USF Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some postgame thoughts on the USF game.

• I suspect Jose was happy to watch the game from the stands tonight. ☺️
• There may not be a team in the country who can run their offense effectively against UConn. Tonight, the Husky defense was absolutely suffocating, forcing USF into 20 turnovers, while holding the Bulls to just 51 points on 37% shooting.
• When you lose two outstanding pg’s to the W, you might expect to stumble out of the gate next season. But the Huskies have barely missed a beat with their ball and player movement on offense, as KK, Sarah, Azzi & Ash orchestrate the offense with the newbies, youngsters and transfers all getting up to speed quickly. UConn is currently 2nd in the nation in assists per game, 3rd in A/TO ratio while averaging almost 90 ppg.
• For the 2nd game in a row, the Husky 3-pt marksmen lit it up from downtown as UConn went 9/23 with Azzi, amazingly, going 0-4 😮.
• It’s difficult to overstate just how important KK is to UConn’s strong 1st qtr starts this season, whether she is terrorizing the opposing pg on defense or pushing the ball up in transition and dropping dimes on offense. If she gets into foul trouble, the Huskies don’t lose much in Kayleigh.
• Everyone tends to focus on Azzi’s offense. Can you blame them? But Azzi has become a relentless on-ball defender, who’s strength, quickness and footwork are as good as any guard in WBB.
• Serah worked much harder tonight to establish low post position, before the ball arrived. As a result, when the ball arrived, she just had to turn and score. I sense Jamelle, the post whisperer, at work. 😎
• Blanca continues to impress whether she’s knocking down 3’s, driving to the basket like a freight train or locking down opponents on D.
• I really like the minutes that Allie is giving the Huskies off the bench.
• Sarah with 14 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers.....ho hum.......
• Next up the Blue Demons at Gampel on a very special day when Sue's #10 will be retired.

 

[victor64]

another well played road victory against an outclassed opponent.

-even though she had an "off" night shooting, Azzi has become a shutdown defender. It was on full display tonight.
-I am not sure what UConn will get from Blanca night to night. Tonight, she was fun to watch.
-I was hoping to see a little more of Serah. She looked a lot more comfortable on the block. She is starting to get it.
-As well as Allie is playing, she still gets beat off the dribble more than the staff would like.
-A weird compliment but Kayleigh does a great job running the second team unit.
-The top 8 are separating themselves. Right now, Geno can play any of the eight without a drop off in play.
-I am still cheering for CD but poor thing, she has to make a shot.
-Sarah does at least a couple of things a night that reminds us that the Jokic comparisons are appropriate.

Can't wait to watch the DePaul game.

 

[jcoton56]

Pretty good job on short turn around. Defense travels as they say.

 

[Kaizen]

Blanca is fearless, with 13 pts, three 3 pts.

 

[Huskie837]

USF with an appeal down 35 points with 1:23 left, priceless....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I think it is fair to say the defense continues to be the better side of play: USF 12 points in the first half. I had the impression the offense was really clicking and then the 2d half of the 2d quarter showed up. The offense looked rushed; even Azzi looked hyper quick. Was the defensive intensity pushing the offense out of sorts? Frankly, I didn't watch the second half but for a few minutes. I like that in that time everybody knew what they were doing and it looked alot like the first unit.

 

[Stagnant]

I loved Heckel’s movement without the ball in the 4th quarter. It’s garbage time, but she was flying all over the place. That’s what I want to see from players that are trying to fight for playing time.

 

[pghhuskydoc]

UConn is showing so much balance. How do you guard Sarah and Azzi and Blanca and KK??
Great contributions off the bench.
The team defense is beautiful
And remember, these players are still just getting to learn each other other’s tendencies.
So far, so good!

 

[maple]

Granted, it’s USF, but all of this is just building vital in-game experience, confidence/chemistry, and giving us a chance to work through some things. I was very pleased with our defensive intensity all game. And the balanced scoring was nice to see.

Picking one particular stat to highlight — Blanca with 13 points and our second leading scorer!

 

[pvdoggy]

Kayleigh really moves well without the ball.

 

[Tonyc]

I saw some of the girls steppin up. Playing much better and more of what we thought they would look like. I can only imagine how much better they will be. I feel Geno is trying to get his top 8-10 jelling and will work in everybody else. There are no weak links and there arent enough minutes to give everybody more minutes. As much as our top 10 are the top 10 there are more players deserving to be in the top 10 players but there just isnt enough room because we are just that good.

 

[rugbymate]

Kelis was quite the find. She will be a massive contributor as her career at UCONN progresses.

 

[PJCLaw]

I think it is fair to say the defense continues to be the better side of play: USF 12 points in the first half. I had the impression the offense was really clicking and then the 2d half of the 2d quarter showed up. The offense looked rushed; even Azzi looked hyper quick. Was the defensive intensity pushing the offense out of sorts? Frankly, I didn't watch the second half but for a few minutes. I like that in that time everybody knew what they were doing and it looked alot like the first unit.

USF scored 16 points in the first half, 10 in the 1st Q and 6 in the 2nd

 

[Stagnant]

Kayleigh really moves well without the ball.

Heckel saved that 4th quarter for me. I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed watching it if she hadn’t been on the floor.

 

[Basingstoke]

Kelis was quite the find. She will be a massive contributor as her career at UCONN progresses.

How about her power "and one" move?

 

[oldude]

Kelis was quite the find. She will be a massive contributor as her career at UCONN progresses.

There are about 200+ teams that Kelis would start for right now. On UConn she’s only the 6th guard.

 

[Next 12]

I almost got my like to see post. A 35/45 point win, Ashlynn shooting 3's and Caroline not scoring what I wanted her to do. But that's OK. Uconn is starting to find their groove as a team. So far, have we had a bench with the scoring possibilities as we have now? De Paul is going to wish they didn't have to play Uconn We ARE NO1 and will be to the end of the season.4 players in double figures and Sarah a doouble- double. Blanca is getting better every game and some of her moves are mind boggling. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!

 

[Geew1992]

Sarah with an absolute strong move in the paint.

 

[Centerstream]

I'm wondering if any of the people sitting/standing behind the announcers during Geno’s Postgame interview are BYers...

 

[freshler40]

Kelis was quite the find. She will be a massive contributor as her career at UCONN progresses.

Love her game, great dribble control and change of direction ability. Kelis is a top competitor and finishes very well. Our depth of guard play will carry us a long way. A full court press with this group will create many turnovers and loss of confidence among opponents. Even Sarah is a major threat to go all the way with dribble penetration.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[Happydad745]

I'm hoping CD finds the basket more consistently, but with the talent on this team, playing time is not easy to get. Strong is not our PG, but I think she is our field general, on the floor. K9 helps balance KK, by being ready to make the change without many problems.
I'm thinking, by March, Blanca will be even better...Azzi could have shot better, but sometimes all shooters get a cold streak, she always comes back.

 

[David54]

Based on a few highlight films and a few brief in game tapes I’m always cautious regarding freshman but so far the only thing about Blanca I find surprising is her 3 pt shooting efficiency.

 

[Stagnant]

I think Strong is the best passer on the team. she really does look a little like Jokic out there

 

[Dogdude]

I think Strong is the best passer on the team. she really does look a little like Jokic out there

And watching tonight, I felt like every player out there had some little thing you could quibble about...except for Sarah. So far this season, I'm not sure you can play the game any better.