What's your biggest concern with this team?

[jabstep]

Geno has been making adjustments to his offense based on the players he has to work with. They run a form of the 1- 4 offense some call it Princeton offense. Stanford runs essentially the same thing. Two wings, two elbow players and the PG out front. He has had Dorka cutting into the open lane from the left side and having the other elbow player feed her as she goes to the basket. They do the same thing with Edwards. It keeps the other teams defense from doubling. They also run Caroline off the elbow from the wing either getting a screened 3 pointer or a pick and roll off the screener or the wing post up after the cut around the elbow. That is what Caroline is so good at especially if she has a smaller guard on her.
Geno know what he is doing and has been successful for years at it. The players that fit the system and understand do really well. Caroline has got it. Azzi will get it. Paige got it and is a great passer out of the system. It is why Geno likes her most of the time on the wing.
Next year Ice will be on the elbow and if they back off her she will hit the mid range shot. Dorka, Liv and Aaliyah struggle a little bit and the good teams will pack it in on us unless we ca hit the outside shot from the elbow player or the wings on the screen.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Paige will have the same rust as Azzi had at Depaul. Once she is physically right, I give it 3 minutes.

No rust for Paige. She started shooting on one leg two weeks after her surgery and has been working out in the weight room. If there's one player we don't have to worry about, it's Paige.

 

[drweo]

Keeping it brief: Turnovers and foul shooting.

 

[CocoHusky]

Inconsistency among multiple players. Quite honestly it is like playing whack a mole or like what Forest Gump said about that box of chocolates " you never know what you gonna get" from game to game or even from one half to the next.

 

[BostonCanuck]

For me, it's the inexplicable unforced errors, in the form of turnovers, missed layups, missed free throws, and stupid fouls - like when Liv brings her arm down on a player after successfully contesting a shot.

I would have included outside shooting, but now that Azzi is back she's already making everybody better in that regard.

If this team could just just take care of these things to the level of normal program standards, I feel like they'd be virtually unbeatable.

 

[jchusky]

seniors not consistent allthough Olivia has for the most part, anytime a game is close nobody wants to take the gw shot aside Caroline. Too many defensive lapses to be consistent vs national title contenders.

 

[Inthepaint]

No Aubrey and a tentative, distracted looking Edwards.
Aubrey was our boost, like nitrous oxide in the intake of a drag racer. She could come in and turn a game inside out and upside down for a few critical minutes. She was a run starter.
AE was BE Sixth Woman of the Year in 2020-2021 for a reason. She was relentless on the glass and wasn't afraid to mix it up and go after every loose ball and/or pass in her reach.She ran the floor FAST. When she was on the floor everybody on the other team knew she could turn up anywhere and disrupt everything.She was living rent free between their ears.
Now, she seems to be walking on egg shells most of the time. Confused and looking for something to do. Out on the perimeter and lost in space. Was she told that she MUST take outside shots? Was she told to tone it down to keep out of foul trouble?
I really loved watching her last year and know what she's capable of. Don't want to be a snide,critical jerk.
Want her to find herself and contribute what no one else on the roster can.

 

[BobbyJ]

No Aubrey and a tentative, distracted looking Edwards.
Aubrey was our boost, like nitrous oxide in the intake of a drag racer. She could come in and turn a game inside out and upside down for a few critical minutes. She was a run starter.
AE was BE Sixth Woman of the Year in 2020-2021 for a reason. She was relentless on the glass and wasn't afraid to mix it up and go after every loose ball and/or pass in her reach.She ran the floor FAST. When she was on the floor everybody on the other team knew she could turn up anywhere and disrupt everything.She was living rent free between their ears.
Now, she seems to be walking on egg shells most of the time. Confused and looking for something to do. Out on the perimeter and lost in space. Was she told that she MUST take outside shots? Was she told to tone it down to keep out of foul trouble?
I really loved watching her last year and know what she's capable of. Don't want to be a snide,critical jerk.
Want her to find herself and contribute what no one else on the roster can.

I think the staying out of foul trouble is a strong possibility. All out aggression made her effective last year while the fouls cost her PT. The problem I see is she’s had no one show her how to use her body and fundamentals properly to avoid fouling. She uses hands and arms fighting for position instead of her feet to beat kids to the spot. And while rebounding and/or trying to get shots off inside, she plays straight legged and stretches and reaches instead of bending them and getting off the floor. It’s not lack of effort, it looks like confusion because she doesn’t have the good habits to fall back on.

 

[sun]

No Aubrey and a tentative, distracted looking Edwards.
Aubrey was our boost, like nitrous oxide in the intake of a drag racer. She could come in and turn a game inside out and upside down for a few critical minutes. She was a run starter.
AE was BE Sixth Woman of the Year in 2020-2021 for a reason. She was relentless on the glass and wasn't afraid to mix it up and go after every loose ball and/or pass in her reach.She ran the floor FAST. When she was on the floor everybody on the other team knew she could turn up anywhere and disrupt everything.She was living rent free between their ears.
Now, she seems to be walking on egg shells most of the time. Confused and looking for something to do. Out on the perimeter and lost in space. Was she told that she MUST take outside shots? Was she told to tone it down to keep out of foul trouble?
I really loved watching her last year and know what she's capable of. Don't want to be a snide,critical jerk.
Want her to find herself and contribute what no one else on the roster can.

She address the issues throughout this interview from Nov. 2021.
The last question was about working with Dorka and AE said that they've been working on being a presence on the inside and by being a threat from the outside.
She has become more of a defensive player and does a good job with rebounding and steals.
She'll make it back because she works out hard and has the desire.

 

[itsasport]

The biggest problems are bad passes and not getting the ball to the open player- The only solution to that, as has been said, is Paige. All she has to do are those things because she has great players to get the ball to.

And they will have a really good bench.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Not getting the turnover rate down. It seems to be a continuing problem. We will not win consistently until we get the turnover rate down.

 

[my2cents]

There was a movie with Bruce Willis as a psychiatrist ( Six Sense) where the viewer finds out at the end that he was killed in the beginning and was just one of the Ghosts that the young man could see. The entire movie was a ruse.
Thats the feeling I get when I read these posts, most of which go into some pretty good detail about the issues they see.
However , it's a ruse, the team that's being analyzed now will not exist 2/3 weeks from now.
When we get back to full strength, most of the issues will be gone.
Players that are turning the ball over, missing layups, not playing defense, will not be in the game. We will have players that will go in to replace them. When you have only 6 players, 2 guards...the coach is stuck with whatever he is getting from them that day. Not going forward......Nika will not be playing 40 minutes, E may get 6-8, AE may get less....unless they produce vs someone else.
Based on what I saw the other night, Fudd may as good or better than her hype...she may be the best freshman in the country.
Also, we all know how good Paige is. We really don't need to dissect this team and its issues, its a mirage.

 

[AzzisBraids]

I agree with a lot of folks here. My biggest concern for this team aside from injuries, turnovers and inconsistent post play, is 4th quarter production.

This specific team has shown that in the 4th quarter they just cannot close the lid on teams. If you look at every loss, close game, they let teams sneak back in the game in the 4th quarter. If it weren't for Ducharme's heroics against Depaul I don't know what would have happened. But this team has show that in the fourth quarter, they cannot keep it together. That's concerning heading into tournament play because you letting a lesser talented or worse, more talented team sneak back in, could prove fatal.

I want to see this team put in reserves for a chance at the end of the game

 

[Patty Bailey]

Apparently my reading comprehension. I thought the subject was - What's Your biggest concern with this storm?

 

[Zarathustra]

My biggest concern is that Geno and the whole team will
have enough time to "jell" as a cohesive unit in the final
games before the Big East Tournament and Big Dance.
In other words... once Paige is healthy enough to play
that there is enough time to get the timing down, the
passes synchronized, and the best balance of inside
vs outside scoring and ....... getting the best players
in the new rotation to to make team 'Click". There is
no " I " in team, but I do concede that "Team"is
spelled with letter a letter "P"!!! Go UCONN! Z

 

[TCC Kid]

Morrow, for all she has been criticized here, did what the refs allowed her to do, that’s what good, smart players do. She was very well coached because in getting position, she primarily used her lower body to push, not her arms or shoulders. The swinging of her arms, as has been talked about, I did not notice, that certainly doesn’t mean I am saying it didn’t happen.
As for the Uconn bigs, they are not physical players, they are what they are. Edwards would seem to be capable but for whatever reasons, she obviously has taken a pretty big step backward this year.
Auriemna has them play where they play and for the great game Morrow had, I believe Uconn had more points in the paint than DePaul; they just were scored in different ways, by having open lanes to drive and from pushing the ball.
Uconn, IMO, commits too many ”silly” fouls; both of Muhl’s early in the game were unnecessary and right out in the open where the refs could see them and IMO, took away a large degree of her aggressiveness. Auriemma obviously wants her on the floor, regardless of the opinions of many on this board.
Dorka and Ducharme each had fouls where they had played the DePaul player into tough shots but swatted down to try and block the shot, again, those plays are clearly visible. One of my great pet peeves in the way basketball has evolved is the idea that blocked shots and steals are the goal in playing defense. IMO, they are more often than not “fool’s gold”; the goal should be to make your opponent uncomfortable, make them take intelligently contested shots out of their natural rhythm.
As for the team, I think they can compete for the NC as constituted; obviously more so if Bueckers comes back. They are not going to change style of play or have one of their players morph into something they are not. Stay the course, improve within the system individually and as a team, and throw the balls up and play.

You are right: No Uconn player plays very long doing what Geno doesn't like. The post for Uconn don't have bulk or much muscle unlike Morrow. Morrow, was favored by the refs, i.e. what ever she did was not seen by them as Fouling. However, I saw a lot of her pushing, moving players around as a foul. Yet, I saw a foul on a Depaul player, a charge that she had established her position. IMO, only, these were not the greatest refs we've seen all season.
Caroline, Fudd (even in her limited time, ONO, Dorka, will all play when Paige comes back. Nika and Evina will come off the bench. Paige, won't return playing 40 minutes a game. Nor will Azzi. The team we saw at DePaul is the best team we've seen from Uconn this year. Offense won this game because DePauls offense is a high scoring offense and it was close.

 

[DEpup]

Consistent scoring from good offensive flow. These multiple minute stretches where we don't score is my biggest concern.

 

[GoUconn7961]

My biggest concern is always the same - unrealistic expectations by the fans.

 

[TCC Kid]

My biggest concern is that Geno and the whole team will
have enough time to "jell" as a cohesive unit in the final
games before the Big East Tournament and Big Dance.
In other words... once Paige is healthy enough to play
that there is enough time to get the timing down, the
passes synchronized, and the best balance of inside
vs outside scoring and ....... getting the best players
in the new rotation to to make team 'Click". There is
no " I " in team, but I do concede that "Team"is
spelled with letter a letter "P"!!! Go UCONN! Z

ONO is what she is, and what she is is pretty good. No one is going to change ONO from now to the end of her Uconn Career. We accept it because there is no changing what hasn't been changed much in 4 years. This horse is deader than dead.

 

[Notyetready]

If I could change just one thing, it would be all the players focusing their attention better, reducing the silly fouls, the lazy turnovers, and the lack of attention to detail. Example, Morrow beat the entire team down the court twice for easy lay-ups-- they just weren't paying attention.

 

[TCC Kid]

Over passing, passing without seeing the defense (picked off passes). Taking too long to get into the offense.
Well coached teams gives the Uconn defense a difficult time. Few if any steals, few if any bad passes, reduced rebounding. This means Uconn must score well and often. (thanks for ( and Caroline).

 

[TCC Kid]

It’s tricky stuff to compare year over year numbers. I would start with the fact that UConn as a team is scoring 10 ppg less this season, so individual scoring averages are likely to be down, particularly if you consider that Caroline, a player who was in HS last year, is UConn’s leading scorer.

As for individual numbers you really have to be more precise in evaluating year over year. Liv is a case in point. Her ppg numbers are down. But in just about every other statistical category Liv’s stats are up substantially this season: shooting percentage, FT percentage, rebounds pg, assists pg, A/TO ratio, blocks & steals. With the exception of the DePaul game vs Morrow, Liv has generally avoided foul trouble and, as a result, is averaging 3 more mpg.

Liv has been the rock for this team. I would also strongly suggest that UConn is getting exactly what the team needs, and Geno expects from Christyn, Dorka & Nika. After that, yes Evina & Aaliyah have been somewhat disappointing this season. I still believe there’s time for both to step up and finish the season strong.

My last point, which I and many others have made. Paige makes everyone around her better. You just can’t remove the NPOY from your lineup and expect everyone else to perform at the same level.

We have seen skills, moves, physicality from ONO we have not seen before. Is she a match for Boston? That depends the category you are speaking about. Her scoring is better. She is more aggressive, Depaul pointed that out. I think ONO/LIV is making a case for the WNBA. She'll make a case for playing on many teams. On the right team I see a star.

 

[HuskyNan]

If all the things go right and we get Paige back and blah blah blah, the one thing that concerns me the most is the FT shooting of Christyn, ONO, and Dorka. They seem to be the players that get to the FT line the most and frankly, they're not good FT shooters. Those players cost us points when they get to the line.

Free throw shooting, in order of number of attempted FT shots:

Evina, 72.5%, 29-40
Liv, 60.5%, 23-38
Christyn, 67.6%, 25-37
Dorka, 52.8%, 19-36
Caroline, 83.3%, 20-24
Paige, 76.9%, 10-13
Aaliyah, 81.8%, 9-11
Piath & Amari, 50.0%, 2-4 each
Azzi, no attempts

Aaliyah should go aggressively to the basket and draw a foul. Not only will the opponent’s posts get into foul trouble, Aaliyah will get some free points and perhaps bolster her confidence

 

[phil sampieri]

Our bigs do not always set up on the perimeter when they do it creates open lanes for guard penetration and to move bigs defenders outside.Depends on the play call