tOSU Postgame Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

tOSU Postgame Thread

There are 3 immediate problems with playing a box and 1 on Sarah and then doubling her. 1) She is the best front court passer in the country. Is there another 4 that could have made that lead bounce pass to Serah? Also, all of our guards know how to cut and our bigs in Jana and Serah are getting better at finishing every game. 2) Azzi- If she is the beneficiary of a double, she can ring up 30 and not break a sweat. 3) Sarah is so quick she can score before a double gets to her and gets a lot of her points in transition where the box is irrelevant. I'm sure we will see several trick defenses along the way though. Let's see what Michigan does.
I agree with all that. She hasn’t seen gimmick defenses yet to shut her down . I know she is a great passer with great vision but at this point, if I was an opposing coach, I would take my chances with anyone else including Azzi. I know shocking. Sarah, though, has proven that no matter where she stands, she is threat to score.
 
When your two best players and scorers who combined for 48 points also accounted for 14 assists between them you know something is very, very right. And then there is also Blanca who like today, can change the direction of a game within minutes.
 
Not really about the game, but before the game in the lobby I looked through the merchandise shop that was set up. Surprisingly, the only game jersey on sale with the players name on the back was Paige Bueckers. LOL. Not any current player, just Paige, and they weren't even marked down. I talked a little with Katie Fudd and she was not happy at all that Azzis jersey was nowhere to be seen. She also said that even in the shop inside the arena there was not one Azzi jersey. Katie said that her agent was working on it. Hmmm. There was though some very colorful sweatshirts with the "Peoples Princess"," Ice, Ice Brady", and a Sarah Strong version. BTW, there were two racks of the Paige jersey.
 
I agree with all that. She hasn’t seen gimmick defenses yet to shut her down . I know she is a great passer with great vision but at this point, if I was an opposing coach, I would take my chances with anyone else including Azzi. I know shocking. Sarah, though, has proven that no matter where she stands, she is threat to score.
IMO to play a trick defense on Sarah, Or Sarah and Azzi, you have to be able to keep the ball out of the players' hands or at least far away from the hoop. How can you keep the ball away from Sarah? She's too big. Impossible for one person! She'd get the ball, then attack that flimsy box or diamond. Layup drill!
Not sure the D to stop Sarah has been invented yet. Maybe one of these coaches will figure a strategy. They'll have to run people at her. We had super quick double teams on Betts. Sarah's too agile. She'd get 15 assists.
 
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Yes, opponents, please play a box and one on Sarah and leave Azzi, Serah, and Blanca with only one defender

View attachment 113322
It would be difficult to set up a box around Sarah when she steals the ball and goes to the basket ahead of the defenders.
And her 7 assists would double with her ability to find the open teammate!
 
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Not really about the game, but before the game in the lobby I looked through the merchandise shop that was set up. Surprisingly, the only game jersey on sale with the players name on the back was Paige Bueckers. LOL. Not any current player, just Paige, and they weren't even marked down. I talked a little with Katie Fudd and she was not happy at all that Azzis jersey was nowhere to be seen. She also said that even in the shop inside the arena there was not one Azzi jersey. Katie said that her agent was working on it. Hmmm. There was though some very colorful sweatshirts with the "Peoples Princess"," Ice, Ice Brady", and a Sarah Strong version. BTW, there were two racks of the Paige jersey.
Probably because when players are active at UConn there are no names on the back of game jerseys. The only name that matters is the one on the front.
 
Probably because when players are active at UConn there are no names on the back of game jerseys. The only name that matters is the one on the front.
You haven't been to the big store in the Student Union on campus? They have jerseys for all the players. I'm going next weekend and I'm going to pickup a #2. Fat, old dude wearing a point guard #.
 
You haven't been to the big store in the Student Union on campus? They have jerseys for all the players. I'm going next weekend and I'm going to pickup a #2. Fat, old dude wearing a point guard #.
Read my post again, there won't be a name on the back.
 
Like all your comments but want to add sitting on the bench when taken out with just a few minutes left in the 4th, Azzi had a look of disgust on her face. Without reading too much into such a brief picture, I think she could have been feelingf that she could have done better even though she scored 19 points after a slow start. If so, I hope she learns to give herself some grace because she is a tremendous player and she shows up every game ready to provide her unique skills and to give the team a boost when needed whether scoring or defending. Plus I am sure Geno will be quite happy with a 19 point performance even though Azzi has the capability to double it.
It came out after the game that she has a bad cold and was probably feeling crummy. That might have had something to do with it.
 
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I am wondering if something happened with Serah because she only played 14 minutes and, I believe, hardly none in the 2nd half. She was certainly quite effective in the minutes she played.
I think I heard in the post game presser that at times, OSU was playing 5 guards. That can be the reason we played small lineups for more of the time and the bigs got their times cut short.
 
Very grateful to be at today's game and to have the chance to see the championship banner unveiled. As we all saw, Sarah put on a show, and it was great to see Blanca having a bit of a coming-out party as well as Ash getting some of her swagger back.

I also want to tip my cap to Jaloni Cambridge. She really played her heart out on every possession and was a ton of fun to watch. I've seen her on TV a fair amount, but I was struck by how slight she is in person; somehow that made her athleticism and fearlessness even more mind-boggling to me (a bit like Mo Jefferson). I know the game didn't go the way tOSU wanted, but there was no hanging her head: she just played hard throughout—the kind of kid I love to root for.
 
Read my post again, there won't be a name on the back.
The make them for the fans

IMG_4411.jpeg
 
I actually think he went so long with Azzi and Sarah because the others look pretty good no matter the mix with them. Maybe this is the first step in building the depth. Then maybe as the season goes they can be good with just one of them and eventually good in short stretches with neither. Its a process.
Plus we need to keep in mind that we are missing two players---ICE and Morgan--not to mention Gandy
 
One thing that stood out watching the game was how much bigger and more athletic we were compared to OSU. I was also thinking they would be quicker than the Huskies and they were not.
tOSU's center was 6'6" but wasn't "bigger." Each of the Huskies played bigger!

Next up: Michigan #14-ish on Friday @ 20:00 (reports to the CO: position report, Operations in progress, Navigational hazards nearby, etc.); the women are intent on winning each and every play in front of them, and the tough Defense is feeding the Offense.

Instead of a Big 3, I see a Big Five which includes a couple off of the bench, with multiple players making big plays to feed the big Five. Truly selfless display, and demonstrated desire to make the team better each day!

Go Huskies!!!!
 
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Very grateful to be at today's game and to have the chance to see the championship banner unveiled. As we all saw, Sarah put on a show, and it was great to see Blanca having a bit of a coming-out party as well as Ash getting some of her swagger back.

I also want to tip my cap to Jaloni Cambridge. She really played her heart out on every possession and was a ton of fun to watch. I've seen her on TV a fair amount, but I was struck by how slight she is in person; somehow that made her athleticism and fearlessness even more mind-boggling to me (a bit like Mo Jefferson). I know the game didn't go the way tOSU wanted, but there was no hanging her head: she just played hard throughout—the kind of kid I love to root for.
Also, a shoutout for her remarkable drive which included dribbling between Serah’s legs!
 
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First live game for me since being in Amalie Arena when they won their 12th! Both in front and behind me were fellow fans who were also in Tampa - wow! Banner reveal will be something I'll always remember!

UConn did a pretty good job of breaking the OSU press, and it resulted in many easy points once we passed the timeline. I was surprised that McGuff kept pressing, and although they did turn us over a few times we must have had a significant point advantage over them when they pressed.

Serah didn't seem to play much in the 2nd half, which surprised me because she looked at ease and seemingly scored at will. Jana had a couple of layups but I kind of wish she'd post up more and demand the ball like Serah does. Jana is mostly at the foul line vs. on the block. She has shown flashes of being as dominant down-low as Serah but I hope to see more of that as the season progresses.

The Cambridge sisters are FAST! After the first quarter I wondered if either team would cool off and while OSU had a statistically decent shooting night they ran into the UConn buzzsaw that took 16 more shots and were far better from the 3-point line that led to the margin of victory.

One bone to pick: too many ticky-tack fouls by UConn - in a game like this it didn't matter but in a close game it might be an issue.

Through four games we're averaging 90.75 ppg, just behind the record of 91.2 ppg by the 98-99 team. I see no reason why we can't reach 100 points in every BE game.
 
Ziebell and Heckel look like reliable backups at the 1 and the 2. And maybe that was a question coming into the season?

I just want them to find their 3 point shot once they get more comfortable.
I believe if Allie could average at least ten shots a game, she will average double figures for the season.
 
First live game for me since being in Amalie Arena when they won their 12th! Both in front and behind me were fellow fans who were also in Tampa - wow! Banner reveal will be something I'll always remember!

UConn did a pretty good job of breaking the OSU press, and it resulted in many easy points once we passed the timeline. I was surprised that McGuff kept pressing, and although they did turn us over a few times we must have had a significant point advantage over them when they pressed.

Serah didn't seem to play much in the 2nd half, which surprised me because she looked at ease and seemingly scored at will. Jana had a couple of layups but I kind of wish she'd post up more and demand the ball like Serah does. Jana is mostly at the foul line vs. on the block. She has shown flashes of being as dominant down-low as Serah but I hope to see more of that as the season progresses.

The Cambridge sisters are FAST! After the first quarter I wondered if either team would cool off and while OSU had a statistically decent shooting night they ran into the UConn buzzsaw that took 16 more shots and were far better from the 3-point line that led to the margin of victory.

One bone to pick: too many ticky-tack fouls by UConn - in a game like this it didn't matter but in a close game it might be an issue.

Through four games we're averaging 90.75 ppg, just behind the record of 91.2 ppg by the 98-99 team. I see no reason why we can't reach 100 points in every BE game.
We won't hit a 100 in every BE game because the experienced coaches of the BE know how to slow the game down and deny UConn enough possessions to reach 100.

I do wonder why Serah didn't play more minutes. She was doing great. Seemed like they maybe wanted to get Blanca going this game.
 
Come up with something new and original. That has gotten old. 😵‍💫
I'm cool with bring back the "OLD BEATDOWNS!"

It's an oldie, but a goodie!!!

Tight first quarter, and then the Huskies caught fire. Must have been the ingame warmup, that got Azzi's ears to clear from the cold she was fighting for the past four days (mentioned by Geno post-game). You could hear it in Azzi's voice to start the post-game presser with Sarah & Blanca.

Go Huskies!!!
 
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