Starters need a breather
- Thread starter Puertorock43
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Let's see, yesterday JuJu played 39 minutes!!!! How the h*[ [ could her coach not rest her?????
Why aren't people complaining about the USC coach??????
Why aren't people complaining about the USC coach??????
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I don't think it is so much her defense as her other game. The last time she was in a game, she turned the ball over and committed a foul within 60 seconds. Her defense is actually pretty good, and her rebounding is good. But she is 'dead to him " until next year, unless there is no choice.
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All the starters were gassed. They played a noble and gritty game, building a 20 point lead out of pebbles and sticks, and holding on until Duke ran out of time. USC is much better than Duke, and is led by a freshman superstar. It seems our next game is a punishment, rather than a reward. Most of our players have been logging 40 minutes a game since the BE tournament. We'll see if there is magic in the air. We are going to need it. But we are here. And that is a superb testament to the team and the organization.
donalddoowop
Who put the Bop in the Bop Shoo Bop?
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There is a reason the players are getting tired and worn down also. When the team had a twenty point lead would have been a good time to give someone a rest. Sometimes that practice rule needs to be pushed aside so the starters can get a much needed rest.
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Sooooo true and that’s all I’m saying. We sit here saying this team is depleted and have no bench but don’t utilize the available players on the bench
That is where the assistant coaches should come in. It appears to me than none of them have a say in game in terms of substitution patterns.
That was a great defensive game by both teams. The huge advantage UConn had was talent, the advantage that Duke had to keep it close was use of the bench. Geno will NEVER win the battle of using the bench so to expect that after 30 years is not logical. In his mind (and I don't disagree) his starters are better tired than what he has on the bench. He called a couple timeouts to try to get that breather a short substitution would provide.
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Q don't play the same quality defense that Ash does. The fact that we won proves to me Geno absolutely knows what hes doing.
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This isn't a rec league where everyone who signs up gets to play in the game. I agree that Q isn't shy, but she's a volume shooter and not an efficient scorer, and by most accounts her defense is subpar. Do you think either one of those traits is going to be an asset at this point in the tournament. Sure, giving her 2 minutes here and there as a substitute at the end of a half or right before a TV timeout might make some sense, but Geno clearly doesn't think a fresh Q is better than a tired Ash. As for Ice.... where did the version we saw in the Big East Tourney go? I can see each of them getting 4 minutes a game barring a lopsided score.
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Geno knows players, teams, situations, strengths, weaknesses from his years and years of experience. I believe Geno thought they could win the Duke game and exhausted his best players to do so, saving nothing to make it to the elite 8, one level better than last year. I also believe Geno now feels they have achieved what their potential allowed and is now duly aware and prepared to go home content at this level with no expectation that they would or could prevail against USC.
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That’s pretty bleak. I think Geno is a bit more stubborn than me, and he’ll still be trying to win next game too, and the one after, and the one after that. We’re just trying to suggest to him that a minute or 2 of rest for a starter won’t be the end of the world. We don’t think he listens though.
I believe at the end of the game Ash drew two fouls when she tired, outhustled by the opponent on a drive to the basket, and she fouled from behind to give 2 three point plays. She was exhausted. I an agree you don't play someone who has not earned their minutes because you want them to feel ok about themselves, but you can still play them for 2 minutes because the starter needs a rest. Sub is not as good as the starter you remove for those 2 minutes, but the starter is better for the next 15 minutes because she got a rest. No different than you play Ice, even if she has not earned the minutes, because Edwards is in foul trouble. Being gassed is like being in foul trouble. Edwards at the end had to play soft because of 4 fouls, and suddenly a few of their in close shots were going in. Ice, with one or two fouls could have played more maybe foul, but no harm if she has made the shot miss, because they still only get 2 points if they make both foul shots. I think Nika and even Paige made some turnovers late because they were running on fumes. If Bettencourt was good enough to play the Princeton game last year, out of necessity, she is good enough to play for 1 minute at the end of the third quarter, so Paige gets a 3 or 4 minute break by the time the fourth quarter starts.
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I forget, was the Princeton game during the NCAAT?
MSGRET
MSG, US Army Retired
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No it was right before the Maryland game during the regular season.
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Cause we don't care about USC. Paige was absolutely wiped out at the end against Duke.
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Ah, what if’s now……
If Azzi wasn’t injured, wouldn’t be an issue.
If AG wasn’t injured, wouldn’t be an issue.
Etc.
What if’s are futility . My two cents.
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Geno proved to the team in the BE Tournament that they can play 40 minutes a game -- and three games in three days. The BE tournament was very intense most times and had some pressure. Granted, not quite the level of competition currently. Geno knew with a very short bench the practices and training routines had to prepare them to go 40 minutes many times during the season.
Were some of the UConn players gassed at the end? Yes. That usually happens in high level battles. Nothing unusual here. Of course you leave it all out on the court. You don't save anything for tomorrow because tomorrow might not come. If you are not gassed at the end you did not work hard enough.
UConn has a day off. They don't have to play 3 days in a row. The days rest is sufficient for now. UConn can leave it all out on the court again because this could be the last game. If they are 100% spent at the end --and they won--they have 5 days to rest.
I agree, Ash was tired at the end and made 2-3 mistakes that she usually avoids. But remember, the tired UConn team pulled together (tired or not) and pulled away at the end to win by 9. They won the game. Ash and Nika played their part--super intense defense. They stopped the scoring. They fulfilled their mission. Were they fatigued? Yes. Was Ash scoreless? Yes. THEY WON.
Several posters gave good explanations about not subbing Q. I have to agree with them. Q would be taking a chance that could be avoided. Geno made the decisions and won the game. I'm happy with that.
Were some of the UConn players gassed at the end? Yes. That usually happens in high level battles. Nothing unusual here. Of course you leave it all out on the court. You don't save anything for tomorrow because tomorrow might not come. If you are not gassed at the end you did not work hard enough.
UConn has a day off. They don't have to play 3 days in a row. The days rest is sufficient for now. UConn can leave it all out on the court again because this could be the last game. If they are 100% spent at the end --and they won--they have 5 days to rest.
I agree, Ash was tired at the end and made 2-3 mistakes that she usually avoids. But remember, the tired UConn team pulled together (tired or not) and pulled away at the end to win by 9. They won the game. Ash and Nika played their part--super intense defense. They stopped the scoring. They fulfilled their mission. Were they fatigued? Yes. Was Ash scoreless? Yes. THEY WON.
Several posters gave good explanations about not subbing Q. I have to agree with them. Q would be taking a chance that could be avoided. Geno made the decisions and won the game. I'm happy with that.
I get your point in general terms. Do other teams shorten their rotations and have a player or two play the whole game or close to it? Yes some do, and some players have great endurance, but I think many players are not expected to have maximum effort every minute on the defensive end. Trade offs are made to keep a star in the game to do what they do best.
This team has wound up playing small. Because they don't have a great shot blocker or rebounder behind them, it needs to be a group effort on the boards, and we need to play very aggressive defense on the perimeter, hoping to also generate more turnovers and get some offense from our defense. That is the identity of this team with whatever players we have left.
That approach is relatively exhausting, and our best player is also forced to play out of position at the 4, battling bigger players all game long. Each game is different too. We handled the minutes in the big East tournament pretty well, but clearly they were gassed at the end of the Duke game.
I personally don't get it with Q. A 6 player rotation is such a big disadvantage in so many ways, and statistically per minute Q is pretty close to Nika, Ash, and KK and way way ahead of Ice, it's not even close. Now I get it that she can't guard a post player, and you need Ice for that, but Q is actually a better rebounder than Ice, and when resting Nika, Ash, or KK she seems not like a possible choice, but in fact the obvious choice.
She does make me nervous when she is in there but so does Ice. Anyway the other thing that scares me is keeping a player stuck on the bench, showing your lack of confidence in her, and then potentially having to throw her into a crucial moment at game end because someone fouls out. I would rather see a few minutes in the first half to see how she handles the big stage.
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There are commercial time outs and the end quarter time outs that if you sub a player even for one minute of game time that can translate into a few minutes of real time. When players are tired they commit more fouls. When players are in foul trouble they can't be aggressive on defense. Duke cut the lead because we were tired and Edwards could not play aggressive D. To win the championship you need 4 win in 9 days, and NO team including UConn will win playing 6 players. As a side thought I am surprised that UConn doesn't play zone for parts of the game.
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Sure she could! There is a vast gulf between Ash and Q in terms of defensive play! Q still does not know the defense. Two years from now Q may well be btter than Ash on defense but not now.
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Didn't Notre Dame win a few years ago with 6 players?
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Shade knows what Geno wants on the defensive end of the court. she might not have scored but did her job on defense.
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Talk to the 2018 Notre Dame National Championship team. They played the last 3 games with just 6 players, and mostly 5 players.