Utah Postgame Thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard
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Utah Postgame Thread

Good game, at times, a bit boring, but Geno needs to develop players, so not a problem.
Fudd and Strong, always good...I'm really liking Blanca's play and I'm not sold on Ziebell or Jana(who seems a little slow at times).
We all have our ups and downs, so everything with a grain of salt. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and please leave politics in the car or at home, or in a closet for the Holidays.
 
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I don’t want to jinx her. But has any player ever shot 100% for the season from the FT line?
Season record holders

IMG_4439.jpeg
 
Good game, at times, a bit boring, but Geno needs to develop players, so not a problem.
Fudd and Strong, always good...I'm really liking Bianca's play and I'm not sold on Ziebell or Jana(who seems a little slow at times).
We all have our ups and downs, so everything with a grain of salt. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and please leave politics in the car or at home, or in a closet for the Holidays.
BLanca
 
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!
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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?
I don't think that scoring 12 points in the second quarter by this team is perfect. But obviously I'm in the minority.
And no, I don't expect Sarah and Azzi to play 30 minutes, let alone 40.
 

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