South Carolina goes down

[VaConnFan11]

I watched half of Michigan/Notre Dame and half of NC State/South Carolina. What I noticed most about all 4 teams is how slow they appeared to be and how out of shape they appeared to be. If Geno had the girls doing cardio during the quarantine, they will run these 4 teams (and most everyone else) off the court.

 

[PacoSwede]

Glad to see a nice win for the NC State program but happier to know I don’t have to listen to Carolyn Peck any more

and, the most amusing point of the broadcast was Landers' futile attempts at pronouncing Liv's, Evina's and Paige's names.

 

[DEpup]

and, the most amusing point of the broadcast was Landers' futile attempts at pronouncing Liv's, Evina's and Paige's names.

The E-vine-uh for Evina that he pulled out was just over the top.

 

[chj001]

My favorite of all time was back in the '60s in college in Providence. The local sports guy did a story on the Celtics game and pronounced John Havlicek as John Have-LICE-eck

 

[eebmg]

I watched half of Michigan/Notre Dame and half of NC State/South Carolina. What I noticed most about all 4 teams is how slow they appeared to be and how out of shape they appeared to be. If Geno had the girls doing cardio during the quarantine, they will run these 4 teams (and most everyone else) off the court.

Really cant say much about NCST / SC because I turned that off quick. I watched ND/Michigan. I agree the pace was not very high but I do not agree it was being out of shape. Michigan is a deliberate passing team on offense and they worked hard on defense while ND had multiple players playing in their first game back from assorted injuries. Sam Brunelle in particular needs to get back in playing shape

 

[Kaizen]

Creme: The loss doesn't do major damage to South Carolina's Bracketology status. The Gamecocks remain a No. 1 seed, although not No. 1 overall. That distinction goes to Stanford. South Carolina's wins over South Dakota and Gonzaga last weekend don't get forgotten because of this loss.

What broke down for South Carolina, the debate for the new No. 1 and weekend picks

How does South Carolina's stumble impact Bracketology and the rankings? We preview the weekend's biggest games, including Louisville-DePaul.

www.espn.com

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Via ESPN:
"We just had no flow," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "In 21 years, I never felt what I felt during the game. Uncoachable, untamable, just not listening, just selfish play. It will open our eyes to see how we need to be and how we need to play every time we step on the floor. We need some leadership. We need somebody who is going to step up and say, 'We need to get organized, we need to take better shots.'

"We can't rely on just being talented. That talent has to play as a cohesive unit, and we did not do that tonight. And it's disheartening. We've got to reel them back in and figure out how to bounce back."

Somewhat different take on this quote from Dawn. Stealing her post game from Joanne P. McCallie.

“In my 21 years I’ve never felt what I felt during the game. Just uncoachable, untamable, just not listening,” she continued. “It was just selfish play. Really selfish play that we’re going to fix between now and Sunday for sure. I promise you that. We’re going to fix it before we take the floor again.”

'It was disheartening': Takeaways from South Carolina's loss to N.C. State - The Next

Gamecocks' 29-game win streak snapped

thenext.substack.com

Typical Dawn chest beating. Lays out the multiple flaws of her players, then declares it will take 4 days to fix!

 

[JordyG]

I watched half of Michigan/Notre Dame and half of NC State/South Carolina. What I noticed most about all 4 teams is how slow they appeared to be and how out of shape they appeared to be. If Geno had the girls doing cardio during the quarantine, they will run these 4 teams (and most everyone else) off the court.

I just came to the forum. I was about to say the same thing. All of these teams look slow, in poor condition, and disjointed in the quarter court. Most offenses lack movement or purpose and seem to be depending on the guards to generate their offense. Often the guards come down, go directly to the hoop, or watch an ineffective offense pass the ball around, then hoist a terrible shot before the shot clock ends. With a greatly foreshortened season looming there is a great opportunity for any team with an offense that shows some organization, leadership, and unselfishness to win in March. Or will it be May?

 

[EricLA]

Stanford, UConn, NC St, Louisville, Baylor are my top 5.

Don't disagree from a logic perspective, but most likely, IMHO it would be

1. Stanford
2. UCONN
3. L'ville
4. Baylor
5. NC State
6. SC

Altho logic would also dictate that NC State be #4 and Baylor #5. Their battle with unranked USF, finally winning by 5, was not impressive while NC State suffocated the #1 ranked team and simply out played them.

 

[JordyG]

Creme: The loss doesn't do major damage to South Carolina's Bracketology status. The Gamecocks remain a No. 1 seed, although not No. 1 overall. That distinction goes to Stanford. South Carolina's wins over South Dakota and Gonzaga last weekend don't get forgotten because of this loss.

What broke down for South Carolina, the debate for the new No. 1 and weekend picks

How does South Carolina's stumble impact Bracketology and the rankings? We preview the weekend's biggest games, including Louisville-DePaul.

www.espn.com

It was so nice to see someone (Voepel) mention UConn here.

 

[baggerbob]

Boston looked gassed for portions of the game. There was so much clutter in the lane she had little room to operate in. But man she is a beast, I hope Olivia has beefed up a bit to handle that.

If Boston wants to play at the next level, she better get a lot quicker. She won't be able to stay with all the speed in the WNBA.

 

[Carnac]

It struck me that Dawn gave up on her offense during the second half when she went to a lineup that included Boston, Amihere & Grissett up front. The goal, I guess, was to pound the ball into the paint and rebound, an old strategy borrowed from Pat Summit? To NC St’s credit, the smaller Wolfpack battled tremendously on the boards and hit just enough shots to pull off the upset.

This puts UConn's 111 game win streak into perspective. This game proves how easy it is to have a bad or "off" game performance. During that span, we saw greatness performing nightly we may never see again in our lifetimes. Not to mention the two 90 game win streaks to UConn's credit.

You've got to put some deposits in the bank before you can make any withdrawals. This UConn team has got to prove themselves ON THE COURT, and show some dominance against top ranked teams. Remember Janet Jackson's "Nasty Boys"?

I want to see UConn's nasty girls. I want to see how bad for WCBB THIS team can be. I want other teams to dread playing them. I want to see that "fear factor" that UConn use to enjoy and embrace return . UConn will again be the BIGGEST game on the schedule of every team they play. Teams knew before hand that they are going to lose. The only question being by how much. I want to see dominance on both ends of the court. I want to see them hold somebody to 2 points in a quarter like SC did to them last year. Am I asking too much?

 

[bluedevil]

Right?! If this is his job, why is he so consistently awful at pronouncing names? He said "Olivia....um um um and then butchered Nelson Ododa" nearly forgetting her last name. Then said "uh-vine-uh west-brock" and followed it up with "Paige Buuuu-eeee-kurs."

If hes the barometer, maybe I should apply for a job.

Pays 12 dollars an hour plus benefits...

 

[Carnac]

and, the most amusing point of the broadcast was Landers' futile attempts at pronouncing Liv's, Evina's and Paige's names.

Yeah!! He still calls Olivia "O dah-da" Also Landers is no longer dying his hair jet black. It was the first time I've seen him appear on camera showing his gray locks. In spite of his inability to pronounce their names correctly, I still like Andy Landers. The man knows basketball. I prefer him over Carolyn Peck. Rebecca Lobo, Kara Lawson and Doris Burke are still my favorites.

 

[UConnCat]

Somewhat different take on this quote from Dawn. Stealing her post game from Joanne P. McCallie.

“In my 21 years I’ve never felt what I felt during the game. Just uncoachable, untamable, just not listening,” she continued. “It was just selfish play. Really selfish play that we’re going to fix between now and Sunday for sure. I promise you that. We’re going to fix it before we take the floor again.”

'It was disheartening': Takeaways from South Carolina's loss to N.C. State - The Next

Gamecocks' 29-game win streak snapped

thenext.substack.com

Typical Dawn chest beating. Lays out the multiple flaws of her players, then declares it will take 4 days to fix!

The ol' 4-day fix. The problem is that you won't really know it's fixed until SC again faces adversity against a good team. The issues Dawn identified -- "uncoachable, untamable, selfish" -- are what you see when things don't go right (missed shots, foul trouble, turnovers) and a team falls apart. Players start doing their own thing, the offense breaks down and hero-ball takes over. SC can come out Sunday and steamroll Iowa State and everyone will announce "problem fixed." Dawn will likely know better and wait to see what happens when adversity strikes again.

I, together with others, mentioned over the summer that SC would miss the skill and leadership of Harris and Herbert-Harrigan who were both drafted in the 1st round of the WNBA draft. We saw it last night.

 

[Carnac]

NC State played what used to be and still is typical SEC defense: Clog the middle and force the guards and wings to shoot perimeter shots or drive into length. Cooke and Henderson shot a combined 4-31. SCar had a total of 9 assists for the game. Again, and yes, Boston shot poorly, but back court leadership was severely lacking. Dawn has a lot of work to do. Let's understand however, having talent doesn't mean you win. It takes certain types of talent, a coach that recognizes that talent, and good coaching. Why is Geno the best coach in WCBB? This game tells you why.

An excellent post JordyG.

 

[EricLA]

I watched the entire SC game (I should get a medal for that!). Boston was triple teamed all day in the post because no one else was scoring. The halftime score looked like a first quarter score from a good game. Boston looks very out of shape as others have noted and carries a lot of extra weight currently. Her only claim to fame that game was her 2 three pointers (one maybe was actually a 2). Both teams played slower than the local HS girls play. Sad.

Not trying to pile on Boston, but didn't we read somewhere that Dawn commented on how hard Boston worked over the summer on her fitness, and on her game? It sort of seems like we are seeing a sophomore slump rather than a sophomore leap for her so far...

 

[Jim R]

Not trying to pile on Boston, but didn't we read somewhere that Dawn commented on how hard Boston worked over the summer on her fitness, and on her game? It sort of seems like we are seeing a sophomore slump rather than a sophomore leap for her so far...

 

[Carnac]

This game brought back memories..............................remember?

 

[Jim R]

The ol' 4-day fix. The problem is that you won't really know it's fixed until SC again faces adversity against a good team. The issues Dawn identified -- "uncoachable, untamable, selfish" -- are what you see when things don't go right (missed shots, foul trouble, turnovers) and a team falls apart. Players start doing their own thing, the offense breaks down and hero-ball takes over. SC can come out Sunday and steamroll Iowa State and everyone will announce "problem fixed." Dawn will likely know better and wait to see what happens when adversity strikes again.

I, together with others, mentioned over the summer that SC would miss the skill and leadership of Harris and Herbert-Harrigan who were both drafted in the 1st round of the WNBA draft. We saw it last night.

Specifically, on Nov 4....long before this game.....

Jim R said:
First, in reference to their my estimation of their value, perhaps my first sentence, "While Crystal's value to last year's team can't be minimized, and Megan's as well"....slipped by you. Seemingly, it was stated fairly clearly. Second, every team has players "ready to step in". What they don't have is the leadership both Harris and Harrigan provided, especially against the toughest opponents. Let's not forget the assist machine Harris was for USC. Speaking of #s in last year's match-up. Wasn't it Harris who provided 11 of your 14 assists? Harrigan wasn't your routine forward, her outside game, and three point touch, was invaluable for the Gamecocks. But, again, its their experience and leadership that'll be hard to replace - they were both valuable crunch time players. As was Crystal. Megan, not so much.
Our non-conference schedule should give us a good idea of who we are prior to our scheduled Feb 8
match-up, which should be entertaining. And, provide us with a glimpse of how well each of the teams have adjusted without their former players.
Expand ...

But, according to Jumpstart
The "experience" has been passed off to the freshman class from last year. I am sure South Carolina has enough quality bench players to make up for Harris and Herbert-Harrington. Saxon and Grissett are beasts and with Henderson (who played better than Harris at times), Littleton, and Russell...they will be fine at guard. If you add in Amihere who has reported to be much, much better (the knee has healed to the point she has shed her brace) this team will be as good as last years team...and you could make a "better" argument. UCONN at home will be a tough assignment but this team won't lose on "Harris and Herbert-Harrington's exit" but simply because they got outplayed. I would still give UCONN the edge based only on the fact the game is at Gampel Pavilion..

Guess that "passed off to the freshman" didn't work...little did Jumpstart realize....., "experience" isn't a commodity that can be "passed off"...its got to be "lived"....

 

[Steve UConn72]

Right?! If this is his job, why is he so consistently awful at pronouncing names? He said "Olivia....um um um and then butchered Nelson Ododa" nearly forgetting her last name. Then said "uh-vine-uh west-brock" and followed it up with "Paige Buuuu-eeee-kurs."

If hes the barometer, maybe I should apply for a job.

Give poor ol' Andy a break. He's a coach. He's probably used to saying the players' numbers, rather than their names. "Watch ol' 43 there!"

 

[Kaizen]

Not trying to pile on Boston, but didn't we read somewhere that Dawn commented on how hard Boston worked over the summer on her fitness, and on her game? It sort of seems like we are seeing a sophomore slump rather than a sophomore leap for her so far...

Boston is not as quick and flexible as ONO. I think Dawn's training is in the wrong direction.

 

[EricLA]

That's so hard to determine - I know we all believe the coaching at UCONN is 2nd to none but...

Why did Olivia improve so much the 2nd half of last season? Many believe it was because Jamelle came back, injecting toughness and a new perspective, but what if things worked out with Jasmine (and Jamelle remained in her previous position)? Would the post coaching from Geno and Chris have been that "bad" that Olivia would have had no improvement over the 2nd half of the season?

Boston said along the lines of "If i want to get into the WNBA and play for the US National team, SC is the place to go". That is a remarkably uninformed comment from a player of her caliber who supposedly did her homework. UCONN had 19 in the WNBA (got the numbers from Swish Appeal from July - numbers may be off due to players who opted out), and SC had 7. Not even close. SC was 4th on the list behind Maryland and ND.

As for the Olympics, there's even more of a disparity. Granted SC has been a "johnny come lately" program (new to the elite echelon), but again, the disparity between UCONN alums and SC alums on the US National team is huge.

I get that Dawn sold her on "you will be the next A'ja Wilson" more or less. But SC has nowhere near the recent pedigree of placing players in the pros and on US National teams.

Having said that, how different would this team be if we had kept Collier and gotten Boston? Way more post depth. but did they pick the wrong school? Maybe they would have developed better at UCONN, maybe not. They did pick the best school for them at the time of their decision so can't really fault them for that. But we certainly can be disappointed!

 

[Alydar]

UConn shot great the first half.

I only saw the end of the 1st half and the second. UConn has the same issue as S Carolina, a lack of outside scoring. I don't watch a lot of men's games but to my eye it looks like all the practice time is spent with moves to get to the hoop and actually putting the ball through the hoop is an afterthought. It's all about making ESPN's top ten drives of the day.