UCONN - UNC Post game thread

[freshler40]

Coach needs to play them still because that is how they will learn snd improve. Ice especially!

Well, were 10 games into the season and other games in Europe. If we include the many days of practice, the coaches have had a good look at all players. Ice, Patterson and Ducharme are keys to a rosy future. Chemistry is the real mystery here. The many different line-ups are still being evaluated. Things are being sorted out. This game, against a ranked team, showed a lot of progress. We are competitive. Most teams won't want to play us!

 

[and one]

I don't see Ice as a big in any way. She plays around the perimeter and her game is outside shooting. She also looked like she was extremely tired when she was running the floor, maybe she isn't 100% just yet.

It is a fact that Ice isn't a true post player. She isn't a "big'" but she is bigger than any of the other options available this year to pair with AE. And no, Amari is not another option. And even she isn't an inside banger anyway. As I see it, Ice doesn't seem ready to be a scorer so giving her more minutes can only work if her defense more than offsets the reduction in scoring. I don't think that is the case now. Maybe she will bloom as the season progresses. I hope so but have serious doubts that will happen. I'm more confident that in a year or so she'll be a capable 3 or 4.

 

[PacoSwede]

Paige- Vintage, smooth as silk, can score at will if she wanted to.
...

Ice- Still waiting. She still seems stiff out there, eerily reminded me of Amari with her positioning and lack of movement. We need her to break out for us to move ahead. ....

i've gotta think a lot of this has to be related to the coaches' scheme. ....
saw a lot of this from liv -- and dorka and liya, and stef etc, etc

geno kind of seems attached to the high post being a key player for the half-court offense, and it often is a winning strategy. i think it also can hurt a post's aggressiveness -- ypu don't maintain a 'take it to 'em' mindset when you're focused on being a facilitator, and it shows.

so, fans continually criticize them as being unwilling to 'mix it up' down low. i feel sorry for them, cause they are just playing as the coach desires.

 

[Plebe]

what year was it that Taurasi basically carried the team on her back for the entire season

You're probably thinking of 2004 (although she also carried us in 2003) but people don't give enough credit to the quality of the supporting cast.

In 2003-04 Taurasi averaged 16 points and 5 assists per game. Turner and Strother both averaged double-figure scoring, and Moore was just under 10 ppg. Taurasi was the one true star of the team, but what made it a championship team was that she got everyone involved and UConn was not one-dimensional.

 

[Crossover]

I thoroughly disagree-those errant passes to Ash were totally Nika's fault. You don't anticipate where a teammate is going to be unless it is a set play. All other tines, you make sure that your teammate is open and ready to receive your pass before passing it to her.

As a senior PG, Nika should know this--good thing she hit her 3s because her defense and breaking down the press was not good at all. The NC guards were singing Linda Ronstadt all night to Nika: "Blue Bayou".

Ash was wide open. Her body was ready to receive the passes in question; her mind was not. I'm not throwing Shade on Shade. This is how you learn how to be ready at all times. Kinda like the season of Advent.

 

[Longtime fan]

It seems that N. Carolina has the same problem that we have, no players. NC only played 5 players that scored. But, a win is a win. Ashlynn and KK are still carrying their weight as starters and Paige looked like the Paige in her freshman year. Aaliyah was solid as always and Nika was a scorer Audrey was a contributor also. The defense was good enough to make this win possible. We will get even better and the wins will come.Geno is learning what he has as a team and is now processing his strategy for the season. With his brilliant mind I am sure he will get the max that this team can bring to the table. GO GO GO HUSKIES!!!!

Yes, but we can't go very far with 6 players contributing. We need 8.

 

[BBallF]

Worst officiated game I've seen in years. Out of bounds calls had to be corrected, fouls were called on the wrong players and had to be corrected, obvious fouls weren't called, or called the wrong way. Completely inconsistant.

The problem is that I feel that way almost every game I see. The refs in the women's game are downright awful with the best evidence of that being last year's NC game with 3 refs that were completely out of their depth and let the pressure and magnitude of the game get to them. It was as though the game was about them. It was embarrassing. I keep on saying it. Someone is going to get hurt and the NCAA ( should be NICAA with the "I" for Invisible) has been on notice of the creeping physicality in the women's game for a long time.

 

[Gus Mahler]

I want to know, did it seem to anyone else that the male referee was watching a different game, especially in the first half?

Hey man, why the long face?

 

[freshler40]

Great needed win. Paige was once again more Paige like. The other players are beginning to learn what they need to be doing when Paige is in the lineup. Most obvious was right after a fantastic block by page where no teammate made any attempt to get the ball she gave them that Paige look that tells them to get it in gear. I loved that. Leadership.

The passes that hit players not looking for the ball has been an issue for a while. It is rare that a pass is made to a cutting player mainly because they often are cutting for no purpose except perhaps to get somewhere else. Cutters are not looking for the ball and are not obviously calling for it. So at this point cutters are being mostly ignored. Needs to change.

This team is beginning to gel with the 6 players getting the most time. Q will get more time once she gets a better defense handle. Ice, like most bigs, will need a bit more time.Ash is the most ready of the rookies and KK is learning fast. This team will be very good.

Most of our cutters aren't looking for the ball, just trying to get the other side. Ducharme, as a freshmen, was great at looking for the ball and posting up. Paige did it several times yesterday with great success and was fed by Nika . It worked but only because of major effort to gather the pass by Paige. We need a big to pick or pick and roll at the top of the key. I don't see that happening much with a small line-up. The current starters are having to create their own shots and that is hard to do against the better players in today's game. Despite all this, our effort was intense for the entire game and the game was played to a solid coaches' plan. Go Huskies.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm more confident that in a year or so she'll be a capable 3 or 4.

Ice is a 4/5. Never gonna be a 3.

 

[Blond D.]

Joe, I agree completely. The 2 Nika to Shade passes were turnovers attributed to Nika, and rightly so. But to be on offense and not know where the ball is and where it's going is inexcusable, especially on a fast break. I think Shade will take a lot of heat for that in the film session. Nika not so much. Going forward I bet Shade will always know what the ball is doing. She's too good to not to know.

Those passes were actually Shades fault. Do you think Aubrey, Aaliyah or Paige would have not been looking if they were down court and open. Its a freshman mistake and I'm sure Geno will be pointing that out.

 

[Blond D.]

Another example of UNC's physicality was the elbow by Ultbsy (spelling? Jersey #1) giving Aaliyah an aggressive
elbow to the ribs in the second half sending Aalilyah to the floor. I looked for it on my second viewing of the game
tape. When I saw / heard the comment from Rebecca I rewound the tape and followed Aaliyah, the uncalled "foul"
was " away from the ball " so, unless you LOOKED for it, it was another example of the hidden BATTLE IN THE PAINT!!
Then again, remember that bloody nose that Aaliyah got in the first half. Aaliyah is one tough Canadian Husky!

Yeah, I checked that out myself and couldn't believe no ref saw it. That was a blatant foul.
Nika got a couple of those herself (one resulted in a scratch on her face) Nika was battling the bigs as was Paige and both were getting beat up pretty bad but also gave as good as they got.

 

[Centerstream]

Hey man, why the long face?

Because it looks like my previous avatar is OOC for a while.
Thanks for asking.

 

[Urshurak]

Check the facts (box score) before you make statements like that. UNC won the battle of second-chance points by just 16-11.

It's easy to react emotionally to one or two possessions (and I confess that I thought the same thing as I watched the game live), but for the game as a whole, second-chance points were not a major factor -- especially not as compared to UConn's 21-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

My point is it will be a factor later on, like against SC. And they DID lose the battle. My statement fits in with the facts just fine.