Wha-did-I-do wrong, coach?

[msf22b]

Moriah Jefferson enters the Duke game at about 3:58 to go in the first half. During the period she's in Stewie fumbles a pass leading to the famous head shake by coach,

At 1:58, MJ drives under the hoop for her lovely reverse that may be the real beginning of the UConn fightback. In the next couple of plays she threads the needle to KML in the corner for a three, is tough on D, ultimately giving a foul on Jones (a smart foul, breaks up a scoring op, with one to give near the end of the half) and after the final timeout is in the correct position to get an offensive rebound and is fouled, making 1 of 2.

I don't know what more could have been expected of her. I admit to not completely comprehending the subtleties of the offense, but it seems she was more than doing her job. Her reward: no minutes in the second half until ultimate garbage.

A lot has been said about the decision to go with the Vets in the second half but Moriah's play seems to warrant more minutes. Hard to figure her excellent play not being rewarded.

Check it out on ESPN3, the game's being held over.

 

[psconn]

I didn't study it as much as you did but I didn't get it at the time and none of the talk since then has explained it.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Who would you have sat and why?

 

[msf22b]

not the proper question

 

[bruinbball]

You can't play 6 people and beating the #4 team by 28 in the second half means that someone that obviously was playing well had to sit. Who would it have been?

 

[UcMiami]

Without the analysis you provided (thanks) I had already been a little surprised with her not getting in earlier in the second half, but ...
Bria played 16 minutes - she was having a great game and I think Geno wanted her to get a long run in the second half. Team needs her to get back on track.
CD played 14 minuites - she was having a very good game and was instrumental in keeping the team focused - KF rightly got all the love, but I thought this was one of CD's best games in years.
Banks played 8 minutes - She picked up most of the remaining guard minutes and played well on both ends.

I think some nights you just get unlucky in terms of minutes and this night the Senior and Junior took up almost all the second half minutes and the Sophomore took the rest. And the Freshman didn't get in until the last two minutes. Not everything is sending a message - sometimes Freshman end up 'taking out the garbage' because they are low man on the pole, not because they screwed up.

I posted this before, but will add it here again: I think the second half of this game was very important to the team and I think Geno recognized that. He was very selective in his substitutions and kept the team pressing and running till the very end because he wanted the whole team to see what they were capable of, and to enjoy and revel in it. Morgan and Kiah also got only 2 minutes, and certainly they had contributed earlier (though that may have been because of their injury history as well.)

 

[EricLA]

i'm not sure it's a question of Moriah not being rewarded, but rather a result of 2 things - Bria is returning to her AA form, and Caroline is really playing terrific. Caroline is the starting PG. It seems pretty clear she will be for the rest of the year, assuming her body holds up. Bria is much better as the 2, but certainly capable of playing the 1, as is Brianna. I just think that as terrific as Moriah is, and she's only going to get better, she's a bit squeezed by the players who are ahead of her.

And let's be honest - Kelly is a guard and is having the best year of her career. AA worthy I believe. KML is also a 2,3 or 4 and is also (IMHO) deserving of 1st team AA honors. Bree simply can do more than Mo, and there are less players on the team who "play" her position. Kiah's not getting the time because her head's not where it needs to be, but that has nothing to do with Speedy Gonzalez.

the other thing, as UcMiami pointed out, is that Geno has finally realized mass substitutions won't work with this team. He needs to put at least 2, and maybe 3 or 4 starters on the floor and put the bench players in to maximize the teams' effectiveness. We've seen too many times this season a 30 point lead trimmed to 15 over the last 5-10 minutes of a game cuz he has all the reserves in. He's also probably trying to mix and match and see who he can have on the floor and still maintain or increase a lead. if that means 4 starters and 1 reserve, then so be it. Their time will come next year.

 

[Icebear]

not the proper question

Why not?

 

[msf22b]

Ice, Justin: have to answer later perhaps in a personal, out the door to ski w friends at Jay, sorry.

 

[Icebear]

Ice, Justin: have to answer later perhaps in a personal, out the door to ski w friends at Jay, sorry.

Have a great day.

 

[Tonyc]

Why? Geno made the decision and the kids who played blew Duke out. It worked. Over the next 7 games everybody will get a chance to play. By all the threads and posts UConn looked terrific. It worked for what ever reasons he did it. Now over the next 3 weeks the other kids can make strides and will be developed. I would for a reason as to who did what wrong. I dont think and didnt see anything that anybody did wrong. My only conclusion is experienced players in a big game. Geno knows exactly what he is doing. Perhaps now we see why coaches have short benches in big games. It works.

 

[earl the pearl]

Only 5 can play and everyone was playing very well. MJ has loads of potential and will get plenty of time before she's done. Really needs to improve 3 point shooting though.

 

[UConnFan23]

So speculating, if I'm a talented high school BB player (which in reality I currently am not and only marginally was in the distant past ), and:

• I see this pattern of playing time for freshman WBB players at UConn (and also read this thread)
• I see the Duke and Syracuse talented freshman starts and playing time
• I hear things like Meghan Culmo during the Syracuse game going on and on about how much those 3 starting freshman are going to benefit from that playing time and experience

don't I:

• Recognize why there is only one UConn commit for next year
• Fully sympathize with the decisions Diamond and her friends made
• Have increased reservations about going to UConn unless I am the elite of the elite

I know, we could say it is one of the drawbacks of being on a NC caliber team, and I do agree with the astute recognition of the importance of getting that lengthy period of killer instinct and crisp play into the teams memory (while thoroughly enjoying as a fan the torment of Duke). But still, it does seem this sword has two edges and it is a delicate balance.

 

[boontonbomber]

Who would you have sat and why?

anybody! what does it matter who sits down, when you're blowing the opponent away. crazy not to play her, say 5 minutes instead of less than 2.

 

[boontonbomber]

i'm not sure it's a question of Moriah not being rewarded, but rather a result of 2 things - Bria is returning to her AA form, and Caroline is really playing terrific. Caroline is the starting PG. It seems pretty clear she will be for the rest of the year, assuming her body holds up. Bria is much better as the 2, but certainly capable of playing the 1, as is Brianna. I just think that as terrific as Moriah is, and she's only going to get better, she's a bit squeezed by the players who are ahead of her.

And let's be honest - Kelly is a guard and is having the best year of her career. AA worthy I believe. KML is also a 2,3 or 4 and is also (IMHO) deserving of 1st team AA honors. Bree simply can do more than Mo, and there are less players on the team who "play" her position. Kiah's not getting the time because her head's not where it needs to be, but that has nothing to do with Speedy Gonzalez.

the other thing, as UcMiami pointed out, is that Geno has finally realized mass substitutions won't work with this team. He needs to put at least 2, and maybe 3 or 4 starters on the floor and put the bench players in to maximize the teams' effectiveness. We've seen too many times this season a 30 point lead trimmed to 15 over the last 5-10 minutes of a game cuz he has all the reserves in. He's also probably trying to mix and match and see who he can have on the floor and still maintain or increase a lead. if that means 4 starters and 1 reserve, then so be it. Their time will come next year.

not talking mass substitutiuons. talking about at least getting moriah a few more minutes.

 

[psconn]

Who would you have sat and why?

The same player(s) that sat in the first half for similar reasons, maybe? I'm not saying MJ should have dominated the minutes in the 2nd half but we hear from the coach that she's special and the only real point guard other than Doty... to back that up with a few more minutes would not require icing anyone else. It was, after all a blowout.

Time to haul out the "Hall-of-Fame Coach" argument? Probably valid, but all I said was that I don't get it and despite UcM and Eric's informative responses, I still wonder if there couldn't have been 3-4 more minutes for MJ given how well she's playing. Hopefully, Tony is right and she will see more time in upcoming games. I hope some of her minutes come with 4 of the starters on the court... those are much more valuable minutes and are a truer test of where she's at.

 

[UcMiami]

Fan23 - there are not a lot of freshman on top ten teams who are going to average 20 minutes a game unless there is a hole in the line-up from graduation the previous year. Season stats for Uconn freshman are pretty typical: Average minutes:
BS - 22.1
MJ - 15.7
MT - 14.3
BS is getting the added time because Uconn did not have an established '4'
Moriah is playing well, but ... she is shooting .305 from the field compared to CD at .375, BH at .413 and BB .490. and of the four her A/TO is marginally worse than the BB who has the next worst.

15.7 minutes per game is not 'riding the pine'. And I would say the Duke game was an exceptional circumstance and not likely to be a pattern for second half minutes. However, with an AA quality guard rounding into form and demanding more minutes, the available minutes for the other guards is going to shrink somewhat.

HS players are going to make their decisions for a whole number of reasons. One of those reasons will certainly relate to playing time and who else will be in front of them in the rotation. But anyone who thinks they will be competing for a NC and also thinks the coach is going to use a substitution pattern designed to balance minutes among the team evenly is dreaming. The players for whom minutes are a primary decider are not typically the players Geno recruits.

That being said - I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Geno didn't even realize that MJ hadn't gotten into the second half until the last two minutes. And I wouldn't be surprised if he or one of the assistants didn't mention something to MJ after the fact, if it was 'unintentional'. And if it was intentional but related to issues having nothing to do with MJ's first half play I am sure it was discussed with the player. (If it was related to something in the first half that we did not see I am sure she knows about it!)

 

[UConnChapette]

It is easy to play armchair coach. Geno should have done this, Geno should have done that...blah, blah, blah

The bench always starts getting a little shorter in the second half of the season. Against the top teams, Geno needs to make sure that the core of the team that he plans on relying on into the NCAA tournament has the offense down pat. Against the lesser teams, MJ will likely see more PT. A perfect opportunity for her to make some mistakes and grow her game.

Also, fans do not see what Geno, CD, Shea and Marissa see daily in practice. Fans do not know what is going on in the classroom. Those two things in large part determine playing time.

Kelly Faris is playing amazing. She is a senior. Caroline is playing great. She is a senior. The offense flows very well when these two are in the game. God willing, Caroline will remain healthy for the remainder of the season and be able to get the most out of her senior year. She has had some major setbacks due to injuries over her career. While her knee is healthy, I have no problem seeing her get as many minutes as possible. And Kelly does so many great things that may not be evident on the stat page. Neither one of them should be benched simply to even out the minutes.

Relax. The fact that MJ is playing well in the time she gets in is a good sign. Her time will come. And I am willing to bet that MJ undertands the situation and is not complaining about the amount of her playing time.

 

[UConnChapette]

But anyone who thinks they will be competing for a NC and also thinks the coach is going to use a substitution pattern designed to balance minutes among the team evenly is dreaming. The players for whom minutes are a primary decider are not typically the players Geno recruits.

+1

 

[Shenandoah]

Kiah had a good couple of minutes in the 1st half. To risk further aggravating her injury in a blowout, would not accomplish anything. She'll be needed much more in a probable close game against Baylor than a blowout against Duke...

 

[earl the pearl]

not talking mass substitutiuons. talking about at least getting moriah a few more minutes.

She'll get more minutes against upcoming opponents who shouldn't give us much competition.

 

[wallman]

There are some great points about the choices recruits make but maybe the recruits them selves don't know the answers and are not asking themselves the right questions. For Example why is KML doing so well at Uconn, skills coming into the program but also comes from a very good program where the game of basketball as a whole is a foundation, then add to that the development and teaching a player is going to get at Uconn and talk about a fast track and being able to get on the fast track and understanding what is being taught and expected.

There are players who don't get it, have never had it and will take much longer and may never get it. Ignore their HS hype as truly some of these players in that position don't really have the background and knowledge of how to play the game. Well rounded players with a great HS foundation are clearly going to excel, but how many have that package.

 

[CCinCT]

If MJ is that good and it appears she will be, in 3 more years someone will be asking why PG "XX" didn't get more minutes while MJ played.

 

[Tonyc]

Hey guys it is only one game and it was a big game againest a top 4 team. We were up 2 at the half. That may have had something to do with his decision of who to play and who not to play. We were up over 30, and imo he made the right decision. What scares me reading some of these posts is that AAU coaches and Parents of Recruits read this board and some of the stuff written here IMO could hurt recruiting. I gotta tell you some of your posts are making me cringe. JMO.

Geno is a Hall of Fame coach who makes over a million dollars a year for a reason. I gotta think he knows and has very good reasons for making the decisions he does for the Team. Yes sometimes he makes mistakes but I think we should be asking what was the benefit to the team for making his decisions. In the end we won big and the veteran players looked terrific playing together. They didnt look as good in the first half only up 2 with everybody else playing. So why not leave them in and hope that it pays off. They really looked like they were reaching another level. They played great together. Big difference between the first half and the second half.

The next 7 games arent againest top 4 teams and I think our underclassman will see alot of time because the next 7 games we play teams that most likely dont have the talent to come back. Making comparisions to other teams who start freshman and how good those freshman looked dosnt constitute much to me. We beat Cuse by alot so Cuse playting freshman and other teams playing freshman because they dont have the caliber of players that UConn has is not a fair comparison. Other teams start freshman because they have no one else with the experience or talent of their freshman. UConn does. Theres a reason why UConn is where theyve been for such a long time and other teams are where they are. Heck you heard the responses to some recruits who were top 10 and went to schools that werent top 10 when they couldve gone to a top 5 college team.

Here is something to think about. We play Baylor in about 3 weeks. Ive got to wonder if the playtime is similiar to the Duke game. If we improve I think our underclassman get more playtime and if they dont they might not. The most important thing for UConn now is to establish chemistry and continunity and maintain it. The freshman need to mature. Our injured players need to get healthly and learn to play again at the highest level. We are on a good track. We cant afford any hiccups. Were coming off another good game where in the second half we looked great. Lets hope we can continue on this path over the next couple of weeks.

 

[phil sampieri]

Hey guys it is only one game and it was a big game againest a top 4 team. We were up 2 at the half. That may have had something to do with his decision of who to play and who not to play. We were up over 30, and imo he made the right decision. What scares me reading some of these posts is that AAU coaches and Parents of Recruits read this board and some of the stuff written here IMO could hurt recruiting. I gotta tell you some of your posts are making me cringe. JMO.

Geno is a Hall of Fame coach who makes over a million dollars a year for a reason. I gotta think he knows and has very good reasons for making the decisions he does for the Team. Yes sometimes he makes mistakes but I think we should be asking what was the benefit to the team for making his decisions. In the end we won big and the veteran players looked terrific playing together. They didnt look as good in the first half only up 2 with everybody else playing. So why not leave them in and hope that it pays off. They really looked like they were reaching another level. They played great together. Big difference between the first half and the second half.

The next 7 games arent againest top 4 teams and I think our underclassman will see alot of time because the next 7 games we play teams that most likely dont have the talent to come back. Making comparisions to other teams who start freshman and how good those freshman looked dosnt constitute much to me. We beat Cuse by alot so Cuse playting freshman and other teams playing freshman because they dont have the caliber of players that UConn has is not a fair comparison. Other teams start freshman because they have no one else with the experience or talent of their freshman. UConn does. Theres a reason why UConn is where theyve been for such a long time and other teams are where they are. Heck you heard the responses to some recruits who were top 10 and went to schools that werent top 10 when they couldve gone to a top 5 college team.

Here is something to think about. We play Baylor in about 3 weeks. Ive got to wonder if the playtime is similiar to the Duke game. If we improve I think our underclassman get more playtime and if they dont they might not. The most important thing for UConn now is to establish chemistry and continunity and maintain it. The freshman need to mature. Our injured players need to get healthly and learn to play again at the highest level. We are on a good track. We cant afford any hiccups. Were coming off another good game where in the second half we looked great. Lets hope we can continue on this path over the next couple of weeks.

TonyC -You said exactly what I was thinking but even better. I said something to that effect a few weeks ago and was called a moron &
didn't want to get in a spitting match.Good job