Substitution Pattern Against Maryland -- What Can We Infer?

[UConn82]

If the game is tied at the end of 3 quarters, and it is March, I could see MW playing. Let's see how she develops. She has that much upside.

 

[mhshuskies]

With Lou out, this was a great, productive game for the Huskies. It gave the bench, mainly Stevens and Megan, guaranteed extended time. It both created pressure to perform, yet reduced it, knowing they would probably not be pulled at the slightest error. It also gave the remainder of the bench additional time against a quality oponent.

It appeared that there was more of a comfort level for Z and Meg, like the game “slowed down” for them and AEH is starting to come along also.

 

[huskeynut]

Right now the main sub is Megan. Past that Geno is still tinkering.

When Lou comes back, Z and Megan will be the first two off the bench. After that, who knows.

 

[Monte]

If a game is tied at the end of 3 periods the ONLY people(barring injury or foul trouble) seeing the floor are the 5 starters and Stevens.

Not if someone fouls out.

 

[meyers7]

Good post.Let's get a game tied at the end of 3 periods; then, see who Geno puts in.

You may be waiting awhile.

 

[eebmg]

Not if someone fouls out.

Then Shea Ralph.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Here are three things that I noticed about Geno's substitution pattern against Maryland, focusing on the players nearer to the end of the bench:

1. I think (as some predicted) that Andra has now moved up past Molly on the backcourt depth chart. She entered this game ahead of Molly and played more minutes. To my layman's eyes, she didn't do much to call attention to herself, other than making two 3's that Maryland was happy to give her. But Molly very clearly is still the second guard off the bench -- Mikayla and Lexi are not in the mix except for garbage time.
2. Even with the shortage of front court bodies, Kyla did not get in the game until the 4th quarter. That tells me that despite whatever sophomore leap may have occurred, Geno still does not trust her. He appears to trust her less than Molly, in fact, based on the minutes.
3. And here's the thing that jumped out at me as I was putting my coat on to leave: With perhaps a minute left in the game, Geno pulled Mikayla out of the game and sent Molly back in to replace her. Why would he do that, especially when she had not made any mistakes that were obvious to this layman? She must have been playing "outside the sandbox" in a way that wasn't visible to me, and Geno pulled her to make an emphatic point that this needs to change.

There is a pattern here: Andra and Molly were less highly rated coming out of high school than Mikayla and Lexi, and it is easy to see that they are less athletic than Mikayla and Lexi. Despite being less talented, they seem to have absorbed "the system" much better than their more talented peers, and as a result they are winning in the "tortoise vs. hare" race for floor time.

Actually, I would go further and say that for Mikayla it has to be that kind of a problem, whereas for Lexi it is a different problem -- presumably conditioning. (And for both of them, undoubtedly defensive play is an issue.) However, I'm still a bit puzzled by Lexi's minimal minutes, because in every single game where she has played in the last few minutes, she has made good plays. Today she recovered an offensive rebound and made a difficult pass to the top of the circle to save a possession. In other games, she has taken a charge, drawn a foul on a drive, and made a couple of shots. That is hard to do after sitting for the first 36-38 minutes of game. I can only guess that Geno thinks Lexi should be doing better, and he isn't going to play her until she performs as well as he thinks she can.

JoePgh---I always : like your postings and rarely disagree. This one too for the most part I agree.
I have no idea why Gordon isn't getting PT--but I do suspect it isn't conditioning. By Conditioning do you mean she can't run 20 minutes in a game? I think she can. The last one off of Geno's bench usually is some one who is less than stellar in practice.
Mikayla --is a different issue: I think she has not yet fully accepted the Uconn D and/or O systems.
Molly in the first 2 game was first off the bench--implying that Geno liked her practice effort. Geno see's as we see; that Molly has a lot of learning and confidence building yet to do. I was super duper pleased that she went to the basket , made a big time effort to shoot--big big plus. Her Defense could be better but for Molly it is big step forward.
Back to Lexi and Mikayla: If all that the By-er's believe they are is true, when they "get" the Geno system; they shall be worth the effort.

My belief is: the point at which a kid enters the game and the sequence behind the 5 starters infers Geno's acceptance/belief in them. Using that as my analytical starting point (isn't that a joke), then Geno (as do we) likes everything WALKER, the Molly , and AEH (so do I). You can tell Geno he has my approval. (another joke).

 

[Golden Husky]

Thank you for injecting realistic expectations.

Freshman year with Geno is like the 10th Circle of hell. He's the devil and CD, Shea and Marisa are Cerberus, the three-headed dog (not a Husky) guarding the gates. For most, survival is the only realistic aspiration.

 

[BroadwayVa]

You may be waiting awhile.

I just watched the last April UCLA/Uconn game last night. Most of UCLA will return, I think. They led Uconn (in Connecticut) for about 4 minutes and kept the score within striking distance until the bitter, fouling, end. I for one will not be surprised should the game (at UCLA/home crowd) be tied at the half.\
Stevens and Napheesa are a bit apt to get in foul trouble, as is Walker, AEH, and Danger. Uconn isn't Uconn without Katie lou she is the soul of Defense.
If Uconn can race out to a 10 or 20 point lead in the first quarter the UCLA crowd shall sit on their hands. Ucla in April showed how good they can be-and 6 months later I'm sure they are better than that.
I hope I'm wrong!!

 

[BroadwayVa]

Freshman year with Geno is like the 10th Circle of hell. He's the devil and CD, Shea and Marisa are Cerberus, the three-headed dog (not a Husky) guarding the gates. For most, survival is the only realistic aspiration.

I think Christine Dailey is Gelinda; the pretty, nice witch (of OZ). The same is not true of Shea, I'm not sure of Marisa --as applied to your scenario
Malefic is not something I'd apply to Christine.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Of course, high school ratings do not prove anything about a player’s “relative worth to the team”. At best, they are a measure of athletic talent — which is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for helping a team like UConn to win basketball games. Ratings don’t measure a player’s motivation, coachability, work ethic, or intelligence — and all of those things are potentially useful in contributing to a team’s success on the basketball court.

My point was that my personal (totally amateur) eye test tells me that both Lexi and Mikayla are more athletically talented than Molly or Andra — and I assume that is what the high school rating pundits saw, which is why they were rated more highly. But at this point in their careers, Molly and especially Andra are making a bigger contribution towards UConn’s success on the court than their more talented teammates. And I think it has to do with all of those qualities (to which one might add “maturity”) that the ratings don’t capture.

That is true today, but it may not be true in the future. If Lexi works herself into shape and if Mikayla comes to understand the offense and defense that she is supposed to play, then their athletic talent will probably move them ahead of Molly and Andra. But that is the future (we hope), not the present.

I'm of the group that believes, except for HS number 1 or 2, a players HS rank/rating once on the UConn team has little meaning. Further, I believe, only a very very few could off the head tell us the rating of any of the current group other than Megan and go back a year or two--none. With fans it is usually: what will you do for us today?
You are correct in the athletic abilities of AEH and Molly. But, while some top players were, some were not athletic especially. KML to Uconn worth barrels of cash wasn't some one you'd call athletic. I'm taking my life in my hands-- Kelly Faris, not initially a shooter, not a shut down defender initially, only as a Senior had ONE good game and then began hitting 3's was and is a fan favorite--Molly is our current day Faris. Geno said of Faris: she may have bad plays but never a bad game, and that was true except against Diggins. I think that may apply to Molly. \
The question is: When will Mikayla and or Gordon break out and show their stuff? Playing the Geno Defense is mentally tough. Playing within the Geno Offensive system, for a athlete/scorer is much less an issue. Kids like Walker "sees" what the defense is giving up and takes it, no waiting. Should Mikayla and/or Gordon be the athletes/scorers as stated--one would think they'd follow Megan's lead, wouldn't they??
Wouldn't it be a great world if all 4 frosh become as some believe they shall??
JoePgh---Amateur? The only thing that makes a professional, a professional is they get paid. I'll send you 1 dollar if you send me your address., an
old story about putting on pants that applies here.

 

[huskyd]

Two points that I believe have not been made here: first, Geno has called this group of young players the "worst defenders" he has ever had (referring to the 4th qtr.); and, second, the 4th quarter was used to give the kids some experience, to rest the regulars for a busy week ahead, and to keep the score w/in reason. I've been saying since the first game that the last quarter has been disappointing, leaving me with a down feeling despite the wins. The only cure for these let-downs will be a competitive game in which UConn needs to play its starting rotation. As for the young subs: maybe a reasonable objective would be to keep the lead they inherit exactly as it is when they enter the game. Don't add to it, just keep things as they are. By my reckoning, the Huskies have been 40 points better than anyone played so far.

 

[cbraarj]

Who doesn't like the determination of Molly, but today she did make some dumb TOers.

3 or 4 Friday also. One ball rolled from her to a Cal player in front of Geno.

 

[cbraarj]

Andra Espinoza-Hunter is less talented than Mikayla Coombes and Lexi Gordon? Andra scored almost 1,000 points in her senior season at Ossining. Hardly lacking talent.

High School and a weak league.

 

[TitleTown]

Not if someone fouls out.

Apparently you missed the "(barring injury or foul trouble)" part of my post.

 

[TitleTown]

High School and a weak league.

She wasn't the #16 ranked player in the country by accident.

 

[cbraarj]

She wasn't the #16 ranked player in the country by accident.

Again high school in a weak league!

 

[TitleTown]

Again high school in a weak league!

What high school league she is in has virtually nothing to do with her ranking. All of those evaluations are made during AAU and Team USA games/tryouts when they can see players play against the very best competition.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Two points that I believe have not been made here: first, Geno has called this group of young players the "worst defenders" he has ever had (referring to the 4th qtr.); and, second, the 4th quarter was used to give the kids some experience, to rest the regulars for a busy week ahead, and to keep the score w/in reason. I've been saying since the first game that the last quarter has been disappointing, leaving me with a down feeling despite the wins. The only cure for these let-downs will be a competitive game in which UConn needs to play its starting rotation. As for the young subs: maybe a reasonable objective would be to keep the lead they inherit exactly as it is when they enter the game. Don't add to it, just keep things as they are. By my reckoning, the Huskies have been 40 points better than anyone played so far.

I think most shall agree with you, as we say what you saw. I liked the fourth quarter , they lost some points mostly on missing defensive stops--but unlike teams of the past, they nearly maintained the score--if not for T.O.'s may have led the MD players. All is all not a bad job. Geno has to preach Defense, and lack thereof, that's his job. He looks at what they didn't do--we as fans have the option to comment positively on what they did do.

 

[Monte]

You may be waiting awhile.

"awhile," means a short time

 

[HuskyNan]

Good grief. Now that Saniya has graduated, I guess Molly is the designated punching bag.

Molly has 5 turnovers in three games, same as Napheesa and Kia. Gabby leads the team with 15.

 

[CL82]

So my observations similar but my conclusions are slightly different. Molly is getting the nod before Kyla. I think of that as a mark of Molly's progress, and maybe the personnel change, rather than Kyla losing anything. Molly's defensive positioning is decent in my opinion. She is a step slower that the starters and less aggressive but she stays in front of her man. She seems more fit this year, but that probably is due to being a year older and having a year of practice and conditioning under her belt more than anything else. She does make mistakes and is unlikely to see time unless the game is well in hand.

I don't think the current lack of love (relevant playing time) for the frosh, other than Megan, is indicative of much. They are getting used to major college basketball game speed. We've all seen this movie before. Sit back and enjoy the progress.

 

[hoophuskee]

I don't think the current lack of love (relevant playing time) for the frosh, other than Megan, is indicative of much. They are getting used to major college basketball game speed. We've all seen this movie before. Sit back and enjoy the progress.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zanzman]

Good grief. Now that Saniya has graduated, I guess Molly is the designated punching bag.

Molly has 5 turnovers in three games, same as Napheesa and Kia. Gabby leads the team with 15.

Thought that was Natalie’s position last year and beyond

 

[cbraarj]

What high school league she is in has virtually nothing to do with her ranking. All of those evaluations are made during AAU and Team USA games/tryouts when they can see players play against the very best competition.

I was talking about 995 pts in HS and again a weak league! You brought up rankings not me!