Ono??? I hope Geno knows what he is doing.

[CTtoSanDiego]

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

 

[Najee76]

He's done it to Stewie and Tina, he will not coddle them. You either get your mind set to compete or you don't play. It's up to her to figure it out, not him to patronize her insecurities. Go Huskies!

 

[Dove]

Aft

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

After winning 11 titles you hope Geno knows what he's doing? Okaaaay.

It would have helped Olivia by being ready tonight.

 

[baggerbob]

He's done it to Stewie and Tina, he will not coddle them. You either get your mind set to compete or you don't play. It's up to her to figure it out, not him to patronize her insecurities. Go Huskies!

He benched Stewie and Tuck for the night, after 5 minutes one game. If you don't play the right way you sit.

 

[eebmg]

Liv had 2 ridiculous fouls She deserved to sit and absorb her mistakes. I imagine Smith may not have gone off like she did if Liv was in the game and not in foul trouble.

 

[baggerbob]

Liv had 2 ridiculous fouls She deserved to sit and absorb her mistakes. I imagine Smith may not have gone off like she did if Liv was in the game and not in foul trouble.

She needs to get rid of that falling away jump shot. She's 6-5, she needs to go up strong, and draw some fouls.

 

[eebmg]

She needs to get rid of that falling away jump shot. She's 6-5, she needs to go up strong, and draw some fouls.

Got to Disagree. She went up strong all game but got stuffed or lost the ball. The fadeaway is a good option against a top level center who is more massive than she is. She tried one fade away and it would have been fine except by that time, her confidence was zero and she short armed it. If it is good enough for Tina Charles, it it good enough for Liv. And while we are at it, going into Stewie's archives for a nice hook shot would be nice.

 

[Watchdog]

Olivia was totally intimidated by Cox. She was 0 for 8 from the field, with 6 rebounds and 1 block in 23 minutes!

 

[Littlemin]

She needs to get rid of that falling away jump shot. She's 6-5, she needs to go up strong, and draw some fouls.

Right now she does not have going up strong in her game. On offense, her habit of bringing the ball down to her waist and releasing her shot at about shoulder height negates her height advantage.

 

[Glenn]

I think Liv sat because Geno was looking for some offense and she was not helping in that area. Her defense was fine. Same story for Aubrey.

 

[willtalk]

She may never be a strong post-up center. Her body is more like a small forwards. What she needs to work on is some finesse post moves. Hook shots and such. There are many players her size who are working on their outside game because they do not want to bang inside. Being 6'5" is not going to get you by on height alone anymore. Too many other big gals in the game today.

Another good reason to get out of the AAC. I doubt there are very many big post players to challenge your self against. You get better by playing against better players.

 

[Checkmate 2.0]

Olivia was totally intimidated by Cox. She was 0 for 8 from the field, with 6 rebounds and 1 block in 23 minutes!

intimidated? no, outmuscled

 

[Dokey]

Look at Liv’s arms. She’s tall. She’s not a big

 

[southofnorth]

She may never be a strong post-up center. Her body is more like a small forwards. What she needs to work on is some finesse post moves. Hook shots and such. There are many players her size who are working on their outside game because they do not want to bang inside. Being 6'5" is not going to get you by on height alone anymore. Too many other big gals in the game today.

Another good reason to get out of the AAC. I doubt there are very many big post players to challenge your self against. You get better by playing against better players.

This is what I’m thinking, too. She’s tall so she’ll have to play in the paint for UConn, but she hasn’t been consistently effective against other players her size. She’s only a sophomore so I have no doubt she’ll be better in time, but there’s definitely a lot of work ahead of her.

 

[uconnever]

Yeah I was disappointed in her, but to her defense, she doesn’t have all that much experience. I’m glad he benched her. I could see in her that she will respond the right way. We won’t really see it until next year some time but she will explode. We just need strong big bodies. Deberry and Liv aren’t bangers. Gabriel I’m unsure about. That recruiting wish list for 2021 should definitely include a big strong rough post. These Baylor girls and South Carolina with Boston is gonna be problems for the foreseeable future. Boston is gonna eat Liv’s lunch in that game.

 

[VAMike23]

Right now she does not have going up strong in her game. On offense, her habit of bringing the ball down to her waist and releasing her shot at about shoulder height negates her height advantage.

Bingo

This is why Liv’s upside is big, but the path is also steep. She’s improved a bunch but still has fundamental issues that take time to fix.

 

[CL82]

After winning 11 titles you hope Geno knows what he's doing

Well sure he's done okay if you use that as metric.

 

[Blue Huskie]

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

That's very magnanamous of you

 

[Woof 101]

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

Relax CTtoSD.....As for deflation that is CDs specialty, her and Geno have been playing good cop bad cop for years and they have done OK. I brought a friend to the game tonight, big time multi sports fan but a little newer to the woman's game. He was looking at all the banners in the rafters in awe. "He said are you kidding me?"

It was later in the game and he asked why is Ododa not in the game. I told him Geno is not perfect and I personally have seen mistakes he has made, then I look up, pause and shut up.

"O" was over matched tonight and he new it, had seen enough and did the right thing. Anyone who saw the wrestling match underneath could see it was not a size equal situation. Fatigue sets in you keep fighting and a serious injury is a very likely byproduct of the situation.
Here is Geno's take post game....
“Liv she’s a different breed man. She’ll get better,” Auriemma said. “She’ll get better. Next time we play in this type of game she will get better.”

 

[cbraarj]

He benched Stewie and Tuck for the night, after 5 minutes one game. If you don't play the right way you sit.

That was different. If it was South Carolina instead of Memphis I dont think he would have.

 

[MilfordHusky]

About the middle of her career, I hoped that Lou would add a jump hook to her arsenal. I really want to see Liv develop one. She can dial up Stewie, Tina, or Sylvia for advice.

 

[willtalk]

Players like Liv have their own strengths. She just needs to learn how to take advantage of them while mitigating her weaknesses. That only comes with experience against challenging posts. When she plays against Boston it should be another lesson. It's all about matchups. Some players just present more difficult matchups than others. If Liv has difficulty matching up with a posts strength, that might also mean that they would have difficulties matching up to hers. She just needs to learn what those are and how to use them effectively. A jump hook like Mildford Husky suggested might be a good start. She still has plenty of upside left in her game.

 

[veryolddog]

I do not second guess Geno. I admit that I could not do his job. Nor he could have done mine.

 

[VaConnFan11]

The boxscore tells the story to me regarding Liv. UConn was +1 while she was in the game even though she did not score.

 

[huskeynut]

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

Don't know how long you have been a UConn fan or followed the team. But as others have pointed out, Geno has done this before. Its nothing new. If you listened to his post-game presser, he said Liv would be fine. Its called growth and development.

And as Liv will learn and be fine, so will the team for the rest of the season.

 

[Longtime fan]

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

I think we all know that he knows what he is doing. It was Olivia's play ( or lack of it ) that caused her benching.

 

[BobbyJ]

About the middle of her career, I hoped that Lou would add a jump hook to her arsenal. I really want to see Liv develop one. She can dial up Stewie, Tina, or Sylvia for advice.

I've said this many times. I'm surprised her own coaching staff hasn't been able to teach her this shot with both hands. It's not difficult to learn.

 

[Longtime fan]

I've said this many times. I'm surprised her own coaching staff hasn't been able to teach her this shot with both hands. It's not difficult to learn.

What surprises me is the amateurish nature of her shots from beyond 8 feet. She looks like there is no chance. Like she doesn't know what a basketball is. Like she has never done that in her life. Not even when she was 10.

 

[Zorro]

I'm going to give Geno the benefit of the doubt... he's earned it, of course. But benching Ono the way he did tonight could completely deflate her... or, as I hope, motivate her to work harder and get better. Fingers crossed. She's way too talented to be the non-factor she was tonight (and her last couple of games were not that good, either.) Kids... smh....

I think it is very big of you to give Geno the benefit of a doubt. I think that the odds are very good that he knows what he is doing. He DOES have something of a track record.

 

[jabstep]

She needs to get rid of that falling away jump shot. She's 6-5, she needs to go up strong, and draw some fouls.

Her body type against strong opponents isn't suited currently to her banging with them. As she gets stronger each year, she will become be a very dominant player against all types by her senior year. If this was the final four I don't think Geno takes her out. Her defense and rebounding are crucial for the huskies against good teams, any offense is gravy. It was an even game with her in the game even though she didn't offer any offense.