St Johns Postgame Thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard

St Johns Postgame Thread

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A pleasure to watch. Geno is absolutely right. Paige is Paige and everyone "got a little bit better" except that the "little bit" is a glaring understatement. They got better by a lot. Azzi and Caroline have both had to put the team on their back as freshmen not to mention what Evina has done for this team. Liv is playing her career best ball and Dorka has emerged as a truly solid player. Nika has become even more of a defensive menace and continues to hit shots. CW is even stronger going to the hole and has been very confident in her 3s. Liah is still refining her basketball skills but that athleticism is just more and more dominant. Put it all together and you get tonight. Although it's two ships passing in the night, the thought occurs that we actually got better as a team with all these injuries, except for Aubrey, then we would have been otherwise.
 
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This game was the first time in a long time that UConn played what I think of as UConn basketball. I'm talking about those plays when a big gets a rebound, all five touch the ball, and they score with the ball hardly touching the court. There were several of those this evening. Beautiful choreography.
 
really fun game to watch. Happy for Paige and the rest of the team.

Not to start anything but I really like Paige off the bench alongside the CD,EW, and Dorka, leaving in CW or Azzi depending on who is playing good.
 
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Our defense was the best offense. We performed clever bounce passes through traffic and solid finishes at the rim.
We have so many combinations to address what an opponent might throw at us it's amazing. Hope we continue to play ahead early in every game, that kind of pressure with our bench will be tough to beat.

I can't remember when that our second five might be stronger than the starting five. What's an opposing coach to do???? We have two top ten teams in one! The joy they are now playing with is a pleasure to experience.
UConn has three top 25 ranked teams in three major sports. Basketball (2) hockey (1). Where else do you see that??
 
When Paige brought the ball up the court just before the end of the 1st quarter, right after crossing the half court line, she changed direction quickly and my heart fell to the floor for a second- it looked so eerily similar to the the move where she hurt herself- and I thought she must have tweaked something. But fortunately nothing was wrong, but was I nervous in the moment. She looked good to me, tentative as you might expect, but 100% healthy.
 
Many a game one player has been the one whom we wouldn't have won without. Not this one; a true team effort.

Azzi showed off the shooting skills that were her calling card, played good D and put all on notice that yeah, this is a future AA.

AE over the last few games has broken out of the puzzling funk she was in so much of the season. She has so much talent and it is fantastic to see her playing so well.

Evina - what can you say about that woman. In any given game she seems to know what her best role will be. Need points? OK. Need someone feed the hot hands? Sure. Need someone to settle things down? On it. I can't tell you how much I like her game. In the 3rd Q, she has no points, is heading for the basket on a breakaway and...stops, has a cup of coffee until Caroline catches up and gives her the score. Clearly in an assist state of mind!

CW was solid and played within herself. She isn't a player the D can ignore.

Caroline also solid all around - scored points, rebounded, forced some turnovers. Early in the game, with all the fireworks going off, I thought she might get lost in shuffle. No sir, she did not. I did note that after the game, during the Geno interview, she could be seen behind Geno throwing some red nurf balls into the stands. Not the most athletic baseball throw - she can work on that.

Nike gave her typical Nika effort. Whether she starts or not, scores or not, she makes the team better when on the floor. As much talent as we now have, no way she gets religated to a secondary role.

Paith no longer looks like a project. She has a fluid game and can make a bloody layup. She is getting to the point that having her in for 15 minutes because of other bigs foul issues won't make me nervous. Even against teams better that St. Johns.

Remember all those years when the bench mostly just got outscored by the other teams bench in the 4Q? And you didn't see them at all in tight games? Those days are over. Piath and Amari are the closest thing we have to deep bench and they are way better than that.

Oh! Did I mention that Paige played for awhile and looked very Paigie? She didn't look to be shaking any rust off and seemed to be having a good old time doing what she loves best.
 
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Who was I worried about?
That the Bueckers effect would bring insecurity rather than invigoration to whom?

The pregame crew picked Caroline.
I fretted about Christyn....with a side of ???

Open the envelope please
And the answer is....no one...All ships were lifted.

Great game.
 
EricLA said:
OMG what a game. But the best part? Seeing Paige on the floor. Being a worry wart, i hold my breath every time she does something, but boy what a joy seeing her out there.
Epic beatdown from start to finish. There was literally zero to complain about.
  • Can't say it enough - the joy of seeing Paige on the court
  • And her BFF Azzi with her 3-point shooting prowess
  • Evina with a bagel-double - 0 points and 10 assists!!
  • Edwards owning the paint
  • We shot 64% from the floor and almost 50% from 3
  • The defense was INSANE
Just a total joy and treat of a game. I was sooooo happy!! YAY Paige! Yay team! LOL
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Between @oldude and @EricLA I feel like I've watched the game...but I'm still looking forward to @MJL243 posting the replay so I can share in the excitement and jubilance associated with the return of Paige, UConn's suffocating defense and the stellar efforts of so many Husky players.
 
Golden Husky said:
Between @oldude and @EricLA I feel like I've watched the game...but I'm still looking forward to @MJL243 posting the replay so I can share in the excitement and jubilance associated with the return of Paige, UConn's suffocating defense and the stellar efforts of so many Husky players.
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Enjoy, you could feel the buzz right from the start, even on TV.
 
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Reality is matching up with the "dreamed about" Movie Script quite nicely

1, Paige returns from injury for her first game in 2 months and it's in front of a HOME Crowd

2. Paige plays very well in limited minutes, with no obvious problems with the knee,

3. The Team collectively plays their best game of the season,


AND... as @DefenseBB said in Post #25 in this thread... the rest of WBB is feeling the tremor... of the UCONN "earthquake" rolling across the country.
Will Smith Reaction GIF by HBO Max


GO HUSKIES
 
I was at the game - this was fuuuuun! What a pleasure to see Paige on the floor - she looked smooth and comfortable out there - and Azzi is just so, so good. And the true Aaliyah, the one we were expecting, has arrived.

Saint John`s has some pretty good players but the run to start the game just took all the starch out of them. They were basically punching the time clock and waiting for the 5 o`clock whistle after that.

The team is a mixture of younger players and veterans but the word that now comes to mind in watching and describing this team now is “maturity”. They have been through the ringer and have emerged as a tough, battle tested, gritty, efficient and workmanlike machine. And they had a ton of fun out there tonight, they love playing together.

They play with purpose and emotion, but under control. The defense is aggressive and there were only a handful of breakdowns or missed assignments. I give them a shot at going all the way because they are fearless and they have grown up as a team.
 
HopJim said:
If playoffs started today, how does UConn's opposition prepare for Paige, Dorka, Evina, and Caroline coming off the bench?
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There have been games this season where Dorka or Caroline have been the best player in the team, and Paige is the reigning player of the year. To see the 3 of them coming off the bench together has to be intimidating.
 
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