Arizona Post Game Thread

[Edward Sargent]

Alex’s issue is that he is so mechanical that if the system he is used to isn’t operating (big picks) he just tends to short circuit. He has zero variety or creativity in his game. He can be masterful when the system is flowing, but when it’s not he gets stuck in his head down drive mode and awkward attempts to create offense.

Him and Stew having a total of 6 rebounds in 63 minutes was killer. Stew not picking up that late rebound that led to an AZ put back was killer. Sure he hit a few shots, but didn’t show up at all where we needed him (glass), as one of the couple guys out there with the physical ability to keep up with their horses.

Ross pulled a no show. We’ll be fine when Mullins and Reed are in there and homeostasis is restored.

Starting to wonder if the extra muscle Solo put on messed with his shot at all. This is a brutal run he’s on.

I wonder if Solo worked on those other aspects of his game we all kept harping on

 

[dennismenace]

Just wanted to make a comment. This is the second game in a row where we had a player's legs cut out from under him under the basket.
At least there was a flagrant foul called tonight. That said, this is a way that someone can get seriously hurt and I wondered if there is a
way that on official can throw someone out of the game for that. I swear the guard who did this to Reed was backing up right under him bent over almost looking like he was doing it on purpose.

Good point but 9 for 18 in FT will not cut it. We have always been a great FT team. NOT tonight

Time to dust off the free throw drills. They do not even look focused shooting them. "Free throws win games"

 

[dennismenace]

Reibe with a healthy Reed is gonna be dangerous in March.

Already visioning the two headed monsters we have had for the last three years. We can do what we have in the past and which AZ did to us last night. Keep the three point shooters off the line and funnel them into the paint where the shot blockers are.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If you think that’s how it works, god bless. It’s a single game elimination, matchups matter. Every advantage matters. How often has the best team not won it?

True. It kind of sucks that in 2023 we got stuck with a four seed............

 

[homunculus]

I’m proud of these guys for battling against a really good team, severely shorthanded. I’m really excited for what Reibe will be with strength and confidence.

With Reed on the floor, we win.
We make just a few more free throws, we win.
We grab a couple more rebounds, we win.
We make a couple of those short floaters that we missed a dozen of, we win.
That’s basketball.

If you are down about that game, you either have unrealistic expectations of perfection for a November game, or you may just need to take a look in the mirror and honestly ask yourself if you even enjoy watching basketball. Arizona is a really good team. Apart from Solo’s ill-advised shot (which would be been called heroic here had it gone in), and maybe Silas’s late turnover (which absolutely would have been called a foul on the other end), there is truly not that much to complain about. Should we have rebounded better? Absolutely. But that rebounding differential was fully in place when we were leading with under 2 minutes left against a legitimate championship contender, so…

And I can only imagine that the befuddling complaints about the crowd are because of some TV sound thing. Or maybe some delusional belief that the crowd should be at 100% frenzy for the entire game, and while Arizona is going on a run and nothing is going right for us. At least in my section, the crowd was incredible. My ears are still ringing, and I have no voice.

 

[Deepster]

Alex’s issue is that he is so mechanical that if the system he is used to isn’t operating (big picks) he just tends to short circuit. He has zero variety or creativity in his game. He can be masterful when the system is flowing, but when it’s not he gets stuck in his head down drive mode and awkward attempts to create offense.

Him and Stew having a total of 6 rebounds in 63 minutes was killer. Stew not picking up that late rebound that led to an AZ put back was killer. Sure he hit a few shots, but didn’t show up at all where we needed him (glass), as one of the couple guys out there with the physical ability to keep up with their horses.

Ross pulled a no show. We’ll be fine when Mullins and Reed are in there and homeostasis is restored.

Starting to wonder if the extra muscle Solo put on messed with his shot at all. This is a brutal run he’s on.

So you’re saying Alex is not dependable and will continue to be invisible if the game script doesn’t fall perfectly in his lap.

 

[Waquoit]

Solo missed a terrible shot he shouldn’t have took

Yeah, you never want to go full Vital.

 

[thekollieman]

Solo knocked it in, the ball was never out of bounds.

His feet were in each time he touched it, but I believe it bounced out of bounds before he tapped it back. They never replayed an angle on TV that showed the ball’s contact with the ground, but it must have been the case otherwise it was never out prior to the whistle.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Alex’s issue is that he is so mechanical that if the system he is used to isn’t operating (big picks) he just tends to short circuit. He has zero variety or creativity in his game. He can be masterful when the system is flowing, but when it’s not he gets stuck in his head down drive mode and awkward attempts to create offense.

Him and Stew having a total of 6 rebounds in 63 minutes was killer. Stew not picking up that late rebound that led to an AZ put back was killer. Sure he hit a few shots, but didn’t show up at all where we needed him (glass), as one of the couple guys out there with the physical ability to keep up with their horses.

Ross pulled a no show. We’ll be fine when Mullins and Reed are in there and homeostasis is restored.

Starting to wonder if the extra muscle Solo put on messed with his shot at all. This is a brutal run he’s on.

I guess Ross hitting a key 3pt shot when we were down 11, playing very good defense, getting a key block when we cut the lead down to six qualifies as a no-show. OK got it!

 

[dennismenace]

I referring to the dumb fouls, which had him in foul trouble. He has to be more discipline as our floor general.

Plus, the offensive set were pretty sloppy tonight. The offense wasn't fluid and they just couldn't seem to find their groove.

Opponents are playing our guards and forwards on the perimeter very close and tough not allowing them to get into the rhythm
that our offensive sets used to display in the past. Ed Cooley described this as "mucking things up on D" against us when he was at PC. We have not seemed to deal with this well. If they are going to aggressively overplay we have to take advantage by taking to the rim. We have problems with that as well. Hope Mullins can excel at that and having Tarris back will help as well.

 

[RuffRuff]

So you’re saying Alex is not dependable and will continue to be invisible if the game script doesn’t fall perfectly in his lap.

No, I’m saying when our offense is running with the full compliment of pieces, that he’s used to, he is very productive. He needs picks. He’ll be fine when Tarris and BM are back.

Ross was 1-4 from the field with 2 rebounds in 22 minutes. Fine, we needed someone to really step up last night and didn’t really get it. Reibe perhaps.

Gritty effort, winnable game. When you don’t play well and can still keep it close, it’s a good sign.

 

[upstater]

One takeaway from all this is that so many of our players had really good moments. What we need is consistency. Yes, Alex was subpar. Malachi was wild in the 1st half.

But Malachi made plays later.
Reibe gave us more than I thought he could give us.
Koroma looked like that hustler we used to bring in to cause trouble.

There are pieces here.

Solo flashed on his pullups.
Demary did not have a good game but he still showed some headiness and savvy.

Jaylin Stewart showed up when we most needed him.

I wish the refs would swallow their whistles until they were certain a foul was committed.

More consistency from these players is needed. They have the abilities, and they were fully on display.

 

[upstater]

Opponents are playing our guards and forwards on the perimeter very close and tough not allowing them to get into the rhythm
that our offensive sets used to display in the past. Ed Cooley described this as "mucking things up on D" against us when he was at PC. We have not seemed to deal with this well. If they are going to aggressively overplay we have to take advantage by taking to the rim. We have problems with that as well. Hope Mullins can excel at that and having Tarris back will help as well.

We have ball handlers this year though that will allow us to get to our spots when they play us tight.

But we had a lot of open shots and floaters from closer in, and missed.

We have to counter that defense by making them pay.

Too many missed floaters.

 

[dennismenace]

Post game presser Hurley said he didn't realize how bad he was hurt until.........Monday night. Bizarre.

That sounds a little odd. What about the trainer????????? Maybe coach had his wishful thinking hat on about Tarris being able to make it for the game.

 

[dennismenace]

We have ball handlers this year though that will allow us to get to our spots when they play us tight.

But we had a lot of open shots and floaters from closer in, and missed.

We have to counter that defense by making them pay.

Too many missed floaters.

Agree. Make them pay!

 

[jfreeds]

Maybe it's just me but the energy in the crowd the last few big games at Gampel seems low. Didn't sound that loud on tv, they were quick to sit down, Hurley a few times tried getting the crowd up last night. I went to the St. Johns game last year and there was no reason why it shouldn't have been rockin' but it really wasn't.

 

[Deepster]

No, I’m saying when our offense is running with the full compliment of pieces, that he’s used to, he is very productive. He needs picks. He’ll be fine when Tarris and BM are back.

Define what you mean by "he'll be fine". If they're in the lineup he won't have halves with 1 pt or games against top 10 opponents where he has 2 FGs?

 

[Deepster]

Maybe it's just me but the energy in the crowd the last few big games at Gampel seems low. Didn't sound that loud on tv, they were quick to sit down, Hurley a few times tried getting the crowd up last night. I went to the St. Johns game last year and there was no reason why it shouldn't have been rockin' but it really wasn't.

I think the TV mikes were set up to drown out crowd noise. It was really loud any time they got a couple stops or big buckets in a row.

And everywhere but the lower season ticketholders stood the entire game. I don't think TV captured the scene accurately at all and would welcome other's comments who were also there.

 

[dennismenace]

He is shorter than Karaban!

I think they are both listed as 6-8. If he is shorter it can't be very much.

 

[Gurleyman]

I think the TV mikes were set up to drown out crowd noise. It was really loud any time they got a couple stops or big buckets in a row.

And everywhere but the lower season ticketholders stood the entire game. I don't think TV captured the scene accurately at all and would welcome other's comments who were also there.

Crowd mics were super low. Couldn’t even hear whistles. People would stop playing and I’d assume the whistle blew, but a couple times they played on.

Same thing on the next game on FS1 (Alabama-Illinois in Chicago). Illinois had a blocked shot that led to Stojakovic dunking on someone’s head and the place was going wild. But it just sounded like any old crowd.

 

[dennismenace]

Watched him off the ball for some possessions - and there were times he didn’t cut with any purpose at all. Just this lazy movement where he didn’t want the ball - or didn’t think he’d get open so didn’t bother trying. And there were times the screens he got were pretty bad. Reibe has some work to do there. It was shooting slump AK from last year - and I hated when he played like that because if you cut hard and look like you want to be a threat, it opens up other things. Even if you are a decoy, you have to treat being a decoy as the most important job on the floor and do it with the same intensity as you do when you think a shot is coming your way. Because then you make the defense think about you. There’s a big contrast with Solo - he cuts hard (granted he’s smaller and quicker), but he always moves with a purpose. AK seems better as a flare option playing off misdirection off of someone else’s cut, which is where Mullins and Solo both being out there can maybe help.

Good post. I have always thought he played too many minutes. He always leads the team in minutes played. Perhaps knowing that, he doesn't have the wind to burst on cuts knowing he is going to play 36 mins a night.

 

[dennismenace]

Except for his missed FTs to tie at the end. Otherwise his was a valliant effort.

He looked kind of upset at the end of the game. I take that as a Husky heart. Overall I was thrilled about his last minute call and performance as an untried freshman against one of the best front lines and teams in the country. We now have a new "two headed monster" again in the post so we can exploit that against opponents. Eric the Giant!

 

[dennismenace]

Being out rebounded by 20 is the worst disparity in Hurley coached UConn team.

Casey Jacobsen thinks Arizona is second most physical team behind Houston. Peet was obviously a load tonight.

So there are other options to the five and out? With Tarris Reibe and Karoma we have enough beef to throw around if needed. And Houston and AZ are in the top 5.

 

[Excalibur]

I think the TV mikes were set up to drown out crowd noise. It was really loud any time they got a couple stops or big buckets in a row.

And everywhere but the lower season ticketholders stood the entire game. I don't think TV captured the scene accurately at all and would welcome other's comments who were also there.

100% accurate. I'm dismissive of the "crowd sucked" comments here. They're wrong, full stop.

 

[Excalibur]

Define what you mean by "he'll be fine". If they're in the lineup he won't have halves with 1 pt or games against top 10 opponents where he has 2 FGs?

How many frontcourts will we face that are anywhere as good as Arizona's. I expected Alex to struggle against this group -- they've got 2-3 guys that are the exact type that he's always struggled against. Add in the holding they were allowed to do and subtract Reed and it's hard to be surprised there.

 

[dennismenace]

People focus on Reed being out as the reason for the rebound discrepancy. In the championship years every position rebounded and we weren't as reliant on just a couple people rebounding. Guys like Newton, Castle, Andre Jackson, cam Spencer....

Yes and if you go back you will also see Boat, (5-10, Bazz (barely 6 ft ) Christian Vital getting 5-6 every game.

 

[Devland]

My biggest gripe. The traffic after the game. Seemed like the worst traffic for any Gampel game I have attended. There have been plenty of sellouts without the traffic being as bad. Normally home in 45 minutes. Took over 2 hours. We had time for another game..

 

[superjohn]

How many frontcourts will we face that are anywhere as good as Arizona's. I expected Alex to struggle against this group -- they've got 2-3 guys that are the exact type that he's always struggled against. Add in the holding they were allowed to do and subtract Reed and it's hard to be surprised there.

I know what you're saying about him getting grabbed but he simply has to find ways to contribute when things aren't going his way, he doesn't like the matchups/the way the game is being called. We saw him become a ghost too many times in big games last season and he was a ghost again last night. He has to at least make his presence known and mix it up, draw fouls, get some tough rebounds etc. There's no excuse for him to get just 3 rebounds (all defensive) in 35 minutes of play when we don't have Reed available.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

I must say: I am surprised about the negativity. I know, its the BY. But to me, this team showed a mettle that last year's team only showed once: the loss vs. Florida in March. This team plays D with energy. They had a chance to win a game against a Final Four opponent when missing the starting center (probably top 5 center in the country), and a guy who is lottery projected next June, when their four year senior goes AWOL for most of the game, when their sharpshooter continues to struggle from 3, and when they shoot terrible from the FT line. Are you kidding me? Listen, we stay healthy and we are going to be very much OK.

• I trust we can all see that we now have 2 highly skilled PG's that can run the team and play tough D.
• I trust that we can all see that Reibe is improving more and more with every passing game. And last night was a baptism of fire for the kid. He played his a-- off and did not foul out. HUUUUUGE.
• Solo is struggling from 3. Granted. But last year, he was a one trick pony. This year he is finding buckets by penetration and by shooting the mid range J. That is improvement. And his D is much, much improved.
• Shoutout to Koroma. The kid brought energy to the game. Competent minutes.
• But above all else: this team has spunk. They have fight in them. They go down 13, mojo is on empty, against a team that had begun to bully them a little. Their response was nothing short of awesome. I did not see this kind of character last year.

 

[Mr. French]

Everyone was of the same opinion after Solo’s sophomore year that he needed to focus on completing plays driving to the basket and also taking mid range short range shots.
Obviously he did that. And in doing it appears he must have cut back on working on his three point shot.

That’s my opinion. Do you have an answer as to why through five regular season games and two exhibition games his three point shooting has been horrendous for the first time since he’s been at UConn? His shot was too pure the last two years for him to have a cold shooting spell for seven games straight without their being a reason behind it.

Yeah, he’s in a slump and everyone is focusing on his 3 from a defensive perspective.

If you’re asking me do I think he’s shooting poorly because he didn’t work on his 3 ball in the offseason, the answer is no.

I don’t think our starting 2 guard, with nba aspirations, who is considered a nationally known shooter, stopped working on his shot.