Rich Elliot: Dolson struggles again

[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.

 

[EricSD]

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.

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

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.

Cool, thanks for the numbers. I hope to see her ppg average climb as the season goes on. So why do you think her scoring dropped so much when we played those top five teams ? its not like she is the only scoring threat opponents need to try to contain on our team, this "seems" to be a carry over from last season (happy to be wrong on this by the way), do the actual numbers bare this out when we played top five teams from last season to this season thus far ?

 

[Sonny44]

E

This team is a work in progress, particularly on offense. Why is this so difficult to understand?

Stef has gone from last year sharing the lane with the player of the year, 3-time Wade trophy winner and WNBA ROY to having the lane to herself surrounded by 4 guards. The 4-guard offense involves having Stef set a lot of high ball screens to get shooters open and having the guards drive and kick out to open shooters on the wing. As a result, Stef either spends a lot of time at the high post setting screens or drawing post defenders so the guards can penetrate and kick. On the occasions when Stef has posted down low, the guards have not done a great job of getting her the ball. Overall, it's been a frustrating year for Stef so far which has likely caused her to lose some confidence and not work as hard as she can to establish position down low (if you're going to get banged around, it's easier to take if you get the ball).

So, I see a team that is still working on establishing the right balance that will allow it to score in a variety of different ways and make it difficult for opponents to defend. It has a long way to go and there are going to be ups and downs and losses along the way.

Geno said that Stef was the 2nd post player in the country because I think he believes she has the potential to be just that. But Stef is discovering that playing without Maya next to her and with 4 guards is making life in the lane a lot more difficult. She is literally the center of attention. She knows she needs to score more and play better and so do the coaches. All we can hope for is that she continues to work at it and plays better by March.

Exactly, lost some confidence, too much pressure. We need to be patient with her. Everyone has her own rate of development.

 

[John Fryer]

You know, they're going to figure this out, its not rocket science and our coaches know what they're doing. WV had a good game plan tonight for how to deal w Stef and she didn't adjust particularly well.
Hopefully, in the near future she'll be better. BTW: I still fret about the Notre Dame game for the reason I've stated several times: They are more in tune with what they can do as a team at this stage of the season.

Wasn't it the responsibility of the coaching staff to make Stef (and Kiah) aware of the fact that she (they) needed to adjust to the way she (they) was being defended, and how to counter that defense?

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[Icebear]

Wasn't it the responsibility of the coaching staff to make Stef (and Kiah) aware of the fact that she (they) needed to adjust to the way she (they) was being defended, and how to counter that defense?

Peace,

John Fryer

There is a difference between hearing something and doing it in the flow of the game.

 

[easttexastrash]

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.

Surely you are not trying to put TAMU in the same category of Stanford and Baylor.

I realize that there is more to a game than scoring, but taking 27 shots if you can't shoot more than 25% is wasting possessions. I feel the same way about Pope for Baylor. Most of her offensive possessions against top talent are wasted possessions for Baylor. Know your limitations and play to your strengths, not your weakness.

And I am not saying that she is not a good player, but the question was who is the best player, not if Tiff had descent numbers. Those are respectable numbers but do not put her in the category of best player on the team.

 

[MilfordHusky]

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.

Nice A/TO ratio! Assists could be down because the great finisher with 3,000 points is in Spain instead of Storrs.

 

[speedoo]

Surely you are not trying to put TAMU in the same category of Stanford and Baylor.

I realize that there is more to a game than scoring, but taking 27 shots if you can't shoot more than 25% is wasting possessions. I feel the same way about Pope for Baylor. Most of her offensive possessions against top talent are wasted possessions for Baylor. Know your limitations and play to your strengths, not your weakness.

And I am not saying that she is not a good player, but the question was who is the best player, not if Tiff had descent numbers. Those are respectable numbers but do not put her in the category of best player on the team.

OK so she's not the "best" player on the team. But IMO she is the most versatile, because she can play positions 1-4, and with her gut it out attitude, strong ability to rebound and defend, etc. she is very, very valuable to the team.

 

[HuskyNan]

Surely you are not trying to put TAMU in the same category of Stanford and Baylor.

I realize that there is more to a game than scoring, but taking 27 shots if you can't shoot more than 25% is wasting possessions. I feel the same way about Pope for Baylor. Most of her offensive possessions against top talent are wasted possessions for Baylor. Know your limitations and play to your strengths, not your weakness.

And I am not saying that she is not a good player, but the question was who is the best player, not if Tiff had descent numbers. Those are respectable numbers but do not put her in the category of best player on the team.

Part of what you don't see is that if the team is struggling on offense, the young players will often toss the ball to Tiff as the shot clock is running down and hope she can do something with it. Against the stiffer competition, Tiff is put in a very difficult situation but, being a senior, will attempt to take the shot and hope for a foul.

 

[easttexastrash]

OK so she's not the "best" player on the team. But IMO she is the most versatile, because she can play positions 1-4, and with her gut it out attitude, strong ability to rebound and defend, etc. she is very, very valuable to the team.

I agree 100%. She is a very good player and absolutely has the ability to hurt the opponent. I wouldn't be surprised to see her light up a team at any point. She is incredibly athletic and when I watched her warming up before the Baylor game, I was worried because she was really stroking it from three point range. I do think that she has not developed enough of a mid-range game. She seems to either shoot the three or drive all the way to the basket, but I can't say that I have seen her utilize the pull-up jumper very often, which would allow her to kill an opponent.