St Johns Postgame Thread

[Next 12]

Those records are not against the present teams at those schools.

I understand that. It was an observation. I have been following the top tier teams play each other and again have observed that none of them have Uconn's defense and defensive players. I believe that Uconn will go undefeated this year, do you? If you think that they will lose a game, than that is your observation. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!

 

[Jonathan14]

Was Jana on the bench or did I miss her ?

I was at the game, and I didn’t see Jana. I hope all is well with her.

 

[donalddoowop]

I understand that. It was an observation. I have been following the top tier teams play each other and again have observed that none of them have Uconn's defense and defensive players. I believe that Uconn will go undefeated this year, do you? If you think that they will lose a game, than that is your observation. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!

You missed the point of my post.

 

[victor64]

I am late to the party. I will try not to repeat

-Sarah Strong is skilled in every aspect. Yet her default mode continues to be pass first. Amazing.
-I saw what I thought was a click bait item on Facebook calling Azzi the best defender in the country. I knew she was a terrific on-ball defender but I think her overall defense has now developed where she should be in the discussion for the title of best defender.
-This is how spoiled I am. I have no concerns about outcome. I get nervous now when Azzi goes to the line.
-My nitpic. K9 is one of the best finishers on the team. Her FT%, though, will keep her off the floor in close games if it doesn't improve. In my opinion her shot is too flat.
-I wonder when the last time Carol played an entire quarter. Still not scoring but love that her conditioning now allows her to play 10 minutes without a sub.
-Kelis played point and was not out of control when she got the ball. I wonder if one of the coaches got in her ear.
-One of my favorite things about this team is that it has two players (Ash and Allie) who can be impactful in their minutes without necessarily filling up the stat sheet.
-The Huskies forced St. John's, 13-3 coming in to the game, including a road win at Marquette into 33 TOs.
-UConn had 8 TOs, 25 assists and 23 (!) steals.

Another complete performance on both ends. On to Creighton.

 

[Timshel]

I’ll have to watch the replay tomorrow. For the conference games I usually just wait until the next day to watch since the outcome a given. I just speed watch the game on 2x.

I understand your point but for one I enjoy not so much the score but the intrinsic skill and effort of each and every player in each and every possession. I feel this team plays every possession both offensively and defensively as 0-0 and are playing for the love of the game and not how badly they can beat a team. This is as close to the perfection Coach Wooden always spoke about of playing for the beauty and love of the game and not the scoreboard results.

 

[ucmiami2]

There was a point in the first half where the score was 15-2 and neither team had a rebound, offensive or defense - both were 100% shooting, and the game was 3.53 into the first Q. Then SJ missed a layup on a KK block and Uconn got the games first rebound at 6:05. There wasn't another rebound until an Azzi Fudd shot at 4:37 and STJ got their first rebound with the score 20-7. Uconn got its next rebound at 2:46 in the 1st Q on SJ's 4th shot from the field with the score 24-7.

Fun fact - when STJ had the ball on offense, Uconn scored 46 points (points off turnovers) and STJ scored 43. Of course when Uconn started with the ball, they only scored 42 points so you could say their defense outscored their offense by 4 points. 😎

 

[hoophuskee]

This team is is so scary.

 

[ec33]

Renee is a fun listen.

I agree wholeheartedly. Much improved over having to listen to the other former Huskies (including Donny Marshall on the men's side).

 

[Gus Mahler]

I thought Heckel had a good game. I'm pleased that Geno saw fit to praise her in the post-game presser.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few thoughts:
*this was a fun game to watch
*the defense this team plays is really really good! there is no weak link on defense for the top 8 players in the rotation with few which are absolutely outstanding defenders.
*When Sarah plays like she did today (especially in the first half) there are no doubts that she is the best player in the country. She basically does everything in a ridiculously high level.
*Blanca is basically an amazing diamond that need just a bit of re-fining. Just think how good she'll be in the next 3 years. One issue: what happened to her 3-point shot. it seems that in the last few games she can't hit any.
*Love the tenacity of KK and K9.
*Does any of Azzi's free throws even touch the rim?
On to Creighton...

 

[ec33]

I thought Heckel had a good game. I'm pleased that Geno saw fit to praise her in the post-game presser.

She is looking far more comfortable in knowing what Geno is looking for from her. The shots will start falling more consistently.

 

[veryolddog]

From Uconnhuskies.com "UConn sophomore center Jana El Alfy, who averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds over her previous three games, missed the game after suffering a concussion in practice."

 

[BRS24]

Great defense. Possibly the best press since John Wooden's.

This was the ninth straight game, all blowouts, in which Gandy got no minutes. Yet, she's not on the injured list. This is very unusual. Something's off.

She's not ready. And if Geno isn't playing her, or any player, there's a reason for it.

 

[BRS24]

I was at the game, and I didn’t see Jana. I hope all is well with her.

I thought I saw her at the end of the bench, but perhaps not.

She has a concussion, so perhaps the team is using caution as to exposure to lights and sounds.

 

[BRS24]

Ayanna didn't play either and she is higher up on the depth chart. Maybe due to her concussion recovery, she didn't play even though she was available.

Practiced this week but no contact, so she's not cleared yet.

 

[my2cents]

At 13-3 St. Johns was a pretty good college team. UConn made them look like a High School team. Crazy.
I don't think Azzi and Sarah will play in any 4th quarters against Big East teams.
My coaching thought. When throwing the ball into Serah, make it a bounce pass. The high passes just sail over her head. Serah does not seem to be able to jump.

 

[BRS24]

I may be in the minority, but as much as I appreciate Renee, I did not enjoy her as a courtside announcer.

Renee is a different generation of announcer, compared to Meghan Culmo. She uses a lot of current generation lingo, and now that UConn is on network tv more, (tru, TNT), hopefully there will be more of a draw. Unlike prior years where we only had a few games broadcast nationally, UConn is now getting more exposure to different audiences.

 

[WiseWillie]

Men won in overtime!

Basketball capital of the world 😎

Flipping back and forth seeing Husky women cruising and Husky men not. Turned men's game on fully in 4th Q and watched how even down 13 determination and guts can pull it out in OT. Two wins for the Huskies - one a walk in the park and the other a hard-fought battle that tested the make-up of the men's team. Danny afterwards even expressed a "wow". That's saying it all. Husky fans have much to cheer.

 

[Ozimoto]

Another efficient dismantling of a Big East foe. Some particularly good things that stood out for me. Twice Blanca drove into the paint and was cut off. She then passed back out to a trailing Sarah who nailed a three point shot. Azzi continues to be perfect from the charity stripe. The Huskies outscored St. John's in all four quarters.

St. John's hit several threes in a row in the fourth quarter. When the Huskies swarm to the ball in the paint and provide weak side defensive help under the basket it leaves a perimeter player open for a three point attempt. It's a consequence of the way the Huskies are playing interior defense. So far this approach has proven to be successful, although the group who played the last quarter in the past couple of games has not been as good as the main rotation players in closing out on the three point shooters, hence the open and made threes by opponents at the end of games.

 

[WiseWillie]

Few thoughts:
*this was a fun game to watch
*the defense this team plays is really really good! there is no weak link on defense for the top 8 players in the rotation with few which are absolutely outstanding defenders.
*When Sarah plays like she did today (especially in the first half) there are no doubts that she is the best player in the country. She basically does everything in a ridiculously high level.
*Blanca is basically an amazing diamond that need just a bit of re-fining. Just think how good she'll be in the next 3 years. One issue: what happened to her 3-point shot. it seems that in the last few games she can't hit any.
*Love the tenacity of KK and K9.
*Does any of Azzi's free throws even touch the rim?
On to Creighton...

All a good showing but especially impressive about Blanca is her footwork, speed to the ball and overall quickness. She is like a gazelle. Bet she comes in first or close to first in practice sprint sessions. Did I mention her speed? Now the coaches' mission is how to corral and tame that ability to achieve maximum effect.

 

[boontonbomber]

Gotta go with Geno on Gandy; don't want to have a 45 point win become only a 40 point win.

 

[PacoSwede]

Those records are not against the present teams at those schools.

obviously. geez.

 

[GetReal2day]

Gotta go with Geno on Gandy; don't want to have a 45 point win become only a 40 point win.

Geno has been pretty clear in the past on players earning their playing time. If she was ready and doing what is required, she would be playing in these games. I think he knows what he is doing. I don't think he cares one bit if they win by 45 or 40.

 

[and one]

Somewhere mid-1st Q Renee was enthusiastically (with Renee enthusiasm predominates) opining on what SJ needed to do to get back into the game. I suspect that what she was thinking was game over, where shall we have dinner tonight.

Every game now I am blown away on how great the UConn D is, just an overwhelming force of nature. I really do wish we had a top five opponent coming up to see how well it would work against them. I don't think ND or UT will be a good measure but that's the best we'll get until March.

 

[PacoSwede]

Geno has been pretty clear in the past on players earning their playing time. If she was ready and doing what is required, she would be playing in these games. I think he knows what he is doing. I don't think he cares one bit if they win by 45 or 40.

geno is wise. he wants to hide gandy from the eyes of hungry poachers. if they don't see her, they won't be aware of her potential. why tempt savage thieves? and uconn doesn't need her to play a meaningless minutes in games; she's more challenged in practices.