South Carolina Postgame Thread

[cleobel60]

Nika was drafted and she was even less of a scorer than KK

Nika drafted but rarely played. KK seems to be on same path.

 

[SweatinIt]

Geno - GOAT coach
Take the pressure off his Star players performance and putting it on himself because he can handle the outcry. He is the Master. I think that is what we saw with the handshake fiasco.

 

[87Xfer]

Then please tell us what the solution is? UConn has been trying to get into a power conference for over a decade

This complaint is getting old

The solution is the solution...find a way into a power conference.

 

[Scoe]

Geno had a bad night it happened, as usual the reaction in media and social media is worse then the action, what Woody Hayes did is a crime it's sickening to compare what Geno did to Woody Hayes.

 

[Zonepress]

I never commented or made any predictions about the FF games on this site at all because I suspected that UConn wouldn't beat South Carolina or Texas.

My technical reasons?

Throughout the season, UConn scored a lot of points via press turnovers and uncontested 3pt shots, primarily against a lot of nonathletic and poorly skilled teams plus a handful of surprised decent teams. Against modestly good defenses, however, which could limit these forms of scoring, UConn had to generate points via two point scores out of their half court offense. The Huskies were never very good at this, unlike many of the backdooring and vivisecting UConn teams of yore.

Both South Carolina and Texas have tall and athletic basketball players, and I doubted that UConn could get press turnovers and wide open 3pt shots against their elite defenses, especially with its low scoring guards and centers.

Indeed, UConn's defense today performed decently even without an effective press, holding a powerhouse South Carolina offense to just 62 points on 38% shooting. Unfortunately, with their turnover and wide open three point offense shut down, UConn had to resort to an effete half court offense. All they were able to do was run handoffs off a weave way out beyond the 3pt arc, followed by some low quality long shots or missed drives against strong defensive pressure.

When a team does not have a Swiss Watch half court offense, sometimes games can nevertheless be won by quick and athletic self-creation scorers—streetballers— who have body and touch control at the rim. Unfortunately, too, this UConn team does not have such players, other than somewhat from Sarah Strong.

great post but the game was still there to win
last 3 minutes of q/2 up by 6 and azzi misses 2 wide open 3
and instead of a 8 point lead only up 2
the team played poorly offensively so car had a lot to fo with that but a lot was self inflicted
that’s sports

 

[Victor747]

Oh! Ok. I stand corrected.

No. Geno was talking about an handshake after the coaches are introduced. He was standing at midcourt line waiting for her to shake hands.

 

[Dynastic]

For those spun up about Geno’s behavior at the end, please watch his postgame press conference. You will get more insight into the situation. It’s not as black & white as it appears, and the videos posted of a handshake is not what he was referring to.

Whatever happened he should’ve stayed to shake hands with the SC players.

I was thinking about the words that Geno was saying about the NCAA and the handling of the tournament, etc. I don’t think people think that politics and sports can collide or even mix, but the NCAA is a political entity that controls college sports in America. Ego and pride and even power I have to say and what goes on in Games. And many respects I think he’s right like even the fact that they have to play a semifinal and the final basically in 36 hours, that’s ridiculous. The guys get two full days.
I’m guessing Geno knows what hand to play and when… but at the end of the day, we’re all human. We all have emotions cloud, our judgment and his perception is skewed right now. I believe he really wanted us to win so much. I’m not being naïve here, but the players execution on the court just happens to be a direct reflection of his and his teams or his staff I should say and their game plan. Both games were a defensive tragedy, especially if you like offense. Good luck, Bruins.

 

[Dynastic]

UCLA 31- Texas 28 end of 3rd quarter. Cori Close says game is more like a rugby match and she feels sorry for the fans. Ain’t that the truth!

Yeah, I played rugby in college and after… we scored more than all these girls in our weekend matches

 

[Phillyconn]

I wish this pain would go away!

 

[uconnbill]

I stick by the coach who brought UConn to 12 National Championships. Was it its finest moment? No, but frustration can do that, and sorry, but Staley is easy to dislike with her antics on the sideline.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

Possibly the worst Semi-Finals ever? Two teams don't hit 50 pts, one hits 51, and the other hits 62. Three consensus All Americans go 10-53. I remember when Stanford led us 20-12 at the half in the championship game, and I said to a friend we just set women's basketball back several decades. This was worse. I don't know the reason, or the answer, but the basketball was awful.

 

[MilfordHusky]

All four teams! It s the physicality that is killing the game. People won t watch 30% shooting.

I missed watching Iowa v. LSU. Coach Close called her game "rugby." I thought the quality of play in both games was at a new low, largely due to the physicality. "Watchability" was awful.

 

[Vowelguy]

Pop psychology:

In the moments, Geno views the physical play and lack of calls as Dawn working/intimidating officials. He believes that is a huge factor in why SS did not have a better game and thus why UConn lost. Angry, upset, emotional, he lashed out at Dawn over a small slight from earlier in the night.

Pissed at Dawn, though for more than the handshake, he’s unlikely to apologize anytime soon.

That’s my take.


No laboratory rats were harmed in this process. Unfortunately.

 

[packwrap]

Nika drafted but rarely played. KK seems to be on same path.

KK back next year so plenty of time to recover. KK largely underrated and should even get AA consideration next year, as she will be unleashed as a scorer finally in her senior year. Defense, assists and leadership she is already bringing.

Nika the jury is out. Unfortunately, her WNBA career is just injury and rehab so far. She was drafted today by the new franchise in Portland, but will miss entire '26 season with new ACL tear.

Between injuries her play in Europe has been promising, especially as a scorer.

 

[Chief00]

He was an idiot. I don’t know what his problem was but he shouldn’t have acted that way. Totally unprofessional

It is foolish to comment like that without having a clue to what actually happened. You may believe South Carolina deserved 266% more foul shots than we got but I don’t.

 

[Vowelguy]

KK back next year so plenty of time to recover. KK largely underrated and should even get AA consideration next year, as she will be unleashed as a scorer finally in her senior year. Defense, assists and leadership she is already bringing.

She would need to improve A LOT for AA consideration.

If she has offense that is ready to be unleashed, she should’ve been using it tonight.

She’s not bad. But she’s not elite either.

 

[Vowelguy]

It is foolish to comment like that without having a clue to what actually happened.

We know what happened. He started an argument in the handshake line. That NEVER ends well. Regardless of the reason.

 

[Chief00]

We know what happened. He started an argument in the handshake line. That NEVER ends well. Regardless of the reason.

His team got screwed by the officiating. I am glad he didn’t endorse a 266% foul shot deficit.

 

[mikeboss550]

Err eventually fouled out

 

[packwrap]

She would need to improve A LOT for AA consideration.

If she has offense that is ready to be unleashed, she should’ve been using it tonight.

She’s not bad. But she’s not elite either.

😁 Kelsey Plum apparently thinks she is a top 10 ncaa point guard, as she keeps inviting her to Dawg camp.

Question is what is Elite? Is hon mention AA Elite, or only first team? Is second round WNBA draft Elite, or only first round?

KK's development next year will be a great thing to watch, precisely because it's not a sure thing.

Funny thing, last year when Geno spread the floor and Dawn had all her defenders at the perimeter, Geno had KK close out the game taking her defenders 1 on 1 to the hoop. KK had potential....now this year not so much.

By the way on your thoughts that "this team really missed Paige" you could be right, as she would have been able to get her own shot better than this group. Different opinions make Boneyard fun, so don't worry too much about prevailing BY thinking.

 

[Scoe]

I know Geno is a huge believer in doing things the right way and showing class, now that doesn't mean our program is perfect. When someone on another team does something he doesn't like the he has never been one to shy away from giving his 2 cents on it.

He has gone after other players and coaches in the past for it. Rutgers and Syracuse in the past. After winning the national championship in 2004 I believe there was an assistant who didn't shake hands and Geno didn't take kindly to it and tried to confront him, apparently CD had to hold Geno back and tell him to let it go, this was talked about in one of his books and said Pat Summit would never not shake hands.

Dawn knows this about Geno and I do believe she was planning on doing whatever it took to throw Geno personally off and the rest of the team off their game by any means necessary and had it mapped out all season. Not shaking hands and staying in the huddle was absolutely planned. Pulling on SS jersey planned.

Having all that they were just more athletic and stronger and certainly doesn't help when your shooting is off.

 

[cferraro04]

Hats off for a great run. However, I think this game was incredibly bad on both ends. From the shooting, to the “defense” that really was just over physicality and fouls, to just the flow.

Moving forward, I don’t think KK Arnold needs to be the starting PG next season. She offered nothing today. I also do not think Ziebell is going to be ready to contribute next season, they have got to find a way to find some help for Strong. I think Geno needs to hit the portal hard for some shot creation and athleticism.

I disagree that KK played Raven to only 2 points. I do think that KK should spend a lot of time with a shooting coach this summer. Sher really needs to be a shooting threat. She needs to force her defender out to the perimeter, and then she could use her speed for blow bys.. With that said...I think there will be quite a bit of competition for the point guard spot next year. 1. Morgan Cheli will be back. She can play point, and she is 6'2". 2. Kaileigh Heckel has had a year to adjust to the UConn system...she also needs to spend a lot of time with a shooting coach this summer. She has great energy, plays hard, and is a good defender. 3. Jovana Popovic 5'8" guard from Serbia. She averaged 26.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. Coach Geno Auriemma described Popovic as a "high-level guard" and a "playmaker" who fits UConn's recent trend of recruiting elite international talent. 4. Kelis Fisher - small but fast, offensive minded get downhill fast type of guard, but needs to work on her outside shot and her midrange pull-up. 5. ???? Portal

 

[cferraro04]

Blame Geno. He seems to think he can win with a smaller lineup. Sorry, not against a tall, athletic team. Who was the last center that geno fully developed? I was disappointed with his inability to develop Serah.

C'mon Aluminny69...that really isn't fair. Geno had one year to work with Serah. She wasn't used to a high-octane team like UConn, where she was the fourth option. Back in Wisconsin, she was their first option, and that team didn't run and defend like UConn. It took some time for her to feel comfortable...but one season just isn't long enough for a big to adjust.

 

[cferraro04]

I think, and it’s obviously a total guess, Geno felt the game was too physical for her and/or her defense wouldn’t be what he needed.

She got in the game for one minute and the first thing she did was foul and put So Car. on the line. Geno yanked her for the second half.