UConn - Louisville post game thread (merged)

[David54]

For those wondering what Geno said to Aubrey when she came off the court according to Aubrey he said “ I really hate you. you know that?”

 

[Cuango]

Nika with 10 assists! what does she have to do!

Stop with the bad turnovers!

 

[BBallF]

Really, really nice win today by the Huskies over a very good Louisville team. A couple thoughts:

• After running out a bunch of different lineups this season, UConn started the same small lineup for the 3rd game in a row, and it showed as the Huskies offense had much better player and ball movement. How about a season high 24 assists?
• Does Paige need a new nickname? How about THE HUMAN ERASER? I’m sure Marvin Webster would be OK with that…
• After a so-so defensive effort in the 1st half, UConn dropped the hammer on Louisville in the second half, holding the Cardinals to just 20 points.
• While no UConn fan is happy with 7-3, UConn has fought through injuries and a tough OOC schedule. With the BE schedule up next, there will be a lot of opportunities for UConn’s youngsters as well as the team to continue to improve.
• I love Nika. But she must take better care of the ball. I would rather see her take a bad shot than make a bad pass. A shot has a chance of going in or someone getting an offensive rebound. Nothing good comes of a bad pass.
• Really strong veteran efforts by Aubrey, Aaliyah and Paige. KK continues to impress. Need a little more consistency from the rest of the rookies and this team should have a very nice 8 player rotation by March.

That's absolutely spot on about Nika's turnovers. Those 8 turnovers are 8 fewer shots for the team. At a FG clip of only 40%, that's 6-7 points less as a team in a given game. She is very loose with the ball at times and it can be lethal in a given game, such as Ohio State last year. Part of it is communication, part of it is the lack of being in sync with the freshmen and them not expecting the ball when they should, part of it is her confidence that she can make every pass, even the difficult ones, and part of it is just bad judgment. We become a better team overnight when her turnovers decrease. The great feature of having Paige is that you have a player that is not pass dependent to get a good shot and to score. She creates her own offense. Nika's passing, in other words, does not have to cause the offense to function, as it seemed to require last year, it only has to fit into it now, which it does beautifully without forcing it. She just has to understand that precision and safety with the ball is a far greater benefit to this team right now and we know that Nika is all about the team, 1000% all the way and that is why we love her.

 

[BBallF]

THIS! Exactly this is what I've been saying too. Paige doesn't beat you with her shooting. She beats you with her team. It's like the cudgel she beats you with. And to get that cudgel balanced just right, she needs to teach her team how it's done on defense as well as offense. It's an academy class on self-discipline and self-reliance.

And this is also why we haven't seen much of Ice and Qadence -- they haven't figured out the defense in practice yet. When they do, Coaches P and G will have them in the game.

I agree completely. The key to Q and Ice and to a solid 8 man rotation is their defense. When it is a plus and no longer either questionable or a liability, we moved that much more forward as a team.

 

[BBallF]

Great game overall and a lot of things happened we wanted to see. Still lots to fix. Nika with 8 turnovers all by herself. She has to take care of the ball better.

Freshman are the real deal. I am really enjoying watching them.

Aubrey can be the best player in the country and then lay an egg next game. Seems to be her MO. Hoping she breaks it and comes out firing against Butler. If she can be more consistent, it will help this team tremendously.

I think she is much more comfortable coming off the bench. There is an element of surprise with her as well for the other team. She just has a dimension to her game no one else has.

 

[JBK]

Nika is playing so many minutes to get only one or 2 shots. Need to try and be more like the guard from Amore from Virginia tech

 

[Bone Dog]

If I were Geno I would tell Nika to shoot every time she is open against Butler. Mindset gotta change.

I know exactly what you mean. I had a similar sentiment watching this game. But something Walz said in his presser has me thinking.

He was talking about KK and how her impact in pushing the pace is not really reflected in her assist numbers. I think this also applies to Nika. Yes, she had way too many turnovers. But I suspect Geno really wants the two of them on the court simply to force everyone to push pace. Unless the ball moves fast, you can’t easily accomplish this.

Geno said something else that’s sort of relevant, that he liked the quick passing. He observed that when they pass like this the ball “feels light” and they have better movement. But when they don’t move well in the half court offense the ball starts to “feel heavy.”

I think he’s willing to tolerate “nightmare” turnover numbers from Nika for now, because he expects them to get it under control but retain the habit of moving without the ball. This may be better in his book then having a slow walk up the court and an overly deliberate half court offense. I doubt he’ll make any changes in his starting lineup before January, and maybe not even then.

 

[Zarathustra]

Few Thoughts:
*The best UConn played in a long long time
*Loved the intensity UConn was playing with the whole game.
*Everyone on UConn was fighting for rebounds and the result was that we outrebounded a bigger team (Louisville)
*Walz is a great couch, but he is whining the whole game to the officials...
*Aubrey: absolutely amazing. Her athleticism in full display and she doesn't try to do anything which she can't do.
*AE: great with the mid-range shot and going to the basket. Cochran is very strong but she found her match in Edwards.
*Paige: The best player in the country (IMO). wow...5 blocks (are you kidding me)...and she does not force anything.
*KK: better every game. Clearly is not a 3-point shooter and should stop shooting from 3. but got a nice mid-range shot and good instincts as a PG. If UConn would have been in full strength, KK would have taken a lot of minutes from Nika. With the current roster, they play a lot next to one another.
*Shade: getting better on defense and love her confidence in shooting.
*Nika: one of her worst game s in UConn despite the 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Those 8 turnovers were ridiculous for a senior PG.
*Ice: got few rebounds but is not clear on what to do on offense. Hopefully continue to grow.
*Q: does not lack confidence but getting of the bench to fire away is probably not the best of ideas. Fights for rebounds and did ok on defense.
*Loved the switches on defense. They were communicating and moving their feet. Real good to see!

I think Jeff W is a great coach (look at his record) ... I consider his "whining" as part of a head coach's attempt to " work the
refs". In the same vein, he probable knew that he was going to get that "T" foul and was trying
EVERYTHING to motivate his team and to right a sinking ship.... but there was nothing to salvage with
the way UCONN was playing!! GO HUSKIES!! On to Butler and Metropolitan (let ICE and the three
frosh run loose!)

 

[HuskyNan]

Kiah Stokes didn’t shoot much in college and now she has 2 WNBA championship rings

Aces lean on veteran center ahead of Game 2 against Sky

he top-seeded Aces had one of their best defensive performances of the season in Game 1 against the No. 8 Chicago Sky, with A’ja Wilson crediting center Kiah Stokes.

www.reviewjournal.com

 

[SLY63]

In terms of team progression, love the way KK and Shade are progressing, but the end of the year they should be fine. I have concerns with Ice. IMO, to go far in the NCAAs, we need a solid 20 minutes from Ice. I hope Geno really works to develop her now that the Big East is starting.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Freshman Shade gets yanked after one mindless turnover over. Senior Nika “not”. Fun second half. Aubrey really energized her teammates and the crowd. Hope she can maintain.

 

[bantamlaker]

Aubrey really energized her teammates and the crowd.

Some of Paige’s blocks have been pretty dramatic. They too energize the team and crowd. I wish someone would make a highlight video of them.

 

[OldSchooler]

I was among those wondering what Geno said to put that big grin on Aubrey's face. Loved David54's suggestion. Aubrey has such awesome talent. On the breakaways, she toys with her defender, either drawing her into an and-one foul, or going into overdrive to speed by her to the basket. I did hold my breath on one long-pass breakaway when she put in the layup without dribbling. On an away or neutral court, that could have been a travel call.

I was pleased with the improved foul shooting and layup finishing (with one or two glaring exceptions). And I loved the swarming team defense. It seemed like most of the steals came when the ball handler was double-teamed. AE was especially effective in coming out to double-team, and then hustle back to position if there was no takeaway.

Best-looking performance of the season. On to the BE!

 

[oldude]

Some of Paige’s blocks have been pretty dramatic. They too energize the team and crowd. I wish someone would make a highlight video of them.

Yes, Paige’s blocks are not merely “tipping the ball.” They are more aptly characterized as “Don’t bring that **** in here!!!!”

 

[Kat]

Enough with the bagging on Nika. She's pushing it as hard as she can go, every time. She sets the pace for our offensive flow, and is a force on D. She's doing this with a roster that is still a work in progress. She's a leader and that's why she gets the playing time.

 

[Blakeon18]

In the last couple of games Paige almost seems to be 'hunting' for blocks.
You will occasionally hear coaches saying that they want to see their best
shooters 'hunt' for shots...i.e. be aggressive.

On her blocks Paige tends to leave her man and come after inside shooters [who have their
backs turned to her]. She gets the blocks [usually on taller players] due to her position and
their not knowing she is there and to her serious...serious...elevation.

Does not hurt the team intensity a bit when she does her scream-thing.
Darn entertaining...keep it up.

 

[PhillyCoach]

I've wondered from early on what's going on with Nika. Today was the worst she's handled the ball this season, but it's really been a head-scratcher watching her all year. Very strange for a 4th year player to do some of the things she's doing. She doesn't look to be playing with same intensity we're used to seeing from her. She even looks almost disinterested at times. KK is playing better basketball.

Have to agree with this. KK is playing great at point. KK handles pressure better. Geno loves when KK drives to the hoop. Automatically opens others to a fancy dish. Also, KK is scoring with many of those drives. I think it is natural for Nika to be a little sensitive about the changes. Nika is playing a different position for most of the game. KK is bringing up the ball and initiating the offense. NIka has to adjust for new angles and new people. As a senior, one thinks it shouldn't be this way. Geno always talks about Nika being difficult to handle. She is hard nosed in many ways--good and bad.
We all love Nika as a person and player. However, she is not the same lately. She does pick up her dribble too often. She has to stop and pop the mid-range jumper--ala Shade.
Nika is a very important part of the team. Like Aubrey, she has to be more consistent. UConn has 4 seniors with lots of experience and talent. That's the basis of a very good team. Can they do it every game?

 

[Boreifs]

Look again. A team is awarded an ORB every time they miss the first of two free throws. To get the actual total, add up the individual columns.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Some of Paige’s blocks have been pretty dramatic. They too energize the team and crowd. I wish someone would make a highlight video of them.

Her physique does not suggest a shot blocker, but her anticipation, vision and timing is so extraordinary she pulls it off with great elan. And she still scares me every time she does it.

 

[hoophuskee]

Paige played too many minutes. When she went out at about the 6 minute mark of the 4th Q, with UConn up 22, I thought her night was over. Although there was no indication the team was collapsing she was back in pretty quickly. Aside from giving her rest in a long season there is that not tempting fate thing.

It is getting to be an open question as to how much PT Ines and Amari will get even against lesser competition. Toward the end of the game when a starter came out and high-fived down the bench those two were noticably less enthusiastic than the others. Hopefully I'm wrong.

1--- I sort of liked that he put Paige back in. Louisville was pressing. It was a great opportunity to have the team work on beign pressed.

2--- At what point did you see them less enthusiastic?

 

[MSGRET]

Look again. A team is awarded an ORB every time they miss the first of two free throws. To get the actual total, add up the individual columns.

So you are telling us that UConn didn't get any offensive rebounds during the game because they had 2 of them during the free throws and only had 5 offensive rebounds according to the official stats. I counted the offensive rebounds and their was 7, with 2 of them being credited as a team rebound, if you count the first missed free throw. According to the rules the first free throw if missed is considered a dead ball and that means that there is no rebound.

 

[JoePgh]

Look again. A team is awarded an ORB every time they miss the first of two free throws. To get the actual total, add up the individual columns.

Please document your claim that an offensive rebound is credited to a team when one of its players misses the first of two free throws. I don't believe it (just like @MSGRET).

Total offensive rebounds are NOT necessarily the sum of the individual player ORB's. If a rebound is contested and goes out of bounds after being last touched by a defensive player, that is a "team" offensive rebound, which should properly be added to the totals for each player.

 

[Zonepress]

I've wondered from early on what's going on with Nika. Today was the worst she's handled the ball this season, but it's really been a head-scratcher watching her all year. Very strange for a 4th year player to do some of the things she's doing. She doesn't look to be playing with same intensity we're used to seeing from her. She even looks almost disinterested at times. KK is playing better basketball.

Was at the game and your take that nika is not playing with her usual intensity and looks disinterested is bizarre
On what do you base that on?
How does someone look disinterested?
Imho a lot of her turnovers seem to be that she was trying too hard to make a great pass
I’ve always enjoyed this forum as most folks refrained from this type of comment

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe Left..

 

[Nolefan]

I read every comment and does just about everyone fell necessary to pile on Nika geez take a step back she also did some good things but only gets credit for the bad things