Alex Karaban doesnt care what you think

[Hunt for 7]

He’s missing free throws in big spots. The only issue here is mental. Can we please stop with all the concussion theories.

I don’t get this post. You clearly and accurately describe his issues as mental. Have you ever had a concussion? Just curious. Clearly he has lost confidence for some reason. He is not thinking the same way. I think discounting lingering effects of a brain trauma on thought process is discounting clear evidence that it happens.

You can clear all the protocols but the doctors never know and symptoms both long term and short term are not unusual.

Not saying 100% that it is the reason he is struggling but discounting or dismissing it as a contributing factor based on your assertion his issue is mental not physical seems to be inconsistent.

 

[Matias]

As long as he's selecting good looks, I got no problem. But it feels like his 3 has been off since mid-season last year. Didn't he miss a game and then all of the sudden his 3 was no longer the automatic guarantee it used to be and then he kindof got it back later in the season but not fully? Would be good to see a graph of his 3pt % evolution.

I just hope it isn't some neurological thing messing with his mechanics.

 

[RichZ]

I’m no shot guru but his arc has been flat, or it seems that way. Don’t know how that is fixed mid season.

He has never had a classic high arc on his threes. And when he struggles, they get even flatter. A few games ago, I noted that it was getting really flat. It looked to me last night that the arc on his shot was pretty much back to normal. Still nowhere near textbook perfect, but in the normal ballpark for him. hopefully, that leads to a timely return to his normal 3 pt accuracy.

 

[jdb50]

Alex missed open long shots but the other teams still have to account for him which opens up the rest of the team. His drives and rebounding and defense helped immensely in the win. He has always done the other things besides 3 point shots. He is the ultimate glue guy. Lets hope he gets his shot back as we will be very hard to beat.

 

[UCan3]

I was on Alex all game, but in reflection. the dude made a lot of nice floaters and played some ridiculously good defense on Kalkenbrenner.

Actually got me to thinking like this be a lineup that we go with moving forward with the season?

I know that sounds ridiculous, but we played a lot better with Karaban down low.

He caused a lot of turnovers because his hands were active, and he kept him away from the basket for the most part.

I’m at the point where I don’t care what it looks like from lineup perspective - if McNeilly can play the point and Karaban can play the center, put the lineup out there that gives us the best chance to win!

 

[Jaydumo20]

I think him realizing the NBA is slipping away for next season is part of the reason he's pressing so badly. He was the focal point with Liam out and that was something new for him which he couldn't handle. Now he's just bricking every wide open look from distance and can't even be trusted at the ft line. He's badly in his own head. He's a much better player than this if he would just go back to having fun playing ball.

I agree. I'm a pollyanna like @Deepster says but I actually have a system:
I ask myself "do I really see this [insert problem here] continuing for the rest of the year?. The answer has never been Yes.
Whether it was the atrocious defense, or
our awful January I asked myself "are we gonna stay at this level for the rest of the year?" My answer was - surely not. So I was optimistic. Did I ever really think wed be a bubble team? Nope
When it comes to Alex, my question is "for the rest of the year is he going to be this cold the entire time?" My answer is no.
If that's optimism so be it.

 

[J187Money]

The absolute worst thing that can happen to him (both for UCONN and his career) is that he turns into Ben Simmons. He will work it out, but he can only shoot his way out of this - so I don't like the result but I trust the process. And other than the 3pt shooting he played great!

 

[Spaceman213J]

I'm like everyone else hoping the slump ends the next game, but AK is a winner. McNeeley was great last night, but ask him who he wants on the floor with him on that roster. Karaban will be the first name you here because Karaban still does the winning things. After he missed the 3 3s on one possession, I watched him off the ball. He was out there hitting guys with screens, hunting contact to be exact.
I bet if you asked him, McNeeley would tell you he doesn't get 38 without Karaban moving and doing the little things on offense.
I wish Stewart, Ross and a few others would body guys up on screens.

Hurley may have found something with the big backcourt lineup with Ball and McNeeley bringing the ball up. Karaban helps out against the press to often being the guy in the middle or dropping into the backcourt and using his size to look over the press and find open men. The guy is just a winner, period.

 

[jake14mw]

I sure hope he doesn't care what we think! He seems like a very self-motivated person and a fierce competitor, so you know his struggles have to be bothering him. He wants to help the team win. What internet people think is probably the last thing on his mind.

Obviously none of us know what the cause of the slump is. I can guarantee you that it has been discussed/analyzed by him and the staff and they're doing whatever they think is best to address it.

As far as my uninformed opinion, it seems to me that he's handling it the right way. He knows he's not shooting well, and seems to be passing up some shots that he would normally take. He doesn't want to hurt the team. At the same time, shooting the three is a major part of his game, so he can't just abandon it. If we had a team of offensive weapons, I would suggest that he shoots it much less until he can get things figured out. The problem with that is that the goal for this team is to win in March. I don't think we have enough other weapons to win in March without his offense, so him shooting or playing much less is not a viable LONG term team solution.

Lastly, I wouldn't put too much stock in what you hear Alex or Dan saying publicly. What needs to be said publicly, and what people are saying to each other and doing privately can be very different things.

 

[aceboon]

AK has always been streaky. The extent to how bad the shooting has been is new and the missed clutch ft's is something totally new but he had two 4 game stretches last season where he was 4-24 and 4-22 on three pointers.

this, which is why it's weird people keep talking about a November concussion that he was cleared from. last year against Marquette he shot 2/9, 1/6 from 3 and they won by 28. This year if he does that(which he has often) they'll lose the game by a possession or 2 and it's much more noticeable instead of it being masked by a dominant team around him like last year.

 

[rollskies1]

Dude was immune from hate from me after 1 championship let alone 2. Dude could go 0/100 from 3 for the rest of the season and he’s still good in my book

 

[Iluvsuebird]

People hating on Alex are going to eat crow before this year ends. I promise you that. He struggles when he feels that he must carry the team. But with Liam back and with Solo's ascension, that is no longer the case. Alex is going to be fine from 3. He already does everything else superbly.

 

[RuffRuff]

Lets be honest we all thought he was going to miss that free throw. Never thought I wouldn't want Alex at the line at the end of a game but here we are.

I didn't - was really surprised by it. He made a nice runner down the stretch that was really important. Felt like a nice opportunity to ice the ghosts away. Really hoping he can figure it out soon.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He just needs to keep firing. As brutal as it was to watch that 0-3 possession in the moment I was encouraged that he pulled the trigger every time with no hesitation. The absolute worst thing to do is rein it in and get timid. It's like Jay Wright's mantra, shoot em up and sleep in the streets.

 

[superjohn]

this, which is why it's weird people keep talking about a November concussion that he was cleared from. last year against Marquette he shot 2/9, 1/6 from 3 and they won by 28. This year if he does that(which he has often) they'll lose the game by a possession or 2 and it's much more noticeable instead of it being masked by a dominant team around him like last year.

Yep, the other excuse is he's slow because his ankle is hurt. He had a tiny ankle thing and missed no time...he's always been slow.

Now people are haters of AK for pointing out how he's playing.

 

[UCTitleTown]

You people and your coddling. He’s 4 for his last 38. Process that. 4-38. It’s hurting the team.

That does not mean he shouldn’t be playing, we need his other contributions it just means he shouldn’t be shooting 3s.

Two games is a slump. More than that's a problem. Everyone knows he's a gym rat who takes a million shots on his own, so his shooting woes are hard to explain. My guess is fatigue from his expanded role.

 

[NickDanger]

I don’t hate Karaban and I think he does a lot of good things for UConn, but his shooting is brutal. Maybe he should have a yellow light from deep until he warms up. The two choices are not fire away from deep or cut him.

No, he has to keep shooting or he will never warm up.
The worst thing for a shooter in a slump is to make him hesitant to take his shots

 

[NickDanger]

You people and your coddling. He’s 4 for his last 38. Process that. 4-38. It’s hurting the team.

That does not mean he shouldn’t be playing, we need his other contributions it just means he shouldn’t be shooting 3s.

Nope. He has to keep shooting or the slump will never end.

 

[NickDanger]

Isn’t a concussion mental?

No, a concussion is a physical injury

 

[RuffRuff]

Two games is a slump. More than that's a problem. Everyone knows he's a gym rat who takes a million shots on his own, so his shooting woes are hard to explain. My guess is fatigue from his expanded role.

Maybe he needs to avoid the gym and go play some pickle ball for a few days. Go home and have a couple nice meals of stuffed cabbage and take his mind off it for awhile. Sometimes with kids as smart as Alex who clearly think a lot, it's not about going back into the lab it's just about letting it breath.

 

[superjohn]

Maybe he needs to avoid the gym and go play some pickle ball for a few days. Go home and have a couple nice meals of stuffed cabbage and take his mind off it for awhile. Sometimes with kids as smart as Alex who clearly think a lot, it's not about going back into the lab it's just about letting it breath.

Stuffed cabbage is delicious but last thing we need is a gassy Karaban on the court.

 

[UCTitleTown]

No, a concussion is a physical injury

Remember how the Yankees' Anthony Rizzo played months after a concussion and played horribly before he was shutdown due to lingering effects? I wonder if something similar is happening to AK? It doesn't take a lot to throw off your depth perception. That could impact free-throws too. Being off slightly is all it takes. A guy doesn't suddenly forget how to shoot. There has to be more to it.

 

[RuffRuff]

Stuffed cabbage is delicious but last thing we need is a gassy Karaban on the court.

If timed right could put some lift in his jumper

 

[RuffRuff]

Remember how the Yankees' Anthony Rizzo played months after a concussion and played horribly before he was shutdown due to lingering effects? I wonder if something similar is happening to AK? It doesn't take a lot to throw off your depth perception. That could impact free-throws too. Being off slightly is all it takes. A guy doesn't suddenly forget how to shoot. There has to be more to it.

He’s missing free throws in big spots. There is zero talk of concussions from Hurley. It’s not a concussion. This is a classic case of the yips, Mackey Sasser style.

 

[Hoophound]

The average UConn fan loves Karaban. It’s just a few idiots here who can’t decipher a bad player from a very good player in a shooting slump. AK is the backbone of the program right now. He’ll be better in general, now that Liam is back. Give it a little time.

 

[Milo65]

Without him yesterday, we lose. His passing, defense, rebounding, and hustle for loose balls-the little things that made a difference. He just needs to hit some shots. It will come:

 

[Pmac923]

In the chat and threads there has been a lot of calls for him to stop shooting. People feeling bad for him. People saying his head is not right or that he lost his nba shot.

He is still shooting when he gets a good look and he wants to go the line at a big moment even if he hadn't been that guy this year from a conversion standpoint. He doesn't care about any of that noise.

We are quick to do this to our favorite guys and it's corny. We did it to AJax, and Hawk, and Hass, and Sanogo, and Joey C etc.

But he keeps shooting. And he should. Because he knows what he can do.

(BTW, he has been doing some great things outside of shooting 3s)

I'm still on that Karavan

He’s nothing but a winner. And one of the most successful players in our program’s history. He deserves our complete support.

 

[JMick]

No, he has to keep shooting or he will never warm up.
The worst thing for a shooter in a slump is to make him hesitant to take his shots

The three in a row that he bricked were his best threes of the night. He just fired them off without second guessing himself. You can see he's in his head passing up open shots and choosing to barrel into the paint without a plan on a lot of his possessions.

To me it seems like he tried to modify his game to be a multi dimensional scorer and it's thrown off his 3pt shot. The last two years he would throw up every open look from three and now he pauses and gets out of rhythm.

We need him to be himself if we want to do anything in March so he's really gotta just shoot through it and try to find it again.

 

[MrJoe]

Alex is in a shooting slump ; it should end because he is a good shooter . In the last two minutes of a tied road game he made a go a head basket grabbed two important rebounds and after missing a shot that should have gone in on a good move hustled and forced a play to keep the ball in UConn’s hands . Four winning plays in last two minutes… Mike drop

 

[Dogdeacon]

I am in the middle here, Karaban has to go into each game with a scoring mentality and fire when open, but if he's missing then he needs to adjust mid-game and take the ball to the hoop while continuing to do the other team things that make him valuable. I think he did that well last night the floaters were timely, the defense was great (should have had a block too - bad call) and if he'd just made the ONE free throw its a good but not great performance.

Thankfully after the missed one-and-one Creighton missed on the ensuing possession cuz if UConn lost a 2nd game due to a missed AK free throw the mental part gets even tougher. Maybe that's a sign from the basketball gods that the worm is now ready to turn for AK?!