So much hand-wringing!

[HuskyNan]

I don’t usually like to write (or read) marathon posts but please bear with me while I venture into @Tonyc ’s territory for a minute

Sometimes fans here get into a kind of downwards spiral of doubt. South Carolina signed terrific players from the portal – and good for them – but that doesn’t mean the Huskies are doomed. More about South Carolina later.

I would just like to remind everyone that in 2023, Geno took a team of 7 players – one point guard, two shooting guards (one, Lou, basically playing on one leg), and four forwards to the Elite 8, where a lack of experienced ball-handlers combined with a non-existent bench and a season’s worth of mental fatigue finally caught up to them.

In 2024, Geno took another injury-plagued team that lost Azzi, Aubrey, and Caroline during the season to the Final Four. He ended up playing primarily four freshmen (Ice, KK, Ash, Q), junior Paige, and seniors Aaliyah and Nika. Amari and Ines played mostly in end of game situations. Only 6 played in the Final Four game – KK, Ash, Ice, Paige, Aaliyah, and Nika. It was a 2 point loss to Caitlyn Clark & Co.

I dunno, seems like this guy Geno knows what he’s doing.

Regarding the South Carolina game that seems to be distressing to many people; Dawn went into the game with the often-used strategy of fouling UConn on every offensive possession, daring the refs to call them all. It’s not a new strategy or a dirty one but it is the reason Geno went ballistic during and at the end of the game. (I still maintain his motives were right, the timing was wrong). UCLA was the beneficiary of his outburst because in a fairly called game, UCLA was shown to be the better team. I think if the UConn-So Carolina game was called the same way, the outcome would have been different but, obviously, we’ll never know.

Anywho, UConn’s loss to So Carolina didn’t prove anything except that Dawn is a knowledgeable and experienced coach that tried a strategy that paid off. It said nothing about South Carolina’s superiority as a team over UConn. Let’s compare the teams.

Seems to me both teams have some outstanding, known talents and several promising young players. Both are essentially new teams that Geno and Dawn will have to work to mold into cohesive squads. I totally respect South Carolina but I don’t fear them. We have Sarah and Geno and they don’t.

 

[visitingcock]

I don’t usually like to write (or read) marathon posts but please bear with me while I venture into @Tonyc ’s territory for a minute

Sometimes fans here get into a kind of downwards spiral of doubt. South Carolina signed terrific players from the portal – and good for them – but that doesn’t mean the Huskies are doomed. More about South Carolina later.

I would just like to remind everyone that in 2023, Geno took a team of 7 players – one point guard, two shooting guards (one, Lou, basically playing on one leg), and four forwards to the Elite 8, where a lack of experienced ball-handlers combined with a non-existent bench and a season’s worth of mental fatigue finally caught up to them.

In 2024, Geno took another injury-plagued team that lost Azzi, Aubrey, and Caroline during the season to the Final Four. He ended up playing primarily four freshmen (Ice, KK, Ash, Q), junior Paige, and seniors Aaliyah and Nika. Amari and Ines played mostly in end of game situations. Only 6 played in the Final Four game – KK, Ash, Ice, Paige, Aaliyah, and Nika. It was a 2 point loss to Caitlyn Clark & Co.

I dunno, seems like this guy Geno knows what he’s doing.

Regarding the South Carolina game that seems to be distressing to many people; Dawn went into the game with the often-used strategy of fouling UConn on every offensive possession, daring the refs to call them all. It’s not a new strategy or a dirty one but it is the reason Geno went ballistic during and at the end of the game. (I still maintain his motives were right, the timing was wrong). UCLA was the beneficiary of his outburst because in a fairly called game, UCLA was shown to be the better team. I think if the UConn-So Carolina game was called the same way, the outcome would have been different but, obviously, we’ll never know.

Anywho, UConn’s loss to So Carolina didn’t prove anything except that Dawn is a knowledgeable and experienced coach that tried a strategy that paid off. It said nothing about South Carolina’s superiority as a team over UConn. Let’s compare the teams.

View attachment 119960

Seems to me both teams have some outstanding and known talents and several promising young players. Both are essentially new teams that both Geno and Dawn will have to work to mold into cohesive squads. I totally respect South Carolina but I don’t fear them. We have Sarah and Geno and they don’t.

In many posts on this and the General Board, I think many UConn and other posters are selling UConn short on the talent level. I think UConn is the equal to USC and U$C in terms of talent.

We might have an advantage in terms of athleticism . Y’all might have the edge in skill. Both have excellent coaches. It is likely that both will return to the Final Four and, if we meet, the outcome may be determined on factors that may be different from our first meeting this year.

 

[Centerstream]

I for one go ballistic whenever I read posts from fans that I think you are responding to. Heck, one was afraid that the game was going to leave Geno behind, mainly due to UConn not getting anyone from the portal this offseason. We are one year removed from a National Championship and have what, been to the Final Four 16 out of the last 17?
So thank you @HuskyNan for keeping us on track of this ride that is the UConn Women's Basketball team!!!! I really, really enjoyed opening the Boneyard today and reading your post!!! ❤️

 

[BobbyJ]

I don’t usually like to write (or read) marathon posts but please bear with me while I venture into @Tonyc ’s territory for a minute

Sometimes fans here get into a kind of downwards spiral of doubt. South Carolina signed terrific players from the portal – and good for them – but that doesn’t mean the Huskies are doomed. More about South Carolina later.

I would just like to remind everyone that in 2023, Geno took a team of 7 players – one point guard, two shooting guards (one, Lou, basically playing on one leg), and four forwards to the Elite 8, where a lack of experienced ball-handlers combined with a non-existent bench and a season’s worth of mental fatigue finally caught up to them.

In 2024, Geno took another injury-plagued team that lost Azzi, Aubrey, and Caroline during the season to the Final Four. He ended up playing primarily four freshmen (Ice, KK, Ash, Q), junior Paige, and seniors Aaliyah and Nika. Amari and Ines played mostly in end of game situations. Only 6 played in the Final Four game – KK, Ash, Ice, Paige, Aaliyah, and Nika. It was a 2 point loss to Caitlyn Clark & Co.

I dunno, seems like this guy Geno knows what he’s doing.

Regarding the South Carolina game that seems to be distressing to many people; Dawn went into the game with the often-used strategy of fouling UConn on every offensive possession, daring the refs to call them all. It’s not a new strategy or a dirty one but it is the reason Geno went ballistic during and at the end of the game. (I still maintain his motives were right, the timing was wrong). UCLA was the beneficiary of his outburst because in a fairly called game, UCLA was shown to be the better team. I think if the UConn-So Carolina game was called the same way, the outcome would have been different but, obviously, we’ll never know.

Anywho, UConn’s loss to So Carolina didn’t prove anything except that Dawn is a knowledgeable and experienced coach that tried a strategy that paid off. It said nothing about South Carolina’s superiority as a team over UConn. Let’s compare the teams.

View attachment 119960

Seems to me both teams have some outstanding and known talents and several promising young players. Both are essentially new teams that both Geno and Dawn will have to work to mold into cohesive squads. I totally respect South Carolina but I don’t fear them. We have Sarah and Geno and they don’t.

Pretty much all of your points are correct and as is usually the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. However, you didn't come close to entering Tonyc territory. Any day he'll be back to tell everyone that the NCAA should just call off the 26-27 season because UConn will be unbeatable again. Until they're not. 😉

 

[Bone Dog]

In many posts on this and the General Board, I think many UConn and other posters are selling UConn short on the talent level. I think UConn is the equal to USC and U$C in terms of talent.

We might have an advantage in terms of athleticism . Y’all might have the edge in skill. Both have excellent coaches. It is likely that both will return to the Final Four and, if we meet, the outcome may be determined on factors that may be different from our first meeting this year.

I appreciate your post and largely agree. However, I continue to think (and say) that 'athleticism' is an incoherent term to use to describe top level basketball. Last season, SC was not quicker or stronger than UConn as a team -- those are the usual things folks people think of as athleticism. What SC was in that game was more focused -- and mental focus is often overlooked as a form of athleticism. Exactly how SC was able to disrupt UConn's focus is a separate discussion. In the previous season, UConn only won it all because of excellent mental focus.

 

[cferraro04]

One thing jumps out at me in your comparison. South Carolina is big and long. 13 players 6'0 or over. to UConn's 7 players.

South Carolina: 6'7", 6'5", 6'3", 6'3", 6'3", 6'3", 6'2", 6'2". 6'1", 6'1", 6'0", 6'0", 6'0"
UConn: 6'5", 6'5", 6'4", 6'2", 6'2", 6'2", 6'0"

 

[HuskyNan]

One thing jumps out at me in your comparison. South Carolina is big and long. 13 players 6'0 or over. to UConn's 7 players.

South Carolina: 6'7", 6'5", 6'3", 6'3", 6'3", 6'3", 6'2", 6'2". 6'1", 6'1", 6'0", 6'0", 6'0"
UConn: 6'5", 6'5", 6'4", 6'2", 6'2", 6'2", 6'0"

Fortunately, teams can only have 5 players on the court at one time. And my money is on 6-2 Sarah or 6-2 Blanca over any big girl.

Also, their 6-7 player is long but very lean. Jana, Gandy, or Olivia could probably body her up effectively

 

[Centerstream]

I appreciate your post and largely agree. However, I continue to think (and say) that 'athleticism' is an incoherent term to use to describe top level basketball. Last season, SC was not quicker or stronger than UConn as a team -- those are the usual things folks people think of as athleticism. What SC was in that game was more focused -- and mental focus is often overlooked as a form of athleticism. Exactly how SC was able to disrupt UConn's focus is a separate discussion. In the previous season, UConn only won it all because of excellent mental focus.

I believe Nan's reasoning on what happened to UConn against SoCar in the Final Four.

 

[Zonepress]

very happy that you posted this
How anyone could be concerned about the level of talent on
26-27 team is beyond puzzling
You have the national player of the year, the potentially number one WNBA draft choice for 2029
Two guards who have been four years starters and played on a national championship team
By at least one publication the national high school player of the year
And two other players who were rotational players
the team will be one of the favorites to win the championship
next year and imho could be a more balanced and potentially better team than this past year
Completely agree with you regarding how the game was officiated what would also point out that the tactics that South Carolina used were definitely more effective against the type of offense that uconn runs that based on ball movement and screening
All that being said, the team had the lead at halftime and a real chance to win the game in the fourth quarter

 

[#1Genofan]

I just saw a video with the headline how South Caroline "has the NCAA title 'sowed up.'" I'm glad to hand this title over to them, as I do feel it added pressure to UConn this year to hear people say they were a lock to win the title. Let South Carolina have that next year and UConn can simply go about getting better week to week and getting ready for whatever might happen in the tournament.

 

[huskeynut]

It gets depressing at time reading some of the posts. Some of these posts I no longer read.

I attribute these posts to those who have a different vision, first as a reaction to the semi loss, and as to what UConn should look like and how they should play. I get it, this a forum and posters have their opinions and express them. I also find it interesting that many posts completely ignore Olivia and Jovanna. Olivia is legit center. Notice I didn't say post. From the vids of Jovanna, she is going to be a contributor.

Just a reminder, Geno has 12 national championships. Nobody else is close!

Yea, we lost in there semis to SC. Probably the worst game of the season. SC's defense had a lot to do with it. UConn players were "mugged" continually by SC. The refs swallowed their whistles. It happens.

Geno didn't take anyone from the portal. I'm fine with that. Geno is very selective on who he recruits and that includes those in the portal. It's more than just basketball talent he considered. UConn still has a lot of talent to make a run to the final four.

 

[Bone Dog]

I believe Nan's reasoning on what happened to UConn against SoCar in the Final Four.

I didn't disagree. You missed my point. Nan offered an explanation of why we lost focus -- excessive fouling -- I merely pointed out that mental focus was what we lacked in that game, which is the overlooked aspect of athleticism. I'd also say that lack of focus was beginning to become apparent in several games leading up to the tournament.

 

[VaConnFan11]

If Watkins and Kitts are fully recovered from their injuries, South Carolina will be very difficult to beat.

 

[hoopsfan22]

If Watkins and Kitts are fully recovered from their injuries, South Carolina will be very difficult to beat.

As will USC with three #1 recruits which I don't think we've seen since maybe some UConn teams of the past decade.

 

[Centerstream]

I didn't disagree. You missed my point. Nan offered an explanation of why we lost focus -- excessive fouling -- I merely pointed out that mental focus was what we lacked in that game, which is the overlooked aspect of athleticism. I'd also say that lack of focus was beginning to become apparent in several games leading up to the tournament.

And I disagree with you, that's all, and doesn't need any further discussion on my part.

 

[Jim R]

I don’t usually like to write (or read) marathon posts but please bear with me while I venture into @Tonyc ’s territory for a minute

Sometimes fans here get into a kind of downwards spiral of doubt. South Carolina signed terrific players from the portal – and good for them – but that doesn’t mean the Huskies are doomed. More about South Carolina later.

I would just like to remind everyone that in 2023, Geno took a team of 7 players – one point guard, two shooting guards (one, Lou, basically playing on one leg), and four forwards to the Elite 8, where a lack of experienced ball-handlers combined with a non-existent bench and a season’s worth of mental fatigue finally caught up to them.

In 2024, Geno took another injury-plagued team that lost Azzi, Aubrey, and Caroline during the season to the Final Four. He ended up playing primarily four freshmen (Ice, KK, Ash, Q), junior Paige, and seniors Aaliyah and Nika. Amari and Ines played mostly in end of game situations. Only 6 played in the Final Four game – KK, Ash, Ice, Paige, Aaliyah, and Nika. It was a 2 point loss to Caitlyn Clark & Co.

I dunno, seems like this guy Geno knows what he’s doing.

Regarding the South Carolina game that seems to be distressing to many people; Dawn went into the game with the often-used strategy of fouling UConn on every offensive possession, daring the refs to call them all. It’s not a new strategy or a dirty one but it is the reason Geno went ballistic during and at the end of the game. (I still maintain his motives were right, the timing was wrong). UCLA was the beneficiary of his outburst because in a fairly called game, UCLA was shown to be the better team. I think if the UConn-So Carolina game was called the same way, the outcome would have been different but, obviously, we’ll never know.

Anywho, UConn’s loss to So Carolina didn’t prove anything except that Dawn is a knowledgeable and experienced coach that tried a strategy that paid off. It said nothing about South Carolina’s superiority as a team over UConn. Let’s compare the teams.

View attachment 119960

Seems to me both teams have some outstanding, known talents and several promising young players. Both are essentially new teams that Geno and Dawn will have to work to mold into cohesive squads. I totally respect South Carolina but I don’t fear them. We have Sarah and Geno and they don’t.

Kudos…although I don’t think we’ve won you over on the “height matters” subject yet, your observations are on the mark. Geno, while admitting he has had “more” oftentimes than the opponent, has also gotten the most out of “less. As far as Carolina, when the opposing team is “bigger” (UCLA center), they can beat USC at their own game, going inside…and having UCLA’s shooters this year helped. USC’s approach against the Huskies reminded me of what NFL teams do when going up against the LA Rams…their passing game is impressive, but if the defense holds and is overly physical with the receivers, and the referees swallow their whistles, then the advantage the Rams had, is nullified. Some may call that cheating. I doubt that USC can win a fairly called game against our current Huskies. I agree, that’s why Geno lost his temper. As a coach, there are fewer things more frustrating. But, it would have helped if we’d had a better inside presence. Let’s hope we find that next season. I’ve no doubt that Geno, CD & staff will be better prepared for the overly aggresive opposition no matter who we play.

 

[BBallF]

I don’t usually like to write (or read) marathon posts but please bear with me while I venture into @Tonyc ’s territory for a minute

Sometimes fans here get into a kind of downwards spiral of doubt. South Carolina signed terrific players from the portal – and good for them – but that doesn’t mean the Huskies are doomed. More about South Carolina later.

I would just like to remind everyone that in 2023, Geno took a team of 7 players – one point guard, two shooting guards (one, Lou, basically playing on one leg), and four forwards to the Elite 8, where a lack of experienced ball-handlers combined with a non-existent bench and a season’s worth of mental fatigue finally caught up to them.

In 2024, Geno took another injury-plagued team that lost Azzi, Aubrey, and Caroline during the season to the Final Four. He ended up playing primarily four freshmen (Ice, KK, Ash, Q), junior Paige, and seniors Aaliyah and Nika. Amari and Ines played mostly in end of game situations. Only 6 played in the Final Four game – KK, Ash, Ice, Paige, Aaliyah, and Nika. It was a 2 point loss to Caitlyn Clark & Co.

I dunno, seems like this guy Geno knows what he’s doing.

Regarding the South Carolina game that seems to be distressing to many people; Dawn went into the game with the often-used strategy of fouling UConn on every offensive possession, daring the refs to call them all. It’s not a new strategy or a dirty one but it is the reason Geno went ballistic during and at the end of the game. (I still maintain his motives were right, the timing was wrong). UCLA was the beneficiary of his outburst because in a fairly called game, UCLA was shown to be the better team. I think if the UConn-So Carolina game was called the same way, the outcome would have been different but, obviously, we’ll never know.

Anywho, UConn’s loss to So Carolina didn’t prove anything except that Dawn is a knowledgeable and experienced coach that tried a strategy that paid off. It said nothing about South Carolina’s superiority as a team over UConn. Let’s compare the teams.

View attachment 119960

Seems to me both teams have some outstanding, known talents and several promising young players. Both are essentially new teams that Geno and Dawn will have to work to mold into cohesive squads. I totally respect South Carolina but I don’t fear them. We have Sarah and Geno and they don’t.

I think this is a great and comprehensive post but I have to part company on one very salient point. Knowingly adopting a strategy that is contrary to the rules of the game and tends to risk injury does not qualify a coach as knowledgeable or experienced but rather only as a coach that would take that intentional course of action for which there was no real post game analysis because the focus was on what occurred immediately after the game. I also agree that Geno's comments affected the Finals refereeing which is a sad commentary in and of itself.

SC got crushed in the Finals when the game was called properly. I don't fear them either in a fairly called basketball game and I believe we have a FF team going into this season as we almost always do. The issue is how the FF games will be called but that is a long way away. We will be a very, very hardened team this year by the end of the regular season with our OOC schedule. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference in the post season. Does it make you better or wear you down?

In my view, we win the SC game if it was called properly but UCLA was a very good team and hard to beat. It's water under the bridge now but these players know exactly what happened and I am sure did not take it well. There is that focus that comes in a new year with a redo and I am very optimistic about it. I think you will see big bumps up from Allie, K9, Ash and KK and yes, maybe even Jana too. For Sarah, it's hard to even conceive of that kind of transformation. I hope we all realize that she may be the most talented all around player we have ever had.

 

[BBallF]

I didn't disagree. You missed my point. Nan offered an explanation of why we lost focus -- excessive fouling -- I merely pointed out that mental focus was what we lacked in that game, which is the overlooked aspect of athleticism. I'd also say that lack of focus was beginning to become apparent in several games leading up to the tournament.

That's true to a certain extent but as you probably know from your own experience playing, it's very hard to have the right focus when you are getting beat up.

 

[hoophuskee]

I
IMO nan - it's what I said on an older post on another thread- there are a lot of old timers on here that are more comfortable watching conventional basketball. I can recall in 2024-2025 season many on here suggesting/implying and agree with those that said Jana needs to get the ball and more touches in the low post that year. It's how many of us old timers grew up. So, when the perimeter game struggles there is an eventual point of view to go back with what you grew up with. So, even while Geno had a meltdown in such a manner complaining how bad the officiating was, those that love or believe in big time old school pound it down low basketball, it's something that is extremely hard to shake.

Secondly, you have the crowd that it's title or bust. .Asa result, any loss means something urgent must be done to fix it.

For me, I'm an old timer and I grew up much more of a fan with smaller centers like Willis Reed and Dave Cowens. And both teams played fast pace basketball. So when posters want to slow the game down and play grind-basketball, I'd get bored with it. I became a UCONN women's fan because thankfully Geno doesn't coach that way. Hopefully he won't get pushed into this due to refs officiating influencing very physical play, or someday his eventual successor either. So I defend his style and I see he keeps getting terrific recruiting classes imo because he doesn't back-away from how he wants to coach (and tehse superstar top recrtuits usally all want to play in a running game a lot.). As I result, I remain bias in his style and won't watch what I feel was an absolute disgraceful job by the NCAA and the Refs with those 62/51/48/44 scores in which all 4 teams were also terrific offensive teams before the matchups too. How is it possible with so much talent to score so little? I can't remain a basketball fan with that type of putrid offense. Heck, when I was growing up, 3 of the 4 scores weren’t even half-time scores when I watched the NBA. And yet supposedly the women's game is improving? 62/51/48/44 is disgraceful. I just want to reiterate that I'm bias too, therefore I defend Geno a lot because I beleive in his style and its why we get te recruits we do because they want to play for that style. A side note: I Wish we were in a power conference.

 

[Bigboote]

UConn has a great coach and a bunch of really good players. South Carolina has a great coach and a bunch of really good players. Full stop. There’s a reason they play the games, let them do so.