Xavier Postgame Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Xavier Postgame Thread

I think the thing about this team is they know if someone is off or on and they try and cover for the player who might be off or have a tough matchup. Nika is starting to find creases and drive hard to the hoop and dish to another. This will help us offensively if she stays under control. Liv wirh her improving outside shot and her passing are good signs. I liked that she used her quickness to drive to the hoop. Why Aubrey got yanked twice quickly and then subed for the final 2 minutes. Was there a message today? Maybe?
 
oldude said:
Some thoughts on the Xavier game:
  • Per Geno, “You don’t become a good March team in March.” While UConn’s offense was inconsistent at times, the Huskies defense was suffocating once again. I felt bad for the Musketeers who’s season has been battered by Covid stoppages, and they were clearly never in the game.
  • Did anyone else start clutching their chest when Paige rolled her ankle again? I sure hope this isn’t one of those lingering problems that dogs her all season.
  • Liv came out with a purpose today. She was 4/5, with 5 rbs, 4 asts & 1 blk in the 1st qtr.
  • Christyn seems to almost play her way into the game. Her first two shots were a brick and an air-ball, after which she was 9/14 with 22 pts.
  • Nika might want to take it easy with no look passes, particularly when an easy pass to an open teammate would be a better option, although I must say I love the fact that the shortest Husky on the court had 8 rebounds, many of which were grabbed in traffic.
  • Aaliyah with a hard-earned double-double; 16pts & 11rbs. She is one tough Canadian.
  • Evina's stat line: 8 pts, 9 rbs, 5 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk. She is the "Swiss Army Knife."
  • It certainly looks like Geno has settled on a 7-player rotation heading into the passestournament, subject to Anna’s potential availability.
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Nikas rebounds were a joy to behold
Geno will work her out of those unnecessarily overly cute and clever passes
 
Loved to see CW looking more confident and getting some buckets tonight. Sometimes she looks hesitant; almost like she’s taking a deep breathe before shooting the 3. She’s much better when she steps into it confidentially.
Now let’s hope this carries over against tough teams....
 
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My 2 cents worth overall and the guards:

We continue to play better defense. Switching and recognition is good. Also, good to see we can put 80+ on the board without a good game shooting from PB. GA has hit on some good freshman with three playing huge roles for us and doing it pretty darn well. The below comments are made given that this Xavier team is not very good at all. In the tournament, we will be playing teams that have better players at every position than Xavier.

PB – has she hit the freshman wall? Just kidding. The good is that she got all good shots but just missed more than she usually does. Plays like a senior. Good floor game as well.

NM – gets better and better. She is so comfortable now that at times she is trying to do more, which for me, is good in these games. Better to try out what extra you can do against weak competition and get it out of your system. Somebody told her not to play that close-up face defense she usually plays. She gave a bit of space this time and as a result, I don’t think she even picked up a foul in this game.

She made some terrific steals and some really nifty passes. Her teammates let her down on at least two occasions, otherwise she has 5 plus assists with a bushel of steals and only 2 TOs. Think about that…..from a freshman guard who is handling the ball the majority of the game and making many decisions on every possession. She is a real pest for the opposing team, especially if they try to underestimate her.

Love the way she rebounds and then immediately pushes the ball. I think at times she is scared to shoot layups. Throws up some really ugly bricks. One made three away from what I hope we can get out of her.

CW – good stuff after another rocky start. It amazes me the ugly bricks she throws up. I think GA must know she needs to get this out of her system early in the game because after that, with the exception of one more ugly brick, she was terrific in scoring/shooting the 3.

I’m not sure of the rule, but she would have had her third three from the corner if the refs didn’t call a timeout for the Xavier kid hurt previously. If it counted, she shoots 3 for 6 from 3. That is great shooting, even if the 3 misses are all bricks/airballs. As it is, 2-5 is great as well.

She has a deal going with PB to run like heck down the floor and get some easy buckets. Great hands and finishing going to the hoop once again. I hope she continues to build on this! Defense was a ‘hit and miss’.

Forgot to say originally that CW got her 3s in the flow of the offense. No thinking. She received the pass back after the pick and stroked it. Another good sign. :)
 
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My 2 cents in the posts and wings:

Liv – solid game. Didn’t shoot the ball much, but rolled to the basket nice, showed terrific hands, rebounded very well and continues to pass the ball very well. Teams are going to see that if they choose to leave her alone in the high post, she will have free and easier passing angles, not to mention she can shoot open FT line shots as well.

EW – good floor game. Did a bit of everything. Rebounded the ball very well. If she can rebound the ball this well against top teams, it will help a lot. For the first time in a long while, I did not see any ‘what the heck’ moments from her!

AE- wow wow wow!! Kid is growing right before our eyes. Enjoy it! I mentioned a couple weeks ago, that I thought she was ready for a breakout game and now she has had a few of them. Five things I really like:
  • No more ‘bull in a china shop’ moments. Seems like it’s been a long time since anybody has mentioned this. That is a great sign as she is not picking up cheap fouls.
  • Hit her one and only jumper from the FT line! Also hit her FTs! That is great news as well! It will really help because she is so explosive going to the basket as well.
  • Rebounded like she was possessed. Has a real knack for this.
  • Did she have any TOs?? Seemed like a mistake-free game to me from a freshie!!!
  • Continues to run like a deer down the floor to get easy buckets and wear down the opposing bigs.
AG – GA treating her like a yo-yo..constantly in and out of the game. She comes in twice and the first possession both times she makes something happen – steals, blocks, scores, rebounds, etc. Her minutes are compromised now with the emergence of AE.

Mir – good game. Looks really small out there to me but plays bigger than her size. I don’t expect her to play much or at all in big tournament games though.

PG – I really thought GA would give her some more minutes. I wish he would in this stretch of games against weak teams. She may show that she can give us a few minutes if and when Liv gets into foul trouble while having the option of leaving AE at the 4. Then we can also use her fouls and not AE’s on the opposing big. I’m not saying 20 minutes, I’m saying 5-10 meaningful minutes.
 
hoophuskee said:
Why do you doubt it? :)

If that last minute or two isn't important then why not have them goof-off in those last couple of minutes? Because if it's not instrumental in Nika's development then why would it be instrumental in anyone else's development too?

You're a fan and can declare a game being over as early as the 1st tip-off of the game. An elite coach won't ever coach that way.

We've read posts from those stating for example "put Mir in more because she can't get better if she doesn't play" or "We at UCONN strive for excellence." -- Well now we have teams that are still trying and hustling even when game is decided. How is it that we can say UCONN is striving for excellence when we think the last couple of minutes don't matter and someone like Mir has an opportunity to compete vs a team that is still trying hard? Doesn't she deserve this opportunity to see what she can do vs a team still competing hard?

It's an opportunity for example to see how Mir and Griff for example can play together. How is it that when an opposing team is still giving effort that even down to the last possession isn't a benefit to the bench players? I think players like Griff and Mir deserve that extra time despite whether a fan wants to declare the game over or not. The coach hasn't declared his coaching time to be over and usually neither has the other coach/team.

IMO an elite coach who strives for excellence wouldn't think the way of the last minute being non-instrumental at all.
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Seems that Kara Walters put her finger on what was going on with Mir: Likely a "issue with practice." So Coach Geno let her out of his dog house, and she responds with5 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist in 8 minutes. Nicely done! So much for the notion that she just doesn't fit on the court due to her "size." Outscored Nika. If the "attitude" problem is fixed, she should get more minutes for the remainder of the season.
 
jazz said:
My 2 cents worth overall and the guards:

We continue to play better defense. Switching and recognition is good. Also, good to see we can put 80+ on the board without a good game shooting from PB. GA has hit on some good freshman with three playing huge roles for us and doing it pretty darn well. The below comments are made given that this Xavier team is not very good at all. In the tournament, we will be playing teams that have better players at every position than Xavier.

PB – has she hit the freshman wall? Just kidding. The good is that she got all good shots but just missed more than she usually does. Plays like a senior. Good floor game as well.

NM – gets better and better. She is so comfortable now that at times she is trying to do more, which for me, is good in these games. Better to try out what extra you can do against weak competition and get it out of your system. Somebody told her not to play that close-up face defense she usually plays. She gave a bit of space this time and as a result, I don’t think she even picked up a foul in this game.

She made some terrific steals and some really nifty passes. Her teammates let her down on at least two occasions, otherwise she has 5 plus assists with a bushel of steals and only 2 TOs. Think about that…..from a freshman guard who is handling the ball the majority of the game and making many decisions on every possession. She is a real pest for the opposing team, especially if they try to underestimate her.

Love the way she rebounds and then immediately pushes the ball. I think at times she is scared to shoot layups. Throws up some really ugly bricks. One made three away from what I hope we can get out of her.

CW – good stuff after another rocky start. It amazes me the ugly bricks she throws up. I think GA must know she needs to get this out of her system early in the game because after that, with the exception of one more ugly brick, she was terrific in scoring/shooting the 3.

I’m not sure of the rule, but she would have had her third three from the corner if the refs didn’t call a timeout for the Xavier kid hurt previously. If it counted, she shoots 3 for 6 from 3. That is great shooting, even if the 3 misses are all bricks/airballs. As it is, 2-5 is great as well.

She has a deal going with PB to run like heck down the floor and get some easy buckets. Great hands and finishing going to the hoop once again. I hope she continues to build on this! Defense was a ‘hit and miss’.

Forgot to say originally that CW got her 3s in the flow of the offense. No thinking. She received the pass back after the pick and stroked it. Another good sign. :)
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Just for the record, that's Jazz "speaking" not me. lol
 
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Well played game, but hard to get excited when the competition is so bad.
Bestwick made a comment after the game that "surprised" that we won by so much with Bueckers "only" scoring 11 points.
Was he watching the same game I was? Paige stopped shooting. She had a point blank layup and passed it to a open player outside.

Let me say this again, in these lopsided games, Paige has no interest in scoring points, only getting points for her team mates.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Seems that Kara Walters put her finger on what was going on with Mir: Likely a "issue with practice." So Coach Geno let her out of his dog house, and she responds with5 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist in 8 minutes. Nicely done! So much for the notion that she just doesn't fit on the court due to her "size." Outscored Nika. If the "attitude" problem is fixed, she should get more minutes for the remainder of the season.
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If Nika plays well, every teammate out scores her.
 
Dokey said:
I wondered who she was talking to. I assumed it was her parents but your suggestion is very possible. I saw Anna—her biggest booster after Geno—try to calm her down. I think Geno knows enough by now to keep his distance if he can. Love, love, love this girl.
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Nika does things that in years past would have gotten her yanked. I have to believe she does not get yanked because Geno wants to preserve the fire while she learns to jettison some of the wildness.
 
my2cents said:
Just for the record, that's Jazz "speaking" not me. lol
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I was wondering when you might say that....just in case I say something really stupid I can say you highjacked my handle! :)
 
Jordy said:
If Nika plays well, every teammate out scores her.
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still can't go ohhhh for 4 on threes though and a couple of them were not even close....
 
uconnfan68 said:
She threw a leaping 3/4 court pass to CW, and rolled it coming down.
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This ankle problem she has worries me.

I had the same issues and it knocked me out for several games. I struggled with rolling them like she does. Hurts like hell I can tell you that, but usually you can play on it. Problem is they start to compound a bit when you've done it a few times until you can't really play at all or as well for about 2-3 weeks.

That is about where the similarities between PB and I end! :)
 
.-.
Fairfield Fan said:
Seems that Kara Walters put her finger on what was going on with Mir: Likely a "issue with practice." So Coach Geno let her out of his dog house, and she responds with5 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist in 8 minutes. Nicely done! So much for the notion that she just doesn't fit on the court due to her "size." Outscored Nika. If the "attitude" problem is fixed, she should get more minutes for the remainder of the season.
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If this how you think okay - I hope you're right - if you want to hold this game as a barometer. :)I tried explaining Mir is a low post player. And I tried to explain guard play- instead with one of your comments - you are mentioning how Mir outscored Nika (However, (Nika does have to learn to shoot more consistently. You can't only be a passer and play big minutes on an elite team year-over-year). But I don't know why you mentioned Nika vs Mir in terms of points scored. If you think that that's a barometer as to which player Nika or Mir scores more points -- I don't know what to say :). I mentioned you have post player bias. (I have guard bias. It's why at times I'm okay with a small lineup and why I was so excited early on when I saw Nika performing well enough. She does need to shoot better than what she's showing however.). . . :)

Anyhow, I hope Mir goes on to do everything you want and more importantly Mir does everything this team needs in which she is one of the super-lead catalysts this year for winning a National Championship. It's not me against you. I hope she is awesome. :)

I just think the next few big games you'll be asking the same questions again. And the years following I think you'll ask the same questions regarding other post players too. Whatever. I hope Mir is awesome. :) She does have an amazing 1st step with elite athleticism. And potentially, with experience, become a huge weapon. Just want UCONN to win a championship as the top goal. Don't care how they do it. :)
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
Nika does things that in years past would have gotten her yanked. I have to believe she does not get yanked because Geno wants to preserve the fire while she learns to jettison some of the wildness.
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Suspect the outcome will relate more to minutes in the playoffs versus getting "yanked" while playing a 3rd tier team. No accident Nika's minutes in big games are reduced.
 
HopJim said:
Suspect the outcome will relate more to minutes in the playoffs versus getting "yanked" while playing a 3rd tier team. No accident Nika's minutes in big games are reduced.
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Well, Uconn has played three games that IMO could be called “big” games; Muhl sat against Tennessee in which Auriemma has publicly said was a conscious choice by him to send her a message. She was fourth in minutes against Arkansas; at 25 minutes, she had 5 more than Ono, 6 more than Griffin and 12 more than Edwards. Edwards fouled out in 13 minutes in that game so if anything one would think that would have increased minutes for Ono and Griffin. In addition, she tied for second in minutes against South Carolina with Edwards, both at 35 minutes out of 45. Only Bueckers, who played the entire game, had more than those two. I hardly think that correlates to reduced minutes in big games.
 
Nolefan said:
Didn’t watch the game but when did Paige roll her ankle and how much did she play ?
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She rolled it on a full court pass to Williams. She grimaced and limped off. Sat for a while. Then returned and played the rest of the game ( save for a few moments at the end ). She appeared "fine" after the incident...but her shooting was off. I wonder if the two factors are related.
 
oldude said:
Some thoughts on the Xavier game:
  • Per Geno, “You don’t become a good March team in March.” While UConn’s offense was inconsistent at times, the Huskies defense was suffocating once again. I felt bad for the Musketeers who’s season has been battered by Covid stoppages, and they were clearly never in the game.
  • Did anyone else start clutching their chest when Paige rolled her ankle again? I sure hope this isn’t one of those lingering problems that dogs her all season.
  • Liv came out with a purpose today. She was 4/5, with 5 rbs, 4 asts & 1 blk in the 1st qtr.
  • Christyn seems to almost play her way into the game. Her first two shots were a brick and an air-ball, after which she was 9/14 with 22 pts.
  • Nika might want to take it easy with no look passes, particularly when an easy pass to an open teammate would be a better option, although I must say I love the fact that the shortest Husky on the court had 8 rebounds, many of which were grabbed in traffic.
  • Aaliyah with a hard-earned double-double; 16pts & 11rbs. She is one tough Canadian.
  • Evina's stat line: 8 pts, 9 rbs, 5 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk. She is the "Swiss Army Knife."
  • It certainly looks like Geno has settled on a 7-player rotation heading into the tournament, subject to Anna’s potential availability.
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A few additions of miscellany; Piath got a few garbage minutes and looked ( to me ) as though she is gaining confidence. And Autumn got not a second in a 40 point blow-out. Hers will be a fascinating story if she remains at UCONN. Because she dropped yet another notch on the depth chart when Saylor arrived, and will drop another when ANNA returns to health. And forget about next year. She needs to add 25 pounds of muscle, and hit 80% from the arc to ever get a look.
 
chrissaran said:
Kia was incredibly fierce. Remember against ND when Marina got into it with Napheesa, and Kia came running over. Marina backed up very quickly.
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That's the hockey player in Kia, and everyone knows not to confront her as it will not go very well for them...
 
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oldude said:
Liv came out with a purpose today. She was 4/5, with 5 rbs, 4 asts & 1 blk in the 1st qtr.
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Nothing new .. Liv did the same in the prior game vs St Johns scoring 11 of our first 21 points [21-8] .. outscoring St Johns by herself .. she pretty much decided the game on her own, eh?
 
Bama fan said:
After the game, Geno said he was impressed with Nika's ball handling when that girl was harassing her. Geno said Nika got a "little pissy" about it. I would not want Nika angry with me! There is no telling what Nika told that kid concerning her health moving forward. :eek:
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Probably in Croatian. ;)
 
Jordy said:
Geno has quite often made a distinction between shooting well and playing well.
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yes but you also have to take it into context. i am happy with the game NM has played. I'm sure that GA hopes that she doesn't miss all of her 3s. If you read my post, then you know I think NM had a very good floor game.

I just hope she, as well as any fan or coach, hits at least one of those 3s...
 
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