South Carolina goes down

[PAHuskeyFan]

Andy's lack of preparation for his television appearances is astonishing. I get mispronouncing the names of a substitute on a small program, but not being able to get the names right of stars on the biggest program in the country? Come on, put some effort in.

Agreed... I just dont get it... how ESPN (or any network for that matter) can let him constantly mispronounce players names. Maybe some think it's cute or "folksy".. but it's just plain lack of preparation, not trying and a lack of respect for others. Last year I reached out to ESPN and they said they would talk to Andy about it... no change. I also reached out to Rebecca Lobo through Instagram (no idea if she read it)... and I recall he got it right for one game. "Undy Lunders" is not that great of an analyst to make these name pronouncing errors!!

 

[SVCBeercats]

This would a big deal if it were not for the fact only 14,638 people were watching game nationwide.

Agreed... I just dont get it... how ESPN (or any network for that matter) can let him constantly mispronounce players names. Maybe some think it's cute or "folksy".. but it's just plain lack of preparation, not trying and a lack of respect for others. Last year I reached out to ESPN and they said they would talk to Andy about it... no change. I also reached out to Rebecca Lobo through Instagram (no idea if she read it)... and I recall he got it right for one game. "Undy Lunders" is not that bv great of an analyst to make these name pronouncing errors!!

l

 

[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.

 

[Sched2345]

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

I like ONO; she seems like a wonderful teammate and is possibly the best defensive big in the country now that Cox is gone. However, Boston’s problems last night seemed to have less to do with her agility and fitness than it did State’s sagging defense. I’m not convinced ONO would have fared any better last night. FWIW, Boston does have a track record of playing well in big games (Baylor last year, Mississippi State) whereas I don’t remember ONO playing particularly well against Baylor or SC.

I recognize Boston and ONO play similar games as skilled forwards/centers with defensive chops, but they are dissimilar physically and athletically. Each has the potential to be great alone; they need not be so directly compared imo.

 

[Alydar]

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

I doubt S Car falls below 5.

 

[Carnac]

There is some good stuff (dialog) on the BY today. I'm loving it!!

 

[hoopsfan22]

The season's still in its infancy. It's week 2 and teams have only played two or three games. Can't we give it a little more time before judging players?

 

[Alydar]

This may just be a case of a team reading too many articles extolling their greatness. Most experts called their wins over SD & Gonzaga as "quality" wins. Kind of like UConn beating tOSU. Sure, they are ranked but what is always ignored is that the gap in talent between a NO 1 team and a No 20 in wcbb is huge. To a large degree I think the hype got into their heads.
The other factor is that S Carolina is learning that when you have been anointed as the best program a target appears on your back and there is pressure every game. UConn made it look easy when it is really really hard.

 

[DEpup]

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!"

Come on man! If you're going to be on tv and getting paid, at least be able to demonstrate a command of the English language. I can't support giving him a pass just because he was a coach.

 

[DEpup]

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

I hope Dawn does not send Boston into a Coates direction... but maybe I do? It would be good for UConn but not good for Boston's career longterm.

 

[Carnac]

The season's still in its infancy. It's week 2 and teams have only played two or three games. Can't we give it a little more time before judging players?

I like to wait until 5 games have been played. I have always found that to be a sufficient sample size to make an informed decision regarding individual and team play.

 

[CocoHusky]

Uconn has Stokes, Dolson, Stewie, and Collier as starters in the WNBA, South Carolina has Wilson. So who does better with developing bigs?

Crystal Dangerfield and Sue Bird both called and said to remind you it not just "bigs".

 

[The CDR-Ret]

S.C. needs a point guard asap.

I hope not. I love them just as they are.... Go Huskies!!!

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I have mixed feelings about it. I like NC State and tend to root for them against most teams to begin with, and I also tend to root for the underdog unless it's against UConn.

However, it would have been a lot more exciting (and better for UConn, of course) if SC could've stayed undefeated and #1 until our game with them.

That may be for those who rank the teams on a weekly basis, but for the women playing for UCONN to see those teams that beat out team last year to lose themselves this year should be a big confidence boost as well as to listen to Coach and work hard so no one accidently beats them. Keep the foot on the accelerator!

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Crystal Dangerfield and Sue Bird both called and said to remind you it not just "bigs".

Very funny!!!! I award you another 1,000,001 BY points....

 

[Carnac]

Uconn has Stokes, Dolson, Stewie, and Collier as starters in the WNBA, South Carolina has Wilson. So who does better with developing bigs?

UConn players going into the WNBA are HIGHLY coveted by many WNBA GM's and coaches. They are considered plug-n-play, and are usually high first round draft selections.

 

[WFFL]

UConn players going into the WNBA are HIGHLY coveted by ALL WNBA GM's and coaches. They are considered plug-n-play, and are usually high first round draft selections.

By Cheryl Reeve only

 

[Carnac]

Well, Boston better get used to having a lot of bodies in the paint because teams are going sag off the 3pt line and pack in a zone against them because SC hasn't proven they can make you pay from the outside,

Right. North Carolina State just provided a "blueprint" for others to use on how to stop or slow down Aaliyah Boston. They held her to 9 points. If UConn could hold her to single digit scoring and only 6 rebounds whenever they played, I'd be happy.

 

[Carnac]

By Cheryl Reeve only

Comment amended to "many" GM's and coaches. Not limited to Reeve only. We both know better than that. Reeve is not the only coach that drafts UConn players. UConn players are spread out all over the league.

 

[chrissaran]

Michael Wilbon said on PTI that he felt SC was still the best team. Okay, Mike. Maybe you need a pair of glasses. Oh, that's right. Sometimes he wears glasses.

 

[chrissaran]

UConn needs to run SC into the ground. Boston won't be able to keep up.

 

[Cuango]

I like ONO; she seems like a wonderful teammate and is possibly the best defensive big in the country now that Cox is gone. However, Boston’s problems last night seemed to have less to do with her agility and fitness than it did State’s sagging defense. I’m not convinced ONO would have fared any better last night. FWIW, Boston does have a track record of playing well in big games (Baylor last year, Mississippi State) whereas I don’t remember ONO playing particularly well against Baylor or SC.

I recognize Boston and ONO play similar games as skilled forwards/centers with defensive chops, but they are dissimilar physically and athletically. Each has the potential to be great alone; they need not be so directly compared imo.

While Liv may not have performed any better than Boston in this game, we have been told over and over that Boston is the best big in WBB and how much better she is than Liv, that it is a bit surprising how poorly she (Boston) has played! I mean, she has not played well at all!

 

[Sched2345]

While Liv may not have performed any better than Boston in this game, we have been told over and over that Boston is the best big in WBB and how much better she is than Liv, that it is a bit surprising how poorly she (Boston) has played! I mean, she has not played well at all!

I agree. I would say Boston was the best big in WBB last year. This year, not so far.