Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 1/13/17

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Quite day in Florida. Hung around the condo, paid some bills, went to the grocery store and then on to my son's house for dinner with the grandkids!

Friday night we are going to see the Golden Boys at the Coconut Creek Casino. For those who don't know who that is, it's Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and Fabian. For those who don't know who they are....well.....google it...lol.

It's going to be really good or really bad. But it's a night out at the Casino. Should be fun.

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Here is my UConn/South Florida Post Game Report.

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THANK YOU ALYSSA!!!!!!

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If it hadn't been for his daughter's intervention, Geno Auriemma could have left UConn to coach a men's team. (via The Cal Cast)pic.twitter.com/nQHEiduWg2

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So, do you think she got these bruises in games or in practice? Either way, Geno is forging some serious toughness in this young lady. It would be great if she can continue to play like she has the last few games.

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South Carolina played Georgia without their star player A'ja Wilson, who is out with an ankle sprain. She was injured against Florida with just under 5 minutes left and a 20 point lead. Now, I'm not saying that Dawn Staley should have had her on the bench with a secure lead that late in the game, but.....well, maybe I am saying that.

I went back and watched the few minutes of play before the injury and Wilson looked gassed. She stumbled a couple of times and looked out of sorts. Hey, I'm not the coach. But I'm pretty sure that last season Geno would not have Stewart playing in the same circumstances.
In the actual game Thursday night, they really looked like they missed Wilson against a mediocre Georgia team, winning 66-63. The Lady Bulldogs had a chance to tie it with 4.5 seconds left but the Georgia player only made one of two free throws.

Bianca Cuevas-Moore had a great game to lead the Gamecocks with 25 points on 10-17 shooting. She really put the team on her shoulders. Herbert-Harrigan started in Wilsons place and was scoreless. Patrick and Cliney were the other bench players that got minutes and they were scoreless. SC also struggled to get the ball inside to Coates, who was only 4-7 from the field for her 12 points and 11 rebound double-double. The two transfers, Gray and Davis were only 5-21 from the field and 1-5 on threes for a combined 18 points.

I'm sure that Wilson's absence had something to do with the low scoring offense, but South Carolina just doesn't have the continuity a team needs to go far in the NCAA and also to have a chance to be UConn. They shot 36.8% from the field and were only 6-18 on threes. Against Georgia. Not good.

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What a terrible performance by Tennessee....again. They lost to Ole Miss 67-62. Yes, it was on the road, but all you had to do was watch a few minutes of the game and you would see what a discombobulated offense the Lady Vols run.

Everything was 1-1 play. So little rhyme or reason to what the do. There offense was basically Nared or Deshields using a screen to drive to the basket. Rarely did they look for a kickout for an open shot.

Diva Diamond Deshields had her typical inefficient game, scoring 13 points on 4-15 from the field and 0-2 on threes. She did two things well. She got to the line going 5-7 and she did grab 12 rebounds for her double-double. But for the most part, she just does her own thing, rarely getting her teammates involved.

Ole Miss has a really really big center in Taylor Manuel, a 6'4" center. This is one large woman who really gave Mercedes Russell a tough time, forcing Russell into a 4-14 night.

Tennessee is now 10-6 for the season and I would be surprised if they get any votes in the top 25 AP poll. And next for them? The Irish of Notre Dame come into town. This could be a season saving win for them or one more nail in their coffin.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

One of the biggest losses for UConn defensively this season, was Stewie's ability to block shots. Over the last three years, she blocked 110, 104 and 126 shots and altered the attempts at hundreds of other shots. Opposing players stayed out of the lane, shot from further back or put more arc on their shots. None of those things helps your shooting accuracy...

Early in this season, Napheesa Collier had been the only Husky with shot blocking success. Her 22 blocks through 14 games, put Pheesa on a pace to break her freshman total of 47 blocks, all of last season. Those 47 blocks put her 2nd on the team to Stewie's 126.

Now, a new Husky has emerged, along with Collier, as a shot blocking machine. Gabby Williams put on a clinic against USF with 4 blocks in just 21 minutes. That brings her season total to 18, which easily surpasses her 13 from all of last year. After starting the first seven games with just 5 blocked shots, the Gabulous one has 7 in just her last three contests. Even more impressive, her 18 blocks are split between blocks on the player she is guarding and the "help block" where she leaves her man and comes out over to block the shot of a surprised shooter. That was the kind Stewie specialized in and made into an art form.

Natalie Butler is also in double digits for shot blocks with 12. After that, it is a long way down to 4th place with Katie Lou at 5 blocks. All together, UConn has 60 blocked shots, or an average of 4 per game. That is quite a drop from last season's 6.3 blocks per game. And last year's total was even lower than the 7.9 blocks per game, two years ago, when Kiah Stokes and Stewie dominated the lane.

Still , two shot blockers is better than just one, especially when Gabby can patrol the lane with her "help blocks" to give opponents yet another thing to worry about against UConn's defense..!!

Go Huskies..!!

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