The Good, the Good, and the Good

[Dogbreath2U]

Amida Brimah.....Great game!! He finally seemed to have the game slow down, or he slowed down....whatever, but nice job with the blocks without fouling and outplaying Tacko by quite a margin.

Kentan Facey.....Moments of greatness! Solid effort and he is just out there competing. He made a couple of mistakes that I hope he will get past, but still a very strong showing. It's all about confidence for KF.

Jalen Adams...not spectacular and not a great shooting exhibition, but I though Jalen seemed to be more in control of this game than any other game this year. He seems to be looking to pass first and that is the mindset that this team really needs.

Rodney Purvis....His fast start was the key to the game, IMHO. Getting ahead took the pressure off and Rodney seemed to finally be playing loose. He made some really nice passes as well. nice game Rodney.

Vance Jackson....had some very good moments, most due to Jalen getting him the ball in the right place at the right time. I really liked the midrange shot he made. He's trying to become more of an inside presence.

Christian Vital....had a few very good moments in less minutes. I loved the pass back to the trailer on the fast break...most freshman would not have made that play.

Juwan Durham....showed some glimpses of who he can be. When he turns it on, he can move with great acceleration and quickness for his height. I would like to see him get some more touches inside.

Team D: Shutdown Tacko pretty completely and kept their focus better than we have seen over the course of an entire game.

 

[UConnDan97]

Amida Brimah.....Great game!! He finally seemed to have the game slow down, or he slowed down....whatever, but nice job with the blocks without fouling and outplaying Tacko by quite a margin.

Kentan Facey.....Moments of greatness! Solid effort and he is just out there competing. He made a couple of mistakes that I hope he will get past, but still a very strong showing. It's all about confidence for KF.

Jalen Adams...not spectacular and not a great shooting exhibition, but I though Jalen seemed to be more in control of this game than any other game this year. He seems to be looking to pass first and that is the mindset that this team really needs.

Rodney Purvis....His fast start was the key to the game, IMHO. Getting ahead took the pressure off and Rodney seemed to finally be playing loose. He made some really nice passes as well. nice game Rodney.

Vance Jackson....had some very good moments, most due to Jalen getting him the ball in the right place at the right time. I really liked the midrange shot he made. He's trying to become more of an inside presence.

Christian Vital....had a few very good moments in less minutes. I loved the pass back to the trailer on the fast break...most freshman would not have made that play.

Juwan Durham....showed some glimpses of who he can be. When he turns it on, he can move with great acceleration and quickness for his height. I would like to see him get some more touches inside.

Team D: Shutdown Tacko pretty completely and kept their focus better than we have seen over the course of an entire game.

You must really hate Enoch...

 

[Stainmaster]

No mention of Restinel Lomotey's first career rebound?

 

[joober jones]

No mention of Restinel Lomotey's first career rebound?

Shades of Charles Barkley right there.

 

[Chin Diesel]

No one on this team is good enough to be the Alpha on the floor all 40 minutes.

They've really struggled learning their role of when it's time to step up and when it's time to be part of the band.

Today, they found their groove.

Too often this year players have passed up good scoring opportunities and also have taken low probability shots.

In October no one was expecting this rotation and the minutes from these guys. They had to reset in Nov/Dec which was the toughest part of the schedule.

They still need to run the table in the reg season and get to at least tournament championship game to go dancing. Stranger things have happened.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

1st half Defense was outstanding.

 

[3rdbass]

No one on this team is good enough to be the Alpha on the floor all 40 minutes.

They've really struggled learning their role of when it's time to step up and when it's time to be part of the band.

Today, they found their groove.

Too often this year players have passed up good scoring opportunities and also have taken low probability shots.

In October no one was expecting this rotation and the minutes from these guys. They had to reset in Nov/Dec which was the toughest part of the schedule.

They still need to run the table in the reg season and get to at least tournament championship game to go dancing. Stranger things have happened.

Why not just win the tournament? That would be easier. Lol! They aren't going to run the table in the regular season for sure.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

No one on this team is good enough to be the Alpha on the floor all 40 minutes.

They've really struggled learning their role of when it's time to step up and when it's time to be part of the band.

Today, they found their groove.

Too often this year players have passed up good scoring opportunities and also have taken low probability shots.

In October no one was expecting this rotation and the minutes from these guys. They had to reset in Nov/Dec which was the toughest part of the schedule.

They still need to run the table in the reg season and get to at least tournament championship game to go dancing. Stranger things have happened.

They would need to win the championship, there's no way we are getting in right now. It's also getting to the point where we are
Celebrating a win against UCF, that's pretty depressing

 

[Stainmaster]

They would need to win the championship, there's no way we are getting in right now. It's also getting to the point where we are
Celebrating a win against UCF, that's pretty depressing

UCF will probably finish within the top half of the conference this year. They looked alive in OOC and had a couple of nice wins, plus they played Villanova tough as well. I'm not saying this is some huge accomplishment, but it's not like we beat UCF of the past few years.

 

[Chin Diesel]

They would need to win the championship, there's no way we are getting in right now. It's also getting to the point where we are
Celebrating a win against UCF, that's pretty depressing

UCF will probably finish within the top half of the conference this year. They looked alive in OOC and had a couple of nice wins, plus they played Villanova tough as well. I'm not saying this is some huge accomplishment, but it's not like we beat UCF of the past few years.

It's not that UConn beat UCF. It's that UConn curb stomped them out the gate and never let them back in the game. That is a skillset this team hasn't shown this year. And quite frankly, not seen in the past three seasons.

 

[Jaker]

Really looking forward to the game against Gtown.

 

[Matrim55]

It's not that UConn beat UCF. It's that UConn curb stomped them out the gate and never let them back in the game. That is a skillset this team hasn't shown this year. And quite frankly, not seen in the past three seasons.

And they curb-stomped them by executing, not by out-athletic'ing them, or just killing them on the glass or something. They looked like a smart team that understood how to exploit a static defense's weakness, and understood how and when to shoot open jumpers.

Whether it's against UCF or Cincinnati or Northeastern, "thinking" the game better is progress.

 

[GlastonTim]

Great ball movement on offense, and finding the open man. Maybe it's just taken the freshman this long to become familiar with it.

 

[Huskybass]

I was at the game and it was like a different team was out there today. Kentan looked great, Vance is developing a little swagger, Rodney played very well on both ends of the floor, Amida frustrated Fall, Vital hit some shots, Juwan had a few nice plays. A total team effort and domination from the start.

The only puzzling thing was that Enoch hardly played. Perhaps he was lost on D? I would have liked him to have gotten more minutes, especially up by a comfortable margin all game.

 

[mauconnfan]

Next for Jalen is quit getting caught up in the air when passing the ball. He got lucky a few times and still had 6 TO's. That needs to stop because the kid played a good game for the most part from what I saw. (going back and forth fro the Giants game). Even Dougie said he can get to wherever he wants on the court, now he needs to know what he's going to do with it more often than not. Can't take away all the creativity but he needs to cut down on those TO's somehow.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I was at the game and it was like a different team was out there today. Kentan looked great, Vance is developing a little swagger, Rodney played very well on both ends of the floor, Amida frustrated Fall, Vital hit some shots, Juwan had a few nice plays. A total team effort and domination from the start.

The only puzzling thing was that Enoch hardly played. Perhaps he was lost on D? I would have liked him to have gotten more minutes, especially up by a comfortable margin all game.

With all the early season injuries and then Jalen's concussion, the rotation has barely had time to work out the kinks.

Jackson replacing Vital has been good in that it rotates Vital, Adams and Purvis, providing the opportunity to rest one of those three at a time.

The final rotation piece appears to be the 15 minutes or so divided up between Durhman and Enoch. Based on the past few games, it seems that Durham is starting to get more of those minutes.

 

[Hankster]

It's not that UConn beat UCF. It's that UConn curb stomped them out the gate and never let them back in the game. That is a skillset this team hasn't shown this year. And quite frankly, not seen in the past three seasons.

I agree. Let's hope it continues. Thinking championship? Win out? How about enjoying that game yesterday and realize (hope they do) what they CAN do. They played smooth, loose and confident.

 

[Hankster]

Next for Jalen is quit getting caught up in the air when passing the ball. He got lucky a few times and still had 6 TO's. That needs to stop because the kid played a good game for the most part from what I saw. (going back and forth fro the Giants game). Even Dougie said he can get to wherever he wants on the court, now he needs to know what he's going to do with it more often than not. Can't take away all the creativity but he needs to cut down on those TO's somehow.

I too was clicking back and forth between games. At the end of both first halves I was in a daze WTH? Well G-men could not finish but our pups did. I swear both TV stations agreed on when to show commercials. I swear during the first half of both games had commercials on at the same time.

 

[RichZ]

I swear both TV stations agreed on when to show commercials. I swear during the first half of both games had commercials on at the same time.

I click between games and something else all the time, and even when switching between a game and regular programming, where the commercials are on a schedule, they coincide with the commercials that occur in conjunction with random stoppage of play way too often for coincidence.

 

[Matrim55]

I agree. Let's hope it continues. Thinking championship? Win out? How about enjoying that game yesterday and realize (hope they do) what they CAN do. They played smooth, loose and confident.

I'm thinking "steady improvement." I don't care that much about our record, I just want to see the 5 guys who'll return to the lineup next year continue to play better and better.

It'd be nice if we finished above .500 and won the AAC tourney, but I won't cry if neither happens. What I'm thrilled about is Adams looking like a floor general, Vital making good decisions on the break, Jackson hitting open 3s, Durham rebounding out of his area, etc. Because that's the stuff that tells me we have a very good foundation for next year and the year after.

 

[jibsey]

I agree. Let's hope it continues. Thinking championship? Win out? How about enjoying that game yesterday and realize (hope they do) what they CAN do. They played smooth, loose and confident.

Rodney made shots.

 

[joober jones]

They would need to win the championship, there's no way we are getting in right now. It's also getting to the point where we are
Celebrating a win against UCF, that's pretty depressing

UCF isn't the whipping post it used to be. With a depleted roster and such, this was a good win for us.

 

[ctchamps]

Rodney made shots.

The whole team shot better. And made free throws. And the other team shot worse than their season's average. And didn't make FT's.

 

[RichZ]

The whole team shot better. And made free throws. And the other team shot worse than their season's average. And didn't make FT's.

Too small a sample size to say we made FTs. 4 of 6, based on Amida making 3 of 4 and Vance making 1 of 2.

 

[ctchamps]

Too small a sample size to say we made FTs. 4 of 6, based on Amida making 3 of 4 and Vance making 1 of 2.

Amida's misses in the Tulsa game could have been the difference in outcomes of that game but I do agree with the sample size. The overall point is that unless the brisket goes in the basket and the number of briskets going through is greater than the other team's briskets going through than UConn will lose.

Choosing to use briskets for @August_West and @8893 rather than the Doug biscuit statement.