Tennessee Post Game Thread (merged)

[Bone Dog]

Pretty harsh, I think. I guess I watched a different game. The one thing I will agree with is that Azzi had a great game. Other than that? Not so much. I thought Serah had a very good game, Kayleigh was outstanding, Jana will be a good player for us, and if that was “exposing our defense” I’ll take a double! It’s not like we were playing a bunch of stiffs! Say what you will about Tennessee and their coach, once she gets her own kids making up the bulk of her roster, they are likely going to become a big problem. This was exactly what this team needed!

I’m with @Cuango on this one, totally. And especially about Kim. She took over an impossible job — a very difficult fan base, an AD that cut the funding for WCBB after Pat retired, and the patchwork of Portal players she’d inherited from Kellie. She had a very good recruiting class this season. A couple more decent classes and she can free herself from the portal.

As for her pressing game style, even Geno said about it, that’s what you do when you don’t have a good roster. He says he did something similar in the early years. But the point is to escape the need for it. And I’d also say that she’s already backed off partially from the ‘hockey line’ business. You can see it in the boxscore clear as day. She only plays 8 really, and mostly it’s Cooper Spearman Barker and Pauldo. The problem for her is that the press is physically and mentally tiring for her own team as much as for her opponents. In this game, Tennessee looked spent from mid-3rd quarter on. By mid-4th they were toast.

I like Kim as a coach, plus I feel for her. Tennessee has become a toxic job to be a WBB coach. She needs to show success quickly to hold onto that job, and for all the flaws with her team, if she can hang on for three more years, I have a feeling she’ll have built something. And how can you not root for someone who takes over this job very pregnant and somehow keeps it all together. She is a very formidable person.

 

[HuskyNan]

Great photo

 

[Timshel]

This seems to be a milestone game for this season, so I would like to indulge in a few random thoughts

- K9 and allie seem to developed ESP. Heckel drives and the one person she caan always find is Allie - uncanny and a instant assist

-Azzi has a cooler head than Sarah, for the first time today I saw a few times where Sarah was angry. Her play, no calls missed chances. She allowed it to show a tiny bit.

- We better pray that Ash and K9 never collide in practice. The energy released might be dangerous for everybody.

 

[Timshel]

I agree with your point re K9 and Allie having ESP, I have noticed this all season. I refer to them as Heckel and Zeckel after the old cartoon characters Heckle & Jeckle and just like those two crows they are fearless, create havoc, and look they have fun doing so.

 

[fomalhaut]

How many of you are happy we won by 30 and not 28? I have to admit I prefer 30. I was definitely hoping that last Tennessee shot missed...

30 sounds better.

I didn't care about the margin of victory, but was anxious to keep Tennessee under 70.

 

[Tonyc]

UConn is at another level. I’m not sure they can lose. They need to fix what happened when they lost their lead. I am confident Geno can do that. We blew them out with out Blanca. A lot of kids stepped up under pressure and that showed me we’re getting better. This was an awesome game. UConn is explosive and they showed it again today.

 

[fomalhaut]

"The Huskies now boast 18 straight wins by at least 25 points, the longest streak by a Division I team over the past 25 seasons." That could be one metric of dominance no?

That might actually mean it's the longest such streak ever. NCAA women's basketball stats are very spotty for the 20th century.

 

[ABCDFE]

Lots of great posts on the game. I just watched it. Not much more to add other than one of my worries was who was going to be that third shooter. I’m am comfortable in saying we now have two that we can put in big games that can stretch a defense besides Azzi amd Strong. And those two are Ash and Allie.

Allie to me has been a revelation in these recent games. She has shown a real improvement in all areas of her game, and her confidence is evident in the way she attacks the basket with her sneaky quickness and her no hesitation threes. I also think she’s holding her own on defense and she has some good ball handling skills as well, especially the second half against a lengthy athletic Tennessee team.

Feeling really good about this team. We’re going 9 deep and each bench player brings a different element to the game.

 

[uconnfan68]

Sarah is humble, but today you witnessed her quiet flex. 6' 2" press breakers are rare. KK was hyped today. Someone added too much sugar to her Kool aid. 🤣 She's good for anyone worried.

KK had half of her right hand taped. Hope she’ll get better soon.

 

[Woof 101]

The starters did not need to be in at the end of this game.

Very well stated...

Hurley plays the first team the entire game. Why are you complaining about Geno?

Not to argue here but Alex averages 34 minutes a game. Solo 30 and from there 9 deep less. Geno goes 7 deep with the most heralded bench in many years. Why not let them take on the press the last few minutes? That and avoid an unnecessary injury to a starter. No need for Azzi to play 39 or Strong to play 37 today.

Maybe I just have memories of Paige going down with 38 seconds left in a 19 point win over ND. That and a believer of developing the bench in games that are a blow out with formidable competition. That is a huge moment to step on the floor against a team like Tennessee. It is deer in the headlight moment but what a better time to get them through it. Something that cannot be replicated in practice.
It also may keep a player or two from developing here rather than the portal next year. JMHO.....

 

[Cuango]

I’m guessing if you asked Kim Caldwell about that, she would have no regrets at all for that sub. She is trying to build a culture with her team where the subbing is inevitable and happens as a matter of course. If she starts changing that the players will see it as situational and that is not what she wants. Will it work? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t bet against her.

Not that I care one way or another, but I do have a level of respect for a coach who believes in her system and sticks to it in difficult circumstances. I don’t think we (or her) will really know if it will work until she is fully stocked with her own recruits rather than so many transfers. She has been successful everywhere she’s been, and now has access to a completely new level of recruiting.

Speaking of recruiting, did I hear that we were expecting Haylen Ayers for this game? Perhaps it was another game but I did read somewhere she was coming.

 

[housekeys]

Big key to the game was Uconn outrebounding Tenn by 9

This is the key, along with minimizing turnovers.

Shot for shot, player for player, we can out duel any team easy. However if other teams can out-rebound UConn on the offensive glass, that team may well get enough additional shots to make it close. This is also true with turning the ball over, which gives more chances to the other team. Winning these two areas of the game should be the focus.

 

[Conndog]

When Tennessee made a basket, can’t the UConn player inbounding the ball run the baseline to pass to a teammate? UConn players didn’t do that- it’s allowed, isn’t it?

 

[Bone Dog]

As I was watching a highlights reel from the game, after Kayleigh’s second length-of-the-court drive, and the glorious celebration that followed, I couldn’t help wondering if she is the happiest kid in D1 WCBB. She went far afield, all the way to the west coast, and finally she is home. She is well loved by her teammates, and her talents fit really well on this new team in the basketball capital of the world.

Welcome home, Kayleigh! This is where you belong.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

In the pregame on WWAXX (channel 3) they had a segment on Caroline Ducharme in practice talking/teaching team mates constantly! Both individually and in groups!
Even with her not regaining her talent she is so valuable to this team as Azzi and Sarah!

 

[Doctor G]

This pass by Azzi was perfection.

KML patented that transition 3. Lovely play.

 

[hoophuskee]

That’s why Geno took Allie out of the game in the first half. Her defense was terrible in the first half.

IMO you're rembering way wrong. Allie only played 3 minutes in 1st half. In that time Barker jacked up two 3's that had nothing to do with Allie, same thing with another guard that took a bombs away 3 and hit it over Shade or K9 that again had nothing to do with Allie. The 2 penetrations Tenn did one was vs Azzi though Azzi played good d on her. And the other was on a fastbreak in which the player got fouled by Sarah; again nothing to do with Allie.. On the last play of her defense she was on help-side defense they threw the ball over her head and hit Cooper for a pass at the 3pt line which Copper nailed but Allie contested the shot.

You're slamming a UCONN player unnecessarily. More than likely you were spot on about Allie being a rhythm player but her being pulled had nothing to do with her defense as you cite. As you have remarked Azzi was so good - she came back in for Allie. And Shade was playing well. This was the likely reason - that 2 other players were playing very well in a tight game while Allie needed a bit more rhythm / minutes to get going. Geno's decsion to wait or put back in his superstar and keep in Shade. It had nothing to do with "playing terrible defense."

BTW UCONN exposed Tenn’s offense in the 2nd half. Normally that’s what happened when we speak of being “exposed.” When teams have times to adjust.they can expose the opposition. That's exactly what UCONN did.

 

[hoophuskee]

Very well stated...

Not to argue here but Alex averages 34 minutes a game. Solo 30 and from there 9 deep less. Geno goes 7 deep with the most heralded bench in many years. Why not let them take on the press the last few minutes? That and avoid an unnecessary injury to a starter. No need for Azzi to play 39 or Strong to play 37 today.

Maybe I just have memories of Paige going down with 38 seconds left in a 19 point win over ND. That and a believer of developing the bench in games that are a blow out with formidable competition. That is a huge moment to step on the floor against a team like Tennessee. It is deer in the headlight moment but what a better time to get them through it. Something that cannot be replicated in practice.
It also may keep a player or two from developing here rather than the portal next year. JMHO.....

Don’t want to make a big deal out of this. I’m so psyched about this team this year and the win in this game is much more fun to think about. But you’re bringing up a negative in which I feel there was none for this game. I hold a completely opposite POV than what you hold. While you go back to the Paige injury I look back to last year after the loss to Tenn. IMO that had to do with the team chemistry in that they didn’t play enough court time together. IMO they need to try their best to play as much time together as they can especially vs a pretty good team.

This year’s team is desperate to be challenged. And probably this is the last team that can probably do it before the NCAAT. Allie and K9 need as much minutes as possible as do all the starters going against a pretty good team. And as Geno said he needs Sarah and Azzi to get accustomed to more minutes. This is an opportunity to get your core team valuable time.

And your last point imo is what a fan thinks in regard to Who might portal next year . . .” But I’m sure the coaching staff and team are far more concerned on what they need to do this year to win it all. Who might portal is the last thing on their minds but not for a fan imo.

Even those last few minutes are teachable moments and not garbage minutes which fans tend to look at it like. That atrocious ¾ one-handed pass Sarah made (after a timeout),and that awful bounce pass Ashlynn made to Sarah are far more valuable than giving minutes to non-core players. Especially vs this opponent in which they were doing UCONN a favor by continuing to press.

 

[trisailin]

While Connolly accurately points out what happened, it's a very short sighted analysis. That exact same substitution pattern is what brought TN back from certain doom in the first half. That pattern had been working well up to that point in the game.

 

[EdSaid]

Did Geno know Texas beat Tennessee by 31 points in 1984? Reason for leaving the starters in until the very end. I would have tried to beat them by 32+. Just saying.

 

[Zanzman]

When Tennessee made a basket, can’t the UConn player inbounding the ball run the baseline to pass to a teammate? UConn players didn’t do that- it’s allowed, isn’t it?

Yes they can run the baseline UConn didn’t do that cause they didn’t have problems inbounding the ball so no need

 

[HuskyNan]

When Tennessee made a basket, can’t the UConn player inbounding the ball run the baseline to pass to a teammate? UConn players didn’t do that- it’s allowed, isn’t it?

Yes, after a made shot, an inbounder can move. Whether or not she can depends why a team is inbounding. Here’s an explanation

 

[Stinger92860]

Reaching, bumping, slaps now all seem to be ok.

True. It’s tough to watch excellent execution stopped by obvious holding And grabbing. Same in the men’s game,

 

[Dove]

Saw the replay. Great game.

The silence of the crowd when the 1st quarter ended was deafening.

Geno, CD and Co. are the best.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

How many of you are happy we won by 30 and not 28? I have to admit I prefer 30. I was definitely hoping that last Tennessee shot missed...

30 sounds better.

33 sounds better. Matter of fact 50 sounds a lot better and could have been if we didn't go quiet and butter fingers in the second quarter. What we did with the second quarter was give 4 or 5 other teams hope. Nobody is harder on them than the kids themselves and Azzi did a fine job of that.