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The biggest disappointment of the game

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I did not get to watch the game, but just spent an hour or so reading over the game thread. As I understand it from reading the posts, we lost because;
1) Kia did not start and/or because she fouled out.
2) Stewie, in spite of her 23 points and 10 boards did not seem to be taking the game seriously.
3) KML is hopelessly out of shape.
4) Saniya, in spite of her 20 points, is a liability.]
5) Geno is a terrible coach in close games.
6) MoJet did not show up.
7) Kiah is a liability on offense.
8) Gabby, Courtney and Sadie did not play.

So it seems that we are doomed. Or maybe not. Could just be that all of the above is hogwash. Seems possible that maybe this was just one of those Murphy's law nights, as happens to other teams frequently but to our team very seldom. But then, as I said, I did not get to see the game.
 
Stanford is just a problem. Kind of like 'Nova used to be, but obviously with a different style of play. First the 20-12 game. Then the snapping of the 90-game win streak. Now snapping the 47-game win streak. There is just something about the Cardinal. Bet Tara's phone is blowing up tonight though.
 
The biggest disappointment is Chris Dailey who bails again on her post game radio show after a loss. Only shows up when they blow a team out but not for the rare bad performances?
 
Aluminny69 said:
Two types of posters come out when UConn loses:
1. The Chicken Little type who say the sky is falling
2. The Polyanna Type who say everything is wonderful and don't criticise anything UConn players do. (or don't do.)
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There HAS to be a third type. I know more than a few who would fall between those two.
 
Hey, I watched the entire game live. I was, of course, disappointed that UConn lost a close overtime game to Stanford, but give Stanford credit.

I think this was a "good loss". I'm not worried about the rest of the season.
 
elzorrogris said:
4) Saniya, in spite of her 20 points, is a liability.
5) Geno is a terrible coach in close games.
6) MoJet did not show up.
7) Kiah is a liability on offense.
.
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Well Saniya did have a poor night defensively. But she had a great night offensively.

Mojet was a non factor, oddly.
 
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The decision making was most disappointing to me. They seemed disorganized. They weren't even sure who should be taking that last ball out. Lots of time to recover and a lot of work to do.
 
ASweet3781 said:
The biggest disappointment is Chris Dailey who bails again on her post game radio show after a loss. Only shows up when they blow a team out but not for the rare bad performances?
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Absolutely not true. The losses are rare but it's also rare when Chris doesn't do a post -game interview after wins or losses. She did post-game interviews after most if not all of the ND losses, did one after Maya's last game, did one after the loss to Baylor a couple of years ago. Bob Joyce said the locker room door was closed and wtic ended its broadcast. The locker room was likely emotional and her time was better spent with the players.

Of all the things to complain about. . .
 
Mine were KML, MJ and Kiah's performances as two seniors and your PG leader.

I think a lot of people expect Kiah to step in and immediately replace Stef. I just don't see it. She was a role player last season, providing good shot blocking and rebounding, but she isn't going to be the facilitator that Stef was. I think she will get better over the season, as she will be called on to provide solid minutes, but I just don't see her having the personality or drive to suddenly be the honorable mention AA people were calling her in the preseason. Her upside is huge, but looking at her past 3 years, I don't think she will ever reach it.

KML I have always thought was a bit slow, but had the IQ to make up for it. Tonight she continuously got beat off the bounce and couldn't shake her defender. She looked easy to guard (I know she isn't). Against good teams, I think face guarding her and taking away any space limits her game. She added a post up game her sophomore campaign, but this year and last, she has looked sluggish and reliant on being just a three point shooter. I think she falls in love with the 3 (10-13 last game), but against quality competition, she can't rely on scoring 30 points on set wide open shots. She didn't even look to be an option on offense. I know KML's game was due to a good defensive plan by Tara, but the plan wasn't complex or a foreign concept. I think she will figure it out. I also don't really know if KML is out of shape, or just not very quick. I tend to think the latter since her body hasn't really changed over the years.

Moriah looked lost and at times out of control. She wasn't an option on offense and wasn't looking to make an impact. Her minutes on the floor didn't really make an impression on me. She just seemed to be out on the court not impacting the game.

I think these three were viewed along with Stewie to steer the ship, and the three of them looked confused. I think this is just a young team that has been hyped up to be more than they are, especially on this board. Calling Williams a potential future AA before she played a game, saying Ekmark is better than Kelly Faris, and stating that this team is better than last year when we aren't any deeper, only younger at this point. Also saying Stokes is on the cusp of AA. These things may grow to be true, but right now, there is no evidence.

I don't think it was a good sign that three freshman failed to log minutes. It just showed that Geno didn't trust them in this game. I understand it was a close game and they are only two games into the season. These three freshman have time to grow and get better. But for them not to be considered now could be telling for future close games. At this point I would expect the ND game to only go 7 to maximum 8 deep.

We are starting a defending NPOY stewie, KML (soph AA) and Moriah (great sohp year). But Saniya was a virtual non factor in the tournament last year and Kiah was essentially a role player. Plus only bringing one freshman and a RS soph off the bench. We are inexperienced and are relying on players that have never been relied on like this before. It will take time, they will figure it out. But for right now, I think the top 5 or 6 teams in wcbb all have a chance.

This game was a serious reality check for me, and I'm assuming a lot of other posters. I expected a 20 point win. We aren't as dominant as we hoped, maybe its just not yet. But whatever we end up accomplishing this season, it will be fun to watch these players grow and get better.
 
Maybe I'm bad luck. My first game watching UConn as a UConn fan and they lose. LOL. I find it amusing that UConn fans are griping, just like all other fans when their teams lose. It's just what fans do! Nobody likes to lose. I don't think it's a big deal, it's to be expected. I'd be shocked if a team lost and their fans didn't gripe, then you'd know you have a really bad program. I have no doubts that UConn will play much better as the season goes on, and at least they won't have any going undefeated-streak pressure on them now. Geno is a great coach. I have faith. I've been a suffering Duke fan dealing with a terrible coach for years, trust me you guys have no real concerns compared to many other teams!
 
UConnCat said:
Absolutely not true. The losses are rare but it's also rare when Chris doesn't do a post -game interview after wins or losses. She did post-game interviews after most if not all of the ND losses, did one after Maya's last game, did one after the loss to Baylor a couple of years ago. Bob Joyce said the locker room door was closed and wtic ended its broadcast. The locker room was likely emotional and her time was better spent with the players.

Of all the things to complain about. . .
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Agreed. Also WTIC loves to bail out real early when it's a later game. Theyre not waiting around long.
 
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Geno didn't do a good job tonight. I don't care what anybody says, your job as a head coach is to get these girls ready to play and battle at will, especially when you're playing the number sixth ranked team in the country, not just sit hopelessly on the bench, that could had potentially helped, having 3 really good freshman on the bench is just ridiculous! While Stanford, kept it's players rotating and coming straight at UConn! Jefferson and Lewis was a non factor tonight, Chong shouldn't be a starter and Stokes ugh I just don't know about her, and lastly Breanna can't do everything by herself, if Geno thinks just because he's got the best player in game and only rely on her, then he better rethink his strategy of using a small rotation, because by the looks of it, it's not going to work anymore, these teams are gonna come hard after Breanna all season and if nobody is willing to step up, it's going to be a long season! Go UConn!
 
For starters, Congrats to Stanford for their win!
It hurt UCONN that KML & MoJeff had bad games, especially in the 1st 1/2! If they gets their usual 12 to 14 pts. at the 1/2 UCONN could be up by 10 or 12 or maybe more! But when you give an underdog even though a good team, a chance to stay close early they start to believe they can pull off the upset! 40 to 38 is a world of difference than 52 to 38 at the 1/2! Then we missed enough chippies to keep them closer, and Stanford hit some huge shots to keep the pressure on!
Kiah Stokes has shown a streak of missed layups in 2 preseason games and 1st 2 real games. She also only had 5 rebounds for this game.
Stanford out-rebounded UCONN 41 to 37 for the game and Stanford was supposed to be changing their game from inside to perimeter and still edged CT on the boards!
You would expect UCONN with KML a senior and MoJeff a sophomore with a lot of big game experience, to play better but they didn't, hopefully they learn from this going forward. Saniya had a great offensive game but defensively was weak. Kia Nurse had a great game before fouling out.
The refs as usual were horrible, but they were terrible for both teams, making it a wash. Even Doris & Dave called those calls terrible! WBB has the worst officiating of any sport! Watching the KY/Baylor game beforehand the refs stunk there also!
The good thing coming out of the 2nd game of the season is that it is early and Geno and staff will have them better down the road! Using this as a wakeup call that EVERY game could be dangerous!
By-the-way, Stanford better be #1 in the new poll, not SoCar or ND! Being this early Stanford earned #1 by beating #1! SoCar had nothing to do with the loss by UCONN so they should stay 2nd! It doesn't matter where UCONN falls to, they'll be #1 at the end of the season!
 
Stanford did play an outstanding game in their new system. Congratulations to Tara and the Cardinal. The biggest disappointment to me was UConn's failure to match them, in intensity, intelligence, and execution, on both sides of the ball. I'm realistic and recognize that offense comes and goes, some days the ball just won't go down the hoop. So be it. Consistency comes from defense, or at least usually does with the Huskies.

Tonight, instead of the tightly knit team D effort we're used to, UConn looked too much like the ragged defenses of all those other teams that the Huskies routinely exploit. This also was not a matter of one or two players, the failures of help side, to close out and to deny the rim were on all sides. This team simply does not know how to play high quality team D. How many times did Stanford guards slash at UConn in ways that would traditionally have been choked off in a sea of hands 15 feet out, end up instead with clear paths straight to the hoop? Orrange and Thompson may be good guards, but the reality is that they are not an order of magnitude more talented than the UConn backcourt, contrary to what we saw tonight.

I foresee serious work on D in practices the next couple of weeks. I'm sure Geno doesn't need anyone to tell him that fundamental defensive flaws can lead in short order to a lost season, and will be taking major steps to address it.
 
Most disappointing --MoJeff. I'm crushed. That was my "playaaa" but boy was she bad. Ohh well- she'll bounce back. And KML secondly. They weren't close to the number 2 and number 11 players in the country tonight- they were badly outplayed.

And the phantom defense at the end of regulation on several successive plays- wow was that awful. Just looking to hold on and not lose. They cracked.

We'll come back. I wouldn't sell the season tickets yet!
 
Jaiden05 said:
Geno didn't do a good job tonight. I don't care what anybody says, your job as a head coach is to get these girls ready to play and battle at will, especially when you're playing the number sixth ranked team in the country, not just sit hopelessly on the bench, that could had potentially helped, having 3 really good freshman on the bench is just ridiculous! While Stanford, kept it's players rotating and coming straight at UConn! Jefferson and Lewis was a non factor tonight, Chong shouldn't be a starter and Stokes ugh I just don't know about her, and lastly Breanna can't do everything by herself, if Geno thinks just because he's got the best player in game and only rely on her, then he better rethink his strategy of using a small rotation, because by the looks of it, it's not going to work anymore, these teams are gonna come hard after Breanna all season and if nobody is willing to step up, it's going to be a long season! Go UConn!
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I don't agree with any of this tone.
 
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ASweet3781 said:
The biggest disappointment is Chris Dailey who bails again on her post game radio show after a loss. Only shows up when they blow a team out but not for the rare bad performances?
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I thought I recognized you CTH, it was the lack of facts in your post that gave you away. You can change avatar but you can't hide.
PS. I like Jimi better.
 
FairView said:
That UConnChapette went all that way to watch a loss? :D
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Indeed I did, but I also got in a wonderful visit with my son who I don't get to see very often.

Am I disappointed in the loss? Of course. Am I disappointed that the defense was porous? Certainly. Am I disappointed that Kaleena and Moriah had less than stellar games? Without a doubt. Do I think the sky is falling? No. We lost. Big deal. We as fans are so spoiled we have come to expect nothing less than perfection and endless win streaks. It seems many expect the team to fill two enormous holes left by the graduation of two All Americans without missing a beat. We got a cold slap of reality right across our kissers. So what? Geno and the team will get up tomorrow, go home and get back to work...just like every other team in America does after a loss.

Geno and the kids are human. As bad as we feel, looking at the players faces as they ran off the court just below where I was sitting, I can assure you they feel even worse.

To see the game in person, the environment was electric. It was exciting to be in a close game wire to wire that went to overtime. It has been a long time since that has happened. It was fun, though the outcome was not.

Life goes on...
 
rocky rococo said:
Stanford did play an outstanding game in their new system. Congratulations to Tara and the Cardinal. The biggest disappointment to me was UConn's failure to match them, in intensity, intelligence, and execution, on both sides of the ball.
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Perfect summary.
 
The real stunner about this one was just how poorly the team played from a mental perspective, especially for a UConn team. Possibly among the worst in many, many years.

Its one thing to get beat. Quite another to just chuck it away...

The game was there for the taking most of the 2nd half, but UConn continually declined - a missed layup, a pass to nowhere, 3 seconds, a ball out of bounds, poor shot selection, a missed foul shot, a 5 second violation, poor call by the refs, etc... Then on the defensive end - blown assignments - usually after allowing Lili Thompson to dribble around until she out-quicked her defender to the basket - without even a hint of weak-side rotation.

The last shot for the tie - did anyone watching expect otherwise?!?

The sheer number of uncontested layups - good grief, I thought I was watching UConn - Tennessee (in reverse). Or worse - a Knick game!?!? All that was missing was Walt Frazier's exclaiming "Its the matador 'D'!!"

The last play of the game summed it up perfectly - down 2 with 2.6 seconds to go - nobody seems to know who's inbounding.

It's KML.

No, its Stokes.

Finally, UConn dribbles out the clock without reaching the mid-court line. Don't think I've ever seen that one before - UConn or otherwise. Didn't even seem to be looking to pass. Just dribbled it out. Nothing even remotely resembling a last shot...

UConn's last minute close-game troubles continue - last seen vs Notre Dame (though it all worked out in the end).

Of course, that's the glass half-full - Notre Dame as exhibit "A." Some film study, defensive adjustments (Stanford's 49.2% FG pct reflecting the many uncontested layups), better shooting night, etc... and UConn wins the rematch by 20.

There's the play of Kia Nurse - a freshman - playing like a senior. Saniya Chong, vastly improved over last year.

I'd be curious to see UConn's record post-Taurasi, in games decided in the last minute. Maya Moore's steal. Baylor. I suspect UConn's at or below .500...
 
Hats off to a well coached team and well executed game plan that Stanford put on display.Obviously,they saw something that was glaring enough,in the weaknesses of this Connecticut team,to take advantage of.
However,it is very early into the season,and games like this,usually make you a better team,in the long run.
I am sure Connecticut would have loved to go undefeated.The major goal,though,is to win the trophy,in the end.
This will be a learning tool,and a motivational option.
After losing two girls,who were not only outstanding,but somewhat of the glue to hold this team together in times like these,anyone would understand that they may stumble once or twice on the way to the big dance.
The coaches have been here before,and I have complete and firm confidence,that they will correct the flaws this team demonstrated Monday night,and get this team ready for the challenges that are coming.
 
snowkot said:
I'd be curious to see UConn's record post-Taurasi, in games decided in the last minute. Maya Moore's steal. Baylor. I suspect UConn's at or below .500...
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From Rich Elliot:

The Huskies are 0-7 in games decided by five points or less since Maya Moore graduated in 2011
 
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Sluconn Husky said:
From Rich Elliot:

The Huskies are 0-7 in games decided by five points or less since Maya Moore graduated in 2011
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Maybe true
But off the top of my head I surely don't remember 7 losses.
Was it 3 to Notre Dame and 1 to Baylor in 12-13
and none last year?
Where's 7?
 
It appears that neither the team or this forum were ready for a reality check.
Stanford played an incredible game. They deserved to win.
UConn was completely off their game. I wondered what happened to our defensive game, it wasn't there.
Stewie looked a bit under the weather. KML and MoJett didn't seem to awake. The team didn't show up.
Nurse was there, but to expect her to carry the team is simply unrealistic.
I kinda feel bad for the younger Samuelson sister. She may feel like she made a mistake right about now. Her sisters were Fabulous. Hope that works out as things go along.
 
msf22b said:
Maybe true
But off the top of my head I surely don't remember 7 losses.
Was it 3 to Notre Dame and 1 to Baylor in 12-13
and none last year?
Where's 7?
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St. John's was another I think.
 
If UCONN had to lose a game I'm glad it was during the regular season. They may not lose another game during 2014-2015 season.
 
msf22b said:
Maybe true
But off the top of my head I surely don't remember 7 losses.
Was it 3 to Notre Dame and 1 to Baylor in 12-13
and none last year?
Where's 7?
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I think Rich Elliot is wrong. By my count, there were actually 8 losses by 5 or fewer points since Maya graduated, but only by counting games that went to overtime as well, even if the Huskies lost by more than 5 by the game's end. If we don't count OT games that ended with a deficit of 6 or above, then there are only 5 such games (in red):

2011-12
1. @Baylor 66-61
2. @Notre Dame 74-67 (OT)
3. St. John's 57-56
(lost to Notre Dame >5pts.)
4. Notre Dame 83-75 (OT)

2012-13
5. Notre Dame 73-72
(loss to Baylor >5pts.)
6. @Notre Dame 96-87 (OT)
7. Notre Dame 61-59

2013-14
no losses at all

2014-15
8. @Stanford 88-86 (OT)

Losing a total of 10 games in over 3 seasons of play is still pretty damn good, especially if you have 2 NC's during that time as well.
 
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