Baylor Post Game Thread

[ctchamps]

Agree there’s something there and there’s no doubt about that. Problem is for now we were fed a bit more from our HC and the expectations flew off the charts. Take baby steps with him but Stewart needs more minutes than he does right now.

Does he have the foot speed to play any other position than the four?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Does he have the foot speed to play any other position than the four?

I think he has as much or more footspeed than both Castle or McNeeley, so, yes?

Unless the matchup doesn't allow it, I'd like to see more of McNeeley at SG and Stewart at the 3. Stewart's ability to protect the rim is probably second only to Johnson. He's really good sliding over against penetration.

 

[superjohn]

I think he has as much or more footspeed than both Castle or McNeeley, so, yes?

Unless the matchup doesn't allow it, I'd like to see more of McNeeley at SG and Stewart at the 3. Stewart's ability to protect the rim is probably second only to Johnson. He's really good sliding over against penetration.

I want to see more Liam, Jaylin, and Alex on the court together with Liam at the 2, and Jaylin at the 3. I think it makes us better on both sides of the ball.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I want to see more Liam, Jaylin, and Alex on the court together with Liam at the 2, and Jaylin at the 3. I think it makes us better on both sides of the ball.

Yep. I also think those are our 3 best players. If Solo really picks up his defense, rebounding and attacks the basket, I could be persuaded otherwise. But right now, Liam is a better SG and Jaylin brings a lot at the 3.

 

[bendm]

there's no denying the double big worked. it allowed samson to guard a smaller/quicker forward that couldnt bully him down low as much and it enabled him to roam the paint as a weak-side defender. i'd like to see that lineup going forward to mix things up.

 

[superjohn]

Yep. I also think those are our 3 best players. If Solo really picks up his defense, rebounding and attacks the basket, I could be persuaded otherwise. But right now, Liam is a better SG and Jaylin brings a lot at the 3.

Jaylin isn't getting enough playing time, I don't quite understand it. He doesn't have one skill like Solo's three point shooting that's off the charts but he's more of an all-around plus player than Solo at this time.

With more time I think we would see a lot more out of him.

 

[cp176]

I want to see more Liam, Jaylin, and Alex on the court together with Liam at the 2, and Jaylin at the 3. I think it makes us better on both sides of the ball.

Not a bad idea. They are likely to see more and more pressure moving forward and our guards don't look like they can attack gaps or their man directly and get the ball up quickly. The other alternative is to go over the top which works pretty well to.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Really? I thought he was great for us in the second half and was the only guard playing good D. He had 7 assists and 1 TO and was 7-10 from the FT line. Hassan isn't a shooter and anything he can give us is a bonus. I do agree his D was bad in the first half but he tightened that up in the 2nd half and was a great floor general with some great passes including the one to Samson for that big dunk in the 2nd half. There is a reason why he played a majority of the 2nd half. I still think Nowell is out best PG.

Agreed there was a concerted effort it seems by everyone not to get into foul trouble in the first half and while it lead to some matador D it worked. Loved Robert Wright we could stop him

 

[DogMania]

I don’t get it since he’s a top percentile athlete. I really don’t.

It's a head scratcher why he can't keep his man from driving right by him.

The coaching staff need to work extra with him and Mahaney, who was better last night, on positioning, anticipating and whatever else it takes to improve their on the ball D. They'd have to use Hass as the handler to teach these two, which could tax him some, oh, I forgot about Nowell, he's quick and could be used as bait.

It’s imperative these two, along with the over all team D improve or there won't be any shot at a 3-peat or even a solid seed.

 

[superjohn]

It's a head scratcher why he can't keep his man from driving right by him.

The coaching staff need to work extra with him and Mahaney, who was better last night, on positioning, anticipating and whatever else it takes to improve their on the ball D. They'd have to use Hass as the handler to teach these two, which could tax him some, oh, I forgot about Nowell, he's quick and could be used as bait.

It’s imperative these two, along with the over all team D improve or there won't be any shot at a 3-peat or even a solid seed.

I thought Mahaney really held his own defensively last night, he seemed to he reading the ballhandler much better and even beating him to the spots. McNeeley was really good defensively and he's going to be a + defender. Solo still looks completely lost defensively, it's hard to understand.

 

[DogMania]

Just jumping in and too much to catch up with. Not sure if it has been said, but we beat a good Baylor team that was down one key player the entire game and another one for most of the second half. Almost hard to believe, but they were a more prolific fouling team than our Huskies, granted UConn aggressively attacking the basket had a lot to do with it. And I realize that we were down our best and most experienced player.

As nice as a win it was, and one that was most desperately needed, I'd like to see them win at least one of the next two to prove they are legitimately building their resume and on the way to becoming a legitimate top level team again.

We'll learn a lot about this team over the next 4 games.

 

[bendm]

i'm not as worried about PG play anymore w/ Diarra starting and Mahaney off the bench. but Ball's on-ball D might be a bigger issue than Samson's foul rate.

 

[Husky Alien]

Defense was much better. The 2 big look was a nice change of pace. Think Samson is actually a more natural 4 so it works kind of.

Big props to Hurley for his demeanor on the sideline today. The refs worked with us really well today.

I agree with you on the defense. Samson is really not a 5 though as you know. He did play well with Reed in there. As for Hurley, he could of gone off a few times but he held it in check and that's a start. Good win and some progress on D. Next....Texas another test

 

[Mike Honcho]

It's a head scratcher why he can't keep his man from driving right by him.

The coaching staff need to work extra with him and Mahaney, who was better last night, on positioning, anticipating and whatever else it takes to improve their on the ball D. They'd have to use Hass as the handler to teach these two, which could tax him some, oh, I forgot about Nowell, he's quick and could be used as bait.

It’s imperative these two, along with the over all team D improve or there won't be any shot at a 3-peat or even a solid seed.

We often talk about athleticism as if it's a monolith. It's made up of a bunch of distinct attributes that can be correlated with one another but aren't required to be. We know Solo has a great vertical. Does he have great lateral quickness? We haven't necessarily seen a lightning quick first step from him to beat his man, but maybe that's due to his subpar handle.

I'm just speculating here - I haven't witnessed Solo do the three cone exercise or anything. It very well may be a deficit of skill and willpower which is what I'm hoping for since that can be corrected.

 

[Husky Alien]

Jaylin isn't getting enough playing time, I don't quite understand it. He doesn't have one skill like Solo's three point shooting that's off the charts but he's more of an all-around plus player than Solo at this time.

With more time I think we would see a lot more out of him.

I just get a feeling that Jaylin, if given the chance/minutes is going to go off. Strong, explosive and decent shot. Just needs a longer burn I think.

 

[KemBuckets21]

They weren’t great but calls went both ways so I’d say it was reasonably fair.

That’s pretty dang good compared to Memphis and Colorado.

 

[controlfade]

I want to see more Liam, Jaylin, and Alex on the court together with Liam at the 2, and Jaylin at the 3. I think it makes us better on both sides of the ball.

That’s honestly what I thought the starters would look like

 

[woodchuck68]

At the game, my takes

Ball got us going, reminded me of Rashad

Breakout game for Mahaney

Reed and Johnson were awesome down low

Liam is morphing in to a superstar

Stewie got hops

Hassan was not Hassan tonight. I thought we needed him to be at his best. Instead, the newbies all stepped it up

Thank you Huskies. More fun than anyone is entitled too

Great call, eh?

 

[ddent68]

I agree with those that think Jaylin should get more minutes. The defense isn’t good right now we can all agree but what concerns me is the lack of offense. We don’t get the easy buckets around the rim anymore. Guys don’t seem to be getting open and if they do no one is finding them. Alex has found people and so has Jaylin. He’s probably the second best passer on the team right now. Threes and dunks were our bread and butter. We need to get back to that. It’s what made us special. We were a nightmare for opposing teams defenses and it feels like we have lost that. We seem completely guardable now where as last year we seemed like we were playing a different game than everyone else. Jaylin has better vision and passing than most of his teammates and needs to be on the floor more.

 

[willie99]

Great call, eh?

We didn't see those replays. I couldn't tell. I just assumed they made the correct call, although I obviously didn't like it

So they said grabbing the rim wasn't basket interference? Classic, not surprised

If we lost, that call would have received a lot more attention

 

[MuchoDogYears]

This team needs Mahaney to play well if we have any hope of reaching the Final 4. Nowell isn’t the answer. Mahaney needs to be the answer.

Mahaney has finally been moved to SG where he belongs. Nowell s a PG. It’s not an either or situation, they can be on the court at the same time.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I think this is the role for Mahaney. I've been one of his biggest defenders, and it's probably not the role Hurley envisioned, but this was the best he's looked. Bring him in for bursts of offense off the bench like Joey Calcaterra. The stretch in the 1st half had shades of Calcaterra against Georgetown. That's still an extremely valuable piece and if he develops into more that's a bonus

Finally came around to the Mahaney is more Joey C train after this offseason. Welcome!

 

[gsmooth]

Just jumping in and too much to catch up with. Not sure if it has been said, but we beat a good Baylor team that was down one key player the entire game and another one for most of the second half. Almost hard to believe, but they were a more prolific fouling team than our Huskies, granted UConn aggressively attacking the basket had a lot to do with it. And I realize that we were down our best and most experienced player.

As nice as a win it was, and one that was most desperately needed, I'd like to see them win at least one of the next two to prove they are legitimately building their resume and on the way to becoming a legitimate top level team again.

We'll learn a lot about this team over the next 4 games.

That's my thought process, too. I wish Texas was at home or MSG and Gonzaga was on the road because it would increase the chances of UConn winning 1 of the next 2. But alas it isn't. It's still a great opportunity for them to build the resume, especially if they beat Gonzaga.

Last year, the thought was always about repeating as UConn held the #1 ranking for several weeks. Also, it was common consensus among basketball fans that team was clearly the best and better than everyone else when they were playing their best.

For this year's team, the thought is still look at the next 3 games moving forward with a slight eye towards the bigger picture. Against Baylor, that game just felt like a must-win and gotta-have it game.

 

[CL82]

Who’s negative? We should acknowledge that Baylor was without Edgecombe, who may be their best player.

And we were without our senior leader and two national champion Alex Karaban, who is likely to be playing in the NBA next year. I am calling it a wash, though it would be easy to make the argument that Alex was the bigger loss.

 

[homunculus]

It's a head scratcher why he can't keep his man from driving right by him.

I feel like it’s a focus issue. He’ll face up to his man, who dribbles or hesitates and then drives, and Solo reads to me like he’s snapping back to attention a hair too late. Like he was looking for the screener, or something.