South Carolina Postgame Thread[merged thread]

[Blond D.]

Geno will have to start recruiting some longer better talented bigs. Cleary evident that UConn had no answers for Carolina bigs in the frontcourt.

Geno's or rather UCONN's Achillie's heel has always been small quick guards. Thats how we lost several final four games. But we did a great job with what we had and I am so proud of our team and heart broken for them.

 

[jsss66]

Some thoughts on the South Carolina game:

• We have come to the end of one of the most challenging seasons in anyone’s memory. While the UConn Huskies fell short of their ultimate goal, there is so much to celebrate about this team. Playing shorthanded for much of the season, through 11 different starting lineups, UConn persevered, surviving an incredibly difficult gantlet during the NCAA Tournament to make it to their 12th national championship game.
• Even tonight, against an overpowering SC team, UConn played shorthanded. Whether having Dorka and Aubrey available would have made much of a difference, who knows? But just like your mom’s chicken soup, “It couldn’t hurt.”
• Credit the South Carolina Gamecocks for earning their 2nd national championship in convincing fashion. SC has earned the right, on the court this year, to display a national championship banner at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC.
• Some UConn fans will criticize Husky players and coaches about the game tonight, and some of those criticisms may be justified. However, many criticisms will simply be the emotional response to the disappointment that we all feel when our beloved Huskies come up short of our hopes and expectations. I will remind everyone that as bad as we all may feel about UConn’s loss, the players feel infinitely worse.
• I want to express my heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to our departing seniors: Christyn, Liv & Evina, whose dedication, hard work and sacrifice for UConn WBB was extraordinary. I wish each of them great success in the WNBA or wherever their paths in life may lead them. They will always be in our hearts.
• How I love UConn WBB! I will be following their every move in the offseason, impatiently counting the days until Dorka, Aubrey, Paige, Aaliyah, Nika, Piath, Azzi, Caroline, Amari, Ice & Ayanna lace up their sneakers, trying once again to chase down a 12th banner. GO HUSKIES!!!

If Azzi was not feeling well, why was she a starter? Caroline Ducharme, given her height and proven record of being able to create her shot, at clutch time, would have been a better choice.

 

[Bills Fan]

In spite of this loss...I am proud of this team for staying tough after going through all what they went through. Resiliency was their earmark this season...they never gave up. They got to the championship game when no one thought they could.

Next year we will be seeing a completely different team...many of the same players back...However,

Fudd and Ducharme will be super sophomores.

Aliyah Edwards will be a beast.

Bueckers will be reclaiming her POY award and thanking Boston for keeping it safe for her until she was ready to reclaim it.

DeBerry will show why Geno said that she was the most talented big he has ever had.

Dorka will be back to add strength to our back court and to finish unfinished business.

We will welcome back the venerable and talented Aubrey Griffin.

Nika Muhl will either vie for the 6th man award or will be everyone's nightmare on the defensive end.

Our two freshmen 6'4 and 6'3" Ice Brady and Ayanna Pattison will look to find a way to contribute.

And, then in spite of this plethora of riches we still have to figure out what to do with 6'5" Paith Gabriel.

And, maybe Geno and his staff will pull a rabbit out of the hat from the transfer portal...

5'11", 5/11", 5'11", 6'1", 6'2", 6'3", 6'3", 6'4", 6'5", 6'5", 6'5"...we will be long next year!!!

Good summary, but with 2 modifications: 1) Geno's comment on Amari was pure "coach-speak." 2) Dorka will not add strength to our BACK court. Rather she will be the starter and most dominant Center/#5/ (C/PF) or whatever you want to term the spot ONO started in the past few years and shared with Dorka this year.
I think we need to pull TWO rabbits out of the TP: a big to share time with Dorka to cover for foul trouble or injuries/illness; a Combo guard who can help at the Point, if needed, due to injuries, illness or foul trouble (for Nika).

 

[GoChips20]

South Carolina will have EVERYONE BACK—except Henny and LeLe next year with Watkins and Cooper next year. They’re not going anywhere. My guess-Champs again next year. They were so dominant. I seriously thought UCONN would win to be honest, but just wow from SC. Just WOW. Dawn deserves it.

Saxton is probably gone, too. Given Henny produced almost half our points tonight I think the question mark at the 1-spot for next year is large.

I think it’s going to be really hard for teams to win consecutive titles. The Big 3 of the last two years - South Carolina, Stanford, and UConn - will remain as such for at least next season. I’m overjoyed the Gamecocks finished this one but my gut says next year will be the one for UConn. Better health and a deeper frontcourt.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I’d have to project Stanford and SC as 2 and #1 next year preseason. Too bad that Blackwell girl from Missouri has so many disciplinary problems as she would have helped. Here is the deal beyond the rebounding issue. Paige couldn’t make much headway tonight on this high screens as she would look up after clearing the pick and there would be Sexton or Boston waiting for her and SC is so big they covered the roll well with the switch. Our approach was to make the guards beat us rather than Boston so what do they do? They knock down several 3’s in a row. I thought Geno’s game plan was the best option but we just couldn’t force turnovers and they hit jump shots and driving layups well. They did restrain Boston though. If SC’s guards had a bad shooting day they knew when the shot was going up and had great rebounding position. That is Dawn’s game in a nutshell. Tough defense and win the boards big time.

 

[boontonbomber]

SC's defense was something to behold, not giving UConn many looks at all. Brought back memories of UConn teams that played that way. Got to wonder if UConn will ever get back to that ability to shut opponents down. Must be something Staley really covets in her recruiting.

 

[TeamFirst!]

As noted all year Caroline was the type of player who could score against top competition . She should have a more important role next year.

 

[jaydee602]

Charlie Creme of ESPN has UCONN as #2 in his early ranking for next year behind SC and just ahead of Stanford.

LOL...Charlie is such a frontrunner. He probably ranked the teams based on their finish this year.

 

[jdote33]

As noted all year Caroline was the type of player who could score against top competition . She should have a more important role next year.

I know Geno knows best but are you buying what he said at the press conference, about her play post injury.

 

[hoopsfan22]

As noted all year Caroline was the type of player who could score against top competition . She should have a more important role next year.

Next year she'll be in the starting lineup along with Paige, Azzi, Dorka, and Aaliyah.

 

[jchusky]

As noted all year Caroline was the type of player who could score against top competition . She should have a more important role next year.

with you 100%, if she was 100% which I can't confirm she was, she shoulda never lost her starting job.

 

[msf22b]

South Carolina played a tough aggressive game, won the battle of the boards when it most counted...actually hardly a battle and was clearly the better team tonight...

-I agree with the poster who noted that we had a lot of stuffing knocked out of us in the two previous wins, certainly a factor.

- I take exception to BRS quote re: Geno on Caroline (I am taking it 2nd hand, not having heard the interview)...We wouldn't have been in Bridgeport as a high seed w/o Caroline and I thought she played extremely tough tonight...If a kid has carried the team for weeks and then has a hard time finding a minute or two, its gotta do something to her head (that part that is not physical)
Tonight she was our second leading scorer and the only guard/wing shooting 50% and mixed it up inside. She is very much the future.

I also agree with the poster who said that even with the wins all the way up to the final, that changing the starting lineup was a mistake, and certainly tonight with Azzi ill...

Not that any of this would necessarily have changed the outcome; almost certainly not.

And (as his custom) Geno started the original 5 for the 2nd half who had had the toughest time at the outset and they fell short again...seemed a bit rigid to me...why not shake the lineup up?

If the game wasn't completely lost in the 1st quarter, then the poor start to quarter 3 doomed us.
That was the moment to continue the good play that had got the lead under 10 and threaten SC.

I certainly think second guessing the rotations and personnel decisions are valid discussion points for
the late Spring and Summer and will be pursued.

It was a valiant, lovable group who gave it all and couldn't quite get it done
Perhaps it was a bridge too far
And maybe, just maybe, they were also slightly let down by managerial decisions.
(But it's easy to 2nd guess, harder to get it done in situ).

 

[rubymae4]

I mean come on guys… let’s keep it real here. CW is a senior. You can’t be a no-show like that. But I don’t know about you but I was really frustrated with Geno not getting in her face to get her going. Years past - he would challenge players. He just stood there stoically. Can’t have that. Fire your players up! Please!! But no…

I don’t know why people think the only way to motivate players is to yell at them on tv in front of millions of fans.

Every one of our players was motivated tonight. Every one wanted to win this game. Not every player rises to the occasion every single time. Players play poorly for a million different reasons. And very few of those reasons can be addressed by screaming at a player.

 

[TeamFirst!]

In my opinion Caroline probably was affected by her injuries. Who isn’t? SC will miss Destiny Henderson but Raven will be back ( She was getting good minutes before she got hurt) and one of their incoming guards is excellent. They have a freshman forward who jumps like Michael Jordan. Maybe the best woman dunker in the college game next year.

 

[rubymae4]

I didn’t have high hopes for this game, mainly for two reasons:

1. the last two games took a lot out of the team. They had to really dig deep and gut out those wins. It’s very very hard to do that a third time. I think they were physically and emotionally exhausted, not just by the last two games but by the entire season.
2. SC is just better than us this year. They have great talent, a great coach, and much less disruption to their team. They were able to build and build from the start to the end of the season. UConn was constantly putting out fires from start to finish.

It’s always nice when there is a Disney ending with the hard scrabble team experiencing adversity throughout the season comes back to win it all at the end. But, life isn’t Disney.

That we made to the final game says so much about the team as a whole, from the players to the coaches to the practice players to the support staff. Everyone gave their all, and look where it got them. In my mind, they over achieved this year. And they have this experience to build on next year.

 

[Bleed Blue-XY]

First, congratulations to SC they were the better team tonight and the best team overall all year. To UCONN departing seniors, thank you for your services. I wish them well in their endeavors moving forward.

If UCONN wants to get ”over the hump” there is a lot of work needed physically and mentally. Some recruiting misses over the pass few years have comeback to hurt us as well. I think we can get there with the returning core, but need to add some more pieces and get tougher. Once again, hats off to SC, they are killing it right now in WCBB. We got some work to do.

 

[Conquistador]

I don’t know why people think the only way to motivate players is to yell at them on tv in front of millions of fans.

Every one of our players was motivated tonight. Every one wanted to win this game. Not every player rises to the occasion every single time. Players play poorly for a million different reasons. And very few of those reasons can be addressed by screaming at a player.

You’re right. My bad, what was I thinking? Positive reinforcement; tell her she’s great; and give her a trophy at the end. The 0 points… not a big deal. I’m sure her teammates were happy to know she was motivated.

 

[Jletoile]

Bottom line: The better team won. Bigger, stronger, quicker, more athletic. And they're not going away.

That's the cold, stark, bottom line. It's like we're back to the days when the SEC had all the athletes. The coaching staff has to improve its recruiting in order to win another NC.

Good luck to the seniors in their post-UConn careers.

 

[DrummerDee]

We win the FG & 3 shooting percentagesbut...1-4, vs. 17-26 at the line. Wow. Thats the game..

 

[BBallF]

Would a better called game stop Henderson from scoring 26 points

No, but it would have allowed Paige to get open off the dribble drive without holding her. Or Azzi, or everybody else. We didn't hold Henderson.

 

[Amashutcha]

I think we'll be alright. Looking super bright for next season. Scary to think this will be Paige's first full offseason developing/honing her skills and not nursing an injury/post-op, and add + Amari. I'm excited.

 

[DrummerDee]

Bigger, faster, stronger… and they don’t foul?

Apparently not. 1-4, vs 17-26.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

We might be better next year as well...

There's always hope.

But I think most thought that this year's team would be a juggernaut. Nobody knew what would happen to so many players.

 

[BBallF]

I believe one of the announcers said Boston only had 3 fouls all tournament. I looked it up, Howard 0 fouls, Miami 1, NCState 2, Creighton 0, Louisville 0. Something is amiss here. Not saying we deserved the win, but seems that someone is getting preferential treatment. Hard to believe anyone would have this few fouls that play as physical as Boston. UConn I believe she had two.

They put a halo on her the whole tournament. She pushes and shoves and it's never called. If you touch her, it's a foul. The refs were very unfair in my opinion in their approach too the rules and the laxity in enforcing them and were just awful, almost afraid to call anything on the whole team.

 

[Cuango]

Despite the poor rebounding on our defensive glass, we did not give up that many points. the real problem was our offense, and you have to credit SC for their pressure.

The offense was what gave me hope we could win! When it was shut down, this result was inevitable!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

South Carolina will have EVERYONE BACK—except Henny and LeLe next year with Watkins and Cooper next year. They’re not going anywhere. My guess-Champs again next year. They were so dominant. I seriously thought UCONN would win to be honest, but just wow from SC. Just WOW. Dawn deserves it.

I thought UConn's chances were about 20%, and that was before it was known Azzi was sick and that apparently Liv was playing hampered.

SC may have won anyway, but that wasn't a fair fight, and nobody being honest thinks it was.

 

[rubymae4]

You’re right. My bad, what was I thinking? Positive reinforcement; tell her she’s great; and give her a trophy at the end. The 0 points… not a big deal. I’m sure her teammates were happy to know she was motivated.

There’s a world of nuance between “everything is great” and yelling at players. If you are so keen on this method, I suggest having someone criticize and yell at you every time they are unhappy with your performance…for months at a time. Measure your performance at the start of this experiment and then again at the end.

Also, YOU (and everyone else) doesn’t need to visually SEE Geno motivating his players (However he chooses to do that). It is possible for him to motivate his players without it being observable to you.

We’ve come a long in understanding human psychology since the days of constant negative feedback. Unfortunately, too many fields (athletics being one of them) think this is the way to get good performance. There’s plenty of research to show that isn’t true.

 

[Geesworld]

They put a halo on her the whole tournament. She pushes and shoves and it's never called. If you touch her, it's a foul. The refs were very unfair in my opinion in their approach too the rules and the laxity in enforcing them and were just awful, almost afraid to call anything on the whole team.

May I add, SC, camping out in the lane which really does help when a defensive player has to show help and also box out players who are planted in the lane.
Teams hate Our ball screens so they complain pregame and plant the seed in the officials minds. Geno please take note and protect these girls from poor officiating.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Just nothing Geno could do. I was critical of the lineup and his going back to the starting 5 to begin the third (tactical mistake). But, in the end, it didnt matter.

It’s going to be interesting next year as their top 4 players are all guards. They should go 3 guards next year and forgo an egalitarian offensive style where everyone touches the ball. Shoot a lot lord 3s, press, and get Paige in the open floor.

 

[Geesworld]

In terms of recruits? Yes. But, we all know the portal is huge now and I would not be surprised if UConn snags a player or two out of th

Who and Why