Sick and Tired of "Tired"

[Sonny44]

Lately it seems like everytime someone misses a couple shots, or is a little late on defending, or misses an assignment, or late on a switch, or not having a great game, you name it; a poster blames it on "tired". Then the bandwagon starts and others chime in. Oh yes she must be tired.

I'm hearing this even early in games. We can score 25 points in the first 8 minutes, drop to 2 in the last 2 minutes and all of a sudden we're "tired". What about a let down or the other team is catching on to what we're doing? There can be many reasons for an off game such such as the defending team's strategy and style favoring one player over another, an unanticipated slump, unexplainable bio-rythms, etc.

Did you ever hear of a slump in baseball or other sports? No one has ever come up with an explanation. I think this "tired" stuff is a lot of this is BS. Our gals are in great shape, playing one or two games a week like everyone else [who incidentally are usually in poorer shape than we]. Unfortunately our players are human. If they are ever tired I believe that would be in practise.

Please, we don't need an excuse everytime someone makes bad play.

 

[Mdoggie]

I got tired reading that!

 

[HoopsFan21]

I think there is some validity to it. Some of it is mental, some of it physical. These young women are under a lot of pressure with their hectic athletic, academic, and travel schedules, plus a winning streak that is approaching record territory.

 

[geneticrex]

I even blame my car for being..........'tired'.

 

[HuskyNan]

It was mostly the Notre Dame and KState games where people were saying UConn looked tired, particularly during KState when Saniya was out. The Huskies played 5 games in 13 days with a short bench against some really physical teams. On top of that, they were studying for, or taking, finals (an academic adviser travels with the team) and looking forward to going home for what's probably their first break since the beginning of school.

It was really obvious the team was tired at the end of quarters and games. Even Geno briefly mentioned it in one of his half time interviews but neither he nor the team used it as an excuse. But for us fans that sympathize, yeah, we're going to mention it when we see it. Late January/early February is when you start to see young players hit the wall, physically and mentally, so you may hear it again.

 

[TitleTown]

Lately it seems like everytime someone misses a couple shots, or is a little late on defending, or misses an assignment, or late on a switch, or not having a great game, you name it; a poster blames it on "tired". Then the bandwagon starts and others chime in. Oh yes she must be tired.

I'm hearing this even early in games. We can score 25 points in the first 8 minutes, drop to 2 in the last 2 minutes and all of a sudden we're "tired". What about a let down or the other team is catching on to what we're doing? There can be many reasons for an off game such such as the defending team's strategy and style favoring one player over another, an unanticipated slump, unexplainable bio-rythms, etc.

Did you ever hear of a slump in baseball or other sports? No one has ever come up with an explanation. I think this "tired" stuff is a lot of this is BS. Our gals are in great shape, playing one or two games a week like everyone else [who incidentally are usually in poorer shape than we]. Unfortunately our players are human. If they are ever tired I believe that would be in practise.

Please, we don't need an excuse everytime someone makes bad play.

When you have 3 of your starters averaging 31plus minutes a game, a bench basically limited to 2 players, and play a high motion cutting offense that doesn't stop moving all game why is it "BS" to think their performance is effected due to being tired? If you didn't see the signs of a tired basketball team I don't know what to tell you.

What does it being early in a game have to do with anything? Tired legs can occur at any point in a game. Suddenly your jump shot is a little short, your a step behind on a close out, you just can get up high enough to grab a rebound, your a step slow to a loose ball, etc. These are all signs of a tired basketball that has doesn't have their "legs".

Of course I have heard of slumps in baseball. Why is it that mangers often give a player a day off when they are in the midst of a slump? Because the player is either physically or mentally tired! Being tired does not mean that you have to be hunched over and gassed. It just means that your performance has struggled from being worked so hard.

I am not one for offering up excuses for no reason but I think it has been pretty obvious that from finals week, travel,and playing a lot of minutes this team has shown signs of being tired.

 

[Rayvin56]

On top of that, they were studying for, or taking, finals (an academic adviser travels with the team) and looking forward to going home for what's probably their first break since the beginning of school.

Great point, Nan. These players have been very busy, especially with finals...

 

[bags27]

Thank you so much for starting this thread.

I agree that it's natural, esp. for younger players, to hit a wall physically and mentally (and the mental wall affects shots, too) both during a season and within a game when they're playing a lot of minutes.

But missing a series of shots late in a game doesn't necessarily indicate fatigue. It usually is due to succumbing to the iron law of reversion to the mean: Lou, e.g., generally shots around 50% for a game. If she is "cold" early, odds are she'll be "hot" later, and vice-versa. (Being "hot" and "cold", BTW, have been completely disproved by statisticians as nothing more than random strings.) Players who miss a lot of shots early in game aren't perceived of as tired then and the same may well be true for late in the game. We just impose our own beliefs on these events. We have absolutely no way to judge the cause of late game misses, and, frankly, neither does Geno. Like the rest of us, he just creates a narrative to explain something that really can't always be explained.

 

[Icebear]

One of the important skills of great teams is learning to play tired. Everyone gets tired, conditioning gives you a great edge BUT if you are giving full effort there will be the need to learn playing tired.

 

[Henry]

I'm sure the players are getting tired. Geno has decided to go with a short bench and will have to live with the ebbs and flows.

 

[rvwsleep]

We are a pattern seeking species. In the absence of facts, to many, conspiracy theories are preferable to no theories at all.
We look for explanations, no matter whether they apply to the situation or not.

 

[UcMiami]

I also think 'tired' gets mixed up with coaching strategy. Geno with a sizable lead goes to a 'use 25 seconds of clock' offensive system in a lot of games and while it limits the fourth quarter offensive sets for the opponent and insures a win, can also lead to a lower energy feel to Uconn's play - they typically stand for the first 10-15 seconds of half court offense before cranking it into gear again - something that isn't all that easy on the players. Those ten seconds standing and watching a player dribble near mid-court allows the players to actually feel the bumps and bruises sustained during the first 30 minutes and they may notice some muscle fatigue as well. So they too may actually begin feeling a little tired when if they were running offense at their usual pace, they wouldn't notice at all.

I do think tired can come into the equation - they played 11 games in 37 days with what were I am sure hard practice on most non-game days. Throw in exams and being challenged every day by a hard driving coaching staff and an impressively tough OOC and a few days home with friends and family and no basketball will be a welcome chance to completely relax. In years past we always expected a team malaise striking early in February for the same reason - the season can seem awfully long during the second 'half' after Christmas - call it tired or complacent, or doldrums, or whatever - it does seem to be real, and Geno himself used the 'tired' qualifier in I think the last two press conferences - time for a little recharge.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

It is called humans playing sports. They are not machines.

 

[CocoHusky]

I just like the fact than every team UCONN has played so far looked more tired than UCONN.

 

[Huskee11]

KLS played the almost the entire way against OSU, and spent most of the first three quarters cutting, posting up, running, defending, curling around screens a la Rip Hamilton, and getting held, bumped, pushed, etc. She goes 0 for 5 in the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. Maybe reversion to the mean, maybe the result of getting into the offense late, who knows. I do know that shooting rhythm comes and goes, but it is hardest to maintain when you are at all "tired".

If we conclude fatigue is not a problem, should we laugh at opposing teams trying to wear our players down, e.g., bumping and pushing KLS at every opportunity?

If we conclude fatigue is not a problem, then why not play our starting five 40 minutes a game every game? Thin bench, so what?

 

[Blueballer]

I think "Winded" is a more appropriate phrase. There are times when they need a breather but aren't tired. Too me tired is something for older people (LOL). These kids can run all day (And they do) and not get tired.

 

[Sonny44]

I think "Winded" is a more appropriate phrase. There are times when they need a breather but aren't tired. Too me tired is something for older people (LOL). These kids can run all day (And they do) and not get tired.

I'm an expert on tired old people.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

Players and coaches have said many times that practice is much tougher then the games. Games are like a day off. I also understand that the end of season back to back tourny games can be tough.

 

[pinotbear]

As ol' Waylon sang..

"I'm sick and tired of waking up sick and tired! As of today, there's gonna be some changes made.."

 

[BroadwayVa]

Lately it seems like everytime someone misses a couple shots, or is a little late on defending, or misses an assignment, or late on a switch, or not having a great game, you name it; a poster blames it on "tired". Then the bandwagon starts and others chime in. Oh yes she must be tired.

I'm hearing this even early in games. We can score 25 points in the first 8 minutes, drop to 2 in the last 2 minutes and all of a sudden we're "tired". What about a let down or the other team is catching on to what we're doing? There can be many reasons for an off game such such as the defending team's strategy and style favoring one player over another, an unanticipated slump, unexplainable bio-rythms, etc.

Did you ever hear of a slump in baseball or other sports? No one has ever come up with an explanation. I think this "tired" stuff is a lot of this is BS. Our gals are in great shape, playing one or two games a week like everyone else [who incidentally are usually in poorer shape than we]. Unfortunately our players are human. If they are ever tired I believe that would be in practise.

Please, we don't need an excuse everytime someone makes bad play.

I don't disagree with your premise that everything is not about the kids being tired and yes slumps happen to all sports players ---but
when they are playing back to back road games, with the traveling--even Geno chalks up missed shots, slow reactions to offenses /defenses, not being as quick as you were---those are indicators of a tired body. Shots that fall in the first quarter that don't fall in the third or 4th can be attributed to tired legs. When the legs get tired- the shot goes--you shoot with your legs as much as your arms.
Uconn's opponent often start off in the first quarter looking like they will romp thru Uconn--in the 3rd and 4th quarters they can't hit the broad side of a barn. Tired legs. Uconn typically depends on conditioning--but after the schedule Uconn just played Conditioning
can do just so much. This is one of Geno's secrets---his conditioned kids run the legs off opponents --Why???

 

[BroadwayVa]

I think "Winded" is a more appropriate phrase. There are times when they need a breather but aren't tired. Too me tired is something for older people (LOL). These kids can run all day (And they do) and not get tired.

Winded---like pooped?? I agree old people get tired---I was shocked at age 36 when playing pickup games with 18 year olds how tired my legs got and how sore the body was for a day or so---just old age--it's' the old thing to explain it--Heck at 18 I ran all day and half the night--but enough of my criminal record.

 

[Monte]

One of the important skills of great teams is learning to play tired. Everyone gets tired, conditioning gives you a great edge BUT if you are giving full effort there will be the need to learn playing tired.

I agree. I think a lot of "older" fans have to try and remember back to the days when they were 18 or 19 years old. Even in high school, there was practice or a game every day. There were exams to take also. Thinking back, I never remember a player saying he or she was "tired."
I will say, though, that the long road trips could take some energy away from the players of today.

 

[Icebear]

Yes, Geno always say, "They are 20 years old what do they know about being tired."

 

[Buzzyboy]

Lately it seems like everytime someone misses a couple shots, or is a little late on defending, or misses an assignment, or late on a switch, or not having a great game, you name it; a poster blames it on "tired". Then the bandwagon starts and others chime in. Oh yes she must be tired.

I'm hearing this even early in games. We can score 25 points in the first 8 minutes, drop to 2 in the last 2 minutes and all of a sudden we're "tired". What about a let down or the other team is catching on to what we're doing? There can be many reasons for an off game such such as the defending team's strategy and style favoring one player over another, an unanticipated slump, unexplainable bio-rythms, etc.

Did you ever hear of a slump in baseball or other sports? No one has ever come up with an explanation. I think this "tired" stuff is a lot of this is BS. Our gals are in great shape, playing one or two games a week like everyone else [who incidentally are usually in poorer shape than we]. Unfortunately our players are human. If they are ever tired I believe that would be in practise.

Please, we don't need an excuse everytime someone makes bad play.

I think that when you see players playing at a high level of efficiency through an appreciable amount of the game and they're logging lots of minutes and then you find their play deteriorating in the latter parts, it's a natural assumption to think that they're winded or losing their legs. Is it that unusual to see runners in the Boston Marathon or other long distance runs, falling off the pace in the latter stages and in some infamous circumstances, literally collapsing from fatigue and exhaustion. Would you critique writers that suggested that maybe fatigue was responsible for a deterioration of performance as the race progressed? Exerting yourself at a high level with little or no relief can negatively effect these kids outcomes and I don't think it's rocket science to come to that conclusion. Granted, it may be overused on the Boneyard but I don't think that changes the probability that it's actually occurring.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I also think 'tired' gets mixed up with coaching strategy. Geno with a sizable lead goes to a 'use 25 seconds of clock' offensive system in a lot of games and while it limits the fourth quarter offensive sets for the opponent and insures a win, can also lead to a lower energy feel to Uconn's play - they typically stand for the first 10-15 seconds of half court offense before cranking it into gear again - something that isn't all that easy on the players. Those ten seconds standing and watching a player dribble near mid-court allows the players to actually feel the bumps and bruises sustained during the first 30 minutes and they may notice some muscle fatigue as well. So they too may actually begin feeling a little tired when if they were running offense at their usual pace, they wouldn't notice at all.

I do think tired can come into the equation - they played 11 games in 37 days with what were I am sure hard practice on most non-game days. Throw in exams and being challenged every day by a hard driving coaching staff and an impressively tough OOC and a few days home with friends and family and no basketball will be a welcome chance to completely relax. In years past we always expected a team malaise striking early in February for the same reason - the season can seem awfully long during the second 'half' after Christmas - call it tired or complacent, or doldrums, or whatever - it does seem to be real, and Geno himself used the 'tired' qualifier in I think the last two press conferences - time for a little recharge.

Throw in quite a bit of travel time, as well. All good points, by the way, on your part.