Post game thread (merged thread)

[D J B]

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.

I really, really like your comments on things, but may I please make a small suggestion? Break things into paragraphs by thought, so it's easier to read. Just an idea. Loved your post, but it was a grind.

 

[Crossover]

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.

I'm pretty sure that Arkansas won't be unranked for long.

 

[Gus Mahler]

One other remarkable stat from today’s game. Paige was 15-19 with 4 assists and did not commit a single turnover.

Remarkable, yes. But methinks your count is off. I see three stats.

 

[Happydad745]

Yet, the Huskies scored 95 points. What the heck to people want?

More defense.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yet, the Huskies scored 95 points. What the heck to people want?

You must be new…

 

[Purchase1]

I think this was one of those games where you can feel the lack of Aubrey. I think all of our bigs were too slow to handle Goforth this getting them into foul trouble. This wouldn’t have been an issue had Aubrey been available to play no doubt about that in my mind.

 

[The deacon]

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.

Thanks, hoophuskee, we'll disagree here, yet agree. We are far from the first and won't be the last to be frustrated when both watching and analyzing Liv.

I appreciate and understand your point by point. I'll just note that I believe, in addition to typically being a coordinated and generally well-conditioned person, a great athlete must also have better than average focus and, in the case of a basketball player, court sense... yes, learn from experience.

Liv works so hard, her footwork is better on D than in the past, and we want her to avoid those plays that you've itemized. However, IMO, because she continually repeats her errors, both mental and physical, she falls shy of being a great athlete.

We'll keep hoping, probably against hope.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I learned only one thing from watching this game. Paige is even better than I thought.

It's no surprise to me that we couldn't move our feet quickly enough to stop opposing guard's penetration. I don't want to say anything negative but Azzi stood out in that regard. She plays like a private school kid who never had to play someone truly hungry in her life. I get that she has tons of USA basketball experience and I like her a lot but a quick guard like Ari McDonald would eat her for lunch and have dinner too before she knew what hit her. Overall though, except for the defense, she didn't hurt them. She didn't turn it over. She was 3 for 7. The defense will improve but she needs to play defense with a commitment to intensity that she hasn't seemed to learn yet. She has to cut off those driving lanes. Live with the 3 point attempts more if necessary but force people to their off hand. Get in front of them. Maybe she was trying too much to cut off the 3 ball today.

I'd like to see what Caroline can do in more than 4 minutes. She's not physically quick but her length really helps. If you really study Caroline's game, she thinks quickly and reacts quickly. She might actually be able to block those drives to the basket better than Azzi. She reacts quickly for a big player. That's the biggest strength for Paige also. Paige is instantaneous. Everyone else still needs to upgrade the CPU and you know what, that just can't be done. The wiring is what it is. Was Larry Bird brilliant? Hell no, but on the basketball floor he made great decisions quickly. Body control is thousands of minute adjustments in real time. Reaction time is important. I think Caroline might emerge is she's given a chance. Height and length really helps also and Caroline can do so many things well. I think her CPU is not an M1 chip but she's the latest generation intel at least. I like her passing and her decision making. She even has another level of intensity in her that comes out when she's pressured to the max. She's a survivor.

Dorka looked slower today than before but I'd still give her at least 25 minutes PT. Dorka is our best rebounder and a great offensive rebounder. She actually blocks out folks. If the team is going to set multiple picks to free up Paige and Christin then set the picks with a bigger player and hit the boards. We really could dominate the boards even against top teams but Dorka has to play. Imagine Uconn as a 3 point shooting team with stronger interior rebounding and post play. What a difference another 4-5 rebounds a game would provide and Dorka can do that. It's only a matter of time before Dorka emerges.

Christin is the most underated player on this team. She is a championship level player and without her this team would really struggle. I LOVE her intensity. My heart goes out to that kid. She deserves so much more positive press than she gets. If she had more help the past few years there would have been a championship or 2 for her as well. Maybe this year. I watched the Notre Game game when she was a freshman. All that build up and she comes out and nails 7 for 7 to start. She was their best player in that game, at least in the 1st half, as a Freshman. She rises to the occasion in big games. She showed it in the tournament last year as well, on top of playing the opposing teams best player.

We can't expect Paige to replicate today's game but is there any question that she's more of a shooting guard than a point guard? Make her the shooting guard for God's sake and set picks for her like today. Remember Danny Manning or Larry Bird in college? One great player can make a dominant team if the supporting cast does their job helping her and playing defense. Such a supporting cast could be improved with Dorka helping to rebound and we find a way to take away those drives to the basket from the opposing guards. I'd go with 2 bigs for sure against most teams.

I'm a huge fan of these girls. I look forward to every game.

 

[Dokey]

I think this was one of those games where you can feel the lack of Aubrey. I think all of our bigs were too slow to handle Goforth this getting them into foul trouble. This wouldn’t have been an issue had Aubrey been available to play no doubt about that in my mind.

It is the same old story. When and if Aubrey ceases being a liability on offense—and I don’t mean scoring but understanding quickly what to do on offense—she will get minutes. We have a lot of players who can score and play defense even if they forgot how to tonight. Caroline only had four minutes tonight but against Fort Hays she showed the possibility of both offense and defense. AE does a lot of what Aubrey does but scores as well. I put this game down to nerves.

The old hands, Paige, CW, and Evina, were steady. CW has always been a lousy free throw shooter, at least lousy in streaks. ONO is a senior and isn’t likely to change now. She does something’s very well, others...I’m not sure I entirely like the starting lineup. The fact it was the one at the end of the last season doesn’t entirely give me confidence.

I see this team making a strong run this year, falling short, but winning it all the following year. Of course, Paige just might disagree. Here’s hoping.

 

[FridaFriend]

Early games in the season have often been difficult for even the best UCONN teams:

11/24/99: Abrosimova, Ralph, Schumacher, Bird, Cash, Jones, and Williams barely get by an unranked Kentucky team 68-62

11/16/2008: Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore, Caroline Doty, and Tiffany Hayes escape with an 82-71 victory over an unranked Georgia Tech team, after a 34-34 tie at the half

11/17/2014: KML, Stokes, Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck, Nurse, and Williams lose to Stanford in OT 88-86. The Stanford guards, Lili Thompson and Amber Orrange ran all over the defense, scoring 41 Points. Nurse and Tuck fouled out of the game

 

[Zinethar]

I have now watched the game 3 times. Some observations I've read here are true but sometimes lacking in understanding the reason they occurred. Paige has a good feel of the game. She did not wait this year to take over when it was needed. She sure is the real deal.

Only 4 players on this team have ever played a real NCAA D1 game in front of a crowd. Several have said that is not excuse. I totally disagree. Arkansas had 2 real games before today so had gotten the nerves out. UConn did not have that experience and the younger players not named Paige played nervous and tried too hard to fulfill the crowds idea of who they were. That included Dorka who was one of the 4 with crowd experience but not in the UConn pressure cooker.

The bigs had way too many fouls to be sure but those fouls and the unpredictable way the officials were calling them had a lot to do with how ineffective they became defending the basket. Heck on one play an Arkansas player pushed Liv after the play was over and got no call on something that could easily been a "T". It has always seemed strange to me that UConn never seems to get home cooking from officials but other teams do.

I have watched several games involving ranked teams already and UConn so far offensively has them all easily beaten. Louisville and Arizona has a 9-8 score at the end of the 1st. Both looked terrible on offense. I also watched SC and I thought they played poorly and shot terribly. Yes they beat South Dakota but check out the score. Hopefully UConn's offense will get even better and keep the wins coming as the defense gets better.

I am one of the luckiest people in the world being able to watch and root for a great team. I look forward to watching them grow as the season progresses. As Geno always says "That is why we play the game".

 

[Stymie]

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.

And ther you have it.
Excellent analysis.

 

[Purchase1]

It is the same old story. When and if Aubrey ceases being a liability on offense—and I don’t mean scoring but understanding quickly what to do on offense—she will get minutes. We have a lot of players who can score and play defense even if they forgot how to tonight. Caroline only had four minutes tonight but against Fort Hays she showed the possibility of both offense and defense. AE does a lot of what Aubrey does but scores as well. I put this game down to nerves.

The old hands, Paige, CW, and Evina, were steady. CW has always been a lousy free throw shooter, at least lousy in streaks. ONO is a senior and isn’t likely to change now. She does something’s very well, others...I’m not sure I entirely like the starting lineup. The fact it was the one at the end of the last season doesn’t entirely give me confidence.

I see this team making a strong run this year, falling short, but winning it all the following year. Of course, Paige just might disagree. Here’s hoping.

Agree but the point of my post was all of our post players were way too slow in dealing with Goforth our quickest “big” is Aubrey so defensively we would’ve been able to handle her better than we did IMO. This was one of those games where she could’ve been incredibly useful because we don’t have another player at her size and athleticism.

 

[SVCBeercats]

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.

And if other teams with similar personnel adopt Arkansas' tactics?

 

[Inthepaint]

So did I miss something how bad did we get beat today? ‍♀️

Only the expectations. They took a real whooping.
Gotta love Husky Nation. UCONN wins by 15, "Buckets" justifies her monicker.
But, in (some of) the BY it's the end of the world.
Will we have to get a lot better to reach the top? No doubt about it.
This is what coaches and practice are for. Have to pull all the talent out, mix it with motivation and send a TEAM out onto the floor.
Looked like they were going in 10 different directions at the same time. When they weren't standing around scratching their heads.
Anyone who thinks Geno is going to let any of the defensive atrocities go unnoticed by any of the players, just hasn't been paying attention.
The glum faces on the bench ( except for Saylor, who was doing her best Molly B. impression) indicated that they were aware of the mistakes and lack of coordination.
Guess it was hard to be upbeat when they all knew what they would be in for this week.
Let's see what transpires down in the Bahamas next weekend.
Here's where Geno, CD, Jamelle and Morgan earn their salaries.

 

[SVCBeercats]

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

Liked this, however, I am thanking all three of this year's UCONN All-Americans.

 

[SVCBeercats]

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.

Curing the rebounding malady starts with boxing out. They all look where the ball might go. Instead look for an opponent to box out, then they can go to the ball for the rebound.

 

[SVCBeercats]

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

I was with you until the above sentence. Outside of Christyn's foul shooting woes, she and Evina played a very good offense. I know you said great but it sounded like a bit of disrespect for Evina and Christyn. Also Paige is working on joining D, M, and S on Mount Olympia.

 

[Childhood]

Geno yelled at AE in the late 4Q after a timeout. It's scary and I hope the freshmen have the big heart to play under pressure.

 

[meyers7]

Geno yelled at AE in the late 4Q after a timeout. It's scary and I hope the freshmen have the big heart to play under pressure.

They probably don't like it, but I'm sure it's happened many times before.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Need to improve next game,
-Defense
-Free throw
-Avoid fouls, travelling

Boxing out!

 

[jchusky]

aside Paige, what was more concerning is the small impact the returning 1st players. Nika did she even play any meaningful time? What's more alarming about her situation is that she was at a time a starter and didn't look better. Edwards foul trouble is becoming a habit. You could tell frustration from Geno. I know some ppl complained about the refs, but you can't put yourself in a situation to be in foul trouble. Other teams are going to attack you and all 3 bigs at one point had 3 pf.

 

[meyers7]

Just a few thoughts.

1. We actually got to play/watch a game. A new season...with fans. And we won.

2. Bueckers making her case already for NPOY. Enjoy watching her the next few years. Players like this don't come around very often. Even at UCONN.

3. For those that wanted Juhasz to start over Ododa after 1 exhibition game, can we just kind of slow down and see how the year progresses? 9/8 with 3 blocks (probably a double double without the foul trouble) vs 3/3. We were trying to explain to you exhibition game are exhibition games. Don't mean much other than letting players play against an opponent instead of each other.

4. Damn, those officials where whistle happy. Seemed like a lot of touchy fouls. Let them play a little. No wonder Bueckers could play 40 minutes, she was got plenty of breathers.

5. Giving Arkansas an extra 10 possessions (75 shots vs 65 for us) and 64% from the FT line turns a 25 point win into a 15 point win.

6. As Geno said, our 1st game vs their 3rd game. It can make a difference. See how we are doing after the Bahamas. I imagine we'll be markedly improved.

7. Although frustrating game to watch, RELAX (ask Frankie), we got another 30 games to go in the regular season. Plenty of room/time for improvement. Geno is probably happy he's got so much to work on.

 

[enigmatic]

Off subject but I'm just happy and ecstatic that a new season is upon us and I get to watch this UCONN team again regardless of the performance they had yesterday.

 

[Waquoit]

Other teams have good players these days, you know. All the hand wringing here is hilarious.

 

[psconn]

Just watched the game because I was unable to see it live. Without the "benefit" of reading this thread or reviewing stats first here are my main impressions...

-- I think Evina looks great, even better than last year. She looks ready to take this season through the final four.
-- Paige looks like the reigning National Player of the Year. She actually looks stronger and quicker than last year. She's ready for the long run also.
-- Christyn looks like 2020 Christyn and that was pretty dang good. I don't detect a significant uptick in her game.
-- The posts have lots of work to do. This was supposed to be a strength, but in general they didn't have a good game. Liv looks strong, but committed some bad fouls (along with Aaliyah). I think they will progress well as the year goes on but not ready for a major challenge yet.
-- Dorka just looked a bit lost. This was my biggest disappointment and its hard to explain.
-- For all Azzi's talk about her defence, she was completely unable to keep anyone in front of her one-on-one (that was a general difficulty for everyone). She definitely looked overwhelmed on both ends. I'm pretty sure this will all improve dramatically over the next month or so. It has to.
-- Caroline looked lost also. Just played a few minutes so its hard to say more.
-- Nika was unable to make a big impact.

So, my expectations were apparently too high for this team out of the gate. Geno, staff and players have a ton of work to do before they can be considered a championship favorite BUT the potential is there, and I hope to see a lot of improvement over time. The key is that it will take time.

 

[psconn]

Geno yelled at AE in the late 4Q after a timeout. It's scary and I hope the freshmen have the big heart to play under pressure.

She definitely deserved it. I was yelling at her too. You can't just step aside when you have position regardless of your foul status.

 

[hoophuskee]

4. Damn, those officials where whistle happy. Seemed like a lot of touchy fouls. Let them play a little. No wonder Bueckers could play 40 minutes, she was got plenty of breathers.

I didn't make a big deal about the refs. What was comical was that Arkansas as a team (not just one player) so often just drove the lane with extremely limited intent to score but to draw fouls. In this type of situation, this style, puts constant pressure on the refs to avoid the offensive flopping. I'm sure every time they flop to the floor the Ark bench is after the ref "to make the call."

I'm not sure long-term how you're helping a player develop a winning style of play by trying to do this- maybe it's okay - maybe it isn't. But how much will you get a better during the course of the season if you try to rely on the refs to make bail out calls? But then again maybe for this one game Ark plays much different (and vs SC) and play ot a style that is bets for not getting wiped out.

 

[MSGRET]

All this doom and gloom, UConn beat a team that will be in the Tournament at the end of the year and will give the SEC teams some trouble. While the defending National Champion went down on it's home court to another team that is ranked #25, just barely above where Arkansas should be. This was their first game while Arkansas was playing their third game, it will only get better from here on out.

 

[hjoerring]

Its amazing the conclusions so many can put forth from one game-- a first game, and a game against a very good team. Remember this team had only one exhibition game prior to its opening. And I hardly think any of the current top teams would have written AK as a sure win on their opening day. I'm going to put myself in that unsavory bin labeled-- Chasing Perfection. Rather than the temping one-- Perfection Achieved.
First, my memories about the Stewart's era failed to show a team that blasted out of the gate with championship written all over the place. Jefferson had issues and Stewart was rightfully benched. In the end, the 5 dominated the minutes and learned to play together as a whole unit. And so that story continued until there were no other places to conquer. Any idea that this current team should steam-rolled AK doesn't make sense for me. Well, it's a wishful desire one may have, but one that will surely end in disappointment.

One un-ease that I have difficulties shaking regarding this current team is the lack of a killer instinct. PB is the only one who is willing and fearless. (CW has some of it and Edwards can, if her hands are not tied) EW has decided (it seems to me) to play a too controlled style, as if she is still suffering from her Tenn years when they dubbed her as a selfish player. She can put points on the board and a lot more would help.
The big danger I hope the team can avoid is that PB (w/ the media) casts such a big shadow that the players-- including the very able ones, settle for the crumbs instead of doing their own baking. Fudd of course could break-out and bring the other freshmen with her to balance PB.

For me, the game went as I might have expected-- jitters from the seniors who are now counting downward; nervousness from the beginners; players rotations and roles/expectations.
Remember. This team won over SC-- a tall and good rebounding team; matched a high scoring Iowa team, even though we were not supposed to be a scoring team; and, it took down Baylor-- a tall, physical and athletic team with seniors headed to the WNBA. And we have more and capable bodies this year.