The difference I see between UCONN and most other teams

[Buzzyboy]

Back when the "Wizard" was winning 10 championships in 12 years, in the end it was the UCLA defense that won the day. They were early masters of pressure defense all over the floor. And I think that is the biggest difference between UConn and everyone else. All of the good teams can score, just not so much when they run up against Uconn. Some teams, early on, may have success, but UConn never lets up at the defensive end, and the difficulty in getting good looks evetually wears most teams down. And it often happens within the first 8-10 minutes . A team can have not-so-good games offensively at times, but a good defensive team can bring their D every single night. And UConn does that.

That was the irony of the Stanford loss. The UConn defense broke down numerous times that night but part of the issue was replacing a couple of integral pieces, two significant starters. It was early in the season and there was no cohesiveness and communication was lacking. Stanford was hot from the 3 point line and our guard defense allowed all too much penetration but historically UConn's defense is always the key in their success and that hard lesson snapped the team back to where it needed to be. In short order, this defense has become outstanding and we've seen the results. Great basketball!

 

[Buzzyboy]

The most impressive part of Stewie in this game was the 2nd half, she used all of her speed, length, and desire to mess up Dayton's offense. There were bad shots, travels, passes thrown out of parts, she seemed to be all over the place.

I agree. She was good in the first half but was magnificent in the 2nd. She was seemingly everywhere at once and totally disrupted the Dayton team, almost by herself though obviously she did get help. As good a performance as you'd ever want to see.

 

[EricLA]

Maybe we can add Dayton to the list of teams who run really good offense!!

 

[johnnyc]

Maybe we can add Dayton to the list of teams who run really good offense!!

That is why I think the difference between UConn and everyone else is conditioning (and defense). Playing at a high level on offense and defense after 25 to 30 minutes in the 37th game of the season. The result of practices that form the mindset that the games are easier. Dayton is a really good team but UConn stepped up to another level in the second half and Dayton could not go there. Not many can.

 

[meyers7]

Personally, I am intrigued by what type of impact a more mature Diamond Deshields will have on the TN program.

Are you suggesting she is more mature, or that she might be more mature?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Maybe we can add Dayton to the list of teams who run really good offense!!

Not a comprehensive list, but it includes Notre Dame, Stanford, Gonzaga, Green Bay, Dayton, Marist, and Princeton.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

As mentioned above the UCONN coaching staff has the players run a motion offense that has no real plays but relies on the players read & react and the athletic ability makes it almost impossible to stop! ND, Dayton, also run the motion, but the difference between UCONN and all other WCBB teams is that NO-ONE sells out for the full 40 minutes that UCONN does! On UCONN you can not tell if it's 5 minutes into the game or 5 minutes left in the game by the effort put out by the players!
All the so-called great teams with so-called great coaches recruit great players but for some unknown reason do not demand the pursuit of excellence that Geno and his fantastic staff do every minute of every game & practice! And that's why UCONN separates itself by so much!
UCONN will destroy ND because as the guards are a wash, UCONN big girls will destroy ND's bigs! And what makes it so much fun to watch THE MUFFETT almost in frustrated tears is there is not a damned thing she can do about it!
UCONN will also destroy MD and SoCar because even though Frese and Staley think they run tough practices, none of their players could take what Geno and his staff dishes out every day! Not at first they may be able to learn eventually but if they went from a Tuesday MD practice to a Wednesday UCONN practice they would be puking their guts up walking off the court!
That is why we love our Huskies!

 

[TFintheMix]

Are you suggesting she is more mature, or that she might be more mature?

It will be over a year since she played so I assume that she will be physically and mentally more mature.

 

[meyers7]

It will be over a year since she played so I assume that she will be physically and mentally more mature.

Ah, so an assumption. Not sure if she's gonna mature any more physically, she's pretty top level there. Not sure how she's gonna mature mentally (basketball wise) by not playing for a year. Especially under TN coaching. But, I guess we'll see.

 

[Bill In Georgia]

One of the key factors in UConn success is Coach's unique gift of being able to look two, three years down the road and mold in his mind that certain player he needs to make a set; an then establishes the player model for recruiting. Gil Brant, Dallas Cowboys, was a master at being able to visualize team player positions. Example, take Gabby Williams. The field looked at her as a guard, but coach had a better view ...Hey, she boarders on 6 feet, a vertical jump of 33 inches, arm extension 13 inches. Now lets make her a high post, with a over the head two step jump shot; that on release would be above the basket...Who is going to block that shot...???
So UConn is gifted with a very Gifited man...

On Deshields, the interview was stopped, when coach said.. "I think we are done here" ..!! (she would not be a fit)
The key to DD and TN is Holly's ability to say ..I'm the coach here..!!!