Take-aways from the Houston game

[Huskee11]

Lou played well in the first quarter against East Carolina, but has seemed to drift in the first quarters of the Tulsa and Houston games, scoring 0 points in both.

Of course, she turned it on big time against Tulsa with 32 in the next two quarters, and played well in the second and third quarters yesterday, scoring 16 in about 18 minutes.

I would like to see them run some set plays early for her posting up and curling near the foul line. Get her going early, we will need that in order to win it all. I predict the Geno will try to do some of that right off the bat against Temple.

 

[ricky]

I'm sorry but your points -- I just don't want to say-- just sooo wrong. You want to only allow your favorite player to determine where the ball goes -- and now all of sudden Gabby is Magic. You want a 11 time champion coach known for sharing the ball in his offense - to change his offense all because you like how Gabby plays more than the other super players on this team. We're undefeated this year by running oru offense a certain way- now all of a sudden because you love her game- the all-time great HOF coach should change his entire offense. C'mon!!!! e

And let's stay on topic please. Our discussion was about the offense- now all of a sudden you are throwing defense at me? Where did that come from? I replied to you about yoru comment on allowing Gabby to touch the ball eveyr time on OFFENSE. What does her defense have to do with our conversation?

Wow. Your long replies just go in too many directions. It's hard to stay on point with nice direct replies.

 

[ricky]

Wow. Your long replies just go in too many directions. It's hard to stay on point with nice direct replies.

Of course Geno knows more about this topic than all of us. But can't we just have a little fun and assume you didn't hear what Geno said. Geno is not going to change anything based on what's on the BY. I'm sure he has limited amount of time. He is not using it to read this stuff. So we are on our own here. As long as I have access I'm going to type.

 

[BigBird]

There has to be a starting point where a player starts to play well. This may have been it for Kyla. You complain that her defense is weak as if she can't improve and her freshman year is only two thirds over. She showed some offense today yet you complain about her defense. Molly plays good defense yet people complain about her offense. Some people on this board ARE spoiled. To say as a matter of fact that a player will NOT get better is not wise because no one knows but, I understand that is your opinion. Who thought Gabby would be as good as she is now based on her freshman play or Farris based on hers? Imo, I believe Irwin would be more productive playing outside on offense and inside on defense. She blocks out well and can rebound. She has a good shot from fifteen feet on out. With her basketball background I believe she will eventually come into her own. There is no guarantee all of next seasons freshmen will learn the Uconn system well enough to satisfy the coaches to gain meaningful minutes. Also, Collier must be one special player to receive so much criticism after getting another double double.

This. The negative vibe being thrown on our freshmen by some on this board is just silly. It's a long road, and the three kids are just at the front end of their development. That some choose to be pessimistic is, by now, obvious. We get it. We hear you. But what good does it do anyone to keep up a negative drumbeat on almost every thread?

 

[hoophuskee]

Wow. Your long replies just go in too many directions. It's hard to stay on point with nice direct replies.

Long replies?

Two paragraphs is "long replies?"

 

[Carnac]

My one reaction -- and I don't know how relevant it is -- is that over the years, the last 2, 3 or 4 players off the bench would go out there and play would, in essence, grind to a halt. 'Way back when, I remember cheering on Missy Rose on the rare occasions when she would get into a game, or a favorite of my daughter's and mine, Marci Czel. These were players with a certain amount of talent who simply could not compete with the Lobos, Taurasis and Cashes for meaningful minutes. And when they would trickle into the game, the quality of play often went to near-zero. And folks would complain about the quality of their play when those players simply could not keep up.

I'm afraid Bedford has a point. It's great that Kyla is getting better, and Molly, too. But the rate at which they will improve between now and the start of next year may be too slow to allow them meaningful minutes, especially in big games. But IMHO, the issue is not, as Bedford suggests, that UConn recruits ordinary players. It would be a problem if UConn recruited ordinary players and promised them extraordinary things -- and I'm certain Geno and staff don't do that. What sometimes happens is that players who after a year believe they will be underutilized because of more talented teammates sometimes decide to transfer. Others decide that they prefer a supporting role on a championship team.

Tomcat, I said the same thing you did here in an earlier post and got a considerable amount of push back on it. While I fully support ALL of our girls, and cheer/root for them without fatigue. I suggested that certain players will at best be "role players". I'll reserve my opinion on that observation until the end of January next season. The dust will have settled by then, and any of the incoming freshmen that are going to make an impact (contribution) on next year's team will have made some inroads towards that end by then, and we'll know the pecking order (rotation) of the bench players by then. Geno will have an influx of talent coming in this summer. Playing time for bench players will be at a premium. Minutes will be scarce for those on the far end. Still, I would be shocked if Geno suffers any transfers over the next 3 years. I'd bet the farm it doesn't happen. These players are coming to UConn with eyes wide open.

 

[Lynx23]

The BY is strange this year. Everybody has his or her favorite player and wants that individual to get the ball as a first option each time and be the star every game. That way of thinking hardly supports a "team" concept. Is winning the Badass Award each game the motivation behind some of the nonsense on this board? Hello, it's not a real award. Honestly, Kia has never lost a game as a starter and yet she's often criticized for not passing the ball to Lou, or Gabby, or Pheesa. She must be passing it to Saniya each time. This amuses me. UCONN runs plays. That means the intent may be for the 3rd or 4th individual who gets the ball to take the shot if she is open. Seriously, if your favorite player has an "off" game it's always another player's fault? I've been following the BY for 10 years and have never seen anything like the negativity on the board this year, often directed at a single player or players for one reason or another.

 

[cohenzone]

No. And I'm sure they've tried. She will graduate UConn with the same bad habits with which she came - they are hard to break.

You haven't been paying attention. As I said in another thread, Kyla knows how to find the right spots on the floor on O and has for several games. She also isn't gun shy. Her real weak points are foot speed and D against more athletic kids. She isn't star material but she can spell others and not necessarily just in garbage time.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Geno will have an influx of talent coming in this summer. Playing time for bench players will be at a premium. Minutes will be scarce for those on the far end. Still, I would be shocked if Geno suffers any transfers over the next 3 years. I'd bet the farm it doesn't happen. These players are coming to UConn with eyes wide open.

I sincerely hope you are correct.

 

[Intpseeker]

The BY is strange this year. Everybody has his or her favorite player and wants that individual to get the ball as a first option each time and be the star every game. That way of thinking hardly supports a "team" concept. Is winning the Badass Award each game the motivation behind some of the nonsense on this board? Hello, it's not a real award. Honestly, Kia has never lost a game as a starter and yet she's often criticized for not passing the ball to Lou, or Gabby, or Pheesa. She must be passing it to Saniya each time. This amuses me. UCONN runs plays. That means the intent may be for the 3rd or 4th individual who gets the ball to take the shot if she is open. Seriously, if your favorite player has an "off" game it's always another player's fault? I've been following the BY for 10 years and have never seen anything like the negativity on the board this year, often directed at a single player or players for one reason or another.

Hmmm? One might even call the BY vibe this season trollish in nature.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think the time of the game was a problem. We played an early game last year--with our stacked lineup--and both started poorly and played one of our worst games overall.

 

[Buzzyboy]

A few from me:

- Geno said it best after game that this is the first game it seemed like they just showed up but it's not a concern since it's not a pattern.

- Gabby never just shows up (or Kia.). Both have an above average level of competitiveness. Don't want to overstate it since all the women play hard but these two just seem like "warriors" ready to battle for anything and everything on the court...Always...

- Lou disappointed me for the first time this year and it's not the misses. I think Lou and Pheese were the two most guilty or just "showing up.". It's hard to pin point but the level of concentration/sharpness is the best way i can put it.

- On Lou's behalf I felt there were a number of times she called for ball down low with smaller defender in first half and they did not pass it to her. I mention this because she will typically, almost always, have a height advantage so they should target this more. I have seen them do it well at times throughout year too but not exploiting it as much as I think they can.

- Butler needs to play the same way against the better teams (minus dribbling the ball once catching ball down low.) What I mean is the aggressiveness and looking to score. She actually has not been bad in the other areas when playing the better teams.

- Kyla is improving across the board. Obviously we need to temper our expectations but like to see her get more game time earlier in some of these conference games.

- Molly shows flashes but agree with most that it's a mental thing where she just needs to just play. Her instincts serve her well on defense she needs to trust them on offense.

I think Molly might be suffering from the type of thing that Saniya was for the first couple of years in Storrs. Last year Saniya's issues were more health related. Hopefully Saniya can help Molly somehow fight through these type issues, having dealt with them herself.

 

[meyers7]

Still, I would be shocked if Geno suffers any transfers over the next 3 years. I'd bet the farm it doesn't happen. These players are coming to UConn with eyes wide open.

Really? We've had 4 transfers and 1 player leave early for the WNBA in the past 3 years. Nobody for the next 3 years?? It would be nice, but pretty unlikely.

 

[Sonny44]

I think by and large it's a game Geno will want the team to put in the rear view mirror so I won't belabor any of the criticism I think he's likely to have. But on the good-ish side...

Nurse played really good defense for the most part from what I could see.
Lou played much better after about 6 minutes into the 2nd half
Chong is solid in pretty much every aspect of what she does
Butler follows up some head-scratching things with some solid play. Can't seem to figure her out
Gabby - player of the game IMHO. Best player on the floor, and it wasn't close
Kyla - to me she showed she is more ready to get PT than Molly. Molly had a nifty pass and made a 3 point basket, but her head seems to be holding her back... Kyla on the other hand was very active and looked for her shot.
Collier - meh. Double double (and 5 steals), but not a strong or complete game from her. I think Geno expects more...
Tierney - got her 4 minutes...
Plus Kia plays better with a pony tail.
This team has been so much more than expected for everyone, I think, so when they have an off game, it's much more noticeable. They had flashes of great team play, but by and large, it was an inconsistent effort. Still, a big margin of victory, but not the "prettiest" game to watch...

 

[nyfanofwbb]

Did I miss something in the thread about Katie Lou's shiner? I thought I read that she was sluggish.. Did she get checked after she got clocked in ECU game? Kia got checked out after she got clocked in Houston game. Hopefully KLS had no issues and they went unnoticed..