The Fire of Desire

[Tonyc]

What a way to end 2023 and begin 2024. What Geno has done with this team is absolutely amazin and he's done it in such a short time against some pretty good teams. Yesterdays shocker came as a surprise to almost everybody. UConn completely man handled a very good disciplined and experienced Marquette team. There has been alot of discussion on the board about needing more rebounding and less turnovers. We saw that yesterday and Nika was responsible for most of it with 1 turnover and 10 rebounds. We as a team must maintain that. Our defense is playing at a very high level right now and theyre having fun doing it. You can see it with the smiles on their faces. They are making things happen.

We may have 3 early season losses and thats why we are ranked 15th. We not playing like a 15th ranked now. Those losses were against top ranked teams when UConn was depleted and still finding themselves. UConn has found themselves and in a big way. Yesterdays game was a masterpiece, designed by Geno, and is second only to Michelangelo and that may not be all true. What UConn has become is assassins. We are now starting 4 guards of which 2 are freshman. We are playing with confidence and we are having fun doing it.

We are quick, aggressive, full of intensity and energy and with no letup. Marquette looked intimated and seemed to be rushing. They looked completely our of sync. UConn caused that and over the past few games we were beginning to see it. Yesterday we seemed to reach a new level of relentless consistency. Our early season tuff schedule had something to do with that too. Those teams who loaded up on cupcakes are now being faced with much tougher schedules and those great lookin won lost records will be tested soon. Some were tested yesterday with some top teams being upset. This only bears well for UConn to move up in the polls.

The past couple of games we have shown signs of being a top team. We're not there yet as we are still going through growing pains. The game appears to be a little to quick for some of our freshman who over the next couple of weeks should adjust. With and 8 man rotation we can keep sending in new bodies who are relentless on both sides of the ball and yesterday thats where the consistency of suffocating Marquette came into play. A few things that made all the difference yesterday were a direct result of our intensity hustle and defense and they were rebounding and lack of turnovers.

We still lack size to go up against some opponents but our intensity hustle energy and the fire of desire in our belly's might just be enough to overcome our lack of height. Hey its very difficult to make shots when you dont get a good look at the basket and when your playing under duress causes by severe pressure. When you cant operate or run your offense because your opponents defense is stifling your offensive flow, well that makes up for alot of your deficiencies.

So we move on to Creighton who lost to Marquette. I expect more of the same from UConn and at an even higher level. Every game from here on out will be a tuff games because we lack experience. Right now we are playing without fear and with confidence. Whats scary is we will get better each game because we are still learning and adapting. I expect in a few weeks to see UConns freshman at a new level. I expect emotions to run high as well as our confidence because we're having fun doing it. We have been hit hard a few times this season, especially yesterday down 10-0 and we fought back with resilience . This is a very special group and Im sure we are going to open alot of eyes with the noise we make as we continue to work our way back up into the polls.

Stay healthy, stay hungry and everybody will eat well

 

[Next 12]

You are my man, Tonyc, that was a insightful analysis and I agree as usual .My posts are fairly short as I don't know how to compose paragraphs and such. You're eloquence is a great read, Thank you for your posts. GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[Pharos]

"Intimated"... ok... unnecessary "spell check"... but I thought for a moment, and realized that it's the right word. Marquette was only able to "intimate" what they wanted to do. Fun game to watch!

 

[Bone Dog]

The question is whether Paige & Co can sustain that level of intensity. That’s not easy, and they need to do it through April. I think they can win against Creighton even if they don’t have that same intensity. But I really want to see them sustain it.

The challenge for KK and Nika is going to be containing Lauren Jensen. She’s the engine that makes Creighton go. If they hold her to 10 pts or less, it will be a great sign for the rest of the season.

 

[Cuango]

What a way to end 2023 and begin 2024. What Geno has done with this team is absolutely amazin and he's done it in such a short time against some pretty good teams. Yesterdays shocker came as a surprise to almost everybody. UConn completely man handled a very good disciplined and experienced Marquette team. There has been alot of discussion on the board about needing more rebounding and less turnovers. We saw that yesterday and Nika was responsible for most of it with 1 turnover and 10 rebounds. We as a team must maintain that. Our defense is playing at a very high level right now and theyre having fun doing it. You can see it with the smiles on their faces. They are making things happen.

We may have 3 early season losses and thats why we are ranked 15th. We not playing like a 15th ranked now. Those losses were against top ranked teams when UConn was depleted and still finding themselves. UConn has found themselves and in a big way. Yesterdays game was a masterpiece, designed by Geno, and is second only to Michelangelo and that may not be all true. What UConn has become is assassins. We are now starting 4 guards of which 2 are freshman. We are playing with confidence and we are having fun doing it.

We are quick, aggressive, full of intensity and energy and with no letup. Marquette looked intimated and seemed to be rushing. They looked completely our of sync. UConn caused that and over the past few games we were beginning to see it. Yesterday we seemed to reach a new level of relentless consistency. Our early season tuff schedule had something to do with that too. Those teams who loaded up on cupcakes are now being faced with much tougher schedules and those great lookin won lost records will be tested soon. Some were tested yesterday with some top teams being upset. This only bears well for UConn to move up in the polls.

The past couple of games we have shown signs of being a top team. We're not there yet as we are still going through growing pains. The game appears to be a little to quick for some of our freshman who over the next couple of weeks should adjust. With and 8 man rotation we can keep sending in new bodies who are relentless on both sides of the ball and yesterday thats where the consistency of suffocating Marquette came into play. A few things that made all the difference yesterday were a direct result of our intensity hustle and defense and they were rebounding and lack of turnovers.

We still lack size to go up against some opponents but our intensity hustle energy and the fire of desire in our belly's might just be enough to overcome our lack of height. Hey its very difficult to make shots when you dont get a good look at the basket and when your playing under duress causes by severe pressure. When you cant operate or run your offense because your opponents defense is stifling your offensive flow, well that makes up for alot of your deficiencies.

So we move on to Creighton who lost to Marquette. I expect more of the same from UConn and at an even higher level. Every game from here on out will be a tuff games because we lack experience. Right now we are playing without fear and with confidence. Whats scary is we will get better each game because we are still learning and adapting. I expect in a few weeks to see UConns freshman at a new level. I expect emotions to run high as well as our confidence because we're having fun doing it. We have been hit hard a few times this season, especially yesterday down 10-0 and we fought back with resilience . This is a very special group and Im sure we are going to open alot of eyes with the noise we make as we continue to work our way back up into the polls.

Stay healthy, stay hungry and everybody will eat well

What a relief!When I saw that title I thought I was gonna see a review of a trashy novel! Imagine my relief when it turned out to be exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Tonyc post instead! Another positive and well reasoned analysis from the king of positivity! Happy New Year to all! Go Huskies!❤️

 

[Rowdy831]

What a way to end 2023 and begin 2024. What Geno has done with this team is absolutely amazin and he's done it in such a short time against some pretty good teams. Yesterdays shocker came as a surprise to almost everybody. UConn completely man handled a very good disciplined and experienced Marquette team. There has been alot of discussion on the board about needing more rebounding and less turnovers. We saw that yesterday and Nika was responsible for most of it with 1 turnover and 10 rebounds. We as a team must maintain that. Our defense is playing at a very high level right now and theyre having fun doing it. You can see it with the smiles on their faces. They are making things happen.

We may have 3 early season losses and thats why we are ranked 15th. We not playing like a 15th ranked now. Those losses were against top ranked teams when UConn was depleted and still finding themselves. UConn has found themselves and in a big way. Yesterdays game was a masterpiece, designed by Geno, and is second only to Michelangelo and that may not be all true. What UConn has become is assassins. We are now starting 4 guards of which 2 are freshman. We are playing with confidence and we are having fun doing it.

I do think that UConn is the best team that doesn't have a couple tall players in the line up. With that said I don't see any team in the Big East that will challenge them if they can keep up the defensive intensity. Where all of my concern comes in is when they play the bigger teams where AE can be taken out of the offensive game. The will have quite a few wins before that will come up though.