Utah Postgame Thread | Page 4 | The Boneyard
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Utah Postgame Thread

After the narrow escape on Friday, the somewhat lethargic crowd seemed content to sit back and enjoy things on a Sunday afternoon. But UConn was more than capable of creating its own energy and intensity on the defensive end. They really get after it. As Oldude noted, we have a lot of very good on-ball defenders. In addition, they seem to switch very well, especially given it is early in the season.

I like both Heckel and Fisher, but the team seems to play its best when KK is running things. The 12 point second quarter came with KK on the bench. Also, when the shots aren't falling we don't seem to get much on the offensive boards.

I have now seen Blanca play two fantastic games and one where she was a non-factor. The hope is that what we saw today can be replicated against the top teams. She certainly has the athletic ability to make it happen. Occasionally out of control, but that is a price I am happy to pay.

UConn's approach is that only starters take shots during the final pregame warmup and when they come out for the second half. I think that approach does a disservice to the bench players.

All in all a very impressive win and it was nice to see the bench get a lot of minutes and enjoy some success.
 
Busy day after the game. Just getting a chance to comment.

This was the 6th game of the season. Much better game than Friday. I expected that because Utah is not close to being Michigan. It was enjoyable to watch.

The team is improving. The chemistry of the starting five is much better. Contrary to some, I do not see Geno tinkering with the starting five any time soon.

Blanca with another very good game. She has a wealth of athletic talent. She is learning to harness and control it. I believe she continues to come of the bench. She is a hugh weapon that can change the tenor of a game.

Serah Williams is showing her defense and rebounding skills. The offense will come. I believe she is rushing when she gets the ball down low. . Also, her teammates are too close to her and the basket. They need to step back a bit so the defense can't collapse on her. This is part of working out the chemistry.

Ash will continue to start. The shooting accuracy will come around. Too many here are obsessed with her and others 3 point shooting as a measure of Ash's game. You need the 3 point threat. But drive into the key for 12' jumper. It's more effective. Look at Azzi's game from last year and this year. She is twice the threat as a scorer.

One last point. The comment that the first half was perfect basketball - forget it.
 
Whether Serah is rushing her shot is unclear to me. It's possible. But what I mainly see is that when she catches a pass in the low post she goes into her routines which often consists of several moves. It looks like she's working too hard to get a shot off. This routine is what worked for her at Wisconsin to the tune of nearly 20 pts/g. At UConn, however, she would be better served to go up a lot more quickly, maybe after a simple shoulder fake. What's more, when she makes three or more moves, she is quickly surrounded by a double or triple team, and they're now in better position to rebound a miss than her or the other Huskies.

Now this is a more detailed analysis than is reliable merely from watching a game on TV. Folks who were at the game can probably give a much better sense of what happens when she receives a post entry pass. But if what I think I can see is reliable, the situation seems to require quicker decisions on her part on whether to put up a quick shot or to pass out to the perimeter, and this is only possible if she doesn't make several moves each time. These are rhythm plays and it looks like she's not moving at the right pace for UConn's pace of play.
 
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I'm always impressed by how Azzi just seems to glide around on the floor. So smooth, so graceful.

My main concern right now pertains to Jana's minutes. I was concerned about this going into the season. I welcome Serah, but I want Jana to succeed and be happy.

Is Ash the best offensive rebounder on this team? Ok, maybe Sarah.
 
EricLA said:
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.
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Serah scored consistently at a Big 10 school so she should get double figures almost every night and there are 2 reasons she is getting lots of minutes. She is an excellent defender, and her teammates and coaches have to figure out how to get her mesh with her teammates. Time, time, and more time is the answer and since defensively and athletically she is much better than El Alfy that is what they are going to do
 
Regarding Serah Williams's offense:

Having attended both games this weekend in person, I can understand the concern about Serah's offense from the low post. To begin with, I'm not sure why Geno (sometimes) has her set up in the low post at all -- wouldn't it be better to set up at the high post and then roll to the basket as part of a pick-and-roll? That is much less likely to draw a swarm of bees.

I do agree that when she gets the ball in the low post, she has to get a shot up quickly (rather than after multiple moves) or kick the ball out to the perimeter. Jana previously had the same tendency (to make too many moves with the ball) but she has seemed to cure herself of that temptation. As Kara Wolters was fond of saying in her SNY commentaries, "a post player does her work before she gets the ball, not after."

There is no reason why Serah should be less productive offensively on a per-minute basis than she was at Wisconsin. I have to assume that she, the coaches, and her teammates will figure that out pretty soon. But she needs to get the minutes she is getting to make that possible.

Having said that, I still think Jana is a significantly better rebounder in traffic than Serah, and she also needs minutes to get back to the level that she achieved at the end of last year. I know Geno likes the "small lineup" with Sarah, Blanca, and three guards, but I would rather see most of the minutes with Serah/Jana (platooning at the 5), Sarah, Blanca, Azzi, and one other guard. See my next post for comments about Blanca.
 
Next 12 said:
A tale of 2 Quarters, First and Second, Perfect basketball and execution. Third and Forth Acceptable but will improve. Balnca was fantastic and Allie is starting to hit her shots. Still waiting for Ashlynn to break out with her 3's. Enjoyed the game and 6 down and 31 more to go. With League games coming up, the games will be easier and defence is outstanding. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!
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I think you mean first and third were perfect basketball, and the second and fourth acceptable. The second Q we scored only12 points and looked discombobulated at times. The fourth Q wasn't too bad considering we had mostly end of the bench players playing.
 
DEpup said:
I'm saying this tongue and cheek but maybe the coaching staff has forgotten how to teach the traditional center position. It's been a lot of years since we've had one. LoL.... Seriously though something is not right with what Serah, Jana, and Ayanna are doing down low. The centers seem to be able to get more points on the move than back to the basket. Every time they are back to the basket, they travel, miss a bunny, or get pushed off their block and lose the ball. I'm not an expert but something is not right when every time they are given the ball, they are surrounded and have to do so much work to get a shot off.
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Appears to be a development problem that has been around for a while.
 
Another Azzi Fudd Masterclass, perfect from the 3 point line and near perfect from the field and a game high 8 rebounds, there isn't a phase of the game that she can't affect. Defensively she is showing her chops and her overall floor game is so impressive. She will be the #1 pick in the draft, an All-American and compete with Sarah for a share of NPOY awards at this rate.

Quinonez is a gamer and she balanced her speed and athleticism with controlled chaos that worked so well for this team. She's fearless and skilled.

Strong had a strong showing and set the tone very early. Her intensity sets the pace. Some good showings for KK, Heckel, Shade and especially Ziebell who has such a nice shot.

Some observations: Serah Williams paint presence allows Sarah Strong to roam on the perimeter and cause havoc. She's not finishing at the rim and part of that is overthinking and the other part is they are congesting the lane after they use a cross screen and not clearing out quick enough for her. This goes back to the "touches" note I mentioned with Azzi. Serah is getting the ball but on half the attempts (she's just missing the other half and that's on her) she's not being set up for success, but she will and the team needs her whether she makes or misses.

KK and Heckel are strong defensively but the court vision, playmaking and game management needs to advance and I'm optimistic it will. Knowing who needs the ball when and where is something that I've seen stop scoring. In that second quarter drought, Azzi barely touched the ball and as a point guard, you've got to find her in drought or set her up for success to get the offense back going. Paige and Nika in recent years did this brilliantly and developing this skill will make UConn tough to beat.
 
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Regarding Blanca and her play against Utah today:

If Blanca can play the way she did today against good teams, then she is the third scorer that Geno and the Boneyard have been looking for. I am as impressed with Ashlynn's floor game as much as anyone, but if both she and Blanca play to their capability, Blanca will produce twice as much scoring as Ashlynn. The question is whether Blanca can deliver that kind of productivity consistently, without too many fouls or dumb plays. Today, she did that (against admittedly inferior competition).

Blanca's biggest accomplishment today is that she got through the first half with double-digit scoring and zero fouls. She did commit two fouls in the second half, but they were not dumb fouls -- they were fouls that anyone on the team might have committed in the same situation. I think Geno gave her an earful yesterday about the need to avoid gratuitous fouls, and she took it to heart. And I don't remember any wild passes either, although I haven't checked her turnover numbers in the box score yet.

And Blanca's offensive talent is amazing -- the play I remember was in the first quarter, soon after she came in. She drove into two defenders, made some sort of fake that caused them to move in opposite directions, opening up the lane for her to get through the double team and score. I can't even imagine how a player's move could cause the defender on the left to move further to the left, and the defender on the right to move further to the right. But that's what happened -- it was an inverse elevator screen (or maybe you could call it an elevator unscreen) where the doors opened for the player on the drive instead of closing on the defender. I don't think anyone else on the team could have done that, including Sarah.

So I think Geno should make the hard decision sometime before Christmas to replace Ashlynn with Blanca in the starting lineup if what both players did today continues in the next several games.
 
Bone Dog said:
Whether Serah is rushing her shot is unclear to me. It's possible. But what I mainly see is that when she catches a pass in the low post she goes into her routines which often consists of several moves. It looks like she's working too hard to get a shot off. This routine is what worked for her at Wisconsin to the tune of nearly 20 pts/g. At UConn, however, she would be better served to go up a lot more quickly, maybe after a simple shoulder fake. What's more, when she makes three or more moves, she is quickly surrounded by a double or triple team, and they're now in better position to rebound a miss than her or the other Huskies.

Now this is a more detailed analysis than is reliable merely from watching a game on TV. Folks who were at the game can probably give a much better sense of what happens when she receives a post entry pass. But if what I think I can see is reliable, the situation seems to require quicker decisions on her part on whether to put up a quick shot or to pass out to the perimeter, and this is only possible if she doesn't make several moves each time. These are rhythm plays and it looks like she's not moving at the right pace for UConn's pace of play.
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Serah also like to bring the ball down, dribble once, fake etc. Just put the ball up on one step.
 
AzzisBraids said:
Another Azzi Fudd Masterclass, perfect from the 3 point line and near perfect from the field and a game high 8 rebounds, there isn't a phase of the game that she can't affect. Defensively she is showing her chops and her overall floor game is so impressive. She will be the #1 pick in the draft, an All-American and compete with Sarah for a share of NPOY awards at this rate.

Quinonez is a gamer and she balanced her speed and athleticism with controlled chaos that worked so well for this team. She's fearless and skilled.

Strong had a strong showing and set the tone very early. Her intensity sets the pace. Some good showings for KK, Heckel, Shade and especially Ziebell who has such a nice shot.

Some observations: Serah Williams paint presence allows Sarah Strong to roam on the perimeter and cause havoc. She's not finishing at the rim and part of that is overthinking and the other part is they are congesting the lane after they use a cross screen and not clearing out quick enough for her. This goes back to the "touches" note I mentioned with Azzi. Serah is getting the ball but on half the attempts (she's just missing the other half and that's on her) she's not being set up for success, but she will and the team needs her whether she makes or misses.

KK and Heckel are strong defensively but the court vision, playmaking and game management needs to advance and I'm optimistic it will. Knowing who needs the ball when and where is something that I've seen stop scoring. In that second quarter drought, Azzi barely touched the ball and as a point guard, you've got to find her in drought or set her up for success to get the offense back going. Paige and Nika in recent years did this brilliantly and developing this skill will make UConn tough to beat.
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Our half court vision is very one sided, not even a glance that somebody might in fact be open under the hoop. Were so into running the play that other possible options don't exist. This may change with more experience among the new players.
 
Next 12 said:
A tale of 2 Quarters, First and Second, Perfect basketball and execution. Third and Forth Acceptable but will improve. Balnca was fantastic and Allie is starting to hit her shots. Still waiting for Ashlynn to break out with her 3's. Enjoyed the game and 6 down and 31 more to go. With League games coming up, the games will be easier and defence is outstanding. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!
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I beg to differ. The 2nd quarter today felt like the 3rd quarter against Michigan. We scored 3 points in the first 6 minutes before Ash hit a 3 with 3:59 left in the quarter. We ended up with 12 points and only outscored Utah 12-11. After scoring 32 in 1Q and then 29 in 3Q today the 2nd quarter was not very good against this level of competition.
 
Skeets said:
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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It's been reported that his post game critique focused most on the back court players. It is fair to say he was not pleased with their efforts.
 
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What a nice comfortable win today. That Michigan game was intense, and I love a close game, but these blowout games are much more enjoyable because then you get to empty the bench. With this game, I liked what I saw out of everyone. The team responded well. The defensive intensity did not let up when the bench players came into the game. The starters looked decent, and Azzi and Sarah did not have to log 30 minutes. Seeing Sarah playing 20 minutes and Azzi playing 28 minutes is respectable.

For folks that are concerned or critical of Serah Williams. Those of us that follow the Big Ten know that this is Serah at Wisconsin. She is going to be okay. Folks just have to relax a little. Much like Dorka when she played her first year at UConn after coming over from Ohio State, Serah is adjusting and she will be fine. At Wisconsin, Serah was getting the majority of the shots. She would get 10-20 shot attempts a game and there would be some missed shots, especially at close range. The key was, like today, her quickness and ability get her rebounds helped her greatly in Wisconsin and here today. Serah will be okay.

The Bench Mob-Ooowee! That 2nd Unit of Blanca, Kayleigh, and Allie is going to be fun to watch. Blanca has that attack mindset and I love to see that out of a player. That is going to open up the game so much for her and the rest of the team. The way Blanca attacks the rim or has the confidence to shoot the ball no matter what. That is going to be nice. Allie had some nice plays out there today. She had some nice cuts to the basket but her teammates did not see her in time but Allie making those hard cuts was nice. She just has to keep that confidence.

Great win, UConn!! Keep getting better each practice and each game.
 
oldude said:
I don’t want to jinx her. But has any player ever shot 100% for the season from the FT line?
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I think Azzi has hit the rim on 1 or 2 of the 11 FTs. Most of them barely hit the net.

Remember the Cavinder twins? The better player of the two, Haley Cavinder, shot 109 of 112 (97.3%) for Fresno State in 2022.
 
HuskieDawg said:
My wife and I just got back from the game…what a fun game to watch.

The athleticism these girls have is amazing to see up close. The size, strength and speed is everywhere on the court. They played confident and loose the whole game and their play showed.

I have a new found appreciation for Shade, I found myself after the first handful of games being frustrated with her shot and having seen her today I am not paying attention to all the things that make her such a strong player. Her awareness on defense is second to none. Constantly moving, looking, and communicating. She is always dialed in. On offense, while her shot is still inconsistent, she is always moving which is opening things up for her teammates. Pleasure to watch.

KK speed on the court is different level. Azzi was born to shoot a basketball. Blanca is sneaky quick and stronger than you may think. Sarah has IT and her presence on the court is as imposing as her actual skill.

Nice seeing so many players get minutes. Crowd loves CD!
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Ashlynn is a pleasure to watch and contributes in other areas as you noted. I watched her today during the pregame and halftime warm ups and I swear she didn’t miss a single 3-point attempt. In the game itself she went 0-3 on 3-pointers after a tough shooting night on Friday. Hopefully her practice shooting accuracy translates into game situations soon - we need it.
 
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The CDR-Ret said:
How about Azzi with 8 rebounds? That has to be at least a season high if not a college career high! Not a bad two games in less than 48 hours: 55 pts and 13 rebounds. Great averages on shooting to start the year: FG% = 51.1%; 3 pt % = 54.8%; FT % = 100% (11/11).

I guess Paige had to move on to the W, for Azzi to be perfect on the line. 😍 🔥 😍

Looks like Sarah's competition for the player of the year is Azzi. Hope they push each other to continue to improve and bring a third UConn player into the discussion as well.

Go Huskies!!!
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8 rebounds was a career high for Azzi. She is focused more on rebounding this year.
 
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