St Johns Postgame Thread

[Ardenque]

When a team wins the coach gets the credit.
When a team loses?

 

[wingsfan055]

Patterson and DeBerry played 2 minutes a piece all game?!? That shows how much Geno thinks of them as contributors. Disappointed in their lack of progress, especially with AP.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

This wasn't about physical fatigue. This was a mental lapse. The offense is just way out of sync. I didn't even see 2 players on the same page.

 

[BRS24]

With all the comments about Azzi coming back and solving the TO problem or scoring problem or whatever problem is happening, IMHO the reality is more complex. As we don’t know the details of her injury, there’s no guarantee of how and what she can contribute. There are probably quite a few of us here that have had knee injuries, and it was daunting without being a D1 athlete. She might be feeling the pressure of not being able to help right now and forcing unrealistic expectations will not help anything.

 

[freshler40]

UConn has no one to blame for the loss than themselves. Outside of Lou I really felt like the team was going through the motions offensively a lot of the game.

I think the only thing that will really provide any spark is a healthy Fudd coming back in prime Fudd form. Our offense just lacks any consistent outside shooting minus Lou, and it’s just hard to score right now.

Having both Fudd and Lou on the court together really opens up the spacing and allows for a lot more of the cuts to work and gets better looks for AE and Dorka. Hopefully this was just a bad game for CD as she works her way back.

We need stronger starts to games, missing so many layups and lack of early offensive rebounding hurts. Our play is casual, lacks focus or takes for granted our being superior. Hard to watch. We are an easy read by having our point guard being the only one dribbling over half-court going into a glacier style offensive, nothing creative. We seemed to play better late in the second qtr when others brought the ball up. Some of our potential fast breaks never finish as we revert to a half-court offense. Were much better than this as we play down to other teams.

 

[Rb335]

Without Azzi Fudd, here’s how we stack up per Massey rankings.

Top 20 - 0-2
20-30 - 6-0
40-50 - 2-1
69-70 - 3-1
100+ - 5-0

Without Fudd, our resume doesn’t jump off the page. It’s really hard to gauge how good this roster is, since the valiant effort against South Carolina is more of an outlier. There’s still time to turn it around, and potentially even get healthy. Really rooting for the squad and proud of the heart they’ve shown this year. For the first time in a while, I’m just really unsure of our post season potential. This loss isn’t the end of the world, but presents more questions than answers.

 

[oldude]

One of the clearest indications of fatigue is Aaliyah, who had been playing at an AA level, shooting nearly 60% from the floor. Lately she’s missing bunnies and front-rimming jumpers, a pretty clear sign of tired legs.

 

[Ron and Vida]

Some thoughts on the St Johns game:

• I was hoping for a relatively stress-free game tonight. So much for that. The word is out. Pack it in on defense and force the Huskies to hit outside shots. In addition, UConn gave the Red Storm a lot of open looks from the arc and they hit a bunch of 3’s. Lastly, SJ attacked the offensive boards in waves getting far too many 2nd chance baskets.
• Lou pretty much kept the Huskies in the game during the first half. She got a little more help from her teammates in the second half, but it wasn't enough to pull out the game tonight.
• Daniel Patterson plays just under 16 mpg, scoring 6.5 ppg for SJ this season. Tonight she looked like a 1st Team all-conference player.
• A win tonight would have assured UConn of a share of the conference championship, along with the top seed in the conference tournament. That will all have to wait for another day.
• The victory for SJ tonight may just have gotten the Red Storm into the Big Dance.
• This is just my perception so take it for what it’s worth. The Huskies aren't having much fun right now. The team is tired, tight and playing under a lot of pressure, without much joy or confidence at times. Basketball is supposed to be fun! I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it so for this team, but that has to come from within.
• I’ll be traveling on Saturday, so I ask that another BY’er start the DePaul postgame thread in my absence. Many thanks.

You called it. Was looking for a stress free break (Finally )
They need our support more than ever
We have to be careful
l love Meg but There were times when she was annoying me and she was just doing her job

 

[SEbluebood]

It’s always darkest before the dawn! Granted, FF is improbable ( even with Azzi) but not impossible! Just hoping for the best!

 

[SARG 2011]

Iowa getting curb stomped as we speak but do I think their season is over? No I do not. Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, one game at a time. The BE championship is still there for the taking.

 

[hayman522]

Patterson and DeBerry played 2 minutes a piece all game?!? That shows how much Geno thinks of them as contributors. Disappointed in their lack of progress, especially with AP.

Totally agree what have you got to lose when all your other players are exhausted Geno is very stubborn. Deberry came in for 2 productive minutes never came in again.

 

[Topdawg]

St John’s came to win and they did! Was a tough loss for UConn.
1. They won the rebound battle.
2. They had one more field goal, one more three pointer, and two more free throws. Overall, our performance a little below the level they played. Sadly, that was way below what we typically play.
3. We allowed them to take 18 threes, many of them uncontested. They scored 9. Normally they would have scored 6. Our defense looked lost for significant periods when we allowed them to come back or streak ahead.
4. Team did look very tired. They seem to have the mental energy only for every other game.

Lou had a strong outing. Aaliyah had a double double but was well below her scoring output. Dorka had strong stretches interspersed with slow segments. Aubrey and Caroline had sub par days. Nika scored more than she does and her early fouls hampered her assist performance. Amari had a good showing with two blocks.

Onward to the next game. With several days of rest, I hope the team will come back with energy to close out and win the season.


We may drop a few spots in the rankings and become a 2 seed on the Indiana/Stanford side of the bracket. This may be a blessing in disguise. St John’s may get included in the big dance.

 

[BRS24]

Iowa getting curb stomped as we speak but do I think their season is over? No I do not. Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, one game at a time. The BE championship is still there for the taking.

And Villanova ekes out a W vs DePaul 67-64

 

[SLY63]

We probably drop to 8 or 9 in the polls. And I am not sure how this team wins 3 games in 3 days in the BE tourney against G'Town/Prov, Marquette/St John's and Nova/Creighton.

 

[tchalla1]

I'm not sure being out-coached was the primary factor in the loss: UConn missed far too many bunnies, were out-hustled and out-rebounded and once more, too many senseless turnovers... Coaching was not the issue.

 

[Centerstream]

Anyone else think that the Technical foul on Aaliyah was like a punch in the gut that we couldn't come back from, emotionally and mentally?

 

[jaydee602]

Yeah it's difficult to pin much blame on CD, given the injury she's been dealing with (and subsequent blows to the face/head since coming back).

No blame aimed at Caroline. She has a big heart & is to be admired.
But if she is still suffering effects of another blow to the head, why was she playing at crunch time. Especially after seeing her miss badly most of the game.

 

[Centerstream]

I'm not sure being out-coached was the primary factor in the loss: UConn missed far too many bunnies, were out-hustled and out-rebounded and once more, too many senseless turnovers... Coaching was not the issue.

And I believe going into the 4th quarter we had single digit TOs. But could be mistaken.

 

[maple]

Iowa getting curb stomped as we speak but do I think their season is over? No I do not. Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, one game at a time. The BE championship is still there for the taking.

At least Iowa is losing to the 7th ranked team in the nation. We got outplayed on every level by a team that probably wouldn't even win the WNIT.

 

[Ron and Vida]

How did Amari, with an open shot from 4 feet away, miss the rim?

By not playing enough minutes to put the Freshman heebie jeebies in your rear window

 

[tchalla1]

Geno missed about 20 layups?

Exactly. How do you strategize and/or draw up schemes for all the missed layups?

 

[Centerstream]

No blame aimed at Caroline. She has a big heart & is to be admired.
But if she is still suffering effects of another blow to the head, why was she playing at crunch time. Especially after seeing her miss badly most of the game.

Geno trusts her come crunch time.