BC Post Game Thread

[superjohn]

He looked stronger and quicker driving to the basket.

Cannot believe how quickly you read my post.

He's definitely bigger but I didn't see any jump in quickness, i'm actually worried the weight/strength gain may have made him even less athletic.

 

[Gurleyman]

Didn’t watch game. Ugly box score. Hope Reed and Demary get healthy soon.

BC has 12 losing seasons in last 15 years didn’t expect them to put up much of a fight.

Not everything was ugly. Shooting was subpar - but 20 assists and 6 turnovers as a team is something I’ll take every time (especially since the 20 would have been higher if we knocked down more open threes).

Wasn’t like BC was passive defensively either. They got after us - changed defenses, etc. We got good shots most of the game (the one exception was early in the second half when we were struggling, Solo and AK forced up some “hero shots” a bit early in the clock).

 

[Excalibur]

He's definitely bigger but I didn't see any jump in quickness, i'm actually worried the weight/strength gain may have made him even less athletic.

You could count on one hand the number of times he got his shoulders past a defender on a drive last year on one hand. He did it 4-5 times last night. He's clearly moving better.

 

[HuskyHawk]

In the ten minutes Ross covered Hand in the second half I don’t believe Hand scored. Nor did Ross foul him.

In that time Ross had four defensive rebounds, two steals, one block one assist and scored his four points. He only twitched once on a Hand fake but recovered quickly to alter the shot.

Fairly effective is an understatement. BC may be a poor team but Hand is legitimate. Those ten minutes were the best ten minutes Ross has shown at UConn. If this is not a one off and he could provide that type of play consistently he’s going to be an important part of the team and earn minutes.

Those were the first minutes that Ross was able to demonstrate what he does during practice.

I think Hand got an and one against him. Tough shot, bumped Ross twice and got the foul. But yes, Ross was otherwise excellent at slowing him down.

 

[Excalibur]

I think Hand got an and one against him. Tough shot, bumped Ross twice and got the foul. But yes, Ross was otherwise excellent at slowing him down.

Good players are going to score, especially one as ball dominant as Hand.

 

[NewBlood]

Reibe looked like a big man with skills. Good spacing, good footwork. He didn't look just like a big man out there. He looked just as good as early Donovan.

I am not saying that they will be as good but there is potential of the Reed+Reibe like 23 Adama+Donovan.

Actually this whole team feels very 23 like, I see Mullins being very like Hawkins as well.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He's a freshman 7 footer playing his first competitive college game. He looked fine and his weaknesses - being a bit of a spaz and getting pushed off his spot - are all pretty standard for a big playing his first college minutes. I was pleasantly surprised by Reibe and think he's going to get significantly better over the course of the year.

Sure-I didn’t mean to insinuate he looked bad or I am worried. Just want those big guys finishing with a bit more authority. Doesn’t even have to be a dunk, just go up like you mean it. Seems he kinda just tossed it up there because he was a bit antsy as you said.

 

[RuffRuff]

One of the benefits to shooting lots of threes via analytics is getting the long O rebound, yet we don’t do this all too well as a team, do we?

 

[NJHusky]

I didn't say he wouldn't be good. I just said he will take time to develop due to how physical the game is down low and how easily he got knocked off his shooting position. I did like what I saw but still think he needs more time to develop into a consistent player.

Agree. But you’re judging him against starter (even at BC) but he’ll be playing mostly against backups. Dc did most of his damage fr year against backups.

 

[HooperScooper]

Dude, he's not playing an 11 man rotation this season. Mullins isn't only playing 20 mpg and Solo isn't only playing 25 mpg.

He never has an 11 man rotation and the strength of this team is their great top 6 players.

And I highly doubt Millender is playing 5 mpg. Unless there are long term injuries and I don't even want to think about that!

 

[freshler40]

Not everything was ugly. Shooting was subpar - but 20 assists and 6 turnovers as a team is something I’ll take every time (especially since the 20 would have been higher if we knocked down more open threes).

Wasn’t like BC was passive defensively either. They got after us - changed defenses, etc. We got good shots most of the game (the one exception was early in the second half when we were struggling, Solo and AK forced up some “hero shots” a bit early in the clock).

This was a very beneficial game against a decent div 1 team in a good conference. Much better than playing a low Div 1 or 2 patsy. We grew twice as fast as a team and settled early on transfers and first year players. Nothing but up-side to see.

 

[Excalibur]

One of the benefits to shooting lots of threes via analytics is getting the long O rebound, yet we don’t do this all too well as a team, do we?

Long rebounds tend to ignite fast breaks the other way. Offenses tend to rebound misses from close in more often due to defenders helping and getting out of rebounding position.

 

[paulmf]

Am i the only one who saw Jim Calhoun ? I saw before the game , but didnt see him seated anywhere

He was seated behind the UConn bench, but about 20 rows up on the aisle. I was too intimidated to approach him. Lol

 

[RuffRuff]

Long rebounds tend to ignite fast breaks the other way. Offenses tend to rebound misses from close in more often due to defenders helping and getting out of rebounding position.

Not sure this aligns with analytics

 

[Excalibur]

Not sure this aligns with analytics

It 100% aligns with analytics.

Rebounding 2’s vs. 3’s | The kenpom.com blog

 

[auror]

One of the benefits to shooting lots of threes via analytics is getting the long O rebound, yet we don’t do this all too well as a team, do we?

We don't? Yes, we do.

 

[Waquoit]

Again, he's a McD's all-American and most of us have watched him before. We know he's big and capable of running.

I didn't realized you all had seen him play for UConn before.

 

[RuffRuff]

Full box if not posted - Ross +26

 

[HW611]

Not sure this aligns with analytics

It’s easier for an offensive player to plan to rebound a shot close in because they know where the shot is going off the rim compared to long rebounds that you don’t know where they may go.

As Excalibur said too, they usually have a higher chance to lead to fast breaks when the defense gets it too.

This is a basic rule in basketball even without the analytics.

 

[UCTitleTown]

1/2 of UConn's shots were 3 pointers?

This is why I really wanted a player like Abdou Toure. People knocked his three point shooting in his recruitment, but you need a guy that can take it to the rack with authority. You can't live off of threes. This roster with the exception of Reed could use toughness. I haven't seen SD yet,so maybe he has it too.

 

[prankster]

ya'll are crazy. Reibe looked great for a freshman in an exhibition game that is basically a scrimmage. Better than I thought he would. He missed a few gimmes but that's normal for a freshman.
I really wanted to see Demary play and was bummed he and Tarris had to sit but it was great to see Reibe and Smith get a lot of run. Smith is legit. He defends hard, can score, passes well. With Demary at point and Smith off the bench they will be a menace. I was impressed with Millender and Koroma.

Cannot say enough about what I thought I saw about Smith's game.

He is really a bit of a pest.

I like that about any of our guys.

 

[prankster]

He missed a couple finishable shots - but he had two and ones, one while a guy was riding him like a horse. The other was a pretty nice soft finish while absorbing contact.

With freshmen as they adapt, you always like to see flashes of what they can do and give them time to develop more consistency. He just needs to get used to new smaller “scoring windows” and get his shots off without rushing … and those misses will become makes.

I might add, those and-ones were converted.

 

[navery12]

I bet Millender is gonna wind up averaging ~5mpg this year with consistent appearances. He’s the 10th man with Koroma getting spot minutes if Reed and Reibe have foul trouble or it’s a blowout. Idk how many deep that counts as, 10,11,9.5?

I get the logic, but I'd take the under on any of those 3 numbers. There's just not enough minutes to go around to our best players that way. No team in the country is running 11 man rotations

 

[Mr. French]

She needs to eat about 100 sandwiches. She's seriously anorexic. Saw her very up close from row 4.

I’m sure she’s concerned with how she looks to “HuskyHawk” who’s undoubtedly ripped, young and flowing with Brad Pitt energy.

 

[navery12]

One of the benefits to shooting lots of threes via analytics is getting the long O rebound, yet we don’t do this all too well as a team, do we?

We do this incredibly well under Dan Hurley

 

[uconn_jack]

Why must we equate "big" with "athletic". There are plenty of skinny athletic guys. Mullins doesn't look strong, but the minute he moves the athleticism is clear.

He doesn't look strong, but like the "sneaky athletic" term thrown around, I think he is "sneaky strong" too. Never looked like he shied away from physical play and never looked overwhelmed physically.

 

[superjohn]

And I highly doubt Millender is playing 5 mpg. Unless there are long term injuries and I don't even want to think about that!

It's nice to have him in case of disaster but he's a practice guy.

We're going to rely heavily on Silas, Malachi, Solo, Braylon, AK, and Tarris.

Reibe to give Tarris a break, if/when Tarris gets into foul trouble but it will be an uneven split and not like the 20/20 split we saw last season with Samson and Tarris.

Ross and Jaylin will both get lots of opportunities and they should both be in the rotation to some extent but one of them will likely separate themselves and have the larger role.

I doubt Koroma and Furphy will consistently be in the rotation but there's always injuries and foul trouble so they will get some minutes.

I expect it to be a 9 man rotation like it always is with 6 guys getting the majority of the minutes.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

It's nice to have him in case of disaster but he's a practice guy.

We're going to rely heavily on Silas, Malachi, Solo, Braylon, AK, and Tarris.

Reibe to give Tarris a break, if/when Tarris gets into foul trouble but it will be an uneven split and not like the 20/20 split we saw last season with Samson and Tarris.

Ross and Jaylin will both get lots of opportunities and they should both be in the rotation to some extent but one of them will likely separate themselves and have the larger role.

I doubt Koroma and Furphy will consistently be in the rotation but there's always injuries and foul trouble so they will get some minutes.

I expect it to be a 9 man rotation like it always is with 6 guys getting the majority of the minutes.

I suspect there may be growing pains with Reibe (as expected with pretty much any freshman, especially a freshman big) and Koroma will get run. He’s undersized but athletic and seems to have good hedging/switchability. Also, we kinda know that Tarris and Reibe will likely be in foul trouble somewhat often.

 

[RuffRuff]

It's nice to have him in case of disaster but he's a practice guy.

We're going to rely heavily on Silas, Malachi, Solo, Braylon, AK, and Tarris.

Reibe to give Tarris a break, if/when Tarris gets into foul trouble but it will be an uneven split and not like the 20/20 split we saw last season with Samson and Tarris.

Ross and Jaylin will both get lots of opportunities and they should both be in the rotation to some extent but one of them will likely separate themselves and have the larger role.

I doubt Koroma and Furphy will consistently be in the rotation but there's always injuries and foul trouble so they will get some minutes.

I expect it to be a 9 man rotation like it always is with 6 guys getting the majority of the minutes.

The Ross/Stewart separation will be an interesting dynamic to watch. I agree with you here. In this lineup, Ross brings something to the team that Stew doesn't, perimeter defense. Not sure what Stew compliments this roster with other than just being depth.

 

[uconn_jack]

When talking about Reibe, remember, Clingan was a little shaky in the beginning too. Reibe isn't and won't be the imposing defensive force Clingan was, but he already has better footwork and offensive instinct than Clingan did, especially early on.