70% of us apparently don't look at the box score AT ALL. How valuable are 5 assists when they are mainly just throwing the ball to a wing who immediately makes a jump shot? Any of us could do that. And I'm in my 60's. 1 steal today. What else did she contribute besides fewer rebounds than Caroline in more PT? What EXACTLY is Nika doing that warrants more than 10 minutes PT? How many plays do we run with effectively 4 offensive players on the floor? People here want her to penetrate more but if you look up the numbers on that I'm pretty sure they would say Nika doesn't finish well at the rim and gets stuffed out quite often or ends up with bad pass other times. She's had maybe 3 penetration baskets in the last 5 games and that's more than she got before. Her penetrating the middle against top teams is like option # 40. She's recently brought up her shooting percentages but she's probably the last person of the top 9 you want shooting. I'm fine with her playing 20 minutes now but as the competition improves her weaknesses become more easily seen. We aren't playing Georgetown any more.The other 30% either need glasses or have their eyes closed when she is on the court.
Oh I must have missed that one. Nika chooses to push the ball up the floor a little faster rather than run a play. How could I miss that? We should put her jersey up in the rafters next week for that alone. Do you think we should credit CW some for coming at you with speed? I would think so. And who releases CW on those breaks as much as anyone? Paige.Absolutely spot on. They are much better offensively when she pushes it like that. I saw Paige do it a couple of times. Not only does it get things moving earlier in the shot clock but pushing it like that just makes the other team's defense stay on their heels. Over the course of 40 minutes it can wear the other team out. I remember in previous years opposing coaches and players, at their post game press conference, would talk about the speed at which UConn would come at you, that watching it on film doesn't come close to what it's really like in a game. This bunch could really be good at that.
I guess I have misinterpreted Teamfirst's comments. Somehow I thought by him citing that Nika began the season as 9th on the depth chart and will end the season in that same position as well as being the 6th best guard coupled with his observation that "70% of the board evaluates Nika with their brain left in the back seat of their car suggested that he doesn't see her as a "significant piece" of the team. My mistake.No one that I’ve seen thinks that Nika is not a “significant piece” of this team! Whether she starts or not, has nothing to do with whether she is an important part of this team. Do you think Kevin McHale, Manu Ginobili, Vinnie “Microwave” Johnson etc, were considered “insignificant” when they were coming off the bench?
Geez, why do some of you guys place so much importance on who starts--it is a pretty insignificant statistical data point--yes I remember at the beginning of the year when Nika was hurt and had reduced playing time. Do you remember last year when she started most of the season. Why do you think she gets more playing time than most of the guards you mentioned? As Geno states, her contribution and impact is significant. And you are grouping guard positions together: Nika plays point not a 2 guard like Azzi or CW, nor is she a SF or wing like Caroline--she plays point. So your comparators are non sequitur.As in she didn't start today right? Confirming your position. Why is it so hard to see that Geno is "MOTIVATING" all the players. Remember at the beginning of the year when Nika was 9th on the depth chart? That is where she will end up as well. Nika's a great person, a solid defender, would be a starter on almost any college team but should she get more PT than Azzi? No. Paige? No. Caroline? No. Evina? No. CW? No. She's our 6th best guard.
My gosh, what’s the problem here. The post I was replying to was from Huskee 11 which said ”when there is not a fast break”. It had nothing to do with Christyn driving to the basket or Paige leading a fast break or hanging anybody’s jersey from the rafters. Nika IS running “a play”, just pushing the ball up quicker and getting into it faster. I think the offense works better when she, or anybody else who wants to push it like that, does so. Just because I like something a player brings to the game doesn’t mean I think others aren’t contributing.Oh I must have missed that one. Nika chooses to push the ball up the floor a little faster rather than run a play. How could I miss that? We should put her jersey up in the rafters next week for that alone. Do you think we should credit CW some for coming at you with speed? I would think so. And who releases CW on those breaks as much as anyone? Paige.
To those who insist defense wins championships, here's Geno telling you balance is essential: you have to score in order to win, the more you score the more pressure you put on the opponent to score against your defense. The snowball effect, I guess.
I would say that the UCF team is not the same offensively challenged team we saw in the American. Battle is alot better and those Bigs no longer clank every shot. I hope our team is not overconfident. I see alot of Az in the UCF team.To those of you who advocate putting Nika in the starting lineup and benching one of the front court players, I would counsel (having seen the second game at Gampel today in person) that this would be a VERY bad strategy against UCF. They have at least three very competent bigs in the 6-4 or 6-5 range who are excellent rebounders and can score in the paint. With just one big for UConn, rebounding against UCF would be a major (and totally unnecessary) problem.
Regarding UCF, let me add a few other observations:
- Despite all the comments about how they play physical or borderline dirty, I did not notice that against Florida this afternoon. To my eyes, they play like a normal team with size. Admittedly that is different from what is normally seen in the Big East, but it should not be anything that UConn's bigs can't handle (assuming the more than one of them is on the floor!).
- The key players on UCF's team (Diamond Battle, Masseny Kava, the other big Smith) were familiar opponents a few years ago when UConn played UCF in the AAC two or three times a year. UConn obviously never lost a game to UCF, and the great majority were won by double digits. Many of the UConn teams in recent years were smaller and less physical than the current UConn team, so I really don't expect Monday's game to be particularly close.
- UCF plays a 40-minute zone as its sole defense, but they are good at getting out on shooters. It will be interesting to see how that zone covers two deadeye shooters on opposite sides of the court. I'm not sure that any previous UConn team (at least since 2017) posed that kind of problem for UCF's zone defense.
- UCF's back court looks to me as if it may be susceptible to ball pressure, or to starting offense from near the midcourt line, or to having its shooters be rushed. Florida certainly didn't do any of those things. I expect that UConn's pressure defense will be successful against UCF.
I gave you a like in similar fashion previously. . This is a civil disagreement. I enjoy that. I’ll reiterate I don’t mind complain or nit-picking one bit. As long as posters are okay with a counter.Wow! A joke from Star Wars about the Force ends up sticking somewhere in your system. Nope, thinking along with them doesn't mean acting like a coach. But when you are inclined like a scientist, you analyze.....not to offend anyone - except perhaps someone who actually analyzes but unable to give space for others observations who try to do the same. Analysts don't all agree, in fact, they often differ a phenomenon that often leads better understanding if conducted with open minds.
Intent and execution are two different things, you understand, I am sure. You can have all the good intentions and detailed plans to implement but unless you actually execute, it doesn't move the score....although someone like me would appreciate the aesthetics of the process, as I did this game.
But he didn't make the comment you are referring to in the context you are stating. That's the problem.So, Geno can comment that the first half stunk up the joint but the BYers can’t? Doesn’t add up.
Yes, Paith had a productive move we hadn't seen before. She is developing nicely, keeps the ball high and has a soft release. She, like Dorka, runs down loose rebounds, does not wait for the ball to come to her and sets up as a wide passing target early in each offensive possession. Love how the coaches are quickly improving her game and Paith's passion to practice. She is already a down low force and great mate for the talents of our other bigs.I realize it was late in the game and it didn’t matter but the left handed move by Plath was sweet.
Buy the tickets people. Single game is a whopping $24. The number of empty seats is a semi-embarrassment.Nice write-up.
When I bought mine those seats were open for purchase by the publicThe empty seats you are talking about are almost all reserved for students. They should be full on Monday.
Is in my bookmark folder. Occasionally I'll clinic it. Watch the said walk-ons shot and feel the Joy.walk-on's 3 pointer at the the very end of the championship game
seed | Team on S-Curve | points for | points against | margin |
1 | South Carolina | 79 | 21 | 58 |
1 | Stanford | 78 | 37 | 41 |
1 | NC State | 96 | 68 | 28 |
1 | Louisville | 83 | 51 | 32 |
2 | Baylor | 89 | 49 | 40 |
2 | UConn | 83 | 38 | 45 |
2 | Texas | 70 | 52 | 18 |
2 | Iowa | 98 | 58 | 40 |
3 | Iowa State | 78 | 71 | 7 |
3 | LSU | 83 | 77 | 6 |
3 | Indiana | 85 | 51 | 34 |
3 | Michigan | 74 | 39 | 35 |
4 | Tennessee | 80 | 67 | 13 |
4 | Oklahoma | 78 | 72 | 6 |
4 | Maryland | 102 | 71 | 31 |
4 | Arizona | 72 | 67 | 5 |
They played often yesterday together. Like last year she relieved Paige of being primary ball handler.Nika's a great player but NWIH she should put Paige on the bench for more than 10 minutes in any game in question.
Are your stats broken down as to when they were on the court? Nika finished up the end of blowout games, in the BE tournament and yesterday, when the team wasn't looking to score. Those stats have meaning only if put in context as to points in the games and team scores at that time.I've read for so long about how the team's offense and defense is so much better with Nika on the court... why then, virtually every Huskies game, is Nika's +/- the lowest or nearly the lowest on the team?
I know some will say those numbers don't mean anything. Hmmm, today's +/- had Paige at +41 for nearly 25 minutes and Nika at +15 for nearly 21 minutes.
The next lowest were +18 for both Dorka and Caroline, who each played about 17 minutes. Everyone else except Piath and Amari were +24 or more.
I know this won't sit well with many here because Nika is beloved, but the numbers don't lie. The team just plays better, or at least mysteriously gets better results, when Nika is not on the court. I can't explain that either, because she does bring fire and brimstone to her efforts.
For those who might call today's numbers a fluke, check back to pretty much every game for the past month. I've been checking the +/- on the team website's stats PDF after each game and it regularly speaks to the point I'm making. For most games, it makes a jarringly stark case for why Nika should be the ninth player in the rotation, an inspirational teammate and valued backup to Paige, Evina or Azzi, et al. Nika's value is in firing up her teammates, yet that apparently is more so the case when she's cheering from the sideline.
Yes, I know what Geno says.
Shoot me down if you must, but please do so by making a logical case why those +/- numbers are so consistently off base. I expect a plethora of 'dislikes,' but I'd find it more instructive for those of you who disagree to explain the numbers. Thanks for listening.
Remember at the start of the year Nika, like Azzi, was injured and unable to move. As in Geno saying that the other day.As in she didn't start today right? Confirming your position. Why is it so hard to see that Geno is "MOTIVATING" all the players. Remember at the beginning of the year when Nika was 9th on the depth chart? That is where she will end up as well. Nika's a great person, a solid defender, would be a starter on almost any college team but should she get more PT than Azzi? No. Paige? No. Caroline? No. Evina? No. CW? No. She's our 6th best guard.
I agree, recently a retired coach, not an ESPN "coach" said the misconception is the worst mismatch is a small player dealing with a big, but in most actual game situations the opposite is true.Any of the 9 rotation players could be one of the 5 starters. They are all that good. To my eyes, the team just moves/plays better when Dorka, Ducharme and Nika are in with Paige and Azzi. Smaller but so fluid. Geno used Dorka much more today, and she deserved it. I assume Geno starts Liv (everyone knows what she can do) and CW (who in some games is lights out, others not so much), for senior leadership? I don’t care who starts, and Geno seems to be adjusting the lineup based on game circumstances, which is great. Pumped for this year, but what I’m seeing bodes so well for next year.
They meaning the coaching staff?I really feel confused too. Nika played around 21:30 minutes, +/- was +15.
When Nika replaced Paige to play around 15 minutes, +/- was +4.
And when she was on the floor with Paige combined 6:30 minutes, +/- was +11.
Paige played 18:30 minutes on the floor without Nika, +/- was 30.
Nika is better on defensive end. But Idk why they insist that Nika is running better offense than Paige on the floor.
Thank you! It's sad that people watch a game and entirely miss how the other team performs. You don't get this ranking if the team doesn't know how to play solid TEAM defense. You just don't. Watching the game, I was very impressed with the Mercer D relative to the competition. They made UConn work and so will UCF - these are really good games to have early.How about giving Mercer some credit? They’re nationally ranked #12 in FG% defense
FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
Last updated March 19, 2022 - Through games March 18, 2022
RANK TEAM GM OPP FG OPP FGA OPP FG% 1 South Carolina 32 623 1920 32.4 2 UCF 28 477 1431 33.3 3 Liberty 32 579 1707 33.9 4 Tennessee 31 678 1996 34.0 5 Norfolk St. 29 530 1553 34.1 6 Stanford 32 641 1848 34.7 7 Jackson St. 29 638 1833 34.8 8 Princeton 28 508 1455 34.9 9 North Carolina 29 596 1707 34.9 10 Dayton 32 650 1860 34.9 11 Howard 31 643 1836 35.0 12 Mercer 29 593 1686 35.2 13 UC Davis 28 586 1665 35.2 14 UConn 30 610 1732 35.2 15 Charlotte 31 651 1842 35.3 16 SFA 32 629 1777 35.4 17 Montana 30 655 1847 35.5 18 Towson 32 723 2036 35.5