St Johns Postgame Thread

[mmeade258]

If we can have players on any given night scoring 15- 20 each
And someone else scoring 10 points

we will literally be unstoppable!!!
We need the playing from tonight to happen for the next 4 games then steamroll the Big East tournament

then let this all ride into the NCAA tournament

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Two, off to the side, observations.

First, Evina needs to have much more of an offensive, shooting, mindset. She hurts the team, not helps it, by passing up open shots. Has led to empty possessions for the team as they then have to scramble to beat the clock. Need her playing aggressively.

Second, Piath Gabriel has very real potential. She’s athletic, long, and has shown some inside moves. Looking a lot more comfortable than she looked at the beginning of the season. Would not be surprised to see her in the rotation next year.

 

[oldude]

Two, off to the side, observations.

First, Evina needs to have much more of an offensive, shooting, mindset. She hurts the team, not helps it, by passing up open shots. Has led to empty possessions for the team as they then have to scramble to beat the clock. Need her playing aggressively.

Second, Piath Gabriel has very real potential. She’s athletic, long, and has shown some inside moves. Looking a lot more comfortable than she looked at the beginning of the season. Would not be surprised to see her in the rotation next year.

You don’t need to score to be effective, and Evina was extremely effective tonight with 8 rbs, 7 ast, 2 steals & a block. I am absolutely positive that Geno would have the same assessment of Evina’s game tonight.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

You don’t need to score to be effective, and Evina was extremely effective tonight with 8 rbs, 7 ast, 2 steals & a block. I am absolutely positive that Geno would have the same assessment of Evina’s game tonight.

I think Geno would say that while being “extremely effective”, as Evina was tonight, is a good thing, that if every player on the team tonight was similarly “effective” the team would have been soundly beaten, crushed, by St. Johns 32-0.

 

[Calbysdad]

I think Geno would say that while being “extremely efficient”, as Evina was tonight, is a good thing, that if every player on the team tonight was similarly “efficient” the team would have been soundly beaten, crushed, by St. Johns 32-0.

If everyone had her 7 assists but no points, uh...hmmmm

 

[MuchoDogYears]

If everyone had her 7 assists but no points, uh...hmmmm

Exactly. Good point, if everyone played like Evina did, there’d have been 0 assists.

 

[Kaizen]

 

[Dokey]

Nika, like Anna, has lost confidence in her shot. On defense, when she's out past the circle, she's too tight in coverage. Unless they're going to shoot a 3, take a step back. Tighten coverage when they make their move. Great team effort.

The injury, not lack of confidence, probably affected Anna’s shooting. Nika, like Anna in her first games, deferred to her older teammates. Edwards is only comfortable shooting when she’s under the basket. Another reliable three point shooter who can also pass is a must and right now she’s on bench. Nika’s tight defensive coverage leads to steals but I noticed it also let opponents get around her. Anna might be slower but she knew when and how to stay in front of her opponent. Still, I love Nika—she’s going to be a good one.
The team I want to see in March is Paige, CW, ONO, Anna, and, playing limited minutes, Evina (to keep her healthy) with Edwards and AG and Nika spelling those five with major minutes, never mind the position. Whatever the alignment there needs to be three reliable three point and mid range jump shooters on the floor at times. That means keeping three of these four—Paige, CW, Anna and Ono (mainly from the elbow)—on the floor at all times. Given the number of NCs I’ve coached, you can see I’m right.

 

[Woof 101]

The only coaching that can be done post game, is that sometimes we overpass. An open 6 footer should be taken rather than an extra pass to get a a layup. Quicker teams will break it up, or the receiving player may be surprised, leading to a turnover.

Agree, the game opened with three plays of over passing becoming turnovers and two of them were layups the other a short shot given up. I get the ball has to move in a half court reset but over passing on a break has hurt them.
Can't say I have seen a player in some time I enjoy watching with or without the ball. Paige is simply a joy to not miss on what might come next. The cross over, the euro step, stop and pop mid range, the reverse layup along with the acrobatic ones and of course the three. Then the passes that are delivered, pure perfection most of the time. That and for her size plays a lot of defense. CW got credit for shutting down Carrea tonight but PB had that assignment a lot of the game also.

A great team effort tonight which is the UConn MO. Rounding into shape in a most disjointed season has to be a monumental task for all teams. The expectations here are beyond most schools making it that much harder. St John's not highly ranked but a very scrappy team with players to be respected.

I think Geno would say that while being “extremely efficient”, as Evina was tonight, is a good thing, that if every player on the team tonight was similarly “efficient” the team would have been soundly beaten, crushed, by St. Johns 32-0.

No attack @MuchoDogYears but do you think Geno would play someone 28 minutes if they were not contributing?
In a game like this he had many options, looks to me he is working with what he knows will help in the tourny and trying to add a couple for depth. EW lead the team in rebounds and second only to Paige in assists.
The Box....

Women's Basketball vs St. John's (NY) on 02/17/21 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

University of Connecticut Athletics

uconnhuskies.com

 

[Happydad745]

I had the Huskies by 34 or 36 and they were up by that much around the 3rd quarter....oh well.

 

[Golden Husky]

Just viewed the replay. Fun game to watch. Defense was awesome, switching on everything, frequently double-teaming. Running out of adjectives for Paige. Hand a secret ballot to the coaches of the nation's top teams and ask them, if they could have their pick of any player in the country, who would it be? Yeah, they'd choose Paige.

Hey, did UConn just set another NCAA record? First team to beat an opponent by 45 points without two starters scoring?

 

[MuchoDogYears]

No attack @MuchoDogYears but do you think Geno would play someone 28 minutes if they were not contributing?
In a game like this he had many options, looks to me he is working with what he knows will help in the tourny and trying to add a couple for depth. EW lead the team in rebounds and second only to Paige in assists.
The Box....

Women's Basketball vs St. John's (NY) on 02/17/21 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

University of Connecticut Athletics

uconnhuskies.com

Fair enough. I’m simply saying that Evina would've help the team by taking the shots that others set her up for rather than hesitating and passing. Against St John’s it didn’t hurt the team. Her playing that way against Stanford will end a season. She absolutely needs to fix that. Of course Geno knows what he’s doing, and I trust that if she continues doing it he will sit her.

 

[psconn]

Just saw the game (I couldn't catch it live). What a pleasant surprise! Liv and Christyn need to remember every aspect of theIR pregame... food, clothing, hair products, EVERYTHING... and repeat it for every upcoming game. They were outstanding tonight.

 

[Carnac]

Agree with everyone. This really felt almost like a 2016 game... Nika's resistance to shoot but instead throw her teammates under the bus with awkward passes is mindboggling. I thought Piath really did some good things with her couple minutes.

I’m hoping the errant passes and reluctance to drive the lane are things that Nika will address over the summer as she enters her second season.

I’m counting on all of our freshmen knowing the system and raising their level of play next year. Because of the head start Saylor got this year, I expect her to contribute as much as the players who will be sophomores next season.

 

[BrianF]

When Christyn attacks the basket without running over people, she can be really good. She's strong, quick, and uses both hands. She's not KML, so I like a limited number of 3-pointers, and 3-4 was really good. She also played tough defense.

Liv blended in some jump shots and strong post moves. She also helped patrol the paint, though I'd like to see her swat less.

Paige makes the game look easy. She seems to never miss. 20 points on 10 shots is highly efficient. Best player I've seen this season.

Evina stuffed all the non-scoring stats.

Liya was stronger than everyone else, as usual. And she can score from in close.

Aubrey was everywhere, especially on defense. If there's a ball in the air--whether a rebound or pass--she grabs it.

Saylor showed a little more of her versatility. The straight-on jumper looked good, though missed. The post-up is something she can exploit for the next 4 years. Notice that she swished the FT. She also needs to learn not to foul, a la Nika and Liya.

The offense was stagnant without Paige, but the defense was very good.

I was concerned this could be a tight game. Silly me!

I notice you didn't mention Nika. At halftime, Geno told Culmo and Bestwick the team lately had not been moving quickly up the court before the defense could set up. They were doing in it this game. But not always. I counted four times when UConn had numeric advantage and the defense was not set and Nika pulled back to set up the half court offense. She missed seeing Aubrey and Chistyn streaking uncovered, among others. I guess maybe you get spoiled by Paige seeing everything.

 

[freshler40]

My $.02

I always worry when Christyn comes out and hits a 3 - it "seems" like she then fancies herself a 3 point shooter and bombs away. NOT today. Took four 3's, made 3, and scored 21 points in other ways. Nice all around game for her and good energy. Not thrilled with her 5 TO's, but a step in the right direction. Hopefully keeps up this kind of performance consistently... And she played some great D on Correa.

Nice to see Liv do what Liv does. Both she and CW were 8-11. Personally, I have no qualms about Liv taking a 3 point shot - we were up 15+ at the time, and it was not a wasted shot even if she missed.

Weird game for Evina - 0 points but 7 assists, 8 boards, 2 steals and a block. Not sure how many minutes she played, but if her body is giving her issues, would rather see her play less minutes in a meaningless game like this.

Not a great game for Nika, but she can't be great every game. Picked up those 2 fouls early on so maybe that threw her off.

NPOY (I mean Paige) almost had a double double with 20 points and 9 assists. Only took 10 shots. UCONN as a team only took 51 shots. Very efficient 65% shooting today. I guess Paige was feeding others today, but would still rather see her take 15+ shots every game.

The offense sure slows down when Paige is out. It's a testament to her greatness.

Loved seeing Liya score double figures.

Was Mir in the doghouse? Literally played 1 minute, came in after Saylor - YIKES.

And Saylor did more today than just jack up 3's. Getting her experience and learning a ton I'm sure... Some nice moves on offense.

Q4 was a grind - we only scored 11, but they only scored 3. YIKES. We beat SJU by 32 last game and were up 31 at the half in this game. Quite the improvement. Really clamped down on Correa which was nice to see. Went from 33 points last game to 2!!!!!

A happy Geno is very nice to see! Wish he sported the headband tho!!!

Nika plays body on body defense, slides through picks and is very active. The offensive struggles with this type of defense. She has adopted a crushing defensive style that can be hard to play against. Glad she is on our side and will develop into an offensive threat soon. When Paige, Griffin and Nika play up front with an occasional double team from one of our bigs, the offensive stalls against the sidelines and we get easy desperate passes to pick off. WOW and scary to opposing coaches to watch scouting films!

 

[freshler40]

I notice you didn't mention Nika. At halftime, Geno told Culmo and Bestwick the team lately had not been moving quickly up the court before the defense could set up. They were doing in it this game. But not always. I counted four times when UConn had numeric advantage and the defense was not set and Nika pulled back to set up the half court offense. She missed seeing Aubrey and Chistyn streaking uncovered, among others. I guess maybe you get spoiled by Paige seeing everything.

This pull back by our offense seemed to be by design. The coach was trying to run offensive sets with a high double post. We did give up some offense but he is looking down the road against stronger teams with larger players. At the five minute mark of the 4th qtr, Salyor did two down low post ups, one worked. Amazing to have Geno install this offensive with a 6'2" guard who has played on a total of 15 minutes of UConn basketball. What joy they are and quick studies we have.

 

[mbr33ct]

Love that CW had a great game, but hard to fathom that Paige not player of the game. If needed, she scores more, but wasn’t necessary.

Spread the player of the game around the team, how many more does Paige need?

 

[oldude]

I think Geno would say that while being “extremely effective”, as Evina was tonight, is a good thing, that if every player on the team tonight was similarly “effective” the team would have been soundly beaten, crushed, by St. Johns 32-0.

All season long, Evina has been this team’s “Swiss army knife” providing whatever the team needed in any particular game. Against TN, her scoring was critical. Last night, in a game when 3 starters shot a combined 24/31, Evina provided assists, rebounds and defense. She is the ultimate role player and I for one am happy to have her.

 

[oldude]

This pull back by our offense seemed to be by design. The coach was trying to run offensive sets with a high double post. We did give up some offense but he is looking down the road against stronger teams with larger players. At the five minute mark of the 4th qtr, Salyor did two down low post ups, one worked. Amazing to have Geno install this offensive with a 6'2" guard who has played on a total of 15 minutes of UConn basketball. What joy they are and quick studies we have.

Excellent point. It seemed obvious to me, particularly in the second half, that UConn eschewed the fast break on several occasions to run their half court offense.

 

[eebmg]

Excellent point. It seemed obvious to me, particularly in the second half, that UConn eschewed the fast break on several occasions to run their half court offense.

If I had a player who reads the screens and defense as beautifully as Paige does, I would sit back and enjoy watching that as a coach too.

 

[Geew1992]

Piath seemed pretty comfortable in the few minutes she played. A couple blocks and the post move.

 

[oldude]

Piath seemed pretty comfortable in the few minutes she played. A couple blocks and the post move.

Before the season I had hoped that Piath might just be able to provide some quality minutes off the bench by the end of the season. I don’t know that she’s there yet, but Piath is clearly paying attention in class (practice) during professor Elliott’s lectures.

 

[Bama fan]

The injury, not lack of confidence, probably affected Anna’s shooting. Nika, like Anna in her first games, deferred to her older teammates. Edwards is only comfortable shooting when she’s under the basket. Another reliable three point shooter who can also pass is a must and right now she’s on bench. Nika’s tight defensive coverage leads to steals but I noticed it also let opponents get around her. Anna might be slower but she knew when and how to stay in front of her opponent. Still, I love Nika—she’s going to be a good one.
The team I want to see in March is Paige, CW, ONO, Anna, and, playing limited minutes, Evina (to keep her healthy) with Edwards and AG and Nika spelling those five with major minutes, never mind the position. Whatever the alignment there needs to be three reliable three point and mid range jump shooters on the floor at times. That means keeping three of these four—Paige, CW, Anna and Ono (mainly from the elbow)—on the floor at all times. Given the number of NCs I’ve coached, you can see I’m right.

Hard to argue with success such as yours!

 

[eebmg]

Piath seemed pretty comfortable in the few minutes she played. A couple blocks and the post move.

But did she help or hurt her position after Geno could not steal the ball from her in practice.

 

[Boreifs]

This pull back by our offense seemed to be by design. The coach was trying to run offensive sets with a high double post. We did give up some offense but he is looking down the road against stronger teams with larger players. At the five minute mark of the 4th qtr, Salyor did two down low post ups, one worked. Amazing to have Geno install this offensive with a 6'2" guard who has played on a total of 15 minutes of UConn basketball. What joy they are and quick studies we have.

It seemed pretty obvious that Geno was playing by the mercy rule in the second half; also giving his team a chance to work on their half court offense.

 

[jaundicedeye]

Piath seemed pretty comfortable in the few minutes she played. A couple blocks and the post move.

Agree. At 6'5" surprisingly smooth and fast down the court in transition. Not a given with all bigs.

 

[Bald Husky]

Great game for CW and ONO. My issue is the same that I've had for a long time. Why doesn't Nika shoot when she is in the lane. She does alot of things great, and I agree that she makes the team better when she is in the lineup. She passes up easy shots, kicks the ball out, but worst of all, she just stops and luckily gets the ball out in desperation sometimes. I can recall Geno getting on Moriah and Crystal whenever they drove and stopped. Except for the occasional lay up, I don't think she has taken a 2 PT shot all year. We need her to be active, and although we were great last night, two starters with 0 points is not good. Scouting reports will reveal that, unless Geno is planning a Rocky when he suddenly switches from fighting right to fighting left.

 

[hart2hart]

I just Loved this game. To me everyone “Shined”
in different ways. This game was so much fun to watch! See what a couple days off does......Hooray for these gals. See ya at 3PM Saturday!

 

[clbabson]

Agree. At 6'5" surprisingly smooth and fast down the court in transition. Not a given with all bigs.

I agree. She's obviously very athletic. I can't remember who said it, but in the vein of Kiah Stokes - she may become a solid defensive/rebounding presence that'll give you a handful of points too. If her offense develops, maybe more than that, but that seems to be the area that needs the most work.