Seton Hall Postgame Thread

[RockyMTblue2]

Blanca really makes things happen. She makes some bad decisions but they are not made out of timidity but rather out of aggressiveness - home run pass, offensive charge, and the like. She seems to get to where she wants on offense pretty easily, especially getting to the rim in the open court. The words that come to mind are fluid and smooth, but most importantly, Explosive (with a capital E).

Unfortunately she missed a free throw, so UConn was only 11-12 versus 11-11 last game.

Nice to see that Azzi, Allie and Shade all made three threes, but I would like Azzi to take more than eight shots. Sarah was 0-4 from three so I guess that is the subject of the next handwringing thread.

It seemed like a decent though unremarkable effort but the box score tells a different story, showing a field goal percentage of 58%, 38% from three, 92% from the line. 45 points from the bench, no one played more than 28 minutes. 25 assists and 16 steals; 27 turnovers for Seton Hall. So, we are truly spoiled.

The word is that Serah was kneed in the calf and that is better than most of the other alternatives when you see a player limp off of the court. I am sure they iced it right away, and she was wearing a compression wrap to minimize swelling. It feels like a “day to day” type injury. They might hold her out of the Xavier game as a precaution but I would be very surprised if she doesn’t play against Tennessee.

BTW I watched the game on “tape delay” since I was at the UConn men’s game, a thrilling 75-67 overtime victory against Villanova. Peoples Arena was rocking! The two programs have combined for a grand total of one loss this season. Basketball Capital of the World!

Geno said he and Blanca had a long session (film?) very recently, but he did not want to go too hard on stuff that might get in her head and slow her down. Then he said something along the lines of living with a mistake for the 10 things that are amazing.

 

[Next 12]

Careful. You could dislocate your shoulder from patting yourself on the back…… 😉

You will never know how far I've been off making these predictions and this was the closest I've ever come . I just wanted someone to know. I consider you " oldude" one of the most knowledgeable poster's on the BY and am honoured that you took time to answer my post and I mean that sincerely. I also noticed you give me 'a like" for my posts and I thank you for that.. GO HUSKIES!!!!!

 

[bkart1978]

Hearing the announcer from Marist talk about Coach Bozzella back in his MAAC days was a trip for me; I managed another women's team in the MAAC in the early 2000s and Coach B. would have our team cracking up with his sideline antics. He was truly crazy out there. But it's honestly great to still see him out there doing his thing with much success.

I'm not stressed, but I don't think it's the margin of victory here that has folks uncomfortable, it's more the preventable turnovers and sloppy (at times) play. I'm honestly surprised Sarah hasn't gotten sharper with some of her passing - she often makes the tough passes look easy, like the early dime to Azzi, but her turnovers and tipped balls end up happening on much more routine passes around the key. Sometimes it looks like she's thinking three plays ahead in the half court and loses focus on the first pass.

As good as Sarah and the team have been this year, I do think they have another gear of focus to tap into when (and if) they actually face a challenge.

 

[Doctor G]

I want to find Azzi and Sarah in games. I like passing the ball around and playing great team basketball. In general though; 8 shots is not enough for Azzi. And she started this game on fire. I prefer to keep her more involved in the offense.

Team is not always great at getting Azzi the rock. For example, KK attempted a 3 that was close to an air ball with Azzi — who was 3/3 at the time— wide open to her left. After watching this on film, I hope KK never does it again. Get the ball to the hot hand.

 

[Doctor G]

Team looks like they’re just going through the motions right now

Shooting 60-40-90 as a team is not going through the motions.

 

[cabbie191]

I seriously doubt that was on their minds as the played the game. Maybe they were just thinking about the good NJ pizza they would have waiting for them on the bus.

How dare they! Now that CT is known and accepted as the Pizza Capital of the World, I repeat, how dare they?

After all, what could be better than to celebrate being the Basketball Capital with having food from the Pizza Capital? 😀

 

[donalddoowop]

I am glad the team is continuing to look less than sharp at times. That means they have some room to grow. I don't want them to peak too soon. See ND last season. When they started slowly today, I mentioned in the chat to give them time to warm up, and they did. If UConn is still sputtering come BE Tourney time, then I will be concerned.

 

[BobbyJ]

Shooting 60-40-90 as a team is not going through the motions.

And 4 or 5 different players diving on the floor for loose balls isn’t exactly mailing it in.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

After being so psycho as a Wrestling Coach and now being 78 and unwell every day I truly love watching our girls play and understand that LIFE sometimes gets in the way of their performance!
We UConn fans are truly blessed to have this program in our "backyard"!
The young women give us their best shot every time out, it may not be their best game but they work so hard to be perfect that they screw up but not for lack of effort!
Geno and staff, especially CD constantly turn out great players, intelligent, truly nice people and in our present society that's rare!
My Mother (rest in peace) always said "She liked the old world not the new one!"
You listen to our alumni and they still remember CD's rules of conduct! And they hated it but respectfully said it made them better adults!
I still get emotional watching a player do something extra ordinary and the thrill on their faces afterwards!
Remember please that for the most part they are teenagers and as such they are entitled to get a little "flaky" every once in a while!

 

[iri10]

Geno said he and Blanca had a long session (film?) very recently, but he did not want to go too hard on stuff that might get in her head and slow her down. Then he said something along the lines of living with a mistake for the 10 things that are amazing.

Geno was on a roll with the "other sports" analogies in the presser today. He compared Azzi to a great (baseball) hitter having a two week slump and then coming out of it, and he said that Blanca "is going to throw ten touchdown passes. You'll have to live with the 5 interceptions." The Blanca one got a chuckle out of the press pool.

 

[uconnfan68]

Often enough to notice, UConn will bump opposing ballhandlers off their spots and get away with it. That's bound to come back at some point & haunt them as ticky tac "ghost fouls."
UConn fans need to accept the good officiating with the bad.

As much as we like to appreciate their smooth unselfish play, they are very physical. Ask any opponent.

 

[Stagnant]

I know Heckel got in foul trouble. But I rewatched the game. At least two of the fouls involve a ball taking a weird bounce or a deflection… and Heckel dives for the loose ball and there is contact and the refs whistle her. I can’t imagine Geno had a problem with those fouls.

Allie Ziebell. Her shots were really wide open. Almost like seton hall didn’t have her on the scouting report at all lol.

Also, Allie is never going to be a point guard. But she has a pretty reliable handle. And she has pretty good hands. Caught a number of low passes on the perimeter in this game that I can imagine people bobbling.

 

[Zarathustra]

After being so psycho as a Wrestling Coach and now being 78 and unwell every day I truly love watching our girls play and understand that LIFE sometimes gets in the way of their performance!
We UConn fans are truly blessed to have this program in our "backyard"!
The young women give us their best shot every time out, it may not be their best game but they work so hard to be perfect that they screw up but not for lack of effort!
Geno and staff, especially CD constantly turn out great players, intelligent, truly nice people and in our present society that's rare!
My Mother (rest in peace) always said "She liked the old world not the new one!"
You listen to our alumni and they still remember CD's rules of conduct! And they hated it but respectfully said it made them better adults!
I still get emotional watching a player do something extra ordinary and the thrill on their faces afterwards!
Remember please that for the most part they are teenagers and as such they are entitled to get a little "flaky" every once in a while!

Thank you "RSHERMVIKES" for your comments... today (and as always!) .... NICE!
P.S. You really "pinned down" many of my thoughts about "watching our girls". Z

 

[BBallF]

And 4 or 5 different players diving on the floor for loose balls isn’t exactly mailing it in.

I think if the ball was loose and Kayleigh was 60 feet away, she would sprint there just to get a chance to dive for it!

 

[BBallF]

Geno said he and Blanca had a long session (film?) very recently, but he did not want to go too hard on stuff that might get in her head and slow her down. Then he said something along the lines of living with a mistake for the 10 things that are amazing.

His actual line was that if the quarterback throws 10 touchdown passes you can live with 5 interceptions.

 

[BBallF]

And not to mention that they may have been thinking just a little bit about getting out of the gym and on the way home before the storm gets close...

Usually the bus is the place where everyone meets the UCONN players after the game and gets photos, autographs etc. It was freezing yesterday but that hasn't stopped fans in the past. Yesterday though they closed off the area around the bus so you couldn't get within 100 feet of it. That was probably to get them out of there faster. Apparently, if anyone had getting out of there fast on their minds it was the assistant coaches who didn't have a new outfit to wear since they were expecting to come back after the Hoyas game. According to Geno it was a crisis of immense proportions. Montclair has several great stores right down the block ( as well as restaurants) but apparently that was a no go.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[BBallF]

Azzi is doing what Paige did last year. Score early and settle the team. When UConn needs to run the offense through her, she will score 30 or 40. Easily.

Sarah Strong was to be expected. Big East and National Player of the Year are within her sights.

Quinonez came in and saved everyone but Azzi Fudd when they needed it. She’s such a spark and she’s starting to pass as good as she plays. That is dangerous.

Good contributions form the others, Ziebell is going to counter any team in march that decides to leave her open from 3. Jana is also such pivot piece. Kk played strong.

This team will depend on Shade. If she can score over 10pts, UConn will not lose.

I hope Serah is okay, she is needed!

I always thought that 8 points and 4 boards for Ash, with 2 of them being offensive, is a solid tipping point. 10 of course is better because her real value is as a glue player with her defense and floor game. So 8-10 points is a real added bonus. I feel the same way about Kayleigh. She does so many great things but when you also pick up 8 points it's huge. Plus her 3 ball has been improving and that is huge.

 

[BBallF]

Yeah, we are kinda spoiled. Hey, if Geno can complain about the pizza a few games ago, we can complain about anything and everything, which we are the absolute best in the country at. 😊

 

[DemonDeac22]

I am glad the team is continuing to look less than sharp at times. That means they have some room to grow. I don't want them to peak too soon. See ND last season. When they started slowly today, I mentioned in the chat to give them time to warm up, and they did. If UConn is still sputtering come BE Tourney time, then I will be concerned.

If you choose to call this sputtering as a team than you have much higher standards than I do. I respectfully disagree as I see this team as a force of nature that is in the process of growing individually and collectively before our eyes. Enjoy their journey.

 

[HuskyNan]

There are fans that see the team in a micro way, in other words, they see the small details that are perceived as possible problems for the team. Things like Blanca’s turnovers, Ash’s fouls, Azzi’s “slump”, etc. the details become magnified in their view.

Others, like me, see a macro view of the team, seeing the team as one organism, so to speak, rather that a lot of smaller parts. Azzi slumping? KK picked up the slack vs ‘Nova. Sarah having an “off” day? Blanca stepped in. Serah got binged up? Jana and Ayanna capably managed the post.

I don’t usually participate in the threads where folks talk about individual matchups because of my macro vision. I don’t see KK vs their pg, I see the Huskies’ pg corps vs theirs. If KK is off, Kaleigh can step in. With UConn’s longer bench last year and, especially, this year, Geno can take out a player that’s having an off night without it hurting the team. So, no worrying about a player’s turnovers or shots not falling - someone else can pick up the slack.

There’s nothing wrong with either point of view, btw. I hope people will stop throwing shade at fans that think differently than they do. You aren’t being persecuted for having an unpopular opinion, people are just disagreeing with you because they see the game differently

 

[oldude]

There are fans that see the team through a micro way, in other words, they see the small details that are perceived as possible problems for the team. Things like Blanca’s turnovers, Ash’s fouls, Azzi’s “slump”, etc. the details become magnified in their view.

Others, like me, see a macro view of the team, seeing the team as one organism, so to speak, rather that a lot of smaller parts. Azzi slumping? KK picked up the slack vs ‘Nova. Sarah having an “off” day? Blanca stepped in. Serah got binged up? Jana and Ayanna capably managed the post.

I don’t usually participate in the threads where folks talk about individual matchups because of my macro vision. I don’t see KK vs their pg, I see the Huskies’ pg corps vs theirs. If KK is off, Kaleigh can step in. With UConn’s longer bench last year and, especially, this year, Geno can take out a player that’s having an off night without it hurting the team.

In addition to watching UConn with a “super critical viewpoint,” many UConn fans don’t watch other teams with the same level of circumspection. To such people I strongly suggest watching a UCLA, TX, SC or LSU game closely to see just how many mistakes those teams make in a game.

They get stuck on offense at times forcing bad shots and turnovers. There are jaw-dropping breakdowns on defense allowing layups and wide open 3’s. Compared to UConn, the execution of the other top teams in the country is not even close.

 

[ERWUC65]

In addition to watching UConn with a “super critical viewpoint,” many UConn fans don’t watch other teams with the same level of circumspection. To such people I strongly suggest watching a UCLA, TX, SC or LSU game closely to see just how many mistakes those teams make in a game.

They get stuck on offense at times forcing bad shots and turnovers. There are jaw-dropping breakdowns on defense allowing layups and wide open 3’s. Compared to UConn, the execution of the other top teams in the country is not even close.

First, we (UConn fans) don't watch those other teams unless they are playing us and second, I think we have legitimate concerns about this years team (albeit undefeated) due to the deficiencies mentioned above. Personally, I look to the size of the roster affecting the playing time of our stars (Azzi and Sarah), the WIP in the paint with Serah and Jana and the continuing search for the 3rd shooter that will be needed when the good teams concentrate on shutting down our stars. That's all.

 

[BBallF]

In addition to watching UConn with a “super critical viewpoint,” many UConn fans don’t watch other teams with the same level of circumspection. To such people I strongly suggest watching a UCLA, TX, SC or LSU game closely to see just how many mistakes those teams make in a game.

They get stuck on offense at times forcing bad shots and turnovers. There are jaw-dropping breakdowns on defense allowing layups and wide open 3’s. Compared to UConn, the execution of the other top teams in the country is not even close.

That's a great point. Usually we just watch other games to watch as a detached spectator unless we are rooting against someone. Even then we are not as engaged on every play, not judging, analyzing, criticizing, applauding. With UCONN it's intense, focused, hypercritical and we are all coaching the team. The fellow BYer at the Hall game sitting next to me told me that his palms had been sweaty all game. We were up by 35 at that point.

At the end of the game, my granddaughter wanted a picture of me with the Pirate mascot. I started walking out, very slowly to beat the crowd. With 6 seconds to go, no one had even gotten out of their seats. I was the only one leaving. It was like they were at a Broadway play waiting for the curtain to fall. That is the other fascinating characteristic of UCONN women's fans. We will watch a blowout game, stay to the bitter end because we have to see if Caroline scores, Ayanna plays well, or Jana is more aggressive etc..

Of course, when you surround yourself with other BYers you think this is all very normal. During halftime I was having a conversation about doing something next Sunday in the early afternoon. I had forgotten the schedule. Another UCONN fan overheard me, and seeing my clothing said " The Tennessee game is on then". We are everywhere, everywhere I tell you.

 

[Linart]

I wish Kellis would fix whatever it is that keeps her from getting more playing time. She's a hoot to watch. 2 pts in 4 minutes at 80mph.

Also, I think calling a game play by play is becoming a lost art. Most are just chatting it up with the color commentator, sometimes about the team, sometimes not. It's like sitting in a movie theater with two annoying people sitting behind you.