UMass-Lowell Postgame Thread

[Jingo]

Christyn and Olivia are who they are; fine basketball players but not all-Americans. Evina and Paige are the leaders of this team, at least at this juncture. What improvement we see from the sophomores and freshmen will determine how successful this team is, at least IMHO.

I think u r half right, i.e. ONO is an AA this season; CW has the name but not the game, eh?

 

[oldude]

My era: Cousy and Oscar were quite dissimilar. Cousy was a facilitator, pass first, shoot second. Oscar was shoot first, pass second. The results were: Cousy won 10 NBA titles; Oscar won 1, eh? Paige is more like Bob Cousy but can score like Oscar...

Cousy only won 6 championships with the Celtics, and he had something Oscar Robertson never had: Bill Russell.

 

[mrmojack]

Uconn replay now on Youtube

 

[DeeHusky]

So is Paige the best player on the team? I didn’t watch, so I’m asking

 

[Geew1992]

Y’all..... haven’t played against anyone besides themselves since last March.... can u give them some slack!!??

 

[Steelerone]

Well, clearly Liv had her issues, but the offense had problems once she hit the bench. Of the freshmen Mir is a PLAYA and she needs minutes. I think in the chat I said a hundred times that Mir reads the ball off the rim as well as anyone I've seen in Husky blue. Her sweetness around the rim in finishing is pure. Paige is what we expected, a future POY. Edwards is a beast, but she'll need to stay in the game by limiting her fouls, taming her aggression a bit, and showing something beyond 8 feet. Muhl is a fine passer but shows limitations on defense and working off the dribble. No one looked in great condition, although Paige surprised me with hers. She also surprised me with her quick hands and quick feet on defense. PB is a two way player.

Jordy, I have been a Mir proponent from the beginning. Just something in the way she plays on the court. I love to see someone her size dominate and I think she is going to continue doing that against any of the teams we play. At least I'm hoping she does.

 

[Steelerone]

So is Paige the best player on the team? I didn’t watch, so I’m asking

Dee, Paige is good but there is no way in the world you can use this game to evaluate anything other than they appear ready to start the season.

 

[Ozimoto]

Only got to see the last five minutes live. Sounds like the juniors may have been pressing. They can't afford to not play well or they will see more pine time as the youngsters get their feet under them. What I saw was pretty helter skelter as to be expected from the first game. We'll see what next week brings.

 

[Jingo]

You said it. IMHO, Paige and Aaliyah will be the twin stars who will drive this team forward. They'll be supported by ONO, but perhaps more importantly, McLean and Griffen. Those two display aggressiveness and athleticism that haven't been matched since Gabby Williams. We need outside shooting, so we'll need Westbrook and Makerat to come through.

But this is going to be four years of the freshman core. Upon them, the team's future is based.

Paige reminds me of a freshman Ionescu: they have very similar physiques, they play with the same confidence and panache, they both drive to the basket at will and pass beautifully, and are capable of shooting threes. Paige could be an Ionesco. Or better.

But Ionescu was boosted by twin peaks- two great inside players. I'm confident that Edwards can be one of them. ONO? Hmmm....

Right now, ONO shows more skills and potential [and height] than Aaliyah. The latter shows more strength.
Season hasn't started yet so we'll see!
Felt sorry for Nika who couldn't get a rhythm .. mebbe her foot injury?

 

[eebmg]

So is Paige the best player on the team? I didn’t watch, so I’m asking

I think so and it is probably not that close. If Evina were fully healthy, I would say she is next. Just thinking how she endured 2 waisted yrs in TN makes me pretty sad.

 

[Littlemin]

My era: Cousy and Oscar were quite dissimilar. Cousy was a facilitator, pass first, shoot second. Oscar was shoot first, pass second. The results were: Cousy won 10 NBA titles; Oscar won 1, eh? Paige is more like Bob Cousy but can score like Oscar...

Actually, Cousy has 6 rings and got all of those after the Celtics drafted Bill Russell. That was the difference, not remotely related to their respective games.

 

[Littlemin]

Cousy only won 6 championships with the Celtics, and he had something Oscar Robertson never had: Bill Russell.

I should have read the whole thread, you beat me to it.

 

[eebmg]

Only got to see the last five minutes live. Sounds like the juniors may have been pressing. They can't afford to not play well or they will see more pine time as the youngsters get their feet under them. What I saw was pretty helter skelter as to be expected from the first game. We'll see what next week brings.

Liv will never see the pine in any meaningful way since her height and defense is something no one else on the team can provide but CW may be on a short leash. Still, CW will get alot of minutes because Evina is not fully healthy and I am not sure Nika is an offensive threat

 

[NEforceUConn]

Now we know why MM retired.

 

[DefenseBB]

Wow, an actual POST-GAME thread on Dec 12th, that alone is something to FINALLY BE THANKFUL FOR!

Channeling my inner @Tonyc here's my take aways from the game:
1. Everyone from Bestwick to Meg, to Kara to Gary Apple were all pumped and excited to have a game and see this team.
2. We saw the starting 5, CW, ONO, Anna, Evina and Paige.
3. Nika (note to all those that keep typing Nika, get it right NIKA) was the first player off the bench for a reason, Geno likes her all around game as stated in the Husky's All-Access. She is not a scorer but a facilitator. 5 Turnovers were not good but as this team gets used to playing with each other, that will change. She is talented and does deserve playing time.
4. Geno played 9 players in the first half!!!! When was the last time that happened? We have depth!!!
5. This team looks to pass first, that can't be taught, either you have it or you don't. As we get more games in, this skill will shine and we will know when to shoot.
6. With Paige, Nika and Evina all looking to press the other guards and jump the passing lanes, we will only get better defensively. Plus add in the TWO ENERGIZER Bunnies in Aubrey and Mir and our athleticism will disrupt many plays.
7. We next have 4 games in an 8 day stretch so using lots of player is logical and serves to improve team chemistry.
8. I thought all 4 looked comfortable and tried to make an impact when playing. Imagine relying on 4 Freshman the first game of the season? For UConn that means their special as we RELOAD, we don't rebuild!
9. Piath got in the game with 4 minutes left, that alone says she has been working hard as usually that might be with 90 seconds left. She looks in much better shape than I expected and as the practices continue, she will get used to the college game speed and handle Paige's passes!
10. Best for last-I had never seen Paige play, yes, I saw the numerous highlights @Sluconn Husky has posted over the past 3 years but today was my first Paige Buckets experience and she definitely lived up to the hype! She looked so comfortable yet she even said she was nervous putting on the Uniform. This freshman is Maya special, she's DT special and she's Stewie special.

I just wish we could see the teams bench as they moved them from the top of the screen to the bottom
I want to see the interactions of CD, Jamelle and Shea with the players and I want to see who gives the high 5s on 3s!

Go UCONN! The Journey to the 12th National Title starts with a single game....

 

[eebmg]

Not sure if posted already but Geno's Post game press conference. Oh man, he loves Paige and he is liberally comparing Paige's mindset to the game to Diana (13:30)

 

[Jingo]

Cousy only won 6 championships with the Celtics, and he had something Oscar Robertson never had: Bill Russell.

Oscar managed only one NBA title despite having someone that Cousy never had: Lew Alcindor [the NBA's all-time leading scorer]

 

[hoopsfan22]

Now we know why MM retired.

Because she saw Paige coming to UConn, followed by Azzi next year, and then Ice the year after that?

 

[Ron and Vida]

1.Liv still has trouble finishing
2.Paige is here and can play right now and what was most impressive today was how she played the passing lanes.
3. Anna is not O for America this year and had some nice passes again
4. Mir and play defense and had a beautiful touch pass. Good defender as well. She has a chance to make the rotation.
5. Christyn plays good D and rebounds and scores as an opportunist might do. Outside shooting still lacking.
6. Ervina did a lot of things well but looked rusty and Geno does not like players that foul.
7. We look like our offense needs work but our defense will lead to offense. Page really tried to get everybody a basket. She is already talking to Geno during breaks. She is his point guard and will be for 4 years.
8. Edwards works hard doesn't look lost and can give us some minutes in the paint.
9. Aubrey is still a game changer. Runs the court defense and rebounding. Passing better as well.
10. Nika seems to know the offense. Dribbled into trouble sometimes but I will need to see more. Great energy.
11. Paith can be a big body and can help if we have foul trouble. Under UConn tutelage, she will be a contributor down the line.

I loved watching Paige talking with Geno during breaks.The student and the mentor.
Why it came to pass that she and the other freshmen phenoms came to UConn

 

[MilfordHusky]

Paige picked up 4,000 more Instagram followers today. She now has 603,000!

 

[Ron and Vida]

Bueckers was as advertised. Whoa. Edwards and Mclean are ready to contribute, as well. I don't know how long HCGA goes with a 9 player rotation, but I love the idea of suffocating pressure for forty minutes. He may have the horses now to NEVER take the foot off of the accelerator.

This is going to be fun. A lot of fun.

No matter how this season ends we will have once again have the pleasure of watching the beautiful game like no other WBB team or men’s!,

 

[soxfan23]

Yes. Christyn and Liv were billed as the team core. But they haven't really advanced. Christyn was the recipient of a number of good passes, but wasn't really the initiator of scoring. Take her out and replace her with McLean or Griffin or even Muhl and you get as good, if not much better, results.

This is the freshman class that will vie for NC's for the next four years.

Nonsense!

 

[soxfan23]

A lot of you people need to stop equating shooting the ball well to playing well.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[RockyMTblue2]