Memphis Postgame Thread

[RockyMTblue2]

In addition to her tremendous passes, Anna cut aggressively to basket almost every time down. Opened up the floor for everyone else.

Right. You can see her off the ball work in these highlights;

 

[Boreifs]

Is it my imagination, or has UConn rediscovered the Flex when Ono is in the bench? I sit courtside and thought I heard Megan call out Flex at one point, after which two people entered the low post on opposite sides and one of them flashed to the elbow, setting up a beautiful back pick. I’m surmising that Geno’s self admitting “three best practices” of the year involved a lot of offensive drills.

 

[jabstep]

The other thing Meg was correct about is her statement that the good passing is contagious.
Anna's passing was inspirational to everyone and ONO even had a sweet touch pass from the left block to the right block.

You are so right that was one of the beautiful basketball plays. The passing was contagious last night.

 

[msf22b]

I've been watching the replay...Went back to check a few plays...We're blocked (for some inane reason) in Northern Vermont, so the replay will have to do...Did get to enjoy another win for Carla's bunch...they play again tonight at 5 against Columbia...(unpaid political announcement...they're a fun team to watch)

I was impressed with UConn's ball movement last eve...certainly a big improvement...

But remember...this was a glorified scrimmage. The Memphis kids rolled over way before halftime.

It's going to be a lot tougher Monday. I imagine things that went real well may not be so easy.

But on the other hand, I'm not so impressed by SC either...

Be an interesting game, surely more significant for UConn...does the Memphis game signify a season turnaround...or is it an aberration against an extraordinarily weak, damaged team.

 

[oldude]

Regarding the comments on Anna's speed...

Sprinting speed is over rated. Maya was a terrific athlete, but she had slow feet. Once she got a head of steam, she was a gazelle, but watch her foot speed - she did not have quick feet. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is a MUCH slower player, but she has quick feet. When she gets up to a full head of steam, it's still ponderous, but her feet are quick. Molly is another good example of a player with quick feet. She's a solid defender and gets into passing lanes or gets steals because she has good instincts and her feet are quick.

The point I'm making is that IMHO quick feet are more important on defense. It's the only way to keep a defender in front of you. Anna is only a freshman and she will get better, but for all her lack of sprinting speed, her feet are fairly quick.

Anna has 28 steals this year. That' more than Christyn, and 4th on the team behind only Crystal (42), Megan (31) and Aubrey (30). Those steals are not evidence that she's "slow".

What I mean by that is that she can move them quickly to better stay in front of defenders. Of course she gets blown by on occasion - so does everyone else not named Crystal or Moriah. I don't disagree that Anna needs to work this summer on her fitness and diet - it will pay off big time next year and over the rest of her career.

I think it was mentioned earlier, but in an interview Geno said that her body is sore. Not from being bruised or injured, but because the the things she's being asked to do physically are more than she's ever been pushed to before. That's why I believe a summer of diet and fitness will pay off huge for her as she will be able to make her body do what her really smart basketball mind already knows.

Speaking of players without speed, Sabrina Ionescu comes to mind.

 

[DEpup]

Positionless basketball folks. I love how Anna just plays the game. She can move from PG to SG to SF and back again all in the same possession. My prediction is she's a starter folks for the rest of her UConn career. Technically she'll probably be referred to as a 3 G/SF "wing" but the offense will run through her and that can put a lot of pressure on defenses. Just think next year depending on who is on the floor is Evina, Paige, Nika, or Anna running the offense? Could be any one of them from moment to moment. That's a lot for a defense to manage.

 

[Longtime fan]

Keep in mind that Uconn played Memphis a few short weeks ago and squeaked out a 12 point win. This was quite the turnaround.

Literally every starter and key reserve contributed in big ways. Olivia and Anna both showed they could play with 2 fouls for extended periods of time. Both had 2 early and Q2 and Olivia didn't pick up her 3rd till midway thru Q4. We showed we are at our best with only a 6 player rotation - starting Anna and bringing Aubrey off the bench.

Anna with 11 assists and 4 steals. She had a few TO's, but she seems to be getting better every game. I said it in the chat, and I will continue to say it all summer till November - she will be a starter next year. The 5th spot will come down to Bueckers or Westbrook.

Aubrey - 6 points, 3 blocks, 10 boards. This girl is a baller! I expect a big sophomore leap as she gets more comfortable understanding how our offense works, and develops a mid range jumper. So much upside. Her defense will be elite before she graduates.

Olivia didn't miss a single shot she took. Megan - 26 and 11. But possibly most important - the invasion of the body snatchers who replaced the old Christyn Williams with a new and improved version - 20 points on 7-12 shooting, and 4-6 from deep.

Probably the most impressive thing to me was the sharing of the ball. Anna seemed to be more of the distributor with Danger playing the 2G (till towards the end of the game when Crystal went off with assists) - off the ball. It worked tremendously. Every game i see improvements from Anna with regards to decision making and actual performance. Can't wait to see her next year as she gets her body in better physical shape so it can do what her brain wants it to.

How about Molly with 10 points? She's a really competent defensive player and on any team not in the top 15 or so, would either be a starter, or key reserve. So happy for her when she has a big game like this.

Happy to see Batouly in. It's clear this will be her last year so I hope she goes out with a bang. It's unclear why Kyla went from a starter to a mop-up reserve. I'd love to hear why - not sure the announcers said...

Overall a great game. Excellent tune up. I hope that they bring the same energy, intensity, and determination to Monday's game at SC. GO UCONN!!!

I don't recall the announcers suggesting a theory about Kyla. It was clear to the world why Geno promoted Makurat to starter. And, I'm sure, clear to Kyla as well. Kyla will have a lot of " good stuff" to reflect upon, from her BB days at UCONN. But she will be relegated to mop up duty from this point forward. Molly was fun to watch. She does defend well and she can shoot . It is too bad she has for her entire career ( and remains ) been overly unselfish ( to her detriment and to that of the team ). Did you notice when, with about 4 seconds remaining on the shot clock, she again passed up an open shot and dished it to an unsuspecting Aubrey, who then hurried to throw up a brick? Coach yelled at Molly, " why didn't you take that shot ?"

The team is now positioned to grow and develop. Olivia is starting to ' get it." She was great yesterday. Ania is a second point guard and the best passer we have had in years. A true ( and, to me, unexpected ) gem. And Aubrey is now playing the role her skills best suit...a "sixth man" off the bench, to bring energy, disrupt, rebound, and create scoring opportunities. And she should not, of course, be replacing Olivia. Aubrey is not a natural big post player. I believe Olivia can play with fouls, and she needs to be in the game as much as possible.

It was refreshing to see Christyn again looking like a star. We need that.

We have 4-6 weeks to polish and hone this act. It can become very exciting. Especially with UCONN kind of written off and under the radar.

 

[hoopsfan22]

The announcers didn't suggest a theory about Kyla. It was Geno who said it. He was tactful in not mentioning any names, but he said during the Oregon game is when he decided that the experiment was over. The team was constantly starting slow and getting into a hole, and he wanted to go back to what they were doing in the beginning of the season. Geno saw the same things many of us fans had noted over the past few weeks.

 

[Roger G]

Totally agree that Anna was magnificent. I said she should be the starter from the get go.

But I also want to say a good word for Molly. She had a good game and I hope Geno uses her in spots in big games to slow down players who are hitting shots for the other team as I think she is a really good defender and she really seems to be playing with a clear head. And apparently Geno reads this forum sometimes.

 

[CocoHusky]

Totally agree that Anna was magnificent. I said she should be the starter from the get go.

But I also want to say a good word for Molly. She had a good game and I hope Geno uses her in spots in big games to slow down players who are hitting shots for the other team as I think she is a really good defender and she really seems to be playing with a clear head. And apparently Geno reads this blog sometimes.

This blog?

 

[Boreifs]

One big difference was that UConn didn’t give up on feeding the post. If one has three long range shooters at the top of the key,wing and corner looking for post entry, it is virtually impossible for the post defender not to be sealed in one of those directions. It also means that any help has to come from the weak side; Liv fed Megan for an easy layup in one instance when they tried to double team.
Equally important, Liv didn’t fool around once she got the ball. She either drop stepped for a layup or rolled into the lane for a jumper, depending on where the seal had taken place. Once she even used a baby hook when the post had occurred on the left side.
This was a clinic on how to use the post when the other team is over protecting the arc, which the Memphis coach admitted was their strategy.