Pressure to perform

[Jingo]

Paige and CW have averaged 36 and 34 minutes per game in 21 games. Those are high during a normal season. In this weird year, when the games have seemingly been on top of each other, the fatigue factor for these two is starting to show. What I don't get, and will never get, is why these two weren't taken out earlier in games that were already decided.

I don't get it either! why the extra minutes? especially for CW who [often] didn't earn the extra minutes, eh?

 

[hoophuskee]

Really? UConn graduated the top 3 players in the draft and still manage to get to the national semifinals with an inexperienced team that lacked depth and size, and you somehow consider that to be coming up short? UConn fans really are a spoiled bunch.

Great post. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. Instead we're really going to bring up 2 prior years as to when UCONN was undefeated and got beat by buzzer beaters in a tournament designed to make it especially hard for the best team to win?- And we're going to rip the coach? The same coach that gets his team to a FF every year?

Okay . . . . Whatever. . .

Let's put a different view on things with an alternate perspective.:
Geno has done an amazing job getting this team to number 1.
Geno continues to coach a style that is a threat for titles every year including this year. His style has worked. - YET AGAIN.
He continues to recruit at a tremendous level, --

And as a result how he coaches is to a style that remains the best ever that the women's game has ever seen.
Number 1 yet again.
Very, very, very, very, very glad that he doesn't appear to be changing.

 

[hoophuskee]

Only time will tell. Let's look back at Diana Taurasi's freshman year. After two injuries to All Americans, DT was "forced" into the starting lineup right before the Tournament. How did that work out. In the second round game against Colorado State, DT was 2 for 14 shooting ( 0 for 7 on 3 ptrs). She bounced back in the sweet sixteen game against NC State going 8 for 13 ( 6 for8 on 3s). The elite eight was okay, DT went 6 for 14 ( 3 for 9 on 3s), but then a disastrous semi final against ND, going 1 for 15 ( 0 for 11 on 3s). So, was this due to too much pressure on a freshman? We'll never know.

So in the S16 and E8 games - she was All-Region Most Outsanding Player averaging 20.5 ppg shooting - shot 51.9% from 2, shot 52.9% from 3, averaged 7 rebounds, and had an EFG% of 68.52% and a TS% of 71.13 % -yet you are knocking her overall performance before the Final Four?

Also you are making 3-9 seem "bad?" IF a player takes 18 shots while only taking 2's while shooting 50% she scores 18 points. The same player - if she also takes the same 18 shots but only shoots 3's and shoots at 33% (6 for 18) - then she scores the same 18 points. Would you be calling out another player if they shot only 50% from the floor?

I see that you wanted to bring up the Colorado St game in which UCONN had no shot to lose. Why then ignore the 1st game and then add up all these games leading to the Final Four? Certainly if you add the FF game up her numbers suffer but it seems you tried to make it a point to show she wasn't good before that? Well her stats were - avg'd 14.75 ppg, with a fg% of 43.75 but 3pt% 39.3%.
This means her efg% was 55.21% and her TS% was 58.3%.
While she averaged 6.25 rebounds, and 4.5 assists vs 2.25 turnovers. That's a 2-1 ratio.
Yet you are knocking her NCAA Tourney leading up the the Final Four?

If I calculated these numbers wrong let me know.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Great post. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. Instead we're really going to bring up 2 prior years as to when UCONN was undefeated and got beat by buzzer beaters in a tournament designed to make it especially hard for the best team to win?- And we're going to rip the coach? The same coach that gets his team to a FF every year?

Okay . . . . Whatever. . .

Let's put a different view on things with an alternate perspective.:
Geno has done an amazing job getting this team to number 1.
Geno continues to coach a style that is a threat for titles every year including this year. His style has worked. - YET AGAIN.
He continues to recruit at a tremendous level, --

And as a result how he coaches is to a style that remains the best ever that the women's game has ever seen.
Number 1 yet again.
Very, very, very, very, very glad that he doesn't appear to be changing.

I consider this post to be akin to shouting somebody down. Everyone on this blog knows everything you espoused. We can all recite it verbatim. Why are you so threatened by a little friendly basketball banter?
To me, it's always about doing the best you can do, being the best you can be. Of course, one can sit back and relish a job well done. Like a big win, a great round of golf, reaching a goal in a road race, accomplishing that dead lift at the gym. But then you regroup and go at it again.
I don't care if he's an actual Greek Deity, I hate his passing game! The only thing I like about the O is the transition game, which is just releasing early, 2 wings and the 2 bigs trailing and the recent addition of a heavy dose of pick and rolls. Other than that, our players do not receive the ball in places that they are effective. Period. And I know he has used this offense in like 1000 victories and a winning percentage of .875. There is no Kia Nurse or KLS or Azzi or Kaleena waiting to catch the ball on the wing. We have players that need to slash to the basket and then crash the boards. It's gunna look like a train wreck sometimes, not a tea party with pinkies out.

 

[GW15MJ4MM23]

Great post. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. Instead we're really going to bring up 2 prior years as to when UCONN was undefeated and got beat by buzzer beaters in a tournament designed to make it especially hard for the best team to win?-

Okay . . . . Whatever. . .

BYers bring up Taurasi shooting 1 for 15 every single year. Including this year. What does 2001 have to do with 2021? If you followed the thread the discussion was on my initial post was a reply to preparation.

Edit : "my initial post was a reply to"

 

[VidNick]

BYers bring up Taurasi shooting 1 for 15 every single year. Including this year. What does 2001 have to do with 2021? If you followed the thread the discussion was on preparation.

Hoophuskee brings up a lot of strange 'theories' and explanations to support his position. It appears he just cuts and pastes from his older posts. In the above he also says the tournament is 'designed' to make it hard for the best team to win. This one is new to me. Maybe someone can explain. [ ]

 

[UcMiami]

I think the team looked a little lethargic last time out - not surprising with the compacted last week of the season. A five day break before their next game is just what the Dr ordered. I do think Paige may be a little confused about when to shoot, but think Geno will straighten that out this week.

Also - shooting 55% from three for a season is a real rarity - I posted something about that a few weeks ago when Paige was in that rarefied air - law of averages has since kicked in and she is back to human. Hope she goes on a 9 game tear and challenges Sue and Moriah for single season honors, but will be happy if she just maintains her current percentages

CW actually started in the FF her freshman year if I remember correctly so she does have some real experience. This is however Geno's least experienced team since 2000 in terms of NCAA since there wasn't one last year so only three players have been.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I think the team looked a little lethargic last time out - not surprising with the compacted last week of the season. A five day break before their next game is just what the Dr ordered. I do think Paige may be a little confused about when to shoot, but think Geno will straighten that out this week.

Also - shooting 55% from three for a season is a real rarity - I posted something about that a few weeks ago when Paige was in that rarefied air - law of averages has since kicked in and she is back to human. Hope she goes on a 9 game tear and challenges Sue and Moriah for single season honors, but will be happy if she just maintains her current percentages

CW actually started in the FF her freshman year if I remember correctly so she does have some real experience. This is however Geno's least experienced team since 2000 in terms of NCAA since there wasn't one last year so only three players have been.

Agree that Paige is figuring out when to shoot. I actually think much of it is on Paige and I think she's going to figure it out on her own. I wonder if she would not have figured it out on her own anyway. Geno may have helped speed up the process a tad. I think she's that rare player that most of us have only seen a few times in our lives.

 

[Longtime fan]

Final Four 2017 : UConn fell behind 14 points to Mississippi State.
Final Four 2018 : UConn fell behind 10 points to Notre Dame.

UConn did not appear prepared at start of both games. Miss St and ND deserve credit for being prepared to execute their game plans.

UConn did storm back in both FF semi final games. Fans can blame referees or lucky (not) shots for both losses in OT. Improved preparation to start both games might have ended up with 2 UConn wins in regulation.

Head coaches in team sports do not make physical/mental mistakes on court/field. Head coaches also do not make great plays/decisions on court/field while pressured by opponents.

Head coaches sometimes appear to get too much credit for wins and not enough blame for losses.

And our one consistent element so far this season has been," a slow start." Can't get down 14 points early against a quality team ( eg in the sweet sixteen).

 

[hoophuskee]

BYers bring up Taurasi shooting 1 for 15 every single year. Including this year. What does 2001 have to do with 2021? If you followed the thread the discussion was on my initial post was a reply to preparation.

Edit : "my initial post was a reply to"

Huh? Regarding DT -
Are you replying to the right post?

My post regarding DT was sent to aluminny69. You didn't even mention DT.
And the post you are replying to (mine) didn't mention DT either.
I challenged aluminny's numbers he used. I felt he didn't give the whole story.
What does that have to do with 2001 to 2021?

----------------
You need to clarify please. I think you meant to reply to my post regarding your reference to 2017 and 2018 in which I replied to oldddude's excellent point/post. .

 

[GW15MJ4MM23]

Great post. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. UCONN is the number 1 team in the country. Instead we're really going to bring up 2 prior years as to when UCONN was undefeated and got beat by buzzer beaters in a tournament designed to make it especially hard for the best team to win?- And we're going to rip the coach? The same coach that gets his team to a FF every year?

Okay . . . . Whatever. . .

Let's put a different view on things with an alternate perspective.:
Geno has done an amazing job getting this team to number 1.
Geno continues to coach a style that is a threat for titles every year including this year. His style has worked. - YET AGAIN.
He continues to recruit at a tremendous level, --

And as a result how he coaches is to a style that remains the best ever that the women's game has ever seen.
Number 1 yet again.
Very, very, very, very, very glad that he doesn't appear to be changing.

Hoophuskee :

You requested clarification in your post #35 above, so I will attempt to.

You wrote in post #27 " ... we're really going to bring up 2 prior years ... okay whatever" in reply to Oldude's comments about UConn fans being "spoiled" - which was a direct reply to me.

BYers frequently bring up previous UConn teams or players during threads in any current season. Perfect example is that BYers have referenced Taurasi shooting 1 for 15 in 2001 - every single year since then - including in threads during 2021.

 

[cbraarj]

Hoophuskee :

You requested clarification in your post #35 above, so I will attempt to.

You wrote in post #27 " ... we're really going to bring up 2 prior years ... okay whatever" in reply to Oldude's comments about UConn fans being "spoiled" - which was a direct reply to me.

BYers frequently bring up previous UConn teams or players during threads in any current season. Perfect example is that BYers have referenced Taurasi shooting 1 for 15 in 2001 - every single year since then - including in threads during 2021.

It's a sport forum where a lot of people been on longer than your 3 weeks. What people want to say is their choice. By the way Taurasi was 1-15 in the 2001 FF!

 

[hoophuskee]

Hoophuskee :

You requested clarification in your post #35 above, so I will attempt to.

You wrote in post #27 " ... we're really going to bring up 2 prior years ... okay whatever" in reply to Oldude's comments about UConn fans being "spoiled" - which was a direct reply to me.

BYers frequently bring up previous UConn teams or players during threads in any current season. Perfect example is that BYers have referenced Taurasi shooting 1 for 15 in 2001 - every single year since then - including in threads during 2021.

Okay - Point 1 -- regarding DT- you don't think a freshman should be blamed to even a minor degree for not having a good game? I hope you aren't suggesting all freshmen are blameless? Otherwise what's wrong acknowledging DT was a frosh and she struggled but recognize leading up that game she had a terrific NCAA Tourney? It;s okay to acknowledge she was terrific leading up to the FF, correct? Unless you are suggesting that the HOF coach didn't use the Player of the All-Region properly leading up to the FF? And secondly regarding DT please point where I was wrong in my reply to alumminy69 regarding DT otherwise if I was right, then we have no beef re DT.

Point 2 about Geno - In terms of your bringing up two games back in 2017 and 2018 -- hasn't any long-term successful coach in the history of the sport had games where you could point to that they didn't start well? It's not like this is prevalent for UCONN over these 20+ years. The prior years they did fine, and in 18-19 - which games didn't they start out well enough? They did fine in NCAA;s to start out vs UCLA, Louisville and ND and that was the worst team UCONN put out since pre-Maya. Don't they count?

And you're using these 2 games as a barometer ? So when they went undefeated all- the other games in which they had good starts which would have been very, very many, they don’t count?

And while you say "improved preparation to start both games might have ended up with 2 UConn wins in regulation" -- sure if you are going to use point differential that's part of it. well how about other parts too? How about if maybe improved play for example from their guards (Nurse and Dangerfield) -- just 1 play- might have also been a difference? Why didn't you mention that? Or how about if Napheesa does just slightly better than 4-11 vs Miss State? All of her shooting woes is attributed to Geno? So imo it's not at all on the player but are you suggesting little-to-none on the player and nearly all on the coach? Because in your posts you give no blame/ not one bit- to the player, right?

Both deserve blame but you seem to absolve the players of any of it and just go toward the coach and of all things you are referencing their undefeated reg season in which many, many of the game they probably had good starts. So ignore any good and criticize the rare bad?

So bottom-line is 1—Does Dt get any blame / or is it okay to make mention that she struggled in FF her frosh year? If she deserves some blame even if it is minimal then I'm not arguing with you on the DT subject. 2—Why is it every other coach in the history of the sport has fallen behind early and even some in that list can be considered a great preparation coach yet you seem to want to disqualify Geno and not the others? Unless you are going to disqualify every coach other than --say Wooden? 3—Why do you ignore overall all the games over the past 20+ years in which UCONN has started out well? 4—Why did you only mention Geno in the 2 losses and otherwise use words like “luck” or “bad refs” implying those as standard excuses for fans while completely absolving player performances? 5- If you aren't absolving player performances then why are you making such a big deal out of 2 games vs nearly a career of success when you can also watch the game again to se some players did not perform well overall?

 

[DaddyChoc]

Final Four 2017 : UConn fell behind 14 points to Mississippi State.
Final Four 2018 : UConn fell behind 10 points to Notre Dame.

UConn did not appear prepared at start of both games. Miss St and ND deserve credit for being prepared to execute their game plans.

UConn did storm back in both FF semi final games. Fans can blame referees or lucky (not) shots for both losses in OT. Improved preparation to start both games might have ended up with 2 UConn wins in regulation.

Head coaches in team sports do not make physical/mental mistakes on court/field. Head coaches also do not make great plays/decisions on court/field while pressured by opponents.

Head coaches sometimes appear to get too much credit for wins and not enough blame for losses.

Geno makes a lotta bad decisions but of course he has 11 titles smh... biggest one was keeping Z on the bench

 

[JellyBean]

There is always pressure to perform. You are talking about playing for one of the top programs in the nation. There is always pressure. Then you throw in being the number one player in the nation in Paige's case. There is that added extra pressure. Throw in fans and media, especially social media, you have even more pressure. But I think that certain players are made for these types of pressure moments and Paige is one of those players. The rest of the crew, they will be fine as well.

 

[Skeets]

A couple of thoughts. First on pressure: yes DT did go 1 for 15 in the 2001 FF. Was it pressure or just a bad day? It doesn't matter, the fact is that can happen to any player at any time. Understanding this is why what happen in 2001 is relevant to 2021.

Second thought, a little off topic. This year's team is the poster child for slow starts, and amazingly it does matter much the level of competition. Getting behind a coupe of baskets early is no big deal so long as there is a plan "B" to limit the bleeding and stay in contact with the other team. If UCONN doesn't already have a plan "B", they need one, just in case... Maybe you don't come back from a slow start against a really good and inspired team.

 

[GW15MJ4MM23]

Okay - Point 1 -- regarding DT- you don't think a freshman should be blamed to even a minor degree for not having a good game? I hope you aren't suggesting all freshmen are blameless? Otherwise what's wrong acknowledging DT was a frosh and she struggled but recognize leading up that game she had a terrific NCAA Tourney? It;s okay to acknowledge she was terrific leading up to the FF, correct? Unless you are suggesting that the HOF coach didn't use the Player of the All-Region properly leading up to the FF? And secondly regarding DT please point where I was wrong in my reply to alumminy69 regarding DT otherwise if I was right, then we have no beef re DT.

Point 2 about Geno - In terms of your bringing up two games back in 2017 and 2018 -- hasn't any long-term successful coach in the history of the sport had games where you could point to that they didn't start well? It's not like this is prevalent for UCONN over these 20+ years. The prior years they did fine, and in 18-19 - which games didn't they start out well enough? They did fine in NCAA;s to start out vs UCLA, Louisville and ND and that was the worst team UCONN put out since pre-Maya. Don't they count?

And you're using these 2 games as a barometer ? So when they went undefeated all- the other games in which they had good starts which would have been very, very many, they don’t count?

And while you say "improved preparation to start both games might have ended up with 2 UConn wins in regulation" -- sure if you are going to use point differential that's part of it. well how about other parts too? How about if maybe improved play for example from their guards (Nurse and Dangerfield) -- just 1 play- might have also been a difference? Why didn't you mention that? Or how about if Napheesa does just slightly better than 4-11 vs Miss State? All of her shooting woes is attributed to Geno? So imo it's not at all on the player but are you suggesting little-to-none on the player and nearly all on the coach? Because in your posts you give no blame/ not one bit- to the player, right?

Both deserve blame but you seem to absolve the players of any of it and just go toward the coach and of all things you are referencing their undefeated reg season in which many, many of the game they probably had good starts. So ignore any good and criticize the rare bad?

So bottom-line is 1—Does Dt get any blame / or is it okay to make mention that she struggled in FF her frosh year? If she deserves some blame even if it is minimal then I'm not arguing with you on the DT subject. 2—Why is it every other coach in the history of the sport has fallen behind early and even some in that list can be considered a great preparation coach yet you seem to want to disqualify Geno and not the others? Unless you are going to disqualify every coach other than --say Wooden? 3—Why do you ignore overall all the games over the past 20+ years in which UCONN has started out well? 4—Why did you only mention Geno in the 2 losses and otherwise use words like “luck” or “bad refs” implying those as standard excuses for fans while completely absolving player performances? 5- If you aren't absolving player performances then why are you making such a big deal out of 2 games vs nearly a career of success when you can also watch the game again to se some players did not perform well overall?

Absolute worst reading comprehension ever.

Recap :

You questioned / complained why I was referring to 2017 and 2018 during the 2021.

I simply replied that BYers frequently refer to previous years. And I simply gave an example. That is all I did.

You chose to fly off the handle.

 

[GW15MJ4MM23]

Geno makes a lotta bad decisions but of course he has 11 titles smh... biggest one was keeping Z on the bench

Was that the season when KLS had 4 fouls in Q4 and required surgery right after the season? Thanks for any info.

 

[hoophuskee]

Absolute worst reading comprehension ever.

Recap :

You questioned / complained why I was referring to 2017 and 2018 during the 2021.

I simply replied that BYers frequently refer to previous years. And I simply gave an example. That is all I did.

You chose to fly off the handle.

Fly off the handle? You can express your opinion about Geno and I feel you are so wrong that I can't express mine as to imo you are way wrong?

C'mon. I'm done with this.

 

[GW15MJ4MM23]

Fly off the handle? You can express your opinion about Geno and I feel you are so wrong that I can't express mine as to imo you are way wrong?

C'mon. I'm done with this.

You first questioned and complained about my opinion bringing up 2017 and 2018. Own up to the fact that you started this. This is your quote that started it.

"Instead we're really going to bring up 2 prior years as to when UCONN was undefeated and got beat by buzzer beaters in a tournament designed to make it especially hard for the best team to win?- And we're going to rip the coach? The same coach that gets his team to a FF every year?

Okay . . . . Whatever. ."