Saving Adams for the NIT. Petitioning Ollie . . .

[TasteofUConn]

Somewhat of a stream of cons. post. Too much to do elsewhere.

1. The problem with bringing in a 5th year PG wannabe alpha dog. I don't have any negative feelings toward Gibbs. He should not be "benched" or whatever other witch burning people want because of our feckless offense. You can only ever review your decisions, retrospectively, with the information you had at the time you made the decision. At the time, Gibbs was a tremendous pick up and filled a very real need. Currently - well, same call! So that's easy. BUT, has Ollie made the right call with this kid SINCE he came on board. Squarely - soundly - resoundingly - NO. Ollie has continued to monkey hammer the Gibbsian shooting guard Square Peg into the Desperate Need point guard Round Hole, and has not appeared to relent much. Much. I posted the "Feeling" thread and the "Adams deserves his own thread" thread close together, and it was all looking t1ts and tacos until some mysterious half time incident. Then the apparent changing of the guard (damn nice pun) was side-tracked and . . .

. . . and I turn on Cinci [I just typed Pitt by accident ] and Jalen is not starting, and I'm thinking - "Oh dear, he we go again."

To wrap this up, the problem bringing in an alpha dog PG wannabe for one season is that the guy has not had multiple years to make it "his" team, garner the respect of his teammates (think Shabazz and Kemba), and properly enter the "team leader" alpha dog role.

Really liked RJ. Adored Kromah. Man Love for Miller. Gibbs? Meh.
So what's the difference? Difference is, the other guys didn't have to be the alpha dog - they got (and get) to be the hole-filler and consummate team guy. Miller, more, obviously. Gibbs was recruited to be the point. He was our best option when that happened. It was a good call.

Now, however, Ollie is making a bad call. He is committing a cardinal business sin, which is that he appears to be considering sunk costs when he considers who should be playing going forward.

Everything else is noise. Loud, to be sure, but noise. The problem with this team is the lack of a true point guard leading the team. DID 2011 and 2014 NOT TEACH US - AND THE NATION - ANYTHING?????? Great point guard leadership wins championships. We've been playing for the sweet sixteen for the last two months and it has given me fan cancer. We are UConn. What hell are we doing? With the current system, with Gibbs at point for any more than back-up Adams minutes, we are, AT THE VERY BEST, a one win team in the tourni (IF we make the tourni).

Ollie is at a crossroads right now. He arrived at it two months ago, but he's only embraced it now, as I see it. This reminds me so much of Niels, where, for two months, I was screaming at TV Ollie "Get Calhoun out of the lineup and play NIELS!!" It finally happened, but after too much time had passed, in my view (but that worked out, eh?).

I think it's probably too late to hand the keys to Adams and capture some magic that could have gotten us to the Elite Eight or so. Sadly. I think that, if Ollie had taken the correct crossroad a month ago, we'd have had a chance. Now? IDK. SMH. OMG. WTF? COL (crying out loud).

Do we all agree that, with the current scheme, and Gibbs running point more than backup minutes, we are a defective team with little hope of winning more than one game, assuming we get in (big assumption for me)??

If you take that premise as accurate, the calculus gets remarkably simple:

If you don't make Adams Alpha now, and ask Gibbs to take it for the team (and F-off if you're not into that), then we struggling to make the tourni, and struggling to win, and done the first weekend.

If you do make Adams Alpha now, then the worst that can happen is that we don't make the tourni because of Adams' freshman failures, and REALLY, that's not a substantially different result than making the tourni and getting bounced in the 1st round. We're not St. Bonaventure G-d D-ammit.

If you take value or solace in simply making it, then UConn is not your team. Perhaps try Temple. They looked good kicking our asses twice. TWICE!

Sorry for all the yelling. I'm just sick of watching Ollie not get off the pot, whilst failing to paint on the ladder, while cutting bait.

2. I guess I just had one point, after all.

OLLIE - Make Adams Alpha. NOW. Through the last day the kids wears Husky Blue. He is the future. Don't play just to make the tourni. WE'RE UCONN.

Are you with me?

 

[CTBasketball]

Been preaching this for months. Was my fear when we first signed Gibbs. Hell has frozen over, but I agree with everything you said.

 

[djct1999]

I really do not get this hatred towards Gibbs at all. Please give me examples of when Gibbs has put himself first. He has been a great teammate and has won quite a few games for us. I just don't get it. I will contend to the very end that Gibbs is a very good basketball player. I will also say that he absolutely should be in the starting five.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Gibbs has . . . been a great teammate and has won quite a few games for us. I just don't get it.

You and Ollie both, brother. You and Ollie both. (no hate, BTW, I made that very clear in my post).

 

[CTBasketball]

I really do not get this hatred towards Gibbs at all. Please give me examples of when Gibbs has put himself first. He has been a great teammate and has won quite a few games for us. I just don't get it.

You and Ollie both, brother. You and Ollie both. (no hate, BTW, I made that very clear in my post).

Its not on Gibbs! Its on Ollie crowning a shoot-first scoring guard as our distributor and lead PG. We flirted with him at PG early in the season in combo with Hamilton. It didn't work. We gave the role to Hamilton, same results. Now we're back to Gibbs facilitating. Gibbs is good at shooting 3's - let's play to his strengths. He doesn't deserve to get benched, we need his outside shooting.

Unless Adams shows up drunk to practice and steals all the other guys' girls, I don't see how he isn't the starting PG by now. Its ***ing clear as day.

 

[ctchamps]

Totally agree @TasteofUConn about Gibbs.

I wrote this in another thread and feel that KO shouldn't get much heat either. That thread was a proposal that TSAM would have been better for this team than SG. From that thread:

There are valid possible reasons JA has been brought in slowly.
Of the guards his 3 pt shooting has been the worst.
He was the most turnover prone until recently.
He's not a pg that is balanced. He is focused more on driving to the basket than distributing. His athleticism makes up for it in that if he gets into trouble he can contort his body and distribute, (yes this is his much superior attribute over SG), but teams will easily figure out how to negate his drives to the basket if he doesn't become a better 3 pt shooter unless some of the other weaknesses on this team improve. That's what happened to TB but at least his supporting cast made up for the weakness and TB was a pass first guard.
His defense has been the poorest of the four guards prior to his benching.
He yells at his team mates on and off the court. That's maturational but if not taken to task will not change and will be a big problem.
He is foul prone. He would have received a lot more playing time in the first half but he picked up two quick fouls. And yes they were bogus but part of his problem is he doesn't know how to interact with the refs. Kemba was a master at interacting with the refs. His smile was infectious. Bazz didn't use this method but chose to go to the refs and politely discuss what happened. Jerome, Jalen, Amida and Shonn scowl at the refs. The refs should be unbiased. But most of us know that's not how things work. Smart players figure things out and work with the system. The "so called" principled players will be sitting on the bench with foul problems.

SG can drive to the basket. He struggles with finishing and/or distributing. Is he selfish? I disagree with people proposing this. He certainly lacks Jalens quick burst and jumping ability so the coaches move the bigs away from the basket to allow for more spacing. It's compensation for his limitations. But not having players to distribute is part of the problem. SG does not inflame the refs or other players. He drastically improved his defense (Jalen has as well) and manages to stay out of foul trouble. I love TSam, but he was a poorer version of SG in all aspects of the game imo and I feel strongly that forcing the coaching staff to put in an immature and undisciplined Jalen from the start of the season would have inhibited his development and the future of UConn as opposed to helping it.

 

[blackbird]

guys Ollie knows now.

Even with the ridiculous punishing (not that some sort of punishment wasn't deserved - I don't know that. But the way Ollie did it was ridiculous), He knew it.

When he takes Adams out, and our team goes stupid, Adams is quickly returned. He hasn't fully committed himself to Adams, but he knows the truth deep down.

 

[tykurez]

How are you all getting your inside information? You guys sitting in the huddle or at practice? Genuinely curious how you know what Jalen did to get himself in the doghouse. Or that Gibbs is selfish. Because I don't think you know or I know any better.

 

[tzznandrew]

I'm glad they went out and got Gibbs. And early in the year, despite what anyone wants to pretend, Adams was a mess. He still struggles, but the team is notably better with him on the floor.

Jalen/Gibbs or Jalen/Purvis needs to be on the court for about 30-35 minutes combined, and we can have Gibbs/Purvis on for the rest.

This team isn't winning a title, but they can still do damage if they can put it together. It sadly might be too late, though.

 

[Jaker]

If we did not have Gibbs, we would be in no position to make the tourney.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

And we all need to be prepared to deal with Jalen's mistakes that can cost us games. I don't want to see that and expect he should get better with decisions after he has been given the ball, so to speak. But he really needs the team to support him or they will not succeed. Especially Gibbs. It would be great if he could embrace a change in role.

 

[Matt1010]

And we all need to be prepared to deal with Jalen's mistakes that can cost us games. I don't want to see that and expect he should get better with decisions after he has been given the ball, so to speak. But he really needs the team to support him or they will not succeed. Especially Gibbs. It would be great if he could embrace a change in role.

In what way has Gibbs not embraced Adams? JA has had nothing but good things to say about how helpful Gibbs has been with the transition to D1 and in general. It's not Gibbs fault that he is being used incorrectly and forced into a PG roll. I bet he would much rather play SG and get fed open looks from deep.

 

[jibsey]

The Gibbs point guard debate is over, he can drive maybe distribute some, but he can't finish well or get his own shot. He can get us bucket loads of points by spotting up for uncontested 3's. He makes them. Do we need The Warren Commision? If KO and his staff don't see this, well I don't know what to say, but we have other fish to fry and that is our lack of second chance baskets, offensive rebounds and girly frontcourt. It's not for lack of trying but other than Miller they didn't eat their wheaties. We are going to be pushed and bullied around depending on who we play and sadly I have no idea if there is an answer other than recruiting. I refuse to put that on coaching because how do you coach muscles and strength? Even the best conditioning coach in the world can't successfully add it to some player's bodies because of their DNA. In some games when our shooting is very good it's no issue but it will continue to rear it's ugly head, that's my take.

 

[gtcam]

I totally agree JA should be the PG
I think SG should play BUT play off the ball
This JA Alpha Dog talk is, to me, premature.
What has he shown to prove he is a leader? He has proven he can drive, he has proven he can play with flair (inopportune at times) and has yet to show he is a consistent outside shooter - while he did have some success from the outside yesterday
Lets see him run the show before he is the Alpha

 

[ctchamps]

I'm glad they went out and got Gibbs. And early in the year, despite what anyone wants to pretend, Adams was a mess. He still struggles, but the team is notably better with him on the floor.

Jalen/Gibbs or Jalen/Purvis needs to be on the court for about 30-35 minutes combined, and we can have Gibbs/Purvis on for the rest.

This team isn't winning a title, but they can still do damage if they can put it together. It sadly might be too late, though.

To me this part of the problem is getting solved. There are a couple of other problems I'm less confident with.
Most important is can AB be the player he was in the SMU game and late in the Cinci game without reverting back to the undisciplined player we saw most of the Cinci game?
Can DHam get out of his offensive slump? Can he improve his defense without significantly sacrificing his defensive rebounding? Can he and AB mend their relationship?
Can Rodney, Sterling and Omar become more consistent.

Not giving JA more burn was prudent on KO's part. The kids drive to win is both his positive and negative trait. He needs to maintain that desire but keep it controlled. I believe he will ultimately accomplish this just as Bazz did. I believe KO walked the fine line between helping him find his self control so that he can be a force both this season and beyond and allowing the team to develop.

I believe AB will figure things out. I believe that RP, SG and OC have turned the corner and if Jalen continues to mature they will be everything we need them to be. I'm most concerned about DHam. His funk is getting worse and not better. KO is doing everything in his power to help him.

 

[TasteofUConn]

This JA Alpha Dog talk is, to me, premature. What has he shown to prove he is a leader? . . . has yet to show he is a consistent outside shooter - w

What has he shown to prove he is a leader?
1. Constant effort. Guy does not give up on any plays.
2. Great PG skills.
3. Vocal.
4. Can control the offense with his speed, quickness, and awareness.
5. Extreme desire to win.
6. Freakishly long arms (not really, but true).

Perhaps a better question is - "If we know we suck with the current Alpha Dog PG, who is going to be somewhere other than Storrs in less than about 50 days, then why NOT give him a shot at alpha? Hmmm?" Who else do you have in mind? Gilbert?

Quick season stat comparison:
JA - 65 Boards, 53 Assists, 44 TO, 28 Steals, 9 blocks, 435 FG%,
SG - 55 Boards, 71 Assists, 37 TO, 22 Steals, 1 block, 393 FG%

Oh - and JA has played only 75% of the minutes of SG. Other than 3P% (Gibbs 385 vs. 171) and TOs, JA is far and away a better player.

 

[DDaileyuconn]

This is why Kids choose the coach and not the university, sad without Gibbs were in the NIT