Oregon Post Game Thread

[victor64]

If that is your standard " worse than Edwards" then I'm not even going to waste any energy trying to convince you because you are using the incorrect standard. The proper UCONN WBB standard is and has always been for all players: Can they positively impact this game ? If those players are Amari and Piath and we are talking about the Oregon game this afternoon the answer was a resounding no. Notice that the answer to the question for Piath and Amari has nothing to do with AE and that Oregon is not Xavier.

I disagree totally. Edwards impacted the game in a negative way on both ends of the floor. You are assuming, because it is Oregon that Piath and Amari would have automatically struggled. What is wrong with giving these two some time when everybody but two players on the Huskies played poorly.

 

[BobbyJ]

If that is your standard " worse than Edwards" then I'm not even going to waste any energy trying to convince you because you are using the incorrect standard. The proper UCONN WBB standard is and has always been for all players: Can they positively impact this game ? If those players are Amari and Piath and we are talking about the Oregon game this afternoon the answer was a resounding no. Notice that the answer to the question for Piath and Amari has nothing to do with AE and that Oregon is not Xavier.

They would have had no chance. It would have only hurt whatever confidence they might be building.

 

[VA Huskie]

I guess coach wanted the six players to know how it feels to lose, in front of a hostile crowd. And for each player to acknowledge their role in that loss. And to be on the court against a quality team for forty minutes, rather than Xavier or Butler. He has the rings, so I won't question his motivation.

Here is what I saw;

1. Olivia is battling and working 100%. But that hot shooting we saw from 12-14 feet against Xavier went away. So Oregon could ignore her outside the paint.
2. Dorka is not at Olivia's level. She can be fine against Butler, but she has bad hands and her shot is not dependable.
3. Edwards is a more limited player than any of us imagined. She has no shot. Her contribution is hustle and defense. A decent substitute for limited periods of time. She has few qualities of a true BIG, and fewer still as a wing.
4. Westbrook. I keep thinking " she has lost her passion for the game." Sloppy, slow and not taking charge at all. At her " homecoming."
5. Muhl. She was over-used in this game. Physically not ready to go 100% that long. Not for lack of trying. Hopefully, she'll get her shooting touch back. Because Oregon knew they almost didn't have to guard anyone against a three.
6. Caroline had her worst day on offense. And she wasn't that great with the ball in her hands either. Couldn't buy a shot. But she did not give up and still made plays. A good sign ( if we needed one ). And I know someone is going to tell me she scored 20 or so. Doesn't matter. She was throwing up bricks all day.
7. Coach. I wanted to see Gabriel and DeBerry again, in meaningful minutes. My view was; why not? Maybe their size and fight could shake Oregon up a bit. And it would be good for them to compete against a real team for once. So, I was disappointed. Again, I defer to Geno. His reasons are better than mine.

I can't imagine playing South Carolina in a week of so.

CD did not throw up bricks all day. She did from 3 pt range, but overall shot 10-21, with some being pretty difficult shots that most of our players would not have made. Agree with much of the rest of what you said.

 

[victor64]

They would have had no chance. It would have only hurt whatever confidence they might be building.

No chance? Really? Having them sit for 40 in a a blowout when all but two played poorly is going to help their confidence?

 

[JordyG]

Well, yes, but the team couldn’t stop shooting itself in the foot. The early season turnovers reappeared and the shots on offense were rushed and mostly off balance or fade away. Yes, Oregon gets some credit but opponents have been playing a zone defense all season. You’d think the Huskies would have figured it out by now.

Nika, E, and Aaliyah won’t shoot and teammates inexplicably won’t pass the ball to Dorka. Liv was a soldier and Caroline is the only one that can create so Oregon only had to guard the two of them. UConn just made it too easy for Oregon

On edit - do they practice rebounding? I was yelling at the TV for UConn to go to the offensive glass. What’s up with that?

Agreed. During the chat I commented any number of times that Geno really tried everything to beat the zone, just as he did against Creighton, to no avail. He tried reversing the ball, flooding the zone, flash below the nail, step screens, flair screens, and more. Nothing worked. He finally settled on consistently flashing to the foul line, but his forwards couldn't hit that shot nor make timely passes inside. His guards on the other hand couldn't shoot from the outside or make timely passes into the post.

What has gotten into E is a puzzlement. Usually no one need tell guards to shoot, but E has become really hesitant. I kept wondering during the game whether she is hurt or not. Her lack of aggressiveness, poor passing decisions, and poor shooting is, again, a puzzlement.

But this team refused to quit. Utterly. Someone in the chat said the game was 2 against 9, and that about summed it up.

Before the game I said there were three things I wanted to see. E get at least 5 assists, Nika shoot some pull ups, and Caroline go to the rim more than she shot from the outside. I got none of those. C'est la vie.

 

[Cuango]

I thought I was the only one bothered by that. Not a good look.

I can see where that could be bothersome but I could also see her laughing after some good thing that had just happened or after a sarcastic remark by Paige or Geno. Not a good look for sure, but not necessarily as bad as it may seem.

 

[ccwarrior]

Geno is still building a championship caliber team and we are good enough to win it now at full health, but we are a couple of pieces away. Ice and Ayanna, more so Ice may be the inal piece. The only thing is once Liv leaves, we may have a hole at center until Amari steps up.

What?

 

[shiverz45]

All UConn needs is to win the BET and get into the tournament. If Bueckers comes back and they winn out the committee will make allowences for when she was out and UConn will open at home. So let them be a 5 seed. It don't matter. All that matters right now is waiting for the guards to return. If Bueckers/Fudd are healthy UConn will be in the hunt. I would love to face one seed Tenn in the S16.
If nothing else the one seed who gets UConn will whine like a 2yo having a tantrum. That should be entertaining.

I remember a Vol fan telling me about the year they won the title after losing ten games. I never wanted to experience the injuries but now I'm looking forward to March/April.

Can you blame them for whining? Especially if the committee place UConn in Bridgeport.

 

[Cuango]

If that is your standard " worse than Edwards" then I'm not even going to waste any energy trying to convince you because you are using the incorrect standard. The proper UCONN WBB standard is and has always been for all players: Can they positively impact this game ? If those players are Amari and Piath and we are talking about the Oregon game this afternoon the answer was a resounding no. Notice that the answer to the question for Piath and Amari has nothing to do with AE and that Oregon is not Xavier.

I would just add this; there might be another reason beyond them positively impacting this game and that would be whether this game would positively impact them. He obviously felt it would not.

 

[BobbyJ]

I would just add this; there might be another reason beyond them positively impacting this game and that would be whether this game would positively impact them. He obviously felt it would not.

Bingo!

 

[VA Huskie]

Eventually you will learn that all those rankings ( hoopgurlz, blueStar, ESPN) are not worth the paper they’re written on. What you can do against college competition is all that natters. If she could help the team she would be playing. She’s not ready yet. Big usually take longer to develop.

Sometimes they do mean something. Think D, Stewie, Maya, Tina and Paige. Bird was pretty good too.

 

[bballnut90]

Assuming that Paige comes back and is 80%+ of herself and Azzi comes back and contributes like we hope - I think the committee will look at our last 10 (or so) games with them as a key factor in seeding.

I don't think it will help them if all of those 10 games are against DePaul and non-tournament teams. I agree they'll take Paige's return into consideration and overlook today's loss as well as the Georgia Tech game, but even with Paige, the best wins on the year were against Notre Dame (5 seed) and USF (6 seed). I don't see that being enough to warrant a top 4 seed.

 

[bballnut90]

I hope you are right. SC is winning games, but they are not playing their best basketball.

What a trip that would be if UCONN manages to SC on the road with their depleted roster after losing to SC by 16 with all of their key players in the lineup.

 

[Alydar]

Can you blame them for whining? Especially if the committee place UConn in Bridgeport.

Whining is for 2yo's. If you think your team is worthy of a championship then show some class, welcome the challenge and don't talk like you need help to win.

 

[Vowelguy]

 

[CocoHusky]

I disagree totally. Edwards impacted the game in a negative way on both ends of the floor. You are assuming, because it is Oregon that Piath and Amari would have automatically struggled. What is wrong with giving these two some time when everybody but two players on the Huskies played poorly.

There is nothing wrong with that except that is not the way it works for UCONN WBB. It is really not my assumption that decides these things it is the judgement of staff. This is not recreation league or trial an error. AE is not a starter. When AE comes into the game it is to replace a starter. AE is part of the rotation , if she come in the game and struggles then Geno will put the starter back in. Could the judgement of the staff be wrong? Sure-a healthy Nika played zero minutes against TN last season and Caroline played zero minutes against South Carolina this season.

 

[VA Huskie]

While I understand the comparison, I think Kelly Faris is often not remembered accurately for her abilities. She improved her outside shot tremendously, from 27% as a freshman to 41% as a senior.

She shot 33.9% from 3 for her career, on 351 attempts. Was 44% from the field and 76% from the free throw line. Not to mention career averages of 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists to 1.8 TO, to go along with 7.2 ppg. Not the best shooter, but far from the worst.

Right now, Nika needs to find her offensive game. She shot better percentages last year, but still was only 38% from the floor. This year is way down from that. She's going to get a lot of minutes until we are at full strength, and we would benefit from her keeping defenses honest.

I certainly wasn’t trying to shortchange Kelly’s abilities. She’s one of my favorite players. But she started out as a pretty lousy shooter, and yes, got better. Hope the same is true for Nike.

 

[VA Huskie]

Shea deciding to move on has truly impacted us in a very bad way! I knew she would be hard to replace but I guess I may have underestimated just how bad the effect of her leaving would be!

I too have wondered how Shea’s departure has impacted the team.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

At least it's better than the Arizona Final Four game where they were 6-33 on layups.

 

[VA Huskie]

I don't think it will help them if all of those 10 games are against DePaul and non-tournament teams. I agree they'll take Paige's return into consideration and overlook today's loss as well as the Georgia Tech game, but even with Paige, the best wins on the year were against Notre Dame (5 seed) and USF (6 seed). I don't see that being enough to warrant a top 4 seed.

You may be right, but they do talk about the “eye test”. If UConn looks like UConn in those games (ie, consistent 20+ point wins), it might make a difference.

 

[Woof 101]

Oregon is a decent team and its players are good, but today they looked crisp and well-coached due to bad defense by UConn players.

No attack but can we ever give the other team their due?

Because you and many here can't handle the truth?
Truth: They are not good enough to be out there!

Coaches decision, you either like him or you don't.

starting to feel bad for the seniors as it's looking more and more like they will leave UConn without a single championship. what the h$*l has happened to the womens team the last 6 yrs? there was a time that their bench players could have been considered a top 10 team by themselves. not this group.

No attack or slander but some have to realize the progression of the game. It is not what it was 25 years ago and that is for the good of the game. Many more players and coaches and title 19 showing it's grit.

My only personal complaint is having to view the game on the God awful Oregon court. Obviously deceptive much like Boise St football field it is simply not television friendly. Uniform and ball colors blending with the court should not be part of the challenge,

 

[Stymie]

Eventually you will learn that all those rankings ( hoopgurlz, blueStar, ESPN) are not worth the paper they’re written on. What you can do against college competition is all that natters. If she could help the team she would be playing. She’s not ready yet. Big usually take longer to develop.

Part of the point I am trying to make.

 

[Big Mick]

.....A big post helps, but right now ONO is it. Dorka was supposed to be a good to better post....

The problem is that 1) ONO is playing at the high post and 2) Dorka is a forward, not a post.

The ONO at the high post experiment should be dust binned ASAP.

We need her, ONO, in the blocks down low which will force teams out of perimeter defenses and allow UCONN to create shots with ball movement, which is UCONNs bread-and-butter. Can't create good perimeter shots when the other team can deploy four perimeter defenders. This high post was to accommodate Dorka who is better on offense in both scoring and rebounding. It just hasn't worked as expected.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Just watched the replay. Had to teach here in Alaska.
Not sure what Geno is trying to accomplish defensively.
A rule of defense I learned in college was to always try to make the offense do something they are less comfortable with. In other words, to take something away from the offense.
Could be getting in passing lanes, pressuring the ball which then makes entry passes more difficult, pushes the offense away from the bucket, and may produce steals, force longer than normal shots, 18' instead of 15', front the posts forcing lob passes which can lead to steals and/or charges with weak side coming over, packing in a zone to force a poor shooting team to shoot jumpers (Oregon's strategy on us?), double teaming screens on the ball, trapping in the corners, switching D's (sorry guys, another Dean Smith innovation).
Something!
We let Oregon do whatever they wanted to do. Why would we let a good shooting squad that can rebound stand out there and shoot uncontested 3's?
If it was me, I'd rather play aggressively and give up layups. So what about fatigue. Rest on whistles, breaks, and halftime.
What in the world did that "press" get us? Why do we want to slow the game down? Uptempo is in UConn's DNA.
IMO Let's not be afraid to lose and give up a layup or two and play fundamental, aggressive D.
Brutal!

 

[Baroloboy]

She had 24 points against Louisville

33 Ducharme, Caroline

Position:GHeight:6-2Bio:Full BioClass:FreshmanHometown:Milton, Mass.High School:Noble & Greenough School
Ducharme, Caroline - Game Statistics

Date	Opponent	PTS	MIN	FGM-FGA	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF
11/14/21	Arkansas	0	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	1
11/20/21	Minnesota	4	12	1-2	0-1	2-2	2	0	1	1	0	2
11/21/21	South Fla.	0	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	1	0	1
12/03/21	Seton Hall	0	6	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	2
12/05/21	Notre Dame	14	14	5-9	3-5	1-2	3	0	1	0	2	0
12/09/21	Georgia Tech	2	29	1-5	0-3	0-0	5	0	0	0	3	3
12/11/21	UCLA	14	32	4-13	2-6	4-4	2	2	2	1	1	3
12/19/21	Louisville	24	40	10-20	3-9	1-2	8	2	1	0	3	3
01/09/22	Creighton	17	38	7-13	2-6	1-2	5	2	3	2	2	3
01/12/22	Butler	18	28	6-13	3-8	3-3	2	0	2	0	2	3
01/15/22	Xavier	20	32	6-17	4-10	4-4	7	5	0	4	3	3
01/17/22	Oregon	22	40	10-21	1-8	1-1	3	2	0	0	5	1

13 assists 23 turnovers 25 fouls