ND complaints thread (further merged)

[hoophuskee]

It's quite possible that there is some hostility amongst the Irish team towards UConn now but it's even more likely that it was generated by their coach, Muffett McGraw and that's sad. You can use a lot of tactics to prepare your team for a powerful opponent but I'm inclined to think her choice as coach was to use the "no respect" and "arrogant" and "pompous" cards to define how UConn perceives the Irish, which had never been the case. Since this silliness started, she's drawn lines in the sand and made what should be mutual respect into total animosity. Shame on her!!!!!!

What's so comical in all of this is that Notre Dame is among the most arrogant schools throughout the nation and they use their football as a bully. Not only that, there presence by going into ACC which in no way they should be - but especially are just a partial member- it limits our chances of getting in.

 

[Deadrody]

I thought about that. He said that at a breakfast, though Muffet was aware of the comments. What coach doesn't say things like that, particularly when dealing with a fragile team like he had last year. He was trying to build up confidence in his team (and fans). He's always praised the ND, just like he's doing now. BTW, Muffet rarely praises opponents.

Well, it happened to be true. All three losses to ND last year were close games and UConn played pretty poorly in all of them. Frankly, it left a feeling with me where I had a much greater sense of ND than their play on the court deserved. After watching UConn beat them in the title game by 20, I'm not sure why I thought they were that good in the first place.

 

[Giovanni]

"I think that got lost," McGraw said. "When we were in the same conference, there was a modicum of it. But I think after beating them and still not feeling any respect for that, we definitely lost something."

Asked whether a more civil relationship could be salvaged, McGraw said, "That would be difficult."

"It's a little like how you would feel about a bully," McGraw said of Connecticut. "I think you have to go in there and attack and not listen to everything that's said."

McGraw said she doesn't think she ever had a close relationship with the outspoken, sometimes bombastic Auriemma, who were both raised in the Philadelphia area.

"There was also some mutual respect when we first started," McGraw said.

McGraw said she thinks Auriemma is looking for a competitive edge. "I think he likes to get under the skin, but we just didn't want to go there," McGraw said.

LINK

Geno rules, Muffet drools! She'll get ovet it.

 

[Deadrody]

Thankfully UConn won decisively so this but, but, but nonsense has been pretty low key.

And, granted, I certainly feel bad for HER not being able to play, but I certainly do not feel bad for ND or their fans.

Why ?

Svetlana Abrosimova missing the last third of her senior season
Shea Ralph X2

If not for ACL injuries, I think its quite possible UConn has 2 more championships in 1997 and 2001. Remember, that 2001 team was missing both Shea and Svet when they lost to ND in the Final Four.

And how about Morgan Tuck ? Sure, ND would be better with Achonwa, but if we're going to talk fantasy hypotheticals, UConn would be nearly as improved with Morgan Tuck.

So I don't want to hear it, really.

 

[DaddyChoc]

She looked stunning on the sideline... as did Ivey!

 

[ctdad]

Okay, as an Irish fan, just because you don't want to hear it, I will address your whine.

Had Achonwa played, Dolson would have been forced to guard her, bringing SD a couple of steps closer to the foul line and possibly opening up a few driving lanes for McBride and Loyd. Without NA, Dolson is able to sag off Braker by 6 feet, clogging the lane and coupled with Stewart playing free safety, eliminated the drive game. Stewart was still back there, so I'm not saying it would have made a huge difference, but getting a shot up over one person is different than trying to get it up over 2. Achonwa also has played well against Dolson in the past.

However, all that being said, IMO Achonwa's presence would have changed only the margin, not the outcome. As well as UConn played, they still win this game by 10 even if ND has Achonwa.

 

[jimazee]

Achonwa certainly would have made some difference...but don't forget Ms. Stokes when you break down the inside game and open driving lanes, etc.

 

[Icebear]

Making a difference is different than saying the score would be closer. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

Wonder what they're saying about this on the ND board.

 

[ctdad]

Wonder what they're saying about this on the ND board.

Pretty much what I said, at least among the regulars. With Achonwa, the Irish would have had a difficult task winning the game, and likley need UConn to play average (relatively speaking) at best. Without her, the task was going to be near impossible, requiring the Irish play almost perfectly and the Huskies to play poorly (for them). Odds of that were extremely low, given the Husky D and UConn ended up playing very well, even relative to their normal excellence.

 

[Deadrody]

Pretty much what I said, at least among the regulars. With Achonwa, the Irish would have had a difficult task winning the game, and likley need UConn to play average (relatively speaking) at best. Without her, the task was going to be near impossible, requiring the Irish play almost perfectly and the Huskies to play poorly (for them). Odds of that were extremely low, given the Husky D and UConn ended up playing very well, even relative to their normal excellence.

Again, in fantasy hypothetical land, UConn also has Morgan Tuck to play inside AND outside. Which at least partly makes up for the difference in having Achonwa

 

[Deadrody]

She looked stunning on the sideline... as did Ivey!

Indeed she did. Indeed she did.

 

[Deadrody]

Okay, as an Irish fan, just because you don't want to hear it, I will address your whine.

Right. I'm whining by complaining that ND fans would consider "what coulda been" in the face of UConn's history with players missing time with injuries.

I didn't even include Nykesha Sales' achilles, either.

 

[huskeynut]

Injuries are a part of the game. ACL injuries especially in the women's game now seem to be the norm.

Now I realize ND only had a week to plan for games without Natalie, but this is a part of coaching that needs to be dealt with.

Every team has faced this. You play the game the best you can and then move on.

 

[ctdad]

Tuck was not a starter, and as much as she would have brought to UConn's team, her minutes come at the expense of somebody else. And, she played what, 8 games this year? Uconn had all season to adjust to her absence, not a week.

And UConn, without her, was obviously good enough to win it. I already said given the way UConn played, the only difference in ND having Achonwa is the score, not the outcome. Nothing woulda, coulda about that.

 

[TDiNozzo]

I've been reading everything I could find the last 2 days..... I haven't found any but, but, buts.... where did you find them to even worry about it?

 

[Shenandoah]

Okay, as an Irish fan, just because you don't want to hear it, I will address your whine.

Had Achonwa played, Dolson would have been forced to guard her, bringing SD a couple of steps closer to the foul line and possibly opening up a few driving lanes for McBride and Loyd. Without NA, Dolson is able to sag off Braker by 6 feet, clogging the lane and coupled with Stewart playing free safety, eliminated the drive game. Stewart was still back there, so I'm not saying it would have made a huge difference, but getting a shot up over one person is different than trying to get it up over 2. Achonwa also has played well against Dolson in the past.

However, all that being said, IMO Achonwa's presence would have changed only the margin, not the outcome. As well as UConn played, they still win this game by 10 even if ND has Achonwa.

And UConn wins by 21+ IF Morgan Tuck is playing...

 

[HoopsFan21]

And UConn wins by 21+ IF Morgan Tuck is playing...

A lot of people forget the kind of player Morgan Tuck is. We're talking about a top 5-caliber recruit, not some end of the bench mop up time player. She was first off the bench when healthy as a freshman and could shoot from outside or play down low. A very talented player that would start anywhere else in the country and could pretty much play anywhere on the court and do a multitude of things very well. I will say that even if UConn had Tuck, that only means we would see more of Tuck instead of Kiah, so I'm not sure it makes a big difference either way. We saw a lot of Tuck last year because she often came in for Doty at the first media time out. UConn didn't exactly light it up shooting-wise, I think somewhere around 45% for the game. Had their outside shots hit their mark, that game would have been really ugly.

 

[Aluminny69]

And UConn wins by 21+ IF Morgan Tuck is playing...

Umm, ND beat UConn three out of four times when BOTH Achonwa and Tuck played.

As a UConn fan, let me say but,but but. I noticed the difference almost immediately. Give Geno credit, he had an advantage and he took it. UConn went at the middle/lowpost from the opening tip. (What does this say about how bad Maryland was?) When comparing the loss of Achonwa to the loss of Tuck, the point is Tuck missed most of the season, Achonwa missed a few games at the beginning of the season, but was playing the best I had seen her play right up until the end of the Regional final game. That's a big difference.

All I can say is that it would have been a different game. ND might have had a few more drives to the basket, and UConn might have a few less points in the paint. It's all pure speculation.

 

[msf22b]

Not exactly on point but in the ball-park are Muffit's closing description of her problems inside:

. We couldn't play them man to man and we couldn't play them zone.
So they went off and running. We couldn't rebound. We had no answer, really, for anything they did.

 

[HuskyNan]

Umm, ND beat UConn three out of four times when BOTH Achonwa and Tuck played.

As a UConn fan, let me say but,but but. I noticed the difference almost immediately. Give Geno credit, he had an advantage and he took it. UConn went at the middle/lowpost from the opening tip. (What does this say about how bad Maryland was?) When comparing the loss of Achonwa to the loss of Tuck, the point is Tuck missed most of the season, Achonwa missed a few games at the beginning of the season, but was playing the best I had seen her play right up until the end of the Regional final game. That's a big difference.

All I can say is that it would have been a different game. ND might have had a few more drives to the basket, and UConn might have a few less points in the paint. It's all pure speculation.

If Achonwa had played, Geno would have game-planned differently, and so would Muffet, so the game we saw the other night would never have happened. We have no way to know what the final outcome would be.

 

[boontonbomber]

Comparing Achonwa's loss to our losing Tuck is just not apples to apples. Achonwa's loss, I think, would be more comparable to us losing Dolson, considering the way Achonwa had been playing. Of course, Uconn still wins, but it would hve been much closer in the second half. I'm sorry that she didn't play.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Tuck was not a starter, and as much as she would have brought to UConn's team, her minutes come at the expense of somebody else. And, she played what, 8 games this year? Uconn had all season to adjust to her absence, not a week.

And UConn, without her, was obviously good enough to win it. I already said given the way UConn played, the only difference in ND having Achonwa is the score, not the outcome. Nothing woulda, coulda about that.

She played very well in last year's semi-final.

 

[zakalex]

But but but they missed Achonwa, sure. But we missed Nakeisha, Shea, Svet, Kalana, Mel, and others. Injuries happen and good coaches coach beyond them. Or not.

 

[UConn990411]

UConn didn't have a single game end closer than 10 points.

Yeah, Achonwa would have made the game more competitive, but the result would've been the same.

 

[JoePgh]

Even such a good coach as Geno could not win an National Championship against Notre Dame in 2001 when Svet and Shea were unavailable. If you were implying that a better Notre Dame coach could have won Tuesday night's game without Achonwa, I think that you are quite mistaken.

 

[ctfjr]

I can't believe this thread was started by a UConn fan. Enough already - nobody that matters is but butting anything.

Ya know, if Bria had hit every 3 point attempt and everyone else didn't miss their shots we would have won by 60. So what.
We won a great game - enjoy it - why be petty

 

[chrissaran]

There's no sense arguing over what might have happened if Natalie had played. We know what did happen. You play with who you have. When the Giants beat the unbeatable Patriots they won without three offensive starters. What happened to all the rebounding ND did against Maryland? UConn happened.

 

[uconnfan68]

If Achonwa had played, Geno would have game-planned differently, as would Muffet, so the game we saw last night would never have happened. We have no way to know what the final outcome would be.

Actually we do. We would have won by at least 21 points. At least they did in the parallel universe I stopped by the other day.

 

[Teacherdeb]

Upon rewatching the championship game, I had to pause and replay several sequences in which it was glaringly evident that the Notre Dame player was falling down to look as if fouled. Michaela Mowbrey especially. I hadn't really looked at this "technique" deliberately before, but sheesh! Some ND players are totally fakin' it- trying to sell fouls. I know this is nothing new to some, but the first time I really saw it. I just think it is like cheating. I wouldn't want my players relying on that.