can't hold onto anything where it is contested.
3. Williams is amazing when she decides to drive to the hoop. But her outside shooting is wildly inconsistent. That makes no sense for the top player in HS two years back. She needs to go back and re-watch her shooting motion in the ND game, her freshman year.
4. Crystal was, as usual, key to the win. But will she endure? It is distressing that our point guard can get no rest against Memphis.
5. I liked the energy Molly brought to the team in the minutes she played. She really operated at a different pace. And it helped.
6. Kyla has fallen way off in her shooting proficiency the last few games. And though she still contributes, it isn't enough to put up zero points for all that time on the court.
7. Nice to see Ania hit a couple of huge threes. She is always hustling and battling.
8. Aubrey still plays like a raw , supremely athletic freshman who doesn't know what she is doing half the time. When she breaks free, no one ever sees her or gets her the ball.. When she has the ball, she tends not to shoot, but to take the ball out to the back court where she can pass it off. It kind of negates what the team did to get her the ball in the front court. A long way from greatness.
9. The Murray St. transfer is improving according to coach. "She came back after Xmas with a new attitude," he said. He put her in the game and she turned it over on a poor decision. And then did it again. She looks slow and unathletic, but that is to my eyes only.
All of a sudden, the AAC is no longer looking like a cakewalk for this UCONN team. An interesting team that finds its own way to win ( mostly ).
