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.
He's got this right. Indecisiveness, slow feet, and fragile confidence is a bad combination and they've both got it.
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.
Is beating Providence by 40 points more important than developing young players?
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.
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.
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.
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.
I was at the game. Kk’s defense was excellent!
If Kaitlyn keeps this up, KK is starting point guard whether she finds her shot or not.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!!!
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?
