Some thoughts after the game

[tomcat]

Okay, I know I'm a glass-half-empty kind of guy. And I promise I am not pushing the panic button. I do NOT think we're doooooomed, or anything like that. Still, is it possible that we've overestimated what this team will do, just a little? This was a bad game following an almost-bad game against two teams that are "nationally ranked," -- and these days, who the hell knows what that means -- but not wonderful. Two very flawed teams that UConn should have picked apart. Instead, UConn looked disorganized, seemed unable to set up more than a handful of their kind of plays in each game, played fine defense most of the time buy could not buy a basket for extended periods of time. So, I have questions, just to perhaps stimulate a little postgame discussion.

Is this really a team that will go undefeated? The way they are playing now?

Is KML still somewhat a defensive liability? As much as she has improved her all-around game -- and it's a lot -- she still got her pocket picked a couple of times and looked really, really bad. Her shooting, on the other hand, was wonderful.

Is Bria Hartley overrated? I kind of think so, At least, she remains a puzzle to me. As much as I admire her ice-in-the-veins approach to shooting, I have never been a fan. She is not a point guard -- as someone -- I think it was Doris Burke-- suggested -- passing will never be her strong suit. Not wild about the way she plays defense, either. I understand she is still coming back from a fairly serious injury, but still....

One of the announcers tonight said that opponents have discovered that UConn does not like to be fouled. Think that's true? It certainly seemed to be true of Stewart, who hung in there but whose game seemed off again.

Is Banks the most improved player ever?

 

[OneTrickPony]

The hard fouls are having an effect...and they will continue until they don't. I can't see anybody letting our shooters get in rhythm that thinks they have a chance to win.

 

[sarals24]

KML a defensive liability? Are you crazy? She plays great defense. Watch her off-the-ball defense, it's phenomenal. She is so tough. And she has improved her defense tenfold over last year.

 

[Lynx23]

In his post-game remarks on SNY, Geno lambasted the refs, noting that two of them worked the ND-Baylor game and suggested they must have had jet lag. He added that if the UCONN Women had just three minutes of play without a whistle being blown, they might have been able to get into some offensive rhythm. It was an odd game and difficult to watch at times. I expect this week will be used as a serious learning tool for a young team. They have plenty of time to get it together and I suspect they will. It's all a process with a learning curve. I've decided that some patience is in order; I'm sure they'll be fine.

 

[CTGirl15]

Bria spent two months on the bench and is just now working back into form. Give her time.

Kaleena has had no sophomore slump, pretty much every part if her game is better, especially her defense.

Breanna is a freshman trying to get used to the college game, give her time.

This was the second physical game they've played in 4 days. They need a break and a chance to relax and then re focus. They have two weeks to do so and then they have a couple easier games before Stanford. This team is trying to meld and they have had injuries disrupting them so far, they are still learning. I refuse to panic this early.

As others have said, this was a weird game. No rhythm what so ever because of all the whistles and stoppage. It's hard to get anything flowing when every other possession had a foul call.

I think they just need a break and a chance to practice and recharge without a big game looming over head. These back-to-back physical games had to wear them down.

 

[UcMiami]

So they have played two 'terrible' games in a row - outscoring their top ten ranked opponents by 15 points in each game. This team is just horrible!!! The sky is falling!!!
On a calmer note ... no team is going through the season maintaining a 60% field goal average. And no Uconn team has ever averaged over 90 points a game. So ... the averages are coming more in line with what is expected after two nights of sub-par shooting. PSU and Maryland both played solid defense - that was a surprise with Maryland to me as I don't have a lot of respect for the coach, but they did it. And Uconn still won both games easily. This is early in the season and I expect Uconn to play better, but I am pretty happy with what we have.
BB is a revelation - I thought Geno probably should have given her more minutes. MJ was solid. BH is still getting her game together after a long layoff. Stef and Stew played good defense but struggled at the other end.
I do wonder about the starting five. With BH still not fully up to speed (in my estimation) I wouldn't mind seeing her being the one coming off the bench instead of CD. The flow Uconn had in the at the start first games is missing, and I think while BH is a better player until she is really back the team might be better with CD starting until she rounds into form.

 

[Bigpetunia]

There are things to feel good about, a few to worry about.
The Good:
1. Defensive intensity...when we play as aggressively on defense as we did tonight, well, it kinda puts lipstick on a lot of blemishes in other areas.
2. Our depth...this speaks for itself. We have so much talent coming off the bench this year (with the emergence of BB being the most noteworthy factor), we just ultimately wear people down.
3. Our toughness...that game was pretty physical, but we gave as good as we got, and fought hard all the way.

The Bad:
1. For the second game in a row, we lost a lot of offensive composure in the face of a lot of physicality. Every opposing coach sees this, and we're going to face it again and again, so one can only hope we learn how to handle it better, both with respect to shooting and turnovers.
2. Breanna played like a Freshman tonight...she's clearly not used to that kind of physical intensity, and played very tentatively, but she'll learn soon enough.
3. Bria's shooting...I'm a huge fan...this condition is temporary...I guarantee it!

 

[easttexastrash]

My thoughts, as if anyone cares.

Banks improvement is nothing short of astonishing. Kudos to her for her hard work. She may be my favorite UCONN player. I respect what she has done with her game.

KML's offense is a thing of beauty. She is a pure shooter, maybe the best pure shooter I've seen in a UCONN jersey.

Stewart has never been pushed and shoved before and it is frustrating her. I'm sure that she will get pushed and shoved the rest of her career like BG has. Weight training will be required. I think Lobo was a bit over zealous proclaiming her WNBA ready. But man she has mad skills! And her arms are longer than a west Texas highway.

Hartley will come around. I think there is some undue criticism. Give her a little time...she's a gamer and will be ready when needed.

Dolson is more fit but her footwork and speed look about the same to me. Her stats against MD and PSU were very similar to the past two years, with an average of 10 points. She will need to be more dominant. But the way she whipped Bone's ass in the TAMU game gave me great delight. She needs to play like that on a nightly basis.

Faris reminds me so much of Melissa Jones. She does all the hard work. I would want her on my side in a bar fight, especially if we're fighting over a basketball.

I'm not sure how much production UCONN will get out of Stokes and Tuck. Tuck seems to be a tweener who will need to find her niche with the team. I'm not sure that Stokes is as talented as many seem to believe. I think that Stokes' lack of development could be the biggest pitfall down the road should Dolson be in foul trouble since Stewart isn't dealing well with physical play.

Doty is a steady player who most likely will not win or lose a game for you, but every team needs a player like that.

 

[MarlboroughMike]

Just got home from the game - I live in the Boston area.

I thought that Banks and Jefferson were the game changers - they were responsible for the change in momentum that lead to a plus 20 point lead.

The refs were bad but the 10 or so missed layups and the passes to the wrong people in the stands didn't help.

Faris played like Faris - just great. By my unofficial count Lucas scored 8 of her fifteen points off Kelly - with 5 of them coming in the last 2 minutes when the game was out of reach and Maggie was padding her stats.

Bria does not look comfortable on the offensive end - hopefully time will cure that.

KML looks to be the best all-around player. Her defense is good, like all perimeter players on Uconn she shades the shooters shooting hand and challenges the ball handler to go left (on a righty) into our bigs. She probably is not quite squared up enough to slow the penetration - but overall a very good defender that, at this point, is a mini Faris on defense. Her offense is not bad either.

I don't understand what roles Stewart are on offence or defense (Gino would probably say she doesn't either). On office it seems we play a 3 1/2 man(woman) out, with BS being the 1/2. She seems to have no defined role. On defense she is out at the perimeter a lot, and plays it like Griner, except her wingspan is 4 or 5 inches shorter, allowing the shooter a clean shot. Also keeps her out of the rebounding at times.

Penn Sates's Greene plays the game like it is a Rugby scrum. M Lucas has a great shot but is slow afoot, Banks left her in the dust a couple of times.

Just what I thought I saw from a no-back seat.

 

[easttexastrash]

So they have played two 'terrible' games in a row - outscoring their top ten ranked opponents by 15 points in each game. This team is just horrible!!! The sky is falling!!!
On a calmer note ... no team is going through the season maintaining a 60% field goal average. And no Uconn team has ever averaged over 90 points a game. So ... the averages are coming more in line with what is expected after two nights of sub-par shooting. PSU and Maryland both played solid defense - that was a surprise with Maryland to me as I don't have a lot of respect for the coach, but they did it. And Uconn still won both games easily. This is early in the season and I expect Uconn to play better, but I am pretty happy with what we have.
BB is a revelation - I thought Geno probably should have given her more minutes. MJ was solid. BH is still getting her game together after a long layoff. Stef and Stew played good defense but struggled at the other end.
I do wonder about the starting five. With BH still not fully up to speed (in my estimation) I wouldn't mind seeing her being the one coming off the bench instead of CD. The flow Uconn had in the at the start first games is missing, and I think while BH is a better player until she is really back the team might be better with CD starting until she rounds into form.

If Baylor beat MD and PSU by 15 at home it would be a cause for concern to most Baylor fans. These are games that a top 2 team usually wins by 30. I think fans are looking for a shalacking like Baylor put on Kentucky with total domination.

 

[speedoo]

If Baylor beat MD and PSU by 15 at home it would be a cause for concern to most Baylor fans. These are games that a top 2 team usually wins by 30. I think fans are looking for a shalacking like Baylor put on Kentucky with total domination.

Nonsense. Beating these teams by 30 is just not going to happen. These last two games against MD and PSU could easily have been Regional Finals to get to the Final Four.. You almost never see 30 point blowouts in Regional Finals.

 

[alexrgct]

The team needs better point guard play and for Bria to play like Bria again. Morgan being more reliable on offense would be nice too. If those things happen, and they're all quite plausible, this team will be devastating come March/April.

Certainly, I'm not so confident in the more immediate future about Stanford, though.

 

[easttexastrash]

Nonsense. Beating these teams by 30 is just not going to happen. These last two games against MD and PSU could easily have been Regional Finals to get to the Final Four.. You almost never see 30 point blowouts in Regional Finals.

How many regional final games do you play at home?

UCONN has a history of killing teams at home. It's just not the norm for a 10th ranked team to hang so close to UCONN at home. Very lofty standards, I will admit. Many of us lose sight of how good it is to beat any top 10 team by double digits. Baylor beat 5th ranked ND by 12 points at ND and many thought that was not a very good win for Baylor.

 

[speedoo]

How many regional final games do you play at home?

I think Sagarin says home court is worth 4 points. What do you think it's worth?

 

[speedoo]

The team needs better point guard play and for Bria to play like Bria again. Morgan being more reliable on offense would be nice too. If those things happen, and they're all quite plausible, this team will be devastating come March/April.

Certainly, I'm not so confident in the more immediate future about Stanford, though.

I thought Morgan had an excellent game vs. PSU. She did not score a lot, but scoring is not everything.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think Sagarin says home court is worth 4 points. What do you think it's worth?

I've always thought 8 to 10 for teams that have a strong, vocal fan base.

 

[speedoo]

I've always thought 8 to 10 for teams that have a strong, vocal fan base.

I'll go with Sagarin's number. I just don't think home court is worth more than 4 points, for anyone.

 

[easttexastrash]

I'll go with Sagarin's number. I just don't think home court is worth more than 4 points, for anyone.

I think it depends on the team. I think UCONN has a bigger advantage than College of Charleston.

 

[speedoo]

I think it depends on the team. I think UCONN has a bigger advantage than College of Charleston.

And I think Sagarin has a better handle on this than you do.. It's 4 points.

 

[freekimchee]

I don't think we've overestimated what this team will do at all. I think some of us may have underestimated what a couple of top 10 teams can do. I personally enjoy close, physical games. Flawed games give plenty of learning opportunities especially for the younger players. It's way too early in the season and most of the mistakes are very much correctable. Thirty point blowouts are nice but are as entertaining as a slice of white bread.

As far as KML is concerned...are we watching the same player? Her defense is vastly improved and imo KML is second only to KF as our best off-the-ball defender.

 

[Kibitzer]

A reminder. Geno does not coach with an eye on weekly rankings. He spends November, December, January and February to prepare for the big games in March. We won't see the many lineup combinations at tournament time as we have seen in the most recent games. This team will peak when it counts.

Now he is off to California, Arizona and Texas. He will not waste time sightseeing.

 

[Shenandoah]

Please, come back off of the rooftops! Remember that we are relying heavily on 3 freshmen, 2 sophomores who played very little last year, and a point guard who is just coming back from a bad ankle injury. This team will round into form, when it counts...

 

[blkkirk]

We are a young team. Bria is not herself at all. We have huge potential and up-side. To think we are going to dominate games with the best teams at this point in the season is an unfair expectation.

The way we are playing right now I think it will be tough to beat ND and Stanford. I don't see us beating Baylor at our present level. However, by the end of the season we will be battle tested and have had time to come together and play our best basketball.

 

[VAMike23]

And I think Sagarin has a better handle on this than you do.. It's 4 points.

Wow. Pretty confident statement. I guess we'll just put that one in stone, then.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

The team needs better point guard play and for Bria to play like Bria again. Morgan being more reliable on offense would be nice too. If those things happen, and they're all quite plausible, this team will be devastating come March/April.

Certainly, I'm not so confident in the more immediate future about Stanford, though.

I agree that the point guard play is weak. Caroline is not fast enough and Bria is very uncomfortable and not good enough at pointguard. She is much better at shooting guard and still is not back to her previous playing form.Expect we will see more minutes for Moriah who is a real point guard but needs experience playing at this level. Would not be surprised if Geno also plays Banks at the point guard. I expect Caroline will onl;y get limited minutes against Stanford, baylor and Duke.

The core of the team is Kelly and KLM. Against the good teams Stef and Breanna will have to play better for us to win. Stef looked very slow against a fast PS team. Breanna played like a freshman not a super star. She is going to have to play tougher and more under control to have an impact.

It will be interesting to see how Geno molds this team. It was clear that he was searching for the right combination last nite.