UConn did a great job locking down the paint on both ends (where they had a significant advantage). I hope Aaliyah isn’t seriously hurt because she’s been amazing with everything that has gone on.
@@markhathaway9456 Juhasz with all the minutes she gets I see it the least. Amari doesn’t get a lot of burn so we don’t see much from her period. Griffin has used he left many many many times on the fast break.
Mostly focused on DeBerry's and her ability to play smartly. Not sure what the issue is sometimes when she makes simple but costly mistakes. At times she holds onto the ball too long waiting for something to develop. I think its important to cycle DeBerry in and out during the game, each time giving her more advice to work on during the game. I like what Chris Daily is doing in that regard.
Good points about DeBerry.. she alternates between being indecisive (holding the ball, pausing, not protecting catches) or having narrow tunnel vision (not seeing defenders on passes, not relaying ball, not watching offensive sets developing when on defense). I think DeBerry's challenge is that she hasn't fully matured mentally, still a big girl in an adults body. Her actions and particularly her reactions are not that of a mature adult. She can pout when there is contact against her. She can also act way too casual... which I assume is a defense mechanism to conceal her anxiety. DeBerry is a couple years behind where she should be... and I don't think this year's short bench is helping her much. She is not progressing because she doesn't have to progress in order to get playing time. There is less motivation for her to up her game.. when she can be sloppy and still play. CD has a bit different philosophy than Geno in this regard... CD wants to give her time... Geno wants to keep her motivated to maintain the team standard. I hope DeBerry matures into a D1 player.. like Edwards and Muhl have this year. Some players take longer than others for various reasons.
Neither of the fine gentlemen on either side of her falling out of bounds over those chairs could be bothered to see if she was OK or help her up. Heaven forbid they should put their drink or food down for a second.
Am a UCONN fan through and true, but I feel bad for Amari. UCONN can be up by 30 to 40 pts, and she still gets barely any playing time. She is obviously talented, but having her sit like that and playing like that doesn't build confidence and to put her in a game and expect her to play confident is quite the quagmire. I've coached the game, and as a former US Army Drill Sergeant, I understand that breaking down build back up aspect. I tore into the personnel assigned to me to get them to understand what it took to be a Soldier but i used that same energy in the re-building process into a Soldier but to me it just looks like she's still lacking confidence. Her play is very awkward. I can see she's playing not to make a mistake because she only gets minutes very sparingly as it is. She was highly recruited coming out of HS and chose the huskies, but it doesn't seem like she's the right fit for that program. I'm simply saying it seems like they feel let down that her HS skills and McDonald's All American play isn't translating and they show they are willing to work with Patterson and some of her play has me scratching my head. When Ice Brady returns, Amari won't have a prayer of a chance to get on the court if she can't now with a short roster. She seems like such a respectful and sweet young lady, but imo UCONN is not a good fit for her just like it wasn't for Piath. A lot of these young ladies need to research the programs they are looking to be a part of. Coach Auriemma is one of the best to ever do it and has standards for achieving UCONN excellence doesn't translate well to some of these kids. If they have a very soft aura and continence about them and don't know how to take it on the chin and get back up and give it back twofold, then they probably shouldn't go to Storrs. It's more to it than just being skilled. I'm a Huskies fan and have always been, but that's my take on that.
Good points and I agree. The UConn program isn’t for everyone. Did you see the post game comments made about a month ago by CD that Deberry couldn’t get through practice sometimes in her freshman year? High school and college are too different animals. Some players are in over their heads even though they had high school success. A less demanding program could be her answer? She does show flashes of good skills under the basket when she isn’t throwing the ball away! She does pass well to other team mates when it isn’t forced. Hahahaha the women’s game has picked up a fast pace these past several years! She will be the one to determine if she wants to stay? Go huskies!
@J H I definitely agree, very valid points. no I didn't see that presser but yeah I think she does have upside and the way the game or recruiting is decided is HS success with college potential but if you go to the wrong program it's not a very synchronous relationship. Seeing her on the court is brutal sometimes and kids select programs not truly understanding if they are a good fit. It's like Heather Buck, she was a phenomenal HS player, but it didn't quite translate over to having that same success with the Huskies. She played here and there but no real consistent minutes. Amari needs to get a personal trainer that can focus on developing her or she's going to get truly lost. She's already last in the depth chart and it's not going to get easier when everyone is back and healthy. She just doesn't play with any real passion or understanding of their offense. I truly, as do the coaches I'm sure, want to see her succeed but flashes of greatness becomes ashes in memory. She really needs to evaluate why she chose UCONN. I can really see her being a certified beast but if she doesn't get what the team is doing when she gets out there it means nothing. Most of the time they show her on the bench i don't see hunger in her eyes to get in the game. She's normally laughing or being giddy. Seeing her in HS and seeing her now, it's like an empty shell of the player she once was and maybe a foregone conclusion to the player she could be.
@@emmra2218 Well said! I didn’t see her play in high school but you are on point on her body language and focus. She seems lost in the games. I think she can contribute but she has to find her role first. Playing time will help some but Geno says it starts in practice! Maybe she is like Allen Iverson? “Practice? We talking about Practice? How the hell am I going to make my teammates better, talking about practice? Hahahahaha Go Huskies!
While I am certain the UCONN staff don't bother reading post comments.. I think discussion about players like Amari is more for the fans, or perhaps other coaches, to try to work-out what you might do in if faced with the same circumstances. As a coach, I see Amari as not quite as mentally mature as her team mates, like Edwards or Muhl. Both of whom took big maturity jumps this season over last, while Amari has not. I am not certain the additional playing time Amari is getting due to roster injuries is helping her either.. she is not mentally there and is scared her mistakes will hurt the team. I agree with your observation, some players (and most people/coaches as well) are more motivated to avoid looking like a failure than to pursue success. Amari behaves on the court like someone worried about failure, but then acts to casual to compensate, then occasionally pouts when someone bumps into her. In regards to should Amari transfer to a different program? Maybe, but her maturity issues won't change by relocating her body's location. Even if Amari never quite gets as far as she hopes as a Husky, their program is committed to her and she still has two more years (summers) to grow up some more and be a contributing role player, on or off the bench. If Amari wants to play as a pro... then UCONN is probably still her best option to achieve that. If she could travel back in time, would Amari be better off somewhere else... depends on your definition of better off. Other teams with lower competition standards would probably give Amari more playing time regardless of her maturity level. So perhaps she would enjoy it more... but not be challenged to mature as much.. at least not during her college tenure. I also agree that Amari's personality traits are not the typical UCONN trait, so the question of which program is best for her personality is valid.. as is which career goals she should expect given her personality type. Maturity is, in part, acknowledging and accepting your personality traits and learning to harness them to be a contributor to whatever team you are on. There have been players in UCONN's history with similar personalities to Amari, and they've found a way to make it work.. either on the bench or off the bench. Amari's size and physical gifts give her potential others will never have.. but the mental/personality aspects of players have as much, if not more, influence where you end up as a performer in a competitive environment. I can't say what Amari should do.. but I imagine the UCONN staff and team is pulling for her either way. My gut would be to have her stay with her UCONN family, get as much as she can from the experience, and find a way to grow up and contribute as much as she can.
@@northerniggy8261 Grest observation and well said on a coaches perspective. Amari’s fate lies with her. I wish we well. If she contributes, great. All I want is another championship! Go Huskies!
Ayanna and Aubrey may seem to be too easily tied-up under the rim, but really any player in that position is usually double or triple-teamed and can't do much. It's best to quickly pass the ball out. Having space to move and shoot is very important and placement on the floor isn't always as important. 3-pt shooters show distance from the rim isn't that much of a factor. Ines 3pter was fantastic. Having room to run and passing to players who have already moved to open space is better than muscling for the ball. That's why a fast-break is good, why shooting over a zone defense works -- Xavier got some easy shots when UConn failed to stay in their discomfort zone. Just being near a player is often enough to stop them thinking of shooting. It's one thing top teams always take away at the 3pt line.
Thanks MJ! I would appreciate it if you could turn the volume up on your recordings. I always have my phone volume on max and have a difficult time hearing anything but the ads. Thanks!
ESPN has a guy named M.A. Voepel, it's his work to study the landscape of NCAA Div I women's basketball. In early 2022, Voepel received the Curt Gowdy Media Award for print media from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for contributions to basketball media. Mr. Voepel evaluates teams and produces ESPN's Power Rankings. This week's rankings are (1) South Carolina (2) Stanford (3) Ohio State (4) UConn.
For those who believe in, or even want to believe in, DeBerry, take a look at 1:21:19; this young woman is 6'5", a wingspan approaching 7', but what does she do when she receives a pass - she brings the ball down to her waist ( at the height of 5'9" players) and promptly has the ball stolen. This is not a NCAA Div I player.
Sometimes I have to laugh at the refs. They call a foul for something trivial, barely anything, then they miss an absolutely hard foul, so funny, but I must say that if I was a ref on the court I may make the same mistakes.
Being real. The sad thing about UCONN girls is that you have to wait till next year to see the players to be all together again this is 2023 a new year we pray to God to see another year?
Speaking out of turn. I love this team. All the injuries. Amazing. Forgive me being nasty for a moment. Best thing that happened to this team was that Ododa and Williams graduated. Dead weight.
OMG! Thank you for saying this! However Ododa played above her skill level last year, which I appreciated. Williams was a legitimate bust for UConn. I blame those three seniors (Ododa, Williams and Westbrook) for losing the winning streak for Geno. (Walker the year before) They did NOTHING In the championship last year. Paige got them their practically on her own. There is NO reason why we can’t get back to the championship and win this year. We have plenty of talent but scoring has been a problem due to mental problems these past few years. We need EVERYONE to step up, come this March. No Paige or Ice to save them. Go Huskies!
i disagree, williams had an important role as a guard. when she was consistent, it was scary for whoever had to guard Williams. Although that championship game Williams didn’t show up😵💫
@@Asianpears Thank you for validating the argument. Her flashes of brilliance were great! She achieved her freshman goal to get UConn to the national Championship. But, as you have said, she proceed to “not show up”. It is unfortunate, but I wish her well. Go Huskies!
@@Asianpears An important role...when she was consistant? Is that what you said? When was that? What's your measure? One out of two? Two out of five? Are you kidding me.? Williams was a coddled bust.
Anyone reading this before watching the game: just skip the first quarter already. It was really bad and some of the plays and especially some of Nika's "passes" almost made my head destroy my table. It was not fun to watch. All in all Xavier was no match and Huskies have been dominating in every aspect of the game, even in made TO. This game was no test to UCONN, yet it showed perfectly that this team heavily lacks in scoring capability - even open lay-ups missed constantly! From the bench players i really liked Ines involvment in the game. Ayanna and Amari still commit way to many unnecessary fouls, which is a problem if in march madness for some reason Aaliyah or Dorka get into foul trouble and you have only bench players that a prone to commiting fouls a lot.
Agreed! It is great they are getting more playing time but Ayanna and Deberry are definitely green! Ayanna has improved some. With Amari, I yell at my screen EVERY time she comes in! There is a reason why she plays so little. Just really bad mental mistakes. People, if you haven’t noticed, Geno tries to recruit smart players for a reason. We normally don’t have the most athletic players. So these mental mistakes are annoying! Stop traveling already ladies! Hahahaha Go Huskies!
@OneStGermain absolutely. Amari needs a whole lot of it and Ayanna has my head spinning at times. I don't see anything concrete yet and we're getting ready for MM without Paige and Brady and Azzi is coming back from injury. We're not deep so we have to be smart. That one gave me a headache 😩
I was "watching" the game on a play-by-play ticker and that first quarter seemed horrible. Eight TO (half by Nika), other bad stuff. Watched the game when MJL got the video up. Yup, it was even worse watching it. As the announcers said, I sure hope Geno didn't watch that one live. Holy smokes!
@@tonyleukering8832 Indeed! That team isn’t even ranked! I don’t get the fascination with Nika? She gets the team going yes, but her inconsistency is killing the team at times. We will not win against ranked teams with 20-22 TO’s a game! God help us in March!
I want DeBerry to do well so much! I love this rotation! Think: March comes, Dorka and Edwards gets injured, and you have to rely on DeBerry…. Patterson, is a bust! Sorry for being frank! If Senechal gets injured…our hopes, are over! Ok game, against a below par, but “plucky” team. Geno, learn to rotate players! You chose them, you treat them right
Mir McLean was another UConn refugee who is now the leading scorer and rebounder on a decent UVA squad, but somehow couldn't find her way off the bench or out of Geno's doghouse.
Nika was off these last two games. Just too many bad passes from her. I hope she will be a little more selective about the passes she makes against depaul.
Nika needs to figure things out. A point guard this reckless with the ball is not good!!!! She is killing this team with all her turnovers. She plays way too fast for her skill level, as well as the rest of the team!!! They continuously lose control and throw the ball away because they mindlessly run themselves into horrible situations. It’s hard to watch all these brain-dead plays by a team that’s supposed to be so good. Right now, they’re not even a top ten team. They’ll never beat another good team until they slow down and start playing smarter!!!! You can’t constantly ignore defenders and dribble and pass as if there aren’t any!! 😖. It’s embarrassing and it all starts with Nika. SLOW DOWN!!!!!
Watch another team that is more pleasing to your obviously refined taste in excellent basketball. This UConn team is obviously far, far, far below your apparent expert level of expectation.
"Nika needs to figure things out. A point guard this reckless with the ball is not good!!!! She is killing this team with all her turnovers." Mr. Joy, who leads the NATION, THE nation (women's Div I basketball) in assists per game? Who? None other than this reckless point guard; this she who is killing the team (13-2) - Nika Muhl. According to the NCAA, not me, the NCAA, this point who does not have things figured out, who is reckless with the ball, who is killing the team is leading the nation THE NATION with 9.3 assists per game. The much better player, who apparently is NOT reckless with the ball, who is NOT killing her team is McKenna Hofschild with 7.8 apg. I don't know, Mr. Joy, maybe you need to figure some things out?
There you go... NO players, to play next game! Does UConn have more injuries than other teams??? YES! Is there something wrong with the training regime, fitness, style of training??? YOU tell me! How else would you explain it??? That's why we Need players to be introduced, and rotated...you never know when you need them, Geno,huh? Time to retire...
Germain, you don't know. I don't know. We're not at the UConn facilities on a daily basis. We don't observe anything about UConn except by the generosity of MJL243. So, conjecture is all we've got.
@@lastonestanding3417 Bottom line: we Do Not have enough uninjured players, to play one game… if you do not see anything wrong with that…Coach Dailey is trying to f rotate and give them a break! Too late! That should have been done by Geno from the start! Especially while beating bad teams by 30_40 points. Paige, Fudd, Ice,Edwards, Ducharme, etc, etc… These injuries, are the fruits of that buffoon Geno! Time to go Geno Ps: Paige has attended and watched, more games, than played!🤣🤣🤣🤔🤣🤣🤣
I feel any team playing Uconn have already made up their mind they're playing for second. Sloppy defense and pointless offence is a product of a coach not knowing what to do against Uconn. Like that's the definition of insanity. Trying the same shit and with a predictable outcome. The same fear and result with SC Gamecocks dominating psychologically and they don't even have to touch the ball and SC has already got a "W"!
