UCONN-Texas Post Game Thread | Page 4 | The Boneyard

UCONN-Texas Post Game Thread

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Longtime fan said:
There was also a phantom call on a fine defensive play by Ash Shade. Instead of a turnover, in a then 6 point game, it gives Texas two free throws. Refs seem to think there is no such thing as an excellent defensive play. There " must" have been a foul...so they call one. It is a disgrace. We did play better with Paige on the bench. How odd is that? But it kind of forced the team to play and score without her. Now we need them to play and score with her. Edwards gets more credit in this game than due, I think. Yes, she had a high point total. But she also clanked free throws and turned the ball over more than usual. Geno is simply going to have to live with Brady and her foibles. She hasn't played in two years, and never against this competition. Liked what I saw ( little though it was ) of Ash, Q and KK. Muhl looks like she has already played a full season. And I agree about Aubrey. The occasional rebound is not going to cut it. But where can we turn?

When we suddenly look like an "all world" team against Ball State, let's remember UCLA, NC State and Texas. It is going to be difficult to exponentially improve in the Big East, where there is only occasional competition. But we need to do that. And we need bigger, faster, stronger athletes. Paige is on the floor after every drive to the basket. Every one.

Away games are tough to watch, especially when they are over in the first 4 minutes. And that was the case today. Sure, give some credit for fighting back. That used to be how the other teams comforted themselves. Now we take whatever scrap of optimism we can.
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Ashlynn and all the first-year players (include ICE there) played with a lot of heart.... Things will improve with the
ongoing experience of playing... game after game!
 
Official box

BC99BD59-1EDB-4B8E-877D-75DD960AEEBF.jpeg
 
No fan is ever happy with a loss, but perspective is needed. Yes, UConn was outclassed today by Texas, and the same thing happened against UCLA & NC St. All are unbeaten, and Texas looks like a top 5 team with talent & depth. So that is 3 losses against teams that are better than UConn at this point in time. Injuries aside, this team is in a state of flux, and they are trying to carve out an identity against high quality teams on the road. That's not a recipe for success.

The freshmen will play a huge part if this team is to be successful down the road. There's talent there, but it needs seasoning. While they have their highs and lows, someone has to be a consistent presence, night in and out.

I am usually ecstatic to watch any game Paige is playing, and I never wish to be critical of her. However, I can't remember when I was so frustrated at watching her play. As somebody mentioned, UConn was already down 15-3 before she took her first shot. In a matchup like this game, and on this team, Paige has to take 20 shots. So far this season, she has either looked to take it to the hole or launch a three. Her midrange pull-up jumper has been AWOL. I don't understand why that part of her game is not being utilized.

Like the UCLA game, Paige waited until UConn was down 15 or more before she asserted herself. There's a lack of firepower in the starting five, but if she wants to get her teammates more involved, the best way is for her to get going, which allows the game to come to them. Today, it was apparent that Ice Brady wanted to get off to a good start. Paige was far more assertive as a freshman than she is now in her 4th year. Taking 11 shots in a top 10 road game is not worthy of an All-American type player.

The positive takeaway from this game is the fight shown in the 4th quarter. KK, Shade & Samuels each made their contributions during the run and hopefully, they'll carry this momentum forward.
 
Boreifs said:
Giving her a minute won’t add speed to her game. Whether it is a result of her injury or not, she is very slow compared to her teammates.
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Never was anything but slow, she doesn't always hustle back on defense so the rest of the team has to scramble. Aubrey during most games both on offense and defense does things that causes the team to scramble.
 
donalddoowop said:
The ting that concerned was the look Amari had on her face the last few seconds of the game. Same with Brady. The last player I saw with a look similar to that was Brianna Banks in her sophomore year and she played on a NC team. The player who needs to put on the floor and let her play through her mistakes is Amari. UConn is lacking height and have a 6'5" Junior sitting on the bench. I would think she came to UConn thinking the coaches would help her improve her talent level. That has not happened. Although she scored well today, how does a player go from a third team AA to playing like Edwards has been playing this season?
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I noticed the look on her face too, it wasn't the happy expression she normally has. I thought it was eery
 
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SLY63 said:
Random Thoughts...

  • Early in the game we gave up way too many open looks. Don't know where our D went.
  • There is a pattern of teams punching us to start the game and us folding.
  • I think it is time to start/play the freshman. Aubrey 0-2, 6 Reb, 4 TOs. I'd like to see KK, Shade, Ice Paige and AE
  • So many unforced TOs, terrible entry passes. Ice 5 TOs
  • Texas had 24 more shots than us !!!!!!
  • We might end the year without a top 20 win given how weak the BE is. I see us as a 4 seed which makes the road to the Final 4 much more difficult.
  • This will be controversial, but I think the game is getting past Geno. The type of players we recruit and the in-game coaching. The game is getting much more athletic shot-makers vs disciplined offense
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Regarding the controversial part I think it’s fair to say that a team with a national
Player of the year a 3rd team all american
A 4th and 5th year player and 3top ten recruits
Is not lacking in talent -and imho is not playing
To their level of talent
For me, losing to UCLA and on the road to Texas is not at all unexpected but it’s the way they lost where they were barely competitive is
Imho the eye test does not show a well coached
Team
I suppose one can say it’s either the injuries or
Coaching for me it’s the seniors not playing
Consistently well due to the cumulative affect
Of 3 years of injuries and the weight of expectations of UConn wbb
 
Looking at the box score, AG needs to be getting some of those buckets.
 
npignatjr said:
As even Rebecca noted Harmon made some shots over great Nika defense, Nika also was guarding late in the game undersized and did good. Aubrey is neither good offense or consistent good defense, so she gets pulled and sits
In 2023 best coaching staff is a stretch. 20 years ago.
Late in game still close Gonzalez takes a dive as Nika is making a 3. Geno nothing.
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Hoping Geno would have contested some of the odd calls but that didn't happen.
 
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A few things . Texas had more weapons on the floor then UConn had on the floor. Our weapons were on the bench. We are and will be going through growing pains for a while. We did not play with poise today. We did not look for our shot until Paige sat down and Q came in. When Q came in she hit 2 shots and KK got things going. We erased the big Texas lead to 6 pts. Then some no calls and some ticky tac calls and no comment on those other then me mentioning them. As far as nic pickin Geno and the coaches. Well Geno and Chris have won 11 NC and set all kinds of records. Although some posters seem to think Geno has to change and he may have to adjust he would not be in this situation if we were healthy for the past 3 seasons. UConn has been hurt by injuries for 3 seasons. Thats alot.

So in todays game as bad as we looked we came back to be 6 pts down then .....well we have our own opinions on what happened in the last 2 minutes. The point is we came back and we looked good and Paige was on the bench. Texas focus today was to shut Paige down and they did and we didnt have any body who could step up and make a shot because our weapons were on the bench. She couldnt get her shot and was paralyzed with 2 defenders on her bottling her up. Texas knew knew that and they knew we had nobody to step up. If Azzi Caroline and maybe Jana were healthy they wouldnt be able to do that. When Paige came out and Q came in and hit a couple of shots everybody else got going. Texas wasnt ready for that. When UConn went on their run Texas didnt know how to respond. Maybe a little to late in the game for UConn and some late home cooking helped too. BTW no sour grapes here its what happened. however I feel when Edwards went down and no call well....... some of you will say stop cryin however it is what it is. With Paige out others stepped up.

The rest of the season will be a learning and growing lesson. We don t have our weapons. We will have to learn to live with it. This is not the team we thought we were going to have early on.

A couple of things about not getting the recruits. We have Paige Azzi and Caroline. I thought we would be in the FF every year and win at least 1 or 2 NC with them . Recruits dont want to sit the bench behind them so they go elsewhere. Another point is Geno is getting up there in age and the first question any recruit has is will Geno be there to coach me for 4 years. Depending on the answer and you can figure that one out some kids go elsewhere.

Bottom line on paper we are the number 1 or 2 team in the country. On the floor were not. Next year? Well we will see who we can put on the floor and who is healthy and effective. Dont pass blame on the players or coaches or the recruiting process. Just look at our roster and we've got it all except health.
 
What a game! Hats off to Texas. They played well and Booker is going to play a huge part for Texas as they march towards Big 12 dominance and NCAA play. She is really good. They just were the better team out there today. As for our beloved Huskies. I thought they played their hearts out. I am riding with this team no matter what. They gave max effort and did not give up. The Freshies are going to be nice. They are only going to get better by just playing and playing through their mistakes and don't give up.
 
It could be worse. UConn lost on the road to a top 10 team by 12, 8 really because they gave up 4 points on freebie free throws by fouling to stop the clock. #3 Stanford lost to unranked Gonzaga at home, 78-96.

Stanford is the 12th top 10 team to suffer a loss this season
 
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A lineup I’d be interested in seeing would be KK, Paige, Quadence, Aaliyah, and Ice. Not sure how it would look but I’m curious.

Give us height, outside shooting, and some guard speed. At this point, wouldn’t hurt to try it for a couple minutes of run time.
 
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Conndog said:
Ice should resist taking the 3 pointers for now too
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I actually think just the opposite for this team to get better Someone has to be able to shoot especially the big players, such as they are teams are conceding to follow my jumpshot to our big players, which is making the impossible for the motion of things to get any back door, cuts, or anything inside unfortunately, ice has not Shotwell
This looks good and the coaches she’s a very good shooter
Right now ice is struggling to adjust to the speed of the college game. And playing against players just has big as she is and not rebounding very well
She will need to figure out how to use her size and
Strength to make up for lack of quickness
 
I thought they begun to play as a team today. I like there starting lineup, and it needs to be with Ice with the taller teams. Ice had the freshman jitters and will relax soon or later. Against a smaller teams, yes for KK. Although KK played a lot of minutes today. KK is a little tentative and again will relax as well. - Thinking their biggest issue is still smarting from Azzi's injury.
 
donalddoowop said:
The ting that concerned was the look Amari had on her face the last few seconds of the game. Same with Brady. The last player I saw with a look similar to that was Brianna Banks in her sophomore year and she played on a NC team. The player who needs to put on the floor and let her play through her mistakes is Amari. UConn is lacking height and have a 6'5" Junior sitting on the bench. I would think she came to UConn thinking the coaches would help her improve her talent level. That has not happened. Although she scored well today, how does a player go from a third team AA to playing like Edwards has been playing this season?
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Te edwards perhaps her play hasn’t been as strong this year since she went from playing with a six 550 year senior, who started on a WNBA team this year to my freshman is 6 foot three and that’s generous coming off a knee injury
Regarding Amari, I would say just go back and rewatch. The games is played in.
 
UConn has fallen to three top 10 or better teams, two of the on the road and the third on a neutral site. They are a team that has to get used to new players because of injuries that have sidelined starters and some other key players. They haven't lost to teams like Gonzaga, Chattanooga, Southern Mississippi or Arkansas who were all unranked teams that beat Stanford, Mississippi State, Mississippi, and Florida State over the last few days.
 
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I'm sure I am repeating what some other have said, but it's just disappointing to see a team that had so much promise struggle like this. The bright lights to me were Edwards playing up to her junior-year standards, and the freshmen, especially Samuels. Brady made freshman mistakes, but there seems to be a ton of upside with her.

What's most disturbing to me is the defense. Okay, Texas has that player who went off for basket after basket. If that's how she plays all the time, she's got a good chance for NPOY. But too many times, they had offensive schemes that just seems to freeze UConn players in place. That has never been the case at UConn and now, it just makes the team look, well, ordinary.

I'm reminded of last year, when Ohio State arrived with a reputation of being great on defense, and UConn found out what those words meant. The Texas defense was damn good today, and this iteration of Huskies basketball has few answers except to go to Paige and Edwards. Do they not ever run plays? This team offers very few backdoor cuts., and rarely is in a position to make the extra pass to an open player.

They'll do well in the Big East this year (maybe run the table) and unless their seeding is an unlucky one, will get to the Sweet 16. Unless they improve a lot between now and then, anything after that is gravy.
 
Blond D. said:
Nika can shoot and Nika can dribble and Nika can pass the ball as well as anyone. The problem is no one gets open under or anywhere close so she has to clear it out again. Nika wasn't open all that much either.
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True she can dribble and pass but with this current
Line up she needs to get by people finish at the rim
Or kick out unfortunately, that’s not your strength
 
ucbart said:
Nobody wants to hear this, but this offense won't get better until Nika sits. For a player who is so easy to defend, she has the ball in her hands too much. I say start the freshman, Paige, AE, and play for March.
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They need Nina's stability. I thought she played alright today, with the acceptation of that foul in the final minutes. - Their biggest issue is confidence and team chemistry and Paige has to lead at the right time.
 
AzzisBraids said:
There were some good components. Edwards really gave her best effort, the Freshman changed the game for the better and gave it their all and there were some very questionable officiating moments against the Huskies.

There are so many issues to clean up though: Boxing out and actually putting a body on their players without falling over, this team passed like they haven't played with one another ever, timeouts were not effectively utilized early on, rotations and substitutions were questionable at best, Ice Brady looks more freshman than the freshman and they put a defensive forcefield around Paige Bueckers and she could not battle out of it at this point in the season.

UConn has always had trouble with small guards and Harmon did most of her damage in the first half. Tough loss but this team is soul searching so we should temper our expectations until they figure this out.
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I agree with you as far as Soul searching...Alhough I felt today they had found it at times. Instead of being Paige and everyone else.
 
Rb335 said:
A lineup I’d be interested in seeing would be KK, Paige, Quadence, Aaliyah, and Ice. Not sure how it would look but I’m curious.

Give us height, outside shooting, and some guard speed. At this point, wouldn’t hurt to try it for a couple minutes of run time
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msf22b said:
I saw things I liked...not taking about fight...but at this stage, UConn just didn't have the horses to compete against a bigger, more athletic, better scoring, more experienced team....as I had prognosticated.

All the coaching in the world is not going to make that much of a difference against significantly more gifted teams...

I was delighted that the freshman made a run with Paige on the bench...Its a formula that Geno should consider.

It would have been an interesting game with a healthy Azzi and Caroline but that's dreaming...We are what we are.

This season is going to be a completely different experience for those that grew up in the Moore/Stewie eras. There will be losses, we may even drop out of the rankings.

I expect the team to improve, perhaps a lot...but the person I'm interested in watching during this difficult
period is Geno...and how he handles adversity...It's new experience for him as much as the fanbase.
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Agree with last thought
Very hard in your 39th year after all the sucess
With the expectation of being one of the top contenders for the championship to realize it’s a long shot
As u said it will be interesting
 
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