SC Postgame Thread

[jazz]

Paige did something at the end of the overtime that was not smart. She tried to block the last shot by the SC player. Even if she made the shot it would not have tied the game. If one of the refs would have called a foul and the basket was good, then SC would have had a chance to tie the game. If the shot was missed the player would have gotten three free throws. If she hits two and misses the third and SC got the rebound, SC could have gotten the rebound and had a chance to tie or win. I see players do that often, try to block a late shot when they have a four point lead. Petty maybe, but it is attention to detail that Geno stresses so often.

nice one donald, you have a nice eye for particulars....i noticed the same...its a teaching point going forward.

 

[jazz]

it is called anticipatory referring.... but to be honest it is the right call.....barely....

 

[Littlemin]

Much has been made about Bueckers being the only scorer at the end of the game and I would offer a differing viewpoint. If she was just “jacking” because we had no other options I would agree but other than the 3 which she fired to beat the shot clock, she took all good, makeable shots basically in the flow of the game. That she made the all in that time and situation of the game is beyond impressive but even her one on one shots were really single clear outs allowing her to go to what appears to be a favorite, the baseline jumper going to her right. It is smart and winning basketball to get your best player good shots until the other team stops it.

 

[Zinethar]

I know what I wanted would have been stupid as it could have lost the game but I really wanted Geno to send in Mir, a player with no fouls, to go get the 5th on Boston (or 6th??) She likes to mix it up underneath and would maybe get a couple on herself before completing her assignment but it would have happened. You just can't try to draw fouls when you have 4 yourself. Near the end I screamed when they posted the fouls on the screen, 3 players with 4 and 3 with 3 for UConn, and 3 players with 3 on SC. How in the world did UConn actually survive that?

I understand that they reviewed one of Bostons fouls and gave it to someone else but why? No ridiculous fouls calls against UConn got reviewed.

 

[Viet Vet]

it is called anticipatory referring.... but to be honest it is the right call.....barely....

Jazz, well said. Referees are trained to "anticipate the play, not the call". They are to administer the rules. The rule-making body is responsible for promulgating them. Fans/coaches/announcers who rail against what they perceive as "dumb" rules are wrong in criticizing the officials.

 

[jazz]

"Rule 4-34 provides that your screen stance cannot be wider than your shoulders." Quite true, but screen setters almost universally set their feet wider than their shoulders without being penalized. But when they also stick our their knees, or move into the defender, or use their elbows, refs are wildly inconsistent about calling them out. Safest bet is for screeners to set the screens early and not move or lean or elbow the defender. That's safer, but they may still be called, just less often

The bottom line is just to run up as close as you can to the defender and set the screen. I've done it a thousand times, it is not difficult. My coach in 8th grade always told me to make sure I could be able to smell their breath and tell him what they had for breakfast...

But if you set the screen in space, then you will need to move as the defender will move to avoid you= foul.

Upon further review, the one on AG was still ticky tacky...Do you really want to stall a game that we are all so interested in watching so we can admire your literal knowledge of this freaking rule????

 

[jazz]

She has been limping the past 3 games, particularly after drives where she came down on knee. Her shot in each game has gotten flatter.

Nice spot Hop. I think she has been on a downwards spiral now for a few games. I'm not just talking about scoring but her movement. She needs to rest that knee for a week or two.

 

[blackbird]

""

maybe this explains Paige going 1-6??

 

[dragon]

 

[jazz]

Nika has been sticking her hip out since the beginning of the year, getting 2-3 moving screen calls each game. We can debate whether its warranted, but it wasn't unique to this game.

Just a bit of GA hyperbole there Hop.....
In my view, the refs are trying to be literary enforcers of this rule.

Ok fine, then every single time down the court, there is contact, in particular when guarding the post. If you apply the same literary interpretation of fouls, by the 4th quarter, we will have only walk-ons playing but yet the refs have technically done a great job..............

 

[jazz]

Did you watch last night's game? Did you watch the Arkansas game? When we had an 8 point lead in 4th quarter, we had no shooters in besides Paige (and Williams who did not qualify as a "shooter" last night), and could not score. 1-2 extra 3 pointers last night would have been huge.

Nice observation Hop. hope this is not a problem going forward......

 

[jazz]

while CW has not reached her full potential so far, if 16 points 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game is considered a bust then I hope Geno finds a few more of those........

She is absolutely not a bust...but it would be nice if she could do more against top level teams......She is NOT what we hoped she would be being a number one recruit.......

 

[dtbtbtb]

Please forgive me if this has been discussed but there are 16 pages of comments. Does anyone know the last time women won an overtime game?

2004

 

[jazz]

We all got the benefit of replay and still some disagree on some calls. The officials have to call in a split second without the benefit of replay.

yeah ok donald but they get paid to get it right and without replay,

it was still obvious to me...i think that they are expected to enforce 'X' amount of fouls with screens each game because it is 'emphasized'...this was complete 'over zealous of the rules' at best and complete and utter BS in reality.

 

[blackbird]

Always feel that the other players on DT's junior and senior teams get short shrift - no question both of those teams were 'her teams' but the quality of play from the 2002-3 freshman class was great and Conlon and Battle and Moore were fabulous as well.

That TX FF game was probably DT's most special big game, bringing the team back from dead in the final minutes.

This game was spectacular for PB and definitely an important game for the team. But ... there is a lot of season still ahead and it only helps in seeding, not towards any of the three titles available each year.

Honestly, I think people give them too much credit. DT made that group far better than what they were.

Again, the best WNBA player (after DT) from that group was Ashley Battle, the second best was Jessica Moore.

I expect ONO, Williams, Nika, and Edwards will all have better WNBA careers than Ashley Battle.

And I say that as someone who loved those teams..but they had no business winning a championship.

This is the first time since then where a team was so dependent on one player. I am interested in seeing what she does in the tournament, and it is amazing what she is doing right now, and even being compared to what DT did..shows how incredible she is playing - 14 games into her career.

But she still shouldn’t be expected to or have the pressure to do what DT did. If she gets this team to a Final Four she will have cemented herself as the best Freshman ever, and if she gets a championship..then we can talk about her having a better season than DT..but again, it’s not even fair to put her there. DT’s jr season is what cemented her as the best UConn player ever..It’s not even remotely reasonable to put that on Paige.

 

[clbabson]

I thought it was complete BS and was furious at the time, but if that is the rule, then that is a foul. Complain about the rule, but you can't complain about those who enforce the rules.

Not really. It's like speeding. Technically going over the speed limit by 1mph is illegal, but do people ever get pulled over for that, no. When calls like that are never made (in terms of the width of the legs), it normalizes it and creates the 'unwritten rule' so to speak. If they called every single violation that was "technically against the rules" - then these games would all be garbage. You can't do that. Refs should make calls where there is an impact to the game.

 

[BBallF]

I thought it was complete BS and was furious at the time, but if that is the rule, then that is a foul. Complain about the rule, but you can't complain about those who enforce the rules.

Sure you can. It was the enforcement of the rule in that instance, in conjunction with all the other illegal screen calls on us, with the lack of enforcement of the same rule against SC, and the failure to enforce the rules about fouling on shots that was emblematic of the terrible officiating. If a referee calls a walk on one player but doesn't call the same violation on others, that referee can and should be complained about. Watch Geno's presser and see what he thought of that call and the officials in general.

 

[jazz]

Ok, I've haven't said this before because of the love and admiration of EW (myself included), but I think GA coddles EW a bit with his criticism. She makes more than her share of mental mistakes which GA never mentions.

In saying that, I do think her knee is bothering her more and more.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Watched the game and honestly neither team look great for long stretches but:

Paige is even better than I figured. She has ice in her veins and has firmly established herself as the leader of the team.

SC's guards took way too many dribble drive/throw up some crazy shot. Some players probably had an off game but I am surprised there wasn't a better game plan from Dawn. Boston is legit but did not assert herself last night when the game was on the line, instead it was guard puts up shot by committee.

I have no idea why ONO is in the high post. I am honestly shocked she has not developed more than she has during her time at Uconn. Geno has forgotten more about quality coaching than I will ever learn or know but I do think for Uconn to have their best shot at a title ONO or CW will have to step up and help PB.

 

[jazz]

Sure you can. It was the enforcement of the rule in that instance, in conjunction with all the other illegal screen calls on us, with the lack of enforcement of the same rule against SC, and the failure to enforce the rules about fouling on shots that was emblematic of the terrible officiating. If a referee calls a walk on one player but doesn't call the same violation on others, that referee can and should be complained about. Watch Geno's presser and see what he thought of that call and the officials in general.

Thanks for your reply BBallf. But if that is the rule, then that is a foul and I don't care what GA or anybody else has to say about it.

But.......do the refs really need to call such a foul???? If so, then why not call BS fouls when post players are jockeying for position every time down the court.

I hate the call...I think rule or no rule, it was complete BS. But....if they want to enforce the rules so stringent, no matter what GA or myself or you or anybody says, it is a foul....

Despite that , I still think it is complete garbage foul....but a foul nontheless...in accordance with the strict rules...

 

[uconnever]

I have posted some negative comments in regards to the way some of our women played last night. While an enjoyable win and a super bright future, if Paige and her crew don’t get help from our upperclassman, we won’t beat a couple of teams out there. Last night would not get it done against Stanford for example. Paige is superwoman, but even she may not be able to overcome another teams complete effort. I said in an earlier post and I don’t care what anyone here says, SC was not the number one team in the country. Last nights win was awesome and a definite and necessary step in the right direction, but Sc is a streaky but an athletic good team, unlike Stanford who is fundamentally sound and determined and can shoot. Playing with half a team won’t beat them. I just hope everyone gets with the program or we’re not gonna reach our goals.

 

[jazz]

We all got the benefit of replay and still some disagree on some calls. The officials have to call in a split second without the benefit of replay.

Sorry donald but they still sucked in real timel