2014 Preseason Analysis(Player & Team)

[bmayuc]

The preseason is meant to get jitters out, figure out who will show what when there are people in the stands, and begin to form up rotations and capabilities. We needed every single one of the 80 minutes this year, as the team is very much in flux in both roles and delivery. So what did we find out?

OFFENSE: Boatright spent most of his time really trying to get the new folks involved. He forced nothing, was not assertive looking for his shot, and still was able to turn it up and score when he wanted/needed to. This was a good approach for the Preseason, but he needs to start hunting his shot a bit more. I anticipate he will begin to fire away on some of the dozens of open 3's he was afforded. We will be in good hands with Cassell, DHam, and TSam at G/W spots. They all score, have confidence, and do not offer duplicative skills. Our Post game doesn't exist, as far as I'm concerned. TBD on that.

DEFENSE: Yikes. I'll stay simple here, but we were just bad all the way around. Open shots all over the place off in-bounds plays, sketchy rebounding, lots of stupid fouls, Brimah continually getting in foul trouble. I feel much worse defensively than I do offensively about this team. The one caveat to this is that these physically overmatched teams often scrap pretty hard for their points, which inherently means they get weird, long rebounds(happened alot) and the refs were just calling fouls unbelievably tight. Still, this has to be a concern moving forward.

PLAYERS:

DHam: Screw it, I'm starting with the Freshman. 12pts, 12rbs, 6assissts. Those are numbers that very few people in our programs history have had a chance to produce. He did it in his 2nd game. He hasn't shot particularly well from distance, but his form looks good. But the rest of the floor game he may as well have flashed a NEON 'STAR' sign for 80 minutes. He has GREAT handle, Great Rebounding ability, GREAT midrange shotmaking, Great vision, Great passing ability, and oh ya locked up a guy who's 5'5 and a guy who's 6'6 in this game. At the beginning of the year I said he would average 12-5-2. I was wrong. He's going to be like 15-8-4, be a Freshman All-American, and probably be gone after this year.

Boat: Solid, looked to get other people shots. He needs to feel when the offense is sputtering and hunt his shot a bit, but he will be rock solid all year. Great Captain.

TSam: Just steady, steady. Finishes plays he should finish, doesn't turn the ball over, plays solid D. Great role player.

Cassell: Brought his dad's , err, confidence with him. He's a microwave, doesn't not need any time to warm up. He may or may not start. He WILL be on the floor to close games out. Impressive savvy, shotmaking. Not the best athlete, has been roasted a few times on defense. slow feet. But whatever, he makes shots and creates with the ball out there.

Purvis: Wow. He's like the anti-Cassell at the moment. He just has zero confidence on the court. He could have all the skills and athleticism and talent in the world, but until he gets out of his head he can't even seem to dribble or catch the ball without turning it over. If you looked at every play today and tried to imagine the worst outcome, he basically did that. Missed layups, not catching outlet passes, offensive fouls, dribbling off his foot, missing WIDE open 3s. I believe eventually he'll shake off the rust, but what a devastating performance for him out there today.

Brimah: Up and Down. He clearly has improved his touch and jumper. His free throw stroke looked great. If he can stay on the floor it looks like he vastly improved his strength/Rebounding. But DAMN kid, stop fouling. Once he can learn that he will be dynamite. Until then, we will get the experience we had this preseason. Inconsistency.

Nolan: Solid, but unspectacular. He will fill his role this year.

Facey: Solid, you can see he has a nice jumper and will grab a ton of rebounds and block some shots. Count me thrilled if he throws up a 6-6-1 line this year. I like him alot.

Lubin: Long way to go. Not really sure his role this year outside of a few rebounds and 5 fouls. We will see.

Calhoun: TBD

 

[RedDog]

The team has been sloppy, and needs to get better on defense (which of course it will).
The best thing about the preseason, Cassell is the real deal. We heard a ton about DHam )deserving) and Purvis (he'll come around), but I hadn't heard too much pub for Sam. If Calhoun comes around, we could have 3 point shooters all over the place.

 

[ctchamps]

Nice write up. I'll have to see the game again but I felt TSam lost his player at least three times. Actually felt better about Purvis's defense.

 

[BKLYN]

I think some of us need to relax about Purvis... It's been two preseason games and he has a lot of hype surrounding him ... he's nervous. When he calms down he'll come around and be one of our top 2 or 3 players. I BELIEVE IN THE FERRARI!

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

2nd half between the 15 min and 14 min mark there was NO ball, you. man D and we got hit I believe with 3 backdoor layup attempts/baskets by Assumption. Complete mental break downs on defense. I believe Facey and Cassell were 2 that got beat in that time frame. TSAM can also play better D and he is one of my fav players.

 

[ctchamps]

2nd half between the 15 min and 14 min mark there was NO ball, you. man D and we got hit I believe with 3 backdoor layup attempts/baskets by Assumption. Complete mental break downs on defense. I believe Facey and Cassell were 2 that got beat in that time frame. TSAM can also play better D and he is one of my fav players.

That was a bad stretch of defense. Total breakdown in focus by several players. DHam was also guilty. About his only bad play in an otherwise stellar performance.

 

[Huskyforlife]

It's the preseason

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

UConn is 32-53 from the line in the 2 games. This is a very concerning stat. The key stat the led us to cut down the nets was FT shooting. All the hype over the Nash Drill and near perfection at the line was a major theme. It will take some time for this team to transition without Bazz. Puerto Rico will be a big challenge. Escaping that tournament without a loss will be a pretty big accomplishment. I know 0904 already called a loss there before our exhibitions. It would be nice to escape that unblemished and start the growth process against 2 or 3 potential bubble teams.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

That was a bad stretch of defense. Total breakdown in focus by several players. DHam was also guilty. About his only bad play in an otherwise stellar performance.

I would have to watch that 60-90 secs of action because my recollection could be off on the 3rd backdoor. I am pretty sure there were 3 but I don't have the replay. Basically I just did a double take at the scoreboard to make note of the time after the 2nd meltdown.

 

[bear]

UConn is 32-53 from the line in the 2 games. This is a very concerning stat. The key stat the led us to cut down the nets was FT shooting. All the hype over the Nash Drill and near perfection at the line was a major theme. It will take some time for this team to transition without Bazz. Puerto Rico will be a big challenge. Escaping that tournament without a loss will be a pretty big accomplishment. I know 0904 already called a loss there before our exhibitions. It would be nice to escape that unblemished and start the growth process against 2 or 3 potential bubble teams.

In last year's exhibition games we shot 24 of 43 for 56% from the FT line. I went and checked because I remembered it being a struggle in the exhibitions. Still very early and they have a lot of practices and free throw drills ahead of them. Wouldn't worry about FT's just yet.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

In last year's exhibition games we shot 24 of 43 for 56% from the FT line. I went and checked because I remembered it being a struggle in the exhibitions. Still very early and they have a lot of practices and free throw drills ahead of them. Wouldn't worry about FT's just yet.

Interesting stat. Thank you...

 

[upstater]

Just remember, UConn lost Napier and Giffey who were very good from the free throw line. Daniels was good too. Kromah was average.
They are being replaced by Cassell, Samuel, Purvis, Facey and Hamilton.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

^^^^^^
Yep part of the transition without Bazz is his stellar FT shooting.

 

[bmayuc]

In last year's exhibition games we shot 24 of 43 for 56% from the FT line. I went and checked because I remembered it being a struggle in the exhibitions. Still very early and they have a lot of practices and free throw drills ahead of them. Wouldn't worry about FT's just yet.

I always chuckle when people get rung up about FT stats. It aint hard. The reason we shot 90% in the tourney was that we had Napier(90%) and Boatright(80%) Shooting all the damn free throws. That was within their normal range. Now, unlike prior seasons we won't have a drummond or Boone this year, so we should be pretty well set from the line again, but its not because of training or any other thing.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I always chuckle when people get rung up about FT stats. It aint hard. The reason we shot 90% in the tourney was that we had Napier(90%) and Boatright(80%) Shooting all the damn free throws. That was within their normal range. Now, unlike prior seasons we won't have a drummond or Boone this year, so we should be pretty well set from the line again, but its not because of training or any other thing.

"Not because of training..." ?????? That's a bit strong no??? Bazz went from .743 % as a Soph to 87% as a Senior. Something tells me training and the Nash Drill helped. At least somewhat.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-a-...ance-deep-into-ncaa-tournament-040824027.html

 

[Inyatkin]

OFFENSE: Boatright spent most of his time really trying to get the new folks involved. He forced nothing, was not assertive looking for his shot, and still was able to turn it up and score when he wanted/needed to. This was a good approach for the Preseason, but he needs to start hunting his shot a bit more.

I don't know, sounds an awful lot like Shabazz Napier circa 2013. That worked out OK.

 

[johnhuskies95]

I always chuckle when people get rung up about FT stats. It aint hard. The reason we shot 90% in the tourney was that we had Napier(90%) and Boatright(80%) Shooting all the damn free throws. That was within their normal range. Now, unlike prior seasons we won't have a drummond or Boone this year, so we should be pretty well set from the line again, but its not because of training or any other thing.

Without looking it up, IIRC Purvis was abysmal at NC State from the line. It hurts because it seems like his game is conducive to shooting a lot of free throws.

 

[ctchamps]

Without looking it up, IIRC Purvis was abysmal at NC State from the line. It hurts because it seems like his game is conducive to shooting a lot of free throws.

.512 (42 made out of 82 attempted)

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/rodney-purvis-1.html

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

.512 (42 made out of 82 attempted)

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/rodney-purvis-1.html

I have to act under the assumption KO has seen a lot of great things from Purvis over the last several months dating back to last season. I would have preferred the "Ferarri in the garage..." analogy be kept on the down low though. It raised some unreasonable expectations to start the season. So far he has looked exactly the same as when I first saw him at the open practice/scrimmage last year. Purvis I think will grow this season as much or more than any other player as he acclimates himself to the speed of the game after being out for an extended period. KO's "It is a process" comment hits home the most with Purvis. He desperately needs to be coached up. I think Ollie delivers and we get a very good player at some point this year.

 

[Gurleyman]

I always chuckle when people get rung up about FT stats. It aint hard. The reason we shot 90% in the tourney was that we had Napier(90%) and Boatright(80%) Shooting all the damn free throws. That was within their normal range. Now, unlike prior seasons we won't have a drummond or Boone this year, so we should be pretty well set from the line again, but its not because of training or any other thing.

There's some truth to that, but I think you're not appreciating what we did last year. It wasn't just those two guys making them all - Samuel and Kromah were 60 percent FT shooters in the regular season, but shot 19-20 combined in the tournament. Giffey was 9-9. Brimah hit the biggest one of all.

Beyond that, in the last five minutes and OT, we were 66-71 in the tourney (92.9 %). One of the misses was Boat at the very, very end of OT against St. Joe's when we had it wrapped it up (when we were 15-15 in OT before the miss). Another was Tolksdorf in the final seconds against Nova after we emptied the bench. Take out those two trips to the line and we were 64-67 (95.5 %). That's insane. It is fair to say that we only missed one pressure FT in the whole tourney (Bazz split two against Iowa State up 5 with 30 seconds left). Bazz and Boat also missed one apiece against Nova when we had 10-point leads to account for the other two misses in the 66-71.

That's historically good FT shooting under knockout game pressure. We may never see anything like it again,

 

[UconnU]

Has Purvis always had shaky handle/ball control? Or is ot just nerves? This is really my first time watching him in game situations besides when we played nc st. This is my biggest concern right now with how our guard ball dominant our offense is. We really cant have guards who turn the ball over at a high clip. Also, did anyone else catch at the beginning of the 2nd half(I believe) boat was at the top of the key. Called for motion or called a play and purvis stood there, boat got visibly frustrated with him..

 

[Gurleyman]

Has Purvis always had shaky handle/ball control? Or is ot just nerves? This is really my first time watching him in game situations besides when we played nc st. This is my biggest concern right now with how our guard ball dominant our offense is. We really cant have guards who turn the ball over at a high clip. Also, did anyone else catch at the beginning of the 2nd half(I believe) boat was at the top of the key. Called for motion or called a play and purvis stood there, boat got visibly frustrated with him..

He's had seven turnovers in the two exhibition games, but three of them were charges. He also had a couple sloppy ones, yes, but too early to really say he has a fundamental flaw in his game.

For what it's worth he had 23 turnovers in 18 ACC games (playing 25 mpg) as a freshman, although he wasn't given the same playmaking responsibility there that we are hoping to give him here.

 

[huskymagic]

Has Purvis always had shaky handle/ball control? Or is ot just nerves? This is really my first time watching him in game situations besides when we played nc st. This is my biggest concern right now with how our guard ball dominant our offense is. We really cant have guards who turn the ball over at a high clip. Also, did anyone else catch at the beginning of the 2nd half(I believe) boat was at the top of the key. Called for motion or called a play and purvis stood there, boat got visibly frustrated with him..

Yes even at NC State his ball handling was never great he was a great athlete who got lots of dunks and lay ups on broken plays. His 3-pt shot wasn't bad but his form and the time it takes for him to get set for a 3 are problematic. He needs to play under control because every defender is playing him for the drive and its making him easy to defend because they know he is lacking confidence in the jump shot and his dribble is shaky. He needs to be more like T-Sam who is under control and drives to the basket with full awareness and body control. The problem with Purvis is that he isn't a very good jump shooter and doesn't have solid point guard skills making it hard for Boat to trust him. Boat and Cassell fit better together as does Boat and T-Sam.

 

[Tenspro2002]

"shaky handle/ball control"
"seven turnovers in the two exhibition games...three of them were charges"
"his ball handling was never great he was a great athlete who got lots of dunks and lay ups on broken plays"
"His 3-pt shot wasn't bad but his form and the time it takes for him to get set for a 3 are problematic"
"every defender is playing him for the drive and its making him easy to defend because they know he is lacking confidence in the jump shot and his dribble is shaky"
"he isn't a very good jump shooter and doesn't have solid point guard skills"

I hate to say it, but these all read like a scouting report of Jerome Dyson.

Hopefully he shows something beyond what he has so far (I don't think anyone believes he's as bad as he's shown in these two games, but there are troubling indications in his play), or at least knows to defer to Boat and others.

 

[Gurleyman]

"shaky handle/ball control" "seven turnovers in the two exhibition games...three of them were charges" "his ball handling was never great he was a great athlete who got lots of dunks and lay ups on broken plays" "His 3-pt shot wasn't bad but his form and the time it takes for him to get set for a 3 are problematic" "every defender is playing him for the drive and its making him easy to defend because they know he is lacking confidence in the jump shot and his dribble is shaky" "he isn't a very good jump shooter and doesn't have solid point guard skills" I hate to say it, but these all read like a scouting report of Jerome Dyson. Hopefully he shows something beyond what he has so far (I don't think anyone believes he's as bad as he's shown in these two games, but there are troubling indications in his play), or at least knows to defer to Boat and others.

Jerome Dyson was a key starter on a team ranked No. 1 in the nation. He and that group took two years to elevate from our worst team in 20 years (since JC's first season) to No. 1.

If Purvis can help get us to No. 1 next year, and not get hurt, I'm on board with that.