Way too early to start shredding the team and coaches

[Performance]

I said I wasn't going to go on the bone yard today because I knew there would be a slew of negative comments but as you can see I decided other wise ( maybe hoping I would be wrong). I am continually saddened by the comments I read after a loss. This was our 4th game our the season (not counting the exhibition) and we played the number one team in the country who has some great players and a little more experience, yet people act like it's the end of the world and we are a bad team with bad coaches. Please people give these players time to learn to play together in a system some are new to and also give the coaching staff time to figure out the best rotation. They will learn from this. I am a avid fan who hates a loss but am also realistic. We are not always going to be the best team in the country with all the best players, times have changed. Can we please just sit back and enjoy the fact that we are able to watch these great young ladies as they grow and gel together as a team. I am quite sure no one feels worse than they do especially given the pressure they are always under not just from the coaches but the media and fans (and the so called fans) I for one am looking forward to the rest of the season and watching these great young ladies play and grow I suggest everyone else do the same. I am done venting now

 

[Vowelguy]

Way too early? Are you new here?

 

[Bama fan]

I said I wasn't going to go on the bone yard today because I knew there would be a slew of negative comments but as you can see I decided other wise ( maybe hoping I would be wrong). I am continually saddened by the comments I read after a loss. This was our 4th game our the season (not counting the exhibition) and we played the number one team in the country who has some great players and a little more experience, yet people act like it's the end of the world and we are a bad team with bad coaches. Please people give these players time to learn to play together in a system some are new to and also give the coaching staff time to figure out the best rotation. They will learn from this. I am a avid fan who hates a loss but am also realistic. We are not always going to be the best team in the country with all the best players, times have changed. Can we please just sit back and enjoy the fact that we are able to watch these great young ladies as they grow and gel together as a team. I am quite sure no one feels worse than they do especially given the pressure they are always under not just from the coaches but the media and fans (and the so called fans) I for one am looking forward to the rest of the season and watching these great young ladies play and grow I suggest everyone else do the same. I am done venting now

Good post. Too many fair weather fans at times. But that is what you get in a more or less open forum. Overall, the BY is still a great site.

 

[Littlemin]

I just don’t understand posts like this; people post opinions, good and bad; that is the attraction of sites like this. Why not shut the board down after losses if analytical criticism is so wrong? People seem fine with the over the top, “Uconn will never lose with all of our generational players, etc., etc.” yet honest critiquing of the team and coaches is somehow unacceptable?
Some fans want to make excuses for losses, some accept them, some take them hard; the nature of fans.
One of the mantras from many fans is the “we will learn from this loss” take. Learn what exactly? I re-watched the game and IMO, Uconn basically got out-toughed. They got out-toughed against USF, the difference in the two games being the difference in talent between USF and SC. SC made them pay, USF couldn’t. They got out-toughed against Arizona. So we read in the pre-season all the “lessons” Uconn learned from the Arizona loss, none of which manifested themselves yesterday. Losing is part of the game but go down fighting, go down respecting your opponent and the game. Hustle, box out, fight for the ball, go down getting dirty and bloodied.
Uconn recruits great talent and will always have a great record and be in the hunt for the NC but they are starting to remind me a bit of the lazy parent who threatens their child with consequences for poor behavior over and over, each time proclaiming “but this time I REALLY mean it!”
I sincerely apologize to those offended by my opinion but I am an effort guy, mentally and physically. It is the way I played and the way I coached. It is the first thing I looked for when I scouted. It is the ONLY thing anyone truly has control over. And without naming names, I just don’t see enough of it from some players on this team.

 

[Performance]

Way too early? Are you new here?

No I am not!!!

 

[Performance]

I just don’t understand posts like this; people post opinions, good and bad; that is the attraction of sites like this. Why not shut the board down after losses if analytical criticism is so wrong? People seem fine with the over the top, “Uconn will never lose with all of our generational players, etc., etc.” yet honest critiquing of the team and coaches is somehow unacceptable?
Some fans want to make excuses for losses, some accept them, some take them hard; the nature of fans.
One of the mantras from many fans is the “we will learn from this loss” take. Learn what exactly? I re-watched the game and IMO, Uconn basically got out-toughed. They got out-toughed against USF, the difference in the two games being the difference in talent between USF and SC. SC made them pay, USF couldn’t. They got out-toughed against Arizona. So we read in the pre-season all the “lessons” Uconn learned from the Arizona loss, none of which manifested themselves yesterday. Losing is part of the game but go down fighting, go down respecting your opponent and the game. Hustle, box out, fight for the ball, go down getting dirty and bloodied.
Uconn recruits great talent and will always have a great record and be in the hunt for the NC but they are starting to remind me a bit of the lazy parent who threatens their child with consequences for poor behavior over and over, each time proclaiming “but this time I REALLY mean it!”
I sincerely apologize to those offended by my opinion but I am an effort guy, mentally and physically. It is the way I played and the way I coached. It is the first thing I looked for when I scouted. It is the ONLY thing anyone truly has control over. And without naming names, I just don’t see enough of it from some players on this team.

I didn't ask you to understand or agree just stating my opinion as are you I think we both have that right

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not sure how much was a lack of effort versus simply being out played by a quicker, more athletic team.......as somebody pointed out in another post, UConn is more of finesse team not a power team and when their offense isn't clicking against a bigger, stronger and faster team they are in for a tough game.....

 

[LoboDays]

It’s never too early to shred. I have a shredder at home. Sometimes I’m too damn lazy to shred early and I put the documents in a pile. Then, before I know it, the pile is huge and I have to do all the shredding at once. Mrs LoboDays says “Shred early—-Shred often.” So, that’s what I do.

Our team has the talent to run the table from here all the way to the NC. That would make shredding a much easier task.

 

[willtalk]

Sure UConn was beaten by a team that was by many considered the best in WCBB. However, it is no longer inconceivable that there will be many other teams that UConn is better than that also will have the ability to knock them off. I think the days of outcomes being predictable are a thing of the past. There are just too many talented players coming out of high school that have gone to schools that are not considered to have top teams. On any giving night teams with slightly lesser talent are perfectly capable of knocking of the top teams. Certainly the number of teams capable of knocking of the top tier has increased. Texas knocked off Stanford. Is Texas that good? They got beaten by Tenn. --- I always say you are never as good as your best showing or as bad as your worst. And where on the sliding scale between the two each game you play falls is pure conjecture. With increased parity a top team does not have to stink it up to suffer a loss to a lesser team which plays well.

 

[Littlemin]

I didn't ask you to understand or agree just stating my opinion as are you I think we both have that right

You know what, you are correct and in re-reading your post, I put a spin on it that was not there; our views just differ and neither is less valid than the other. My sincere apologies.

 

[Dokey]

I said I wasn't going to go on the bone yard today because I knew there would be a slew of negative comments but as you can see I decided other wise ( maybe hoping I would be wrong). I am continually saddened by the comments I read after a loss. This was our 4th game our the season (not counting the exhibition) and we played the number one team in the country who has some great players and a little more experience, yet people act like it's the end of the world and we are a bad team with bad coaches. Please people give these players time to learn to play together in a system some are new to and also give the coaching staff time to figure out the best rotation. They will learn from this. I am a avid fan who hates a loss but am also realistic. We are not always going to be the best team in the country with all the best players, times have changed. Can we please just sit back and enjoy the fact that we are able to watch these great young ladies as they grow and gel together as a team. I am quite sure no one feels worse than they do especially given the pressure they are always under not just from the coaches but the media and fans (and the so called fans) I for one am looking forward to the rest of the season and watching these great young ladies play and grow I suggest everyone else do the same. I am done venting now

I too am looking forward to the rest of the season. I always thought a NC was a long shot given our weakness at post but that doesn’t mean we won’t see excellent play. And if the coaches can figure out how to use our players, we all might be surprised.

 

[dtbtbtb]

This game showed some real concerns and fans are voicing them. NO one loves this team, coaches and players any less then before.

 

[ucbart]

I guess I'm from a different ilk-so here it goes:

1. We will never play a team like SC again on the 3rd day of a 3 day-tournament.....on a beach in the Bahamas.
2. The next time we play a team that good, there will be a rest day in an environment that's more conducive to basketball and an experience that most players and coaches have been in before.
3. We have an entire season to play and improve....which we will. Our two main bench pieces played their 4th game in a UCONN uniform yesterday.
4. Maybe I'm a huge homer, but SC isn't 17 points better than us and I'll be shocked if we don't make adjustments for future meetings with them.
5. We were right there with them and even led most of the first half before tired legs and bodies took over in the second half. Our first two games in that tournament were much harder than theirs and our players were gassed. That UCONN roster doesn't score 3 points in a quarter with fresh legs.
6. I'm glad we lost the game and I hope we lose again to them in Columbia......but just in a much closer outcome. I want all the pressure on SC in the NCAA tournament, should we match up with them.
7. We can beat SC-we did last year, when both teams were the same.
8. They kicked our ass yesterday.....in the fourth quarter. Congrats to SC-you slayed the dragon. But guess what, you are now the dragon.

 

[Bald Husky]

I have to admit that I have been one of the BYs that have criticized our play this year. A few years back our program had to endure listening to others saying UConn was bad for WBB. Well, maybe they were half right, and UConn was actually bad for UConn fans. Yes, us. We just got beat by the #1 team in America, and we just can't fathom that because we have imprinted in our brain that UConn is and always will be the #1 team in America. Talk about spoiled, and all we are doing is trying to explain what went wrong, why our players, especially our new ones, can't win every game. It has been this way for 15 years, but during those years we were right. Lets be honest, our team is better than most of the past champions, but we have to realize that so is a great deal of other teams. Our domination couldn't last forever, but I find that the increased competition is now giving us more exciting games, new teams to play that are challenging us, so instead of trying to find out what's wrong, we should just trust the man who caused this problem to solve it. Remember the excitement when we won our first, well the next one will be like that. We will get there with the players we have now, and Geno will also enjoy this road when he hoists the NC trophy in April. Believe, believe, believe.

 

[Mirmir]

Talk about Shredding and Fallout from the UCONN vs. So. Carolina game, the Boneyard and its Administrator is taking a beating on UCONN Facebook Pages over comments allegedly made. Wow, it's just a game folks, get over it.

 

[boontonbomber]

This is shaping up to be a really long season.

 

[jchusky]

I guess I'm from a different ilk-so here it goes:

1. We will never play a team like SC again on the 3rd day of a 3 day-tournament.....on a beach in the Bahamas.
2. The next time we play a team that good, there will be a rest day in an environment that's more conducive to basketball and an experience that most players and coaches have been in before.
3. We have an entire season to play and improve....which we will. Our two main bench pieces played their 4th game in a UCONN uniform yesterday.
4. Maybe I'm a huge homer, but SC isn't 17 points better than us and I'll be shocked if we don't make adjustments for future meetings with them.
5. We were right there with them and even led most of the first half before tired legs and bodies took over in the second half. Our first two games in that tournament were much harder than theirs and our players were gassed. That UCONN roster doesn't score 3 points in a quarter with fresh legs.
6. I'm glad we lost the game and I hope we lose again to them in Columbia......but just in a much closer outcome. I want all the pressure on SC in the NCAA tournament, should we match up with them.
7. We can beat SC-we did last year, when both teams were the same.
8. They kicked our ass yesterday.....in the fourth quarter. Congrats to SC-you slayed the dragon. But guess what, you are now the dragon.

there is so much misinformation in this post idk where to begin. I didn't know Azzi, Caroline, Cardoso, Saniya, Raven, Dorka were in last season's game, must have missed them. Uconn playing their 3rd game in 3 days, as if SC didn't get the same situation. This reeks of excuses and fyi SC beat Uconn in 2020 so not sure why 2021 in February is important, but not February 2020.

 

[visitingcock]

I said I wasn't going to go on the bone yard today because I knew there would be a slew of negative comments but as you can see I decided other wise ( maybe hoping I would be wrong). I am continually saddened by the comments I read after a loss. This was our 4th game our the season (not counting the exhibition) and we played the number one team in the country who has some great players and a little more experience, yet people act like it's the end of the world and we are a bad team with bad coaches. Please people give these players time to learn to play together in a system some are new to and also give the coaching staff time to figure out the best rotation. They will learn from this. I am a avid fan who hates a loss but am also realistic. We are not always going to be the best team in the country with all the best players, times have changed. Can we please just sit back and enjoy the fact that we are able to watch these great young ladies as they grow and gel together as a team. I am quite sure no one feels worse than they do especially given the pressure they are always under not just from the coaches but the media and fans (and the so called fans) I for one am looking forward to the rest of the season and watching these great young ladies play and grow I suggest everyone else do the same. I am done venting now

Although I prefer paragraphs, I like your post Mr Faulkner.

 

[Aluminny69]

there is so much misinformation in this post idk where to begin. I didn't know Azzi, Caroline, Cardoso, Saniya, Raven, Dorka were in last season's game, must have missed them. Uconn playing their 3rd game in 3 days, as if SC didn't get the same situation. This reeks of excuses and fyi SC beat Uconn in 2020 so not sure why 2021 in February is important, but not February 2020.

A slight correction: UConn's two games turned out to be more difficult than SCs two games, with starters playing more minutes. Unfortunately, Oregon was not at full strength.

Ironically, SC had a deeper bench than UConn. Ironic because UConn was projected to have deep bench.

 

[tomcat]

I really like UCBart's take on the game. Perhaps a bit more positive that I would have been, but more or less right where I am. I have to believe that the embarrassment of a three-point fourth quarter will be something the coaching staff will build on for the rest of the year. This was the game to lose, and maybe the next SC game as well.

Now, I will be singing a different tune in another 10-12 games if we don't see a much tighter defense, centers whose game is much more complete and a team that isn't just trying to rely on Bueckers.

 

[boontonbomber]

I said I wasn't going to go on the bone yard today because I knew there would be a slew of negative comments but as you can see I decided other wise ( maybe hoping I would be wrong). I am continually saddened by the comments I read after a loss. This was our 4th game our the season (not counting the exhibition) and we played the number one team in the country who has some great players and a little more experience, yet people act like it's the end of the world and we are a bad team with bad coaches. Please people give these players time to learn to play together in a system some are new to and also give the coaching staff time to figure out the best rotation. They will learn from this. I am a avid fan who hates a loss but am also realistic. We are not always going to be the best team in the country with all the best players, times have changed. Can we please just sit back and enjoy the fact that we are able to watch these great young ladies as they grow and gel together as a team. I am quite sure no one feels worse than they do especially given the pressure they are always under not just from the coaches but the media and fans (and the so called fans) I for one am looking forward to the rest of the season and watching these great young ladies play and grow I suggest everyone else do the same. I am done venting now

Bad coaches? Did someone say something about the coaches? Missed that.

 

[Audi1954]

I guess I'm from a different ilk-so here it goes:

1. We will never play a team like SC again on the 3rd day of a 3 day-tournament.....on a beach in the Bahamas.
2. The next time we play a team that good, there will be a rest day in an environment that's more conducive to basketball and an experience that most players and coaches have been in before.
3. We have an entire season to play and improve....which we will. Our two main bench pieces played their 4th game in a UCONN uniform yesterday.
4. Maybe I'm a huge homer, but SC isn't 17 points better than us and I'll be shocked if we don't make adjustments for future meetings with them.
5. We were right there with them and even led most of the first half before tired legs and bodies took over in the second half. Our first two games in that tournament were much harder than theirs and our players were gassed. That UCONN roster doesn't score 3 points in a quarter with fresh legs.
6. I'm glad we lost the game and I hope we lose again to them in Columbia......but just in a much closer outcome. I want all the pressure on SC in the NCAA tournament, should we match up with them.
7. We can beat SC-we did last year, when both teams were the same.
8. They kicked our ass yesterday.....in the fourth quarter. Congrats to SC-you slayed the dragon. But guess what, you are now the dragon.

This is a really great assessment of UConn’s loss to South Carolina. Well done. I agree 100% with all but number 6. I’d love to see them win in South Carolina, and put all the pressure and doubt on South Carolina. Winning in South Carolina on their floor would be a huge boost to UConn’s confidence. Geno would then have to make sure they don’t believe they’re invincible and they need to continue to work even harder to improve on any and all weaknesses. I’m not sure this young group would handle another loss to South Carolina very well. The doubt may be too much to overcome. However, as you said, if it’s a nail biter all the way to the very last second and UConn loses, that may work too. It is tough for a team to play three games in a season and win all three.

 

[Dokey]

I am a Uconn fan because I love female sports and I love excellence. The university itself means absolutely nothing to me. The current situation, no NCs, is basically a failure to recruit dominant bigs. But even without those players UConn plays a great game and perhaps with coaching adjustments they still might challenge for NC. This year, more than any other, will come down to the coaching. With three seniors and two sophomore (currently) starters coaches won’t be able to blame any failures on immaturity. Indeed, coaches—Geno—can’t blame players. He is loaded with No. 1 picks. Win or lose, it is on him. Let’s face it—the real NC battle wasn’t or won’t be in final four. It came in the recruiting battle to land Boston. Swap ONO for Boston and UConn wins on Monday. This is not to denigrate ONO. She’s a fine player but she isn’t Boston. No one else is, just as no one else is Paige. It just points to importance of post play.

 

[veryolddog]

I think what was missing the most was Shea Ralph. As a player and a coach she brings an intense fire and a relentless attitude to win. Her presence inspired many of the teams to win games and stay in the games that they looked like they were goning to lose.

 

[Dokey]

I think what was missing the most was Shea Ralph. As a player and a coach she brings an intense fire and a relentless attitude to win. Her presence inspired many of the teams to win games and stay in the games that they looked like they were goning to lose.

She’ll be back patrolling the UConn sidelines in 5-10 years