My thoughts

[Tonyc]

Was at the game with Icebear. Met at City Steam and we had a great time. Saw some of the Boneyarders at the half .

We have alot of height and it caused problems for Pace. Kiah was very active, with a nose for the ball. Kiah also has a very nice wing span. Heather hit the boards hard and played good defense but never took the ball to the hoop, instead passed it out. I would like to see that change. MJ good underneath and looks to score.

Stef is alot of offense, always looking for the ball. Its amazing how good Stef is and shes only a soph. Kiah MJ and Heather did nice jobs hitting the boards and playng defense their height made it difficult for Pace to get shots off. Again our height made it tuff for Pace. With that said and knowing Caroline and KML were on the bench I think we are going to be a more patient team on offense and a team that is going inside more then we have. I see Stef and Kiah playing together alot for a few of reasons. Rebounding, shot blocking, intimidation, just the presence of their height and both can hit the outside shot. BTW Kiah has a very good outside shot. Im looking forward for her to get a couple of games under her belt and that outside shot along with Stefs outside shot are going to be real plus's for UConn.

KMLs outside shot is a must in big games. When I looked at the stats for 3 pointers it wasnt very good. Alot of teams could play us zone and we will have to depend on our height underneath to do the scoring for us. BTW Kiah and Stef can step out and hit outside shots.

We have alot of speed getting out on the break. BB and Tiffany are very quick. On Tiffany I noticed when she bends her knees to much while shooting, there is to much movement in her shot. To many moving parts. When she just stands there and shoots it she makes shots.

Looking at last seasons team and looking at this seasons team I dont see problems scoring. Defense needs work on consistentcy but its there. Offense we replace Mayas outside shot with KMLs. We replace Lorins scoring with BB and Bria with more experience. I think we make up for more then enough scoring. Rebounding will be better. Kiah Heather and MJ looked really good underneath. CD talked about the defense in the second half. In the second half we shut down #44 who was Paces leading scorer in the first half. Again especially in the second half our height caused problems for Pace trying to shoot the ball and trying to get it inside. In the first half I didnt think we played good perimiter defense.

We are going to have to bang the boards this year and we're going to have to use our speed on fast breaks. Our height will cause problems for opponets and our speed (Bria BB and Tiff) will be to much for most teams to handle. I think as the season progresses we will see Kiah as a real outside threat as well as a beast inside.

Stanford is 2 games away.

I think we can cause problems for their guards, with our quickness. The O sisters are going to be a test for our big girls. We are taller then they are and I would expect Stanford to try and get the ball inside. I dont think the O sisters can score facing up with Stef and Kiah infront of them.

TAM

Bone will have her hands full with Stef and Kiah. IMO TAM is one of the most underrated teams in WCBB along with Louisville. TAM is very well coached, and it will be a defensive battle. In the end our height will be the decideing factor.

Baylor

We will have to stay out of foul trouble. I think we slow down Simms. Griner will be kept away from the basket. We will have to make a presence underneath. Stef and Kiah will have to score on Griner. This is going to be a battle. I like that we are playing them in January which should give us enough time to mature as a team.

Overall I like this team alot and they will be a force as they build their chemistry and mature as a team. Alot of quickness and alot of athletic height. All this talk about losing Mayas scoring. That dosnt concern me. Remember Stef and Bria werent where they are today at this point last season. We didnt have Kiah and BB last season who can not only contribute with minutes but also contribute scoring. This version of UConn is going to be a very tuff out come January. I expect them to stumble forward a little bit until then as they learn to play together.

 

[magical2]

Tony how did you manage to over ride the limit imposed on the length of a post?

 

[EricLA]

good analysis tony. ur the voice of reason today. my dad also was at the game and basically said he agreed with what CD said with regards to the first half, but not so much in the 2nd half. it isn't just that we were scoring more, but that the offense was better - better rotation, screens, passing, etc. and the defense was better too. granted it was Pace, but 15 points or whatever in the 2nd half was a good effort.

he had a couple comments on the players. said Stef is exactly where he expected her to be given her improvements last year and her work over the summer. that's not an insult as his expectations were very high of her. said he was amazed at how fast she gets the shot off. she receives the pass and in literally a half second she's pivoted one side or the other and the shot is off. but he did say he was disappointed with Bria. she still spends too much time moving horizontally with the ball, and given all her time with team USA over the summer, he really expected her to be markedly improved. in this his expectations were not met.

he said even tho Tiff's shot was off, she somehow scored 24 points which surprised him as he only recalled seeing her score about 10. i told him it was his old eyes.

he pretty much agreed with everything else you said. Kiah is good for a frosh and has lots of potential. BB is lightning fast. MJ and Heather are better than last year, as was Lauren, but he's not sure they will see a ton of time. Kelly was, well, Kelly.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Wait! Tony is the voice of reason??

A few points of disagreement. Yes, Kaleena will replace Maya's outside shot and probably do even better. But in terms of offensive put-backs and in-close scoring, we are still looking for the source of those.

Stanford has Tinkle and Booth in addition to the O sisters. They are not smaller than us. Tara says that Nneka really improved over the summer. That is a scary thought. They will test Stef and Kiah.

I think our strength is not in our height this year (but wait until we add Bree and Morgan!). Though Stef is absolutely a key player--perhaps THE key player--how Tiffany, Bria, Kaleena, Kelly, and Caroline play will more often make the difference for us.

I am not too concerned about last night. I think Geno and CD might have given the team an F. I'd make it maybe C-. Considering that Caroline and Kaleena were out, maybe B-.

 

[VAUConnFan]

The Baylor game is in December; One less month to mature as a team.

 

[ladybears4eva]

[Baylor

We will have to stay out of foul trouble. I think we slow down Simms. Griner will be kept away from the basket. We will have to make a presence underneath. Stef and Kiah will have to score on Griner. This is going to be a battle. I like that we are playing them in January which should give us enough time to mature as a team.[/quote]

Interesting perspective, I think Destiny Williams is a beast this year in offense, defense and leadership. Our guard play(not just SIMS) has improved with the likes of TAMU schooling us late last season, and the added value of the determination to be the best. (both ideas rooted from Mulkey interviews and exhibition game play).

Madden and Hayden have definitely grown up this summer with it comes to driving to the basket, and it is notable that the "no charge arc" has had an effect on their play from the two games in exhibition.

In the Post, Griner is a beast and I find it interesting that both UCONN and VOL boards have a hard time accepting BGs dominance in the post. I say its inevitable that Griner will dominate the game in the post, and that any chance of teams beating us this year will come from excessive pressure to the guards. The UCONN vs BAYLOR game, will come down to a few things:
Hartley, Farris/KML, Hayes' ability to apply pressure and take the pressure from our elite guards, in other words TurnOVERS.

Another key stat, last time we played in Hartford, we were able to score over 50% shooting for the night, even with amazing Maya's defensive prowress. ( she is so athletic and smart, it was scary)

IMO Hartley had way too many turn overs for exhibition play against a Div. 2 team, i thought she would do much better this year with that. It must be a work in progress.

I think if anynody wants to beat us, they just need to look at the TAMU elite 8 game, where our guards were overwhelmed by the two guards (Sidney Carter and Sydney Colson) and the help defensive ability of Tyra white/Elonu. They knew our team too well for comfort. It was so painful to watch.

 

[rington]

Wait! Tony is the voice of reason??

A few points of disagreement. Yes, Kaleena will replace Maya's outside shot and probably do even better. But in terms of offensive put-backs and in-close scoring, we are still looking for the source of those.

Stanford has Tinkle and Booth in addition to the O sisters. They are not smaller than us. Tara says that Nneka really improved over the summer. That is a scary thought. They will test Stef and Kiah.

I think our strength is not in our height this year (but wait until we add Bree and Morgan!). Though Stef is absolutely a key player--perhaps THE key player--how Tiffany, Bria, Kaleena, Kelly, and Caroline play will more often make the difference for us.

I am not too concerned about last night. I think Geno and CD might have given the team an F. I'd make it maybe C-. Considering that Caroline and Kaleena were out, maybe B-.

 

[Tonyc]

[Baylor

We will have to stay out of foul trouble. I think we slow down Simms. Griner will be kept away from the basket. We will have to make a presence underneath. Stef and Kiah will have to score on Griner. This is going to be a battle. I like that we are playing them in January which should give us enough time to mature as a team.

Interesting perspective, I think Destiny Williams is a beast this year in offense, defense and leadership. Our guard play(not just SIMS) has improved with the likes of TAMU schooling us late last season, and the added value of the determination to be the best. (both ideas rooted from Mulkey interviews and exhibition game play).

Madden and Hayden have definitely grown up this summer with it comes to driving to the basket, and it is notable that the "no charge arc" has had an effect on their play from the two games in exhibition.

In the Post, Griner is a beast and I find it interesting that both UCONN and VOL boards have a hard time accepting BGs dominance in the post. I say its inevitable that Griner will dominate the game in the post, and that any chance of teams beating us this year will come from excessive pressure to the guards. The UCONN vs BAYLOR game, will come down to a few things:
Hartley, Farris/KML, Hayes' ability to apply pressure and take the pressure from our elite guards, in other words TurnOVERS.

Another key stat, last time we played in Hartford, we were able to score over 50% shooting for the night, even with amazing Maya's defensive prowress. ( she is so athletic and smart, it was scary)

IMO Hartley had way too many turn overs for exhibition play against a Div. 2 team, i thought she would do much better this year with that. It must be a work in progress.

I think if anynody wants to beat us, they just need to look at the TAMU elite 8 game, where our guards were overwhelmed by the two guards (Sidney Carter and Sydney Colson) and the help defensive ability of Tyra white/Elonu. They knew our team too well for comfort. It was so painful to watch.[/quote]
Nice post and welcome. BU shot 50% because UConn was in big time foul trouble and Stef and Bria were early season frosh. I dont think BU shoots 50% is UConn is plagued by fouls and can play defense foul free.