UCONN vs. Texas - the good, bad and ugly

[jonson]

Maybe now they believe it. There are several teams with the talent to beat UCONN. In addition to ND and Texas, there is U of So Caro, Miss St, Baylor, Louisville, and , yeah, even Tenn. Oh! Maybe a rough playing Missouri on a night when the refs swallow their whistles. See Dawn Staley about that. I hope Geno is sincere about developing another rotation player or two. It is time for positive reinforcement of the frershmen. When he believes he does not need the frosh the development does not seem to be there like when he has no choice but to play a frosh or two who benefit greatly from the game more than 2-4 minutes per game. Would Dangerfield be a starter this year if Geno didn't have to play her. See these freshmen years - Gabby 16 mpg, Kia 25 mpg, Lou 24 mpg, and Phee 17 mpg. Were they better than Walker, Coombs, and Gordon? Yeah, may be because they played meaningful minutes. When Walker gets to play more than 10 min. she seems to do well. Give Coombs a shot. Maybe Gordon isn't that bad. Referencing Ekmark not playing her senior year of high school, I remember Geno saying nothing takes the place of playing games. So let the frosh play games. There is no excuse since UCONN now plays the 11 weak sisters of the AAC. There is plenty of playing time. Maybe AEH leaving will shake things up a bit. Maybe CD, Shea, and Marisa can get him to relent and ease up. The NCAA comes around quickly. Six player rotation didn't do it last year and I don't believe it will do it this year. Even the Marines know you built a kid up after tearing him down. You don't continue to tear down. The heretic has spoken.

I have to say that. although I mostly count myself among the faithful, in this case heresy seems to have a lot going for it. Geno stated on TV at the end of this game that he needs to get more from his bench. That's obvious, and to me should go without saying. But what's puzzling (to me, anyway) is his reluctance to help make that possible by giving his freshman (and Irwin) some substantial minutes from the get go in the very large number of one-sided games UCONN has played, and will play, this year. The numbers listed above seem to me particularly telling. If playing in actual games is essential to player development, then play them.

Full disclosure: I'm first of all an Oregon homer (with UCONN a close second), but, after watching every game played by both teams this year and last, I have to say that imo Graves does a much better job developing freshman that, in the case of this year and with the exception of Satou Sabilly, are less talented than Combs and Gordon, and never make anyone's list as the "best of x" as did Walker. And he does that by giving them minutes throughout every game (about 20 for Sabilly, 12 for Maley, and almost 10 for Aiuso). Do they make a lot of stupid mistakes? You bet. Are they inconsistent? Ditto. But they also get better, and that in turn makes Sabilly and Maley especially able to contribute in close/tough games, as well as in blow outs. Of course, part of this likely has to do with the makeup of both rosters: there aren't 4 or 5 (or more) potential all-Americans on the Ducks. But I don't think that's the whole story, and it's the one area--maybe the only one--in which Geno might rethink how he manages minutes.

 

[hoophuskee]

I would not say anyone can easily beat us. It took MSST a war in OT on last shot to win. Perhaps they have shown its possible, but no would not give more than a couple teams that.... Louisville is going to be real real interesting.

We got Louisville at home. I expect this Texas game to be our toughest leading into the NCAA's. I thought the game was well played by both teams.

 

[Carnac]

I'm reading about a lot of poster's concerns regarding Geno developing his bench. Today is January 15. There is still a month and a half to develop several of his reserves. Tonight was NOT the kind of game you want to use bench players that he feels are not ready for this level of play, and he doesn't trust yet. I knew before the game started that other than Stevens, and maybe Walker, none of the rest of them would play. Also it's possible that none of them have earned playing time in this type (ranked opponent) of game.

The game was tight all night for UConn with their best players on the floor. Right now, there's a drop off in talent (except for Stevens) when a reserve comes in. Geno played it exactly right. He kept his best players on the court at all times, which is what he had to do if he wanted to win the game. What Aston did with her squad had nothing to do with what Geno had to do, or should have done with his.

He never manages his team (bench) based by how his opponent subs. Syracuse subs in 5 at a time on occasion. Would you expect Geno to do that if they played each other? To suggest he do that is folly. There is still plenty of time left for player development before the end of season tournaments begin. I'm confident that Geno will have 1-2 reserves ready to play come March.

 

[Wbbfan1]

The starters need their minutes regardless if its a blow out or not. If Geno and the coaching staff want his team to be the best conditioned team come tournament time, the starters need to play major minutes in every game. Since most UConn games end up being easy wins, the starters start to go to the bench two or three minutes into the fourth quarter. Starters aren't on the floor with four minutes left in the game unless the team is playing a Top 10 team. Geno has tried to integrate Megan and lately Mikayla with the starters and the results have been mixed. Megan had a couple of good games and then for whatever reason disappeared in many of the other games. Mikayla has gotten minutes lately so we'll see how that turns out. Kyla has gotten minutes with the starters and her level of play is directly proportional to caliber of team UConn is playing. She knows what needs to happen on both ends of the court. However she's not the most athletic or instinctive player and that limits her minutes against Elite teams unless its a blow out.

 

[SVCBeercats]

This was a "progress report card" game that Geno and staff used to gauge the progress of the team. They passed. No team in the AAC could have provided this kind of match up. It's hard to win on the road, especially against a team that has had this date circled on the calendar since September. UConn was the biggest game on their schedule, and the Longhorns rose to the challenge.

On a pass/fail basis they passed, barely. On a grade basis this was not an "A" game, maybe not a "B" game either. Maybe worse? Texas has been improving, a lot. Has UCONN remained status quo? Both have improved? Texas improved by more?

UCONN beats Texas by this many points:
2014-15 +51
2015-16 +21
2016-17 +18
2017-18 +4
2018-19 +/- ?????

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I just watched the game this morning. Texas got everything they could out of this game. Their pace. CT defense sagged and steals disappeared, again playing into Texas pace and allowing their bigs to keep up and be effective at both ends. CT shooting was off and it wasn't because they couldn't get the shoots; just off. Hell, uncontested lay ups wouldn't fall. Fourth foul on Collier - I didn't think so. Tenacious, gutsy win. Is a Nat'l Championship a sure thing ... of course not.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

That's right, cause that's where we beat Texas at, the foul line. UConn was 17 of 19, they were 8 of 14. = +9 points for UConn.
What if UConn's conference games were all like this?

It would be great.

 

[HopJim]

I just watched the game this morning. Texas got everything they could out of this game. Their pace. CT defense sagged and steals disappeared, again playing into Texas pace and allowing their bigs to keep up and be effective at both ends. CT shooting was off and it wasn't because they couldn't get the shoots; just off. Hell, uncontested lay ups wouldn't fall. Fourth foul on Collier - I didn't think so. Tenacious, gutsy win. Is a Nat'l Championship a sure thing ... of course not.

Maybe I missed it, but surprised little feedback on the great strategy by Texas coach. If her team didn't go 1-13 on 3's, miss several key free throws, and miss several 5' shoots in last 5 minutes they had the game. Brilliant job exposing where UConn is vulnerable.

 

[Bliss]

I'm impressed with the play of Megan and see lots of talent there. If I'm the coach I give her minutes every game, including last night against TX.

 

[Blaneylover]

The best thing to take away from last night's game is that they faced some adversity and pulled out a very tight game in a hostile environment. Good teams have to find a way to win when they aren't playing their best. Last night, that's what they did. Going forward, HCGA has to begin to trust a player or two beyond the top 6. He acknowledged that in the post-game interview. The balance of the conference schedule should give him plenty of opportunities to do that.

I am hopeful that we see a revitalized MW. Her development is essential.

 

[Willie E.Gold]

Congratulations on the win. Shoutout to those who realize the coaches know what they are doing.

 

[Carnac]

The starters need their minutes regardless if its a blow out or not. If Geno and the coaching staff want his team to be the best conditioned team come tournament time, the starters need to play major minutes in every game. Since most UConn games end up being easy wins, the starters start to go to the bench two or three minutes into the fourth quarter. Starters aren't on the floor with four minutes left in the game unless the team is playing a Top 10 team. Geno has tried to integrate Megan and lately Mikayla with the starters and the results have been mixed. Megan had a couple of good games and then for whatever reason disappeared in many of the other games. Mikayla has gotten minutes lately so we'll see how that turns out. Kyla has gotten minutes with the starters and her level of play is directly proportional to caliber of team UConn is playing. She knows what needs to happen on both ends of the court. However she's not the most athletic or instinctive player and that limits her minutes against Elite teams unless its a blow out.

An excellent observation wwbfan1!! I'll take it one step further. The starters need their minutes, but hey also need minutes against "quality" opponents such as the Texas Longhorns. Last night, UConn's starters got valuable exposure from Texas (their style of play and level of intensity) that they didn't get from Houston, and they won't get from Tulsa on Thursday. Iron sharpens iron. You can't get an accurate assessment of your team, nor can you prepare for the level of play you are going to encounter in the tournament by playing mid-majors, or lesser talented teams. There are some extremely "soft" conference opponents coming up on UConn's schedule. These games will afford Geno the opportunity to give his reserves e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d minutes before season's end.

So when you say"The starters need their minutes regardless if its a blow out or not", you are absolutely correct. There are different types of minutes. Ten minutes against Winthrop (1-14) is not the same as 10 minutes against Louisville (19-0). There are only two more of opponents at this level left on the Huskies' schedule, @ #10 South Carolina (Feb 1) and #2 Louisville (in Gampel) (Feb 12). Both of these teams will bring it, and give the Huskies all they can handle. Again, be reminded that UConn is the biggest game on their schedule. Will Geno try and work one or two of his bench players in these games? We'll see.

 

[Gus Mahler]

The starters need their minutes regardless if its a blow out or not. If Geno and the coaching staff want his team to be the best conditioned team come tournament time, the starters need to play major minutes in every game. Since most UConn games end up being easy wins, the starters start to go to the bench two or three minutes into the fourth quarter. Starters aren't on the floor with four minutes left in the game unless the team is playing a Top 10 team. Geno has tried to integrate Megan and lately Mikayla with the starters and the results have been mixed. Megan had a couple of good games and then for whatever reason disappeared in many of the other games. Mikayla has gotten minutes lately so we'll see how that turns out. Kyla has gotten minutes with the starters and her level of play is directly proportional to caliber of team UConn is playing. She knows what needs to happen on both ends of the court. However she's not the most athletic or instinctive player and that limits her minutes against Elite teams unless its a blow out.

I agree with most of what you're saying, except for the conditioning part. I think he's playing his Big Six a lot because Job 1 is to develop chemistry, cohesion, and for syncing them up. The conditioning comes from practice.

 

[Carnac]

I have to say that. although I mostly count myself among the faithful, in this case heresy seems to have a lot going for it. Geno stated on TV at the end of this game that he needs to get more from his bench. That's obvious, and to me should go without saying. But what's puzzling (to me, anyway) is his reluctance to help make that possible by giving his freshman (and Irwin) some substantial minutes from the get go in the very large number of one-sided games UCONN has played, and will play, this year. The numbers listed above seem to me particularly telling. If playing in actual games is essential to player development, then play them.

Full disclosure: I'm first of all an Oregon homer (with UCONN a close second), but, after watching every game played by both teams this year and last, I have to say that imo Graves does a much better job developing freshman that, in the case of this year and with the exception of Satou Sabilly, are less talented than Combs and Gordon, and never make anyone's list as the "best of x" as did Walker. And he does that by giving them minutes throughout every game (about 20 for Sabilly, 12 for Maley, and almost 10 for Aiuso). Do they make a lot of stupid mistakes? You bet. Are they inconsistent? Ditto. But they also get better, and that in turn makes Sabilly and Maley especially able to contribute in close/tough games, as well as in blow outs. Of course, part of this likely has to do with the makeup of both rosters: there aren't 4 or 5 (or more) potential all-Americans on the Ducks. But I don't think that's the whole story, and it's the one area--maybe the only one--in which Geno might rethink how he manages minutes.

Thanks for your comments, and welcome to the yard. It's always nice to hear from, and get input from fans of other programs. I want to respond to your take that Graves does a better job of developing freshmen than Geno. I'm going to surprise you by NOT suggesting that you are wrong, no sir. I'm going to suggest that the reason it may appear that Geno's freshmen take longer to "get it", because of philosophical differences in their approach to coaching.

1. UConn's system is different than Graves' - How much different? All players including freshmen must earn their playing time at UConn. Playing time has NEVER been given in his program. That is probably not the case in most other programs. Geno's system is so complex, that it takes most freshmen a year before they understand it completely, and can function in it to Geno's satisfaction.

It appears (from the outside looking in) that Graves gives his freshmen playing time because they're there, regardless of how far along they are in learning and mastering his system. A great number of coaches do it that way. At UConn, a player has to demonstrate in practice that they know the system, and can play with the starting unit with little or no drop off in production on either end of the court before they earn Geno's trust. Once that trust is earned, you move down toward the other end of the bench, and you play.

Don't forget the "rumor" that Geno's practices are much harder than their games. In Geno's practices, the reserves learn faster than they would in a game. They learn to play in practice, and corroborate learning those lessons in games. I'm not suggesting that Graves way is wrong, just that it's different.

2. The expectation is different - The goal of all coaches every year is to win the national championship, but I think you'll agree (and meaning no disrespect here) that Geno's expectations are a bit more realistic then Graves'. You're familiar with UConn's recent record is of winning 4 championships over the last 5 years. The expectation for UConn to get to the final four is 100 times greater than it is for Oregon. In Graves' mind, he hopes to get there. In Geno's mind, he expects to get there.

3. Geno has time - There is never a rush to get freshmen into a game. Geno usually has a starting line up that's almost impossible for a freshman to crack. That dynamic may not be the case in other programs i.e., Tennessee (Evina Westbrook) and Texas A&M (Chennedy Carter) etc. As good as both of them have proven to be up to this point, neither of them would be starters at UConn. Geno does not need them to start. He does not bring in freshmen with the thought of starting them right away.

“Sometimes people just aren't ready,” Auriemma said. “It’s not easy to play at Connecticut. You don’t just walk in at Connecticut and you’re a national player of the year and you can walk in and you’re a freshman and we just go, ‘Hey, you deserve to play a lot. You were national player of the year.’ That don’t mean crap at our place. You’ve got to come in every day and you’ve got to earn it. And if you don’t, you’re not going to play."

Mikayla Coombs: “I feel like when the season started we really struggled as a second group going in because nobody really knew what everybody was good at and we are all trying to create on our own. We need to learn that over the course of the season these guys are putting their all out for 35 minutes every night and the five minutes we get every night is our way of showing that we can do this. Kia (Nurse) could be hurt some day, Lou (Katie Lou Samuelson) could sit out a game and one of us has to step up. We have to gain their confidence in order to step up. It is important for us to make the most out of the five minutes that we have.”

Geno's "Boot Camp" for freshmen (and transfers) is a lot tougher than most other coach's indoctrination period for their new members. Geno has little tolerance for poor play.........from any of his players. At UConn, you don't practice until you get it right, you practice until you can't get it wrong.

 

[donalddoowop]

Most comments are about giving the freshmen and bench more playing, not having them start. You can explain all you want but, the bottom line is that UCONN needs help from it's bench and it's on the coaches to develop the bench. They recruited these players. It must have been something they saw in them to do that. Walker has shown she can play well against top teams in tough situations. Dangerfield struggled last season but got somewhat better because she was allowed to play more than four minutes or so a game on average. I believe most on here know the coaches know what they are doing but some kind of adjustments need to be made without compromising the system so the bench can start contributing against the better teams, imo.

 

[Longtime fan]

Sometimes (often, actually) you can get the wrong impression from the initial “eye test”, and you have to look at the numbers. The numbers tell a different story than some of BroadwayVa’s and Tonyc’s comments seem to imply.

1. The vaunted UConn defense didn’t disappear at all. Texas shot only 43% (higher than AAC opponents but hardly stellar), and most of their makes were in the first 6 minutes of the game. They made ONE 3-point shot in the last three quarters.

2. As with the Mississippi State game last year, the bad number (and the reason the game was close) was the comparative shot attempts. Texas attempted 67 shots and made 29; UConn attempted only 53 shots and made 26. If the shot attempts had been more or less equal, the score would not have been close.

3. And of course, that was attributable to rebounding. Texas had 14 offensive rebounds compared to UConn’s 5 — that’s 9 extra shots right there. Texas had 36 total rebounds to UConn’s 30. I don’t have separate statistics for each half, but I would guess that most of this damage was in the first half. Geno said that UConn rebounded much better in the second half, and my eyes would concur with that assessment.

4. I agree that Gabby passed up many mid-range jump shots that the defense was offering to her, before finally hitting one in the 4th quarter. If she had made a few of those earlier, a lot of opportunities for Azura and Pheesa would have opened up under the basket.

5. UConn only had three steals, compared to 21 (I think) against Houston. A lot of UConn’s game is built on turning defense into offense, and that was pretty much shut down because Texas wasn’t turning it over. I guess that is partly because they have good, quick guards, but so did UCLA and UConn got steals against UCLA.

6. I agree with Geno and seemingly the entire Boneyard that UConn needs to have more than six players available for big games such as this. I think Megan and Mikayla have the ability, and hopefully they just have to show more consistency in practice and in AAC games to make a breakthrough. You will notice that despite the nice words about Kyla, she didn’t get near the floor in this game. She wouldn’t have been able to compete with Texas’s bigs without sending them to the foul line way too often.

7. I can’t help but thinking how much of a difference it would have made if Natalie Butler were on the UConn bench this evening. She probably would have played 15-20 minutes, and probably would have been effective against Caron-Goudreau. I don’t think the rebounding would have been severely in Texas’s favor if she were playing, and if Texas didn’t have that edge, they would not have been able to keep the score close.

Here is my plan for challenging the bench ;

For the remaining AAC conference games, break the team into the ( for simplicity ) the A team and the B team. Or Blue and White, etc.

The A team is the starting 6. They play the first quarter and the third quarter of every game.

The B team is Molly and Coombs at guard; Kyla at the post; Megan and Lexi at the wings. Batouly is the post back-up.
This team plays the second and fourth quarters of every game.

The statistics compare the original gap ( all the data...scores, turnovers, offensive rebounds, fouls, shooting %, ....all the usual stuff that gets measured ) between the A team and the B team results. Then, game by game, we see if the gap closes, expands or remains the same. It can also be broken down by player, to see who is making progress and how quickly.

I know this is a pipe-dream. I am just wasting time between games.

 

[Crossover]

Thanks for your comments, and welcome to the yard. It's always nice to hear from, and get input from fans of other programs. I want to respond to your take that Graves does a better job of developing freshmen than Geno. I'm going to surprise you by NOT suggesting that you are wrong, no sir. I'm going to suggest that the reason it may appear that Geno's freshmen take longer to "get it", because of philosophical differences in their approach to playing the game.

1. UConn's system is different than Graves' - How much different? All players including freshmen must earn their playing time at UConn. Playing time has NEVER been given in his program. That is probably not the case in most other programs. Geno's system is so complex, that it takes most freshmen a year before they understand it completely, and can function in it to Geno's satisfaction.

It appears (from the outside looking in) that Graves gives his freshmen playing time because they're there, regardless of how far along they are in learning and mastering his system. A great number of coaches do it that way.

At UConn, a player has to demonstrate in practice that they know the system, and can play with the starting unit with little or no drop off in production on either end of the court before they earn Geno's trust. Once that trust is earned, you move down toward the other end of the bench, and you play.

Don't forget the "rumor" that Geno's practices are much harder than their games. In Geno's practices, the reserves learn faster than they would in a game. They learn to play in practice, and corroborate learning those lessons in games. I'm not suggesting that Graves way is wrong, just that it's different.

2. The expectation is different - The goal of all coaches every year is to win the national championship, but I think you'll agree (and meaning no disrespect here) that Geno's expectations are a bit more realistic then Graves'. You're familiar with UConn's recent record is of winning 4 championships over the last 5 years. The expectation for UConn to get to the final four is 100 times greater than it is for Oregon. In Graves' mind, he hopes to get there. In Geno's mind, he expects to get there.

3. Geno has time - There is never a rush to get freshmen into a game. Geno usually has a starting line up that's almost impossible for a freshman to crack. That dynamic may not be the case in other programs i.e., Tennessee (Evina Westbrook) and Texas A&M (Chennedy Carter) etc. As good as both of them have proven to be up to this point, neither of them would be starters at UConn. Geno does not need them to start. He does not bring in freshmen with the thought of starting them right away. Query - Which UConn starter would they send to the bench? Geno's "Boot Camp" for freshmen (and transfers) is a lot tougher than most other coaches' indoctrination period for their new members.

This is a model for how to express a different opinion without dissing the person to whom you are responding. It expands the conversation. Thank you. As it happens, I think that your observations are on point (including that Geno has the luxury of time), but my admiration for this post is independent of that agreement.

 

[donalddoowop]

2 other things I forgot to mention...

First, total armchair QB - if you are going to have Gabby play out at the top of the key and the top of the 3 point line, she MUST be a threat to shoot from out there. I get that she's quick enough to get past any post defender who comes out to guard her, but Texas sagged into the post and UCONN continued to run the offense thru her instead of thru Crystal and Kia (to my untrained eye). Maybe they were so tight on the 2 guards that Geno wanted a little room to maneuver and them sagging off Gabby gave us that room.

Second - the amount of 1 on 1 play from UCONN was astounding tonight. 12 assists on 26 made baskets (I get that some were O-board put backs) - but for LONG stretches of the game, we looked like every other team out there that we've so frequently complained about - a few dribbles by the guards, then all one on one takes to the basket. Where was the motion offense? Where was the movement without the ball? It's quite possible that Texas took all that away from us, but again, I only watched the game once, and that's what I saw...

Agreed. When UCONN does not run their offense, they do look like every other team.

 

[Florida Fan]

I absolutely agree with you, but have to point out that Gabby took only one foul line jumper and she knocked it down.

You are right, and it was at a pivotal time. And I haven't kept track of what Gabby does with the ball instead of shooting. Does she hit Lou for a 3-point dagger, pass to an open back-door player? But with confidence and success with that open look, Gabby transcends to all world.