Northeastern Postgame Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Northeastern Postgame Thread

The number of fouls have been mentioned here but what stuck out to me was I think every UConn player got hit in the face by a Northeastern player during the game. Way too often. And often not in tight contact. I actually was not at all upset by Amari's Technical. I thought originally it was bogus but in review it was definitely a foul but did not seem intentional. I loved her being feisty. Great hook shot. I absolutely loved Geno's comment about Ayanna where he said he saw a couple Stewie rebounds tonight.
 
Bills Fan said:
It just hit me that 4/5 of our starting lineup are foreign players. Who would ever have thunk that?
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That's because, generally, foreigners have better fundamentals, eh? The play of the night occurred when Ines stole the pass, made a looong pass to Lou downcourt who made an acrobatic pass to Aubrey for the lay-in! Ines & Lou have gr8 court vision and other superior fundamentals!
 
All of the non-starters are so much fun to watch.
They're so athletic and everyone hustled, even Amari.
She showed some grit and that she belongs.
A few air balls shows that everyone gets tuckered out from all of the running.
Azzi is simply outstanding, she's technically perfect in so many respects.
Never a wasted move, she's like lava that flows smooth, runs super hot & efficiently fills in all of the cracks.
 
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sun said:
All of the non-starters are so much fun to watch.
They're so athletic and everyone hustled, even Amari.
She showed some grit and that she belongs.
A few air balls shows that everyone gets tuckered out from all of the running.
Azzi is simply outstanding, she's technically perfect in so many respects.
Never a wasted move, she's like lava that flows smooth, runs super hot & efficiently fills in all of the cracks.
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:D
 
So far I like what I see but anxious to see Caroline back….it will gives us more depth and more versatility.
I am anxious and a bit apprehensive about Monday but we are blue bloods so we will meet the moment.
Is early but Geno CD and the coaching staff barring any major injuries (knock on wood) will have this team come March, firing in all cylinders.
 
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HuskyNan said:
The intentional was a bogus call. She got nailed with the same type of play earlier and it was a common foul.

The TOs are a lack of game experience. I was glad to see the hustle and doing the little things, like tipping balls. She was moving like she had a purpose
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Liked the big step up for Amari despite the poor decision bounce passes. She was very engaged in this game! She has grown well and will be a key player with more playing time.

Dorka needs to keep the ball up high after her rebounds. She immediately takes it down where the Nikas of the world exist. Other than that, we are structure for success at all positions and show little drop off and even some pick-up with bench energy. WOW, this is some team.

Many ref calls were suspect. They too are in early season form at some positions.
 
Stymie said:
Geez….
Sense of humor is in short supply here
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Yea. The belittling of a specific player here on the BY of a kid who literally gives her all. Has worn the fabric of our patience kind of thin.

I've actually ignored two poster who can't quit attacking her. Probably because the fabric of my patience now has a big duck**ing hole worn through.
 
Bigboote said:
The stat of the game for me: ONE rebound for the guards. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- UConn won the boards 46-30. It indicates just how much Aaliyah, Dorka, Ayanna, and Aubrey vacuumed up the misses.

I love the energy this team plays with.

This is the Azzi we've all been waiting to see.

Lou is a much better all-round player than I'd expected. She has great footwork on defense, loved her taking charges.

I really really hope Caroline is able to play against Texas. I'm worried about Nika and Ayanna fouling. OTOH, I trust that the fear of the wrath of CD will at least keep Nika in check.
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Lou definitely does not move her feet well on defense. She moves like she is in quicksand. Her offense is where she separates herself. The time she takes to get her 3 point shot off worries me a little because the better teams she s gonna have less time to shoot but she’s gifted on offense and smart which will hide a lot of her defensive shortcomings. The things that stood out on the negative side were Dorka needs to finish better down low because that’s really her only negative but she will be needed down there most. Nika gets sloppy running the offense at times and needs to stop fouling and Lou’s defense on the ball. Really if those things get better, we can have a usual UConn season. If not 5-6 losses and a possible loss in the elite 8 depending on who we play
 
Looking at the box score UConn showed good numbers at each position. Rebounders rebounded and scored. Scorers scored. We made our foul shots at a high percentage. Defense was tuff especially Nika Yanna Griff and Azzi. We have alot of balance and we played as a team not looking for Paige. Thats huge. Texas will be a test and I like our chances.
 
Huskee11 said:
Azzi couldn`t hit from three but did everything else very well, including handling the ball and playing defense. She can play the point and is a good defender. With her foot problem taken care of, we are seeing a much quicker player this year.
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What impressed me the most about Azzi was that she didn’t let her poor 3-pt shooting impact her game. She did exactly what Geno preaches: there are many ways to affect the game. She stayed calm, kept shooting, and showed a level of confidence she didn’t have last year.

Geno is building her up beautifully. He knows he needs her to play well. That’s a lot of pressure for Azzi, but he is growing her confidence. She’s doing a lot of the media interviews now which shows how much he trusts her.
 
Zinethar said:
The number of fouls have been mentioned here but what stuck out to me was I think every UConn player got hit in the face by a Northeastern player during the game. Way too often. And often not in tight contact. I actually was not at all upset by Amari's Technical. I thought originally it was bogus but in review it was definitely a foul but did not seem intentional. I loved her being feisty. Great hook shot. I absolutely loved Geno's comment about Ayanna where he said he saw a couple Stewie rebounds tonight.
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I noticed the number of face hits too. It’s rare to have a face hit where the player reacts to the contact, and the number was far above normal in this game.
 
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I think this team is going to be at least as good as the team that eventually got us to the NC game last year. There, I said it.

Yes, we don’t have Paige, who was a bit rickety down the stretch, probably from carrying the team as far as she did. But Azzi looks to be a much fuller court presence than she was last year and will only grow her game, even to titanic proportions.

And our front court depth seems better with Aubrey back, and could get to be much better as Ayanna and Amari develop. Our energy on the boards is phenomenal even now, and this was a weakness.

Our post scoring could become much better than last year, even if it seems a little erratic now. Aaliyah and Dorka look to be rising stars. And they will benefit from the next item, our perimeter game.

Our perimeter game is much better than last year, as is our ability to score in the midrange. We haven’t lost any punch in this area despite graduating 2 great players and may have gained a lot. We lost the NPOY but have somehow gotten stronger. And we haven’t even seen Caroline play yet.

Our primary opponent, SC, is probably just as strong as they were last year. PG is a question mark, but they have several candidates to make that position work. By contrast, we could bring a much stronger team to this matchup. I like our chances in the rematch before the tournament. Aaliyah and Aubrey look like they’re ready to bring the strength and energy we’ll need, and Dorka could well be a factor who can’t be accounted for in that game. If we win, we’d have to be the favorite in the tournament. But even if we lose this first game, I think we’ll come back for the rematch in the NC game even stronger.

Other teams may have gotten better from last year — Stanford, Texas, Louisville, ND, even Tennessee — but I really like our chances against all of them. There could be surprises early on, and of course injuries could derail this train. But if we beat Texas and NCst convincingly, and then Duke and Iowa, I even like our chances to run the table.

Even if we don’t get NC #12 this year, if we get knocked off in the FF, say to SC or Stanford, but play tough the whole way, imagine the consternation the rest of D1 will feel in view of the team we’ll bring back the following year.
 
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Nika had 3 personal fouls, big freakin deal. One of them shouldn't have been called. On the plus side, she had 7 assists and 6 steals. When you play the face-to-face defense that she plays fouls are bound to be called. At no time did her fouls affect her play or the teams play. Thats her game, and I wouldn't like her any other way.
 
Charliebball said:
Glad to see that Geno played Deberry far earlier in the game tonight and even with mixed results, I think it will do wonders for her confidence.............she certainly didn't hurt the team when she was on the court......
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4 Turnovers in such a brief amount of time did hurt the team....

Honestly, this team had 17 turnovers against Northeastern and only 19 assists. Aubrey and Amari were the main culprits with 4 TOs each, that can't happen....
 
eebmg said:
Yes, her energy and willingness to mix it up was a lot better but those TO's (4 in a quarter) are glaring and the intentional foul was brutal.

It is quite interesting to see and compare the controlled aggression and mastery of Aaliyah and Dorka in comparison to the raw intensity of Ayanna and Amari

I do have a feeling Aubrey has turned the corner. I think she will have a massive game against TX on par with her demolition of TN her freshman year
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How her foul and different from the elbow she took?? If the first wasn't a tech, hers shouldn't have been. The turnovers, meh........ they were passes. Did she force them?? probably, but at least it didn't look like the turnovers from the scrimmage.
 
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Majic Hands said:
I happen to to be pleased with Amari tonight.

Amari, Was, Engaged.
I'm thinking that she keeps putting in the effort she'll get more minutes.

If she keeps earning minutes she can be a contributor by the end of the year.

Just my opinion
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IMO patience is what is needed instead of over-analyzing each game. With that said, I expect her to be okay this year. Ups and downs like many underclassmen. But be a contributor. Remember how bad Edwards was the 1st half of last year? And Liv certainly wasn't a ball of fire her soph year either. And I always look at Stokes; From early on she didn't look like much but progressed each year and imo her senior year was one of the great UCONN defenders that UCONN ever had. Absolute joy to watch.

A great quote from Al Maguire was "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." And now looking back at Edwards I thought her 2nd half of last year she was terrific. And now we see as an upperclassman she's looking up toward a bigger year - a natural progression from frosh to soph to jr to sr. The same happened with Stokes in regard to progression.
 
' I absolutely loved Geno's comment about Ayanna where he said he saw a couple Stewie rebounds tonight.'
nose for the ball.
can't teach it, and when it comes in a physical package like she has, the sky is the limit.
all that's left for her to do in her ascent is to season the sauce with game experience. a freshman integral player needs to understand that they are, in fact, integral, that the team fundamentally needs them, and so being available to play, ie the foul learning curve, is priority one.
Texas provides an excellent opportunity for her to further understand her fundamental role in the pursuit of a championship. can't do squattola sitting and watching. too soon to judge, but im certain that she'll get it.
and the ball, too.
 
oldude said:
Some thoughts on the Northeastern game:
  • Fast start tonight for the Huskies, and they really never let up. Love the fact that Nika buried a 3 to open the game. Lots of good ball and player movement on offense. Lots of relentless ball pressure on defense.
  • Aaliyah is becoming the player we all thought she would be after her freshman season. She is really active at both ends of the court. She’s making better decisions on the court. Her offensive repertoire has expanded significantly and she’s even giving Azzi a run for her money as the best FT shooter on the team. :rolleyes:
  • Speaking of Azzi, her 0/7 start from the arc before finally knocking one down was a bit of a shock, but it forced her to find another way to impact the game. She did so by effectively attacking the basket time after time.
  • We’ve all been hearing that Aubrey is a better shooter this season. Tonight we got to witness it. Aubrey knocked down her first two shots: a midrange jumper and a 3, and followed that with a couple nice drives to the basket. It’s all about confidence!!!
  • Nika continues to be the driving force for this team, and a pain in the ass for opponents. If I were an opposing player, I would absolutely, positively HATE playing against her……
  • Some nice things from Amari tonight including a left-handed hook shot and a Steph Dolson blindside screen. :eek: I even liked her block & intentional foul.
  • So far so good. Monday night at Gampel will be UConn’s first big test of the season. Many basketball pundits have downplayed UConn’s chances to earn #12 this year, or even reach another FF. I personally expect the Huskies will make a very loud statement vs the Longhorns on Monday night. LET’S GO HUSKIES!!!
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All of my Top 3 things you want to see were achieved with Aubrey making two outside shots, one being a three, putting the biggest smile on my face.
 
I know this is premature, but we’ll be asking it in earnest after Texas and NCst, but I fell like I should reconsider my estimate for our scoring this season. I’d imagined they’d average in the mid-80s. Now I’m thinking low-90s.
 
DefenseBB said:
4 Turnovers in such a brief amount of time did hurt the team....

Honestly, this team had 17 turnovers against Northeastern and only 19 assists. Aubrey and Amari were the main culprits with 4 TOs each, that can't happen....
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Deberry hardly hurt the outcome of the game and she did contribute points and a few blocks too...........gotta walk before you can run and games like this are a perfect setting for her..........would you rather have her sitting on the bench?
 
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Bone Dog said:
I know this is premature, but we’ll be asking it in earnest after Texas and NCst, but I fell like I should reconsider my estimate for our scoring this season. I’d imagined they’d average in the mid-80s. Now I’m thinking low-90s.
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not scoring in the 90's and possibly even in the 80's against Texas or NC St...........I frankly don't care how much they score as long as they win.......
 
I’m old, I worry….plenty of weapons on this years team, sharp shooters, sharp passers. I still don’t see the player that will be able to stop the dominant big from getting the rebound or basket at the crucial time. Perhaps given this teams athleticism we will be able to blitzkreig our way to a win most games. Still I worry.
 
I think we can slow down a dominant big. I’ve said it before: we don’t need to shutdown someone like Boston or Morrow. We just have to make their double-double not matter to end result. We’ve won multiple NCs without having that dominant 6’5” player. Well, we have a couple of bigs, and several super-athletic 4s. I think this combination can do the job. If only Jemelle can impart a little of her ferocity to them.
 
Bone Dog said:
I think we can slow down a dominant big. I’ve said it before: we don’t need to shutdown someone like Boston or Morrow. We just have to make their double-double not matter to end result. We’ve won multiple NCs without having that dominant 6’5” player. Well, we have a couple of bigs, and several super-athletic 4s. I think this combination can do the job. If only Jemelle can impart a little of her ferocity to them.
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It may very well be way too much to ask of Patterson at this very early stage of her career but she has the most important attributes to post defense; she has size and strength, is athletic with good feet and plays an absolutely fearless, hard, hustling game.
 
Lots of positives. This team played like the coherent veteran team that they are. No letdown from no ONO.

Juhasz and Edwards look the most comfortable and effective together on the court that I've seen them.

Aubrey was very strong. So happy that that young lady is playing seemingly without physical hindrance.

Senechal is very impressive, not just because of her sure-shot threes, but because she plays as though she's been playing with these UConn teammates forever!

The only ominous feature was that we played just seven players, essentially. DeBerry and Ines came in for a few meaningless minutes toward the end. But our starters and two off the bench played heavy minutes in what was a blowout. This is when one hopes that the starters are sent to the bench to rest. I recall that Maya used to play barely 20 minutes per game, relaxing for the rest of it on the bench.

Hope Ducharme recovers quickly and completely. But once again we're seeing rather opaque explanations of injuries from UConn. A "sore neck" that goes on this long is not just a "sore neck." This sounds like a disc problem, perhaps a pinched nerve. And if that's the case, surgery could be on the horizon.

But this is a very efficient, very well trained team whose players play with seamless precision as though they've been playing together since middle school.
 
On Lou’s defense: she does extraordinary things, like getting in the passing lanes and working the press, can even take a charge. Her weaker side seems to be face up defense in the half court set. An opponent can get her to turn her hips too soon. That said, her D is not worse than KML, who was perhaps better fundamentally, but lacked Lou’s foot speed.

On Azzi’s offense: she’s shown us awesome perimeter shooting and an awesome ability to take the ball to the rim. What we haven’t seen much yet this season is her pull up jumper. This means we have more revelations to look forward to.

On team D: i really felt for Derin Erdogan. She was overwhelmed by the pressure from Azzi Nika and Lou. This had to be a really frustrating game for her.
 
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