ND Postgame Thread

[Centerstream]

Can't help but notice a bunch of folks that have been infrequent or nonexistent posters here on the UConn WBB forum that were evidently compelled to crawl out of the woodwork tonight in order to trash Geno, the players and the team.

Nice to hear from you.....

Glad you posted this!!! Appears to be the same situation in the Chat a lot.

 

[uconnever]

We need to focus on Hidalgo next time we play them. Stop her and we win. Easier said than done but someone on our team needs to take these things personal. We seem to be recruiting a different type of player these days and we need to not just focus on play but we need some players with attitude. Like a Swin, Asia or Shea. I can name a lot more. They were great players but they were not gonna take any crap. We have very few of those players on our team. Too nice. This is why our Kryptonite will be Notre Dame and South Carolina, not only are they good players but they are tough as a team. Geno needs to look at these things more, our girls while I love all of them, they are too nice. Ice I’m finding out will not be what I expected for this reason only. She has all the talent in the world but you can’t teach heart and toughness. I know it’s one game but we will need a little luck to win the title, mainly avoid these physical teams. We are mostly finess.

 

[Tonyc]

A big point was Strong getting in foul trouble and ND built their lead. Of course no Azzi either. Strong no in foul trouble things may have been different. Geno needs more athletic scorers. Just think if no injuries Paige Azzi Sarah Caroline and Ice/Jana That lineup cant be beat. Just a thought.

 

[hart2hart]

Blue baller, how come no face guarding on Hildago, no double screens for Paige. This loss is on Geno. Period.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Disappointing performance. Got torched by another small guard. Come on Geno....

Geno tried to guard her, but at his age Hildago was just to quick for him.

 

[Zonepress]

I see potential with Jana but it isn’t realized enough yet. Too many open shots for ND, UConn couldn’t defend the high screen except by doubling up on penetrating guard. But, that seemed to always leave someone open, and ND made UConn pay. so, they have to create better defense for that play. UConn only had two offensive threats tonight in Strong and Paige. Wish we saw more of Q, Allie, or Morgan. Didn’t get enough from the bigs tonight either.

Q had a nervous turnover in a brief appearance

 

[BostonCanuck]

Paige/Sarah 1-4 pick and roll would have had both eating all game long and opened things up for others but as we know Geno would rather have Paige off ball and making the game more complicated than it needs to be.

Exactly. The Huskies looked completely lost on their half-court sets tonight. Countless times they were in a good dribble-drive or outside shooting situation, only to pass it off into something far more disadvantageous. And that's before considering the live ball turnovers that resulted from many of those pass attempts.

 

[HuskieDawg]

I just love how the men’s board fans pop in after every loss

Huge fan of your profile pic…

 

[Blueballer]

Can't help but notice a bunch of folks that have been infrequent or nonexistent posters here on the UConn WBB forum that were evidently compelled to crawl out of the woodwork tonight in order to trash Geno, the players and the team.

Nice to hear from you.....

Oh yeah. Nothing like an opportunity to be negative as a motivator. Some people live for it.

 

[CTBballfan243]

A big point was Strong getting in foul trouble and ND built their lead. Of course no Azzi either. Strong no in foul trouble things may have been different. Geno needs more athletic scorers. Just think if no injuries Paige Azzi Sarah Caroline and Ice/Jana That lineup cant be beat. Just a thought.

Yes is can. You listed a lot of slow players on the defensive end of the floor.

 

[Zonepress]

Paige/Sarah 1-4 pick and roll would have had both eating all game long and opened things up for others but as we know Geno would rather have Paige off ball and making the game more complicated than it needs to be.

Agree

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Geno needs more athletic scorers.

Right, but he can't run down to the athletic scorer store and get some. Griffin and Patterson were supposed to be the great athletes on the team and they are endlessly hurt.

 

[freshler40]

Their guards outplayed our guards

Our center/forward X Strong only gathered 5 rebounds and posted 8 points? ND commanded the boards especially in the first half. We were slow to the ball and didn't play with much fire it seemed.

We did make a couple of good runs with drives to the hoop. Our 3 pt shooting continues to be a problem. It's often rushed as our high picks are too soft and not close enough to be effective. ND used there picks and reverse picks much more effectively throughout this contest. Seems like our offense is too centered on Paige which take us too long to get into our offense. Just look at the low number of assists in this game by the Huskies.

 

[baggerbob]

Some thoughts on the Notre Dame game;

• Two teams dealing with injuries to key players, but one of the biggest games of the regular season nonetheless.
• Both teams came out a little tight. Shots weren’t falling and turnovers were mounting. But then the Irish drained 3 straight shots from the arc to take a 6-pt lead at the end of the 1st qtr. From that point on, UConn was playing from behind and struggling to find their rhythm.
• The Huskies fought their way back into the game in the 3rd qtr, throwing the Irish off balance by playing zone defense and hitting their shots on offense. But ND took control again in the 4th qtr, as the Irish clearly outplayed the Huskies tonight.
• Teams are doing everything they can to stop Paige from taking over games including face guarding her with their best defender, doubling her to get the ball out of her hands and getting physical with her anytime she attempts to make a cut. So far it’s been working pretty well. Many of the shots Paige hit tonight had a really high degree of difficulty. She ended up with 25 points on 11/20 shooting, none of which was particularly easy.
• In the end, it was just too much Hidalgo. You can’t play off her because she’ll kill you from the arc. But if you play her tight, she’ll blow by you and either score or kick the ball out to open teammates. WBB will have its hands full trying to figure out how to defend her for the next 3 seasons.
• Well, Geno and his coaches have a bunch of things to work on.
• Next up is Georgetown at XL and then two more ranked teams, Iowa St and USC. This will be a critical 3-game stretch for the Huskies.
• Keep your chins up. Azzi and Aubrey will get healthy and better days are ahead.

They need Azzi to free up Paige, so she doesn't get worn out.

 

[Surly1]

This was a good loss for the Huskies. Citron stuck to Paige like white on rice. Paige had her moments but we never saw the NC State takeover Bueckers emerge. Strong had some freshman moments, was in foul trouble and that limited her aggressiveness. Chen did the best she could. No one else really emerged and without Azzi, the perimeter shooting was never there.

For everyone rallying for El Alfy to have Ice’s minute, she did and you saw what that did with them. UConn’s lack of a rim protector was evident and no guard Geno put in could handle ND’s pressure. KK, Shade, Cheli, Samuels. Losses like this are good, Notre Dame seems better after back-to-back losses and I think UConn, like them, will learn from this.

The difference between that NC St game and tonight was she didn't have the ball in her hands at the top of the key. In 4th quarters, I'd rather she have the ball and create, either for shot or a pick and roll with Sarah.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Wasn't the best game, but I still believe #12 is coming. When Strong picked up 3...changed the offense, especially with Shade having an off night. Fudd and Aubrey hurry up and get back!

 

[jaydee602]

No excuses, the better team won tonight. But I wish this game was later in the season. UCONN is still trying to find the right combinations with their deep roster & Aubrey could have also contributed inside.
Notre Dame is a very strong team & they are already set with their lineup.

 

[uconnever]

Chen and KK played well. Sarah played well and Paige played well considering she was being beat up and had to do a lot all night. Jana I think will be an asset as well, she just needs time.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Hitting a few more 3s would have helped.....Paige really didn't show up until the 2nd half. Tough game against a really good team, without Hildago they are barely top 10. Hopefully Strong learn from this, and Jana who at times looked good. I don't understand why Geno pulled Shade, she is a much better shooter than KK...and that mess at the end of the 1st half with Chelli or Ziebel and Samuels was questionable. Hardly any assists.

Shade 0-5 Still not ready for prime time

 

[Stagnant]

I like shade and it looks great sometimes. But there is a pattern of offensive performances like this against the big opponents.

 

[uconnever]

We just need to be more aggressive as a whole, we never force them to guard hard and maybe get them into foul trouble, it’s always the other way around and it has a lot to do with a players personality, our players are always less aggressive.

 

[mainerhuski]

We need to focus on Hidalgo next time we play them. Stop her and we win. Easier said than done but someone on our team needs to take these things personal. We seem to be recruiting a different type of player these days and we need to not just focus on play but we need some players with attitude. Like a Swin, Asia or Shea. I can name a lot more. They were great players but they were not gonna take any crap. We have very few of those players on our team. Too nice. This is why our Kryptonite will be Notre Dame and South Carolina, not only are they good players but they are tough as a team. Geno needs to look at these things more, our girls while I love all of them, they are too nice. Ice I’m finding out will not be what I expected for this reason only. She has all the talent in the world but you can’t teach heart and toughness. I know it’s one game but we will need a little luck to win the title, mainly avoid these physical teams. We are mostly finess.

Miles & Citron can make you pay if you focus too much on Hidalgo.

 

[freshler40]

Question: why doesn’t Geno utilize more of a 2 man game approach with Strong and Bueckers? They have the perfect skill set to execute it, and if defense collapses both are strong passers to find the open player. I feel like everything should be running through those 2 offensively rather than Chen/Arnold dribbling so much.

Why did our coaches have the team run down the clock in much of the 4th qtr. We seemed to lack the passion to score, just dribble.

 

[Chet71]

Read my lips "Losing an away game to ND in December means NOTHING in the big picture". Except of course NOBODY here wants to ever lost to ND. I get it. But they shot 55% from 3 and we shot 20%. When we play them again thias year (?) that could be completely the opposite. And to the chicken littles in the chat room of course it demonstrates hardening of the arteries for the UCONN program. Well what else is new? Chat room coaches are a dime a dozen. Time to review my ignore list.

Read my lips "Losing an away game to ND in December means NOTHING in the big picture". Except of course NOBODY here wants to ever lost to ND. I get it. But they shot 55% from 3 and we shot 20%. When we play them again thias year (?) that could be completely the opposite. And to the chicken littles in the chat room of course it demonstrates hardening of the arteries for the UCONN program. Well what else is new? Chat room coaches are a dime a dozen. Time to review my ignore list.

If memory serves….when Stewart was a freshman the Huskies lost 3 games against ND in a season that ended with an ncaa title. Apples to oranges comparison I suppose but still …..

 

[AzzisBraids]

The difference between that NC St game and tonight was she didn't have the ball in her hands at the top of the key. In 4th quarters, I'd rather she have the ball and create, either for shot or a pick and roll with Sarah.

I agree with you friend and am hoping she runs the point more. She attracts so much attention that you'd rather it be in the backcourt