Andy Katz posgame interview with AO

[babysheep]

Saying some of the team needs to be a "little less selfish"

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...41493/connecticut-simply-too-much-for-harvard

Well, maybe when you become reliable like you once were, your teammates might start looking your way a bit more.

 

[hooskies]

He's the captain of this team and he needs to start playing like it.

 

[Scot-e]

As captain he also has to call it like he sees it.

 

[tcf15]

Lamb also shared the same sentiment:

“I think we’re moving in the right direction but we’ve got to work hard. People have to get to know their roles. Sometimes we have too much one-on-one and we’re not moving without the ball. We’ve got to come together and execute our plays more to get everyone involved.’’

 

[jfuchs91]

I don't completely disagree with what he said. I do think our guards need to get our big men more involved, but a lot of that also has to do with our big men making themselves available and actually catching the passes when they go their way. Alex is pressing right now, and if he's able to settle down, I'm confident he'll go back to the kind of player he was last year.

 

[babysheep]

I mean I totally agree that there are too many bad, rushed shots, passes and drives being taken, which is mostly selfish play. But someone other than AO should be saying it. It just comes off like he's complaining and it can lead some people to believe he's blaming his bad play on the selfishness of his teammates. The honest truth though is that most of our bigs are at best inconsistently reliable, so can you blame the guards for feeling like they need to shoulder some of the weight? If you're the quarterback and you're running an option and you're starting to get that feeling that your halfback is less than reliable with the ball or that he has trouble making plays in the open field, would you not feel more inclined to keep he ball for yourself?

Once the bigs start proving themselves, they will get the ball. Bazz is a decent passer and Boat is a good passer. AD showed up tonight, he got his looks, and he capitalized on the opportunties his teammates gave him. You know the guards will feel more comfortable looking his way next game.

 

[hooskies]

As captain he also has to call it like he sees it.

I wouldn't look twice at this quote if he handled himself differently off the court in the past few weeks. He's played under Calhoun the longest and he's whining like its his freshman year. He's been through a lot of ups and downs, I wanna see him own up and dominate like we all know he can. He doesn't have to score 15 a game but i wanna see him tear down rebounds like the paint is his.

 

[OneManWolfpack]

I don't think he means that players are being selfish because he isnt getting the ball.... The team just has its moments in which if the initial play doesn't work out then the player with the ball goes one-on-one with 15 secs left on the shot clock instead of trying to run another quick set

 

[babysheep]

I agree, I'm just saying that that's how it sounds, especially when it's coming from a guy who's struggling as much as he has been lately.

Way too many 3 point pot shots 10 seconds into the clock.

 

[caw]

I'd say his rebounds per minute were pretty good even with losing 2-3 to teammates knocking them out of his hands. Offensively, he did look like he was pressing, but he played a good second half of basketball. IMO

 

[Ts5034]

Sometimes it looks like AO gets frustrated when hes wide open or in position calling for it but does not get the ball. I noticed this about 2 or 3 times tonight.

 

[NaughtybyNapier]

Dating back to 06 I feel like we've had a problem w/ the half-court offense.

Maybe even before that. Just like then, there is talent everywhere on this team. To use a different point of reference, I remember when we couldn't shoot for what seemed like 3 or 4 years (between 07 and 10) (Man did that suck). This team can shoot in spades. It feels good to watch. But now we look so weak down low. I'm confident we'll work it out. But it would be nice if we could routinely make basic entry passes. AO needs to stfu, but we definitely have a dribble-dribble-dribble started offense. I love having RB in the offense - and as I've said elsewhere, I think he's probably the best player on the team in certain ways - but I can certainly understand JC's obssession w/ the half-court game, at the expense of the press or something similar.

EDIT: I think a lot of what I'm talking about refers to AD and AO on defense, not offense, despite what I've written above.

 

[uconNYC]

AO missed a sitter on the JLamb dish. After that, why would any teammate make it a point to go back to him when we have so many other weapons.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Saying some of the team needs to be a "little less selfish"

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...41493/connecticut-simply-too-much-for-harvard

Well, maybe when you become reliable like you once were, your teammates might start looking your way a bit more.

He's just regurgitating what he heard Calhoun say in the locker room. No big deal.

 

[TheChamps990411]

"I mean I totally agree that there are too many bad, rushed shots, passes and drives being taken, which is mostly selfish play."

two words one name SHABAZZ NAPIER!!! that describes him perfectly. i dont see anyone else being selfish and taking bad shots other than BAZZ. Atleast he does it way more than anyone else. tonights game was a perfect example of this. BAZZ is also terrible at feeding the post which he has not improved on since last year.
that being said AO really shouldnt be doing much talking considering hes the third best big man on our team right now. hes not the #1 option in the post on offense. he is at his best when he scores on put backs and is attacking the boards on both ends of the floor. get your game up then start criticizing because your terrible right now.

 

[Giddyup5]

IMO those of you who are calling out AO saying that he has no right to say something like this because he himself is playing poorly have never played competitive sports in their lives (sorry if that is harsh)

He is the captain. And yes, I'll be the first to admit that some of his comments on twitter haven't represented that position well. But nowhere in the captain role does it have the requirement to be an all star. DB was captain last year. I do not think that his comments are an excuse for his poor play.

No one is denying that AO is struggling. I personally think he will be fine as we enter the meat of BE play. Regardless of his personal play, he needs to lead this team. Someone mentioned that another player on this team should be saying this. Well Lamb said it in his post game.

What about Bazz? Well to be honest, he is the main culprit for "selfish" play. I do not think Bazz is a selfish player. But now that we have more of a sample size, he shoots to much early in the shot clock or via 1 on 1 for my liking. He needs to be a PG first, especially with all the weapons on this team ala Marcus Williams. Bazz is the type of player that can get his points when he wants and when the team needs it. I want him with the mindset of getting 10+ assists a game. Out of the 10 shots he took today I counted 7 that were forced. When we played well tonight, we were moving the ball extremely well. Look at Harvard, they always made the extra pass and it was refreshing to see. Early in the 1st half there was a play where JL made the extra pass to DD in the corner for a beautiful look. Likewise, Bazz got a great shot in the second half after TO made the extra pass.

Bottom line is that there are spurts in the games where this team does play "selfish". Again, I think its more of players adjusting to their roles than anything else.

Am I worried? Not really. That is the point of playing basketball in December in a Jim Calhoun team. They all are going to get better. They all will adjust to their roles, Bazz included.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

13 for 33 from the 3 guards is indicative that too many bad shots are getting chucked up rather than getting the ball to a pretty effective front court.

 

[mauconnfan]

13 for 33 from the 3 guards is indicative that too many bad shots are getting chucked up rather than getting the ball to a pretty effective front court.

" pretty effective front court"??

Where? I mean right now whether they are 13 for 33 or 25 for 33 them taking shots is much more effective than feeding the post. This thread is funny - Shabazz suddenly sucks because Alex said they are too selfish and blah blah blah............hey watch the damn game, has anyone played it before? Alex was thrown the ball I don't know how many times and he came up with maybe 2 passes after bobbling them. One time early he caught it and threw a brick off the bottom of the rim as he didn't slow down to make a play. Other times he missed the ball, didn't keep his guy off of him or whatever. At some point you just don't throw it so him because....and this is simple.....a "bad shot" is better than no shot right? I'd have a tough time throwing him the ball unless he was wide open. And quite honestly unless it was for dunk or alley oop I'm not much more confident in Andre for now although he will improve. He needs to play like he's playing against people his size now........they are winning and we're complaining about what mey be the best backcourt in America by years end. WOW

 

[wpq4elamin]

Saying some of the team needs to be a "little less selfish"

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...41493/connecticut-simply-too-much-for-harvard

Well, maybe when you become reliable like you once were, your teammates might start looking your way a bit more.

he needs to stop with the controversial quotes and tweets and start playing like a beast... If he could catch a ball or grab a rebound, he'd be in there for 30 minutes a game and guys would actually pass to him... did anyone happen to see the boatright pass to AO that he fumbled? That's why he is not getting the ball...

with that said, Bazz is really the only one who is selfish at times, and you could have made the same comment about kemba at times last year- the difference is that kemba had a phenomenal year and hit so many big shots that we forgot about some of the 10-30 shooting performances.... (plus, we didn't think we had as much talent as we actually did... this year, we know we have 9 guys sitting there who can really bring it every night.... )

 

[Chin Diesel]

13 for 33 from the 3 guards is indicative that too many bad shots are getting chucked up rather than getting the ball to a pretty effective front court.

Everyone is aware that 13-33 on 3's equates to 59% pn 2's. Which is really good.

Only on this board is 39% on 3's a reason to trash shooting.

 

[21Huskies]

Everyone is aware that 13-33 on 3's equates to 59% pn 2's. Which is really good.

Only on this board is 39% on 3's a reason to trash shooting.

huh?

this post is all sorts of messed up.

 

[Chin Diesel]

huh?

this post is all sorts of messed up.

Which part confuses you? Is it the 13÷33=39%? Is it the 3•13=39 points? Is it figuring out that you would have to make 19.5 2 pointers to equal 39 points? Or the 19.5÷33=59%?

When you discuss three point percentages you need a baseline knowledge that 33% on 3's gets the same number of points as 50% on 2's. So saying 13/33 on threes is indicative of poor shooting and shot selection is absurd (as the original post I responded to said).

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Its hard to feed someone the ball that cant catch and fumbles it everytime they are given it

 

[upstater]

With the way Napier, Boatright and Lamb are shooting from 3, I say you take that shot anytime you have an open look. I'm more worried about what goes on with 10 seconds left in the shot clock, the drives, etc. We don't have Kemba out there any more.

 

[upstater]

I agree that Shabazz needs to come into his own as a PG more, but I want him taking big outside shots at this point. He too is building his confidence. Last year I had very little faith in his shot going in, but this year he's done a 180. It's early in the season. I'd like to see him keep shooting from outside to build that confidence.