Weak Bench Night

[chrissaran]

Kiah couldn't hold onto the ball, Brianna couldn't stop fouling and Saniya can't stop not shooting. Seventeen minutes and Saniya did not take one shot. Unacceptable. Tierney comes in and hits a three on her first shot. Saniya needs to shoot or it's four on five. Yes, there are much better options right now. However, you can't look to get rid of the ball as soon as you get it. She doesn't even look like she wants to shoot. Hopefully she'll take a few shots on Saturday.

 

[doggydaddy]

Kiah couldn't hold onto the ball, Brianna couldn't stop fouling and Saniya can't stop not shooting. Seventeen minutes and Saniya did not take one shot. Unacceptable. Tierney comes in and hits a three on her first shot. Saniya needs to shoot or it's four on five. Yes, there are much better options right now. However, you can't look to get rid of the ball as soon as you get it. She doesn't even look like she wants to shoot. Hopefully she'll take a few shots on Saturday.

Only if they don't guard her.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Kiah couldn't hold onto the ball, Brianna couldn't stop fouling and Saniya can't stop not shooting. Seventeen minutes and Saniya did not take one shot. Unacceptable. Tierney comes in and hits a three on her first shot. Saniya needs to shoot or it's four on five. Yes, there are much better options right now. However, you can't look to get rid of the ball as soon as you get it. She doesn't even look like she wants to shoot. Hopefully she'll take a few shots on Saturday.

I really hope we see them using the rest of the conference games to solidify bench contributions. As Geno says: I have players, not starters and a bench. That is where they all have to put themselves mentally. You go out there, you get on it.

 

[msf22b]

Kiah couldn't hold onto the ball, Brianna couldn't stop fouling and Saniya can't stop not shooting. Seventeen minutes and Saniya did not take one shot. Unacceptable. Tierney comes in and hits a three on her first shot. Saniya needs to shoot or it's four on five. Yes, there are much better options right now. However, you can't look to get rid of the ball as soon as you get it. She doesn't even look like she wants to shoot. Hopefully she'll take a few shots on Saturday.

Not to disagree, not having viewed the game but.
Banks scored some, Kiah had blocks together with her unusual T/O's and fouls and it seemed like a
shotfest from our three leading scorers, not leaving many ops for the others…even Stef.

 

[MilfordHusky]

My guess is that at least Saniya was sick tonight. Obviously, they could have played better. I'll give them a pass and look again next game.

 

[HGN]

We must get more consistent support from the bench the closer we get to March.

 

[UcMiami]

I am not quite so down on the bench. It is disturbing that Banks and Chong seem to have forgotten about shooting at least in the first half - Geno was a little annoyed with that in his half time interview and Banks at least got the message and shot 2-3 in her limited second half minutes. Also even with 12 assists, Moriah only shot twice - 1-2 is a nice percentage but she probably needs to be taking more shots even with Stewart on absolute fire.
As for Kiah - not her best game but not bad either with 4 blocks. A couple of the turnovers were in the midst of rebounding scrums and that stuff happens, plus a bad entry pass from Kaleena that she just got a hand on. Meghan complained about one rebound she didn't get where she was in position but for some reason took a couple of steps to behind the backboard! Funny how Meghan missed the forearm into her back from the Temple player that helped propel her out of position! Still 6 boards and 4 blocks isn't bad.
And of course KLaw continues to lead the team in 3 point percentage raising her average to .421

 

[reno tony]

With the exception of the fouling I though Banks played well. She played tight on defense and was aggressive with the ball. Drove to the basket a couple of times and she is looking very quick. I hope she gets some more playing time.

63 TO GO​

 

[Icebear]

I suggest we start Bria, KML, and Stewie on the bench for 30 seconds and then bring them in. This should solve our numbers off the bench.

 

[Bigpetunia]

I'm not "down on the bench," but now that we've lost Morgan I am less confident of our ultimate fate this season absent a stronger contribution from the bench. No team can match our starting five. But, come tourney time, getting fresh legs into the game, reducing the risk of foul trouble, getting more full-court pressure on defense, these things become critical. Thank heaven, for UConn's sake, that Geno is the coach, and not I, but it sure seems to me that, our conference being what it is, he has a golden opportunity for the next several weeks to give the three bench players more minutes and a longer leash to build up their confidence.

 

[UcMiami]

I'm not "down on the bench," but now that we've lost Morgan I am less confident of our ultimate fate this season absent a stronger contribution from the bench. No team can match our starting five. But, come tourney time, getting fresh legs into the game, reducing the risk of foul trouble, getting more full-court pressure on defense, these things become critical. Thank heaven, for UConn's sake, that Geno is the coach, and not I, but it sure seems to me that, our conference being what it is, he has a golden opportunity for the next several weeks to give the three bench players more minutes and a longer leash to build up their confidence.

But I think the difference between 'production' and productive minutes can be lost in reading a box score - the bench provided 47 minutes last night of pretty productive time. In his presser Geno was happy with Chong's play in the second half, Kiah provided rest for Stef, Stewie, and KML; Banks and Chong relieved Bria, Moriah, and KML. No one played more than 33 minutes (Bria) and the team scored 93 points so scoring was not an issue in the game.

 

[Phil]

I suggest we start Bria, KML, and Stewie on the bench for 30 seconds and then bring them in. This should solve our numbers off the bench.

It wroked against Duke. (IIRC, kaleemna came in off the bench)

 

[alexrgct]

Am I the only one who's far more interested in starting a thread about Breanna Stewart? The kid scored 37 points! I don't care what anyone else did.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Am I the only one who's far more interested in starting a thread about Breanna Stewart? The kid scored 37 points! I don't care what anyone else did.

No, and I have no idea why. Weak BoneYard Bench perhaps.

 

[UConnCat]

Am I the only one who's far more interested in starting a thread about Breanna Stewart? The kid scored 37 points! I don't care what anyone else did.

I worked late and didn't get to watch the game. After checking the score and seeing that Stewart scored 37 I assumed there would be a thread on her amazing shooting night. Nope. But we do have a thread on the weak bench. So we have that going for us, which is nice.

 

[Sonny44]

Kiah looked so down on herself after a couple of mishandled balls. She's got to learn to shrug that off and keep on truckin'.

 

[Sonny44]

The only problem I had with the way we played was the lack of offensive rebounds in the first half.

 

[DobbsRover2]

That's what we all love about UConn fans so much. Whereas fans of other teams will point to the key contributions that the benches played in key wins off standard bench performances, Husky fans are never satisfied. Like the UConn coach, they want perfection, they want dominance, they want more. On a night when Stewie takes over a game and scores 37 in what could have easily been a 50+ point night, 3 other starters hit double figures, and MoJeff can only work in two shots, there is a feeling that the bench is weak and maybe that the starters shouldn't have to get their 90+% share of the points.

Not sure if I quite get it. Yes certainly Kiah needs to secure the rebounds better and whip her elbows around a bit because opponents kind of see her as a pocket to be picked at times. Brianna might be a little overeager at times though that seems understandable considering her recent situation. Saniya seems to be handling point-type duties well enough, but for some reason she seems to think maybe Stewie or Bria or Stef or Kaleena should get the first chances to shoot the ball.

Below, comparing the UConn bench last night to those of four other ranked teams who played the last two nights and had from 47 (UConn) to 78 (Stanford) bench minutes, I'm not quite ready to dive into full moan mode yet. Among the benches is the much touted ND bench. UConn's bench shot the best and had the most blocks and steals even in far fewer minutes than especially Stanford's and ND's. Their totals for points, rebounds, and assists are mainly less, but so are the minutes, and if you say it's a sign of bench weakness that UConn's subs got 47 minutes to say Louisville's 52, then you can't also complain about MoJeff or Stef getting less points than usual. There's only so many minutes to go around. (Stanford's bench situation was likely affected by the fact that a starting guard got only 10 minutes.) In any case, pretty respectable for such a bunch of reputed weak slackers. Oh, and on a night when UConn shoots nearly 60%, a lack of offensive rebounds isn't a big deal.

 

[reno tony]

I really like Kiah but she is just toooooo nice. I wish she would grab that ball like she really wants it, a la Kelly Faris or KML. Whether from a pass or a rebound, Kiah is big enough and looks strong enough that when she gets her hand on the ball no small guard should be knocking it out of her hands. Woman Up Kiah!

63 TO GO​

 

[UcMiami]

On rebounds - Temple is a good rebounding team and is the ONLY team YTD to out rebound Uconn in a game. They are fundamentally very good in boxing out on their defensive end and send a fair number of folks to the offensive boards. As for Kiah - she had two rebounds stolen last night which is very rare for her. With long arms and good jumping ability she gets to a lot of rebounds without fouling that most players can't. And she normally has good hands. Every rebounder has balls stolen from them occasionally - so maybe she just had a bad luck night last night. Yes - she looked a little discouraged a couple of times immediately after a foul or missed rebound, but unlike previous years she did not let that affect the next play. She was playing hard until the end of the game.

 

[huskybill]

Am I the only one who's far more interested in starting a thread about Breanna Stewart? The kid scored 37 points! I don't care what anyone else did.

Why haven't you started a thread about Stewie's great game? You've never been known as a shy one around here.

 

[huskybill]

That's what we all love about UConn fans so much. Whereas fans of other teams will point to the key contributions that the benches played in key wins off standard bench performances, Husky fans are never satisfied. Like the UConn coach, they want perfection, they want dominance, they want more. On a night when Stewie takes over a game and scores 37 in what could have easily been a 50+ point night, 3 other starters hit double figures, and MoJeff can only work in two shots, there is a feeling that the bench is weak and maybe that the starters shouldn't have to get their 90+% share of the points.

Not sure if I quite get it. Yes certainly Kiah needs to secure the rebounds better and whip her elbows around a bit because opponents kind of see her as a pocket to be picked at times. Brianna might be a little overeager at times though that seems understandable considering her recent situation. Saniya seems to be handling point-type duties well enough, but for some reason she seems to think maybe Stewie or Bria or Stef or Kaleena should get the first chances to shoot the ball.

Below, comparing the UConn bench last night to those of four other ranked teams who played the last two nights and had from 47 (UConn) to 78 (Stanford) bench minutes, I'm not quite ready to dive into full moan mode yet. Among the benches is the much touted ND bench. UConn's bench shot the best and had the most blocks and steals even in far fewer minutes than especially Stanford's and ND's. Their totals for points, rebounds, and assists are mainly less, but so are the minutes, and if you say it's a sign of bench weakness that UConn's subs got 47 minutes to say Louisville's 52, then you can't also complain about MoJeff or Stef getting less points than usual. There's only so many minutes to go around. (Stanford's bench situation was likely affected by the fact that a starting guard got only 10 minutes.) In any case, pretty respectable for such a bunch of reputed weak slackers. Oh, and on a night when UConn shoots nearly 60%, a lack of offensive rebounds isn't a big deal.

One reason to discuss the bench is that Stef had an apparent injury that may limit her minutes in the next few games.

 

[meyers7]

Yes - she looked a little discouraged a couple of times immediately after a foul or missed rebound, but unlike previous years she did not let that affect the next play. She was playing hard until the end of the game.

That was my thinking. Even though things were not going great for her last night, she pushed on through and kept playing.

 

[rvwsleep]

Stewart, Dolson, KML and Hartley took 60 of the teams 67 shots and made 34 of them (58%). That's great shooting. If those 4 were hitting on a low percentage of their shots and the subs weren't taking any, I would be more concerned. Though I have to admit the stat of Stokes and Chong playing a combined 34 minutes and taking zero shots does give one pause.

 

[DobbsRover2]

One reason to discuss the bench is that Stef had an apparent injury that may limit her minutes in the next few games.

Um, hb, you are definitely messing with the wrathful gods who torment speculators when you bring up a limited Stef in the future conjecture, especially since she said she was ready to go charging back into the game if needed and do some fierce gnome punting.

And we should always discuss the bench, as long as it is done reasonably.