Post game thread (merged thread)

[EricLA]

I watched much of this game shaking my head. This did not look like a dominant team who brought back all 5 starters from last season and is on a mission this season. Where was the intensity? The team defense? The communication? I know I'm not a "yay-rah-rah" kind of guy like @Tonyc, but I'm usually pretty positive about the team. This game was troubling in a lot of ways.

• 15 offensive rebounds for Arkansas? Against our size?
• Their guards seemed to have an easy time getting to the basket. Ours, not so much
• 2 big runs by Arkansas - 1 in Q1 and 1 in Q3
• Gave up 80 points to a team who lost 3 starters after last season and has far less experience than our 5 returning starters

Paige was incredible. Christyn and Evina were good. The rest of the team stunk for the most part. It seems troubling that yet again, against a team we should beat handily, Paige had to take over and be heroic. She was unreal. All that without making a 3 point shot. She was really aggressive, and we needed every bit of it.

Who were the fools at ESPN who did not list her as a favorite to repeat as NPOY?

BTW shout out to Evina. 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. All on only 7 shots.

Not only did our post players struggle with fouls, they struggled on defense. 64% FT shooting. Good lawd. What happened to Nika? She looks nothing like the player from last season. Azzi's shooting prowess? Not so good. Caroline literally had 0 stats in the box score except for 1 foul and 1 turnover.

Having said that, a win is a win. I will really look forward to see how Arkansas does this season. Very well coached and lots of talent. Hard to guard as we saw. But I think Geno saw a LOT that needs to be worked on, especially on defense... There are a lot of teams with talented guards who like to drive to the basket. We need to figure that out.

 

[Vowelguy]

It's only game 1 folks.

This board has gone from "UConn should be offended that it isn't ranked #1" to "this team has a long way to go to make the F4."

And it's against an unorthodox opponent. Not many teams are as perimeter oriented as AR, and they play very different from most other teams.

 

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Arkansas game:

• UConn usually comes out of the gate ready to roll to start the season. Today against a good Arkansas team, it wasn’t always pretty. Mostly good to go with some bad. In the end UConn put up 95 points, coming away with a 15 point victory,
• Paige and Christyn's ability to attack the basket was critical in today’s game
• UConn used a 9-player rotation in prime time against the Razorbacks today, but still missed Aubrey’s defensive energy. Aubrey would have been the best UConn option against Goforth. Hope she gets healthy soon.
• Evina has improved her shooting every season from her years at TN through her second year at UConn. Her shooting will be a critical factor for the Huskies this year.
• There was a lot of discussion about a 3 or 4-guard lineup for UConn before the season. I don't think anyone anticipated a 5-guard lineup.
• After draining a 3 today, Aaliyah is shooting 100% from the arc for her career.
• For those who felt Paige’s PT might decline this season or that some other player might be named NPOY, at least for the first game she was on the court for all 40 minutes while scoring a career high 34 points.

 

[Kaizen]

Well we win and Paige 34 pts but could be better.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Player of the Game: Paige Bueckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vowelguy]

Paige 15-19 from the field.
lol

Ridiculous for a guard

 

[Redux]

I personally am not yet ready to give up on this year.

 

[veryolddog]

Wow! fast posting. Page wins the game. Chrystin, Evina and Leah played well. Liv played like she did last year. Geno experimented---good job. Fudd, 1st game a dud. You won't like that, but I expected the 3 point phenom to wow us and it did not happen today. We will have to wait and see. Dorka was ok but we have no seen her best yet. Great layup scoring in the first half. Team really needs to listen to Geno and focus on defense. Arkansas drove the bassket constantly with success.

Mediocre first game. Page is the real winner. Need to improve alot to play against SC.

 

[Monte]

Good: Paige+Evina

---Nika: has to keep shooting. She took a shot which missed the rim by about 2 feet. I don't think she took another shot after that.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Nice first game. I wish all of UConn’s games were competitive like this.

 

[Hayven]

We’re doomed

 

[Aluminny69]

Only 10 bench points? So much for depth. The plus is, nowhere to go but up from here.

 

[UConn990411]

New season, more talent, same bad habits.

Calling that game underwhelming would be an understatement. Everyone not name Paige needs to bring it on the defensive end next game.

 

[Aluminny69]

We’re doomed

Not doomed, but not invincible either. Somewhere in between.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I watched much of this game shaking my head. This did not look like a dominant team who brought back all 5 starters from last season and is on a mission this season. Where was the intensity? The team defense? The communication? I know I'm not a "yay-rah-rah" kind of guy like @Tonyc, but I'm usually pretty positive about the team. This game was troubling in a lot of ways.

• 15 offensive rebounds for Arkansas? Against our size?
• Their guards seemed to have an easy time getting to the basket. Ours, not so much
• 2 big runs by Arkansas - 1 in Q1 and 1 in Q3
• Gave up 80 points to a team who lost 3 starters after last season and has far less experience than our 5 returning starters

Paige was incredible. Christyn and Evina were good. The rest of the team stunk for the most part. It seems troubling that yet again, against a team we should beat handily, Paige had to take over and be heroic. She was unreal. All that without making a 3 point shot. She was really aggressive, and we needed every bit of it.

Who were the fools at ESPN who did not list her as a favorite to repeat as NPOY?

BTW shout out to Evina. 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. All on only 7 shots.

Not only did our post players struggle with fouls, they struggled on defense. 64% FT shooting. Good lawd. What happened to Nika? She looks nothing like the player from last season. Azzi's shooting prowess? Not so good. Caroline literally had 0 stats in the box score except for 1 foul and 1 turnover.

Having said that, a win is a win. I will really look forward to see how Arkansas does this season. Very well coached and lots of talent. Hard to guard as we saw. But I think Geno saw a LOT that needs to be worked on, especially on defense... There are a lot of teams with talented guards who like to drive to the basket. We need to figure that out.

Didn't line up with the gunslingers portrait released yesterday. Do they think the rest of WBB is going to roll over?

 

[victor64]

1. The new three point line made it a lot easier for players to get to the basket.
2. Both teams got exposed with their inability to guard the dribble.
3. I am exaggerating of course but teams may deploy "hack a CW strategy" to force her to the line.
4. Dorka, if she hadn't already figured out, realizes that Geno and Kevin McGuff are like night and day. Dorka could get away with mental lapses with McGuff.
5. Neighbors does a really good job of getting the most out of his players.
6. For today at least, the best freshmen were on Arkansas.
7. Paige was brilliant of course. Did she have to play 40? I don't think so.
8. With that form, today's three won't be AE's last.
9. I bet three point attempts drop nationwide this year.
10. With all the lineup discussions, I am sure nobody thought Geno would play one in which none of the main bigs would be on the floor.
11. If the three bigs are all in foul trouble or not playing well, when does Piath get her chance, even for a minute or two?

 

[Heytherego]

Our defense was embarrassingly bad. Geno understandably was not pleased, as he said they’re not going to win a lot of games playing like that. However I do think Arkansa is still a pretty good team, given the players they lost last season and I could see them being ranked down the road this season.

Paige went OFF, after scoring 0 in the first quarter. I was really happy with the way she played the rest of the game. It’s scary to think she improved from last year. Little bit concerning that she had to play all 40 minutes. Other players need to step up. Also crazy that she scored 34, without any three pointers. “I know I say it all the time but I shouldn’t wait until the second quarter” -PB, I couldn’t have said it better.

I thought all the seniors played well. I think there’s always room for improvement there. CW needs to work on FT, Liv turnovers, Evina maybe being a little more aggressive. But Evina I think has really improved from last season, she’s moving a lot better and lead in rebounds (tied with Liv), 3 PT made, + assists today.

Nika doesn’t look better or worse from last season IMO, which is going to make it hard for her to get minutes if CD and Azzi start figuring it out. She needs to hit the few shots she takes a game.

I was a little disappointed with Azzi’s play but am going to chalk it up to freshman jitters. I’m hoping CD too can do what she needs to do and get some meaningful minutes.

Dorka didn’t add much today, I think she seemed nervous too. Can’t believe some people were calling for her to start after the exhibition game, she’s not there yet at all. Hopefully she does get there, maybe just a bad night.

Disappointed in 3 pt and FT % (27.8%, 64%). Posts need to do better with fouls, guards need to do better defending off the dribble, and everyone needs to do better boxing out/rebounding. Aubrey was missed today, I think she really could helped on the defensive end and rebounding.

Overall though the things that need to be fixed are not horrible. I’m happy our offense is where it is this early. We went through a few cold stretches, but defense was the problem.

Side notes:
Thought it was really nice Geno congratulated the reporter (not sure her name) on her engagement, definitely took her by surprise.
Didn’t notice it until the analysts pointed it out, but the bench was lacking energy they need to be more engaged in the game.

 

[Rb335]

The general theme of this board and the media has been that Connecticut is so much deeper than last season. On paper we are, but we didn't get to see that today.

• Paige looked as though she wanted to be the facilitator of the offense to start the game, but quickly fell back into the role she occupied last year. A player who at times needs to carry the offense. She can score at will and is one of the best finishers around the rim that I have ever seen...as a guard.
• Evina also looked good to me. She will be crucial if she can continue to shoot such a high % from 3.
• Christyn was solid. I think today is what we can expect from her. She is going to be a streaky shooter from distance, and sub par from the FT line, but she will be aggressive going to the basket.
• ONO/AE - poor defensive showing. Both need to clean up the fouls and get back into the rhythm of playing good D without fouling like they did last year.
• Dorka - looked a bit overwhelmed. I'm intrigued to see how she fits, and how she looks against an opponent with more traditional size.
• Fudd - anyone claiming she was going to be better than Bueckers was last year is mistaken. She's going to hit a lot of shots this year, but her defense was pretty awful from start to finish. I'm really intrigued to see what type of contribution she brings once she settles in.
• Nika - she's going to play hard, but I think there are better options for the big time minutes this year. In an ideal world, her role is to bring pressure defense, hit open shots, and spell Bueckers some minutes at PG.
• Caroline- freshman gitters. I think I'd be really happy if she can provide Megan Gardler type minutes this year. She won't be asked to shoulder a ton of responsibility, but is clearly capable of making an impact at this level.

Overall, we beat a team that I expect will creep into the top 25. Definitely some things to work on, but I anticipate we'll see improvement after another week of practice.

 

[AmeriConn]

All I can say is thank you Paige Bueckers! Solid game by Christyn and Evina.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Lot of rust, that's for certain and to the point made, it's Game 1.. A lot of analysis could be made, most not so good but I'll leave that to others except for one mention - Christyn has got to do much better with her free throws, especially if she's going to attack the basket as appears to be the plan. 6 for 11 has got to turn into 8 or 9 for 11.

 

[Happydad745]

PG-great
CW-needs lots of work for FTs
Dorka-not there yet
Evina-big performance
Defense: Needs lots of work

 

[huskeynut]

A win is a win. Arkansas is not an easy team to play. Kudos to them for fighting the entire game.

Paige was Paige. What did people expect? Despite the cries from the fandom, she's going to be playing minutes just like last season.

Good games by E and Christyn.

The rest, not so much. Aaliyah limited by fouls - a couple of real bad calls on her. Olivia - decent game but some on this board will never be satisfied with her play. Dorka - eh. Less impressive than Liv. Azzi - unimpressive. Caroline - eh. Nika - eh.

Defense - much work to do. Rebounding - much work to do. FT - 64% is unacceptable.

A lot of work to do.

 

[rvwsleep]

Ouside of Paige,, Edwards is this team's most important player. She's easily the most physical player we have and when she's not in the lineup, our opponents get way too many offensive rebounds. She has to learn how to play without committing so many fouls.
I see Liv and Dorka as somewhat similar types. Tall but not very physical and both get pushed around under the basket.

 

[oldude]

I'm not particularly concerned with a 15-pt victory in UConn's first game against a good basketball team. Yes, we are a little too "Paige-centric," and the defense, foul shooting and rebounding all need to get better. But Geno got two things he wanted today: a win, and a game he can teach off of. I expect UConn to be much better next game out.

 

[BostonBay]

I cant remember a UConn team playing worse defense.
1). Post defense: stand up with arms raised. But, dont move or you'll get a foul. I'll check the rule book, but I think you can play defense with 3 or 4 fouls.
2). Perimeter defense. I'll play off their guards as they're quick. But, I wont move my feet and let them blow by me & I hope to swipe at the ball when they get by me.
3). No weak side defense to speak of. When UConn players got beat, there was a free path to the basket or a wide-open shot. The rest of the UConn players just standing around watching.
4). The small Ark team outrebounded UConn for most of the game. That is pathetic. Shows a lot of aggressiveness & focus. Didnt get much better in the 2nd half which is worrisome.
5). Coaches deserve a big part of the blame hear. Perimeter defense was poor last year so you'd think it would be something to fix this year. But, bad techniques (not moving your feet and staying in front of the player) & bad habits continue...

Offense wasnt great either (except for Paige), but the defense was an embarrassment.