Why did Geno leave the zone in the 2nd half?

[BostonFan]

UConn lost this game because of their defense. Geno switches to zone in the 2Q & the game turned. Then he goes back to man-to-man in the 2nd half & ND always seemed a step quicker & more comfortable. Young & Ogun go off. Why? This possibly could be Geno's worst coaching game ever. Team played scare throughout & was not ready.

 

[asuwish]

This is the million dollar question. Getting beat bad first quarter, switch to zone in the second, along with going to much bigger line up and dominate. Why does he not reward Azure by starting her in the third? When Uconn goes big it has so much length it's hard to get through. Zone also keeps you out of foul trouble (which is why ND and its short bench played it most of the year). Against a 1-3-1 you need to set up a 2-1-2 get the ball in the middle and move the ball fast until the defense makes a mistake. Uconn did not have nearly as many assist per basket as normal. Teams like ND and MS State attack the basket against man to man looking for contact, and Uconn fouled them. I kept waiting for Uconn to switch back to zone but sometimes coaches get in there heads that you do what got you here and don't adjust to the team they are playing.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Would love an answer to why Geno went away from what was clearly working. I mean it was like there was a switch. First quarter UConn says hey Irish we'll spot you 13. Second quarter UConn says OK now we start playing for real and was up 9 and on the verge of blowing out ND.

 

[Charliebball]

UConn got killed by ND's offensive rebounding.........not sure exactly why that happened but if I were Geno I'd be looking for some real muscle up front in future recruiting classes..........

 

[housekeys]

UConn got killed by ND's offensive rebounding....not sure exactly why that happened but if I were Geno I'd be looking for some real muscle up front in future recruiting classes.....

I am also surprised he did not use Walker. Test the waters a bit, even for a couple of plays. I mean, nobody expected Young to go off. Maybe Walker goes off because ND did not anticipate her or a bad match up is exposed? Walker has also shown to be a good rebound'er lately. Worth a try. In general, either stay with what works (i.e. start AZ in the second half) or if you want to try your luck, try your luck.

 

[Charliebball]

I am also surprised he did not use Walker. Test the waters a bit, even for a couple of plays. I mean, nobody expected Young to go off. Maybe Walker goes off because ND did not anticipate her or a bad match up is exposed? Walker has also shown to be a good rebound'er lately. Worth a try. In general, either stay with what works (i.e. start AZ in the second half) or if you want to try your luck, try your luck.

the whole bench debacle was a bad sign of things to come in my eyes...........not sure we've heard the end of that situation..........I can guaranty that Christyn Williams gets big minutes next season..........Geno simply won't have a choice.........

 

[Sonny44]

I am also surprised he did not use Walker. Test the waters a bit, even for a couple of plays. I mean, nobody expected Young to go off. Maybe Walker goes off because ND did not anticipate her or a bad match up is exposed? Walker has also shown to be a good rebound'er lately. Worth a try. In general, either stay with what works (i.e. start AZ in the second half) or if you want to try your luck, try your luck.

Walker? Who is she? You gotta be kidding!

 

[tomcat]

I am also surprised he did not use Walker. Test the waters a bit, even for a couple of plays. I mean, nobody expected Young to go off. Maybe Walker goes off because ND did not anticipate her or a bad match up is exposed? Walker has also shown to be a good rebound'er lately. Worth a try. In general, either stay with what works (i.e. start AZ in the second half) or if you want to try your luck, try your luck.

A game this close is no time to "try your luck." If they were down 16 late in the third quarter, maybe you try something else, but it was a slugfest, and putting Walker in would not help her or the team.

 

[bpear1600]

UConn lost this game because of their defense. Geno switches to zone in the 2Q & the game turned. Then he goes back to man-to-man in the 2nd half & ND always seemed a step quicker & more comfortable. Young & Ogun go off. Why? This possibly could be Geno's worst coaching game ever. Team played scare throughout & was not ready.

Geno looked bewildered the entire game. I think his reported discomfort in the morning practice might have rubbed off on the whole team.

 

[Stinger92860]

Considering how poorly CD and KN were playing in the first half, I also thought MW deserved a few minutes. It’s not like she never played all year. She was part of the rotation.

I thought the zone was mixed in to show a different look. It was effective the few times they showed it. I would have gone zone to protect KLS after she picked up number 4. She was unable to play effective D after that foul and it hurt.

 

[BostonFan]

Considering how poorly CD and KN were playing in the first half, I also thought MW deserved a few minutes. It’s not like she never played all year. She was part of the rotation.

I thought the zone was mixed in to show a different look. It was effective the few times they showed it. I would have gone zone to protect KLS after she picked up number 4. She was unable to play effective D after that foul and it hurt.

KLS said that about her defense in post-game comments & was blaming herself. Poor girl. I'd say this was Geno's worst coaching game. He put his team more in a position to lose than win through most of the game & the team was playing scared as a result. Playing zone takes a lot of the pressure off individual players, especially with foul trouble.

 

[housekeys]

A game this close is no time to "try your luck." If they were down 16 late in the third quarter, maybe you try something else, but it was a slugfest, and putting Walker in would not help her or the team.

That's my point. If you don't want to "try your luck", then you (Geno) should have stuck with what works and that was having AZ start the 2nd half. Geno did neither.

 

[UConnCat]

That's my point. If you don't want to "try your luck", then you (Geno) should have stuck with what works and that was having AZ start the 2nd half. Geno did neither.

Sticking with what works also means sticking with player rotations. Z was effective coming off the bench. She wasn't going to play the entire 2nd half anyway. Plus, her presence on the court in place of Crystal in the 2nd half caused spacing problems which Kara Lawson pointed out. This second-guessing is getting silly.

 

[EricSD]

Sticking with what works also means sticking with player rotations. Z was effective coming off the bench. She wasn't going to play the entire 2nd half anyway. Plus, her presence on the court in place of Crystal in the 2nd half caused spacing problems which Kara Lawson pointed out. This second-guessing is getting silly.

I agree. But you can't disagree that Geno was out-coached. He made some tremendous adjustments in the 2nd quarter. But in the 2nd half, it seemed like his timeouts and other adjustments came at least a minute too late - for example when the lead was cut from 8 to 6 to 4 to 1 - he waited too long. That happened several times. Granted the kids have to go out on the court and play the game, and UCONN had no answer for Jackie Young.

It's super easy to 2nd guess as a couch potato coach, and I'd much rather give kudos to ND than place blame on UCONN. In a super close tight game, every move and counter move is magnified...

 

[Vowelguy]

Considering how poorly CD and KN were playing in the first half, I also thought MW deserved a few minutes. It’s not like she never played all year. She was part of the rotation.

I thought the zone was mixed in to show a different look. It was effective the few times they showed it. I would have gone zone to protect KLS after she picked up number 4. She was unable to play effective D after that foul and it hurt.

KN did not play poorly in the 1st half. Offense wasnt there but defense was. Mabrey & Arike didnt do much in the 1st half.

 

[inthisopinion]

Considering how poorly CD and KN were playing in the first half, I also thought MW deserved a few minutes. It’s not like she never played all year. She was part of the rotation.

I thought the zone was mixed in to show a different look. It was effective the few times they showed it. I would have gone zone to protect KLS after she picked up number 4. She was unable to play effective D after that foul and it hurt.

Should have gone zone after her 3rd foul and at that point he needed to get points from her in case she fouls out. You can't have your best offensive player being limited on both ends when in foul trouble. You saw how that worked out for MSU when they got the most out of Vivians before she fouled out. It seems as though he makes the same mistakes in the very few games in which he can lose. Most of the time the talent bails him out but not the last two years.

 

[UConnCat]

I agree. But you can't disagree that Geno was out-coached. He made some tremendous adjustments in the 2nd quarter. But in the 2nd half, it seemed like his timeouts and other adjustments came at least a minute too late - for example when the lead was cut from 8 to 6 to 4 to 1 - he waited too long. That happened several times. Granted the kids have to go out on the court and play the game, and UCONN had no answer for Jackie Young.

It's super easy to 2nd guess as a couch potato coach, and I'd much rather give kudos to ND than place blame on UCONN. In a super close tight game, every move and counter move is magnified...

So a heroic basket in OT that wins the game means the winning coach out-coached the losing coach? And if Gabby had made the basket at the end of regulation then that would have meant Geno out-coached Muffet? What kind of job did Muffet do that allowed her team to blow leads at the end of regulation and then again in overtime?

Waited too long for what? He called a timeout when the lead was cut to 1 and he also had a timeout at the end of regulation to get the ball at midcourt and set up a play. Calling another timeout earlier and he doesn't have that option. I'm confused.

Geno did play zone in the second half and ND promptly drained 2 three-pointers. Also, Z made some big defensive mistakes including on another 3-pointer by Arike.

This game was lost by some mental breakdowns particularly in the 4th quarter. UConn was up by 8 with about 6 mins to go (and yes, Z was on the floor) and then made a bunch of mistakes including 2 key turnovers by Lou and another by Crystal. By turnovers I mean throwing the ball to ND player twice and throwing the ball out of bounds. Fortunately for UConn ND then made mistakes of its own that allowed UConn to almost pull out the win.

BTW, Lou was limping for most of the 4th quarter. Looked like that ankle was giving her problems.

 

[inthisopinion]

I agree. But you can't disagree that Geno was out-coached. He made some tremendous adjustments in the 2nd quarter. But in the 2nd half, it seemed like his timeouts and other adjustments came at least a minute too late - for example when the lead was cut from 8 to 6 to 4 to 1 - he waited too long. That happened several times. Granted the kids have to go out on the court and play the game, and UCONN had no answer for Jackie Young.

It's super easy to 2nd guess as a couch potato coach, and I'd much rather give kudos to ND than place blame on UCONN. In a super close tight game, every move and counter move is magnified...

Keep in mind we're talking about a simple game not rocket science. Not that complicated. It's about the players and you enable and set up your best to score, especially when she looks like she has it going. I wonder if all you people even know who I'm talking about. After being the only strong and big moment scorer in the first half she took one shot (made a long 3) in the first nine minutes of the 2nd half. That is just plain stupid on the part of the coach. This why at the very least there needs to be an alternate offense which features your best offensive player but better yet this should be run all the time to be prepared for the 2 or 3 games in which the team can actually loose. This isn't about dominating dozens of games in which the opponent is totally out classed. Successful coaches want and get all the credit when they win but when they lose one is expected to overlook it and often the blame gets transferred to the players.

 

[Charliebball]

I am also surprised he did not use Walker. Test the waters a bit, even for a couple of plays. I mean, nobody expected Young to go off. Maybe Walker goes off because ND did not anticipate her or a bad match up is exposed? Walker has also shown to be a good rebound'er lately. Worth a try. In general, either stay with what works (i.e. start AZ in the second half) or if you want to try your luck, try your luck.

if he barely used her during the regular season why do you don't think he'd "risk" playing her in such a big game? Sad but true.................

 

[EricSD]

So a heroic basket in OT that wins the game means the winning coach out-coached the losing coach? And if Gabby had made the basket at the end of regulation then that would have meant Geno out-coached Muffet? What kind of job did Muffet do that allowed her team to blow leads at the end of regulation and then again in overtime?

Waited too long for what? He called a timeout when the lead was cut to 1 and he also had a timeout at the end of regulation to get the ball at midcourt and set up a play. Calling another timeout earlier and he doesn't have that option. I'm confused.

Geno did play zone in the second half and ND promptly drained 2 three-pointers. Also, Z made some big defensive mistakes including on another 3-pointer by Arike.

This game was lost by some mental breakdowns particularly in the 4th quarter. UConn was up by 8 with about 6 mins to go (and yes, Z was on the floor) and then made a bunch of mistakes including 2 key turnovers by Lou and another by Crystal. By turnovers I mean throwing the ball to ND player twice and throwing the ball out of bounds. Fortunately for UConn ND then made mistakes of its own that allowed UConn to almost pull out the win.

BTW, Lou was limping for most of the 4th quarter. Looked like that ankle was giving her problems.

Hey, that's why we are couch potato coaches. I think Geno was outcoached. It should never have come down to one play. You disagree.

 

[Monte]

if he barely used her during the regular season why do you don't think he'd "risk" playing her in such a big game? Sad but true.......

You are correct. She should have played much more during the year; she would have been more prepared for the post season.

 

[BostonFan]

You are correct. She should have played much more during the year; she would have been more prepared for the post season.

I would have sat CD most of the 2nd half of the season (after she got hurt), played Nurse at PG & started MW at the 2. Yes, teething pains but we probably would have been better off in a FF situation.

 

[Stinger92860]

KN did not play poorly in the 1st half. Offense wasnt there but defense was. Mabrey & Arike didnt do much in the 1st half.

I should have specifically said poorly on O. But Q1 was not a stellar defensive effort.

 

[Blue Huskie]

UConn lost this game because of their defense. Geno switches to zone in the 2Q & the game turned. Then he goes back to man-to-man in the 2nd half & ND always seemed a step quicker & more comfortable. Young & Ogun go off. Why? This possibly could be Geno's worst coaching game ever. Team played scare throughout & was not ready.

That's BS. We lost because we played poorly like last years game in the FF. Poor focus especially in the beginning. If we hit shots we win. If we don't turn the ball over we win. And even though we played poorly ND always seemed able to get to a loose ball or throw in a circus shot the last second. Coaching failure - baloney. That last shot in reg for Gabby was a well designed play. If that goes he's a genius.

 

[Charliebball]

I would have sat CD most of the 2nd half of the season (after she got hurt), played Nurse at PG & started MW at the 2. Yes, teething pains but we probably would have been better off in a FF situation.

Geno doesn't believe in teething pains..........if the baby drops anything on the floor you're back in the crib!!!!

 

[Charliebball]

That's BS. We lost because we played poorly like last years game in the FF. Poor focus especially in the beginning. If we hit shots we win. If we don't turn the ball over we win. And even though we played poorly ND always seemed able to get to a loose ball or throw in a circus shot the last second. Coaching failure - baloney. That last shot in reg for Gabby was a well designed play. If that goes he's a genius.

I'd give ND much of the credit but for the second year in a row the team just didn't look psychologically prepared from the outset..............it was eerily similar to last year's debacle.........

 

[Topdawg]

I'd give ND much of the credit but for the second year in a row the team just didn't look psychologically prepared from the outset....it was eerily similar to last year's debacle....

Yes, it was eerily similar. Bold player attacks our defense one-on-one and makes a difficult shot in the final seconds of the game. Shot came from about the same location too.

 

[housekeys]

That's BS. We lost because we played poorly like last years game in the FF. Poor focus especially in the beginning. If we hit shots we win. If we don't turn the ball over we win. And even though we played poorly ND always seemed able to get to a loose ball or throw in a circus shot the last second. Coaching failure - baloney. That last shot in reg for Gabby was a well designed play. If that goes he's a genius.

Obviously. One difference between last year and this year, is that last year's score was in the 60's, this year's score was near the nineties. Specifically, IMO, it was a poor performance on offense last year, a poor performance on defense, this year. ND scored 6 more than their average against a defense that is among the nations best. In the loss to Stanford, in 2014, the defense gave up 88. So in 2 of the 3 losses since 2014, UConn's defense under-performed. Interestingly, all went to OT, which demonstrates that UConn does not go down easily. Small, small, comfort.

 

[AussieHusky]

UConn got killed by ND's offensive rebounding....not sure exactly why that happened but if I were Geno I'd be looking for some real muscle up front in future recruiting classes.....

Bingo! But then they will not see the floor enough as they will not be "trusted", not playing perfect. See Batouly, Z, Meg as exhibits. The chink in Geno's armour is adaptability or situational coaching imho. But win or loose, still love my Huskies, an incredible group of young ladies who give their all day in and day out!

 

[Monte]

Geno doesn't believe in teething pains.....if the baby drops anything on the floor you're back in the crib!!!!

They're all in the crib now!