Simple Fix

[CheshireCat]

whaley and jackson are offensive non-participants. when playing alongside sanogo they are actively detrimental.

their attempts at offense are often laughable (whaley flailing and falling to the ground in an exaggerated fashion after catching the ball in the paint, or any time jackson attempts to shoot).

they are clearly mis-cast in roles that don’t fit. whaley is a backup center, not a power forward. at this stage in his career jackson is a point forward that needs to play in a transition game.

instead, we are playing them alongside a traditional post player. so they inevitably lead to a clogged up paint, and when they do get the ball on the perimeter that are no threat and look to hand it back off immediately.

in my opinion it would have been better to surround sanogo with shooters and hope the defense improved throughout the year. and let jackson & whaley play in a 2nd unit focused on getting up and down the court.

/rant

Did Jackson throw the shot put in highschool?

 

[Giddyup5]

He is not going to change the starting lineup. But I don’t understand why not at least bring Polley in for Whaley or Adama 3 or 4 minutes in?

 

[Conndog]

Another game where Sanogo misses so many shots up close. 6-16. Question: who is the coach for the big men? IMHO sanogo goes up too weak that results in those misses at the rim. Is Leito, Dickman or Vaughn around? He needs to increase his efficiency to break thru

Creighton is tall and packed the inside against UConn, they did a great job of defending against Sanogo. He tried hard, and yes he missed some inside shots, but they were strongly contested- it's not like he was missing uncontested layups. When outside shooting is bad, UConn has a tough time winning against good teams. Sanogo is also a tremendous defender although he lost his man several times, at least, in Creighton's pick and roll, it is legitimate to criticize for when this happened, but UConn too many times let their man get by them, so that is what started the problem. Either he picks up the attacker, who otherwise goes for layup/dunk at the rim, and leaves his man to do this, or he lets the attacker go because he has to stay with his man. The zone would have been better choice for defense, at least in 2nd half when UConn couldn't answer how to stop Creighton's inside game.

 

[3rdbass]

Did Jackson throw the shot put in highschool?

Nah he just dunked over 6 foot white kids all day long. LOL!

 

[jdb50]

What do we accomplish by starting almost every game not being able to score? 5 minutes in, 7 minutes in sometimes 10? It is bizarre watching this game after game. Creighton had a quick 7 footer who could dunk and took full advantage by dragging our bigs out and then breaking for the basket with a wide open lane to get there. No adjustment by us.

 

[connVA]

I totally agree. You need guys with at least shooting potential in there with Adama. That will help both the shooter and the Big in the post. Too often we put Polley in when Adama is out and then he’s closely guarded. Put him in when their defense is doubling Adama disown low.

We can’t afford games when we score 10 points with 10 minutes left in the first half. We may come back and make it close, but we generally lose those games. Digging out if a hole, the rest of the game.

Gaffney has had some good games at the end of last season. He’s a better shooter than he shows in for brief minutes. There’s are reasons why teams with good coaches don’t guard Whaley and Jackson at the 3 line but guard Gaffney and Polley there.

Precisely- Wright, McDermott, and maybe Cooley and Shaka now know exactly how to take Adama out of the offense and, rather than counter it, Danny doubles down because he doesn’t want to sacrifice his best defensive lineup. But defense can only do so much (you’re not shutting out anyone in basketball) and, shockingly enough, you can’t win if you can’t score.

 

[connVA]

He is not going to change the starting lineup. But I don’t understand why not at least bring Polley in for Whaley or Adama 3 or 4 minutes in?

Whaley? Absolutely. Adama- no way. Shooters like Martin and Cole are good and getting better and we know what Polley (outside) and Adama (inside) can do when they’ve got space to operate. Crush teams like Creighton with a devastating inside-outside game.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Nah he just dunked over 6 foot white kids all day long. LOL!

Yup and his layup attempts were really just alley oops to himself.

 

[TRUCONN76]

Hey Guys, I know that Hurley has decent offensive plays in his book, usually for after time-outs. But I have come to the conclusion that DH is primarily a defensive coach. He almost never gets the ball back to the guy who is hot. Never. Polley has to really work hard (which he is not equipped to do) to get it on the few occasions per season when he gets hot.

When does Hurley become most animated? Right - after the Huskies have scored off a few helter-skelter, defensive pressure sequences. It's who DH is, how he played for his dad & later at Seton Hall, & how he see's himself & his teams: scrappy, D-first, high energy. Just like his legendary dad & the blue-collar NJ city he grew up in.

But we have all seen too many offensive deficiencies at the end of UConn plays, & games to make us feel that Danny Hurley can lead the right players, to the ball, at the right time, at the right place on the court to win it all - yet. Hurley's gotta make some changes in his approach.

More egregiously, Hurley hasn't recruited one versatile, great, natural outside shooter up to Storrs in his four years there yet. And that makes it so hard for his team at the end of close, 'off' away games like tonight at Creighton, who does recruit great shooters (Villanova, Davidson, Houston, UCLA & Illinois are others). Shooters are what the Huskies sorely need, & have for many years now.

Two things we all noticed at the end of that fantastic old school, BE Villanova game last week were: 1) how calm coach Wright was, even when they were missing their shots & UConn was soaring, & 2) how calm Villanova's great players were with each other as the game progressed. And they kept hitting those outside shots on the road, so calmly.

Why? Because unlike with Hurley and his scant outside shooting team (don't let the stats fool you), Villanova's coach & players had complete confidence in their ability to stay in the game, & with each other. I don't see that with Hurley & this team.

Because Coach Wright always brings in smart, great scorers & shooters. Every year. He is tempermentally more even than Hurley as well. And that provides the confidence they've needed to win two NC's in the last six years. Villanova's swagger begins with recruiting versatile, great shooting players, usually 6'3" - 6'7"who can play all the positions. Notice how often they post up their guards? Look how much former Wildcat Jalen Brunson does it for the Dallas Mav's despite being under-sized.

Danny Hurley must recognize that the name of the game is NOT Isiah Whaley flailing away on full-court, helping defensive pressure. It's Rashad Anderson putting shot after shot into the hole from deep when it counts. Shooting is the name of the game.

Hurley can start by working on Andre' Jackson's terrible "guided" outside shooting form in the off-season. Because?...same old questions apply now with Hurley: Why did '0-6 from 3' AJ have to take that last shot at the top of the key at the end of tonight's game - a complete miss of the rim, right? And...Why didn't Hurley call a play for Cole, Martin or Polley - with options, his only shooters tonight? Answers: Because Hurley needs to change his approach to recruiting, player development & in-game coaching - AND, to fully embrace offense the way a Ricky Pitino does.

Coaches like Wright, McDermott, Izzo & Pitino make Danny Hurley look like a CYO coach by comparison in a tight game.

- Father Demo -

Ridiculous analysis

 

[ucp990411]

I totally agree. You need guys with at least shooting potential in there with Adama. That will help both the shooter and the Big in the post. Too often we put Polley in when Adama is out and then he’s closely guarded. Put him in when their defense is doubling Adama disown low.

We can’t afford games when we score 10 points with 10 minutes left in the first half. We may come back and make it close, but we generally lose those games. Digging out if a hole, the rest of the game.

Gaffney has had some good games at the end of last season. He’s a better shooter than he shows in for brief minutes. There’s are reasons why teams with good coaches don’t guard Whaley and Jackson at the 3 line but guard Gaffney and Polley there.

I get it that you like Gaffney. We have played 28 games. Please tell us what Gaffney has done in 27 of them that he should be starting?

 

[Horatio]

Hard to believe that in this age of specialized trainings, computer analysis, Dr.Dish shooting machines, etc., we have several upper class men that are terrified of and incapable of offense.

 

[Palatine]

I think Danny must recognize that not everything that makes you successful at Wagner and the URI level makes you successful at UConn’s level. What the competition does and what you need to do is different.
Chief uses Calhoun’s press as an example. He had to adjust against better teams and once he got better talent and played differently.
Of course, Hawkins is an answer too, but he was injured after that screen last night.

I think Danny probably knows that. But he counts on Sanogo to shoot better than 4-14. Gotta give him credit for his halftime adjustments last night. But he needs to tweak things with the clock running. Letting AS get pullled away from the basket proved fatal.

Calhoun had the same stubborn streak that prevented him from going zone even in dire circumstances. It's a blessing and a curse. We have watched DH's coaching and his the play of his teams improve as he get more experience. Let's hope it continues.

 

[UconnU]

Coach is in a tough spot Whaley and Jackson are our 2 best defenders. Whaley is the motor for the team and Jackson pushes pace. But we’re much more effective offensively when Polley and Hawkins are in for them. For the Jackson-Whaley lineup to work we need to be the best offensive rebounding team in the country, and we were for a while.

You can see how threatened teams are by Polley in their game plans. They’re physical with him, don’t give him an inch beyond the arc. Not many teams have a 6’9 guy who can can contested 3s like Polley. Will be a huge loss for us next year.

 

[Chief00]

What do we accomplish by starting almost every game not being able to score? 5 minutes in, 7 minutes in sometimes 10? It is bizarre watching this game after game. Creighton had a quick 7 footer who could dunk and took full advantage by dragging our bigs out and then breaking for the basket with a wide open lane to get there. No adjustment by us.

We need to play our poor man’s “shooters” when Adama is on the court. Whaley and Jackson get wide open 3’s but rarely make it. If you give Polley, Hawkins and Gaffney the same shots their 3pt %’s go up. The opponent though won’t and that will open up the paint.

 

[MTBingNinja]

And recognize our lack of defense with the hard hedge, that we couldn’t keep up with the athletic ability of Kalkbrenner. Should have shut the hard hedge down when it clearly wasn’t working. You wonder why these players go off against us

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not sure if Gaff is the answer but agree that you can’t have two guys on the court for extended stretches who are not consistent, legitimate threats in the half court (other than cleaning up the garbage on the glass). McDermott sags a second defender to clog the paint and rolls the dice with AJ, Whaley, or both on the perimeter. It’s just smart strategy.

They aren't threats from outside, so DH needs to stop positioning them outside and expecting teams to be dumb enough to chase them. Whaley needs to play inside the arc, where is a threat. Jackson creates offense with passes, so it's not just scoring with him. When he is off the ball, he can't just stand still on the 3 point line. You can run offense with that starting five, you just can't run "4 out" offense with that starting 5. So stop trying to.

 

[cohenzone]

Whaley and Jackson were 3 for 15 or 20% FG. Polley and Gaffney were a combine 4 for 7 or 57%. We need to change the starting lineup, good coaches can really exploit our lack of offense in the first half. I thought Gaffney would have had a big night.

Whicb Gaffney is that, the one everyone wants to play behind Diggins? Why do we need to change the starting line up? Just came off a 5 game win streak and we lose by 2 to a decent team after a miserable first 15 minutes. In my book Jackson is the issue. Are one or two highlight reel plays a game worth really crappy shooting? Why should a coach on a winning streak mess with the starters. The main thing is what combinations are on the floor through out the game, not to mention I don’t know a single coach who can make a shot for a player or know ahead of time who is going to be hot or who is cooling off.

 

[Woof 101]

Everything that could have gone wrong in a game went wrong, by players and coaches,

Not attacking Dan but JC would have and did win many games like this with similar talent.

What do we accomplish by starting almost every game not being able to score? 5 minutes in, 7 minutes in sometimes 10?

Not that I know more than Dan but he does have to realize it is never too early to use a time out. Dom Perno suffered the same problem in a different way, we could have a double digit lead and he would wait until the score was tied to use a TO.
I remember a few games Calhoun called a time out so early the network was not ready for their adds. The talking heads commentary and color were spinning.

 

[SubbaBub]

After another cold start, they made a tremendous comeback and then choked when they had an opportunity to grab hold of the game. Missed about 5 chances to take the lead while tied at 50. Jackson then made three bad plays in a row and Creighton went up 5. Made a fight of it down the stretch, but as they say in horse racing, we didn't have enough to make a second charge.

 

[Chief00]

Whicb Gaffney is that, the one everyone wants to play behind Diggins? Why do we need to change the starting line up? Just came off a 5 game win streak and we lose by 2 to a decent team after a miserable first 15 minutes. In my book Jackson is the issue. Are one or two highlight reel plays a game worth really crappy shooting? Why should a coach on a winning streak mess with the starters. The main thing is what combinations are on the floor through out the game, not to mention I don’t know a single coach who can make a shot for a player or know ahead of time who is going to be hot or who is cooling off.

I tell you may friend, you need at least a reasonable threat of a shooter or ekes Adama is doubled and sometimes tripled.

 

[Chief00]

After another cold start, they made a tremendous comeback and then choked when they had an opportunity to grab hold of the game. Missed about 5 chances to take the lead while tied at 50. Jackson then made three bad plays in a row and Creighton went up 5. Made a fight of it down the stretch, but as they say in horse racing, we didn't have enough to make a second charge.

We lii on st the game in that “cold start” as we did in other close loses this year. Our rotations are broken. Adama needs to play with some outside threats. Polley’s % may not be great but at least someone covers him. Gaffney and Hawkins are keys to our ceiling. We need another ball handler and another shooter besides Cole.

 

[Chief00]

I think Danny probably knows that. But he counts on Sanogo to shoot better than 4-14. Gotta give him credit for his halftime adjustments last night. But he needs to tweak things with the clock running. Letting AS get pullled away from the basket proved fatal.

Calhoun had the same stubborn streak that prevented him from going zone even in dire circumstances. It's a blessing and a curse. We have watched DH's coaching and his the play of his teams improve as he get more experience. Let's hope it continues.

Adama plays too much in rotations with Whaley and Jackson together.
They both have tremendous value to the team but we should limit them playing together with Adama.

 

[cohenzone]

I tell you may friend, you need at least a reasonable threat of a shooter or ekes Adama is doubled and sometimes tripled.

Got it, we lose one game in the last 6 by two points to a decent team and you hit the panic button. Gaffney is not a reasonable shooting threat although I’m nowhere near as down on him as some. We certainly need better shooting. The more reasonable options are among Polley and Whaley and Martin if you want to mess around some way. Jackson is easily the biggest shooting issue.

 

[SwingDog]

whaley and jackson are offensive non-participants.

What happened to the versions of themselves we saw earlier in the season? Both Whaley and Jackson have had games where they did contribute significantly on offense, and I think it's only fair to expect they would/will continue to going forward. Whaley was crashing the offensive boards and getting some putbacks, made open shots in the paint coming off screens and pick and rolls, and was even knocking down some three-pointers with reasonable accuracy. Jackson was moving well without the ball on offense and getting some alley-oops and a few putbacks as well, and was also making some three's. I really don't know what caused the big drop off for these guys and I hope they can regain what they had, but it's a good thing Polley and Hawkins have been able to produce.

 

[Chief00]

whaley and jackson are offensive non-participants. when playing alongside sanogo they are actively detrimental.

their attempts at offense are often laughable (whaley flailing and falling to the ground in an exaggerated fashion after catching the ball in the paint, or any time jackson attempts to shoot).

they are clearly mis-cast in roles that don’t fit. whaley is a backup center, not a power forward. at this stage in his career jackson is a point forward that needs to play in a transition game.

instead, we are playing them alongside a traditional post player. so they inevitably lead to a clogged up paint, and when they do get the ball on the perimeter that are no threat and look to hand it back off immediately.

in my opinion it would have been better to surround sanogo with shooters and hope the defense improved throughout the year. and let jackson & whaley play in a 2nd unit focused on getting up and down the court.

/rant

Chief agrees with many of your points, I am not calling for both of them not to start but for them not to start together with Adama.
Chief usually says it’s who pksys at the end but we consistently dig a deep offensive hole early in our loses. It’s not even whose a better player it’s who complements RJ and Adama.