Oregon-Uconn game

[LoboDays]

It’s funny how we won all those championships with a short roster. Were those teams that much better conditioned? I don’t think it’s exhaustion and, if it was, we should be wondering why! Why are these kids unable to do what many other teams (not just UConn, see Missouri) did? I think it’s more mental than physical.

IMO the reason is pretty simple. The amount of quality players on the top teams is deep. That’s why you see many coaches taking advantage of their wealth by constantly subbing their players.

The difference between the UCONN teams of yesterday vs today is not the issue. It’s the difference between the top competition of yesterday vs today. Geno won his NCs the day his talent signed their Letter of Intents. Back then, they were so superior, that it didn’t matter much what he did. He out recruited everyone else when the the talent pool was much thinner.

Now, we are in a new era. Scholarships have increased. Great players and deep benches everywhere. But what hasn’t changed is the coach’s philosophy. He hasn’t adjusted to the new paradigm. Parity means that the team who wins the 4th quarter, wins the game. The coaches who used their bench liberally for the first 3 quarters will see their teams move up to another gear in the 4th. The coaches who kept their starters in without much rest will see their teams a step slower.

What worked in the past was due to superiority of talent. Those days are gone. Change or fail.

 

[Zinethar]

Back when HBO did their series about UConn Geno said (not exactly quoted but close) : We don't teach conditioning here. You are expected to be in condition. Great players don't get tired. They just don't. When good players get tired great players kick there a**!. It isn't happening now. Apparently the good players are not getting themselves in the same condition as their predecessors. Plenty of blame on Geno on this board. I feel it is misplaced..

 

[Inthepaint]

My 2 cents...
The issue doesn't seem to be exhaustion as much as confusion. For both the players and the coaching staff.
Anybody who watched what can only be referred to as the dumpster fire at Georgia Tech knows of what I speak.
When adversity hits, the champions find a way to overcome it.
Maybe, just maybe, the remaining Huskies and their coach will find the character and will to work through whatever remains of the regular season. At this point, who knows what that will consist of.
The other big mystery is what the recuperation timeline will be for the 4 injured members.
I haven't been on board with UCONN WBB as long as most of the BY, but didn't we lose Svetlana Abrasimova and Shea Ralph at the same time one year and STILL manage to keep it together? I seem to recall watching a FF or championship game and seeing both of them on the bench rooting their sisters on. And the sisters responded.
Maybe the remaining pieces of the puzzle were made of sterner stuff back then. Maybe Geno was meaner and more driven to excel at all costs. And was more capable of transmitting that urgency to the players.
Maybe. Let's see what happens.

 

[jchusky]

My 2 cents...
The issue doesn't seem to be exhaustion as much as confusion. For both the players and the coaching staff.
Anybody who watched what can only be referred to as the dumpster fire at Georgia Tech knows of what I speak.
When adversity hits, the champions find a way to overcome it.
Maybe, just maybe, the remaining Huskies and their coach will find the character and will to work through whatever remains of the regular season. At this point, who knows what that will consist of.
The other big mystery is what the recuperation timeline will be for the 4 injured members.
I haven't been on board with UCONN WBB as long as most of the BY, but didn't we lose Svetlana Abrasimova and Shea Ralph at the same time one year and STILL manage to keep it together? I seem to recall watching a FF or championship game and seeing both of them on the bench rooting their sisters on. And the sisters responded.
Maybe the remaining pieces of the puzzle were made of sterner stuff back then. Maybe Geno was meaner and more driven to excel at all costs. And was more capable of transmitting that urgency to the players.
Maybe. Let's see what happens.

things are totally different now. We are in free agency in college sports because of the transfer portal. Teams have leveled the playing field in Wbb more than any other sport in College.

 

[Littlemin]

Coaches put teams in situations to win but players decide games; there has never been a great coach that didn’t succeed without great players.
John Wooden’s legacy would be much different had St. John’s not been ridiculously idiotic in “retiring” Joe Lapchick because of an unwritten age policy the school used; Lapchick and Kareem (Lew Alcindor at the time) were very close he was planning on staying home and going to St. John’s and playing for Lapchick.
Anyway, Auriemma and staff has had the team remain right in the hunt every year but that big play, that big stop, that timely basket, that player stepping up at THE moment has just not happened. As has been posted many times prior, parity in WBB is here, it is here to stay, and the idea that Uconn is ever going to be “bad for women’s basketball“ again is just not going to happen; for them or any other team.

 

[Bald Husky]

My 2 cents...
The issue doesn't seem to be exhaustion as much as confusion. For both the players and the coaching staff.
Anybody who watched what can only be referred to as the dumpster fire at Georgia Tech knows of what I speak.
When adversity hits, the champions find a way to overcome it.
Maybe, just maybe, the remaining Huskies and their coach will find the character and will to work through whatever remains of the regular season. At this point, who knows what that will consist of.
The other big mystery is what the recuperation timeline will be for the 4 injured members.
I haven't been on board with UCONN WBB as long as most of the BY, but didn't we lose Svetlana Abrasimova and Shea Ralph at the same time one year and STILL manage to keep it together? I seem to recall watching a FF or championship game and seeing both of them on the bench rooting their sisters on. And the sisters responded.
Maybe the remaining pieces of the puzzle were made of sterner stuff back then. Maybe Geno was meaner and more driven to excel at all costs. And was more capable of transmitting that urgency to the players.
Maybe. Let's see what happens.

That was the 2001 team, and in my opinion the most talented team in our history. They got to the final 4 and blew a 13 point halftime lead to Notre Dame, the infamous game when freshman Diana shot 1-15. This team had Jones, Williams, Cash, Bird, just to name a few. Unfortunately, we do not have anything close to that talent at this time. Even when the injured players come back, they can't match that talent, still when they do come back, our chances for a successful season will greatly improve. Time is not on our side now, so the sooner the better to capture the chemistry that defines UConn basketball.

 

[CL82]

Conspiracies are a dime a dozen.
Proven conspiracies are 1 in a billion.

Exactly and 70% of statistics are made up.

 

[Longtime fan]

Does anyone think this game will get cancelled? It's played on MLK day I believe and that is only a couple weeks away. Is it smart to make a trip to Oregon with all the covid that has happened with the program? I saw Mdoggie has a ticket to the game so I would hate to see him miss out, but stay safe.

Are you coming from the east coast? Do you have other reasons ( eg family ) to be in Oregon? No one can predict whether the game will be on or be canceled. So far, the track record for UCONN women games is not very good, is it? I would not go myself, unless there was a more compelling reason than the game. You could run into flight delays, cancellations, and endless grief in airports. Staff could be down at hotels and restaurants. Omicron is pervasive, though not severe, if you are vaccinated and boosted. If family beckons, it is likely worth the effort and cost. Otherwise, I would pass.

 

[Mdoggie]

Got my tickets electronically today!! Anyone else from the BY going? Wife and I will be in section 114 row M seats 7 and 8. She is not much of a WCBB fan however it’s my bday weekend so she is rollin with her man!!

 

[Stymie]

It’s funny how we won all those championships with a short roster. Were those teams that much better conditioned? I don’t think it’s exhaustion and, if it was, we should be wondering why! Why are these kids unable to do what many other teams (not just UConn, see Missouri) did? I think it’s more mental than physical.

Let me suggest that there is a big difference in the ‘exhaustion factor’ when steamrolling an opponent by 30 points versus being involved in a nip and tuck game being up by a handful ( or behind), which is more the case this year.
Playing free and easy is not as taxing as the tedium of a close game, which is more the norm lately.

 

[Zinethar]

Things on the team are certainly a bit different lately and I would attribute it mostly to important injured players. There is another big change no one to my knowledge has mentioned and that is the coaching changes. Losing Shea has been a major change IMHO. Look at the energy she has instilled in her new team. Changing long time coaches takes time for the staff the get everything back to "normal" as the new skills have to be integrated into the system and the missing skills accounted for. I expect this will take some time but will even out as the season progresses.

 

[Figurehead]

How well do UCONN fans travel out this far to Oregon? Anyone going?

 

[stamfordhusky]

Problem with that is, it does zero to help us with a seeding. If we can somehow go 2-1 against Tennessee, Oregon, and SC, that looks much better on our resume. To me, it's the difference between maybe a 3 seed, and like a 6 seed.

What I want to know is, if we do have to cancel those non-conference games and Paige does come back and lights up the BET, what will our seed be? We will probably have earned a 5-6 seed, but her being back and hopefully all of our players healthy again, will certainly be looked at thoroughly by the committee.

Could you imagine being, say, 3rd seeded Duke and hosting a fully loaded UCONN team as your #6 seed the first weekend?

If UConn does well in the Big East, there is no chance at all that they would fall to a six seed even if they lost all three games against Tennessee, Oregon, and SC.

 

[Plebe]

Exactly and 70% of statistics are made up.

I laughed WAY too hard at this, considering I'm not a morning person.

Thank you.

 

[Ex Nutmegger]

I will be at the game - Section 112, Row C, Seat 8. I will look for Mdoggie. Anyone else?