Unleash Williams and Walker for 18/19

[Pmac923]

This team has lacked depth at the guard position. Using Gabby Williams at the top of the key running your sets is a coaching breakdown. And it's cost Uconn in back to back final four games. Let forwards be forwards and guards be guards . Against top notch competition Uconn needs to be less mechanical and more "ad lib" per se.

Watch how Christyn Williams plays. She reminds me of how James harden plays. Let her make plays her freshman year. Top notch guard play wins in March. She very well could be the most important player after losing Nurse and Gabby. Let her do what she does.

McGraw didn't run a set for Ogunbowale . She got her the ball and let her make a move to win the game. Which she did.

Iso ball for your best players is often times what decides these close battles. We have the personnel to do it they just need to be unleashed.

 

[scubadog]

WCBB is becoming way more physical. This takes away team play and passing lanes. Now it's up to individual players to make great plays. Not really UConn's system. Look we've won a ton of titles so all of our analysis is going to sound like sour grapes. But, I hope Geno and coaching staff assesses the outcome and at least ponders some changes. Our back court was tired and outplayed by a depleted team .

 

[pvdoggy]

Up until now, Uconn does not have that type of player who can create their own shot, or may be discouraged from ad-libbing, which is why when they have to create a 1-1 iso play, they can't. MW was able to do it in high school, CW is able to do it in high school. We'll see if that will translate into their game next year.

 

[Centerstream]

WCBB is becoming way more physical. This takes away team play and passing lanes. Now it's up to individual players to make great plays. Not really UConn's system. Look we've won a ton of titles so all of our analysis is going to sound like sour grapes. But, I hope Geno and coaching staff assesses the outcome and at least ponders some changes. Our back court was tired and outplayed by a depleted team .

Yes, it's becoming more like MBB where showboating is waaaaay more common than being coached and running plays.

 

[JRRRJ]

Up until now, Uconn does not have that type of player who can create their own shot, or may be discouraged from ad-libbing, which is why when they have to create a 1-1 iso play, they can't. MW was able to do it in high school, CW is able to do it in high school. We'll see if that will translate into their game next year.

You mean besides Crystal, Gabby and Lou?

 

[bbballfan23]

This team has lacked depth at the guard position. Using Gabby Williams at the top of the key running your sets is a coaching breakdown. And it's cost Uconn in back to back final four games. Let forwards be forwards and guards be guards . Against top notch competition Uconn needs to be less mechanical and more "ad lib" per se.

Watch how Christyn Williams plays. She reminds me of how James harden plays. Let her make plays her freshman year. Top notch guard play wins in March. She very well could be the most important player after losing Nurse and Gabby. Let her do what she does.

McGraw didn't run a set for Ogunbowale . She got her the ball and let her make a move to win the game. Which she did.

Iso ball for your best players is often times what decides these close battles. We have the personnel to do it they just need to be unleashed.

CW may be a great HS player but we have 2 AA’s returning in Z & Pheesa & Z who could be an AA next year. No reason to scratch everything because of 1 game. It happens. It’s 1 game. The best team doesn’t always win. The gap isn’t as big as before in college basketball. That being said, im not sure Lou has the footspeed to be that girl we can depend on in these games (but she is very hurt).

I think Pheesa will have the be the one that makes the big jump. She’s usually too quick for the girls guarding her or too strong for the smaller posts. She needs to add something off the dribble so we can just spread them out and let her go. She has the capability I believe. I heard she started at Point Guard her freshman year of HS?? Could be wrong.

 

[pvdoggy]

You mean besides Crystal, Gabby and Lou?

As much as I love Lou as a player, I just don't see her as a 1-1 creating her own shot type player. Not even sure about Gabby.

 

[JRRRJ]

As much as I love Lou as a player, I just don't see her as a 1-1 creating her own shot type player. Not even sure about Gabby.

Then apparently "create your own shot" only means jump shots to you. All 3 slash pretty well, no?

 

[my2cents]

You mean besides Crystal, Gabby and Lou?

Gabby is a great driver to the basket, but her defender plays 6-7 ft away from her. She either makes the open 15 footer, or doesn't, but they don't have to guard her there.
Crystal can get by her defender, but generally doesn't finish at the basket. Lets hope that part of her game improves.
Lou is mainly a spot up shooter, or comes off pick and rolls...slashing to the basket drawing fouls, etc, I have not seen it.
Each team at the FF had the type of player the OP described. Viviens, Durr and Ogunbowable can shoot the three good enough that you need to go and out, they can drive by and get fouls or finish.
Megan Walker and Williams are those type of players, or have the potential to be. Doing a "weave" with Molly Bent and Kyra Irwin 20 ft from the basket does not develop that talent.

 

[pvdoggy]

Gabby is a great driver to the basket, but her defender plays 6-7 ft away from her. She either makes the open 15 footer, or doesn't, but they don't have to guard her there.
Crystal can get by her defender, but generally doesn't finish at the basket. Lets hope that part of her game improves.
Lou is mainly a spot up shooter, or comes off pick and rolls...slashing to the basket drawing fouls, etc, I have not seen it.
Each team at the FF had the type of player the OP described. Viviens, Durr and Ogunbowable can shoot the three good enough that you need to go and out, they can drive by and get fouls or finish.
Megan Walker and Williams are those type of players, or have the potential to be. Doing a "weave" with Molly Bent and Kyra Irwin 20 ft from the basket does not develop that talent.

What I meant to say but was too lazy to express it

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Yes, it's becoming more like MBB where showboating is waaaaay more common than being coached and running plays.

And it certainly served Jeff's team well last night.

 

[AussieHusky]

This team has lacked depth at the guard position. Using Gabby Williams at the top of the key running your sets is a coaching breakdown. And it's cost Uconn in back to back final four games. Let forwards be forwards and guards be guards . Against top notch competition Uconn needs to be less mechanical and more "ad lib" per se.

Watch how Christyn Williams plays. She reminds me of how James harden plays. Let her make plays her freshman year. Top notch guard play wins in March. She very well could be the most important player after losing Nurse and Gabby. Let her do what she does.

McGraw didn't run a set for Ogunbowale . She got her the ball and let her make a move to win the game. Which she did.

Iso ball for your best players is often times what decides these close battles. We have the personnel to do it they just need to be unleashed.

So true! We have become so mechanical in our plays. Teamwork and playing within a system is good, but so is individual one on one ability on the team. Unfortunately, it seems that this later aspect has been underemphasized of late. Case in point is Meg. In HS, a slasher, individual shot creator, now she seems to be a shell of the player she was in HS. Granted there is vast difference between HS and college, but the demand for strict adherence to the system results in this mechanical feel, thus leading to tentativeness when the system breaks down.

 

[BostonCanuck]

This team has lacked depth at the guard position. Using Gabby Williams at the top of the key running your sets is a coaching breakdown. And it's cost Uconn in back to back final four games. Let forwards be forwards and guards be guards . Against top notch competition Uconn needs to be less mechanical and more "ad lib" per se.

Watch how Christyn Williams plays. She reminds me of how James harden plays. Let her make plays her freshman year. Top notch guard play wins in March. She very well could be the most important player after losing Nurse and Gabby. Let her do what she does.

McGraw didn't run a set for Ogunbowale . She got her the ball and let her make a move to win the game. Which she did.

Iso ball for your best players is often times what decides these close battles. We have the personnel to do it they just need to be unleashed.

Personally I like the novel way Geno used Gabby to facilitate the offence. But a great part of Muffet's strategy last night was to take that away by having a defender continually occupying the space just beyond the free throw line where Gabby usually operates from.

So once something like that happens, you then need a backup plan that pivots toward great guard-centric play, as per your post. We did not have that, for the second semi-final in a row.

 

[Ron and Vida]

This team has lacked depth at the guard position. Using Gabby Williams at the top of the key running your sets is a coaching breakdown. And it's cost Uconn in back to back final four games. Let forwards be forwards and guards be guards . Against top notch competition Uconn needs to be less mechanical and more "ad lib" per se.

Watch how Christyn Williams plays. She reminds me of how James harden plays. Let her make plays her freshman year. Top notch guard play wins in March. She very well could be the most important player after losing Nurse and Gabby. Let her do what she does.

McGraw didn't run a set for Ogunbowale . She got her the ball and let her make a move to win the game. Which she did.

Iso ball for your best players is often times what decides these close battles. We have the personnel to do it they just need to be unleashed.

Agreed. From what I've seen in the McDonald's game Christyn seems to be the confident aggressive guard you describe . Have been wondering how that will play out in Gino's system.

 

[scubadog]

Yes, it's becoming more like MBB where showboating is waaaaay more common than being coached and running plays.

And it levels the playing field, which makes everyone happy , I guess ?

 

[BostonFan]

Geno forgot what it takes to win Titles. His favorite sayings were,
'We have DT & they dont. We have Maya & they dont". Last night, it should have been "We have Lou & they dont...but it wasnt. He hasnt encouraged more killer instincts from his best players. Lou should have taken over the game last night, but the entire season, Geno has been content to let Lou distribute & float around the perimeter. Last night - no one was prepared to step up and lead.

 

[bbballfan23]

Geno forgot what it takes to win Titles. His favorite sayings were,
'We have DT & they dont. We have Maya & they dont". Last night, it should have been "We have Lou & they dont...but it wasnt. He hasnt encouraged more killer instincts from his best players. Lou should have taken over the game last night, but the entire season, Geno has been content to let Lou distribute & float around the perimeter. Last night - no one was prepared to step up and lead.

Again, Lou has ligaments detached in her ankle and needs surgery. She physically couldn’t take over if she wanted to. It wasn’t about our offense. It was our defense. We were up 7 with 5 mins left and couldn’t get a stop. Simple and plain.

 

[jonson]

So true! We have become so mechanical in our plays. Teamwork and playing within a system is good, but so is individual one on one ability on the team. Unfortunately, it seems that this later aspect has been underemphasized of late. Case in point is Meg. In HS, a slasher, individual shot creator, now she seems to be a shell of the player she was in HS. Granted there is vast difference between HS and college, but the demand for strict adherence to the system results in this mechanical feel, thus leading to tentativeness when the system breaks down.

Sadly, I agree completely. From my perspective, one of the most striking aspects of the game was the aggressiveness and "freedom" on the part of Notre Dame vs. a UCONN team that seemed not only mechanical, but also tight at times. And as good as the talent is on the Irish side, I don't think it can/should compare with a team that starts 3 All-Americans, a Defensive Player of the Year, a point guard than many folks on this board believe is among the best, if not the best, in women's college basketball, and has a terrifically gifted 6'6" player on the bench, along with the #1 2017 recruit, two other highly rated freshmen, and a redshirt 6'2" sophomore transfer who seems to have held her own as a freshman in the SEC. And yet. . . .

Geno is unquestionably the best coach in WBB, but I do wonder if it might be time for him to reconsider how he handles freshmen, and his bench generally, in seasons when he doesn't have a truly transcendent player--a Diana, Maya, or Stewie--on the roster and seems unlikely to have another in the season, or seasons, to come. (And I think it's also worth noting that Geno himself talks continually about the differences between today's players and those in the past.)

To say that he needs to "unleash" Walker and Williams next year sounds good to me. But doing so in Walker's case would be a lot easier if she had been given more--and especially more significant and earlier--minutes during a season full of blowouts. And, as regards C. Williams, it will likely require a lot more patience on Geno's part regarding freshman mistakes and bad practices. I hope he will be able to muster just that, but it will be, I imagine, a considerable challenge.

 

[Charliebball]

Yes, it's becoming more like MBB where showboating is waaaaay more common than being coached and running plays.

UConn's offensive system is a model of efficiency except a couple of times a year where they run into exceptional defenses..........running an isolation play like ND did to win the game may be necessary for three minutes out of an entire season but it's nice to have capable players who know what to do if and when that time comes.........

 

[SLY63]

Gabby is a great driver to the basket, but her defender plays 6-7 ft away from her. She either makes the open 15 footer, or doesn't, but they don't have to guard her there.
Crystal can get by her defender, but generally doesn't finish at the basket. Lets hope that part of her game improves.
Lou is mainly a spot up shooter, or comes off pick and rolls...slashing to the basket drawing fouls, etc, I have not seen it.
Each team at the FF had the type of player the OP described. Viviens, Durr and Ogunbowable can shoot the three good enough that you need to go and out, they can drive by and get fouls or finish.
Megan Walker and Williams are those type of players, or have the potential to be. Doing a "weave" with Molly Bent and Kyra Irwin 20 ft from the basket does not develop that talent.

I was thinking the exact same thing about Viviens, Durr and Ogunbowale. And have to wonder if giving more time to Walker and Camara during the season to hone their skills (Camara with the starters) might have given Geno more options when the opponent has made solid adjustments to our game plan and the offense (or defense) is struggling.

 

[pvdoggy]

I see in several threads when people are abusing the no-no hints of transfer of UConn players but the Mods are not saying anything. Is it because the season is over and anything goes?

 

[Charliebball]

I see in several threads when people are abusing the no-no hints of transfer of UConn players but the Mods are not saying anything. Is it because the season is over and anything goes?

I think they are in recovery mode like everybody else but feel free to make the no transfer talk announcement...........................it's like the darn wild, wild west out here!!!!!

 

[Centerstream]

I think they are in recovery mode like everybody else but feel free to make the no transfer talk announcement.......it's like the darn wild, wild west out here!!!!!

From Nan's Rules:
Regarding speculation - we don't EVER speculate on possible transfers here.

Kinda clear to me, but what do I know?

 

[Charliebball]

From Nan's Rules:
Regarding speculation - we don't EVER speculate on possible transfers here.

Kinda clear to me, but what do I know?

I don't remember saying anything about transfers as much as I'd like to but now everyone is duly warned............

 

[my2cents]

I was thinking the exact same thing about Viviens, Durr and Ogunbowale. And have to wonder if giving more time to Walker and Camara during the season to hone their skills (Camara with the starters) might have given Geno more options when the opponent has made solid adjustments to our game plan and the offense (or defense) is struggling.

Great minds think a like.
The question would be, could an All American like Ogunbawable, even play for Geno with his system? maybe not. If you look at our stats, we have very good shooters and our offense is the most efficient in the country. Like all teams, we are vulnerable when shots don't fall, or against the type of defense we saw last night ( we did score 89 points though)
But in overtimes, it would be nice to have a slasher, who can drive to the basket, make it or get fouled.

 

[SLY63]

Great minds think a like.
The question would be, could an All American like Ogunbawable, even play for Geno with his system? maybe not. If you look at our stats, we have very good shooters and our offense is the most efficient in the country. Like all teams, we are vulnerable when shots don't fall, or against the type of defense we saw last night ( we did score 89 points though)
But in overtimes, it would be nice to have a slasher, who can drive to the basket, make it or get fouled.

I usually don't post, but this topic is very interesting my2cents. Geno clearly does not give time to players who struggle within the offensive system. But sometimes the ability to improvise, like the players we discussed, is needed when the team is struggling with the standard offense, the shooting is off or the game is down to one final possession. As Geno said in his post game interviews, at the Final Four, all of the teams are good, but great players make great plays. I wonder if during the season there were ways to better prepare our great players for these situations and give others opportunities to perform. While the players we have mentioned sometimes have off nights and can cost the team with bad shooting nights, having that option in certain situations can be valuable.

 

[Centerstream]

I don't remember saying anything about transfers as much as I'd like to but now everyone is duly warned..

I did not quote you because you said anything specifically about someone transferring but because your post had this "feel free to make the no transfer talk announcement", so, in the spirit of Cream, I feel free....

 

[Charliebball]

I did not quote you because you said anything specifically about someone transferring but because your post had this "feel free to make the no transfer talk announcement", so, in the spirit of Cream, I feel free....

No problem Jack..........I do have much to say about transfers but I'll save that for a more appropriate time and place.........

 

[Charliebball]

Great minds think a like.
The question would be, could an All American like Ogunbawable, even play for Geno with his system? maybe not. If you look at our stats, we have very good shooters and our offense is the most efficient in the country. Like all teams, we are vulnerable when shots don't fall, or against the type of defense we saw last night ( we did score 89 points though)
But in overtimes, it would be nice to have a slasher, who can drive to the basket, make it or get fouled.

I believe she was recruited by UConn at some point but based on this past season's debacle I'd say there's a good chance she'd be riding the pine for quite some time........

 

[my2cents]

I usually don't post, but this topic is very interesting my2cents. Geno clearly does not give time to players who struggle within the offensive system. But sometimes the ability to improvise, like the players we discussed, is needed when the team is struggling with the standard offense, the shooting is off or the game is down to one final possession. As Geno said in his post game interviews, at the Final Four, all of the teams are good, but great players make great plays. I wonder if during the season there were ways to better prepare our great players for these situations and give others opportunities to perform. While the players we have mentioned sometimes have off nights and can cost the team with bad shooting nights, having that option in certain situations can be valuable.

Thats exactly my point. Whats UCONN missing?. Last year, we lost as Soniya tried to score . If we had DT, Maya, or Stewie...would Soniya be anywhere near the ball? Thats what I find frustrating, is Geno sees the need for that type of player but his system, as is currently structured..is not developing that skill. Megan Walker in the 50/60 point blow outs, should have been told..".everytime you touch the ball, try to score". Lets see what made you the National HS player of the year. Same next year with Wiliams..