St Johns Postgame Thread

[dtbtbtb]

Few thoughts:
The Good:
*Azzi: reminded everyone what an amazing shooter she is.
*Paige: a great all-around game.
*Aubrey: it is so good to see her play. She is unique in her ability to guard all 5 positions and while it's clear she is not all the way back, tonight was a good step up. 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals in 21 min.
*Jana: love her aggressiveness. it is clear that UConn is a better rebounding team when she is on the court playing.
The Bad:
*Turnovers: some of those turnovers were mystifying...Jana hand-offs must get better.
*The 4th quarter: ugly.
The worrying:
*Sarah: 2 games in a raw that she scores in single digits and takes very few shots. She must get her 10-15 shots a game.

All in all, a nice win in front of Nika
Let's see if UConn can win at South Carolina.

 

[Chet71]

Anyone concerned about Sarah’s performance tonight please relax. I can guarantee she is not going to go 1-4 for against SC.

 

[msf22b]

I was somewhat encouraged by the game
Azzi and Griff shined, Paige was solid but still reticent to shoot at times

Jana is improving...but ready for prime time; probably not
Sarah may have hit the wall...perhaps a good time...for the soon to come inevitable bounce back.

Is it enough; better but probably not quite enough for SC, USC, ND et al.

 

[Vowelguy]

What would you have thought if Fudd had gotten hurt in a game where the team was up by 35 points in the fourth quarter?

By this logic she shouldn’t have played at all, since we didn’t need her to win.

You can’t live in fear. If she’s healthy enough to play, she’s healthy enough to play.

 

[Centerstream]

This afternoon, I watched the AAC Tournament Final game from 2018. Yup, that game. Almost saw a repeat tonight.

 

[packwrap]

But when exactly will we see this? Haven't this season.

Every season more or less comes down to the same one game - the round of 8 game on March 30/31 this year.

A good game that night, and all others are meaningless.

 

[huskeynut]

Enjoyable game.

Azzi was on fire. Paige had a good game. Jana showing improvement. Aubrey looking more like her old self.

Now, will we see this Azzi again? She has not been consistent this season. She is a major key to post season success.

Time will tell.

 

[packwrap]

Anyone concerned about Sarah’s performance tonight please relax. I can guarantee she is not going to go 1-4 for against SC.

Part of this is just a limited number of shots. Plan for this game seemed to be to feed Azzi. Azzi, Paige, and even resurgent Aubrey all eat into shots available for Sarah.

Sarah is still there, and will have to play her usual bigger role vs SC. Due injury the roster curtailed, but Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Jana with support from KK, Ash, &Aubrey should actually be 'just right' for SC.
All have motivation to play their best vs a top 5 team, and trying to stop the SC home winning streak is also a nice goal.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Some thoughts on the St Johns game:

• It's good to see UConn come out with a lot of energy, as they did tonight, pressuring the ball all over the court and attacking the basket on offense.
• There are clearly times when UConn’s best offense is to just have Azzi spot up anywhere beyond the arc and get her the damned ball.
• This past week Geno mentioned that UConn needs to get tougher, and then Nika shows up at the game tonight. Coincidence? I think not!!!
• I loved Ash’s spin-cycle move in the 2nd qtr. I don’t recall seeing that particular move from Ash before, but it sure was a thing of beauty.
• While Paige had 5 blocks tonight, I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see a single double-bicep flex in celebration….
• Jana keeps improving…and she plays with an ATTITUDE. I like that she is starting to track down rebounds rather than hoping the ball bounces her way. She’s not there yet. But it’s coming.
• I really liked Aubrey’s minutes tonight. She had 10 pts, attacked the basket, and was incredibly active with 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and played great defense.
• BIG GAME coming up on Sunday in Columbia, SC. Can UConn hang with SC’s talent and depth? We shall see……

The main reason for giving Azzi 22 of their total 54 shots is to remind all opponents henceforth the kind of weapon she is. Right? Right!!! He doesn't want a repeat of what happened against Tenn.

I don't know what the physical status of Morgan and Ice were before the game but the apparent emphasis of the rotation he played was speed on both sides of the ball and 3pt shooting. With Aubrey getting more minutes, she was a rebounding demon. It probably was a rehearsal for SCar. I think Coach GA continues to make progress with knowing his team - as expected - and is now becoming more confident in who to deploy when as circumstances dictate. He has committed to growing Jana more, as one would have expected. There is a growing comfort among the guards who cover 3 positions (1, 2, 3) in their interchangeability (almost). These are all good signs for getting the team prepared as the tournaments get closer, regardless of the outcome against SoCar (as I mentioned before in another thread). Now they have to continue putting in minutes for these combinations to reduce disconnects (turnovers).

From this level of comfort among them, I expect greater progress in read and react action on both sides of the ball and that can only be a good thing. It looks like this team has the necessary balance to go get #12.....can they grow the "attitude" fast enough to get there? (Nice to see Nika as a live reminder of what they are missing, hence to strive for)

Overall, reminds me of Stewie's freshman year - some common things in the team's development. The hope for it to end the same way? grows!

 

[ThisJustIn]

**Ice out for three weeks.
**Morgan twisted ankle

 

[TUCBTUD]

 

[TUCBTUD]

 

[Blond D.]

If Jana would quit bringing the ball down and keep it up high after a rebound, she wouldn't have as many turnovers.
just sayin'

 

[JellyBean]

I was impressed with the game and outcome. Azzi was being assertive out there and that is always a joy to see. Great game by all and I hope Morgan's injury isn't too serious. Great game and on to the next one.

 

[JoePgh]

"2nd game in a row Sarah wasn't productive - averaging 5 PPG in her last 2 games. Freshman wall?"

I'm responding to this and similar comments above in this thread. I find these comments exasperating.

1. Although Sarah had only 2 points in her 22 minutes, she had 7 rebounds (2 offensive), 2 assists, 1 block, and 3 steals. She was hardly a spectator in the game.
2. Watching the game live, I'm not sure whether it was St. John's defense or a deliberate offensive plan by Geno, but it seemed clear that UConn was emphasizing its perimeter offense tonight, including driving to the rim from the perimeter. When Jana was in the game (mostly not at the same time as Sarah), they did try to feed her on offense, but otherwise feeding the post was not a UConn priority. UConn scored only 28 points in the paint (not much when they scored 78 overall), and most of that appeared to be on drives by guards, or by fast breaks.
3. The game stats don't show defensive statistics other than blocks and steals, but I can tell you that Sarah was very active on defense whenever she was in the game. The three steals and 7 defensive rebounds are indicative of that.

I'm fairly sure that on Sunday, South Carolina will have taken note of Azzi's hot shooting, and will emphasize perimeter defense. That will give Sarah (and maybe Jana) opportunities for inside scoring, and I predict that Sarah, at least, will take advantage of them.

 

[Rb335]

But when exactly will we see this? Haven't this season.

You are correct. I think Paige has proven over her career that she can do it. She hasn’t necessarily this year but she did post big offensive numbers against ND. She’s lost some type of killer instinct this year, but I have faith.

Azzi is more of an enigma in big games. I think the biggest thing is how can we generate open looks for her in rhythm. When she gets them she is pretty accurate. But when we don’t get her open, she fades. If we get her even 6 good perimeter looks against South Carolina we’ll be a different team.

I have no qualms about Sarah. She’s risen to the occasion every time this year. I expect a big performance this weekend.

Also shoutout to Paige tonight for stuffing every statistical category. And Aubrey for continued growth.

 

[bballnut90]

Paige very close to pulling off the rare 5x5 with 16/6/4/4/5. I think only Stewart has ever accomplished that feat at UCONN. In the pros I believe it's only been done by Stewart and Parker.

 

[Blueballer]

Geno should let Fudd to play the full 4Q ....

She can do that on Sunday.

 

[donalddoowop]

By this logic she shouldn’t have played at all, since we didn’t need her to win.

You can’t live in fear. If she’s healthy enough to play, she’s healthy enough to play.

No, no, no. With UConn's history of injuries, it makes no sense to play one of your stars in a meaningless fourth quarter. Geno caught flack when he had Paige still in a game where the outcome was decided, and she got hurt. The start of her many UConn injuries. I am surprised you think that way.

 

[Stagnant]

No one on the team is probably playing for individual achievements. I have found myself thinking though that this game hurt Sarah in both the big east player of the year race and the national freshman of the year race though. Probably some other awards she is contending for too. Needs a good showing against South Carolina.

 

[Crossover]

You are correct. I think Paige has proven over her career that she can do it. She hasn’t necessarily this year but she did post big offensive numbers against ND. She’s lost some type of killer instinct this year, but I have faith.

Azzi is more of an enigma in big games. I think the biggest thing is how can we generate open looks for her in rhythm. When she gets them she is pretty accurate. But when we don’t get her open, she fades. If we get her even 6 good perimeter looks against South Carolina we’ll be a different team.

I have no qualms about Sarah. She’s risen to the occasion every time this year. I expect a big performance this weekend.

Also shoutout to Paige tonight for stuffing every statistical category. And Aubrey for continued growth.

Ditto everything you said. Re Azzi, although she is is quite adept at pulling up from midrange, this year she has shied away from creating her own shot unless she is taking it to the rim. As for 3 pointers, she is deadly on catch and shoots (where she can rely on her perfect and perfectly repeatable mechanics), but I can't remember the last time she shot a 3 off the dribble. That is why she needs teammates to "get her open". Despite all the push to get Paige to be more "selfish" on offense, it is important that she also focus on feeding Azzi. The team is clearly better when both of them are lighting it up.