UConn's Grind-it-Out Season

[boontonbomber]

Well, she also hit several short jumpers last night as well. Watching her for almost 4 years now, imo Crystal has never been averse to taking the ball in among the tall trees.

love that short jumper. not so much hoisting up so many threes.

 

[ocoandasoc]

This is excellent old dude. Let me add something about the competition:

1. Did you watch the Oregon/Stanford game last night? We are not in their league...particularly Oregon. They are big, athletic, quick, organized and deep. They would, routinely, get 3-4 offensive rebounds whenever they missed a shot. Sabrina Ionescue ( sp?) is brilliant. We have no one close to her level.

2. Stanford is young and deeply talented, improving noticeably each game out. And they are armed with the best HS freshman from last season, who is starting and highly poised. And, suddenly, the Pac 12 is loaded with talented teams ( UCLA is still undefeated; Oregon State has one loss ; Arizona ( or is it ASU?) is really good. The point being, these teams are not lining up against the Tulsa's and SMU's of the world. They will be battle hardened against tough outs. They would not struggle against a mediocre Memphis team.

3. South Carolina might be better than all of them...although Oregon seems superior. And I am not even including Baylor, the defending champs. Or some teams that are flying high under everyone's radar ( Louisville comes to mind ).

4. My point is that for UCONN to make the FF will require a transformation, the likes of which we haven't seen.

To wit:

-Olivia is about 40% developed as a player ( if we are all correct about her potential). She doesn't have the footwork, the strength or the hands to be an effective post player against some of the " bigs " whom she'll face in the tournament. And what is the likelihood that she will become a strong outside shooter in the next two months? I haven't seen her make two fouls shots in a row.

- Williams is a total mystery to me. Her outside shooting has become completely unreliable. I now never expect a bomb ( or even a 10 footer ) from her to convert. I feel more confident with Ania shooting threes. If what we are seeing now is the best we are going to get from Williams, we should pack light when the team goes to the tournament.

- Megan is our most dependable offensive weapon, not named Dangerfield. But, of late, her decision-making and ball security practically negates her offensive contribution. Other top players are simply not doing that.

- Crystal is great but will have to be an"iron horse" to remain so. That she is needed for a full forty minutes to beat Central Florida is worrisome.

- Kyla is a level "B" player, lets be honest. We all love her and what she does. But she is not a threat and is fairly slow afoot. She will be left standing at the station against high quality, fast teams. Period.

- Ania, in my view, can be terrific next year if she comes back lean and fast. Like the transformation we saw in Megan Walker. But that won't happen this year. She should soon replace Kyla and, if Geno feels she is ready to do so, that will be an upgrade. But she is still making the errors of a European 19 year old ( all the traveling violations, e.g. ). We can't have multiple unforced errors from any player.

- I expected more of the talented Aubrey. And, perhaps, it will emerge this season. But the signs are not there. She is not a shooter ( not now, anyway ) and does not have the mindset of a shooter ( not now, anyway). Playing in the post ( due to her jumping ability) is accomplishing little, because talented ( and much bigger ) post players cause her, too easily, to miss put-backs and lose possession of the ball. She is still playing like an under confident freshman. Not even an 80-90% free throw shooter. She is like a baby giraffe trying to find her legs in the savannah. If she can transform all of a sudden, the team will be totally different. But it is unlikely. Has anyone seen signs of noticeable progress from her? Geno is using her less, it seems. Waiting to earn his trust. Tick tock.

- the remaining players are of no consequence. Lets be honest, they are "B" level talents. It doesn't mean we don't love them. But they have no role other than to rest some starters when we do have a blow-out. Which are becoming fewer and fewer.

I cannot share your view, therefore, that a spot in the FF is likely. Too much needs to happen in too little time. And we are seeing little progress from anyone. Tell me; who is getting noticeably better, game on game? Isn't it easier to name people whose performance seems stuck or worsening? My prediction is that the elite 8 is our best hope..and that is a stretch, depending on the tournament seedings.

I have great trust in Geno and CD. So maybe the impossible is possible. Let's hope so. But I would love to see a sign of progress. From anyone.

Nice analysis. I, too, will be astonished if UConn makes the Final Four. It will help that they will be over seeded thanks to playing in a weak conference. But I see five of six Pac 12 teams, two SEC teams, Baylor, Louisville, NC State, etc. that could send them home. And UConn fans should be glad that the Tenn game is in CT because the Huskies may need the home crowd. Let's be honest, their road performances at Memphis and UCF were dreadful.

There are three words that can usually be associated with Geno's teams. Quick, confident, and consistent. We're a little short on all three. Our three star players are quick, but it's not translating into team quickness. The consistency is obviously not there on the offensive end. And it seems that our three stars are not confident in the skills of the next three in the rotation -- and I don't think you can blame them. Often as the offens unfolds I find myself telling Crystal to forget passing and shoot the three because it will probably be the highest percentage shot we'll get before a turnover or the shot clock expires. Ono plays, hard but against the better teams she'll seldom get a matchup on the offensive end that she can capitalize on. Her shot blocking is great... her touch around the basket, layups, and freethrow shooting are not of the same caliber. UConn's inside-out game suffers because she often can't cleanly handle the pass in, is too slow with the pass out, or because the other team doesn't feel they need to double her when the ball goes in. Makurat sometimes looks like she's playing freeze tag when she takes two dribbles and stops. She needs a lot of time to ponder her shot if we want a reasonable certainty that it will go through the net. And Kyla looks like a quarterback making handoffs at the top of the key. But, God bless her, she understands her role and her limitations and is usually in the right place at the right time, even if often her ablities won't allow her to take the best advantage of it. Griffin has the most potential and athleticism of the "non-stars," but she is unable at this point to play as smart as the other two and with her limited minutes the team's offensive flow doesn't seem to get better when she' inserted.

Basically, UConn in 2019-2020 is going through the same challenges that most Top 25 teams face every year. We're just not used to it.

 

[Figurehead]

While you UCONN fans were sleeping USC beat UCLA in double overtime. No more unbeatens.

 

[cohenzone]

And about half of those were MOVING screens which when I played the game that was a foul, but I guess the refs kinda overlooked them for some reason.

One of the most missed calls in hoops.

 

[MSGRET]

One of the most missed calls in hoops.

Unless you're UConn, the refs seem to call it on them at least twice a game.

 

[Longtime fan]

Nice analysis. I, too, will be astonished if UConn makes the Final Four. It will help that they will be over seeded thanks to playing in a weak conference. But I see five of six Pac 12 teams, two SEC teams, Baylor, Louisville, NC State, etc. that could send them home. And UConn fans should be glad that the Tenn game is in CT because the Huskies may need the home crowd. Let's be honest, their road performances at Memphis and UCF were dreadful.

There are three words that can usually be associated with Geno's teams. Quick, confident, and consistent. We're a little short on all three. Our three star players are quick, but it's not translating into team quickness. The consistency is obviously not there on the offensive end. And it seems that our three stars are not confident in the skills of the next three in the rotation -- and I don't think you can blame them. Often as the offens unfolds I find myself telling Crystal to forget passing and shoot the three because it will probably be the highest percentage shot we'll get before a turnover or the shot clock expires. Ono plays, hard but against the better teams she'll seldom get a matchup on the offensive end that she can capitalize on. Her shot blocking is great... her touch around the basket, layups, and freethrow shooting are not of the same caliber. UConn's inside-out game suffers because she often can't cleanly handle the pass in, is too slow with the pass out, or because the other team doesn't feel they need to double her when the ball goes in. Makurat sometimes looks like she's playing freeze tag when she takes two dribbles and stops. She needs a lot of time to ponder her shot if we want a reasonable certainty that it will go through the net. And Kyla looks like a quarterback making handoffs at the top of the key. But, God bless her, she understands her role and her limitations and is usually in the right place at the right time, even if often her ablities won't allow her to take the best advantage of it. Griffin has the most potential and athleticism of the "non-stars," but she is unable at this point to play as smart as the other two and with her limited minutes the team's offensive flow doesn't seem to get better when she' inserted.

Basically, UConn in 2019-2020 is going through the same challenges that most Top 25 teams face every year. We're just not used to it.

I just want to go on record to acclaim that I may have no idea what I am taking about. Last night, I recalled a moment, earlier in this season, when everything seemed to be clicking beyond my wildest imagination. Olivia was emerging as tougher, aggressive and athletic. Her upside seemed unlimited and she was scoring ( it seemed) at will. She was improving exponentially, game to game. The core three were all showing speed, brilliance and athleticism. Kyla was contributing beyond expectation, and the two freshmen showed great promise ( I fully expected Aubrey to be starting by Feb 1, and to never look back). I seemed to me we might have grossly underestimated this team, and that it might just "fly under the radar" and surprise everyone in March. After the last few games, I feel the opposite. Our best player is Crystal and she gets little support, but lots of attention from aggressive defenses ( she is getting beat upon, and we have no relief for her ). Megan is still a prolific scorer, but careless with the ball and not showing smart decision-making ability. Williams is great at driving to the hoop, but has lost that panache of " a former HS top player who is now showing the world why she was so highly rated." Her outside shooting and passing have, too often, taken a holiday. Olivia is stuck in the mud and no longer getting better each game. Kyla has been neutralized and, of the two freshmen, Ania is showing more ability to contribute than the incredibly athletic and promising Aubrey. But neither is "wowing" anyone. Ania can't stop turning the ball over, mostly self-induced. And Aubrey seems like a two dimensional freshman ( she can jump; and usually make a put back from under the basket ) who needs about two more years to understand the UCONN offense and to fit herself into it. If we knew nothing of her history, we would conclude that she does not have the ability to convert any shot but a lay-up. The entire team is among the worst in UCONN history making free throws ( totally an un-UCONN characteristic), which ability is often the difference-maker at the championship level. So I have gone from "no expectation" to; " we can win it all" to; "we have no chance"..... all in the space of 2-3 months. Consequently, I have lost all confidence that I understand what I am seeing. Or I am failing to see something that is not yet visible ( chew on that idea, for a moment ).