Stanford up by 4 | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Stanford up by 4

GamecockFam said:
Are there any veterans on the interior besides Dorka and AE? It'll be a hard time stopping the likes of Boston, Saxton, Amihere, and Cardoso. I cannot see a freshman, no matter the talent level, having much success against that group. Plus, we also have Feagin and Watkins in the wings and both look like future superstars at their respective positions. Amihere will probably spend a lot of time matching up with Azzi Fudd to use her length and athleticism to disrupt her shot. Even so, we will still have a 4-6 woman rotation on the interior to match up against the 3 woman rotation of UConn.
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It's hard to know what to say about the freshmen. Watkins looks good from outside the SC bubble. But Feagin? Maybe I need to see more.

You're right that Amihere could be disruptive against Fudd, if she can keep up. She's quick for a big, but 6'4" quick isn't the same as 5'11" quick and Fudd is a spot-up shooter. I'd have said Beal was the natural choice to guard Fudd, though she wasn't able to do it against Bueckers two years ago, and Fudd is rather like Bueckers. And I don't think Cooke has a chance against her. So Amihere may be the best choice if Cooke and Beal can't manage it.

Obviously , the SC front court has a significant advantage, huge even. Though perhaps not quite a big as it appears IF Patterson learns how to play a little by February. All UConn would need from her in that game is rebounding, and she seems practically made of muscles. There's no answer for Boston, clearly. But it looks like there may be for Saxton, since Patterson is quicker, a tremendous leaper and a lot stronger. I don't know of any other teams that can line up a player like that against her.

On the UConn side, Griffin also looks like she's unaccounted for in the SC lineup. She was a handful on the boards the last time she played SC, and she's only gotten better and has become much more offense-minded. Who guards her if Amihere is on Fudd? Beal? Saxton? She wasn't able to do it last time. Plus, that means Cooke on Lopez-Seneschal, and I don't think that will work.

And we haven't even considered the impact of Muhl and Fudd defensively on inexperienced PGs. Or Ducharme if she's healthy by then. I don't really see the SC back court being able to handle them on D or O.

All of which tells me that, barring illness or injury, this will be a wonderful game -- a classic asymmetrical battle, front court strength vs back court strength. I hope we get to see it play out twice!
 
GamecockFam said:
Are there any veterans on the interior besides Dorka and AE? It'll be a hard time stopping the likes of Boston, Saxton, Amihere, and Cardoso. I cannot see a freshman, no matter the talent level, having much success against that group. Plus, we also have Feagin and Watkins in the wings and both look like future superstars at their respective positions. Amihere will probably spend a lot of time matching up with Azzi Fudd to use her length and athleticism to disrupt her shot. Even so, we will still have a 4-6 woman rotation on the interior to match up against the 3 woman rotation of UConn.
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Uconn has a 5 person rotation on the interior though. Caroline, Aubrey, Patterson, Edwards and Dorka. Maybe by Feb they get Amari playing some minutes to help with foul trouble to make it 6.

Uconn's not going to try to bang in the paint with South Carolina though. You neutralize the size with speed and shooting so they'll try to make it a fast tempo full court game and score predominately in open court. The key for Uconn in a South Carolina match up is pressuring the ball and disrupting the back court before the ball can get into the front court and scoring off their defense. South Carolina not having a strong point guard will be a potential issue on this point. For South Carolina the key would be to make it a slow half court game and exploit Uconn's smaller front court. Uconn not having a big defensive stopper will be an issue here.

Both teams exploit the other teams biggest weakness so it will be an interesting match up. Stanford and South Carolina are more similarly built teams so those games are guranteed to be close. The unbalanced match up with Uconn could lead to a much larger margin of victory either way. In my experience watching basketball the superior guard play ultimately wins out in a battle of mismatches because they control the ball so much more but we'll see if Uconn's backcourt has a big enough advantage over South Carolina's backcourt with the improvements they've made from last year.

I'd imagine they'll put Amihere on Aubrey because I don't see anyone else able to match up with her size and speed wise and I really think she has the potential to be the best overall player on Uconn.
 
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Looks like SC needed a break after the Stanford game, so they'll be stomping another cream puff in Cal Poly, lol. I guess it's not easy for Dawn to get many top-10 teams to agree to a game in OOC play before the tournament. It's not a terrible problem to have.
 
Bone Dog said:
Looks like SC needed a break after the Stanford game, so they'll be stomping another cream puff in Cal Poly, lol. I guess it's not easy for Dawn to get many top-10 teams to agree to a game in OOC play before the tournament. It's not a terrible problem to have.
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remember reading recently that SC tried to schedule home & home with Iowa, NC State, Duke, Oregon, ND, & a few other top programs in the off season. All politely declined.
much like Geno, Dawn will schedule & play any team, any time. That’s how you improve your program.
 
There was an article yesterday (can’t remember where I saw it), but it basically said that in order to make the trip financially work she had to make it a two game trip so cal poly graciously agreed to play SC.
 
Bone Dog said:
It's hard to know what to say about the freshmen. Watkins looks good from outside the SC bubble. But Feagin? Maybe I need to see more.

You're right that Amihere could be disruptive against Fudd, if she can keep up. She's quick for a big, but 6'4" quick isn't the same as 5'11" quick and Fudd is a spot-up shooter. I'd have said Beal was the natural choice to guard Fudd, though she wasn't able to do it against Bueckers two years ago, and Fudd is rather like Bueckers. And I don't think Cooke has a chance against her. So Amihere may be the best choice if Cooke and Beal can't manage it.

Obviously , the SC front court has a significant advantage, huge even. Though perhaps not quite a big as it appears IF Patterson learns how to play a little by February. All UConn would need from her in that game is rebounding, and she seems practically made of muscles. There's no answer for Boston, clearly. But it looks like there may be for Saxton, since Patterson is quicker, a tremendous leaper and a lot stronger. I don't know of any other teams that can line up a player like that against her.

On the UConn side, Griffin also looks like she's unaccounted for in the SC lineup. She was a handful on the boards the last time she played SC, and she's only gotten better and has become much more offense-minded. Who guards her if Amihere is on Fudd? Beal? Saxton? She wasn't able to do it last time. Plus, that means Cooke on Lopez-Seneschal, and I don't think that will work.

And we haven't even considered the impact of Muhl and Fudd defensively on inexperienced PGs. Or Ducharme if she's healthy by then. I don't really see the SC back court being able to handle them on D or O.

All of which tells me that, barring illness or injury, this will be a wonderful game -- a classic asymmetrical battle, front court strength vs back court strength. I hope we get to see it play out twice!
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I think Amihere would not have an issue with Fudd's perceived speed as she was a state champion sprinter and given her Olympic and World Cup experience has been used to chasing extremely quick guards as a member of Team Canada. Also Breezy Hall is very fast and a an elite defender who has lenght at 6'1. Fudd will be good, but South Carolina has not had an issue guarding her either time they played last year. I would guess Dawn would rotate defenders on her to see how great her Stamina is, especially if someone else cannot provide the offensive alpha dog on the team. Muhl is a good guard but does not seem the 20 pt scorer you may think she would be. These starters from South Carolina are also adept at playing Griffin, as they did so a few years ago in Uconn's loss in Columbia, their freshman year, when all were in the starting lineup. Frankly, I hope it is a decent game, but there is nothing in this year's team for Uconn that will surprise or overwhelm this SC squad.
 
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HuskyNan said:
No, another talented freshman is out for the season but you’re right, UConn lacks experience and sheer numbers in the paint. UConn does have an undersized athletic freak wing in Aubrey Griffin that you didn’t see last year. She’s not big but she’s long and disruptive. It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect she’ll have on the game.

So, how will you guard Azzi? :cool:
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It’s a good thing we’ve got 2 1/2 months to figure it out. Just kidding but it really is a pretty long way off - and imagine the talk when it gets here.

If the game were tomorrow, I would envision Neal and Hall rotating on Azzi. It won’t be a zone:p
 
sharris25 said:
I think Amihere would not have an issue with Fudd's perceived speed as she was a state champion sprinter and given her Olympic and World Cup experience has been used to chasing extremely quick guards as a member of Team Canada. Also Breezy Hall is very fast and a an elite defender who has lenght at 6'1. Fudd will be good, but South Carolina has not had an issue guarding her either time they played last year. I would guess Dawn would rotate defenders on her to see how great her Stamina is, especially if someone else cannot provide the offensive alpha dog on the team. Muhl is a good guard but does not seem the 20 pt scorer you may think she would be. These starters from South Carolina are also adept at playing Griffin, as they did so a few years ago in Uconn's loss in Columbia, their freshman year, when all were in the starting lineup. Frankly, I hope it is a decent game, but there is nothing in this year's team for Uconn that will surprise or overwhelm this SC squad.
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Fudd and Griffin are much different players than when South Carolina last saw them though. No one thinks Muhl is a 20 point scorer but Lou is and can carry the offense if Fudd is struggling to score. As can Caroline when she's healthy. Muhl will be tough for your guards offensively though as you lack strong ball handlers and passers.

Its not just about shutting Fudd down offensively as there are a few different weapons in multiple positions Uconn can exploit on offense. It's about not letting Uconn control the tempo and spread the South Carolina out in the half court if they go to a line up where everyone is a threat from three.
 
sharris25 said:
I think Amihere would not have an issue with Fudd's perceived speed as she was a state champion sprinter and given her Olympic and World Cup experience has been used to chasing extremely quick guards as a member of Team Canada. Also Breezy Hall is very fast and a an elite defender who has lenght at 6'1. Fudd will be good, but South Carolina has not had an issue guarding her either time they played last year. I would guess Dawn would rotate defenders on her to see how great her Stamina is, especially if someone else cannot provide the offensive alpha dog on the team. Muhl is a good guard but does not seem the 20 pt scorer you may think she would be. These starters from South Carolina are also adept at playing Griffin, as they did so a few years ago in Uconn's loss in Columbia, their freshman year, when all were in the starting lineup. Frankly, I hope it is a decent game, but there is nothing in this year's team for Uconn that will surprise or overwhelm this SC squad.
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Azzi had a nagging foot injury that healed over the summer.

I don’t expect many points from Nika Muhl, if any, but do think grad transfer Lou Lopez Senechal will be left open some so So Carolina can cover Azzi. Lou won’t hesitate to shoot as her 20 point burst vs NC State showed.
 
HuskyNan said:
Azzi had a nagging foot injury that healed over the summer.

I don’t expect many points from Nika Muhl, if any, but do think grad transfer Lou Lopez Senechal will be left open some so So Carolina can cover Azzi. Lou won’t hesitate to shoot as her 20 point burst vs NC State showed.
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I fear Nika’s ability to feed the others. Her 15 assists vs. Texas or NCState (whichever it was) was amazing.
 
visitingcock said:
I fear Nika’s ability to feed the others. Her 15 assists vs. Texas or NCState (whichever it was) was amazing.
HuskyNan said:
Azzi had a nagging foot injury that healed over the summer.

I don’t expect many points from Nika Muhl, if any, but do think grad transfer Lou Lopez Senechal will be left open some so So Carolina can cover Azzi. Lou won’t hesitate to shoot as her 20 point burst vs NC State showed.
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I have seen no problem with Raven or Fletcher as ball handlers. If you check their assist to turnover ratio, it is very good. Their issue is playing more with our team to integrate their skills with our returners. The more they play games the better they will be and their talent will continue to show. As it relates to Fudd and Griffin being different players, so are the South Carolina players as they continue to improve. Beal, who Uconn would sagg off to try and contain Boston, is making her threes this year, which is a game changer as Stanford learned along with Hall's threes. Secondly, as it relates to Fudd, to be successful against South Carolina,, you have to be able to break down your woman off the dribble, which I have not seen as Azzi's strong point. She is normally set up for her shots. South Carolina does not double and is elite defensively in playing woman on woman. This is the reason that they have had so much success the past few years against Arkansas and countless other teams that put 5 shooters on the floor and try to go at them. As you stated it is going to be a period of time before that game, but these scenarios you state would dominate us from your backcourt are not apparent to me, and time will tell.
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If you think Azzi can't break someone down off the dribble you haven't watched her this year as that is were 70% of her shots have come from.

I don't really think you can compare the jump that Fudd has shown at this point to anything from South Carolina's at this point going from 12 points per game to 30 points per game right now.
Even if Beal's three point shooting holds up throughout the season, there are still plenty of other players to sag off on to guard Boston with the team overall shooting 32% of three.
 
Uhm, I thought this thread was about Stanford!?!?!?!?

Time to open a UConn v SCar thread with 2-1/2 months to wait?
 
I just wish we could change the title of this thread as I am tired of my initial hopes being dashed....:oops:
 
So anyways...back to Stanford v. South Carolina talk...I hope to meet up again in the national title game after one of our teams curb stomps UConn! :cool:
 
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I’m a big Dawn fan and have been for years. Love to see her build such a formidable program. As much as I want my UConn kids to win, I can’t even generate any (much) competitive hatred for you guys, as opposed to some other programs <cough>ND<cough> that shall remain nameless.

Much respect to your program. We’ll do our best to make sure your success is fleeting but I think we will be “fighting” for many years to come. :)
 
Lol
metro boomin GIF by NOISEY
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
If you think Azzi can't break someone down off the dribble you haven't watched her this year as that is were 70% of her shots have come from.

I don't really think you can compare the jump that Fudd has shown at this point to anything from South Carolina's at this point going from 12 points per game to 30 points per game right now.
Even if Beal's three point shooting holds up throughout the season, there are still plenty of other players to sag off on to guard Boston with the team overall shooting 32% of three.
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I have watched her a few times this year, but neither team Texas nor NC State had the type of experienced athletes playing her that SC can throw at her. In terms of sagging, Zia has made Uconn pay for that, Bree Hall made Stanford pay for it also, so if that is your strategy bring it on. lol
 
sharris25 said:
I have watched her a few times this year, but neither team Texas nor NC State had the type of experienced athletes playing her that SC can throw at her. In terms of sagging, Zia has made Uconn pay for that, Bree Hall made Stanford pay for it also, so if that is your strategy bring it on. lol
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That likely won’t be the strategy as I’ve said before. High pressure perimeter defense to cause turnovers and make entry passes difficult would probably be the main strategy.
 
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visitingcock said:
It’s a good thing we’ve got 2 1/2 months to figure it out. Just kidding but it really is a pretty long way off - and imagine the talk when it gets here.

If the game were tomorrow, I would envision Neal and Hall rotating on Azzi. It won’t be a zone:p
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Seems a no brainer that it would be Beal, Hall, and Cooke.

I think all our forwards are capable of dealing with Griffin.

It's hard to see a fundamental change in the way that South Carolina needs to defend UConn.

I'm just not sure that Azzi is better than Paige.

Now I do think that UConn played seniors last year that were never Geno's style and never fit and never where that hard to defend.

I am waiting to see if that has changed.
 
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Gamecockfan77 said:
Seems a no brainer that it would be Beal, Hall, and Cooke.

I think all our forwards are capable of dealing with Griffin.

It's hard to see a fundamental change in the way that South Carolina needs to defend UConn.

I'm just not sure that Azzi is better than Paige.

Now I do think that UConn played seniors last year that were never Geno's style and never fit and never where that hard to defend.

I am waiting to see if that has changed.
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I don’t know that Fudd is better than an healthy Paige but she is better than the 70-80% Paige from the tournament last year. I also think Lou is better than a freshman Year Azzi and Nikka is much better than the version of her last year.

I really don’t know the Boston or Cardozo or Saxton can keep up with Griffins quickness on the perimeter though. Amihere would be a good match up but I think you’ll want to use her on Fudd because I don’t think Azzi will have much problem getting her shot off against your other guards with her release.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
I don’t know that Fudd is better than an healthy Paige but she is better than the 70-80% Paige from the tournament last year. I also think Lou is better than a freshman Year Azzi and Nikka is much better than the version of her last year.

I really don’t know the Boston or Cardozo or Saxton can keep up with Griffins quickness on the perimeter though. Amihere would be a good match up but I think you’ll want to use her on Fudd because I don’t think Azzi will have much problem getting her shot off against your other guards with her release.
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I think Saxton would be fine. That's a matchup that's probably happened before.

The two centers would not be ideal. But I was surprised we went with the centers on Brink.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
I don’t know that Fudd is better than an healthy Paige but she is better than the 70-80% Paige from the tournament last year. I also think Lou is better than a freshman Year Azzi and Nikka is much better than the version of her last year.

I really don’t know the Boston or Cardozo or Saxton can keep up with Griffins quickness on the perimeter though. Amihere would be a good match up but I think you’ll want to use her on Fudd because I don’t think Azzi will have much problem getting her shot off against your other guards with her release.
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I'm interested to see if Azzi can get off good shots against I'm assuming Beal.

She's certainly a different animal than last year but still not sure she's better shot maker. But maybe she doesn't need as much of an opening to get off a jumper. Certainly she hit some quick ones against NC State.

I think there is a great chance UConn is the best team next year.

I think my crystal ball is still hazy this year. It's just a guess that I'm not real locked in on.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
I think Saxton would be fine. That's a matchup that's probably happened before.

The two centers would not be ideal. But I was surprised we went with the centers on Brink.
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I really think Saxton is a step too slow for Griffin. I do think she’s made huge strides since they last played in 2021 offensively, Geno and CD said she was better that Azzi a couple of weeks ago.

Either way I don’t think UConn will score well in the half court against USC because the team defense is very tough. I’m banking on the defense converting into enough offense to win though.
 
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