Seton Hall post-game thread [merged thread]] | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Seton Hall post-game thread [merged thread]]

Throughout the summer, we all gushed about how deep this team is. Well Geno made it official tonight, we have no depth. :confused: More proof that you can’t believe the some of the hype sold here in the yard.
 
topogigio said:
In the vernacular of the hood, "somethin' ain't right". This does not look anything like the same team, with the same players, as last year. I know it's early in the season, but save for Paige, they just don't look good. Yeah, a 20+ win at a tough court with a tough crowd - but too many things not clicking.
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Unfortunately, I tend to agree with you. I say "unfortunately" because I didn't think they looked very good last year!

When do the Seniors, i.e., Williams, ONO, and Westbrook, start playing like seniors? Take away Williams' 3 during garbage time, and her line is 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. At the moment, there is no one who seems willing and able to be even a reliable #2 option to Bueckers, so unless Fudd returns and starts playing up to expectations, why should we expect to go any further than last year?
 
oldude said:
Caroline looks like a "deer in the headlights." In her few 1st half minutes, she dribbled the ball off her foot, committed a silly foul and shot up an airball. :(
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Could not have said it any better about Caroline. With a fully healthy team, right now, Caroline might be the 11th or 12th Player on this team.
 
If someone other than Paige doesn’t get it going, this team is cooked. Final four streak ends.

Only 5 games, but still very disappointing.
 
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Yes
EricLA said:
I fear that you are a VERY VERY optimistic man! :D ;)
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That game could turn very ugly for us if we are not careful.
 
Surly1 said:
With the exception of Aziz & Dorka, this is the same team from last season. Presently, that is where the comparison ends. This team looks nothing like last season's version. As Geno and others have mentioned, UConn would be an average team without Paige. Her superiority on the court screams out.

Currently, there is a wide gap between UConn and South Carolina. SC looks more cohesive and fluid, while UConn simply looks out of sorts. Hopefully, a quick succession of games will help iron out the kinks, but help from the bench looks to be AWOL in the near term.
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I said this in an earlier thread after the SC game and some self professed geniuses saw fit to make some snide comments. Geno just said it in the post game interview.

If it wasnt for Paige Bueckers, this team wouldn’t even be in the top 5. Bueckers will be worn out by midseason.

The recruits are underwhelming.
 
Carnac said:
Throughout the summer, we all gushed about how deep this team is. Well Geno made it official tonight, we have no depth. :confused: More proof that you can’t believe the some of the hype sold here in the yard.
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We all? And you bought the hype?
 
Carnac said:
Throughout the summer, we all gushed about how deep this team is. Well Geno made it official tonight, we have no depth. :confused: More proof that you can’t believe the some of the hype sold here in the yard.
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Maybe, but how can we be certain if he generally refuses to play anyone but the starters, and then rarely for more than a few minutes? Sometimes players show little in practice, but suddenly start to light it up in games; if this is true of someone on the bench, Geno's never going to find her.
 
EricLA said:
I will have to admit - I watched Q1 shaking my head. Is this the performance of a team that had 10 days off and had Geno on them as well as their own distaste in how the last game vs. SC went? I fully expected us to come out like a house on fire, and instead, it was barely smoldering embers. Maybe they were rusty? Not sure what - if the game was early, I'd say that they were still half asleep...

Having said that, Q2 was more what I expected the start of the game to look like. 23-6 smack down. After poor shooting in Q1, at half time our FG% was 50%. Dropped SHU down to 24%. Defense was much better as well.

So I thought "ok here we go. The universe is realigned and we are back on track". Good grief. I was wrong. We outscored SHU by 17 in Q2. We won Q4 by 8. They basically played is even for 26 minutes. Not sure what Geno will think, but SHU lost to Fordham and USC and needed OT to beat Toledo. They "walloped" Lehigh by 10. And did all this with one of their best players who was out for the game tonight. 16 assists on 34 made baskets? That is nothing close to UCONN basketball.

Ultimately we won the game, but it was not fun at all to watch. Without being overlay dramatic, 2 good things came out of the game. Paige is phenomenal, and we won. Other than that a largely forgettable game. NOT what I was expecting after all the bluster and team comments after the SC loss. Finished Q4 strong after Paige got a bloody nose, but just a yuck overall vibe. These guys need to have a fire lit under them, or a bulb to go off, because right now, they look nothing like a team ready to make a NC run.

As usual, Paige was Paige. I may mention this all year, but anyone who left her out of the NPOY discussion in favor of "others" seriously had a screw loose. Did they think she was great by accident last season? That her play all year long was an aberration or luck? I say "Pfft". Need her to score? Check. Need her to play defense? Check. Need her to rebound? Check. Need her to run the offense effectively? Check. Need her to dish out assists? Check. And she's only a sophomore. Good lawd - we are lucky to have her, and be able to watch her for 2+ more years. 23 points, 9 boards, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 bloody nose.

Liv was Liv. Does some good things, does some head scratching things. I didn't think she was as all around impressive as she was against SC, but I do like what she brings to the floor. I don't see much improvement over last season, but sadly, we have no other options.

Aaliyah - she continues to mystify me. I keep waiting for the Liya who played so well at the end of last season. 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 TO's in H1.

Christyn struggled in Q1. Missed some open 3's. Then went back to doing what she does well - slashing, etc.

Evina was quiet. Not sure if something is wrong, but as much as she's a "leader", getting little offense is going to be a problem against better teams.

Caroline - 1st off the bench, and just overwhelmed yet again. Airball, poor defense, 2 fouls in about 5 minutes of play - not a good night for her.

Dorka - some rebounds seem to find their way to her and sometimes she gets after it. Loved seeing her nail the 3. Some have been down on her for taking those shots, but she CAN make them.

Nika - As my friend @MilfordHusky said, "Croatian larceny". Love her aggression, but 2 points on 1-5 shooting and 4 fouls? More fouls than points. Those are negative stats (notwithstanding the normal +/-).

Mir - 0-2 on FT's. If not for that, I would not have noticed she even played.
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Is DeBerry on the team?
 
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EricLA said:
I will have to admit - I watched Q1 shaking my head. Is this the performance of a team that had 10 days off and had Geno on them as well as their own distaste in how the last game vs. SC went? I fully expected us to come out like a house on fire, and instead, it was barely smoldering embers. Maybe they were rusty? Not sure what - if the game was early, I'd say that they were still half asleep...
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Possibly the unmentionable as in they are just not that good ... at the present.
 
Well, a win is a win, especially in conference, but lots of work for this team and a lot of areas of concern. Paige continues to be Paige; another great outing from her and her energy was unmatched on both sides of the court.

The team appears to be missing a glue player right now, there's no one, besides Paige, that this team can rely on for a solid rebound, steal, or disruptive play during a game. Paige can't be everything for this team and that's what she was today. I do think Aubrey will help fill this role once she's back and will change the look of the team; she was an important piece last year doing the little things and thats what this team really needs. I expect it will take a little while to work her back into the rotation, but if she plays like she did last year, she'll help this team start to gel a bit more. It wont solve all of UConn's problems having her back, but she should help with some of the little things.

Aaliyah had some good rebounding, but really struggled getting the ball in the paint today with several TOs. Olivia, Christyn, and Evina provided some offense, but also struggled with their energy at times. Dorka grabbed some needed rebounds, but Nika and Caroline really struggled today all around.

Azzi and Aubrey are going to be important parts of the rotation when they're back and will change what this team looks like, but there's a lot of work for everyone else in the coming weeks. There are too many times when this team stands around waiting for Paige to do something and they won't get far with that mindset.
 
Observations...

Not bad after extended layoff

  • Team identity is the opposite of MEAN GIRLS (can't recall the last time a UCONN team lost so many 50/50 balls.

  • The bigs are better getting the ball on the move than posting up. AE (thought she had a steady game tonight) got tossed some daggers and then got charged with the TO. Dorka and AE seem to need prompting for file line screens. Seen this before in read and react offenses.

  • Legs look heavy in every game after the third qtr.

  • CW just brings her lunch pail and goes to work. Steadier than comments suggest.

  • 18% from 3. Good news...can't get much worse.

  • The "chemistry" issues are related to "timing" and "familiarity" of whichever 5 players are on the floor. The offense is "choppy" usually when one or two new players are on the floor. The fix? Time. The good news...it's getting better.
  • Someone has to be willing to take some charges on drives. Park Lane is fast but help...is late.
GRADE... B-
 
Well South Carolina beat Kansas State 65 - 44, so we are really not to bad.
If Azzi and Aubrey are healthy we will be OK.
 
jdote33 said:
how did everyone feel CW played
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She started off poorly missing her first 3 or 4 shots, was benched and recovered rather nicely to make some good drives and finished 8 of 16 for 17 Points. She missed some defensive assignments but overall she was the second best UCONN player.
 
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I think that Geno is using a quick hook for every player not named Paige. He hopefully believes that he has a bench that will not miss a beat, so anyone can come off the bench for that spot. Usually when the original player returns, they will step up.
Not so much so far this season. Some are trying too hard while others seem to not play hard enough.
I so want to praise this team and do think that we are a much better team than we have been lately. Something has to turn this team into the team we're all expecting.
 
Geno said it all after the game. “Paige can take over a game but it’s not enough”. I don’t know what has happened to this team. It’s not rust. The talent discrepancy in this game was huge. But those turnovers against this team makes you wonder where their minds are at. Paige can win the BE by herself. But it ends there. We know they are better than this because we have seen the same players play like a a well oiled machine. It’s not physical. Do they have a team shrink?
 
Ok. Obviously, not an ideal outing. Nika, EW, Caroline and general offensive flow were poor. ONO, AE and Dorka satisfactory. CW fine, but streaky. Paige exceptional - duh.

But here’s what I will say. Something about the last few quarters of this game just felt different than the season thus far - and in a good way. The flow wasn’t perfect, but there were lots of moments where it worked well. Our rebounding and post play was DRAMATICALLY improved from the SC game. AE looked alive and urgent. ONO was aggressive under the bucket. CW fought and fought through poor perimeter shooting to close with a 3.

So, it’s not the Avengers team we thought Geno had assembled. But I’m not throwing in the towel just yet. I thought today was the first time we saw anyone not named Paige really fight for a win, and if that trend continues, I remain hopeful that the shots will start to fall. If we stay hungry, and get out of our own way, I think the team has the inherent skill to contend.
 
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topogigio said:
In the vernacular of the hood, "somethin' ain't right". This does not look anything like the same team, with the same players, as last year. I know it's early in the season, but save for Paige, they just don't look good. Yeah, a 20+ win at a tough court with a tough crowd - but too many things not clicking.
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They look exactly like they did last December.
 
Geno really appreciated Paige's defense., effort, toughness and especially smarts. He said the best offensive players should make the best defensive players because they should know how an offense flows and what the opposing team wants to do. Alos said Clyde Frasier is his favorite player, My fandom just went up another level
 
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