Post game thread (merged thread)

[JellyBean]

UConn got the win that is all that matters. Of course there were things that need work: defense and rebounding, but you got X amount of practice time and 30 plus games to improve. It is always about the progress in the end.

Paige- Paige was Paige. Played outstanding, especially in the second half. But, 40 minutes? Coach can't push her like that all season. He gotta trust other players.

Caroline Ducharme- Good to see that she wasn't just launching 3 point shots at will. She let the game come to her and it showed. Her aggression on attacking the rim was nice to see.

EDub-Smooth performance. Glad that she stayed.

ONO-Liv is going to be Liv. Some games she is going to "Wow" the heck out of us and some games she is going to "Wow" the heck out of us. Each game, I am looking for improvement and I am pretty sure ONO did not like her performance out there on the defensive end. She will be better next game.

AE- With so much offensive talent out on the floor and pretty sure the offensive isn't centered around any particular player, AE gets her points, rebounds, and does whatever she can to be a force out there. I think she did well.

Bench:
Dorka- A few nervous moments out there. But Coach, I know that this is his team, gotta let her get more than 13-14 minutes out there. 3 points, 3 boards, a steal, and assist. But one game, Coach will figure it out.

Caroline- Another tough one where you need more minutes out there to see what she can do. She a got a foul and a turnover. But 4 minutes?

Azzi- First game against a tougher opponent. Like the rest of the team on defense, some struggles. But I figure she will, like the rest of the team, get better with each practice and game.

Nika-Love this young lady's energy! I wish that she could bottle that energy up and sell it because I would buy boxes of that stuff and pass it along to my high school players! She sets the tone!

Bench Body Language:
OMG. Not sure if it was because they had a late night or what but man there was some sad faces on that bench. Energy was not there. Maybe because it was the first game and players were shocked to have fans in the stands. But that body language and energy was not UConn Standard.

 

[D J B]

The Arkansas players outplayed Dorka. So, a questionable comparison.

You're obviously replying to someone's post. Want to tell us who? (The "reply" button is a useful tool.)

 

[Heytherego]

Bench Body Language:
OMG. Not sure if it was because they had a late night or what but man there was some sad faces on that bench. Energy was not there. Maybe because it was the first game and players were shocked to have fans in the stands. But that body language and energy was not UConn Standard.

I’m glad I’m not the only one noticing. It was really disappointing. They looked bored and half the players didn’t bother clapping/cheering at many moments. Embarrassing body language and attitude. Last year the bench players seemed much more into and they weren’t even sitting next to each other. I hope this gets addressed, which I’m sure it will because GA said when they watch games back they do look at body language on the bench. Missing someone like Kyla who was somewhat of a vocal leader on the bench and always brought TONS of energy.

 

[D J B]

The word was supposed to be “repetitive”
nit “religious”

Dammit. I'd already added this to my meditative/religious/chant routine for tonite. I forgive you. OM.

 

[BostonBay]

Terrible, terrible defense.
Poor positioning on man to man.
Overplaying to one side on man to man showed lousy footwork, no recovery, no/poor rotation, no backing on beat man to man.
No half slide to back ball defender when being challenged.
Huge void in front of the basket opened straight line to the inside.
Out rebounded by smaller team.
Looked like either a poorly coached team, or a team that just doesn’t get it or WANT to play defense.
If they think they can play like this against South Carolina and not get EMBARRASSED, they’re in for a rude awakening.
Step up or sit down.
( and I don’t want to hear about first game, blah, blah, blah...)

The team has no identity right now (except being Paige's team). I hope they get one soon. Geno was visibly surprised & upset during the halftime and postgame interviews, like he couldn't believe what he just saw on defense. Tough defense is the core of what wins Titles, not a finesse team throwing up 3-pointers at a 30% clip. You would think the players/coaching staff would get this message by now.

I hope Aubrey comes back soon. She is a great defender & it can be contagious. Azzi was playing in slow-motion out there. I'm not worried about her offense/her shot, but she looked lost on defense. I counted at least 3 or 4 times a player just blew right by her without much effort. She needs to adapt to the speed of the college game.

 

[cohenzone]

Dammit. I'd already added this to my meditative/religious/chant routine for tonite. I forgive you. OM.

I’ve filed an injunction against auto correct.

 

[Bigboote]

Kudos to Mike Neighbors for getting his team prepared and to the Arkansas players for executing the game plan. As someone said above, they never hung their heads, and they kept playing.

Paige was amazing, but I thought Westbrook also played really really well. If she keeps playing like that, with a few high-scoring games, she’ll be a top-ten draft pick.

Geno will be going over a lot of film, and I bet the defense will be much-improved next week.

 

[ocoandasoc]

I agree with a lot of the points posters have made about the interior defense and rebounding. But did any of you critics notice that Arkansas had already played two games before their bus got to Hartford? This was UConn's first game. And that makes a big difference. Don't be surprised if Arkansas wins their next 14 games.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Arizona isn’t on the schedule, unless I overlooked something. I watched the Arizona upset and I think they match up better with them than they do with Arkansa, this year.
Louisville played horrible offensively and Hailey Van Lith missed a ton of open shots that Paige wouldn’t. I don’t think either team would pose that much of a problem for Uconn at this point in the early season. Our problem seems to be against teams of really quick guards.

Think NCAA tourney re: Arizona.

 

[D J B]

Well, we got beaten by 80 points. Fortunately, we scored 95 to overcome it.

 

[hoophuskee]

HoopHuskee's analysis above is excellent yet I'd part company when Liv is called a great athlete. To me, for now going on four seasons, the reason she continues to frustrate Geno and most of us is that she's clearly not a great athlete. She is frequently touted for her defense but Arkansas had no trouble circumventing her numerous times today. Yes, the guards didn't do the job on D, but neither did Liv.

Okay-- we disagree on this point. I thought the plays that we experience most frustration with her are for her poor basketball instincts not her athleticism. I recall three of her fouls today

1-- She over-committed on a non-outside threat allowing the player to drive right by her for layup. There was no reason for her to go hard at the player seeing how she was sagging in the paint to start with. Let the opposing big make the outside shot.

2-- Another play I thought she defended well and the opposing player was going to take a tough runner in the lane and she bailed the player out by reaching in instead of just keeping her hands up.

3-- Similar play in which she was in very good defensive position and the player was taking a tough runner in the lane, a play that Meg also pointed out, instead of keeping her hands straight up, she brings them down trying to block the shot. And ofc her arm that tried to block the shot comes down and hits the offensive player. That's similar to the Baylor game in which she (And Edwards) probably got away with one by coming down on Carrington with that last second jumper.

The above imo is an example that she just doesn't seem to "learn" as well as I think she should. OFC who am I? But like many on here - I can't help it- I'm frustrated with something that I think that she should've learned by now. I don't see it as a lack of athleticism. IMO it's basketball instinct.

 

[Oracle9]

Can’t bother to read the whole thread. Sorry if this is religious. It was Arkansas’s 3rd game and even cupcake games help mold a team. Our first. Arkansas is not horrible. We win by 15 which used to count an easy win. I’d guess the D will improve.

It is impossible to draw any conclusions after one game, no real chance of losing when push came to shove.

I thought the same thing. IMHO instead of the exhibition I think they should have scheduled a "cupcake" just to warm everyone up, mainly because it's still mostly a young team. I like Chrystin and Ono, but they are not assertive senior leadership like Stef, Bria, Morgan, and Moriah. It's fortunate E is there and decided to stay. I also think he purposely scheduled the Arkansas game to assess his team, and right before they go to the Bahamas. He himself said Ark is tough to play not a lot of teams play that style. I think he also wanted to instill a sense of urgency and scare them too. Geno always with the psychology. We will see if it worked next week. They won but if you noticed no one was happy, Paige said it. Still I think it was good to get it out of their heads. Practice is not going to be pretty. Oooh Boy

 

[donalddoowop]

In just 19 minutes, ONO committed three turnovers and four fouls. And then there were the numerous times Arkansas went past her or over her for baskets. Just one offensive rebound. Just nine points. Picking up from where she left it last year.

Arkansas guards just cut to the basket and dared UConn to either stop them or foul them. Very un-Geno-like that UConn failed repeatedly to stop the drive. That's something that Coach Geno's teams do better than anyone else.

Edwards couldn't stay on the court either. Another four fouls in less than 20 minutes.

But hand it to Arkansas. They were relentless. They were quick. They didn't commit turnovers. And they didn't miss free throws. Well coached team. Our bigs need to regroup. Yes, first game. But surprising that we didn't blow out a team that had lost its best three starters.

For one thing, Arkansas did not lose their top three starters. One of them played today. If you watched the game today you saw her hit all kinds of shots. For another, when in the last four seasons has Geno's teams been better at stopping the dribble drive better than other teams. It even happened when Nurse was playing. Just watch the last national semi-final game UConn played against Notre Dame when one ND guard scored 37 points on mostly drives to the basket.

 

[Oracle9]

Well, we got beaten by 80 points. Fortunately, we scored 95 to overcome it.

 

[Oracle9]

You would think so right..my goodness.

 

[Plebe]

Even Geno, the biggest critic said "We did more good things than bad things, it's just that the bad things were really really bad".

Oh man, the dreaded double "really" from Geno.

 

[Viet Vet]

The refs had nothing, NOTHING, to do with poor defense.

 

[Artifact]

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

I want to thank, Arkansas for helping us to exhibit our strength & weakness as a team !

 

[CocoHusky]

As I was at the game and just got home, let me offer some “at game observations” that may be eluding some of our fans. #1 this Is Arkansas 4th game of the year, counting their exhibition, this was our 2nd. #2. Our team didn’t play 9 players in the 1st half during a highly touted game, when was the last time we saw that? #3. Were there nerves for our players, oh my gosh YES, you could see many new players trying to defer to other players on all their passes. Painful at times but still a process they need to learn when to pass and when to shoot. This team still had 20 assists to 11 turnovers, which is still good. #4. They had 8 steals against a guard orientated team, which is really good. #5 19 fouls was pathetic, some were also unbelievably ticky tack and some Arkansas fouls were completely missed as Liv got mauled a few times under the basket.
Last, #6. Paige just plays as a “slower pace” seeing when and how to score, pass and cut. It’s pretty impressive watching how effortless she makes it.
Remain calm, building chemistry among 9-10 players takes time with all the combos. Doesn’t anyone remember Stewie’s freshman year and how long it took that team to gel?
Ye gads, this group of fans IS SPOILED and that’s ok as long as we realize it. Stay the course and trust the process.

I understand the point you are trying to make just would like to dismiss that comparison to Stewie Freshman team. That Stewie team gave up 80 points exactly 1 time during that season and it took ND 3 OT periods to get there. That team also held #1 Stanford to 35 points for a game on their home court. That team was also packed with world class defenders. UCONN fans are very spoiled by the success of the program I'll admit that. Being spoiled and knowledgeable are not mutual exclusively. Those same fans have a pretty good idea of what championship basketball looks like and that was not it. It may have been just one game, but this game highlighted recurring issues. Paige is well on her way to winning more POY awards but may not realize a NCAA championship unless UCONN achieves more consistent post play and plays significantly better perimeter defense. Every UCONN starter shot better than 50% during this game and Liv and Aaaliyah were each a point away from all 5 starters being in double figures. Arkansas was an unranked team and UCONN was up 17 to 2 within the first five minutes of the game. For the last 3.5 quarters of this game UCONN was basically content to trade basket with Arkansas-aka shootout. What was also disappointing about this game in particular and the last 3 UCONN teams (thus the recurring) is the lack of leadership, communication and total team commitment necessary to make defensive stops. One of Geno great teaching points which he emphasizes at every clinic he gives is that communication on defense is more important than it is on offense. With this team i don't see or hear defensive communication and believe me I looking and listening very closely. I've also come to believe the scout (pre game plan) are not be followed. What I see are individual uncoordinated defensive actions. For example some defenders are choosing to go under screen while others are choosing to fight over. For the post players I also see hesitation on the weak side rotations leaving our bigs in no man's land-meaning they are not able to help contest the shot and they are in horrible rebounding position. That is not how this are supposed to work for even mediocre defensive teams. First and foremost the scout has to set the general foundation and it is supposed to cover the basics such as: Are they pushing the ball handlers to their weak hand (usually the case). Since you know the high ball screens are coming are we going over or under? Does this team have any pick and pop bigs-like Stanford does? Where is my help coming from? I'll use Azzi as an example -Azzi's perimeter defense was abysmal today. Every time Azzi got beat off the dribble there was no help. Azzi is going to get beat-they are all going to get beat sometimes. Azzi has to do her part to get better but Azzi is not her own help. An improvement will only come from better communication & coordination by SOMEONE/ANYONE yelling: "Azzi I got you your help, push her right! One of the other hallmarks of UCONN teams is that the players on the bench are learning from the mistakes that are made by the players on the floor. That didn't happen in this game. Dorka should have been learning from watching Liv, Aaliyah should have learned from watching Dorka and Liv. All three players were repeating the same mistakes. Likewise Nika and Carolinne should have learned from Azzi defensive struggles. Instead the same Arkansas player ( Spencer) beat Azzi off the dribble the same way she beat Caroline and the same way she beat Nika. Spencer is not a starter for Arkansas and the move she used to beat Caroline, Azzi and Nika didn't even require her to change direction. I'm not suggesting its easy but it is very necessary and UCONN WBB has always had someone willing and and able to do it. Freshman Morgan Tuck stepped in and did it for and ailing Dolson in the 2013 FF. Kia Nurse did it on the fly (without a time out) and it help UCONN come back from 10 Point deficit in the 4th Quarter against ND in 2017.

 

[Aluminny69]

Well, for a supposedly unbeatable team with a deep bench, UConn played an unranked team even for 35 minutes, despite a career high 34 points from Paige. Hardly the stuff that dreams are made of.

 

[jchusky]

just some other observations I was surprised that Ducharme played the lowest aside the players that played 0 minutes. What really rattled me was not seeing Gabriel get a meaningful minute especially considering some of the bigs were in foul trouble. Usually I would not think much of it but I did read Geno said he liked what he saw from her in practice and I thought maybe putting her in would create some type of wake up moment from the team.

 

[huskyblooz]

just some other observations I was surprised that Ducharme played the lowest aside the players that played 0 minutes. What really rattled me was not seeing Gabriel get a meaningful minute especially considering some of the bigs were in foul trouble. Usually I would not think much of it but I did read Geno said he liked what he saw from her in practice and I thought maybe putting her in would create some type of wake up moment from the team.

I'd rather see DeBerry.

 

[Nolefan]

Some of y’all need to go listen to Geno’s post game interview before you think this is the end of the world and UConn can’t play defense .. he also didn’t sound too overly thrilled with officiating

 

[Gus Mahler]

It’s only first game. No big deal with of the stuff stated below other than 1 thing. OMG Paige!!!!! . For me – just amazed at her play. Too bad UCONN needed her to play the 40. Just want to re-iterate this game no big deal 1st game of season.

1—Dorka. If we over-evaluate the 1 exhibition game like what was done last week and apply the same to this week then the good news is that she’ll be back next year. Saw a player not near as good defensively vs Liv as some suggested last week. And her outside shooting looked just as atrocious as her f/t shooting. No way right now she starts over Liv.

2—Liv. Still the same but better. But still essentially the same in that she has such poor basketball instincts. We can win with her but whew, at least so far, she is much more of a great athlete than a basketball player. Man, would I love to see her have a jump hook on the right-side of the baseline.

3--- Edwards. Our best 4/5 post player. 4—Nika- Terrible today but no big deal.

5--- CWill and Evina. To me they are very nervous players unless if the game is a blowout. Think of beautiful Evina’s shot was and she didn’t seem to hunt for more. And she doesn’t take the ball to the hoop much with an intent to score either. As for CWill the only thing you can rely for her to score on is a layup. If she doesn’t get it, then what? Granted it’s hard to stop her from getting some. But her shot still remains an enigma other than layups. Even f’/throw line-- it’s not good. But they are a very nice offset to one another.

6—This leads me to Azzi. IMO key player for the season. Her defense was atrocious. I expect this will be fixed to a degree. IMO offensively she’ll take major, major pressure off of everyone if UCONN can get her looks like they did today in the 3rd quarter. UCONN needs to get her open/ she needs to work to get open, and ofc she needs to hit quite a few 3’s. That’s exactly what Geno said a few weeks ago about her and team need to get her open. That's why he's the boss!!!!!



A lot to look forward to.

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