Single player

[Baylorfan]

I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops. Baylor fell into that trap during the Griner years. With a single superstar, things are great, until they are not. Hopefully, the other UConn players can step up and develop their game in the absence of a dominant player. It also, puts too much pressure on a single player when they have to carry the whole load up the hill every game. Injuries in such a system will result from too much playing time, too many heroics. Geno is the greatest wbb of all time, no dispute from me. But I do see a clear tendency for him to build teams around a single player. This is not the first time he has fallen to that temptation. The BU men’s team from last year is the best example of balance on a bball team. Three interchangeable point guards, 3 interchangeable bigs. Never mattered who was on the court because of harmony and balance. Your thoughts?

 

[HuskyNan]

I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops. Baylor fell into that trap during the Griner years. With a single superstar, things are great, until they are not. Hopefully, the other UConn players can step up and develop their game in the absence of a dominant player. It also, puts too much pressure on a single player when they have to carry the whole load up the hill every game. Injuries in such a system will result from too much playing time, too many heroics. Geno is the greatest wbb of all time, no dispute from me. But I do see a clear tendency for him to build teams around a single player. This is not the first time he has fallen to that temptation. The BU men’s team from last year is the best example of balance on a bball team. Three interchangeable point guards, 3 interchangeable bigs. Never mattered who was on the court because of harmony and balance. Your thoughts?

My thought is that someone with no posting history started a new thread to say the same thing UConn fans said a hundred times in the post-game thread. Not sure of your motivation here

 

[Aluminny69]

I started to seriously watch UConn women after the 2001-02 season. Up until that point, I had only seen the nationally televised games, Tenn and NC title games. I did not have access to CPTV. But I was very curious how they would do with four extremely talented seniors graduating at the same time. I discovered the Boneyard, and listened to radio broadcasts. One Boneyarder very kindly recorded some games, and mailed me the tapes.

I mention this only because the 03 and 04 teams were very similar to today, with DT carrying the teams to two NCs. I don't think those teams would have performed very well without her, as proven by the 05 team.

When comparing DT to Paige, the difference that stands out to me is DT seems a lot "sturdier." DT was banged around a lot during those two seasons, but still managed to avoid serious injury. ( Thank goodness). Paige has a different build.

Fans of UConn have been blessed. I think we about to find out who the true fans are, and who the "fair weather" fans are. As Bette Davis famously said, "Hang on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride!".

 

[visitingcock]

"I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops."

With due respect for the watchful eye of @HuskeyNan and with acknowledgement that Paige may well be the best player in the NCAA:

SCar is a Big-oriented team that relies on Boston for "a large part of point production or defensive stops." Let's say South Carolina lost Boston to injury. Would they lose some games? Yes, but maybe not many because we would still have Cordosa and Amihere to protect down low, rebound, and offer barely enough offensive threat to take pressure off our guards. But, if we had all three of them out and relied only on an untested freshman in the paint, teams would be able to harass and pressure our guards. I don't think we would have a chance of winning the SEC with only one or none of our big three playing.

UConn is a guard oriented team. UConn has lost three top guards. Therefore, a team like GaTech, with good, maybe not great, bigs was able to focus on stopping UConn's inexperienced guards. Ono had a decent game but Tech never had to focus on her. In my opinion, UConn would be okay if it weren't for the absence of three guards at this time. Indeed, I think they can evolve to the point of winning their conference without those three. They need a couple of them back to get to the elite 8.

Foundational problem? I don't think so. Champions almost always have a superstar who leads the team.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

This isn't a single player problem. This team has struggled in games where Paige played. It's a chemistry problem on offense. Paige is not the silver bullet long term. She's great, but has she ever won even a State championship? She would have if all it took was her. It REALLY takes a team effort! Uconn's DNA is multiple consistent threats on the offensive end. My observation is that most of our guards like to shoot from the same place on the floor and have been hesitant to move and replace to another position. Everyone has their sweet spots. With the current injuries and roster...there's no short corner or consistent mid-range threats. They need to hire Stef Dolson to teach how and WHEN to set picks. Pick up tempo (and you don't need to be fast for this)...spread out, cut and just past quicker. I wouldn't even hold a full practice before UCLA. Show them film. And folks...that was game 7 of the season. It's not February and they've lost ten games. lol Read and react offenses are delicate when you have the same 5 to 6 players. So...all these injuries don't make it easier.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops. With a single superstar, things are great, until they are not. Hopefully, the other UConn players can step up and develop their game in the absence of a dominant player. But I do see a clear tendency for him to build teams around a single player. This is not the first time he has fallen to that temptation. The BU men’s team from last year is the best example of balance on a bball team. Three interchangeable point guards, 3 interchangeable bigs. Never mattered who was on the court because of harmony and balance. Your thoughts?

Don't take offense to my post

1-- Cite they years in the last 13 that UCONN was a "one player" team? If you say last year- then you didn't watch the whole year then, right? Because we all know once Geno forced CWill to guard the team's best offensive player, her game came around. SO UCONN wasn't just 1 player last year, right? So cite the other years of the last 13.

2-- UCONN has featured its star players and nearly every year have had All-American 1st team players. SO overall these last thirteen years, cite the team that has had overall better success than UCONN by not featuring its stars? So if your answer is none, so let's get this straight you want the greatest WCBB coach ever to go away from a a philosophy that has worked for 13 years?

3-- In years 14, 15 and 16 (years 04-05, 05-06, and 06-07) - I don't believe UCONN had an All-American. They had more "balance": in their offense. Where would you rank those teams’ vs teams 07-08 through 20-21?

4—Isn’t it possible that sometimes he UCONN women aren’t all going to be super? They maybe just because they put on a UCONN uniform, that they aren’t assured of becoming a super all-American player?

5-- During The Griner era at Baylor, which era did Baylor have that was better? And if any, did they have any All_Americans that they featured? And was Baylor a one-player team during the Griner era? Or are you exaggerating? I don't follow Baylor much so - just wondering.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

To answer your #5, I think there is a bit of exaggeration. That said, I think Griner's plusses and minuses probably had a disproportionate effect on how the Baylor team's success went.

I can't think of any year (in all the years we were at Rutgers) or the years since that anyone would call UConn a 1 player team. UConn has always featured first rate players across the board, and often the bench players would be starters elsewhere. That said, Paige is (at least at the moment) "the star". She is a transcendent talent, I think. And to lose that, well, it is going to have a disproportionate effect on things.

 

[arch]

She's great, but has she ever won even a State championship? She would have if all it took was her.

“She would have” and did.

 

[MSGRET]

This isn't a single player problem. This team has struggled in games where Paige played. It's a chemistry problem on offense. Paige is not the silver bullet long term. She's great, but has she ever won even a State championship? She would have if all it took was her. It REALLY takes a team effort! Uconn's DNA is multiple consistent threats on the offensive end. My observation is that most of our guards like to shoot from the same place on the floor and have been hesitant to move and replace to another position. Everyone has their sweet spots. With the current injuries and roster...there's no short corner or consistent mid-range threats. They need to hire Stef Dolson to teach how and WHEN to set picks. Pick up tempo (and you don't need to be fast for this)...spread out, cut and just past quicker. I wouldn't even hold a full practice before UCLA. Show them film. And folks...that was game 7 of the season. It's not February and they've lost ten games. lol Read and react offenses are delicate when you have the same 5 to 6 players. So...all these injuries don't make it easier.

Yes, she won her Junior year and was one game away from winning back-to-back Championships. It was canceled due to COVID. Paige was the reason why Hopkins was undefeated during her Junior and Senior years.

 

[Skeets]

Here's my view of the problem. Paige doesn't score all the points or get all the assists, but the entire offense runs through Paige. It doesn't matter whether she's play point or SG. She distracts the other team. That isn't there now and it's a huge loss that the other players are struggling to overcome. When Nika, Azzi and Aubrey come back that might help, but they are not Paige and the offense won't be running through them like it does with Paige.

 

[cohenzone]

First of all, few players can do what Paige can do. Like no team in the country has anyone like her. When she goes down, the character of the offense can’t be nearly the same. With Anna departed (possibly a bigger loss than expected) it really left Nika as the ball handling sub. Evina is more a real combo guard. Maybe she can break a press, but running an offense is not her primary skill. If there has been too
Much dependence on Paige, maybe GA could’ve subbed her out for Nika more to give the team used to functioning without depending on Paige. But Nika has been hurt, too.

One thing GA can’t do is give a player a skill they really don’t have Williams just isn’t a ball distributor. He doesn’t have that many options. And Azzi hasn’t really had time to adjust and I’m not sure she or Caroline are effective distributors. At least until Nika is back the best he can do is improve ball movement, screening and cutting to get better shots. And as we know, Nika can’t be Paige. But geez’ missing Paige’ Nika, Azzi and Aubrey all at once is a pretty big nut to crack. And with Aliyah not yet matching her freshman year, the burden is pretty great on all the others.

 

[Baylorfan]

I have great respect for UConn and Geno. And it is all a matter of perspective. But yes, BU won one of its National Championships running one of 2 plays with Griner. Odyssey Sims was on the team so there was some balance. If you doubled down on BG, OS took over. When a star goes out with a injury the team should not fall apart, clear evidence of a single player problem. No one player on the BU men’s championship team last year played such a dominant role. Balance. One week one star stood out, the next week another player took the dominate role. Players were interchangeable. With Paige was missing, UConn looked lost. That is not featuring a player, that is over dependence that leads to chaos after an injury. Don‘t lose heart. I can see PB‘s absence causing other players to step Up. She heals just in time, and Uconn is stronger for it. PB is the real deal, for sure, but one player should not produce the lion‘s share of the offense. BU is almost as dependent on Lyssa Smith. Not healthy for us either. But Kim left, and Moon went with her, and others graduated. The harsh reality for UConn fans is that there is much more competition than ever before and many teams are now yearly contenders for a championship, SC, BU, Oregon, Stanford, Louisville, Maryland, and even Texas and Tennessee are getting it together. More competition for recruits, new offensive schemes, and we aren’t in Kansas anymore. Geno is the best, but he has a lot of company and competition now. UConn fans must adjust their expectations to the new reality of competitive wbb

 

[D J B]

Here's my view of the problem. Paige doesn't score all the points or get all the assists, but the entire offense runs through Paige. It doesn't matter whether she's play point or SG. She distracts the other team. That isn't there now and it's a huge loss that the other players are struggling to overcome. When Nika, Azzi and Aubrey come back that might help, but they are not Paige and the offense won't be running through them like it does with Paige.

That is a critical part that UConn is going to be missing. Paige was often double, and sometimes triple, teamed. And even if she wasn't being doubled, every player on the opposing team was watching her out of the corner of their eyes.

And speaking of assists, in a couple of games so far, you can see other players trying to emulate Paige's passing genius. Evina, Christyn, Nika and even Caroline have all given it a shot. A bounce pass, a full court bomb, a lob to the post, or just a simple pass into the lane have all been tried, and without much success so far. The timing and the vision just isn't there.

 

[D J B]

“She would have” and did.

And if not for Covid, "She would have" twice.

 

[Skeets]

Ready for a bad analogy (I specialize in this)? Players not named Paige are like a light bulb capable of shining nicely, but Paige is the plug that goes into the wall socket. Plug the plug and what happens to the light bulb?

 

[Dillon77]

Ready for a bad analogy (I specialize in this)? Players not named Paige are like a light bulb capable of shining nicely, but Paige is the plug that goes into the wall socket. Plug the plug and what happens to the light bulb?

Not bad. Given Paige's Minnesota background, how about this one?

"All the other girls here are stars: you are the Northern Lights"
--- "Kathleen" by Josh Ritter

 

[Cecil9]

This isn't a single player problem. This team has struggled in games where Paige played. It's a chemistry problem on offense. Paige is not the silver bullet long term. She's great, but has she ever won even a State championship? She would have if all it took was her. It REALLY takes a team effort! Uconn's DNA is multiple consistent threats on the offensive end. My observation is that most of our guards like to shoot from the same place on the floor and have been hesitant to move and replace to another position. Everyone has their sweet spots. With the current injuries and roster...there's no short corner or consistent mid-range threats. They need to hire Stef Dolson to teach how and WHEN to set picks. Pick up tempo (and you don't need to be fast for this)...spread out, cut and just past quicker. I wouldn't even hold a full practice before UCLA. Show them film. And folks...that was game 7 of the season. It's not February and they've lost ten games. lol Read and react offenses are delicate when you have the same 5 to 6 players. So...all these injuries don't make it easier.

2019 Minnesota State Championship game highlights (dubbed Buechers' "flu game").

 

[Papa33]

This isn't a single player problem. This team has struggled in games where Paige played. It's a chemistry problem on offense. Paige is not the silver bullet long term. She's great, but has she ever won even a State championship? She would have if all it took was her. It REALLY takes a team effort! Uconn's DNA is multiple consistent threats on the offensive end. My observation is that most of our guards like to shoot from the same place on the floor and have been hesitant to move and replace to another position. Everyone has their sweet spots. With the current injuries and roster...there's no short corner or consistent mid-range threats. They need to hire Stef Dolson to teach how and WHEN to set picks. Pick up tempo (and you don't need to be fast for this)...spread out, cut and just past quicker. I wouldn't even hold a full practice before UCLA. Show them film. And folks...that was game 7 of the season. It's not February and they've lost ten games. lol Read and react offenses are delicate when you have the same 5 to 6 players. So...all these injuries don't make it easier.

I like this analysis . . . A LOT!

 

[LwrcasefaN]

2019 Minnesota State Championship game highlights (dubbed Buechers' "flu game").

OK....asked and answered. She won once...and it wasn't because it wasn't a TEAM effort. She "woulda" won twice if not for COVID. I'll accept that if people accept SC has two National Championships...if not for Covid. My point is...this Uconn team has issues and even Paige Beuckers can't fix all of that. If she played in the GT game...Uconn would have won more than likely, but is that a fix or a bandaid? Every team has injuries, granted Uconn currently has a lot, with the remaining players...and GT being a good defensive team...scoring a handful of points in the 4th quarter (not the first time) points to some other fixes...not named Paige. The ultimate goal is a championship and I haven't seen any player in WCBB do that by themselves. I also don't think it's because Uconn players don't have the talent. They obviously do. I think they just haven't figured out how to cover the deficiencies like speed, athleticism, (conditioning?) and rebounding. They'll figure it out and in the process might lose more games. NO TEAM ever has had all the bases covered and that's the beauty in coaching. Winning with what you got! Paige is part of the answer...not the SOLUTION. If fans are honest with themselves...they often have unrealistic expactations...usually driven by emotions. So do players...so people should ease up. They lost two games and people are just losing it. Some on here should not watch today's game alone...especially if they lose. lol They were competitive for 3 quarters in both losses...one which was the #1 team. Losing doesn't feel good, but it can be a motivator.

 

[MSGRET]

OK....asked and answered. She won once...and it wasn't because it wasn't a TEAM effort. She "woulda" won twice if not for COVID. I'll accept that if people accept SC has two National Championships...if not for Covid. My point is...this Uconn team has issues and even Paige Beuckers can't fix all of that. If she played in the GT game...Uconn would have won more than likely, but is that a fix or a bandaid? Every team has injuries, granted Uconn currently has a lot, with the remaining players...and GT being a good defensive team...scoring a handful of points in the 4th quarter (not the first time) points to some other fixes...not named Paige. The ultimate goal is a championship and I haven't seen any player in WCBB do that by themselves. I also don't think it's because Uconn players don't have the talent. They obviously do. I think they just haven't figured out how to cover the deficiencies like speed, athleticism, (conditioning?) and rebounding. They'll figure it out and in the process might lose more games. NO TEAM ever has had all the bases covered and that's the beauty in coaching. Winning with what you got! Paige is part of the answer...not the SOLUTION. If fans are honest with themselves...they often have unrealistic expactations...usually driven by emotions. So do players...so people should ease up. They lost two games and people are just losing it. Some on here should not watch today's game alone...especially if they lose. lol They were competitive for 3 quarters in both losses...one which was the #1 team. Losing doesn't feel good, but it can be a motivator.

Hopkins was going to be playing in the State Championship game to a team that had destroyed earlier in the year. So I have no problem giving it to her. While South Carolina had not even started the tournament yet and they weren't undefeated like Hopkins, so no I wouldn't accept that. Now if they happened to be getting ready to play the NC game and it was against a team that they had destroyed earlier in the year, I would give it to them.

 

[visitingcock]

Hopkins was going to be playing in the State Championship game to a team that had destroyed earlier in the year. So I have no problem giving it to her. While South Carolina had not even started the tournament yet and they weren't undefeated like Hopkins, so no I wouldn't accept that. Now if they happened to be getting ready to play the NC game and it was against a team that they had destroyed earlier in the year, I would give it to them.

But . . . But . . . But . . . Good luck today.

I pull for UConn and NC State and Stanford and every other non-con opponent who can help our SOS.

Am I a UConn fan? Almost because I do appreciate how Geno’s scheduling grant has helped our ability to garner high enough visibility to help Dawn recruit. But, oh, some of the beatings have been painful

 

[Horatio]

I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops. Baylor fell into that trap during the Griner years. With a single superstar, things are great, until they are not. Hopefully, the other UConn players can step up and develop their game in the absence of a dominant player. It also, puts too much pressure on a single player when they have to carry the whole load up the hill every game. Injuries in such a system will result from too much playing time, too many heroics. Geno is the greatest wbb of all time, no dispute from me. But I do see a clear tendency for him to build teams around a single player. This is not the first time he has fallen to that temptation. The BU men’s team from last year is the best example of balance on a bball team. Three interchangeable point guards, 3 interchangeable bigs. Never mattered who was on the court because of harmony and balance. Your thoughts?

From my understanding it’s not just one player being injured that’s the issue. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think it’s 4 guards injured and one transfered right??? Yes, Paige is the best player but she’s not the only one out. Kinda hard to realistically overcome that with good competition.

 

[VA Huskie]

I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops. Baylor fell into that trap during the Griner years. With a single superstar, things are great, until they are not. Hopefully, the other UConn players can step up and develop their game in the absence of a dominant player. It also, puts too much pressure on a single player when they have to carry the whole load up the hill every game. Injuries in such a system will result from too much playing time, too many heroics. Geno is the greatest wbb of all time, no dispute from me. But I do see a clear tendency for him to build teams around a single player. This is not the first time he has fallen to that temptation. The BU men’s team from last year is the best example of balance on a bball team. Three interchangeable point guards, 3 interchangeable bigs. Never mattered who was on the court because of harmony and balance. Your thoughts?

Somebody else may have said this, but I haven’t read the thread. I’m not sure UConn has won a National Championship without that single dominant player - Lobo, Taurasi, Moore, Stevie, etc. Yes they’ve had other good players around them. So I’ll take a superstar every time.

 

[fireford]

This was probably mentioned elsewhere but should be mentioned in this thread specifically that all 5 starters were in double-figures today. So it probably took a little tinkering with the lineup and the offense to figure out the best lineup to get some balanced scoring. Let's hope it can be done consistently now.

 

[Longtime fan]

I think a foundational problem exists when teams rely on one player for a large part of point production or defensive stops. Baylor fell into that trap during the Griner years. With a single superstar, things are great, until they are not. Hopefully, the other UConn players can step up and develop their game in the absence of a dominant player. It also, puts too much pressure on a single player when they have to carry the whole load up the hill every game. Injuries in such a system will result from too much playing time, too many heroics. Geno is the greatest wbb of all time, no dispute from me. But I do see a clear tendency for him to build teams around a single player. This is not the first time he has fallen to that temptation. The BU men’s team from last year is the best example of balance on a bball team. Three interchangeable point guards, 3 interchangeable bigs. Never mattered who was on the court because of harmony and balance. Your thoughts?

You make sense. But from a coaches perspective it is tough. The once in a lifetime players like Paige, Stewy, Maya Moore, Diana, Sue Bird, Lobo etc. make it really difficult to achieve balance. But balance is required, nonetheless. All these kids are great BB players. If the coaches can bring that out, in a scheme, it will be a winner. We are going to learn a lot this season. Because I don't believe Paige will be back this season. And today ( vs UCLA ) we saw that these kids are not just going to pack their bags and go home. So we are going to see coaching, and player development and effort. It will be entertaining.