Braylon Mullins Support

[Husky Alien]

Between the game chats and posts on the Boneyard the Mullins pile-on has gotten pretty excessive. Critique the play, sure. The late-half shot wasn’t ideal and his recent stretch has been inconsistent. That’s fair. But some of the commentary goes way beyond basketball and turns personal fast.
The “not NBA ready” talk especially feels misplaced. He’s 19. He never declared himself one-and-done that hype mostly came from the media, and with it came unreal expectations. He’s still a legit shooter with strong instincts and athleticism you can’t teach. Development isn’t linear.
He’ll figure out his future with his circle after the season. In the meantime, it’d be great if the energy stayed behind him and the team. Support your guys, live with the ups and downs, and keep it about hoops. We need him for this stretch.

 

[Hoophound]

I agree. Braylon and Solo are volume shooters. They can just as easily start hitting them instead of missing and we’ll be rolling. I can’t really fault players for missing open jump shots. I know they are both great shooters in terms of mechanics and ability make almost every shot they take in a practice situation. They work hard at it. A slump is a whole lot more than just missed shots. There’s nuances to a shooting slump. It’s just like going to the golf course and out of the blue you start rolling the ball rather than getting it up in the air. Nothing has changed, but everything has changed. Fortunately, it changes back. Hope for change. We don’t have better options.

 

[jibsey]

Between the game chats and posts on the Boneyard the Mullins pile-on has gotten pretty excessive. Critique the play, sure. The late-half shot wasn’t ideal and his recent stretch has been inconsistent. That’s fair. But some of the commentary goes way beyond basketball and turns personal fast.
The “not NBA ready” talk especially feels misplaced. He’s 19. He never declared himself one-and-done that hype mostly came from the media, and with it came unreal expectations. He’s still a legit shooter with strong instincts and athleticism you can’t teach. Development isn’t linear.
He’ll figure out his future with his circle after the season. In the meantime, it’d be great if the energy stayed behind him and the team. Support your guys, live with the ups and downs, and keep it about hoops. We need him for this stretch.

I believe the criticism is not for Braylon as much as it’s for the know it alls here who insist he is gone. You are correct in that he has never addressed it. From an NBA talent perspective if you are a long range shooter at some point you have to show it right?
Even with the misses from 3 he was critical in our win last night. I wish that the “ he’s gone” crowd would just pipe down. We’ll know soon enough.

 

[djct1999]

The negativity is actually insane and so bad that I had to leave the chat. This place has become insufferable.

 

[AreBee1969]

He’s in a tough spot right now but I was encouraged by his offensive game INSIDE the arc and those two steals on back to back possessions were huge.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Between the game chats and posts on the Boneyard the Mullins pile-on has gotten pretty excessive. Critique the play, sure. The late-half shot wasn’t ideal and his recent stretch has been inconsistent. That’s fair. But some of the commentary goes way beyond basketball and turns personal fast.
The “not NBA ready” talk especially feels misplaced. He’s 19. He never declared himself one-and-done that hype mostly came from the media, and with it came unreal expectations. He’s still a legit shooter with strong instincts and athleticism you can’t teach. Development isn’t linear.
He’ll figure out his future with his circle after the season. In the meantime, it’d be great if the energy stayed behind him and the team. Support your guys, live with the ups and downs, and keep it about hoops. We need him for this stretch.

He was also basically the only guard creating his own offense in the first half yesterday. His 3 point shot has been off for a number of games now but he’s still been lethal in the midrange.

 

[Umami Zen]

I agree with Hurley- We are overdue for our shooters (Braylon/Solo/AK) to get hot. In Braylon's case- Best thing that could happen is seeing the first few threes going through the hoop. All three of those guys have solid mid-range proficiency and we need to get them to the FT line where they are almost automatic. Don't force things-Keep taking open threes-They will begin to fall.

To Braylon's credit- He is contributing other ways-deflections/boards/disruptive D while he's trying to find his stroke. The dude is playing vs multi-year mature/physical athletic wings. He's learning as he's playing. He'll figure it out.

 

[Dibbie]

The negativity is actually insane and so bad that I had to leave the chat. This place has become insufferable.

The chat is insane, especially with Solo. Once he misses his first shot, they’re all over him.

I know there’s a lot of negativity with being a fan, and I’m guilty myself. But I try not to call out players. I know they’re now getting paid, but they’re still just college kids, younger than my own. My son played college baseball, it’s tough balancing your sport, academics and becoming an adult all at once. Gotta cut them some slack.

 

[my2cents]

I posted in the post game thread that all we hear is about his three point shooting.
How about his middi game where he was 5/6.?
He also had two steals late in the game to seal it.
Give the freshman a break.

 

[UConnJim]

The negativity is actually insane and so bad that I had to leave the chat. This place has become insufferable.

I think the negativity stems from frustration. Mid-season, you could see the potential to win it all, but when the 3 shooting went south, the team struggled. And, injuries all year disrupted the team's ability to gel.

 

[Inyatkin]

I want our shooters to shoot but I just don’t know what to make of two guys in such deep slumps at the same time. We can’t advance without outside shooting, no matter who is playing point guard or how good Reed is. We need shooting

 

[RuffRuff]

Let’s hope the law of averages kicks in soon. I really hope they do, because he’d hit his next 10.

Our season is in the brink, many fans have been waiting for this teams lights to turn on all year, so I do get the anxiousness.

 

[businesslawyer]

He’s in a tough spot right now but I was encouraged by his offensive game INSIDE the arc and those two steals on back to back possessions were huge.

Yeah, I know he’s a freshman but when you go 5-5 from 2 in the first half and 0-6 or whatever from 3, and then don’t take another 2 for most of the 2d half, ….

He’s also down to 33% shooting from 3 for the year. Just saying.

 

[giddyup]

As I just said in another thread about him, progress is not linear and often regression occurs before a leap in improvement. It’s just at the bottom of a regression stage at a bad time. That all said, we allowed kids to get paid big money then put huge expectations on them. They aren’t mature enough for either and that’s why schools exist - finish intellectual development and develop maturity. What everybody thinks is so great for these kid is actually a massive disservice.

 

[caw]

I thought, bad three point shooting aside, he had an excellent game.

 

[Husky Alien]

Yeah, I know he’s a freshman but when you go 5-5 from 2 in the first half and 0-6 or whatever from 3, and then don’t take another 2 for most of the 2d half, ….

He’s also down to 33% shooting from 3 for the year. Just saying.

Fair to question the shot selection, but freshman ups and downs are real. He was perfect inside early that matters and just settled for threes later.
33% from deep isn’t great, but it’s not a disaster either. Critique the decisions, sure, just no need to bash a young guy still figuring it out.

 

[PAHusky]

I agree that the board should lay off insulting our players generally, but not sure I agree that calling someone “not NBA ready” is below the belt. Personal attacks absolutely off limits, but criticizing shot selection, saying that he hasn’t live up to the hype, etc. in my opinion are fair game for kids getting paid to play. Do I agree with it in all cases? No, but I think calling it out is a bit of pearl clutching

 

[Windham4th]

Let’s hope the law of averages kicks in soon. I really hope they do, because he’d hit his next 10.

Our season is in the brink, many fans have been waiting for this teams lights to turn on all year, so I do get the anxiousness.

Mullins I think is probably in his own head a bit and probably worn down. College season with Hurley practices is alot compared to his high school seasons. Especially a lanky kid like that. He probably gets knocked around alot.

Ball is more of an issue. Problem with him is, and the commentators mentioned it last night, was Ball was 40% shooter last year and is 30% now.

That's not a slump that's an entire season.

 

[uconngb]

Between the game chats and posts on the Boneyard the Mullins pile-on has gotten pretty excessive. Critique the play, sure. The late-half shot wasn’t ideal and his recent stretch has been inconsistent. That’s fair. But some of the commentary goes way beyond basketball and turns personal fast.
The “not NBA ready” talk especially feels misplaced. He’s 19. He never declared himself one-and-done that hype mostly came from the media, and with it came unreal expectations. He’s still a legit shooter with strong instincts and athleticism you can’t teach. Development isn’t linear.
He’ll figure out his future with his circle after the season. In the meantime, it’d be great if the energy stayed behind him and the team. Support your guys, live with the ups and downs, and keep it about hoops. We need him for this stretch.

Not ideal? That was probably the dumbest shot I've ever seen by a UConn player. There was ZERO reason to shoot that and it is definitely not what was drawn up by the coaches. You can't make an excuse for stuff like that. Players. are going to miss shots, I get it. But that was total hero ball that hurt the team.

 

[jibsey]

The negativity is actually insane and so bad that I had to leave the chat. This place has become insufferable.

The chat can be funny. One time I dropped in and thought we were losing by 20 and we were up by 10.

 

[djct1999]

I agree that the board should lay off insulting our players generally, but not sure I agree that calling someone “not NBA ready” is below the belt. Personal attacks absolutely off limits, but criticizing shot selection, saying that he hasn’t live up to the hype, etc. in my opinion are fair game for kids getting paid to play. Do I agree with it in all cases? No, but I think calling it out is a bit of pearl clutching

A few games ago people on here were calling taris soft. Point is, opinions don’t matter. “Fans” can criticize all they want. Most times, their opinions are self motivated and aren’t shared at all with the ones actually making the decisions. Thankfully for Braylon, what’s real vs what is said on here is dramatically different.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

I thought, bad three point shooting aside, he had an excellent game.

Come on. I agree we should focus on the positives but he was mostly brutal on the defensive end. I've given him his flowers for the two steals. That was critical and makes it easier to give him a pass. But not excellent

 

[Ha Who]

I do make comments to my wife but won’t post them here. Despite NIL, they are kids and seem to be nice kids. Hopefully, they get hot but if not, we win 30 games this year and beat some good teams.

 

[RuffRuff]

A few thoughts:
1. Game was a statistical outlier and beneath the metrics, wasn’t as close as it seemed. Obviously we need to make shots but we had great looks almost every time down and Furman could not stop us.
2. In no way am I suggesting Malachi is better than Silas, but I did like how he ran the offense last night more than Silas does. Biggest takeaway, Malachi simply got us into it much faster. How many times do we see Silas dribbling on the top of the key and not start the offensive set until 18 secs learning clock? Thats an issue.
3. Pace. We played at a better pace yesterday.
4. Alex Milender- awesome story, memories of a lifetime. Seems like an amazing kid. Still, he cannot see the floor vs UCLA.
5. Wasn’t thrilled w perimeter defense.
6. Not sure what happened to Riebe? I have never seen him less enthusiastic and that was his worst game by a long mile.

Not sure what is going on with Reibe either. Noticed the BL myself.- I hope he didn’t think he was coming to UConn to take threes.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Not ideal? That was probably the dumbest shot I've ever seen by a UConn player. There was ZERO reason to shoot that and it is definitely not what was drawn up by the coaches. You can't make an excuse for stuff like that. Players. are going to miss shots, I get it. But that was total hero ball that hurt the team.

Roscoe Smith says whattup.