Two thoughts about the K-State game.

[Kibitzer]

1. Very often announcers state, sports journalists write, or fans post praise for a team or individual that plays "on both ends of the court" or "on both sides of the ball." These are common cliches to describe individual or team excellence on both offense and defense.

The UConn performance vs. K-State introduced a new variation to those familiar statements. It may be said that our Huskies played exceptionally well inside the arc at both ends of the court. Aside from Stewie, plus solo shots by Lou, Saniya and Tierney, it was clang, clang, clang on triples all evening. Contrast that with ten swishes (30 points) by the Jack-'em-up-rabbbits. So much for our perimeter "D."

2. Badass Award. On a night when Moriah flashed her pull-up jumper again and Stewie dropped 25 (to pass 2,000), it was another Husky who tormented K-State even more. Badass Award . . . Gabby Williams!

 

[Bestiarius]

There was a lot to like about K State's performance tonight.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Gabby: I'm going to run past you and jump over you. It's what I do.

 

[WestCoastFan]

There was a lot to like about K State's performance tonight.

I agree. I was impressed with K-State's coaching and the players. They never backed down, stayed aggressive, and shot the 3 really well. It was sooooo much better than that painful effort from OSU (players and coach). It's great that goons like us can "critique" at 40 pt. win.

 

[Ron and Vida]

1. Very often announcers state, sports journalists write, or fans post praise for a team or individual that plays "on both ends of the court" or "on both sides of the ball." These are common cliches to describe individual or team excellence on both offense and defense.

The UConn performance vs. K-State introduced a new variation to those familiar statements. It may be said that our Huskies played exceptionally well inside the arc at both ends of the court. Aside from Stewie, plus solo shots by Lou, Saniya and Tierney, it was clang, clang, clang on triples all evening. Contrast that with ten swishes (30 points) by the Jack-'em-up-rabbbits. So much for our perimeter "D."

2. Badass Award. On a night when Moriah flashed her pull-up jumper again and Stewie dropped 25 (to pass 2,000), it was another Husky who tormented K-State even more. Badass Award . . . Gabby Williams!

Also really missed watching Kiah Stokes Breanna Lewis matchup.

 

[mhshuskies]

Also really missed watching Kiah Stokes Breanna Lewis matchup.

or a Lewis / Butler matcup.

 

[BroadwayVa]

1. Very often announcers state, sports journalists write, or fans post praise for a team or individual that plays "on both ends of the court" or "on both sides of the ball." These are common cliches to describe individual or team excellence on both offense and defense.

The UConn performance vs. K-State introduced a new variation to those familiar statements. It may be said that our Huskies played exceptionally well inside the arc at both ends of the court. Aside from Stewie, plus solo shots by Lou, Saniya and Tierney, it was clang, clang, clang on triples all evening. Contrast that with ten swishes (30 points) by the Jack-'em-up-rabbbits. So much for our perimeter "D."

2. Badass Award. On a night when Moriah flashed her pull-up jumper again and Stewie dropped 25 (to pass 2,000), it was another Husky who tormented K-State even more. Badass Award . . . Gabby Williams!

I think you'd have to add N. Collier to that award. Near games end she plowed thru two K.S. players and got foul shots out of the attack. This kid is a keeper!!
Also--Tierney just about got into the game and BANG a three. Confidence.. K.S. is a pretty good team. Much better than the score would suggest. Those open 3's by K.S. and a few easy layup's were well set up by moving guards and excellent passing. Thanks for noticing.

 

[rugbymate]

1. Very often announcers state, sports journalists write, or fans post praise for a team or individual that plays "on both ends of the court" or "on both sides of the ball." These are common cliches to describe individual or team excellence on both offense and defense.

The UConn performance vs. K-State introduced a new variation to those familiar statements. It may be said that our Huskies played exceptionally well inside the arc at both ends of the court. Aside from Stewie, plus solo shots by Lou, Saniya and Tierney, it was clang, clang, clang on triples all evening. Contrast that with ten swishes (30 points) by the Jack-'em-up-rabbbits. So much for our perimeter "D."

2. Badass Award. On a night when Moriah flashed her pull-up jumper again and Stewie dropped 25 (to pass 2,000), it was another Husky who tormented K-State even more. Badass Award . . . Gabby Williams!

While it seemed that KS made a lot of 3's, over half their shots were from 3-point land. I actually thought our perimeter defense was stifling. 10 of our 15 steals were from our 3 starting guards, many of which were turn into easy layups. KS had 20 turnovers compared to their average in the 3 previous games of 13. Their assist to turnover ratio was roughly 1:2 vs roughly 1.5:1 in prior games. Bet if you polled their guards this morning they most of them had nightmares about barking huskies chasing them everywhere.

 

[CocoHusky]

Gabby: I'm going to run past you and jump over you. It's what I do.

Second game in a row Gabby easily out jumped player that are 6'5" and 6'6" to snag a rebound in traffic and get the put back. She is just Beasting people.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Last year's opponents shot 31% on 3s against UConn, and last night K-State shot 32%, so pretty much standard fare.

As for UConn's 3s, clearly at least one player needs to shoot her way into 3-point mode. Last year early on there were a bunch of us praying that neither MoJeff or Tuck would even think about taking a 3, but then they got the rhythm down and by the second half it was an enjoyable experience to see them setting up for a 3.

 

[ricky]

I think you'd have to add N. Collier to that award. Near games end she plowed thru two K.S. players and got foul shots out of the attack. This kid is a keeper!!
Also--Tierney just about got into the game and BANG a three. Confidence.. K.S. is a pretty good team. Much better than the score would suggest. Those open 3's by K.S. and a few easy layup's were well set up by moving guards and excellent passing. Thanks for noticing.

I keep suggesting that Collier is the best of this class. I see her sneaky successes on the court. When her conditioning improves, she will be in pro form.

 

[OldAlum]

Also enjoyed seeing Chong work so hard. She seems determined that her defense will NOT be the cause of her sitting this year. At one point she looked like Mo on D!

 

[Ron and Vida]

or a Lewis / Butler matcup.[/QUOTE
You're right: what would have Butler done.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Also enjoyed seeing Chong work so hard. She seems determined that her defense will NOT be the cause of her sitting this year. At one point she looked like Mo on D!

For those who were watching the games last year, D wasn't the reason that Chong sat last year either in the 2nd half of the season. The fact that Nurse was playing the guard spot so well was the reason Chong did not start, but it was especially when the Huskies needed a boost on defense that Chong went in during the big games to lock down a guard who was giving trouble. The best example of course was in the Tournament game against Dayton when Kia was having big problems stopping the Flyers' guards, especially Andrea Hoover, who had Dayton up at a few points midway through the first half at a scoring pace that would have put them at 100 for the game. Chong was sent in to face guard Hoover, and the the Dayton guard was shut down and turned the ball over during the next few minutes as UConn briefly regained the lead, though they lost it when they couldn't buy a bucket for the last 3 1/2 minutes before the half (Chong was not in during the last 6 minutes). The second half was a completely different story as UConn locked down on Dayton and ran away from them from the start.

But for those who actually watched the games last year, it was clear that whatever issues Chong and the Huskies' defense had against Stanford were long gone, and she often went in when Kia was either not quite in sync during the second half of her freshman year, or when the Huskies needed a change-up on D and Kia needed a breather.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Also enjoyed seeing Chong work so hard. She seems determined that her defense will NOT be the cause of her sitting this year. At one point she looked like Mo on D!

Yes! I thought Chong did well considering her circumstance. Love how she splashed that three.

 

[BroadwayVa]

1. Very often announcers state, sports journalists write, or fans post praise for a team or individual that plays "on both ends of the court" or "on both sides of the ball." These are common cliches to describe individual or team excellence on both offense and defense.

The UConn performance vs. K-State introduced a new variation to those familiar statements. It may be said that our Huskies played exceptionally well inside the arc at both ends of the court. Aside from Stewie, plus solo shots by Lou, Saniya and Tierney, it was clang, clang, clang on triples all evening. Contrast that with ten swishes (30 points) by the Jack-'em-up-rabbbits. So much for our perimeter "D."

2. Badass Award. On a night when Moriah flashed her pull-up jumper again and Stewie dropped 25 (to pass 2,000), it was another Husky who tormented K-State even more. Badass Award . . . Gabby Williams!

I'm High jacking your thread --but this is just for you.

Locally a truck loaded with THESAURUSES, over turned. The newspaper reported: The onlookers were "overwhelmed, stunned, amazed, gobsmacked, astonished, bewildered and dumbfounded. "

 

[Kibitzer]

I'm High jacking your thread --but this is just for you.

Locally a truck loaded with THESAURUSES, over turned. The newspaper reported: The onlookers were "overwhelmed, stunned, amazed, gobsmacked, astonished, bewildered and dumbfounded. "

. . . Probably flummoxed, flabbergasted, and dumbfounded, too -- for starters.

BTW, I am astonished, amazed, and overwhelmed by your description of a jillion words scattered all over the street.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

The best example of course was in the Tournament game against Dayton when Kia was having big problems stopping the Flyers' guards, especially Andrea Hoover, who had Dayton up at a few points midway through the first half at a scoring pace that would have put them at 100 for the game. Chong was sent in to face guard Hoover, and the the Dayton guard was shut down and turned the ball over during the next few minutes as UConn briefly regained the lead,

I've watched that game ten times and I don't recall Chong having any particular impact. You are right that she came in during the first half, for 3 minutes. Played less than 5 for the game.

Having checked the boxscore, the Dayton game was 22 apiece when Chong entered in the first half and 30-28 Dayton when she left.

 

[BroadwayVa]

. . . Probably flummoxed, flabbergasted, and dumbfounded, too -- for starters.

BTW, I am astonished, amazed, and overwhelmed by your description of a jillion words scattered all over the street.

You took the words right out of my-----computer!!! Our Editor does not have your word skills or maybe even a computer. He does dig up old old old words only read now in his Editorials.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I've watched that game ten times and I don't recall Chong having any particular impact. You are right that she came in during the first half, for 3 minutes. Played less than 5 for the game.

Having checked the boxscore, the Dayton game was 22 apiece when Chong entered in the first half and 30-28 Dayton when she left.

Um, kind of hard to assess the impact when you can't get the sequence straight about when Chong was in the game. No wonder you can't recall what she did. Dayton never led by 30-28, and Chong was gone from the game by the time UConn was up 30-28. No wonder you didn't see her.

We detailed everything back in around 3/30 after the game, but to repeat, Geno sent Chong in at 12:07 after two quick Kia fouls in a tie game to lock down whichever Dayton guard was in her zone, and she did just that. Maybe the reason you don't notice her is that her man didn't do anything except miss and turn the ball over. The baskets that Dayton hit while Chong was in had nothing to do with her, as MoJeff left Austria completely alone at the 9:40 mark for a 3 and Malott launched one over Stewie from their three-or-four guard offense. Chong then exited at 8:58 mark to a lot of back slaps with Dayton up at 28-27. The UConn scorers did not really get in rhythm until the second half, and KML shot well but threw the ball a way a lot in the first half. But here's a little of what you missed .....

• at 10:12 she screens Amber Deane from a sideline pass and may even have tipped it off the Flyer, but it results in a Dayton turnover.
  
• at 9:03 she forces a turnover into the hands of KML.
• at 8:58 after a weak KML pass is intercepted down court by Hoover, it is Chong that hustles back to cut off the pass that forces Hoover to charge into KML under the basket.

Those are the highlights of a nice span on the court. I did say it was Defense that Chong went in for, right? And the fact that Dayton scored no points on her is a good thing, right? Whether you noticed anything is not really relevant, but her defense was outstanding in the 3+ minutes she was in during the first half. The theory by the Chong-haters pushed last year that she couldn't play defense and that Geno put her in at big moments like the Dayton game for who-knows-what-reason (so Dayton could further run up the score?) has always been an idea in search of a clue, but that Chong is playing strong defense this year is no surprise to those who watched the games last year.

 

[cabbie191]

I give credit to Kansas State for never giving up.

On the other hand, I was surprised at how many open shots they had and was expecting to see more animation from Geno for lapses in defense. (And maybe he was - I watched the game on my computer as a replay on ESPN3 and the connection was very poor. Frustrating lack of clarity on the screen.)

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Um, kind of hard to assess the impact when you can't get the sequence straight about when Chong was in the game. No wonder you can't recall what she did. Dayton never led by 30-28, and Chong was gone from the game by the time UConn was up 30-28. No wonder you didn't see her.

On the contrary, I specifically watched every second she was in the game after you made this comment. UConn went from a 22-22 tie to 28-27 behind during the time Chong was in the game in the first half. Here is the play-by-play.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2014-2015/ncaar3.html

I originally read the wrong scoreline, so I made a mistake there. 28-27 behind, not 30-28.

Again, I detailed every play as I watched. She face-guarded Hoover one time and another Dayton player hit a three on the possession. She did make one good play on the weak side jumping up to deflect a pass that ended up going off a Flyer for a turnover as you mentioned.

• at 9:03 she forces a turnover into the hands of KML.

No she didn't. The Dayton player threw it off KML's body. Had nothing to do with Chong.

She mostly played off her man during that span, made one good play, and face-guarded one time.

 

[DobbsRover2]

On the contrary, I specifically watched every second she was in the game after you made this comment. UConn went from a 22-22 tie to 28-27 behind during the time Chong was in the game in the first half. Here is the play-by-play.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2014-2015/ncaar3.html

I originally read the wrong scoreline, so I made a mistake there. 28-27 behind, not 30-28.

Again, I detailed every play as I watched. She face-guarded Hoover one time and another Dayton player hit a three on the possession. She did make one good play on the weak side jumping up to deflect a pass that ended up going off a Flyer for a turnover as you mentioned.



No she didn't. The Dayton player threw it off KML's body. Had nothing to do with Chong.

She mostly played off her man during that span, made one good play, and face-guarded one time.

Like I said, someone who is now stuttering to correct all the mistakes of the original post maybe can't be trusted to recount much accurately. If you actually do watch basketball games, you will be able to understand that the actions of one defender can very much lead to a player throwing the ball away as she's pressured, which you seem to have missed along with everything else. As noted, you have no clue as to the details of what happened, as you plainly state. This year try watching the games a little more closely before you jump in with the usual Chong-hating tripe. And get the basic facts straight. Is that so much to ask?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Like I said, someone who is now stuttering to correct all the mistakes of the original post maybe can't be trusted to recount much accurately.

All the mistakes? There was one, a slight change in the score that has no impact on the discussion. Everything I said is easily verifiable on video.

As noted, you have no clue as to the details of what happened, as you plainly state.

Noted by whom? I told you exactly what happened in the time specified. If you want to ignore that, so be it.

This year try watching the games a little more closely before you jump in with the usual Chong-hating tripe. And get the basic facts straight. Is that so much to ask?

Your condescension aside, I've watched every minute of every UConn game for years and I have all the facts straight. Incidentally, noting what happened on specific plays has nothing to do with "hate" or any other red herring you wanna throw out.

 

[DobbsRover2]

All the mistakes? There was one, a slight change in the score that has no impact on the discussion. Everything I said is easily verifiable on video.






Noted by whom? I told you exactly what happened in the time specified. If you want to ignore that, so be it.



Your condescension aside, I've watched every minute of every UConn game for years and I have all the facts straight. Incidentally, noting what happened on specific plays has nothing to do with "hate" or any other red herring you wanna throw out.

Again, it's just the "small mistakes" that show you can't follow what actually happened. And yes, you have all the facts straight except just the basic ones. Then you you as usual go from saying that Chong had no impact to saying she did make that good play and but really oh yeah, the usual yada-yada of the Chong-hater mantra that was spewed all last year by ones like you who didn't follow the action, cited wrong stuff that they always claimed were small mistakes and could never give any cogent reason why Geno would put Chong and Stokes into games and the Huskies would go off on great rolls.

We get it, you have your spiel and you want to stick with it this year no matter what the facts say otherwise. Whatever. Just please don't continue peddling the lame stuff about how your issues with dealing actual times, numbers, and facts are to be overlooked for your all-knowing wisdom about what went on when you review the videos. Like I said, there's a reason why you don't see Chong "making an impact" when she's not on the floor at the times you say she is. Everyone who actually did watch the game replay can see her plainly leaving the court earlier to nice fanfare. Why can't you? If you are now saying you were just going off play-by-play transcripts of the action, let me clue you into something about basketball, the play-by-play doesn't tell a huge amount about what goes on out on the floor. If you think that's condescension, whatever, but most fans kind of know that by now.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Again, it's just the "small mistakes" that show you can't follow what actually happened.

Do you really think that mixing up a 3-point differential in a boxscore line somehow proves whatever point you are trying to make? Or are you just trying to distract from the point of the conversation?

And yes, you have all the facts straight except just the basic ones.

Instead of making this claim over and over, how about you point out what basic facts I don't have? Please list them.

Then you you as usual go from saying that Chong had no impact

If you want to credit her with the deflection/TO, fine. I mentioned that play above. But is that play really the basis for claiming she put on some sort of defensive clinic?

Chong-hater mantra that was spewed all last year by ones like you who didn't follow the action, cited wrong stuff that they always claimed were small mistakes and could never give any cogent reason why Geno would put Chong and Stokes into games and the Huskies would go off on great rolls.

You are babbling nonsense---accusing me of things I've never been (Chong hater), making false accusations (didn't follow the action; cited wrong stuff), and creating a straw man that has nothing to do with me (Stokes/Chong example).

We get it, you have your spiel and you want to stick with it this year no matter what the facts say otherwise.

Who is we? Not sure you get anything on this subject.

I laid out all the plays and posted the video at the time Chong entered. It's not hard to watch each play and note what happened. Why you are having conniptions about it, alleging some kind of anti-Chong conspiracy, and attempting to belittle me, only you could know.

If you are now saying you were just going off play-by-play transcripts of the action, let me clue you into something about basketball, the play-by-play doesn't tell a huge amount about what goes on out on the floor.

Thanks for that cluing in, but I clearly stated in multiple posts that I watched the plays, and I gave the video of the game at the time Chong came in so everyone can watch the plays.

 

[WestCoastFan]

Do you really think that mixing up a 3-point differential in a boxscore line somehow proves whatever point you are trying to make? Or are you just trying to distract from the point of the conversation?



Instead of making this claim over and over, how about you point out what basic facts I don't have? Please list them.



If you want to credit her with the deflection/TO, fine. I mentioned that play above. But is that play really the basis for claiming she put on some sort of defensive clinic?



You are babbling nonsense---accusing me of things I've never been (Chong hater), making false accusations (didn't follow the action; cited wrong stuff), and creating a straw man that has nothing to do with me (Stokes/Chong example).




Who is we? Not sure you get anything on this subject.

I laid out all the plays and posted the video at the time Chong entered. It's not hard to watch each play and note what happened. Why you are having conniptions about it, alleging some kind of anti-Chong conspiracy, and attempting to belittle me, only you could know.



Thanks for that cluing in, but I clearly stated in multiple posts that I watched the plays, and I gave the video of the game at the time Chong came in so everyone can watch the plays.

Are you two married?? This sounds eerily familiar with an argument my ex-wife and I had over who really coiled up the hose in the backyard.

 

[CocoHusky]

For those who were watching the games last year, D wasn't the reason that Chong sat last year either in the 2nd half of the season. The fact that Nurse was playing the guard spot so well was the reason Chong did not start, but it was especially when the Huskies needed a boost on defense that Chong went in during the big games to lock down a guard who was giving trouble. The best example of course was in the Tournament game against Dayton when Kia was having big problems stopping the Flyers' guards, especially Andrea Hoover, who had Dayton up at a few points midway through the first half at a scoring pace that would have put them at 100 for the game. Chong was sent in to face guard Hoover, and the the Dayton guard was shut down and turned the ball over during the next few minutes as UConn briefly regained the lead, though they lost it when they couldn't buy a bucket for the last 3 1/2 minutes before the half (Chong was not in during the last 6 minutes). The second half was a completely different story as UConn locked down on Dayton and ran away from them from the start.

But for those who actually watched the games last year, it was clear that whatever issues Chong and the Huskies' defense had against Stanford were long gone, and she often went in when Kia was either not quite in sync during the second half of her freshman year, or when the Huskies needed a change-up on D and Kia needed a breather.

I watch every game very closely and rewatch even closer, close enough to know that this notion of Chong as a "lock down" defender is not justified by anything Saniya has done in a UCONN uniform.
Saniya got an opportunity to play in the Dayton game because Kia got in foul trouble. Saniya did an adequate job in the Dayton game but it is a significant stretch & a severe disservice to Kiah Stokes to state " Geno would put Chong and Stokes into games and the Huskies would go off on great rolls". Kiah Stokes is arguably the most impactful defensive UCONN player ever! Chong is not and probably will not be part of that argument. To put Saniya's contribution into perspective during the Dayton, she went on to log a total of 2 minutes during UCONN's two most important games of the season against MD and 0 minutes in the most important game NC against ND. Surely Geno would have utilized a "lock down" defender against the 5 All-American caliber guards (Orange, Allen, Brown, Loyd, & McBride) UCONN has faced in the Final Four in the past two years that Saniya has been a part of the team. Unless... Geno really doesn't like her and was determined to only play her 1 minute in those games.