UConn Women vs. #20 California Tonight

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

California is ranked #20 and is 1-0 with a 7 point win over St. Mary's. Last year they beat UCLA and Oklahoma, and eventually lost by 40 to Baylor in the NCAA tournament. Should be a solid test for UConn. They are not as good as Stanford, so a win should be expected, but not a cupcake by any means.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

6'7" Chinese center Chen Yue will be a good test tonight for Z. Here is an ESPN profile of Yue:

http://www.espn.com/womens-college-...en-basketball-cal-chen-yue-making-history-way

 

[CaNOLEE]

Hope KLS is ok.

I wonder if collier is looking over her shoulder. She does not look like the player from last year. Unless it was the Miss st game.

Crystal is turning into quite the marksman. That should create space for Gabi and the post players.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Overall solid win, but I did not like how the bench played. I don’t think UConn is more than 7 deep right now, but Walker doesn’t look ready quite yet. When Camara is ready there will be legit 8 girl depth but right now with KLS and Camara out and Walker not really ready, it’s like a 5 girl team. The bench after that right now is not ready for prime time or playing on this level. I did like what I saw in Coombs, the backup point, and think she will be good but not ready right now.

 

[CaNOLEE]

Yeah Walker doesn't look like the #1 overall player right now. She needs to focus on Gabby and how she can dominate a game without scoring a lot. She has athleticism, but if she's going to struggle with her shooting, she's going to have to make contributions in other areas.

Defense was much better in the third quarter than against Stanford. The 4th was almost all reserves.

Wait until the offense starts clicking.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

The bench needs to be developed. It’s not a deep team at the moment. UConn men might be actually deeper in players who are ready to play and be in the rotation.

The freshmen are not ready right now, Walker included. This is a high level of basketball and it is a shock to their systems. They are likes babies who have been thrown into a swimming pool and have to learn how to swim. They haven't figured out doggie paddle yet.

 

[the Blades]

True, the entire freshman class looks lost/ downright ugly BB /petrified when they get in....what did they score about 4 points in the last 5 minutes, 2 games in a row

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Here is the Courant article which reports that KLS's status will be based on further testing she is having today on the same foot she broke during the 2016 Final 4:

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/hc-sp-uconn-women-1118-story.html

Meanwhile, based on what we have seen so far, without KLS and Camara who is still on the shelf with a knee injury, this is a 5 girl team, 6 if you want to add Walker who has looked not ready for prime time in the first few games. With the schedule they are playing, if they have foul trouble or someone else gets hurt, they are vulnerable to getting beat. Maryland, UCLA, Michigan State are all high quality opponents and then we have ND and DePaul and Oklahoma waiting in the wings in December. This is a very difficult OOC schedule they are playing this year.