Vandy Post Game Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Vandy Post Game Thread

uconnever said:
Anna has slow feet on defense, everything else will come but that is a huge problem. Aubrey plays totally out of control, needs to slow down. Forces everything, she will. The biggest concern for me is Crystal doesn’t seem to play with any senior urgency. I’m hoping the injury has her easing into the season before she goes nuts as I expect her too. If not it will be a looooong ugly season.
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I think Crystal, who was rehabbing from surgery most of the summer, is not at 100% yet. She’ll play her way back into shape I expect.
 
CD needs to attack the bucket more she settles for jumpers way too much!
 
SJF said:
CD needs to attack the bucket more she settles for jumpers way too much!
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I think she has always been like that, too late to change now.
 
I can’t believe how many people didn’t see these inconsistent, up and down results coming. Then again, maybe I can. And as far as any criticism of ONO is concerned, please stop. Without her anchoring the defense they would’ve been decimated inside. Vandy would’ve run a layup line. This would’ve been a loss.
 
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When they had a 26 point lead, they needed to give Molly and Kyla some minutes. This would help give some rest to the starters, so they would have some energy to finish. Also, it would give Molly and Kyla some more experience on keeping a lead. I know we can't depend on them to become something they're not, but as seniors, they should have enough experience to provide 5-10 minutes a game and not expect them to do much but hold the fort.
 
EasyEd said:
When they had a 26 point lead, they needed to give Molly and Kyla some minutes. This would help give some rest to the starters, so they would have some energy to finish. Also, it would give Molly and Kyla some more experience on keeping a lead. I know we can't depend on them to become something they're not, but as seniors, they should have enough experience to provide 5-10 minutes a game and not expect them to do much but hold the fort.
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If they don't, this team might be exhausted by end of December.
 
EricLA said:
I'm speechless. Just terrible. Cal was picked 10th in the Pac 12. Vandy picked dead last. Vandy won 7 games TOTAL last season. Sure they got a few good freshmen, but this was flat out awful. No way to sugar coat it.

Megan has been terrific. Olivia decent. Christyn meh. Crystal? Wow. Players afraid to shoot. The team looks scared and unsure. Time to put the big girl pants on. 4 of our starters are NOT freshmen and all were ranked #5 or higher coming out of high school. Surprising and disappointing.

Other freshmen lighting it up all over the country. Have ours been so broken down that they don't remember how to play the game? Aubrey can't seem to make a layup. Anna is 0-UCONN. Some terrific passes i'll give her that. And Aubrey will be a beast on defense.
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You make some good points, but it would be more terrible, and, just guessing here, you would be even more speechless if UConn beat Fordham by 5, and lost to Tennessee by 11 as a perennial power in the NCAA Women’s game. UConn will improve as the chemistry of the squad improves, has enough talent to be one of the top 6-8 teams in the country, and has a coach who will maximize said talent. This won’t be a dominating team that steamrolls through the season, but that makes the journey even more interesting. As of now I don’t think anyone can predict what the finished product will look like in March, and I would include the head coach as a member of that club. JMO
 
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A few observations from the game.
1. Liv is playing much better and thank god for her. I mean our perimeter defense is really poor right now. She missed a couple of shots I think she should make which to me gets her to that 15-16 point range and double digit rebounds 3-5 blocks a game
2. Megan is playing so smooth, besides one air ball her game has gotten so much better and her rebounding and movement too. I’m impressed, unfortunately,
3. I’m not impressed at all with CD and I’m starting to worry a little. If she’s getting over surgery I think it’s affecting her mentally too. She just doesn’t get the team playing at a consistent level. Every time UCONN goes up big and the team scores a bucket or two I expect crystal to get the team back on track instead she’s shooting long threes or turning ball over or stops dribble for no reason. We need her to be a better decision maker and she needs to get to foul line if she’s not hitting shots, which means she needs to drive more and have so better moves.
4. CWis good but there’s too many times there’s a lapse and then when shots aren’t falling she misses easy layups. I didn’t think she typically misses layups but this year she’s missed a few. If shots aren’tfalling drive to rim or pull up closer to hoop since she has A nice mid range.
5. Anna and Aubrey are playing ok. Anna needs to contribute on offense and if shots aren’t falling she needs to be more aggressive to hoop. Too many times she drives and kicks out when she can pull up or take it strong. You can tell she’s deferring but hopefully she can knock in some shots and gain some confidence.
6. Aubrey is playing with her athleticism and I’m hoping she can get better with each game. She has proven to be able to rebound defend and steal passes. Now we need her to just provide some confident shots or drives to basket.
7. EA is really playing like she doesn’t belong and this is against Vanderbilt. Not sure what has happened to her. I’m starting to believe she will not be a contributor at any point except garbage time.
 
UcMiami said:
People seem to have forgotten Lou and Pheesa their freshman year - Lou couldn't make a shot to save her life and Pheesa refused to take a shot. Took a while for either of them to remember how to play basketball. Same is happening to our newbies - takes time to stop thinking and start playing in a new system. Meanwhile ...

Christyn and Megan are playing really well, Olivia is clearly improved and Crystal is trying to figure out who can score where while chipping in as always.

Yeah, it isn't going to be pretty for a while. But did anyone really believe replacing Lou and Pheesa was going to be seamless? There is no one on this team who has ever won a championship or even played in one for the first time in a very long time!
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I think some of us were hoping for a little more seamless transition. Kind of like the year we lost the big three.
 
Caught the game live tonight. UConn started off slow but picked up defensively. The offense was hit or miss.

The passing is not crisp. Especially Liv's from the high post. The cuts were there, but the passes were off.

The Huskies seemed reluctant to take a three, even when open. Maybe that's because they knew they were being outrebounded. They had a good run late in the first half and started strong in the second running up to a 26 point lead. But then Vandy made some substitutions and the game got a lot more physical and the lead was cut in half as UConn wilted. Vandy had chances to make the game closer in the fourth quarter but they had too many turnovers and couldn't buy a three.

The Vandy team played hard for 40 minutes and their fans appreciated the effort.
 
ABCDFE said:
I think some of us were hoping for a little more seamless transition. Kind of like the year we lost the big three.
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When we had Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams as juniors coming off back to back NCAAs, and Lou and Pheesa as Sophomores coming off a single NCAA, and Chong the returning senior with three rings.

Just really hard to compare that experience to this years team - good players but not quite the same.
 
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I have been saying this for 2+ years now.... You have to play your bench whether you "want" to or not during the regular course of the game. It doesn't matter how in shape you are, no one can play at their top level for 40 consecutive minutes.

It is hard for me to believe that over the past 2+ seasons, that UConn starters are TOP 5 in the country and the UConn bench is BOTTOM 5.
 
Not a pretty game, but early season games, especially against teams who know how to trap defend, seldom are.

I'm not worried about the offense. They'll start clicking more and more with each successive game. There are a lot of creators on this team. There is a collective shyness to take the open shot, especially the mid-range jump shot. They know how to pass. Offense will develop.

However.

I'm flat alarmed by the defense. Calling it "ole", or bullfighter defense is apt. I was shocked how many times our players were blown by like they were standing still, and that's exactly what they were doing - standing still. They are getting almost zero charging calls. Help defense is non-existent.

Crystal is obviously not 100%, she doesn't move laterally at all, in either direction. She had three or four chances at one-person breakaways and was caught before she barely got past mid-court. I used to think she approached Moriah Jefferson speed but this year, no. I hope this is not a "thing", but is just a hangover from her hip surgery and will pass.

I attribute a lot of the lax defense to them getting used to each other and, therefore, not knowing when to switch off.

Blocking out underneath is another issue. Everyone, except for Olivia, seems to think blocking out is someone else's job. Crystal did more blocking out than Anna, Megan, and Christyn. They were pushed around under the boards.

Enough of the criticism. They still won by 13. Vanderbilt looked very athletic and Stephanie White has already (in two years) turned the program around from the doormat it had become. WCBB overall gets better across the board every year.

I'm loving watching Aubrey. I understand why Geno starts Anna over her - Aubrey has turnover issues - but Aubrey will get that under control and get more PT in the future. UConn WCBB playing careers invariably start slowly.

I keep hearing Anna is a good shooter...

They need to work on their porous defense. Maybe they need to watch some Kelly Faris video.
 
The team played the best that they could. And we should accept it. This is what we are going to see for quite a few games. And, for its last year in the AAC, this may be the first year that UConn shows a defeat. Last years team would have won by 30 and the previous year's team would have won by 50. In this game, they were just lucky.
 
BobbyJ said:
I can’t believe how many people didn’t see these inconsistent, up and down results coming. Then again, maybe I can. And as far as any criticism of ONO is concerned, please stop. Without her anchoring the defense they would’ve been decimated inside. Vandy would’ve run a layup line. This would’ve been a loss.
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The criticism isn’t really towards ONO’s defensive presence as much as it is her inability to make point blank layups consistently. If she makes her layups then the defense is easier to set than if she just chucks it over the other side of the rim to the opponent.
 
pvdoggy said:
Just watch the replay of the game. I know it is early, but I have to say that CD's play has been the most surprising (negatively) on the team.
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In the first two games so far she’s seemed to be disinterested and reluctant to call anyone out. KLS isn’t here to say what needs to be said anymore and Geno has long said he can’t be the leader of the team when they’re out on the court.
 
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donalddoowop said:
Liv outplayed Vandy's center who has more experience. Other than missing layups, I thought Liv played well.
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We would not have won without Liv. Blocked a lot of shots and moved well, getting several wide open layups through hustle. Vanderbilt's center, good, not great, schooled her early in game, getting layups most times she tried. On many of the Vandy rebound barrages where V got 5+ rebounds in a row, Liv just got pushed out of the way. For a still learning soph, Liv playing great. For someone many of us hope can grow into an All American, she still has a lot to learn.
 
Didn't read any of the previous comments so I will probably repeat a lot of what is above but here is my non-expert view of the game last night.

Megan Walker is the real deal and will, in my opinion, be the heart and soul of this year's team.

CD seems to be pressing a bit.

CW still disappears at times. If she can get over that everything else gets better.

ONO is doing well and will only improve. She forced some passes. Errors of commission are more acceptable than errors of omission. She held her own with Fisoula and she altered a lot of shots in addition to the blocks she recorded.

Anna does everything pretty well except score. She needs to see a couple of her shots go in and she will be fine. Once defenders have to respect her jump shot she will have more opportunities to score in the paint.
Aubrey is as Geno described her. A puppy running amok at the moment. Some really good play and some head scratching. That will change.

Evelyn didn't hurt us when she was in, but there is a definite drop off in post performance when she is in at the moment.

Since no one else got into the game, there is nothing more to say in that regard.

Some general comments on the team as a whole.

This is not a good jump shooting team at the moment. This is allowing defenses to pack the paint which clogs up the free flowing, motion offense and the easy buckets that come from cutting. Hopefully this changes.

There are a couple of kids on the bench who can shoot pretty well. Seemed to me that Molly and Kyla could have been given a few minutes to see if they could have hit a couple of shots to loosen things up a bit. Wish they were able to contribute more.

If foul shooting does not improve they will lose close games. Finishing better at the rim would help too.

Defense was acceptable. I think the defensive effort led to some fatigue that manifested itself in the fourth quarter. Their conditioning should improve as the season goes on. Again, wish the kids on the bench could contribute more to help with the fatigue issue.

The team certainly runs the break well. The first eight minutes of the third quarter is, hopefully, a glimpse of what the team is capable of. If they start playing that way for five or six minutes out of every quarter a lot of the worries will be put to rest.
 
Look, Liv and Megan played very well. Crystal is tentative, perhaps because of nagging injury or because she’s trying to adjust to not having Lou or Pheesa to pass to—time will fix that. Christine (Yes, I know but auto correct keeps winning out) is feast or famine sophomore. Aubrey has to learn that playing fast doesn’t mean playing out of control. Anna/Ania shows a nervous shooting approach, she needs to be forced to keep shooting until she gets comfortable. In the meantime, her quick passes reminds me a little of Lou and allows her to get team high in assists, 5, in 25 minutes. Someone complained she was slow on defense. She’s on the floor because Geno sees her as best defensive option and he’s absolutely right. She continues to start, especially since CD’s assists are down, but Aubrey will come in to add speed and ferocity. Biggest problem is subbing for Liv and CD.
 
Ozimoto said:
Didn't read any of the previous comments so I will probably repeat a lot of what is above but here is my non-expert view of the game last night.

Megan Walker is the real deal and will, in my opinion, be the heart and soul of this year's team.

CD seems to be pressing a bit.

CW still disappears at times. If she can get over that everything else gets better.

ONO is doing well and will only improve. She forced some passes. Errors of commission are more acceptable than errors of omission. She held her own with Fisoula and she altered a lot of shots in addition to the blocks she recorded.

Anna does everything pretty well except score. She needs to see a couple of her shots go in and she will be fine. Once defenders have to respect her jump shot she will have more opportunities to score in the paint.
Aubrey is as Geno described her. A puppy running amok at the moment. Some really good play and some head scratching. That will change.

Evelyn didn't hurt us when she was in, but there is a definite drop off in post performance when she is in at the moment.

Since no one else got into the game, there is nothing more to say in that regard.

Some general comments on the team as a whole.

This is not a good jump shooting team at the moment. This is allowing defenses to pack the paint which clogs up the free flowing, motion offense and the easy buckets that come from cutting. Hopefully this changes.

There are a couple of kids on the bench who can shoot pretty well. Seemed to me that Molly and Kyla could have been given a few minutes to see if they could have hit a couple of shots to loosen things up a bit. Wish they were able to contribute more.

If foul shooting does not improve they will lose close games. Finishing better at the rim would help too.

Defense was acceptable. I think the defensive effort led to some fatigue that manifested itself in the fourth quarter. Their conditioning should improve as the season goes on. Again, wish the kids on the bench could contribute more to help with the fatigue issue.

The team certainly runs the break well. The first eight minutes of the third quarter is, hopefully, a glimpse of what the team is capable of. If they start playing that way for five or six minutes out of every quarter a lot of the worries will be put to rest.
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Pretty much agree 100%
 
I really think the 2 3pt lines confused the players several 3 attempts were behind the men’s line! I still like this team! Games will be closer and exciting! Someone will step up and be a leader! AG is a stat machine in the making! Go UCONN!
 
I have burned and slashed my way through 3-pages of comments and am still at a loss to make sense of 90% of the commentaries. 2-games and new starters, and everyone expects the team to glide into the sunset. Teams that are capable of playing that way are teams that have been together for multiple years. Perhaps Oregon and BU are such teams. After Stewart and Co left, we have been in a 'jerky' era. Last year people were saying the same things and, well, things went well (at least in my eyes). For me, the team is playing as I have expected. The 2 Freshmen-- critical pieces-- are getting the time needed to learn the offense. Those missed shots that people are griping about are trivial. They will make them later. And the standing around is a reflection of 'what now' and not a sign of terrible this and that.
Also, we are seeing (perhaps) the effects of players not being together during the summer. Whilst good for individual players, it cheats group cohesion. (Of course I don't know for sure, because it is possible that the seniors had things going. I remember that during Dolson's era and Stewart's era, summers were organized around group activities)
Sometimes watching the development of players and a team can be an enjoyment. I'm extremely focused on the current Freshmen and left-holders from last year to see how they do. Join me- there's still room for a few.
 
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