Negativity abounds after a 25 point win. It is very unusual for fan expectations to be steeped in reality and Uconn fans are no different.
Ono and Williams are what they are, good players but after three years many still expect them to be something they are not. Westbrook, in my mind is much the same, a good player. Edwards appears to be much the same player as last year, I see little improvement, certainly none in the energy department. All four have holes in their games and are prone to disappear at times.
Bueckers to me has improved significantly, significantly, especially on defense. On offense, she also seems to understand that she needs to look for her own shot and she is doing it much more than last year.
So the bench, and here is where I think Auriemma’s major weakness is showing. The idea of earning time in practice is fine, obviously, but what that means exactly is different to different people. If Ducharme has the skills he has said she has, and hustles and shows those skills in practice then she needs to get minutes to relax and get comfortable on the court. Not at crunch time, but what exactly is the purpose giving 30 to 30+ minutes to four starters in a 25 point blowout? Now one could make the argument that was because of the 11 day layoff but I don’t buy it, that coaching style has been Auriemma’s MO for a long time.
Nika Muhl has also shown, in limited opportunities, to be much the same player as last year. To those who want to judge players by their scoring, she should never get a minute at this level. But there is more to the game than scoring and that is where IMO, her value lies. First, her defense, her energy and aggressiveness; in the minutes she was in the game last night, Park-Lane did next to nothing, Seton Hall’s offense started a couple of feet further out or became bogged down trying to get the ball to her again after she gave it up. I would be remiss if I didn’t note that Bueckers also hounded her very, very effectively when she was on her. Which brings me to my second point regarding Muhl, and it directly concerns Bueckers; it is VERY difficult to have a true team offensive flow when your point guard is also your primary scorer, never mind the effort Bueckers expends on defense and rebounding. I usually don’t go there but late in the game Bueckers went to the ground near one of the benches in a scrum with a SHU player and I couldn’t help but think what a disaster it would be if she got hurt late still on the court in a blowout. I think moving Bueckers over to the 2 is a move that would best serve the team on several levels and have thought and posted that more than once.
Which brings me to Fudd. I have no idea how good she is or can be. I don’t care what she did in HS, in four games at this level she had one great stand still shooting game and did little else in the other three, while showing to be a major liability on defense. Now that very well may be because of injuries, or maybe the several injuries she evidently has had has slowed her down to the point she is just not quick enough to be effective at this level as anything other than a stand still shooter. For any who take offense, I will be the first to say that four games is absolutely nowhere near enough to make anything resembling a solid opinion, it is nothing more than a first impression.
For anyone else on the team, how can anyone judge them since they don’t play?
In short, my feeling is to develop depth and team chemistry you need to play depth and stop chasing “the perfect game”. Players need to sometimes play through mistakes, especially young players and I think it is very counter productive to let starters play through mistakes, many the same over and over, while yanking reserves after any and all.
