Post-Game Thoughts: UConn v. Tulane

[BigBird]

Absolutely!!! and oh by the way, the First Half was pretty much on target...fine UConn Basketball..... things got rough in the second half with 2 injury issues and Geno taking Lou out...probably to protect her from injury. He was not worried about the outcome of THIS game, but rather making sure people were going to be able to play in the next game. I strongly believe we will be fine in the next game with or without Gabby... put Z in her place, and use Meg and Touly off the bench... and save Gabby for the Final. I'm not concerned how the second half played out because the game was already over.Go Huskies!!!

Spot on.

 

[JSB60]

Good to hear neither of the injuries seem serious.

Why is the Green Wave blue?

 

[osceola48]

Yes, the bench missed their shots. But they played fairly well. Decent defense and no careless turnovers.

UConn had 16 fouls to Tulane's 13, and yes, a couple of Azura's were careless. But somebody commented on silly touch calls. I rewatched the 4th Qtr and the refs made four calls against UConn that dumbfounded our players (and me). And the blocking call against Camara in the last second was a clear offensive charge.

No matter. On to round two. Hope for good recoveries for Crystal and Gabby, and better calls and no-calls!

 

[HuskyNan]

Absolutely!!! and oh by the way, the First Half was pretty much on target...fine UConn Basketball..... things got rough in the second half with 2 injury issues and Geno taking Lou out...probably to protect her from injury. He was not worried about the outcome of THIS game, but rather making sure people were going to be able to play in the next game. I strongly believe we will be fine in the next game with or without Gabby... put Z in her place, and use Meg and Touly off the bench... and save Gabby for the Final.

I'm not concerned how the second half played out because the game was already over.

Go Huskies!!!

It was a very physical game. Teams are going to try to bump and jostle the Huskies off their routes and hack at players in the paint. That can make for ugly games.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

It was a very physical game. Teams are going to try to bump and jostle the Huskies off their routes and hack at players in the paint. That can make for ugly games.

exactly...and I believe that was the reason Geno got Lou off the court before she ended up in the emergency room.

 

[wbball novice]

If nothing else, the bench represents a lot of potential fouls to give. Even if they haven't mastered layups, I'm puzzled as to why the bench players aren't more aggressive in attacking inside; in the 4th quarter they are unlikely to use up their quota in offensive fouls, and given the inconsistency in refereeing, there is a good chance they can draw fouls from the opposing players. Even in the early quarters, if they can be used to draw fouls from key opponents like McCowen, they could make a good contribution. I notice that for many non-UConn teams, few players seem to be very good at layups, and given the number of wild shots from the paint I have to believe that the primary reason for going inside is to draw fouls, with actual field goal scoring merely a bonus. One of the characteristics of UConn teams is that their starters have mostly mastered layups, which is one reason they tend to be so successful offensively, especially in the transition game. However, if beginning UConn players haven't reached that state of mastery, and are also inefficient at set and jump shots, they could still be useful at getting the other team in foul trouble.

 

[JustinesGuy]

Live reactions to the game sitting 3rd row under the basket:

1. Crystal and Lou were amazing in the first half
2. Pheesa was amazing in the second half especially when we lost CD and GW due to injuries.
3. I don't fully understand Gabby Crying every time she tweaks her hip. Did you tear it and out for the season, then I get it, did you tweak it and are day to day? Then your going to be ok.. She's kinda been in her head a bit this year??
4. The coaching staff must scratch here heads with Megan Walker. She had a poor game and it was very evident when your in person. Turnovers, turning your head the wrong way and allowing a lay up on a fast break. I honestly don't see much out of her this year, sorry. I don't even expect it against the lousiville's or ND'S of the world but how about these crappy conference teams.. Sorry.
5. Z was awesome tonight. She is going to be so darned good next year. She will more than make up for Gabby graduating. It will certainly be more of a typical lineup with Z at the 5 and Collier at the 4....
6. I felt bad for Kyla, she's the best and she had a rough game. I root for her so hard, she is such a hard worker and bright kid.

Great crowd, band was awesome as usual, and the hula hoop competition was riveting. Those 2 kids were great.

One to the next round!!

 

[JustinesGuy]

Megan Walker has not progressed much since game one. Lets hope for a solid off season right?

 

[Iowafan61]

I think Megan playing with 4 all Americans has alot to do with it. she played with the 2nd 5 off bench where she has to perform better. she can do it

 

[Charliebball]

Well, I’m worried about both Gabby and Crystal, but I think Crystal may have just needed a new tape job on her ankle. Gabby didn’t look great sitting on the bench, looked very sad. I’m hoping she’ll be ok, even if that means sitting out the next two games to have almost two full weeks off.

I've seen that sad look on Gabby's face a few times before this season usually right after leaving the court due to injury..............hopefully this tweak was no worse then the other times..........

 

[01Neaggrad02]

Given the problems stemming from the game, it almost feels like a loss. Almost.

Only 13 assist and a sluggish 4th quarter

 

[NHFan]

Live reactions to the game sitting 3rd row under the basket:

1. Crystal and Lou were amazing in the first half
2. Pheesa was amazing in the second half especially when we lost CD and GW due to injuries.
3. I don't fully understand Gabby Crying every time she tweaks her hip. Did you tear it and out for the season, then I get it, did you tweak it and are day to day? Then your going to be ok.. She's kinda been in her head a bit this year??
4. The coaching staff must scratch here heads with Megan Walker. She had a poor game and it was very evident when your in person. Turnovers, turning your head the wrong way and allowing a lay up on a fast break. I honestly don't see much out of her this year, sorry. I don't even expect it against the lousiville's or ND'S of the world but how about these crappy conference teams.. Sorry.
5. Z was awesome tonight. She is going to be so darned good next year. She will more than make up for Gabby graduating. It will certainly be more of a typical lineup with Z at the 5 and Collier at the 4....
6. I felt bad for Kyla, she's the best and she had a rough game. I root for her so hard, she is such a hard worker and bright kid.

Great crowd, band was awesome as usual, and the hula hoop competition was riveting. Those 2 kids were great.

One to the next round!!

Kyla seemed to be money from 3 last year, not so much now. Confidence can be fleeting.

 

[victor64]

The kids and Geno say the right thing about the tournament but there the team has to struggle to get motivated for this event. They have nothing to prove and have killed everybody they have played. No matter how much they talk day to day, this tourney is a precursor to things to come. I hope he doesn't lose his patience and keeps trying with the bench. I expect more of the same both tomorrow and Tuesday. Sloppy play at times that still result in big wins. I know he won't do this but I wish he would sit both Gabby and Crystal. He creates artificial challenges in practices, he may as well use the injuries to create an artificial challenge in the games.

 

[bags27]

3. I don't fully understand Gabby Crying every time she tweaks her hip. Did you tear it and out for the season, then I get it, did you tweak it and are day to day? Then your going to be ok.. She's kinda been in her head a bit this year??

Lou had nearly that same exact look after her second injury (against Notre Dame, IIRC). These kids are psychologically tuned to expect from themselves nothing less than the very highest. It's deeply frustrating for them not to be out there. They are, after all, kids....

 

[Patty Bailey]

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

 

[Mlb0814]

What more do you want from her?

I think that keeping her hands up is key. So tempting to put hands down when there’s a block shot opportunity but Z’s so tall that her hands up already alters their shot.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Regarding the game, we’ve seen this often. No press and little fast break in the second half. More substitutions. We are really good in transition, but our half-court offense has been erratic this season. The change in Geno’s strategy explains much of the score differential.

I expected more of Megan this year, but look who is ahead of her in the rotation: 4 1st-team all-conference players, 1 2nd-teamer, and 1 3rd-teamer. I’m not sure any UConn frosh had to deal with that ever. I think she defers a little too much. Her job is to defend, rebound, and get the ball to the scorers. I’ll check her stats, but I don’t think they are all that different from those of Pheesa, Gabby, or Tuck in their first year. Meg’s best games were when Lou was out. She moves up the depth chart next year and makes a sophomore leap.

 

[DEpup]

I think that keeping her hands up is key. So tempting to put hands down when there’s a block shot opportunity but Z’s so tall that her hands up already alters their shot.

Totally agree. Just keep hands up and be big. There is no need for the swatting she does sometimes.

 

[sarals24]

I'm sure Gabby is crying out of frustration, it's her senior season and she has an injury that is keeping her from doing the thing she loves to her full potential. Also, maybe it hurt? I cry when things hurt.

 

[DEpup]

I wonder whether Walker fully realizes that C. Williams is a competitor and has her eyes on that 5th starting spot. If I was her watching Walker, I'd be like this summer I'm going to focus on defense and that spot is mine!

 

[Mlb0814]

Only 13 assist and a sluggish 4th quarter

I agree but Crystal was creating her own shot so less assists make a little sense.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Some freshman stats for comparison:

Megan/Pheesa/Gabby/Tuck

mpg 15.8/17.2/15.6/15.8

ppg 5.9/6.8/8.3/6.4

rpg 3.1/5.2/5.7/3.4

FG% .438/.532/.637/.454

3 pt % .310/.154/.000/.289

FT % .762/.917/.462/.668

Assists 28/34/50/47

TO 25/39/40/43

Meg is in the same ballpark as a freshman as 3 All-Americans. She’s not Maya Moore, but her first year at UConn compares to those of some of our favorite players. I look for a sophomore leap. Meg knows what she needs to work on, and her teammates and coaches will help her get there.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I wonder whether Walker fully realizes that C. Williams is a competitor and has her eyes on that 5th starting spot. If I was her watching Walker, I'd be like this summer I'm going to focus on defense and that spot is mine!

Meg knows Christyn and how good she is. But Meg’s one year at UConn gives her a huge advantage over Christyn. Crystal benefitted from playing and regular practices last year, so she got the nod as a starter this year over Azura. I think 75% of the BY were sure that Z was too good not to start and Crystal was inconsistent as a frosh. How do you like her now?

 

[Blueballer]

Only 13 assist and a sluggish 4th quarter

When you plan for playing 3 days in a row the "winning every quarter" goal takes a back seat to survive and advance as healthy as possible.

 

[Golden Husky]

well, thanks, DefenseBB, for the Leslie Gore reference (a family friend, BTW).

I'm going to get hated on for this, but just wondering how would we feel if Baylor fans started writing on how badly they feel for Gabby, and, oh by the way, how Geno is not such a nice person.

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