UConn played their first exhibition game, hammering Jefferson 103-40 in a game we got to see plenty of UConn highlights.
I'm always skeptical of taking too much from a preseason game, both positive and negative. But it's great to see the performances of some of the returning players and to get a feel for what the new players can contribute. I'll try to give you my thoughts on each player and while I may say I don't take too much out of preseason games, I can't hide my exuberance for many of the performances.
UConn needs a star. Or two. Or three. Or more! Exhibit A- Megan Walker. This young woman has transformed herself coming into her Junior season. She is trimmer, quicker and played like she wanted to be The Man. Walker scored 28 points on 10-15 shooting, going 3-6 on three pointers and was an impact player on defense with 6 steals. She just looked the part of a superstar.
Crystal Dangerfield played like the senior leader that she is. She made sure that everyone was involved and didn't really look to score, only distribute. She took only 5 shots, missing her only three pointers, scoring 6 points. But she handed out 8 assists and was her usual pest on defense with 5 steals. She will have her big scoring efforts in some games, but as usual, she will be dropping a ton of dimes.
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Is this the Olivia Nelson-Ododa we will see this year. God, I hope so!!! Her summer of ball for Team USA really gave her a shot of confidence to finally show what she can do on the court. Of course, it has yet to be seen of she can do this against the better teams. That will be her true test. But in this game, she was just outstanding. ONO scored 16 points on an efficient 7-9 shooting. But that include a jumper or two. She also added 11 rebounds. But her biggest impact was on defense where she had 5 blocks and 4 steals. That's 9 possessions where she disrupted the Jefferson offense. More to come for this young woman. That I promise you.
Ok, so that was the four players that were expected to start and we found out who was the fifth starter at least for this game.
Anna Makurat, the 6'1" freshman from Poland got the nod to fill out the starting lineup. She is something UConn hasn't really had in a while, a big guard who can get to the basket and take a hit and still score. I really like her game. She is not quick but she brings a lot of skill to the table. In this game, she really struggled from the outside going 0-5 from beyond the arc. But don't count on that being an issue for long. She really is a very good shooter. She still managed 9 points and used her solid body to help her grab 7 rebounds. I really enjoy watching her play and expect some big games from her this season.
I'm always skeptical of taking too much from a preseason game, both positive and negative. But it's great to see the performances of some of the returning players and to get a feel for what the new players can contribute. I'll try to give you my thoughts on each player and while I may say I don't take too much out of preseason games, I can't hide my exuberance for many of the performances.
UConn needs a star. Or two. Or three. Or more! Exhibit A- Megan Walker. This young woman has transformed herself coming into her Junior season. She is trimmer, quicker and played like she wanted to be The Man. Walker scored 28 points on 10-15 shooting, going 3-6 on three pointers and was an impact player on defense with 6 steals. She just looked the part of a superstar.
Crystal Dangerfield played like the senior leader that she is. She made sure that everyone was involved and didn't really look to score, only distribute. She took only 5 shots, missing her only three pointers, scoring 6 points. But she handed out 8 assists and was her usual pest on defense with 5 steals. She will have her big scoring efforts in some games, but as usual, she will be dropping a ton of dimes.
Possible star No. 3 is Christian William. The sassy sophomore had a solid game with 16 points on
7-13 shooting, hitting her only three of the game. She added 7 rebounds, adding a strong rebounding effort from the guard position.
Is this the Olivia Nelson-Ododa we will see this year. God, I hope so!!! Her summer of ball for Team USA really gave her a shot of confidence to finally show what she can do on the court. Of course, it has yet to be seen of she can do this against the better teams. That will be her true test. But in this game, she was just outstanding. ONO scored 16 points on an efficient 7-9 shooting. But that include a jumper or two. She also added 11 rebounds. But her biggest impact was on defense where she had 5 blocks and 4 steals. That's 9 possessions where she disrupted the Jefferson offense. More to come for this young woman. That I promise you.
Ok, so that was the four players that were expected to start and we found out who was the fifth starter at least for this game.
Anna Makurat, the 6'1" freshman from Poland got the nod to fill out the starting lineup. She is something UConn hasn't really had in a while, a big guard who can get to the basket and take a hit and still score. I really like her game. She is not quick but she brings a lot of skill to the table. In this game, she really struggled from the outside going 0-5 from beyond the arc. But don't count on that being an issue for long. She really is a very good shooter. She still managed 9 points and used her solid body to help her grab 7 rebounds. I really enjoy watching her play and expect some big games from her this season.
The Bench
The bench was a little bit shorter for this game with the word that Batouly Camara will be having surgery this week on her knee. This young woman has had nothing but trouble with her knee since coming to UConn. I hope this resolves the issue, but Geno said he had no idea when she might come back to play. I really feel for her.
Molly Bent was the first player off the bench and the senior guard had a really nice game. She looked comfortable out there and didn't look to get rid of the ball so quickly as she has done in the past. She added 5 points and 3 assists with more importantly, no turnovers. She also hit her only three point shot.
Evelyn Odebayo looked a little off in this game offensively. She was only 1-7 from the field, missing badly on many of her shots. I think she was trying too hard. But she did grab 7 rebounds and is a big body (although not tall) in the paint. She definitely will help spell ONO when Olivia needs a rest.
Ahhh....Kyla Irwin....one of my favorite players on the team. She played in this one how I expected her to play more often in her three previous seasons. She looked real comfortable out there and scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting and was 3-3 on threes. She has a sweet shot. I really liked that she had 4 steals as well!
Lastly, the other freshman on the team, Aubrey Griffin, had a terrific game. I had really never seen her play but let me tell you, she is incredibly athletic. Gabby Williams athletic. I think she demand playing time just by her effort. She was like a pogo stick out there, working hard on the boards for her 6 rebounds and she had 5 offensive rebounds give her chances to score her 10 points. She is going to be fun to watch, even if some of that is watching her play through her mistakes.
Overall, it was a nice start to the exhibition season with another game on Wednesday. Looks like a 9 player roster at this time and maybe Geno will use them all during the season. Time will tell.
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Here are a few interviews after the game and the game replay.
GENO!!!
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It was great seeing Stewie and KML in the stands for this game. It's so wonderful that former players come back to see the team, even an exhibition game.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALEENA!!!
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More info about the waiver rejection for Evina Westbrook. Teams that the player is leaving can either support, not support or be non-committal about the waiver. It appears that Tennessee was noncommittal and supporting the waiver might have made a difference in the result.
I linked an article from the Courant on this in the UConn link section. I know some of you don't have a subscription so you can't read it and copy write rules won't let me cut and paste the article.
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By David in Naples!!!!!
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UCONN LINKS
Geno, UConn AD call on Tennessee to support waiver
UConn Women: Takeaways from the Huskies
Jeff Jacobs: Messy transfer process leaves more questions than answers
Husky bench is thin but still leave an impression
UConn / Jefferson Photo Gallery
UConn losses another player, this time to injury
WCBB LINKS
Mizzou doesn't expect a post-Sophie letdown
Highly rated recruiting class keeps Mississippi State basketball roster strong
Statistical Sites
Geno, UConn AD call on Tennessee to support waiver
UConn Women: Takeaways from the Huskies
Jeff Jacobs: Messy transfer process leaves more questions than answers
Husky bench is thin but still leave an impression
UConn / Jefferson Photo Gallery
UConn losses another player, this time to injury
WCBB LINKS
Highly rated recruiting class keeps Mississippi State basketball roster strong
Statistical Sites
Rankings and RPI Sites
Message Boards
UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!
College Fans Only - WCBB board where no holds are barred
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board
CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else
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I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:better teams. i dont agree same to me... every team in the big east has a crazy losing record against uconn.. just like the AAC geno even said as must
It’s good to have you back blogging again. I always look forward to the info and links. I wanted to offer my take on ONO. I agree she had a great game. However, I was trying to focus on her aggressiveness. Since she was playing with smaller players, I was hoping to see her take stronger moves to the basket when she received the pass in the low post. But it did seem that she was a little soft. There were some fall away shots. And pass outs when she could have turned and put up a layup. I know it’s only an exhibition, but I was hoping to see more dominance offensively in close.
ReplyDeleteGood point. That might not come this season, maybe until later in the year? Lets see what happens tonight. I'll take a double double with 5 blocks any day...lol.
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