Will it be about Azzi, or scoring balance for the Huskies?

[Gordo]

When you return from an injury that effects your lift it takes a while to get your stroke back. I think the reason Geno has her shooting so much is he knows he will need her against a couple teams down the road and he needs to have her ready. I would also point out that Caroline and Lou haven't taken very many difficult shots lately and Azzi has been shooting all of them.

It's hard to take "difficult shots" (whatever that means?) if you can't get the ball. I love Azzi and she can be a great scorer, but in my opinion she's been throwing up several ill advised shots when some of her teammates have been wide open.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I was interested in Azzi's press scrum today that she was surprised when a reporter informed her that Lou has taken just four shots each of the two tournament games. I imagine she'd be just as interested in these stats:

Through two games, Azzi is 4 of 20 from three and 11 of 32 overall; Caroline is 4 of 6 from three and 8 of 10 overall; Lou is 2 of 3 from three and 5 of 8 overall.

So, for two games, Azzi is 11 of 32 and has produce 27 points. Caroline and Lou combined are 13 of 18 for 38 points.

Azzi also shot poorly in the Big East tournament, but that more understandable given her long layoff. Now? Five games in, rust should not be a factor.

I know of Azzi's exquisitely beautiful shooting form, her tendency toward occasional hot streaks, her reputation and her potential, all of those things. I love her as a classy, poised young woman and hope she proves to be a great Huskies player.

But she is not that yet, and I just fear the Huskies might bow out of the tournament somewhere along the way with Azzi firing away while Lou and Caroline, and UConn fans everywhere, watch and wonder why. Please, Azzi, show us how and why everyone's placed so much faith in you.

My sense is that Azzi is getting reacquainted with her legs after all that rehab. The fact she she's been able to dial in eventually in the last couple of games is encouraging. And, as discussed on the BY ad infinitum, her presence, dialed on or not, has made things easier for everyone else on the court. Lou still seems to be a magnet for tough shots but at least she's not getting the full-game beat downs anymore.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Please, Azzi, show us how and why everyone's placed so much faith in you.

So Deacon, are you saying you'd like our chances better if Azzi hadn't come back?

 

[RedStickHusky]

in my opinion she's been throwing up several ill advised shots when some of her teammates have been wide open.

I'm thinking Geno would say she hasn't shot enough ...

 

[RedStickHusky]

Have to add that Caroline's play in the tournament has been through the roof. High impact on limited minutes with great passing, shooting and defending. IMO, she's playing as well as she has in her time at UConn.

 

[UConnCat]

Terrible thread title, btw.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Not to criticize the OP, I think where we get our points from is an interesting question to ponder, but I think there are some conflicting imperatives at play. Ideally, we'd get five players at 15 points and two at 10 for a 95-point game. That's a perfect game. Two factors that impact that are: 1) the defense gets a vote, more so as we go deeper; and, 2) Geno's got two more games to help Azzi lock down her stroke before we get to the FF. I say, if the games in hand, she should be jacking up shots.

 

[The deacon]

Not to criticize the OP, I think where we get our points from is an interesting question to ponder, but I think there are some conflicting imperatives at play. Ideally, we'd get five players at 15 points and two at 10 for a 95-point game. That's a perfect game. Two factors that impact that are: 1) the defense gets a vote, more so as we go deeper; and, 2) Geno's got two more games to help Azzi lock down her stroke before we get to the FF. I say, if the games in hand, she should be jacking up shots.

No question, RedStickHusky, if the games are in hand... and, oh by the way, 'before we get to the FF?' maybe taking it for granted, are we?

As for your wish not to criticize the OP, isn't that what we implicitly do every day here on the BY?

 

[RedStickHusky]

'before we get to the FF?' maybe taking it for granted, are we?

I guarantee Geno is thinking that way; it's not taking anything for granted, it's making sure you're ready if you get there.

 

[sun]

Not to criticize the OP, I think where we get our points from is an interesting question to ponder, but I think there are some conflicting imperatives at play. Ideally, we'd get five players at 15 points and two at 10 for a 95-point game. That's a perfect game. Two factors that impact that are: 1) the defense gets a vote, more so as we go deeper; and, 2) Geno's got two more games to help Azzi lock down her stroke before we get to the FF. I say, if the games in hand, she should be jacking up shots.

IMO making 20 shots in a game that has already been won doesn't replicate needing to make shots while the adrenaline is flowing during crunch time in a close game.
Maybe that's why Azzi hasn't been sinking as many buckets, because the team hasn't really needed her to score very many points yet.
When Azzi misses shots the other team tends to miss their shots or fail to score too.
Ever notice that?

 

[Gordo]

IMO making 20 shots in a game that has already been won doesn't replicate needing to make shots while the adrenaline is flowing during crunch time in a close game.
Maybe that's why Azzi hasn't been sinking as many buckets, because the team hasn't really needed her to score very many points yet.
When Azzi misses shots the other team tends to miss their shots or fail to score too.
Ever notice that?

That's ridiculous!

 

[Cuango]

There was a time, before UConn hit its February slump, when Muhl’s and Clark’s efficiency were very similar. There shooting percentages were in fact quite similar. Yet no one, not even us diehard Muhl fans, would suggest those two should be shooting at the same volume.

Edit aside: If it’s surprising that Clark should score so much with shooting percentages similar to Muhl back in January, consider how many possessions per game the high octane offense of Iowa generates, thanks to Clark.

Senechal being more efficient than Fudd is nothing new. At the beginning of the year, when Fudd was putting up NPOY numbers, Senechal was shooting better. Maybe Fudd would score 30 points, but Senechal would still score 18, seemingly without missing, which is why UConn fandom took such delightful notice of her from the start.

Senechal should be shooting a little more than she is currently, but she has been hurt. Ducharme comes off the bench because of our unusual season. It has not been smooth sailing. In the smooth sailing version Fudd will and should be the “volume” shooter that draws the attention of defenses, but the others will get theres as well, just as Senechal did at the beginning of the season when she was not hurt.

To be fair, comparing percentages between a 4-8 shot player and a 20-28 shot player is fairly meaningless. There are few unselfish players who are truly able to shoot without conscience. Clark is one of those players who does not seem to let her misses affect her willingness to take the same shot next time down the court. She could be 0 for 12 and still want to take the game-deciding shot. Bird and Jordan were like that. I believe Paige is as well and that Azzi is being coached that way by Geno. He wants his two truly generational players to understand that by not taking the open shot they are actually hurting the team. Having a 48% three point shooter passing off to a 36% shooter for essentially the same shot is not the way to win.
The problem is, most really good players that come to UConn are unselfish to a fault so for the few transcendent ones Geno has to retrain their thinking from “I need to always involve my teammates” to “I have a better chance of making this (or any other) shot than anyone else on the team!”
Finally, Azzi is simply, imo a different breed from Clark (and though it pains me to suggest) even Paige. While all three are clearly elite shooters (in various ways), Azzi is the one who is more likely to go on these backbreaking scoring streaks that basically break the other team’s spirit! I realize the other two occasionally do this as well but Azzi does it more often and more efficiently.
I think Geno sees this as the devastating weapon it is and wants it to happen more often (as in every game) thus the emphasis on Azzi’s shot count. He knows what it does to the other team when they’ve played us even for one or two quarters and then Azzi suddenly makes three or four threes that don’t seem to even move the net! Suddenly, in three or four minutes, she snatches their hope away and decides the game! That, imo is the true greatness of Azzi Fudd! She is one of a very few players who can essentially decide a game’s outcome in the space of a few minutes.

 

[reelfan]

UCONN needs as many HEALTHY recruits as they can get. Too, too many injuries this year..leads to many questions and concerns next year.

 

[diggerfoot]

To be fair, comparing percentages between a 4-8 shot player and a 20-28 shot player is fairly meaningless. There are few unselfish players who are truly able to shoot without conscience. Clark is one of those players who does not seem to let her misses affect her willingness to take the same shot next time down the court. She could be 0 for 12 and still want to take the game-deciding shot. Bird and Jordan were like that. I believe Paige is as well and that Azzi is being coached that way by Geno. He wants his two truly generational players to understand that by not taking the open shot they are actually hurting the team. Having a 48% three point shooter passing off to a 36% shooter for essentially the same shot is not the way to win.
The problem is, most really good players that come to UConn are unselfish to a fault so for the few transcendent ones Geno has to retrain their thinking from “I need to always involve my teammates” to “I have a better chance of making this (or any other) shot than anyone else on the team!”
Finally, Azzi is simply, imo a different breed from Clark (and though it pains me to suggest) even Paige. While all three are clearly elite shooters (in various ways), Azzi is the one who is more likely to go on these backbreaking scoring streaks that basically break the other team’s spirit! I realize the other two occasionally do this as well but Azzi does it more often and more efficiently.
I think Geno sees this as the devastating weapon it is and wants it to happen more often (as in every game) thus the emphasis on Azzi’s shot count. He knows what it does to the other team when they’ve played us even for one or two quarters and then Azzi suddenly makes three or four threes that don’t seem to even move the net! Suddenly, in three or four minutes, she snatches their hope away and decides the game! That, imo is the true greatness of Azzi Fudd! She is one of a very few players who can essentially decide a game’s outcome in the space of a few minutes.

? The fact that Clark and Muhl are different shooters was my point. Some of what you wrote is sort of making the same point I was.

Comparing Fudd to Bueckers goes off topic, but since you brought it up: For comparative efficiency, the reason Bueckers won NPOY was her efficiency, which was the highest of all players that year and may have been the highest of any freshmen for any year. Neither Clark’s nor Fudd’s efficiency touches Buecker’s. Before Bueckers got injured her sophomore year her efficiency was even higher still, close to 60% shooting and a A/T ratio over 4. Just obscene efficiency numbers.

In 3 point % alone, Fudd’s forte, Buecker’s freshmen numbers were higher than Fudd’s freshmen or sophomore. Buecker’s came down her sophomore year, whether because of injury or law of averages, but not her ability to dominate. In the NC State she closed out the game going 8 for 9, every one of them needed. Last minute shots, even thrilling ones, happen occasionally. Going 8/9 at the end of an overtime game to win it doesn’t happen, not by Fudd, not by Clark, I wonder if Curry has done something like that (maybe he has, I don’t know). Fudd had two 30 point games in a row against good competition. Bueckers had 3 in a row, a UConn record, also against good competition, featuring scoring runs. If that did not concern opponents as much as Fudd it was at their peril.