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Is anybody else concerned about Alex and Solo’s shooting? 🫠
Bryant Post game thread
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My doubts with Solo go back to last year. If he’s shooting 41% from three it offsets all the other stuff he’s not good at. If he isn’t he’s a liability. My opinion hasn’t changed. Fans can get drunk on the threes, there is a lot more to being a high value add on the floor. A kid like Ross is showing that this year. Let’s hope he figures out the slump and this idea of Mullins/Reed coming back does open things up for him.
A few thoughts then on to the interesting part:
The goal of the season is to develop into a championship contender by March. With Reed out, this has given Reibe a chance to show what he has, and he has to have gained a lot of confidence so far. This is huge. Ross has also benefitted from the injuries to show he can contribute. Demery and Smith have been exactly what we hoped they would be, maybe more. I'm so happy to have guards that can stay in front of people.
The interesting part is the talk about Solo and Alex. I was amazed last year at Solo's 3 point shooting. It went up by 10% from the prior year. 41% did seem unsustainable. But I think it will come back to the point where he's sill a weapon from 3. When guys get back, I think he will settle right into the role we need, and the shot will come back.
Alex is fascinating. Comes in as a freshman, and is an immediate impact player on two NC teams, wow. Becomes cemented as a key cog in a mythical group. Hurley referred to him as almost a mythical figure. Then last year everyone expects him to be more, because he needed to be more given who was around him. He had to reach beyond his capabilities a little, and had a down season. This year with two starters out, it's a little of the same. I think when we get guys back, he will also settle into the role that he's really good at. He needs to be able to hit threes though. The most interesting part is the discussion about Hurley's overplaying him when he's not playing well. I think he does believe in his mind that the team needs Alex on the court too much. But I think he'll get it figured out by March.
The goal of the season is to develop into a championship contender by March. With Reed out, this has given Reibe a chance to show what he has, and he has to have gained a lot of confidence so far. This is huge. Ross has also benefitted from the injuries to show he can contribute. Demery and Smith have been exactly what we hoped they would be, maybe more. I'm so happy to have guards that can stay in front of people.
The interesting part is the talk about Solo and Alex. I was amazed last year at Solo's 3 point shooting. It went up by 10% from the prior year. 41% did seem unsustainable. But I think it will come back to the point where he's sill a weapon from 3. When guys get back, I think he will settle right into the role we need, and the shot will come back.
Alex is fascinating. Comes in as a freshman, and is an immediate impact player on two NC teams, wow. Becomes cemented as a key cog in a mythical group. Hurley referred to him as almost a mythical figure. Then last year everyone expects him to be more, because he needed to be more given who was around him. He had to reach beyond his capabilities a little, and had a down season. This year with two starters out, it's a little of the same. I think when we get guys back, he will also settle into the role that he's really good at. He needs to be able to hit threes though. The most interesting part is the discussion about Hurley's overplaying him when he's not playing well. I think he does believe in his mind that the team needs Alex on the court too much. But I think he'll get it figured out by March.
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Alex Karaban is shooting 50% from 3, so no
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The Illini travel well. We will have an advantage, but probably not as big as you think.
Of the juniors- Ross looking like he wants more minutes. Very small sample size on Furphy- My takeaway in very limited minutes. Knows the offense - Knows where to be- Quick crisp cuts- Plays like he belongs. Hope Dan continues to let him grab some minutes during upcoming OOC schedule now that he's healthy.
1-1 vs Top Ten teams.. Grab another Top Ten W in Storrs South on Friday. Once we get our starters on the court for the first time and our shooters make a few threes for Demary to grab a few more assists. We'll be okay.
1-1 vs Top Ten teams.. Grab another Top Ten W in Storrs South on Friday. Once we get our starters on the court for the first time and our shooters make a few threes for Demary to grab a few more assists. We'll be okay.
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The thing is he's gotten better at those other things. His defense is better, he's driving to the rim more and shooting better at the rim. The shooting will come around though, he's an elite shooter
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And looked smooth getting them.
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I will get some grief for this opinion but before the season I thought Ball was going to have massive regression shooting the ball. He was not recruited as a shooter, he didn't shoot well in his minimal playing time as a freshman then out of nowhere became one of the best shooters in the country. It will not be surprising to be me at all if he shoots 35% or below (the national average) this year. The issue with this is he is a TERRIBLE defender. Last year he was literally one of the worst out of 3,500 players and this year he is still rated out of the top 1000.
A player who is an average shooter and a well below average defender not only falls short of being considered an elite but would be labeled as a "bad player". He could become a guy that gets moved to the bench, I think that is really on the table by February.
For Karaban, he has been in a slump for a year and a half now. Maybe he just isn't a great shooter? Simple as that. I love him for his commitment and effort but he just hasn't improved since a sophomore. I think we are in denial about this because we really want to see him succeed, I feel Hurley is guilty of this too.
If both player's shooting percentage is not above average by mid-January, Hurley really needs considering a shifting the USG% on the team.
A player who is an average shooter and a well below average defender not only falls short of being considered an elite but would be labeled as a "bad player". He could become a guy that gets moved to the bench, I think that is really on the table by February.
For Karaban, he has been in a slump for a year and a half now. Maybe he just isn't a great shooter? Simple as that. I love him for his commitment and effort but he just hasn't improved since a sophomore. I think we are in denial about this because we really want to see him succeed, I feel Hurley is guilty of this too.
If both player's shooting percentage is not above average by mid-January, Hurley really needs considering a shifting the USG% on the team.
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Alex missed both ft's against Nova with 3 seconds left and then he went in an 11 game tailspin against our Big East schedule. He shot 17% from three over those 11 games. During that same 11 game stretch Solo kind of carried us, he shot 42% from three on tremendously high volume 17 ppg, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists. Liam came back for 6 of those games and singlehandedly won the Creighton road game for us with his 38 point explosion. He had another really good game with 20 points on good shooting and he rebounded the whole time but his shooting was bad those other 4 games.
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My eyes glaze over looking at this. I am going to speculate instead, based on the old eye test. Our half court offense isn't clicking right now. It looks out of sorts and isn't getting the open looks we want. Given that, we really have two guys who generate steals and transition baskets, Ross and Smith. Stewart has been pretty good at that too, surprisingly. I am curious to see if these stats remain when Reed and Mullins are back and our rim protection and half court offense improves (assuming it does). It is still super valuable that we can shift to more of a transition team with those two on the court. It allows us to give teams a different look.
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Solo looks great when he goes straight up for this 3 point attempts and he elevates.
Right now I see him shooting while his body is usually moving forward. He just doesn't go straight up. His shot is often long and off the back of the rim.
Alex will miss when he rushes his shot. He needs to be open and he needs a slow release and then he's on the money.
We've always seen this in the past with UConn players.
I remember when Giffey used to shoot it you could tell if it was going in while the ball was still in his hand. He was money if he could gather himself.
I see both Alex and Solo rushing their shots by necessity. But if it's not going down, shoot it when you're open and -- for Solo -- go straight up.
Right now I see him shooting while his body is usually moving forward. He just doesn't go straight up. His shot is often long and off the back of the rim.
Alex will miss when he rushes his shot. He needs to be open and he needs a slow release and then he's on the money.
We've always seen this in the past with UConn players.
I remember when Giffey used to shoot it you could tell if it was going in while the ball was still in his hand. He was money if he could gather himself.
I see both Alex and Solo rushing their shots by necessity. But if it's not going down, shoot it when you're open and -- for Solo -- go straight up.
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Ross is active and we really need his athleticism. The next improvement we need to see from him is when he attacks the rim and is airborne he needs to finish. I don't know if he's getting fouled on those plays but he seems to end up on the ground and the ball goes out of bounds. He's so athletic those should either be fouls drawn or and 1's.
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I think it's more about he didn't do anything in his 35 minutes against Arizona and he still gets such a long leash where he's allowed to put his head down and drive and take ill advised threes.
He was great against BYU, I was hoping some of his bad habits would be gone now as a 4 year starter.
We've got 2 years of data...last year was 41%, prior was 31%...this year is 26%. I thought he was an elite shooter based off last year, but we don't know if last year was the aberration or what we should expect going forward. Doesn't matter how nice the stroke is, what matters is does it go in.
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The one thing I went back on with Alex was that in the previous year, he really stacked his numbers against bad competition (Gtown/Butler/DePaul/tomato cans). Further supports the fact that he can shoot it when he has space, but any pressure on him at all, or rushed, and he's not a good shooter. If he plays in the flow and takes what the defense gives him, he's a very solid catch and shoot guy. If he's forces it, is pressured, he is not at all. He needs to stick to quality shots in his wheelhouse.
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Furphy looks worse than Ball defensively. He's extremely flat-footed
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Last year was so much more volume than first year - hard to compare year over year. He was also a national leader in 3pt% for most of the year, up there with guys like Brea, and then tailed off towards end of year to drop from 45 to 41. Kid has a great stroke, so it seems more like timing and taking quality shots. He should level off - just don't know where that is. For me, has to be at least a 38% type shooter to warrant being a credible starter on this team.
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AK's play in the tourney was what it was in the 2024-2025 season, up and down, it just didn't really matter how well he played because the team was so overwhelming. We'll see if that's the case with this team once they're fully healthy.
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Triple-double the latest sign of Demary’s evolution as UConn’s point guard
Silas Demary, Jr. added his name to UConn history books Sunday with first career triple-double in Huskies’ win over Bryant. (Photo by UConn ...
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Yes they have, marginally, not enough to call them plus or strengths. And I'm still in the camp of him being an elite shooter too, but at some point the ball does have to go in. He's not a what I would call a high quality starter without the 3pt shooting.
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My thing with AK is ya'll baby him too much with this "well, he's just a complimentary player" stuff when he has a terrible game. We just saw AK be one of the best players on the floor vs a top 10'ish team in BYU. We saw AK have 20pts in a must win home game vs a top 20-25 Marquette team last season, be the best player on the floor as UConn built up a nearly 25 point lead on the road vs a Georgetown team that had two top 40 draft picks, have Hurley draw up the plays for him and AK came through in the clutch vs Butler on the road, put up 20 vs an Xavier tourney team and have Sean Miller call him one of the best winners in cbb after the game, put up 20 on the road vs Texas and was the best player on the floor for the first 20 minutes before lottery pick Tre Johnson took over late. There's no reason AK can't be 17-18ppg guy and be one of the best players in the conference, just be consistent. It's almost like some of ya'll are setting up the excuses for when he doesn't show up, ya'll should be expecting him to show up and play well vs Illinois and instead the groundwork is already being built up if he lays another egg.
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He’s shooting 50% from 3 through 6 games so far this season.
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I agree with that 38%. He needs to be above average to have a positive impact on this team. Average shooter isn't good enough because he lacks in the other phases of the game.
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It’s worth pointing out that Solo’s scoring so far this year is on par with his scoring last year DESPITE not having a good percentage from three yet. That highlights how he has clearly made himself multifaceted on offense in case you’ve missed all the great midrange jumpers and drives he’s completed in 6 games.
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I think we are all hoping he turns into something he isn't, because he's an adonis physically. In a case like his, it doesn't translate to adonis basketball traits.
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They're not strengths but they're also certainly not weaknesses anymore either, especially when combined with his elite shooting when it regresses back to the mean. He had a similar stretch his freshman year, albeit on a much smaller sample, where he started off the OOC games shooting poor at 27% and then shot 45% in conference play. Taking away his 3 point shooting is weird, because the list of high quality starters who would still be high quality without their best skill is a very small list.
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