In the late 70's it was in vogue for the better teams to switch defenses in order to keep opponents off balance. May have only been for a couple of possessions but if the strategy got you a couple of stops, rushed shots, turnovers, it was well worth it. I remember thinking about the transition from a full-court trapping defense back to a zone and even back to man, if you were smart.
There is just so much accuracy in this thread that I didn't know where to reply to so I picked the end. To take the last point first, Syracuse runs a 2-3 match up zone that is extremely well executed and teams that don't see it because it is almost always man to man during the regular season have great difficulties in the Big Dance. The weakness is in the middle but nobody regularly gets it there because it is usually the second, not first pass that gets in.
I’m sorry but I disagree that UConn had another gear in that game. Other than Gino playing the Biggs in foul trouble and going with the starting five the subs were struggling to score Azzi Caroline Nika. The Connecticut offense was good not great and the defense was bad not poor. A slightly better team and UConn would have had a much more difficult time.
All coaches have to make adjustments on the fly. Sometimes you have to throw the game plan out the window and coach from your experience and instincts. While you're at it, you can throw convention out the door too. You pull out all the stops, and use everything and everyone at your disposal. If your man to man is not effective (their players are quicker that yours), then YOU MUST go to a zone. The best coaches in basketball all have the ability (and timing) to make the correct adjustments at the right time during a game.
That is called a learning opportunity, and I can almost guarantee that Aaliyah will not forget it, nor will she feel bitter towards Geno. Sooner or later she has to learn when to foul, and when not to. Last year, she could accumulate four fouls in a heartbeat. This year it's taking her a bit longer.
Super post!
There is always room for improvement. You may not be happy with a 15 point win against a good team where UConn shot 57% while holding the Razorbacks to 38%. But I am, and I’ve watched UConn enough to know the Huskies will only get better under Geno and his staff.
Why do people do this, imagine scenarios of games that never happened in order to make a win look worse? This makes me a little crazy.
I agree, just recall TEXAS over Maryland. Great " D" from Texas shut down high scoring Maryland!
Texas also walked the ball up the court on offense and used the majority of the shot clock just about every possession. It reminds me that the top ppg defensive team through a good part of the 60’s, before the shot clock, was Pete Carrill’s Princeton Tigers, who thought nothing of running a 2-3 minute offensive set until they finally got a backdoor layup. If you limit an opposing team’s possessions, you will limit their ability to score.
They would likely still win as I think they can outscore almost everyone.
Last year just AFTER she announced her desire to attend UConn, she said one of the reasons she chose UConn is because "SHE WANTED TO BE COACHED HARD" Hello........she's getting her wish. But as you say, she'll be a better player for it.
There were several "questionable" calls in that game. Liv got one for just standing in the paint with her arms raised. She didn't lean in or reach. I guess defensive players no longer have the right to the space (including vertical) they occupy on the floor. When you get called for just being there after the player jumps into you, it makes you a little gun shy.I want to see Geno play his zone defense where his players stand still with their hands in the air shouting "Miss!"
Seriously I do expect to see him try the zone although he prefers man. Got to be able to do both well to be prepared for all conditions.
Hey, that "miss' defense is hard. You have to have excellent timing, use different octaves, switch off ('boo') and maybe multilingual?I want to see Geno play his zone defense where his players stand still with their hands in the air shouting "Miss!"
Seriously I do expect to see him try the zone although he prefers man. Got to be able to do both well to be prepared for all conditions.
Sorry to drive you a little crazy but my post was in response to another post with rose colored lenses thinking that Connecticut could just turn on a switch and blow out what you yourself said Was a good team in Arkansas. Geno acknowledged that Connecticut had some areas of the game that needed work mostly defensive and that some of the newer players looked nervous and excited. Usually teams with so many new players it’s unlikely to throw a switch and blow out a good team. 15 points is a good margin of victory and I believe by the end of the season that could have been a 30 point victory. It’s my opinion that Come tournament time Connecticut will have gelled and be ready for a run to the national championship. They will throw the switch at the jump and not look back.
I can’t agree with you more that there’s always room for improvement. I never said I was unhappy with a 15 point victory. What I said was that I didn’t believe an inexperienced young team in their first game could just throw a switch was my reply to a previous post I to believe that UConn will be a much different team midway through the season and that the coaching staff is the best in the country. It is also my belief that the newcomers to the team will settle in and live up to their expectations and make Connecticut the most formidable team in women’s college basketball. A lot of good will come from the Arkansas game and I am excited to see how the coaching staff handles it.
Of course everyone is in "wait and see" mode. We are all psyched out of our minds for 3 games in 3 days. We can still banter back and forth about things we see. That's what fandom is. If everyone is casual then no one has anything to say. Living in Alaska (it's already -10), there's not much to do but watch games in the winter. I expect everyone else here to be crazy about sports like me, even the Eskimos. I get frustrated when there's no one to talk "inside baseball" with. So, there is the opposite extreme. I'd rather talk than not talk. Just try to disregard stuff that bugs us.
This UConn team was not inexperienced by any stretch of the imagination, with the same starting 5 returning from last year including 3 seniors. You refer to “turning on a switch.” That’s not the way I would couch what UConn does to opposing teams. UConn goes on runs. They did it at the beginning of the game, they did it at the start of the 2nd half and they did it again in the 4th qtr to put the game away.
OK you win. Try reading what I responded to for some perspective
Carnac--I agree with this and your previous posts. No dispute. Especially, let us see what they look like after game 5. One other agreement; each game is a growing experience especially all those (Including the Ohio transfer) senior or below. Teaching never stops nor does learning---in Basketball and life. Thanks Carnac.
I missed being born in Alaska by 3 months. My parents had very good jobs in Fairbanks. My mom refused to have me there. My father said if he had known Alaska was to become a state down the road, they never would have left. I’m glad they did. I don’t like cold weather.…….period!! 72 degrees and sunny in So Cal works for me just fine. I’ve never shoveled snow a day in my life.
I expect Azzi, Caroline, Dorka and Aaliyah to settle down and settle in - in the next 2 weeks. Once they do, they along with Paige and Christyn can carry the team against anyone. That includes the elite teams as well. Sometime after the ND game. The issues and challenges they are having now will be addressed and solved by then. I think you’re going to like what you see this weekend.
Their play will more closely resemble what we’re use to seeing from a Geno Auriemma coached team.