diggerfoot
Humanity Hiker
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First, a little historical background for PONs (Pointing Out the Negatives). From 2005-2008 UConn went through a slump (a much greater slump than the past four years) in which we did not even reach the FF for three of those years. (Oh, the horror!) Then, like the sun blazing through the mists after a torrential rain, the light returned to our program with Montgomery, Charles and Moore. Add in a few extras like Hayes, Doty, McLaren and even role players like Gardler and the board turned into an unbearable bastion of positivity as we witnessed beautiful basketball. (FYI: there will be no emoticons used with PONs, but hopefully you will fathom the tongue-in-cheek nature as we proceed.)
I won't say we are on that level quite yet, but I'm afraid we are heading in that direction. It won't be long until the majority of BY posters turn into @Tonyc . I can't stand it. So to provide a little balance I revive for now something I did briefly during the Moore years, Pointing Out the Negatives we are overlooking in our overly optimistic outlook.
1. Did you see the play where Bueckers picked up her first foul? Shades of Seton Hall! If you recall that game Bueckers did a pretty good job of keeping Park Lane from blowing by her, but only by fouling her whenever she was about to get by. So here we are late in the season and Bueckers is still using the swat a shot blocking technique on a driving opponent. Has she not learned anything during the season? How can we expect to compete unless Bueckers becomes an elite shot blocker?
2. Pick and roll. Pick and roll. Pick and roll. Good Lord, I thought Auriemma was supposed to be some kind of mastermind. Talk about relying on trite, old school plays. It's obvious Auriemma has lost his ability as an offensive strategist.
3. Did you notice Muhl often pointing to her teammates to go places? It was bad enough that Bueckers was doing that as a freshman, now there are two "head chefs" out there. As we all know, too many cooks spoil the broth. The bad chemistry that will result from the Buecker-Muhl tandem is a given.
4. Did I see a match-up zone out there at one point? (Disclaimer: @CocoHusky , @BobbyJ , @HopJim and a few others are much more observant of these things than I am. I'll defer to them if there was not a match up zone being employed). I mean, you actually have to communicate for a match up zone to be successful. That's just not possible with 3-4 freshman playing at one time. Our defense is turning into a desperate endeavor.
5. I used to think Auriemma was a good sport, only sticking it to the opponent in rare occasions, like Moore's 40 point performance against Syracuse. Yet here was Muhl, who had played the second most minutes and was our second best player in the game, being kept in the line-up right up until the end. I realize Coach Duffy used to play for Notre Dame but come on now! Show a little class Auriemma and take players like Muhl out at the end of these blow out games.
That's all I have for now. Other observations are welcome.
I won't say we are on that level quite yet, but I'm afraid we are heading in that direction. It won't be long until the majority of BY posters turn into @Tonyc . I can't stand it. So to provide a little balance I revive for now something I did briefly during the Moore years, Pointing Out the Negatives we are overlooking in our overly optimistic outlook.
1. Did you see the play where Bueckers picked up her first foul? Shades of Seton Hall! If you recall that game Bueckers did a pretty good job of keeping Park Lane from blowing by her, but only by fouling her whenever she was about to get by. So here we are late in the season and Bueckers is still using the swat a shot blocking technique on a driving opponent. Has she not learned anything during the season? How can we expect to compete unless Bueckers becomes an elite shot blocker?
2. Pick and roll. Pick and roll. Pick and roll. Good Lord, I thought Auriemma was supposed to be some kind of mastermind. Talk about relying on trite, old school plays. It's obvious Auriemma has lost his ability as an offensive strategist.
3. Did you notice Muhl often pointing to her teammates to go places? It was bad enough that Bueckers was doing that as a freshman, now there are two "head chefs" out there. As we all know, too many cooks spoil the broth. The bad chemistry that will result from the Buecker-Muhl tandem is a given.
4. Did I see a match-up zone out there at one point? (Disclaimer: @CocoHusky , @BobbyJ , @HopJim and a few others are much more observant of these things than I am. I'll defer to them if there was not a match up zone being employed). I mean, you actually have to communicate for a match up zone to be successful. That's just not possible with 3-4 freshman playing at one time. Our defense is turning into a desperate endeavor.
5. I used to think Auriemma was a good sport, only sticking it to the opponent in rare occasions, like Moore's 40 point performance against Syracuse. Yet here was Muhl, who had played the second most minutes and was our second best player in the game, being kept in the line-up right up until the end. I realize Coach Duffy used to play for Notre Dame but come on now! Show a little class Auriemma and take players like Muhl out at the end of these blow out games.
That's all I have for now. Other observations are welcome.
Remarkable that Crystal and Napheesa were able to both be Rookie of the year without learning such a basic move in their time at UCONN.
