didn't say practices didn't lead to winning, look at all the UConn players that have had injuries, I don't see any other school have these type of injuries. Notre dame, Tenneseee, South Carolina. Uconn players in Wnba musta had 20+ injuries. Again players know what they sign up for, not questioning that. Just saying they aren't robots.
We will be ready for next season
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We didn't have depth until this year since 2016 and in the most important game the depth this year was injured, or sidelined. Evina was injured and Dorka was out and they were are two most important subs addition to Nika. Azzi was sick and a non factor, Liv was hurt with a groin pull and a non-factor and Paige was worn down by the Elite 8 game and a very serious surgery. Ask yourself this- If Boston has a groin pull, Henderson has an intestinal virus, Cooke is injured in the game, and Saxton has a broken wrist, who wins that game if we are healthy? What depth did we really have in the Finals? Or for most of this year? You have to be healthy to make an impact whether you start or sub in.
I personally think the UCONN run this year was incredible. If they had won people would be saying that Geno was the greatest coach in the history of sports. They would have made a movie about it. We lost 4 games to teams we could have wiped the court with if we were healthy. At one point our leading scorer was an unproven nervous freshman. The short answer is there was no real depth in 5 years before this year but you can't produce when you are hurt, sick, or recuperating from surgery.
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I am posing a quick question for long time UConn WBB fans: "Do you prefer the historical dominance of UConn WBB during their run of 11 NCs when they completely dominated and outclassed every opponent that they faced, or do you prefer the new competitive landscape of WBB with a different National Champion every year for the past 5 years". I am sure that it is difficult for a fan base who typically only worried about how many points their team would win by (5 undefeated seasons and 9 seasons with only one loss in the last 20 years) to now having legitimate concerns about making it to the next FF and wondering when the next NC will happen. The end of the complete domination of UConn WBB has been a boon to renewed interest in WBB across the country. The sport now has multiple fan bases that feel as if they have a true chance at winning a NC. I would think that even the competitive spirit of the Husky fans should be renewed by the current climate. The thrill of sports lies in not knowing the outcome of the game until the final buzzer and how boring must it have been for Husky fans when the outcome was never in doubt. Is it now more fun going to Husky games when there is a chance that they may lose...or win? No team will ever have the type of dominance that occurred during the "Geno era". As noted in the recruiting threads, UConn must now fight for high school recruits when in the past Geno would probably just look at the HS Recruit rankings and select the players that fit his system and they would be on the first thing smoking to Storrs (11 number one ranked HS recruits since 1998). As a SC WBB fan, I am enjoying our current success, but I know that we will need to reload after the "Boston Years". That makes recruiting fun and exciting for not only our team but I am just as interested in seeing how the other top teams are faring. Competition is great and I hope that Husky fans are enjoying the NEW LANDSCAPE OF WBB.
I don't need to wonder, I saw that game. It was November 23,2021 and the final score was 73-57. Uconn had a 15 pt lead and got erased in a matter of minutes. Dorka, Olivia, Edwards nobody could stop Boston, Henderson was making big shots, sound familiar? I learned a long time ago things are meant to be they will happen, Boston was going to win the ntl title this season barring an injury after what happened last season to her. The whole team was motivated and on a mission. If Uconn was going to beat SC they would need big game from Williams, we all know what happened in the final no need to bring it up again. It's ok to admit another team was better than Uconn, the world doesn't end. Uconn still will be a good team next season.
Of course, as a fan, I’d like to see UCONN cut down the nets every year.
I do believe the season is much more interesting when watching a new edition struggle, attempting to find their identity, tweaking, jelling, learning each other, overcoming injuries and adversity then peaking at the right time.
I have no problem taking a couple of losses as long as they are followed by a “growth spurt”.
I have witnessed (in recent past seasons) games against top opponents, when crunch time arrived, the team had no answers.
And that’s OK- nobody is perfect and you can’t win them all.
Having stated that, closer games
mid season, may provide situations when the team must rise to the occasion.
Playing a short bench and winning by 30+ removes this situation /learning tool.
AT THE THE RISK (certainty) OF BEING HAMMERED HERE—absolutely no reason Paige should have still been in the game the day she went down. Up by 20 and physically pounded the entire game.
I realize the time the injury occurred may have been much earlier in the contest as discussed here- but still.
( and I don’t care how much Paige complains about playing time)
Closer games-more player development-couple of losses-cut down the net at the end—WORKS FOR ME.
I do believe the season is much more interesting when watching a new edition struggle, attempting to find their identity, tweaking, jelling, learning each other, overcoming injuries and adversity then peaking at the right time.
I have no problem taking a couple of losses as long as they are followed by a “growth spurt”.
I have witnessed (in recent past seasons) games against top opponents, when crunch time arrived, the team had no answers.
And that’s OK- nobody is perfect and you can’t win them all.
Having stated that, closer games
mid season, may provide situations when the team must rise to the occasion.
Playing a short bench and winning by 30+ removes this situation /learning tool.
AT THE THE RISK (certainty) OF BEING HAMMERED HERE—absolutely no reason Paige should have still been in the game the day she went down. Up by 20 and physically pounded the entire game.
I realize the time the injury occurred may have been much earlier in the contest as discussed here- but still.
( and I don’t care how much Paige complains about playing time)
Closer games-more player development-couple of losses-cut down the net at the end—WORKS FOR ME.
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Like you, I love the Huskies. But I also love to see the growth in competitiveness across the board for WBB. More HS talent means more girls are being encouraged to play at a young age. This is all to the good, and I think some of the credit goes to Geno and Pat and Tara... and maybe a lot goes to Rebecca Lobo.
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How about last year? The year before? And the year before and the year before? And the year before? And the year before etc?
And how many injures do you know of have to do with UCONN's practices?"
And how do you know that UCONN's practices are more grueling than SC's or Stanford for example?
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It was a myth that UCONN "completely dominated" other than a rare year.
1--- 95-96 in NCAA's they barely beat Vga in E8 and I wouldn't say in title game it was without-a-doubt UCONN would win.
2--- 99-00 might have been - but they did lose once to Tenn during the season. And before the title game, I'm not so sure UCONN was thought of at a level that they would undoubtedly "dominate" Tenn.
3--- The 01-02 team, look at that title game vs Oklahoma. That game wasn’t decided until DT fouled out Stacey Dales.
4--- The 02-03 and -03-04 teams were hardly dominant.
5-- The -09-10 team vs Stanford the game was 23-15 at halftime. I'm not sure I would call that game "domination."
6-- The 12-13 team was beaten by ND 3 times and Baylor once leading up to the NCAA Tourney. They wound up "dominating" but it was hardly "a year of domination."
7--- The 13-14 and 14-15 teams - The 13-14 team was undefeated going into NCAA's as was ND. Both teams were cruising for an eventual championship undefeated matchup before ND lost one of their star players. The very next year ND and UCONN fought an extremely hard fought game. No way was that "domination."
I think it’s a bit of a disservice to suggest UCONN winning was holding back the game if any one were to suggest that. It’s the players getting better that leads to more popularity.
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Geno has said about some games, that the only reason why UConn won is because of all of the All-American or elite top ranked high school players on the team.
But that doesn't seem to be enough against other top teams in this new era of WBB.
More players seem to have specialized talents and aren't as well rounded in all facits on the court.
That's just another way to say that less of them are as elite as they used to be, and that it requires more skill, more game planning and better player management for any one team to consistently win against all of the other good teams in the country.
If the players are more specialized, then having the right players, healthy on the bench and available, actually put in when needed and then for them to perform up to expectations is more critical than ever before.
www.wired.com
Due to injuries last season, it was not a good time for developing new ways to score.
Sure PT got distributed better and Caroline stepped up big time.
But the desire to blow out BE teams took away from the bench bigs to show all of their pluses and minuses in real games enough to get comfortable, confident and up to speed.
IDK what will make this year any different with the rookies that are coming in.
If they don't develop adequately during the regular season then how can they be expected to make much of an impact in March in the NCAAT.
Any team or player can be thin in some areas of talent, and don't always perform as expected like a machine.
But choices need to be made, how much PT that each receives and when, and what tweaks need to be made when certain players are on the court.
The regular season should be good for experimentation, but IDK if enough of that will happen to see all of the potential that the team has.
It can be limited by the need for UConn to win by blow outs to bolster their NET ranking.
I'd personally like to see Dorka and Amari play on the court at the same time against tough teams, to see if they can develop some kind of scoring chemistry with the rest of the team.
And then all of the substitutions that can flow from that.
I'd also like to see Azzi develop as an alternate PG, to work on better chemistry with Paige.
I think that they can be a dynamic duo, and if they draw all of the attention then they learn how to pass to the open shooters.
New chemistry needs to be developed that can put UConn over the top.
But Geno really needs to experiment in advance of any potential injuries, foul troubles, or just to develop new substitution patterns that are necessary due to changes in personnel.
I'm still waiting to see if Piath will return.
Someone at UConn should call in a Federal mediator to see if her situation could be worked out.
But that doesn't seem to be enough against other top teams in this new era of WBB.
More players seem to have specialized talents and aren't as well rounded in all facits on the court.
That's just another way to say that less of them are as elite as they used to be, and that it requires more skill, more game planning and better player management for any one team to consistently win against all of the other good teams in the country.
If the players are more specialized, then having the right players, healthy on the bench and available, actually put in when needed and then for them to perform up to expectations is more critical than ever before.
Analytics Reveal 13 New Basketball Positions
An info geek has crunched a massive data set of NBA stats and discovered 13 new positions with the power to help even the Charlotte Bobcats improve their lineup and win more games.
Due to injuries last season, it was not a good time for developing new ways to score.
Sure PT got distributed better and Caroline stepped up big time.
But the desire to blow out BE teams took away from the bench bigs to show all of their pluses and minuses in real games enough to get comfortable, confident and up to speed.
IDK what will make this year any different with the rookies that are coming in.
If they don't develop adequately during the regular season then how can they be expected to make much of an impact in March in the NCAAT.
Any team or player can be thin in some areas of talent, and don't always perform as expected like a machine.
But choices need to be made, how much PT that each receives and when, and what tweaks need to be made when certain players are on the court.
The regular season should be good for experimentation, but IDK if enough of that will happen to see all of the potential that the team has.
It can be limited by the need for UConn to win by blow outs to bolster their NET ranking.
I'd personally like to see Dorka and Amari play on the court at the same time against tough teams, to see if they can develop some kind of scoring chemistry with the rest of the team.
And then all of the substitutions that can flow from that.
I'd also like to see Azzi develop as an alternate PG, to work on better chemistry with Paige.
I think that they can be a dynamic duo, and if they draw all of the attention then they learn how to pass to the open shooters.
New chemistry needs to be developed that can put UConn over the top.
But Geno really needs to experiment in advance of any potential injuries, foul troubles, or just to develop new substitution patterns that are necessary due to changes in personnel.
I'm still waiting to see if Piath will return.
Someone at UConn should call in a Federal mediator to see if her situation could be worked out.
That wasn't the point I was making. I was responding to a post about an assertion that our depth was not producing in the last few seasons by pointing out that we didn't actually have depth for several years and that was true all this year as well and especially in the championship game. The point is that injuries and sickness effect not only depth but also performance. To illustrate that point, I took our injuries and gave them to SC. Hey, injuries are part of the game. So are really tough prior games to the NC, of which SC had none, one less day of rest and other factors. No one will ever talk about those factors, only that UCONN lost.
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Bless you T@TonyC. You are a cheerleader even in the off season.
I agree and disagree. Agree--for the last 40 years Geno has beaten teams with big centers. Geno has effectively used a 4 guard offense/defense and often, but not always, it has worked for him.
Geno, has won where other coaches have failed. Yet, Geno is human, not God like in Basketball, and he has LOST some important games. I must add, however, he has not ever, in my opinion, been out coached. Muffet got lots of press for beating him--but even that year when it counted he beat ND. Now Dawn has beaten Geno --no, she didn't, her team did. Without 3 players on that floor Uconn would have won handily, even with a depleted team.
Having said that: Even Geno admits you can't teach Height. Often in WCBB height is not also blessed with talent When it is with a good guard or 2--you will lose against them. That was Dawn's team this year.
Like it or not Uconn, with the kids they have can go far but they cannot go all the way with out a decent big weighty center. Obviously nothing is set in stone, but to beat the odds Uconn needs a decent defensive center--STOKES comes to miind.
Bless you TonyC. I will not argue with you because you love MY team as much as I do. But my rose glasses are clouded.. Thank you TonyC..
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Bone dog. I agree with 95 percent. In terms of competitiveness more talented young women is a good thing. However, with young women getting into this demanding game early the toll the game takes on those bodies isn't worth the moment of cheers they get. I dislike girls, and some boys, getting daily basketball practices and all the running during the AAU or puppy conferences, I love basketball, I'm one of James A Naismith's cheerleaders--but I too am one that has lived a life of pain with knees and knee replacements it is the one thing that doesn't get better with age. Kids like Shea and Sue have under gone multiple surgeries around the knees and hips--to them it is a business. s I love kids more than I love basketball, you get the idea.
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You are right, had SC had equality in injuries and if their second post had a broken writs or the lead Post was playing with a groin injury, or their second leading hot shot was vomiting, or their leader was still hobbling from recent surgery, the hotshot kid (the one from Boston Area) wasn't up to par, if her equivalent was so possessed--the outcome may have been different.
Geno, with all his FF's and NC's has often stated---you get to the NC with talent but it takes a lot of luck to win it all. Geno's 100 percent NC lucky streak ran out.
EXACTLY!!!
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That’s totally fair to say, it seems to me. The hyper competitive character of all sports, men and women, has led to an injury saturated environment. Would it be fair to suggest that encouraging young women to play sports can be distinguished from the broader trend toward hyper competitiveness? I’m not sure, but something in the logic of it is suggestive.
they didnt have to have tough games because they were the #1 overall seed, that's the perks you get. Including playing early on Friday on final 4 night.
CocoHusky
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That's an awful lot of ifs and maybe. When the two teams met earlier in the season South Carolina won decisively. Geno's luck did not run out, UCONN was beaten by a better team again more decisively. Luck might win you 1 championship but it doesn't win you 11.
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I know you've followed some of my previous comments on the game. I use Apparent, Maybe, Could be for nearly all human endeavors because humans are imperfect creatures.
I was using Geno's words and in his word he used LUCK as a factor of winning it all. To take his logic, and extend the logic to it's logical conclusion--his luck (apparently) ran out. Luck may win you 1000. It all depends on your perception of luck, you nor I or anyone in this world can make winning 11 NC's without luck a factual statement.
You may use probability math but that is math not absolute. Yes, Dawn's team won and won fairly. On that given day, the team that scored more won. But if you have an argument with the luck comment take it up with Geno, his words. Thanks for the reply, I always enjoy your comments.. I appreciate dogmatic rhetoric.
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Respect & appreciate today’s more competitive landscape, which UConn spearheaded by elevating the women’s game to unprecedented heights.
However, selfishly wincing over very best, truly elite talent increasingly choosing other prominent or ascending programs… & (U)SC (no brackets = Trojans for me) reaching UConn’s rarified standing present day (excluding voluminous past achievement).
Also tough when #1-ranked HS recruits don’t develop commensurate with their potential or college trajectory expectation, e.g. perhaps Megan Walker & certainly Christyn Williams. That, premature departures (Walker & Azura Stevens), & a few thinner/leaner recruiting yields/transfers have contributed to our protracted NC “drought”.
However, selfishly wincing over very best, truly elite talent increasingly choosing other prominent or ascending programs… & (U)SC (no brackets = Trojans for me) reaching UConn’s rarified standing present day (excluding voluminous past achievement).
Also tough when #1-ranked HS recruits don’t develop commensurate with their potential or college trajectory expectation, e.g. perhaps Megan Walker & certainly Christyn Williams. That, premature departures (Walker & Azura Stevens), & a few thinner/leaner recruiting yields/transfers have contributed to our protracted NC “drought”.
CocoHusky
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I will take this up with Geno the next time I speak with him-I'm sure he could use a good laugh.
In the mean time please dispense with the twisted logic and examine the full quote.
"I've said this all along: You have to be really good, and you have to be a little bit lucky to win the national championship," Auriemma said. "First things first, though, you have to be really good. You have to be really well-balanced and you have to be all the things that South Carolina is. You have to have good guard play. Your big guys have to be able to dominate either at one end or the other. Then you need a little bit of luck.
Geno: UConn missing 'luck' vs. better team in SC
After UConn coach Geno Auriemma saw his 11-0 record in national championship games come to an end Sunday, he acknowledged that South Carolina was simply the better team and that the Huskies were always "going to need a little bit of help" in order to win.
www.espn.com
If you honestly evaluate the quote what you will conclude is that Geno said luck is a "little" factor and he mentioned it AFTER all the other major factors. @Tonyc started this thread asking a very good question. So let me try an answer it by using Geno's criteria .
- UCONN will be really good next year
- UCONN needs to be better balanced next year ( inside & outside aka Perimeter and Post)
- UCONN will have outstanding guard play next year as long as Paige has a pulse
- UCONN bigs IMO are not capable of dominating SC at either end of the floor
CL82
NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champions - Again!
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… with a bad hip.
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Opinions are opinions, until the Constitution is overturned, you are entitled to yours.
On one point, among others here, I agee: Whether Paige stays in a game or is replaced should not be her decision, Obviously, kids like Paige, and me in my day, wanted to be in for every minute of every game. As important she has been and is to UCONN her playing time should be used effectively.
Not even Geno wins them all. Perfection is to be a goal, not a guarantee.
CocoHusky
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All are contributing factors to the NC drought and depending on where you sit and favorite players etc the BY is very selective and awful poor in assigning blame. The reality is that factors are highly interrelated and impossible to reach consensus on a single factor or which was the most important. For example "thinner" recruiting class have lead to players being asked to play out of position which could have led to more injuries and thus early departures . Some of the factors are downright puzzling at least to me. Many people forget that part of the UCONN recruiting story was that UCONN struggled to signed a significant post player to play with Stewie. Aj'a Wilson, Kalani Brown and Brianna Turner all passed on this opportunity. Paige is about to enter her Junior season . After establishing herself as the best player in WCBB I would think that post players would be flocking to come play with Paige.
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Asking too much on factor number 4. UConn does not need to "dominate" SC's big. Just keep the rebounding margin to single digits with less than half of SC's boards being offensive rebounds. Hold Boston under 20 on points and/or boards - which is not THAT hard to do. She's probably gonna get her double/double - just prevent the double 20s. Win with your guards and don't lose much with your bigs. That would produce a close game that could go either way.