USF Postgame Thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard

USF Postgame Thread

EricLA said:
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!
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Might have been Yanna's best game to date
 
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.
 
JoePgh said:
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.
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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.
 
JoePgh said:
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
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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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
Huskie837 said:
USF with an appeal down 35 points with 1:23 left, priceless....
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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.
 
CTBballfan243 said:
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.
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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.
 
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CTBballfan243 said:
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.
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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.
 
CTBballfan243 said:
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.
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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.
 
BobbyJ said:
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.
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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.
 
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victor64 said:
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.
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Schools have to report it and show evidence and if they don’t that’s not GA’s problem. Watch what happens if someone comes after one of his kids.
 
Most enjoyable game to watch. We have season tickets so our seats are between USF fans. Very enjoyable conversations about basketball.

What impressed me about UConn was the intensity they play on defense. They were in USF's faces all night. And it didn't matter who was on the floor for UConn. They were literally in USF's grill all night. USF was frustrated all night.

The offense is getting there.
 
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People who are frustrated with Jana's minutes need to look first at the opponents' line-ups - USF plays two players over 6' (6'2, 6'3) and seldom at the same time and they are both athletic forwards not centers. Uconn's centers played a combined 29 minutes split 17/12 between Serah and Jana - the other 11 minutes was spent in small ball with Sarah and Yanna at center because that was a better match-up. There aren't that many teams that have a strong center on their roster, but as we saw last year, when we play one of those teams Jana will be an essential part of our roster.

We also present extra issues for teams when we do play small ball, and having Blanca is off the bench only adds to that effectiveness.
 
Dogdude said:
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.
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Regarding your first sentence, I feel the same way about some Boneyarders comments.
 
JoePgh said:
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.
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Jana started last season after the first few games and helped lead the team to a NC. Now, she comes back this season and has to prove herself again. If Geno concentrated on working with her as much as he is with Serah, I believe she will prosper. She has the footwork, moves, a mid-range jumper, a three-point shot and a jump hook shot. If her teammates knew ow to properly pass the ball into the post the way they do Sarah, she would be more efficient on offense. UConn is going to need her skills in order to win a NC.
 
donalddoowop said:
Jana started last season after the first few games and helped lead the team to a NC. Now, she comes back this season and has to prove herself again. If Geno concentrated on working with her as much as he is with Serah, I believe she will prosper. She has the footwork, moves, a mid-range jumper, a three-point shot and a jump hook shot. If her teammates knew ow to properly pass the ball into the post the way they do Sarah, she would be more efficient on offense. UConn is going to need her skills in order to win a NC.
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If she had all these things she'd be playing a lot. But she doesn't have them.
 
BobbyJ said:
If she had all these things she'd be playing a lot. But she doesn't have them.
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Agreed. And she did not help us win a National Championship game last year...

Here is the box score

www.espn.com

UConn 82-59 South Carolina (Apr 6, 2025) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the UConn Huskies vs. South Carolina Gamecocks NCAAW game from April 6, 2025 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

2 points in 12 minutes.
 
donalddoowop said:
Jana started last season after the first few games and helped lead the team to a NC. Now, she comes back this season and has to prove herself again. If Geno concentrated on working with her as much as he is with Serah, I believe she will prosper. She has the footwork, moves, a mid-range jumper, a three-point shot and a jump hook shot. If her teammates knew ow to properly pass the ball into the post the way they do Sarah, she would be more efficient on offense. UConn is going to need her skills in order to win a NC.
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Your last line may have merit but the harsh reality is that she has bad hands, not very good feet, not quick to the ball to capture a rebound, and no particular shooting touch either inside or outside. She runs the court pretty good for a big but not like all the other gazelles in the core 9 rotation. She has big heart, big effort, and great teamate. She could well be a key contributer in say a final 4 versus UCLA, but don't fault Geno for having her out when everybody in is actually better
 
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