Wow - what more can you say about this team?

[EricLA]

Not only a really solid effort, but they actually looked in midseason form, especially in the first half. Yes it was College of Charleston, but this is a really fun and good team to watch.

6 players in double figures and Faris with 9 points as well.

No Bria? No problem... yes she is missed and look forward to see her coming back, but Caroline, Moriah and Breanna looked really good out there.

Was really impressed with Doty's game - scored on pull ups and really ran the offense well. She seemed to show no signs of the injury and moved really well on the court, which is fantastic to see and great for her...

What else can you say about the 3 freshmen? Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but if Bree continues to play like this, not only will she be 1st team AA, but she will challenge for NPOY honors.

I think we are starting to see (at least in this game and early on) Geno's preference for starters/subbing. Whoever starts when you have Bria back, you have Caroline, Bria, KML, Kelly, Stef, Breanna, and then Moriah, Morgan, Breanna, Kiah, and Heather in that order.

The ONLY thing I was disappointed about was not seeing more of Kiah. I'm not sure if she was in the doghouse a bit from practices leading up to the game, but she only got 9 minutes - but she looked really good while in, at least to my untrained eye. She's athletic, a really good shot blocker, and even a competent ball handler. She had a nice drive on the right side of the basket but ended up stepping out of bounds.

I said this team looks like they are in midseason form because you can nitpick (and I know Geno and the staff will) about mistakes the team made - some sloppy passes, not knowing what to do with the ball at times, missed assignments on defense, etc, but seriously, that stuff was so minor that it really is nitpicking. These guys are so good you almost expect them to play an entire game without a mistake. We are going to be in for a treat this year!!

 

[choochoo]

Per Geno ,only 8 points in the last 8 minutes of the game. Buck and stokes were in for most of that

 

[EricLA]

Per Geno ,only 8 points in the last 8 minutes of the game. Buck and stokes were in for most of that

There you go! A nit for Geno to pick at. You know with a team this good, they will keep striving for improvement so things we may think of as really minor will get attention placed on them...

 

[alexrgct]

Geno also employed some personnel combinations he's not going to try in competitive games. Once that all sorts itself out, watch out- this team played exceptionally well for it being the first game of the season.

 

[Phil]

C of C outscored UConn in final ten minutes. Not an unusual stat for some teams in blowouts, but Geno emphasizes finishing, so this will be a point of emphasis.

 

[EricLA]

C of C outscored UConn in final ten minutes. Not an unusual stat for some teams in blowouts, but Geno emphasizes finishing, so this will be a point of emphasis.

Ah good point. I did not realize that. I'm guessing it was when Stokes and Buck were in. I can see UCONN "losing" a 4 minute stretch against a team like CoC, but no way should they lose a 10 minute stretch...

 

[diggerfoot]

I hope this does not undermine me pointing out negatives later, but to come to the team's defense in this last stretch, for much of that time they had Buck and Stokes with Banks as the point guard. That's not your best line-up for running an offense. Banks was terrific as part of the offense, not so much as floor general. I'm guessing they don't practice all that much with her in that role. If that's true, then the last 10 minutes can't cause that much consternation.

Of course, that won't be my take on it when I point out negatives.

 

[Sonny44]

Not only a really solid effort, but they actually looked in midseason form, especially in the first half. Yes it was College of Charleston, but this is a really fun and good team to watch.

6 players in double figures and Faris with 9 points as well.

No Bria? No problem... yes she is missed and look forward to see her coming back, but Caroline, Moriah and Breanna looked really good out there.

Was really impressed with Doty's game - scored on pull ups and really ran the offense well. She seemed to show no signs of the injury and moved really well on the court, which is fantastic to see and great for her...

What else can you say about the 3 freshmen? Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but if Bree continues to play like this, not only will she be 1st team AA, but she will challenge for NPOY honors.

I think we are starting to see (at least in this game and early on) Geno's preference for starters/subbing. Whoever starts when you have Bria back, you have Caroline, Bria, KML, Kelly, Stef, Breanna, and then Moriah, Morgan, Breanna, Kiah, and Heather in that order.

The ONLY thing I was disappointed about was not seeing more of Kiah. I'm not sure if she was in the doghouse a bit from practices leading up to the game, but she only got 9 minutes - but she looked really good while in, at least to my untrained eye. She's athletic, a really good shot blocker, and even a competent ball handler. She had a nice drive on the right side of the basket but ended up stepping out of bounds.

I said this team looks like they are in midseason form because you can nitpick (and I know Geno and the staff will) about mistakes the team made - some sloppy passes, not knowing what to do with the ball at times, missed assignments on defense, etc, but seriously, that stuff was so minor that it really is nitpicking. These guys are so good you almost expect them to play an entire game without a mistake. We are going to be in for a treat this year!!

I am also concerned about Kiah; seems she is looking for a role. Is she behind because of her foot injury?

 

[easttexastrash]

Very surprising to hear that Stokes didn't get time with the core group. Playing with the reserve guards can make it difficult for post players to get involved in the game as the guards don't seem to put an emphasis on passing inside. It's their opportunity to score.

 

[cferraro04]

UConn's quest for number eight






began today...with a fast paced game with College of Charleston that resulted with the Huskies third game in a row where they scored over 100 points beating the COC 103 to 38. It was undertaken without All American Bria Hartley but that didn't seem to slow the Huskies down even a little bit. Doty stepped in at starting point guard while Dolson, Stewart, KML and Faris rounded out the starting five. Charleston scored the first basket and looked like they had come to compete...but, the Huskies had other ideas...it was off to the races and in the next couple of minutes it was a 17 and 0 run with KML earning my nick-name for her "Machine Gun Lewis" as she hit 3 threes in less than 2 minutes.


The three freshmen for UConn all contributed mightily to the win...Stewart was high scorer, SNY player of the game with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block and 4 steals. Stewart's 7ft 1 inch wing span was on full display in the first half as she stole the ball and drove the length of the court to finish a lay-up at the other end. Tuck had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals, Moriah Jefferson playing back-up point guard for Doty had 4 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, (5 turn-overs) and 1 steal. Doty, scored 10 points while draining 2 threes in four attempts.


KML also put up All American numbers with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Brianna Banks was the 6th Husky in double figures scoring 10 points and looking much improved from last season...In an example that her decision making was much more mature than last season...Brianna passed up the three choosing to make an excellent up-fake and then put the ball on the floor and took it to the hole finishing with a smooth lay-up. Kelly Faris just missed becoming the 7th Husky in double figures with 9 points in what was a less than typical game for her...as we are accustomed to seeing Kelly fill up the stat sheet.


The only disappointment for me was the lack of playing time for Kiah Stokes. Does that mean she didn't have a good week at practice and Geno was sending a message or was it just an example of Geno not managing her playing time to give her more minutes? It is hard to tell why Kiah didn't get more PT. Kiah only got 9 minutes but she managed the quadruple deuce (2 points, 2 rebound, 2 assists, 2 blocks). Heather Buck who is obviously at the other end of the bench also got 9 minutes but she wasn't totally unproductive either (3 rebounds, 2 points and 1 assists).


All in all a great team effort to start the season. There is a lot of offensive fire power to go along with a great defensive team which will only get better when they get their All American Bria Hartley back (rumor is she will be back for the Paradise Jam Tourney). I really don't think you are going to beat UConn unless you can score more than 80 points against them because I just don't see too many times that they will be held under 80 points. It is going to be very difficult to guard UConn's high/low with Dolson and Stewart or Dolson and Stokes or Stewart and Stokes or just substitute either Tuck or Buck...it is going to be very tough...because then you have the perimeter shooters and the slashers just waiting for the posts to kick it out to them.


SNY's coverage was exceptional, no disrespect towards CPTV but SNY's coverage including the half hour pre-game coverage, the game and the 1 hour post game coverage was top notch. Kara Wolters and Apple were good but I think Kara was a little heavy in the praise Geno and UConn program, not in a bad way for us fans. If however, you were tuning in and you weren't a UConn fan Kara's homerism might be a turn-off. I expect that she will grow in her role as color coordinator over time.

 

[bruinbball]

Dolson had an excellent game - nearly a triple-double. It's nice to know that with all of Kelly's work this summer - she now is the best shooter on the team.

 

[Icebear]

Dolson had an excellent game - nearly a triple-double. It's nice to know that with all of Kelly's work this summer - she now is the best shooter on the team.

Shooting 100%. Go girl!

 

[uconnfan68]

Per Geno ,only 8 points in the last 8 minutes of the game. Buck and stokes were in for most of that

Typical when they have to milk the clock to try not to embarrass the other team.

 

[easttexastrash]

Typical when they have to milk the clock to try not to embarrass the other team.

I usually AM embarrassed when I lose by 64 points.

 

[tomcat]

A few impressions beyond what's above, which were excellent:
-- Doty was really impressive. If this is typical, we'll get a lot more from her than at least I had anticipated.
-- Ditto Banks. She's not experienced in her role yet, but thought she brought a spark to the team and did a lot of things really well.
-- Faris is a better shooter. I didn't think it would happen, and we don't know if it will be consistent, but it's a good thing.
-- I sure hope Stokes earns more time on the court, because they will need her down the stretch and next year as well.
-- Tuck and Jefferson had stretches where they were way beyond freshmen. Stewart just plays on a whole different level.
-- I thought the last 8 minutes or so were frustrating. They really came apart a little, trying plays that weren't really plays and just doing disorganized things. Hope that changes. They don't have to score a million points, but they should score a few.

 

[alexrgct]

Without having any inside info, I am fairly certain that Kiah was being sent a clear message. That message was:

Dear Kiah,

You were born to play WCBB at an elite level. I know it, and I think you know it too.

However, if you hadn't noticed, there are a bunch of other kids on this team who were also born to play WCBB at an elite level, and I am seeing more consistent execution and effort from them in practice. So I am going to allow you to have a very nice view of them playing the opening game.

If, over the coming week, you show me you want to be as good a player as I know you can be, you will see plenty of PT against the size of Texas A&M. However, if you are happy with what you're doing and the effort you're putting forth, you will continue to have a courtside seat to greatness instead of being an active participant. The choice is yours, and I'm not going to let you forget that.

Love,

Geno