Rich Elliot: Dolson struggles again

[EricLA]

Of course ND is more in tune with what they can do. ND is a much more experienced team with two 5th year seniors (Peters and Mallory), two of the best and most experienced guards in the country (senior Novosel, and junior Diggins) and coming off a run to the championship game. The only player lost from last year's team was Bruiser.

If you watch Geno's press conference (now up on the team website), he's not nearly as upset about last night's game as some of the fans on this board. He understands the strengths and weaknesses of his team and seemed okay with last night's game, understanding that there are many things to work on including getting more points in the paint. ("All in all given the way the game was played, given the nature of the game and the games we play with these guys I thought we grinded one out pretty good," Auriemma said.)

well that makes total sense to me. it seems that the players, or more specifically Kelly, were frustrated with how the team played, but that Geno understands better that even tho WVU is not ranked and has had some losses they probably shouldn't have, they are a really tough team to play against. if i were a team in another conference, i'd not want to see them in the NCAA's...

 

[Jonathan Husky]

We may be watching a sophomore slump of our own.

To me, Stef seems to be over-thinking everything instead of just playing. For a girl with her size and skills to be 'man-handled' is surprising. If Bussie had tried her bulldozer defense against the junior or senior Tina she would have found herself planted. Unfortunately, the women's game seems to be getting more and more physical -- not a positive thing in my view -- so Stef had better get used to it.

I agree with you about the soph slump. Stef was very indecisive in the high post when she was not covered. Either a shot or a couple of dribbles closer to the basket which would bring Bussie out to play her would have worked much better. It looks like she is thinking and worrying too much. She has to play and make the defense commit. She should be our advantage against ND but if she dpesn't play beyyer we have a very good chance to lose.

 

[pap49cba]

But what would a freshman or sophomore Tina have done? Odds are about 50/50 she would have been in Geno's doghouse for some reason or another that particular day and/or not played very spectacularly.

Heather is just starting to show, with a little consistency, some of what we've been hoping to see since she came. She's a redshirt junior. I could say similar things about most of our true post players going back to Kara Wolters. Centers develop slow, at least at UConn. Stef's breakout run at the end of last year was the exception, not the rule. I would call it less of a "sophomore slump" and more "normal post player development."

I agree. That's why I specified the junior or senior Tina. Stef will have to learn just as Tina and her predecessors had to.

 

[meyers7]

But then we would have to listen to Meghan telling us that Stef should never put the ball on the floor.

Different situation.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Agree you don't put the ball on the floor when under the basket or in a position to make a layup. You don't put the ball on the floor when the best option is to just go back up with a shot to make a basket or get fouled. Definitely not the same situation when you're 15-17 feet away from the basket.

 

[UConnCat]

I agree. That's why I specified the junior or senior Tina. Stef will have to learn just as Tina and her predecessors had to.

Sorry, no learning curve allowed. Stef needs to know what to do and how to do it right now! (sarcasm alert)

 

[Icebear]

Different situation.

My objection is to Meghan's constant use of the word, "Never." I agree with you that situation affects the use of dribble tremendously. Meghan often says, "Never," when it is the proper and necessary thing to do. Even under the basket it can be the proper action although a rare one.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think that maybe some things are being expected of Dolson that she is not capable of at this point. I hate to dispute Geno, but I just don't see that she is the second best post player in the nation. IMO, both Glory Johnson and Vicki Baugh, and possibly Williams from Duke, play at a higher level in the post at this point. I'm not sure that Mallard at Texas Tech is not at the top as well. She is very athletic, can shoot the three and would probably match up favorably with Dolson. Maybe Geno is trying to infuse more confidence into her with that comment.

I don't think is this going to be a year where UCONN can rely on post productivity and will have to rely on their guard play.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Stef may not the best center in the Big East as demonstrated last night. It wouldn't surprise me if we don't see the same on Saturday. There could be two or three centers in the Big East that are better then Stef is today. However, I'm willing to wait until the end of the season before reaching a final conclusion. By the end of the year, Stef may be the Best Center in the Big East, today she's not.

 

[EricLA]

I think that maybe some things are being expected of Dolson that she is not capable of at this point. I hate to dispute Geno, but I just don't see that she is the second best post player in the nation. IMO, both Glory Johnson and Vicki Baugh, and possibly Williams from Duke, play at a higher level in the post at this point. I'm not sure that Mallard at Texas Tech is not at the top as well. She is very athletic, can shoot the three and would probably match up favorably with Dolson. Maybe Geno is trying to infuse more confidence into her with that comment.

I don't think is this going to be a year where UCONN can rely on post productivity and will have to rely on their guard play.

i definitely agree with the first part of your post. but to be fair, some of the payers you mentioned are not centers. Clearly Nneka is a "better" player than Stef, but Nneka is really a 4 who technically plays the "5" on an undersized team (neither Boothe nor Tinkle start). there was quite a bit of debate after UCONN played aTm as to whether Stef or Kelsey Bone was better. Bone is generally more productive, but Stef does a lot more that doesnt' show up on the scorer's sheet. i don't count Glory as a center, and would dispute that Vicki is better than Stef. maybe a 100% healthy Vicki, but she's not even starting right now (or hasn't been recently).

i'd really have to do some research to see what other post players are out there. i'd say Busie outplayed Stef as well. not just her numbes, but the way she kept Stef from scoring. fortunately Stef is a great passer and she amassed 6 or so assists. but i'd have to look at the centers of the top 50 teams or so and see what they are doing numbers-wise. Devaughn, the starting center for Maryland, and Kizer the back up both have better numbers than Stef. Williams also is having a better year. at least scoring wise. and those are just a couple of teams i checked.

i think maybe after Geno's comments and after all the accolades Stef received over the summer, our expectations were increased too much for what she could do her sophomore year. just the fact that teams we play have to make a game plan for stopping our post play indicates that Stef is really good and that they work hard to stop her and take that part of our game away.

it makes one realize just how special Tina was. not only were other teams incapable of stopping her, but she was also capable of stopping their best post player as well. and Tina was monstrously strong.

 

[easttexastrash]

All of the players that I listed play significant minutes at the post position and to me are better post players. Baugh had a much better game against Baylor than Dolson did and matched up about as well with Griner as I've seen a player match up this year. She looked much more agile than I think you are giving her credit for.

And since when does starting mean you are not a better player than a starter? I would say that KML is UCONN's best player and she is not starting.

As fas as Nneka, is she is playing the "5" even though she is better suited as a "4", she is still a "5" until she moves to another position. And she plays the "5" better than Dolson.

And Charles was special. She was strong and relentless. Some kind of work ethic.

 

[rington]

I think we can get to the Final Four not firing on all cylinders. Winning the national championship is another matter. Stef should be able to dominate Notre Dame, and she needs to hold her own against Baylor and Stanford.

Saturday will tell about her and ND.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

All of the players that I listed play significant minutes at the post position and to me are better post players. Baugh had a much better game against Baylor than Dolson did and matched up about as well with Griner as I've seen a player match up this year. She looked much more agile than I think you are giving her credit for.

And since when does starting mean you are not a better player than a starter? I would say that KML is UCONN's best player and she is not starting.

As fas as Nneka, is she is playing the "5" even though she is better suited as a "4", she is still a "5" until she moves to another position. And she plays the "5" better than Dolson.

And Charles was special. She was strong and relentless. Some kind of work ethic.

Based on overall performance so far UConn's best players are Bria and Kelly not KML.

 

[easttexastrash]

Based on overall performance so far UConn's best players are Bria and Kelly not KML.

I cannot argue that Bria is not the best player, and actually after making my original post, that crossed my mind. However, after watching them live in Waco, I can't say that Faris is better than KML. KML certainly scared me a lot more when she took a shot. The crowd would yell "don't let her shoot." She definitely had everyone's respect and I can't say that I walked away wowed by Faris. I do realize that there is more than scoring involved and I haven't gotten to see Faris's full body of work.

In looking at the stats for UCONN, it does appear that KML leads both Faris and Hartley in most major categories, two of which being rebounds and scoring, as well as FG percentage. However, Hartley runs the show and is required to get others involved, and does a great job of that. She was obviously the glue for this team in Waco.

 

[rington]

I think that maybe some things are being expected of Dolson that she is not capable of at this point. I hate to dispute Geno, but I just don't see that she is the second best post player in the nation. IMO, both Glory Johnson and Vicki Baugh, and possibly Williams from Duke, play at a higher level in the post at this point. I'm not sure that Mallard at Texas Tech is not at the top as well. She is very athletic, can shoot the three and would probably match up favorably with Dolson. Maybe Geno is trying to infuse more confidence into her with that comment.

I don't think is this going to be a year where UCONN can rely on post productivity and will have to rely on their guard play.

I think at the beginning of the year she could(potentially) be the 2nd best center in the country; now, maybe not.....yet.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Based on overall performance so far UConn's best players are Bria and Kelly not KML.

No love for Tiffany Hayes?

 

[easttexastrash]

No love for Tiffany Hayes?

Her shooting percentage against the two top 5 teams that UCONN played this year is pretty bad: 7 of 27, including 3/13 from BTA. She doesn't seem to have the same ability to rise to the occasion that Hartley or KML do. Those two are prime time performers and seem to thrive under pressure.

 

[uconn_nyc]

One more thing, Geno also said last night (again) that the team needs to be able to play with two post players (combination of two of Dolson, Kiah and Heather). It sounds like we'll start to see more of that going forward.

I am looking forward to this. It almost seems unnatural for a team to be playing with four guards. Two post players bring power and intimidation in the low blocks. As great as UConn's guards are, they couldn't control the paint last year against ND in the Final 4. Even excellent rebounding guards can't do that much against true post player rebounding.

 

[UConnCat]

Her shooting percentage against the two top 5 teams that UCONN played this year is pretty bad: 7 of 27, including 3/13 from BTA. She doesn't seem to have the same ability to rise to the occasion that Hartley or KML do. Those two are prime time performers and seem to thrive under pressure.

There's more to playing well than scoring or shooting a great %. Against A&M, Stanford and Baylor, Tiff is averaging 11 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 turnover. That's pretty good.

 

[semper]

I was amazed by UVA's defense and think they are very well coached. This was such a useful game for us, right now. We needed it to grow, and it was just what the doctor ordered. I bet that there is lots of time looking at the screen happening to day, and some serious analytical work on the part of the coaches. We won't be the same time. We went to school last night, and will be much smarter as a result.

 

[RoyDodger]

What concerned me the most about last nights game is Stef didn't know what to do with the ball on the high post. She had the player guarding her 4 feet away and she seemed lost. Geno took her out of the game 3 or 4 times before she decided that maybe she should at least shoot the ball. She did and missed. It seemed to me that she had the opportunity to dribble the ball a couple of times to get a shot more in her range or get the WVA post player to get up on her and free up another player to pass the ball to. It also appeared the other players were having difficulty getting open to accept a pass from Stef or for that matter Kiah. Too many times last night UConn's post player had the ball and the defender was 4 feet away from them and both Kiah and Stef didn't know what to do with the ball.

It was painful to watch. I don't remember a UConn team, especially the post players, ever performing like that. Stef and Kiah looked befuddled. My biggest concern is that Stefanie seems to have taken two steps backwards vs. how she played last year. Coming into this season, we heard so much about how she was in better shape and playing better. It hasn't been very apparent so far, but I keep hoping, especially in the next game vs. ND. Let's see if Geno, CD, and the assistants can get some inspiring play out of her.

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

There's more to playing well than scoring or shooting a great %. Against A&M, Stanford and Baylor, Tiff is averaging 11 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 turnover. That's pretty good.

Her shooting percentage against the two top 5 teams that UCONN played this year is pretty bad: 7 of 27, including 3/13 from BTA. She doesn't seem to have the same ability to rise to the occasion that Hartley or KML do. Those two are prime time performers and seem to thrive under pressure.

A bit of a conundrum of sorts, these sets of numbers say things that various parties may dispute, but are both true it would appear... iirc last years average points per game by TH was higher, something around fourteen plus points per game... granted this season is not complete...

 

[UConnCat]

A bit of a conundrum of sorts, these sets of numbers say things that various parties may dispute, but are both true it would appear... iirc last years average points per game by TH was higher, something around fourteen plus points per game... granted this season is not complete...

Last year Tiff averaged 13.7 pts, 4.6 rebs and 4.2 assists. This year she is averaging 14.2 pts, 5.6 rebs and 3.6 assists. Her A/TO ratio this year is 2.4 which is improved over last year's 1.5.

 

[Tonyc]

I dont get it. What are fans looking at when they look at players. Players need to play the game. I think from some of these posts fans are looking for Stef to score alot of points. She gets doubled down low. Last night was one game. We shot poorly. Stef and Kiah were imo to high up top. Maybe they shouldve been around the line not the top of the key so they could shoot the ball and bring their defender out to guard them. Because of that we couldnt get enough back doors. I thought WVa played a good game againest our post players. Do you honestly think we will shoot the ball this poorly againest ND? I dont and if we do we have a good chance of losing. We run our stuff starting with defense. Our defense will keep us in the game. Remember this is one game. Stef dosnt have to score to be effective in the game. She intimadates and is a great passer. Im pretty confident we come out smokin Saturday.

 

[HuskyNan]

I cannot argue that Bria is not the best player, and actually after making my original post, that crossed my mind. However, after watching them live in Waco, I can't say that Faris is better than KML. KML certainly scared me a lot more when she took a shot. The crowd would yell "don't let her shoot." She definitely had everyone's respect and I can't say that I walked away wowed by Faris. I do realize that there is more than scoring involved and I haven't gotten to see Faris's full body of work.

Yes, more than one showing is needed to appreciate Kelly Faris. A lot of what she does doesn't show up in the box score. She almost always defends the opponents best player (obviously in the Baylor game she wouldn't defend BG, though), she tips balls, harasses the heck out of guards, and is just there when someone is trying to make a play. She just disrupts offenses.

Her stats, btw, show that she does a little of everything - 6.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.5 apg (leads team), 3.2 spg (leads team), .5 bpg.