A few take-aways from Tulane game | The Boneyard

A few take-aways from Tulane game

McLovin

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First of all, a win is a win. And we desperately needed the W. Great job by Hurley and the team going out there and getting the job done. We're on the board in conference play.

Now onto the meat of the matter...

Polley: The energy he played with last night was awesome, something we haven't ever seen from him before for a full 40 minutes. Bravo. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and expect these same results from him going forward. Tulane is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in D1 and more than half of Polley's rebounds were offensive boards. With that said, as long as he brings this energy going forward, even if the results aren't the same, it's a big step in the right direction.

Carlton: Had his moments last night and that dunk might have been his first dunk of the year. In 18 minutes I thought he played well on the offensive end. Defense was average. I suspect the reduced minutes was more about the match-up and Hurley mixing it up than his play.

The line-up: First time this year we saw a more fluid substitution pattern and also a much tighter rotation. The unit that played the last 10 minutes of the game seemed to really play well together on both ends of the floor. However, I don't think we will see extended runs with this line-up (Akok at the 5) all the time, it will be dependent on the opponent. Tulane didn't have any big bangers down low so it give Hurley the ability to play Akok at the 5 for extended minutes. Glad to see Hurley tinkering, mixing, matching and playing our guys to the opponent and not just playing the "a team" and "b team" rotation.

Offense: Still leaves something to be desired. 67 points at home against a team that gives up 69 points on average isn't great. The offense moved well at times last night but also went stagnant from time to time. We gave up a few runs, 7-0 twice in the opening minutes and 10-0 early in the second half. Luckily they never let the wheels fall off. Gilbert took and made some tough shots last night. My favorite shot of his was the 15 foot pull-up in the second half. Instead of trying to drive it, he recognized he had space and drained the little jumper. A glimpse of the maturity and leadership we have been looking for from him.

Final possessions: We need a play we can run at the end of halves. Almost every game that we have the final possession its one of the guards trying to break down the defense and go 1-on-1 to the rim or a step back 3. Last night, Gilbert made the lay-up but that has not usually been the case. Please please please have a few plays we can run at the end of the half / game. Those possessions can be the difference between a W and a L in a close game, let's not waste them.
 
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First of all, a win is a win. And we desperately needed the W. Great job by Hurley and the team going out there and getting the job done. We're on the board in conference play.

Now onto the meat of the matter...

Polley: The energy he played with last night was awesome, something we haven't ever seen from him before for a full 40 minutes. Bravo. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and expect these same results from him going forward. Tulane is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in D1 and more than half of Polley's rebounds were offensive boards. With that said, as long as he brings this energy going forward, even if the results aren't the same, it's a big step in the right direction.

My favorite shot of his was the 15 foot pull-up in the second half. Instead of trying to drive it, he recognized he had space and drained the little jumper. A glimpse of the maturity and leadership we have been looking for from him.

Great to see growth from Polley and Gilbert last night. That 15 foot jump shot was a thing of beauty in light of what we are accustomed to seeing. If Polley and AG can play similar to how they did last night, this team is so much better.
 
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If we are going to beat any decent team left on our schedule Polley has to play the way he played last night.
Every team left our our schedule wants to get Carlton defending at the 3 point line and beyond.
Kemba is making a lot of money being able to hit the 12 footer that Gilbert did last night. Alt can get himself open and lets hope he does more of this and less driving into the trees.
We have to get better at free throws. Josh looks like he never really concentrates when he is at the line. Polley should be better for a decent 3 point shooter.
The Akok at the five lineup is a nice tool to have. If we could hit shots better the speed of this group presents problems for opponents trying to match up.
 
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First of all, a win is a win. And we desperately needed the W. Great job by Hurley and the team going out there and getting the job done. We're on the board in conference play.

Now onto the meat of the matter...

Polley: The energy he played with last night was awesome, something we haven't ever seen from him before for a full 40 minutes. Bravo. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and expect these same results from him going forward. Tulane is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in D1 and more than half of Polley's rebounds were offensive boards. With that said, as long as he brings this energy going forward, even if the results aren't the same, it's a big step in the right direction.

Carlton: Had his moments last night and that dunk might have been his first dunk of the year. In 18 minutes I thought he played well on the offensive end. Defense was average. I suspect the reduced minutes was more about the match-up and Hurley mixing it up than his play.

The line-up: First time this year we saw a more fluid substitution pattern and also a much tighter rotation. The unit that played the last 10 minutes of the game seemed to really play well together on both ends of the floor. However, I don't think we will see extended runs with this line-up (Akok at the 5) all the time, it will be dependent on the opponent. Tulane didn't have any big bangers down low so it give Hurley the ability to play Akok at the 5 for extended minutes. Glad to see Hurley tinkering, mixing, matching and playing our guys to the opponent and not just playing the "a team" and "b team" rotation.

Offense: Still leaves something to be desired. 67 points at home against a team that gives up 69 points on average isn't great. The offense moved well at times last night but also went stagnant from time to time. We gave up a few runs, 7-0 twice in the opening minutes and 10-0 early in the second half. Luckily they never let the wheels fall off. Gilbert took and made some tough shots last night. My favorite shot of his was the 15 foot pull-up in the second half. Instead of trying to drive it, he recognized he had space and drained the little jumper. A glimpse of the maturity and leadership we have been looking for from him.

Final possessions: We need a play we can run at the end of halves. Almost every game that we have the final possession its one of the guards trying to break down the defense and go 1-on-1 to the rim or a step back 3. Last night, Gilbert made the lay-up but that has not usually been the case. Please please please have a few plays we can run at the end of the half / game. Those possessions can be the difference between a W and a L in a close game, let's not waste them.
The way that play at the end of the half was developing my thought was they might not get a shot off.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

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Final possessions: We need a play we can run at the end of halves. Almost every game that we have the final possession its one of the guards trying to break down the defense and go 1-on-1 to the rim or a step back 3. Last night, Gilbert made the lay-up but that has not usually been the case. Please please please have a few plays we can run at the end of the half / game. Those possessions can be the difference between a W and a L in a close game, let's not waste them.
Too slow up the court, too far from the basket, no apparent play drawn, poor movement, clock dwindling, me screaming at the TV, undersized guard into the lane with a tricky shot as time expires.
That's the play.
Last night it worked.
 

ClifSpliffy

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whoa, 15 boards from al,4, and tyler,11. 15! color me hopeful. listening to the game on radio, it seemed like when he was on the floor, young james' name was mentioned constantly on both ends. pretty cool.
 
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Depending on funeral arrangements
AG may not be there Sunday
Who is are PG
 
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I wasn't wild about our offensive performance in the first half at all last night.

More of the same non-existent dribble drive nonsense. We'll always get away with it against teams like Tulane - we do that against Houston and we're down 14 at halftime. That play to end the half worked out, but the whole thing was awful soup to nuts. We botched almost every play out of a time out - it was a lot of more of the same. I wasn't pleased.

What I WAS pleased by was that we just used Carlton a lot better last night and didn't force him into a rotation. We went to him early and often on the low block where he had a big advantage and he did his job. Once they started dropping double teams, Hurley just sat him, shifted gears and went small. He was much more precise about how he used Carlton and kept switching up the looks. Tactically - that was great.

Noticed a lot more of Akok and others setting high screens and not Carlton (he set a few, obviously) and that's a good adjustment, too. I saw more press, more aggression on the boards, etc. We had an energy last night we've lacked in the past few games, so all that was good.

Defense was fine. We'll go as far as it'll take us.

Loved Tyler Polley's effort and intensity, but i'm not getting carried away. Lots of the off the dribble points came from overshifts. They suck at boxing out and rebounding anyway, so he was able to more or less have his way. I'm not buying although I hope i'm wrong. It was exactly the thing I've been bleating on about on the board for weeks. This is the kind of thing that fools people.

I saw some good adjustments, but our guards are driving me nuts still. But at the end of the day - a win's a win.
 
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I wasn't wild about our offensive performance in the first half at all last night.

More of the same non-existent dribble drive nonsense. We'll always get away with it against teams like Tulane - we do that against Houston and we're down 14 at halftime. That play to end the half worked out, but the whole thing was awful soup to nuts. We botched almost every play out of a time out - it was a lot of more of the same. I wasn't pleased.

What I WAS pleased by was that we just used Carlton a lot better last night and didn't force him into a rotation. We went to him early and often on the low block where he had a big advantage and he did his job. Once they started dropping double teams, Hurley just sat him, shifted gears and went small. He was much more precise about how he used Carlton and kept switching up the looks. Tactically - that was great.

Noticed a lot more of Akok and others setting high screens and not Carlton (he set a few, obviously) and that's a good adjustment, too. I saw more press, more aggression on the boards, etc. We had an energy last night we've lacked in the past few games, so all that was good.

Defense was fine. We'll go as far as it'll take us.

Loved Tyler Polley's effort and intensity, but i'm not getting carried away. Lots of the off the dribble points came from overshifts. They suck at boxing out and rebounding anyway, so he was able to more or less have his way. I'm not buying although I hope i'm wrong. It was exactly the thing I've been bleating on about on the board for weeks. This is the kind of thing that fools people.

I saw some good adjustments, but our guards are driving me nuts still. But at the end of the day - a win's a win.

WRT Akok & high screens: I noticed at least 3 times where he screened, rolled, had a lane to the basket, but got ignored. Our guards need to remember that unlike Carlton, he’s crazy athletic and has hops. Loft one towards the hoop, Akok will take two big steps and flush that thing. They need to at least try it.
 
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Offense: Still leaves something to be desired. 67 points at home against a team that gives up 69 points on average isn't great. The offense moved well at times last night but also went stagnant from time to time. We gave up a few runs, 7-0 twice in the opening minutes and 10-0 early in the second half. Luckily they never let the wheels fall off. Gilbert took and made some tough shots last night. My favorite shot of his was the 15 foot pull-up in the second half. Instead of trying to drive it, he recognized he had space and drained the little jumper. A glimpse of the maturity and leadership we have been looking for from him.

It was an extremely slow-paced game, so game averages aren't a great metric. We scored 1.14 points per possession, while Tulane gives up on average 1.03. That's a decent performance, especially considering we were 5/22 from 3. We'd be expected to make 2+ more 3s, which would put us at 1.23 ppp.

18 offensive rebounds was the difference.
 

QDOG5

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We had only 1 take-away last night but we did have 9 blocks.
 
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I wasn't wild about our offensive performance in the first half at all last night.

More of the same non-existent dribble drive nonsense. We'll always get away with it against teams like Tulane - we do that against Houston and we're down 14 at halftime. That play to end the half worked out, but the whole thing was awful soup to nuts. We botched almost every play out of a time out - it was a lot of more of the same. I wasn't pleased.

The dribble drive into the seam was the most effective strategy at breaking down their match-up zone. It always is. Most of the driving was done looking to pass. If anything we didn't do enough of it.
 
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There is still too much dribbling, standing around, and not enough movement without the ball. There were some good flashes, however.

Carlton should no longer be setting high ball screens and hanging in the high post. He sets weak screens and doesn't roll, and he also doesn't have a mid range so the defense sags off when he catches at the FT line. Akok should be that guy. And when Akok isn't in we should put in CV or Polley into the high post because their mid range will keep the defense honest. There were flashes when we did that and it worked great, but Carlton was also up there at times and we were settling for 3's and forcing stuff. Carlton needs to be in the low post for dump downs because his post moves and back to the basket game isn't terrible.

Polley and Akok would be great screen setters because they are pick and pop threats, Carlton is way too slow, never rolls hard, so the defense doubles the dribbler or locks down the perimeter.

The AG, Bouknight, CV, Polley, Akok lineup worked so well primarily because every player in that lineup keeps the defense honest, they can't crash/sag on any one player like they do with Carlton and Whaley.
 

SubbaBub

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Struggled to beat a team we should beat easily. Go beat Wichita State.
 

nelsonmuntz

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We got up 13 but didn't put Tulane away.

Offense was better.

I like Carlton in the game. Collapse the defense down and gives the shooters a little more room.

The reaction against the 3-2 zone was slow. You beat a zone with quick reversals and then attacking the seems or catch and shoot jumper. It was a little tentative at times.

Gilbert played well. Bouk looked lost.

Defense:

The second rotation in the man defense is still a beat slow, but it was good enough last night.

There are fundamentals with how our guards handle screens that just need a lot of work. Our guards get taken out by screens, and that shouldn't happen at this level.
 
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Great to see growth from Polley and Gilbert last night. That 15 foot jump shot was a thing of beauty in light of what we are accustomed to seeing. If Polley and AG can play similar to how they did last night, this team is so much better.
Growth is a bit of an overstatement I think. Both played better than they have in a while. If they keep it up it was growth. If they return to same old same old it was just a lucky night.
 
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Growth is a bit of an overstatement I think. Both played better than they have in a while. If they keep it up it was growth. If they return to same old same old it was just a lucky night.

Polley had the best game of his life. 11 rebounds compared to his normal 2 or 3 is a huge step forward. And as to Gilbert, he made good decisions and smart plays, that is certainly progress. Your negativity is astounding. Do you ever have anything positive to contribute?
 
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I will take the win. Polley was out of character and I mean this in a positive way. He is a nice guy. Can he be a Dr. Jeckel/ Mr. Hyde - nice off the court and nasty on the court? AG played within his talent. If he continues this path then he will be the floor general we need. Josh played much better. He was more aggressive around the hoop and made most of hisfirst attempts. I think he did not play as much bc of the matchups. Bouk is getting more PT. When he has the ball in his hands I always think he is going to score. There seems to be better ball movement when he is in the game and he knows how to get open when not having the ball. Those 3 players stood out to me. If they (and the rest of the team) can be consistent then every game will be within reach of a win. Only time will tell.
 

Husky25

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Struggled to beat a team we should beat easily. Go beat Wichita State.
Wouldn't say they struggled to beat them as much as put them away. Final score was much closer than it should have been. The final minute should have taken 65 seconds, real time, instead of about 4 minutes, and that is with TUlane giving up with 0:25 left.
 
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The other takeaway from last night that I got (actually more a reinforcement of what I already knew) was that as a team, we sure allow games to stay much closer than they really should be due to missing TONS of easy <=6 ft shots. Had to have missed at least 6-8 chippies/bunnies last night. Probably more. Make even half of them and Tulane never gets closer than 12-16 points down the entire 2nd half.
 

gtcam

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Josh played well because Tulane had nobody big enough to counter - I am glad he tasted success but lets see what he can do against a team with a legit 5
Bouk has unbelievable offensive talent and is very athletic but boy does he need work on his defense - he was toast out there and their guards weren't all that good
Felt good for Polley - been a while if ever has he shown the desire to take it to the hoop and scrap for the ball - what a difference a little hustle and heart shows
AG - steady game and heady
CV - not his best offensive effort but his D was really good and he received zero love from the refs
A win is a win and in this conference a win for UConn is HUGE
on to WSU
 
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I don’t think Bouk’s defense is that bad. He falls asleep on cuts and gets beat off the dribble but even when he does he generally recovers to bother the shot. It look like he’s getting better at it but it will be a process. I do think he would be so much better as a starter than coming off the bench. When he comes in the game with 14 minutes left it looks like he’s in a rush to score his 15 points or make big plays immediately before he gets taken out which leads to some reckless plays.
 
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Bouk played with a extra gear that I haven't seen this year Created for himself and others like we need him to do.. That pass Alley O from Gilbert was a thing of beauty. Maybe he is getting acclimated playing with the vets.
Akok has a world of talent that needs to be used better by his teammates..
Gafney will be great when we need him maybe Sunday.
YhKeep working in the frosh and our team will gradually get better. Hurley did a good job with this.
 

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