Stats vs Baylor are Crystal clear....

[DavidinNaples]

Baylor came to Storrs to beat UConn with a huge line up of big players standing 6'7", 6'4", 6'4", 6'3" and 6'2". They left on the "short" end of a 72-61 score, cut down by the smallest player on the court, Crystal Dangerfield. It was clear for all to see, Crystal is the real deal and yet another great point guard for UConn. Consider:

1. In 30 minutes of heated action, Crystal had 1 turnover.
2. She scored 19 points, on 8-14 shooting. (57%)
3. Dangerfield made 3 of 5 three point baskets, often launching from well beyond the arc.
4. Her 5 assists gave her a 5 to 1 assist/turnover ratio.
5. Crystal added 4 rebounds, 3rd highest for the Huskies and 2 steals.
6. Crystal Dangerfield, after two games, has 24 pts on 50% shooting, 6 assists and just the 1 turnover.

UConn fans had a great view of what is to come. Geno said what everyone was thinking, "Crystal can be as good as she wants to be." Looks like she wants to be really, really good.

Go Huskies, go Crystal..!!

 

[VAMike23]

But wait, there's more!

a. She had quite a number of (creative) inside dishes that were not converted into buckets. Could have easily had 3-4 more assists.
b. It's not "easy" but not especially difficult to minimize turnovers if you're not trying to do a lot on the floor. Crystal was trying to do A LOT, especially after the 1st quarter.

 

[Sonny44]

I thought her shot with 1:10 left to play was amazing, high off the backboard, very difficult.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Crystal, at 5'5", has learned how to score against taller players. She shields the ball inside with her body. She also shoots high-arching shots and uses spots higher up on the glass than most players use.

There was one point during the game when there was a loose ball on the floor. I had a total sense of deja vu. Moriah almost always collected the loose balls. Sure enough, Crystal got that one.

I agree with Mike. Crystal looks like John Stockton or Chris Paul out there running the pick and roll. She looks like a 6th grader but plays like a college junior.

 

[VAMike23]

Crystal looks like John Stockton or Chris Paul out there running the pick and roll. She looks like a 6th grader but plays like a college junior.

...and Malone's arriving next year

 

[Husky1964]

Not enamored of Kim's coaching. Managed to win ONE NCAA ship with the best player in the country, that no one could guard. POOR strategy last night. We could not play man to man and guard their big people. Collier and Williams would foul out in 2nd Q. Play a double post with Brown and Montpremier (ala Lobo and Wolters) on the low blocks and run your offense inside out if necess. Geno would beat us handily if he coached BU last night and Mulkey coached UConn!!!!! You have 2 big studs !!! UTILIZE them!!

 

[UcMiami]

I thought her shot with 1:10 left to play was amazing, high off the backboard, very difficult.

She made it and it was beautiful, but I wonder if the tape breakdown the coaches show will have a big red circle around Natalie standing under the basket and wide open for a pass from Crystal. It is the kind of detail that coaches love to harp on - great play there kid, but you could have made an even better play!

 

[toadfoot]

She made it and it was beautiful, but I wonder if the tape breakdown the coaches show will have a big red circle around Natalie standing under the basket and wide open for a pass from Crystal. It is the kind of detail that coaches love to harp on - great play there kid, but you could have made an even better play!

There were several other time when Crystal made plays that were inadvisable, some ended well, others not so well. Definitely some teaching moments when they review the video. I recall one 3 pointer she missed very early in the shot clock and seeing Geno throw his hands up on the bench!

 

[JoePgh]

Not enamored of Kim's coaching. Managed to win ONE NCAA ship with the best player in the country, that no one could guard. POOR strategy last night. We could not play man to man and guard their big people. Collier and Williams would foul out in 2nd Q. Play a double post with Brown and Montpremier (ala Lobo and Wolters) on the low blocks and run your offense inside out if necess. Geno would beat us handily if he coached BU last night and Mulkey coached UConn!!!!! You have 2 big studs !!! UTILIZE them!!

I would not be quite so critical, but I do agree that Baylor did not seem to use their bigs as aggressively as I expected they would. If they simply played a double post, UConn would have focused on denying the entry passes, and probably would have been successful in doing that. Or UConn could have played a zone against that. Or if one of Baylor's guards was not shooting well, they could drop off that player and play 3-on-2 in the paint. (Remember the year when Stef was UConn's only post and Kelly Faris played the 4. Geno had Stef at the high post. He explained that playing her low would just cause the defense to double her and allow Kelly to have any shot she wanted, which was not an appetizing prospect for Geno, who was trying to get shots for Stef.)

On the rather infrequent occasions that Brown or Mompremier got the ball in the low block, UConn couldn't stop them from getting a very good shot. But that didn't happen nearly as often as I thought it would.

It does seem that Kim isn't as creative as Geno would be in finding ways to complete an entry pass even when the defense is doing whatever it can to deny that. When Geno had Dolson and Stokes, or especially Dolson and Stewart, he tended to position one of them on the perimeter, or even both of them, and then move them around constantly. Baylor wasn't doing that. But to be fair to Kim, I don't think that either Brown or Mompremier have the mobility that Stef, Kiah, and Stewie all had.

 

[BroadwayVa]

View attachment 16976

Baylor came to Storrs to beat UConn with a huge line up of big players standing 6'7", 6'4", 6'4", 6'3" and 6'2". They left on the "short" end of a 72-61 score, cut down by the smallest player on the court, Crystal Dangerfield. It was clear for all to see, Crystal is the real deal and yet another great point guard for UConn. Consider:

1. In 30 minutes of heated action, Crystal had 1 turnover.
2. She scored 19 points, on 8-14 shooting. (57%)
3. Dangerfield made 3 of 5 three point baskets, often launching from well beyond the arc.
4. Her 5 assists gave her a 5 to 1 assist/turnover ratio.
5. Crystal added 4 rebounds, 3rd highest for the Huskies and 2 steals.
6. Crystal Dangerfield, after two games, has 24 pts on 50% shooting, 6 assists and just the 1 turnover.

UConn fans had a great view of what is to come. Geno said what everyone was thinking, "Crystal can be as good as she wants to be." Looks like she wants to be really, really good.

Go Huskies, go Crystal..!!

I was hoping for a David n test--- My intellect was improving by leaps and bounds
I was sure on Crystal--with your test--I could move my F to a D.