Some game thoughts - UCONN vs. Houston

[pvdoggy]

People have been saying thatGeno should give the bench more playing time. Well, he did and now fans will need to learn to live with such results as the bench gains game experience

Other than Coombs, the bench did not get that much time. Houston's bench plays twice the minutes of Uconn's bench.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

People have been saying thatGeno should give the bench more playing time. Well, he did and now fans will need to learn to live with such results as the bench gains game experience

Completely agree with HuskeyNan... and in response to @VaConnFan11 ... Houston DID NOT win the 2nd half... they won the 4th quarter. Geno is working the subs as he knows he needs to, and as so many on BY have been pleading for him to do. He is giving them time and experience, that normally means the 4th quarter, with few if any starters, when the game is out of reach. AND...please don't lose sight of the fact that UCONN Won each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters... leading 70 to 45 after 3 quarters.... so did the 4th quarter really matter? It provided valuable experience minutes for the subs.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Also, note that Meg took her open shots (with mixed results), unlike the Baylor game. Good for her.

Problem is her shot selection leaves a ton to be desired. Her strengths are--or should be--using her frame to get inside, moving w/out the ball, posting up, getting to the line. She wants to take 17-22 foot jumpers instead.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

so did the 4th quarter really matter? It provided valuable experience minutes for the subs.

Let's face it: Irwin, Bent, and Camara aren't improving as they are all well into their junior years. The only experience that matters is that of Coombs and ONO, the former of which looked lost again. ONO will be really good eventually, not likely this year.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Let's face it: Irwin, Bent, and Camara aren't improving as they are all well into their junior years. The only experience that matters is that of Coombs and ONO, the former of which looked lost again. ONO will be really good eventually, not likely this year.

Maybe, maybe, maybe all true. 1st... is the answer to "give up" on them when there is plenty of cushion to let them try? 2nd... as @HuskyNan said, Geno is doing what many are "demanding" he do (maybe he does read BY??) ...then they criticize that he did it because the bench "lost" the 4th quarter of an out of reach game.
When I coached baseball, I routinely put my subs in the game in late innings of "out of reach" games too, knowing they weren't likely to stretch the lead. Big difference there was if they started giving up big runs, I did not have the option to put starters back in to stem the tide.

 

[Adios]

We have not lost back to back games for 25 years? That is surreal.

 

[pvdoggy]

Completely agree with HuskeyNan... and in response to @VaConnFan11 ... Houston DID NOT win the 2nd half... they won the 4th quarter. Geno is working the subs as he knows he needs to, and as so many on BY have been pleading for him to do. He is giving them time and experience, that normally means the 4th quarter, with few if any starters, when the game is out of reach. AND...please don't lose sight of the fact that UCONN Won each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters... leading 70 to 45 after 3 quarters.... so did the 4th quarter really matter? It provided valuable experience minutes for the subs.

Throwing the bench players out in the 4th qtr with few if any starters do not seem like an ideal way to give them real game experience.

 

[Centerstream]

Completely agree with HuskeyNan... and in response to @VaConnFan11 ... Houston DID NOT win the 2nd half... they won the 4th quarter. Geno is working the subs as he knows he needs to, and as so many on BY have been pleading for him to do. He is giving them time and experience, that normally means the 4th quarter, with few if any starters, when the game is out of reach. AND...please don't lose sight of the fact that UCONN Won each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters... leading 70 to 45 after 3 quarters.... so did the 4th quarter really matter? It provided valuable experience minutes for the subs.

And this has been the norm for the past 3 seasons, so what is the big deal? (To be clear, I am agreeing with you @PAHuskeyFan.)

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

And this has been the norm for the past 3 seasons, so what is the big deal? (To be clear, I am agreeing with you @PAHuskeyFan.)

OK... got it... I was actually responding to the comment by @VaConnFan11 that UCONN LOST the 2nd half 31-30.

 

[Centerstream]

Throwing the bench players out in the 4th qtr with few if any starters do not seem like an ideal way to give them real game experience.

I think I heard once or twice that they earn that during practice time. I think if they excel in practice then they might be put in the game (depending on the situation obviously) prior to "bench clearing time". And I think that this sentiment has been posted once or twice already this season.

 

[Centerstream]

OK... got it... I was actually responding to the comment by @VaConnFan11 that UCONN LOST the 2nd half 31-30.

I understand that you were responding to another post, I thought that I was backing up your reply...but I guess not. I will just stop posting now..

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Maybe, maybe, maybe all true. 1st... is the answer to "give up" on them when there is plenty of cushion to let them try? 2nd... as @HuskyNan said, Geno is doing what many are "demanding" he do (maybe he does read BY??) ...then they criticize that he did it because the bench "lost" the 4th quarter of an out of reach game.

They'll play late in blowouts. Just don't know what that accomplishes other than giving most of the starters some needed rest.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Throwing the bench players out in the 4th qtr with few if any starters do not seem like an ideal way to give them real game experience.

SO... pvdoggy, there are few options.
(1) Before we have a "substantial" lead, put one, two or three subs on the court with four, three or two starters...likely playing vs the opposition's starters. The probable result is that we end up with less than 5 "scorers" playing against the 5 best of the opposition. I think the result is predictable. IIRC, didn't ONO get in during 2nd quarter, and maybe Mikayla too? I'm sorry but I was distracted with "Honey-do" items during 2nd quarter and half time.
(2) Let the starters build a lead that will be hard to lose, then work the subs in one, two or three at a time... as Geno did during this game. AND, exactly what many here on BY were pleading for last season.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I understand that you were responding to another post, I thought that I was backing up your reply...but I guess not. I will just stop posting now..

OK... sorry, I read your parenthetical comment to indicate you thought I did not know you agreed.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Broken record here: if he picked up the tempo both O and D, but especially D, he could move people in and out and get more people involved. If we started using more of the floor, our size disadvantage is minimized. IMO pick up no closer than the 3-point line, even half-court, pressure the ball, deny the wings, and front the posts. Get steals, open court play, and at the least push the tempo and/or pull the other team further from the hoop.
Why are we dribbling up the floor so much? Pheesa and Lou. Why aren’t we outleting the ball to CD and sprinting to fill the lanes? Just read a book about Bob Cousy. Pickup Red Auerbach’s ancient book on fast break basketball. When CD gets it in transition she makes the right play and she’s faster.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Broken record here: if he picked up the tempo both O and D, but especially D, he could move people in and out and get more people involved. If we started using more of the floor, our size disadvantage is minimized. IMO pick up no closer than the 3-point line, even half-court, pressure the ball, deny the wings, and front the posts.

Pressure defense takes energy and depth. UConn's better players are already having to expel tremendous amounts of energy defending and rebounding against bigger players. There is no backup for Crystal Dangerfield either. The starters are already playing 35 minutes a game and often look tired. There's just no way this roster can play that kind of defense.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Pressure defense takes energy and depth. UConn's better players are already having to expel tremendous amounts of energy defending and rebounding against bigger players. There is no backup for Crystal Dangerfield either. The starters are already playing 35 minutes a game and often look tired. There's just no way this roster can play that kind of defense.

I hear you loud and clear!
Think of the pressure D as a way to address the 2 biggest flaws of this team- depth and size. We could work our bench into such a structure. MC is our quickest player besides CD. Every player on our roster is a HS all-American. (Right)
Got nothing to do for an hour- watch the ESPN 30 for 30, “Guru of Go” about Hank Gathers, Paul Westhead and Loyola Marymount. They averaged 120 points a game. Did they have a bench? Hell no!! They were the better conditioned team. Just like Geno’s UConn team is the best conditioned team.

 

[BroadwayVa]

A 20 point win over a now 6-8 Houston team - Some folks thought UCONN would come out with a "purpose" (or pick any other word) after the Baylor loss. I say no, they did not. Solid game, but aside from the 2nd quarter, Houston basically played UCONN even. I would expect that against a team like Louisville, but not against a team like Houston.

Passing and decision making was just off - 18 turnovers, and probably close to half were unforced. So many bad passes and unforced turnovers, especially by Collier, Walker and Dangerfield. Just bad decisions. It was just an ugly game, particularly shocking coming off the Baylor loss. Geno said a few great things...

One regarding the Baylor loss - something like "you can't really expect us to win every single regular season game for 10 years". He also said that usually his teams are focused on April, but with this team, he knows they are not as good as teams in the past, and he said that he basically "wants them to enjoy every moment of the season". I thought that was some great stuff and an indication his expectations are lower for this team and he needs to coax them along gently instead of other kinds of motivation.

Lou and Pheesa are just tremendous. I thought aside from some really bad passes, Walker played very quietly, but was solid. Williams seems to have hit the freshman wall and aside from a scoring outburst in the 4th quarter, was largely invisible. Danger had some great flashes and it's hard for a great player to play great for 35+ minutes. She did not play great, but was very good for the most part. ONO showed a few good things, and that's all I will say about the bench because there is nothing else good to say about them. Yes I know people are tired of the much maligned bench hence no comment.

Overall, a win. No one got injured. Not a statement game, not a recovery game, not really anything overly positive. I think Geno will be happy because he realizes expectations for this team need to be lower, and we are now getting the closer games fans craved in the past.

You brought up 2 subjects so I'll use the crack you opened: If Geno has low expectations for this year why not use it to get ONO, CW, Coombs, ready for next year with added PT. Yes Coombs played long today, ONO 4 minutes?, Coombs showed she can handled the ball pass to the post, will be a better than good PG when her shot stop being rushed. To me a person is maligned when lies are written about them. Even the Fans of other team and sports bubble heads have commented on the lack of a bench--is that a lie?
Even Geno has spoken about 3 playing on 5 --meaning both the soph and the frosh and the bench. I tend to state--5 on 15 or 12, or even 10. Point is Geno is at a disadvantage that his new guys and bench present him.\
The expectations for this team were lowered as the season began by those looking at what they saw. CW was an amazing addition, Walker a good plug for a hole left behind.
From here on out; something has to give on the 5 or 7. They have to stop relying Pheesa and KLs to save their tails. And the unmentionable has to drastically improve.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I hear you loud and clear!
Think of the pressure D as a way to address the 2 biggest flaws of this team- depth and size. We could work our bench into such a structure. MC is our quickest player besides CD. Every player on our roster is a HS all-American. (Right)
Got nothing to do for an hour- watch the ESPN 30 for 30, “Guru of Go” about Hank Gathers, Paul Westhead and Loyola Marymount. They averaged 120 points a game. Did they have a bench? Hell no!! They were the better conditioned team. Just like Geno’s UConn team is the best conditioned team.

\

Coombs is getting much better, still has trouble with her shot, but it will come.
How about that? I didn't know Molly or Irwin were HS AA's? Just exactly what does it mean for a player to be a HS AA? What can they do that just really good basketball players can't do.
One comment about no bench. How many games did those with 120 points each night play? What was the level of competition? Did they play 35 to 40 to 45 minutes nearly every game for 3 seasons? Did they play with or recover from injuries (Phee, DT, KLS).
Medico's will tell you playing those minute 35 to 45 game after game is a sure plan to create injuries --short term and long term.

 

[oldude]

Throwing the bench players out in the 4th qtr with few if any starters do not seem like an ideal way to give them real game experience.

You need to pay closer attention to the game. There was a solid 5-7 minute stretch during the 3rd & 4th qtrs when Geno played Liv & Mikayla together with 3 starters.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Umm, all due respect, the analysis was ok, at best. The team is on the road again for 6 of the last 7 games, playing against a pretty gritty team in Houston who according to Massey have the 63rd best SOS, ahead of Maryland, Kentucky, Florida State and Utah so their 6-7 record is a bit misleading.
The 4th Quarter with our bench was, once again, a struggle. That’s where the lead completely dissipated. That said, the bench needs time and Batouly needs the reps as does Mikayla Coombs. To call this a disappointing effort is not “positive” by any stretch of someone’s imagination.
You are an avid fan but not one of the rah-rah fans by any stretch. That’s ok at times but you let the unbelievable seasons of the Stewie/Mo/Tuck years cloud your view of what is a very, very good team. Enjoy the ride more is my advice. There have been UConn teams who have had 1 and 4 losses respectively that won titles so the world is not on their verge of the apocalypse.

It is positive to play Coombs and Liv many minutes. It's positive to see MW drill 3's and score under the basket. CW got a quiet 10 but could have had 25.
Those teams that won the NC with 1 or 4 losses had an at least 8 rotation. The rotation of this team fades beyond 5. No stomping the downtrodden, it is what it is and it maybe fixed before April, MAYBE!! Whether Uconn wins the elite 8, ff, Nc--nice. After the first 10--it become ordinary, while extraordinary. So I' didn't cry for Uconn the past 2 years nor will I cry for them this April. I'm happy with a win. UC hasn't always been the top of the heap, Men or women. Fan's are fan's good or bad. Yet we/they Monday Morning Quarter back, complain. Uconn fans are not Unique--but the team is.

 

[HuskyNan]

Throwing the bench players out in the 4th qtr with few if any starters do not seem like an ideal way to give them real game experience.

Moving the goalposts, huh? And here I thought Geno was giving the fans what they’ve been screaming for

 

[VaConnFan11]

When the starters are playing most, if not all, of the 3rd quarter and parts of the 4th quarter, the whole team gets credit for losing the 2nd half. All of the starters played a minimum of 30 minutes and KLS played 36. If it wasn't for a GREAT 2nd quarter, this game is uncomfortably close.

The fact is that of the TOP 25 teams that won by 20+ since Thursday (7 teams), UConn will be the only one that lost the 2nd half.

 

[oldude]

When the starters are playing most, if not all, of the 3rd quarter and parts of the 4th quarter, the whole team gets credit for losing the 2nd half. All of the starters played a minimum of 30 minutes and KLS played 36. If it wasn't for a GREAT 2nd quarter, this game is uncomfortably close.

The fact is that of the TOP 25 teams that won by 20+ since Thursday (7 teams), UConn will be the only one that lost the 2nd half.

Congratulations!!! You’ve just come up with the single most meaningless statistic in the history of sports.

 

[MD#12Fan]

\

Coombs is getting much better, still has trouble with her shot, but it will come.
How about that? I didn't know Molly or Irwin were HS AA's? Just exactly what does it mean for a player to be a HS AA? What can they do that just really good basketball players can't do.
One comment about no bench. How many games did those with 120 points each night play? What was the level of competition? Did they play 35 to 40 to 45 minutes nearly every game for 3 seasons? Did they play with or recover from injuries (Phee, DT, KLS).
Medico's will tell you playing those minute 35 to 45 game after game is a sure plan to create injuries --short term and long term.

I recommend that 30 for 30. LMU lost in the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament to eventual winner UNLV, after their star player, Hank Gathers DIED during a WCC playoff game against Portland. Gathers averaged like 30 ppg and 20 boards. What a frickin beast! He manhandled Shaq in college, after getting his first few shots blocks (he was 6’8”), for like 45.
They knew that the game was theirs when the opposing players would start bending over grabbing their shorts. BTW Westhead won a WNBA title with the Phoenix Mercury and Diana Taurasi. She loved him and his uptempo style. Geno no doubt knows Westhead, both of them from Philly. There is a “Philly Style” that all these guys have in their blood.

 

[pvdoggy]

Moving the goalposts, huh? And here I thought Geno was giving the fans what they’ve been screaming for

Nope, I have always been consistent with what I thought about playing mostly bench players in garbage time do not teach them anything.

 

[Zanzman]

Lyman depriest also shut Shaq down

 

[SLY63]

Throwing the bench players out in the 4th qtr with few if any starters do not seem like an ideal way to give them real game experience.

Agree completely. The best option would be to sub one or two bench players in earlier with the starters to simulate "real game" situations

 

[VaConnFan11]

Congratulations!!! You’ve just come up with the single most meaningless statistic in the history of sports.

Why don't we wait until the end of the season to see how meaningless it is?

 

[oldude]

Agree completely. The best option would be to sub one or two bench players in earlier with the starters to simulate "real game" situations

This is the 2nd time I’ve issued this response in the same thread. Watch the game more closely. There is a 5-7 minute stretch in the 3rd & 4th qtr when Geno subs in Liv and Mikayla with 3 starters.