Providence Postgame Thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Providence Postgame Thread

EricSD said:
I thought it was an uneven game. Long stretches of average offensive execution. PC really ramped up the defense in the 2nd half. But UConn's defense was crazy. 39 turnovers for PC? Holy steal Batman!

Big shout out to our seniors, but what the heck with Patterson? In a 40 point blowout, she only gets the first 2 minutes of the game? Fisher played more minutes than she did. Surprised and disappointed in Geno for that, unless Ayanna was injured or sick.
  • Really off day for Azzi.
  • Sarah with some kind of inhaler or oxygen thingy on the bench?
  • El Alfy was a beast on the boards - 16 of them - holy cow!! She played more minutes than Williams, and deserved it.
  • I thought the trio of KK, Ash and Allie were really solid, especially KK with 10 assists and 8 steals!!
  • Nice game for Kayeigh too.
  • Blanca looked really solid even tho she didn't score a ton.
Bottom line a solid win. I keep waiting for this team to put it all together for 30+ minutes. Hopefully it will come.
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Yanna was questionable to play. I think the only reason she got those few minutes is because it’s senior day. She was clearly limping during the ceremony
 
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msf22b said:
The Serah issue continues:

I counted at least 3x when she received the ball in favorable position, close to the hoop...was virtually unguarded, hesitated; to zero avail.
And on one particular missed shot, where the rebound went towards the far corner…surely within her reach…she just watched it.

On the other hand, Jana had an impressive game; both offensive and on the boards.

it would be a huge demotion if Sarah loses her starting position…but if Jana continues to rebound, she may yet succeed the senior.
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Correct on all 3 counts, and after the "one particular missed shot" she was sent immediately to the pines. Jana played very well today, monster on the boards, and was rewarded with a lot of playing time!
 
After the game, Meghan was interviewing Azzi on FS1. They mentioned Azzi being on the wall. Were they referring to the 2025 National Championship banner?
 
Centerstream said:
After the game, Meghan was interviewing Azzi on FS1. They mentioned Azzi being on the wall. Were they referring to the 2025 National Championship banner?
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I'm not sure. Maybe Azzi is on the wall in the Werth Center as MOP of the Final Four. Or Meghan was jumping the gun that Azzi will no doubt be an All-American this year and earn her way into the HOH at Gampel.
 
Blueberries said:
I don’t mean this to sound rude, I didn’t see the game as I recently canceled my directv, but has Serah progressed at all this year? For her to be in for 16 minutes and not score, but even more so to not get a single rebound…. I don’t quite understand it. Could someone who saw the game maybe explain something that I’m missing in looking at the box score?
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Pervious game against Villanova, Serah had an outstanding Third Quarter, scoring 6 points and getting multiple rebounds. I believe she also blocked several shots and had at least one assist and steal. Was very physical on both offense and defense. Then she was taken out. Hard to tell with her playing time if this type of game is repeatable.
While not asked, Jana has similar results today She was her most fluid and athletic today, with 15 rebounds and many layups where she kept the ball up high. At Villanova, she was constantly blocked out by 5'8" guards. Tapped the ball away many times since she couldn't catch up over these shorter players. Then was taken out to give Blanca more playing time. As with Serah at Villanova, hard to tell if either player has measureably progressed.
 
Geew1992 said:
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I posted a new thread on this here, as I don't think it's correct, for now anyway.

BRS24

OT: Thread 'NCAA - Five years to play four, right?'

So, this was in the Providence game thread, and instead of gumming it up, thought I'd post and ask here. Perhaps Maggie is thinking that Ayanna would petition the NCAA for a 6th season, as she's missed two of her four years at UConn as of now?



www.nytimes.com

NCAA will not implement ‘5-for-5’ eligibility rules anytime soon, internal memo says

The NCAA to keep four-year eligibility rule through 2026-27, ending the debate (for now) about a "five-for-five" model.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

"Wednesday’s memo, sent to Division I schools by Illinois athletic director and Division I...​
  • Like
 
HopJim said:
Pervious game against Villanova, Serah had an outstanding Third Quarter, scoring 6 points and getting multiple rebounds. I believe she also blocked several shots and had at least one assist and steal. Was very physical on both offense and defense. Then she was taken out. Hard to tell with her playing time if this type of game is repeatable.
While not asked, Jana has similar results today She was her most fluid and athletic today, with 15 rebounds and many layups where she kept the ball up high. At Villanova, she was constantly blocked out by 5'8" guards. Tapped the ball away many times since she couldn't catch up over these shorter players. Then was taken out to give Blanca more playing time. As with Serah at Villanova, hard to tell if either player has measureably progressed.
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it sure looked like one player was making a case for more playing time and one didn't.
 
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While driving to the tennis courts this morning (sorry about that snow thing for those of you getting ready for the storm; I did end up getting soaking wet from the first significant rain in about four months) I drove by a Dad playing driveway bball with what looked like an 8 year old. Dad gets kudus for getting out there to play with his kid but.. Dad was closely guarding his son with arms held high. Dad had a foot and a half height advantage and no way was the boy getting a shot off. I was reminded of this while watching the Friars trying to run their offense
 
Has anyone noticed that PC had 39 turnovers but only 38 points? Brutal defense, just brutal....

@Centerstream and @Henry When answering the Culmo question, Azzi referred to the "banner" hanging in Werth, which I assumed meant the 2025 Banner which has all the players name on it (either by signature, listing or both).
 
This is what we have been waiting for since Jana came back. It was not just the numbers it was the way she played. It was the way she hustled, asked for the ball, created position for herself, boxed out, and was fully immersed in the game. She was the best center in the league today.
 
Hopefully Jana can keep it up.playing PC was a total mismatch..on the other hand Allie and Azzi shot 6 for 23 from behind the arch..not going to beat good teams shooting like that.. for the few minutes Sara played she looked like herself
 
Full house at the game today, and almost everyone stayed for the postgame ceremony honoring the seniors. It was well done, classy, not overdone. Nice videos of each of them.

Loud ovations, especially for Azzi and Caroline, but the loudest ovation of the day was when the UConn President held up a whiteboard in front of the student section announcing no classes on Monday! It was very bizarre because it happened in the middle of action on the floor and it was not immediately obvious why the student section was going beserk.

On average, UConn takes 66 shots and opponents take 54. Today, due to the 26 UConn steals, 39 Friar turnovers, and an impressive 14 offensive rebounds by UConn, the difference was 73-47. UConn did not shoot well, but they got 26 more attempts and they also assisted on 26 of 32 field goals.

The defense was locked in, Providence did not see KK the first time and she was terrific with 8 steals. Their main scorer, Gueye, only scored 4 points and had 7 turnovers. Providence is not very good, but they did come in on a 4 game winning streak.

One thing that really stuck out to me today is how well the double teaming worked. Shade was often the one putting the double team on, and it seemed that she and others were picking the perfect moment to attack and when they did it was a full on sprint toward the player with the ball. The primary defender had already usually put the Providence player in a difficult position, and the double is typically very tight, giving the opponent no room at all to pivot or to move. The first option pass was also quickly covered. It often looked like 6 on 5, the speed, force and precision is intimidating.

At one point it was so tight the Providence player being double teamed fell out of bounds. That was arguably a foul on UConn, but they only had 7 fouls the whole game and allowed Providence zero free throws. It was an "A" level defensive effort.

Also nice to see more active offensive rebounding and a superb effort on the boards by Jana.
 
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The image that sticks in my mind is the quicker Gueye getting past Allie on a drive. She gets a shot up only to have it blocked from behind. Go Allie!

I also liked watching Jana take (and make) an elbow jumper. Let’s see a lot more of those please.

Azzi was ice-cold but it didn’t matter. She controlled the game in so many other ways.
 
Games on Senior Day tend to be a little strange. The great Sarah Strong came off the bench--to score 13 points in just 13 minutes. Azzi had her worst offensive game of February. Her emotions may have gotten in the way. We tied the team record for forced turnovers. Jana had a career high in rebounds. We won by 40+

In the Senior Day videos, I was reminded how important Ice was filling in for Liya in the Big East Tournament 2 years ago and how well she did in the NCAA tourney last year. I hope her knee heals well so she can play more basketball down the road. Ayanna says the team locker room means everything to her, and she hopes to play more basketball. Best wishes to them and the other seniors!
 
topogigio said:
Correct on all 3 counts, and after the "one particular missed shot" she was sent immediately to the pines. Jana played very well today, monster on the boards, and was rewarded with a lot of playing time!
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Serah literally never makes a move to get the ball. its crazy.
 
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Blueberries said:
I don’t mean this to sound rude, I didn’t see the game as I recently canceled my directv, but has Serah progressed at all this year? For her to be in for 16 minutes and not score, but even more so to not get a single rebound…. I don’t quite understand it. Could someone who saw the game maybe explain something that I’m missing in looking at the box score?
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I was at the game today, I remarked to my buddy how hard Serah was hustling out there today, and he agreed, she was really getting out defensively to double. Didn't get a lot of offensive looks, as Uconn offense today was largely from the perimeter or passes to cutters to basket. Seems like she should have gotten some more rebounds. Jana has a different style, she is relatively slow to get down court on both offense and defense, but once she sets up defensively around the basket, she gets her hands on a lot of rebounds. On offense, Jana has gained some consistency with right handed bank hook from the right side, but both Jana and Serah have shown inconsistency on finishing other opportunities. Jana often passes the ball backout when she is in position to score underneath.. Even though Jana is only supposed to be one inch taller than Williams, she has much more physical presence than Williams (more of a banger). Nobody that I attend games with has concluded that Jana is better (i.e. more talented) than Williams - they have both been disappointing to some degree. We'll let Geno figure it, but I don't expect you'll see Jana displace Serah from the starting line up any time soon (maybe for UCLA).
 
my2cents said:
Serah literally never makes a move to get the ball. its crazy.
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There's always a rationale for anything that a player does & every situation is different.
Generally speaking I think that Serah prefers to play in what she considers to be her "safe zone."
That way she won't make unnecesary fouls, such as by being blindsided by other players. or make risky efforts to make a low percentage attempt (either on offense or defense) unless the game situation dictates that she needs to make the extra effort.
The outcome of most every game isn't ever really in question, and in some ways the way that she plays is smart since she doesn't really need to prove or satisfy anyone except Geno.
She makes the effort when she thinks that it's important.
Geno knows what she can & can't do, amd we don't know anything that's going on behind the scenes about how she's being coached or about how pleased the coaches are about her efforts considering the BE schedule and how they're trying to give Jana a larger role in preparation for the NCAAT.
All is going about as well as expected with the UConn frontcourt considering the amount of PT that's being shared (or not shared) among all of the potential front court players.
I think that everything with her and her PT are going as well as expected with how Geno and all of the other players interact & perform during the games.
I'm constantly hearing complaints about Serah but I doubt that anything really matters enough to cause Geno any consternation.
I doubt that anyone associated with the team is disgruntled or very critical of Serah other than some of the fans.
 
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Huskee11 said:
One thing that really stuck out to me today is how well the double teaming worked. Shade was often the one putting the double team on, and it seemed that she and others were picking the perfect moment to attack and when they did it was a full on sprint toward the player with the ball. The primary defender had already usually put the Providence player in a difficult position, and the double is typically very tight, giving the opponent no room at all to pivot or to move. The first option pass was also quickly covered. It often looked like 6 on 5, the speed, force and precision is intimidating.
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That's also struck me recently. Shade seems almost uncanny in her judgment when to initiate the double. One thing that allows her to do that so quickly is her foot speed. She may not be the quickest player on the floor, but her speed over distance is incredible. Check out her stride length when she's motoring down the floor.
 
sun said:
There's always a rationale for anything that a player does & every situation is different.
Generally speaking I think that Serah prefers to play in what she considers to be her "safe zone."
That way she won't make unnecesary fouls, such as by being blindsided by other players. or make risky efforts to make a low percentage attempt (either on offense or defense) unless the game situation dictates that she needs to make the extra effort.
The outcome of most every game isn't ever really in question, and in some ways the way that she plays is smart since she doesn't really need to prove or satisfy anyone except Geno.
She makes the effort when she thinks that it's important.
Geno knows what she can & can't do, amd we don't know anything that's going on behind the scenes about how she's being coached or about how pleased the coaches are about her efforts considering the BE schedule and how they're trying to give Jana a larger role in preparation for the NCAAT.
All is going about as well as expected with the UConn frontcourt considering the amount of PT that's being shared (or not shared) among all of the potential front court players.
I think that everything with her and her PT are going as well as expected with how Geno and all of the other players interact & perform during the games.
I'm constantly hearing complaints about Serah but I doubt that anything really matters enough to cause Geno any consternation.
I doubt that anyone associated with the team is disgruntled or very critical of Serah other than some of the fans.
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I think I was more wondering about her choice to come to UConn, which I thought was related to raising draft stock for WNBA. I could be entirely wrong, but if that was the goal, it doesn’t seem like she has demonstrated a ton as far as showcasing for WNBA teams. I could be totally wrong and often am.
 
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