You Will Know Right Away On Saturday | The Boneyard

You Will Know Right Away On Saturday

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BBallF

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You will know right away on Saturday if a change in this team has taken place or if it will be more of the same. It will show itself in the patience in the passing, the movement on offense, the passing back out by the bigs, the lack of forcing drives and shots, and the intensity of the defense. The most revealing statistic will be turnovers. It will show if they are executing and following instructions that they have been given or just playing the game. I look to Nika to have to be the leader for any such transformation. Do you think we will see a change?
 
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We will see Saturday. I mean being off for a few days will either help or hurt. We all have seen teams that have a few days off, come on the court and it looks like they are still in vacation mode and there have been teams that have been off for a few days, come on the court and play refreshed basketball. Their legs are not heavy. Their minds are clear. They are just refreshed and playing some great basketball. We will see what we got Saturday.
 
I can't imagine we'll see a SUDDEN TRANSFORMATION. I'm hoping for an evolution/blending/mending. The team has been incredibly resilient. I want them not to have to be - to just be with each other, fully.
 
ThisJustIn said:
I can't imagine we'll see a SUDDEN TRANSFORMATION. I'm hoping for an evolution/blending/mending. The team has been incredibly resilient. I want them not to have to be - to just be with each other, fully.
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Agree. Let's just see more than a bit of progress, with an increased margin of victory compared to the previous 3 or four games.
 
BBallF said:
You will know right away on Saturday if a change in this team has taken place or if it will be more of the same.
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Not right away, but only after 40 minutes of play when the final horn sounds & the fat lady sings.
 
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sun said:
Not right away, but only after 40 minutes of play when the final horn sounds & the fat lady sings.
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I think within 6 offensive possessions tops.
 
BBallF said:
I think within 6 offensive possessions tops.
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What if UConn falls apart in the 4th quarter or as the game goes on?
Or conversely, plays better as the game goes on?
What's the rush to draw a conclusion?
 
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sun said:
What if UConn falls apart in the 4th quarter?
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It will be the changed team that falls apart, not the old one. Geno's last presser was very simple - They ain't listening. My guess is that they are listening to him intently right now. Whether it sinks in and affects their play, will be evident right away if they have in fact changed. If not, maybe the 30% on this site who think we are not winning the BE tournament are right. If you go on a diet, you start right away, not when you are just about finished eating.
 
Is there a open media happening before teh tournament at all like what happens once a week during the regular season?
 
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BBallF said:
It will be the changed team that falls apart, not the old one. Geno's last presser was very simple - They ain't listening. My guess is that they are listening to him intently right now. Whether it sinks in and affects their play, will be evident right away if they have in fact changed. If not, maybe the 30% on this site who think we are not winning the BE tournament are right. If you go on a diet, you start right away, not when you are just about finished eating.
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I think that the team can start out slow and still continue to improve as the game goes on.
Just like when Azzi has sometimes played, missing shots in the 1st 1/2 & making shots in the 2nd 1/2.
Games aren't usually won or lost in the first 6 possessions.
And we don't know if Azzi will be playing, how much or what her role will eventually be compared to what happens at the beginning of the next game.
Geno may even alter his game plan as the game progresses.
That's an option that he has when extra players are available that wouldn't be evident at the beginning of a game before players on both sides begin to exert themselves & start getting fatigued.
Every opponent presents different unique match ups & challenges.
 
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Is the score going to be the indicator or something else? This team has played down to their competition at times this year and I don't think they will do that this weekend. They know the importance of getting in tournament shape and that starts Saturday. My guess is they will come out and control the game from the start.

Really I think Caroline is the key. She really needs to start hitting her shots or they will struggle. If she is shooting then Lou will have a little more room to operate which will help her and they that opens up the inside game.
 
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, could Paige have been a bad example? :confused: It seems like everyone thinks they have her passing ability.
It is simply not something we have seen with passes of all sorts trying to be executed this season. Full court half court and even between two defenders that ends up in a kicked ball.
Yes passing and sharing the ball is a UConn staple but it has to be done with the realization in recent years the competition has vastly improved. Maintaining possession of the ball is of paramount importance. 17, 18 a game will not allow the team to go far, cut that in half and we have a shot. :)
 
MilfordHusky said:
Here's my litmus test:

If we have 5+ turnovers in the first 5 minutes, it could be a tough day.

If we have 4 or fewer in the first 10 minutes, I like our chances.
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If the ill's of this team are fixable--Geno shall have them fixed. If Fudd shows up, the BE belongs to Uconn if not--it could go either way. But These KIDS didn't lose any game because they wanted to.
Some Chemistry class was missed and the mixture turned sour. Add acid or alkaline one or the other will bring it back to neutral.
 
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Turnovers have been the problem since the first game it didn't matter if Fudd was playing or not..they aren't going to fix that in 4 or 5 days.The only hope is they start becoming accountable like Geno said
 
browns said:
Turnovers have been the problem since the first game it didn't matter if Fudd was playing or not..they aren't going to fix that in 4 or 5 days.The only hope is they start becoming accountable like Geno said
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Beg to differ. When Azzi was healthy and in the lineup, UConn’s ball handling improved significantly. Her court awareness, basketball IQ and ability to deliver passes on time and to the right player are all exceptional.
 
I listened to the Coach`s Show with Bob Joyce and Geno this evening (Thursday 3/2) on 97.9 ESPN, broadcast from Cafe' Aura in Manchester. It lasted an hour and covered lot of ground.

Geno was in a much better mood than when we saw him last. :confused:

They practiced today for the first time since the game on Monday night. He said the practice went well.

Especially funny when he noted that a problem on defense is that the players (other than Nika) don`t talk enough, and contrasted that with their talkative natures off the court. He made the joke I have heard from him before about the best way to get a group of young people to quiet down is to throw a basketball into the group.

Also some very interesting comments about players` maturity. I won`t try to summarize all of it but essentially he was saying you can`t coddle players and insulate them from failure and then expect them to perform in front of 15,000 people. He also noted that social media is overall creating a greater fear of failure and greater risk aversion because failures are magnified on social media. He is a very observant and cerebral guy.

He figures that the St. John`s Marquette game will be a real battle since the winner will go to the NCAA Tournament. He also opined that he thought those two teams would be rooting for UConn to beat Georgetown or Butler since facing UConn would give them an opportunity to better their seeding.

He noted that they have not had their entire team (minus Paige and Ice) for a Big East game this year.

Dorka did some work today, will do more tomorrow, he expects her to play. Lou is still banged up, he mentioned her knee in particular, but she is doing some things and will play as well. The other players who have been playing are fine.

I am burying the lede by bringing up Azzi late, although he was asked about it late in the interview. She practiced some today, more than previously, will do more tomorrow, and if things go well at the pregame shootaround on Saturday, she could very well be out there. He didn`t commit to that but I thought that his tone in answering the question about her availability was pretty light and hopeful, as opposed to the "who knows" kind of responses he has been giving previously. So, maybe we will have the whole group out there.

Geno is reading a book on Churchill but he has been at it for a long time - he said he is a history buff - and is also reading a book about Jim Thorp. His said his drink of choice is a Manhattan, and I suspect he has mixed more than a few of them over the last couple of months.
 
sun said:
Not right away, but only after 40 minutes of play when the final horn sounds & the fat lady sings.
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Sun, hate to disagree with you, but it won’t take us 40 minutes to see which UConn team takes the floor. We’ll know 3-4 minutes into the game. If they come out hard and fast, it’s game on. If they come out soft and slow, not rebounding and giving up easy baskets (along with turning the ball over), it’s going to be a long 2 hours, and hard to watch.

Whoever UConn draws that first game should not present an over whelming challenge. The opponent will play hard, fast, and loose. They have nothing to lose…….it’s UConn. If our opponent loses, they want to go out in a blaze of glory, playing their best game of the year, which they can build on to begin the season next year.

This will be UConn’s 32nd game of the season. I want to see an end-of-season game where they put everything they’ve worked on all season together. I also would love to see UConn make a “concentrated effort“ to minimize their turnovers, and keep them to a single digit. One more thing……play with passion and have fun. :cool: It’s March madness. The most wonderful time of the year.
 
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BBallF said:
You will know right away on Saturday if a change in this team has taken place or if it will be more of the same. It will show itself in the patience in the passing, the movement on offense, the passing back out by the bigs, the lack of forcing drives and shots, and the intensity of the defense. The most revealing statistic will be turnovers. It will show if they are executing and following instructions that they have been given or just playing the game. I look to Nika to have to be the leader for any such transformation. Do you think we will see a change?
Expand ...
Part of the turnover problem, in my view, derives from a general fear of shooting the ball. Lou has no fear of shooting, but teams have focused on shutting her down ( Often double teaming her) . Edwards was draining outside shots early in the season, but now seems hesitant. As a result she bull rushes the ball toward the rim, even when triple teamed. Nika has proven to be one of our more reliable three point shooters, but it is not in her mentality to be the team scorer. Aubrey remains hard to predict. She still prefers to be on fast break and head to the rim. And if she takes an early shot, and doesn't make it, she removes that bullet from her arsenal. Caroline has been inconsistent. Far too inconsistent. The net result is that the ball is handled by this team to excess, which results in forced passes and turnovers. Needless to say, the shot clock continues to tick down and the pressure increases. So poor shots are taken, poor decisions are made, and our offense appears chaotic and disjointed. What we need to see is re-newed confidence. That is what this team now lacks.
 
Huskee11 said:
I listened to the Coach`s Show with Bob Joyce and Geno this evening (Thursday 3/2) on 97.9 ESPN, broadcast from Cafe' Aura in Manchester. It lasted an hour and covered lot of ground.

Geno was in a much better mood than when we saw him last. :confused:

They practiced today for the first time since the game on Monday night. He said the practice went well.

Especially funny when he noted that a problem on defense is that the players (other than Nika) don`t talk enough, and contrasted that with their talkative natures off the court. He made the joke I have heard from him before about the best way to get a group of young people to quiet down is to throw a basketball into the group.

Also some very interesting comments about players` maturity. I won`t try to summarize all of it but essentially he was saying you can`t coddle players and insulate them from failure and then expect them to perform in front of 15,000 people. He also noted that social media is overall creating a greater fear of failure and greater risk aversion because failures are magnified on social media. He is a very observant and cerebral guy.

He figures that the St. John`s Marquette game will be a real battle since the winner will go to the NCAA Tournament. He also opined that he thought those two teams would be rooting for UConn to beat Georgetown or Butler since facing UConn would give them an opportunity to better their seeding.

He noted that they have not had their entire team (minus Paige and Ice) for a Big East game this year.

Dorka did some work today, will do more tomorrow, he expects her to play. Lou is still banged up, he mentioned her knee in particular, but she is doing some things and will play as well. The other players who have been playing are fine.

I am burying the lede by bringing up Azzi late, although he was asked about it late in the interview. She practiced some today, more than previously, will do more tomorrow, and if things go well at the pregame shootaround on Saturday, she could very well be out there. He didn`t commit to that but I thought that his tone in answering the question about her availability was pretty light and hopeful, as opposed to the "who knows" kind of responses he has been giving previously. So, maybe we will have the whole group out there.

Geno is reading a book on Churchill but he has been at it for a long time - he said he is a history buff - and is also reading a book about Jim Thorp. His said his drink of choice is a Manhattan, and I suspect he has mixed more than a few of them over the last couple of months.
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I, too, am a Churchill and Manhattan person.
 
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