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Utah Postgame Thread

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Seems like Jana is playing worse compared to the end of last season.
Hard to tell as her minutes seem less and she isn't paired with the starters. Two things might help her, keeping her arms vertical and closing out on a player she has switched to. Too often she plays a long hedge and the opposing player is open for a three pointer. Jana rebounding position looks good and she calls for the ball well. With playing the second group though it seems harder to get her the ball down low.
 
Allie scored but she also gave up the ball a couple of times when she should have shot the ball.

Willam’s did have eight boards but I believe that four of them were off of her misses.

Blanca showed she can play. If it were not for Serah being a senior Q would be the starting center.

Jana have no idea where her game went. Hopefully she finds it.

Morgan and Ice are still on the disabled list.

Was hoping that Geno would have played Gandy in at least the final minute.

Azzi was an All American again today. Geno should have left her in. Almost a double-double. LOL. No way coach leaves her in now.

Get some rest.

Happy Thanksgiving ladies….
 
Also, I don’t know how other people feel about it. But I thought the commentary was just horrendous today. The commentators made claims or statements that are just easily disproven by anyone that watches UConn on the regular.
They announcers thought they were doing studio analysis. They weren't even watching the game.
They got so emotional when Serah picked up her 3rd foul. But they didn't notice it was actually a held ball because they were talking nonstop & ignoring the play.
 
Really enjoyable game - aside from a bit of a mystifying 2nd quarter. I do love that 5 bench players got over 10 minutes, but the 2nd quarter shows that when you have a team as fundamentally sound as Utah, who has their starters playing, certain bench players just are not a good mix.
  • Another uber impressive game by Blanca. Azzi may have been POG, but Blanca was terrific. Sure she makes some mistakes, but she's a budding superstar for sure.
  • Even tho KK picked up 2 quick fouls, her defense was tenacious. Love that she drained a 3
  • I wish Sarah got more shots - I'd love to see her score over 20 on a more regular basis. She's soooo good.
  • Ash really does a lot of very good things out there.
  • Allie continues to impress. Love her growth and improvements. She really looks like she belongs out there.
Loved seeing a lot of bench time and Q4 was surprisingly better than Q2. Great overall game. Meant to add on edit - Utah plays a really solid form of offense and it took a LOT of effort for UConn to play such lock down defense. That was VERY impressive.

I continue to be confused by the time Serah is getting. She's long and athletic and a good defender and rebounder, but her offense is just a mess and she's not fitting in at this time.

Serah is playing good defense and rebounding. Her lay-ups need work. She also seems to be forcing shots, like her double dribble attempt. She's obviously more capable if she averaged 20 ppg in the Big Ten. Jana was foul prone today, and I'm not sure why Ice is not getting minutes. Hurt? The alternative seems to be Sarah and Blanca.
 
there was a time Allie traveled in the first half when she should have taken the shot. Heckel did the same thing against Ohio state. I think they passed on the shots because they weren’t confident. Hopefully that changes.
 
Few Thoughts:
*Fun game to watch especially after the nerve recking game against Michigan
*IMO Blanca is the key for UConn's ability to repeat as she is clearly the best option to be that 3rd scorer on this team. Great game today (aside than that 1 missed layup) and should give her a lot of confidence going forward and she can hit the open 3 which is very much needed for this team success against the top teams.
*The player who was supposed to be that 3rd scorer (Serah) is mystifying in her futility under the basket on offence especially considering her track record at Wisconsin.
*Azzi and Sarah were amazing as usual. Smart, fundamental, great basketball players.
*Concerned about Ash and Kayleigh Heckel inability to hit 3's and Allie's struggles in the first half hitting the 3's. It was good to see her hitting the 3's in the second half.
*Really liked the way the bench played in the second half. Disciplined on offense and tight defense.
*As was mentioned Geno seemed to be very patient with Serah and have to wonder when he will make changes ot the starting 5 if she continues to not find her game.
*A feel-good game for the team and the fans!
A thought on Serah’s game today. She rebounded effectively and played really well on defense. Her shot misses from point blank range are mystifying. I’m hoping that she fixes that soon, because if and when Serah finds her offense, She elevates UConn to another level.
 
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  • I continue to be confused by the time Serah is getting. She's long and athletic and a good defender and rebounder, but her offense is just a mess and she's not fitting in at this time.
I think Geno wants to get her going. It seems to me that she’s suffering a crisis of confidence
 
Good game overall. Azzi, Blanca and Sarah played very well and sealed the victory.

KK, K9, and Kelis were strong on defense and took 4,2, and 3 shots, respectively. Ashlyn and Allie contributed meaningful minutes and points.

The 5-position is where the focus needs to be over the next several games. They need to improve to the level they were last year and then go well beyond. We have the talent to have a strong inside-out game and spread the floor better. Serah contributed 8 rebounds and Jana 2, out of a total of 41. Sarah had 4 and Blanca 5.

A good 2 days. Lots to reflect on and lots to work on. Go team!!
 
I continue to be confused by the time Serah is getting. She's long and athletic and a good defender and rebounder, but her offense is just a mess and she's not fitting in at this time.

Serah is playing good defense and rebounding. Her lay-ups need work. She also seems to be forcing shots, like her double dribble attempt. She's obviously more capable if she averaged 20 ppg in the Big Ten. Jana was foul prone today, and I'm not sure why Ice is not getting minutes. Hurt? The alternative seems to be Sarah and Blanca.
Ice is still injured.
 
A thought on Serah’s game today. She rebounded effectively and played really well on defense. Her shot misses from point blank range are mystifying. I’m hoping that she fixes that soon, because if and when Serah finds her offense, She elevates UConn to another level.
She was more aggressive today, which was great. Once Serah starts making the bunnies, look out.
 
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Really enjoyable game - aside from a bit of a mystifying 2nd quarter. I do love that 5 bench players got over 10 minutes, but the 2nd quarter shows that when you have a team as fundamentally sound as Utah, who has their starters playing, certain bench players just are not a good mix.
  • Another uber impressive game by Blanca. Azzi may have been POG, but Blanca was terrific. Sure she makes some mistakes, but she's a budding superstar for sure.
  • Even tho KK picked up 2 quick fouls, her defense was tenacious. Love that she drained a 3
  • I wish Sarah got more shots - I'd love to see her score over 20 on a more regular basis. She's soooo good.
  • Ash really does a lot of very good things out there.
  • Allie continues to impress. Love her growth and improvements. She really looks like she belongs out there.
  • I continue to be confused by the time Serah is getting. She's long and athletic and a good defender and rebounder, but her offense is just a mess and she's not fitting in at this time.
Loved seeing a lot of bench time and Q4 was surprisingly better than Q2. Great overall game. Meant to add on edit - Utah plays a really solid form of offense and it took a LOT of effort for UConn to play such lock down defense. That was VERY impressive.
Agree with most of your observations, Eric, especially touting Blanca's upside. She is wonderfully athletic, and, if she'd stop trying to do so much, she'd be more effective. I'd really like to see her starting games to accelerate her development and because of Serah's disappointing work, which you described well. With the players on this team, giving Blanca more play time is the best move at the moment.
The collective problem remains the lack of quality guards. Aside from Azzi, no other guard has an all-around game. You get a bit from one, and something from another, and so on. So putting the guards he has out there is about all Geno can do.
Just spend a moment this Thanksgiving to appreciate Sarah and Azzi; where would we be w/out them?
 
Some thoughts on the Utah game:
  • After Friday’s nailbiter, UConn fans needed an old-fashioned blowout. The Huskies delivered with a 52 point romp over the Utes.
  • One of the very best things about this UConn team is that they are loaded with outstanding on-ball defenders, who can switch 1-5 and pressure opponents. KK, Sarah, Azzi, Ash, Kayleigh, Blanca, and even Serah are all quick-handed ball hawks. Today UConn forced 24 turnovers.
  • Sarah & Azzi both with brilliant, stat-stuffing games today worthy of 1st-team AA and NPOY candidates, with both stars playing under 30 minutes
  • If Blanca keeps knocking down 3’s, we are going to have to reevaluate our initial assumptions about her game!!! 🤩
  • Geno spread out PT today, as the bench provided some meaningful minutes. He’s still experimenting with his rotation. Blanca & Kayleigh seem to be set. But after that, it’s a work in progress. Nice to see both Kelis & Caroline get some early minutes today.
  • I'm guessing that Allie felt the weight of the world was off her shoulders once she dropped a couple 3's.
  • Anytime UConn plays 2 games in 3 days, as they did Friday & today, they have the benefit of simulating the preparation and competition of the Big Dance.
  • UConn powered through their first 6 games against a relatively strong group of OOC opponents. After Thanksgiving, the BE schedule begins along with 5 remaining OOC games mixed in: USF, USC, Iowa, ND & TN. The Huskies still have a lot of work to do to be firing on all cylinders. But so far, so good.
  • Grandkids next weekend, so I will thank another BY’er in advance for initiating the Xavier postgame thread.
As usual, an on-point overview of the game, oldude. Yes, Blanca, if she stop thinking she's an NFL RB and stop blasting into the opponent, she might well become our third scorer. As one poster pointed out, Serah seems too rushed, that's why she misses so many bunnies--just relax. I see Blanca getting more and more minutes for sure..

And as was observed, Azzi is just consistently lethal and playing her best ball of her career. I need to get more hyped u when she shoots, but I've already concluded that it's going in.
 
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Should Geno play Sarah and Azzi 40 minutes a game so fans don’t hyperventilate about winning a quarter by “only” one point?

Geez... Centerstream's comment was fair. It was not a pretty qtr and Utah outscored Uconn most of that qtr, with Sarah playing most of that qtr while Azzi played the entire qtr.
 
A thought on Serah’s game today. She rebounded effectively and played really well on defense. Her shot misses from point blank range are mystifying. I’m hoping that she fixes that soon, because if and when Serah finds her offense, She elevates UConn to another level.
Agreed! Her offense is going to come. Meanwhile, Serah's defense is EXCELLENT. That one play where she moved from defending the guard on the perimeter, to blocking the shot at the rim? Not many bigs can keep lateral pace with a player to the basket like that. Her offense will come, defensively she's very good and I was glad to see her rebounds step up today.
 
Also, I don’t know how other people feel about it. But I thought the commentary was just horrendous today. The commentators made claims or statements that are just easily disproven by anyone that watches UConn on the regular.
These two had me gritting my teeth from the openig qtr. Watched with the mute on.
 
Few Thoughts:
*Fun game to watch especially after the nerve recking game against Michigan
*IMO Blanca is the key for UConn's ability to repeat as she is clearly the best option to be that 3rd scorer on this team. Great game today (aside than that 1 missed layup) and should give her a lot of confidence going forward and she can hit the open 3 which is very much needed for this team success against the top teams.
*The player who was supposed to be that 3rd scorer (Serah) is mystifying in her futility under the basket on offence especially considering her track record at Wisconsin.
*Azzi and Sarah were amazing as usual. Smart, fundamental, great basketball players.
*Concerned about Ash and Kayleigh Heckel inability to hit 3's and Allie's struggles in the first half hitting the 3's. It was good to see her hitting the 3's in the second half.
*Really liked the way the bench played in the second half. Disciplined on offense and tight defense.
*As was mentioned Geno seemed to be very patient with Serah and have to wonder when he will make changes ot the starting 5 if she continues to not find her game.
*A feel-good game for the team and the fans!
With all due respect, missing one three in the first half is not exactly “struggling”! There is no question in my mind that Allie will be a very solid (at minimum) player for us ( maybe this year but certainly her final two). If she can get it going like she’s capable of from three, she’ll be a solid b/u for Azzi.

As for Serah, I’m seeing two things that are really holding her back imo, one, she always seems to rush things when she gets the ball down low, two, it seems to me that she gets a lot of ill-advised entry passes. By this, I mean she often gets the ball when there are two or three defenders around her already! I think the passers need to be more aware of this and avoid putting her in bad situations. Certainly, she is struggling but I continue to think what this team will be like if/when she can start giving us 16/8 per game!

Finally, the player I’m most concerned about, is K9! She seems (to me) to be really struggling, not just with her shot but with her decision making. Hopefully, she can get back on track as well as she is an important piece of the puzzle.

I’m very happy, hough not surprised, that Ash seems to be working her way out of her recent doldrums. This was a well-timed game and now gives the team a week of rest and practice after erasing whatever bad feelings some may have had from the Michigan game. I feel a bit sorry for Xavier next Sunday.
 
Alot of good comments as expected after a blow out. Two more that stood out to me.

1. While I appreciated Blanca's 3's, her drive to the basket relatively early in the game showed growth. After stealing the ball, instead of going full speed and trying to overpower the defender, she slowed down, gave a subtle push to gain room and made the shot much easier. After a tough Mich. game when it seemed she was trying to run over everyone, slowing down and making this layup without an offensive foul or missed shot showed she is listening and paying attention.
2. Serah may need some extended bench time to get her game back in shape. Particularly on offense, she has not looked like a Division 1 player. Yes, she has several blocks and a handful of rebounds each game but not offering any offense. Not sure if she is experiencing a mental or other issue but will leave this one to Geno.

Fun game for a UConn fan to watch.
 
I'm really glad Blanca was able to come back swinging after looking like a freshman against Michigan.

I also walked away just amazed by their conditioning. Michigan clearly looked tired in their game against Syracuse but you couldn't tell at all that UConn had a tough game Friday night.

I felt just a tiny bit sorry for Utah. I think quite a few UConn players came out with something to prove after Friday night and it was great to see. Bodes well for the season even though my blood pressure could have done without that 3rd quarter Friday night.

BTW-KK totally reminded me of Renee today and I loved it. She was a menace on D.
Despites Geno's calm demeanor, they probably got a tongue-lashing after Friday's game. Today they came out like they didn't want another tongue-lashing. The defense was once again like piranhas on a roast.
 
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Geez... Centerstream's comment was fair. It was not a pretty qtr and Utah outscored Uconn most of that qtr, with Sarah playing most of that qtr while Azzi played the entire qtr.
People complain that Geno doesn’t develop the bench but when he does put them in and they don’t blow away the opponent, fans complain about the scoring, turnovers, etc.

Geno likes to leave an experienced player in with inexperienced ones, so Sarah played. She passed up shots to give the second team more opportunities. It’s valuable for the bench to get playing time against the opponent’s first team but it does cause a less attractive box score
 
Easy win for the group. Defense was super for first 30 min. Too many silly reach in fouls.Despite the impressive blow out the offense looked out of sync often. Too many missed layups!
S Strong - composed and in control. Would like to see more bursts of quickness and explosive strength.
Azzi- best game in a long time . Excelled in every aspect of play.
Kk- seems to be slimmer , less athletic than last year. Overall good. Stop dribbling into a blind ally. More assists please.
Ash- better game . Good defense. At times gets lost racing around. Still rushing some shots.
Sarah w- poor initial move with the ball. Spin move needs work. Must look around more to improve passing options and assists. Good energy.
Bianca- better game , better focus. Missing easy lay ups lack of focus.
Patterson- needs game time not garbage time
Jana- square up shoulder , hips under them . Too much leaning and drifting on shots. On other hand girl gets fouled a lot and no calls. Sets up well defender on her backside and Heckel and Shade don’t pass her the ball.
Heckel- finding her way. Like KK more assists please.
Fisher- freshman learning . Move your feen and stop reaching
Ziebell- drifts in and out of the game.more focus. Improve that first step on defense.
Ducharme - not in shape, poor defender. Shots missing rim . Bend knees and jump on offensive and on the defend. Can’t impact D1 jumping off your ankles.
Overall a positive energetic win but too sloppy and that’s concerning.
Would like to see minutes with both Jana and Sarah W.
 
As for Serah, I’m seeing two things that are really holding her back imo, one, she always seems to rush things when she gets the ball down low, two, it seems to me that she gets a lot of ill-advised entry passes. By this, I mean she often gets the ball when there are two or three defenders around her already! I think the passers need to be more aware of this and avoid putting her in bad situations.
The female announcer astutely mentioned that the Huskies’ spacing was not giving Serah the room she needed. UConn needs to space the court better to draw defenders out of the post. Too many times, Serah gets the ball while she’s surrounded by three defenders
 
Heres my take on Serah.
It looks to me like the coaching staff has messed with her footwork and maybe where shes supposed to be. It looks to me like shes thinking too much. She might have to unlearn things her former coaches taught her. Every now and then, in the heat of the battle, she'll just play and forget what they told her and do something good.
Jana is kinda the same way but Jana has had time enough to know what shes supposed to do.
 
Well that covers UConn, and apparently no Husky has shot 100% for the season, although Sue’s .942 is ridiculously good. But what about the rest of college basketball?
According to Sports Reference, Haley Cavinder holds the FT percentage season record as a junior at Fresno State in 2021-22 at .973. Records only go back to 1981-82.
 
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