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- Aug 26, 2011
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This has been a frustrating week, there are no two ways about it. Coming into this week, I figured we would probably split, but I was also hoping that the team had turned a corner and that we might be able to steal both games. These two losses have definitely served as a bit of a reality check.
That said, you can only do so much hollering about a loss that boiled down to some pretty simple things:
1. Amida Brimah played nine minutes. This is a completely different team with him on the court versus him off the court, and although I say this after pretty much every game, it's worth re-emphasizing after a contest in which he played less than a quarter of.
Needless to say, there has become a major problem, and the ceiling of this team is very much defined until it is solved. He struggles mightily defending strong, skilled post players and has for his entire career. Part of this appears to be an absence of lower-body strength, part of it is undeveloped basketball instincts. And yes, I am aware it was a tough whistle tonight. But sloppy footwork, flailing arms and poor technique - traits Brimah displays regularly - isn't going to be awarded by the officials. He needs to adapt or this team won't be playing past the second week of March.
2. Ryan Boatright. I love the kid, respect him for gutting it out through injuries, etc. It isn't even like he was that bad tonight; he played tough defense on Randle and created a handful of open threes. But consecutive outings of eight and seven points, on 6 of 22 shooting, won't cut it from our senior captain.
3. Stanford played really well. This sometimes gets lost in the way we isolate variables (i.e., UConn performs in a vacuum). They shot 10 of 22 from three and hit some tough, contested shots. Some of this was lackadaisical defense, but when UConn cranked up the defense in the second half they still hit timely shots to fend us off. If UConn played on Tuesday the way they did tonight, maybe they win that game.
There's plenty more to talk about, but that should cover it as a sparknotes version. You aren't going to win many games when your best player is injured and/or playing below his standards, your second best player is a de facto DNP, and the other team hits some tough shots and plays really well.
The next two games are at home against Central Florida and South Florida. If we lose those, well...I might have to take a break from this board. But I expect wins and I haven't given up on this team. We make mistakes that are not inconsistent with what you'd expect from a young team, and all of the imperfections that result from inexperience are exacerbated by being defending champs and having a leader at half-speed. If it doesn't come together for us this time, I guess that's the price of doing business. The transitions from championships to what comes next have never been smooth, but the future is still bright; it's just a matter of when that future materializes.
That said, you can only do so much hollering about a loss that boiled down to some pretty simple things:
1. Amida Brimah played nine minutes. This is a completely different team with him on the court versus him off the court, and although I say this after pretty much every game, it's worth re-emphasizing after a contest in which he played less than a quarter of.
Needless to say, there has become a major problem, and the ceiling of this team is very much defined until it is solved. He struggles mightily defending strong, skilled post players and has for his entire career. Part of this appears to be an absence of lower-body strength, part of it is undeveloped basketball instincts. And yes, I am aware it was a tough whistle tonight. But sloppy footwork, flailing arms and poor technique - traits Brimah displays regularly - isn't going to be awarded by the officials. He needs to adapt or this team won't be playing past the second week of March.
2. Ryan Boatright. I love the kid, respect him for gutting it out through injuries, etc. It isn't even like he was that bad tonight; he played tough defense on Randle and created a handful of open threes. But consecutive outings of eight and seven points, on 6 of 22 shooting, won't cut it from our senior captain.
3. Stanford played really well. This sometimes gets lost in the way we isolate variables (i.e., UConn performs in a vacuum). They shot 10 of 22 from three and hit some tough, contested shots. Some of this was lackadaisical defense, but when UConn cranked up the defense in the second half they still hit timely shots to fend us off. If UConn played on Tuesday the way they did tonight, maybe they win that game.
There's plenty more to talk about, but that should cover it as a sparknotes version. You aren't going to win many games when your best player is injured and/or playing below his standards, your second best player is a de facto DNP, and the other team hits some tough shots and plays really well.
The next two games are at home against Central Florida and South Florida. If we lose those, well...I might have to take a break from this board. But I expect wins and I haven't given up on this team. We make mistakes that are not inconsistent with what you'd expect from a young team, and all of the imperfections that result from inexperience are exacerbated by being defending champs and having a leader at half-speed. If it doesn't come together for us this time, I guess that's the price of doing business. The transitions from championships to what comes next have never been smooth, but the future is still bright; it's just a matter of when that future materializes.
