The Bottom Line

[Sanka541]

Being an upperclassmen here at UConn doesn't mean you deserve to play or start. ONO at the moment in big games is not doing anything to deserve being out there on the floor, that has to change a) for the good of the team moving forward and b) for her hopes at having a real pro career.

 

[veryolddog]

Interesting statistics. A Team walks on the floor and a Team walks off of the floor. Seems like personal fouls and turnovers and defense may tell a story. But Arkansas played a helluva game. I missed some things that Y'all saw during the game. I wondered a little bit, but I am just a viewer and a member of the audience. Who played, why, and when is up to the boss and I will not question that.

From the beginning of the season in my posts, I have always praised Evina and she really has been consistent through the season. In my opinion she did very well last night. My other little hopeful, Nika, also seem to improve and play fairly well.

Look, they will bounce back. Life goes on with you or without you. This is a game. Watching is entertainment.

 

[hjoerring]

These notes are not intended to balance the scale between the opt & pess here; however, after listening to Geno's pre- and post-game comments the results are not far-off. Indeed, this was a 'good' loss. Uconn - like all the other 'top-teams' has had a reality check. It is a young team at its core and the young players are showing why they belong. Aubrey has gotten the greenlight to add some shots to her game in the form of on-the-job-traing and so be it. Edwards is forced to play older and more seasoned players in the post. Anyone who is unhinged about the 'many' calls against her in the front court should work on their displaced anger. Mir, who to my surprise, is getting quality time and I can see her mind, body, and game coming into sync. Paige is v.good. And so is Evina. Nika has something say as well. Now, it is true that more- a lot more is expected from Liv and Williams every time. Williams has interested me for the last 2-years, and I do not know the technical aspects of BB to speculate about her rightful position. I know that Uconn play more or less position less BB; but, even position less BB has position. I'm going to jump into the fire without any real knowledge and say that Liv (and the coaches) should decide on a style for her. Is she a face up player moves around and shoot. Is she primarily a back to the basket? Maybe just a shot blocker? I know Geno has belittled private training but, it worked for Pheesa and others. I have read numerous posts here about her summers spent on her body-build and lot less about other things. Now the body seems to be in order. So next. (I'll leave it there.)

Now Ark: They are really good.Mature/Experienced players who can shoot. I really doubt that any top-10 team would have beaten them that night. This game was to show case the talent of these players to the WNBA, and these players did not disappoint. But this game reminded me of a game some years back with Stewart et. al., against Dayton in which Dayton shot the lights out for the first half (I have never experienced that before). Unfortunately they could not sustained it in the 2nd half. Ark. obviously could. My question is: can they play like that tomorrow? Where are the lines of improvements for them? Have they neutralized all defenses? If they have then they are my favorite to win it all. Uconn was able to stay with them despite some issues, suggesting that improvement is a possibility. This is why it was, for me, a good loss. Despite the razzle-dazzle of one team the other managed to keep the lid on.

 

[BRS24]

@hjoerring beat me to it, as my thoughts were similar, that I'd rather the team lose now and give the staff a long list of coaching points, than for them to cruise thru the season and then get to the tourney and running into these challenges and not know how to fix them. Geno has made these comments in the past, saying that he knew it was coming and couldn't convince the team that they weren't as "good" as they thought or as the record showed.

 

[topogigio]

I’m surprised Coach didn’t have a D to slow them down.
I felt like his attitude in the presser reflected that he didn’t have an answer during the game or in the future. Maybe this team can’t play man against good offensive players.
Their O is commonplace in HS and college. Dribble drive-kick, dribble drive-kick, all night long. It’s a bear to stop. Takes team defense. Got to play on the ball D, slide over and help, and close-out on shooters. And Geno switches on all screens, so you are constantly losing touch with who you’re guarding. If you don’t switch and fight over screens you maintain accountability.
I think Geno realizes that he can’t beat a good team playing man.
So....don’t play man. Put in multiple zones. Use what the situation calls for. Do different things out of the same setup. Trap, don’t trap. Pack it in, pick up high, pick up after team crosses half court. Etc.
We gotta get in the hunt. We got smoked tonight. Sorry, it is what it is. She got 37 on us. There was not even a hint for 4 quarters that we had even an inkling of a clue how to stop her. He’s worked on man to man defensive fundamentals this year for 500 hours. COVID infested hours. They can’t beat a good team playing man. Go Huskies!

I believe Arkansas was simply better! Never underestimate the power of their 3 fifth year players.One of them, Dungee is a premier performer. Expect her in top 3 WNNA draft. UConn’s freshmen showed a lot of grit, and gained valuable experience.The sky is not falling!

 

[MD#12Fan]

I believe Arkansas was simply better! Never underestimate the power of their 3 fifth year players.One of them, Dungee is a premier performer. Expect her in top 3 WNNA draft. UConn’s freshmen showed a lot of grit, and gained valuable experience.The sky is not falling!

So Arkansas is better than UConn. Hold the presses.
So, how far do you see us going in the tournament before they run into another good offensive team? What line is Arkansas on? 5 line, 6 line. We're a 2 as of today.
Do we make it to the round of 32?
Arkansas is never better than UConn!! You guys are too nice. Sometimes the legitimate, appropriate reaction is to be PO'ed.

 

[Rb335]

I’m not a player on the team, and I wasn’t involved in the scouting report. But as a fan who has watched a number of Arkansas games, even I know that Ramirez is a great outside shooter. There was one play where Christyn left Ramirez in the corner to cover some space closer to the lane. The ball was immediately pitched out to her and she dropped in a long range shot. The camera then panned to Geno screaming why are you leaving her? Those are the mental defensive mistakes that popped up all night long. A lot of our defensive challenges seemed mental, not physical, which is uncommon for a uconn squad. Just an interesting observation, not sure what it means.

 

[SLY63]

Dungee created her own shot and was incredible, but it seemed like Ramirez needed space, and unfortunately, we gave her too much in many cases.