Uconn is too quick

[wallman]

Not sure who is arguing or are you arguing with yourself LMAO. (In my Fat Amy voice)

 

[hoophuskee]

Not sure who is arguing or are you arguing with yourself LMAO. (In my Fat Amy voice)

Typical troll post from posters like you. You feel a right to argue other people's points but when it comes back, you get grossly defensive. Relax pal. So we disagreed and I don't agree with how you look at this one issue. Big deal.

 

[Carnac]

Regarding UConn's defensive strategy against ND: Who guards Arike O., and who guards Lindsay Allen?

Since Ogunbowole is the best scorer between the two, I would put Kia on her, and Saniya /crystal on Allen.
I know Kia can keep Ogunbowale in front of her, Chong and Dangerfield should be able to contain Allen. Ogunbowale is the biggest threat on the team. Shut her down, and make everyone else beat you.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Since Ogunbowole is the more potent of their two guards, I would put Kia on Arike Ogunbowale, and Saniya /crystal on Allen. I know Kia can keep Ogunbowale in front of her, Chong and Dangerfield should be able to contain Allen. Ogunbowale is the biggest threat on the team. Shut her down, and make everyone else beat you.

I'm inclined to agree. Kia is the better choice for the very physical AO. It occurs to me that Gabby might guard her some, with Kia taking Allen and Saniya taking whoever is left. That might be too tall an order though owing to size differences.

I'm eager to see how Pheesa fairs against Turner.

 

[hoophuskee]

Since Ogunbowole is the best scorer between the two, I would put Kia on her, and Saniya /crystal on Allen.
I know Kia can keep Ogunbowale in front of her, Chong and Dangerfield should be able to contain Allen. Ogunbowale is the biggest threat on the team. Shut her down, and make everyone else beat you.

I agree and she is a big weapon no doubt. But what do you think about Mabrey who lit us up last year? And Turner? She'll be a bit of a handful. And Allen is a good player. What's your opinion on these other players?

 

[magic]

I think Gabby guards Ogunbowale, Kia guards Mabrey, and Saniya/ Crystal Dangerfield on Allen to start the game.

 

[Carnac]

I'm inclined to agree. Kia is the better choice for the very physical AO. It occurs to me that Gabby might guard her some, with Kia taking Allen and Saniya taking whoever is left. That might be too tall an order though owing to size differences.

I'm eager to see how Pheesa fairs against Turner.

Just remember that Gabby gets into foul trouble easily. Ogunbowale loves to drive the lane, and could very easily send Williams to the bench early on with two. I would not put Gabby anywhere near A.O. If Kia can't handle Ogunbowale, then I'd switchup. Ogunbowale would have to prove to me that she can beat Kia consistently first. You might have to give Kia some help before Ogunbowale puts the ball on the floor. I'd play it by ear. You hope plan A works, but have a plan B & C, and be ready to employ them quickly if needed. I'd put Collier on her before Gabby. Ogunbowale has the green light from Muffet, so no hesitation on her part. If she sees an opening, she's going to take it. I need Gabby to stay on the floor in this one. The only time I want to see her on the bench is during time outs.

 

[Carnac]

I agree and she is a big weapon no doubt. But what do you think about Mabrey who lit us up last year? And Turner? She'll be a bit of a handful. And Allen is a good player. What's your opinion on these other players?

Turner (who I love by the way) does ALL of her work in the paint. She seldom shoots beyond 5' away from the basket. She doesen't have to. She's very successful doing what she does the way she does it. No need to change. "Keep doing what you do, the way you do it, until they stop it". Isn't that the thought in football on when running offensive plays? If the other team can't stop the run, duh, you keep running the ball.You don't start passing it.

I'd put Gabby of Pheesa on her. Play her 1 on 1. Stay between her and the ball to prevent entry passes. Gabby has the hops to deflect passes to her over the top. I'd put Lou on Mabrey. Mabrey is a pistol, and likes to shoot from the outside. If those assignments didn't work initially, then of course I'd make the necessary adjustments. There's only one ball out there, everybody is not going to be hot all at once.

Allen is pass first anyway. Turner will only get the ball if they give it to her on the block. If you remember, UConn did an excellent job on Turner in the first half of last year's game. They held her sccoreless. I understand the cast members will be different this time around, but maybe using the same script will work.

 

[CocoHusky]

ND is heavily dependent on Allen for assists. I would play it this way.
Nurse on the ball on Allen
Saniya on Maybrey face Guarding. Saniya will have no help responsibility.
KLS on Arike for the size in case Arike goes into the post which she occasionally likes to do.
Collier on Turner if turner wants to rim run & she does, Collier is best to run with her.
Gabby on Westbeld

 

[Gus Mahler]

Since Ogunbowole is the best scorer between the two, I would put Kia on her, and Saniya /crystal on Allen.
I know Kia can keep Ogunbowale in front of her, Chong and Dangerfield should be able to contain Allen. Ogunbowale is the biggest threat on the team. Shut her down, and make everyone else beat you.

I hope you are right. This will be a big challenge for Chong. On the other hand, it's an opportunity to do well and gain some credit, especially from Geno.

 

[Gus Mahler]

ND is heavily dependent on Allen for assists. I would play it this way.
Nurse on the ball on Allen
Saniya on Maybrey face Guarding. Saniya will have no help responsibility.
KLS on Arike for the size in case Arike goes into the post which she occasionally likes to do.
Collier on Turner if turner wants to rim run & she does, Collier is best to run with her.
Gabby on Westbeld

I like four of your five lines. It doesn't occur to me that Lou would guard AO. But, you may be on to something regarding giving AO a tall hand to shoot over.

 

[CocoHusky]

I like four of your five lines. It doesn't occur to me that Lou would guard AO. But, you may be on to something regarding giving AO a tall hand to shoot over.

AO is shooting 60% from 3Pt land and 43% from 2. My instructions to KLS would be simple. Make AO shoot over you or better yet make her put it on the deck because she is not a very good shooter while moving.

 

[Carnac]

ND is heavily dependent on Allen for assists. I would play it this way.
Nurse on the ball on Allen
Saniya on Maybrey face Guarding. Saniya will have no help responsibility.
KLS on Arike for the size in case Arike goes into the post which she occasionally likes to do.
Collier on Turner if turner wants to rim run & she does, Collier is best to run with her.
Gabby on Westbeld

Keep rotating our players until we find a combination that works. I like your match ups though.

 

[Gus Mahler]

AO is shooting 60% from 3Pt land and 43% from 2. My instructions to KLS would be simple. Make AO shoot over you or better yet make her put it on the deck because she is not a very good shooter while moving.

Why this wouldn't have occurred to me is the issue of Lou keeping AO in front of her. I don't want to sell Lou short, but that seems like a tall order. (ha)

 

[CocoHusky]

We're just going to have to agree to disagree.

1-- If Westbeld was able to compete against these teams as a sophomore, realistically we're supposed to expect she is going to get wiped out vs UCONN of this year?

2-- Who is going to pick her up full court and force her to turn the ball over vs teams like what she would have faced last year in Syracuse, Louisville and FSU? What did she have as far as a backup pg last year?

3--And as far as "ball pressure" in terms of the context of my disagreement with the other poster in which you apparently disagree - I said you can't really pressure the ball.

4-- I don't like early on "laying off" Allen to shoot 3's.

5-- You are comparing last year Stanford's defense vs UCONN's. And they did score 84 points vs Stanford and 81 points vs UCONN last year. Especially that she is a senior and she is playing home and you've decided to leave her wide open?

1) Westbeld has scored a total of 8 points playing 61 minutes in 3 games against UCONN. I am looking forward to her playing 40 minutes on Wenesday nigh at that rate of productivity.

2) Kia Nurse and the rest of the UCONN players will apply the required ball pressure.

3) Allen shot 26% from 3Pt range last year. If you are going to double off one of the other ND players to give Allen a open 3 that is not a bad strategy.

4) Allen has been a ND stater since she was a Freshmen. If and when UCONN deliberately decides to leave Allen open for any shot she might just keel right over from shock- as will I.

 

[CocoHusky]

Why this wouldn't have occurred to me is the issue of Lou keeping AO in front of her. I don't want to sell Lou short, but that seems like a tall order. (ha)

That is the Jedi mind trick to the whole think. You actually want AO thinking I can get by KLS easily.

 

[Gus Mahler]

That is the Jedi mind trick to the whole think. You actually want AO thinking I can get by KLS easily.

Ah. Third force psychology, I presume.

 

[Monte]

Uconn is not playing out of control but they are very very quick. When you play teams that are not as quick, dont move the ball quickly, dont hustle and play to much one on one theyre in for a long nite against UConn. I saw some of that against Depaul. UConn came out on fire and they were intimidating. Depaul didnt get back moved the ball very slow and a lot of that had to do with UConns defense and just didnt hustle. Alot of that had to do with UConns overall quickness.

Alot of fans are concerned about opponents height. Height without agility is almost useless. Height is a good intimidation factor but if your not in the position it does no good. The reason UConns defense has been so good is they are so quick. They are all over you in a split second. The second half of the Chatty game and almost the entire DePaul game you saw UConn everywhere. It seemed as if they were playing with more then 5 players.

Texas and ND are not quick. Both have good bigs which could give UConn some problems. With that said I am confident that Geno will run plays to get those opponents bigs to have to play defense and that could create problems. Having the opposing bigs have to come out and guard UConn opens up the middle and imo those bigs can not get back fast enough thus leaving the middle open for a dribble drive or kick out to an open player if they double down or allowing UConn and open shot inside the line.
It is going to be very difficult for those opponents to guard UConn. I am not really concerned about opponents getting the ball down low. UConn will defend most of those passes and make it tuff. I see some big surprises over the next 2 games. Alot will be told and weaknesses will be exposed on both sides.

Uconn will come in with a game plan and they will be focused and will run it with adjustments throughout the game. Our opponents will have their hands full. Again UConns quickness should prevail and it will be their quickness on defense that will set the tempo. I dont see either team keeping up with UConn. The only thing that can slow UConn down is foul trouble.

One last thing on height and this is for those who are concerned about opponents height. Big and slow does no good except to intimidate you. If you do what your fear and continue to what you fear you will win out. Meaning take the ball right at them. Force them to use their height to stop your quickness and see what happens. I like UConn in both of these games. At ND my only concern is when Uconn takes the ball to the hoop and there is contact will it be a charge on Uconn or a foul on ND?

Correct!...and your key word is SPEED. You can usually see that even on the Uconn team.
When Uconn starts to substitute, (with the exception of Dangerfield) their agility diminishes. It was really quite evident, and speed(and hustle) was the key to the big early lead against DePaul.

 

[StephStorrs]

I hope you are right. This will be a big challenge for Chong. On the other hand, it's an opportunity to do well and gain some credit, especially from Geno.

I know she's improved a lot, but this is what I'm worried about. She might very well rise to the occasion and shock my socks clear off, but she could just as easily... under perform. I'm finding myself very impatient for Wednesday just to get an answer on whether or not she exceeds expectations.

 

[Crossover]

I know she's improved a lot, but this is what I'm worried about. She might very well rise to the occasion and shock my socks clear off, but she could just as easily... under perform. I'm finding myself very impatient for Wednesday just to get an answer on whether or not she exceeds expectations.

Love your avatar!

 

[JoePgh]

It seems as if a lot of people here seem to be looking past the Texas game and almost taking it for granted. I hope we can count on the players and coaches not to be doing that.

I actually think that because of the size issues, Texas is more likely to be a major threat to UConn than Notre Dame is. I tend to think UConn will beat ND by 10 to 12 points, but the Texas game could either be a blowout in UConn's favor, or it could be a single-digit game and possibly a loss if the Longhorns have figured out how to use their size against UConn's speed.

Regarding who guards whom in the ND game, there will be so much switching going on that it almost doesn't matter. Also, I think Geno will change up the initial matchups during the course of the game, so that no one defender gets worn out dealing with Ogunbuwale or Mabrey for the whole game. I think that Molly as well as Crystal will get significant minutes against ND, since they can provide the speed off the bench that will be required to deal with the Irish backcourt. I think Turner will be easier to contain in the paint than Baylor's or Texas's big players (although the rest of the ND lineup is better than the rest of those teams' lineups). If UConn can guard Joyner Holmes successfully, it can guard Turner.

 

[BigBird]

Since Ogunbowole is the best scorer between the two, I would put Kia on her, and Saniya /crystal on Allen.
I know Kia can keep Ogunbowale in front of her, Chong and Dangerfield should be able to contain Allen. Ogunbowale is the biggest threat on the team. Shut her down, and make everyone else beat you.

Spot on, good fellow with throw pillow wrapped around his head!

 

[msf22b]

i can't believe that 6', 3" KLS is a good matchup for diminutive Arike...almost anyone but...
And don't underestimate Westbeld, she's learned her role; is quite reliable.

And I agree with Joe. Look past Texas at our peril.

 

[bags27]

i can't believe that 6', 3" KLS is a good matchup for diminutive Arike...almost anyone but...
And don't underestimate Westbeld, she's learned her role; is quite reliable.
And I agree with Joe. Look past Texas at our peril.

I have to smile at this: much as we'd like to think that we actually contribute to UConn's success, it's not as if we will affect the outcome of the TX game by talking about ND! (Sorry to break it to you, Virginia!)

 

[TitleTown]

I have to smile at this: much as we'd like to think that we actually contribute to UConn's success, it's not as if we will affect the outcome of the TX game by talking about ND! (Sorry to break it to you, Virginia!)

It's just bad mojo.

 

[oldude]

Whether TX or ND, my hope is that Danger is fully recovered and comfortable on the court. If Danger plays like she did vs Baylor & Dayton, the Huskies will be just fine.

 

[Tonyc]

Short and sweet. Its gonna come down to defense and rebounding. Both will help us get the fast break going and keep our opponents from getting second and third chances.

 

[Carnac]

Spot on, good fellow with throw pillow wrapped around his head!

Actualy, it's a "curtain".

 

[Sonny44]

You do realize that Texas and ND are 2 of the most athletic teams in the country right?

I didn't know that there was a ranking system for athletic.

 

[hoophuskee]

It seems as if a lot of people here seem to be looking past the Texas game and almost taking it for granted. I hope we can count on the players and coaches not to be doing that.

I actually think that because of the size issues, Texas is more likely to be a major threat to UConn than Notre Dame is. I tend to think UConn will beat ND by 10 to 12 points, but the Texas game could either be a blowout in UConn's favor, or it could be a single-digit game and possibly a loss if the Longhorns have figured out how to use their size against UConn's speed.

Regarding who guards whom in the ND game, there will be so much switching going on that it almost doesn't matter. Also, I think Geno will change up the initial matchups during the course of the game, so that no one defender gets worn out dealing with Ogunbuwale or Mabrey for the whole game. I think that Molly as well as Crystal will get significant minutes against ND, since they can provide the speed off the bench that will be required to deal with the Irish backcourt. I think Turner will be easier to contain in the paint than Baylor's or Texas's big players (although the rest of the ND lineup is better than the rest of those teams' lineups). If UConn can guard Joyner Holmes successfully, it can guard Turner.

I'm not looking past either. We could lose both games. I just think ND is better than Texas and UCONN is playing at home. And I don't think Turner will be "easier to contain" because I believe ND has better guards. College basketball is more of a guards game.