Post game vs. Xavier (merged)

[EricLA]

The last 2 games - against the worst 2 teams in the BE - have been super fun to watch. UCONN came out strong, continued to pour it on, and really for the most part played a pretty complete game. I absolutely LOVED the full court press - even tho we are under-manned, and the press was maybe not as intense as it might be if we had a deep bench, certainly caused all kinds of problems for Xavier, especially in the first half.

Of the 7 core players who played, all of them got involved, all of them did some good things... yes there may be some individual things to work on but they are looking so much better than early on right after Paige was injured. Q3 - they started strong, but then really fell off as the scoring ground to a halt. The defense was still really solid holding Xavier to 6 for the Q, but we only scored 14. 28...20...14 for quarters 1, 2, and 3. On pace to score 7 or so in Q4? Not so much. BUT Xavier really came out firing and scored 8 points in about 3 minutes - by far their most productive run. Then the defense clamped down again.

Nika - She seems to be playing at the same level as last season when she started and before her injuries. Can't say enough about the energy and intensity she brings. Culmo said she always complains about getting fouled, and probably fouls on every play, but I disagree with her on the 2nd point. Muhl is intense and feisty and has a ton of energy. She plays tough and tight defense but has gotten better about doing so without fouling - and she got whacked around a bit today as well. I wish she would knock down some of those open 3's like she did last year, but as of the last 2 games, I'm of the mindset that she should start when Paige comes back and bring Westbrook off the bench. I get that she's the backup PG, and maybe Evina will thrive starting when Paige comes back as the starting PG, but my point is I really like what Nika brings.

ONO - I get that Xavier is not filled with elite post players, but I noticed that almost every time she got the ball in the post, not only did she go strong to the basket, but she also went strong thru contact. And on defense, she FINALLY was blocking shots without the tomahawk chop. Will it last? No idea, but she was really good today. Oh and by the way - 8 blocks? 5 steals?? I LOVE it!!

Caroline - not a great shooting day for her even tho she had a lot of points. But I don't mind the shots. The aggressive nature of her offensive game suits the team well. And oh by the way, she's really solid on defense too. Very disruptive. And holy cow did she fill up the stat sheet. BTW 4-10 from 3 is solid!!

CW - another good game stats wise. Also noticed her energy the last 2 games has really ratcheted up. Full of piss and vinegar, as my dad used to say. Maybe she's feeding off Nika's demonstrative energy - not sure, but what ever it is, more please!

Dorka - sub par game from her today. She needs velcro on her hands. So many rebounds and bobbles when she received a pass that led to missed opportunities. She works hard, but this was not a stellar game for her. She did have 7 rebounds and 1 block, but still, she can do better.

Aaliyah - there was a play in the 1st half where she was on defense. Satterfield, who is a solid burly kid, had the ball and was trying to push Liya out of the way. 3 times Satterfield lowered her shoulder and slammed into Liya trying to push her back. Edwards did not move an inch. No foul on Edwards and Satterfield had to dribble out because it was like her trying to move a concrete wall.

Evina - coming off the bench suits her. Yes she could easily start as well, but she quietly goes about her business no matter how many minutes she has. No idea how it will pan out when Paige comes back, but for now, start Nika YES and let Evina come off the bench.

Piath - comes in early in Q4. VERY nice decision by Geno. In the past it seems like the "end of the bench" would get into the game in the last 4 minutes or so, and they would try too hard. Loved seeing her come in for more "relaxed" minutes so to speak. She wasted no time being productive either - scoring 4 points in about 1 minute! She continued her tear scoring 8 points on 4-4 shooting in 3 minutes. I know this may have fans calling for "MORE MINUTES FOR PIATH". Maybe we will see that. Bottom line is she was much better than against Butler.

Nice to see Amari in with about 5 minutes left in Q4 as well. She was more productive as well. Oh, and 2 blocks right out the gate? You go girl!

Bottom line a nice game from start to finish. Bring on Oregon - that will be a great test to see where we are at...

 

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Xavier game:

• I really like UConn coming out with a pressure defense that leads to turnovers, while speeding up the tempo of the game. Xavier had 6 TO’s in the first 5 minutes of the game as UConn raced out to a double-digit lead and never looked back.
• Liv has played two of her very best games back-to-back. More importantly, she is making really good decisions and then executing like you expect from a senior: when to help on defense, when to go after a shot block and not swinging down in the process, getting the break started off a defensive rebound, flashing into the lane for a strong position in the low blocks at the right time for her teammates to execute the entry pass. I love what Liv is giving this Husky team right now.
• Nika’s energy and effort is relentless. She caused all kinds of problems for Xavier today. If Nika can only find her outside shooting stroke again, it will take UConn to another level.
• I sincerely hope that Caroline never, ever develops a conscience when it comes to hoisting up shots. She is just one of those players like KML or Lou that could miss 4 or 5 in a row and then starts lighting it up.
• OK. Who had Piath & Amari making their first 5 shots after going 1 for 11 against Creighton?
• A few weeks back, following Paige’s injury, I wasn’t particularly hopeful about UConn’s ability to win tough OOC games. There are still some rough edges, but with each and every game this team gets a little better. I am now officially excited about Evina’s homecoming game in Eugene on Monday. Bring on the Ducks!!!

 

[HuskyNan]

Can you see this thread?

 

[oldude]

Can you see this thread?

yes

 

[borninansonia]

Can you see this thread?

yes

 

[quavik]

yes

 

[Vowelguy]

I think the team needed some easier games to get some confidence. Now we'll see how much it has or hasnt helped in the Oregon game. Ducks are not great, but one of the better teams left on the sked.

 

[veryolddog]

Very nice write ups by Eric and Old Dude. They see a lot better than I do. Great job by both of you.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Agree with all points!
Against the weak opposition, I'm trying to concentrate on the lulls we see.
If you threw out the fast break points and points off turnovers, what would be our margin against Butler and Xavier? 10-15 points maybe.
I just played two games last night here in Alaska and when we weren't forcing helter-skelter, we were struggling against a packed in zone, hoisting jumpers with no 2nd shots. I see UConn having the same problem. UConn doesn't do much dribble penetration against a zone and sometimes the posts make half-hearted cuts to the open spots. So, UConn often just passes around the perimeter and they are not a dead-eye shooting team.
To me, that's how I extrapolate what I see in these games to the big-time games that lie ahead.
Oregon with their overall talent and size will be a super gauge of where the team is at present.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Another fun game. Had to applaud a few of Nika’s steals. Caroline made it to 40% from 3. Shout out to Piath my hometown girl. Now Amari on the other hand lost one off her minutes due to bone head plays. After all that fun now comes a reality check

 

[huskeynut]

Again, the growth of the present team continues.

Nika is the energizer bunny for the team. Pushing the tempo, playing your face relentless defense. She sets the tone for the entire team.

Caroline never saw a shot she didn't like. I hope she keeps it up. She is having an amazing run right now. She has a varied offense and the girl can flat out play D.

Liv had a complete game. 8 blocks, 5 steals, 4 assists, 6 rebounds and only 2 fouls. She is leading the team.

Christyn again played with a fire.

Piath was a pleasant surprise. Her low post moves are good. Continued improvement and I think she could become a factor for the rest of the season.

Amari again shows flashes of what she can do. A big plus.

On to Oregon.

 

[Zarathustra]

Yes, thanks for the thread and the comments.
Interesting to see if OREGON can beat Arizona..
then have a "let down" against UCONN.
I think this was a better game for the Huskies than
against Butler, scoring not as balanced but alot
of "participation" in other areas. 16 steals and
15 blocks = NICE!

 

[Centerstream]

Can you see this thread?

Not sure if this is an appropriate question or not but here goes. In the past it seemed like one BYer (would start the Post Game thread but this season there seems to be a "race" to post it. I know this is my problem but there are times when the thread is posted by a user that has (rightfully so) Ignored me so that I cannot participant in the thread.

Is there a way that some threads can be made 100% viewable regardless of the fact the OPer has ignored me? I can only observe the thread by logging out and then scrolling through the comments.

Today isn't the case (obviously) but your post reminded me of my situation...

Thanks.

 

[oldude]

It will be really interesting to see what the guard rotation is going to look like once Azzi & Paige are back healthy.

 

[Tonyc]

Well another great performance. Everybody is fighting and hustleing. So much improvement especially down low attacking the basket. The Energy The Intensity The Hustle is non stop. A whole different looking team and theyre lookin good. NIka is contagious Give the coaches credit they lit a fire under this team and it hasnt gone out.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Geno seemed displeased with something the X coach said to him in the handshake line. Wonder what it was. Continually feeding a 6-5 post while up 40? Nika's dive for the ball resulting in injury (didn't seem illegal or dirty)?

 

[HuskyNan]

Not sure if this is an appropriate question or not but here goes. In the past it seemed like one BYer (would start the Post Game thread but this season there seems to be a "race" to post it. I know this is my problem but there are times when the thread is posted by a user that has (rightfully so) Ignored me so that I cannot participant in the thread.

Is there a way that some threads can be made 100% viewable regardless of the fact the OPer has ignored me? I can only observe the thread by logging out and then scrolling through the comments.

Today isn't the case (obviously) but your post reminded me of my situation...

Thanks.

Ignored is ignored, period.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Is there a way to know who is ignoring you? I've always assumed not.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Again, the growth of the present team continues.

Nika is the energizer bunny for the team. Pushing the tempo, playing your face relentless defense. She sets the tone for the entire team.

Caroline never saw a shot she didn't like. I hope she keeps it up. She is having an amazing run right now. She has a varied offense and the girl can flat out play D.

Liv had a complete game. 8 blocks, 5 steals, 4 assists, 6 rebounds and only 2 fouls. She is leading the team.

Christyn again played with a fire.

Piath was a pleasant surprise. Her low post moves are good. Continued improvement and I think she could become a factor for the rest of the season.

Amari again shows flashes of what she can do. A big plus.

On to Oregon.

Agree, except regarding the bigs. Liv is playing great. I heralded her play from day 1, even as the BY slogged through the Dorka over Liv threads. But Piath and Amari need much more court time. Geno's got to find more minutes for them, even some first half minutes. Piath can finish going right against 6'0" defenders, but she is slow to react defensively and on the boards. Amari looks sluggish. They're both legit D1 size-wise but IMO they need court time. Come on Coach, you got the team playing better, now lengthen your depth chart inside. Imagine a 5 minute first half stint with a seasoned Amari against an already fatigued Aliyah Boston. And (knock-on-wood) god forbid, Liv or Dorka getting nicked up.

 

[oldude]

Geno seemed displeased with something the X coach said to him in the handshake line. Wonder what it was. Continually feeding a 6-5 post while up 40? Nika's dive for the ball resulting in injury (didn't seem illegal or dirty)?

I can't imagine running your half-court offense would cause an issue, particularly when UConn could have had a number of easy transition baskets in the last few minutes, but chose instead to slow it down. As for Nika, she annoys everybody she plays against.....

 

[Rings R Us]

Geno seemed displeased with something the X coach said to him in the handshake line. Wonder what it was. Continually feeding a 6-5 post while up 40? Nika's dive for the ball resulting in injury (didn't seem illegal or dirty)?

This is obviously just a guess, but I was thinking maybe he asked how their injured player was and she gave him some bad news.

 

[HuskyNan]

Agree, except regarding the bigs. Liv is playing great. I heralded her play from day 1, even as the BY slogged through the Dorka over Liv threads. But Piath and Amari need much more court time. Geno's got to find more minutes for them, even some first half minutes. Piath can finish going right against 6'0" defenders, but she is slow to react defensively and on the boards. Amari looks sluggish. They're both legit D1 size-wise but IMO they need court time. Come on Coach, you got the team playing better, now lengthen your depth chart inside. Imagine a 5 minute first half stint with a seasoned Amari against an already fatigued Aliyah Boston. And (knock-on-wood) god forbid, Liv or Dorka getting nicked up.

Geez, that’s what he did, give Piath and Amari more time in the last two games. Piath started and played the entire Q4.

Geno needed to get the first 6-7 players sorted out before starting to give big minutes to Piath and Amari. Once the 30, 45, 50 point leads were set, they got minutes. While that’s important, it was more important to get his first 6 playing well together so that he knows that it things go south with the team late in the game, Geno can put someone - Nika, Caroline, Christyn - back in and set the team to rights again.

 

[MD#12Fan]

It will be really interesting to see what the guard rotation is going to look like once Azzi & Paige are back healthy.

I must have ignored the "doctor" threads regarding Azzi. I do know more about disks than I ever did before.
What's wrong with Azzi? (I apologize if this has been exhaustively discussed) I played college hoops and I ran a dozen marathons and I never heard of missing 2 months with a "sore foot". Break, ligament tear, stress fracture, yes. Sore foot, no.
Please help. Frustrated in Alaska.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Steady progress. Liked the pace and faster ball movement (because we're not that fast). I'm not a big fan of dribble hand offs unless you're running pick and roll. Short passes mean smaller driving lanes and more help since the defenders are closer together. Make the help defender chase that ball and tire them out!

Would love to see weak side cutters after the pass into the post. The bigs are looking to pass and no one is there (except a 3 point shooter) and they get tied up. I would also trade a few threes for drives into the defense. Chemistry was a lot better and they all seem newly focused.