Post-Game Thoughts: UConn v. Tulane

[Bama fan]

It's okay to talk about what happened in the game? Okay. My mommy told me if you can't say anything good, say nothing at all.

She heard that from Thumper's dad!

 

[TitleTown]

Through the 29 regular season games, Z has committed the most fouls on the team, while starting only 7 games but playing less minutes than any of the 5 starters. It does us no good for her to come into a game late in the 1st quarter or at the beginning of the second, only to end the half sitting on the bench with two or three fouls. In fact in one game, she had 3 fouls in less than 3 minutes of playing time.

She leads the team in virtually every offensive category/minutes played. Playing tough post defense is new for her, you have to take the good with the bad, and with Stevens there is a hell of a lot more good. Honestly, they are a better basketball team with her on the floor! This is evidenced by the runs they have gone on recently when she enters the game.

 

[Centerstream]

She leads the team in virtually every offensive category/minutes played. Playing tough post defense is new for her, you have to take the good with the bad, and with Stevens there is a hell of a lot more good. Honestly, they are a better basketball team with her on the floor! This is evidenced by the runs they have gone on recently when she enters the game.

I have no argument with what you are saying about Z WHEN she's on the floor. But that's also my point. If 2 of the starters are on the bench to stay, then we need Z to be able to stay on the floor. That's all. She's played games and not been in foul trouble and that should be the norm, not the exception.

 

[huskeynut]

She leads the team in virtually every offensive category/minutes played. Playing tough post defense is new for her, you have to take the good with the bad, and with Stevens there is a hell of a lot more good. Honestly, they are a better basketball team with her on the floor! This is evidenced by the runs they have gone on recently when she enters the game.

I agree. I think people do not truly understand how difficult it is to play defense - especially Geno style. Z has exploded offensively. Some of her moves around the basket are surprising. But she is also showing some toughness on defense under the boards. She is grabbing rebounds a ripping them away. Watch her post defense. She is learning to brace herself and use her body to keep opponents from getting position down low. There is fight there!

I still think she will continue to be first off the bench. When she enters, she changes the game as you have stated.

 

[scubadog]

I am the most disappointed with Kyla. At her size she plays small, and will not shoot unless wide open on the perimeter. She constantly gets blocked in the lane. Meghan has improved her defense. She looked like a promising offensive player earlier in the season, but now looks to just " not do anything wrong ". Z has never seen a shot she doesn't like. Perhaps it's time for Geno to run some plays thru Meghan until she snaps out of it. Just my opinion.

 

[DEpup]

I was reading somewhere that despite all the hand-wringing over the bench production, if you were to look at the other elite teams that played today you'd see that UConn's bench (which does include Stevens BTW) was more productive.

Team-bench pts
ND - 8
UL - 0
MSt- 10
S Car - 0 (Wilson came off the bench but played 33 min.)
Stan - 10
Org - 3

Kudos to the person who noticed this.

But they aren't UConn and they don't have the number 1 recruit in the nation. The sophomores aren't lighting it up either. Texas and Baylor had production off their bench, knowing with injuries there are bench players starting....

 

[Bama fan]

Its' not quite Voltaire but I believe I owe you a bit of pedantry, Bags: Lesley.

Pedantry! Great word! And I bet that Pangloss would say that the BY is the best of all possible worlds. We get basketball and tutelage. And I like your dog,too.

 

[Bama fan]

Anyone else REALLY tired of the selection day commercial? Twist that knife a little deeper, ESPN.

I firmly believe that they play it for the other 63 teams that will play in the tournament. It gives them hope, and aggravates us. It's a twofer.

 

[HopJim]

I am the most disappointed with Kyla. At her size she plays small, and will not shoot unless wide open on the perimeter. She constantly gets blocked in the lane. Meghan has improved her defense. She looked like a promising offensive player earlier in the season, but now looks to just " not do anything wrong ". Z has never seen a shot she doesn't like. Perhaps it's time for Geno to run some plays thru Meghan until she snaps out of it. Just my opinion.

Agree with some caveats. Have seen Kyla play in person in a few games, most recently SMU. What I saw was someone not afraid to shoot but primarily a stationary shooter without the ability to create shoots. As she has played more against better players, her skills and deficiencies have become evident. My view is she is playing as well as she can with minimal upside. Others, such as Meagan and Camara, still have consistency issues but great upside.

 

[jdubct]

Realistically, which members of the bench would see play against a round of sixteen or better NCAA tournament game? Certainly fewer players and fewer minutes because the games would be closer. So for those games Stevens and the starters would see substantial minutes leaving possibly a few minutes for another player or two.

 

[Golden Husky]

Pedantry! Great word! And I bet that Pangloss would say that the BY is the best of all possible worlds. We get basketball and tutelage. And I like your dog,too.

Aw, Bags actually used the word before I did. This is just a couple of guys who think they're smarter than they really are jabbing soft elbows at each other. No harm, no foul.
Thanks for the kind words regarding my dog. He's a grand champion show dog and the alpha of a pack of eight Golden Retrievers.
Okay, enough of that. Back to UConn women's basketball.

 

[chrissaran]

Even without Gabby and Crystal, UConn won't squeak by. UConn will win by at least 20. Gabby's career is not over. She aggravated her hip. Who's the alarmist who thinks it's her last game?

 

[HuskyNan]

She leads the team in virtually every offensive category/minutes played. Playing tough post defense is new for her, you have to take the good with the bad, and with Stevens there is a hell of a lot more good. Honestly, they are a better basketball team with her on the floor! This is evidenced by the runs they have gone on recently when she enters the game.

Azura was also allowed to float around on the perimeter at Duke. Sure she’s practiced playing center at UConn last year but she’s learning an entirely new skill set. Some peoples’s expectataions are unreasonable in that they think Z should be a full-fledged, fully developed 5 by now. They should give her a break. She’s improved dramatically as the year has progressed and the last month has been a marvel. She’s going to be a big time national POY candidate if she continues this growth trajectory.

 

[HuskyNan]

I am the most disappointed with Kyla. At her size she plays small, and will not shoot unless wide open on the perimeter. She constantly gets blocked in the lane. Meghan has improved her defense. She looked like a promising offensive player earlier in the season, but now looks to just " not do anything wrong ". Z has never seen a shot she doesn't like. Perhaps it's time for Geno to run some plays thru Meghan until she snaps out of it. Just my opinion.

It’s not a good idea to change the offense in the postseason

 

[scubadog]

It’s not a good idea to change the offense in the postseason

Normally I would agree, but this is Cincy. UConn runs the same offense with some variance that they have used for a long time. That's why running the offense thru Gabby instead of say, Dolson is virtually the same. I don't see how running a couple of plays to get Meghan involved is going to hurt anyone. The philosophy of this offense is that all 5 players on the floor should be interchangeable, just moved around. From there they are reading cuts and screens. We're not talking 15 shots here.

 

[Alydar]

But they aren't UConn and they don't have the number 1 recruit in the nation. The sophomores aren't lighting it up either. Texas and Baylor had production off their bench, knowing with injuries there are bench players starting....

Texas did get bench scoring but Baylor got 10 points from their bench. UConn got 15.