Is there any chance of salvaging this season?

[Palatine]

Hope springs eternal. I'll watch and root. But my eyes keep telling me, we are a sub-.500 team.

I think our only chance is if Adams and Purvis both begin to play smarter and better. They need to be close to 35 even 40 points a game as a duo without numerous and unforced TOs. And that seems like too high a hill to climb. We ain't getting there at g0 60 points a game.

Anyone see a different path?

 

[AntG168]

Hope springs eternal. I'll watch and root. But my eyes keep telling me, we are a sub-.500 team.

I think our only chance is if Adams and Purvis both begin to play smarter and better. They need to be close to 35 even 40 points a game as a duo without numerous and unforced TOs. And that seems like too high a hill to climb. We ain't getting there at g0 60 points a game.

Anyone see a different path.

AAC Tourney? :]

 

[AntG168]

Or a crazy unforseen long win streak

 

[Chief00]

There is always hope to get something productive out of this season - if we have the ability to learn from our mistakes.

 

[mauconnfan]

If you told me preseason that we would get 8/15 from AB and 9/8 from Kentan in one game I would have marked it down in the W column immediately. So reality is, this year will be a fight all year because that doesn't happen all that often.

The struggles will continue and I doubt there will be many positive streaks, but I see positive nonetheless in each game. It is what it is.

 

[Jaker]

Just wait until the AAC tourney when Purvis shows up.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

It's all about shooting. The perimeter has to start knocking down the open shots. We can't be clanging 70% of the open ones and missing all of those that are challenged.

That will open up the middle more for Facey, Brimah, Enoch, and that will open up driving lanes as well.

 

[metsfan2323]

Looking forward to the AAC tournament but now the question is can we win 4 in a row?

 

[Jaker]

Looking forward to the AAC tournament but now the question is can we win 4 in a row?

yes

 

[Brochacho]

Depending on what salvaging the season means. We can go 10-6 to close out the year to finish at .500. If Jalen didn't get a concussion we are probably 2-2 over our past few games instead of 0-4. A win today would certainly feel great. Having the AAC Tournament in Hartford is huge. While I am not expecting it, a return to the conference final would not surprise me the least bit. Beyond that, anything else probably isn't realistic. All I know is that last year's Syracuse team was probably the worst FF team ever, so why not one-up them this year?

 

[August_West]

Well Pal, I agree with you.

It's all on purvis and Adams. If they can cut down on head scratching mistakes and find a consistent rhythm we can have a winning record in this league. They don't need to be all world every night, just need to cut turnovers and combined 6 for 30 nights.
They are both certainly capable.

Will they? I've cashed in my chips on predicting what Purvis is and isn't at this point.

We certainly can turn a corner and purvis has shown he is a last 2 month player the previous 2 years so there is slight optimism there.

But it could be just as likely that the frustration of Adams and resignation of a lost season puts this team in a tank that is beyond the worst we could imagine.

I'll keep watching. At least at this point I'm not shattered over a loss

 

[Paesano]

Hope springs eternal. I'll watch and root. But my eyes keep telling me, we are a sub-.500 team.

I think our only chance is if Adams and Purvis both begin to play smarter and better. They need to be close to 35 even 40 points a game as a duo without numerous and unforced TOs. And that seems like too high a hill to climb. We ain't getting there at g0 60 points a game.

Anyone see a different path?

No. And people are already making excuses for next year.

 

[willie99]

Yes

Jalen plays consistently great
Purvis hits the shots we know he can hit
Brimah & Facey give us some solid paint play (it's been trending up)

and one other guy hits some shots, it's doable

 

[UConnDan97]

There is a path forward, which include either a fantastic run down the stretch or the conference tourney as were both mentioned by AntG.

I think the best way to accomplish it is to get the maximum out of Vance, of all people. I think his being able to get perhaps 25 productive minutes per game or so would allow Ollie to use a 3 guard rotation (JA, RP, CV) for 2 spots, which would cut down tremendously on the fatigue factor for JA and RP.

Allowing JA and RP to stay fresh throughout is the key, and if Vance can continue to hit the outside shot to stretch the D, then Brimah and Facey can continue to thrive. Let's see how Vance develops in this crucial role...

 

[7774]

Hope springs eternal. I'll watch and root. But my eyes keep telling me, we are a sub-.500 team.

I think our only chance is if Adams and Purvis both begin to play smarter and better. They need to be close to 35 even 40 points a game as a duo without numerous and unforced TOs. And that seems like too high a hill to climb. We ain't getting there at g0 60 points a game.

Anyone see a different path?

What in your mind is salvaging the season?

 

[shizzle787]

Conference tourney. We only have to win 10 in a row in March to win it all.

 

[UConn 77]

To me, showing up every game, playing hard every game and gaining experience for next season would constitute salvaging the season. That which does not kill you will only make you stronger.

 

[Chief00]

I think of course shooting is important but turnovers have been a huge negative and inexcusable factor as well. The failures around zone defense execution have also hurt.

 

[CAST-BONE]

Hope springs eternal. I'll watch and root. But my eyes keep telling me, we are a sub-.500 team.

I think our only chance is if Adams and Purvis both begin to play smarter and better. They need to be close to 35 even 40 points a game as a duo without numerous and unforced TOs. And that seems like too high a hill to climb. We ain't getting there at g0 60 points a game.

Anyone see a different path?

Inevitably it looks like this may end up as a sub .500 season, turnovers, shooting, confidence, rebounds, leadership, injuries..
Growth may not show up in the form of W's this season because of our limitations, but if everyone, from coaching staff to walk on, show the heart and grit we're accustomed to from UConn teams, if they play 40 minutes of tough basketball each night, put forth a united effort and don't let their record define them, then I will consider the rest of the season successful. Relatively speaking.

 

[Hi-Low]

If they manage to go 11-5 the rest of the way with some quality wins and finish at 16-14 then I would call that a mild success considering injuries and the huge hole we are in....at that point 3 wins in AAC tourney seems more plausible....we still have more talent on paper than most of AAC.

Realistically we might have a couple good wins but will probably finish just below .500 and who knows what happens in ACC tourney.

In any case Adams, Jackson, Vital, Durham, Enoch will get plenty of valuable court time to build on.

 

[EricLA]

Is there any chance of salvaging this season?

Pretty much, no. Given the injuries, lack of cohesion, skill, effort, etc, I don't see anything changing. I wouldn't be as sad if we were just getting beat by better teams, but the lack of effort and chemistry is hard to watch.

 

[Jerry1714]

No

 

[uchusky32]

Shooting is important. Cutting down on the turnovers yep. But if we want to stay in games we have to get better at on ball defending. Our guards are getting beat of the ball, creating to much separation on picks. This makes us have to constantly rotate giving up open 3s. When you don't score many points you have to be better at the defensive end.

 

[7774]

If they manage to go 11-5 the rest of the way with some quality wins and finish at 16-14 then I would call that a mild success considering injuries and the huge hole we are in....at that point 3 wins in AAC tourney seems more plausible....we still have more talent on paper than most of AAC.

Realistically we might have a couple good wins but will probably finish just below .500 and who knows what happens in ACC tourney.

In any case Adams, Jackson, Vital, Durham, Enoch will get plenty of valuable court time to build on.

You and I must be watching two different teams. I'd consider going 11-5 the rest of the way with some quality wins an incredible turnaround, not a mild success.

 

[Hi-Low]

You and I must be watching two different teams. I'd consider going 11-5 the rest of the way with some quality wins an incredible turnaround, not a mild success.

Incredible turnaround yes, I meant 16-14 overall as a mildly successful season considering injuries.