The Glaring Weakness

[Jronp]

1.We must become more athletic! So moving forward I would expect to see more Aubrey, Qadence, and KK on the floor as the season progresses. Especially against certain teams.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

That isn't the glaring weakness I see, personally

 

[HiDribble]

We must get taller and faster.

 

[martyn]

Agreed. Fudd should waste no time getting taller, Brady in getting faster.

 

[Bigboote]

You don't need to be uber athletic to keep moving on offense. You don't need to be really tall or jump like a frog to put a body on an opposing player as soon as the shot goes up. After the first quarter, those were both sorely lacking from my point of view.

 

[TCC Kid]

1.We must become more athletic! So moving forward I would expect to see more Aubrey, Qadence, and KK on the floor as the season progresses. Especially against certain teams.

The problem with more comes LESS. Who become less. Edwards? Paige? Nika? Azzi? Caroline? Experience in Div 1 is an asset. Qadence or KK--have grit--Samuels isn't affraid to shoot. Sometimes an asset, sometimes not. KK has great court vision and sense. The question David from Naples may answer: How many points did KK or Qadence give up?
I'm thrilled so many new Uconn's got minutes in a"must win" game.

 

[TCC Kid]

You don't need to be uber athletic to keep moving on offense. You don't need to be really tall or jump like a frog to put a body on an opposing player as soon as the shot goes up. After the first quarter, those wI ere both sorely lacking from my point of view.

I may be mistaken but I thought Q, while a little confused, did actually go under the basket and put her butt in someones gut. The interesting thing under the board--small can move big using their butt/back and legs. But they can't (usually) out jump height.
If you paid attention to Paige (and who wouldn't?) she was in and out an rotating inside out. I.E. Movement with or without the ball.

 

[Bigboote]

I may be mistaken but I thought Q, while a little confused, did actually go under the basket and put her butt in someones gut. The interesting thing under the board--small can move big using their butt/back and legs. But they can't (usually) out jump height.
If you paid attention to Paige (and who wouldn't?) she was in and out an rotating inside out. I.E. Movement with or without the ball.

Absolutely, some players boxed out some of the time, but I didn't see them do it nearly enough. And everyone moved without the ball early, not so much later. I think UConn had an edge in rebounds after the first quarter, and they certainly had a significant lead. That all seemed to go out the window pretty quickly.

 

[Monte]

Plus.....I saw only 5 coaches on the bench; Aren't there supposed to be 5?

 

[BBallF]

We must get taller and faster.

And stronger and wider.

 

[Jronp]

That isn't the glaring weakness I see, personally

Do tell…

 

[Jronp]

You don't need to be uber athletic to keep moving on offense. You don't need to be really tall or jump like a frog to put a body on an opposing player as soon as the shot goes up. After the first quarter, those were both sorely lacking from my point of view.

I agree…but they were getting blown by on the defensive end At will. 92 points!

 

[Jronp]

The problem with more comes LESS. Who become less. Edwards? Paige? Nika? Azzi? Caroline? Experience in Div 1 is an asset. Qadence or KK--have grit--Samuels isn't affraid to shoot. Sometimes an asset, sometimes not. KK has great court vision and sense. The question David from Naples may answer: How many points did KK or Qadence give up?
I'm thrilled so many new Uconn's got minutes in a"must win" game.

Valid points,,,but I said as the season goes on. i feel defense is going to be the issue with this team. As it was Sunday…

 

[Jronp]

You don't need to be uber athletic to keep moving on offense. You don't need to be really tall or jump like a frog to put a body on an opposing player as soon as the shot goes up. After the first quarter, those were both sorely lacking from my point of view.

True…but they gave up 92 points! The issues i see are on the defensive end. They drove by us all night at will.

 

[Skeets]

Things that need to be tweaked? Absolutely. "Glaring weakness"? No, that's an over-the-top emotional reaction. This team has all the parts and talent to be successful. We are "doomed" is popular in posts, but we are not doomed.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

We're fine. That was game #2. Not game #20.

 

[pacific 44]

If flubber wasn't OFFICIALLY outlawed then there's that. Just sayin.'

 

[NHRich]

What I don’t get , why is one of the few bigs taking outside shots? Who is left to rebound?

 

[MSGRET]

Actually we need to make shots. Azzi went 1 for 7 from the point line and 4 for 14 in total shots. While Aaliyah 8 for 17 in total shots with 4 of the misses being lay ups, that is unacceptable.

 

[MSGRET]

Everyone is screaming the sky is falling, this was NC State a team that is better than most of the sports pundits thought they would be. At least it was someone that will most likely be very good this year. Right now Tenn is going into overtime against Memphis of the AAC in Knoxville. Memphis is currently #96 in the Massey Ratings.

 

[Jronp]

You are correct. However, i still think we could score enough points if we can shut down dribble penetration and driving. We outscored them in the paint.

 

[Jronp]

Everyone is screaming the sky is falling, this was NC State a team that is better than most of the sports pundits thought they would be. At least it was someone that will most likely be very good this year. Right now Tenn is going into overtime against Memphis of the AAC in Knoxville.

No we are not screaming the sky is falling! I and many others are just stating what we think are weaknesses that need to be addressed.

 

[DennieEddy]

We must get taller and faster.

i guess we must get taller and faster quickly!

 

[JoePgh]

I didn't read the postgame thread -- too long and (from past experience after losses) too likely to be hysterical ("UConn Loss Derangement Syndrome"?)

BUT ... what I don't see in this thread is any mention of an unusual weakness against NC State in UConn's 3-point shooting. Azzi was 1-for-7 from 3; if she hit 4 of those instead of 1 (about her expected performance especially when her looks were wide open), that would be 9 more points, and UConn only lost by 11. And maybe if Azzi had hit a few more of the 3's she took, she would have taken and made more. All of her 3-point looks were wide open, or at least that is how they looked to me when I watched the game on TV.

It is notable that both offensive rebounds (11 for UConn vs. 12 for NCS) and turnovers (12 for UConn vs. 13 for the Wolfpack) were essentially equal, and NC State only led in second-chance points by a margin of 12 to 6. As several posters have noted, UConn actually led in points in the paint by a significant margin: 42-30 (which refutes the "UConn is soft" argument).

So I think the emphasis on rebounding as the "glaring weakness" is misplaced. It's true that the Carolinians led in total rebounds by 41-29 because they got a lot more defensive rebounds than the Huskies, but that is merely a reflection of UConn's uncharacteristically poor shooting percentage (46.5%) and especially the Wolfpack's unusually high shooting percentage (52.5% -- when was the last time Geno's team allowed opponents to shoot over 50%?). There were simply a lot of defensive rebounds to be had when UConn was shooting, and not so many when NC State was shooting.

So I would agree with those who say that the glaring UConn weakness was defense, and the next-most-important weakness was 3-point shooting. The first should be correctible in practice sessions, and the law of averages should mostly take care of the second. But I won't be surprised if UConn has trouble in the future with teams who have very fast guards and small forwards as NC State did. I don't think there are a lot of teams like that on the upcoming schedule, however.