Thoughts about Ines as back up PG against Princeton

[Bone Dog]

I think the issue is that we have to use the Princeton game to get ready for the MD game. If we were into the conference schedule already, this wouldn't matter so much. The game tonight has to prepare us for the game on Sunday. Geno likes to say he focuses on only one game at a time. But I suspect he's also peeking ahead to Sunday, too.

 

[JellyBean]

I think the issue is that we have to use the Princeton game to get ready for the MD game. If we were into the conference schedule already, this wouldn't matter so much. The game tonight has to prepare us for the game on Sunday. Geno likes to say he focuses on only one game at a time. But I suspect he's also peeking ahead to Sunday, too.

Oh yeah. Coach G is peeking at that Maryland game with one eye and got the other one on Maryland.

 

[BBallF]

The kid is a player. She is a bona fide PG with the necessary skills who is just getting her sea legs. As Dickie V always said about an up and coming player's refrain " I need PT coach". I think she will get it tonight.

 

[Longtime fan]

Edwards is as close to a POST as Uconn can come. At this point in time, DeBerry (42) isn't a post, nor does she have the physical characteristics needed to battle heavy weights or big posts. Edwards is tough and determined and in 80 percent of games she'll win that position against opponents. I take the ND game as an aberration, I doubt ND could get away with that game again----IF this TEAM is healthy. Lou and Azzi don't need a lot of room to shoot. The Coaching staff, I believe, didn't expect the game ND muscled in. No knock on ND, you play to win, whatever it takes. UConn shall see that again with other teams. Geno will be prepared, if he has the players to field.

But he has what he has. And while deBerry is not a classic Post, she can ( at 6'5" and with long ams) be an effective substitute, even if for just two0three minutes per quarter. Geno recruited her for " something" even if not the post.

 

[Zarathustra]

Hush your mouth!

I must plea that my mind was in the state of shock. I will hold my tongue!!
Thanks for the feedback.... GO HUSKIES..

 

[HuskyNan]

The kid is a player. She is a bona fide PG with the necessary skills who is just getting her sea legs. As Dickie V always said about an up and coming player's refrain " I need PT coach". I think she will get it tonight.

If the Huskies have a good lead, yes. Geno will NOT run up the score on Carla’s team

 

[CL82]

Pretend that I did NOT say this, but: What if Nika gets injured??

Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that.

 

[CL82]

If the Huskies have a good lead, yes. Geno will NOT run up the score on Carla’s team

Other than not fast breaking, I’m not sure what he can do. It’s all hands on deck so I would expect everyone to be playing anyway.

Also, with a few notable exceptions, I can’t think of a time when Gino does “run up the score.” Particularly at this level, you can’t tell kids not to score especially to bench kids, who might not otherwise be getting time.

 

[HuskyNan]

Other than not fast breaking, I’m not sure what he can do. It’s all hands on deck so I would expect everyone to be playing anyway.

Also, with a few notable exceptions, I can’t think of a time when Gino does “run up the score.” Particularly at this level, you can’t tell kids not to score especially to bench kids, who might not otherwise be getting time.

You know what I mean. You’re such a guy

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Coach G more often ends up situational in rotations than strictly following best laid plans. So, depends on how much he wants to win the game, whether the team has the game under control, and the quality & size of players of the other team on the floor. Princeton is a better opportunity to give Ines time with some of the starters than at Notre Dame, obviously but that game got away.

Ines sometimes shows a bit of nerves and takes a fraction of a second more in her decision-making than she will after seeing lots more playing time. But most of the time, she is composed and seems to be catching on to the way UConn wants to play - she did say when she arrived that she likes this style. The other factor that will help her a lot as she is given more floor time is that her teammates have adopted her, so to speak, ready to help.

She could, indeed, see more playing time. But if the game is close, Caroline will help Nika bring the ball up court.

 

[CL82]

You know what I mean. You’re such a guy

Um, thank you?

 

[Argonaut]

Pretend that I did NOT say this, but: What if Nika gets injured??

 

[topogigio]

I was rootin' for Ines to hit those foul shots at the end. She made a bunch of costly turnovers, and looked like a deer in the headlights for a while. Very tough position for her to be in, but the experience will help her in the long run. Talk about baptism by fire!

 

[TheFarmFan]

Geno recruited Ines for a reason, because she's a PG.
And with Azzi now out as our back up PG, how much PT will Ines get to be prepared to give Nika a rest, or due to injury or fouls?
Princeton should be a good opportunity to see how Ines can perform since they're not a very high scoring team, and their PG Chen doesn't seem to be any more talented or athletic then Ines.
Although Chen is more experienced.
Who else on UConn will be handling back up PG duties besides Ines?
It would seem to make sense for Ines to get better prepared by giving her more PT as the circumstances allow.
Will Geno try to developed Ines into a viable PG in a short amount of time by baptizing her by fire?
How else will she get more real game experience.
What are your thoughts about Ines getting enough PT so that she can get experienced more quickly to help fill UConn's current need?
Do you think that Ines will get as many as 6, 8 or 10 minutes of PT against Princeton?
If all of the UConn players play well it should be like an exhibition game with a lot of opportunity for Ines to develop.

Holy moly, who are you - Kreskin? If you have any prognostications about this week's lotto, I'm all ears, Cassandra!

 

[Steve Frohock]

The

If not Ines then who? I think once Ines learns the UConn system that she is perfectly capable.


Ines Bettencourt's FIBA stats:

30 minutes / game
1.9 Three pointers per game
41.9% from three
46.1% field goals
72% free throws
14.4 points / game
3.7 rebounds / game
3.6 assists / game
3.4 turn-overs / game
4.6 steals / game

The way it looked tonite, it's AE we need at PG (only half joking). From what I saw tonite, it's not Ines right now. It was painful at times.

 

[HuskyNan]

The

The way it looked tonite, it's AE we need at PG (only half joking). From what I saw tonite, it's not Ines right now. It was painful at times.

Geno said she plays dumb sometimes but that right at the end of the game, she went hard to the ball with confidence and aggression the way he told her to. He said he could make her smarter but he can’t make her more aggressive

Remember, she first came to UConn at the beginning of September. She thought she was going somewhere else the week before.

 

[CL82]

Pretend that I did NOT say this, but: What if Nika gets injured??

Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that.

Why, indeed. And now you know why you should never do that.

If the woman’s basketball site ever adopts the tradition of hanging posters, I have my first nominee.

 

[Stinger92860]

May not be much of a choice here. With the BE schedule coming up, I’d play her.

 

[Huskyfan63]

The

The way it looked tonite, it's AE we need at PG (only half joking). From what I saw tonite, it's not Ines right now. It was painful at times.

Agreed, freshman jitters caused a few problems but she had the composure to make 3 of 4 key free throws at a critical juncture. As I recall, Nika had a few moments as a freshman too, and look at her now. Pretty sure Ines will settle down with more exposure.

 

[oldhusky]

Other than not fast breaking, I’m not sure what he can do. It’s all hands on deck so I would expect everyone to be playing anyway.

Also, with a few notable exceptions, I can’t think of a time when Gino does “run up the score.” Particularly at this level, you can’t tell kids not to score especially to bench kids, who might not otherwise be getting time.

OK I will go into dangerous territory here, and I'm sure I will get plenty of disagreement, but by my definition Geno runs up the score all the time. In my opinion when the game is decided, the players that are out of the normal rotation should be in there, and generally with the reserves in the rotation, not the starters.

We can all disagree over at what margin the game is over, but there are many games where Uconn is ahead by 30-40 points and the third stringers don't come in until there is only a couple of minutes left. Could he have put them in much much sooner without jeopardizing the outcome of the game? Of course but he doesn't. IMO there are quite a few games where the starters could sit the entire 4th quarter.

It certainly appears that Geno would rather leave the starters in till very near the end and win by 40 instead of giving the bench more play much earlier and only win by 35 for example. I consider that to be running up the score.

Having said that, there are a number of reasons why a coach might do that. Some of the statistical rating services probably take the margin of victory into account and winning by 40 instead of 35 helps that rating. Some star players that you recruit may not want to sit much of the 4th quarter of a blowout, I do think Geno wants to develop chemistry between the core rotation, and continuing to play them after the outcome has been decided adds to their experience together, but of course that strategy has the downside of not developing the end of the bench for when they may be needed for a significant role due to injuries.

There are trade offs in many things including how playing time is administered, but if you look at the clock and the score, and the game is clearly over and your stars are still in the game, that is running up the score to me.

 

[CL82]

OK I will go into dangerous territory here, and I'm sure I will get plenty of disagreement, but by my definition Geno runs up the score all the time. In my opinion when the game is decided, the players that are out of the normal rotation should be in there, and generally with the reserves in the rotation, not the starters.

We can all disagree over at what margin the game is over, but there are many games where Uconn is ahead by 30-40 points and the third stringers don't come in until there is only a couple of minutes left. Could he have put them in much much sooner without jeopardizing the outcome of the game? Of course but he doesn't. IMO there are quite a few games where the starters could sit the entire 4th quarter.

It certainly appears that Geno would rather leave the starters in till very near the end and win by 40 instead of giving the bench more play much earlier and only win by 35 for example. I consider that to be running up the score.

Having said that, there are a number of reasons why a coach might do that. Some of the statistical rating services probably take the margin of victory into account and winning by 40 instead of 35 helps that rating. Some star players that you recruit may not want to sit much of the 4th quarter of a blowout, I do think Geno wants to develop chemistry between the core rotation, and continuing to play them after the outcome has been decided adds to their experience together, but of course that strategy has the downside of not developing the end of the bench for when they may be needed for a significant role due to injuries.

There are trade offs in many things including how playing time is administered, but if you look at the clock and the score, and the game is clearly over and your stars are still in the game, that is running up the score to me.

I would somewhat agree with you if this were grade school rec basketball game, but even then, not that much. What kids want to do is play penalizing them for excellence, which seem a counter incentive, no?

There are a whole lot of things that can be learned in a game setting that you may not appreciate. How do you different lineups work together? How well have players learned different sets? If you watch our games a lot, and I know you do, you probably realize that when there is a significant margin of victory, we tend to stop fast breaking and run half court sets. These are opportunities to teach and learn against Division I players who are different than the ones we practice against every day.

Now, I haven’t looked, but I have a sense that the number of times we are 30 or 40 points ahead and it isn’t the last couple of minutes of a game is probably less than you think. If you’re interested, go take a look.

I know you are a big fan, as am I, so we may just have to agree to disagree on this. Happy to talk about it more if you’d like to though.

 

[uconnfan68]

OK I will go into dangerous territory here, and I'm sure I will get plenty of disagreement, but by my definition Geno runs up the score all the time. In my opinion when the game is decided, the players that are out of the normal rotation should be in there, and generally with the reserves in the rotation, not the starters.

We can all disagree over at what margin the game is over, but there are many games where Uconn is ahead by 30-40 points and the third stringers don't come in until there is only a couple of minutes left. Could he have put them in much much sooner without jeopardizing the outcome of the game? Of course but he doesn't. IMO there are quite a few games where the starters could sit the entire 4th quarter.

It certainly appears that Geno would rather leave the starters in till very near the end and win by 40 instead of giving the bench more play much earlier and only win by 35 for example. I consider that to be running up the score.

Having said that, there are a number of reasons why a coach might do that. Some of the statistical rating services probably take the margin of victory into account and winning by 40 instead of 35 helps that rating. Some star players that you recruit may not want to sit much of the 4th quarter of a blowout, I do think Geno wants to develop chemistry between the core rotation, and continuing to play them after the outcome has been decided adds to their experience together, but of course that strategy has the downside of not developing the end of the bench for when they may be needed for a significant role due to injuries.

There are trade offs in many things including how playing time is administered, but if you look at the clock and the score, and the game is clearly over and your stars are still in the game, that is running up the score to me.

When the other team hasn’t conceded, and will begin full court pressing and trapping, why put your bench players out?

 

[oldhusky]

When the other team hasn’t conceded, and will begin full court pressing and trapping, why put your bench players out?

If the margin is big enough and the time short enough, it doesn't matter what the other team does regarding starters or strategy, you have concluded at that point that your bench can do enough to not blow a huge lead in a few minutes.

 

[HopJim]

When the other team hasn’t conceded, and will begin full court pressing and trapping, why put your bench players out?

The Princeton game was the perfect example of why you need to put the bench players in against the press. Our subs didn't seem to know how to break the trapping and took the easy way out, going to corners that made it easy to double and steal the ball.

 

[CL82]

If the margin is big enough and the time short enough, it doesn't matter what the other team does regarding starters or strategy, you have concluded at that point that your bench can do enough to not blow a huge lead in a few minutes.

Lol as we saw last night, a lot can happen in the last few minutes of a game. But your post above seems to contradict your original point. Your original point was that Gino shouldn’t wait until the last few minutes, but above you defend it by saying well it’s only the last few minutes. Those two things are inconsistent.

As @uconfan68, alluded to above, there is an etiquette to this. Typically the team that is down will pull it starters and put its subs in. At that point the team that is leading will do the same.

 

[CL82]

The Princeton game was the perfect example of why you need to put the bench players in against the press. Our subs didn't seem to know how to break the trapping and took the easy way out, going to corners that made it easy to double and steal the ball.

Or was it the perfect example of why you do not put in bench players against the press when they are not ready to handle it?

 

[Zarathustra]

Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that.

Sorry........ my error, not to be repeated! Go Nika, Gesundheit, Huskies!

Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that.

Quote the Raven: Nevermore!

 

[oldhusky]

Lol as we saw last night, a lot can happen in the last few minutes of a game. But your post above seems to contradict your original point. Your original point was that Gino shouldn’t wait until the last few minutes, but above you defend it by saying well it’s only the last few minutes. Those two things are inconsistent.

As @uconfan68, alluded to above, there is an etiquette to this. Typically the team that is down will pull it starters and put its subs in. At that point the team that is leading will do the same.

I wasn't trying to imply that Geno wait for the last few minutes. It is the margin vs. minutes left that I look at and the ratio between the two. If it is twice as much, say a 30 point lead with 15 minutes to go (halfway thru the third quarter) I think you could safely make the change then, or 20 point lead with 10 minutes to go. Maybe when you get down to a 10 point lead, I might want to wait a little longer than the 5 minute mark because a couple of turnovers and three pointers. and it is a game again.

I went back and looked at some games from the last championship season (2016). In that season the gap was probably about as wide as it could be between the rotation players who were great and two walk-ons in Lawlor and Pulido. That team averaged winning by 40 points a game, and as a result the starters only averaged around 30 instead of 35 or more.

So how much did our two third stringers play in some of the biggest blowouts? We beat Tulsa once by 64 points, Lawlor played 4 minutes, Pulido DNP. They played Tulsa again winning by 60 and Lawlor and Pulido got 3 minutes. They both got 3 minutes each against Cincinnati in a 62 point win. Three each against Mississippi State which amazingly we beat by 60, and so on.

In a 55 point blowout of UCF he went soft and gave Lawlor a whole 5 minutes, and Pulido 3 again. But he decided to rein in those minutes to only 1 apiece when the margin was only 31 against Syracuse. Clearly Geno has his reasons, and I have mentioned a few previously that might have merit, but he keeps his key players in the game way way way past the point where the game has been decided.

Then there is the injury argument. Let's not forget that Paige was injured last season in I think the last minute of a game where we were up by about 20. Was the outcome of that game in doubt? Anyway, the reluctance to use the end of the bench, when the game has long been over bothers me a lot, but I know many are not concerned at all with Geno's approach. Just one opinion.

 

[CL82]

. It is the margin vs. minutes left that I look at and the ratio between the two. If it is twice as much, say a 30 point lead with 15 minutes to go (halfway thru the third quarter) I think you could safely make the change then, or 20 point lead with 10 minutes to go. Maybe when you get down to a 10 point lead, I might want to wait a little longer than the 5 minute mark because a couple of turnovers and three pointers. and it is a game again.

So first, how often has Connecticut had a 30 point lead with 15 minutes to go this season that you believe this to be such a significant concern? A 20 point lead with 10 minutes to go and you’re going to clear the bench? That’s a recipe for a whole lot of losses. As we saw last night, the bench is not ready to play even against an ivy league opponent. Finally, you are sacrificing the development time for the top seven players. There is a reason why no coach that’s what you’re proposing.

Again, we can agree to disagree on it, but in my opinion, what you’re proposing would sacrifice both the record in the development of the team.

 

[HopJim]

Or was it the perfect example of why you do not put in bench players against the press when they are not ready to handle it?

Sometimes Geno doesn't have a choice. A sub with some experience, no matter what their skill level is, is usually better than one with none.