USC vs. USC Tonight at 7:00 p.m., EST

[Zorro]

All true. Nevertheless, I am betting that ND will indeed be #2 on Monday. Not that that means much.

 

[msf22b]

Sure, South Carolina didn't look good tonight, but they won the game, which is really the goal for the first game of the season. I doubt that much insight can be gained on opening night because of the jitters that cannot be calmed by practice or exhibition game blowouts. Overreacting one way or the other seems unwarranted to me. How the Gamecocks develop over the season is far more important than how they looked tonight.

Bah, humbug

 

[EricLA]

Sure, South Carolina didn't look good tonight, but they won the game, which is really the goal for the first game of the season. I doubt that much insight can be gained on opening night because of the jitters that cannot be calmed by practice or exhibition game blowouts. Overreacting one way or the other seems unwarranted to me. How the Gamecocks develop over the season is far more important than how they looked tonight.

Disagree to an extent. Of course it all matters in March/April. BUT coming into this season, in some circles, people felt that SC could really challenge UCONN. After all, SC brought back ALL 5 starters from last year's team and added the undisputed #1 player in the nation as a freshman.

Problem is, as I've said on numerous occasions, SC was overrated last year because they simply didn't play a single top ten team outside of Tennessee and lost in the sweet 16 in the NCAA's. Also, they had a host of single digit wins over unranked teams, just like tonight.

Just because a team brings back all their players does not make them great. And given that they have SO much experience, coming out flat is inexcusable, unless your team is satisfied with bowing out in the sweet 16. It's one reason UCONN is always so good - they are intense ALL the time. UCONN or ND would have beaten USC by at least 40, and that's what a team with NC aspirations should have done, not limp to a 9 point victory...

I would argue that every top team will develop during the year, and will be better by March/April than they are now. UCONN certainly will be as Chong or Nurse is acclimated as the starter, Stokes gets accustomed to playing 25+ MPG with the starters, Tuck shakes off the rust, and Williams acclimates in her role as a forward. ND - similar story. Lost 2 great players and have to get Reimer used to starting as well as your fab freshman.

But great teams don't squeak out single digit wins over unranked and somewhat average opponents.

Lastly, I don't think anyone on here is over-reacting. The strongest words I read were that they don't look like a NC challenging team, and that they should drop to #3 behind ND. One reason so many UCONN fans are commenting (IMHO) is that we were inundated with SC fans telling us how fabulous their team would be this season, and that win was anything but fabulous.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Not just South Carolina fans but a host of others as well.

ND is my #2 team. Preseason and after 1st two nights of games that hasn't changed. South Carolina needs to show me something to make me a believer.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

South Carolina has played one game, a game they won. Do we really need to rub it in others' faces that it wasn't a blowout? I'm sure they realize that. Four years ago the Huskies lost at home to St. Johns. That same year they were one putback away from going to the title game. I think a wait-and-see approach is needed.

 

[EricLA]

I'm not sure who you think is rubbing anything in anyone's faces, but when their fans come on here and argue with me when I call last year's SC team "over rated" and they go on and on about it, I think some "dose of reality" posts are in order. If you think differently that's fine, but I don't consider anything on here "rubbing it on others' faces". But I'm very glad the "post police" are represented tonight!

 

[j66kicker]

South Carolina has played one game, a game they won. Do we really need to rub it in others' faces that it wasn't a blowout? I'm sure they realize that. Four years ago the Huskies lost at home to St. Johns. That same year they were one putback away from going to the title game. I think a wait-and-see approach is needed.

Agree. I mean, at least they played a credible team. SoCal isn't ranked, but I wouldn't call them a 'cupcake'. S. Carolina got the win. I don't think it was a 'bad win'. And I'm sure they started getting some things figured out in the process.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I'm not referring soley to your post, Eric. But I do think there's a nah-nah thing going on since one of the preseason favorites to contend struggled. If SC is still struggling like this in three months, then I think many will have to reassess their original thoughts on the team.

 

[Topdawg]

Sure, South Carolina didn't look good tonight, but they won the game, which is really the goal for the first game of the season. I doubt that much insight can be gained on opening night because of the jitters that cannot be calmed by practice or exhibition game blowouts. Overreacting one way or the other seems unwarranted to me. How the Gamecocks develop over the season is far more important than how they looked tonight.

High seedlings create expectations and reactions. Let's see how quickly this team matures.

 

[Kibitzer]

For the record the USC Women of Troy (not theTrojans) played the USC (Lady?) Gamecocks.

I offer no editorial comment.

 

[UConnCat]

I think the reactions of fans here is pretty typical of fans generally. The reaction to a less than stellar performance is generally proportionate to the amount of hype leading up to the performance. SC's coach, players and fans have not been shy about talking of a national championship. Nothing at all wrong with that but it's always a good idea to back up the talk. That didn't happen tonight but there's a lot of time to figure things out if that is all that's required.

One thing Staley should be able to figure out is what lineup to put on the floor. To her credit she quickly abandoned the plan to play A'ja Wilson at the 2 guard as a mediocre USC team was able to expose that lineup in all of 4 minutes. South Carolina's best lineup tonight was with A'ja Wilson on the bench. I trust Staley will figure out how best to use a talent like Wilson but it won't be at the 2 guard. The part I'm less sure about is whether So Carolina has fixed last year's flaws (e.g., lack of perimeter shooting when inside options are shut down) which was a problem tonight. Counting on Sessions to make 3s to win the game is not a winning formula.

 

[hoophuskee]

Sure, South Carolina didn't look good tonight, but they won the game, which is really the goal for the first game of the season. I doubt that much insight can be gained on opening night because of the jitters that cannot be calmed by practice or exhibition game blowouts. Overreacting one way or the other seems unwarranted to me. How the Gamecocks develop over the season is far more important than how they looked tonight.

Sure there is. Some of us thought there was an over-reaction to having Wilson which from some said that USC would give UCONN fits. For me, I questioned how they could control the tempo. The fact USC didn't start a true pg tells me they're searching and unless Sessions (or unless Roy is a pg) can start and play productive big minutes as a pg - it just re-affirms my opinion. You're right it's still early but it doesn't take away from the fact that they have a long way to go.

 

[msf22b]

I would have imagined that a good coach would have realized in practice that Aja can't guard college two's
Perhaps the starting lineup was an opp for Dawn to prove to Asia that that was the fact (at least a credible explanation).
If so, I can't imagine Geno doing that.

Conversely, if Dawn didn't realize that Asia had deficiencies in that area, then perhaps she's not as good as we thought (the coach, not Asia).

 

[hoophuskee]

I would have imagined that a good coach would have realized in practice that Aja can't guard college two's
Perhaps the starting lineup was an opp for Dawn to prove to Asia that that was the fact (at least a credible explanation).
If so, I can't imagine Geno doing that.

Conversely, if Dawn didn't realize that Asia had deficiencies in that area, then perhaps she's not as good as we thought (the coach, not Asia).

I thought the same thing. She had to see it and of course would deny she saw it.

 

[semper]

This is a UConn board, and it would seem we can say what we believe about other teams, as long as we aren't (or should be anyway) mean spirited. Some of us have been saying that ND is probably no. 2, and so it's only human to have a game play out that suggests we might be right.

 

[EricLA]

I'm not referring soley to your post, Eric. But I do think there's a nah-nah thing going on since one of the preseason favorites to contend struggled. If SC is still struggling like this in three months, then I think many will have to reassess their original thoughts on the team.

Fair enough boss, and as you said, we will know soon enough as the season progresses!!

 

[easttexastrash]

I'm not sure who you think is rubbing anything in anyone's faces, but when their fans come on here and argue with me when I call last year's SC team "over rated" and they go on and on about it, I think some "dose of reality" posts are in order. If you think differently that's fine, but I don't consider anything on here "rubbing it on others' faces". But I'm very glad the "post police" are represented tonight!

You have never been one to rub anything in so I am not sure why anyone would get that impression.

 

[easttexastrash]

S Carolina's offense looked disjointed until the end of the game, at which point they went with last year's players and separated from SoCal. I think there are a lot of new pieces that Staley has to fit together.

I also think Cooper has a better team than most thought. They brought a real fighting spirit to the game and I was impressed by their performance.

And let's make note that they played a team from a power conference, not UMass Lowell, like Notre Dame did. Had ND played a better opponent we would have a better comparison of the two teams.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

For the record the USC Women of Troy (not theTrojans) played the USC (Lady?) Gamecocks.

I offer no editorial comment.

Just Gamecocks, "Lady" was dropped about 20 years ago and, yes, Columbia is the double entendre capital of the world.

We didn't play well tonight, but we won. Southern Cal fouled a lot tonight until they had a lot of players with 4 fouls. Once that happened, we went on a run to take control. Southern Cal has a pretty good team and I think they'll be in the tournament again. It's not the size of the victory that matters, but the fact that it's a "W". A'ja Wilson is not a "2", but I actually think Dawn is trying to show her that by letting her play a little 2. Sometimes a little psychology helps later on. As the season goes on I think A'ja will play the 3 75% of the time with the rest split between the 2 and the 4. We didn't come out flat tonight, I think the team came out anxious to impress an opening night crowd over 10,000 after a big, last second football win at Florida early in the day.

 

[hoophuskee]

Just Gamecocks, "Lady" was dropped about 20 years ago and, yes, Columbia is the double entendre capital of the world.

We didn't play well tonight, but we won. Southern Cal fouled a lot tonight until they had a lot of players with 4 fouls. Once that happened, we went on a run to take control. Southern Cal has a pretty good team and I think they'll be in the tournament again. It's not the size of the victory that matters, but the fact that it's a "W". A'ja Wilson is not a "2", but I actually think Dawn is trying to show her that by letting her play a little 2. Sometimes a little psychology helps later on. As the season goes on I think A'ja will play the 3 75% of the time with the rest split between the 2 and the 4. We didn't come out flat tonight, I think the team came out anxious to impress an opening night crowd over 10,000 after a big, last second football win at Florida early in the day.

I think you and your coach are out of you minds if you continue with Wilson as 2guard. Though I've only seen Wilson play sparingly on a video - she doesn't look at all like should handle being a 2guard.

Secondly, if Wilson is the 3, where do Welch and Mitchell play? One plays the 2- Mitchell I suppose. But where does it leave Welch? Are you trying to say Welch is better 4 than Wilson? Or are you going to force Mitchell to play the pg?

 

[easttexastrash]

Wilson has Parker-like skills but she needs to be playing the 4. As much as she wants to be a 3 I just don't think she is ready to play that position.

Coates is a real talent.

What I didn't understand tonight was how S Car tried to run the offense through the players in the corners. I felt like there was way too much passing going on to and from the corner, which seemed to disrupt S Car's offensive rhythm. With all that height and length the high/low game was not used nearly enough.

 

[Orangutan]

It took me about 5 minutes of watching Wilson in the McDonald's game to realize she is not a guard. This just confirmed it for me.

She's a faceup 4 in my opinion but I don't know how that fits into SC's plans. I guess 3 is the best place for her right now.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I think you and your coach are out of you minds if you continue with Wilson as 2guard. Though I've only seen Wilson play sparingly on a video - she doesn't look at all like should handle being a 2guard.

Secondly, if Wilson is the 3, where do Welch and Mitchell play? One plays the 2- Mitchell I suppose. But where does it leave Welch? Are you trying to say Welch is better 4 than Wilson? Or are you going to force Mitchell to play the pg?

I said in my post that Wilson is not a "2" or did you miss that? I said that, IMO, Dawn is letting Wilson play a little 2 as a psychological ploy to show her that she's not a 2 in college ball. Right now, Welch is a better 4 than Wilson. I think Wilson will end up playing mostly 3 this season. Sessions is our PG, though I don't know why she didn't start tonight. I think Cuevas will be the main backup at PG with Mitchell playing mostly 2 and a little PG. Alaina Coates is a beast at the 5. IMO, our best lineup is Sessions at 1, Mitchell at 2, Wilson or maybe Dozier at 3, Welch at 4 and Coates at 5. Tonight, Roy was our best backup at 2. It will be interesting to see the starting lineup against Clemson on Thursday night.

 

[Orangutan]

And let's make note that they played a team from a power conference, not UMass Lowell, like Notre Dame did. Had ND played a better opponent we would have a better comparison of the two teams.

We won't have to wait long. ND Plays Michigan State on Wednesday.

 

[hoophuskee]

Wilson has Parker-like skills but she needs to be playing the 4. As much as she wants to be a 3 I just don't think she is ready to play that position.

Coates is a real talent.

What I didn't understand tonight was how S Car tried to run the offense through the players in the corners. I felt like there was way too much passing going on to and from the corner, which seemed to disrupt S Car's offensive rhythm. With all that height and length the high/low game was not used nearly enough.

You see it and I see it and I'm sure many others do - on this thread as well it has been mentioned. So the quesion is - what the heck is the coach thinking and maybe some of the USC fans thinking? It's not meant to be a slam- but how can it be expected Wilson as a 2? I'd be shocked is she could cut her teeth at that position.

Seccndly- I agree with you about Wilson as a 4. Now I'd like to ask you something -- please don't take offense to this -- you were one of the posters that was admonsihing us husky fans that you seemed to think they are a real threat to UCONN- in addtion to being extremely high on Wilson, am I right? So you think a team that is predominantly going to play a freshman at the 4 and Coates whom you love as a soph at the 5- are going to outplay UCONN in the paint with UCONN having upperclassmen at the 4 and 5 positions? Of which Stewart is a class ahead (i.e. better)?

Or are you trying to say Stewart isn't a class ahead (better- in a higher class) than USC's soph and frosh?