We're Coming Together

[Steelerone]

Again, forgive, as I am 77 and can't remember all of the details as I use to.

VOD Your are now officially in that "Everyday is saturday" population.

 

[Carnac]

...and this team really starting to come together started the minute AG hit the floor against Tennessee. It then became about playing UConn basketball with passion, pace, precision, and energy. Very exciting. Now, let's bring it every second for the rest of the season.

In my humble opinion, Griffin the the most exciting player on the team. Not the best, but the most exciting. Why? because like Gabby before her, you never know what she's going to do. We know what to expect from the rest of the girls, but Aubrey can do things no one else on the roster can. We haven't seen enough of her to have seen everything in her bag of tricks yet.

I believe it was against TN in the 1st quarter that Griffin stole a pass and took it the other way for a score immediately upon entering the game. A score that at the time was very much needed because we were being "handled" by the LV at the time.

 

[Dokey]

In my humble opinion, Griffin the the most exciting player on the team. Not the best, but the most exciting. Why? because like Gabby before her, you never know what she's going to do. We know what to expect from the rest of the girls, but Aubrey can do things no one else on the roster can. We haven't seen enough of her to have seen everything in her bag of tricks yet.

I believe it was against TN in the 1st quarter that Griffin stole a pass and took it the other way for a score immediately upon entering the game. A score that at the time was very much needed because we were being "handled" by the LV at the time.

She screams potential. Her bag of tricks might be limited right now. Exciting sometimes translates to uncontrolled chaos. Her offense is, however, timid, or limited to under the basket. I did like her kick outs to Anna that ended in threes. That’s definite progress. I have to believe Geno is bringing her along and will get her there. Right now exciting is what you need in spurts coming off the bench. Cincy should give her more minutes. She had most minutes—33–in last conference game. I suspect Kyla will start against Cincy, then be replaced by Anna at first opportunity. Against Oregon I suspect Anna starts so the Ducks don’t get off to a big lead. We will get a better idea about Aubrey’s game playing among Oregon trees.

 

[Jingo]

UConn can’t afford for any of their starters to disappear at anytime. All five must show up, and show out for 40 minutes. The starting unit must play with the same “hustle and flow“ in the fourth quarter as they do in the first.

No drop off in intensity or urgency during those last ten minutes.

I don't think it's relevant - in fact, it IS counter-productive - to talk about our "five starters" since two of our non-starters have spearheaded recent victories.
Basketball is a team game and "All five must show up, and show out for 40 minutes" is no longer applicable for this team, eh? Match-ups, when and where, will determine who gets the most "starter" minutes, eh?

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno has always said it’s not who starts that are most important, it’s who’s on the floor that crunch time, kinda what @Jingo said

 

[Jingo]

Geno has always said it’s not who starts that are most important, it’s who’s on the floor that crunch time, kinda what @Jingo said

Right...

 

[cabbie191]

I still don't understand why Irwin is starting! Both Aubrey and Anna are better and would be a better choice to start. Irwin is an offensive liability.

And yet, somehow, despite all the burdens Irwin places on the team, we're 18-1. Perhaps it's your opinion that if she didn't start, we'd be 19-0 and might have also beaten Team USA to boot?

I don't know you personally nor do I know your background - you may be an incredible basketball expert and our BY version of Coach Jumper. But absent that pedigree, I am pretty satisfied trusting more the judgement of the team's coaches, and the consistent analysis of folks like Megan Cuomo that Irvin's contributions to the team's success are quite substantial.

I really wish those on the Irwin negativity train would cease and desist.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Good job! Just go undefeated in the AAC and make it to the Elite 8. What I see out of this is that we lose Kyla, Elizabeth, Molly and Crystal and Batuoly. What we have is is Anna, Aubrey, Megan, Evina and Liv. Seems like a very good core group. With the new recruits, then the Team might be able to function and achieve the precision of the days of Breanna Stewart et al., and the days of Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams that we became spoiled and enjoyed. Perhaps we will begin to see basketball played to the level of excellence that we once saw in the past.

We tend to gloss over the fact that we will have 5 freshmen. Talented as they are they are freshman. Next year will be no cake walk. Interesting as all get out, but no cake walk.

 

[Longtime fan]

We have come a long way this season and we still have some kinks to get out of our system. Unforced turnovers has been a problem at times. We have lacked consistentcy shooting the ball. Maybe thats taking to many treys Im not sure. The consistency or lack of is scoring. We were down double digets to Team USA and got it going and tied the score. Then we seemed to be looking for someone to take over and we rushed and forced shots which imo was due to lack of somebody getting open and that comes from passing cutting and execurtion. We need to clear that up with good passing and trusting players other then our Big 3 scorers. I think Anna and Liv are showing signs they can be counted on as options.

I have talked about the Big 3 and Core 4 controlling the scoring. Well a couple of comments on that. Anna and Griff are the surprises of the year and every game they are getting better. Anna is looking more and more like a player who can take over a game. Griff needs to make her FTs and develop an outside shot that she can depend on under pressure. Her quick first step and inside game and cutting to the basket are remarkable.

With Oregon and SC coming up we are in a better position to take over those games however we need to be consistent in scoring. We cant pass the ball around and expect Crystal to create and shoot a trey. We need more clearing out and dribble drives and get fouled. We need to get defenses in foul trouble and that wont happen shooting a bunch of treys We need to take it inside strong and create fouls.

We have improved alot. In the Cinny game we will see where we are. Anna is playing with alot of confidence and has shown signs of being a leader. She can be depended on. She needs to shoot more which means her team mates need to look for her more often and set screens and pics for her to shoot more. When she gets going UConn gets going . Griff is electric. When Anna and Griff are in the game UConn is a different team and now with Liv hitting shots and taking it to the basket we have alot more scoring power.

The Baylor game and the USA game we looked intimidated and before the game was over we looked much more confident. Our confidence is building and alot of that has to do with Anna Griff and Liv as well as our defense. Our fear of bigs is beginning to deminish.

We are in a good place right now. We're not there yet . When we being to fire on all cylinders we are going to be very hard to beat That means looking for Anna more and Liv making those ourside shots as well as scoring underneath. That means CW hitting her outside shots on a more consistent basis. That means getting everybody involved in the game and not just our big 3. With 5 scorers on the court we are tuff to defend. It also means Kyla shooting the ball when shes open. We are still a work in process and thats due to not have an unclassman nucleaus coming into this season and having so many underclassman we need to depend on. Those underclassman are coming around as we have witnessed over the past few games. They are growing and they are surprising alot of fans. As the improvment continues the confidence will grow and the team will be special. We will learn more on Monday nite against Oregon.

What you are saying is:

1. If everyone keeps improving
2. The team plays better together, particularly on offense,
3. Each player can deliver their best games at each level of the Big dance

We can be really hard to beat, and could win it all.

Hard to disagree. But it is a lot to wish for.

Christen Williams, for example, has shown no prospect of consistently scoring from the outside ( even mid-range), as we know she can. When she hits her first shot (not a lay-up) she has a great day. If she misses, she tends to miss all day.

It is a bit early to conclude that Olivia is getting comfortable with her outside shot. It is encouraging, that she has made a few recently, but that is a long ways from what will make her great. In addition, she still doesn't have the strength or savvy to win highly contested rebounds and successfully put the ball in the hoop. Megan Walker is a better rebounder, as is Aubrey. That cannot be!

Megan Walker needs to focus on court discipline. She, surprisingly, is the cause of many of our turnovers. That has to change. But she is an offensive wonder.

Ania is developing a comfort level much faster than any imagined ( maybe not Geno and CD, but the fans ). And that is a huge asset. All aspects of her game seem to be elevating.

Aubrey needs three things, as yet;

1. An outside shot ( feeding off improved accuracy and confidence at the free throw line)
2. Improved ability to "finish." Too many times, we see her blast by a defender and get to the hoop for a lay-up, only to miss the shot. It appears that she is moving too fast ( even for herself) to stay in control. The game needs to " slow down " for her and this will happen. But when?
3. More awareness of what she is meant to be doing ( on offense ) when she does not have the ball. This is developing. It is a freshman thing.

Crystal simply needs to stay alive and well.

The potential is there, and that is a wonderful surprise to many of us who were quite discouraged when this season commenced. And we have the coaching staff to bring excellence to the floor But do they have the time?

 

[BostonBay]

Not sure everything is coming together. ONO doesnt look happy or comfortable. She hasnt been the same since the Baylor game, and the result is Geno benching her for long stretches to try to motivate her to play better. And, let's face it. The lack of size & physical depth is the main reason it looks like a long shot for UConn win a title this year.

I'd also throw in very erratic shooting as a major issue. Yes, Anna has been shooting much better. But, CW, MW & CD have been either very good or very bad with their shooting. Little consistency.

 

[Roger G]

Agreed. Everyone is not familiar with the "Fukawi" tribe ( joke) or their origin. F-Troop was one of my favorite programs. I wish MeTV would bring it back. I'd like to see all of those episodes again.

You can find it on Youtube. I did. Watched a whole bunch. Loved that show.

 

[Roger G]

In my humble opinion, Griffin the the most exciting player on the team. Not the best, but the most exciting. Why? because like Gabby before her, you never know what she's going to do. We know what to expect from the rest of the girls, but Aubrey can do things no one else on the roster can. We haven't seen enough of her to have seen everything in her bag of tricks yet.

I believe it was against TN in the 1st quarter that Griffin stole a pass and took it the other way for a score immediately upon entering the game. A score that at the time was very much needed because we were being "handled" by the LV at the time.

The surface has just been scratched there. She wows.

 

[Roger G]

What you are saying is:

1. If everyone keeps improving
2. The team plays better together, particularly on offense,
3. Each player can deliver their best games at each level of the Big dance

We can be really hard to beat, and could win it all.

Hard to disagree. But it is a lot to wish for.

Christen Williams, for example, has shown no prospect of consistently scoring from the outside ( even mid-range), as we know she can. When she hits her first shot (not a lay-up) she has a great day. If she misses, she tends to miss all day.

It is a bit early to conclude that Olivia is getting comfortable with her outside shot. It is encouraging, that she has made a few recently, but that is a long ways from what will make her great. In addition, she still doesn't have the strength or savvy to win highly contested rebounds and successfully put the ball in the hoop. Megan Walker is a better rebounder, as is Aubrey. That cannot be!

Megan Walker needs to focus on court discipline. She, surprisingly, is the cause of many of our turnovers. That has to change. But she is an offensive wonder.

Ania is developing a comfort level much faster than any imagined ( maybe not Geno and CD, but the fans ). And that is a huge asset. All aspects of her game seem to be elevating.

Aubrey needs three things, as yet;

1. An outside shot ( feeding off improved accuracy and confidence at the free throw line)
2. Improved ability to "finish." Too many times, we see her blast by a defender and get to the hoop for a lay-up, only to miss the shot. It appears that she is moving too fast ( even for herself) to stay in control. The game needs to " slow down " for her and this will happen. But when?
3. More awareness of what she is meant to be doing ( on offense ) when she does not have the ball. This is developing. It is a freshman thing.

Crystal simply needs to stay alive and well.

The potential is there, and that is a wonderful surprise to many of us who were quite discouraged when this season commenced. And we have the coaching staff to bring excellence to the floor But do they have the time?

If I see something happen again and again, say eleven times (I'm pulling that number out of thin air) we could say 12 (again just a number out of nowhere) or even 17 (same here) I would think it was less than coincidence if I saw it again.

 

[UConn2SF]

She screams potential. Her bag of tricks might be limited right now. Exciting sometimes translates to uncontrolled chaos. Her offense is, however, timid, or limited to under the basket. I did like her kick outs to Anna that ended in threes. That’s definite progress. I have to believe Geno is bringing her along and will get her there. Right now exciting is what you need in spurts coming off the bench. Cincy should give her more minutes. She had most minutes—33–in last conference game. I suspect Kyla will start against Cincy, then be replaced by Anna at first opportunity. Against Oregon I suspect Anna starts so the Ducks don’t get off to a big lead. We will get a better idea about Aubrey’s game playing among Oregon trees.

She just keeps adding to the bag:



i hear she's working on a reverse 360 windmill.......blindfolded

 

[uconnfan68]

I'm 72 and I have to check my driver's license each morning to check who I am!

They let you keep it?

 

[eebmg]

They let you keep it?

Your assuming it's current.

 

[meyers7]

In my humble opinion, Griffin the the most exciting player on the team. Not the best, but the most exciting. Why? because like Gabby before her, you never know what she's going to do. We know what to expect from the rest of the girls, but Aubrey can do things no one else on the roster can. We haven't seen enough of her to have seen everything in her bag of tricks yet.

And that's mostly why she's not getting as much time as many on here would want.