UConn vs SCar Post Game Thread

[DeeHusky]

Has anyone noticed Dawn is mostly on her best behavior against Geno?

I was gonna say the same thing. Any other game, she’s up yelling and moving. All the UConn games, she sits the entire game, it’s like she knows she’s gonna lose so why put in any effort. That’s how it comes off to me.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Congratulations; good luck in the Final Four.

 

[CL82]

​

Didn't recognize her at first.

 

[UConnNick]

Congratulations; good luck in the Final Four.

Congratulations to the Gamecocks...another great season.

 

[Carnac]

Not sure why we were nervous...

Gabby was named MVP of the region.
Lou & Crystal All-Tournament team.

Does anyone see anything wrong with this?? Our leading scorer (by a wide margin), rebounder & shot blocker for the tournament wasn’t even awarded! Bahaha

Poor Pheesa, never gets her proper recognition.

Could Crystal and Pheesa be distant cousins? I think I read somewhere that Napheesa and Rodney Dangerfield were distant relatives, because like Rodney, "she doesn't get any respect ".

 

[JordyG]

Anyone notice any recruits at the game?

 

[tower1]

Why were the starters in the game up 30 with 5 minutes to go? Lucky no one gut hurt.

I can't believe some of you jerks complaining about a great win like this. He did the same thing Dawn did.

 

[Ex Nutmegger]

I'm sure every recruit in the country was "at" this game electronically. They all saw the unselfish precision passing, the lock-down switching defense, the near-perfect execution of fundamentals and not so fundamental moves that almost left a few empty gamecock shoes on the court. They saw the enjoyment members of the UConn team expressed. They heard their positive comments afterward. They heard Rebecca and Kara's superlatives reigning down on the team.

Now the only question for them is have they got the stuff to be there.

 

[Golden Husky]

Whew, thankfully God sat this one out! Except everybody walked off the floor tonight in one piece, if you don't count broken hearts.

Or maybe Dawn had it all wrong and G-d is a UConn fan.

 

[MSGRET]

Not sure why we were nervous...

Gabby was named MVP of the region.
Lou & Crystal All-Tournament team.

Does anyone see anything wrong with this?? Our leading scorer (by a wide margin), rebounder & shot blocker for the tournament wasn’t even awarded! Bahaha

Poor Pheesa, never gets her proper recognition.

Actually Gabby was the leading scorer for the Regional, with Lou and Pheesa coming in second for the team.

 

[MSGRET]

Pheesa averaged 20ppg, 7.75 reb, 4.5 ast, 2blks and shod 69% from the field during the regional games and she didn’t quite make the cut for All-Tournament. I hope she gets recognized by the WBCA and wins the Katrina McClain award bc she is without a doubt a top 10 player in America!

For the Regional Pheesa averaged 16ppg, 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, Assist/TO avg 2.5/1, and shot 54%. I think you are also adding in the St Francis and the Quinnipiac games which were not part of the Regional.

 

[mbr33ct]

For some time the favored blueprint for beating UConn has been crystalizing: slow the game down. Pack the paint. Dare shooters other than KLS to hit from deep.

It would not have worked earlier in the season when we were consistently hot from deep. It did work more often in the latter part of the season / tourneys.

But when players are hitting from 3 like they did today...well, that's what we call having a plan and getting punched in the face instead. I don't expect UConn to shoot quite as well as they did in the 1st half today in the Final Four...but hopefully this put that extra little quantum of doubt in the minds of opposing coaches and players.

He-he....you said "crystalizing".

 

[ricky]

Not sure why we were nervous...

Gabby was named MVP of the region.
Lou & Crystal All-Tournament team.

Does anyone see anything wrong with this?? Our leading scorer (by a wide margin), rebounder & shot blocker for the tournament wasn’t even awarded! Bahaha

Poor Pheesa, never gets her proper recognition.

Collier was so dominant in that defensive post position. She got key offensive rebounds and scored without being noticed. I believe she finishes her career very strongly and becomes # 1 pick next year.

 

[VaConnFan11]

I can't believe some of you jerks complaining about a great win like this. He did the same thing Dawn did.

Why am I a jerk? If any of the starting 5 had gotten hurt, this board would be lit up with people asking the exact same question.

Who cares what Dawn was doing? Her season was over.

 

[the Q]

Not really much to complain about when you stomp the 0nly team to beat Miss St by 30 before calling off the dogs.

A few sloppy passes, but it's gonna happen.

This was a damn good performance against a top team.

And of course it's ND next. Should be fun. The press conferences alone are worth it.

 

[nyfanofwbb]

Has anyone noticed Dawn is mostly on her best behavior against Geno?

and A'ja's nasty elbows that she throws disappear.

 

[Bama fan]

Or maybe Dawn had it all wrong and G-d is a UConn fan.

When I was a kid, we were told that he was a Steelers fan; now I am told that she does not choose sides! At least that is what my grand kids tell me.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Or maybe Dawn had it all wrong and G-d is a UConn fan.

I assumed this was the case. Why else is the sky blue and white?

 

[BoomBoom]

That was a clinical dismantling.

The Gamecocks looked resigned to the dismantling almost the whole game. A'ja tried to settle the team down and certainly led by example. But wow. Even Holly Rowe's early bit about the Wilson family feeling at peace with whatever happens...Dawn's decline of timeouts...and so on. Nearly every aspect of the game had a feel of "Dead Man Walking."

Geno endearingly looked like the cat that swallowed the canary during his in-game interview. Cutting Holly off to say he wanted to be in a Capital One commercial...LOL.

HE. WAS. AMPED. UP.

And rightly so. How many times have we seen Geno abruptly end an interview because he wasn't happy with how the team was playing? And here he was derailing the interview before it could even begin. Casting himself alongside Holly...now that was a merciful upgrade from Charles, Spike, and Samuel.

Congrats to A'ja on a brilliant career (and to the Gamecocks for making the Elite 8). We often talk about the impact Kia has--even when it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. A'ja's impact certainly wasn't limited to the stat sheet. I was trying to think of other examples of star players who stayed local, ignited or exponentially accelerated the resurrection of a program, AND won a national championship in the process. I mean. Dang. Help with thinking of any?

A couple of recent players come to mind, but they don't have all the elements A'ja's narrative has had. Skylar didn't need to resurrect ND, even as she catapulted ND to a new era of excellence. And there wasn't a championship. In A'ja's own class, Kelsey Mitchell could have been another such player. But didn't end up close. Regardless of how preordained NPOY has seemed this year, it would be hard not to give A'ja the award on career impact alone (yes yes yes...OY stands for "of the year" not "career" but still...tell that to the Oscars). The NPOY conversation may seem preordained, but A'ja's career hasn't been.

In the end: SC back to Columbia. Huskies to Columbus!

 

[HopJim]

I'm sure every recruit in the country was "at" this game electronically. They all saw the unselfish precision passing, the lock-down switching defense, the near-perfect execution of fundamentals and not so fundamental moves that almost left a few empty gamecock shoes on the court. They saw the enjoyment members of the UConn team expressed. They heard their positive comments afterward. They heard Rebecca and Kara's superlatives reigning down on the team.

Now the only question for them is have they got the stuff to be there.

As you noted, there was pure joy on the faces of the Huskies after the game. This is what you want to experience.

 

[HopJim]

This was a butt whooping of the first order. Crystal was AMAZING tonight. Balanced scoring from all 5 starters. The offense was clicking tonight. At times it was surgical in the way the passes found the open player. Excellent defense in daring SC to shot from beyond the arc..

SC made a big mistake slowing down the game. It was counterproductive. Took them out of the offensive game. SC did not look like they were into the game from the beginning. By the 3rd quarter you could see defeat on their faces.

Unusual strategy. Slowing down game common against UConn but SC passed up most 12-15 foot shots. Their inside game early on was great but relying on this exclusively when down by 20, 25, 30, etc. obviously did not work.

 

[Bronx23]

I am not so sure “outcoached” is correct. She was definitely “outgunned”

BOTH!
Bronx23

 

[Rb335]

That was a clinical dismantling.

The Gamecocks looked resigned to the dismantling almost the whole game. A'ja tried to settle the team down and certainly led by example. But wow. Even Holly Rowe's early bit about the Wilson family feeling at peace with whatever happens...Dawn's decline of timeouts...and so on. Nearly every aspect of the game had a feel of "Dead Man Walking."

Geno endearingly looked like the cat that swallowed the canary during his in-game interview. Cutting Holly off to say he wanted to be in a Capital One commercial...LOL.

HE. WAS. AMPED. UP.

And rightly so. How many times have we seen Geno abruptly end an interview because he wasn't happy with how the team was playing? And here he was derailing the interview before it could even begin. Casting himself alongside Holly...now that was a merciful upgrade from Charles, Spike, and Samuel.

Congrats to A'ja on a brilliant career (and to the Gamecocks for making the Elite 8). We often talk about the impact Kia has--even when it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. A'ja's impact certainly wasn't limited to the stat sheet. I was trying to think of other examples of star players who stayed local, ignited or exponentially accelerated the resurrection of a program, AND won a national championship in the process. I mean. Dang. Help with thinking of any?

A couple of recent players come to mind, but they don't have all the elements A'ja's narrative has had. Skylar didn't need to resurrect ND, even as she catapulted ND to a new era of excellence. And there wasn't a championship. In A'ja's own class, Kelsey Mitchell could have been another such player. But didn't end up close. Regardless of how preordained NPOY has seemed this year, it would be hard not to give A'ja the award on career impact alone (yes yes yes...OY stands for "of the year" not "career" but still...tell that to the Oscars). The NPOY conversation may seem preordained, but A'ja's career hasn't been.

In the end: SC back to Columbia. Huskies to Columbus!

When Lobo was describing Aja’s legacy, I couldn’t help but feel like she was talking about herself. Local kid who helped a program get their first championship.

 

[Bronx23]

Uhhh, I think the former coach had slightly better players.

True!
But slightly better players shouldn't lead to a rout!
Bronx23

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Best part of defeating the Gamecock team is that, at least for a while, I (I won't assume to put the rest of you in this)...I will not have to listen to Dawn on her no respect, unfair, underdog champions shtick jag. If we could have had the fans yelling for us .... I hope she doesn't show that face to the world as our Nat'l Team Coach.