Providence Postgame Thread

[Plebe]

Paige in 1Q was the stellar Paige we all know and love. That was enough to get us a huge lead and everything after that was patchy coasting.

The ineffectiveness of our two post players is really vexing.

 

[UConnCat]

Plain as day.

 

[Stagnant]

In some ways the big east games are hard. There is no way really for UConn to win. A 20/30/40 point win and the discussion afterwards is that they should have played better. And that is what they have to look forward to for the next two months tbh.

 

[UConnCat]

Don't see this as a long term solution. Can't see her scoring vs the top teams other than making wide open layups.

Long term solution is Azzi making shots at a consistent level and Sarah taking the ball to the basket enough to get just enough inside scoring.

His postgame last week was the odd comment of wanting more scoring while only playing JEA 6 minutes. JEA is not going to be much ao threat this year no matter how many minutes they force upon her. It's giota be Paige/Azzi/Sarah and sprinkle in some others but they won't get it from just dumping the ball into the low post.

The best way UCONN is going to win is win with its stars. Not trying to force-feed someone that ins't a star.

I understand what you're saying but the team doesn't have enough guards who can make plays against the pressure perimeter defense that results from not having to respect the post game. The perimeter defenders on better teams are bigger and faster than what Providence throws out there. The team has to get enough from the post players to take a little bit of the pressure off the perimeter players feeling like they have to make shots.

 

[BobbyJ]

I'm not the only one who picked up on this. Things changed with the two missed layups.

Geno Auriemma on starting Jana El Alfy over Ice Brady: “At some point, we have to keep experimenting to see what works… I think the progress that we need to make in that area is gonna take a while. It’s not gonna be easy. We’ll keep trying. I thought until she missed her own layup, she was ok. The biggest challenge for these guys is mentally staying present.”

He's got this right. Indecisiveness, slow feet, and fragile confidence is a bad combination and they've both got it.

 

[EricLA]

There was very little about this game that you can point to and say "wow that was really good". Coming off a loss, and a break, the team stormed out in Q1 and was sub par to bad the rest of the game. Come on - this is a 7-8 PC team who just lost to Seton Hall by 11.

Q1 - A
Q2 - C+
Q3 - D-
Q4 - D

Sure Paige was great. But mostly in Q1. I thought KK gave some great minutes especially on defense. Azzi, Ash, and Allie hit a few shots. I actually thought Allie showed something in this game. And Azzi mostly had solid defense. Post play was flat out bad. Most of the team was average or worse. Sarah was lifeless till the 4th quarter.

Not sure how anyone can say "rusty". If that were the case, Q1 would have looked like the 2nd half. We scored 22 in the 2nd half. PC scored 22 in the 2nd half. They played us even for 20 straight minutes. Yuck.

I did LOVE the full court pressure and defensive effort for much of the game. But the offense needs a LOT of work. Can't throw out the baby with the bathwater for one game, but there was far too little good stuff happening.

Oh and I couldn't disagree more with 2 comments Meghan made. First, "KK needs to shoot the 3 when wide open". Absolutely NOT. She is literally shooting 7% from 3. That's abysmal. Second, the no call when KK got elbowed in the jaw in the 2nd half. "Good no call" Meghan said. Good grief. Elbow to the face is a good "no call"? Totally disagree.

 

[UConnCat]

In some ways the big east games are hard. There is no way really for UConn to win. A 20/30/40 point win and the discussion afterwards is that they should have played better. And that is what they have to look forward to for the next two months tbh.

Not really. If the team plays to its talent the fans here will be thrilled. Today the team played 3 quarters of very average basketball and that showed on the scoreboard. Providence is a bad basketball team yet the score after the 1st quarter was 39-35.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Classic example of playing down to the level of your competition. Great teams don't do that.

 

[BobbyJ]

Let's hope that's the case. If she's not 100% thinking about playing basketball, then what is she thinking about? I guess it's the knee.

I agree. Other than the short stretch 2 years ago before the ND injury, that's what it's been all along.

 

[huskeynut]

Outside of the 1st quarter, this was an ugly and disappointing game to watch.

There is no flow to the offense. Kaitlyn dribbles way too much and had 1 assist. KK does better with assists but for some reason is very hesitant to shoot. What happened to crisp passing, continual motion, setting screens and back door cuts? Not happy with our point guard play at all.

Post players not scoring is partly because the guards aren't looking for them. We have a guard oriented, and I'm going to say it - a Paige oriented offense. Geno needs post players but he seems to be hesitant to give them the minutes needed to develop.

Geno says he knows who the 5 are. Good, I think. Then play them as a complete unit for more than 5 to 6 minutes. However, the subbing to get others minutes to see where they fit is the opposite of the old Geno. The semblence of team chemistry is missing.

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno says he knows who the 5 are. Good, I think. Then play them as a complete unit for more than 5 to 6 minutes. However, the subbing to get others minutes to see where they fit is the opposite of the old Geno. The semblence of team chemistry is missing.

Is beating Providence by 40 points more important than developing young players?

 

[Happydad745]

I could have taken a nap in the second half and not missed a thing...We need lots more assists and a post game that is in the land of the living. I expect more out of this team than they are giving, and if Paige and Sarah were not on the team, UConn would be lucky to be in the top 25.

 

[UConnCat]

He's got this right. Indecisiveness, slow feet, and fragile confidence is a bad combination and they've both got it.

His leash would be longer with Jana and/or Ice if they stayed mentally present after mistakes. That's the problem he has with them. They make a mistake, lose their focus and then a mental mistake follows. Geno has no patience for that. He'll tolerate physical mistakes by his players as long as they keep their head in the game.

 

[HopJim]

I think we’d all care if KK went 1-10 because that is not helpful to the overall team offense or her confidence. She does need to shoot when wide open, but for whatever the reasons may be her shot has not improved at all since her frosh year.

That said she needs to find what she can do for us offensively similar To what we watched as Nika’s game evolved. KK is so darn quick she should be working her way towards the basket for layups, getting fouled or kicking to an open teammate. That I believe is where she can make her mark right now on the offensive side of the ball.

KK=brilliant defense but minimal offense. Its tough pairing her up with Jana since we then have 2 defenders that can sag onto the other 3 shooters. Geno may know who he wants as his primary 5 in the future, but I'm still confused.

 

[Dogdude]

Is beating Providence by 40 points more important than developing young players?

Pretty much this. You know what you get with Paige and Sarah, and even Ash (at least as far as hustle, defensive intensity, as with 4 steals, and the occasional scoring burst) but everyone else is a cipher right now. You won't know unless you play the heck out of them and let the cream rise. There's a lot of talent there, they just need the work. Most will make it just fine, and a few won't, just like every season and every team.

 

[oldude]

His leash would be longer with Jana and/or Ice if they stayed mentally present after mistakes. That's the problem he has with them. They make a mistake, lose their focus and then a mental mistake follows. Geno has no patience for that. He'll tolerate physical mistakes by his players as long as they keep their head in the game.

Yes, both Jana & Ice appear to be extremely fragile. Whenever they make a mistake, they seem to disappear from the game. I’ve always believed that Jamelle, “the post whisperer,” had the ability to build up the confidence of UConn’s Bigs. She’s really going to have to earn her salary this year.

 

[JSB60]

I understand the bigs aren’t playing well, but this small, smaller, smallest lineup isn’t going to work consistently against top teams.

 

[TAK]

22 points in the second half and we should have easily scored into the 80s, no matter which 5 players were on the court. Fans here on the BY consistently post about how good the bench players are at scoring. This afternoon was the time where every one of them had the chance to shine. Maybe it was due to the score or coming off the break, but no one seized upon it. I think that Geno was kinda disappointed by it based on his postgame comments to Meg.
But the team did play great defense throughout the whole game. KK was terrific on D!

I was at the game. Kk’s defense was excellent!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Some thoughts on the Providence game;

• It’s always good for a team to get back on the court in order to flush a loss out of its system. UConn did that this afternoon vs Providence before a sellout holiday crowd at XL.
• Jana gets her 1st start, which is both a message and a challenge to Ice and Jana. Geno started the lineup today with the hope and expectation that this unit can jell together to carry this team to the promised land. I had high hopes after Jana posted up and scored on UConn’s 2nd possession, but clearly this is going to be a work in progress….
• As many of us predicted based on the 2nd half success vs USC, UConn rolled out a full court, man-to-man, trapping press, 3 minutes into the 1st qtr (I’m patting myself on the back ). Against an experienced team, UConn forced 31 turnovers with 17 steals. Here is another prediction. UConn will employ some form of pressure defense in every game for the rest of the season, particularly once Aubrey is back in the lineup.
• Great to see Azzi back and draining a couple of 3’s. She is nowhere near her top form yet. But it will come.
• Paige is a complete basketball player to be sure. But I must say, she is absolutely at her most effective from midrange. One or two quick dribbles off a high screen, pull up, elevate, bury the J. It’s truly a thing of beauty.
• I thought the Huskies had gotten over the “Ugly 3rd Qtr disease” that had been plaguing them earlier in the season. But apparently not....
• I really like Kaitlyn, but if KK can ever find her shot, I think she starts for UConn.
• Somewhat ugly win that I will chalk up to the post-Christmas funk the Huskies seem to catch just about every season.
• Bring on the Golden Eagles on New Years Day!!!

If Kaitlyn keeps this up, KK is starting point guard whether she finds her shot or not.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Overall a disappointment

 

[UConnCat]

Yes, both Jana & Ice appear to be extremely fragile. Whenever they make a mistake, they seem to disappear from the game. I’ve always believed that Jamelle, “the post whisperer,” had the ability to build up the confidence of UConn’s Bigs. She’s really going to have to earn her salary this year.

Indeed.

 

[WiseWillie]

A win is a win but against a struggling BE opponent holiday sluggishness or not we're now moving into January and the chess pieces still are moving around on Geno's chessboard. He's moving pieces around because it is clear our offense sputters whenever Paige isn't on the floor. Unfortunately, today's game raised more questions than answers and seems we are still trying to find that right combination. January is all BE play and should be a replay of today so could be good time to establish all of the right pieces in the right places. Let's hope by the time February comes around and TN and SC are the opponents that the pieces on the chessboard are solidly established and productive.

 

[victor64]

To me, the only way for Jana to begin to get out of her own head is to leave her on the floor and try to figure it out during a 30 point blowout. It might be ugly for a while but only for a while.

From my coaching experience, talented kids like Jana are trying so hard not to screw up they end up play tight expecting a quick hook for a mistake.

I believe that the team needs an effective post besides Sarah to compete with teams like UCLA or USC.

 

[UConnCat]

KK made 33% of her three-pointers last season (30/91). That's not terrible. She needs to shoot the 3 when she's open.

 

[hoophuskee]

I understand what you're saying but the team doesn't have enough guards who can make plays against the pressure perimeter defense that results from not having to respect the post game. The perimeter defenders on better teams are bigger and faster than what Providence throws out there. The team has to get enough from the post players to take a little bit of the pressure off the perimeter players feeling like they have to make shots.

So you think the shots were mostly missed were caused because of the others team's "in your face defense" rather than UCONN just not exuctuing along with missing open shots?

Don't agree.

They execute their offense, between Paige/Sarah/Azzi - they will get open looks. Whether they hit is another question. Additionally, Sarah can take any Big off the dribble.