St John's Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the St John’s game:

• Very nice start tonight by the Huskies. 7/8 Huskies who saw PT in the 1st qtr scored as UConn shot a sizzling 71%, while forcing the Red Storm into 7 turnovers. The 2nd qtr got a little ugly as UConn’s multiple player rotations seemed a bit out of sync
• Azzi is known as a great offensive player and shooter, which she demonstrated again tonight. But Azzi is also one of the best on-ball and off-ball defenders on this team. Her defensive footwork is flawless, and she gets her hands on the ball a lot.
• Jana continues to progress slowly but surely in both big and small ways. She's moving better to the ball on rebounds, defending the paint, setting screens, posting up stronger and closing out on shooters all the way to the arc.
• Great to see Paige back on the court. She did look a little rusty in the 1st half. But she got in going in the 2nd half from midrange, where she is absolutely deadly. I guess we will all have to wait for the next game to watch Paige hit 2,000 points...,
• Jana, Sarah, Paige, Azzi & KK, the lineup UConn used for a very brief time in the 3rd qtr is the BIG GAME lineup for the Huskies, imo.
• Morgan has really solidified herself as a regular rotation player. She does everything well.
• Seton Hall is up next on Sunday. Could we see Aubrey on the court?

 

[hoopsfan22]

Players of the Game: Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jcoton56]

We need some home cooking.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[Bone Dog]

A win is a win, and the end of the bench got some useful minutes. Paige looked a bit rusty, Azzi looked great and Sarah was subdued but influential. The big 3 only took 23 shots and scored a combined 31 points. The other 40 points came mainly from Ash Jana Morgan. In a way, the best part of the game was seeing the rotation players play competently. They didn’t score a ton, but they played pretty good D.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[pghhuskydoc]

Jana did well in the minutes she played. She’s a work in progress, but she is definitely making progress.

 

[Vowelguy]

Some thoughts on the St John’s game:

• Seton Hall is up next on Sunday. Could we see Aubrey on the court?

Has there been a recent on Aubrey suggesting she's this close?

 

[Happydad745]

I was surprised UConn did not score more points, but St. John's defense stood up well. I'm still amazed that we can have 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores on the floor and be a really good team. Good game.

 

[Kaizen]

It is nice everyone played.
I was hoping Geno will let Paige to play the 4th Q and to reach her 2,000 pts.

 

[Vowelguy]

For a team without a dominant post game, 29% from 3 is disconcerting.

 

[oldude]

Has there been a recent on Aubrey suggesting she's this close?

We keep hearing, “the end of January.” Aubrey does warm up with the team and she is practicing. As far as the Seton Hall game, I’m just hoping…..

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno and the announcers said SJU is a good defensive team. Shooting 57% against them is pretty good. As Geno noted, the half court offense could be better. Sarah had a quiet night, and neither Paige nor Azzi got enough shots. Not bad for a road win in which we just covered the point spread.

 

[oldude]

It is nice everyone played.
I was hoping Geno will let Paige to play the 4th Q and to reach her 2,000 pts.

It’ll be a much better celebration if she does it at home.

 

[oldhusky]

Some thoughts on the St John’s game:

• Very nice start tonight by the Huskies. 7/8 Huskies who saw PT in the 1st qtr scored as UConn shot a sizzling 71%, while forcing the Red Storm into 7 turnovers. The 2nd qtr got a little ugly as UConn’s multiple player rotations seemed a bit out of sync
• Azzi is known as a great offensive player and shooter, which she demonstrated again tonight. But Azzi is also one of the best on-ball and off-ball defenders on this team. Her defensive footwork is flawless, and she gets her hands on the ball a lot.
• Jana continues to progress slowly but surely in both big and small ways. She's moving better to the ball on rebounds, defending the paint, setting screens, posting up stronger and closing out on shooters all the way to the arc.
• Great to see Paige back on the court. She did look a little rusty in the 1st half. But she got in going in the 2nd half from midrange, where she is absolutely deadly. I guess we will all have to wait for the next game to watch Paige hit 2,000 points...,
• Jana, Sarah, Paige, Azzi & KK, the lineup UConn used for a very brief time in the 3rd qtr is the BIG GAME lineup for the Huskies, imo.
• Morgan has really solidified herself as a regular rotation player. She does everything well.
• Seton Hall is up next on Sunday. Could we see Aubrey on the court?

Agree with the big game lineup. Another question I have is who should be the principle PG when both Kaitlin and KK are in at the same time. It seems like Kaitlin is the primary, but I think it should be the other way around. Kaitlin is more of a 1/2 combo guard that seems to be struggling a little bit trying to be a pass first PG, whereas that is more natural for KK, and Kaitlin's ability to score might be more valuable when a couple of Paige, Sarah and Azzi are not on the floor IMO.

 

[dtbtbtb]

I hope that UConn gets to a point this season where the post is used for more than just making picks at the top. There needs to be more of an in and out game for the guards to have more open shots.

 

[Zonepress]

I was surprised UConn did not score more points, but St. John's defense stood up well. I'm still amazed that we can have 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores on the floor and be a really good team. Good game.

Hard to score more points when u only shoot
51shots / 56 percent

 

[HuskyNan]

For a team without a dominant post game, 29% from 3 is disconcerting.

The right players are taking the shots. If Paige and Sarah’s combined 0-4 shooting is deducted, the team shot 40%.

The team shot only 14 threes. Kind of indicative of a strange reluctance to shoot on everyone’s part tonight

 

[Surly1]

Interesting to see Sarah not look for her shot tonight, but I am amazed at her basketball IQ. As others have mentioned, she's like a big cat, deceptively quick and amazing hands. Like Paige she reads the court and anticipates, as if she's a second or two ahead of everyone else.

Once Morgan trusts her offensive instincts, she will make a dynamic tandem with Sarah for the next 3 years. She obviously has offensive skills, and there is much more to be plumbed.

Hopefully, Paige will come out on fire on Sunday and get the celebratory hugs out of the way early.

St. John's is scrappy, played hard, stayed true on the defensive end. It makes it hard for a finesse offense like UConn's to appear fluid. The UT game will be a fascinating watch to see how UConn responds to an uptempo pace - the opposite of the slow down tactics in the Big East.

 

[WiseWillie]

Jana did well in the minutes she played. She’s a work in progress, but she is definitely making progress.

Yes. Everyone agrees Jana is "coming along" and "making progress". I agree. However the key to moving past "coming along" and breaking through the "making progress" wall is getting more effective minutes with the same or as many of the starting five players as possible and more than a couple of minutes at a time on the floor. What Jana needs now more than anything is continual, uninterrupted and meaningful time on the court to refine what is being preached and stressed in practice. She also needs to be fed the ball a lot more when she clears out her defender under the basket.

 

[HuskyNan]

Yes. Everyone agrees Jana is "coming along" and "making progress". I agree. However the key to moving past "coming along" and breaking through the "making progress" wall is getting more effective minutes with the same or as many of the starting five players as possible and more than a couple of minutes at a time on the floor. What Jana needs now more than anything is continual, uninterrupted and meaningful time on the court to refine what is being preached and stressed in practice. She also needs to be fed the ball a lot more when she clears out her defender under the basket.

Geno isn’t going to wear out key players, or risk their getting hurt in a blowout, just to get Jana more experience.

 

[and one]

As far as basketball games go this one was as forgettable as they come. We played pretty well actually, but nothing stood out that created excitement. Everyone scored, no one lit it up. Kind of strange in as we have three players in Paige, Azzi and Sarah that can put up.big numbers. All 3 could score 20 a night if they got enough shots. Which brings me to my only complaint. Sarah took 5 shots. No way Sarah should take that few shots in a game. Just no way.

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe..

 

[huskeynut]

A good win against a scrappy, good defensive team.

The starting 5 is getting better. The chemistry is developing.

Paige & Azzi are going to be tough to stop.

Jana had a good game. The progress is there. She showed she can be a physical force in the post.

Quiet game for Sarah. Good game for Ash coming off the bench. Morgan is also improving.

 

[Next 12]

Good win against a pesky team. The freshmen are making their mark in the game very nicely. Every body ate except Q ,but she only played minutes. Ash is still hitting her 3's and Jana looked good on rebounds and lay-ups.Morgan was a burst of energy off the bench and the Starting 3 scored below normal, but was not needed to score more. Again we led in all statistical categories. Uconn is ready for all the BE teams ahead and then the play-offs. GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO SOPHOMORES!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!