UConn - St. John postgame

[Zarathustra]

A couple thoughts on today’s game:

• It can be frustrating playing a methodical team like SJ that tries to slow down the game to a snail’s pace. I thought the Huskies demonstrated good discipline at both ends of the court, not rushing on offense and staying locked in on defense.
• The Huskies came out scorching hot from the arc as Nika, Paige and Ashlynn collectively buried 5 x 3’s in the 1st qtr, and then again in the 2nd half with the trio knocking down another 3 x 3’s. When you start off the game and the 2nd half like that, it sucks the air out of your opponent.
• Speaking of sucking the air out of your opponent, once again UConn’s defense was suffocating, particularly in the 2nd qtr, when the Huskies held the Red Storm to just 7 pts. Nika barely allowed Drake to breathe, limiting her to just 2 baskets on 3 shots. Coming into today, Drake averaged almost 20 ppg on 17 shots per game.
• More really, really good PT from Ice who continues to get comfortable on the court playing with her teammates. A little sloppy in the 4th qtr, but overall Ice has to take a lot of confidence from today’s game.
• Paige had maybe the most efficient 22 pts I can ever remember, on just 9 shots. But I won’t say it….I won’t say it….Ahh, the hell I won’t. How many shots would the kid from Iowa need to score 22?
• I was really hoping for an. “Everybody Eats” game, but Ines decided she wanted an assist for UConn’s last basket, rather than scoring herself. I guess I can live with that.

An old quote from NIKA: "When you make an assist you make two people happy... your TEAMMATE
who scores, and yourself for playing unselfish UCONN TEAM BASKETBALL, " (Ok, I'm embellishing!)
And even though there is an "I" included when you spell "INES", there is no ego in that young lady. GO INES!! GO HUSKIES!
PGs "eat" when they "feed" their teammates!!

 

[victor64]

With Ines, we are seeing fewer forced passes and a continued increase in hustle and unselfish play. I now hope that her recent play earns her some first half minutes.

Nika shutting down Drake has been a part of UCONN's defensive template for as long as i can remember: Take away the other team's top scorer.

I wonder how many future opponents have letting Nika shoot as part of their game plan. Nika's hesitation is gone.

I think it was KK's first double dribble call of the year which is surprising how close she keeps her left hand to the ball when she dribbles right.

Q may have struggled shooting against Providence but her athleticism is so much fun to watch. She has great hands and can really run.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[topogigio]

With Ines, we are seeing fewer forced passes and a continued increase in hustle and unselfish play. I now hope that her recent play earns her some first half minutes.

Nika shutting down Drake has been a part of UCONN's defensive template for as long as i can remember: Take away the other team's top scorer.

I wonder how many future opponents have letting Nika shoot as part of their game plan. Nika's hesitation is gone.

I think it was KK's first double dribble call of the year which is surprising how close she keeps her left hand to the ball when she dribbles right.

Q may have struggled shooting against Providence but her athleticism is so much fun to watch. She has great hands and can really run.

Good point with Ines. Not sure what she is doing in practice, but she sure make her game minutes count. Tremendous hustle, second effort, and unselfish play. She may prove to be very valuable as the season progresses!

 

[Zonepress]

An absolute pleasure watching this. What an amazing fun game.


1-- Again - it really is amazing how well KK and Ashlynn they play off of each other. Throw in Q's athleticism and there are times during the game I find myself yelling out "wow." They remain remarkable.

2--- Paige's flow was surreal.

3-- A few years ago I recall Geno lamenting that the Offense sputtered a lot because they didn't have enough shooters. I was sort of expecting Azzi and Caroline this year along with Paige and Nika being decent to have an incredibly strong perimeter game (even Aaliyah hits outside shots.). It's remarkable that I'm seeing it even without Azzi and Caroline. .

4-- I love Kara and Meg-- love them. But I was a guard and prefer guard play. They obviously don't. I'd like to know the context that they say Geno doesn't like Ice taking fallaways. OFC you don't want that to be her signature move. But she took it once and she hit it. Other times she has taken it-- - it's a soft shot. She has the sweetest touch for a big as a frosh that UCONN has had in a long time. and we know Geno has no issue yanking bench players for taking crummy shots. The point is I don't feel that shot is that bad. I feel it's a good countermove shot. Take it once to twice a game. If she shows she can hit it-- why not?

As far as Ice -- again I love Kara - love her but in postgame they showed a highlight of Ice hitting a 15 footer. She was slightly disappointed that that was the highlight. She had to remark that she wanted inside. She is absolutely right that Ice needs to know how to use her size to score inside. However- I am more excited with the outside shot. Ice's inside game will be defensible vs some quality teams. But her outside shot will always be available. If she shows she can hit that consistently, UCONN is near indefensible (provided other teammates perform as they have.).

I’m with you re shooting the 15-20 ft shot
It’s what keeps the lane open for the guards
And opens drives to the basket
Don’t see posting up Cardozo or Betts
In the ucla game Betts stayed in the paint and conceded the 15 footer which unfortunately
Neither ice or AE were able to make consistently
And completely clogged the lane
Now if you’re talking about finishing at the basket
Off passes or going strong with off rebounds sure bigs need to score inside
Not sure the post up game has the value it did
In the past

 

[Zarathustra]

Question. Does Ice qualify in the BE freshman of the week competition?

ICE has my vote... It counts only second to my wife's vote in our family!!

 

[Zarathustra]

Good point with Ines. Not sure what she is doing in practice, but she sure make her game minutes count. Tremendous hustle, second effort, and unselfish play. She may prove to be very valuable as the season progresses!

Ines had 12 minutes of playing time with three rebounds and three assists. I thoroughly enjoyed her getting
that ball under the offensive basket and tiptoeing it out ... for the pass and the assist! Grit and getting the job done.
Our two shortest players, KK and INES, had 10 A TOTAL OF REBOUNDS! === WINNING TEAM BASKETBALL!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[RoadMaster]

Looking good..

 

[msf22b]

I absolutely agree with hoophuskee regarding the fadeaway...Post players can never have too many moves...If she has this shot along with banging away inside, it can be a big asset...especially when she's playing one of the super bigs....
I though that was a spectacular shot.

4-- they say Geno doesn't like Ice taking fallaways. OFC you don't want that to be her signature move. But she took it once and she hit it. Other times she has taken it-- - it's a soft shot. She has the sweetest touch for a big as a frosh that UCONN has had in a long time. and we know Geno has no issue yanking bench players for taking crummy shots. The point is I don't feel that shot is that bad. I feel it's a good countermove shot. Take it once to twice a game. If she shows she can hit it-- why not?

I

 

[MSGRET]

Ines had 12 minutes of playing time with three rebounds and three assists. I thoroughly enjoyed her getting
that ball under the offensive basket and tiptoeing it out ... for the pass and the assist! Grit and getting the job done.
Our two shortest players, KK and INES, had 10 A TOTAL OF REBOUNDS! === WINNING TEAM BASKETBALL!

Actually according to the box score, it was Paige that had 7 rebounds not KK. AE had 10, Paige 7, Nika and Ice 4 each, and Ash, Q, Ines and team rebounds getting 3 each.

 

[oldude]

I absolutely agree with hoophuskee regarding the fadeaway...Post players can never have too many moves...If she has this shot along with banging away inside, it can be a big asset...especially when she's playing one of the super bigs....
I though that was a spectacular shot.

Watch 2xNBA MVP Nikola Jokic shoot and make one fadeaway after another, which nobody can defend. If you can make it consistently, it’s an extremely effective shot.

 

[DEpup]

My 2 cents on Ice and the fade away. Yes the one she took today went in and that was great. It is a great change up but it shouldn't be a post's primary shot.

In previous games, the fade away was all she took. That is why today's performance was even better. There was variety in the moves she made. She wasn't just a one trick pony.

 

[Bone Dog]

I get what Kara and Meg are thinking. Sure, if Ice is at the top of her game, the fadeaway would be an excellent element in her arsenal. But as someone recovering and still trying to find her game, that shot looks like she's trying to avoid contact. That's what I thought in previous games. I'm not so concerned about it after this game (and to a lesser extent the Providence game) because she started making layups against defenders. But generally I'd rather see her take the boo to the rim and score through contact. The fadeaway may become a reliable shot for her, but it lets the opposing posts off the hook -- they can't defend it, so they don't get any fouls trying to.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[RockyMTblue2]

An old quote from NIKA: "When you make an assist you make two people happy... your TEAMMATE
who scores, and yourself for playing unselfish UCONN TEAM BASKETBALL, " (Ok, I'm embellishing!)
And even though there is an "I" included when you spell "INES", there is no ego in that young lady. GO INES!! GO HUSKIES!
PGs "eat" when they "feed" their teammates!!

Nika told Geno her 1 person vs 2 persons happy philosophy when he visited her as a recruit in her home.

 

[uconnfan68]

Was able to catch the game in person at UBS arena. The venue only sold tickets for one side of the lower bowl, and none behind the baskets. The one half was probably 90% full, the other 0%. Made for a really strange atmosphere as from a viewers perspective, the arena was completely empty.

They wanted to make it look full.

 

[oldude]

Nika told Geno her 1 person vs 2 persons happy philosophy when he visited her as a recruit in her home.

That was after Geno & Darko had downed a couple of Rakija’s a piece.

 

[fomalhaut]

As for why teams leave Muhl open, perhaps they read the Boneyard.

They shouldn't be doing it anymore, since Muhl is now over .450.

 

[UConnCat]

Amazing photo.

 

[Bills Fan]

and NO foul!

And the only two baskets Unique made were with someone else guarding her, the second one Nika was screened by Ice, who apparently had not gotten the word to just get out of Nika's way. I was also amazed that Allen and Meg were sitting 2 feet off the court and never seemed to notice what Gary and Kara did in the studio and comment on at halftime. It was even after Geno talked about it during short halftime interview, Finally, at one point in the 2nd half one of them made a passing reference to it. Nika's complete shutdown of the SJA star was certainly noticed by the Jonnies' HC who decided to sit his star for long segments in the game, since Nika had pretty much turned it into a 4 on 4 game

 

[BBallF]

Someone please tell me what Azzi can do that Ash can’t. She has been the difference for this team by replacing a potential All-American with consistently capable production in absolutely every aspect.

Ash is a great scorer for sure with a great career ahead of her but comparisons to Azzi are not accurate in my mind. There is no comparison in the shot. Azzi has the quickest release maybe ever at UCONN. She is also a more fluid prolific scorer. We haven't seen her at her best and I hope we do next year. Then we can judge side by side.

 

[MSGRET]

Amazing photo.

I wonder how many time does the staff have to come out and get Paige into the locker room and away fans on the road trips. I know that during her Senior year in High School the team took the bus home most of the time, while Paige stayed behind and signed autographs, had photos taken until everyone was taken care of. One game they said that she had stayed 2 and half hours after the game for the fans. She had separate transportation home from family or friends.

 

[BBallF]

Amazing photo.

The great thing about her is that she understands that she is a role model for younger girls and shares herself with them. BTW, I know we have the Iowan phenomenon taking place this year but anyone who watched tonight's game who knows basketball would agree that PB is the most complete and best all-around player in the country.

 

[Bone Dog]

...anyone who watched tonight's game who knows basketball would agree that PB is the most complete and best all-around player in the country.

You don't have to convince me. 22 points on 8-9 shooting, and generally the heart and soul of the team.

 

[HopJim]

Rare to see any team where all starters are playing 100% on both offense and defense. UConn typically has 1-2 who are weak on their outside shooting, causing the defense to collapse on the other players. Not this year.

 

[browns]

The great thing about her is that she understands that she is a role model for younger girls and shares herself with them. BTW, I know we have the Iowan phenomenon taking place this year but anyone who watched tonight's game who knows basketball would agree that PB is the most complete and best all-around player in the country.

Your opinion..Clark just came off having 2 triple double games in a row..her 15th of her illustrious career BTW

 

[MSGRET]

Your opinion..Clark just came off having 2 triple double games in a row..her 15th of her illustrious career BTW

Currently Clark has 8 points going 3-9, 0-6 from behind the arc, 2 for 2 at the line. One rebound, assist and turnover against Indiana. Paige took 9 shots total and had 22.

 

[BBallF]

For me, today was a very significant day for the team for 2 reasons, one obvious, one subtle because we need a strong 6 or 7 player rotation going forward. The obvious one was Ice, moving with purpose, banging and scoring underneath, and improving even more with a big smile to match her newfound confidence. The subtle one was Q. She was playing hard on defense and really focused on it. It is still a work in progress with her but her concentration on defense led to a totally different kind of offensive day for her. Not jacking it up whenever she got it, but rather staying within the flow of the offense and running when she could. And what happened? 3-3 not 0-9, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal and no turnovers in 15 minutes. Just a very good performance to build on as part of the team. She will get there. Another brick taken out of the freshman wall today.

 

[my2cents]

My 2 cents on Ice and the fade away. Yes the one she took today went in and that was great. It is a great change up but it shouldn't be a post's primary shot.

In previous games, the fade away was all she took. That is why today's performance was even better. There was variety in the moves she made. She wasn't just a one trick pony.

Just as an FYI, it was his "two cents", not my two cents.