Z On Frustration And A Bonus

[RockyMTblue2]

See the bonus?

“I try not to be nervous but I can’t help it really,” Stevens said. “I definitely think I felt a lot more comfortable in the second half because I was playing basketball. That is all I need to do is play as hard as I can and help the team in any way. I am trying to remain patient in getting back into the flow of things. I have to remind myself that even though I know how to play, I have been out for a whole year so there are going to be a few moments when things just might not click.”


UConn coach Geno Auriemma recently had a conversation with UConn’s reserves about not getting frustrated if things aren’t happening as quickly as they would like since it takes time to get adjusted to the college game. Stevens had an interesting reply to Auriemma during that meeting.

“Most kids will say, ‘it is going to take you a year or so to get caught up,’” Auriemma said. “We do a lot of intricate stuff here at Connecticut, a lot of stuff that you have to pick up and she said, ‘that is OK for our freshmen but I don’t have that much time, I only have two years to play.’ She will catch up quickly and you will see that every game that we play, she will get better and better.”

Azurá Stevens could step into starting lineup for UConn women

 

[oldude]

Once again, Z stating she will be at UConn for two more years. Love to hear that.

 

[Millenial23]

Geez, though, there's a last paragraph about us being outrebounded in both of the first 2 games... c'mon ladies, grab those rebounds! Good thing is, we still won

 

[bags27]

Actually, as great as it is to have it confirmed again that Z plans to stay 2 years, I very much like that she is nervous. It's good that she feels that there are things she needs to do to live up to the hype--both the hype about UConn and that about her. Really loving her attitude.

 

[JoePgh]

Geez, though, there's a last paragraph about us being outrebounded in both of the first 2 games... c'mon ladies, grab those rebounds! Good thing is, we still won

I think the rebounding deficit is largely explained by the huge number of turnovers that opponents have committed in the first two games. This has reduced the number of shots that they attempted, and therefore the number of defensive rebounds available. UConn took many more shots and (somewhat concerningly) shot under 50% in both games, making many defensive rebounds available to the opponents. And of course, defensive rebounds are easier to get than offensive rebounds.

 

[JoePgh]

That does not compute. UCONN’s opponents have missed more shots than UCONN has missed, so the opponents have had fewer chances at defensive rebounds. UCONN has only taken 11 more shots than its opponents.

Are you replying based on stats from the first two games, or the first four? My post was after the first two games. The pattern changed after that, mainly because UConn committed many more turnovers against Maryland and UCLA. That reduced UConn's shot totals and decreased opponents' defensive rebounds available.

In games 3 and 4, as I recall without checking the box scores, UConn outrebounded their opponents. I suspect that was because the shot attempts were more equal between the two teams, and UConn shot at a higher percentage, leaving the opponent with fewer defensive rebounding opportunities than the Huskies themselves had.