Was Geno just imagining it that the team has began to show signs for a championship run?

[HuskyNan]

Packwrap: I couldn't have said this better myself. Hard to develop as a player and improve if you're not playing!

Not true. Geno played 9 tonight. Morgan only got 6 minutes because she was ineffective, Ice is out with an injury, Q and Allie aren’t ready for this game

 

[uconnfan68]

The only gage we have is when we are not playing a BE Team otherwise it's a 30 to 40 point win.

The BE is killing our wbb program. Geno needs to schedule about 10 really tough road games to make up for the league.

 

[Urshurak]

I don’t think Geno would say that this is a Championship team. Not by a long shot.

They will be 1-4 against top 20 teams. Zero marquee wins.

It is truly head scratching that we have three #1’s on the court and they can’t get it done.

I think losing Nika and AE has had a far greater impact than most realized. We thought getting Azzi back would help with that, but it hasn’t really. Sarah has been great. KK also. Nobody else helps in tough games.

 

[Longtime fan]

As the team has shown better chemistry and coordination in its run against Big East opponents, GA has seen a glimmer of championship potential in the team's much more coordinated, growing intuitive play for smoother read and react action, it still have to face the test of stronger opponents - the two before the tournament are Tenn and SoCar. Although the team at #5 now is positioned to gain ground into #1 line, it needs to win both these games to ensure that it happens. Is there confidence among us that this will happen? Tenn first, against their pressing defense, then SoCar with their firepower and fairly solid defense as well.

There are signs of good progress: beyond Sarah and Paige who have been essentially constants, Ash and KK have continued to improve on both sides of the ball and it shows in the confidence with which they now play. Kaitlyn has finally settled in and her offense - for which she was known at Princeton - has become more efficient as her level of integration has become more seamless from greater comfort in playing together. I am never surprised at what Azzi can do but it has taken a bit of time to get fully comfortable with her body - she will be a prime asset against the stronger teams, especially.....even when used as a decoy. GA has been working the freshmen in to acclimate....and he is beginning to see improvement in their perimeter defensive performance. But the return of Aubrey defensive versatility: improves perimeter defense and it raises confidence in using the press effectively. It also adds another speed element to the offense.

It is taking a long time for Jana and Ice to reach their potential but most post players do take longer to be fully effective in their anticipated potential for how UConn WBB plays, especially in reading, reacting and switching on defense and creating opportunities on offense. Size is not enough.....reading the flow and moving to create opportunities for themselves and others around whom the guards and wings revolve....yeah, it takes time. Hopefully, both of them shall have improved much come tournament time....all the better if it begins to show against Tenn and then SoCar. The guards and wings are coming along fine, so much so that the team can play small ball or with size to counter opponents on court. The small ball lineup with Sarah as the big can be different combinations where all five are excellent 3pt shooters. Even all three freshmen can contribute in this way and Aubrey is no longer a slouch from distance. Because of their depth, GA can play fast all the time, sending players in waves as needed in each situation as he sees fit and quickly change to a different option if not working.....and they can press more as they are doing now.

I doubt they will lose both road games to these two teams but whatever the outcomes are, if they show excellent progress in what GA wants to see for March, it will be a bad idea to count UConn out if Paige, Azzi and Sarah and the rest remain healthy. If Jana and Ice show out more by the end of the regular season, I will be even more optimistic.

Paige and Azzi deserve to win a NC together after what they have been through with injuries. Doing it with this bunch would be exhilarating even from the cheering section!

I think your optimism is totally unfounded. Paige is not the dominant force she once was, even though a great BB player. Put another way, " the world has caught up to her." Sarah is probably our best player, but remains a freshman. And she will not be perfect every night ( especially because she will be carefully defensed ). KK is our next best asset. And she has holes in her game, too. Mostly, that her three point shot is unreliable and she drives to the hoop when the lane is blocked ( decision making weakness). Chen is simply over-matched at this top level ( I do not include the BE teams in this level ,), Jana is over-matched by a large margin against anyone. And I don't know where ICE is; ASH seems unable to bring her brilliance to big games against top talent; Chelli is a developing form with little offensive reliability; and Aubrey is one of our best talents, still a large distance from being in top BB shape and confidence. Alli and Q are bench players who will see no time in any meaningful game. Net assessment; this team, at best will squeeze into the elite 8. And if the draw is wrong, that won't happen either. But they are fun to watch.

 

[packwrap]

Packwrap: I couldn't have said this better myself. Hard to develop as a player and improve if you're not playing!

I wasn't being down on Geno above.

Every coach has their own style of roster management. With TN tonight you got to see hockey line full substitutions! Mulkey at LSU, subs a lot like Geno.

The risk in giving a lot of development minutes, look at this year's Iowa, Gonzaga, and Louisville, is that you can lose a whole lot of games during the development!

UConn with expectations yearly of FF and N Champ can't afford to lose 6-8 games. This year we will lose 3-4.

Also due injuries, youth and transfers in, our current starters have not played together much, so they need playing time to get cohesion.

Back to original post. I was responding to a poster who felt that Cheli, Ash and Allie were not good enough to get playing time at SC. My point was SC recruited them too, so had this group chosen SC they would surely get playing time, since Dawn's style is to play everyone.

 

[maple]

The BE is killing our wbb program. Geno needs to schedule about 10 really tough road games to make up for the league.

We played USC, ND, SCar, and Tenn … and lost 3 of those 4 (so far).

We also beat Louisville, Ole Miss, UNC, all of whom were currently ranked. And Iowa State, who was expected to be much better at the start of the season. It’s not Geno’s fault if other teams underperform.

Who else do you want them to schedule?

Never mind the fact that other schools have to agree to playing UConn.

 

[sno-cat]

Being in the Big East gives us a good chance to make it to March Madness each year. If we played 10 more "really tough teams" in a "powerhouse league" our record might be worse than 50-50 and we might not make it to March Madness so be careful what you wish for!

 

[uconnfan68]

We played USC, ND, SCar, and Tenn … and lost 3 of those 4 (so far).

We also beat Louisville, Ole Miss, UNC, all of whom were currently ranked. And Iowa State, who was expected to be much better at the start of the season. It’s not Geno’s fault if other teams underperform.

Who else do you want them to schedule?

Never mind the fact that other schools have to agree to playing UConn.

There are plenty of schools that would step up to play UConn, and set attendance records. The downside would be only BE home games.

 

[Longtime fan]

We played USC, ND, SCar, and Tenn … and lost 3 of those 4 (so far).

We also beat Louisville, Ole Miss, UNC, all of whom were currently ranked. And Iowa State, who was expected to be much better at the start of the season. It’s not Geno’s fault if other teams underperform.

Who else do you want them to schedule?

Never mind the fact that other schools have to agree to playing UConn.

You are right. There is little more to do. We schedule the best teams we can work out games with. Naturally, they all occur " early" ( or most do ) when teams are just finding themselves. UCONN would have tougher competition from the IVY league than the Big East. Or the league in which Fairfield plays. But it is what it is. So it is hard for them to get game ready. That only happens in the NCAA tournament. When it is an all or nothing proposition. Where there is nothing more to be " learned and refined." I fear the weakness of the Big East also hurts recruiting, where the best players all want the best competition. Sigh...

 

[MooseJaw]

To answer the thread question: yes, it was his imagination. Last night the team looked timid, waiting for balls to get to them, weak passes, sluggish movement, terrible bunny shots going nowhere and lack of leadership. I know the truth hurts, this team is good, right now they are not great, nor do they seem to be heading in that direction. There is a laundry list of things needed from most players if we are to challenge for any out of conference games. We need Paige to be the point of the offense, put the ball in her hands, as in the past. We need Morgan to shoot the ball when she is open. We need to crash the boards, the players need to leave their feet, from the opening tip off when Janna goes to her tip toes but doesn't jump. Same for rebounds, we do have a few who jump but not many. Think of more list them. I'm done and should have followed the 24-hour rule.
Last night was the first where the rotation was a bit more limited, is there enough time to get the flow down with a more limited rotation, last night showed we are not there. Any thoughts or ideas?

 

[JellyBean]

Being in the Big East gives us a good chance to make it to March Madness each year. If we played 10 more "really tough teams" in a "powerhouse league" our record might be worse than 50-50 and we might not make it to March Madness so be careful what you wish for!

Well said. When we were in the AAC and folks were upset because the competition wasn't "tough" enough, we won three Nattys. The Big East, like any conference, has 3-4 top level teams and then you have a middle level and of course those bottom level teams. It happens. If UConn were to join the P4 group, who knows what could happen. Like you said, we should be very careful what we are wishing for.

 

[reelfan]

Not sure who or how tea leaves are being read.

 

[JellyBean]

For the thread question, I don't think Coach G was imagining things. We have the makings of a championship run. As we all know, there are so many factors that go into making a run to the title but overall, our Championship Culture is the one key factor that is the separator from other programs.

Think about it. We made FF runs and a title game with several players injured, out with injuries, or with the supporting cast stepping into key roles. We have players that can and will step up when we need them. Coach G was not imagining the team showing signs of making a championship run. Next game mindset. Next play mindset.

 

[Zarathustra]

I would say without a doubt that Geno wad imagining it. People got so excited seeing us drain 3 pointers against the big east teams are getting a wake up call tonight vs. Tennessee.

And by the way we are ALL fans here. But the posts talking about how great we are, or pretending that we are a "great" team is just not true. It's a good team of great kids who are fun to root for, but not a NC caliber group. Why does it make us bad fans to be realistic?

I thought "realistically" prior to last year's NCAA tournament. This year
I am suspending my "realistic' view and going with my "optimistic":
" WHEN YOU ARE A HUSKIE... UCONN.... and WE CAN!!!". GO TEAM!

 

[Tufkas]

Off the topic heading, easy for me. IF (big if perhaps) Azzi Fudd is healthy, with the improvement over games of Kaitlyn Chen, reasonable minutes for El Alfy, and a strong bench there's no question this team is as well placed as any other to win the national championship. Proper use of rotations will be key - hence the coach component - but, for me, this team is - perhaps by far - best placed and constructed since the Stewie 4-peat.

Updated post, after the rewatch / analysis of the Tennessee, USC and Notre Dame games to emphasize. The talent in place is without question extremely well placed to win it all. However, in my opinion, this team cannot win the national championship with the currently set rigid rotations. Better leverage of in-game combinations that prove more effective than those dictated by the scout/game plan is required.

 

[Plebe]

Being in the Big East gives us a good chance to make it to March Madness each year. If we played 10 more "really tough teams" in a "powerhouse league" our record might be worse than 50-50 and we might not make it to March Madness so be careful what you wish for!

???

We beat UNC, Ole Miss, Louisville and Iowa State, and all these teams are well above .500.

If UConn declines to the point where we can only get into the tournament thanks to the conference autobid, that means we have slipped outside the top 40-45 teams and there are WAY bigger problems.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Back to the original question. Ask Geno today and I'll bet he'd say it was his imagination. When Nika left we lost something that hasn't been replaced. The talent is there, but something is missing.

 

[Oldschoolbb]

You missed my point entirely

Nope. Just totally disagree with it.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Well said. When we were in the AAC and folks were upset because the competition wasn't "tough" enough, we won three Nattys. The Big East, like any conference, has 3-4 top level teams and then you have a middle level and of course those bottom level teams. It happens. If UConn were to join the P4 group, who knows what could happen. Like you said, we should be very careful what we are wishing for.

I can’t think of another team in the Big East other than UConn that would be considered a “Top Level” team.

 

[LIUCHusky]

I can’t think of another team in the Big East other than UConn that would be considered a “Top Level” team.

There are 360 Division 1 women’s basketball teams. Creighton is currently ranked #24 in the AP Poll. I think most would consider them a “Top Level” team.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Geno may believe they're a championship team, it's the players that have to believe it.
It's the players that have to execute the vision. Can they? That's the big question.

 

[CL82]

I couldn't have said this better myself. Hard to develop as a player and improve if you're not playing!

Assuming that that is correct, it presents a bit of a conundrum. You can only play five players at a time, right? Every time one player steps on the floor, they take away minutes from another player. So, aren't you advocating for stifling the development of some players in exchange for the development of others?

 

[DennieEddy]

Assuming that that is correct, it presents a bit of a conundrum. You can only play five players at a time, right? Every time one player steps on the floor, they take away minutes from another player. So, aren't you advocating for stifling the development of some players in exchange for the development of others?

Isn't any game, any sport, anywhere: that same stifling aspect?

 

[Monte]

I believe there is too much comparison to other years, and former players. New players on UCONN, and new players on other teams. When people talk about TENNESSEE beating UCONN, there is no way you can compare this year's Tenn team to the great teams which Pat had. I hope I am wrong about this, but I believe that you cannot compare this year's UCONN team with the great Huskies of the past.
I hope Geno gets them on the right track for March, but I would not bet on them making the final Four.

 

[CL82]

Isn't any game, any sport, anywhere: that same stifling aspect?

No, every game everywhere is an empowering meritocracy, at least once you start getting to the higher levels.

 

[hookshot]

I think what it boils down to is that Geno has a tendency to recruit the same type of player - unathletic (or average athletic) white kids with great BBIQ, obviously great character, solid ball handlers, and sometimes good/great shooters. Aside from Aubrey and KK, there are zero other elite athletes on the team.

In the past, the elite athletes who went to other schools struggles to put the ball in the basket so they relied on O-boards and putbacks. Now, however, these kids are not only elite athletes, but really good hoopsters too. Until he starts recruiting more athletic kids, nothing will change.

The game is changing, and in the past, Geno has shown he's been able to change as well. But more is required.

Q is somewhat elite athletically

 

[Tufkas]

Updated post, after the rewatch / analysis of the Tennessee, USC and Notre Dame games to emphasize. The talent in place is without question extremely well placed to win it all. However, in my opinion, this team cannot win the national championship with the currently set rigid rotations. Better leverage of in-game combinations that prove more effective than those dictated by the scout/game plan is required.

Confused by the now two "haha" reactions to this post. Confounding where some people on public boards find humor...

 

[Alydar]

It's only an edge if UConn's elite scorers shoot well against a strong defense otherwise, their overall scoring stats are meaningless when it comes to winning the NC....

True. UConn has to do what they are best at and SCar has the same job except that too many UConn fans assume that Scar will play at their best while being consumed by the worry that UConn won't shoot well.
Stats are much less meaningful in a FF game but I don't rate UConn's offense on their stats, I measure UConn's shooters/scorers against SCar's shooters/scorers. From a strictly shooting ability UConn has a large edge.

 

[Charliebball]

True. UConn has to do what they are best at and SCar has the same job except that too many UConn fans assume that Scar will play at their best while being consumed by the worry that UConn won't shoot well.
Stats are much less meaningful in a FF game but I don't rate UConn's offense on their stats, I measure UConn's shooters/scorers against SCar's shooters/scorers. From a strictly shooting ability UConn has a large edge.

UConn has always had the better shooting team when playing South Carolina yet the Gamecock's tough defense and rebounding have allowed them to compete and often win against the more skilled Huskies......

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

You aren't making any sense here!!! You have totally misread and/or misunderstood my comment which was in reply to another member. Perhaps you should read his claim about how Paige & Azzi "deserve" a NC for all they have been through here before posting your nonsense.

Come. come......I was the one who posted that they deserve an NC playing together as they planned.....(and for all the ahrd work they put in to get back in shape).

I think your optimism is totally unfounded. Paige is not the dominant force she once was, even though a great BB player. Put another way, " the world has caught up to her." Sarah is probably our best player, but remains a freshman. And she will not be perfect every night ( especially because she will be carefully defensed ). KK is our next best asset. And she has holes in her game, too. Mostly, that her three point shot is unreliable and she drives to the hoop when the lane is blocked ( decision making weakness). Chen is simply over-matched at this top level ( I do not include the BE teams in this level ,), Jana is over-matched by a large margin against anyone. And I don't know where ICE is; ASH seems unable to bring her brilliance to big games against top talent; Chelli is a developing form with little offensive reliability; and Aubrey is one of our best talents, still a large distance from being in top BB shape and confidence. Alli and Q are bench players who will see no time in any meaningful game. Net assessment; this team, at best will squeeze into the elite 8. And if the draw is wrong, that won't happen either. But they are fun to watch.

How did that get added here? Have to learn this trick sometime.

We shall see won't we? Obviously, we don't see the same things......and you are looking only at the obvious. Example: Paige has to decide to take over scoring in order to pile up points - she seems to like the rounded game she now has: score, rebound, defense (and those blocked shots!).....but she can score a lot when she wants to or when she finally decides to listen to GA on that point.

No point dissecting everything else.....they are still continuing to learning to play together as a team and that is priority. Running out of time during Paige's time but that will be the point for her - come tournament time, Paige buckets has to show up along with Paige blocks.

Maybe you are right......anyway, reading the news these days scrambles your mind and shaking your head too many times at what is going on is probably mashing the brain. If I have to have an excuse, that's mine....

 

[packwrap]

Confused by the now two "haha" reactions to this post. Confounding where some people on public boards find humor...

I'll give you an answer.

I doubt anyone was laughing at you.

We're just not used to seeing English above the level of the NY Times here; nice Avatar by the way, I was a big Michael Owen fan.

If you follow Geno, you'll notice be has steady tendencies with who he plays. He usually locks in on a starting 5 that rarely changes. Over the course of the game, actual minutes played are often a clue to a specific game strategy, or if he is tinkering with new ideas.

This year's team with so many useful players, has him play way more different combinations than in recent years.

If your specific point is he should go with someone, who has a hot hand, he was still dealing with minutes restriction on Aubrey and he's been pretty locked on the 50/50 platoon for KK/Chen.

SC is here, despite some injuries Geno can still field a best lineup here. We'll get a chance to see Jana against quick, athletic players, and Aubrey now up to 25 minutes for a smaller lineup.

Hopefully, our ha ha's for that game are celebrating an upset!

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Come. come......I was the one who posted that they deserve an NC playing together as they planned.....(and for all the ahrd work they put in to get back in shape).

Well excuse me then! The point IS, no one deserves anything for simply putting in the work, etc., etc., etc. A NC is won when you and your team have beaten all comers and there is no one left to beat. GET IT NOW???

 

[Tufkas]

I'll give you an answer.

I doubt anyone was laughing at you.

We're just not used to seeing English above the level of the NY Times here; nice Avatar by the way, I was a big Michael Owen fan.

Thanks for that.

Off-topic, but, we loved Owen as a proper Scouser, but he lost it all when he went to the Mancs. Torres, El Niño, on the other hand, broke my heart, with Suarez a bit of a way back in second. Won't even mention Klopp leaving lol...

 

[Zarathustra]

Thanks for that.

Off-topic, but, we loved Owen as a proper Scouser, but he lost it all when he went to the Mancs. Torres, El Niño, on the other hand, broke my heart, with Suarez a bit of a way back in second. Won't even mention Klopp leaving lol...

"Thanks for that" is a wonderful "In the spirit of the BONEYARD" comment.
Not to get off the topic but one of my favorite coaches (after Geno) is EMMA HAYES, USWNT.