As I said in the first exhibition game, every superlative can be amended with "yes, but they played a terrible team". Which means the opponent is so physically overwhelmed the comments have to be put into perspective. All pictures are from today's game. Thank you Hartford Courant and UConnhuskies.com. Please don't sue me.
Moriah Jefferson - Minutes - 21, Points- 6, Assists - 4, TO -1, Steals - 6
That's 11 steals for Moriah in the 2 exhibition games. That's how you dominate a game on defense. She looked for her shot in the first game and just made sure the offense ran smoothly in today's game. There is no one, I mean NO ONE in the country that can get from one end of the court to the other without the ball faster than she does with the ball. Jefferson is always thinking a step ahead in setting up KML for a 3. She always knows where KML is on the drive and kick out. She always has a "wow" play and tonight it was a no look pass in traffic for a two by Stewart.
Ho hum....another double double by Kiah Stokes. Only 7 blocks? What a slacker! Tonight Kiah was great again in the low post. Except for missing two bunnies with her left hand before grabbing the rebound again and finishing with her right she was deadly with her back to the basket moves. More impressive was the high/low pass to Stewart and Tuck. She had 3 assists. And while she was no Dolson, she was looking much more confident with the ball in the high post position. Yes, it was against a very small team, but she looks ready to be a dominant force down low for the Huskies.
Breanna Stewart - Minutes - 16, Points - 27, Rebounds - 6, Assists - 5, TO - 2, Steals - 2
The first exhibition game, Stewart looked as good as last year. Tonight she looked better. You'd think someone that scored 27 points in 16 minutes was looking for her shot all the time. But she only took 14 shots (making 11) but she added 5 more assists for a total of 11 in the two games. Tonight I was impressed with several things about Stewart. I mentioned her ball movement. She was not thinking out there at all and just playing. That got the ball out of her hands more quickly than before, opening the court up for her teammates when Breanna is doubled. Her 2 point shot looked smoother to me. I expect she will improve on her 34% from last season closer to 40%. I also liked that she didn't force any shots. She was just TBS, the best player in WCBB.
Saniya Chong - Minutes - 20, Points - 5, Assists - 5, TO - 0
KML had another efficient game. She scored 15 points on only 9 shots. I'm still amazed when she missed a 3 point shot. Her form is so perfect. Her conditioning looked top notch. And her understanding of how Geno wants to run his offense shines through with her terrific entry passes. She is going to have a ton of assists this year. Along with Stewart, I doubt there are a better pair of passing forwards in WCBB.
Last game I said that the most important thing I could say about Morgan is that she looked healthy. And while that probably holds true, today she showed every aspect of her game that UConn fans have missed out on for a long time. The rust on her offensive game was no where to be found. Her post moves are as diverse as you will see. She has such great footwork. She again used her ample lower body strength. Geno let her play 27 minutes. That should tell you how confident he is in her knee. She played quite a bit in the last 10 minutes with 4 freshman. Although she played only one year, she is really a 3rd year player in working with the team and it showed. She really showed her leadership in talking to the freshmen when they looked clueless. She might have been the best player on the court tonight (ok....after Stewart).
So, how many times will we be hearing from the announcers that Nurse plays like an upper classman? Well, here it is one more time. Nurse plays like an upperclassman. While I have no doubt that she is more than capable of starting, I just don't see it happening this year. Unless Chong reverts to her freshman form (which I doubt will happen) Kia will be the first guard off the bench and an incredibly effective one. Tonight, I saw her put a hesitation move on a defender that only a seasoned player would make. I suppose her international experience would make her seasoned. She did have a few freshman mistakes but she ran the break to perfection. I'd be hard pressed to find a better guard off the bench.
Lots of speculation on Williams today. She didn't play until late in the second half and only played a total of 6 minutes. Was it her knee? Was she sick? Did she bring 2 right shoes? Really? That is the word on the street. So, did someone go get her left sneaker and it took that long? Did someone run out to Dick's? Did she borrow a pair from another player? Eventually it will all come out. You could see some embarrassment on her face. While on the court, she showed her great jumping ability and her new found post game, scoring down low with either hand. After her six minute stint, she sat next to Coach Dailey for several minutes while Chris spoke to her very forcefully. It might have been about her post footwork. Or it might have been about never forgetting to bring both sneakers.
Courtney Ekmark - Minutes - 23, Points - 13, Rebounds - 3, Assists - 2, TO - 1
The 23 minutes tells you all you need to know about what Geno thinks of Ekmark. She took 7 three pointers today making 3. I can see her holding that percentage all year. As you can see above, her form is as good as KML. What I liked tonight was the rest of her game. She is not afraid to mix it up and drove hard into traffic (one lousy offensive foul call). She is a very smart player and looks to be picking up the defensive rotations, something very important for her to master. I guess her time training at home last season is paying off. She looks a lot bigger and stronger than she did in video from her junior season. She seems to be one tough cookie.
It was good to see Edwards get a good run today. It's tough when you don't get playing time with any of the starters but Sadie played tough on the ball defense, worked hard on the boards and looked much better overall. She has solid skills. Looking forward to seeing more of them as the season progresses.
Tonight's Bongo cam was the highlight of the entire game. In case you don't know what that is, on the big screen, they superimpose a pair of bongos and then find fans on camera. They are supposed to play those bongos when they see themselves. It's a lot of fun and some fans just are hysterical. Well, tonight, they put the camera on Geno. Chris elbows him, pointing to the big screen. You can him mouth to Chris "what?". She points to the screen again and makes a bongo motion. He looks at her blankly and says "what?". She can't believe it and does it again. He says for a third time "what?". Chris throws her hands up and said "Ahh, forget about it". The crowd went absolutely nuts. When the camera was off them (he was on the screen for almost a full minute), I looked over and she was still explaining it to him and after a few more tries he final said "ok...ok...". He got it. And I promise you the camera will not be on Geno again for bongo cam. I don't think he was happy. Here is a picture Danny K took of the event.
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| What???? |
Another tick tack toe passing, this time it was Jefferson to Chong to Stokes.
The pace was so fast in the first 5 minutes I struggled to keep up with my notes. I am becoming faster on the phone keyboard.
Nurse also had a no look pass along with Stewart and Jefferson. A lot of flash on this team.
Ya just gotta love Geno. On Williams not bringing her left sneaker:
"She had an equipment malfunction"
"I don’t know how it is in track, but in basketball you have to have a right sneaker and a left sneaker. So maybe next time she’ll get it right."
“They talk about some people have two left feet. Well, today she had two right ones."
" I wasn’t going to play her at all, but I felt bad for her so I put her in."
" Ugh. Don’t get me started. Don’t get me started."
With KML, Stewart, Jefferson, Ekmark, Nurse and Chong, UConn has 6 very good to excellent three point shooters. It's almost unfair.
One Jefferson play I left out. Jefferson steals starts to the fast break, holds up, starts again, holds up and finally pulls the ball out. Mercy play?
87 points with 14:41 left. We need a tougher warm up game.
And finally, to the lady behind me who said "come on Kia., do something right", are you kidding me?
Just found another great picture thanks to Danny K.
Two rows above the railing in the left third of the picture. Denim husky shirt with a white hat. Yours truly with DoggyMomma to my right.
Thanks for the post. I really enjoy your hard work.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding...original info allows me to stick it to The Lone Grunter. hahaha
ReplyDeleteGreat review as usual.
ReplyDeleteGreat post DD, doggymama is a lucky lady!!!
ReplyDeleteNurse not a good 3 point shot,a clanger...If played at guard would be no reason to lecture her,she would take Nurses spot,that is why Geno is pushing her to the post.
ReplyDeleteHi suggie. Thanks for reading my blog. And thanks for commenting. I disagree about Nurse. She is no KML but her form is too good to call her a clanger. Are you saying Williams is being pushed to the post to protect Nurses spot? Can't agree with that. Uconn is short in numbers in the post. That is the reason.
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