What was most impressive to you of tonights performances:

[BobbyJ]

Most impressed with the 3 freshmen. These girls can flat out play.

Molly Bent - at one point in the first half, made that foul line pull up jumper and hit nothing but net - just like a #10 before her. Bent also showed good defense and court awareness. She is going to get minutes.

Kyla Irwin - at 6' 2' has some serious game. Handles the ball well, can dribble drive. Good hands and upper body strength. She knows how to position her body and defense and how to block out under the boards. Nice footwork around the basket. She's going to be needed this season.

Crystal Dangerfield - a little dynamo under control. Why she was the last of the frosh in the game, who knows. But she showed she can pass the rock with skill. Very good court awarness.

Good to see that Pheesa is fully recovered. She looked very good. Gabby was going crazy out there. SHe is going to be a nightmare for a lot of teams this year. Too athletic and to quick for most defenders to handle. Lou - once she got going looked smooth and comfortable in her new role. Kia - nice and steady and that's important. Sinaya - looked good. Natalie - I just don't know. At times she looks like what we need and other times she looks out of sync.

Its going to be a fun and exciting year.

Didn't see the game but your analysis seems to agree with my initial impressions of some of these players. Regarding Dangerfield, after seeing some of her HS videos I believe her defense might be the thing that would hold her back a bit. I think she has a habit of turning and following her "man" and not being ball-aware which, as we know, won't work for Auriemma and this level. I'll be interested to see how she's developing once the real games start. And after seeing her first HS video I really like Bent.

 

[NVUConnFan]

1. Gabby. If Geno let her played 40 mins she will have 50 pts.
2. Kyla,. She doesn't look like a freshman.

That's what I got from the post game presser. Gabby's nickname of "Gabulous" is not for nothing. Kyla impressed also. This season could be a fun ride.

 

[huskeynut]

Didn't see the game but your analysis seems to agree with my initial impressions of some of these players. Regarding Dangerfield, after seeing some of her HS videos I believe her defense might be the thing that would hold her back a bit. I think she has a habit of turning and following her "man" and not being ball-aware which, as we know, won't work for Auriemma and this level. I'll be interested to see how she's developing once the real games start. And after seeing her first HS video I really like Bent.

There were a couple of plays with Bent that reminded me of another #10 - Sue Bird. One was that pull up jumper at the free throw line.

A tandem of Dangerfield and Bent is going to a big worry for opponents down the line.

 

[huskyd]

The reason so many of us are warning not to be too enthusiastic with what we saw last night is BECAUSE we ARE so enthusiastic. Don't know about you, but I saw a TEAM on the court, not a bunch of soloists not knowing what to do. This includes the frosh, who were very good in different ways. If this is the base from which this team grows, it will only get better and better.

 

[Kaizen]

Anyone knows if the replay game is available? Thanks.

 

[huskyd]

Anyone knows if the replay game is available? Thanks.

Yes. You can watch it on College Sports Live at the uconnhuskies.com Web site. I don't know if they'll expect you to join, but it's worth a shot.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Yes. You can watch it on College Sports Live at the uconnhuskies.com Web site. I don't know if they'll expect you to join, but it's worth a shot.

At least for live games, it's $9.95 per month.

 

[Sonny44]

"... as an aside, if I were Megan Walker, I would really have to think about coming to UConn. Their best players play the two and three (Nurse, Samuelson, Williams, Collier) and there will be virtually no quality time open for a Freshman next season, even the Number one rated player."

Wazzamaatta yooo? I am not a violent sort, but this statement made me throw a tic tac at my ipad. Boo hiss!

Nonsense, she's not coming here.

 

[CocoHusky]

Just as an aside, if I were Megan Walker, I would really have to think about coming to UConn. Their best players play the two and three (Nurse, Samuelson, Williams, Collier) and there will be virtually no quality time open for a Freshman next season, even the Number one rated player. Based on one game, Irwin will be a player; having the two transfers next season solidifies the two post positions and enables this season's "core four" to dominate at the two and three. Particularly if Molly Bent keeps improving, next year's Freshman class may have to watch for a year. Nice position to be in, to be sure, barring serious injuries of course.

Megan's situation competition at (2 & 3) would not be any better at either ND or Texas. ND has Boley, Young, Mabrey, Patberg, Ogunbowale in those positions. Texas has Higgs, Horsey, Atkins, Holmes in those positions.
To keep things simpler I calculate this way: Of the three teams only UCONN will have a guaranteed open starting position open at SG-assuming Saniya starts.

 

[NewCorn]

Those 2 will play together for 4 years. I like that thought!

And with Molly!

 

[masshusk77]

And with Molly!

.....that is Molly

 

[itsasport]

good- a lot of really good passes by many players.
better- the player passed to, collected it, and finished.
best- almost no bad passes.

 

[BigBird]

One thing I noticed in this game re Natalie, is the team as in the past is not very good at entry passing to a post and has an annoying habit of rotating the ball to the wing on the side where the post player has just vacated to reposition on the opposite block. Happened with whoever was posting in the low block numerous times.

That can be fixed.

 

[BigBird]

Nonsense, she's not coming here.

I wonder if Geno knows that. My guess is that she's known for some time and wants a couple minutes of drama as she announces. That's fine, but keeping someone hanging who showed you the ultimate respect (and a UConn scholly offer) seems a bit much. Maybe I don't fully understand this aspect. But why not let the other coaches know.

 

[huskyd]

Anyone knows if the replay game is available? Thanks.

Kaizen, you can now watch a replay of the game @http://uconnhuskygames.com/2015-2016-womens-basketball-game-replays/.
Click on "Recent Uploads." No charge. Whoever is providing this site has my undying thanks.

 

[donalddoowop]

I watched the replay of the pre-season game. Some of the negative comments about Butler's play in my opinion are not fair. It was not easy to get her the ball and on a number of occasions when she caught it she was fouled. When she rebounded, she pivoted, kept the ball high and made an accurate two handed outlet pass. How can she dominate if her teammates don't get her the ball where she can score. She missed some close in shots but Tuck and Nurse missed many, many close in shots last season. Also, when she averaged 13 points a game at Georgetown she shot only 49 per cent which meant she was taking a lot of shots. She won't get as many shots at UCONN so she may not average double figures. If she ever plays at least 25 minutes a game I believe she will show her true ability. Just saying.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Megan's situation competition at (2 & 3) would not be any better at either ND or Texas. ND has Boley, Young, Mabrey, Patberg, Ogunbowale in those positions. Texas has Higgs, Horsey, Atkins, Holmes in those positions.
To keep things simpler I calculate this way: Of the three teams only UCONN will have a guaranteed open starting position open at SG-assuming Saniya starts.

magically--at no time did the word ---NONSENSE--appear in your posting. Thanks.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I wonder if Geno knows that. My guess is that she's known for some time and wants a couple minutes of drama as she announces. That's fine, but keeping someone hanging who showed you the ultimate respect (and a UConn scholly offer) seems a bit much. Maybe I don't fully understand this aspect. But why not let the other coaches know.

Big Bird I respect most of your positing--usually thoughtful.
I don't think Walker is keeping anyone hanging--the 10th --she can sign on the dotted line and all coaches know that---remember a verbal is only as good as the paper it's written on.
I detest the word nonsense --when applied to an opinion on the Boneyard--it shows a disregard for common human kindness for fellow uC wbb fans. Lots of words could be used in it's place --interestingly enough one or 2 who uses are supposed to be word/English experts

 

[Longtime fan]

Gabby was making it look easy. Bent & Irwin looked like they belonged. Bent looks as though she may be able to give Geno some minutes at guard during prime time. I know it's only one game, but neither of them look out of place. I wanted to see more of Dangerfield. She made a couple of real nice passes, and only 1 turnover.

It appears that Butler still needed to work on her game underneath the basket. She got a shot block by a player 5 inches shorter, She miss several easy baskets a foot out from the backboard. She needs to go up with power and authority when putting up shots from there.

Chong looked OK. Made some baskets. Didn't see any defense lapses. I still need to see more from her though. Lou looked great. First games jitters for everyone. The next game should be a lot smoother, with less fouls. Overall, they put up 111 points, albeit on a lesser opponent, that's still a lot of pints.

We all have to wake up to the fact that Butler is not going to be a good player. She is awkward, slow, has bad hands, and is not athletic. She can't dominate against a division II opponent. She just isn't good for anything more than about 2 minutes a game, during which she will miss a lay-up and draw two personals. Next year, we'll have some quality players with size. Butler was a mistake.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I watched the replay of the pre-season game. Some of the negative comments about Butler's play in my opinion are not fair. It was not easy to get her the ball and on a number of occasions when she caught it she was fouled. When she rebounded, she pivoted, kept the ball high and made an accurate two handed outlet pass. How can she dominate if her teammates don't get her the ball where she can score. She missed some close in shots but Tuck and Nurse missed many, many close in shots last season. Also, when she averaged 13 points a game at Georgetown she shot only 49 per cent which meant she was taking a lot of shots. She won't get as many shots at UCONN so she may not average double figures. If she ever plays at least 25 minutes a game I believe she will show her true ability. Just saying.

\
Thanks for this!! 50 (49) percent is pretty good. If she shoots at that rate--Uconn will be ready for prime time .
I hope the game plan wasn't to avoid getting the ball to Natalie!! Kiah and Buck suffered from not getting passes--the word, heard or read, was that she wouldn't score so don't pass it in to her.
If Uconn is to be marginally successful (getting to the 16 or 8 NCAA) Butler must become a formidable force in both offense and Defense--. Frankly we haven't seen that yet. In the IUP game 4th qtr I would have liked to see if Geno could go to Butler time after time and be successful
From the little I saw of the replay--EVERYONE was rushing their shots and missing some gimmes.

 

[Buzzyboy]

We all have to wake up to the fact that Butler is not going to be a good player. She is awkward, slow, has bad hands, and is not athletic. She can't dominate against a division II opponent. She just isn't good for anything more than about 2 minutes a game, during which she will miss a lay-up and draw two personals. Next year, we'll have some quality players with size. Butler was a mistake.

I know that you're so much more knowledgeable than Geno and I hope you take the time to let him and the staff know that and suggest that they don't renew her scholarship next season. As you clearly stated, what a waste. I hope you know I'm being facetious and it's sad that you could go out of your way to denigrate this kid so badly. I think that her minutes will be based on what Geno and the staff feel she can contribute and if it's 15 minutes a game or 3 minutes a game, it'll be totally acceptable to me. There's better ways to criticize and I think the only time that it warrants anything close to that is if she was playing in a critical game and made bonehead plays or played so horrifically that it cost the team the game. If she's not THAT talented, I doubt she'll be in a critical game at a critical time. Let it go!

 

[BroadwayVa]

I know that you're so much more knowledgeable than Geno and I hope you take the time to let him and the staff know that and suggest that they don't renew her scholarship next season. As you clearly stated, what a waste. I hope you know I'm being facetious and it's sad that you could go out of your way to denigrate this kid so badly. I think that her minutes will be based on what Geno and the staff feel she can contribute and if it's 15 minutes a game or 3 minutes a game, it'll be totally acceptable to me. There's better ways to criticize and I think the only time that it warrants anything close to that is if she was playing in a critical game and made bonehead plays or played so horrifically that it cost the team the game. If she's not THAT talented, I doubt she'll be in a critical game at a critical time. Let it go!

I has such great expectation of Natalie--Thanks for this nice defense of her--. you stated the obvious--Geno dictates the minutes played--. I won't be happy with less than 15 minutes per game---If I can borrow CARNAC's envelop and turban--I can see games (coming up) where she may be needed 30 or more minutes just to protect the inside and to score down low. Geno know s what he is doing--guaranteed. But I'd like to know the secret of how he plans on using Butler (effectively). She CAN score, has a great shot even at 15 feet. I thought she had great hands.
She'll never be a leaper or fleet of foot--Uconn's had a few of these and some worked super great.

 

[UcMiami]

\
Thanks for this!! 50 (49) percent is pretty good. If she shoots at that rate--Uconn will be ready for prime time .
I hope the game plan wasn't to avoid getting the ball to Natalie!! Kiah and Buck suffered from not getting passes--the word, heard or read, was that she wouldn't score so don't pass it in to her.
If Uconn is to be marginally successful (getting to the 16 or 8 NCAA) Butler must become a formidable force in both offense and Defense--. Frankly we haven't seen that yet. In the IUP game 4th qtr I would have liked to see if Geno could go to Butler time after time and be successful
From the little I saw of the replay--EVERYONE was rushing their shots and missing some gimmes.

Natalie had some nice post play in the fourth quarter - nice drive and then a really nice feed post to post to a driving Kyla. She is never going to be as athletic as Morgan or Stewart or Kiah, but she takes up a lot of space, is good setting screens (and holding them so she does get called for fouls) rebounds well, and can score out to 15 feet. Her passing is decent, her help is pretty good. She will pick up a foul or two, especially against smaller players on rebounds when she bodies them away, but you can live with those.

 

[Blair]

We all have to wake up to the fact that Butler is not going to be a good player. She is awkward, slow, has bad hands, and is not athletic. She can't dominate against a division II opponent. She just isn't good for anything more than about 2 minutes a game, during which she will miss a lay-up and draw two personals. Next year, we'll have some quality players with size. Butler was a mistake.

WOW!!!...that hurt!!!

Do you know anything about basketball? You need to watch the scrimmage again. I thought she did a great job picking, boxing out, passing, rebounding, switching up, running…etc. a lot better than last year. Yes…She was a little cold shooting, but, that will come along, she demonstrated her touch last year.

 

[NewCorn]

.....that is Molly

Thanks. I'm in preseason form. Wait until March. I promise to be much better.

 

[BigBird]

Big Bird I respect most of your positing--usually thoughtful.
I don't think Walker is keeping anyone hanging--the 10th --she can sign on the dotted line and all coaches know that---remember a verbal is only as good as the paper it's written on.
I detest the word nonsense --when applied to an opinion on the Boneyard--it shows a disregard for common human kindness for fellow uC wbb fans. Lots of words could be used in it's place --interestingly enough one or 2 who uses are supposed to be word/English experts

Thanks, BVA. I think Sonny44 was replying to a somewhat playful post I made about throwing Tic Tacs at my Ipad. It was a little goofyness on my part. So, when he called it nonsense, he was right in a way. But then I replied to that with a more serious response. I still wonder the extent to which Geno knows MW's plans at this moment. If she does know, it seems to me that the coaches might know also. We often refer to "silent commits." So, the concept is far from odd. What IS odd, I think, is that a kid would call a presser without knowing what she was going to reveal.

I agree with you about the need for polite language. Though I'd also say this is the best fan forum I have ever been into. Sometimes, we just get a little carried away.

 

[Ozimoto]

I suspect that Natalie is the type of player whose game will improve the more minutes she gets. The more she plays, The more she will get into the flow of the game and the more confidence she will gain which in turn will translate into becoming a bigger part of what the Huskies are doing on the floor both offensively and defensively.

I wasn't on the forums back when Stewie was a freshman but good grief, did she get this kind of criticism when she went through her freshman growing pains?

For all intents and purposes, Natalie is a relative newbie to playing in game time situations with the Huskies. She was out for a year with the transfer required break and was only able to play a little over half of the season last year due to her thumb injury. She was way behind on the development curve as a result. Playing in practice is not the same as playing in a game.

 

[CocoHusky]

We all have to wake up to the fact that Butler is not going to be a good player. She is awkward, slow, has bad hands, and is not athletic. She can't dominate against a division II opponent. She just isn't good for anything more than about 2 minutes a game, during which she will miss a lay-up and draw two personals. Next year, we'll have some quality players with size. Butler was a mistake.

I'm awake enough to strongly disagree with you. Natalie will be in a UCONN uniform for two more years and it should not be your expectation that she "dominate" against a Division II opponent. Her size will be greatly needed THIS YEAR and she is more than capable of contributing THIS YEAR.

 

[Biff]

We all have to wake up to the fact that Butler is not going to be a good player. She is awkward, slow, has bad hands, and is not athletic. She can't dominate against a division II opponent. She just isn't good for anything more than about 2 minutes a game, during which she will miss a lay-up and draw two personals. Next year, we'll have some quality players with size. Butler was a mistake.

Wow. Harsh and overly negative evaluation. Seems that for some if a player is not an AA she's crap. Sorry but I cannot agree and I think that I am wide awake. I think your evaluation was a mistake. She will contribute and be a solid big and team player this year when the team really needs one.

 

[Blair]

I watched the replay of the pre-season game. Some of the negative comments about Butler's play in my opinion are not fair. It was not easy to get her the ball and on a number of occasions when she caught it she was fouled. When she rebounded, she pivoted, kept the ball high and made an accurate two handed outlet pass. How can she dominate if her teammates don't get her the ball where she can score. She missed some close in shots but Tuck and Nurse missed many, many close in shots last season. Also, when she averaged 13 points a game at Georgetown she shot only 49 per cent which meant she was taking a lot of shots. She won't get as many shots at UCONN so she may not average double figures. If she ever plays at least 25 minutes a game I believe she will show her true ability. Just saying.

Well said…I totally agree.

I’m a big Nat fan…I would love to see more post game too. If they can get the ball into her, I believe we will have good results with outlet passes, easy layups and drawing in fouls…getting to the line.