Providence Post Game Thread

[jazz]

it will not take a full year. she will help us this year....

 

[jazz]

Layups are missed because of a player's lack of concentration, and their failure to put the ball off the glass at a the correct angle. Often they rush their shot in fear of having it blocked. They have to be coached to not worry about getting it blocked. Some times it's going to happen. 90% of the time it won't.

EVERYBODY that plays basketball is going to have their shot blocked at some point. 7 foot post players in the NBA got/get their shots blocked, some times by players smaller than them. Wes Unseld at 6'6" blocked a lot of shots by opposing post players during his career, most whom were taller than he. However, most of the time, he didn't.

Very very seldom will a player block a lay up/put back and not foul the shooter. That's where Liv has picked up a lot of her fouls the past 2 years (fly swatting). When going up for a lay up, you have to put EVERYTHING out of your mind for 3-4 seconds, and concentrate on where you're going to put the ball off the glass. If it gets blocked, so be it. But if it doesn't, its got to go in.

It's NOT hard to miss a put back because of the traffic or number of opposing players around you ALL trying to block your shot. Many times, rushed shots will not go in. You're just trying to get the shot off without getting it blocked, especially if there's someone 3-5 inches taller than you (in a different colored jersey) in close proximity.

Aaliyah missed a put back Saturday that didn't draw iron. She rushed the shot. That's one of the many things I like about Aaliyah, she makes her bunnies, free throws and put backs.

gotcha Carnac!

I think most of the time, NM is just rushing it, fearful of the block. It really is the only part of her game thus far that she is not composed at. Unfortunately, it is an important part but yet an easy part to fix.

I'm really impressed with her composure in this last game, which is why I'm not concerned about the missed layups....that's the easy part. making nice pin-point passes in traffic is a lot more difficult and NM makes that look easy...

 

[jazz]

So except for the beginning of the game......rusty as Iike to call it, I thought the players played hard, most of them. Evina in particular for me is the steady hand. I love how she calms the gals down. She’s improving each and every game. I hope she stays next year and hopefully she will. E will get to have a full UCONN year if she stays vs this crazy, disjointed one!

She's looking better and I'm starting to appreciate her game more. I'm worried about her at the defensive end since, in general, she will probably defend one of the opposing team's most gifted scorers.

 

[Longtime fan]

I don't get the game and was just checking the box score...
Indicates Christyn took zero shots???

She got in Geno's dog house early. It wasn't clear to me what she did or did not do that angered him. But you are right; no shots and no points. Geno limited her minutes big time. First time in her UCONN career that she had those zeros. And no one dared asked him at the post game press conference; " what did Christyn do (or not do ) that caused you to bench her? Reporters are not known for boldness or confronting stories that people want to know. Just marshmallows.

 

[Longtime fan]

I'm wondering if the only reason that Aaliyah started was because of Providence's "twin towers" that started. She did good but just seemed a little overwhelmed in the beginning. I don't recall her being like that in any of her previous games.

She needs a lot of time to develop. At the moment, she is playing too fast and her only game is blasting people out of the way. She has shown good footwork under the basket, from time to time, but not consistently. She always prefers out-muscling an opponent, to outsmarting them. So far, we have seen little propensity to shoot from 8-12 feet. But she hustles like crazy and is a "force" in there. Penalties will accumulate quickly against quality opponents. Needs time and experience. Pressure of starting may be too much right now.

 

[Carnac]

Aubrey doesn’t do a great job of answering multi-part questions. That could be because she’s not a fan of the process, or because after answering the part that stuck out, she kind of forgets there was more.

With that being said, listening to the media ask the questions is also frustrating. You don’t need to word a question like you’re writing the article. No one wins a Pulitzer for how eloquent their interview questions are. Ask what you want to know!

Our media has been spoiled by years coaches and players who will give them a novel whenever they’re asked a question, so they can extract good quotes from those lengthy sound bites.

If they are interested in knowing what was different about practice this week, ASK THAT! What did you do better this week than you’ve been doing at other points this season? How do you plan on trying to keep that up going forward? The answers for Aubrey probably won’t be long, but they’ll be more specific and more helpful when trying to put together a story about her good game.

Ask vague questions and, mostly, you’ll get vague answers.

I often marvel at some of the questions that the media asks athletes. They think the question is thoughtful and relevant, but it doesn't always come out that way, or is perceived that way by others. Sometimes I cringe at the questions put to Geno during his post game pressers.

One of the worst questions I’ve heard asked to an NBA coach was "who is to blame for tonight's loss?" That sounds to me like a writer looking for fodder, ammunition and validation to put someone (a fall guy/scapegoat) in their sights for their pending column.

How can you single out one player in a team sport, and put the blame on their shoulders? Any coach worth his/her salt will always take the blame for a loss. Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan was always good at that.

He ALWAYS said "put this loss on me". You NEVER hear a coach or a player throw a player(s) under the bus, unless it's Brenda Frese (Maryland). She's thrown her players under the bus numerous times, then put in reverse.

 

[Longtime fan]

Some thoughts on the Providence game:

• Raggedy start after 11 days without a game. The challenge for UConn will be to maintain continuity and continue to improve during a season of starts and stops.
• When UConn went to a small lineup, Aubrey & Mir’s energy immediately changed the tempo and complexion of the game.
• Evina was moving as well as I’ve seen her move all season. She showed some really explosive moves to the basket.
• Paige scored 23 points on 8 for 10 shooting. She still needs to take more shots. As Geno says, “The person who makes the most shots, needs to take the most shots.”
• While Aaliyah earned the start today, I was anxious to see how Anna reacted to coming off the bench. When Anna is knocking down 3’s, like today, the entire court opens up for UConn’s offense
• Aubrey was all over the court making plays today, defending 1 through 5 and even knocking down a 15 footer. Does she start next game?

I think Aubrey has , for sure, earned a starting role. And she plays not only fast, but she plays " big." Her leaping ability and athleticism gives us superior rebounding in that starting five. Hitting that outside shot was huge. If that element is in her game ( which I assume it was in high school) she cannot be stopped. It is the first one I have seen her convert. But she has started to look more confident at the foul line, which is an indicator of shooting accuracy. And Anna may be more of a force off the bench anyway. A big key is to get Christyn going.......to remember why she was high school player of the year. Lots of talent on this team.

 

[Longtime fan]

I often marvel at some of the questions that the media asks athletes some times. They think the question is thoughtful and relevant, but it doesn't come out that way, or is perceived that way by others. Sometimes I cringe at the questions put to Geno during his post game pressers.

One of the worst questions I heard asked was "who is to blame for tonight's loss?" That sounds to me like a writer looking for fodder and ammunition to use for their column. How can you single out a single player in a team sport, and put the blame on their shoulders? Any coach worth his/her salt will take the blame for a loss. You'll NEVER hear them throw a player(s) under the bus, unless it's Brenda Frese (Maryland). She's thrown her players under the bus, then put in reverse.

I think all interviews with players and coaches, at every level of sport, is a waste of energy. And often embarrassing. No one answers a question with honesty....not in season, and not after a player is long gone. It is waste of time. Every one is trained to give generic, team-focused answers.

 

[Carnac]

She got in Geno's dog house early. It wasn't clear to me what she did or did not do that angered him. But you are right; no shots and no points. Geno limited her minutes big time. First time in her UCONN career that she had those zeros. And no one dared asked him at the post game press conference; " what did Christyn do (or not do ) that caused you to bench her? Reporters are not known for boldness or confronting stories that people want to know. Just marshmallows.

EVERYONE has a bad game once in a while.....including Christyn. It happens and there's nothing you can do about it other than try and help your team in other ways. It's one game. Let's see what happens Wednesday against Seton Hall. If she comes out and has a 20/10 game with 4-5 assists, and a couple of steals, the Providence game will be forgotten. Let's see what see does Wednesday night before we start throwing rocks at her.

 

[Longtime fan]

I feel sorry for Autumn. With such a big lead, she was the only player who did not get into the game.

Yes. I thought that was unnecessarily "mean" of Geno. I'm sure he simply regarded it as a higher priority to get more court time for someone else than the walk-on. Autumn must not have shown enough yet.

 

[Carnac]

I think all interviews with players and coaches, at every level of sport, is a waste of energy. And often embarrassing. No one answers a question with honesty....not in season, and not after a player is long gone. It is waste of time. Every one is trained to give generic, team-focused answers.

VERY FEW professional players would do media interviews if they were not contractually compelled to. Neither would most coaches. We know Bill Belichick wouldn't. He's heard so many dumb a#$ questions over the last 30 odd years, he knows what coming. The dumb/thoughtless questions don't change, just the people asking them.

 

[MSGRET]

gotcha Carnac!

I think most of the time, NM is just rushing it, fearful of the block. It really is the only part of her game thus far that she is not composed at. Unfortunately, it is an important part but yet an easy part to fix.

I'm really impressed with her composure in this last game, which is why I'm not concerned about the missed layups....that's the easy part. making nice pin-point passes in traffic is a lot more difficult and NM makes that look easy...

I also believe that she is still bothered by her foot injury. I had one in JR High and it took me half of the season to finally forget about it. It hampered my shooting and rebounding because I was always thinking that I might re-injure it if I landed wrong or stepped on someones foot when I was coming down with the ball. This might explain why she is short arming some of her shots. Once she gets past the mental part I believe she will have some breakout games. Geno did sing her praises before the injury and has said that she is still not 100%.

 

[Carnac]

I think Aubrey has , for sure, earned a starting role. And she plays not only fast, but she plays " big." Her leaping ability and athleticism gives us superior rebounding in that starting five. Hitting that outside shot was huge. If that element is in her game ( which I assume it was in high school) she cannot be stopped. It is the first one I have seen her convert. But she has started to look more confident at the foul line, which is an indicator of shooting accuracy. And Anna may be more of a force off the bench anyway. A big key is to get Christyn going.......to remember why she was high school player of the year. Lots of talent on this team.

The more Aubrey plays, the better she will get and perform. It's as simple as that. She was 6th man last year, but didn't know the system. Geno put her out there (because of lack of bench depth) and told her to just "go play. Do the best you can". This year she has a much better idea of what she's doing. The more she plays, the more she plays.

 

[Carnac]

I also believe that she is still bothered by her foot injury. I had one in JR High and it took me half of the season to finally forget about it. It hampered my shooting and rebounding because I was always thinking that I might re-injure it if I landed wrong or stepped on someones foot when I was coming down with the ball. This might explain why she is short arming some of her shots. Once she gets past the mental part I believe she will have some breakout games. Geno did sing her praises before the injury and has said that she is still not 100%.

All she needs is for that first one to fall. It's off to the races after that.

 

[FridaFriend]

Do we think that Evina is in a lot of discomfort? I watched her during the game and she seems to make a great aggressive play and then come up with a slight limp. She sometimes falls like Morgan Tuck used to and then appear uncomfortable and back off on following plays. I'm not sure if I'm seeing things. I see her do great moves and then disappear.

 

[jazz]

The more Aubrey plays, the better she will get and perform. It's as simple as that. She was 6th man last year, but didn't know the system. Geno put her out there (because of lack of bench depth) and told her to just "go play. Do the best you can". This year she has a much better idea of what she's doing. The more she plays, the more she plays.

It seems to me that GA is trying hard to figure out a way to get AG more playing time within the existing offense he has. He has posted her up and used her as a baseline to baseline defender and at the top of the zone. So these are specific roles he has carved out for her. Then she does what she does as part of the normal offense and with her instincts and athleticism.

I just think that she has that street ball play about her and it is hard to harness that in a structured offense. She is a movement player, going where her instincts tell her. Structure is not her best suit. I'm not saying she can't do it, but it doesn't come naturally to her.

I don't think it is in Geno's nature to get away from his movement offense for long so it is hard to see how she fits until she can play consistently within the offense. A big part of this is being a threat from 12-15 ft. Maybe she goes from baseline to post-up to foul line and keep rotating that way....

In saying that, I think you just run the offense and create specific post ups for her and then just let her do her thing. But you need consistent outside shooters. It may not be conventional, but it could still be effective. I'd like to see her get big minutes against a top team...just once and see how it goes....

IMHO, she needs to play and she DESERVES to play. Put it another way, it is unfair not to play her...

 

[Dokey]

I think Aubrey has , for sure, earned a starting role. And she plays not only fast, but she plays " big." Her leaping ability and athleticism gives us superior rebounding in that starting five. Hitting that outside shot was huge. If that element is in her game ( which I assume it was in high school) she cannot be stopped. It is the first one I have seen her convert. But she has started to look more confident at the foul line, which is an indicator of shooting accuracy. And Anna may be more of a force off the bench anyway. A big key is to get Christyn going.......to remember why she was high school player of the year. Lots of talent on this team.

Aubrey is good spark coming off the bench but as Geno indicates the team jells better with Anna on the floor.

 

[jazz]

Aubrey is good spark coming off the bench but as Geno indicates the team jells better with Anna on the floor.

I'd like to see how a lineup with Liv, AG, AM, EW and PB would be. AM still guards the 4 assuming she isn't 6'4 and AG guards the 3 or even the 2 if EW can't handle the 2. But, if she had to, is EW quick enough to handle the off guard 2 yet? CW for EW would work if she is hitting the three.

 

[Alydar]

While we see her defensive potential in an opposite light, I do think the staff believes she is capable of filling a role that benefits the team. Defensively I don’t feel that the staff wants PB to have to defend the other team’s best small, even though her on ball defense is improving each game, and I am also not sure EW, after her physical issues, is capable of that role either. That leaves CW and Nika to handle that unenviable chore. PB is obviously the key offensive player, will be the straw that stirs the drink for the team, and would be the player you would least like to see in foul trouble. Time will tell if I am completely off base here, because I have no inside information, and is complete conjecture on my part, but I can see her filling a role much like Kia Nurse did a few seasons back. She will need to perform in a similar manner since her offense isn’t going to earn her more minutes. Nika had offers from Oregon and Louisville, who were in her final four, so they also saw a lot of potential in her play, and it would be interesting to have their coaches ”scout”, along with Geno’s, on the exact role they saw her filling in their program.

The analogy to Nurse is excellent. When Nurse was entering her freshman year there were lots of fans yawning basically because she didn't play HS ball in the US. Too slow, can't jump, no outside shot, never played at an elite level. When I pointed out that she played on the national team against adult competition in the FIBA America's I was informed that the competition there was weak, and they said that at the same time that they were praising other UConn recruits for their play against teenagers in another U-something America trials.
Muhl is already a better defender than several past UConn freshmen that went on to start and star. I don't think shooting was a high priority for her at home but given her obvious athletic ability and her work ethic I don't see that being a problem next season. And until then I like having a backup pg who can pass, dribble and play defense. And she's feisty.

 

[Monte]

Yes. I thought that was unnecessarily "mean" of Geno. I'm sure he simply regarded it as a higher priority to get more court time for someone else than the walk-on. Autumn must not have shown enough yet.

Yeah, 45 seconds is a LOT of court time.

 

[Argonaut]

I often marvel at some of the questions that the media asks athletes. They think the question is thoughtful and relevant, but it doesn't always come out that way, or is perceived that way by others. Sometimes I cringe at the questions put to Geno during his post game pressers.

One of the worst questions I heard asked to an NBA coach was "who is to blame for tonight's loss?" That sounds to me like a writer looking for fodder, ammunition and validation to put someone (a fall guy) in their sights for their pending column.

How can you single out one player in a team sport, and put the blame on their shoulders? Any coach worth his/her salt will always take the blame for a loss. Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan was always good at that.
He ALWAYS said "put this loss on me". You NEVER hear a coach or a player throw a player(s) under the bus, unless it's Brenda Frese (Maryland). She's thrown her players under the bus, then put in reverse.

Maybe that's how players know when it's time to leave Maryland -- they start to hear the bus's backup alarm and know Brenda's on the way.

 

[Carnac]

Maybe that's how players know when it's time to leave Maryland -- they start to hear the bus's backup alarm and know Brenda's on the way.

LOL!!! Best comment I’ve read today!!

 

[jazz]

Maybe that's how players know when it's time to leave Maryland -- they start to hear the bus's backup alarm and know Brenda's on the way.

I can't stop laughing at that....good stuff Argonaut and good advice to Maryland players!

 

[Carnac]

Do we think that Evina is in a lot of discomfort? I watched her during the game and she seems to make a great aggressive play and then come up with a slight limp. She sometimes falls like Morgan Tuck used to and then appear uncomfortable and back off on following plays. I'm not sure if I'm seeing things. I see her do great moves and then disappear.

If what you say is true, and I have no reason to believe it’s not, she may be forced to return next year whether she wants to or not. She’s got to prove (through her play this year) that she’s healthy, can play, and endure the rigors of a 34 game WNBA season.

The expectations for you to be available, play and perform are greater at the next level because you are being paid. You can’t make the club “in the tub”.

 

[oldhusky]

You might be right, but I am confused, with all her flaws that you point out, why is Nika still getting so many minutes on the floor each game?

How many D-3 players got selected for the NBA world players camp in Tampa at the 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship? Nika was one of the attendees. The NBA paid for all expenses except for any merchandise that they bought.

I will also add that i believe she was recruited

Man, it is going to be great when Nika makes her first layup and it will be epic when she makes a three.....

Amen!