Our Freshmen at South Carolina

[Mdoggie]

Out here in Cali there is major "hate" jealousy of KLS on the Socalhoops forum. Some think her high school career was made by flopping and living at the line. They apparently can judge ability better then Geno. The criticism got so bad the forum moderator took the thread down.

 

[CocoHusky]

If the baseline is open, wouldn't that result in a much higher percentage shot? I like the 3, but if you can cut the distance of the shot in half, I say go for it!

The baseline was not open that is why she got called for an offensive foul.

 

[CocoHusky]

Rewatching the game, I can see why Geno was not overly impressed with Napheesa's cameo appearance. Most of the time that she was in, she was paired on offense and defense against Sarah Imovbioh, and she got beat almost every time, not only by Imovbioh's shot attempts, but also for rebounds on defense. At one point just after Wilson got injured, Napheesa guarded Imovbioh unsuccessfully on one defensive possession, and on the next possession, Napheesa was guarding Coates and Stewie had Imovbioh.

Give Sarah some credit she was 6 for 6 and was only successfully defended 1 time a turnover when Stewie was guarding her. She scored on everyone who was guarding her not just Napheesa. She scored against Gabby +1, Scored against Napheesa, scored against KLS on an offensive weakside rebound, Scored against Stewie in a big time post iso, Scored over Napheesa on a putback. Scored on outbounds play on Napheesa.

 

[bags27]

Another observation: For the last 5-6 minutes of the game, Gabby replaced KLS in what was otherwise the starting lineup, that was still on the floor at that point. Apparently Geno decided that he could trust Gabby more than either freshman in those critical minutes where the game was in hand if only big mistakes were avoided. And Gabby did not disappoint. Not only did she avoid mistakes, but she got some contested rebounds and also got one runout for a key field goal when she beat Tiffany Mitchell down the floor.

Geno sent Gabby in after Lou got her 4th foul. I'm sure that (and that he had essentially been alternating Gabby and Lou, with Lou getting a bit more minutes, I think, overall, was part of a natural decision. Gabby brings enormous things to the game, but Lou is steadier on both sides of the ball, and that's also valuable when you're running down the clock. It's pretty much a wash, I think.

 

[SCGamecock]

You are comparing an off the bench freshman to a taller senior who was the leading rebounder in the ACC last year ??? OK then.

KLS is slightly taller than Imovbioh, who's generously only 6'2. But your point stands, Imovbioh is a senior rebounder... a very good one at that. I agree, Not really a fair comparison.

 

[jdubct]

I agree the freshmen could have played a lot better in the game. After all, they are still freshmen playing in a high profile game.
I hope, by the time there is another challenging game (certainly by the final 4 game), they both make significantly greater contributions towards winning.

 

[HuskyNan]

I agree the freshmen could have played a lot better in the game. After all, they are still freshmen playing in a high profile game.
I hope, by the time there is another challenging game (certainly by the final 4 game), they both make significantly greater contributions towards winning.

It's a win-win situation for UConn - the Huskies won the game and the freshmen got a trial by fire on the road against the #2 team in the country in front of a hostile crowd. Now Lou and Napheesa know what a post-season game might be like. It's all good.

 

[bags27]

KLS is slightly taller than Imovbioh, who's generously only 6'2. But your point stands, Imovbioh is a senior rebounder... a very good one at that. I agree, Not really a fair comparison.

I think it was to Napheesa at 6'1", not to Lou at 6'3"

 

[SCGamecock]

I think it was to Napheesa at 6'1", not to Lou at 6'3"

Ah. You're correct.. had to be the late night drowsiness. My bad.

 

[JoePgh]

You are comparing an off the bench freshman to a taller senior who was the leading rebounder in the ACC last year ??? OK then.

I did not intend to suggest that it is reasonable to expect Napheesa (or KLS for that matter) to guard an experienced and skilled player such as Imobvioh successfully. But from Geno's standpoint, his focus was to win the game, and only secondarily (if at all) to provide developmental opportunities for his freshmen. In the NCAA tournament, his focus will assuredly be the same. So he needed to get someone in the game who could deal with Imobvioh, and that wasn't Napheesa or Lou. He gave Napheesa an opportunity to prove that she could, and she proved the opposite, so she went back to the bench.

I was just trying to account for Geno's decision to give Napheesa only 4 minutes of playing time in the game.

I also tried to make the point (perhaps not too successfully) that while Gabby or Stewie might deal better with Imobvioh, Napheesa in particular might be more equipped than Gabby to guard Coates (assuming that Morgan had to be on the bench because of foul trouble). If Wilson had not gotten injured, I think Napheesa would have gotten more minutes guarding Coates, and might have been successful at that. Coates is not as mobile or as shifty as Imobvioh, and Collier has better size and strength to deal with her than Gabby does.

 

[baggerbob]

We had a freshmen play 7 minutes against Number 1 Baylor a few years ago. She had a pretty good NCAA tournament, and turned out pretty well. That was Stewie.

 

[Carnac]

UConn has about 10-12 more games where the bench can get some minutes. Those minutes will all be in the bank for next year.
Like Gabby last year, Collier-Chong-& Butler will get minutes in these next 10-12 games, however, when crunch time comes (basically the last three games of the season) there will be precious few minutes for those three bench players.
IMHO Geno now knows that he has six players who he can trust in the big games--the current starters plus Gabby. Collier might get some tine if there is foul trouble--otherwise-nada minutes. Remember, Gabby was playing pretty good last year off the bench (better than anyone this year) and she got NO time in the crunch games.
IMO (and it seems obvious after the SC game) there will be a 6 player rotation whenever the game is tight (which means 10 to 15 point lead or less.) It's funny how Geno has created the expectations of a double digit win. Many of us start sweating when it gets to a 10 point lead--and forget single digits. With a 12 point lead, for example, ND could hit 4 straight three's and still not have the lead. Geno likes that emergency 12 point cushion.
Anyway, like the many past years, UConn goes to a tight rotation of 6 or 7 players---and everybody will be very happy with another NC.

Great post PhillyCoach, You told it just like it IS!!!

I don't know why some folks have their BVD's in a bunch. Geno goes into the NCAA's with the same mindset every year, just as you explained. He shortens his bench to 1 maybe 2 players, and that's it.!! Last year, it was the starters and Kiah Stokes. Geno was trying to win a championship, not style points or "likes".

The season will be over for most of the bench players. They'll be relegated to supporting the players on the floor, and cheerleading. They all understand that. It's already been explained to them, and I'm sure they're OK with it.

Your post made me think about Kenny Rogers' song: The Gambler. Especially the part: You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.........etc.

Just like "Bo Knows", Geno Knows. Geno has been playing in "high stakes" poker games at this level for years. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's the guy sitting at the table with all of the chips. The great thing about going into this year's tournament, Geno will be playing with his own deck of cards, not theirs.

All of the other hopeful programs know that if they win the championship, they'll have to beat UConn. This year's tournament is going to be a lot of fun to watch. It's not one you want to miss. We just might be watching history being made.

 

[pacific 44]

Good point Carnac,like we used to say back in Maine,these guys have been coaching with extreme success since Moby Dick was just a sahdine.

 

[Carnac]

Good point Carnac,like we used to say back in Maine,these guys have been coaching with extreme success since Moby Dick was just a sahdine.

Good one Pacific!!

 

[bags27]

Geno's show, his voice over in practice watching Napheesa and Lou: "These two freshmen are perfect Connecticut players, you know that? They have multiple skills. They're not very one-dimensional." (Sorry, I can't reproduce the exact link, but it's after the East Carolina Game, with also some remarkable reflections on Kia.)