USC Postgame Thread

[Orc]

Brady and Fudd with zero points in 21 total minutes isn't going to get it done.

What happened to Brady? So highly rated in high school but now cant even defend, score, dribble, etc.

 

[topogigio]

Sunday morning, and sun still rose. As a very long time UConn Women's fanatic, I am finding losses easier to manage. Boy, those undefeated streaks of the past have become a mental curse. Looking back on last night's game, Paige was gassed in the last quarter, and maybe even earlier when she missed those two foul shots. She fought through it, and Sarah certainly took some heat off Paige. Good teams have found the recipe to slow the Huskies down. We just don't intimidate teams anymore (not a knock on the players, just an observation).

 

[Gusaford]

Clearly, the small-ball lineup worked wonders in the second half last night. But when I was watching the game, I didn't put Jana and Ice in the same bucket of ineffectiveness. I thought Jana more or less held her own out there, including on the boards. I figured Geno didn't play her in the second half, not because Jana did anything particularly wrong, but because USC was sagging off her at the top of the key and doubling up on our outside shooters. If Jana can turn the screw half a rotation and make quicker decisions to distribute the ball at the top of the key and/or drive effectively so that defenses have to play her honestly, I think she has the athleticism to play with the Iriafens of the world. The kid knows how to rebound.

 

[boontonbomber]

Did anyone else notice a stretch there where Ice caught the ball at the Foul line, defense sagging off of her, and never once looked to the basket for a potential shot? She immediately was looking to pass after a pivot. She can and has made those shots in the past. I wondered if she had been told—this is your job tonight. Really unfortunate that USC could ignore her and double soneone else.

Players have to play by instinct,play freely, just PLAY!! Ice definitely has shown a nice touch from 17 feet. I'm sorry, but for some reason some of these players really look like they're thinking too much, and they're "not just playing basketball ", if you get my meaning. I've been feeling this way for awhile , with other players, with them looking sort of "mechanical" out there.

 

[hookshot]

I love KK and and admire her defense tenacity but I am surprised that fans are ignoring the fact that she can't shoot beyond layups and steals. And people complained about Nika not scoring...Chen has made a bigger impact on offense except for tonight. Also, on rewatch, while KK was the 3rd qt spark, Chen stayed in during the 4th because of the close score. Until KK can prove she can shoot consistently she won't start this year.

Agree but could have used a steal or layup in crunch time. I would have had her in there in the last two minutes but respect coaches call on both KK and Azzi

 

[BobbyJ]

Paige has 46 assists, same as Watkins, and 17 turnovers to Juju’s 38. Juju does lead in fouls, 31 to Paige’s 14. Hence the talk about Paige’s efficiency

Yes, anyone who thinks Bueckers is part of any of UConn's problems has no idea what they're watching.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Keep in mind, had Azzi made any of her shots, we would of the game.

That's not the way it works!

 

[Martinj481]

Sarah really needs to play in the post for us! She needs to play at the 5. She has post moves and can score in there and then draw out the opposing 5 to the 3 point line! Chen,Azzi, Paige,Arnold, and Sarah need to start! Ice hasn't developed and looks lost! She was number 4 recruit! Maybe how we use her needs to be changed. We need 10 points and 10 rebounds from her and Jana and it's not happening! They need to be rim runners kinda like Iowa does with O'Gradey! Make it easy!

 

[Martin84]

To me this is a very flawed team. Coach can’t even make substitutions for offensive or defensive situations as the game winds down.

 

[Dugway]

I was disappointed with the game. Had to sit and watch it with a brother in law and listen to his crappy comments, which stung all the more and yet he was right.

USC traveled to Hartford from Los Angeles, look at a map, not too many destinations in the Continental US are any farther than that. They traveled across three time zones, losing hours as they went East. Instead of that team being the one who came out flat, it was the Huskies who looked to be the road team!

It has always been a game of streeks and runs, but our team really does not have the mentality to play for an entire game. We will start like this one. Or, maybe it’s the 3rd straight out of the half, like against Ole Miss where we get beat by 25 in a single quarter of play. We have major let ups, for long periods, not just little runs!

I’ll leave it to you all to analyze the players, who should be playing and who should not, and all of the “what if” stuff. I ll just say that our Team Play is great at times, but not ALL the time. And if we don’t play ALL of the 40-min game against a top tier opponent, we will be living with disappointments!

 

[Cornell Lt]

Geno said he needed 3 reliable scorers, he didn't get that this game,

 

[Martin84]

Morgan, at 6-2, was also playing in the post. She may be the best at boxing out and scrapping for rebounds, too. Her fundamentals are excellent, unsurprising as her high school coach was the estimable Sue Phillips. I like this young woman’s potential

Yes, she looks like she responds to coaching and has a real desire to rebound and isn’t afraid of bumping into some sweaty body, lol. There are some plays where she isn’t crashing the boards or cutting to the basket. Would live to know why. Regardless she has got to shoot more. Enjoy watching her.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Shade is quietly stepping into a leadership role. Never seen her not smiling, UNTIL Cheli didn't give up that ball on the 2 on 1 break. She made it clear that she should have passed. Not a stat, but this is growth.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Geno said he needed 3 reliable scorers, he didn't get that this game,

I thought he did. I think defense is the issue. IMO...they over help leaving open shooters.

 

[Conndog]

Sarah made a ton of plays, keeping UConn from being trounced. Paige made a lot of plays despite a subpar game overall. Chen was 1-3, 2-4 from the line for 5 points and 3 TO. Bit of a difference.

Now you will know another of my takes. Chen makes a lot of strange plays for a senior who went to Princeton, and that decision for a 1-on-3 pullup jumper in transition late with Shade wide open on the outside was another.

If it makes you feel any better, the foul call on her on the Watkins jumper late was as phantom and garbage as it gets.

I wish Paige got as friendly a whistle & went to free throw line as often as JuJu does. JuJu is great and, like Hidalgo, is virtually unguardable- but the refs help her out a lot too.

 

[UConn990411]

I love KK and and admire her defense tenacity but I am surprised that fans are ignoring the fact that she can't shoot beyond layups and steals. And people complained about Nika not scoring...Chen has made a bigger impact on offense except for tonight. Also, on rewatch, while KK was the 3rd qt spark, Chen stayed in during the 4th because of the close score. Until KK can prove she can shoot consistently she won't start this year.

Her shooting splits last year were decent for a freshman, when she was getting consistent minutes. They’ve completely tanked this year, which is unsurprising given that her role is unclear and her minutes have been all over the place.

 

[Dogstar]

Bad 1st half but 2nd half adjustment to small lineup was key

Sarah more than handled herself at the 5. Are we back to a 4 guard lineup?

Curious decision to not play KK most of the 4th.

Curious decision to not play KK most of the 4th.


Tht was a head scratcher for me also

 

[HuskyNan]

Yes, anyone who thinks Bueckers is part of any of UConn's problems has no idea what they're watching.

Many people don’t go past the total points column when looking at the box score.

 

[packwrap]

We just don't intimidate teams anymore (not a knock on the players, just an observation).

This is very true and has been the case since the end of the 'core 4' era. Bad for the heartburn of UConn fans, who like to win 100-60, but great for women's hoops to now have talent spread out a bit.

UConn, U$C and ND all in the hunt. Despite the Huskies looking awful, it still ended up a one posession game. Even ND game was even with a few minutes to play! ND has also shown us if you lose focus and miss shots, you can lose to TCU and Utah.

Sarah, Ash, KK, Ice, Jana, Morgan all still freshman and sophs, learning hugely in big games like this.

Last year when understaffed, KK Ash and Ice all played freely with no subs on the bench. This year in platoons, they play a bit stiff, worried about mistakes. Hopefully, over 20 Big East games, the new rotation becomes routine.

We still have athletic, pressing Tenn and loaded SC to look forward to, and BE games to smooth out our inconsistent play.

 

[jaydee602]

Morgan, at 6-2, was also playing in the post. She may be the best at boxing out and scrapping for rebounds, too. Her fundamentals are excellent, unsurprising as her high school coach was the estimable Sue Phillips. I like this young woman’s potential

So does Geno! He is impressed by her poise & confidence. She has been well coached in fundementals. She will have freshman growing pains, but the spotlight wasn't too big for Morgan.
I believe she wouldn't have hesitated to shoot a 3 point to tie the game if that final possession found the ball in her hands. That is admirable for a freshman!

 

[Bone Dog]

I thought this game showed improvement over the ND game, at least as far as the team’s approach to it.

Me too. The entire first half it looked like Coach Gottlieb had her team do to us what ND had done to both USC and us. They played intense, in your face, overplaying defense and hoped we wouldn’t make any perimeter shots. The second half, Geno had his team do the same thing and it worked really well. This will probably be the ‘scout’ on both teams going forward: get in their face and they’ll fold. The thing is, it won’t keep working quite so well, since both teams will learn to cope with it.

 

[Henry]

The beginning of the game for us was very disappointing. As coaches like to say, they punched us in the mouth, but we didn't punch back until the 2nd half.

I hope things improve and play becomes more consistent with more practice and the returns of Azzi and Aubrey.

 

[GoUconn7961]

While I agree that KK should get more playing time I don’t feel like Azzi is ready right now except limited time. Not because of injury but because she was unproductive tonight. If she was hot I would say yes let’s keep her out there.

I think Azzi still struggles with the mental aspect of healing. That’s what I feel is impacting her game.

 

[BobbyJ]

I think Azzi still struggles with the mental aspect of healing. That’s what I feel is impacting her game.

Bingo!