USF Postgame Thread | Page 4 | The Boneyard

USF Postgame Thread

HopJim said:
Love the job Aubrey did on defense (and Geno taking a risk putting her on a small guard). Not sure what he was thinking putting Anna on one of the quickest guards. Anna often matches up ok to a player of similar size but not who you would want to keep up with a quick offensive player. Would not have wanted Megan or Williams to have to guard her either.
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You just answered your own question. If you don't want to put any of those players on a quick guard (and Crystal is on the other one) the only remaining option among the starters is Liv. How's that going to work?
 
It is funny to me that alternately Griffin and/or Makurat are either the second coming or horrible depending on performance game to game. IMO, Makurat was not abused on defense remotely to the extent described by some here but got a quick hook in both halves for whatever reason, coaches prerogative. The team played very well with Griffin in the 2nd half and she didn’t come back in, rightfully. But come on, Griffin had a very positive impact on the game and deserved the time she got but still made her share of poor plays. Makurat’s body language on the bench was extremely positive and engaged. Much ado about nothing IMO.
 
I started to read this thread without having seen the game or the final score. The comments caused me to be sure we had won by no more than 12 points, more likely under 10. I was shocked when one poster mentioned the score. Hey, guys, on the road against a team that is usually tough to play, we won by 20!
 
Dokey said:
It wasn’t a subpar game for Anna. It was a dreadful coaching job by Geno. Anna’s makes a slight mistake and gets pulled and USF rolls. Why not pull the three players who denied her assists in first few minutes. I watched her on the bench show a look that said, “When is the next flight to Poland?” The problem Geno has only one motivational technique—screaming and punishing. I suspect he may have ruined her. Crystal and Liv saved the day and it was Aubrey’s best performance. But this is the worst game I ever saw UConn play and I put it solely on miserable coaching.
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To quote the inimitable Max Bialystock, "There's a lot more to you than there is to you. WTF."
 
As usual, I think the tone of these postgame comments is unduly negative. Here are some positive things that (as far as I noticed) no one has commented on:
  1. UConn won the last three quarters by a margin of 54-28! The 4th quarter score was 21-6 in UConn's favor. Where did all those posters go who were complaining about poor fourth quarters, and thought that UConn's starters were getting exhausted because of underutilization of the bench?
  2. The main reason why USF won the first quarter was that they were 5-for-6 from 3 in that quarter. They then proceeded to shoot 1-12 for the rest of the game as the law of averages kicked in (plus some more effective UConn defense).
  3. Olivia was amazing and is really showing game-by-game progress, including in her case the South Carolina game. Those who say that UConn coaches cannot develop post players (who have a short memory to begin with, considering what they did with Stef Dolson) should take notice of what she has accomplished this year. Although the minutes are not yet shown in the ESPN box score as I write this, I don't believe that she ever went to the bench -- and had plenty of stamina to play effectively for 40 minutes.
  4. The offensive rebounding by USF, which was a major issue in the first half, became a non-issue in the second half. USF ended up with 17 offensive rebounds to UConn's 12, but the great majority of those came in the first half. I assume that was the result of some "X and O" adjustments done by the coaches at halftime. Another reason was that Aubrey was really effective on the boards at both ends, no mean achievement given that she started on the perimeter in every defensive possession. For the full game, the rebounding margin was only 37-34 in favor of USF, despite a much larger difference early in the game.
  5. As in all recent games, Christyn earned her minutes despite her poor shooting with the rest of her game, particularly her contribution on the boards (5 rebounds).
  6. For the full game, UConn shot 48% and USF shot 32% -- very creditable numbers against a team that was 7-3 in the AAC and was in second place at the start of the game.
  7. UConn had 17 steals to USF's 5. Despite an orgy of turnovers in the first quarter, UConn ended up with only 12 turnovers for the game, compared with 22 for USF.
@Dokey: I agree with you that Anna did not play poorly, but it was not one of her better games, and Geno needed to see if either Molly or Aubrey could make a greater contribution. It turned out that Aubrey had an outstanding game, so he "rode the hot hand", as any good coach would and should do in any sport. There have been games where Anna came off the bench to replace Kyla or someone else, played great, and got a ton of minutes for that reason (e.g., Oregon).

Don't worry -- it won't break Anna any more than similar treatment broke Megan, Olivia, Tina Charles, or numerous other players in recent history. Even stalwarts like Kia Nurse and Kelly Faris got benched in games where they simply weren't playing as well as their teammates. Anna shouldn't see it as punishment, and I don't think she will. After all, she saw Olivia getting greatly reduced minutes when she wasn't playing well, and today she got 40. If and when Anna plays better (and better than her teammates), the minutes will be there.
 
Another win by the “Not ready for prime time players “ or The gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Good effort by Liv start to finish. Meghan and Crystal do their job and Aubrey actually makes 4 layups in a row plus energized defense. Sit back and relax until mid March.
 
huskeynut said:
Get your facts straight. There was 2:25 on the clock before the end of halftime.
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Stop being such a nit picker. 2:25 on the clock isn’t a lot of time to warm up for the half.
 
I think Anna's body is just freshman broken down. Both her and Geno has said she is soar all over. She's being asked to work harder than she ever has. I think that's partially why her defense is pretty bad and just not finishing shots. She'll get into better shape.
 
victor64 said:
I chuckle every time I see it. One of the sets Geno has been using to generate movement is the Flex. It is at least 40 years old. I used it when I started coaching in the mid 80s. A clear indication that nothing in basketball ever really dies.
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Somebody else noticed! Love the back picks in that offense.
 
oldude said:
Some thoughts on the USF game:

  • After falling short vs the top 3 teams in WBB, UConn’s immediate goal is to take care of business in the AAC, hope some other ranked teams stumble and somehow end up as either a #1 or #2 seed in the coveted Ft Wayne region. It’s unlikely any AAC team beats the Huskies in the State of CT, so it comes down to a couple potential trap games on the road: USF & Cincinnati. Today, the Huskies survived the first trap game against the Bulls.
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Check: #4/4 NC State and #5/6 Mississippi State fell today - NC State for the 2nd time this week......
 
Huskie02 said:
Stop being such a nit picker. 2:25 on the clock isn’t a lot of time to warm up for the half.
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And they didn't warm up for the second half. Off with the warms and on to the court. So what! Worked out pretty well, didn't it.
 
Dokey said:
In more important news, Colorado failed to make one of two free throws in last seconds and allowed Stanford to win on a Hail Mary three pointer as time expired. A Stanford loss might have given UConn a higher seed.
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Great information to post in a UConn post game thread and also adding your thoughtful insights. :rolleyes:
 
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