Seven Games in December

[Fairfield Fan]

These games will be critical. First, they will determine whether this Connecticut team helps break the all-time win record. Clearly, the players on this year's team own their own part of the record. They've played six games, half against ranked teams, and won them all.

Will they set the all-time record? They have another six games this month, four against currently ranked teams, the outcome of which will determine that. And one of those games, against Kansas State, could be against a ranked team. K-State is ranked in the top 25 on the RPI, and features an undefeated 7-0 record.

But these seven games, now six, will determine the season. After these games, it will be mostly clear sailing until the NCAA's.

We'll really see what these ladies are made of this month. They've surpassed the first barrier. But next week, they've got two huge mountains to climb: Texas and Notre Dame. My view of Texas is that they should win without too much trouble. Texas seems like Ohio State in that they have enormous talent on paper, but they've not been able to meld them into a team.

But then if we get past those two, and that is a big "if", there are Ohio State (big burden, but surmountable), but then Maryland. Despite their early cream-puff schedule, they just beat Louisville. Maryland is for real.

Big games. Big month. Very exciting.

Seven games. Now six.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

This is a six-player rotation now. Saniya Chong has taken her place as a player who can be depended on. She has perhaps the highest assist/turnover ratio that we've ever seen at Connecticut: 6.3. She's recorded 19 assists, and just 3 turnovers. Though her scoring has been modest, she has really lit it up with her assists!

As to the other members of the team, I don't think they can be counted on to help in critical situations. Butler? One has to ask "will the real Natalie Butler please stand up." She's sometimes effective, sometimes out of sorts. Irwin and Bent are works in progress.

So UConn has gone from deep to basically a starting five with Chong and Dangerfield trading off.

That thin rotation could have implications for these remaining six games in December. If either Gabby or Napheesa gets in foul trouble, will Natalie be able to come in and hold the line?

 

[Mdoggie]

Deep? When was the team deep. Maybe next season.

 

[UcMiami]

It is a seven player rotation - Butler is a prominent member of the rotation as is Crystal. Bent and Kyla are still 'freshmen' - Geno can sneak them in for a few minutes from time to time in a competitive game, but they are mostly going to see fourth quarter minutes in comfortable games as they learn to play college ball.

Butler is earning a lot of first half minutes in competitive games and performing well so I don't understand why you are ignoring that. She is not Tina nor Dolson, but she is providing the same kind of minutes Kiah did in her last two years with similar effectiveness (though they are very different players.)

 

[tomcat]

While I'd be the first to admit that Butler is no Dolson, I think the OP sells her a bit short. She has not developed her offensive game to fill capacity yet, but her defense has been decent, she hits the occasional short jump shot and is in much better shape. Will she be a star? Probably not, but I think UConn can count on her for valuable minutes as the season progresses.

 

[alexrgct]

If we pull out a victory over Texas, we may have to agree the Butler did it in the casino with a timely post move. Maybe Geno needs to get a Clue

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Natalie has to remember that she isn't playing a minuet with her upper body. She has to rip and claw, spin and shoot. It's a work in progress. I continue to believe she needs another 5-7 pounds of shoulder and arm muscle. BUT I really like where she is heading with her hustle and no let up.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Deep? When was the team deep. Maybe next season.

I think the team was "deep" last year. Breanna, Moriah, Morgan, KLS, and Kia starting with Napheesa, Gabby, and Saniya coming off the bench. Three great players, including two front court players, coming in to give a respite to five great players. This year there's Saniya. I'm not sure I would put Butler in the category of someone who can come into a tight game against an excellent team and be counted on to provide a strong performance.

Also not sure that Bent and Irwin will develop into players who can be counted on to contribute in big games. More fourth quarter-game safely tucked away participants.

 

[bizarro aj]

Bent will see more minutes as the season goes on because geno loves defensive players more then offensive. When i watch her play its like watching a clone of Kelly ferris. I think butler proved she can play in the FSU and Baylor games and she will continue to be a key player in big games against bigger teams.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Bent will see more minutes as the season goes on because geno loves defensive players more then offensive. When i watch her play its like watching a clone of Kelly ferris. I think butler proved she can play in the FSU and Baylor games and she will continue to be a key player in big games against bigger teams.

I thnk Butler has been a tale of two athletes. Sometimes she's very good. Sometimes, she's very timid. She's either one or the other. I agree with RockyMTblue who says she has to learn how to "rip and claw, spin and shoot." Someone has to remind her that she's 6'5"!!!!

But again, sometimes she plays well. But sometimes she gets the ball down low, and seems to look desperately for someone to pass the ball to. Really a question of which Natalie takes the court.

 

[bags27]

But these seven games, now six, will determine the season. After these games, it will be mostly clear sailing until the NCAA's.

sounds like a contradiction to me. if the next games "determine the season," then what's the NCAA's for? I'm betting that if UConn loses every game to a ranked team between now and through Feb, but wins the NC in April, they'd still have a parade.

 

[Mdoggie]

If we pull out a victory over Texas, we may have to agree the Butler did it in the casino with a timely post move. Maybe Geno needs to get a Clue

We will beat Texas by playing good and consistent defense. As in the SC game they struggle when forced deep into the shot clock during their possesssions. Also I have a strong feeling Crystal Dangerfield will "use" her defender in the game.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Bent will see more minutes as the season goes on because geno loves defensive players more then offensive. When i watch her play its like watching a clone of Kelly ferris. I think butler proved she can play in the FSU and Baylor games and she will continue to be a key player in big games against bigger teams.

But she has the shooting thing too. You'll see. If I have to get on a plane and kick her New England butt you will see! No Kelly Faris hide my shot under a bushel basket stuff going on for this scrapper.

 

[UcMiami]

But she has the shooting thing too. You'll see. If I have to get on a plane and kick her New England butt you will see! No Kelly Faris hide my shot under a bushel basket stuff going on for this scrapper.

Better buy that plane ticket!

 

[StephStorrs]

My main issue with Butler is she's soft. She really does act and walk around like a gentle giant. And that's great and all off the court - she seems like a really sweet, really well rounded kid - but on the court, we need to see more aggression from her. And I still don't think she's figured out how to tap her frustrations into her performance. (When she thinks another player fouls her but doesn't get the call and has that split second flash of anger across her face? Yeah, we could stand to have that translate into her play. More of that, please!) But I genuinely think once she gets a bit more comfortable and really embraces her size and abilities, she'll be a good asset for us. She's already improving, a little slowly but definitely surely. We'll get there! I don't know when, but we will.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

sounds like a contradiction to me. if the next games "determine the season," then what's the NCAA's for? I'm betting that if UConn loses every game to a ranked team between now and through Feb, but wins the NC in April, they'd still have a parade.

I think that there is only one other game during the regular season that Connecticut could possibly lose (SC). No one in the American Athletic is going to beat them. So these December games will likely not only determine whether the streak continues, but also largely determine what Connecticut's seed will be in the NCAA tournament.

Six games in December.

 

[MilfordHusky]

If we pull out a victory over Texas, we may have to agree the Butler did it in the casino with a timely post move. Maybe Geno needs to get a Clue

Are you playing games with us?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Deep? When was the team deep. Maybe next season.

Next year, we will have 1-3 NPOY candidates in the starting lineup and possibly 2 more coming off the bench. I'm sure that Geno will make her correct her flaws, but Megatron could be a top-20 player from Day 1. Barring injury, I don't see her starting until her second year. Deep? Mariana Trench deep!

 

[eebmg]

My main issue with Butler is she's soft. She really does act and walk around like a gentle giant. And that's great and all off the court - she seems like a really sweet, really well rounded kid - but on the court, we need to see more aggression from her. And I still don't think she's figured out how to tap her frustrations into her performance. (When she thinks another player fouls her but doesn't get the call and has that split second flash of anger across her face? Yeah, we could stand to have that translate into her play. More of that, please!) But I genuinely think once she gets a bit more comfortable and really embraces her size and abilities, she'll be a good asset for us. She's already improving, a little slowly but definitely surely. We'll get there! I don't know when, but we will.

New to BY but hoping to contribute when I can. My opinion of Butler is not that she is soft but she is in some sense somewhat uncoordinated (seems to trip alot) and her hands are not great. A bit like a bull in a china shop. Was she this way at Georgetown? She also seems to be too afraid? of taking the 8 footer when open which she needs to do to relieve pressure.

On the other hand, I think defensively she has improved markedly and she definitely can be a good defensive rebounder since she blocks out well (not sure about offensive rebounding since that requires instincts she may not have) as well as a ball denier and can impose herself physically like she did in the Baylor game. I hope her offense improves and she feels more comfortable making shots, We will need her in tough games in the tournament.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Next year, we will have 1-3 NPOY candidates in the starting lineup and possibly 2 more coming off the bench. I'm sure that Geno will make her correct her flaws, but Megatron could be a top-20 player from Day 1. Barring injury, I don't see her starting until her second year. Deep? Mariana Trench deep!

Certainly agreed- for next year. This year? Not so much.

Really hope Butler becomes consistent, and acquires that killer instinct underneath. But so far....uh-uh.

But we have to agree what Saniya is playing the best basketball of her college career. She's not appeared to be a liability on defense, she's scoring, albeit modestly, but she is off the charts on assists-to-turnovers. So five plus Saniya.

 

[StephStorrs]

Certainly agreed- for next year. This year? Not so much.

Really hope Butler becomes consistent, and acquires that killer instinct underneath. But so far....uh-uh.

But we have to agree what Saniya is playing the best basketball of her college career. She's not appeared to be a liability on defense, she's scoring, albeit modestly, but she is off the charts on assists-to-turnovers. So five plus Saniya.

Saniya is playing the basketball that I think a lot of us have wanted to see from her for the past three years. It's nice to see that she's not doing too bad as a starter. She's not wildly productive on scoring, but with the group we've got out there, I don't think she needs to be. But her assists and improved defense are exactly what we need from her. I wish we got to see it earlier, but better late than never, right?

 

[StephStorrs]

New to BY but hoping to contribute when I can. My opinion of Butler is not that she is soft but she is in some sense somewhat uncoordinated (seems to trip alot) and her hands are not great. A bit like a bull in a china shop. Was she this way at Georgetown? She also seems to be too afraid? of taking the 8 footer when open which she needs to do to relieve pressure.

On the other hand, I think defensively she has improved markedly and she definitely can be a good defensive rebounder since she blocks out well (not sure about offensive rebounding since that requires instincts she may not have) as well as a ball denier and can impose herself physically like she did in the Baylor game. I hope her offense improves and she feels more comfortable making shots, We will need her in tough games in the tournament.

I definitely agree with this as well. I said last season that she doesn't look comfortable with her size - she seems to be very awkward with it, as though she hasn't fully embraced it. She seems like a very hesitant, uncomfortable player because of that. I didn't follow her much at GT and I haven't gotten around to seeing what I can find on the internet about her freshman year but I will say that on paper... I expected a bit more. Then again, the hand injury probably didn't help her confidence out that much. (I also wonder if she had any idea how much she'd get beat up on the court when playing for UConn, but alas, another question for another day.)

She's improving, though. She looks more comfortable this year than last, so we're moving in the right direction. I don't know if we'll see the mental switch (the 'I can make a difference in this game and I need to do what I can for my team' switch) flip for her this season, but if not this season, than I think next season for sure. She's had some nice isolated moments this year so far, which I hope she can string together for a real nice game towards the end of the season.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Five games in December....

 

[hoophuskee]

I definitely agree with this as well. I said last season that she doesn't look comfortable with her size - she seems to be very awkward with it, as though she hasn't fully embraced it. She seems like a very hesitant, uncomfortable player because of that. I didn't follow her much at GT and I haven't gotten around to seeing what I can find on the internet about her freshman year but I will say that on paper... I expected a bit more. Then again, the hand injury probably didn't help her confidence out that much. (I also wonder if she had any idea how much she'd get beat up on the court when playing for UConn, but alas, another question for another day.)

She's improving, though. She looks more comfortable this year than last, so we're moving in the right direction. I don't know if we'll see the mental switch (the 'I can make a difference in this game and I need to do what I can for my team' switch) flip for her this season, but if not this season, than I think next season for sure. She's had some nice isolated moments this year so far, which I hope she can string together for a real nice game towards the end of the season.

I think she absolutely made a difference this year. No way we win Baylor or Texas without her, and frankly I think FSU too. If you're looking for her to be a scorer - I think you're going to be disappointed. On the other hand, I am very happy with her play. She's contributing - a valued player off the bench. If she can defend the big posts, rebound and hit an occasional shot and can hit her free throws so you won't automatically deliberately foul her, then it means she is doing very well.