Trevecca Nazarene Game Final Stats

[JoePgh]

Some random thoughts:

..

• In 80 minutes of preseason games, UConn has played exactly 0 minutes of zone. What they have played is a far more aggressive man-to-man defense, pressuring opponents all over the court. The key to sustaining this kind of defense is depth and a rim protector at the back end. It’s still early, but it looks like UConn checks both of those boxes.

That is not correct. Watching the game in person last night, I could see that the team was experimenting with a zone at times during the second half. Like much of what happened in the second half, it needs a lot of work. But I can't imagine that Geno would ever completely remove that weapon from their arsenal.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Awful 2nd half. No way to sugar coat it. Team looked slow, somewhat disinterested, disjointed, sloppy, and just flat out bad.

Having said that, a lot of good things from the first half. Adebayo looked better, Bent and Irwin both looked good with other starters on the floor, Griffin will be special - so much potential, and while Makurat may never make a highlight reel for flash or speed, she sure does everything well, especially seeing the floor and passing.

Megs was a beast, Christyn looked solid, and Crystal kept the team humming. Olivia was constantly double teamed but managed to have an impact without forcing things.

Some good things, and some bad things. Plenty of time to improve...

You sugar coated some! Ania and Griffin are going to be go to players one of these days. Ania isn't flashy--who cares, she rebounds and showed she can drill a 3. More PT with the core 4 she'll feel more free in scoring and become more fluid. She is--as @Carnac, me and a dozen others reported : A very good players. Griffin--is as many in APRIL reported a good jumper/rebounder, can score off the dribble and assists.
The errors I saw were those of Kids trying to make GENO's pass, slip to the basket, get the pass work. All that takes o more practices. The 5 or 6 potential starters without Evina will need loads of help---the big question is : WHO will provide that--will we again have 6 players playing 200 minutes each game??

 

[Wilderness]

Just a quick thank you to everyone posting. I'm in a village in West Africa thru most of the season. With limited cell service, Boneyard is all there is to follow our coaches and '19-'20 team. This string is great! It is sounding promising.

Wilderness.

 

[meyers7]

• In 80 minutes of preseason games, UConn has played exactly 0 minutes of zone. What they have played is a far more aggressive man-to-man defense, pressuring opponents all over the court. The key to sustaining this kind of defense is depth and a rim protector at the back end. It’s still early, but it looks like UConn checks both of those boxes.

They played a 2-3 zone last night. Not a lot, but definitely a few minutes here and there.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Some random thoughts:

• Megan reminds me of the player I watched in HS when I used to live in Chesterfield, VA. She is confident and looks like she’s in complete control of the game, capable of doing whatever is necessary to win.
• The evolution of Liv’s game is fantastic. She’s blocking shots all the way out to the perimeter, has developed a nice turnaround jumper from 15’ and is turning into an outstanding passer from the high post. Liv is the most important player on this team and her upside is huge.
• In 80 minutes of preseason games, UConn has played exactly 0 minutes of zone. What they have played is a far more aggressive man-to-man defense, pressuring opponents all over the court. The key to sustaining this kind of defense is depth and a rim protector at the back end. It’s still early, but it looks like UConn checks both of those boxes.
• On offense, it is also clear that UConn plans to run off of TO’s, missed baskets and made baskets, essentially all the time. I know the game was a mismatch, but it’s not easy to score 74 pts in a half against anyone.
• I still don’t think we know for sure who the 5th starter will be. Anna found her shot yesterday, Aubrey continues to impress, it appears that Kyla might just be the best 3-pt shooter on the team and we’re still waiting on Evina’s appeal. Stay tuned.
• I’m not really concerned about the 2nd half. Geno subbed liberally and clearly UConn was under orders to shut down their own fast break offense. The Huskies do need work on their set offense. It will come.

Good stuff. Geno has used this man to man zone for years. You see a zone set up and as you try to use your Zone offense, they begin man to man it confuses the be-jabbers out of teams.
WE don't know who the 5th starter shall be but Geno does and my money is on Ania with Griffin being 6th.
Irwin will need to improve under the basket or play outside. I love both Irwin and Bent but they are no better than the last 3 years. irwin could sink a few 3 in the past 2 years but not enough to compensate for her lack of foot speed, decision making==Molly shall always be Molly. In big games who does Geno sub in??? Seems like an old song played over and over.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Some random thoughts:

• Megan reminds me of the player I watched in HS when I used to live in Chesterfield, VA. She is confident and looks like she’s in complete control of the game, capable of doing whatever is necessary to win.
• The evolution of Liv’s game is fantastic. She’s blocking shots all the way out to the perimeter, has developed a nice turnaround jumper from 15’ and is turning into an outstanding passer from the high post. Liv is the most important player on this team and her upside is huge.
• In 80 minutes of preseason games, UConn has played exactly 0 minutes of zone. What they have played is a far more aggressive man-to-man defense, pressuring opponents all over the court. The key to sustaining this kind of defense is depth and a rim protector at the back end. It’s still early, but it looks like UConn checks both of those boxes.
• On offense, it is also clear that UConn plans to run off of TO’s, missed baskets and made baskets, essentially all the time. I know the game was a mismatch, but it’s not easy to score 74 pts in a half against anyone.
• I still don’t think we know for sure who the 5th starter will be. Anna found her shot yesterday, Aubrey continues to impress, it appears that Kyla might just be the best 3-pt shooter on the team and we’re still waiting on Evina’s appeal. Stay tuned.
• I’m not really concerned about the 2nd half. Geno subbed liberally and clearly UConn was under orders to shut down their own fast break offense. The Huskies do need work on their set offense. It will come.

When you lived in Chesterfield, Va?? You sure it wasn't Phillip Morris?? That's right next door to me--only and hours and a half away. rt 33 or 64 either way. Nice VA hospital there

 

[oldude]

When you lived in Chesterfield, Va?? You sure it wasn't Phillip Morris?? That's right next door to me--only and hours and a half away. rt 33 or 64 either way. Nice VA hospital there

When I lived in Chesterfield I knew several folks who worked for PM and I did some volunteer work for the V.A. Small world.

 

[Ozimoto]

I don't think the sky is falling just yet. It is obvious that this team can run and score. Yes, the defense is problematic at the moment. The second half was ugly, so consistency of effort and in level of play certainly needs to improve.

On defense, they seemed a half step slow or a half step out of position often. Double teams were easily defeated (too much over playing on the player with the ball perhaps) leading to open perimeter shots or penetration in the lane too often. Liv's presence covered up a lot of this when she was in there. When she wasn't in there some easy buckets were scored on back door cuts. This will tighten up as they get used to playing together. In all honesty, the team they played last night ran some really nice offensive sets that P5 teams should emulate.

It's obvious the newbies are stiff figuring stuff out. Kyla and Molly know where to go and what to do and Molly is playing good defense. Unfortunately they don't have the athleticism to become more than role players, but that's ok. They will make the most of their opportunities.

Room for improvement? Of course. Is it time to man the lifeboats? Not yet. It will be fun to watch the team develop this year moving forward.

I won't be able to see the Cal game live as I will be traveling Sunday but it will be interested to hear how it goes.

 

[oldude]

They played a 2-3 zone last night. Not a lot, but definitely a few minutes here and there.

In the second half I did see something that sort of looked like a zone but then appeared to transition into a man defense, but it’s possible I just missed the zone defense. Certainly, in big games, if Liv gets into foul trouble, I expect UConn to protect her by going to a zone.

 

[eebmg]

One thing that jumped out at me was the poor positioning of some of the UCon defenders 1-1. The Trevecca players seemed to move into open spaces and get defenders lunging way off balance way too often.

My hypothesis is that being a Div2 team *with quite a few freshman of their own and their top scorer out), there just may not be enough video to provide even a skeleton game plan. For me, defense is dependant on knowing your opponent tendencies and it did not seem they had that going for them.

 

[BroadwayVa]

When you lived in Chesterfield, Va?? You sure it wasn't Phillip Morris?? That's right next door to me--only and hours and a half away. rt 33 or 64 either way. Nice VA hospital there

When I lived in Chesterfield I knew several folks who worked for PM and I did some volunteer work for the V.A. Small world.

Richmond isnt one of 15 cities I lived in or the 100 or so I traveled to each year--some government jobs are not stagnant.

 

[oldude]

One thing that jumped out at me was the poor positioning of some of the UCon defenders 1-1. The Trevecca players seemed to move into open spaces and get defenders lunging way off balance way too often.

My hypothesis is that being a Div2 team *with quite a few freshman of their own and their top scorer out), there just may not be enough video to provide even a skeleton game plan. For me, defense is dependant on knowing your opponent tendencies and it did not seem they had that going for them.

As I mentioned earlier, UConn defenders were picking up opposing players much further away from the basket than last season. In those situations, all but the very best defenders, i.e. Kia & Gabby, can lose track of how they are positioned on the court thereby opening up a lane to the basket. It’s a work in process that I expect the Huskies to get much better at as the season unfolds.

 

[BroadwayVa]

In the second half I did see something that sort of looked like a zone but then appeared to transition into a man defense, but it’s possible I just missed the zone defense. Certainly, in big games, if Liv gets into foul trouble, I expect UConn to protect her by going to a zone.

Uconn, I believe, may live or die on Olivia's play she is that good. Of course for big scoring the 3 core will fill up stats. Hopefully, Griffin will explode and Ania will be a steady Eddie doing everything needed. The big question is who REALLY backs up OLIVIA? Ania and Griffin with little teams have done well--Evelyn isn't Div 1 ready yet.

 

[Carnac]

Just a quick thank you to everyone posting. I'm in a village in West Africa thru most of the season. With limited cell service, Boneyard is all there is to follow our coaches and '19-'20 team. This string is great! It is sounding promising.

Wilderness.

It’s good to have you wilderness. UConn Nation is “pumped” about the players and the potential this team has. It will be fun watching them as they make their way through what looks to be a very challenging pre conference slate of games.

Our team has the ability to make a run deep into the post season. How deep? That’s what we’re waiting to see, one game at a time. We have some potential All-Americans on this team. We’re hoping they play up to that level and make it easy for the selection committee to recognize them. Check in with us when you can. We’ll leave the light on for you.

 

[Carnac]

I still think Aubrey will be 6th woman. The spark off the bench that can change up the game when she comes in. There has been a long history of that by Geno.

She was the first off the bench yesterday. I’m very glad to learn that Geno plans on playing her and Anna a lot this year, and utilizing the things they can do right now into the team’s overall pan of attack.

 

[diggerfoot]

2. Aubrey Griffin will be in the starting lineup sooner than we think, maybe on Sunday. She is showing amazing scoring talent, and she seems to be "getting" even the complex plays on offense.

First, I always enjoy your take on things. You are more invested in WBB than I am and I sometimes learn things from you. Second, I did not see the game last night, but I did see the box score. I come to a different conclusion.

I think Griffin may become one of our more valuable players in her freshman year; like a Taurasi, or a Ralph. However, like those two I do not think she will start sans injury. In the first game Makurat always was tasked with bringing the ball out of bounds. Auriemma generally reserves that task to the one he believes will be most successful (ie, least likely to make a mistake, either due to height, judgement or both). Last night the box score indicated that Makurat got the most minutes, 3 more than Walker even, and that advantage was established during the first half of play. Also during the first half of play Makurat led the team in rebounds and assists.

Makurat may not prove to be one of our most valuable players, she may not prove to be as valuable as Griffin. Yet by virtually every sign, including Auriemma's own words, he thinks she is one of the most headsy/reliable players already. I say she starts this year unless injured. In fact, I am willing to bet an extra large pizza on it. Do you live in Connecticut? At some point I will be traveling all over but, for now, am confined to northwest Connecticut. In either case I'm serious. Let's bet an extra large pizza on this.

 

[EricLA]

I was just watching Geno in the post game interview. He said that the second half was the plan...they were told to stop running and play a more controlled offense. There was no reason to keep running and scoring 140 points and not learn anything (paraphrasing).
Hmm.

Makes sense. So they learned they have a lot of work to do on the half court offense LOL...

 

[CL82]

Reporter: "What happens if Olivia gets 2 fouls in the first seven minutes of a game?"
Geno: "We're going lose."

Wow, that's a telling comment about post depth. We'd better get more comfortable playing zone.

I get the sense that, though he realizes that there are going to be some rough patches, he likes this team and thinks that they can be pretty good.

 

[eebmg]

Reporter: "What happens if Olivia gets 2 fouls in the first seven minutes of a game?"
Geno: "We're going lose."

Wow, that's a telling comment about post depth.

I get the sense that, though he realizes that there are going to be some rough patches, he likes this team and thinks that they can be pretty good.

I believe the question was What happens if Olivia gets 2 fouls in the first seven minutes of a game against a good team?

Geno pushing every button to impress on Olivia how important she is and she can't give up stupid fouls.

Besides her defense, she adds alot to the offense in the post, a very improved shot and some nice top of the key passing and better pass outs to the perimeter in double-triple teams. She was out the vast majority of the second half in yesterdays game and I think that was a big part why we looked as discombobulated as we did

 

[JonathanXIV]

Makurat may not prove to be one of our most valuable players, she may not prove to be as valuable as Griffin. Yet by virtually every sign, including Auriemma's own words, he thinks she is one of the most headsy/reliable players already. I say she starts this year unless injured. In fact, I am willing to bet an extra large pizza on it. Do you live in Connecticut? At some point I will be traveling all over but, for now, am confined to northwest Connecticut. In either case I'm serious. Let's bet an extra large pizza on this.

Concerning the extra-large pizza bet. I don't want in on it (I also think Anna is the 5th starter), but I would like to be there when it is consumed.

 

[JoePgh]

First, I always enjoy your take on things. You are more invested in WBB than I am and I sometimes learn things from you. Second, I did not see the game last night, but I did see the box score. I come to a different conclusion.

I think Griffin may become one of our more valuable players in her freshman year; like a Taurasi, or a Ralph. However, like those two I do not think she will start sans injury. In the first game Makurat always was tasked with bringing the ball out of bounds. Auriemma generally reserves that task to the one he believes will be most successful (ie, least likely to make a mistake, either due to height, judgement or both). Last night the box score indicated that Makurat got the most minutes, 3 more than Walker even, and that advantage was established during the first half of play. Also during the first half of play Makurat led the team in rebounds and assists.

Makurat may not prove to be one of our most valuable players, she may not prove to be as valuable as Griffin. Yet by virtually every sign, including Auriemma's own words, he thinks she is one of the most headsy/reliable players already. I say she starts this year unless injured. In fact, I am willing to bet an extra large pizza on it. Do you live in Connecticut? At some point I will be traveling all over but, for now, am confined to northwest Connecticut. In either case I'm serious. Let's bet an extra large pizza on this.

Yes, I live in Connecticut and attend almost every home game. However, pizza is not my favorite dish. Now, if you were talking about wings, then ...

You are right that Aubrey may fit into the Nykesha Sales mode and come off the bench, although we have to bear in mind that Anna is also a freshman, albeit a more experienced one. See observation #1 below.

Here are a couple of somewhat related observations after watching the replay:

1. I noticed only on the replay that Aubrey seemed to be sucking for wind in the second half. On one occasion in particular, she was struggling to get back on defense and was being beaten by an opponent who can't be nearly as fast as she is when both are fresh. So she may have stamina issues which (if correct) will certainly limit her minutes and may prevent her from starting.

2. I noticed that Geno always played a zone defense when Evelyn was in the game. She was parked under the basket so that she rarely had to move. It reminded me of Kaili McLaren. That may explain why she is last off the bench -- her mobility may prevent her from playing man-to-man defense unless the other team has a player of equally limited mobility. This may be something that she can work on, but I don't think she was ever expected to move her feet on defense at her previous schools to the degree that she must in UConn's man-to-man.

 

[HopJim]

Geno also said that they need to figure out how to play when Crystal is not on the floor. Another point of emphasis.
While Molly, etc. will have to step up, another true point guard would have been helpful this year. Two years ago with several seemingly great recruits, never thought I would be saying this.

 

[meyers7]

In the second half I did see something that sort of looked like a zone but then appeared to transition into a man defense, but it’s possible I just missed the zone defense. Certainly, in big games, if Liv gets into foul trouble, I expect UConn to protect her by going to a zone.

They actually were playing zone a lot of the time while Adebayo was in. Not so much with ONO.]


(Ah, I see JoeP mentioned that.)

 

[ShmiCO]

I believe the question was What happens if Olivia gets 2 fouls in the first seven minutes of a game against a good team?

Geno pushing every button to impress on Olivia how important she is and she can't give up stupid fouls.

I think he's actually pushing the buttons of the rest of the team. While it's very nice to have an eraser and intimidating big inside, it's much nicer to have the everyone handle their defensive assignments well. That leaves Liv with focus and gas in the tank for the big moments.

 

[BroadwayVa]

She was the first off the bench yesterday. I’m very glad to learn that Geno plans on playing her and Anna a lot this year, and utilizing the things they can do right now into the team’s overall pan of attack.

Whether that was Geno's plan that is his circumstances. Start Ania (steady eddie ) and Aubrey Griffin off the bench to give the team that needed spark/push when the initial run and gun slows down. Aubrey is the energizer bunny and TALENTED with great desire ---a great combination. She's a perfect SUB for 3 players Walker, CW, Ania, maybe ONO. That kid will see lots of PT.