Wichita State Postgame thread

[mbr33ct]

Games like tonight will not beat Baylor SC or Oregon. 2nd halves against DePaul will not win those games either.

Are those teams you mentioned capable of having "games like tonight"...or is it only a UConn trait?

 

[eebmg]

I think alot of the uneven play we experience in comparison to the other elite teams may be due to our read / react system (I am no expert) where I imagine the entire team needs to 'see' the same things. With many new faces and even old faces playing far different roles, that is probably much harder than other systems which are more specific play (isolation / 2 man pic/roll etc) driven

In addition, we really do not have real defensive ball hawks like a Moriah or a Kia or a Gabby or a Pheesa or a Stewie or a Tuck that can handle one on one assignments against an elite scorer. Liv is the closest we have but she is still fighting that fine line of aggression vs fouls. Our defense again must be team based with everyone in sync. This can result in more difficulties at times.

So I will continue to expect more unevenness in our play but to greatly improve come April.

 

[DEpup]

OK but I never hear anyone say these things about any of those other teams. It's only UConn that has to win every game 100-48. Seems to be an unfair standard here.

Come on, its the Stewie, Tuck, and MoJeff standard that no one can let go of....

 

[CL82]

So if they beat Baylor, South Carolina, and Oregon you still wouldn't have them #1 going into the tournament?

Pssh...Not If they only beat them by 28 points...

 

[phil sampieri]

Anna is the fifth starter, absolutely no doubt. The team plays much better when she’s on the court. Geno obviously likes having her in it. The core four scored 75 of 83 while the “bench” (aka Anna) scored the other 8.
The fifth starter needs to get 10-12 points 4-5 rebounds and plat D. We would dominate.

 

[Ozimoto]

And yet they weathered the storm and ended up winning comfortably. I think games like this are valuable. They show that they can withstand runs, get refocused, and win games when they are pushed. I don't think they will escape every time this year (too inconsistent) but I think by tournament time they will be battle tested and ready to go.

 

[meyers7]

2. I didn't quite understand what Geno was doing with Aubrey's minutes in this particular game. She got into the game in the second quarter (later than I would have expected) and only played a few minutes before coming out. Then she didn't play again until Megan fouled out (at which point, with only a 10-point lead and over 6 minutes left in the game, a good performance from her was really needed). I don't get why Geno didn't find more minutes for her earlier in the game.

I think mostly she just hasn't got the offense yet. There seems to be a lot of times she's just standing there while everyone is running offense (cutting, setting screens, etc.) and she's trying to figure out what she's supposed to do. She just kind of bogs down the offense (half court offense that is). She can (doesn't always, but can) make up for it with her natural athleticism, getting rebounds and just making an athletic play, e.g. driving to the basket.

 

[Husky fanatic]

@JoePgh I think Geno removed Aubrey in the second quarter because she put herself in his doghouse with a couple bad plays in succession. He did one of his turn around, talk to CD and Shea, then send someone to the scorers table right after that. At least that is what appeared to happen as I watched the game from my easy chair.

My easy chair had the same perspective

 

[Triad]

Not the greatest game. Geno admitted as much when interviewed. But he knows this team is work in progress. He was VERY complimentary of Christyn and Crystal.

Yeah some awful lapses - can't let the lead go from 24 to 10 against a moderately crappy team like Wichita State. But not a single top 5 team has played a perfect 40 minute game this season. Not even 30 great minutes. Even top teams are struggling to consistently get 25-30 minutes of great basketball on a consistent basis.

We are used to seeing UCONN the well oiled machine. This year we are seeing UCONN the work in progress. Geno will have them as ready as they can be in March. But remember, this is our "rebuilding" year...!

Moderately crappy? (I agree) but how many more crappy are there? Mental lapses? When Wichita St got physical Uconn stagnated? This is the top team in the land and the Greatest Coach ever supposedly. How does a coach allow that to happen? I am critical when other coaches blame the players for "Lapses". The coach is he person in control during practices and in games. They had 4 timeouts not used. Wasn't that the time to stop the game and regroup??
Uconn talent for talent, player for player, was many magnitudes superior in all areas except with maybe the one Wichita St had--guts and determination. If this trend doesn't change immediately forget the Baylor game or Oregon game. Uconn teams of old with this much talent by the 10 minute mark would have been up by 20.

 

[BostonBay]

I wish Geno would give Aubrey more minutes so she can develop. She has much, much more upside than the seniors. We need 6 players who can contribute. So its the Big 4 and 2 more. Thats assuming no injuries. Anna & Aubrey should be the 5th & 6th players.

 

[BostonBay]

Too many mental lapses & "going through the motions" for long stretches last night. Only when the team was "pushed" (e.g., down early or in the 4th quarter) did the team shift up a gear. One thing I noticed with this team is a lack of "vocal" players - like a Katie Lou, Nurse, etc. Team is too quiet and nice. Need more yelling besides Geno.

 

[Triad]

Come on, its the Stewie, Tuck, and MoJeff standard that no one can let go of....

No it's the Maya, Tina, Rene standard we hold teams to.

 

[Triad]

Too many mental lapses & "going through the motions" for long stretches last night. Only when the team was "pushed" (e.g., down early or in the 4th quarter) did the team shift up a gear. One thing I noticed with this team is a lack of "vocal" players - like a Katie Lou, Nurse, etc. Team is too quiet and nice. Need more yelling besides Geno.

Typically true Mental Lapses happen when teams are tired. This team wasn't tired. It was the EXTREME physical play of Wichita St that got in their heads. That can't happen if this team is to do the FF/NC thing. Typically, Uconn has been for many seasons a "NICE" team. The PG and Captain should be the leaders on the floor, in that order. Dangerfield leads by example but needs o kick some tail when passes are bad, defense fails, scoring stagnates.

 

[Bama fan]

Again, this was a game where the first 10 minutes did not look like the second 10 minutes in each half. The only negative thing that I would say had nothing to do with this team. I stream ESPN3 and the streaming was absolutely terrible with constant restart of the play all during the game. Some times when the restart occurred, a team was heading back to their basket and we did not get a chance to see what happened before the interruption. Don't know if this was anyone else's experience but my wife and I were disappointed. So be it.

Those interruptions are annoying. Used to happen here quite frequently. Last night was fine though. We recently got an internet speed upgrade so I hope the interruptions are in the past. I don't believe that the broadcast is at fault, but the likely culprit is your reception of the broadcast.

 

[Wilderness]

Happy moment for me was noting that when Megan fouled out & the outcome was a bit in question, Geno selected Aubrey. He knows. And now she knows for sure what he thinks about her. Then she came through nicely. Like others here, I love seeing her on the floor.

Also, ESPN3 came through nicely for me, fortunately.

Wilderness

 

[Triad]

I think alot of the uneven play we experience in comparison to the other elite teams may be due to our read / react system (I am no expert) where I imagine the entire team needs to 'see' the same things. With many new faces and even old faces playing far different roles, that is probably much harder than other systems which are more specific play (isolation / 2 man pic/roll etc) driven

In addition, we really do not have real defensive ball hawks like a Moriah or a Kia or a Gabby or a Pheesa or a Stewie or a Tuck that can handle one on one assignments against an elite scorer. Liv is the closest we have but she is still fighting that fine line of aggression vs fouls. Our defense again must be team based with everyone in sync. This can result in more difficulties at times.

So I will continue to expect more unevenness in our play but to greatly improve come April.

Top really good BB players, men or women, SEE what is given and take it. Please watch the videos of Paige B' she SEE's what is given her or her teammates and attacks or make the passes.
Geno is just asking top Basektball player to be Basketball players with read/react system. In any system when you are fouled a dozen times on each possession only tough tough kids can not let that get into their heads. Most things that are of a physical nature are corrected by seeing that and being pulled, pushed, dragged in practices--it's too late to find in a game you were not prepared for that. But who would have expected the extent Wichita St would take it or the Refs allow it.
Aubrey is a Frosh but she has the ability to be the "BALL HAWK:" you want. She is quick, has quick hands, can leap, is intelligent what she ISN"T is experienced in WCBB Div 1.

 

[veryolddog]

Those interruptions are annoying. Used to happen here quite frequently. Last night was fine though. We recently got an internet speed upgrade so I hope the interruptions are in the past. I don't believe that the broadcast is at fault, but the likely culprit is your reception of the broadcast.

The funny thing is that we have 400 mps download and normally we usually watch ATT TV which has a nice package for us to stream at a modest price. In order to watch ESPN3, I switched to SLING. That is where this was happening.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Uconn talent for talent, player for player, was many magnitudes superior in all areas except with maybe the one Wichita St had--guts and determination. If this trend doesn't change immediately forget the Baylor game or Oregon game. Uconn teams of old with this much talent by the 10 minute mark would have been up by 20.

What game were you watching? UConn was down 12-6 and then went on a 22-0 run. So up 16 at the beginning of the second quarter. So pretty much what you were looking for, right?

 

[JordyG]

Games like tonight will not beat Baylor SC or Oregon. 2nd halves against DePaul will not win those games either.

One could also blindly say that games Oregon had against a truly horrible LBST team will not beat UConn, Baylor or SCar.

 

[Dokey]

The fifth started, IMO, had nothing to do with our slow start, it had more to do with the first 6 or 7 or 8 shots just not falling in. All were normal, uncontested shots that just didn't drop. The exact opposite happened for WS. Once our shots started going in, WS was stuck on 12 points for quite a long time and we raced right by them.
Plain and simple, I think Geno knows what he is doing...

you realize that if Anna had started those likely would have been her stats.

 

[Buzzyboy]

A game like this won't change UConn's seeding in the least. All the Selection Committee will know about this game is that UConn beat Wichita St by 28 points. Only losses will change UConn's seeding.

It's quite likely that UConn will be a number one seed but will they be the number one overall seed is what I think that comment meant .... I think they have a chance because they're still finding their footing and will only get better and more cohesive.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Speaking for the rest of the NCAA, I guess. The other teams can’t be happy to hear UConn’s footsteps this “rebuilding” year.

I do think that there were many who thought UConn would have a big dropoff this year, having lost KLS and Pheesa and with a short roster but they've been a big surprise to a lot of people, even some Boneyarders.

 

[oldude]

It's quite likely that UConn will be a number one seed but will they be the number one overall seed is what I think that comment meant .... I think they have a chance because they're still finding their footing and will only get better and more cohesive.

I think it’s fairly straightforward. If UConn runs the table with wins over Baylor, SC & Oregon, they will be the #1 overall seed. It only gets more complicated if they lose a game.

 

[FanFromMaine]

I agree, but I'd feel a whole lot better if Christyn played like "me time" begins at the start of the game.

I wonder if the full schedule CW had this summer has had a little toll on her.

 

[BlueDolphin]

Okay, so who do we thank...you or your spouse?

All credit to Christyn for stepping up just when we needed her to. The game was getting out of hand and they won comfortably in large part because her spurt changed the momentum. Great players seem to have a feel for doing that, and she is on her way to becoming a great player.

 

[oldude]

I wonder if the full schedule CW had this summer has had a little toll on her.

I don’t think so. She’s young and healthy. It just looks to me that Christyn is thinking a little too much at times. When she just reads and reacts in the flow of the game, she’s a tremendous talent.

She missed a number of 3-pt shots earlier in the game when she seemed to hesitate prior to shooting. At the end of the game, Aubrey came down with a rebound in the lane and fired a pass out to Christyn at the top of the key. Christyn caught the ball and shot all in one swift motion hitting nothing but net. I’m looking for more of that.

 

[eebmg]

I wonder if the full schedule CW had this summer has had a little toll on her.

These kids are young. Liv had an even more intense schedule beyond overseas play, she spend the summer in Storrs working on her game and body and she looks as fresh as a daisy

 

[donalddoowop]

Wichita State may not realize it but they may have ignited a fire in CW by making the game close in the fourth quarter, a fire that has been missing, and she may go on from here and play to her potential.

 

[Centerstream]

you realize that if Anna had started those likely would have been her stats.

What does that even mean? Kyla, the fifth starter, I think only took 1 shot, a missed 3 point attempt, but made quite a few passes and screens. And actually played defense. Especially on a breakaway, she yelled to a UConn player on her right to get on the WS player nearing the 3 point line. The UConn player hesitated and the WS put in an uncontested 3 pointer.
Kyla as a starter is not there just because of her offense, I am guessing.

 

[Cornell Lt]

???? You need to explain what you mean. How does a 28 point mid-season win assure UConn won't be #1 Tournament time?

That same kind of inconsistent effort against Baylor/USC/Oregon leads to a 20 pt loss