UConn-Xavier postgame thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn-Xavier postgame thread

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Zonepress said:
so I guess you determine how well a player plays by how many points they score
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That is not at all what I was saying. The 3 fouls are what defined her game because they took her out of it. Then if we are looking at other stats, only 3 rebounds in 19 minutes for a F and the 3 assists look good until the 2 turnovers are added in... It was not a good game for her and there is no spinning it any other way. I'm a staunch supporter of KK and Ash staying in the starting line up so obviously points donot define playing well IMO. What I'm picking at is the inconsistency and we know Geno is not fond of that.
 
DEpup said:
That is not at all what I was saying. The 3 fouls are what defined her game because they took her out of it. Then if we are looking at other stats, only 3 rebounds in 19 minutes for a F and the 3 assists look good until the 2 turnovers are added in... It was not a good game for her and there is no spinning it any other way. I'm a staunch supporter of KK and Ash staying in the starting line up so obviously points donot define playing well IMO. What I'm picking at is the inconsistency and we know Geno is not fond of that.
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lol
 
JoePgh said:
The only thing wrong with her play was her fouls. Apart from that, she played a normal game, using her main skills -- chiefly powerful drives to the basket. With so many other players shooting 3's, that is a good complementary skill that she offers to the team.
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Plus she (Blanca) has shown she is not just a great athlete, but like 3-5 other Huskies, she can make the perimeter shot. I was glad to see K9 make some 3's today as well as Ash. If you are looking for a nit to pick, last year Ash was money from 6-15 ft, not so much this year. My guess is that she has spent hours and hours getting her issues with shots outside the arc corrected. Now it's time to do the same with her short game.
 
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boontonbomber said:
Sooo.. I guess we know that Heckel is the better player than Kelis Fisher because she has shown that in practice. Right? Or she gets the minutes because she has a year of experience. That might be it? I realize that we don't see Kelis necessarily against opponents best players, but she looks to handle herself really well whenever she's out there. Her penetration and drop passes were rather impressive today. I would love to see her earlier in a game, just for the sake of comparison.
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She plays with confidence and seems to be under control most of the time. Plays with no fear. She is a point guard who has an accurate shot.
 
mainerhuski said:
I’d rather see Ayanna or Gandy at the 5 than Jana. Serah W was underwhelming, even against a weak opponent like Xavier.
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Seems clear that Jana is behind Serah. Even so, she is valuable against certain teams as proven by last year's UCLA game. Geno is intent on developing Serah as her potential for a solid double figure scorer is very high. There is room for both with Jana having several more years of eligibility a major plus. Both these players need to clean up their reach-in fouls and finish shots!
 
boontonbomber said:
Sooo.. I guess we know that Heckel is the better player than Kelis Fisher because she has shown that in practice. Right? Or she gets the minutes because she has a year of experience. That might be it? .
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It’s not so simple.
There are many factors that Geno considers.
Do you go 100% on every play in practice? Do you listen? Are you a good teammmate? Do you maintain a good demeanor when you’re not having a good night? Are you playing up to your potential?

It is not one thing.
 
donalddoowop said:
She plays with confidence and seems to be under control most of the time. Plays with no fear. She is a point guard who has an accurate shot.
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Kelis was impressive today as were all our guards. She is off the end of the bench and playing more minutes. This might be the pattern during B-East play. The beauty of our depth is that promising players get meaningful court time before their time and play against the best in practice.
 
Every announcer points out how many baskets are assisted and all seem to listen to previous games to use the now worn out phrase, "Passing up a good shot to get the ball to a teammate for a great shot." Just think how many more assisted baskets we would have if our bigs could make a higher % of bunnies. Surely CD and Jamelle should be able to get that improved as the season progresses.
 
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JoePgh said:
The only thing wrong with her play was her fouls. Apart from that, she played a normal game, using her main skills -- chiefly powerful drives to the basket. With so many other players shooting 3's, that is a good complementary skill that she offers to the team.
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Shes and hers are all well and good, but an occasional name does add to the comprehensions of us slow wits. 🥹
 
Fisher looks like she is gonna be a star eventually. Ziebell looks really good too.

We have some really good underclassmen. Fisher, Blanca, Ziebel, Heckel just for starters.

This is the first year in probably about ten years where we can say we have a deep bench and actually mean it. Geno has at least 4 bench players who can come in and really light it up. Production wont be down with these 4...

I am still trying to figure out who Blanca reminds me of. She is still only a freshman but she has the explosiveness of Gaby. She has a nice 3 point shot too.

On the downside:

I have zero confidence in Jana.
 
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The game went about as I expected - getting our secondary options more shots and I was glad to see the team stepped up.

-Great to see Allie and Ash feeling comfortable with 3s
-Glad to see KK and K9 taking more threes
-Serah looked confident in the 2nd half, though passing into the post from our guards still needs work
-Loved the minutes from Kelis, and her post passing inside was excellent!
-It's easy not to mention Sarah and Azzi because they are so steady for this team, but as always they were excellent, especially their defense

If I had one criticism it would be that I would like to see more hustle on the offensive rebounding
 
1974yankees said:
Fisher looks like she is gonna be a star eventually. Ziebell looks really good too.

We have some really good underclassmen. Fisher, Blanca, Ziebel, Heckel just for starters.

This is the first year in probably about ten years where we can say we have a deep bench and actually mean it. Geno has at least 4 bench players who can come in and really light it up. Production wont be down with these 4...

I am still trying to figure out who Blanca reminds me of. She is still only a freshman but she has the explosiveness of Gaby. She has a nice 3 point shot too.

On the downside:

I have zero confidence in Jana.
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1974, you correctly list 4 players who make up a deep bench and I would like all of us to remember that, in addition to those 4, you can add Jana, ICE and Morgan, all of whom have multiple years of eligibility left. Add to that, two top level incoming recruits, one of whom might very well take over the starting post position for the next 4 years.

Poor Geno, he's never going to be able to walk away from that talent!
 
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Stronga12 said:
10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 stocks, +35 on 3/5 from the floor in 19 minutes is underwhelming?
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I thought she looked better today. They weren't trying to force her.
 
Bills Fan said:
1974, you correctly list 4 players who make up a deep bench and I would like all of us to remember that, in addition to those 4, you can add Jana, ICE and Morgan, all of whom have multiple years of eligibility left. Add to that, two top level incoming recruits, one of whom might very well take over the starting post position for the next 4 years.

Poor Geno, he's never going to be able to walk away from that talent!
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We agree about the 4 players I listed. Fisher, Ziebel, Heckel and definitely Blanca. (That's the excellent bench) All four will be starters eventually.

Re: Jana

I will be honest. I really couldn't stand Dolson her freshman year. For me that year was very frustrating watching her play. I was screaming about why Geno would recruit her...I kept screaming for Geno to get her off the court because she was killing us everytime she came near the ball. (He usually did remove her too)

Then something happened the next year. She got in great shape, learned the game of basketball and became a National Champion and ALL American by the time she was done. Then I loved her because she dominated everyone.

That is where I am with Jana.
 
I hate to pour cold water on you, but I didn't think the team looked very good on either side of the ball. Yes, they can turn over weak guards, and the wide open threes looked pretty but they were wide open shots against a very weak defense. They're going to feast on poor competition. But, the things I'm looking to see, helpside defense in the paint, post play that's on the same page as the rest of the offense. Williams plays under the basket but they don't have a system to get her the ball where and when she can score. Jana came in and spent some time above the free-throw line, also out of sync, but at least it's some of the offense we loved in the tournament last year. I guess that's not William's game. I do agree that some of the individual play was good. However, Blanca has not found a role. Strong and Fudd weren't needed, but we didn't see the whole process move forward. The top teams have great players, a lot of size, and experience. This still doesn't look like a Geno team. There is time, but I wouldn't celebrate a game like this.
 
Bedford fan said:
I hate to pour cold water on you, but I didn't think the team looked very good on either side of the ball. Yes, they can turn over weak guards, and the wide open threes looked pretty but they were wide open shots against a very weak defense. They're going to feast on poor competition. But, the things I'm looking to see, helpside defense in the paint, post play that's on the same page as the rest of the offense. Williams plays under the basket but they don't have a system to get her the ball where and when she can score. Jana came in and spent some time above the free-throw line, also out of sync, but at least it's some of the offense we loved in the tournament last year. I guess that's not William's game. I do agree that some of the individual play was good. However, Blanca has not found a role. Strong and Fudd weren't needed, but we didn't see the whole process move forward. The top teams have great players, a lot of size, and experience. This still doesn't look like a Geno team. There is time, but I wouldn't celebrate a game like this.
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You may the only person on here with that assessment, but you're entitled to your opinion! 😉
 
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uconnfan68 said:
Quality of league opponents?
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Hopefully that's a joke because that (quality of league opponent) has been known, so it had nothing to do with today's game. We certainly didn't expect Xavier to be the second coming of South Carolina!
 
I was at the game. About 2 hours from where I live. $25 for a ticket that got me a seat at half court. Fifteen rows up. Free parking.

Things I noticed that I would have never noticed on TV.

About half the crowd were UConn fans. Azzi’s parents made the trip.

They had a decent shooting percentage and put up 104 but they got an open look or two on nearly every possession. 120 was certainly within reason. Their ball movement and passing is way more advanced than 99% of women’s teams. It is obvious live.

Xavier may have been missing some key players but they struggled to even get a shot off. They could not handle the pressure or the switching that are staples of the defense.

Blanca did not have a good first half. Xavier beat the press three times in a row because she was no where near where she was supposed to be. She forced some shots and had some dumb fouls. It has been said before but up close I was still surprised how tall she is.

I remember Ayanna as a freshman as being strong and thick. She probably is as strong but now she is lean almost thin. She is player many teams would love to have (she would never leave the floor for Xavier) but with this team she has to wait for her chance.

CD needs to knock down the open looks she is getting. I think she is moving well defensively and is still a good passer but she won’t get Geno’s attention until those shots start to fall. I still think the complete miracle comeback can occur. I am pulling for her.

Xavier pressing the second team down by 50 is not a unique tactic against UConn. Heckel and Kelis handled it well. Maybe X knew they could not press the first team.

Kelis must struggle with something in practice. I have no guesses. However, she gets my attention every time she is on the floor. It seems the staff doesn’t do much with shot mechanics once they arrive on campus but watching her warmup, her release is so low that it is easy to contest.

It is about the fourth time I have seen them live. The aura, precision and discipline remind me why I am such a huge fan.
 
I’m in Mexico and the translation for Ducharme’s statline made me chuckle
IMG_9036.jpeg
 
I didn't think it was one of UConn's best games. They were not as together as they've been in some others.I'm not sure that we will get to really see what Ayanna can do this year. She would need more time in the games, and she's not likely to get that. Gandy seems to know a couple of set plays and looks kinda lost otherwise. She is a very long-term project. I agree with the previous poster who said that Croline won't get meaningful time until/unless she starts hitting her shots. I am a bit maazed at the way Allie is shooting. I know everyone said she was a great shooter, but she is really starting to show it. I still think she is a bit slow for games against top opponents, but she sure looked good out there today.

Sarah and Azzi were very good, as usual. Serah is starting to fit in, which is important. Jana seems to have again contracted a case of hands-of-stone disease. Her positioning looks fine, and she knows what to do, but sometimes those hands just don't want to cooperate.

And may I say something about the announcing team? The play-by-play guy was ok, though he rambled sometimes and did not seem to be in firm contact with the show director (as in the time he called for a replay and the game camera continued to be on the play, which was going on just then). The color announcer is dreadful. She never met a nanosecond of dead air that she did not try to fill with varying degrees of blather, some of it untrue. The lowlight came when she claimed that Sarah's mom was a UConn player during her college days.
 
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