Thoughts on the game

[Tonyc]

Well much like I expected alot of turnovers leading to layups. I am looking forward to more of a half court offense to see how we operate. Geno mentioned defense this season will be a problem. IMO early on perhaps but I expect with ONO playing behind our defenders opponents will be intimidated and we will learn to keep their opponent infront of us. This is a different team then weve seen over the past few seasons. We dont have any 1st team AA's. I dont beleive there is a team in WCBB that has a player who can consistently take over a game. There are some chuckers out there who want to score all the points but no dominate player like a Stewie Maya or Diana that can play within their system and score when the team needs them. With that said we've got a really good on in Megan Walker. CW will be a great scorer this season and ONO well as soon as she realizes how good she is... she will be dominate. To me it seems she did things in the game that the great ones did when they were at UConn but she doesnt realize as only a soph where she is. We are gonna be fine and with a good not great defense not many teams will keep up with us.

What made me smile yesterday:

Anna is a great finisher. She showed poise and attacked the rim without any fears. Her outside shot wasnt there but it will come around. Shes a very good player and will only get better.
Aubrey was all over the place. A nose for the ball and anticapation for whats coming. Much better then advertized. A little to quick and out of control at times but her poise will come with more playtime.
Kyla and Molly looked confident and much improved. Both with very good fundementals and execution
EA needs to calm down a little out of control but again this is UConn and the excitement to play will wear off . Shes got the skills and a few games under her belt and she will be fine.

We are not going to win alot of games by 40 pts this season. We will be in some games where we have to fight and grind it out. We've got the talent and weve got alot of talent. Our 5th starter is no longer a question as to how good she will be right now Anna is very very good in that positon. I like what I saw from the non starters. They will contribute unlike last season.

What I see we need to improve on is poise and not playing out of control, just slowing it down a little especially from the newbies. Defense will improve, and doubleing down when getting beat. Clearing out the middle and getting the ball to ONO and letting her do her thing. Shes got moves. We need someone other then Walker to hit outside shots consistently and right now Anna CD need to be those players. CW will find ways to score consistently. We will need to depend on CD's leadership to calm the team down and make plays. Opponents will have to guard all 5 players on the floor, which is something I was concerned about. As Aubrey develops and she will be a good one this team is going to be one of the top 3 teams in the country.

When I saw the polls having UConn ranked 5th I looked them over and those ahead of UConn have AA's and 1st team AA's. We will have to control those AA's when we play them in order to be a 1 seed in the NCAA's. This season we have balance and depth but not a go to player like in the past. We dont have any 1st team AA's so we will win by playing team ball. We do have good depth and we have size in ONO which we didnt have last season. She will make it difficult for opponents to get inside and score.

The bottom line is with Anna as a starter and her experience playing up we are going to be very good. Anna played with confidnece and poise. She played as a team player. We wont depend on one or two players to get us through, but we will depend on 6-7 players to contribute. Its going to be a fun season as we develop and get better as a team...by March we will be talking National Champions again. Together Everyone Achieves More.

 

[veryolddog]

Boost Prostate Health Daily Oh, that was the ad posted below your comments. They know me so well. But, on the other hand, perhaps, UConn may be over-rated and should be ranked lower on the charts. They may be good by the middle or end of the season barring any injuries, but they do not seem to be a top five team. Perhaps the first 10 games will tell the truth. And, it may be just the thing for the team to be lower in the rankings and earn its way to the top.

 

[southofnorth]

Anna is a great finisher. She showed poise and attacked the rim without any fears. Her outside shot wasnt there but it will come around. Shes a very good player and will only get better.

Agreed! Anna is the kind of player that UConn needs. She seeks out the contact and finishes through it. He fearlessness when driving reminds me a bit of Tiffany Hayes.

Kyla and Molly looked confident and much improved. Both with very good fundementals and execution

Agreed (again)! They both finally look like they’re confident playing for this team. Molly played some really good defense and Kyla’s 3pt shot was automatic. Both could easily contribute meaningful minutes if they play that way against tougher opponents.

 

[Bronxjeff]

Anna seems much more solid than Tiffany, who would take contact but spent more time on the floor as a result than anyone else ever. Anna seems to plow though more absorbing contact and finishing - in this car like the great DT.

 

[Ozimoto]

I like the way she wraps both arms around the ball so she can't be stripped as she moves through traffic.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Boost Prostate Health Daily Oh, that was the ad posted below your comments. They know me so well. But, on the other hand, perhaps, UConn may be over-rated and should be ranked lower on the charts. They may be good by the middle or end of the season barring any injuries, but they do not seem to be a top five team. Perhaps the first 10 games will tell the truth. And, it may be just the thing for the team to be lower in the rankings and earn its way to the top.

I think that a lot of people are judging this team and what they are and will be based on one exhibition game. I do think it's maybe a little early, particularly when based on all the new pieces that the team has. At the very least, I would wait until a few games into the regular season before there's a true sense as to what this team is and what they may evolve into.

 

[EricLA]

I think that a lot of people are judging this team and what they are and will be based on one exhibition game. I do think it's maybe a little early, particularly when based on all the new pieces that the team has. At the very least, I would wait until a few games into the regular season before there's a true sense as to what this team is and what they may evolve into.

Fair point. We sometimes watch an early game and worry that the team will never "get it" because they look disjointed and out of synch. Crystal is still not 100%. No Evina strips the team of not only a talented player, but also one with college experience.

We have 3 starters coming back. Christyn and Megan are being asked to take on not only more of a leadership role, but also a scoring role. Replacing Lou and Pheesa - impossible of course, but still we have to do it. Olivia, for all her improvements over the summer, will now be asked to play 25-30 minutes per game on average (more vs. top teams, probably less in blowouts). The 5th starter will be either Anna or Aubrey. Both showed some excellent things in the exhibition game. Both have a long way to go. Both will contribute big time.

Glad Molly and Kyla are getting minutes, but if we really NEED them to do anything in big games, we are in trouble. Great teammates. Great representatives for UCONN. Role players extraordinaire. Solid fundamentals and will contribute a lot against non-elite teams.

Evelyn in the mystery. Supposedly she got herself in great shape over the summer, but I didn't see it. Supposedly her 4 years experience playing well against good teams was going to help her at UCONN. We have to give her time, but I was disappointed with what I saw. Months of unofficial practice and at least a month of official practice - she has a long way to go. I sure hope she gets it!

 

[southofnorth]

Glad Molly and Kyla are getting minutes, but if we really NEED them to do anything in big games, we are in trouble. Great teammates. Great representatives for UCONN. Role players extraordinaire.

I don’t see this as a bad thing. Players should be expected to contribute meaningfully minutes in every game. Why waste scholarship space on someone you have low/no expectations of? By no means am I saying they should be expected to carry the team in big games, but they’re seniors and they should at least be able to come in for a few minutes here and there without significant drop off from whoever they’re subbing for. If the starters have to play 40 minutes in every big game, that’s the real problem. That won’t leave much in the tank come March Madness.

 

[Alydar]

The 4 bench players are going to have to play significant minutes this season. Right now Geno has a 6 man rotation which would mean 35"/game. That is near impossible over a season when 4 of those 6 are underclassmen. It may be 6 in the half dozen or so games against top teams but Adebayo, Bent & Irwin are going to have to play 50-60 min/game against the weak 2/3 of the schedule.

200/6 = 33.3 min/game - elite games

200 - 50* = 150/6 = 25 min/game
* - Adebayo, Bent & Irwin total min.

If this roster is going to get to the FF the top 6 have to save something for March & April. I think Bent & Irwin are more than ready to play significant minutes against 3/4 of UConn's opponents and are also able to give the top 6 a breather in the other games.

 

[EricLA]

I don’t see this as a bad thing. Players should be expected to contribute meaningfully minutes in every game. Why waste scholarship space on someone you have low/no expectations of? By no means am I saying they should be expected to carry the team in big games, but they’re seniors and they should at least be able to come in for a few minutes here and there without significant drop off from whoever they’re subbing for. If the starters have to play 40 minutes in every big game, that’s the real problem. That won’t leave much in the tank come March Madness.

True, but all I meant was that in big games (probably 5-6 during the regular season), they won't see much time. But in games like the exhibition game, where we are up 10-20 in the 1st quarter, I expect to see them a lot. They are solid players, but simply cannot hold their own against elite teams. No slight against them - just hoping we don't have to rely on them vs Baylor, Oregon, ND, Tennessee, SC, etc.

Can they hold their own against Cal, Vandy, Depal, Virginia, Temple, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USF? Like you, as seniors, I would hope so, given those teams don't have near the fire power that the big 5 we play this season have...

I do disagree with Tony on on point - i do think we will have a lot of 40 point wins this season. This team is better than people think, which may sound odd given we are ranked anywhere from 3-6 or so on preaseason polls. Don't sleep on this team... And by the end of the season I expect at least 1 player to make an AA team...

 

[Papa33]

Glad Molly and Kyla are getting minutes, but if we really NEED them to do anything in big games, we are in trouble. Great teammates. Great representatives for UCONN. Role players extraordinaire. Solid fundamentals and will contribute a lot against non-elite teams.

After watching them in the first exhibition, I'd like to put in a plug for Molly and Kyla, a somewhat cautious suggestion that they seemed more secure out there with a bunch of this season's "starters." Yes, I know, it was not a challenging opponent and perhaps I make too much of what seemed to be more court awareness and recognition of opportunities. Kyla, for all her athletic limitations CAN shoot three's, and she shot them within the offense's movements and when she had the opening. Molly has often been a "jittery" player, too fast, not a wide vision of the floor, forcing a pass or shot. But her defense was savvy, and she was reading the floor well enough to use her quickness effectively at both ends of the floor.

Am I seeing through rose-colored glasses? Well, none of my own players ever accused me of that mistake; and, sure, I'd love to see both of these great young women have their incredibly hard work and effort pay off, for them and for the team. I think they have more to offer this year-- really.