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We have now reached the end of this unprecedented, crazy, stressful regular season that included no less than 8 postponed games and 1 cancelled game (according to uconnhuskies.com) although the real number is 10+; multiple COVID-related pauses and/or elongated gaps between games (no need to debate the number, as we can all agree that there were a few, and they caused significant disruption to our season); and key injuries to several of our most important players (Bouk, AJax and Akok chief among them). Here's a quick summary of where we are at, and what our current state could mean for the post-season, both Big East and NCAA tournament.
Although I could easily make this into a lengthy diatribe (some of you will say that it still is, but trust me I could have written so much more) about all the fascinating things that happened this year, I will keep it short and sweet and let all of you who respond expound on each of the players and coaching staff to whatever level you desire. I will sum up what follows with the following statement:
To quote Jerry Garcia: "What a long, strange trip it's been!" With that having been said... it feels like everything is coming together at just the right time, and this has the makings of a special, special post season.
14-6 Overall, 11-6 BE, 3rd in Conference
At beginning of the year we would have taken this, but maybe feeling a bit cautious over our overall record not being a bit more gaudy, particularly after going 0-3 against Villanova and Creighton... of course not knowing then what we know now. As of today looking back? With all the pauses, Bouk missing 8 conference games AND needing a few more games to regain his pre-injury level (which he did yesterday for the first time), AJax missing 7 games and Akok being mostly a non-entity for the entire season? We have actually exceeded expectations, and are right now playing our best basketball of the season, at the most important time of year. This is very positive, and should not be discounted in any way.
Biggest improvements from beginning of the year: Cole, Sanogo, Team D.
With Cole's settling in and showing how he was such a prolific scorer in his 2 years at Howard and Sanogo bringing us a low post game we have not had since... Shonn Miller? Really, since over a decade ago in the heyday of Calhoun's best front courts... This is the most well-rounded team we have had in a decade+. And no, I am not trying to over-hype us. Just being honest about what I am seeing at this moment.
Close 2nds: AJax and Gaffney (recently)... and after yesterday's showing maybe Team O as well? Time will tell, but definitely a significant tick up now that everyone other than Akok is back and playing. 98 points in regulation against a Big East foe, any Big East foe... impressive.
Biggest pleasant surprise for overall season: Tyrese Martin. Yes, he is confounding with his missed layups, and he has cooled off from 3 in recent games... but I love the intangibles he brings to the table - game in and game out. You must have a player or two like Tyrese to go deep into the NCAA tournament. We have two... Tyrese and I. Whaley (who I also love to watch). You can not over-state the importance of these guys to being a bonafide contender. And we are exactly that now.
Tyrese stepped up huge while Bouk was out, which allowed us to keep afloat during that critical 8-game stretch.
Biggest frustrations: 3-way tie: over-usage of the weave on O; Coach's substitution patterns and time out usage AT TIMES (not recently though); and Brendan Adams inability to step up further when given big minutes due to injuries.
Although I have no desire to throw shade at anyone at this point with our current trajectory which is about as positive as it could be,.. for which Hurley and our coaching staff deserve much of the credit for. That having been said... when we slow down and start relying on the weave out top, it hurts our offensive flow. I am happy to see less of it recently. Let's hope that trend continues.
Also, I will state to this day that Hurley made a major mistake in the St. John's game playing BAdams 30 minutes while leaving Sanogo on the bench for the last 12:46 of the game. And no, this is not 20/20 hindsight as I was part of the chorus on the live chat during that game openly questioning that decision as it was happening. In addition, there have been times where he has been too slow to use his timeouts to stop a run by our opponent. Examples: Seton Hall loss, Providence loss.
Important positive note: With Bouk and AJax returning, both of these issues and Brendan Adams playing too much have all faded significantly or gone away completely.
Earlier Year Frustration that is fading with improved play: Gaffney and Cole's play earlier on. I had hoped Gaffney in particular would continue to improve on his play from late last year from the beginning of this season. And Cole obviously struggled until Hurley pulled him from his starter's role for a few games. However, both of their recent play has picked up significantly, particularly Cole's.
And before anyone gives me crap about these 2, I realize that: all the COVID-related pauses and Bouk and AJax getting hurt and missing games affected these 2 as much as anyone on the team other than Brendan Adams... and since they have both really picked it up lately, I say give them a pass and let's look forward to how much they can contribute to the post season that is about to unfold.
Coaching: I have already covered the 2 biggest frustrations with Hurley's in-game coaching decisions from earlier in the year. Having said that, As I sit here now assessing this year Coach Hurley and this entire coaching staff deserve a huge amount of praise for their navigating us through the most stressful, unpredictable year we have ever seen... due to COVID, and losing key players for significant amounts of time at key times during our schedule... including our All-American.
Many, many teams would not have been able to recover from all these body blows that we have received over the last 3 1/2 months. In fact, we look to be peaking at just the right time. In a normal year that would be reason for big praise... but this year? Hurley and Co. have done even better than that. Highly, highly impressive, indeed.
Overall: With everything that happened since mid-November, being in the position we are in, our regular season has significantly surpassed my expectations. I understand that the record does not quite show it, but the individual improvement from many of our guys, the leadership we are seeing from our seniors along with Cole and Bouk, and the job Hurley and this coaching staff has done to bring it all together so that we have the feel of a team that is just starting to peak as we enter the post season? Pretty amazing to be sitting where we are today.
Post Season Thoughts: Understanding that I am not one to make grandiose predictions, but...
We are arguably the best team in the Big East as of this moment (with Villanova's 2 big injuries and Creighton's issues factored in, and maybe even without those) and one of the top 10 teams in the country the way we are playing RIGHT NOW. And if we play like it and Creighton doesn't get unconscious from 3 in the Semi-Finals we should win the Big East Tournament next weekend.
As for the NCAA Tournament? I want to see the brackets and where we are placed. Bare minimum we should make it to the Sweet 16 IF we are not an 8/9 seed (I expect a better seeding, but we will see) and in the right bracket?... Let's just say I am highly anticipating where we are at come the 2nd weekend of the tournament. Highly anticipating it...
Bottom Line: this side of Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan and maybe Illinois (hello, Kofi Cockburn, our old friend), there is no other team I would want to go to war with more right now than ours. And I am looking forward to taking on any combination of those 4 when the time comes, as well.
If you feel I left something out... or it is a tl;dr, have at it.
Either way... Huskies!!!
Although I could easily make this into a lengthy diatribe (some of you will say that it still is, but trust me I could have written so much more) about all the fascinating things that happened this year, I will keep it short and sweet and let all of you who respond expound on each of the players and coaching staff to whatever level you desire. I will sum up what follows with the following statement:
To quote Jerry Garcia: "What a long, strange trip it's been!" With that having been said... it feels like everything is coming together at just the right time, and this has the makings of a special, special post season.
14-6 Overall, 11-6 BE, 3rd in Conference
At beginning of the year we would have taken this, but maybe feeling a bit cautious over our overall record not being a bit more gaudy, particularly after going 0-3 against Villanova and Creighton... of course not knowing then what we know now. As of today looking back? With all the pauses, Bouk missing 8 conference games AND needing a few more games to regain his pre-injury level (which he did yesterday for the first time), AJax missing 7 games and Akok being mostly a non-entity for the entire season? We have actually exceeded expectations, and are right now playing our best basketball of the season, at the most important time of year. This is very positive, and should not be discounted in any way.
Biggest improvements from beginning of the year: Cole, Sanogo, Team D.
With Cole's settling in and showing how he was such a prolific scorer in his 2 years at Howard and Sanogo bringing us a low post game we have not had since... Shonn Miller? Really, since over a decade ago in the heyday of Calhoun's best front courts... This is the most well-rounded team we have had in a decade+. And no, I am not trying to over-hype us. Just being honest about what I am seeing at this moment.
Close 2nds: AJax and Gaffney (recently)... and after yesterday's showing maybe Team O as well? Time will tell, but definitely a significant tick up now that everyone other than Akok is back and playing. 98 points in regulation against a Big East foe, any Big East foe... impressive.
Biggest pleasant surprise for overall season: Tyrese Martin. Yes, he is confounding with his missed layups, and he has cooled off from 3 in recent games... but I love the intangibles he brings to the table - game in and game out. You must have a player or two like Tyrese to go deep into the NCAA tournament. We have two... Tyrese and I. Whaley (who I also love to watch). You can not over-state the importance of these guys to being a bonafide contender. And we are exactly that now.
Tyrese stepped up huge while Bouk was out, which allowed us to keep afloat during that critical 8-game stretch.
Biggest frustrations: 3-way tie: over-usage of the weave on O; Coach's substitution patterns and time out usage AT TIMES (not recently though); and Brendan Adams inability to step up further when given big minutes due to injuries.
Although I have no desire to throw shade at anyone at this point with our current trajectory which is about as positive as it could be,.. for which Hurley and our coaching staff deserve much of the credit for. That having been said... when we slow down and start relying on the weave out top, it hurts our offensive flow. I am happy to see less of it recently. Let's hope that trend continues.
Also, I will state to this day that Hurley made a major mistake in the St. John's game playing BAdams 30 minutes while leaving Sanogo on the bench for the last 12:46 of the game. And no, this is not 20/20 hindsight as I was part of the chorus on the live chat during that game openly questioning that decision as it was happening. In addition, there have been times where he has been too slow to use his timeouts to stop a run by our opponent. Examples: Seton Hall loss, Providence loss.
Important positive note: With Bouk and AJax returning, both of these issues and Brendan Adams playing too much have all faded significantly or gone away completely.
Earlier Year Frustration that is fading with improved play: Gaffney and Cole's play earlier on. I had hoped Gaffney in particular would continue to improve on his play from late last year from the beginning of this season. And Cole obviously struggled until Hurley pulled him from his starter's role for a few games. However, both of their recent play has picked up significantly, particularly Cole's.
And before anyone gives me crap about these 2, I realize that: all the COVID-related pauses and Bouk and AJax getting hurt and missing games affected these 2 as much as anyone on the team other than Brendan Adams... and since they have both really picked it up lately, I say give them a pass and let's look forward to how much they can contribute to the post season that is about to unfold.
Coaching: I have already covered the 2 biggest frustrations with Hurley's in-game coaching decisions from earlier in the year. Having said that, As I sit here now assessing this year Coach Hurley and this entire coaching staff deserve a huge amount of praise for their navigating us through the most stressful, unpredictable year we have ever seen... due to COVID, and losing key players for significant amounts of time at key times during our schedule... including our All-American.
Many, many teams would not have been able to recover from all these body blows that we have received over the last 3 1/2 months. In fact, we look to be peaking at just the right time. In a normal year that would be reason for big praise... but this year? Hurley and Co. have done even better than that. Highly, highly impressive, indeed.
Overall: With everything that happened since mid-November, being in the position we are in, our regular season has significantly surpassed my expectations. I understand that the record does not quite show it, but the individual improvement from many of our guys, the leadership we are seeing from our seniors along with Cole and Bouk, and the job Hurley and this coaching staff has done to bring it all together so that we have the feel of a team that is just starting to peak as we enter the post season? Pretty amazing to be sitting where we are today.
Post Season Thoughts: Understanding that I am not one to make grandiose predictions, but...
We are arguably the best team in the Big East as of this moment (with Villanova's 2 big injuries and Creighton's issues factored in, and maybe even without those) and one of the top 10 teams in the country the way we are playing RIGHT NOW. And if we play like it and Creighton doesn't get unconscious from 3 in the Semi-Finals we should win the Big East Tournament next weekend.
As for the NCAA Tournament? I want to see the brackets and where we are placed. Bare minimum we should make it to the Sweet 16 IF we are not an 8/9 seed (I expect a better seeding, but we will see) and in the right bracket?... Let's just say I am highly anticipating where we are at come the 2nd weekend of the tournament. Highly anticipating it...
Bottom Line: this side of Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan and maybe Illinois (hello, Kofi Cockburn, our old friend), there is no other team I would want to go to war with more right now than ours. And I am looking forward to taking on any combination of those 4 when the time comes, as well.
If you feel I left something out... or it is a tl;dr, have at it.
Either way... Huskies!!!
