Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="EricLA, post: 4209138, member: 26"] I get that people want to be optimistic after what has been a long, draining, and difficult season. But let's not forget we got our asses handed to us by SC when we had the entire roster save Aubrey. They outscored us 24-18 in Q3 and 16-3 in Q4. We started Paige, CW, Evina, Aaliyah, and Olivia. We had Azzi, Mir, Dorka and Nika off the bench. Caroline did not play, but not because she was injured. Amari and Piath did not play either. I would say that neither Nika nor Azzi was 100% in that game. Caroline had not shown how incredible she is. We outplayed them in Q1, but lost the remaining 3 Q's. Once we get Paige back we will be 100% healthy, and a scary team in the NCAA's. But it's far to early to say that we are a true NC contender, never mind even a lock to make the final 4. Part of the reason so many fans lost their minds this season was because of unrealistic expectations in the face of constantly changing lineups (9 so far), and literally every player on the team dealing with an injury or illness save for 2 (Liya and Evina). And those last 2 were mired in some sort of funk most of the season. We got our asses kicked by Georgia Tech and Oregon. I know we have added back pieces since then, but aside from beating an over rated Tennessee team, we have not fared well against teams outside the big east, and even lost a game to Villanova recently. And I also don't believe any UCONN fans thought we were dead. We were the walking wounded. As crazy as it was, it was also frustrating to see such highly rated recruits unable to put it together against teams we felt we should beat. On the flip side, I totally agree that the silver lining to all the injuries and illnesses is that Caroline especially has gotten the PT to emerge as a true star on the team. Getting Azzi to 100% has also been a huge blessing as well. But let's not forget that every other team out there has had just as many months to practice, improve, and grow chemistry. I like where we are going, but the reality is even at 100% we will be hard pressed to make the final 4 this season, never mind win the NC. Just look at the first 7 minutes of Q1 and the first 5 minutes of Q2 in just our most recent game against a dreadful Xavier team - 3rd worst in the BE and recently depleted of their 2 best players. Throw up a stretch like that against any top 25 team and we'd be down 20-25 at halftime. Personally, I need to see more consistency before I jump on any "we are going all the way" bandwagon. I'm cautiously optimistic, but it will be a gargantuan challenge. If we do win the NC this season, it will be the greatest accomplishment in UCONN women's basketball history bar none. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,450

Messages: 4,396,685

Members: 10,208

Latest member: gemini*trvl