SC Post game presser | The Boneyard

SC Post game presser

The players seem quite calm and composed after the beat down. MW answer that SC wants it more than Uconn to a question about getting to loose balls might be honest but just does not seem right.
 
pvdoggy said:
The players seem quite calm and composed after the beat down. MW answer that SC wants it more than Uconn to a question about getting to loose balls might be honest but just does not seem right.
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That was a canned answer.
 
I thought the person at the 15:18 mark asked a legitimate and fair question and Geno's response was more than a little testy, a bit insulting to a fair question.
 
pvdoggy said:
I thought the person at the 15:18 mark asked a legitimate and fair question and Geno's response was more than a little testy, a bit insulting to a fair question.
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Not going to listen again and mark that time. Maybe you could provide more info. I thought I recognized some horde voices, and maybe the question was just a tweak at Geno?
 
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The question at 15:18 was a horde member, but I don't think his response was testy. This post-game was like any other Geno post-game press conference.
 
hoopsfan22 said:
The question at 15:18 was a horde member, but I don't think his response was testy. This post-game was like any other Geno post-game press conference.
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Thought he went out of his way to credit SC for the game. He knows there are at least 3 teams he can’t beat this year. They are too big, too fast, too good for us this year.
 
I disagree about the team improving since last Monday. They've had two practices in the last seven days. No team is going to markedly or visibly improve in that short amount of time. The same players are still doing the same dumb things they were doing two months ago, the same players that weren't making shots in December still aren't making shots in February, the team still refuses to put forth maximum effort, and any time the team plays top competition it's an automatic 18 point loss. Where is the team improvement? I am not seeing it. Just because Anna every few games knocks in a bunch of 3s? Does Aubrey look any better since the Seton Hall game? How about Kyla who has regressed a bit in the last few weeks to the point that she has gone from starter to last couple minutes mop up duty? Now I'm sure someone will come along and gives us their inside scoop about how the team all has the Corona virus and that's why they look lethargic and disinterested out there, but I don't see a whole lot of improvement.
 
hoopsfan22 said:
The question at 15:18 was a horde member, but I don't think his response was testy. This post-game was like any other Geno post-game press conference.
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Really? The guy asked him how can Uconn go from 52-54 to 70-75 in order to compete with the like of Baylor, Oregon, SC since the defense was able to hold them to 70-75 and Geno gave a snark remark of "We are not". If he really feels that way, don't bother showing up for the NCAA Tournament, otherwise, just answer the question that was asked, which I thought was a very fair question.
 
Too late to change the offensive scheme. Tonight, team had multiple sets with all 5 players, including ONO, spread across the 3-point line. The team is either not getting how to run a complex offense or just not capable to execute against good teams with size/athleticism (probably both).

Maybe easier to improve defensively, but man, they were dogging it tonight. No excuse for getting out-hustled or not getting in their face. Refs were letting them play and uconn was way too passive.
 
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Longtime fan said:
Almost every interview with every player, and every coach, is a canned answer. It would be better not to bother, frankly. They are trained to say nothing, but act interested.
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True for the kids and nearly all coaches, but I always appreciate Geno when he feels like talking. I’m sure he gets tired of the same stupid questions all year. He tried to get folks to see that SC was a much better team, and it still sounded like some thought he did a lousy job because they got beat.
 
pvdoggy said:
Really? The guy asked him how can Uconn go from 52-54 to 70-75 in order to compete with the like of Baylor, Oregon, SC since the defense was able to hold them to 70-75 and Geno gave a snark remark of "We are not". If he really feels that way, don't bother showing up for the NCAA Tournament, otherwise, just answer the question that was asked, which I thought was a very fair question.
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Candor does not always equal snark. Geno respects the game (and the players) enough to be honest. Amd lots of teams show up for the tournament without thinking they will win it all. The more experience they get at tournament play the more they'll be ready for next year.
 
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Geno is not stupid and is not blowing smoke when he says that this year Uconn is like every other team in the country with the aim of getting into the tournament and then seeing what happens. He has been saying this for some time but people have not been listening. This is not a typically past Uconn team. People need to have realistic expectations. Anything can happen in the NCAA's but there is a difference between believing anything can happen and having an expectation that it will happen. I am speaking of making the final four and challenging for the NC. Hey, there is no guarantee that Baylor, Oregon or SC will be in the final four and everyone can see that Uconn is not in their league.
 
In fairness to Geno, he said before the season even started that this team is not like UConn teams of the past. He seemed to know very early on that they would be 0-3 in these big games.
 
hoopsfan22 said:
I disagree about the team improving since last Monday. They've had two practices in the last seven days. No team is going to markedly or visibly improve in that short amount of time. The same players are still doing the same dumb things they were doing two months ago, the same players that weren't making shots in December still aren't making shots in February, the team still refuses to put forth maximum effort, and any time the team plays top competition it's an automatic 18 point loss. Where is the team improvement? I am not seeing it. Just because Anna every few games knocks in a bunch of 3s? Does Aubrey look any better since the Seton Hall game? How about Kyla who has regressed a bit in the last few weeks to the point that she has gone from starter to last couple minutes mop up duty? Now I'm sure someone will come along and gives us their inside scoop about how the team all has the Corona virus and that's why they look lethargic and disinterested out there, but I don't see a whole lot of improvement.
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I totally agree with your thoughts on this subject. The reality of this is that this Team is not a good mix of characters who can carry off a competitive game against a superior Team. We will watch them play an inferior team for the rest of the AAC season and maybe for the first two games of the Tourney. Who knows, if they are defended like this by USF, they may lose their first game in the AAC on Sunday. You cannot keep living in an alternate universe and delusional world when you keep playing inferior teams. The moment that you leave this bizarro world, REALITY sets in.
 
This team is simply not as good as the teams preceding them by a significant margin. Good players, not great players. Not consistent nor particularly good shooters, especially against teams with equal or superior physical skills. Yes, they can play better but not sure how much better. Certainly not 18 points better against top tier teams. I will still watch the games when I can and of course I want them to win. I will be ecstatic is somehow they catch lightning in a bottle and miraculously turn into a world beater in March. I also understand that such a turnaround is highly unlikely with the abilities of this group.
 
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Looking at the box score, I am coming to Geno's conclusion that Uconn can't make up the 18 points difference. Even if Anna and CW have made half of their shots yesterday, they would still come up short.
 
pvdoggy said:
Looking at the box score, I am coming to Geno's conclusion that Uconn can't make up the 18 points difference. Even if Anna and CW have made half of their shots yesterday, they would still come up short.
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Disagree. It's 18 points. Not 38. Sure that's a blowout by our standards, but that's an extra bucket or two by each of your starters. How many layups were missed? If Anna could have made a couple of 3s, and CW makes one more layup per half, and Liv makes her free throws, and Megan gives us a few more points we win the game, or at least have a good shot at it on the road in a hostile environment against the #1 team in the country. I think the players we have are fine and certainly talented enough to compete with the top teams more than they have, there is just something else missing preventing them from maximizing their potential.
 
veryolddog said:
I totally agree with your thoughts on this subject. The reality of this is that this Team is not a good mix of characters who can carry off a competitive game against a superior Team. We will watch them play an inferior team for the rest of the AAC season and maybe for the first two games of the Tourney. Who knows, if they are defended like this by USF, they may lose their first game in the AAC on Sunday. You cannot keep living in an alternate universe and delusional world when you keep playing inferior teams. The moment that you leave this bizarro world, REALITY sets in.
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Mmm I have a different take on that. The AAC is the real world. Most teams do not play three of the best teams in the country. UConn does because its goal is always the national championship. There is a consequence to that in a year when you aren't best the team in the country. We aren't.

In the chat, I expressed a lot of optimism about the game. We were getting open looks, we just didn't knock them down. We are a lot closer to SC than many believe.

One thing I (along with everyone else on this board, I'm sure) have noticed is that our execution of schemes is way below our normal standards. Cuts are sloppy, not sharp. Screens are not always set in a place that they are actually useful. Passes, even when they connect, are just a bit off so that the recipient can't catch and shoot. Those are little things but (as I used to say when I coached) "little things are big things." (It was better received than little things matter.)

UConn's system is very complicated. Learning to "read and react" consistently and correctly isn't easy. Understanding both where to be and where your teammates will be in Connecticut's motion offense isn't easy. It comes with time. Yet we are relying on freshman and sophomores to execute it. They can't yet. (At one point in yesterday's game I saw Megan shove Anna so that she'd move to where she should be.) As talented as Aubrey is, and she is enormously gifted, she has no clue what she should be doing out there. That's not her fault. She'll get there, but it will take time.

One this that we lack that could really help us right now is a player who can make things happen via force of personality. You know the the kind of kid... Jen Rizzotti, Jemelle Elliot, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, etc. As Kara said post game a few weeks ago the team 'is missing a player who will yank on your jersey and tell you to get your act together.' Paige is that kind of player, but it is highly unusual for a freshman to have that impact. Maybe, Westbrook can do it, I don't know.

Bottom line, it is going to take time. I like the pieces we have and the pieces we are getting, but it is going to take time. We're seeing the same thing on the men's side to a much more extreme degree.
 
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uconnfan68 said:
True for the kids and nearly all coaches, but I always appreciate Geno when he feels like talking. I’m sure he gets tired of the same stupid questions all year. He tried to get folks to see that SC was a much better team, and it still sounded like some thought he did a lousy job because they got beat.
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I agree. Geno has always been one of the few coaches worth listening to.
 
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