USF Postgame Thread

[darkstar1]

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.

And Kayleigh looks even better with the starters.

 

[HopJim]

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

Kelis will need to learn how to play UConn level defense before she gets more minutes. Wonderful to watch on offense but does not anticipate or show the same level of quickness on defense.

 

[WiseWillie]

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.

All spot-on assessments OD, but especially love Jamelle, The Post Whisperer😉

 

[hookshot]

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.

Well Sarah did blow the one bunny if you recall

 

[EricLA]

Geno said in post game something like "Yeah, the first half was really good, so good thing we played the 2nd half the way we did."

I take that to mean things did not look good/great, and there will be some good film session on things to work on. A lot of nice individual things. I agree the team is continuing to gel and the core group is really separating themselves from the rest. Sadly it looks like Jana is no longer part of the core group.

It seems Geno has settled on KK, Ash, Azzi, Sarah, Serah, Kayleigh, Blanca, and Allie.

• I was encouraged to see Serah look a little better. She seems to be getting a little better each game. Her positioning before getting the ball was much improved from last game. Maybe Geno had an "intense film session with her"? LOL (a-la Blanca)
• The announcers kept talking about Sarah as the most complete player in the country. They are totally right. I continue to worry that her PPG needs to stay closer to 20 than 10, and for several games it's been closer to 10.
• Rebecca said the 2 top contenders for NPOY are Azzi and Sarah. Homerism? Perhaps, but not wrong IMHO. Meaning they are 2 of the very best in the country. Not even sure both will be 1st team AA as voters tend to like the "shiny" which usually means gaudy scoring stats, and Azzi may be the odd (wo)man out when the end of year comes, but we are a LONG way away from that. She just looks so smooth out there, even when her shot is off.
• KK and Ash - man just so solid
• Blanca is up and down, but IMHO she's one of the most impressive freshmen in the country. Before the season, some of us tried to guess where her ranking would be if she were ranked by HG, ASGR, etc. I believe she would easily be top 5, maybe top 2-3. Her potential is off the charts.
• Allie and Kayleigh continue to be really solid

The non core group looked pretty good, even if the 2nd half was an adventure and not so great. Yanna looks smooth, Jana battles, Kelis is going to be really good, and we get to see Caroline!

 

[hookshot]

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

Q is a close second, and maybe even more creative at that

 

[hookshot]

Geno said in post game something like "Yeah, the first half was really good, so good thing we played the 2nd half the way we did."

I take that to mean things did not look good/great, and there will be some good film session on things to work on. A lot of nice individual things. I agree the team is continuing to gel and the core group is really separating themselves from the rest. Sadly it looks like Jana is no longer part of the core group.

It seems Geno has settled on KK, Ash, Azzi, Sarah, Serah, Kayleigh, Blanca, and Allie.

• I was encouraged to see Serah look a little better. She seems to be getting a little better each game. Her positioning before getting the ball was much improved from last game. Maybe Geno had an "intense film session with her"? LOL (a-la Blanca)
• The announcers kept talking about Sarah as the most complete player in the country. They are totally right. I continue to worry that her PPG needs to stay closer to 20 than 10, and for several games it's been closer to 10.
• Rebecca said the 2 top contenders for NPOY are Azzi and Sarah. Homerism? Perhaps, but not wrong IMHO. Meaning they are 2 of the very best in the country. Not even sure both will be 1st team AA as voters tend to like the "shiny" which usually means gaudy scoring stats, and Azzi may be the odd (wo)man out when the end of year comes, but we are a LONG way away from that. She just looks so smooth out there, even when her shot is off.
• KK and Ash - man just so solid
• Blanca is up and down, but IMHO she's one of the most impressive freshmen in the country. Before the season, some of us tried to guess where her ranking would be if she were ranked by HG, ASGR, etc. I believe she would easily be top 5, maybe top 2-3. Her potential is off the charts.
• Allie and Kayleigh continue to be really solid

The non core group looked pretty good, even if the 2nd half was an adventure and not so great. Yanna looks smooth, Jana battles, Kelis is going to be really good, and we get to see Caroline!

Might have been Yanna's best game to date

 

[JoePgh]

I am still concerned and disappointed that Jana now seems to be in the cleanup crew, but it appears that ship has sailed. I wonder where Ice will fit into the post rotation when she becomes healthy.

It's also clear that Geno likes the "small" lineup with Sarah at the 5 and probably Blanca at the "4" (more or less). That's no problem against most teams, or even against top teams for some number of minutes. It certainly will give those teams major problems when they are on defense, since UConn can play 5-out and have perimeter scoring threats at every position. But I think Geno recognizes that it is not a 40-minute answer against big post players like Okot, Betts, or Reagan Beers. The biggest problem against those opponents will be rebounding -- Sarah can't be expected to shoulder that responsibility by herself and still be effective for 40 minutes at the offensive end.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned that South Florida was dominating in offensive rebounds until the 4th quarter. Then Jana came into the game and got 4 rebounds (3 offensive) in just 12 minutes, still mostly against USF's starters. Meanwhile Serah Williams got only 3 rebounds (all defensive) in 17 minutes, and Blanca got 2 rebounds (both defensive) in 19 minutes. To me, it is fairly clear that the best pure rebounder on the UConn roster against other big opponents is Jana. That is why I think it is important to the team that she work her way out of the cleanup crew before the postseason tournaments.

 

[victor64]

I am still concerned and disappointed that Jana now seems to be in the cleanup crew, but it appears that ship has sailed. I wonder where Ice will fit into the post rotation when she becomes healthy.

It's also clear that Geno likes the "small" lineup with Sarah at the 5 and probably Blanca at the "4" (more or less). That's no problem against most teams, or even against top teams for some number of minutes. It certainly will give those teams major problems when they are on defense, since UConn can play 5-out and have perimeter scoring threats at every position. But I think Geno recognizes that it is not a 40-minute answer against big post players like Okot, Betts, or Reagan Beers. The biggest problem against those opponents will be rebounding -- Sarah can't be expected to shoulder that responsibility by herself and still be effective for 40 minutes at the offensive end.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned that South Florida was dominating in offensive rebounds until the 4th quarter. Then Jana came into the game and got 4 rebounds (3 offensive) in just 12 minutes, still mostly against USF's starters. Meanwhile Serah Williams got only 3 rebounds (all defensive) in 17 minutes, and Blanca got 2 rebounds (both defensive) in 19 minutes. To me, it is fairly clear that the best pure rebounder on the UConn roster against other big opponents is Jana. That is why I think it is important to the team that she work her way out of the cleanup crew before the postseason tournaments.

I appreciate your optimism regarding Jana. In addition to the rebounding, she has significantly improved her ball handling and passing at the high post. She made a dump pass to a cutting K9 that was impressive.

Unfortunately she is still foul prone (over the back and illegal screens are still too frequent), struggles to finish and is not a good foul shooter. If Serah continues on the upward trend that she showed tonight, these issues may continue to limit her minutes.

My hope is that Geno experiments with a big lineup that has Serah and Jana and even Yanna on the floor at the same time. Offensive rebounds shouldn't be a problem with that group.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Jana came into the game and got 4 rebounds (3 offensive) in just 12 minutes, still mostly against USF's starters. Meanwhile Serah Williams got only 3 rebounds (all defensive) in 17 minutes, and Blanca got 2 rebounds (both defensive) in 19 minutes

I generally agree that Jana is working hard and effectively on the glass. I'm hoping there will be nights where Geno doesn't want to go small so much. I'm not forgetting Jana's game vs UCLA in the tournament last year. In Serah's defense, there aren't that many offensive rebounds available playing with the starters. I see Serah making real progress and was surprised she only played the 17 mins.

 

[CTBballfan243]

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

I am surprised the SEC and B1G schools don’t just come and try to buy some of UConn’s players. Make them NIL deals they can’t refuse and UConn can’t match. I suppose it is only a matter of time until that happens.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Jana is still a sophomore. She has more than two years left. If, as seems likely, the Big O will establish
herself as the starting center, I hope and believe that Jana will have significant contributions to make
on the teams of the next two years.

 

[Bone Dog]

I missed the game because my class ran over — a Lab Science class on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. I’ve just finished watching a replay on Hulu. A pretty dominant performance even on a short turnaround road game. Here’s my short term analysis for each rotation player:

• Sarah — steady
• Azzi — finds a way
• KK — energy
• Serah — automatic
• Ash — the ranger
• Kayleigh — everywhere
• Blanca — electric
• Allie — smooth

The girls are going to tear through the season without anyone noticing how awesome each of them is. No razzle. No dazzle. Just solid basketball everywhere on the court. An impeccable team assembled by the greatest coaching staff in basketball.

 

[fomalhaut]

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

I hate wasting time on those. If the refs can't be sure who touched the ball last, why can't it just be a jump ball (possession arrow)? I realize this would require an NCAA rule change, but it would speed up the game.

 

[fomalhaut]

All spot-on assessments OD, but especially love Jamelle, The Post Whisperer😉

Can she do some whispering to Jana too?

 

[fomalhaut]

Sarah with an absolute strong move in the paint.

You mean the offensive foul?

 

[HuskyNan]

I am surprised the SEC and B1G schools don’t just come and try to buy some of UConn’s players. Make them NIL deals they can’t refuse and UConn can’t match. I suppose it is only a matter of time until that happens.

Geno doesn’t like to recruit players that are just looking for NIL payouts. That’s one reason for the foreign players- they can’t get NIL in the U.S.

 

[oldude]

I am surprised the SEC and B1G schools don’t just come and try to buy some of UConn’s players. Make them NIL deals they can’t refuse and UConn can’t match. I suppose it is only a matter of time until that happens.

That’s not really my point. The NIL payouts for UConn WBB are fine. But none of the players on UConn’s roster came to Storrs primarily for the money. Kelis knew when she signed her LOI that the Huskies were loaded in the backcourt, and she came just the same, because she wanted to be part of UConn WBB.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[BobbyJ]

I am surprised the SEC and B1G schools don’t just come and try to buy some of UConn’s players. Make them NIL deals they can’t refuse and UConn can’t match. I suppose it is only a matter of time until that happens.

Probably because tampering with another school’s athletes is a Level 2 violation and is punishable by suspension and recruiting penalties. For a second there I thought you were serious.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[victor64]

Probably because tampering with another school’s athletes is a Level 2 violation and is punishable by suspension and recruiting penalties. For a second there I thought you were serious.

Geno has indicated that tampering is rampant and nothing is being done. He cited an example that if a player enters the portal and immediately signs with another school, tampering usually occurred.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[HuskyNan]

Please stay on topic