UCONN - NC State post mortem thread

[Rich]

Not sure how the NIL thing is Geno’s fault! Some schools just have more money connections!

Then if you're gonna concede this, get ready for more losing.

 

[tchalla1]

The Vegas line for the over/ under total points was 138. They projected a 74-64 UCONN victory.
The total poinst for this game was 173 points, 35 points over projection. Nobody could have predicted that the Huskies would surrender 92 points!
Was UCONN's defense overrated or NC State's offense underrated? Or both??

Some of both... I thought NC State's talented guards would challenge us, but never in my worst nightmare did I think they'd score 92 on us... But it's early--Geno and staff will get it figured out... Actually, though we were outplayed, had we made our makeable shots, namely wide open 3s, we still would have won...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Too ticked to trust myself tonight.

 

[mrmojack]

I miss Jana already. Edwards can't do it all herself. We were beat on the boards and at the free throw line. Keep in mind
the number of games our men's team lost last year before they ran through the tournament.

Keep the faith, We have time before the calandar says March.

 

[BobbyJ]

I think there's a whole lot of magical thinking and wishcasting about what UCONN's WCBB team is now and will be in the future.

For one, talent is much more widely dispersed across the country as opposed to when the program was in its ascendancy. That's an indisputable fact and one that even GA would concede. He no longer has the hammerlock on elite recruits (and transfers) that he has had in previous years and this is going to affect game outcomes, play styles and championship odds.

For two, he has had a real recruiting blind spot the past say 5-6 seasons bringing in bigs, specifically athletically gifted bigs. These players are at a premium and so competition for their services is gonna be intense; therefore if you don't have enough NIL juice and don't play in a high enough profile conference you're not gonna get those kids......and Geno has manifestly failed this test. I for one do not think he's capable of adjusting at this point for reasons both within (stubborness and RINGZ) and outside (NIL, conference) his control.

For three-the team is not 'slow' in the athletic sense. The players are fine. Lacking size, but otherwise no reason they can't run with any other team in the country. Where they ARE slow is play pace-they were basically screaming lack of experience and chemistry today and got their asses collectively handed tot hem by a 'veteran' squad. I expect this will happen quite a few times before we hit the conference part of the schedule.

Can they improve? Who knows. We hope so. But it's clear to me that GA has a MASSIVE coaching job ahead of him, especially if he's committed to expanding his rotation which I absolutely believe he should in spite of his worst impulses to the contrary. You can't expect to keep bringing in elite recruits and expect them to sit on their hands for one or two years because you're afraid they'll screw up. Auriemma is in absolutely no danger of losing his job, basically has zero pressure on him and so should just lighten the hell up and let these kids play. If he has a double digit losing regular season well what can you do. It's part of the process.

How do you figure that GA has failed the recruiting test. Can you name or do you know of any top bigs that he has not recruited in recent memory that have been top performers in the college game? Are you familiar with his recruiting list? Should he offer every kid 6-3 or bigger in the country or foreign?

 

[CTrefugee]

There not making the final four!! They won’t beat SC, UCLA, UNC, I will be very surprised if they win any games against ranked teams. They might not even beat Maryland on Thursday. The teams will multiple bigs will eat this team alive. We can’t defend guards going to the basket. Geno has done a horrendous job getting true bigs to come to UConn. Until this team can sign bigs this team will struggle. We have no depth. Edwards and that’s it. Brady was a non factor, and let’s just throw the towel on Amari. She will never be a impact player. She’s been at UConn long enough to figure it out. Guards can only take u so far. SC will absolutely kill is on the boards. UCLA is huge .. they will own the paint. UNC is huge as well. I hate to be a Debby downer but this team will struggle. I just don’t see them making a final four. Azzi was horrible.. the only ones that played well was the freshmen Samuels and Paige..everyone else was a non factor. Very disappointed. Enjoy the ride but sadly its going to be a very sad season.

I'll take that bet........I think they will be a top 4 team by season's end.

 

[SEbluebood]

So much for the ten player rotation. Not that it would have helped, but Geno quickly went back to his old ways, using a seven player rotation.

No one should be surprised by Geno going with a short rotation. He is not going to change. The dreams that some posters had about a 10 player rotation or two groups of five switching back and forth and pressing were just dreams!

 

[HuskyNan]

No one should be surprised by Geno going with a short rotation. He is not going to change. The dreams that some posters had about a 10 player rotation or two groups of five switching back and forth and pressing were just dreams!

He’s gone 9-10 deep before

 

[Bboy Lace]

Too many guards to start the game. We need the rebounding and defense.

 

[SEbluebood]

I'm just trying figure out how NC State wasn't ranked by the AP or Coaches Polls. Massey has them as #8 and he is a lot closer to the truth then the other two.

They lost four key players from last year so expectations were low. Massey is meaningless this early in the season as much of the rating is based on last season. That said, it is always foolish to underestimate a Wes coached team. He certainly knows how to construct a roster and get a team ready l!

 

[FormerCTrez]

I just got home from work, so I didn’t get to watch the game. But based on the results, I’m about to have some humble pie for dessert!! Congrats to NC State!

 

[NEforceUConn]

Initial thoughts.
….
Samuels is essentially a similar build to Ducharme, but she’s show she is capable of knocking in deep shots more consistently….

You might be a great poster, but that sentence is clearly insane.

 

[Plebe]

And last year, NC State was ranked in the top 10. This season, they weren't in the top 40!
That's why rankings are arbirtary & guesswork for the first several weeks.

They were ranked top 10 in the preseason last year. By mid-February they were unranked. A down year by Wes's standards.

 

[SEbluebood]

He’s gone 9-10 deep before

One year (you might be able to find another 1-2) out of thirty years of coaching is certainly the exception and not the pattern. Personally, I don’t think Amari could have been any worse than Ice (and at 3 inches taller might have provided some rim protection our guards were constantly getting beat ) and Ashlynn couldn’t do worse than we saw from any guard not named PB. My real point is that all summer long people waxed poetic about a 10 man rotation when in reality it was always a longshot based on history. I’d love to see that turned around during the season and me proven wrong because that gives us our best chance to compete, especially against teams, like South Carolina, which have tremendous depth.

 

[Fore!]

Ice is returning from an injury and may be in a minute restriction

She was ineffective when subbed in in the first half; more likely Geno didn’t have the confidence in her to put her back in when the game was within reach.

 

[boontonbomber]

That’s a little dramatic. UConn lost a basketball game. The sun will rise tomorrow and UConn will go to practice this week and try be a little better each day than they were the day before. That’s all you can ask from the kids.

He wasn't talking about the players.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I'll take that bet........I think they will be a top 4 team by season's end.

+1

 

[boontonbomber]

Hard to believe Rivers was the best player on the court today. The SG, playing point guard, had her coming out party against us.

These things will Make or Break us this season.

Height
Defense/Rebounds
Shooting
ICE/Aaliyah

The out 3 point shooting the other team by three pointers isn't a sustainable recipe for winning. We have to find ways to get easy buckets that helps keep the opponents off balance.

I Think we found a keeper in Q. She will take minutes if she continues this type of play.

Bad news we have more perimeter players coming in next season.

You forgot coaching.

 

[Fore!]

We lost because two of our starting guards were awful. Guard #1 is known for her scoring and shot making ability played 35 minutes but scored just 9 points and missed about as many shots. She was also a big liability on defense. Guard #2, known for her defensive prowess, was bad, and scored just 4 points, while playing 33 minutes.

Also, Geno’s buddy Dee Kantner did play a role, she and her crew calling UConn for 22 fouls while calling NC State for just 12.

Officiating was not even close to being the reason they lost, even if I may agree it was sub-par.

 

[MechanicalZ]

We didn’t look like ourselves out there today. The whole game, I was waiting for our offense to click and for our defense to make some stops. It felt like everyone was holding their breath or waiting for another player to step up. This team has all of the pieces…it just needs some time and experience to bring it all together. That said, we do need players besides Paige to make plays. I think it’s going to be fine as long as the team realizes that everyone has to significantly contribute in some kind of way to go deep in March.

I mean, it looked like everyone was waiting for another person to make a play until the 4th quarter, right?

 

[Cuango]

Not sure how the NIL thing is Geno’s fault! Some schools just have more money connections!

The conference thing too is not really the issue. We play more headliner games than anyone. I think We have simply been unable to find the kind of Boston like player that both fits into Geno’s and Chris’s requirements. There just aren’t many of those players and the two best ones, both of whom were high character superstars, turned him down. Perception is reality and Dawn won two championships with those two and started the perception that she was a “big” whisperer. Does anyone doubt that had they come to UConn we would not be sitting on at least 13 chips now? Someone else suggested recruiting the occasional lower rated bruiser that we could train up. I think that’s a great idea. I think the LSU girl (del Rosario) was on our radar for awhile. Don’t know what happened but she just faded away. The former Arizona player, Vonleh was available in the portal. She’s kicking some a** at Colorado. Ava Heiden looked awfully good but went to Iowa. I just wish, like everyone else, that we could get an aircraft carrier that could rule the paint for four years! Praying for Vukosa but she’s two or three years away! Losing Jana was devastating!

 

[baggerbob]

First half - we missed a lot of open looks, they made a lot of tough looks. Managed to go into halftime with a lead anyway
Second half - we simply got outplayed. We were scared, they took advantage.

Great game for Paige, she was single handedly keeping us in it for most of the day. Really liking Qadence as well, she's a sniper

The scout is the same. Crash the boards, play physically, and you will put yourself in a position to beat UConn. I don't see a fix for that this year. Jana is out and Amari couldn't get 1 minute today. Focus on recruiting needs to be size and toughness because we play really really soft.

But Paige is Paige, Azzi and AE will be better, and we will always have a chance with those 3. As of today it looks like our potential is very limited because of the size issue. But luckily today is November 12 instead of March 12. Let's give the staff some time to make adjustments. We have a lot of really big games in the next month before BE play to show improvement

The good Uconn teams rebounded, and played good defense. They always had players like Stokes and Stewie who could help on defense.

 

[CL82]

This team is built to beat people with it outside shooting. When our shooters are hot that will also open things up in the paint for Aaliyah, Aubrey, Paige and KK. The problem today was those shots weren't falling. That won't always be the case, but it may be a risk this season.

Still, Geno plays a tough preseason for a reason. It exposes weaknesses. Geno will put today's game film to good use.

 

[JDForever]

A few months ago I wrote a thread elaborating on the difference in women's basketball in just the past ten years, pointing out how the women's game has gotten bigger and that the one area we have not emphasized enough is our size. I was met with a barrage of negative criticism from people who felt our backcourt talent was more than enough to make up for the height difference. The name of the game is now rebounding and several of the teams we will play has made that their strength. Just saying, don't kill the messenger.

Who exactly is the WE?

Us BYers cheer on the teams Geno is able to recruit. Of course we're going to focus on our backcourt strength, when that's what UConn has. We're fans, not recruiters. We emphasize guard play and try to imagine ways in which it might be enough.

But I am far from believing that Geno is not focused on recruiting bigs. To suggest this sounds almost absurd. If anyone criticized you for thinking Geno was not trying to recruit more bigs, it was because of this absurdity. On the other hand, if you were suggesting that we shouldn't cheer on the team he has actually managed to put together, of course fans will bristle at such a suggestion.

That was a very good, very well coached team! As for us, once again we are shown to be simply lacking in toughness! I’ve been worrying about this for a few years now. We just don’t seem to be able to punch back when we get punched in the mouth. Our shooters, the strength of our team, (with the exception of Q and Paige) were terrible! Not only did they miss but many of the misses weren't even close! It looked like they were rattled and uncomfortable from the start! Azzi seemed reluctant to shoot for a long stretch, though she did hit a few pull ups. Finally, if we don’t see a complete turnaround in our rebounding and, to a lesser extent, our defense, we’re not gonna sniff the final four! Pretty disappointing!

I was very disappointed like everyone else here. I thought we were out hustled, outplayed and perhaps most disturbing to me very outcoached. I saw no second half adjustments on Rivers, no defensive changes of any kind of tangible substance. I don't understand why we did not use a Box and 1 with Aubrey or Nika on Rivers and simply face guard her like Kia used to do and make the rest of the team beat us. If we tried it, I didn't see it. Being outhustled is simply not acceptable for UCONN. I also thought that the early substitutions of Q, KK and Brady hurt the team, because it altered the early flow and fluidity of the starters and Aubrey and was counterproductive. We were up by double figures at that point. Finally, while everyone is praising Q here, who deserves it, her defense is weak but it did not stand out because our entire defense is weak, uncharacteristically disorganized, and fundamentally unsound with regard to boxing out and switching at this point. If it doesn't change and fast, it is going to be a long season with several out of league losses. Final note, referees were awful as they usually are in women's basketball. I don't understand how, after last year's NC embarrassment of an officiated game, it just never changes.

 

[Dezoworld]

Lack of size hurts this team alot. And if they aren't hitting shots then that hurts because we dobt get second chances. Guards have to do better defending and keeping other team guards in front of them. They get to the with such ease. But the way geno recruit is nothing but guards who can shoot the ball that seems in the game its like they can't shoot. Need to go after bigs now that we have a good pg in 2025 and of course Allie at sg and you can put Morgan at the 3 but to be fair it just seem kids don't want to play for UConn anymore