Keys to Maryland game tomorrow

[Colin G]

1. Contain Melo Trimble (duh)
Put pressure on him and smother him on D
2. Get Brimah going early- if brimah can get 2-3 buckets early, he should get more hyped up and confident, which will result in tougher play and more production from him
3. Get to the basket- rim rush, strong takes at maryland bigs who are average shot blockers
Agree/Disagree?? Any other keys to tomorrows game?

 

[KingOPancakes]

Come out strong is my #1. I don't want to see them start slow like they have been and then spend the rest of the game playing catch up. Start with your foot on the gas and don't let up.

 

[Kitaman]

Would Ollie create a Stone/Miller matchup and exploit Miller's experience on the freshman?

 

[Colin G]

Maybe, their other big, robert carter is pretty solid too, I wonder if you put Miller on the better low post scorer of the two and kinda let brimah roam to block some shots

 

[aceboon]

Hamilton and Purvis play up to their abilities and make enough plays to put UConn over the top against a good to great team, something that has rarely been the case through 1 season + 7 games

 

[August_West]

Come out strong is my #1. I don't want to see them start slow like they have been and then spend the rest of the game playing catch up. Start with your foot on the gas and don't let up.

we came out of the gate great against Cuse. Then the mystifying sub patterns started.

 

[Worldwide]

1. Contain Melo Trimble (duh)
Put pressure on him and smother him on D
2. Get Brimah going early- if brimah can get 2-3 buckets early, he should get more hyped up and confident, which will result in tougher play and more production from him
3. Get to the basket- rim rush, strong takes at maryland bigs who are average shot blockers
Agree/Disagree?? Any other keys to tomorrows game?

I disagree with trying to get Brimah going. Seems like we have been trying that since last year and just results in a turnover or bad shot. Rather see us go inside to miller or let Hamilton get a few shots inside the lane.

 

[upstater]

Don't go under the picks on the perimeter. Stay on the 3 point shooters. Make them drive. I just hate to watch teams take anything other than NBA 3s.

 

[OkaForPrez]

we came out of the gate great against Cuse. Then the mystifying sub patterns started.

I've been thinking about this a lot. With all due respect to Herm Edwards, pre season tournament wins do matter but not at the expense of losing your team's attention too early. Guys like Omar, Sam II Am, Facey (to a lesser extent in that he's getting more minutes and earning them) these guys are walking the tight rope of thinking they are about to break through for court time. You want to see what they are capable of against top level competition, how they perform. Sam played great against UM because he got the opportunity. Getting that look is just as important as building a resume for my money. And with a significant lead even better reason to test. It didn't go our way, but I'm not scratching my head about it. We're UConn. We tinker, we develop, we get the best team on the floor for when it matters in March. It's a process. If you cut to the 8 man rotation you might lose some of these guys mentally for good and keeping the team together and motivated should not be understated. If I was worried about possibly missing the dance altogether it would be a different story, but I'm okay with keeping the subs wide open right now. It's still give guys a shot and learn about them time.

 

[August_West]

I've been thinking about this a lot. With all due respect to Herm Edwards, pre season tournament wins do matter but not at the expense of losing your team's attention too early. Guys like Omar, Sam II Am, Facey (to a lesser extent in that he's getting more minutes and earning them) these guys are walking the tight rope of thinking they are about to break through for court time. You want to see what they are capable of against top level competition, how they perform. Sam played great against UM because he got the opportunity. Getting that look is just as important as building a resume for my money. And with a significant lead even better reason to test. It didn't go our way, but I'm not scratching my head about it. We're UConn. We tinker, we develop, we get the best team on the floor for when it matters in March. It's a process. If you cut to the 8 man rotation you might lose some of these guys mentally for good and keeping the team together and motivated should not be understated. If I was worried about possibly missing the dance altogether it would be a different story, but I'm okay with keeping the subs wide open right now. It's still give guys a shot and learn about them time.

I get the point and don't necessarily disagree with it. But when we (collectively, not you specifically) then bitch about not being ranked going into Maryland game it is silly. If it pays off in the long run, then KO is a genius. I for one would have liked to see a bit more throttling before we went 10 deep. It was Syracuse. I recognize that is a fan and not Coach's perspective though.

 

[OkaForPrez]

I get the point and don't necessarily disagree with it. But when we (collectively, not you specifically) then bitch about not being ranked going into Maryland game it is silly. If it pays off in the long run, then KO is a genius. I for one would have liked to see a bit more throttling before we went 10 deep. It was Syracuse. I recognize that is a fan and not Coach's perspective though.

As someone who spent good money and time to go down to the game, trust me, there's no way I wanted to lose to the Orange. Let's say it left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[polycom]

Have the higher score when the clock ticks double 0.

 

[HotTowelTerp]

It is gonna be a fast paced high scoring game like md vs unc last week. Hamilton's level of dominance and brimah's ability to stop maryland frontcourt will be key for uconn. How has Uconns defense been recently? i have only watched a game or two. Cheers

 

[August_West]

It is gonna be a fast paced high scoring game like md vs unc last week. Hamilton's level of dominance and brimah's ability to stop maryland frontcourt will be key for uconn

Honestly I dont like the idea of a track meet with Maryland. We certainly have the athletes to do it, but our finishing is not up to snuff (yet) . We need to be smart on offense, stop the run outs, and find the high intensity Defense of yore (which has yet to make an appearance this year) to snatch this one. Should be a good one.

 

[James]

I dont like brimah post ups, so I dont agree with op that 'we should get him a few buckets early to get him going'. He should be motivated from the jump to ; set good screens, roll strong to the hoop, and play good clean defense vs their forwards.The guy I wouldn't mind getting going early is miller who is crazy efficient in the post.

KO has the right philosophy in guarding a good pnr team like maryland, his bigs hedge hard and limit the window of time for opposing pgs to make decisions. The main weakness in the defense is on the permiter imo so i would like to see 1,2,3 guard their men well on and off the ball. Hamilton scoring efficiently is a key for me as well. Low turnovers too. .

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Honestly I dont like the idea of a track meet with Maryland. We certainly have the athletes to do it, but our finishing is not up to snuff (yet) . We need to be smart on offense, stop the run outs, and find the high intensity Defense of yore (which has yet to make an appearance this year) to snatch this one. Should be a good one.

I don't know, I'm not sure we want to depend on half court execution.

Coming into the season, I was looking forward to this game as their coming out party. Now, after the Bahamas, I'm lukewarm on their chances. I want to see Rodney and Daniel attack the bucket with a purpose, I'd love to see Miller get a few post touches right out of the gate to get him going - Ollie talked about the 4 man being the hub of the offense in the pre-season and then went away from it entirely - and Sterling on the kick-out knocking down threes when Maryland collapses.

If it's not too much to ask, I'd also like the guards to be locked in defensively when a Maryland big passes out of the post. I can't count how many times a guard or a wing has made a halfhearted attempt to "help" when no help was necessary and then been late recovering to their man as he splashes a three. If they're late rotating Maryland is going to light them up. If they come out with this "Oh, ____, the game started?" thing that they did against Gonzaga and Sacred Heart I'm going to get ejected.

And count me in the group that hates the substitution patterns. Build up Cassell's and Omar's confidence against somebody else, please.

 

[HotTowelTerp]

I think you guys do want to run. maryland is long but not terribly athletic.

 

[August_West]

I think you guys do want to run. maryland is long but not terribly athletic.

selectively, yes. Its what we are best at. But smartly. I am still having nightmares of Syracuse running us out of the gym in the second half of our game a couple weeks ago when the game sped up. We were missing bunnies going to the hoop and they were killing us on primary and secondary transition baskets the other way. I respect what Maryland has more than I do Cuse, so I dont want to see a replay of that.

 

[intlzncster]

Take the ball right at Stone early and often. Get him into foul trouble. He hasn't shown he can hang on D yet.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

1. Contain Melo Trimble (duh)
Put pressure on him and smother him on D
2. Get Brimah going early- if brimah can get 2-3 buckets early, he should get more hyped up and confident, which will result in tougher play and more production from him
3. Get to the basket- rim rush, strong takes at maryland bigs who are average shot blockers
Agree/Disagree?? Any other keys to tomorrows game?

1. You need to contain Rasheed Sulaimon also (who has played great so far).
2. Brimah is a great shot blocker. Not sure how good he is on offense.
3. Maryland have five players who block shots (Stone, Dodd, Cekovski, Carter and Layman) so going inside may not work.

Usually against a great team (think UConn women) you have to hit a high number of three point shots. Not sure how great UConn's three point shooting is right now.

 

[Matt1010]

1. You need to contain Rasheed Sulaimon also (who has played great so far).
2. Brimah is a great shot blocker. Not sure how good he is on offense.
3. Maryland have five players who block shots (Stone, Dodd, Cekovski, Carter and Layman) so going inside may not work.

Usually against a great team (think UConn women) you have to hit a high number of three point shots. Not sure how great UConn's three point shooting is right now.

Sulaimon has been absolutely fantastic this year, I didn't expect anything close to the production/percentages he has put up. Brimah will be interesting to watch offensively as I think he could struggle a bit against the Maryland bigs. With that said, I wouldn't classify Maryland as a good shot blocking team and they are not even top 40 in that category with 5 blocks/game.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Usually against a great team (think UConn women) you have to hit a high number of three point shots. Not sure how great UConn's three point shooting is right now.

If the implication here is that UConn has to shoot out of their minds to win this game, I think that's 100% wrong. Maryland is a good team, but this isn't some kind of David and Goliath deal here, let's not get carried away.

Incidentally, while I think Jake Layman is a dangerous shooter and a perfect 1980s high school movie villain I don't think he strikes fear in anyone's heart as a shot blocker.

 

[Marat]

Sulaimon has been absolutely fantastic this year, I didn't expect anything close to the production/percentages he has put up. Brimah will be interesting to watch offensively as I think he could struggle a bit against the Maryland bigs. With that said, I wouldn't classify Maryland as a good shot blocking team and they are not even top 40 in that category with 5 blocks/game.

Whenever Sulaimon penetrates, most of the time he is looking to dish the ball to someone. He seemed to be pretty effective with that, as well as being a spot up 3 point shooter.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Hamilton and Purvis play up to their abilities and make enough plays to put UConn over the top against a good to great team, something that has rarely been the case through 1 season + 7 games

The operative words being "put UConn over the top against a good to great team..."

Have to agree with this. Spot on.

 

[methodology]

It is gonna be a fast paced high scoring game like md vs unc last week. Hamilton's level of dominance and brimah's ability to stop maryland frontcourt will be key for uconn. How has Uconns defense been recently? i have only watched a game or two. Cheers

Wholeheartedly disagree its going to be a track meet. UNC likes playing at that pace and Maryland went along with it.

Maryland ranks 287 in adjusted tempo and UConn 242. UConn is ranked 17th for defensive efficiency and Maryland 41st. Both teams have been very efficient on offense UM(11th) and UConn (17th).

MSG tends to have lower scoring games when college games are played there. It could be a combination of hte atmosphere and the nba tight rims.

I see this game in the mid/low 70s