USF Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the USF game:

• A step up in competition today for the Huskies against Geno’s golfing buddy and the USF Bulls, who always compete hard and play smart.
• I love to watch the Huskies storm out of the gate, go up 7-0 and force USF to call their 1st timeout less than 2 minutes into the game.
• Evidently Geno trusts Paige and Kaitlyn, his two 5th year players, leaving both on the floor in the 1st half with 2 fouls apiece.
• Interesting that Morgan got the call off the bench ahead of Q, once again draining her 1st shot, a corner 3, as well as her 2nd shot, another 3.
• It’s hard to fathom that Sarah is just a freshman. She does so many little things on the court to help this team win: boxing out, jumping passing lanes, setting screens, leading the break, dropping dimes in traffic and so on. Sarah has one serious basketball IQ.
• You just get the feeling that Paige can take the ball and score anytime she wants to. In addition, Paige is really working well off the ball, with Sarah, Kaitlyn and others getting very comfortable finding Paige both inside and out. Today she scored 22 pts on only 10 shots, in just 28 minutes on the floor.
• Ashlynn’s sophomore leap is more like a triple jump. Everything about her game is better than last season when she was only the BEFOY.
• The Huskies shot an incredible 66.7% from the floor. Ice and the Great Pyramid were a combined 7/9.
• Bring on the Heels!!!

 

[Bone Dog]

Paige scored a ton (22 points on 9-10 shooting) and made plays all over the court in the first half. But she played too much. Sarah and Ice and Ash played really well, but the halfcourt offense still bogged down at times. Fortunately, USF got tired in the second half and our youngsters practically ran them off the court in one stretch of the 3rd quarter, and that was the end of the game.

One classic moment in a pre-free-throw huddle: Jana stretched her arms around the entire team and pulled them all close. She will be the shelter for all of them eventually.

Another classic moment, at the end of the 3rd after Ash had engineered the blowout: Paige met Ash as she came off the court to give her a congratulatory hug. Ash’s face lit up. That’s a mentor.

Thankfully, the 4th quarter belonged to the youngsters – Paige Ash and Sarah sat down. Morgan got 15 minutes and was all energy. And Jana plays really hard. The stats don’t capture all the work she does. Same with Ice. This game was a confidence builder for both of them.

In these early games, the ones who sit out the 4th quarter are the indispensable players. Tonight it was Paige Ash and Sarah. This is practically their case for major rotation minutes for the rest of the season. I don't know if Ash will start once Azzi returns. But she will be on the court in the important passages.

 

[victor64]

-The Huskies are now 34-0 against the Bulls. Jose Fernandez is a good man and coach but also must be a glutton for punishment. lol

-He has good team this year though. Hard to imagine that there is a better team in their conference. A great early test for UConn.

-Paige may put up Caitlin Clark scoring numbers this year. The difference will be the variety of ways that Paige can score. Her post up game is almost unfair.

-Chen struggled some but her ability to penetrate and finish or pass to open shooters will take heat off Paige. Plus, she isn’t as good as KK as an on the ball defender but it is close.

-It only took me two games to start taking it for granted how good Sarah Strong is (tongue in cheek).

-The four guard look surfaced again. Was surprised how well it looked considering that USF appeared to have a size advantage.

-Shade had a a quiet first half offensively but had a fabulous second half. She gave Puisis fits defensively. I think Geno trusts her almost as much as he trusts Paige.

-It is amazing how much better the posts look in just a short time.

-A great win against a typically well coached Bulls team.

 

[jcoton56]

Lots to like, plenty of stuff to work on. A different opponent. We had enough answers.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Player of the Game: Paige Bueckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pghhuskydoc]

Really nice game by the Huskies against a very mature and well coached team. Paige, Shade, and the Froshies were fantastic. But I think a big story from this game was Ice. Great D, made her shots, and some beautiful assists.

 

[Kaizen]

Everyone is great.
Ash has 15, Sarah has 13 and Ice and Chen each with 8 pts.
Chen also has 7 asts...

 

[yhun89]

Notes:

Paige is Paige. 90% from the floor.

Chen's decision making seemed a bit rushed. Allie was open and yet Chen was still pivoting around below. A few other questionable passes as well. That'll improve as the season goes on. She is great at finding the open lane and the closeup jumper.

Morgan had 15 ish minutes and made the most of them. Love her energy on the boards. I think she was on the floor at least 4 times fighting for the rebound. Also made some nice shots.

Sarah is unreal for a freshman. Positioned for rebounds, steals, fast breaks, elite passing, still working on that 3, but once it develops more...

Jana was good. Not as good as she was last game, but she had some nice post moves, like that hook shot in the 1st half.

Ash lit up the second half. Midrange is pure. And of course the fast breaks she was getting every other possession.

Ice earned that starting spot tonight. Finally made some moves in the post rather than the outside. Good fight for boards as well.

Takeaways:

Way too much baseline driving- caused TOs and steals from USF.

I find it hard to believe anyone is taking Ash's spot in the starting five. She's infinitely better than she was last year, and she was already pretty damn good last year.

Paige's whistle is truly non existent. There are closeup clips of her arms getting hacked while slashing to the basket, or just being whacked in the shoulder on a lay in. But hey, nobody can call her a free throw merchant at least.

With UNC, our defense on the perimeter needs to be top notch. Donarski can be a lights out 3 point shooter when she's hot. We also need to stay out of foul trouble down below, now that they have Gakdeng, Thomas, and Toomey available. They combined for 21 rebounds. Ustby is also a huge foul drawer.

 

[Kaizen]

Player of the Game: Paige Bueckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Paige will be in every game the POG.
HM Shade, Strong and Chen.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[Stagnant]

There are really no negatives today. I actually think South Florida is better than most teams in the big east.

I don’t have Morgan as a shooter. So her being 3/3 from behind the arc this year. I don’t know what to make of that. I would say she has earned some more minutes.

What do you guys think of Morgan and Ziebell coming into the game before Q? Was Geno just looking to squeeze them in because they are new players? Can anything be gleamed from that?

 

[HuskyNan]

Please note from the above stats - Layups 24-27

 

[oldude]

View attachment 104679

How often have you ever seen a team shoot the same percentage from the floor as from the foul line - 66.7%?

 

[BobbyJ]

Congrats to Morgan Cheli on becoming the best 3 ball shooter in UConn history at 100%.

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe..

 

[Next 12]

Good hard fought game. USF as usual tried very hard to compete, but to no avail.This is the games of the future. 20 points off the bench as the freshmen make their mark for Uconn Ashlynn again proving last year was no fluke, This year she will be SO much better. 15 points, 2 RBs, 2steals for scores and no fouls and no turnovers. JANA was effective with rebounds and scoring. The Newbies participated in the game with a plus. This is our year! GO FRESHMEN!!! GO SOPHPMORES!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[diggerfoot]

Unfortunately, Bueckers the human eraser did not get any blocks in this game. She simply has to do better. ;-)

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Paige's shooting efficiency is insane. I'm astonished when she misses. Brings new meaning to "she's money."

 

[Happydad745]

Paige is pure All-American plus..
Strong is impressing the heck out of everyone and Shade is playing like a veteran. Great team play today.
One thing I did notice as a delightful change: Late in or during the 4th quarter was usually garbage time if we had a big lead, but not anymore. The talent on the bench is really good, and we have not seen the great flock of injured players come back yet.

 

[Stagnant]

i was worried about kk’s place on the team after the first half. But I feel a lot better after I watched the second half. Competition will make most of these kids better.

 

[Rb335]

Through 2 games, 9/10 players are shooting 57.9% or better from the field. Insanity! Q is down at 30%. This team is filled with shooters and the offense has been generating great looks. That’s a great sign.

The Paige during the first 20 minutes is the Paige we love to see. Aggressive and assertive.

Sarah continues to impress me. She’s outstanding passing the ball, solid defensively, quick, smart, and strong. I’m incredibly impressed with her skills and have nothing but praise.

Loving the dynamic Jana brings. She’s that strong post we’ve been searching for and she’s my X factor at this point. She can be pivotal to the success of this squad.

Great win, and great atmosphere at Gampel. Excited to see this team against another step up in competition against UNC.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

There are really no negatives today. I actually think South Florida is better than most teams in the big east.

I don’t have Morgan as a shooter. So her being 3/3 from behind the arc this year. I don’t know what to make of that. I would say she has earned some more minutes.

What do you guys think of Morgan and Ziebell coming into the game before Q? Was Geno just looking to squeeze them in because they are new players? Can anything be gleamed from that?

Jose' has been reported in Florida press that this may be his best team ever. It'll be fun to watch how they progress through the season.

On the Q question, off one game no. Several games it becomes a fair question what's going on.

 

[The deacon]

View attachment 104679

Thanks, Husky,Nan.

 

[Centerstream]

How often have you ever seen a team shoot the same percentage from the floor as from the foul line - 66.7%?

Reminds me of one my favorite Meat Loaf songs " Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad."

 

[Topdawg]

I was looking for Brady, Chen and Arnold to get going today. I am pleased there was progress. These are some of the players who have to step up when Bueckers is not on the floor. Hopefully, they will continue to figure out how to keep the ball moving and allow ChelI and Ziebell to get open shots. El Alfy will also get better with more playing time.

All in all, a good game. If we can get all 10 players contributing consistently, this team will be hard to beat.