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Even my daughter (mother to Logan and Barrett)
is looking for my Blog!!!
GO UCONN!!!!!
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This one really hurt. I was out to eat with my wife and granddaughter and wasn't able to watch the game until late in the fourth quarter. I'm looking at the score, I check the box score and I'm just so happy for the team. What a big win. And then came the post game sideline intervrew with Geno. He has such a sad face and I knew something was up. Then the news about Aubrey just hit me in the face like a cold wet towel.
No Words
Aubrey
It's just not fair for Aubrey and the team. Yes, they still have to do tests on the knee. But we all know what that looked like. I pray for good news, but once again this team has been decimated by injuries. Why? Who knows. No one is to blame. It just sucks.
As I said, I didn't watch the game so I can't give you specifics on the players other than looking at the box score. I'll just post links and videos for now.
A great win with devastating news. The rest of the team is going to really have to pull togther. It's just a tough loss. The team is so tight, they are each feeling the pain i'm sure.
Basketball wise, it will be time for Geno to give Brady more time on the court. UConn is really small now. Not that Griffin was big but she could play big.
Very sad. Pray for Aubrey.
Game Highlights
Geno disses Ashlynn Shade
Jim Flanery Post Game Press Conference
Geno Post Game Press Conference
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** Designates Upset
Wednesday January 3rd, 2024
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Watch No. 1 in black. You will love her.
Kelis Fisher - UConn comitt 2025
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Straight from the Dog
From my friend Cori - "I listened to the post game and CD specifically said Nika had a great game despite not scoring much. And, she called out fans and posters on message boards for being too dismissive of all the things that Nika does. CD said Nika is a leader and brings so many intangibles that contribute to the team's success and Nika does not get enough credit for what she does. CD doesn't give out praise like that lightly."
Ok, so yesterday I thanks Coach Daily for calling out fans on message boards for being too dismissive of all the things Nika does. I really meant it. Then AFTER this was quote from Coach Daily was posted on a message board, one particular fan went on a anti-Nika rampage. It was pretty disgusting. Even more disgusting was this posters position that "he was right" in regards to Nika. Here are a few quotes. You can make up your own mind on how you feel about what he is saying.
" All that said I'd still bring her off the bench even now. I'd give Qadence most of her PT. "
"KK is our best guard defender already and has been for a while. KK has 30 steals. Nika has 12 for the year in more PT. Nika is a solid defender but she's no KK."
"Watch Nika come down the floor. The first thing she does is see if Aubrey is open for the break and then next where is Paige and then where is Aaliyah. She knows where the bread is buttered and she makes sure to feed the players who get results for her and it works. They love her. It's symbiotic but is it the best team we can put on the floor? Objectively, is it the best team to beat other top teams? That is the question. "
There is so much more. But you get the point.
This dummy wants to sit Nika.
He insists that Nika is not the best defensive guard. The two time BE defensive player of the year.
And Nika makes up a scenario where Nika doesn't look for the open player and only looks for Aubrey on the break. "She makes sure to fee the players who get results for her" For her? No, for the team. And of course it works. And "it's symbolic"? What does he even mean by that?
"Is it the best team to beat other top teams?" Does he mean with Nika in the lineup?
Sigh...such a Nika hater. I just don't get it.
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By PHIL
Sue Bird Part 2
Levitt mentioned the growing penchant of parents to instill confidence in their children, perhaps to a fault, telling them they are great at a sport when they are demonstrably not. He suggested an alternative which struck a chord with me — rather than telling a child they are great at some sport, they should praise the child’s ability to learn and get better. This sounds to me like a better way to instill confidence in children. Unfortunately, Sue did not pick up on this and the discussion moved on to a different point. That won’t preclude us from discussing whether there is merit in Levitt’s point.
Levitt went on to observe that elite players like Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James are viewed as incredibly hard at practice, and wondered if that term would apply to Sue. She pushed back on the premise, and argued that at an elite level, virtually everyone practices hard, obviously some more than others but that’s not what defines them. She prefers to be thought of as “practicing smart”. Levitt asked her to expand, and she explained that it’s not simply putting in a lot of hours, it’s identifying the things that make sense. She described herself as a 5’9’ point guard not likely to dominate physically, so it was more important to work on drills that would help her improve her shot. She also spent some of her time watching games both men and women to find things she could incorporate into her game.
She then talked about playing in the driveway with her nieces. The driveway didn’t have the lines you would find on indoor basketball court, and she realized that she subconsciously used the lines to help orient her. She realized it threw her off a little bit at first, although she emphasized that she quickly got used to the new surroundings, but this is something I’ve always believed, that part of the reason for improved shooting at home is familiarity with the surroundings. Obviously, the height of the hoop and the dimensions of the court are identical, but the backdrops are different. Levitt asked if this phenomenon would help explain better shooting at home and Bird responded, “I think that’s 100% true”.
Bird went on to talk about the impact of fans. When Levitt asked her to explain, she said players could feed off the energy of an enthusiastic crowd.
Then I got confused. Keeping in mind that this interview was conducted in 2021 so the Covid accommodations for basketball were still very recent. She noted that some games in both the WNBA and NCAA were played in a “bubble” without fans and the game was very different. She said shooting percentages were up not a lot but a meaningful amount. So, my confusion is that she earlier talked about the impact of fans, but my impression was she felt fans would lead to better shooting, and now she is suggesting that lack of fans produces better shooting percentages. I’d love to have a chance to follow up to see if I missed something.
If anyone would like to listen to the entire podcast, you can find it here:
sue-bird-you-have-to-pay-the-superstars
Milestone watch
Plus one for every assist block point rebound and steal. I don’t add extra for offensive rebounds as it already seems to favor the bigs. Minus one for every missed shot (2, 3 or foul), turnover or foul committed.
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UCONN LINKS
Several links are pay sites. Sorry!
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