UConn - Louisville post game thread (merged) | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn - Louisville post game thread (merged)

Bone Dog said:
By my count, Nika made 4 obviously bad passes, was stripped once and had 3 passes fumbled. Maybe those were her fault too, but I’m wondering how to count them.
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I am saying she had more than 8 but was only charged with 8. There were passes that had no business trying to be threaded into 2, 3 or 4 people. I can live with a freshman making a mistake trying to make something happen but I have less patience for a "Senior" who does know better.
 
I don't feel sorry for Louisville. They're better without Hailey, and as Jefferson comes into her own no one will miss her. And Cochran looks to be peaking this year.

I said at the top of this thread that we outran them because they didn't have the stamina to play the type of game they're built for across an entire game. They've blown out a few opponents so far by outrunning them in the first half. But this may be the first game where an opponent forced them to run the whole game. Paige & Co made them run longer than they were really prepared for. But all this only means they'll be a lot better in February once they have developed their stamina. I expect them to be a tough out in the tournament.
 
DefenseBB said:
I am saying she had more than 8 but was only charged with 8. There were passes that had no business trying to be threaded into 2, 3 or 4 people. I can live with a freshman making a mistake trying to make something happen but I have less patience for a "Senior" who does know better.
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I got that, but I read those passes differently. In one case, for example she gave the ball to Ice and she took too long to gather it and put the ball up. As a result, she was double-teamed and lost the ball. Is that Nika's turnover? Maybe, but I thought Ice should have been able to handle that one.
 
UConnCat said:
Actually, Paige was the MVP of the 2019 U-19 World Cup. Clark wasn't voted part of the All-Star 5 for the tournament.

www.fiba.basketball

Bueckers crowned TISSOT MVP to headline All-Star Five

BANGKOK (Thailand) - There was double joy for Paige Bueckers of USA after she followed up taking a gold medal at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019 with TISSOT MVP honors.
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
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Different event, UConnCat.
 
Loved the game. I think they may be making real progress after UNC and Louisville back to back.

Regarding Nika, something has changed the last few games. She started out the first six games with 24 assists and 8 turnovers (avg. 4/7.1.3). The last four she has 20 assists and 22 turnovers (5.0/5.5). I dunno the origin -- possibilities are the changing lineup, something with Nika, a changed offense, better competition, or all or none of those.
 
Bone Dog said:
I got that, but I read those passes differently. In one case, for example she gave the ball to Ice and she took too long to gather it and put the ball up. As a result, she was double-teamed and lost the ball. Is that Nika's turnover? Maybe, but I thought Ice should have been able to handle that one.
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This is what's frustrating: A very legitimate critique of Nika is raised, and here comes her apologists to her defense. You can say what you will, but 8 TOs is quite unacceptable and represents poor decision making and misreads. Her teammates are not causing her TOs, Nika is...

Several times Nika without much pressure, made poor passes and dribbled the ball in between several defenders when she really didn't need to. I am at a lost as to why Nika is doing this especially since the Louisville defense was not especially stiff. I am hoping that Geno has a talk with her about her decision-making because her TOs have really become glaring...
 
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The deacon said:
Actually, Caitlin was the MVP in the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup tournament, with the U.S. beating Australia in the final.

But no matter now, Paige had been the MVP in another event. Bottom line, they were both great players then, as now...

To the point today, as NYCer20 said,'fun win, good win.'
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Open up the link and you will see that it is the same tournament with the USA beating the Aussie 84-80. Clark did not get the MVP in this tournament Paige did.
 
Bone Dog said:
I got that, but I read those passes differently. In one case, for example she gave the ball to Ice and she took too long to gather it and put the ball up. As a result, she was double-teamed and lost the ball. Is that Nika's turnover? Maybe, but I thought Ice should have been able to handle that one.
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You must be thinking of a transition play near the end of the 1st quarter where Nika attempted a bounce pass from the high post into traffic toward Ice.

The turnover was charged to Ice. Borderline judgment call where the senior got the benefit of the doubt.
 
Bone Dog said:
By my count, Nika made 4 obviously bad passes, was stripped once and had 3 passes fumbled. Maybe those were her fault too, but I’m wondering how to count them.
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Turnovers were awful but I believe she had 5 rebounds which is 5 more than she had in the last 2 games combined!
 
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ctkaiser said:
Turnovers were awful but I believe she had 5 rebounds which is 5 more than she had in the last 2 games combined!
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She actually had 7 rebounds tying her with AE for first in team rebounds, played 30 minutes and didn't pick up a personal foul. That must be a record for her on the fouls.
 
UConnCat said:
Actually, Paige was the MVP of the 2019 U-19 World Cup. Clark wasn't voted part of the All-Star 5 for the tournament.

www.fiba.basketball

Bueckers crowned TISSOT MVP to headline All-Star Five

BANGKOK (Thailand) - There was double joy for Paige Bueckers of USA after she followed up taking a gold medal at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019 with TISSOT MVP honors.
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
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Thank you for that link to the 2019 U -19 World Cup. Truly, a walk down memory lane! Rhyne Howard was
also "terrific" in that game. Rhyne took an elbow to the face in the closing seconds. Penalty on Australia.
USA with free throws, got the ball back, and the USA scored on a terrific pass from Paige to Hailey Van Lith. That
was an across the court pass with Hailey going up for it, before completing the play for the tying points. USA cruised
in the Overtime for the WIN... Great Game.!! It is worth a repeat viewing on the FIBA web page. Watch the fourth
Quarter and overtime... or ... the whole game!
 
Plebe said:
You must be thinking of a transition play near the end of the 1st quarter where Nika attempted a bounce pass from the high post into traffic toward Ice.

The turnover was charged to Ice. Borderline judgment call where the senior got the benefit of the doubt.
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Exactly. The post I was responding to said she should have had more TOs than the stats showed. That would have been one of them. I don't necessarily disagree, but I said there was room to have a question about it.

And to @tchalla1, I'm not an apologist. I'm unhappy with Nika's performance too, just like you. But I'm a fan, so I also look for something positive to cling to. Maybe I'm grasping at straws. I also hope Geno addresses her mistakes. And I could complain about other things, like her flubbed handoffs -- these aren't turnovers, but they squander opportunities -- or her picking up her dribble at bad times. Or holding the ball over her head and making too many fakes before passing it to whomever after all the fakes have allowed the defense to set itself. I guess I'm hoping these are merely 'tics' that she'll get rid of before the tournament.
 
Bigboote said:
Loved the game. I think they may be making real progress after UNC and Louisville back to back.

Regarding Nika, something has changed the last few games. She started out the first six games with 24 assists and 8 turnovers (avg. 4/7.1.3). The last four she has 20 assists and 22 turnovers (5.0/5.5). I dunno the origin -- possibilities are the changing lineup, something with Nika, a changed offense, better competition, or all or none of those.
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Better comp and pressure. Certain coaches realize that when on ball pressure is put on her she becomes preoccupied with it and can't look through the defense and read the floor. Her ballhandling isn't real tight and she gets rattled and throws balls into areas instead of to targets plus soft lobs over and through traffic.
 
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oldude said:
Really, really nice win today by the Huskies over a very good Louisville team. A couple thoughts:
  • After running out a bunch of different lineups this season, UConn started the same small lineup for the 3rd game in a row, and it showed as the Huskies offense had much better player and ball movement. How about a season high 24 assists?
  • Does Paige need a new nickname? How about THE HUMAN ERASER? :eek: I’m sure Marvin Webster would be OK with that…
  • After a so-so defensive effort in the 1st half, UConn dropped the hammer on Louisville in the second half, holding the Cardinals to just 20 points.
  • While no UConn fan is happy with 7-3, UConn has fought through injuries and a tough OOC schedule. With the BE schedule up next, there will be a lot of opportunities for UConn’s youngsters as well as the team to continue to improve.
  • I love Nika. But she must take better care of the ball. I would rather see her take a bad shot than make a bad pass. A shot has a chance of going in or someone getting an offensive rebound. Nothing good comes of a bad pass.
  • Really strong veteran efforts by Aubrey, Aaliyah and Paige. KK continues to impress. Need a little more consistency from the rest of the rookies and this team should have a very nice 8 player rotation by March.
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As always nice analysis--I'm happy with 7 and 3. The alternative of 10 and 0 is not nice. Except for the toughness and talent of the Freshmen--it could be a long season. Ashlynn is my Player of the Game--however 4 others deserve that award too. I've come to the point when Shades shoots to be disappointed it didn't go in. the kid can shoot, defends well, not great but WOW for a frosh. KK is wonderful and learning.
A.G. (Griffin) I keep calling a Pros --Pro. She'll fit into the W easily. What talent.
However, 3 others were her equal. Paige--ho-hum--doing what Paige does (to repeat a Geno comment on Kiah Stokes or Tamika)
 
MSGRET said:
Open up the link and you will see that it is the same tournament with the USA beating the Aussie 84-80. Clark did not get the MVP in this tournament Paige did.
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Clark was Bueckers' back up in this tournament and only played half the minutes that PB did.
 
The deacon said:
Different event, UConnCat.
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You said this in your post:

Caitlin was the MVP in the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup tournament, with the U.S. beating Australia in the final.

That is not accurate. Paige was the MVP of that tournament.

Caitlin Clark was the MVP of the 2021 FIBA U-19 World Cup. Paige was too old to play in that tournament.
 
Nika needs to stop trying to force passes into double coverage. Maybe that worked in her Croatian high school, but that never works at the American college level. If there's double coverage on the person you are looking to throw a pass to, that means one of your teammates is wide open. Pass it over there and let them figure out where to send the ball next.
 
I think, as KK becomes more and more reliable you are going to see Geno using the bench on Nika. Her (Nika’s) turnovers are becoming a real problem now that we no longer have much of a margin for error! Most of her turnovers are due to really fundamental, basic mistakes like high risk passes to a player who has two people on them, passing into a dead end where the receiving player has nowhere to go, dribbling into traps etc, mistakes that an experienced player should no longer be making on such a regular basis.
I think (hope) Geno knows that this is a problem that can (and must) be fixed if we are to have any chance in the tournament. She’s got to get the turnovers down to three or four max which seems eminently doable as almost all her turnovers are as a result of poor judgement on her part. Frankly, I was shocked at some of the things I saw her do today. I realize there’s a fine line between stopping the turnovers and taking away the aggressive, passing instinct that makes her an effective distributor but imo, Geno needs to use the conference slate to show Nika and the whole team actually some tough love to try to eliminate what has really always been a problem but which is now, due to our limited roster, becoming intolerable. She is a vital component of this team but her (and others) turnovers are holding the team back from reaching it’s potential!
 
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Few Thoughts:
*The best UConn played in a long long time
*Loved the intensity UConn was playing with the whole game.
*Everyone on UConn was fighting for rebounds and the result was that we outrebounded a bigger team (Louisville)
*Walz is a great couch, but he is whining the whole game to the officials...
*Aubrey: absolutely amazing. Her athleticism in full display and she doesn't try to do anything which she can't do.
*AE: great with the mid-range shot and going to the basket. Cochran is very strong but she found her match in Edwards.
*Paige: The best player in the country (IMO). wow...5 blocks (are you kidding me)...and she does not force anything.
*KK: better every game. Clearly is not a 3-point shooter and should stop shooting from 3. but got a nice mid-range shot and good instincts as a PG. If UConn would have been in full strength, KK would have taken a lot of minutes from Nika. With the current roster, they play a lot next to one another.
*Shade: getting better on defense and love her confidence in shooting.
*Nika: one of her worst game s in UConn despite the 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Those 8 turnovers were ridiculous for a senior PG.
*Ice: got few rebounds but is not clear on what to do on offense. Hopefully continue to grow.
*Q: does not lack confidence but getting of the bench to fire away is probably not the best of ideas. Fights for rebounds and did ok on defense.
*Loved the switches on defense. They were communicating and moving their feet. Real good to see!
 
UConnCat said:
You said this in your post:

Caitlin was the MVP in the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup tournament, with the U.S. beating Australia in the final.

That is not accurate. Paige was the MVP of that tournament.

Caitlin Clark was the MVP of the 2021 FIBA U-19 World Cup. Paige was too old to play in that tournament.
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My apologies, UConnCat (and others). I was so busy being sure to name the event I forgot about which year.

Going back to what I'd said earlier, that both have been MVPs is yet another example of how we shouldn't be comparing the two, but savoring what they contribute to basketball.
 
This is the best I've seen UConn look all season. Very few, if any missed layups (which make me insane). Solid ball movement and passing (except Nika !?!?). Good energy at both ends.

I honestly don't know how good Lou-uh-vull is. Maybe not so much?

Had to laugh when their center wiped out a UConn player who was driving to the hoop and came out flexing like it was a real blocked shot in a competitive game. Bad-to-the-point-of-comical look.
 
The deacon said:
My apologies, UConnCat (and others). I was so busy being sure to name the event I forgot about which year.

Going back to what I'd said earlier, that both have been MVPs is yet another example of how we shouldn't be comparing the two, but savoring what they contribute to basketball.
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What if comparing them is how we savor what they contribute? I've got no problem comparing them, mainly because I know which one will always come out on top.

-- hint: it ain't Caitlin --
 
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