RebKell's Junkie Boards

[cthskzfn]

Fifth Third Arena
Cincinnati, OH

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[cthskzfn]

I suppose we'll hear how much better the CT offense runs today.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[cthskzfn]

Pathetic performance so far by the team formally known as WCB elite

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[cthskzfn]

Bright spot, CT 10-11 FTs.

1-7 from 3. Clankenstein is in the house.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[cthskzfn]

"It looks a little disjointed at times"

-Geno Auriemma, halftime

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[linkster]

Thank god for Dangerfield.

[linkster]

When Samuelson isn't hitting 3's her game looks ordinary.

[cthskzfn]

I must disagree with the HoF, all-time NC-winningest coach.

It IS supposed to be fucking EASY when you're UConn playing Cincifuckingnnati.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[myrtle]

I didn't see it but the thing that stuck out to me from the box (other than the shooting) was the 11 assists v. 14 TOs. That has to be one of the worst stats they've ever had.

Random thought. Is Geno losing them?

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For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
- Amanda Gorman

[cthskzfn]

[myrtle]

[root_thing]

Samuelson has been in a 3Pt shooting slump for the last month, and Christyn Williams has fallen off a cliff in all aspects of her offensive game. Walker steps up at times, but she's inconsistent. Even Collier and Dangerfield were in a slump for a few games. Meanwhile, the team is not creating turnovers the way they have in the past. That negates their fastbreak ability. You saw Mulkey intentionally slow the pace and reduce TOs in the Baylor game. They finished with only 5. Louisville also had 5 TOs against UConn, Cal had 8, and Oklahoma had a low count until the 4th Quarter when they suddenly got sloppy. That enabled UConn to make their comeback. So, if the Huskies aren't getting easy fastbreak points, they're not shooting the ball well from outside (47th), and not even making free throws (128th), then they're dependent on inside scoring from undersized posts. That and any backdoor type plays they can slip past their opponent. Hardly a reliable formula. Surprisingly, UConn is still 6th in the nation in FG%. However, they've been inconsistent and a lot of the success was compiled early in the season.

I think Samuelson being off has particularly affected UConn because she was previously so dependable. They could just assume she'd be there, and if not, then in the prior two years Nurse would step up. Now, the other players are unprepared to fill that outside shooting role. They often struggle when they try. Dangerfield has had the most success, but it usually happens early in the game. Walker chips in sporadically, but Collier has had a bad season shooting 3s even in small volume. Making things worse, Katie Lou's shot being off has caused her to indiscriminately drive more. She often muscles her way into crowds, only to turn the ball over or have her shot blocked. The lack of confidence in her shot also causes Samuelson to pass in situations where she'd previously shoot. As a result, her teammates aren't ready for the passes thereby causing even more turnovers. In other words, Katie Lou being out of sync throws the rest of UConn out of whack. One would think that Samuelson will eventually snap out of this. All shooters go into slumps. KLS's prior history indicates that she was not only a good shooter but a great shooter. Reversion to the mean suggests she'll not only bounce back but have some big games to make up for lost ground. Once that happens, I think the whole team will function better as everyone fills their familiar role. However, UConn also needs to get something out of Williams. Either that or more consistency out of Walker and more from the bench. Geno needs to suck it up and let players like ONO play through their mistakes. That's the only way they will ever develop.

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You can always do something else.

[cthskzfn]

Pretty good take, root.

The decline of the last 2 years has steepened. Bottom line is this is a poor (by recent UCONN standards) passing, shooting, defending and rebounding team.

Because of the paucity of size/inside game and mundane offensive sets, perimeter shooting becomes more important. A slump like the one they're in gets magnified.

There's about a month to turn things around.

Magic 8 ball says:

Ask again later

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[Phil]

[GlennMacGrady]

Cincy within single digits in the last minute. The Goths are at the gates of the eroding Roman Empire.

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http://www.youtube.com/MagicBusBasketball

[cthskzfn]

[SDHoops]

cth and myrtle are some of the main UConn haters on this board. If I went on their teams' game thread and trolled the whole pissin' time, I'd probably get banned. The bush league at it's finest...

[Iluvacc]

Cth is actually a Uconn fan

[cthskzfn]

[Rock Hard]

[myrtle]

[linkster]