Thoughts After UConn/UT game

Discussion in 'Women’s Basketball' started by Dr. D, Jan 17, 2018.

  1. Dr. D

    Dr. D 250+ Posts

    We all have takeaways from U.T/UConn. Here are some of mine.

    I have been to years of women's games at the Erwin Center and this was the loudest, most frenzied crowd I've ever seen. It was a Final Four atmosphere. The sound came in waves, deafening at times, and the intensity grew as fans began to realize that the First Quarter wasn't a fluke---we could actually win the thing. You just don't see many games like that. People got sucked into it emotionally. By the third quarter it was a howling mob. I could actually feel the pressure of the sound waves on my eardrums. We lost, but it might have been the most fun I've ever had at a U.T. game.

    1. The UConn fans on the Boneyard are having the same controversy that we have over giving bench players more playing time. The U.T. game was so physically tough that even Geno is talking about the need to use their bench more. It was a wake up call. They can't expect to use only six players, the argument goes, and survive successive tournament games against physical opponents without being worn down and exhausted. In a way that applies to us, too, even though Aston uses far more players. For us, it's more of a scoring problem. Nobody wants another late season swoon, like we had last year. We need more point production from our bench on the nights that the starters aren't hitting and the defensive intensity isn't as great. Many of us think that means the freshmen need more playing time. Yes, that's easier said than done. For example, Patterson should become a great scorer. We need that; we need it now; but she's thrown up so many bricks and made so many foolish drives, I can't blame the staff for sitting her down when the chips are on the table.

    2. Speaking of the Boneyard, no more Aston bashing and snark about Texas. People were impressed, both with our players and the game plan. It just deepened the mystery of how in hell we ever lost to TCU.

    3. Defense: Watching the game again, I was struck by the brilliant, intense defense by both teams. It was fun to watch. I'm an offense guy. You have to outscore the best teams to win it all. But I have to admit it was our defense that kept us close to UConn. The Texas staff figured out a way to slow down the juggernaut. That's what people are talking about nationally. Our guards stuck like glue to Nurse, Dangerfield and Samuelson, and our bigs sagged off of Stevens, Collier and Williams and dared them to hit from outside---and they couldn't. Like Vic Schafer and Miss. St. last year, we made it hard for them to reverse the ball to an open shooter on the other side of the court. Also, Connecticut is a finesse team. They're tall but they don't have bangers. That's what Geno means when he says they're "undersized." When their offense gets slowed down and they have to mix it up with burly strong centers and forwards underneath, it's much tougher for them. Texas beat them to death on the offensive boards and pretty well handled Collier and Williams at the defensive end. Stevens was a different story. She's like Spiderman under the basket. But Audrey Ann stuffed her a couple of times, and White was terrific.

    4. Offense: Texas put on the best sustained half court offense of any game in the Aston era. We had to. Connecticut shut down our transition game, just as we shut down their's. Give our coaches and players immense credit for adapting. I've never seen our offense so patient, and it worked. We were so deliberate that at times in the second half it looked we were trying to slow the game down. (Maybe we were. If so, it worked.) Early in the season Texas gets too habituated to easy fast break baskets off defense and steals. That's all well and good against McNeese St. Against good teams it's a bad habit to get into. I hope some of that half court patience carries over into the rest of our season. Run when you can, but be prepared when you can't.

    5. So, how do we avoid upsets, beat Baylor, then get to the Final Four? Our offense is much better this season, but we still need more. No team can sustain the fanatical defensive intensity--game after game-- that we displayed against UConn. We just can't do it. Nobody can, physically or mentally. Defense is hard. You can be good on defense every night, but if your strategy requires you to be great on defense every night, eventually you are going to crack in a game or two. It happens to us every year. Players get beat up. They get mentally tired. Your offense has to get you over the hump. Great teams have a flowing offensive capability that compensates ---not just on bad defensive nights, but on nights when key scorers are in the dumps. If we'd hit two more of our 20 three-point attempts, we would have beaten the Huskies.

    6. Joyner. I don't know if she'll be all the way back by the Baylor game. It doesn't look like it. It's not just conditioning; she's not shooting well. If she can ever develop an outside shot, she'll be a megaton super star. Otherwise, we'll just have to settle for a regular old star and monster underneath. We'll need that against Kalani Brown.
     
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  2. WCBBNUT

    WCBBNUT 2,500+ Posts

    Other than that one tournament-ending loss last year, UConn wins and wins by big margins. In fact, over the last three seasons (90+ games) they have only had five decided by single digits. We are in that five. That’s how good we are... can be every night. I really hope we meet them again in the final game.

    And I really hope some of those 11K fans come back for more games. We tend to play not only up to our opponent’s level but up to our fan’s enthusiasm.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 17, 2018
  3. geewago

    geewago 100+ Posts

    You bring up a lot of good points. How in the name of Jezebel this team lost to TCU is the 8th wonder of the conference. The team I saw play monday night would have stomped TCU by at least 30 points. In fact if that same team shows up against Baylor I believe they will win at least one the the 2 games handidly.

    The other mystery to me is Joyner. She almost looks like a first game freshmen out there at times. I would have thought during her time away from the team she would have been keeping herself in good physical condition and shooting the ball every day till it was like second nature to her. It has really been a shock to me at how unproductive she has been so far. But the way White is playing makes up a lot for Joyners lack of production so far.
     
  4. HornView

    HornView 1,000+ Posts

    It was definitely the most electrifying crowd I’ve experienced in The Drum. It was a thrill to witness it,

    Texas never trailed by more than six points THE WHOLE GAME. I wonder in those 5 single digit games UConn played, how many opponents only trailed by six or less in the game?


    Because she gets a lot of knocks around here sometimes: Audrey Ann can really play some defense. You takeaway the missed threes, she had some great moves around the basket and a nice turnaround fadeaway or two, I wish she was money at the free throw line like she is rebounding.


    Maybe Texas will not have any more slow starts in the first quarter. (Please let that be the case),

    So much to build on from this game.
     
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  5. racerx5908

    racerx5908 2,500+ Posts

    My perspective is that it's Joyner's level of confidence. When she's battling under the rim, there is no thought going on - it comes down to savage instinct in rebounding or trying to put the ball into the hoop. When she's got the ball at the top of the key, you see her freeze and unsure of what to do. Then, you see her looking for someone to dish it to so that she doesn't have to make the decision. Joyner of last year would have looked for a crease in the lane to drive through or at least a drive that would let her dish off to someone in the corner.
     
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  6. geewago

    geewago 100+ Posts

    Eggzactly
     
  7. BabHorn

    BabHorn 10,000+ Posts

    I agree with everything said about the crowd. Man, I wish half that crowd shows up this Saturday. Gives me hope that our home game attendance vs Baylor will also be ten thousand plus.

    I am not too worried about the Tenn and TCU losses. Two things they have in common: Brooke was in a shooting slump and Texas did not get to the FT line although the Horns shot well from there. Both Tenn and TCU made more FTs than Texas attempted and those were the difference in the ball games.

    This game did show off the Horns' quality depth and what they are capable of. I look forward to seeing this version of the team the rest of the season.
     
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  8. Moooooo

    Moooooo 5,000+ Posts

    You summarized it very well.

    I will add one thing.

    http://texassports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10354&path=wbball

    UConn whistled for 17 fouls; Texas whistled for 18 fouls. Yet, UConn went to the free line 19 times while Texas only went to the charity stripe 14 times.

    UConn was more aggressive driving to basket, so most of Texas' fouls were when UConn was in the act of shooting; Texas, IMO, did not attack the zone defense as much as it should have by driving to the basket, making UConn play defense, and get fouled. It's been a common theme this year for Texas to go to the free throw line significantly less than its opponent; not sure why the lack of free throws continues to be an issue.

    We've actually shot free throws a lot better this season. Too bad Ariel and Lashann were each on 2-4 as they have been stellar al season.
     
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  9. Moooooo

    Moooooo 5,000+ Posts

    I know some folks don't like having a non-conference game in the middle of the conference season; but, if you want to play in these big-time matchups which will garner prime-time TV slots, you just have to go with it.

    But, I don't think it was a coincidence that this game fell a couple of days after UConn was already in Houston for their matchup with UofH. It was the most "convenient" time for UConn, no doubt. They probably arrived in Houston on Thursday or Friday, practiced, then played the game on Saturday. They drove to Austin on Sunday, practiced, and then played the game on Monday. At just about any other point of the season, they would have had to fly to Austin one day prior to the game, at the earliest, and perhaps suffer the effects of a long flight from Hartford to Austin.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 18, 2018
  10. racerx5908

    racerx5908 2,500+ Posts

    This was also a recruiting tour for UConn. Imagine kids they are recruiting from Texas being given tickets by UConn to see them in person either in Houston or Austin, rather than convincing them to fly up to Storrs. Also, their next game is in Tulsa, so a swing up to catch players from the DFW area as well.

    Football does it all the time, which is why many early games are played in Jerry-world by two teams that aren't even from Texas.
     
  11. Moooooo

    Moooooo 5,000+ Posts

    Only the home team can provide free tickets to recruits; visiting school cannot even have their coaches speak to the recruits in the arena.
     
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  12. Rexy

    Rexy 1,000+ Posts

    After re-watching the game a couple of times, I am struck by the beauty of the game play. The flow of the offense and defense of both teams was just so smooth. Since them I have watched a couple of B12 conference games, and wow! I just didn’t realize how well the TX/UConn game was played until I compared it to two B12 teams playing each other. I was simply stunned and amazed at how well both teams played on Monday. It was a thing of beauty
     
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  13. BabHorn

    BabHorn 10,000+ Posts

    UConn appeared a bit tired after Monday's game. Didn't watch much of it as I was watching the Tenn-ND game. But Williams looked like she hurt something late vs Tulsa and Geno said something about resting Samuelson and Dangerfield. Guess they do need to develop a bit more depth.

    Surprised Tulsa was still within less than 20.

    Really glad Horns don't play until Saturday.
     
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  14. brnkj

    brnkj 2,500+ Posts

    Very well-played game indeed... if we hadn't lost our patience on offense there for stretches in the 2nd and 3rd qtrs it would've been a different end result. When we worked through our offense, got their defense moving, and waited for our best option they rarely stopped us. I'm very proud of the way our team played overall.
     
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  15. Dr. D

    Dr. D 250+ Posts

    In one 10 minute stretch, Audrey Ann took two ill advised threes, and Joyner took one. Cost us three possessions. If we had one big who could step out and hit the three, it would be so hard to beat us. (No, I'm not trying to rekindle talk about Rellah Booth; but I really hope she evolves; she has such fantastic potential.)
     
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  16. JoeDallas

    JoeDallas 1,000+ Posts

    I didn't think Audrey-Ann's threes were ill-advised. At least one of them, because hasn't she made some of those lately? (I don't have time to look it up). I wasn't happy to see Joyner's go up, because she hasn't hit much of anything since she has been back.

    Echoing Dr. D, our patience on offense shocked me. We played UConn in an almost almost completely half-court game and nearly won. It did seem at times like we were trying to slow the pace. For me-- new respect for our coaching staff to see that they can adapt to the situation and not just be a "get out and run" team.
     
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  17. LutherIsMyDog

    LutherIsMyDog 1,000+ Posts

    Texas vs UConn Mini Movie

     
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  18. Scamp

    Scamp 100+ Posts

  19. JoeDallas

    JoeDallas 1,000+ Posts

    It seems his strategy is to shame his bench into playing better.
     
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  20. LutherIsMyDog

    LutherIsMyDog 1,000+ Posts

    Geez....that was brutal. Let's see if it works and motivates his bench players to play better. For some players, it could have the opposite effect.

    I suspect after the Texas game, he knows they are vulnerable to being beat by Louisville. By putting it out there, he can say he's not surprised and he knew a loss was coming
     
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  21. BabHorn

    BabHorn 10,000+ Posts

    facing reality. His starting five is wearing down with three having injuries and the sixth player having defensive faults. Doesn't appear he trusts any on his reserves to play well. But they appeared to play well enough to keep the double digit lead and win the game with Dangerfield and Samuelson playing limited minutes.
     
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  22. Dr. D

    Dr. D 250+ Posts

    I have a feeling that in the womens' basketball world, after the Texas game, UConn suddenly seems more vulnerable and mortal. We couldn't quite get it done, but the way to beat them seems clearer and more possible.
     
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  23. Ellis21d

    Ellis21d JediHorn

    I certainly do not agree with Geno's comments on Andra Espinoza-Hunter leaving his program. He does not need to bash the kid publicly, it's just not appropriate! Very Classless and only hurts the young lady and her future. He seems to be in panic mode about his bench players?
     
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  24. jusme828

    jusme828 2,500+ Posts

    Wow! Totally uncalled for!
     
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  25. LutherIsMyDog

    LutherIsMyDog 1,000+ Posts

    That's harsh. He certainly wants it known that it was his decision for Espinoza-Hunter to leave UConn. I can't imagine parents approve of that type of public criticism of a player. IMO, it's best for coaches to take the high road and keep issues behind closed doors.
     
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  26. Scamp

    Scamp 100+ Posts

  27. DFW_Horn

    DFW_Horn 2,500+ Posts

    Makes you wonder if anything was said to Charli. She said they were understanding when she made the call but it certainly doesn’t sound like Geno has mellowed much based on his recent comments.
     
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  28. jusme828

    jusme828 2,500+ Posts

    Wow, again! The players that de-commit, or transfer from their program are looked upon as "players that couldn't handle his pressure". Makes me wonder what was said to Charli when she de-committed???
     
  29. jusme828

    jusme828 2,500+ Posts

    Sorry DFW_Horn. I was typing as you posted.
     
  30. Ellis21d

    Ellis21d JediHorn

    I had heard from a friend of the Gordon family that Alexis Gordon, who came from Ft. Worth L. D. Bell HS, was not Happy at UConn. There was no mention that she might leave the program. She has gotten only 34 minutes (3.1 min/game) of playing time so far this season. She ranks 11th of 12 players on the roster for playing time.
    Wouldn't be surprised to see her back at TCU next year.
     
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