Reality Check

[JustinesGuy]

I watched the Baylor game a few times and it just confirmed what I've felt about this group post Stewie and Uconn's prospects for next year. First of all Baylor is not a great team, they have a great coach with solid players and some good height. That said they are by no means a great team. We played the worst first half ive seen us play in years and we were only down by one?
We are going to have to face it, this group post BS are very very mortal. As good as Lou and NC are they just do NOT take charge and will the team to win. This game is a glimpse into what next year is going to hold, only next year is going to be worse. I don't know if Geno has what it takes at his age to rebuild this, and this is a complete rebuild when Lou and Phese graduate. I hate to break the news to all of you guys but were going to have two players that can play at a high level coming into next year. We have CD and CW as the only premium talent. MW is not what we hoped for when she committed. She's a nice player but not a super star, not worthy of a number one recruit out of high school. Our recruiting has become flawed, maybe lazy! Sure our freshman class looks promising, but only 2 kids committed? Our incoming class is a class of 1? REALLY? I can almost guarantee you she's not a generational talent. Next year we are a top 25 team and can GENO handle it? More importantly at his age does he have the gusto to turn this around? IDK.

 

[HuskyNan]

I watched the Baylor game a few times and it just confirmed what I've felt about this group post Stewie and Uconn's prospects for next year. First of all Baylor is not a great team, they have a great coach with solid players and some good height. That said they are by no means a great team. We played the worst first half ive seen us play in years and we were only down by one?
We are going to have to face it, this group post BS are very very mortal. As good as Lou and NC are they just do NOT take charge and will the team to win. This game is a glimpse into what next year is going to hold, only next year is going to be worse. I don't know if Geno has what it takes at his age to rebuild this, and this is a complete rebuild when Lou and Phese graduate. I hate to break the news to all of you guys but were going to have two players that can play at a high level coming into next year. We have CD and CW as the only premium talent. MW is not what we hoped for when she committed. She's a nice player but not a super star, not worthy of a number one recruit out of high school. Our recruiting has become flawed, maybe lazy! Sure our freshman class looks promising, but only 2 kids committed? Our incoming class is a class of 1? REALLY? I can almost guarantee you she's not a generational talent. Next year we are a top 25 team and can GENO handle it? More importantly at his age does he have the gusto to turn this around? IDK.

I hear Notre Dame is taking applications for new fans.

 

[DallasBUFan]

Baylor is a good team. Baylor had to lose to have a wake up call and UConn may do the same now. You lost a game, but can't give the team credit that played excellent D and stuck the their game plan to beat you.

 

[Sonny44]

Agree. They keyed on stopping Lou and to a lesser extent Pheese. MW was the only one consistently getting open looks at close range. I don't know how many she missed, but it was a lot. Not what we had expected from her.

 

[Bajan Best]

I agree with you that Baylor is not a great team, but give Baylor the credit for executing their game plan, and Utilizing their strengths against the few weaknesses that have been present for a long time in the Uconn program.

This particular matchup required Meagan, Crystal and Christyn to be on their A game, however that did not occur. Lou and Napheesa will continue to get alot of attention from the defenses of other teams, which mean all the other players have to step up and keep them honest. Baylor basically slacked off of Megan all night long and crowded the paint with height to deter Napheesa from getting easy baskets inside. they were able to do that without giving Lou easy looks at the same time.

Geno knew he was not going to be successful at stopping Baylor's big's from overpowering his team inside, his plan was to hopefully outscore them, and stay out of foul trouble while attempting to do so.

I personally thought we were too content walking the ball up the court instead of pushing the pace , to tire out their big's and to not let them get their defense set. We are also currently lacking a player(s) who can get other teams in foul trouble, As much as I love Pheesa's game, she mostly tries to avoid contact when she scores, which is why we rarely have any apposing players in serious foul trouble.

Anyways, with all that said, this is just one game against one team who is a matchup nightmare for our team, this is no reason to jump ship yet, UCONN could easily go undefeated the rest of the way, Louisville and South Carolina do not present the same mis matches that Baylor does to us.. But only time will tell what a game like this will do to the confidence of some of the players.

 

[SVCBeercats]

I hear Notre Dame is taking applications for new fans.

I

Religious zealots need not apply.

 

[baggerbob]

How many women's championships have Uconn won without Lobo,Bird, Taurausi, Moore, or Stewart on the team

 

[IWearShoes]

they have a great coach with solid players and some good height.

I would say they have a good coach, who is a great recruiter. I would also say they have ELITE height and size. That can be UConn's kryptonite when they are defended aggressively and don't shoot well.

 

[VillageHusky]

How many women's championships have Uconn won without Lobo,Bird, Taurausi, Moore, or Stewart on the team

How many world series have the Yankees won without Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackson & Jeter on the team?

How many NBA titles have the Celtics won without Russell, Bird and Pierce on the team?

How many NBA titles have the Lakers won without Mikan, West, Johnson, and Bryant on the team?

Now let's take Super Bowls: how many Super Bowls have the Steelers won without Bradshaw and Roethlisberger on the team?

How many Super Bowls have the Dallas Cowboys won without Staubach and Aikman on the team?

How many Super Bowls have the Patriots won without Brady on the team?

And your point is??

 

[Bigpetunia]

Lucky us! Thanks for "breaking this news" to us guys, the unwashed and unsophisticated. And here we were thinking that winning national championships year after year, and doing so in perpetuity, was an automatic thing! Silly us. I think I'll remain a fan and accept the occasional disappointments.

 

[baggerbob]

How many world series have the Yankees won without Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackson & Jeter on the team?

They won a few with Guerig

How many world series have the Yankees won without Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackson & Jeter on the team?

Lou Gehrig spanned the gap from Ruth to DiMaggio. Also set America league season record for rbi's batting behind Ruth who left a lot of runners on base.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Agree. They keyed on stopping Lou and to a lesser extent Pheese. MW was the only one consistently getting open looks at close range. I don't know how many she missed, but it was a lot. Not what we had expected from her.

She missed a lot? She was 3-10. If she makes two more shots than she would have shot 50%. Obviously not enough to change the outcome of the game. Did you notice both Phee and Lou missed 12 shots each? CD missed 14 shots? The upperclassmen missed 38 shots! The underclassmen missed 10! Why pick on Walker's 7 missed shots or more appropriately her 2 misses short of 50% shooting? One would expect more from the upperclassmen. Why did the freshman wunderkind take only 6 shots? Perhaps better game time coaching would have helped? Or maybe last night Baylor was better. Frankly I feared UCONN would lose by more based on what they flashed in the Saint Johns game and displayed in the Cal and Sooners games. Notice the 17-10 4th Qtr.? Tired? When playing a really tough opponent the players need to get rests but no bench. No matter how the coaches feel and believe about their bench players, they better start coaching them to at least put a finger in dike while the starters rest. If not, how could you whiff so badly on recruiting them? Olivia has to develop at a faster pace. She is the key. Give her big minutes in the AAC games. The AAC games are next which are the perfect opportunity to say screw the poor practice no play philosophy. Get the bench some real game time experience and see if anyone of them shows improvement. By game experience I don't mean mop up time. I mean put one or two in with 3 or 4 starters. If you put the whole bench in at once or with only one starter then chaos will reign. No one learns anything.

 

[HopJim]

I find the tendency to jump off bridges after one game humorous. Perhaps its the New England water. For years, Patriots lose the first game or 2, the "Brady and Belichick are done" starts, then MAJICALLY they end up in Super Bowl. Red Sox lose 2 in a row and all is lost. Baylor (and ND and Louisville, and ....) all look good but beatable. We may not have as dominate a team as in past years but I still like our chances as much as any team's.

 

[VillageHusky]

They won a few with Guerig

Lou Gehrig spanned the gap from Ruth to DiMaggio. Also set America league season record for rbi's batting behind Ruth who left a lot of runners on base.

Bagger: Lou Gehrig is my favorite baseball player of all time but the truth of the matter is that Lou Gehrig was a member of six World Series champion Yankee teams, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936-1938. Ruth was on the first three of those teams and DiMaggio was on the last three of those teams. Gehrig did not win a single World Series without one of Ruth or DiMaggio.

 

[hoopfan515]

I watched the Baylor game a few times and it just confirmed what I've felt about this group post Stewie and Uconn's prospects for next year. First of all Baylor is not a great team, they have a great coach with solid players and some good height. That said they are by no means a great team. We played the worst first half ive seen us play in years and we were only down by one?
We are going to have to face it, this group post BS are very very mortal. As good as Lou and NC are they just do NOT take charge and will the team to win. This game is a glimpse into what next year is going to hold, only next year is going to be worse. I don't know if Geno has what it takes at his age to rebuild this, and this is a complete rebuild when Lou and Phese graduate. I hate to break the news to all of you guys but were going to have two players that can play at a high level coming into next year. We have CD and CW as the only premium talent. MW is not what we hoped for when she committed. She's a nice player but not a super star, not worthy of a number one recruit out of high school. Our recruiting has become flawed, maybe lazy! Sure our freshman class looks promising, but only 2 kids committed? Our incoming class is a class of 1? REALLY? I can almost guarantee you she's not a generational talent. Next year we are a top 25 team and can GENO handle it? More importantly at his age does he have the gusto to turn this around? IDK.

This team reminds me of the years with Ann Strother, Barb Turner and Wilnett Crockett. That team had to grind out their wins. I still remember they were one bucket away from making the Final Four before losing to Duke. I hope this team will have more and better luck on their side.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I just hope Geno isn't mean to the team. It's not like they wanted to lose. One can't help but think the outcome might have been different if they flip-flopped this game with Sunday's game.

 

[HuskyNan]

I just hope Geno isn't mean to the team. It's not like they wanted to lose. One can't help but think the outcome might have been different if they flip-flopped this game with Sunday's game.

UConn can’t control scheduling of the conference games.

“Mean to the team”?

 

[Longtime fan]

I agree with pretty much everything said here. But we must recognize it was also, an "off game" for this UCONN team. It was clear, from the outset, that UCONN would have to demonstrate its ability to score from the outside. Something this team usually does well. Against Baylor, however, Katie started cold as
ice ( which she has done in 2 or 3 of the last few games ). Megan did the same. And when Megan misses open shots, she loses confidence. Usually, she gets " back in the game" with easy baskets underneath, or on fast break. Against Baylor, however, there was no " underneath." And when she missed two free throws near the end of the first half, it was over for her, and we all worried she might not be be the superstar we need. It was a miracle that Katy nailed the rebound and put-back to make it a one point game.

This also left us with the delusion that UCONN was going to get it together in the second half and win the game. There was no reason on earth it should have been a one point deficit, given how terribly UCONN was shooting. A twenty year record, I am informed.

Williams was not in the game at all in the first half. The player who starred at Notre Dame had been left somewhere else, between Xmas holiday and Waco. She dished it off as quickly as she could, recognizing early that her classic drives to the basket for scores were not going to happen. Then, she put up an air ball, and that was it until too late in the game to matter. Geno saw this right away, hence the appearance of Coombs. But Coombs cannot score from the outside and cannot drive against Baylor's size. So she was never going to add anything, other than to give Coach time to talk with Williams and send Williams a message. Sadly, the message is; "we have no one who can help if you are not in the game."

Dangerfield did some good work early, and then Baylor's defense made her force her shots a bit, which were just off the mark. Pheesa had no chance inside...none. Brown is so big that even Collier's classic " fade back" jumper was blocked. And Pheesa is inconsistent from deep. ONO simply doesn't exist yet. And on it goes. Batouly is a wrecking ball who creates some damage, but knocks the china off the shelves in the process ( three fouls in how many minutes?).

So now what? On to the the AAC league games and more self-delusion. We do have some more tests in Louisville and South Carolina, I think. But there is no one with the size of Baylor. And, as I said, this was a record lousy game for UCONN, with the opponent having a lot to do with that.

So what does the future hold:

1. Williams will find the player who said " I was born for this." Against ND, it seemed that UCONN had found another superstar. And we need that desperately to win at the Big Dance. Come back, Chrystal !
2. The core three will be their usual AA selves. Worn out, maybe. But champions nonetheless.
3. Megan....I just don't know. Is she just out there because our bench is so lean? Is she playing because ...somehow...she was credentialed as the best HS player a few years ago? Is there a top player in Megan yearning to break free? If she is nothing more than she appears, we are in trouble. She does not seem a sharp shooter; she does not appear fast; she is a decent rebounder when not out-sized; she is okay at lay-ups but misses more than she should; we don't see anything of Gabby or Kia in her on defense; and if she misses free throws......
4. Olivia.....one wonders how far and how fast she can become a force. The next round of competition can create false impressions, due to the lack of quality. We have had " bigs" before who blossomed in the second year, and thereafter, but not before. If she remains where she is...2-4 minutes of nothing...this team will be vulnerable.
5. The rest of the bench ....there is no one who can be expected to " break-out" and help the team. No one who can push anyone for a starting role. Each can give starters a "breather," but no one will advance the team in a game.
6. Signing one top 40 recruit ( top 30? top 20? ) for next year is foreboding. Geno is not worried but we are.

And that is because we do not want the UCONN era to be over. We do not want this to be a window into the end of UCONN women hoops dominance. Are we seeing in Stores, Ct. what happened to the the UCLA mens Basketball program? Will the fans stay loyal if we are 15-15, and don't get invited to the NCAA in a few years time?

 

[HuskyNan]

I agree with pretty much everything said here. But we must recognize it was also, an "off game" for this UCONN team. It was clear, from the outset, that UCONN would have to demonstrate its ability to score from the outside. Something this team usually does well. Against Baylor, however, Katie started cold as
ice ( which she has done in 2 or 3 of the last few games ). Megan did the same. And when Megan misses open shots, she loses confidence. Usually, she gets " back in the game" with easy baskets underneath, or on fast break. Against Baylor, however, there was no " underneath." And when she missed two free throws near the end of the first half, it was over for her, and we all worried she might not be be the superstar we need. It was a miracle that Katy nailed the rebound and put-back to make it a one point game.

This also left us with the delusion that UCONN was going to get it together in the second half and win the game. There was no reason on earth it should have been a one point deficit, given how terribly UCONN was shooting. A twenty year record, I am informed.

Williams was not in the game at all in the first half. The player who starred at Notre Dame had been left somewhere else, between Xmas holiday and Waco. She dished it off as quickly as she could, recognizing early that her classic drives to the basket for scores were not going to happen. Then, she put up an air ball, and that was it until too late in the game to matter. Geno saw this right away, hence the appearance of Coombs. But Coombs cannot score from the outside and cannot drive against Baylor's size. So she was never going to add anything, other than to give Coach time to talk with Williams and send Williams a message. Sadly, the message is; "we have no one who can help if you are not in the game."

Dangerfield did some good work early, and then Baylor's defense made her force her shots a bit, which were just off the mark. Pheesa had no chance inside...none. Brown is so big that even Collier's classic " fade back" jumper was blocked. And Pheesa is inconsistent from deep. ONO simply doesn't exist yet. And on it goes. Batouly is a wrecking ball who creates some damage, but knocks the china off the shelves in the process ( three fouls in how many minutes?).

So now what? On to the the AAC league games and more self-delusion. We do have some more tests in Louisville and South Carolina, I think. But there is no one with the size of Baylor. And, as I said, this was a record lousy game for UCONN, with the opponent having a lot to do with that.

So what does the future hold:

1. Williams will find the player who said " I was born for this." Against ND, it seemed that UCONN had found another superstar. And we need that desperately to win at the Big Dance. Come back, Chrystal !
2. The core three will be their usual AA selves. Worn out, maybe. But champions nonetheless.
3. Megan....I just don't know. Is she just out there because our bench is so lean? Is she playing because ...somehow...she was credentialed as the best HS player a few years ago? Is there a top player in Megan yearning to break free? If she is nothing more than she appears, we are in trouble. She does not seem a sharp shooter; she does not appear fast; she is a decent rebounder when not out-sized; she is okay at lay-ups but misses more than she should; we don't see anything of Gabby or Kia in her on defense; and if she misses free throws.
4. Olivia.....one wonders how far and how fast she can become a force. The next round of competition can create false impressions, due to the lack of quality. We have had " bigs" before who blossomed in the second year, and thereafter, but not before. If she remains where she is...2-4 minutes of nothing...this team will be vulnerable.
5. The rest of the bench ....there is no one who can be expected to " break-out" and help the team. No one who can push anyone for a starting role. Each can give starters a "breather," but no one will advance the team in a game.
6. Signing one top 40 recruit ( top 30? top 20? ) for next year is foreboding. Geno is not worried but we are.

And that is because we do not want the UCONN era to be over. We do not want this to be a window into the end of UCONN women hoops dominance. Are we seeing in Stores, Ct. what happened to the the UCLA mens Basketball program? Will the fans stay loyal if we are 15-15, and don't get invited to the NCAA in a few years time?

1. Christyn is a FRESHMAN. She’ll have good games, great games, and bad games. People need to readjust their expectations to that.
2. The defense was all over Lou, completely blanketing her. Napheesa got all the attention in the paint. Yes, they’re great players but they needed help and didn’t get it last night.
3. Megan is a first year starter. She’s very talented but frustratingly inconsistent. Not all players have the same learning curve and it seems hers isn’t as steep as others’.
4. Olivia is another FRESHMAN, and one who needs to bulk up to bang against the bigger, more experienced post players. Add to that that it takes post players longer to develop when moving up from high school, adjusting to the speed and physicality of the game. I don’t have any real expectations of her until next year except for the occasional great game.
5. It is what it is. Complaining about it won’t change it.
6. Ditto.

 

[mbr33ct]

How many women's championships have Uconn won without Lobo,Bird, Taurausi, Moore, or Stewart on the team

How many NC have the same players NOT win? (we can probably discount Stewart)

 

[CocoHusky]

Megan Walker had a bad game last night but can we please stop with this crap about her Not being a #1 recruit or not a starter. Name a player from the class of 2017 that is playing better basketball?

 

[f1f1ferrari]

One stat that stood out to me was that Christyn only attempted 6 shots. She played so much differently than in the ND game. Alas, freshman inconsistency has reared its ugly head.

 

[hoopsfan22]

UConn can’t control scheduling of the conference games.

“Mean to the team”?

But they could have scheduled Baylor later in the month once they got into the groove of the AAC schedule. Perhaps those efforts were made and Jan 3rd was the date of last resort. And yes I hope Geno doesn't yell at the players too badly like he did to Katie Lou that one time in the locker room.

 

[Florida Fan]

I agree with you that Baylor is not a great team, but give Baylor the credit for executing their game plan, and Utilizing their strengths against the few weaknesses that have been present for a long time in the Uconn program.

This particular matchup required Meagan, Crystal and Christyn to be on their A game, however that did not occur. Lou and Napheesa will continue to get alot of attention from the defenses of other teams, which mean all the other players have to step up and keep them honest. Baylor basically slacked off of Megan all night long and crowded the paint with height to deter Napheesa from getting easy baskets inside. they were able to do that without giving Lou easy looks at the same time.

Geno knew he was not going to be successful at stopping Baylor's big's from overpowering his team inside, his plan was to hopefully outscore them, and stay out of foul trouble while attempting to do so.

I personally thought we were too content walking the ball up the court instead of pushing the pace , to tire out their big's and to not let them get their defense set. We are also currently lacking a player(s) who can get other teams in foul trouble, As much as I love Pheesa's game, she mostly tries to avoid contact when she scores, which is why we rarely have any apposing players in serious foul trouble.

Anyways, with all that said, this is just one game against one team who is a matchup nightmare for our team, this is no reason to jump ship yet, UCONN could easily go undefeated the rest of the way, Louisville and South Carolina do not present the same mis matches that Baylor does to us.. But only time will tell what a game like this will do to the confidence of some of the players.

A lot not to like; Walker looked tentative from the get-go, not confident with her open looks, missed, and stopped shooting for a while. Pheesa from the outside also seemed absent from the "I'm open, I've got this": mentality. Lou busted her butt to get open and lead the team, and Crystal worked hard bringing the ball up to start the offense. We didn't look like the same group that brought it to South Bend and I agree we needed to get up the court before the defense was set. Not getting rebounds had a lot to do with not being able to use our superior speed. Their freshman and transfer played very well, their large players moved their feet, scored and swatted and Baylor stuck together for the duration. Case closed until next time.