St John’s post game thread (merged thread)

[EricLA]

This game should have been a blowout. Instead, it was a grind from start to finish. UCONN turnovers let to a lot of SJU points. The 2 games leading up to Oregon had many feeling "good", and even tho we prettied up the corpse at the end, it really was a blowout. We followed up the Seton Hall blowout (a team who just beat this SJU team) with a lackluster struggle. Geno keeps talking about his struggles in getting the team to listen to him - even at halftime - he said "these kids don't believe me. I tell them they need to go out at the 3 point shooters with their arm(s) up, and they don't".

This team just doesn't have it for whatever reason. One could argue that the revolving door of injuries, covid issues, etc., causes consistency problems, but it feels like the issues are deeper. When Geno is quoted as saying that 2 kids on the team simply do not give "UCONN hard" effort, and that the players do not listen to him, again it speaks to a deeper problem. At halftime he said the team played pretty well, but the missed layups were specifically mentioned. Sure a double digit win on the road, but it just didn't feel like a great win.

Geno had to call a TO early in Q4 after SJU went on a 7-0 run to start the quarter. That's baffling against an overmatched team who is 1-5 in the BE. They were shooting over 43% late into the game. Instead of doing a player by player synopsis, 4 players stood out...

Caroline, Nika, ONO, and Dorka.

• Caroline continues to be our best offensive option. Her 3 point shooting is way off, but she finds so many other ways to score, and she works hard on defense. She's a gamer and will be really good for her career.
• Nika - 3 point shooting is not a strength - 4-12 in the last 2 games, but she's really no worse than anyone else on the team who plays right now. But her energy and defense is really nice to see.
• Dorka - really solid game from start to finish. Sure she made some mistakes, but she battles, gets open, makes a decent amount of layups (unlike the bricks some other have been shooting), and is really all around solid.
• Olivia for getting almost 20 rebounds. 18 boards and 10 assists. WOW. What an effort!!

Evina had nice numbers, but her mental lapses and leadership was a bit lacking today. Edwards - meh. Gotta make layups.

This game was close enough that we went no deeper into the bench. The game vs. SC, even with Christyn back, could be very ugly for UCONN. BUT this team is so inconsistent that maybe we will be surprised in a good way!

 

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the St Johns game:

• This was a little bit of a “trap game” for a shorthanded UConn team in Queens against a balanced St Johns team with some legitimate scoring options.
• Caroline scored from everywhere today. She was also much more poised and under control, while playing solid defense. She continues to develop into a complete basketball player.
• Liv played Point Center for much of the game as UConn ran a lot of their offense through the high post. Only 3 points for Liv. But her double-double with 18 rebounds and 10 assists was huge (The OC shorted Liv 1 assist to Caroline at the end of the game}.
• Solid efforts from Dorka, Nika & Evina, particularly on defense
• The Huskies were dominant on the boards again today with a 45-22 advantage, and they shot better from the arc, but a little loose with their passes
• While hope springs eternal, I’m not particularly concerned whether a shorthanded UConn team beats their two remaining OOC foes. Certainly, there’s a better chance of beating the LV’s than the Gamecocks. But the Huskies main focus right now should be: 1) Get healthy 2) Win the BE Tourney 3) Shock everyone in the Big Dance, regardless of UConn’s seeding.
• On getting healthy, Christyn was on the court today during warmups, so that bodes well for upcoming games. Also, very good to see Aubrey on the court walking around in sweats with her cane.

 

[Kaizen]

Caroline 28 pts, Liv 18 rebs... wow just wow

 

[GoUconn7961]

We won. Nope, wasn’t pretty. We won. That’s it. That’s all we need to know. On to the next game.

 

[caseyb7]

LOVE Nika.

She is playing with the tenacity which was so fun last year.

There are better players, I wish she'd score more, but watching her ferocity is just a joy - wish it was contagious.

Dread Thursday - can't see us competitive vs S. Carolina.

 

[HuskyNan]

This game should have been a blowout. Instead, it was a grind from start to finish. UCONN turnovers let to a lot of SJU points. The 2 games leading up to Oregon had many feeling "good", and even tho we pretties up the corpse at the end, it really was a blowout. We followed up the Seton Hall blowout (a team who just beat this SJU team) with a lackluster struggle. Geno keeps talking about his struggles in getting the team to listen to him - even at halftime - he said "these kids don't believe me. I tell them they need to go out at the 3 point shooters with their arm(s) up, and they don't".

This team just doesn't have it for whatever reason. One could argue that the revolving door of injuries, covid issues, etc., causes consistency problems, but it feels like the issues are deeper. When Geno is quoted as saying that 2 kids on the team simply do not give "UCONN hard" effort, and that the players do not listen to him, again it speaks to a deeper problem. At halftime he said the team played pretty well, but the missed layups were specifically mentioned.

Geno had to call a TO early in Q4 after SJU went on a 7-0 run to start the quarter. That's baffling against an overmatched team who is 1-5 in the BE. They were shooting over 43% late into the game. Instead of doing a player by player synopsis, 3 players stood out...

Caroline, Nika, and Dorka.

• Caroline continues to be our best offensive option. Her 3 point shooting is way off, but she finds so many other ways to score, and she works hard on defense. She's a gamer and will be really good for her career.
• Nika - 3 point shooting is not a strength - 4-12 in the last 2 games, but she's really no worse than anyone else on the team who plays right now. But her energy and defense is really nice to see.
• Dorka - really solid game from start to finish. Sure she made some mistakes, but she battles, gets open, makes a decent amount of layups (unlike the bricks some other have been shooting), and is really all around solid.

Honorable mention to Olivia for getting almost 20 rebounds.

I dunno, Geno disagrees with you. He thought it was a good game “with 45 points sitting on the bench”. They found ways to score when St John’s took what they wanted away

Nice double digit win on the road.

 

[victor64]

*I have accepted the fact that this is not a good passing team, especially in comparison to past years.

*Liv filling up the stat sheet without scoring. Fun to watch.

*If Caroline Ducharme stays healthy, how is she not a four year starter and a potential All-American? She is everything Geno wants out of player.

*I forgot how much I enjoy watching Aubrey play until I saw her on the sidelines. Here’s for a speedy recovery.

*While accepting that they are not a good passing team, they do commit to defense.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Thought the game was fine. On the road, and we're gonna get every one of these teams' best shots because if you want to get UConn you have to do it now while the 3 former #1 high school recruits are benched.

 

[Urshurak]

Just too many inconsistencies and stretches that will get them waaaaaaay behind against SC (and TN for that matter.). Hopefully CW coming back will give them a spark.

 

[Carnac]

They changed the stats for Liv’s last assist. She now has an official double double. I said they cheated her on her last assist in the chat room. They must have heard me. Liv had a heck of a day despite having 3 fouls early in the 2nd half.

 

[Rb335]

It's scary to think about how good Ducharme will be when she finds her stroke from the outside. She scores in so many ways, as a product of her continuous movement on the offensive side. I remember a lot of great uconn teams had constant motion, which yields great success. It's been missing the past few years, and is a welcome addition to this team. I'm looking forward to seeing how she competes against South Carolina. She has been trending in the right direction for quite some time now.

Also Olivia with the 18 rebounds and 10 assists was great.

The rest of the team was solid, nothing spectacular. I think a weakness is that we have really only one great passer on the floor, and she is our center. It just seems like a lot of times the passes are forced or the timing is off. Olivia only getting 4 shots could be a product of the subpar passers around her...she can't pass to herself! But each game the chemistry continues to build and it does look like they are all trying to learn from their mistakes.

Our next game is going to be really tough, but thankfully CW will be back in the lineup. I am hopeful that we are able to compete. I won't be at all disappointed with a competitive loss.

 

[oldude]

*I have accepted the fact that this is not a good passing team, especially in comparison to past years.

Yes, but we have a great passing center.......

 

[Vowelguy]

I'm bummed that we let a bad team close to within 8 in the 4th quarter. But pleased with the 10-0 response.

Besides the obvious benefits of getting players back, I hope it will mean AE can play a little less and maybe relax more when she comes in.

 

[veryolddog]

Thanks for the write ups because they are very informative. Did not see the game, but followed the live stats. Looks like Caroline, Dorka and Evina helped alot along with Nika and AE. For a moment, I thought that the ghost was out as I watched SJ scored in the fourth without much of a UConn answer unil later. Olivia apparently was a monster on the glass. If and when Paige and Fudd come back with CW, there are other players who can score and play the game.

 

[Wilderness]

This game:

"We have Caroline and you don't."

 

[Heytherego]

I thought today was an overall okay game with some solid individual performances. Definitely a lot to cleanup, but as Geno said “we have 45 points sitting on the bench.” It’ll be really fun to see what this team looks like if we can get everyone back in March.

Caroline - Wow! She really is so sneaky in the way she plays. She never stops moving and is surprisingly a much better defender than what I was expecting. IMO she just needs to get her 3 point percentage up and she will have the whole package. She plays much more mature than a typical freshman.

Olivia - Liv has been playing some of her best basketball this season. I would have thought we would see a decrease in her play with Paige out since that really lets other teams sink in on her but I think she’s been pretty good. Only 3 points today, but a double double in rebounds / assists (18 - 7 offensive, 10) to go with a couple of blocks. Her overall presence is a really big factor on defense, she makes guards think twice before driving in.

Dorka- I thought she was solid, I liked her three point shooting and she’s a pretty good rebounder. I think she needs to be a lot stronger in the post and that’ll really help. 16 points to go along with 9 rebounds (6 offensive!).

AE- Missing shots we’ve seen her make. I think she’s slowly getting better, but I’m not sure why there’s been such a drop off from last year to this year. Rooting for her.

Nika- I thought was okay, some silly turnovers.

Evina- Needs to do better, it seems like her confidence is really down. Some turnovers a senior shouldn’t be making. 3-11 isn’t going to cut it, she’s got to make more shots.

*Caroline had a career high in points, Liv had a career high in rebounds and assists. Well done!

 

[huskeynut]

Tough St. John's team. A win is a win.

Sloppy at times, yes. Things to continue to work on - yes. But this an incomplete team that continues to evolve.

Defense leads the way. Crushed the Johnnies on the boards 45 - 22!!!!

And a quick update - Liv had a double double - 18 rebounds and 10 assists.

Nika continues lead the way with her energy, tenacity and grit. She is the team leader!

 

[oldude]

I'm bummed that we let a bad team close to within 8 in the 4th quarter. But pleased with the 10-0 response.

Besides the obvious benefits of getting players back, I hope it will mean AE can play a little less and maybe relax more when she comes in.

I think Aaliyah is very close to being back. She has some problems with her footwork that hopefully Jamelle can fix. She was much more aggressive today, but unfortunately made a bunch of mistakes around the basket. I've said before that Aaliyah was hurt by a summer on the end of the bench with the Canadian National team that left her behind in her development coming into this season. She's been playing catchup, and she's really close to being the physical player we all loved last season.

 

[EasyEd]

I'm hoping Nika doesn't get worn out. Since coming back from her injury she's been averaging 39 minutes a game. Nika seems to set the tone for energy and it was infectious as demonstrated by three players working hard to keep the ball in play in the 4th quarter. That's the hustle I remember from past teams. I hope to see that same effort against SC on Thursday. Even if they lose, that type of play is what I've come to love about UConn (just hope they cut down on TOs, not a UConn trait I've been familiar with).

 

[jabstep]

1. Caroline is learning and adjusting her game quickly. She can score on midrange and layups. They seem to find her down low when she has a smaller player on her. I think she can hit a bunch of threes if we could get some penetration from our guards and kick it to her. Without Paige that is not our strong point.
2. Liv was played very physically down low and she adjusted her game to rim protector, facilitator and rebounding machine.
3. Dorka scores so much more consistently when she cuts into the lane from the left side. She does not score consistently when she posts up with her back to the basket. When she hits a couple of 3 pointers it is helpful. Why she then drove past a defender who tried to get out quickly on her. Maybe if help defender comes her way she could pass it off for a layup.
4. Evina was looking for her 3 pointers today and hit a couple. Worked hard on defense. Nika and Evina are playing a lot of minutes and hopefully with Christyn back they can get some more rest.
5. Nika scored some points. We need them. We are somewhat an offensively challenged team.
6, Aaliyah can and will be a force at some point this season. She is in a little bit of a sophomore slump with missed bunnies and turnovers. She still continues to put out the effort on the boards and defense.

SC is going to pack it in and force us to shoot threes. We outplayed them in the first half early on by Playing good defense down low, rebounding and getting out on the break. Let's hope we have enough healthy bodies to do that again.

 

[oldude]

I'm hoping Nika doesn't get worn out. Since coming back from her injury she's been averaging 39 minutes a game. Nika seems to set the tone for energy and it was infectious as demonstrated by three players working hard to keep the ball in play in the 4th quarter. That's the hustle I remember from past teams. I hope to see that same effort against SC on Thursday. Even if they lose, that type of play is what I've come to love about UConn (just hope they cut down on TOs, not a UConn trait I've been familiar with).

I don't worry about Nika getting worn out. She is the Eveready Bunny. I do worry about her getting hurt. I love her all-out, take no prisoners style of play, but it worries me.

 

[Blakeon18]

These lazy cross-court passes...leading to intercepts and break-away buckets? I think we had 4 of them today.
Against St. John...annoying. Against a good team...an annoying loss.

CD is a pleasure to watch. Makes lay-ups! What a concept? Get her trey shot going is the next step.

 

[Carnac]

This just in………Caroline Ducharme has arrived! She is now an official “stud” on the team. I can’t see as well as I use to, but I don’t see her losing her starting role when our wounded warriors return to action.

 

[sdhoops]

Geno in presser this past week: we will not play Nika the whole game, that's just not plausible. Today: plays Nika 40 minutes. Lol!