Northeastern Postgame Thread

[Bone Dog]

A left handed hook shot!!! We’ve been missing that for a while.

Amari!

 

[eebmg]

A left handed hook shot!!! We’ve been missing that for a while.

Amari!

That was pretty. Still an enigma but I think her energy was way up. FWIW, she got in the game well before Nesh so I am guessing she ramped it up at practice a bit.

 

[Geew1992]

Yes, her energy and willingness to mix it up was a lot better but those TO's (4 in a quarter) are glaring and the intentional foul was brutal.

It is quite interesting to see and compare the controlled aggression and mastery of Aaliyah and Dorka in comparison to the raw intensity of Ayanna and Amari

I do have a feeling Aubrey has turned the corner. I think she will have a massive game against TX on par with her demolition of TN her freshman year

How her foul and different from the elbow she took?? If the first wasn't a tech, hers shouldn't have been. The turnovers, meh........ they were passes. Did she force them?? probably, but at least it didn't look like the turnovers from the scrimmage.

 

[Bigboote]

Geez….
Sense of humor is in short supply here

Emojis too. Just kidding. My bad — it’s sometimes difficult to remember who would make that remark seriously.

 

[hoophuskee]

I happen to to be pleased with Amari tonight.

Amari, Was, Engaged.
I'm thinking that she keeps putting in the effort she'll get more minutes.

If she keeps earning minutes she can be a contributor by the end of the year.

Just my opinion

IMO patience is what is needed instead of over-analyzing each game. With that said, I expect her to be okay this year. Ups and downs like many underclassmen. But be a contributor. Remember how bad Edwards was the 1st half of last year? And Liv certainly wasn't a ball of fire her soph year either. And I always look at Stokes; From early on she didn't look like much but progressed each year and imo her senior year was one of the great UCONN defenders that UCONN ever had. Absolute joy to watch.

A great quote from Al Maguire was "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." And now looking back at Edwards I thought her 2nd half of last year she was terrific. And now we see as an upperclassman she's looking up toward a bigger year - a natural progression from frosh to soph to jr to sr. The same happened with Stokes in regard to progression.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

' I absolutely loved Geno's comment about Ayanna where he said he saw a couple Stewie rebounds tonight.'
nose for the ball.
can't teach it, and when it comes in a physical package like she has, the sky is the limit.
all that's left for her to do in her ascent is to season the sauce with game experience. a freshman integral player needs to understand that they are, in fact, integral, that the team fundamentally needs them, and so being available to play, ie the foul learning curve, is priority one.
Texas provides an excellent opportunity for her to further understand her fundamental role in the pursuit of a championship. can't do squattola sitting and watching. too soon to judge, but im certain that she'll get it.
and the ball, too.

 

[HopJim]

Some thoughts on the Northeastern game:

• Fast start tonight for the Huskies, and they really never let up. Love the fact that Nika buried a 3 to open the game. Lots of good ball and player movement on offense. Lots of relentless ball pressure on defense.
• Aaliyah is becoming the player we all thought she would be after her freshman season. She is really active at both ends of the court. She’s making better decisions on the court. Her offensive repertoire has expanded significantly and she’s even giving Azzi a run for her money as the best FT shooter on the team.
• Speaking of Azzi, her 0/7 start from the arc before finally knocking one down was a bit of a shock, but it forced her to find another way to impact the game. She did so by effectively attacking the basket time after time.
• We’ve all been hearing that Aubrey is a better shooter this season. Tonight we got to witness it. Aubrey knocked down her first two shots: a midrange jumper and a 3, and followed that with a couple nice drives to the basket. It’s all about confidence!!!
• Nika continues to be the driving force for this team, and a pain in the ass for opponents. If I were an opposing player, I would absolutely, positively HATE playing against her……
• Some nice things from Amari tonight including a left-handed hook shot and a Steph Dolson blindside screen. I even liked her block & intentional foul.
• So far so good. Monday night at Gampel will be UConn’s first big test of the season. Many basketball pundits have downplayed UConn’s chances to earn #12 this year, or even reach another FF. I personally expect the Huskies will make a very loud statement vs the Longhorns on Monday night. LET’S GO HUSKIES!!!

All of my Top 3 things you want to see were achieved with Aubrey making two outside shots, one being a three, putting the biggest smile on my face.

 

[Bone Dog]

I know this is premature, but we’ll be asking it in earnest after Texas and NCst, but I fell like I should reconsider my estimate for our scoring this season. I’d imagined they’d average in the mid-80s. Now I’m thinking low-90s.

 

[Charliebball]

4 Turnovers in such a brief amount of time did hurt the team....

Honestly, this team had 17 turnovers against Northeastern and only 19 assists. Aubrey and Amari were the main culprits with 4 TOs each, that can't happen....

Deberry hardly hurt the outcome of the game and she did contribute points and a few blocks too...........gotta walk before you can run and games like this are a perfect setting for her..........would you rather have her sitting on the bench?

 

[Charliebball]

I know this is premature, but we’ll be asking it in earnest after Texas and NCst, but I fell like I should reconsider my estimate for our scoring this season. I’d imagined they’d average in the mid-80s. Now I’m thinking low-90s.

not scoring in the 90's and possibly even in the 80's against Texas or NC St...........I frankly don't care how much they score as long as they win.......

 

[Sicilian]

I’m old, I worry….plenty of weapons on this years team, sharp shooters, sharp passers. I still don’t see the player that will be able to stop the dominant big from getting the rebound or basket at the crucial time. Perhaps given this teams athleticism we will be able to blitzkreig our way to a win most games. Still I worry.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think we can slow down a dominant big. I’ve said it before: we don’t need to shutdown someone like Boston or Morrow. We just have to make their double-double not matter to end result. We’ve won multiple NCs without having that dominant 6’5” player. Well, we have a couple of bigs, and several super-athletic 4s. I think this combination can do the job. If only Jemelle can impart a little of her ferocity to them.

 

[Littlemin]

I think we can slow down a dominant big. I’ve said it before: we don’t need to shutdown someone like Boston or Morrow. We just have to make their double-double not matter to end result. We’ve won multiple NCs without having that dominant 6’5” player. Well, we have a couple of bigs, and several super-athletic 4s. I think this combination can do the job. If only Jemelle can impart a little of her ferocity to them.

It may very well be way too much to ask of Patterson at this very early stage of her career but she has the most important attributes to post defense; she has size and strength, is athletic with good feet and plays an absolutely fearless, hard, hustling game.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Lots of positives. This team played like the coherent veteran team that they are. No letdown from no ONO.

Juhasz and Edwards look the most comfortable and effective together on the court that I've seen them.

Aubrey was very strong. So happy that that young lady is playing seemingly without physical hindrance.

Senechal is very impressive, not just because of her sure-shot threes, but because she plays as though she's been playing with these UConn teammates forever!

The only ominous feature was that we played just seven players, essentially. DeBerry and Ines came in for a few meaningless minutes toward the end. But our starters and two off the bench played heavy minutes in what was a blowout. This is when one hopes that the starters are sent to the bench to rest. I recall that Maya used to play barely 20 minutes per game, relaxing for the rest of it on the bench.

Hope Ducharme recovers quickly and completely. But once again we're seeing rather opaque explanations of injuries from UConn. A "sore neck" that goes on this long is not just a "sore neck." This sounds like a disc problem, perhaps a pinched nerve. And if that's the case, surgery could be on the horizon.

But this is a very efficient, very well trained team whose players play with seamless precision as though they've been playing together since middle school.

 

[Bone Dog]

On Lou’s defense: she does extraordinary things, like getting in the passing lanes and working the press, can even take a charge. Her weaker side seems to be face up defense in the half court set. An opponent can get her to turn her hips too soon. That said, her D is not worse than KML, who was perhaps better fundamentally, but lacked Lou’s foot speed.

On Azzi’s offense: she’s shown us awesome perimeter shooting and an awesome ability to take the ball to the rim. What we haven’t seen much yet this season is her pull up jumper. This means we have more revelations to look forward to.

On team D: i really felt for Derin Erdogan. She was overwhelmed by the pressure from Azzi Nika and Lou. This had to be a really frustrating game for her.

 

[huskeynut]

You have to like the aggressiveness this team plays with. On offense, they attack on every play. Push the ball, keep the other team on their heals and don't let them set up their defense. Good balance of inside and out. Azzi is much tougher to defend when she is not shooting just threes. She is deadly in close. Really good ball movement.

Defense - pressure, pressure, pressure. Aaliyah and Dorka defend the paint as the guards make it difficult to operate an offense against them.

Lou is the real deal. She fits so smoothly into the game plan. Offensively, she can light it up but picks her spots and hits. Defense will be a work in progress all season as it will for the entire team.

Patterson is going to be a nightmare as the season progresses. She has the physical tools and the intelligence. Just a matter of more game experience.

Aubrey is back!! She is another piece of the puzzle we didn't have last year. And WOW - a 3!!!!

And finally Amari. Saw flashes of what she can do. At 6" 5", she can be a big weapon as the season goes on. One can only hope.

 

[HuskyNan]

4 Turnovers in such a brief amount of time did hurt the team....

Honestly, this team had 17 turnovers against Northeastern and only 19 assists. Aubrey and Amari were the main culprits with 4 TOs each, that can't happen....

It’s the first game of the season with a lot of new players and returning players in new positions. And, oh yes, they won by 60 points

 

[Oracle9]

Ameri showed some GRIT. A tech Foul can be bad or to show who you are. Patterson, is a Frosh, so I'll give her credit even for the early foul trouble and minimal scoring. Dorka too--she finally came around in the second half. LOU, is all Geno hope and said she was. IneS needs the USA Div one time, I have great hope for her. I agree, I've played against Nika type of players--I wanted to lay them out on the floor, but respect them I did, as I do Nika. Thank you Geno for Ameri I think you saw a light bulb turn on in her head tonight. Score rebound defend lose her kool all what I want from a "big". Maybe the numbers weren't huge but they showed up in the stats never-the -less. Good practice game for the team, good teaching game for the Coaches.

I was going to post on Amari too and agree with your take. I saw something that I liked, the GRIT as you said, but I also saw A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E. I rewinded twice to make sure it's what I saw when she was making the free throw and NE stepped in the lane as if trying to freeze her. She gave the side eye like please, and drained thr free throw. I loved that. Teams have this misconception that they can't be rough and will try to bully in the paint. The Indiana coach post game comments alluded to this, said she didn't expect the physicality that her team was met with. Hoping to see it more this season.

 

[Bigboote]

Agree with you, Bone Dog. Lou is looking like a pretty good individual defender. I think she may develop into a very good team defender in the UConn scheme.

With Azzi, Lou, Aubrey, Aaliyah. . . this may be a very dangerous midrange team. I know it’s not en vogue, but the ability to score some points on 10-15 foot jumpers can win a few games.

 

[Bone Dog]

I know it’s not en vogue, but the ability to score some points on 10-15 foot jumpers can win a few games.

Heck, they've won a few NCs for us.

 

[Carnac]

Geez….
Sense of humor is in short supply here

Stymie, Some days in the Boneyard are like that Almond Joy/Mounds commercial........................"Some days you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't." Sometimes some of us have difficulty recognizing thinly veiled humor.

 

[Carnac]

Agree with you, Bone Dog. Lou is looking like a pretty good individual defender. I think she may develop into a very good team defender in the UConn scheme.

With Azzi, Lou, Aubrey, Aaliyah. . . this may be a very dangerous midrange team. I know it’s not en vogue, but the ability to score some points on 10-15 foot jumpers can win a few games.

The more Lou plays at this level of success, the more she will endear herself to Geno. I join other posters here in expressing my enjoyment for what I'm seeing from her. Lou has been a very pleasant breath of fresh air for us. Before I "crown" her (A Denny Green reference, and still one of my all time favorite rants), like Skip Bayless says, I need to see more. These first two games were against weak less talented teams.

I suggested that UConn would pick up against Northeastern where they left off against Kutztown, I was right. One media columnist wrote that Northeastern was nothing more than another exhibition game for UConn. The final score bore that out. By the time UConn returns from their 2-game west coast road trip to Oregon for the Phil Knight showcase (5 games into the season, 2 against top 10 teams), the jury will be in, and we'll have a verdict.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

hear ye! hear ye! (general declaration):
i absolutely refuse to participate in the never ending minute by minute analysis for amari's game.
it's boring, and there's like 152 other players on the squad, many who are doing it now.
and so, back to discussing Geno's arthritis.

 

[Bama fan]

Lou definitely does not move her feet well on defense. She moves like she is in quicksand. Her offense is where she separates herself. The time she takes to get her 3 point shot off worries me a little because the better teams she s gonna have less time to shoot but she’s gifted on offense and smart which will hide a lot of her defensive shortcomings. The things that stood out on the negative side were Dorka needs to finish better down low because that’s really her only negative but she will be needed down there most. Nika gets sloppy running the offense at times and needs to stop fouling and Lou’s defense on the ball. Really if those things get better, we can have a usual UConn season. If not 5-6 losses and a possible loss in the elite 8 depending on who we play

Lou drew two charges, so her defense is not too shabby. She will get more accustomed to UConn defense as time goes by. Go Huskies!