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Wolf is not playing at a very high level from what I have heard. I hope he does not have a banged up head- but I can guess where he got it after watching todays game.
Are we really this good?
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Waquoit
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AD had some nice passes down low today.
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I'm perfectly happy to get known as the guy who keeps saying DEFENSE wins it.
I absolutely loved it when Holy Cross got stalled at 21 points. The offense came in a variety of fun ways, but on nights when the shots don't fall, the game will be won when the other team can't score or catch up. For the better teams, it'll be about protecting the ball and making the free throws. 3 National Championships have been won with this formula. The "look-at-how-good/athletic/talented" piece is the entertainment piece . . . and a damn fine one!
I absolutely loved it when Holy Cross got stalled at 21 points. The offense came in a variety of fun ways, but on nights when the shots don't fall, the game will be won when the other team can't score or catch up. For the better teams, it'll be about protecting the ball and making the free throws. 3 National Championships have been won with this formula. The "look-at-how-good/athletic/talented" piece is the entertainment piece . . . and a damn fine one!
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it amazes me how amazed people are at this teams steady improvement. this is the jc blue print. i still believe today as i did in august and will by march that this team will cut`em down again.
Waquoit
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We had a stretch where not all of the players bought in. Last year they did and an NC was the result. This year's team looks like
they are about winning over stats.
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you must be refering to the jerome dyson era of uconn hoops and i agree. heck even that 06 was a perfect example of what your talking about. i was talking about the jc teams that bought in which your absolutely right we havent seen in a few years until last season.
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Were the best team in the country. We still havent come close to reaching our potential as a team. When we do, and we know its gonna happen with JC running things, watch out. UNC, KY, OSU arent even close to us.
Chin Diesel
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I'm hoarding all of my Hilton Honors points and am striving for 100K by March to make sure I can get at least 2 nights free in N'awlins in March. Short of injury or some unforeseen scenario, I expect to see a bunch of Uconn fans in New Orleans.
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I just laughed all pre-season when people were hyperventilating about UNC. I mean they are very good but lack any effort on defense consistently. Does no one remember that a short year ago they were a middling(at best) ACC team? Barnes will be a nice spot up shooter in the NBA but lacks any handle/athleticism. Henson has very little offensive skill and can be pushed around like crazy down low, and Kendall Marshall is a great passer but just terrible on Defense.
Meanwhile we have National Championship tested(and proven) sophomores still getting better, a proven banger(AO), and an explosive rookie down low. Add that to our historical defensive dominance and I just can't understand the UNC love... for chrissakes they almost lost to LONG BEACH STATE!
Chin Diesel
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Not sure, but 100K points should be exchangeable by March.
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Amusing thread. Uconn is very good. Upside is ridiculous. We all know this.
Imo right now they are still a tier beneath Cuse unc Ohio state (with sully)... I leave Kentucky out on purpose...
But by march uconn has the potential to be a tier above all of these teams. Moo one else has lamb and Drummond and our supporting cast
But...
Holy cross is terrible. Grain of salt here people
Imo right now they are still a tier beneath Cuse unc Ohio state (with sully)... I leave Kentucky out on purpose...
But by march uconn has the potential to be a tier above all of these teams. Moo one else has lamb and Drummond and our supporting cast
But...
Holy cross is terrible. Grain of salt here people
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This team is just now trying to give confidence and proper roles to a bunch of new players, Drummond and Boatright among them, but also Shabazz (and his offense). Once these players sink into their roles, it will be time for Lamb to take over and lead them to big things.
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This lousy HC blew out BCU a few weeks ago. How badly does BCU suck? Good God.
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That was their best 40 minute effort thus far, which surprised me since the game coming off of finals is usually a clunker. But the thought crossed my mind, how much was due to how far they've progressed and how much was due the level of competition?
One can only guess, but I'd say 70 to 80% had to do with very good execution and solid effort, and 20 to 30% lack of competition. Over matched teams can really make you look a lot better than you are. The opposite happens when you face a really good team that you're not as prepared to play as you'd like.
With all that said, I was very happy to see how well AD and AO played. It might be the first time that both played well during the same game. AD made multiple eye-popping plays for a kid his size, things we knew would come sooner or later. When he manages to stay out of foul and plays aggressively, he's more than a handful to contend with on both ends of the floor. He's one of those rare players who can change the game at both ends of the floor. We've had some very good shot blockers at UConn, but I don't think any of them could explode as quickly and as high as he does. You can take a picture when the ball leaves the players hand and it seems like it's clear sailing. Then snap it a fraction of a second later and there's this mammoth of an object obliterating the rim, backboard and whatever else was in the line of site.
What I love about Andre is that his upside is so huge that we all have so much to look forward to as the season goes on. His development might be the most important factor in this team's chances of repeating as NCs. I'm not saying they need a dominating AD to win it again. They won it last year without a dominating big man. To put it best, a dominating AD makes the margin of error a great deal bigger. (Hum...did I get that saying backwards?)
Although Bazz didn't score much, it was arguably his best PG game of the season. The half-court execution was the best I've seen it all season. He clearly made those around him better. I'd much rather an eye-popping Asst/TO ration and lower point totals from him than 20+ points which includes a bunch of ridiculous deep 3s. I don't mind him taking those shots though. That's not my point. I just feel that the more they spread scoring, especially getting the bigs involved, the more dangerous this team can be. Good teams know how to take away one or two scorers, well except if you have a Kemba Walker on your team, but once you have 3 or more dangerous scoring options on the floor for close to 40 minutes, it really puts a ton of pressure on the other teams defense.
The addition of Boatright is likely playing a part in Bazz's development. Having fresh PGs out there at all times will definitely improve the half-court execution, not to mention an increase in defensive intensity at the perimeter. Ryan has been nothing short of outstanding on both ends of the floor. If we had him from day one, this team would not only be undefeated, not only ranked #1, but might also be a tad more further along in their development. If we see a few more results like we just saw yesterday, I'd say that they've caught up to where they might have been if RB had been able to play all season long. If anything, the increased PT for Bazz helped him develop his scoring game, which will pay big dividends when the team needs that type of contribution from him. As much as the two of them can really light it up from all over the court, I'd rather see some sort of combined 20 to 25 points from those two along with some impressive assist numbers, bumping up the points from our front-court players.
Lastly, defensively, they gave up few good looks to HC. It reminded me of the suffocating defensive effort we saw against Butler. Granted, HC was athletically over-matched, but UConn has played similar teams this season and weren't able to make the defensive statement they made yesterday.
We'll learn more over the next few games as to how much this team is progressing. If we witness anything close to the domination we just witnessed, against Fairfield, USF, SJU & RU, even though that's a modest step up in competition compared to what they'll face after that point, it will confirm that this team is beginning to put all their pieces together.
One can only guess, but I'd say 70 to 80% had to do with very good execution and solid effort, and 20 to 30% lack of competition. Over matched teams can really make you look a lot better than you are. The opposite happens when you face a really good team that you're not as prepared to play as you'd like.
With all that said, I was very happy to see how well AD and AO played. It might be the first time that both played well during the same game. AD made multiple eye-popping plays for a kid his size, things we knew would come sooner or later. When he manages to stay out of foul and plays aggressively, he's more than a handful to contend with on both ends of the floor. He's one of those rare players who can change the game at both ends of the floor. We've had some very good shot blockers at UConn, but I don't think any of them could explode as quickly and as high as he does. You can take a picture when the ball leaves the players hand and it seems like it's clear sailing. Then snap it a fraction of a second later and there's this mammoth of an object obliterating the rim, backboard and whatever else was in the line of site.
What I love about Andre is that his upside is so huge that we all have so much to look forward to as the season goes on. His development might be the most important factor in this team's chances of repeating as NCs. I'm not saying they need a dominating AD to win it again. They won it last year without a dominating big man. To put it best, a dominating AD makes the margin of error a great deal bigger. (Hum...did I get that saying backwards?)
Although Bazz didn't score much, it was arguably his best PG game of the season. The half-court execution was the best I've seen it all season. He clearly made those around him better. I'd much rather an eye-popping Asst/TO ration and lower point totals from him than 20+ points which includes a bunch of ridiculous deep 3s. I don't mind him taking those shots though. That's not my point. I just feel that the more they spread scoring, especially getting the bigs involved, the more dangerous this team can be. Good teams know how to take away one or two scorers, well except if you have a Kemba Walker on your team, but once you have 3 or more dangerous scoring options on the floor for close to 40 minutes, it really puts a ton of pressure on the other teams defense.
The addition of Boatright is likely playing a part in Bazz's development. Having fresh PGs out there at all times will definitely improve the half-court execution, not to mention an increase in defensive intensity at the perimeter. Ryan has been nothing short of outstanding on both ends of the floor. If we had him from day one, this team would not only be undefeated, not only ranked #1, but might also be a tad more further along in their development. If we see a few more results like we just saw yesterday, I'd say that they've caught up to where they might have been if RB had been able to play all season long. If anything, the increased PT for Bazz helped him develop his scoring game, which will pay big dividends when the team needs that type of contribution from him. As much as the two of them can really light it up from all over the court, I'd rather see some sort of combined 20 to 25 points from those two along with some impressive assist numbers, bumping up the points from our front-court players.
Lastly, defensively, they gave up few good looks to HC. It reminded me of the suffocating defensive effort we saw against Butler. Granted, HC was athletically over-matched, but UConn has played similar teams this season and weren't able to make the defensive statement they made yesterday.
We'll learn more over the next few games as to how much this team is progressing. If we witness anything close to the domination we just witnessed, against Fairfield, USF, SJU & RU, even though that's a modest step up in competition compared to what they'll face after that point, it will confirm that this team is beginning to put all their pieces together.
Waquoit
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Why did I think the FF was in Indy? If they are there, I'm going. But it's gonna cost me a lot more money.
gotta love how every picture is super intense (especially AD's DAMN that guy is scary) and then last is JL making that face
Chin Diesel
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Not sure, but here's the link to the FF website.
http://www.ncaa.com/finalfour
New Orleans is going to be non-stop party (even by New Orleans standards) for three-five months.
New Years Eve, Sugar Bowl, BCS Championship, most likely a Saints playoff game, Mardi Gras and the Final Four. Top it all off with a fantastic lineup for Jazz fest and there's gonna be a bunch of people waking up around Memorial Day after a vicious 5 month bender saying What the Fuccckk just happened?
Maybe because the Superbowl's in Indy this year (right?)
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I agree. Carolina was so overrated. Theyre slow and not really that athletic. All of their deficincies you listed are spot on. Add Barnes to being terrible at defense too. They also dont have a go to guy at the end of games. People will say Barnes, but as you said lacks any handle or ability to beat his guy one on one.
Chin Diesel
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And the Super Bowl comes to New Orleans in 2013. It's all so confusing.
Remember who we played. That being said I think we are a really good team. AD is improving and I believe that as the season rolls on he will add to his improvement. He and AO will take this team far. We are a final 8 team now. Once the dance begins anything can happen.
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