A pat on the back for Gaffney

[Palatine]

Cole was kind of out it tonight. Gaff was good with the basketball, no turnovers, a couple of assists, great steal and break away dunk at a very good time. 4-4 from the stripe. The big thing is he looked poised tonight. Let the game come to him. You can knock the opponent, as I'm sure some will, Gaff was a contributor tonight. Maybe something to build on.

 

[Palatine]

Cole was kind of out of it tonight. Gaff was called on and had 6 points, 2 assists, 0 TOs, and a steal and break away when we needed it. He was 4-4 from the stripe. Mosre importantly, he played with poise. He let the game come to him. He was a contributor. Yep, some detractors will cite the opposition, that's fine. But tonight was something to build on. He was needed and responded.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Great job by Gaffney tonight!

 

[Brochacho]

Gaffney was very solid and seemed in control the whole time he was out there - playing in the flow of the game and not at 110 mph.

 

[Blaneylover]

They are a different team when he is able to contribute. Hopefully last night did wonders for his confidence. He ran the offense, hit his free throws, played good defense, and most importantly, didn't have any of the mind numbing dribbling miscues we had seen of late. It was good to see Cole and Gaff on the floor together because, when Gaff is playing like he did last night, it shores up the ball handling.

We (well, at least I) sometimes forget that these are kids. Confidence is fragile. When they have it, it is a huge difference maker. When they don't, it can be tough to watch. Last night, during the second half, Gaffney (and Martin) got their mojo back. If this continues....look out Big East.

 

[Get a Job]

Cole was kind of out it tonight. Gaff was good with the basketball, no turnovers, a couple of assists, great steal and break away dunk at a very good time. 4-4 from the stripe. The big thing is he looked poised tonight. Let the game come to him. You can knock the opponent, as I'm sure some will, Gaff was a contributor tonight. Maybe something to build on.

Cole was kind of out of it tonight. Gaff was called on and had 6 points, 2 assists, 0 TOs, and a steal and break away when we needed it. He was 4-4 from the stripe. Mosre importantly, he played with poise. He let the game come to him. He was a contributor. Yep, some detractors will cite the opposition, that's fine. But tonight was something to build on. He was needed and responded.

Just curious: What's the backstory behind these posts 25 minutes apart. It's like you forgot you posted the first one and wanted to get the same thoughts out. Which on its face is understandable, especially if alcohol is involved, except that you wrote the second post on the thread that you started with the original post, so the "forgot" excuse kind of goes out the window.

At any rate, if this was blackout writing, kudos on the spelling and typing accuracy!

 

[Son of Robert]

Jalen had a a nice game for himself. He was playing well, composed and confident, and Hurley gave him more minutes because of it. I'd like to see him look for that 3 ball more, but I'm just happy to see that he has a very good game in the bank. Hopefully more to follow.

 

[Icehawk]

I've been someone saying his time should be cut but he had a good game yesterday and I hope he can keep that going - I never want any of our guys to play poorly!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Gaffney had a very nice sequence around the 5-minute mark with the game still in the balance.

Had a nice post feed to Sanogo, hit two big 1-and-1 FTs coming out of the under-4 timeout, the steal and dunk, and then hit another two FTs.

 

[uconnfan68]

Hawkins, however, filled the old Gaffney role well. I counted 4 mistakes in less than a minute, on both sides of the court.

 

[Waquoit]

Gaffney's a good dude who can help us if he can get it together. I like having a coach that doesn't bury guys who are working hard.

 

[Chin Diesel]

When he took off for that dunk I was 100% certain he was front rimming it. Totally surprised he flushed it.

Yes, very good game for him and you hope he can build on it. As of now, not holding my breath. Show me a few more games like tonight and, yes, it makes UConn a much more dangerous team. He still seems like he is fighting to figure out his role when he is on the floor.
He's passed up some easy 3's the past few games and has played hot potato with the ball as shot clock has run down each of the last two games. At XL he screwed over Cole by throwing it to Cole with like 2 seconds on the clock and 25' from the basket. Last night he did it to Martin and Martin made the crazy off balance 3. Four seconds or less on the clock, do something with it yourself aggressively.

 

[Palatine]

Just curious: What's the backstory behind these posts 25 minutes apart. It's like you forgot you posted the first one and wanted to get the same thoughts out. Which on its face is understandable, especially if alcohol is involved, except that you wrote the second post on the thread that you started with the original post, so the "forgot" excuse kind of goes out the window.

At any rate, if this was blackout writing, kudos on the spelling and typing accuracy!

As you can see they are 25 minutes apart. I posted the first one and then started reading other BY opinions. At some point I noticed that the post was highlighted in blue and had zero views. It seemed like some kind of glitch. I decided to delete it and wrote the second post. But by that time the delete option was off. However the post was in still highlighted in blue, so I put the second post in the responses to see if it would come up as a view or reply. It didn't register. So I left the second post on the thread and forgot about it until this morning.

That may not make sense. I can only say what Ambassador Spock said when asked why he married a human. "At the time, it seemed the logical thing to do."

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Gaffney's a good dude who can help us if he he can get it together. I like having a coach that doesn't bury guys who are working hard.

He's had a couple of flashes, last year more so than this year that I can recall. I thought maybe he'd take more of a jump from last year in terms of development but it doesnt look like it and this team desperately needs solid PG play. At this point, I feel like anything more you get from him is a plus but I just dont see him turning the corner now into his junior year. I'm hoping he does, his free throw percentage is much needed.

 

[SubbaBub]

Helmet sticker just for dunking it instead of going for the iffy layup.

 

[superjohn]

When he took off for that dunk I was 100% certain he was front rimming it. Totally surprised he flushed it.

Yes, very good game for him and you hope he can build on it. As of now, not holding my breath. Show me a few more games like tonight and, yes, it makes UConn a much more dangerous team. He still seems like he is fighting to figure out his role when he is on the floor.
He's passed up some easy 3's the past few games and has played hot potato with the ball as shot clock has run down each of the last two games. At XL he screwed over Cole by throwing it to Cole with like 2 seconds on the clock and 25' from the basket. Last night he did it to Martin and Martin made the crazy off balance 3. Four seconds or less on the clock, do something with it yourself aggressively.

He's in his head so badly. Zero confidence in his shot whether it's from deep or close in. He was widely off on his open shots last night and the one that got stuck on the rim was fitting for where he's at with his shot. Hasn't made a 3 in the last 9 games but at least last night he didn't let it impact the rest of his game. Made some good passes, didn't turn it over and had some aggressive plays. They really need him to start playing better.

 

[uconngb]

Hawkins, however, filled the old Gaffney role well. I counted 4 mistakes in less than a minute, on both sides of the court.

Yes that was a pitiful stretch of both bad and dumb basketball. He’s just not close to ready for the bright lights unfortunately.

 

[Umami Zen]

Gaff's floor game was solid.. Baby steps towards more confidence.. Will need productive bench play as the games get more intense/meaningful heading into end of season/Tournament time.

IMO.. If he can re-establish his value as a secondary ball-handler to RJ.. His ability to knock down FTs and occasional threes can get him some late-season PT at crunch time.

 

[Husky25]

Gaff's floor game was solid.. Baby steps towards more confidence.. Will need productive bench play as the games get more intense/meaningful heading into end of season/Tournament time.

IMO.. If he can re-establish his value as a secondary ball-handler to RJ.. His ability to knock down FTs and occasional threes can get him some late-season PT at crunch time.

Need a bit more than baby steps though. I expect the crunch time backcourt to be Cole, Jackson, and Martin for the rest of the year, but if they are forced to trade fouls, Gaffney needs to play like last night far more consistently.

With Cole gone next year, he has the inside track for running the point. I he can't be so out of control for 30 minutes/game.

 

[jdb50]

Just having RJ and Andre as guards who can help run the offense is going to be tough when we are facing Nova, Xavier, Marquette again, and Creighton. We really need Gaff to do what he is capable of doing. Hawk is not ready to deal with pressure defense. Jacksons foul issues last night helped get Gaff in and he came through.

 

[Umami Zen]

Need a bit more than baby steps though. I expect the crunch time backcourt to be Cole, Jackson, and Martin for the rest of the year, but if they are forced to trade fouls, Gaffney needs to play like last night far more consistently.

With Cole gone next year, he has the inside track for running the point. I he can't be so out of control for 30 minutes/game.

Way too early to speculate about Cole/PG position for next year.. A season for each player has its ups and downs/ebbs and flows.. It was good to see Gaff make some positive contributions based on some recent performances.

Softer part of the schedule as we trend towards the Nova game.. Guard play/ball handling/closing out games/making FTs will be important.

 

[kemba 2k]

What we saw from Gaff last night is exactly what we need from him going forward. We don't need him to score in double figures (although it would be great). We need him to be poised with the ball, not make bonehead mistakes, and most importantly, keep our offense functioning without Cole on the floor.

 

[OkaForPrez]

The emergence of Andre and being able to trust him to run the offense at the point of attack and let Gaff play the swing/entry pass role has taken some of the pressure off him. It might be the best medicine to allow Gaff to just play to his strengths vs. pressing. Hopeful both situations continue: Andre on the ball, Gaff improving.

 

[coachn]

Am a big Gafney supporter. He has a definite roll to play .
Making free throws is on the top of my requirement list .

 

[Chin Diesel]

He's in his head so badly. Zero confidence in his shot whether it's from deep or close in. He was widely off on his open shots last night and the one that got stuck on the rim was fitting for where he's at with his shot. Hasn't made a 3 in the last 9 games but at least last night he didn't let it impact the rest of his game. Made some good passes, didn't turn it over and had some aggressive plays. They really need him to start playing better.

Amazing what a win does for you. I had forgotten about the stuck ball.

It really was a magnificant feat by Gaff. He was slightly left of the center of the rim when he shot so the ball had to go high enough to clear the front and right side of the rim to lodge where it did.