St John's Postgame Thread

[jabstep]

Nika was doing her imitation of a pickpocket who needed some cash. Liv protects the rim as if it had gold in it. The man to man defense had extreme effort. The offense seems off when we shoot 3's so poorly. Good to see Anna fir some up. Get that O for back out of the way early. If Saylor can fire them up so can Anna. Good effort by all today. Nice to see Mir back on the court.

 

[SLY63]

Can't see Nika playing this weekend and probably don't need her the first weekend of the tourney. That would give her 3 weeks to heal.

 

[bob15]

This team runs really smooth with Nika out there. When she left the game, the offense seemed to become a bit more sluggish....even before the bench was emptied. For them to go far, they need Nika out there.

 

[topogigio]

Defense was stellar. Nika completely shut down their point. Mir did impress. Great to see Anna back, her 2 shots were on line, just a tad short, she'll be back, Evina was very tough as nails. Edwards, consistent as always, she's a given! Griffin had some nice plays. Overall good day by Olivia, but damn, she has to make those shots so close to the rim and stop traveling. Paige, meh,Paige. Next up, and hope Nika is OK.

 

[Bama fan]

Move ov

Got into a MMA match with Ronda Rousey and WON !!

Move over Holly Holm, the Croatian Kid has landed.

 

[Bama fan]

That's what I thought too. Black eyes don't develop that fast!

I still like your bar fight suggestion. Someone check the local hospitals!

 

[FridaFriend]

I think it's punk makeup.

 

[oldude]

The injury to Nika is devastating as to how this team wants to play. Hopefully it's not too bad. But many of us have been super-excited regarding the 3 frosh. You take away what any of the 3 are-- then it hurts this team a lot.

Think of how UConn’s opponents will look at it.

We don’t have to face Nika! ?

That means Aaliyah is in the starting lineup. ?

 

[donalddoowop]

I still like your bar fight suggestion. Someone check the local hospitals!

You can't be liking something that did not happen. Just the facts man, just the facts.

 

[Blueballer]

Geno Post Game Presser. On the Big East Web Site:

 

[Gurleyman]

Very aggressive defense from the start. Suffocated St. John's the entire game.

Nika was a nightmare for St. John's guard. Hoping is just a sprain and she will be back tomorrow. Can't see Nika sitting out a game. One tough competitor!!

Liv playing with a chip on her shoulder. Good for her. Well balanced game.

Paige shooting was off but she does so many other things. Good all around game.

Aaliyah being Aaliyah.

Mir played well. She got in Bailey's grill. That edge on defense is contagious.

From the looks of it she definitely won’t play in the BET, unless she wasn’t hurt that badly and was just scared by a twinge (which I doubt or she would have felt better and the crutches wouldn’t been necessary).

There’s 3 grades to an ankle sprain - a Grade 1 is ideal. That‘s usually a couple days and you can even potentially play through it, although there would be no reason for us to risk that in the BET. More likely it’s a two-week sprain (Grade 2) where she can could play opening week of NCAAs to shake rust off and get comfortable, and then be close to effective by the sweet 16. Usually they will say 2-3 weeks for a Grade 2, but some intense treatment can reduce that to 10 days if all goes well, so the week off before the selection show would help. For those that follow the Celtics, Hayward had a Grade 3 last year and was basically done after that, although he tried to come back four weeks later and could barely move. That’s the one we obviously are rooting against.

 

[Blueballer]

Geno presser he said Paige is in the top 3 all time of players complaining when they come out of the game. His choice of words was quite more colorful than that ! LOL

 

[Kaizen]

What do you expect? Many of us are in our 70’s !

At first I thought it is my 10 years old Laptop problem. Looks I can still use my laptop for another 2-3 years ...LOL

 

[SVCBeercats]

Paige in a bit of a shooting slump from the arc. I’m not particularly worried. She’ll figure it out.

I agree. Paige will get her shot in shape.
I just wish the team as a whole could learn to be chill when trying a layup. I may count the missed layups or not. Knowing the actual number may be too depressing. Nika and Paige would have had several more assists. Missed layups and traveling calls due to an indecisive move from a standing start drive me nuts.
"Hmmm, maybe I should shoot. No, No! Hmmm, I'll pass it. Wait! Wait, I'll drive. Well actually I just dribble somewhere after I do my tap dance."

 

[VidNick]

I was disappointed with the SJ showing today

St Johns normally has a reasonably competitive team. Not this year for sure.

 

[Carnac]

Some thoughts on the St John’s game:

• UConn’s defense was suffocating today. If the Huskies keep playing defense like this, they will be awfully tough to beat from here on out.
• Liv was playing with purpose. Double-double at the half. She was extremely active today.
• Nika, who was sporting a lovely shiner on her left eye, continued to be a defensive terror. She is becoming a nightmare for opposing pg’s. The ankle injury was scary, but hopefully not something that will keep her out for an extended period of time.
• Christyn, with some help from her teammates, once again made it a very long day for Correa, who shot 3/18.
• Great to see Anna back on the court. If Nika misses the next few games, Anna will likely get more PT to sharpen up her game by the Big Dance.
• We haven’t seen a lot of Mir, but when she got in today, she impressed the hell out of me by getting up in Farley’s grill from the moment she stepped on the court, drawing a T from a frustrated Farley.
• Paige in a bit of a shooting slump from the arc. I’m not particularly worried. She’ll figure it out.

Agree with all of your observations, especially those regarding Anna, Nika and Mir. Aubrey did some things I liked to day too.

 

[Carnac]

The injury to Nika is devastating as to how this team wants to play. Hopefully it's not too bad. But many of us have been super-excited regarding the 3 frosh. You take away what any of the 3 are-- then it hurts this team a lot.

Lots of ankle injuries on this team this year. Paige, Nika, Evina, and Aaliyah. I'm beginning to think like Vince Lombardi............."What the hells' going on out here?!?

 

[Carnac]

Boy, Nika was nasty today - gets my vote for the badass award.

Whole team played tough defense.

And yeah - boneyard seems very slow!

Mine too!! Nika was a "nasty piece of business" out there today, and I loved it!!!

 

[Dokey]

When Nika went down, I worried about Evina returning after leaving earlier, but she appeared to be as good as she cab be. Geno said Anna was limited to ten minutes and tried hard to foul out but he was smiling. Fouls come from rust from missing actual game action but she looked strong rebounding and though she missed two three point shots (why should she be different from everyone else?), it was good to see her shoot. Hopefully, she keeps shooting. Edwards again played hard and the rest of the cast did their jobs, especially on defense.

 

[Blueballer]

Lots of ankle injuries on this team this year. Paige, Nika, Evina, and Aaliyah. I'm beginning to think like Vince Lombardi............."What the hells' going on out here?!?

Seen lots of ankle rolls in other games too this year. Is it time to go back to the old "Converse High Top" type of shoe?

 

[BostonBay]

ONO played today like she had a chip on her shoulder..maybe the Big East snub. Hope she plays with this much intensity the rest of the playoffs.

 

[hoophuskee]

Think of how UConn’s opponents will look at it.

We don’t have to face Nika! ?

That means Aaliyah is in the starting lineup. ?

I don't look at it like this. It's not about the player comparison or the fortune of minutes. It's that Muhl and Edwards could play together too. In addition when Edwards isn't in- - the option that UCONN can beat you playing small is also an option.

What if you think as I do that for example Nika is better than Aubrey or Mir? Or even right now better than Anna?

Now this focuses UCONN to either hoping Aubrey, Mir and Anna play well or the others such as CWill pick up - but Nika gave something unique. For example Anna is not a penetrator. Aubrey and Mir are not perimeter players. Form perimeter defense to starting fastbreaks -- it's now been limited.

Not by much - but this team wasn't "much better" than the top tier opposition -- or in some cases can get challenged by lesser teams.

The rhythm and style of play is affected is Nika is not near what she was showing. Bottomline is - Nika WAS a triple threat on the perimeter, - neither of the 3 mentioned above are that. Anna really can't pull the ball on the floor in half court sets. The margin of error has decreased for this team a lot. Nika was a damn good player and being slowed down like this -- limiting her defense (steals and pressure and ability to move lateral), her rebounding (she'll be slower to react to balls off the rim. Vs certain teams very good rebounding teams- every rebound the UCONN guards get matters), and offensively with her ability to put the ball on the floor and pass extremely well off of it-- -- this stinks if she is significantly slowed down - or worse.

A huge blow. This team does not have a lot of margin for error. I was a big fan of the 3 frosh's impact. When one gets significantly slowed – it’s not good at all.

 

[Bobcat]

Hope Nika is ok. It cannot be understated what a loss it would be if she was out an extended period of time. Her defense is top level and she is a fantastic passer creating good opportunities for others.

This is the Liv we need. Playing with a purpose and playing smart. What a difference maker she was today.

Was great to see Anna back, and to see some PT for Mir, then Piath and Saylor.

I think you mean it cannot be overstated... sorry

 

[Skeets]

That's what I thought too. Black eyes don't develop that fast!

And just judging by the color (black and blue, but changing to green an yellow) I'd say it probably happened a couple of days ago.

 

[Bama fan]

And just judging by the color (black and blue, but changing to green an yellow) I'd say it probably happened a couple of days ago.

You could get a job as a "color analyst" for ESPN.