South Dakota State Postgame Thread

[Zarathustra]

Game #1 vs Arkansas State: Paige/Azzi/ Sarah 20/27/20 points = 67
Game #2 vs South Dakota State: Paige/Azzi/Sarah 34/17/15 = 66 points
Game #3 vs Oklahoma A THREE-PEAT!!

 

[ucbart]

I want KK, all summer, to do nothing, but work on her offense. For as great and electric as she is defensively, she is equally maddening on offense. She misses wayyyyyy too many layups and even her makes are an adventure. I've never seen a player shoot a layup that touches every part of the rim before it goes in.

 

[Bigboote]

Rebecca Lobo made a great point regarding South Dakota State. They received a poor seeding and the worst bracket for them. UCONN is used to their style because several Big East teams play that way.
She felt that the Jackrabbits might have fared better vs. the other #2 seeds, Duke, TCU, & NC State.

The Jacks’ first-round game featured two top-25 teams. I know the committee uses different criteria, but geez, couldn’t they make sure they don’t have two top-25 teams playing in the round of 64?

 

[Bigboote]

Azzi didn’t talk to crowd afterward and say how wonderful it’s been & all like Paige did in her farewell/appreciation speech- hmmm!

Geno also didn’t give her a curtain call — he took her out at a TV timeout. Aubrey, Paige, and Kaitlyn all were pulled at times when they could get maximum cheers.

 

[BobbyJ]

I suspect that Ice may see more playing time than Jana, given her more advanced defense as of now. Either way, UConn will run Beers ragged. In the dictionary, her picture is next to the word "lumbering". I expect to see lots of 5 on 4 in transition . And when Beers is on offense, unless she has mastered the art of feeding herself (which would be a first for a post player), she will have problems when UConn's guards cut off her food supply. After the game I look forward to hearing from the posters who insisted that it was critical for UConn to land Beers from the portal, that its failure to do so is evidence of Geno's incompetence and/or decline, and that the team's existing post players are far inferior to her.

I'm not suspecting it because I have no idea what Auriemma's thoughts are but I hope so. Brady's defense and boxing out could be one of the keys to the game along with avoiding foul trouble. And good point on pressuring the OK passers.

 

[freshler40]

The tournament had zero upsets.
The four sweet sixteen brackets are: #1 vs. #4 or #5 and #2 vs. #3.
No cinderellas this season!

Same with the men's backet. Seems like the end result of our current open transfer policy and player "freedom of movement". This is the real world now.

 

[reelfan]

Was that Carla Berube congratulating Paige after game ?

 

[Charliebball]

I suspect that Ice may see more playing time than Jana, given her more advanced defense as of now. Either way, UConn will run Beers ragged. In the dictionary, her picture is next to the word "lumbering". I expect to see lots of 5 on 4 in transition . And when Beers is on offense, unless she has mastered the art of feeding herself (which would be a first for a post player), she will have problems when UConn's guards cut off her food supply. After the game I look forward to hearing from the posters who insisted that it was critical for UConn to land Beers from the portal, that its failure to do so is evidence of Geno's incompetence and/or decline, and that the team's existing post players are far inferior to her.

I never viewed Beer's decision to go to Oklahoma as evidence of anything other than personal preference........if she had chosen to come to Storrs, I think the odds are pretty good that UConn would have been undefeated this season.....

 

[DEpup]

Thanks, minutes weren't posted when I first looked at the box score. She only played 18 minutes and had 2 fouls. I guess the coach decided that she wasn't needed much in the second half...

Oddly. The fouls were early and the coach was very conservative and sat her after each one so she only played a few minutes in the first half.

 

[oldude]

Was that Carla Berube congratulating Paige after game ?

Carla has attended UConn games through the years, whenever her Princeton team was not playing, so it’s highly possible. She is also very proud and supportive of Kaitlyn and what she has accomplished during her 5th season at UConn. I suspect that Geno found her a ticket behind UConn’s bench.

 

[Bald Husky]

Caroline was the only player not to get a single minute in this game. That concerns me! Is she in Geno's doghouse for some reason or was she hurt in practice?

I am concerned also. I can't see Caroline in Genos doghouse, at least not enough to not play her. Hopefully, she was just under the weather, I just pray it isn't her head. Surprised nobody asked Geno about it at the post-game presser.

 

[oldude]

I am concerned also. I can't see Caroline in Genos doghouse, at least not enough to not play her. Hopefully, she was just under the weather, I just pray it isn't her head. Surprised nobody asked Geno about it at the post-game presser.

Unfortunately, that’s my take as well. As a senior, Geno would have undoubtedly found some minutes for Caroline, unless there was a health issue.

 

[Bald Husky]

Geno also didn’t give her a curtain call — he took her out at a TV timeout. Aubrey, Paige, and Kaitlyn all were pulled at times when they could get maximum cheers.

Geno put Paige back in so she could do just that. He tried to do it a minute earlier, but there was an official time out.

 

[Geew1992]

In the presser Geno said Paige accomplished the feat of 50% from the field, 40% of threes and 90% frees for the season and that had never been done before in college or the pro leagues. The mike was the usual dreadful quality but I think he said she is the most efficient player too.

While leading the country is assist to turnover ratio

 

[DEFCONN1]

Caroline was the only player not to get a single minute in this game. That concerns me! Is she in Geno's doghouse for some reason or was she hurt in practice?

I’d be willing to bet my social security check that Caroline is not in Geno’s dog house.

 

[Geew1992]

I am concerned also. I can't see Caroline in Genos doghouse, at least not enough to not play her. Hopefully, she was just under the weather, I just pray it isn't her head. Surprised nobody asked Geno about it at the post-game presser.

Or maybe because she played so many minutes on Saturday and it's only 1 days rest.

 

[Conndog]

I want KK, all summer, to do nothing, but work on her offense. For as great and electric as she is defensively, she is equally maddening on offense. She misses wayyyyyy too many layups and even her makes are an adventure. I've never seen a player shoot a layup that touches every part of the rim before it goes in.

Offensively, I feel she needs to work on her jump shot, especially the short pull-up jump shot. She can see how successful Paige, Azzi, Shade are either making that shot.

 

[ABCDFE]

This team is really looking like the UConn teams of old. Suffocating defense and beautiful basketball. The only true weakness is a rim protector and big in the post, although Sarah is mitigating some of those concerns.

LOVING KK and Ash and how they seem locked in. You can tell they are bit worried about getting tired and fouls this year because of our depth and it just shows in their relentless defense.

Paige is awesome. Nothing else I can say.
Azzi playing with confidence and shot looks great.

Sarah looks like a veteran out there and she’s a bucket at all levels. Amazing that she’s just a freshman. Ice looked good out. Jana struggled quite a bit. She needs to get stronger and learn to seal her defenders better. I think she sags to much when entry pass comes to her. She should establish position get the ball and then use her post moves. Too many times she moving away from the ball and that allows defenders to get to it.

Aubrey is looking ok out there. In certain moments she will make a great play like her rebounding and she has hops, making those layups look so effortless.

Just really liking the way our team looks. I’m happy they will be challenged by another good team in Oklahoma.

 

[Rowdy831]

At the end of the game, we tried to force it to Jana on like 5 possessions in a row. And I don’t understand it. It’s either a turnover or a wild shot every time we telegraph that we are going to Jana. Not sure what the rationale was.

Like it or not Jana needs to get better and the only way that happens is getting the ball and learning what to do with it. That is one reason you see her in the bginning and she disappears for most of the middle of the game before coming in at the end. She gets the ball way more at the end of every game and that is purposely done to prepare her for later when they don't have Paige or Azzi out there to carry them.

 

[Rowdy831]

In a game you need to have a rotation that does two things. First all players need to rest a little during games but more importantly when that happens the people coming in need to add something to the mix. KK is a very difficult player to deal with when she is playing defense but her offense is also very underrated. She can push the ball at will and when she goes to the basket she finishes. I think people confuse not doing something with not being capable of doing it.

KC got beat to the basket every time SDSU wanted to drive. She plays hard but her quickness is just a sliver less than KK so that substitution actually makes the team different and in some ways better. I also noticed last night that Ice has hit another level much like she did in last years tournament. UConn has the best roster top to bottom and even when they take out a superstar like Azzi there isn't much decline in what they can do on the floor.

 

[RedStickHusky]

It seems like so many games involving the top seeds in this tournament are close for the first half. Then, the cream rises to the top & the games become blowouts. The lower seeded teams just can't sustain an offensive attack to match the high scoring top ranked teams.

Depth eventually shows up

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I’d be willing to bet my social security check that Caroline is not in Geno’s dog house.

Some chance the bedlam in Gampel had her head spinning.

 

[HuskyNan]

Zimmer: UConn too strong for the Jacks, but South Dakota State will keep chasing next-level success

After a slow start the Huskies ran circles around SDSU, but that doesn't wipe out the accomplishments of a special season

www.siouxfallslive.com

 

[Henry]

I doubt Caroline is in anyone's doghouse. She may still have good days and not-so-good days. Yesterday may not have been a good day for her.

 

[hookshot]

In a game you need to have a rotation that does two things. First all players need to rest a little during games but more importantly when that happens the people coming in need to add something to the mix. KK is a very difficult player to deal with when she is playing defense but her offense is also very underrated. She can push the ball at will and when she goes to the basket she finishes. I think people confuse not doing something with not being capable of doing it.

KC got beat to the basket every time SDSU wanted to drive. She plays hard but her quickness is just a sliver less than KK so that substitution actually makes the team different and in some ways better. I also noticed last night that Ice has hit another level much like she did in last years tournament. UConn has the best roster top to bottom and even when they take out a superstar like Azzi there isn't much decline in what they can do on the floor.

ND arguably has a equivalent roster top to bottom with far more experienced and accomplished bigs

 

[Bone Dog]

Don’t want to rain on any parade, but SDSU managed to expose a weakness in the small lineup. Paige was forced to defend against bigger post players once Jana left the game, and they were able to take advantage of it. Geno responded initially by putting Ice in the game, which is not entirely satisfactory. SDSU did this with only a pair of 6’2” players. Rebecca even commented on it at the time.

Adjustments were made and the small lineup was able to run away with the game. But this is worth keeping an eye on. I’m sure Geno is thinking hard about how to manage OU’s big guards/small forwards with this in mind. Payton Verhulst in particular comes to mind. The easy solution to this problem is Aubrey who is an obvious asset for any small lineup. Caroline could also seal this gap, if she’s feeling up to it. I wonder if this means we could see a lot more of Aubrey and maybe Caroline next week.

 

[Stagnant]

Maybe I said it in another thread. But strong is verhulst’s worst nightmare. I am a big fan of verhulst since she was a high school prospect. One weakness of hers? Turnovers. Strong would be capable of poking the ball away from her quite a bit. Maybe Geno will choose to put Sarah on Van, Williams, or even Beers. But I think Verhulst is the player UConn should key in on.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Is this already up here? If so, sue me!

 

[Geew1992]

Don’t want to rain on any parade, but SDSU managed to expose a weakness in the small lineup. Paige was forced to defend against bigger post players once Jana left the game, and they were able to take advantage of it. Geno responded initially by putting Ice in the game, which is not entirely satisfactory. SDSU did this with only a pair of 6’2” players. Rebecca even commented on it at the time.

Adjustments were made and the small lineup was able to run away with the game. But this is worth keeping an eye on. I’m sure Geno is thinking hard about how to manage OU’s big guards/small forwards with this in mind. Payton Verhulst in particular comes to mind. The easy solution to this problem is Aubrey who is an obvious asset for any small lineup. Caroline could also seal this gap, if she’s feeling up to it. I wonder if this means we could see a lot more of Aubrey and maybe Caroline next week.

Hmmm..... I thought Ice played really well.

 

[DEpup]

This was something subtle but I think it just shows good coaching and good pupils. Yes KK completely changed the game but something else happened in the early part of the game. Paige Meyer got several right side drives to the basket. And then along with KK coming in, the court positioning also changed. All of the sudden a player was in that lane half way up the box forcing her further out and someone was in front of the basket blocking her from going left. I don't think she got another drive the rest of the game. She was forced to then a lower percentage pull up, take a three, or pass it which often led to a turn over. I just liked the adjustment.