So Much For Sabrina Ionescu...Until Next Year

[FanHam]

The biggest mismatch of the UConn v. Oregon game last night was Sabrina Ionescu versus Geno, Chris, Marissa, Shea... and Gabby. Sabrina will remember those first five minutes for quite some time. I know I will just for the beauty of it. I loved the rope-a-dope moves where Ducks were throwing to teammates who appeared to be open but, alas, were not. It was genius.

The kids were in total control.

A few anomalies: Lou and Crystal seem to be snake-bitten of late from beyond the arc. Crystal's heaves are starting to look haphazard. Oregon shot pretty well - 42% - when they managed to hold on to the ball long enough to get a shot off.

Some love for Natalie. She was a rebounding beast, as she usually is, but last night she grabbed eight in only 10 minutes of playing time which, bear with me, extrapolates to 32 if she played the full forty. Again though, bad things happened as soon as she brought the ball down below her shoulders. Still, I think either Bill Laimbeer or some other WNBA coach is thinking she's worth a pick for her size, ability to run the court, great passing sense and soft jumper.

Oregon may be the next pretender in WCBB. McGwire and Hebard have great size and good touches and will only get better. Ionescu is already better. They have a good coach. They'll be back, for sure.

 

[Sonny44]

Nat looking rather svelte lately; up and down the court with ease.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Congratulations to Ionesco and her young teammates. They did wonderful things this year, and played tough as nails. They lost to a team that beats everyone. No shame.

Congratulations to their coach, about whom Coach Geno had words of high praise. Class acts all!

Before last night's game, Massey had Oregon ranked #14 nationally. I'm guessing that they're well higher when the next season begins anew in November.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

She's the real deal, but that is why Geno loves playing teams that have not played UConn. Seeing film vs being on the floor, whole 'nother deal. The Ducks got hit with the real "Shock and Awe" experience. Pressed duck under glass, yummy.

 

[chrissaran]

Oregon is not a pretender. They already accomplished more than anyone thought they would this year. Hmmm, sounds familiar. With another strong recruiting class, they could challenge UConn. When you have a player as smart, talented and strong-willed as Sabrina Ionescu, you have the makings of a great leader and team. After all. after the game she was heard to say we want to play like UConn. To be the best you have to learn from the best. They learned much last night that will be useful in the future.

 

[Goodgood]

That is true, Oregon, UCLA and many other Pac 10 teams will get better and better, kind of like Miss State and Texas after they get blown out. But UConn doesn't stay the same like Tennessee. UConn also improves year after year. This team is as dominant as last year's team, they may have less outstanding talent but they play better as a team and are much more exciting. Geno changes his teams' personality based on the players he has. Year after year, it is basically UConn basketball, but each team is so different. Next year, he'll have more height and has a deeper team, watch what he'll do. It is amazing. And teams keep trying to catch up to last year's version when Geno has already moved on...

 

[Cheddie]

The biggest mismatch of the UConn v. Oregon game last night was Sabrina Ionescu versus Geno, Chris, Marissa, Shea... and Gabby.

Exactly correct! Ionescu is a great player and she's going to have a tremendous career. But as Bando said in a Courant quote, they "hadn't seen anything like that this season. The only thing that would come close would be Stanford but they were different," she said. "It's something we've never played against."

The combination of UConn's scouting/game plan and going up against UConn's athletes really threw them off their game in the first half. Wouldn't be surprised to see their freshman make as big a jump next year as Lou and Pheesa have made this year.

 

[jonson]

Exactly correct! Ionescu is a great player and she's going to have a tremendous career. But as Bando said in a Courant quote, they "hadn't seen anything like that this season. The only thing that would come close would be Stanford but they were different," she said. "It's something we've never played against."

The combination of UConn's scouting/game plan and going up against UConn's athletes really threw them off their game in the first half. Wouldn't be surprised to see their freshman make as big a jump next year as Lou and Pheesa have made this year.

This was a great learning experience for Oregon. They are SO young, but have a very good coach, great attitude, and have come a long way this year. Ionescu and Hebard, especially, will take away a lot from this beatdown. Everyone here is absolutely correct, they have never faced a defense like this one. There are some good defensive teams in the Pac12, and UCLA is lightning quick, but none of them covers passing lanes like UCONN; as a result, passes that got where they were supposed to go in other games inevitably ended up as turnovers yesterday. I actually wish they were playing UCONN next November for the Phil Knight80 celebration; they'll be better by then, but still with a lot to learn and what better classroom than playing a game with the Huskies.

 

[Plebe]

We all recall last year's memorable 60-point beatdown in the Sweet 16. Well, look at what Mississippi State has accomplished this year, and how they've improved. They went from a #5 seed to a #2 seed. They were a legitimate challenger to South Carolina for the SEC title. And they have now gone two rounds further in the NCAA tournament than last year, reaching the program's first Final Four and slaying the giant Baylor along the way.

If this is what happens the year after a season-ending drubbing at the hands of UConn, Oregon should have even higher hopes for next year.

 

[Hamms30]

Ionescu seems like the type of player that took a lot of mental notes last night and will watch a lot of this game film and take a lot more. I know they got steamrolled last night, but that's a very young team (albeit we are young as well) that will progress very quickly. For a freshmen led team I think Oregon "grew up" a lot last night and come next year I think they'll be exponentially better than where they are finishing 2017. They'll be fun to watch going forward.

 

[huskyd]

After the peaking Ducks became Peking Ducks, all pretense was dropped:

-Geno called the team “Great!”, a word not in his vocab.
-Kara Lawson predicted the team might win 200 in a row. (Pan to a shot of Azura Stevens.)
-Rebecca Lobo said that if the team played like it did last night, no one could beat them.

What might Miss. St. be thinking watching the Oregon game? Hey, we lost by 60 last year, and these Huskies look better than ever. It's enough to make a Bulldog cover its eyes.

The Stanford/SC game will be interesting. Last night Leticia Romero turned so many short, open jumpers into bouillabaisse that the Semis wound up losing. I'm still hoping for a Cardinal final--and expecting a 5th in a row.

 

[terif831]

If this is what happens the year after a season-ending drubbing at the hands of UConn, Oregon should have even higher hopes for next year.

It's what CAN happen, if the team uses the experience in the right way. And I have a feeling the Ducks will do exactly that.

 

[UcMiami]

You know - there were two teams that lost games in Bridgeport because they were unprepared:
Oregon lost because they are young, inexperienced, and had never seen anything like they faced in their game.
Maryland lost in my opinion because they were arrogant and believed in their press reports.

I have great respect for one of those two teams and one of the two coaches. The other got exactly what they deserved.