UCLA Postgame Thread | Page 9 | The Boneyard
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UCLA Postgame Thread

SJF said:
On her inside Post move shots her release is from under her chin. She needs to extend and release it high.
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Which makes her 5’8” to a defender. She also still dribbles on her post moves instead of using a drop step. Very frustrating to watch.
 
HopJim said:
Have quoted this previously, but Dorka has had a heavy thumb wrap since the beginning of the season. You don't wear this unless there is an issue such a a broken or sprained thumb. Just the wrap alone would create an issue catching the ball. I have no idea why the other players are having issues holding onto the ball.
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True about the wrap but in my original post on this idea, I wasn't wondering about Dorka catching the ball but her losing the ball when nobody else was near her. She just seems to drop it 2 or 3 times a game.
 
Centerstream said:
One thing that bothers me about Dorka is that she appears to lose the ball from her hands when nobody has touched it. But her overall game today was outstanding. And she looked like she was enjoying the game.
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Have you noticed her taped thumb I believe on her right hand?
 
HopJim said:
Bean, agree with your post and predict Caroline's shooting % will go up once the other players get more confidence in her abilities. At times, it has seemed that CD was standing in perfect shooting position and didn't get the ball. Once Caroline shows more consistentcy, likely Geno will make sure she gets shots in her "happy spots."
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Yep. I’ve seen her standing a clapping for the ball only to have someone make the unfortunate decision to drive into traffic.

The person driving should think “If there are 3 defenders there, two of my teammates are open” and dish
 
SJF said:
On her inside Post move shots her release is from under her chin. She needs to extend and release it high.
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ONO's ability to handle the ball and facilitate at the top of the key has improved a whole lot this season.........if she can continue to improve her midrange shooting and finishing underneath, she will have made great strides as a senior......
 
since this is the second game since roster explosion, as compared to game one, yes. yes UConn played better. way better.
hey! dorka had a monster game! anyone notice? or,
u knew that, amiright? lol.
 
jaydee602 said:
Newsflash: Chris Dailey has qualified for the Women's Wrestling Team after that vice grip she put on Geno, preventing him from stampeding the refs. And she did it without dropping her clipboard!! :)
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Actually, Geno is lucky that Jamelle Elliott didn't prevent him from attacking the refs. LOL....She would have boxed him out & elbowed him into the first row!
 
HuskyNan said:
Yep. I’ve seen her standing a clapping for the ball only to have someone make the unfortunate decision to drive into traffic.

The person driving should think “If there are 3 defenders there, two of my teammates are open” and dish
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And the person most driving into traffic was CW. I love when she slashes to the basket, but If she would look to pass a bit more when she draws 2 and 3 player attention on her drives, it would add so much to her game.
 
Geesworld said:
Noticed Geno and Evina were in constant communication throughout the game. That is important as we need a floor general while Paige is out.
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During one stoppage in play, Evina and Geno were chatting by the bench, she was leaning in and quietly pointing something out, he said "yeah?" or something like that and she said a few more things and motioned to the court and he nodded. As much as I wanted to see Nika play PG, Evina brought a calmness to things, took shots when she had to, and IMHO kept everyone connected. She did an incredible job of running the team with very few days in that role. At the end of the game, I said, Mama E is gonna need a nap.
 
ballerfan said:
Thanks. I already watched the game live. You didn’t understand my question, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve given up on it.
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Did they play a better team? Not so sure. I think UCLA would play Georgia Tech pretty evenly though.

As for Uconn, I thought they took better care of the ball, had better shot selection, and generally shot the ball better. The big improvement from my perspective was the balanced attack. All five starters scored double figures, crashed the glass, and played solid defense. Ducharme and Juhasz scoring from multiple spots on the court allowed the game to be truly 5x5 as opposed to what felt like 3x5 against Georgia Tech.

Did they play a terrific game, probably not. But was it an improvement from a few days prior? In my opinion, yes. I'm really looking forward to what they look like after a week to gain chemistry in practice. FT shooting is something that needs to be an emphasis, as we'll be in a lot more close games going forward.
 
Rblack335 said:
Did they play a better team? Not so sure. I think UCLA would play Georgia Tech pretty evenly though.

As for Uconn, I thought they took better care of the ball, had better shot selection, and generally shot the ball better. The big improvement from my perspective was the balanced attack. All five starters scored double figures, crashed the glass, and played solid defense. Ducharme and Juhasz scoring from multiple spots on the court allowed the game to be truly 5x5 as opposed to what felt like 3x5 against Georgia Tech.

Did they play a terrific game, probably not. But was it an improvement from a few days prior? In my opinion, yes. I'm really looking forward to what they look like after a week to gain chemistry in practice. FT shooting is something that needs to be an emphasis, as we'll be in a lot more close games going forward.
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Great post. I think Evina, Dorka, and Ducharme played much better this game. Chrystin and Liv about the same. So disappointed in Chrystin's lack of maturity. I can't believe a UConn senior needed the talking to Geno was forced to do in that game. Aaliyah is on a different planet right now.

As Kara Wolters always says about getting "it".. Dorka may have just figured "it" out and Edwards could be in her rear view mirror when it comes to starting....
 
1st Qtr: EW was spectacular. Good defense, even when she got beat, the player had to really work for it. She also showed some really good offense and terrific passing. She had a TO and an airball, but overall, she was really good. Had to set up the offense, get her teammates involved, score and play defense. Sounds like what is expected out of PB.

We had 4 airballs and a brick or two in the Q1…looked like a team trying to figure out how to score without PB to rely on.

In the first half Ono was battling, and I think she might have been fouled a couple times.

I really enjoyed this game. It is fun to watch UCONN BB without the expectation of a win most every game by 20. It is not as pretty as it has been in the past, but I am so happy for this team and how hard they compete and doing the best they can under the circumstances. Maybe UCLA isn’t a very good team, but you can’t control who you play. You just have to give it your all and see where the chips fall. This team rose to the occasion in this game. They hustled all day…id say it was inspirational.

Losing half your offensive production and still putting up 71 in the second game post PB is something to be proud of. This is certainly an improvement over the G-tech game.

Down 28-17 with 5:20 to go in the half. Coming off a terrible loss to G-tech. Lots of doubters out there and one of them is their own coach, who says they will not get any better throughout the year. How do they respond?? It wasn’t perfect and they had some missed opps and a few TOs sprinkled in there, but at the end of the half, they had closed that gap to 2 pts. 11-2 run….pretty good and nice improvement. They took a punch in the mouth and bounced back.

Then they came out in the third and kept battling and battling. Up by 14 at one point - 25 point turnaround. Back to back bad calls…how was that not a foul committed against EW. Then CW gets the charge but its not called. Terrible.

DJ had a full game in the 4th alone. I think she may have had a double double in one quarter…or at least close to it. She was spectacular, except at the line….

Ono played really well. I think she feels comfortable taking the 15 plus foot jumper again. Funny how she refused to do that in the SC game. Was GA telling her not to do so….

EW had possibly her best game at Uconn, until she kept missing FTs at the end. Can’t figure that out. Maybe she was gassed.

Excluding DJ and Ono, I think we shot 15 for 48…not good. But I see more and more from CD. She hasn’t put it together quite yet, but it’s coming. I worry about her ability to defend quickness on the one hand and then power on the other. I don’t think she has an answer for either at this point.

DJ and Ono seem to play well together. Either DJ is hard to box or UCLA forgot the meaning of boxing out. Either way, I’ll take it.

GA gave CW an earful…He doesn’t do that often to her. She still can’t shoot well enough from outside and there are times she forces things (which doesn’t bother me at this point), but she is a handful for a team to guard. Also, she has been really active on defense the last two games. As many of you know, I have never been a fan of CW’s defense. She falls asleep too often. But, the last two games, she has been really good and active!

2 days and big improvement! Can’t wait until the next game to see how much better they get. They actually get some practices in now as well to iron some thing out....

I like this team, they are my team (and yours)..Go Uconn!!
 
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jaydee602 said:
Geno's reputation of being an unapproachable tyrant is exaggerated. A confused & discouraged Dorka had no problem going to Geno's office to seek his wisdom. This was after he insulted his team & forecast gloom & doom. He gave her sound advice that paid dividends today.
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underdog put that on a t-shirt
 
Forego said:
She was also the trailing ref that didn’t make the call in the Texas game when KLS got elbowed in the eye.
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This was one of the few times Dee Kantner was glad to be wearing a mask, as it covered her snarl of rage as she tried (unsuccessfully) for 15 minutes to find a way out of having to award the ball to UConn after it grazed the UCLA’s player off of Evina’s deflection! The evidence was too strong, fortunately and in a surprising turn of events, Kantner made a pro UConn call towards the end of the game. I’m considering a go fund for a nice retirement watch? That was truly a refereeing debacle that should (but is not likely to) result in some kind of censure for those involved!
 
UCLA was not as strong defensively but UCONN might have played a little better this game. GT was making some shots they do not normally make. I watched the UCLA a second time studying Caroline’s defense and overall I thought she was better defensively than CW this game. She is tough to dribble past and she gets her hands up well. 2 blocked shots and very few good shots allowed. She had some luck also but she’s clearly a better defender right now than Azzi. She plays off her man to much sometimes to position herself for rebounds but she also will rebound very well for a guard. She could be a decent offensive rebounder if they positioned her well for it in some playmaking.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
ONO again. The team went to the free throw line 28 times. But ONO, not once. Didn't force a single foul resulting in a free throw attempt. And she also almost fouled out- 4 fouls. High for the team. She's leading the team in fouls per minute played. By a lot. Further, four turnovers, a third of the team's total. She also was almost equaled in rebounds by EW, who gives up over six inches. All in all, a very mediocre performance for the starting post. Again.
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I think you might be a bit harsh base in your assessment............statistics aren't everything........UConn had a really difficult time getting the ball inside to ONO even when she had worked her butt off to get established position..........if you can't get the ball you can't score.......Coach Close specifically stated in her post-game press conference that this was their plan.........she worked really hard out there yesterday, got banged around a lot without fouling in retaliation, facilitated the offense nicely from the high post and played well defensively.........she's one of those players that you don't appreciate until she's not on the floor.............despite just two blocks yesterday she adds a defensive dimension that is vital to the UConn defense......
 
Cuango said:
This was one of the few times Dee Kantner was glad to be wearing a mask, as it covered her snarl of rage as she tried (unsuccessfully) for 15 minutes to find a way out of having to award the ball to UConn after it grazed the UCLA’s player off of Evina’s deflection! The evidence was too strong, fortunately and in a surprising turn of events, Kantner made a pro UConn call towards the end of the game. I’m considering a go fund for a nice retirement watch? That was truly a refereeing debacle that should (but is not likely to) result in some kind of censure for those involved!
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You do realize that Dee was the official that called for the review and not the ref that was almost hit by the ball. After seeing the ball change direction, I think it was the other official that Dee had to convince. Obviously the one on the play didn't "see" anything.
BTW I am not a fan of Dee Kantner. I think this crew stunk the joint up and too many times there were multiple players laid out and not a whistle was heard. But if someone did a hand check, well...
 
“We did what we set out to do,” Auriemma said. “It’s not going to look pretty anymore. Not for a long time. And that’s ok. We’ve played so much pretty basketball over the years that we’re entitled to play some ugly basketball.”

The Huskies now have a week-long break before their next game, Dec. 19 versus Louisville at Mohegan Sun Arena, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath on seeing some of UConn’s injured players return.

“I’m not hopeful on anything before Christmas,” Auriemma said on Fudd’s status in particular. That’d allow her to have more time to recover, as the Huskies don’t player after that until Dec. 29.
 
Carnac said:
“We did what we set out to do,” Auriemma said. “It’s not going to look pretty anymore. Not for a long time. And that’s ok. We’ve played so much pretty basketball over the years that we’re entitled to play some ugly basketball.”
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This says it all.
 

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