Duke- Game thread

[Buzzyboy]

Kelly should be national player of the week after this game...

She played outstanding defense and made a few very nice baskets while scrapping for every loose ball and rebound but didn't you see the first half when she had a few sloppy passes and three turnovers that helped Duke stay in the game? I think some people need a little balance. Kelly is the epitome of hustle and has great athleticism and drive but I don't necessarily think she should have a monument put up in her name just yet. She maximizes her abilities by continually giving 100% on every play but that doesn't automatically make someone player of theweek, much less player of the year. As the previous poster said, Kelly Faris has the heart of a lion and let's just leave it at that!!!!!!

 

[sTu]

She played outstanding defense and made a few very nice baskets while scrapping for every loose ball and rebound but didn't you see the first half when she had a few sloppy passes and three turnovers that helped Duke stay in the game? I think some people need a little balance. Kelly is the epitome of hustle and has great athleticism and drive but I don't necessarily think she should have a monument put up in her name just yet. She maximizes her abilities by continually giving 100% on every play but that doesn't automatically make someone player of theweek, much less player of the year. As the previous poster said, Kelly Faris has the heart of a lion and let's just leave it at that!!!!!!

I prefer Geno's take on Kelly's performance to what you believe is a "balanced" evaluation of her contributions to the game.

 

[Plumber Luigi]

We've secretly replaced the chocolate covered peanuts in the UConn locker room at half time with chocolate covered espresso beans. Let's see if any one notices.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

very impressive win, but gotta ask ,what's with the starters in with less than 3 to go, and kiah, morgan and moriah playing 2 minutes in the 2nd half ? i think auriemma rubbed it in a bit . don't expect anyone else to be bothered by it, but that stuff just drives me crazy . McCallie blew by geno , and can't blame her.

My guess is that the game was tight in the first half so Geno knew Duke brought plenty of trouble north with them. I don't remember exactly when the game got out of hand but he knew Dolson couldn't be counted on because of foul trouble, so when the team got really going he just left those contributing to the run in until the game was completely closed out. Up 20 with 8 to go isn't closed out against Duke if the shooters go cold and Dolson comes in to help only to pick up her 5th.

 

[OneTrickPony]

She played outstanding defense and made a few very nice baskets while scrapping for every loose ball and rebound but didn't you see the first half when she had a few sloppy passes and three turnovers that helped Duke stay in the game? I think some people need a little balance. Kelly is the epitome of hustle and has great athleticism and drive but I don't necessarily think she should have a monument put up in her name just yet. She maximizes her abilities by continually giving 100% on every play but that doesn't automatically make someone player of theweek, much less player of the year. As the previous poster said, Kelly Faris has the heart of a lion and let's just leave it at that!!!!!!

She did make a few errant passes...some of which were reads where she and the other player saw the defense differently. But IMHO when a player clearly dominates a game involving the #3 and #4 teams in the country with an 18/12 performance, shuts down the other team's star point guard/AA candidate, and provides all the intangibles and emotional spark she did...that's deserving of some serious recognition. Show me a better performance this week, and someone else can have the accolade...

 

[Icebear]

I have watched Kelly trying to understand some of those errant passes. At least one last night was when KML started to make a cut and as Kelly made the pass abruptly changed directions as the ball bounced through the space and out of bounds. There have been a number of such TOs by Kelly where she passed the ball to placed she expected a player to be headed or a position she thought someone would or should be. Even Kelly's TOs are somewhat different than many others.

But no matter what you still look really silly when you pass the ball to empty space and it goes bouncing off the court.

 

[boontonbomber]

My guess is that the game was tight in the first half so Geno knew Duke brought plenty of trouble north with them. I don't remember exactly when the game got out of hand but he knew Dolson couldn't be counted on because of foul trouble, so when the team got really going he just left those contributing to the run in until the game was completely closed out. Up 20 with 8 to go isn't closed out against Duke if the shooters go cold and Dolson comes in to help only to pick up her 5th.

i was thinking more about uconn being up 26 with 4 minutes to play, and mostly about moriah. she had a good 4 minutes in the first half ( 3 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, no turnovers)when the game was tight, and she gets nothing more than an appearance in the last 2 minutes. makes no sense. didn't look to me like kiah and morgan were limping, but who knows.

 

[meyers7]

very impressive win, but gotta ask ,what's with the starters in with less than 3 to go, and kiah, morgan and moriah playing 2 minutes in the 2nd half ? i think auriemma rubbed it in a bit . don't expect anyone else to be bothered by it, but that stuff just drives me crazy . McCallie blew by geno , and can't blame her.

Don't think he was rubbing it in. Sure it would have been nice to get the bench a little more time. However I think to Geno this group was playing so well and he enjoyed them doing so well, he just kind of let them revel in it.

He may not have even noticed the score.

 

[Vowelguy]

Don't think he was rubbing it in. Sure it would have been nice to get the bench a little more time. However I think to Geno this group was playing so well and he enjoyed them doing so well, he just kind of let them revel in it.

Actually I think the reason comes from one of Geno's post-game comments. He says that he played a lot of players in the 1st half, and when too many of the newbies were in, he thought the team played poorly. Shea reportedly said: "We're not going to do that again, right? You [to Geno] are only going to put them in 1 at a time and not all at once again, right?"

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Don't think he was rubbing it in. Sure it would have been nice to get the bench a little more time. However I think to Geno this group was playing so well and he enjoyed them doing so well, he just kind of let them revel in it.

He may not have even noticed the score.

I don't know if "revel" is the term I would use. The team was on a roll and were enjoying being in control. They kept building momentum rather than lose some of what they'd accomplished and watch an opponent come back on them as the clock wound down. I think the lesson being taught was this is how you close out a very high quality opponent. Remember what you did tonight.

 

[phil sampieri]

very impressive win, but gotta ask ,what's with the starters in with less than 3 to go, and kiah, morgan and moriah playing 2 minutes in the 2nd half ? i think auriemma rubbed it in a bit . don't expect anyone else to be bothered by it, but that stuff just drives me crazy . McCallie blew by geno , and can't blame her.

Again, after a game that should be celebrated by UC fans some negative comments have to come up along with your's.Whatever the reason Geno did what he did, who cares

 

[UcMiami]

i was thinking more about uconn being up 26 with 4 minutes to play, and mostly about moriah. she had a good 4 minutes in the first half ( 3 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, no turnovers)when the game was tight, and she gets nothing more than an appearance in the last 2 minutes. makes no sense. didn't look to me like kiah and morgan were limping, but who knows.

When either Kiah or Morgan starts limping you have already screwed the pooch with them. The idea is to get them minutes that do not aggravate their condition, not to play them to the point that you have.

 

[meyers7]

I don't know if "revel" is the term I would use. The team was on a roll and were enjoying being in control.

Yea, reveling in it. "To take great pleasure or delight". Seemed to be what they were doing.

They kept building momentum rather than lose some of what they'd accomplished and watch an opponent come back on them as the clock wound down. I think the lesson being taught was this is how you close out a very high quality opponent. Remember what you did tonight.

I agree with that too.

 

[boontonbomber]

Actually I think the reason comes from one of Geno's post-game comments. He says that he played a lot of players in the 1st half, and when too many of the newbies were in, he thought the team played poorly. Shea reportedly said: "We're not going to do that again, right? You [to Geno] are only going to put them in 1 at a time and not all at once again, right?"

i don't think you need to be a hall of fame coach to know that you don't put all the newbies in at once. with the help of his assistants, he can get the newbies in with the non-newbies, and get them the minutes they need to get better. he did not do that in the second half. shea certainly is correct in saying that you put them in one at a time. what's so hard about that, especially when you've got 3 assistants.

 

[boontonbomber]

Don't think he was rubbing it in. Sure it would have been nice to get the bench a little more time. However I think to Geno this group was playing so well and he enjoyed them doing so well, he just kind of let them revel in it.

He may not have even noticed the score.

being unaware is no excuse.

 

[boontonbomber]

When either Kiah or Morgan starts limping you have already screwed the pooch with them. The idea is to get them minutes that do not aggravate their condition, not to play them to the point that you have.

do you know something about whether they were hurting at all last night?

 

[boontonbomber]

Again, after a game that should be celebrated by UC fans some negative comments have to come up along with your's.Whatever the reason Geno did what he did, who cares

i'd be surprised if i was the only one who wondered why moriah and kiah only played 2 minutes in the second half. and i could care less whether you care about it or not. i care because i think those players need court time to get better. if they're hurt, then geno should say so after the game. his comment that he hmade a mistake putting them in together in the first half was a lame excuse for not playing them in the second half. and it's yours , not your's.

 

[meyers7]

being unaware is no excuse.

Well true he could of/should of (have) been more aware (assuming he wasn't, that was just a postulation anyway), but no excuse doesn't mean he was rubbing it in. I see no motive for him to "rub it in".

 

[boontonbomber]

Well true he could of/should of (have) been more aware (assuming he wasn't, that was just a postulation anyway), but no excuse doesn't mean he was rubbing it in. I see no motive for him to "rub it in".

i saw no motive either, but having the starters in at that point made no sense to me. especially when it seemed like really good time to get those young players in.

 

[meyers7]

i saw no motive either,

Then it makes no sense to say Geno was rubbing it in.

but having the starters in at that point made no sense to me. especially when it seemed like really good time to get those young players in.

Well I think people here have explained the sense in it.

 

[UcMiami]

do you know something about whether they were hurting at all last night?

No. But same with limping. If they are hurting at all they have played too much. These are injuries that are related to duration of repetitive actions and the trick is to have them active for as long as possible short of aggravating it. if it starts to hurt or in anyway restricts their motion you have overdone it. And you really don't necessarily know at the moment - how they feel this morning may be more telling than how they felt last night when the adrenalin was pumping and could have masked any pain.

 

[OneTrickPony]

I don't see any reason to play a player with a stress reaction any more than necessary...especially in a game where a certain forward had at least two unnecessary takedowns.

 

[boontonbomber]

Then it makes no sense to say Geno was rubbing it in.


Well I think people here have explained the sense in it.

which "explanation" do you like best?

 

[UConnCat]

very impressive win, but gotta ask ,what's with the starters in with less than 3 to go, and kiah, morgan and moriah playing 2 minutes in the 2nd half ? i think auriemma rubbed it in a bit . don't expect anyone else to be bothered by it, but that stuff just drives me crazy . McCallie blew by geno , and can't blame her.

And you know for a fact that's why McCallie blew by Geno? She always blows by opposing coaches. If she felt anything at the moment it was likely embarrassment over her team's 2nd half performance. She always talks about focusing on her team and not on the opponents, so I'd guess that she could not have cared less about when UConn's starters left the game. She had the same number of Duke starters in the game at the same time.

One thing that drives me crazy is when good wins are picked apart and one of the nits that is always picked is the timing of removing starters. This seems to be an issue only among fans of women's basketball. It's a nit and I'm sure McCallie would agree.

 

[UConnChapette]

i'd be surprised if i was the only one who wondered why moriah and kiah only played 2 minutes in the second half. and i could care less whether you care about it or not. i care because i think those players need court time to get better. if they're hurt, then geno should say so after the game. his comment that he hmade a mistake putting them in together in the first half was a lame excuse for not playing them in the second half. and it's yours , not your's.

BB, has Geno ever done anything you agree with? Ever? Legitimate question, because I have noticed you seem to find something he did or did not do that you take offense to every game. You seem to have some serious Geno issues.

And be careful about pointing out other posters grammatical mistakes. You apparently have never met a capital letter in your life which I find infinitely more distracting than a misplaced apostrophe.