Starters need a breather | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Starters need a breather

Monte said:
Shade played for 38 minutes, and did not score a point......Q could not have done any worse.
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Cmon don't sell her short, with turnovers and bad defense I'm sure she could've done worse.
 
RedStickHusky said:
Did I stumble onto some WCBB fantasy site? We're in Geno's hands and I'm good with that. He's got us in the E8 with Azzi, Aubrey, Caroline, Jana, and Alana sitting out. But thanks for telling us what he's doing wrong.
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Matchups are everything
 
Rowdy831 said:
He called a couple timeouts to try to get that breather a short substitution would provide.
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He's even talked about how long the tourney TV timeouts are.
 
For us to go any further in this tournament it is MY opinion since we are the smallest team left we will have to outshoot our opponents at the 3-point line. Similar to how Indiana stayed in the game against SC and how Iowa beat SC last year. We need fresh legs for our shooters and to accomplish that we need to as others have said substitute 2 additional players.

At times we will need another big because we are getting killed in the paint and other times all of our guards need a break from playing with the defensive intensity that we play. Someone who can shoot 3's also will help. Q is a better 3-point shooter than Nika and KK if she is on she can be instant offense. The lefty 3-point shooter for Oregon State came off the bench and kept them in the game.

That is my opinion. Nothing against others who would disagree.
 
Geesworld said:
It's not about principal it's about coaching the moment. Playing the bench is so meaningful for a lot of different reasons.

1. Kids get tired
2. We are the Lower seed we have the shortest turn around. Save the legs when you can.
3. We have the greatest coach who gets the best players so develop them and live with what you get.
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Golly, those are great insights that I am sure have never occurred to Coach Auriemma. You should email him.
 
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I understand that this is a forum that responds to any criticism about Geno with "Well he is a HOF coach so trust him because he is perfect and never makes mistakes so who are you to question him?" so this criticism may be out of place but....

I agree that putting Q in briefly to give a breather is a move worth trying to avoid the fatigue factor. This is now two straight games where a lead has almost been blown because everyone was gassed near the end. It's worth a shot. People are acting like Q was this all time bad defender. Putting her in for a couple minutes at the end of quarters or halves is not going to blow any leads.
 
In this forum when I read that we win in spite of the coach, or the coach should recruit a bench and use them I am curious how many coaches could have 6 of the players he did recruit, half of which were proven starters, sitting in street clothes and be playing this evening to go to the Final Four. IMHO, you could count those coaches in D-1 women’s basketball on one hand and have several fingers left, so I guess I would defer to him on playing the people who, in his opinion, give his team the best opportunity to advance.
 
Let me see if I can change the tone of this thread. I love watching Q play and hope she gets into the game tonight. I don’t fault Geno for shortening his rotation. What I see in the team’s fatigue woes is an opportunity for Q. Yeah, she might make too many mistakes and get yanked, or she might hit a few 3s and grab a few rebounds. I’m hoping for the latter.

The risk I worry about is if Q makes a mistake and thinks she cost the team a win. That can haunt a young player for months or even years. I really hope Q makes it into the regular rotation next season and a good experience now might propel her into next fall. Go Q!
 
CL82 said:
Golly, those are great insights that I am sure have never occurred to Coach Auriemma. You should email hi
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That is a great response on a forum of opinion.
 
Centerstream said:
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??????
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JuJu wasn't playing against a defense like Duke. That constant pressure wears you down and UConn was playing the same way on defense so there was zero rest within the game. The USC offense and defense is not where near as taxing as that game was. Good news is Monday should be a game they can play all the minutes and still not be dead tired.
 
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PvP said:
I really like Q and have pointed out how often her per minute played stats are "top 3" but I draw the line when she is included in any comparison with D or Maya!
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You did not understand my point. In no way does she compare to Maya and Diana. Geno preaches playing time depends on how you practice; but that "rule" does not refer to the stars on the team.
 
The fact is you could rest every player on the court 4 minutes per game by playing 1 extra player 20 minutes. I would rest Paige for the last minute or so of the 1st quarter and AE the first two minutes of the second, same for the 3rd and 4th, and rest the others around them. Ice proved she can play when counted on and that type of rest can be planned very easily.

Not to mention you have 4 timeouts too. It can be done very easily but unfortunately it seems nobody is thinking about how to rest the players without diminishing the chances of winning a game. I don't think it will matter against USC but they will need to be fresh to beat one team still alive in the tournament.
 
Geesworld said:
1. The 20-point lead that was surrendered, Q had nothing to do with.

2.Giving highlights of what a player can't do based off a small sample size of minutes per game is nuts to me. Case in point ice was asked to play huge minutes from start to finish in the Big East tourney. Not much was said about her play from a negative stand point. Limit her minutes and the magnifying glass gets bigger.

3. Ice and Brady only difference from KK and Shade is minutes. These freshman have good and bad minutes collectively.
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The 20 point lead was built while Edwards was on the bench after her fourth foul. In fact, the lead of 10 when Edwards re-entered the game was great than the lead when she was sent to the bench and greater than the lead at the end of the game (albeit by only 2 points). But the point remains that not having Edwards in the game didn't really hurt the team's performance. So maybe the starters could get some more rest during the game without the roof falling in. Of course, we'll probably never get to see that.
 
Oldschoolbb said:
The 20 point lead was built while Edwards was on the bench after her fourth foul. In fact, the lead of 10 when Edwards re-entered the game was great than the lead when she was sent to the bench and greater than the lead at the end of the game (albeit by only 2 points). But the point remains that not having Edwards in the game didn't really hurt the team's performance. So maybe the starters could get some more rest during the game without the roof falling in. Of course, we'll probably never get to see that.
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In fact, the lead of 10 when Edwards re-entered the game was great

should have read: In fact, the lead of 10 when Edwards re-entered the game was greater
 
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CL82 said:
In a one and done NCAA National tournament? I'd be amazed if you can even find one who would prefer to lose "on principal."
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See what the Illinois mbb coach said and did.
 
Puertorock43 said:
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
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Q could not have done worse on offense, you are right. But she could have done much worse on everything else. I just hope that Q is not now seen as a " garbage time player" for the rest of her career. Can anyone recall a similar circumstance )where a "benched freshman " ....for NCAA tournament) became a star 2-3 years later? Or is Q now what she will remain in Geno's mind? I guess I am asking; " does Q really have unlimited upside potential ( Geno's words ), or was he just blowing smoke?"
 
hoophuskee said:
Didn't Notre Dame win a few years ago with 6 players?
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I'm not sure how many players they used but they played almost exclusively 1-3-1 zone to stay fresh and out of foul trouble.
 
Henry said:
If the intent is to win games, then the starters need to still have something in the tank by the 4th Q. Look at how exhausted they were yesterday, and they hadn't played since Mon. How are they going to manage having to play again tomorrow unless they get breaks during that game.
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The hype, anticipation, extra activity levels and distractions to their routine (out and about) can be daunting and draining. Perhaps they will settle and be rested for tonight’s game? Let’s hope the Seniors Rise Up and avoid foul trouble, need a big game from Edwards -Double Double, Nikka needs to play smart, take care of the ball, make a couple open shots and stay out of fouls trouble! Paige will find ways to fill gaps and Ashlynn will be in double figures tonight! KK will disrupt them with her quickness and hopefully, make good choices on her drives, find the basket or open teammate! Let’s go UCONN!!!!
 
Longtime fan said:
Q could not have done worse on offense, you are right. But she could have done much worse on everything else. I just hope that Q is not now seen as a " garbage time player" for the rest of her career. Can anyone recall a similar circumstance )where a "benched freshman " ....for NCAA tournament) became a star 2-3 years later? Or is Q now what she will remain in Geno's mind? I guess I am asking; " does Q really have unlimited upside potential ( Geno's words ), or was he just blowing smoke?"
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Wow I remember a player that was not only benched, but Geno had her crying. Now she is the all time assists record holder for UConn, has first and second place in season assists, first in single game assists, and has the most double digit assists games in UConn history. It's the player that is control of what they do not the coach.

I know that you stated for an NCAA Tournament, but since she didn't play does it really mean being benched. I believe that being benched is that you were playing in the game, taken out and did not return to that game. If it means that then why are you not also asking why Ines didn't get a few minutes, she knows the offense and defense schemes better than Q?
 
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asuwish said:
I'm not sure how many players they used but they played almost exclusively 1-3-1 zone to stay fresh and out of foul trouble.
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It was 6.

I look at this different-- when you say "you can't win it all with 6." IMO you can - and imo ND played with 6.

But I think you can't win it all with this many freshmen (The DT years were long ago) - - bascially 4 in top 7 (counting Ice as a forsh) of which none of the freshmen were like Setwart or Maya or like teh current Juju.

So if they don;t win it this year- imo it's more due to being too young in which none of the frosh were thought to be a super super super player.
 
Longtime fan said:
Q could not have done worse on offense, you are right. But she could have done much worse on everything else. I just hope that Q is not now seen as a " garbage time player" for the rest of her career. Can anyone recall a similar circumstance )where a "benched freshman " ....for NCAA tournament) became a star 2-3 years later? Or is Q now what she will remain in Geno's mind? I guess I am asking; " does Q really have unlimited upside potential ( Geno's words ), or was he just blowing smoke?"
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Geno benched Gabby when she missed an uncontested layup in the tournament when she was a freshman. You see how she turned out.
 
hoophuskee said:
It was 6.

I look at this different-- when you say "you can't win it all with 6." IMO you can - and imo ND played with 6.

But I think you can't win it all with this many freshmen (The DT years were long ago) - - bascially 4 in top 7 (counting Ice as a forsh) of which none of the freshmen were like Setwart or Maya or like teh current Juju.

So if they don;t win it this year- imo it's more due to being too young in which none of the frosh were thought to be a super super super player.
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They're young, their roster construction is off, the bench is thin... but in a one-and-done format, we've got a punchers chance. I wonder if Geno doesn't throw a lot of quick doubles at Watkins?
 
RedStickHusky said:
They're young, their roster construction is off, the bench is thin... but in a one-and-done format, we've got a punchers chance. I wonder if Geno doesn't throw a lot of quick doubles at Watkins?
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Yes - when I said "miracle" - it was an exaggeration - just a talking point. .
 
Longtime fan said:
Q could not have done worse on offense, you are right. But she could have done much worse on everything else. I just hope that Q is not now seen as a " garbage time player" for the rest of her career. Can anyone recall a similar circumstance )where a "benched freshman " ....for NCAA tournament) became a star 2-3 years later? Or is Q now what she will remain in Geno's mind? I guess I am asking; " does Q really have unlimited upside potential ( Geno's words ), or was he just blowing smoke?"
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I think we will see Q tonight. Imo the reason we did not see her against Duke was that Geno felt she could not handle the pressure defense of Duke! Tonight should be more of a “regular” game. Actually, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Q make a big contribution tonight. I doubt her confidence or Geno’s perception of her potential will be affected in the least by Friday’s game!
 
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