KU game thoughts

[DogMania]

It's too bad they dug such a big first half hole that just couldn't dig out of. I'm proud with how hard they played in the 2nd half, but they did so much standing around in the half court in the first half. I've always been a big KO supporter and still am, but I hope he takes a close look at what they did poorly in the half-court this year and make adjustments next season. You just need more than dribble penetration and pick-and-roll in your offensive pocket. Today would have been a goo.d one to do some backdoor cuts and plays where we got the ball in the paint or down low and had cutters off the ball cut to the basket, but I saw little of either.

The team tended to go as DHam went and 4-14 wasn't going to get it done against KU. Miller chose a bad game to have his worst in a UConn uni, and his last ever college game. I looked at the box early in the 2nd half and he was 1-7. I looked at the box a little while ago and he finished 1-7. Brimah, like many games this season, couldn't stay on the floor. UConn bigs usually struggle with that early, but by their junior year learn to play D w/out fouling. Brimah hasn't learn that yet. I hope he takes don't-foul-so-much 101 this summer and finds a way to stay on the floor a whole lot more minutes next season. Bottom line, getting 6 points from the 4 & 5 positions on 3 for 12 shooting is flat out dismal. that's 3 FGs out of 5 players. Yikes.

Adams got into early foul trouble and like most freshman, the stage was a tad too big for him. It's tough when the guard who has the most PG skills is your freshman guard. Too bad he didn't have his Kemba or Shabazz. He really came on at the end of the season. He's going to be real good next year and having another combo-PG in Gilbert should benefit him better than having Gibbs playing along side of him.

Give KU credit. They are tough defensively all over the floor. They know how to make you play for taking risks on D. And if you try to play them straight up, they'll score on you in bunches. They're just a really good team on both ends of the court. They can play slow and fast, physical and finesse. They are the team that I thought would cut down the nets. UConn has a history of losing to the eventual NC and I think this will be yet another year.

 

[Balker]

I think you hit the nail on the head for our offense:
- Hamilton had (another) lackluster shooting game.
- Miller's shots wouldn't drop. Same shots he makes 5 or 6 of most nights, only got 1.

The defense though... absolutely no answer for Perry Ellis. It was like a seasoned NBA player snuck into a college game and made us look foolish. That, and their shots were just straight up dropping in the first half. The whole team made every shot they got.

Good attempt to comeback in the second half though, and we'll have a strong team next year!

 

[Chief00]

Miller was overmatched by size/strength - that's why the shots did not fall. Brimah has both a lack of basketball instincts and quite frankly even when he tries to box out he just doesn't have the basic strength to succeed.
The strength thing or "physicallity" is on KO - since he choose the strength coach a few years ago - that's the disappointing part since Brimah and Facey etc have been in that regiment for three year - plenty of time to show noticeable progress if it was working. It obviously hasn't worked. Time to fix now. And strength needs to be more of a recruiting focus.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

This team was never going to beat Kansas if they played anything near their A-game. There were spurts all season long where it looked like they could play with anyone, but it never came together for an extended stretch. I've said since last year that 16-17 should be a great year for this team, I think we have our best regular season since 2009.

 

[willie99]

next year we have 3 players that can create, and that's not including Purvis

DH & JA will help each other improve while creating for others, and I think AG will fill in nicely

a very different chemistry, a different look

 

[HooperScooper]

next year we have 3 players that can create, and that's not including Purvis

DH & JA will help each other improve while creating for others, and I think AG will fill in nicely

a very different chemistry, a different look

One thing they need to do next year is get some kind of inside game. I don't think they need a star at the 4 or 5 but they need some contributions from those 2 spots. Can Brimah make a good leap next year? I think his lack of development has hampered this team. Going to be tough to replace what Miller gave them this year with the cast coming back but you never know. A senior Facey might blossom. At the 1-3 positions they are set and might be as good as anyone in the country there. And those positions are usually very important in college basketball so that bodes well.