So let's talk about offense

[alexrgct]

Let's face it- UConn is a bit offensively challenged this season. I know, I know- 325 Division 1 teams would kill to be as offensively challenged as UConn. But don't let the 85+ point performances against weak defenses fool you; good defensive teams know how to stop UConn. The formula is simple, even if executing it is another matter: limit transition opportunites, double team in the post, crowd whoever's the hot hand on the perimeter, and take your chances with everyone else. Why does this work?

• UConn has no one inside 15 feet other than the post that the opposing team needs to pay attention to.
• Bria, KML, and Tiff can all shoot well from outside, but they rarely do so simultaneously. In fact, it seemed like Tiffany blowing up in January took both Bria and KML kind of out of their games. KML has recovered, it seems, but Bria has not. More's the pity, because UConn is the best team in the country when all three play well. Seriously.
• UConn relies too much on crisp motion and screening to create open shots. Team offense is great and beautiful to watch when executed properly, but good defensive teams are disruptive. They screw up your motion and fight through your screens, and that's where you miss someone like Maya, who could just rise up and get a good shot basically whenever she wanted to. I think both Bria and KML will improve along these lines, but for now, it is what it is.
• Because we rely so heavily on screens by our bigs, we often don't have bigs posting up or in position for offensive rebounds. That three-pointer Stef took? Notice she didn't get yanked- it was the right thing for her to do. An offense that puts your center 20+ feet from the basket and forces her to shoot a three because that's the best shot you can create has some issues.
• Not to mention that the entry passing has been erratic at best.
• We don't seem to be setting Kiah up for success on offense consistently. Stef can hit from 15-19 feet (though Lord nows she didn't tonight). Kiah can't. And yet, even in the two-big lineup Geno went to tonight (absolutely the right call on his part) Kiah wasn't posting up. I was totally baffled. If you need Stef to set screens in the high post and beyond, what's the point of bringing Kiah in if she's not going to post up while Stef works further away from the basket?
• Kelly- the crowd is begging her to take the open shot when she has one at this point. The 1996-1998 Bulls could afford the luxury of a Dennis Rodman (great defender, no offense) because they had Jordan, Pippen, and a guy like Steve Kerr who took wide open threes all day. The 2012 Huskies can't afford such a luxury. God love her, but Kelly's got to keep defenses honest.

So good job by Rutgers limiting UConn in transition and adjusting on KML in the second half. If they'd been a bit less inept offensively, they could easily have won this game.

I still have confidence this team can make it to Denver, but performances like tonight probably result in a short drive back to Storrs from Kingston.

However, tomorrow is revenge night for Notre Dame and UConn. In the immediate term, I'm just going to enjoy that.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Yes, we struggled to get points in the paint all night. If KML hadn't been on, it
could have been a real nail biter.

The Johnnies know how to play us too. Tomorrow night could be more of the
same. I hope our perimeter shots are falling.

 

[Sonny44]

I do agree with the relying on screens too much point. Seems our guards rarely fake a shot, put the defender in the air and step over to get the open shot. I've seen it work a few times mostly by KML, but not much by the others. Maya did it a lot, but then Maya could do everything.

 

[HuskyNan]

I do agree with the relying on screens too much point. Seems our guards rarely fake a shot, put the defender in the air and step over to get the open shot. I've seen it work a few times mostly by KML, but not much by the others. Maya did it a lot, but then Maya could do everything.

It's starting to look like KML can do a little of everything, too. Imagine what kind of player this kid will be as a senior.

I would like to see more instances where the ball goes into the paint and comes back out before players decide whether to shoot or pass. There is too much passing on the perimeter and not enough passing to make the defenses commit - or even move - right now.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Dolson was doing a great job of kicking the ball back out last night.. I would like for her to cut down on the jumpers and Kelly needs to shoot

 

[alexrgct]

Dolson was doing a great job of kicking the ball back out last night.. I would like for her to cut down on the jumpers and Kelly needs to shoot

Agree about Stef- she's had issues with turnovers in the past when she didn't have a shot and was being swarmed, but she did well on that score last night.

 

[Wbbfan1]

A couple of posters objected when a poster stated that UConn was playing 5 against 3 when Caroline and Kelly are on the floor at the same time. IMHO for the most part that statement was correct. Kelly & Caroline are so reluctant to shoot and even if they do, they're worth the risk of leaving them open. To defend Stef all you have to do is hit her a few times or double team her and then she's limited. So now you only have two players in the lineup that can score. As Rutgers proved last night and other teams have as well UConn becomes one dimensional and relies on its outside shooting.

Team Defense has saved this years team and has also inflated their average points per game. When teams are able to handle UConn's defensive pressure and the game is reduced to half court offense then the weakness of this years team is exposed. The guards are unable or unwilling to drive past their defenders and get to the basket for layups or foul shots. Where are the ball fakes by the guards to get easy open shots or dribble past their defender for layups. Don't understand why Stef sets up beyond the 3 point line to set screens. She should setup just outside the free throw line so if her player sags off her, she can shoot her shot. If the screen is set and a guard receives the ball they have an easier shot or can get to the basket before the defenders can get set to draw an offensive foul. When Stef sets up beyond the three point line, her defender plays off her which clogs the middle and makes it harder to drive to the basket. If she sets up where she can realistically shoot and make a shot, her defender will stay on her and open up the middle more.

Don't get me wrong, I think Geno, coaching staff and the players have done a masterful job to get where they are and should be commended for the year they are having. This team has more flaws then some of the other elite teams and they're beginning to get exposed. I hope tonight's game is a wide open game with both teams making transition baskets. If the game ends up being played like last nights, then the odds favor St Johns coming out with the win.

 

[cohenzone]

There were 2 main discouraging general problems last night. One was the absence of patience on some of the attempts to feed the post when SD was posting up or when the team tried to go back door. Some truly horrendous passes, and by the more experienced players. Second was the really bad fouling away from the basket. Sometimes the hoops IQ seems to melt away against the better teams. Could be because the team is overall pretty young, but a bunch of those plays are by TH, CD and KF who have been through it all.

The other thing, only slightly behind those two factors is the relative unwillingness of the perimeter players to force the other team to foul by driving more and settling for 3s less. For a kid like TH not to have a single foul shot against an over aggressive team like Rutgers is a problem. What BH does well and didn't do last night is shoot a pull up off a drive and if the post defender drops off to stop her, pass to the waiting post player. CD is also capable of making that play. Tiff is still a little awkward on the pull=up, but getting better. The team overall took very few foul shots (and didn't shoot them very well) because they never forced RU to adjust away from making UConn a totally perimeter team. They are likely to be faced with the same scenario tonight.

 

[DaddyChoc]

if Dolson set screens at the FT line... the shooter will be taking 2ptrs/ Setting them at the arc makes the defender go around her and puts the shooter right at the arc.

a 2ft/1pt difference... but personally I dont mind the 2pt 15ftr at all

 

[alexrgct]

I think Tiff was a little gimpy last night. Not sure how apparent it was on TV, but that was a NASTY spill she took. Totally inadvertent on the part of the Rutgers player (who immediately rushed over to Tiff to make sure she was OK), but the damage was done just the same. She was a bit gimpy after that, and it seemed to take her out of her usual game on offense.

Agree that we commit some bad fouls. The most maddening for me are silly loose ball fouls. That's how everyone gets to two fouls in a half, and those fouls add up- not just in terms of getting into foul trouble, but in terms of getting your opponent to the FT line in the bonus.

 

[msf22b]

Alex and Wbbfan make excellent points and WBBfan praises the coaches for a "masterful job." That's where he loses me. When we played twin towers yesterday, there was still no one down low. Surely the players cannot be that dense to not understand such a mandate. When we look back at the season, we may very well note offensive schemes that required adjustment that was not forthcoming.

 

[huskybill]

Let's talk about offense? I think you mean let's talk about no offense. When your team can get only 6 2-pt baskets in a game there really isn't much to talk about.

Most of the solutions in this thread are good ones, but we're 31 games into the season now. How is it possible we haven't learned most of these things already?

 

[Timeout]

Not to beat a dead horse but in a game like last night I wish Kelly would have shot the ball. I believe, like some others, that Kelly doesn't want to hurt the team. No one was making shots, percentages were down. She's entitled. So what if she misses, everyone else was. Her teammates should be able to pick her up by hustling as hard as Kelly does when they miss.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Tiff seems to not do well against Rutgers... sort of like Tina (I dont know her career number so I could be wrong). Tiff does well against Florida teams

 

[alexrgct]

Not to beat a dead horse but in a game like last night I wish Kelly would have shot the ball. I believe, like some others, that Kelly doesn't want to hurt the team. No one was making shots, percentages were down. She's entitled. So what if she misses, everyone else was. Her teammates should be able to pick her up by hustling as hard as Kelly does when they miss.

Exactly- that's why the crowd was imploring her to shoot. The way everyone else was playing, a wide open shot from Kelly was often the best shot available, defensive specialist be damned.

 

[Wbbfan1]

I say Geno and the coaching staff has done a remarkable job because the team only has 4 losses and most likely end up with a #1 seed in the tournament. UConn's SOS is ranked 5th or 9th depending on which system you use. If you don't count the World Vision Classic teams, UConn's SOS is probably in the Top 2 or 3. To only have 4 losses against that schedule is remarkable when they have played the Top 2 teams 3 times. This team does not have a dominant go to player and who knows may not have an All American and for Geno to have this team where it is, is remarkable. Team Defense allows this team to accomplish much more then it should against the schedule they play and that is Geno's coaching.

Alex and Wbbfan make excellent points and WBBfan praises the coaches for a "masterful job." That's where he loses me. When we played twin towers yesterday, there was still no one down low. Surely the players cannot be that dense to not understand such a mandate. When we look back at the season, we may very well note offensive schemes that required adjustment that was not forthcoming.

 

[Tonyc]

Last night RU packed in the defense not allowing UConn to get inside. Bria is being suffocated on offense as is Stef and Tiffany. The bottom line is we need Kelly to shoot the ball when shes left open. A couple of times she was open at the line and in the corner. We need to design plays to get Kelly to score and that may be screens and pics. KML scored because she had screens and a couple of fast break wide open treys. The problem is and everybody knows it Stef Tiff and Bria are drawing alot of attention and the other players are not shooting enough.

The reason for Stef shooting from the outside is to open the middle. When shes hitting her outside shots it does open things up. Tonight againest STJ I think we see alot of Kiah and Stef. I liked the lineup of Stef Kiah KML Bria and Tiff. It shut down the middle, allow us more rebounding underneath and forced RU to guard all 5 UConn players. We have a height advantage over STJ and we will use it tonight to keep them out of the paint. I expect a hard fought game but I dont expect UConn to lose.

 

[msf22b]

Looking ahead (if one dares to do so), Notre Dame had very balanced scoring last night
Novosel, Diggins, McBride and Peters all with 12-16 points.
From a handicapping point of view, I'm not sure how we overcome that.
Of course, we could have 4 go off as well, just hasn't happen lately.

 

[pap49cba]

When 53% of the team's shots are from 3 something is askew. Geno has often said he wants roughly 1/3 of total shots to be from beyond the arc.

 

[cohenzone]

I don't think anyone believes this team has not generally performed well or that the staff hasn't done a good job. But against the better teams or the teams that are basically committed to clogging the middle, this team has a tendency to be careless with the ball, or if not careless, try to do too much and make plays that aren't there, and they have to use their heads about fouling.

It is also no secret why SD is shooting those jumpers, but that doesn't mean that the players who can drive and dish should be content with waiting for the opportunity to shoot from 18 feet. As for KF shooting, I think we all agree that it would be ideal for her to shoot the open jumper. But there is a reason why teams leave her open and they will do that every game until she shows she can hit a couple a game, not one very third game.

 

[bpear1600]

I don't like the offense at all. I don't know how many times a player on the wing passes the ball right back without even looking toward the basket. This offense is ineffective against teams with equal talent.

 

[earl the pearl]

I don't like the offense at all. I don't know how many times a player on the wing passes the ball right back without even looking toward the basket. This offense is ineffective against teams with equal talent.

It is hard to get the ball inside when the defense sags into the middle because you can't hit many three pointers. I think everyone (including Hartley and Faris) must shoot every open three pointer.....hopefully (other than KML) we start making some.

 

[msf22b]

She can also take a step or two in and hit a two or even use the backboard. The positive change required by the D would be the same.

 

[cohenzone]

You can shoot open jumpers until your arms fall off. If you make them very rarely, the D won't change at all. The catch 22 is you don't know if you will make them if you don't take them

 

[Icebear]

Approaching our offense through the issues that have raised their heads the last few weeks.

1) the elimination of the transition games.
2) being out rebounded on our offensive boards
3) being out rebounded at our opponents offensive boards
4) double teaming Stef vs single teaming Stef

1) Teams are turning and running at least three players back hard to prevent the way we have feasted on the transition game in the past. This is costing us 10-15 points a game. It is not about any of our kids taking shots or not it is there are no shots available at the rim.

Potential responses: A) release even quicker on the breakout-problems it means pushing defenders out of position if we don't gather the board, B) forego the transition points and accept the need to focus on the boards rather than the run out and stop making risky long passes that have led to TOs this, also, gives potential help on issue #3 helping to lower both the # of our opponents offensive boards and lowers our TO count both are positives

2) When we use Stef in the high post too much we take her away from the boards. This means either needing to have Stef set fewer high screens which have gotten further and further out or have others fill in behind her in the lower post position and hitting the borads. I believe this is what Geno is doing as of late with KML. What we cannot do is rebound the offensive boards if all five players are out. No one can. I, also, believe that this leads to some of Kelly's indecision shooting because she realizes their is no one in position to help rebound. It cuts against her confidence two ways. It interferes with her ability to just shoot the shot without thinking and, also, leads her to worry missing because of the lack of rebounding. People can say they see her thinking and this may be why. If one believes you team has great odds of getting the rebound it is a lot easier to shoot without worrying about a miss.

3) Opponents have rebounded their O boards very well against us. They are working at drawing Stef out high and then filling in behind her. Stef is not quick enough to move from the foul line and higher back to the boards. This takes Stef away not just from gathering a rebound but from boxing out for others. We need to control those boards much better because we need to convert them from opponents boards into offensive possessions. So this means either we use Stef and Kiah together more, provide different coverage high on the key using another player, or crash other players foregoing the the breakaway.

4) Teams seem to make a choice between double teaming Stef and collapsing or single covering her to cover the perimeter. Some nights Kelly makes teams pay dearly for the sagging double team. I would encourage her to take at least three reasonable shots before the 4-5 minute mark. If she forces the opponent to honor her making at least 1 or two of those it will be hard on the competition like when she put up big points of ND last year. To do that she needs to have confidence that her teammates can rebound. Caroline showed again last night that she is very capable of making the open 3. All of our players need to do better jobs running the opponent into the screen and not over running the screen. The moment one needs to be prepared to take the shot is when the initial defender abandons the coverage and before the swap can be made coming out the other side. This our screens. Sometimes the need to be perpendicular to and sometimes parallel to the person cutting past the pick. When the cutter stays close enough to the parallel position there is more opportunity to step back and shoot directly over the screen before the swap is made and if the commitment to the swap is made too soon the screener can execute the pick and roll to the hoop with the shooter dumping the ball over the swap into the player rolling off and behind the swap.

These are all things impacting our offense at the moment and some for much of the year.