Fitness & Fatigue thoughts - In the past, UConn always seemed to be one of the fittest teams. Announcers would comment on them "not ever getting tired", etc. But now? There aren't enough healthy players to have full practices like in prior years. Practices are shorter, and yes, the staff trusts the players to do what they need to do. The challenge of this is that the starters are playing an insane number of minutes for long stretches this season, which impacts recovery time, realistic practice time. This is a classic software infinite loop, with no end. Add on the home-away-home-away-etc-etc schedule, along with expectations of coursework, and it's all a big mess.
Some criticism of players is not unrealistic, however as none of us know what's going on behind the scenes, I know that I'm waaaay less critical of the team now, vs a few weeks ago. Nika's black ankle braces? I noticed them on her very early in the season. Lou was dinged up early on with a foot issue, now has kinesiology tape on her knee (guessing tendinitis due to lots of running and pounding), AE looks like she's on E, AE and Dora not as active on rebounding, but hey, that's tough to do when you've got tired legs. Geno mentioned that they are monitoring the players' exertion and will stop if too much, which goes back to my F&F thought above.
With Amari, Ayanna, and Ines? There is a huge amount of pressure on them now, more than ever before. The starters are tired, and when AAI are subbed in? Betting that they feel the weight of trying to do more than normally expected. And when it doesn't go the way they want to, then they're feeling it even more. I'm not making excuses for them, however when you put a player in a situation that is unexpected, unrehearsed, etc, the outcome is unknown.
And the whole "dumb" pass/turnover/shot/mistake stuff? I'm betting the players know that some of this stuff was ill-advised, however, when you are mentally fatigued, it might look like a good idea in a millisecond, but then it's not. They know this, and it probably crushes them that they are not making the plays that both they and we are all used to seeing.
IMHO, if and when CD and Fudd come back, there's going to be a long road to anything that looks normal per prior seasons. They aren't saviors and we should not expect them to fill that role. Whatever we get from them will help, however I'm not expecting miracles. They've been injured and a lot goes into the mental and physical rehab when coming back from injuries.
I somewhat understand folks frustration with the team, however they are college kids, not pro athletes. This is not their job. What they've experienced over the last few years is insane. It's unfair to compare this team to any other UConn team. The expectations alone of playing at UConn would be daunting for most college athletes.
For me, I'm going to celebrate all the little successes and take the rest of the season game by game, and not get all crazed about any streaks or records or anything. Who's with me?
