St John’s post game thread (merged thread)

[Stymie]

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 i

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.

Exactly- lazy cross court passes and the casual one handed “push” passes are gonna KILL us at SC.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Loved the 18 POINT WIN... they were favored by Massey by 16 points... won by 18... Many of the Prognosticators Predictions had MOV less than the 18 points... SO... let's just be happy for the Team, happy for the Win... If they lose to SC, so be it. Thats what a lot of people predicted at the beginning of the Season... BEFORE Paige's injury, Azzi's injury, Aubrey's injury and Chrysten being out with COVID protocols.

Assuming we get Chrysten back for Thursday vs SC, and those on the active roster today back as well, they will play SC... as well as they can... win or lose...they are OUR favorite Team. Hoping Paige and Azzi continue their recoveries and are back for the THIRD match up vs SC in the big tournament! I like our chances with a full roster.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think we are starting to see more plays designed for Caroline which would seem to be about time at this point. She was 11-4 for non 3 pointers. She's a good 3 point shooter. There are going to be some awesome games at some point from this emerging star. She is Paige if Paige is not available. Use her. I don't think it has sunk in yet how much she can change the dynamic if Azzi and Paige come back healthy. We are right there with South Carolina, NC State and Stanford at the end talent wise.

I love the big lineup or especially when Dorka and Liv are both in the lineup. I recommended they play in tandem 20 minutes last game. I say 25 minutes going forward. They are both rebounding very well and it's making a difference. If we miss a shot they are often getting the rebound at least and it is helping in so many ways.

Playing so many minutes is hard but Geno really made a good call with that time out to reset in the 4th quarter and then Caroline nails the coffin shut.

 

[hoophuskee]

Muhl and Ducharme just know how to play. They just :know" what they are doing.

I used to feel too often that Liv didn't rebound well enough even vs lesser teams. At least now vs lesser teams I'm getting more of a feeling these lesser teams have no chance in that regard. And that's obviously a good thing.

I'd like to see more strength of finishing inside between Dorka and Edwards. They seem to be off balance too much.

 

[Conndog]

*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.

Some of their passes are late to their open teammate inside, who gets the ball only when the defender has returned, thus leading to turnover

 

[Rb335]

I understand the disappointment of some that we didn't put this game away earlier, but I am trying to keep in mind that we are playing without our entire starting backcourt. And arguably our two best offensive options to start the season.

Imagine what SC would look like without Henderson/Cooke, Stanford without Jones/Hull, or Louisville without Smith/Van Lith.

It's pretty great that we are continuing to win the games we are supposed to, while putting forth our best effort against top competition. The expectations of this program are so high, but it's important to look at the full picture right now.

Today, it was great to see CD hit a timely three when SJU was making a run. And that our 10-0 run to break the game featured CD and Dorka. That's two players stepping up, who were role players to start the season. That's a great thing to take from this game.

 

[TeamFirst!]

A lot of close games today. Colorado / Arizona. Tennessee / Georgia. LSU / Florida. Someone probably gets upset.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Exactly- lazy cross court passes and the casual one handed “push” passes are gonna KILL us at SC.

Nah, rebounding will kill them long before bad passes will.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I said last game that maybe Caroline's biggest strength is finishing at the rim. I take that back. She works harder than anyone I've see since Havlichek.

 

[Heytherego]

 

[LoboDays]

This “45 points on the bench” argument is misleading. There are only so many attempted shots in a game. If you are going to add imaginary points from the bench, you need to subtracts actual points made from the players who made them.

LIV was one assist short of a pretty rare double double. Major plus in a BE game but more points are needed from her in games against good teams.

CD never stops moving. Fun to follow her move around the court. She has become the second best player on the team behind Paige.

AE ….I just don’t understand. We saw what she can do in the paint last year, we know she has the ability. This has got to be mental. Hope she overcomes whatever it is. She will be needed in the Tourney.

LIv and CD will get the plaudits today but Nika deserves a mention. Played well and was even more aggressive than usual. An important part of any success we have during this injury riddled phase.

I hope that Geno’s refusal to give serious minutes to AD and PG doesn’t come back to haunt him. Doesn’t matter in the BE but if a couple of our bigs get into foul trouble in the Tourney, we will need a decent contribution from them. Won’t get much if they don’t get floor time now.

 

[TCC Kid]

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.

I'd hate to think where we'd be without her (Caroline), said Geno. I thought the same thing.
It is apparent some thought this St Johns was going to be a gift, it has never been a gimme..They have a team of scorers and nearly every player (except 2 or 3 bencher''s) can shoot. St. Johns was the team that was number 1 and SJ not ranked, beat Uconn. Since then I worry a bit about SJ.
Dorka, I owe her an apology. She is as she was reported to be. She can Rebound, she can shoot and accurate 3, she good on defense and offense. I think I'll tell Geno to keep her!! (Facetious).
I won't say: If Uconn plays this way, they will defeat SC. But I do believe it will be a respectable end score, without Fudd or Paige, or the two Bench posts. If Uconn can remove Boston and Cooke some way I believe they can win. And if a cow could fly, she'd make moon milk.

 

[CL82]

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

 

[TCC Kid]

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!

I must confess when I played basketball, I did make ONE mistake. Nika, Dorka, Evina, Edwards, Caroline all made mistakes--the Pope makes mistakes--the Ayatola makes mistakes. The real issue is when they keep repeating them. Nika if I were Geno a few times I would have pulled her she threw a pass at least 3 times that any telegraph operator would have picked off. Unforced turnovers are better but still a problem for Uconn.
Oh, what was my mistake? Actually the coach made the mistake, he gave me a uniform and let me put it on!!

 

[CTBballfan243]

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.

The only games that matter right now are conference games. I would not play CW or AZZi against SC regardless if they are ready or not. The first game they play should be against a big East team. You want them to come away from their first game back feeling positive about themselves.

 

[Centerstream]

We could have won by 50 and the same comments would be made about our chances against other teams. Or what Liv did wrong. Or how Caroline needs to shoot 3s better. Or Geno doesn't know what he is doing or talking about. Or...

Love the post game threads to see how everyone else saw the game.

As far as today's game goes...was Saint John's missing any of their impact players? Did they reach 60 points or their season average? Did they lose?

 

[HopJim]

Just fine with the win. Could have been better but more interested in the results versus how close St. Johns got during parts of the game. Caroline will just get better - many of her 3-point misses were when she got the ball with seconds left on the shot clock and had to heave it.

More concerned with the passing of our guards, Nika and Evina. Both tend to be very mechanical in their passes, giving the other teams the ability to anticipate and cut off lanes. Neither drive to the basket and pick up their dribble prior to passing, often not allowing them to get the ball to the cutters. Too many turnovers when guards are just standing still.

 

[TCC Kid]

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.

I like your thinking. Caroline is a Freshman and Atypically they are up and down and the last game Seaton Hall, Caroline was down. Carolines value is: She moves and moves, and plays very very good defense and rebounds pretty good. As a tribute to Caroline the Coach for SJ gave her her own guard just in the event Caroline fell down. Nice tribute for a Freshman.
Geno, after the game, said: "I hate to think where we'd be without Caroline". No truer words were ever spoken. Caroline is the kid you go to if you need points. A job she wouldn't have had Paige not been injured.

 

[jdote33]

quick initial thoughts:

CD: back to regularly scheduled effusive praise for CD. I mean don't tell me we have another mid-range sniper. And she seems to be the most efficient player at post-ups on the team. The only thing with her is I can't really tell if she is shooting a good shot or bad shot. But I'll take her aggressiveness and believe more often than not she's going to have a positive impact on the game.

ONO: Just a big time game. I've been kinda on a "this Liv has been very good for awhile, miss me with the "she's finally turned it around narrative" tip for the past couple weeks. Nevertheless, I think 18 rebounds and 10 assist are close to career highs. We are a very good defensive team, and I believe it's because we have one of the best defensive bigs in the country. She can switch, block shots, and rebound super effectively.

Nika: the other main reason we become a great defensive team is because of Nika. Her energy and spirit is amazing. She did her best trying to defend Correa today (Correa is also an absolute bucket), and held her own. I also like that she's taking shots. She even had a nice little mid range jump shot that looked great. When people talk about this teams chances this year against a team like SC- I think Nika's defense is going to be extremely important against those guards. Cooke killed us earlier this year.

EW: I just liked that she took a variety of shoots. She hit some big threes to kind of extend the lead early. She tried getting to the basket, and was aggressive, though she missed many from close range. I'm not too concerned about the percentages, it's really about her being a threat and taking some of the offensive burden off of the underclassmen. Lastly, I know she had some bad turnovers, which is a bad trend recently, but I think she'll turn it around soon. She's kind of been in and out of different lineups, assuming different responsibilities. Not worried at all.

Dorka is probably one of my favorite players on the team, though she's had her ups and downs. She played a really solid game. She got off to a really good start in the first quarter, and also found ways to score in the second half as well. She rebounded the ball well throughout the game. She did miss some bunnies. Also I know people keep pointing out that guards keep missing her on post ups. She has to do a better job in maintaining her position and also when she gets the post up she has to finish. I'm not sure if she can work on her balance and strength or if that's going to be an off-season thing.

AE- I thought she had a solid game. I know she was called for a couple travels, and missed some easy one's but 4-7 is not a bad line.

Overall, I thought it was a good win. I'm disappointed to hear CW most likely won't be back for the SC game. Nevertheless it will be a great learning experience regardless for the team.

 

[hoophuskee]

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[funkraider]

Who knew CD was the player we needed. The thought of having a pass first superstar point guard in Paige and a unconscious scorer in CD, this could eventually be an all time tandem!!! Also, why do opposing point guards test Nika? She picks a pocket clean at least one time a game.

 

[eebmg]

Post game show, They seemed to say CW will play. Maybe some strategic disinformation.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Post game show, They seemed to say CW will play. Maybe some strategic disinformation.

That's likely from Geno's post game press conference.

 

[topogigio]

I miss the announcers talking about the ball movement, crisp passing, backdoor cuts. and ball not hitting the floor on offense. These were always a given - where have they gone?

 

[uconnfan68]

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.

^^^ this, lazy passes.

I think they forget everyone watches them. Have to be much more careful running that offense.

And it wouldn’t hurt some of the bigs to jump while shooting from 2’. Not in high school anymore.