Braylon Mullins Support

[Icehawk]

Don't let a few vocal people make you (or Braylon) think we don't love and root for him.

Was I thrilled with some of his plays last night? No, but he's a dang freshmen and human. He also had some great plays and seems to be nearly automatic inside the arc. I'd like him to recognize when he's not hitting 3s and shift more shots to 2pters, but he should still be shooting at least 4 3s a game. We KNOW he can make them at a good clip but until that starts happening again he should play a bit more to what's working. Ditto Solo.

NBA ready? I have no idea, but as has been said a million times before if they call your number - you go.

 

[Palatine]

Braylon is in a horrible slump from the arc. Last night he was 0-8 from three. Starting with Marquette, five games, he is 5-38 (13.1%). He is not just missing, he is missing by a lot.

He has retained his shooting eye from two point land and last night had two critical steals when the game was in the balance. His over all production remains pretty good.

Remember his overtime game at Providence. He was electric. The kid can shoot. I can understand the fan frustration. There is still no excuse for folks getting personal or mean. Something is definitely off and BM and the coaches need to figure it out.

 

[Conndog]

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.

Solo had several opportunities to take pull-up jumpers inside the lane but instead drove to basket where he got blocked or threw up a wild shot. Wish he just took the short jumper.

 

[Scrappy3]

he’s having great success WITHIN the 3 point line and for now should keep his game in the mid range for now and only shoot 3s when his feet are set 7/10 mid range and in. No more off balance 27 footers

 

[Edward Sargent]

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 did what good players do when their shot is off. 6 rebounds 3 big steals, solid D moved to his 2 pt shot and hit FTs. Haters just want to hate

 

[RuffRuff]

Solo had several opportunities to take pull-up jumpers inside the lane but instead drove to basket where he got blocked or threw up a wild shot. Wish he just took the short jumper.

100% - his ability to finish around the rim is so poor. He has this tendency to resist contact and flip the ball at the rim arms extended away from the basket. He had plenty of room to take the 7 foot pull up.

 

[Edward Sargent]

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.

He didn’t take any when he was with the U18 German team so I don’t think that was his expectation.

 

[FreeDogs]

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'll admit, he has looked lost lately....but the kid is legit and you are right, only 19. The league is still licking it's chops over him and we are lucky to have him.

 

[businesslawyer]

Roscoe Smith says whattup.

Roscoe misread the clock. It was a human error, it wasn’t a bad decision. I have no reason to think BM was confused about how much time he had. It appeared that he just made an absurdly bad decision.

 

[businesslawyer]

Braylon is in a horrible slump from the arc. Last night he was 0-8 from three. Starting with Marquette, five games, he is 5-38 (13.1%). He is not just missing, he is missing by a lot.

He has retained his shooting eye from two point land and last night had two critical steals when the game was in the balance. His over all production remains pretty good.

Remember his overtime game at Providence. He was electric. The kid can shoot. I can understand the fan frustration. There is still no excuse for folks getting personal or mean. Something is definitely off and BM and the coaches need to figure it out.

It’s really not that hard to be critical of someone’s play, and wondering how good they are or will be, without trashing them. BM is a good kid who is trying his hardest. If he’s not good enough, it is what it is.

 

[bendm]

I predicted/hoped before the season that Ball and Mullins were going to be the best 3pt shooting duo in the country lolol

 

[Umami Zen]

I predicted/hoped before the season that Ball and Mullins were going to be the best 3pt shooting duo in the country lolol

Playing one- game seasons now. Overdue for them to break out. Gotta see those early shots going in.

 

[UCTitleTown]

For me, it's the complete disbelief at how many games ALL of our shooters are ice cold in the same game. I get one, but all? As far as BM, I also have said people need to stop with the Top 15 draft nonsense and just let him play. Not sure if all the hype got to him or what, but he's got a ton of developing to do, and needs time to do that. I think a lot of the frustration fans have with him and others is that this is lose and go home time.

 

[uconngb]

he’s having great success WITHIN the 3 point line and for now should keep his game in the mid range for now and only shoot 3s when his feet are set 7/10 mid range and in. No more off balance 27 footers

He missed at least 3-4 where he was wide open, feet set, etc. And missed them all by a wide margin. And it’s 35 games into the season, let’s skip the “freshman, deer in the headlights” excuse.

His best game was probably his first…..AT Kansas

 

[uconngb]

I predicted/hoped before the season that Ball and Mullins were going to be the best 3pt shooting duo in the country lolol

Does quantity of takes count????

 

[EBonz30]

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.

We played against Furman- why are you crushing Silas? The stuff you are saying about getting into the offense & how long it takes that was typically Malachi’s issue- that’s why Hurley consistently had a short leash on him over the last 6-8 weeks.

Point is- we played Furman last night- of course the offense was going to look better compared to a Seton Hall, Marquette pressure D, & a St. John’s ala wrestlemania defense.

Hopefully both Silas & Stewart are ready to go in about 30 hours.

 

[uconnyankee]

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

I’ve been avoiding this place last few weeks.

Geno did a clip that was spot on. People here, and not everyone, but a lot simply can’t comprehend a loss. The team sucks, they are soft, so and so isn’t legit player, on and on. Then after a win it’s those same players are awesome.

Genos point was, root for UConn. If you’re only a fan after winning, then you’re not a fan of UConn, you’re a fan of winning. If UConn isn’t winning enough, go root for some other program and see how they do.

There are a lot of those people here.

 

[PAHusky]

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.

I mean I agree, but I also recognize that this is a message board, and of course our opinions are buffoonish and will never actually impact the team. Does anyone other than Chief think differently?

 

[Mr. French]

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.

I think his body language was being frustrated at the fouls and not getting into a flow.

 

[Dibbie]

I’ve been avoiding this place last few weeks.

Geno did a clip that was spot on. People here, and not everyone, but a lot simply can’t comprehend a loss. The team sucks, they are soft, so and so isn’t legit player, on and on. Then after a win it’s those same players are awesome.

Genos point was, root for UConn. If you’re only a fan after winning, then you’re not a fan of UConn, you’re a fan of winning. If UConn isn’t winning enough, go root for some other program and see how they do.

There are a lot of those people here.

I don’t agree with measuring people’s fandom. Some can sit through a loss and be fine and say we’ll get them next time. Others take it hard, vent and need a break. I wouldn’t say one is more of a fan than the other. People are/react different

 

[Stinger92860]

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.

Ball was 30% as a freshman also. Is that was he is or is he actually a 40% shooter? His midrange looks great, so maybe the focus needs to shift there while he and Mullins start hitting what are some wide open uncontested 3s. When you shoot 1 of 14 from 3 versus 50% from 2 the math no longer supports the 3.

I know people get protective of college kids, but NIL has changed the rules.There’s a big difference between attacking a kid’s character and stating the fact that a starter earning 7 figures is shooting 14%. I had no idea he was 6-of-41 until someone mentioned it in the chat. If you’re making money, performance based criticism comes with the territory. As far as Mullin being NBA ready, I do not think he is. Is it terrible criticism if an NBA scout says it? No because it’s a business.

 

[305Husk]

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.

Take Big Boy NIL money, Big Boy play and Big Boy criticism are part and parcel. No need to carry a torch for him.

 

[Stinger92860]

I think his body language was being frustrated at the fouls and not getting into a flow.

Reibe plays D predominantly with his hands at the waist. Add in his reach in tendency, he is going to get called even when he had a clean strip. Sometimes it better to give up the basket. Remeber when Cam layed into Clingan for fouling vs giving up a basket? Not sure it apply to Reibe but he needs to be more selective.

 

[djct1999]

I mean I agree, but I also recognize that this is a message board, and of course our opinions are buffoonish and will never actually impact the team. Does anyone other than Chief think differently?

It’s one thing to have an opinion. It’s quite different to slander a kid who you should be a fan of and who most evaluators have in the top 16 of the draft. He is the 4th option in this team. He isn’t nba ready yet he shoots like 80% in midrange(slight exaggeration), he distributes the ball as well as anyone in the team, and has two stellar defensive plays last night that helped seal the win. I mean, sometimes it’s best to keep your opinion s to yourself, especially when the actual take is moronic.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

I don’t even question the shot selection. Shooters shoot. Let him fire away.

I think that play at halftime was actually what Hurley drew up, just 2 seconds too early. With the way we were rebounding the ball, it seemed like a good plan, jack up a 3 and have enough time for a second chance look if it misses. I think Mullins just slightly got sped up and lost track of the time, it happens.