The USF coach is a big dummy..!!

[DavidinNaples]

Ok, Jose Fernandez is NOT a dummy, but his game plan for the UConn game is suspect.

Granted he is a good coach & has forgotten more about basketball than I will ever know, but he played his starters 195 out of 200 possible minutes Monday night. Williams, Stringfield and Ferreira played all 40 minutes. Jespersen was in for 38 and Jenkins, 37 minutes, only came out when she got 4 fouls. His only sub got 5 minutes of play and had 0 points, 0 rebounds and her only stat was a personal foul.

Seriously Jose, you had all season to get one or two subs in a position to help out with a few minutes and no one developed enough? Who's fault is that? Your Plan A was to run with UConn for 40 minutes with only 5 players? Did you watch the DePaul game? They tried it with 10 players and it didn't work. Your offensive game plan was for Courtney Williams to outscore UConn? News flash Jose, Geno adjusted at the half and Williams finished the 2nd half with only 6 points. Her 21 total points came on 22 shots and she had 2 assists. If not for Stringfield hitting 4 of 8 shots in the 2nd half, you would have lost by 35. She also had only 2 assists. In fact, USF had 7 assists total..!! UConn had 17, make a note, coach...

Yes, one of your starters was injured. That happens in basketball, plan for it. So does foul trouble. Geno used only 7 players until the very last few minutes, but his 2 subs, Gabby & Napheesa, gave 27 minutes of great work. Combined, 4 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and tough defense. Hey Jose, if you face UConn again next Monday, it will be the third straight game in three nights. Is that "play the starters for 40 minutes" plan going to work Monday? You have one week to invent Plan B.

Go Huskies..!!

P.S. - My daughter goes to USF and they have enough of my money that I get one rant per season.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Agreed... UConn never has a short bench....

 

[Blueballer]

Well they did a heck of a job for a while. Hard to criticize the effort. They did tire. But that's not unusual for one of our opponents.

 

[UcMiami]

Ummm - we better watch out, his super sub or actually his starter was out for this game with a bum ankle - you know that 'foreigner' who led the AAC in three point percentage this year! Of course Uconn is dynamite at defending the three ball, so it really wouldn't have mattered!

 

[Goodgood]

Maybe not. He still has one more chance to beat Geno this year if USF makes it that far. he is hiding his subs so Geno doesn't know what they can do and then use them in the next game to ambush UConn and walk away as AAC champs.

After all, he has been 0 for a zillion against UConn and knows exactly what UConn can do in his sleep. He knows what worked for one half. So, he'll be using the other 5 players in the second half to confuse Geno and rest his 5 starters for the NCAA.

Well, he'll try something new. Beth Mowin will help him.

 

[Gus Mahler]

View attachment 12243

P.S. - My daughter goes to USF and they have enough of my money that I get one rant per season.

Hey, when the rant is due, you've paid the money.

 

[BobbyJ]

With that game plan against UConn, it's no wonder that Auriemma calls him a great coach.

 

[TitleTown]

View attachment 12243

Ok, Jose Fernandez is NOT a dummy, but his game plan for the UConn game is suspect.

Granted he is a good coach & has forgotten more about basketball than I will ever know, but he played his starters 195 out of 200 possible minutes Monday night. Williams, Stringfield and Ferreira played all 40 minutes. Jespersen was in for 38 and Jenkins, 37 minutes, only came out when she got 4 fouls. His only sub got 5 minutes of play and had 0 points, 0 rebounds and her only stat was a personal foul.

Seriously Jose, you had all season to get one or two subs in a position to help out with a few minutes and no one developed enough? Who's fault is that? Your Plan A was to run with UConn for 40 minutes with only 5 players? Did you watch the DePaul game? They tried it with 10 players and it didn't work. Your offensive game plan was for Courtney Williams to outscore UConn? News flash Jose, Geno adjusted at the half and Williams finished the 2nd half with only 6 points. Her 21 total points came on 22 shots and she had 2 assists. If not for Stringfield hitting 4 of 8 shots in the 2nd half, you would have lost by 35. She also had only 2 assists. In fact, USF had 7 assists total..!! UConn had 17, make a note, coach...

Yes, one of your starters was injured. That happens in basketball, plan for it. So does foul trouble. Geno used only 7 players until the very last few minutes, but his 2 subs, Gabby & Napheesa, gave 27 minutes of great work. Combined, 4 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and tough defense. Hey Jose, if you face UConn again next Monday, it will be the third straight game in three nights. Is that "play the starters for 40 minutes" plan going to work Monday? You have one week to invent Plan B.

Go Huskies..!!

P.S. - My daughter goes to USF and they have enough of my money that I get one rant per season.

In defense of USF, they were a little shorthanded with arguably their 2nd best player and shooter Laksa was hurt.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

I will note, as others have, that they had a primary player out for the game.

HOWEVER...in defense of Jose (is he the only coach in WCBB more...vertically challenged...than someone near-and-dear to us?), I think that he is counting on THREE shots against, UConn, and hoping for a fourth. In such situations, it would be a good strategy to go at UConn again for a second time with the same game plan, making the data compiled and experience gleaned from the two meetings all that more viable. If they get a third meeting, I suspect that he would STILL come at us with the same plan, hopefully this time with Laska in the lineup; that would add to the data from the previous games, but with a twist. This leaves the possible fourth meeting, where he should have something devious planned, while leaving Geno nothing to build on but what he has already seen.

I think that Geno did the same a few years ago with Baylor. Knowing full well that, for some reason, Heather Buck had an uncanny knack for shutting Griner down (check the stats when they were both in the game, they are AMAZING), I believe that he purposely limited her exposure in our regular season game against them. Louisville negated the strategy, but I am convinced that it was in place; the Derringer up your sleeve is often far more valuable than the Colt on your hip.