UConn sucks and I have the stats to prove it...(wink)

[DavidinNaples]

Ok, I lied. The only thing negative I have is UConn went 1-8 to start the SMU game and made only 60% of their free throws. Even SMU made 75% of their charity stripe attempts. Oh well, as long as you are here, enjoy the upbeat & positive statistics from the SMU game and season so far:

1. Two UConn players had double-doubles. Of course, one was MoJeff, who scored 11 points and dished out 10 assists in front of her home town crowd. She shot 4-8 (50%) in 25 minutes of play, but more importantly, had 0 turnovers. Who had the 2nd double-double? Not Stewie, not KML, not Tuck… Gabby Williams..!! In 21 minutes she scorched SMU for 12 points and 16 rebounds..!! Wow...!

2. Scoring from unexpected places… Gabby now has more points this season (112) than Saniya (85) or Stokes (80). Along those lines, TLAW has more points (13) than Ekmark (8), Nurse has more points (192) than Jefferson (185) and Tuck is outscoring KML (212 vs 187). Weird…?

3. Can’t get enough of Stewie being Stewie. She outscored SMU 15-9 in the 1st half. She finished w/ 19 pts, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals and 1 assists. Oh, and that was in 23 minutes..!!

4. While it is not unusual for a player have an “oh-fer”, SMU had five players shoot a combined 0-17. And two of them were starters. In the 2nd half, SMU went 6-31 for 19% accuracy. And that was their better half. In the 1st, they went 4-31 or 13%.

5. UConn blocked more shots (12) than SMU made baskets (10). UConn had twice the steals (12) than SMU had assists (6). The largest lead of the game was 65 points, before Geno mixed & matched his subs.

6. Saniya Chong quietly had her best game of the season. She shot 3-4 from the field w/ 2 threes and scored 8 points. She also grabbed 2 rebounds, had 2 assists and played better defense. Most importantly, in 21 minutes she handled the point and had 0 turnovers. Maybe this is a corner being turned…?

7. Gabby is now 3rd on the team in rebounds w/ 79. She has 25 offensive boards, 20 steals and 17 assists. Icebear will be passing the collection basket to raise funds for free throw lessons all this month…(sarcasm).

8. UConn now has 305 assists for the season. That is 20.3 per game & just below last year’s 21 per. Given the loss of the #2 & #3 assists leaders from last year, UConn is doing a great job sharing the ball.

9. Congrats to KML who broke the all-time 3 point record with her 319th & 320th of her career. Her accomplishment is even more special since it took just 118 games vs DT’s 144 games. She is the best shooter in college basketball…IMO.

Next up is Temple on Wednesday.
Go Huskies..!!

 

[cohenzone]

Gabby is the perfect definition of a stat sheet filler. She also is the perfect definition of a scorer as opposed to a shooter. It's why she reminds me of Swin Cash more than any other former player. I wish we knew why Geno used her so little against St. John's. She just looks like she belongs on the floor.

 

[EricLA]

Great post David and fun stats!!

 

[UcMiami]

Gabby is the perfect definition of a stat sheet filler. She also is the perfect definition of a scorer as opposed to a shooter. It's why she reminds me of Swin Cash more than any other former player. I wish we knew why Geno used her so little against St. John's. She just looks like she belongs on the floor.

I think defense and aggressiveness is the issue - she is still learning and sometimes she looks a little lost at both ends.

 

[cohenzone]

I think defense and aggressiveness is the issue - she is still learning and sometimes she looks a little lost at both ends.

Defense I can understand, but I'm not sure what you mean by aggressiveness. That's one trait she seems to have in abundance, at least on the offensive end and rebounding. She seems to be one of those athletes with very little wasted energy.

 

[DobbsRover2]

On number 6, Chong did have a nice game on the 3-4 shooting with 2 threes, and 0 turnovers, but there might still be some debate that it was better than when she put up 20 points on 8-13 on Stanford with 4-9 on threes, and four rebounds, though she did have a TO then to go with the 2 assists. But it's hard to figure that 8 points against a weak team is better than 20 against Stanford.

But yes, very nice stat packages all around.

 

[JoePgh]

Gabby is the perfect definition of a stat sheet filler. She also is the perfect definition of a scorer as opposed to a shooter. It's why she reminds me of Swin Cash more than any other former player. I wish we knew why Geno used her so little against St. John's. She just looks like she belongs on the floor.

I think it's almost certainly an issue with how she practiced before the game. If her practices were unfocused, he would "reward" that by not playing her. It looks as if the message was delivered and received.

He has said that her practice habits need improvement. Remember he made the comment about how in track you can sit around for half an hour, then perform for 5 minutes, and then sit around again, and still win the event. He suggested that she had to learn that approach doesn't carry over to basketball.

 

[DavidinNaples]

On number 6, Chong did have a nice game on the 3-4 shooting with 2 threes, and 0 turnovers, but there might still be some debate that it was better than when she put up 20 points on 8-13 on Stanford with 4-9 on threes, and four rebounds, though she did have a TO then to go with the 2 assists. But it's hard to figure that 8 points against a weak team is better than 20 against Stanford.

But yes, very nice stat packages all around.

I agree 20 pts is better than 8 pts... Her defense appeared to me to be better last night & I think she ran the point more... Maybe we can agree it was her best game SINCE the Stanford game...

 

[iri10]

Gabby is the perfect definition of a stat sheet filler. She also is the perfect definition of a scorer as opposed to a shooter. It's why she reminds me of Swin Cash more than any other former player. I wish we knew why Geno used her so little against St. John's. She just looks like she belongs on the floor.

None of the reserve guards got much time in the St. John's game. The most was Chong with a measly six minutes.

It could be for the usual stated reason - "dissatisfaction with practice performance." But I don't know; I feel that that reason is a sort of catch-all that doesn't always fully apply. It's a good justification for cutting someone's minutes, and who can refute it if they haven't been at all the practices themselves?

I have a hunch that there was a different reason in the St. John's game. I think that Geno prefers to leave his starters in until they have demonstrated that a) they have the game under control, and b) they are performing up to the standard that Geno expects of them.

Only in the St. John's game, they never quite reached that point - particularly part B. So he left them in to see if they'd actually satisfy him. And left them in. And left them in...and before you know it, it was garbage time.

 

[Intpseeker]

The magnificent seven at this point in the season: Mojeff, Kia, Stewie, Tuck, KML, Kiah, and Gabby. Almost any combo of these folks are going to simply overwhelm their opponents. In fact, some of the most beautiful, amazing in-the-flow team ball has been produced by them on a number of occasions. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to watch them perform and grow.

I still cannot imagine where they will be 7-8 weeks from now.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I agree 20 pts is better than 8 pts... Her defense appeared to me to be better last night & I think she ran the point more... Maybe we can agree it was her best game SINCE the Stanford game...

Oh definitely on that, and I think we can all agree many times over that every member of the team has progressed a few infinities on defense since the Stanford game (shudder and shake). When you can be seriously wondering if an opponent may be shut out for a half when you're 12 minutes into that half, that's a sign that defense is playing pretty well.

 

[UcMiami]

Defense I can understand, but I'm not sure what you mean by aggressiveness. That's one trait she seems to have in abundance, at least on the offensive end and rebounding. She seems to be one of those athletes with very little wasted energy.

Most of the time on offense I agree, but there have been a few games or 'stints' where she has not shown aggression on offense. I think her little cameo in the St. Johns game was one. And of course we never know the specific instructions being given and when they have been carried out or messed up. Gene doesn't6 often use a quick hook, but when he does it is usually for a screw up though we may not necessarily see it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I must confess posters I respect have left me totally confused!!! And we were all having such a post game love in. I'm going to go make a stiff pot of coffee and come back later.

Oh, wait, A Fish Called Wanda is on the telly! That will straighten me out straight away. Not to worry.

 

[Sonny44]

View attachment 8128

Ok, I lied. The only thing negative I have is UConn went 1-8 to start the SMU game and made only 60% of their free throws. Even SMU made 75% of their charity stripe attempts. Oh well, as long as you are here, enjoy the upbeat & positive statistics from the SMU game and season so far:

1. Two UConn players had double-doubles. Of course, one was MoJeff, who scored 11 points and dished out 10 assists in front of her home town crowd. She shot 4-8 (50%) in 25 minutes of play, but more importantly, had 0 turnovers. Who had the 2nd double-double? Not Stewie, not KML, not Tuck… Gabby Williams..!! In 21 minutes she scorched SMU for 12 points and 16 rebounds..!! Wow...!

2. Scoring from unexpected places… Gabby now has more points this season (112) than Saniya (85) or Stokes (80). Along those lines, TLAW has more points (13) than Ekmark (8), Nurse has more points (192) than Jefferson (185) and Tuck is outscoring KML (212 vs 187). Weird…?

3. Can’t get enough of Stewie being Stewie. She outscored SMU 15-9 in the 1st half. She finished w/ 19 pts, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals and 1 assists. Oh, and that was in 23 minutes..!!

4. While it is not unusual for a player have an “oh-fer”, SMU had five players shoot a combined 0-17. And two of them were starters. In the 2nd half, SMU went 6-31 for 19% accuracy. And that was their better half. In the 1st, they went 4-31 or 13%.

5. UConn blocked more shots (12) than SMU made baskets (10). UConn had twice the steals (12) than SMU had assists (6). The largest lead of the game was 65 points, before Geno mixed & matched his subs.

6. Saniya Chong quietly had her best game of the season. She shot 3-4 from the field w/ 2 threes and scored 8 points. She also grabbed 2 rebounds, had 2 assists and played better defense. Most importantly, in 21 minutes she handled the point and had 0 turnovers. Maybe this is a corner being turned…?

7. Gabby is now 3rd on the team in rebounds w/ 79. She has 25 offensive boards, 20 steals and 17 assists. Icebear will be passing the collection basket to raise funds for free throw lessons all this month…(sarcasm).

8. UConn now has 305 assists for the season. That is 20.3 per game & just below last year’s 21 per. Given the loss of the #2 & #3 assists leaders from last year, UConn is doing a great job sharing the ball.

9. Congrats to KML who broke the all-time 3 point record with her 319th & 320th of her career. Her accomplishment is even more special since it took just 118 games vs DT’s 144 games. She is the best shooter in college basketball…IMO.

Next up is Temple on Wednesday.
Go Huskies..!!

Speaking of free throw lessons, does anybody know if Gabby and Kia were this bad in HS? Or is it just a result of the higher pressure of the College game?

 

[HuskiesU]

Look at Geno smiling in the pic lol he loves Gabby

 

[Geno-ista]

I think defense and aggressiveness is the issue - she is still learning and sometimes she looks a little lost at both ends.

U r right- picking up players on defense, and during switches- she is in no where land occasionally. Flip side- she seams to be able to have a shot at every rebound and every loose ball no matter where she is on the court! As impressive as her leaping ability is, and it is, her hands just snare the ball from mid air. It's Fun watching this raw highly talented piece of coal becoming a gem!

 

[Geno-ista]

Speaking of free throw lessons, does anybody know if Gabby and Kia were this bad in HS? Or is it just a result of the higher pressure of the College game?

Yes

 

[JFC613]

U r right- picking up players on defense, and during switches- she is in no where land occasionally. Flip side- she seams to be able to have a shot at every rebound and every loose ball no matter where she is on the court! As impressive as her leaping ability is, and it is, her hands just snare the ball from mid air. It's Fun watching this raw highly talented piece of coal becoming a gem!

Agree! She completely amazes me. Coming off two knee surgeries and being asked to change positions could be the recipe for disaster for many star players. But Gabby is truly gifted. Sure, as a freshman and now one in a new roll she has certain development. But, my goodness, what a talent. Wait until March! Got to love her. I call her 'Grabby'!

 

[ed4ourgirls]

David - your stats not only show how good UConn is, but also that SMU is the pits.

I'm sorry that Cincinnati only gets to play SMU once this year. Jamelle could use a break.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Speaking of free throw lessons, does anybody know if Gabby and Kia were this bad in HS? Or is it just a result of the higher pressure of the College game?

Neither were great FT shooters in HS, but they are definitely capable of shooting them much better than they have this year. Kia's straightened her routine out a bit lately and her FT% has risen a bit in recent games, but Gabby is still bouncing them off the back of the rim.

The good news on Gabby is that her FG% of 66% is way way better than the 52% of her senior HS year, which helps to counter the fact that her 42% FT% is way worse than her 65% in HS. Also a little surprised that she hasn't shot a 3 since she used to shoot a few a game in HS, but she's seeing that taking it to the hoop at 66% is the better option.

 

[Buzzyboy]

On number 6, Chong did have a nice game on the 3-4 shooting with 2 threes, and 0 turnovers, but there might still be some debate that it was better than when she put up 20 points on 8-13 on Stanford with 4-9 on threes, and four rebounds, though she did have a TO then to go with the 2 assists. But it's hard to figure that 8 points against a weak team is better than 20 against Stanford.

But yes, very nice stat packages all around.

If you'll remember, Chong took a lot of hits in that Stanford game because of her defense or lack thereof that really was the difference in the game. Her defensive lapses kept Stanford in the game! Had Kia not fouled out along with Morgan, there's no way we lose that game. With Kia, we would have won easily in regulation. With Morgan gone, we had little chance in overtime because no one else was doing much on the offensive end, by that time.

 

[DobbsRover2]

If you'll remember, Chong took a lot of hits in that Stanford game because of her defense or lack thereof that really was the difference in the game. Her defensive lapses kept Stanford in the game! Had Kia not fouled out along with Morgan, there's no way we lose that game. With Kia, we would have won easily in regulation. With Morgan gone, we had little chance in overtime because no one else was doing much on the offensive end, by that time.

Before we start blaming Chong for everything again, couple of points:

1. Defense is a team thing among the seven players on the court that night, and the Huskies win or lose as a combined effort not because one player lets them down. It's a bit lame to be pinning the responsibility for it all on Chong. All the players shared in the onus, and hey, Chong's 1 steal and 4 rebounds equaled the combined totals for her fellow guards in that game.

2. Sorry, but FOing does not not get you off the hook for a loss. Quite simply, you screwed up if you allowed yourself to get eliminated from the action by committing too many fouls, you've let your team down, especially when you're coming off the bench. Geno does not smile and say "Good job" when a player commits two fouls in the first 5 minutes; he sits them down for the rest of the half. So to be hammering a player who did her job and stayed in the game while heaping on players who FOed the adulation of potential game-savers is ludicrous. Save us from the speculative crap because the two players weren't there at the end, period. Or maybe I should say something in the same vein by proclaiming that UConn would have lost by 20 there in regulation if Saniya had made 5 stupids early in the game.

3. Chong shot 61.5% in the game for her 20 points. The rest of the UConn team shot 35.7%, and no one else shot better than 44%. She was on fire and helped UConn to a lead with 4 threes that it was unable to hold. Much as you might not like it, 20 points is 20 points, and only she and Stewie who led the team with 23 points were both willing and able at that point to take the shots to put the Huskies out in front. Trying to sweep aside her big points and just pin the defeat on her for being out there at the end is just lame.

It's no wonder that a player's head can get messed up when even when she has a big-buckets game all the team's fans can say about her is that she blew the game for her team and just post carp-carp-carp messages about her in the following weeks.

 

[UcMiami]

Dobbs - good post.
Uconn's defense in that game was crap and singling out Chong on that score is disingenuous. Stanford was getting to past everyone at will. And as you say at least she showed up offensively.

 

[Geno-ista]

Neither were great FT shooters in HS, but they are definitely capable of shooting them much better than they have this year. Kia's straightened her routine out a bit lately and her FT% has risen a bit in recent games, but Gabby is still bouncing them off the back of the rim.

The good news on Gabby is that her FG% of 66% is way way better than the 52% of her senior HS year, which helps to counter the fact that her 42% FT% is way worse than her 65% in HS. Also a little surprised that she hasn't shot a 3 since she used to shoot a few a game in HS, but she's seeing that taking it to the hoop at 66% is the better option.

maybe even a larger reason for no 3 pt shots right now is that she rarely if ever has the ball outside or near the 3 pt line. High post has been the furthest from the hoop I have seen her with the ball or flashing. I think next year we will see her all over the place if her ball handling skills and grasp of our offense warrants it!