Watched the game tonite with Milfordhusky... our thoughts

[EricLA]

He's in SD visiting family and I taped the game and we watched it together. Several observations...

Dolson was unreal tonite. People have talked about her better conditioning and slimmed down physique, but there were 3 things that stood out in her all around spectacular game... Stef has certainly transformed.

1. Watching her run the court - from one end to the other - and keep up with some of the guards on aTm who were sprinting back to guard her was a sight to see and something I never really thought we'd see a big be able to do. Ken said she looked like Tina Charles.
2. Seeing her take a pass at about the 3 point line and dribble with confidence and authority to the basket and score was marvelous to see.
3. Her ability to push Bone or Gilbert out of the paint and then be able to receive a pass over the top to lay in with either hand was also fabulous.

The announcers had quite a few positive comments to say about Faris, and all totally deserved. She has earned every accolade she gets this year and I hope they flow freely. We used the replay button many times to watch Kelly get in the way of, and disrupt, so many plays by aTm. And the thing about that is none of them show up in the stat sheet because they didn't result in turnovers, but boy she seemed to be involved in almost every defensive play. And her confidence on offense - so happy for her.

Caroline looks really good. I certainly wouldn't call her one of the elite PG's in the nation, but her calm demeanor, confidence, lack of turnovers, improved athleticism, and ability to run the offense is really great to see. The fact that she's also more offensive minded is just an added bonus.

KML - we really focused on her at times as well. She seemed to be in almost as many places as Kelly. She moves really well and looks fit. I get that people may look at her body and think she's soft or not fit, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. She's strong and may well be the all time 3-point shooter in only 3 years. She deserved all the praise heaped on her in the KML thread started by Nan...

The 3 freshmen struggled a bit. Geno said they were a bit overwhelmed at the start of the game, but boy you can see the incredible potential in each one of them.

We thought Kiah looked really good on defense tonite. Blocked shots, rebounds, and she's just so athletic for a 6'4" post player. I REALLY like her game a lot and hope she starts to be more assertive offensively.

Brianna seemed to get lost in the shuffle tonite. A couple nice plays by her, and then a couple plays where she as a bit out of control. Lastly Heather - love that kid but there's a reason she gets the PT she does. Still, a great teammate and I think there's no player out there that the fans root harder for.

Bottom line, the first 4 minutes of the game and the first 10 or so minutes of the 2nd half were scintillating. The rest of the game will be useful for game tape teaching opportunities. A really solid win (blowout) over a legit top 15 team, and all done without our AA guard Bria Hartley. And also done with just average games from our 3 freshmen and Banks. As Geno said "if this is the worst our 3 freshmen play all year, we will be allright" (understatement of the year lol)...

 

[BrianUC]

Nice post and agree, Stef looks great. She was so on fire I even expected her to hit the three! It's only 2 games into the season but amazingly she leads the team in scoring, rebounds and assists. http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2012-2013/teamcume.html
There were positive comments on Kelly but I still get annoyed when Kelly makes a great play, tipping a rebound to a teammate for example and the announcers don't notice.

 

[bruinbball]

There was a play very early where Kelly swiped the ball from an AtM player in front of the UConn bench. The ball bounced away and Kelly dove to save it flipping up court to Caroline who would have had an easy layup. The ref called it out of bounds. I slow-mo'd the play a few times thinking the call was wrong and I am certain that was a save but called out on anticipation.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Nice post and agree, Stef looks great. She was so on fire I even expected her to hit the three! It's only 2 games into the season but amazingly she leads the team in scoring, rebounds and assists. http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2012-2013/teamcume.html
There were positive comments on Kelly but I still get annoyed when Kelly makes a great play, tipping a rebound to a teammate for example and the announcers don't notice.

Don't geT upset. Carolyn Peck and Pam Ward don't have a clue. They are the worst announcing team in WCBB and they performed at their usual low level.

 

[Phil]

It didn't sink in until later, but that's out first win over an SEC team this year.

(When is our last loss to an SEC team that doesn't wear Halloween colors?)

 

[alexrgct]

It didn't sink in until later, but that's out first win over an SEC team this year.

(When is our last loss to an SEC team that doesn't wear Halloween colors?)

2007 Elite Eight?

 

[alexrgct]

My favorite Kelly play from last night, other than taking and making the open threes when they were there for her (something she absolutely must do for UConn to win it all this year), was a single-handed defensive stop. A&M trapped Caroline at midcourt and turned her over, and they had what appeared to be a fairly easy break. Kelly cut the break off, blocked a shot, and secured the ball. That's a two point play right there.

Another signature play of the game was Caroline flying in and blocking Bone (I was OK with a foul being called, but it looked fairly clean, actually). That kind of attitude is infectious. You've got a 5'10" guard who's had multiple knee injuries, for whom every play like that could be her last, and she went right after a 6'4" post without fear or hesitation. The announcers said she got the worst of that, but she wasn't the one who airballed the ensuing free throw. And that's the kind of effort everyone needs to give if UConn is going to win it all this year.

 

[ChicagoGG]

Don't geT upset. Carolyn Peck and Pam Ward don't have a clue. They are the worst announcing team in WCBB and they performed at their usual low level.

So true - they even kept calling Caroline and Kelly by the wrong names several times! They blab and ramble and don't pay attention to the action on the court.

 

[pap49cba]

Another signature play of the game was Caroline flying in and blocking Bone (I was OK with a foul being called, but it looked fairly clean, actually). That kind of attitude is infectious. You've got a 5'10" guard who's had multiple knee injuries, for whom every play like that could be her last, and she went right after a 6'4" post without fear or hesitation. The announcers said she got the worst of that, but she wasn't the one who airballed the ensuing free throw. And that's the kind of effort everyone needs to give if UConn is going to win it all this year.

+1 (I too thought it was a clean block on the slo-mo replay.)

 

[doggydaddy]

More importantly, what did you snack on while watching the game?

 

[Rb335]

"Brianna seemed to get lost in the shuffle tonite. A couple nice plays by her, and then a couple plays where she as a bit out of control. "- ericsandiego

I appreciate this statement. Much was made out of the progress of Banks in the preseason. People were talking her into being a much better player, which I must admit, she has improved since last season. However, I still struggle with her. I previously said on other threads that I did not see her being better than #9 on this team with little contributions in big games. This was to the dismay of many posters. However, after watching her performance yesterday, I am reassured. I think Brianna is much better than last season, however, I think that next season will be her break out season. I say this because next season she will only be playing behind Hartley and Jefferson with the graduation of Faris and Doty. Much more available at the guard position, even with Chong coming in. I hope I am wrong, but I think Kiah and Brianna will have about the same impact they did on last season. The only difference, this team is so much deeper and more talented, so even though they too have improved, their impacts will remain generally the same. Banks may get more minutes, thats the only substantial difference.

 

[EricLA]

More importantly, what did you snack on while watching the game?

no snacks. Ken had a beer and I had a Mike's hard lemonade. Good stuff!!

 

[EricLA]

One other side note I forgot to post - There was a tweet by someone (can't recall who but one of the horde) talking about how they wished UCONN fans had the energy and enthusiasm of the aTm crowd. Couldn't be farther from the facts. For most of the game (in fact all of the second half) the crowd resembled a UCONN crowd at a blowout of Providence. It was only during the first half where they got animated as aTm kept it close.

And it was no different than the crowds I've seen on TV during big games. In fact, I was at the BET last year and during the UCONN - ND game, the crowd was pretty great for almost the entire game.

 

[Bigpetunia]

I agree with the observation that Stef was great yesterday, but what must be said is the degree to which Breanna's presence on the floor at the same time opens opportunities for Stef that are huge...the defensive attention Breanna must attract from the longer players down low opens up size mismatches for Stef, and everyone is finding her with great feeds. All the frosh are going to be great. My only concern so far is that Kiah needs to get much more aggressive.

 

[alexrgct]

I agree with the observation that Stef was great yesterday, but what must be said is the degree to which Breanna's presence on the floor at the same time opens opportunities for Stef that are huge...the defensive attention Breanna must attract from the longer players down low opens up size mismatches for Stef, and everyone is finding her with great feeds. All the frosh are going to be great. My only concern so far is that Kiah needs to get much more aggressive.

Agree- not to toot my own horn, but I said starting last season that Breanna, by her mere presence, would make both Stef and Kelly better. Stef would have more space and less attention in the post, and Kelly could move to a more natural position for her height and have to exert less energy than she would banging around with 6'2" players night in and night out. We are very early in the season, obviously, but so far, I think this is going to come to pass.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'll agree with what Eric wrote.

As also noted, Kiah looked a little tentative on offense. I thought she had at least 4 blocks, though.

Caroline looked very solid to me. And she blocked a layup attempt by Kelsey Bone. Tough girl!

Kelly had about 6 near-steals. As Eric noted, she was very disruptive on defense.

Kaleena moved without the ball, hustled, and rebounded. She does not have Maya's build (no one does), but she too is learning the all-around game. And she makes threes as if it is her job. Ok, so it is.

At least twice, I confused Stef and Bree. Who would have thought? Stef is lean, and Bree does have a little bulk.

I think that Stef's improvement in physique and conditioning in only her third year surpasses that of both Jayne Appel and Ashley Paris by their fourth year.