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UConn - SJU post game

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A win is a win. They passed the test and won. Paige and Edwards can carry the team. Two dominant performers can beat a team that only has one, or none. defense is suspect still So that appears to be the biggest concern.
 
msf22b said:
It is not a winning formula for UConn for Paige and Edwards to do most of the scoring.
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You’re exactly right, that formula works great in the big east but OOC it’s not good at all as we’ve witnessed.I guess it all depends what your end game is If it’s to win a Natty forget about it.
 
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I'll give St. John's credit for playing tough, never giving up, and running some good offense. Huskies still need to tighten up communication on D, stop taking themselves out of a play by overreaching, and have everyone touch the ball on half court offense, and hit the cutters who are wide open, and don't get a look! What happened to the "backdoors"?
 
The freshmen do seem to be hitting the “freshman wall” a bit. (Well, Q maybe hit it a while ago) I really hope Ashlynn and KK can break out of it because unfortunately with all the injuries we’re gonna need them to be on their A game when the tournament comes.

Not trying to criticize them by the way, I acknowledge that the freshman wall is a real thing. Hope they can keep their confidence up.
 
To the poster that’s posted the same sentence three times, just stop
 
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CONN78SEJ said:
Kidding? Um…no, mean’t every word. Maybe you have a terrible memory? Paige was all everything her freshman year.
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Compare her performance that year to this one:
Freshman: FG% 52%, 3PT% 46.4%, FT% 87%, 4.9 Rebounds, 20.0 Pts per game avg
This year: FG% 55%, 3PT% 47%, FT% 84%, 4.5 Rebounds, 20.3 Pts per game avg.
There is absolutely no drop off due to lingering injuries, you are just wrong.
 
I think the issue with Ice and the freshmen is that until they started and got lots more minutes there just wasn’t that much game film for the opponents to study. Now that they have been playing more, the opposition is factoring their preferences/tendencies into the scouting report. Call it a freshman wall, but they can no longer only depend upon what they used to do. They need to develop something new to keep the other team from honing in on a small number of things. For example, earlier today I saw a St. John’s defender face guarding Ash (much like Nika was doing to Drake.) A few weeks ago, defenders were not doing that and Ash was putting up big numbers. Now Ash and KK need to develop something new to help the team on the offensive end (all while staying in the flow)
 
Few Thoughts:
*not a pleasing game to watch but a win, so we'll take it.
*AE: was great. Unstoppable when she gets the ball around the basket. While i understand why it is important for her to shoot from the mid-range, her effectiveness is not the same as when she is around the basket. She improved nicely from year to year and is an AA.
*Paige: had too many turnovers but was really good, especially when UConn needed a boost in the 4th quarter, she took over and the game was over.
*Nika: UConn clearly needs her in the game and her fouls while the opponent player shoots, were not smart. Didn't look to shoot much and needs to as a senior.
*Shade: UConn needs her as the third UConn scorer and that went away the last few games. For UConn to be really good, Shade needs to be scoring about 13-17 points (with AE and Paige getting their 20+ points or so each).
*KK: Just an ok game...not aggressive enough on offense.
*Ice: disappointing game. weak hands and needs to stop shooting jump shots from distance.
*Q: seems like she lost her confidence and now she is just jacking shoots.
*Especially in the second half, UConn had some issues stopping the dribble drive of the St. Johns guards. That does not bode well for the SC game.
*A win is a win! on to the Seton Hall game.
 
ABCDFE said:
Weird game. Thought we were going to blow them out and then they hung around due to our lapses in defense and turnovers. This offense is just not the same if Shade is not aggressive. Not sure if she's over thinking it but I don't see that aggressiveness from her as often and it makes their offense much more predictable and easier to defend.

Nika was ok today. Hoping to see more consistency from her on a game in game out basis.

KK is active, but would really like her to be more aggressive on the offensive end.
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Agree with your comments and would add that the penetration and speed of SJ guards again has given us trouble. Seemed like most of their offense was looking for layups and making sure they made their layup even when hit. Shades of the ND game with repeated deep moves by SJ and resulting layups.
We don't do that well, often give up on finishing a shot or turn away from a fast break opportunity to allow SJ to set their defense. Why? KK and Arnold need to continue to get up 8-10 shots a game. Only once did I see a trap.

Perhaps the trust is not with the bench. Early fouls have forced us to play conservative BB. Ice looked better in her minutes but needs to not use her hands so much and deploy more body bumps. Several recent games have seen throw-downs or something like that to opponents.
 
my2cents said:
Compare her performance that year to this one:
Freshman: FG% 52%, 3PT% 46.4%, FT% 87%, 4.9 Rebounds, 20.0 Pts per game avg
This year: FG% 55%, 3PT% 47%, FT% 84%, 4.5 Rebounds, 20.3 Pts per game avg.
There is absolutely no drop off due to lingering injuries, you are just wrong.
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Oh yeah, what she did in her freshman year is the stuff of legend. When’s the last time Paige or any other UConn freshman scored 30 or more points, THREE GAMES IN A ROW? Or hit the winning shot in OT against #1 ranked South Caroina? Or had 14 assists in one game? I could go on with more of her freshman exploits……

For extra credit, only one other UConn freshman scored 30pts in a row in three consecutive games. Who was it?
 
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I was at the game today. Close to a full house but the crowd was more polite than rowdy, with many of them including me nodding off to sleep during Saint John`s offensive sets. When we were awake we were somewhat uncomfortable, it was that kind of game.

Nika did a decent job on Drake, in part aided by how Saint John`s plays and how it uses her.

Drake usually plays off the ball in the right corner to start and their point guard fiddles and diddles (as Johny Most would say) for a while before things get going and Nika did a good job of denying her the ball. So on many offensive sets Drake didn`t touch the ball or if she did the clock was a factor. I don`t think she had a field goal in the first half. When she did get it, she looked quick and has a decent handle but I don`t recall her breaking defenders down off the dribble much. Mayo was pretty good in that department though.

The refereeing was mediocre. It drives me crazy when an outside official calls a foul under the basket while the official standing under the basket, right next to the play, correctly sees no foul. That happened to UConn two or three times.

Aaliyah was obviously the player of the game but it was Paige that put the team on her back with seven straight points including two offensive rebounds in that crucial early fourth quarter stretch, pushing the lead from seven to fourteen.

A key part at the end of the first half was the somewhat surprising substitution of Nika (with two fouls) for Paige with about two minutes left after Paige had turned it over twice. I`m guessing Geno figured Paige was gassed at that point. Uconn was up nine but Nika got a rebound and fast break assist to Aaliyah, and a steal and fastbreak assist to Ice, and we were up thirteen at the break.

There can be a lot of upsets, weird scores, and B minus performances by teams at all levels this time of year. Win and move on.
 
CONN78SEJ said:
Paige’s biggest “flaw” was having a terrible knee injury in 2021, early in her sophomore year, and then tearing her ACL in the same knee not long after that. It was something beyond her control. She probably will never entirely recover 100%. She still is a great player and has made an amazing comeback but she is not the girl who won NPOY as a freshman and was hands down the best player in the country that year.
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Your post resonated with me. I’ve followed Paige’s career since she was a sophomore at Hopkins HS. If she can withstand the rigors of a full season of WBB, not suffer a serious injury, and play at a level close to that of her freshman year, she will have accomplished something remarkable. What else can you expect of her?
 
It's rarely going to be pretty. It's basically a 5-player team with two of those being freshmen. St John's strategy of dribbling 95% of the clock out worked perfectly and ended up in several buzzer-beaters and last-second fouls. UConn needs to play at a far quicker pace and that's hard to force on teams when you have no depth at all.
 
The first thing that struck me early in the game was Nika's hesitation and failure to put up at least 3 shots when she was wide open.
I know her concentration was on defense but she should also be a scoring threat every game.
My favorite part of watching this game was seeing our walking wounded warriors enjoying the game from the bench, especially Caroline with her earplugs!!! Smiles were everywhere.
 
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EricLA said:
Sort of inconsistent first half - better in Q2, for sure. 2nd half was a struggle. We'd start to pull away, then SJU would go on a mini-run. Their banked 3's were annoying. But credit to them for not giving up like they seemed to do in the last game. They battled and kept the game relatively close, even winning Q3. We just weren't crisp. We'd play good defense for 15 seconds, then get out of position and give up an open shot. Again, credit to SJU. They played poised and never let the game get out of hand. But still, just when you think/hope UConn has turned the corner and is really ready to play some cohesive good team ball, we seem to take steps backwards.
  • Nika sub-par in Q1. 2 fouls (1 on a 3 point shooter) and some momentum stopping turnovers. But her defense on Drake (SJU top scorer) great, at least in the 1st half. But again, fouls caught up to her. Mystifying play at times from a senior.
  • Paige with 4 turnovers the first half - 2 on consecutive possessions - and then only 1 the rest of the game. Seemed like we sort of needed her to take over in Q4. Which is really too bad. But she is unstoppable when she takes over. Just wow!
  • Liya had a monster first half, but then... maybe got a tad tired for a minute? Still... career high! Woohoo! and really good from the FT line. POG for sure!!
  • Watching SJU start their offense is like watching paint dry... Slow-Mo!
When was the last time Geno had to call a TO to stop a run, or re-set? But he had to 1 minute into Q4. Game never REALLY felt in doubt, but it was not the solid performance I would have liked to see. Liya and Paige were mostly great. The rest of the team... had their moments, but... Anyway a nice grind-out win overall - SJU is #3 in the BE. They really are no slouches. Hopefully some good stuff for the film session. and to end on a good note - Paige and Liya - STUDS!!
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For some reason ( I wonder if anyone asked him?), Geno seemed determined to have his starting 5 play all 40 minutes today. True, a hint of foul trouble surfaced briefly, and he subbed in Ice and, eventually, Q. But their time on court was briefer than usual. In Q's case, it was hardly enough to get an idea about her performance ( except for the 0-2 shooting ).

I sensed a fatigue element in the second half, but it was not critical. As you mentioned, Paige took over when St. John's came within 7 points. Up until that point, however, she had had a relatively poor game. Her ball security was as poor as I have seen it. And her shooting was not Paige like in its efficiency.

I agree that this team is not going to win any big game if we only use the starting five. Two of the starting five remain " developmental" and are inconsistent. Yes, they each show flashes of star quality, but they are off and on great. ASH missed two open shots which she needs to make if she is to become a "difference maker" in a big game. And KK needs to be a bit more visionary on some of her breaks to the hoop. Too often, her drives are getting blocked, often with an offensive charge call. And she shows little inclination to shoot mid range or long range . And she can shoot.

It is pretty clear that we have a team of three great players, and depth of four developing/inconsistent freshmen. Their progress is key to the team's progress. The core three can take us pretty far, but they just cannot be asked to play all 40 minutes. And we need more than just "place holders" from the freshmen. We may not get it, but that is what we need.

I don't know what coach was up to today. Have Q and ICE slacked off in practice? Was there another motive?

Otherwise, the game was pretty much as predicted ( Edwards more of a force than usual, but not that much more). I don't think we learned much about the four freshmen. Except the two on the bench may have dropped a notch in the coach's eye. Hope not.
 
Longtime fan said:
For some reason ( I wonder if anyone asked him?), Geno seemed determined to have his starting 5 play all 40 minutes today. True, a hint of foul trouble surfaced briefly, and he subbed in Ice and, eventually, Q. But their time on court was briefer than usual. In Q's case, it was hardly enough to get an idea about her performance ( except for the 0-2 shooting ).

I sensed a fatigue element in the second half, but it was not critical. As you mentioned, Paige took over when St. John's came within 7 points. Up until that point, however, she had had a relatively poor game. Her ball security was as poor as I have seen it. And her shooting was not Paige like in its efficiency.

I agree that this team is not going to win any big game if we only use the starting five. Two of the starting five remain " developmental" and are inconsistent. Yes, they each show flashes of star quality, but they are off and on great. ASH missed two open shots which she needs to make if she is to become a "difference maker" in a big game. And KK needs to be a bit more visionary on some of her breaks to the hoop. Too often, her drives are getting blocked, often with an offensive charge call. And she shows little inclination to shoot mid range or long range . And she can shoot.

It is pretty clear that we have a team of three great players, and depth of four developing/inconsistent freshmen. Their progress is key to the team's progress. The core three can take us pretty far, but they just cannot be asked to play all 40 minutes. And we need more than just "place holders" from the freshmen. We may not get it, but that is what we need.

I don't know what coach was up to today. Have Q and ICE slacked off in practice? Was there another motive?

Otherwise, the game was pretty much as predicted ( Edwards more of a force than usual, but not that much more). I don't think we learned much about the four freshmen. Except the two on the bench may have dropped a notch in the coach's eye. Hope not.
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I wondered about the subbing myself. I’ve been curious if there was going to be a conditioning element added to the starters so they adjust to having to play close to 40 minutes in March but the first game in February seems awfully early to start.
 
This game answered a couple of questions:

How many points can AE score against a team that had no one to challenge her under the basket? Quite a few as it turns out.

Can UConn beat a mediocre team relying on only AE and Paige to score? Yes. But @msf22b is spot on in questioning whether an offense relying on two players bodes well for the future. It does not.

I started keeping track of how many non-layups UConn made after noticing how few there were. Paige made some and AE one or two. Between KK, Shade and Nika I counted 5 total baskets. Nike had two, both layups. KK had one that I think was a layup.. Shade had two and both jumpers. I cannot remember any game, men's or women's, where so few jump shots were made.

I'll take the win. It was fun to watch AE take everything given to her. Paige did her job. The D was pretty good, not overwhelming. I'm left with the question as to why 3/5th of our starters couldn't get open for and knock down shots. Hopefully this is an anomaly. Hopefully...
 
Longtime fan said:
Up until that point, however, she had had a relatively poor game. Her ball security was as poor as I have seen it. And her shooting was not Paige like in its efficiency.


I don't know what coach was up to today. Have Q and ICE slacked off in practice? Was there another motive?
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Paige was 9-16. That's not exactly poor efficiency.

Do you see quality play from Brady, and a lot of it from Q?
 
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