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Message: [QUOTE="nelsonmuntz, post: 3804597, member: 833"] Give credit to Hurley AND Ollie. Our players are just better than their players, despite missing our leading scorer. Polley has apparently made a deal with the devil (more on that later), but Martin didn't even play well and he was still a mismatch for us on both ends. Our forwards abused Butler's center when we bothered to get them the ball. Other than a bunch of boneheaded turnovers Polley has scored over 10 points and shot 50% or greater in 3 of our 6 games. I liked Polley's game, but I don't think anyone expected him to shoot like this. He doesn't miss, and these aren't all open shots. He has clearly gotten the better of whatever deal with the devil he has made. Long lineups make us better on both ends. I don't mind Polley and Martin at the 3 and 4 at once. Polley can defend up to 6'10. His release point on his shot is so high that he is hard for a guard to cover because if the guard helps off him at all Polley will just shoot right over the close out. Martin is similar. If you want to spread the court with 4 out, you need length that can shoot. A guard is easy to help off because most college defenders can recover in the close out on a 6'2 player like Gaffney. That is a lot harder on a 6'9 shooter. Whaley had a great game, but my favorite stat is his 2 steals, both of which were against guards. It is rare for a guy his size to have the hands and timing to pick a guards pocket. I agree with easing Akok back in. He looks like he doesn't trust his legs yet. Areas for Improvement: UConn does not play a forward-friendly style, and the forwards got almost no touches in the second half after building that lead for UConn in the first. I would be pissed if some of that selfish play by the guards happened in a pickup game. If I am doing the hard work at protecting the rim and getting boards, I want the ball on the other end, especially when we were up the whole second half. Playing this way is fine vs. Butler, but Hurley has to make sure the bigs get their touches or we will struggle with most of the league. Adams, Gaffney and Cole shot 7 for 21 yesterday. I am less disappointed by the poor shooting than the fact that they and Hurley thought it was OK for those 3 to take 21 shots. Whaley, Sanogo and Carlton are all shooting over 50% from the field, and Adams, Gaffney and Cole are all 37% or less. The wrong players are taking many of the shots. Thompson and Bolden are not that good offensively to have the games they had yesterday. Gaffney's defense is OK, Cole's is bad, and Adams doesn't even play defense sometimes. This puts a lot of pressure on the rim protectors, and is a big part for why the forwards are in foul trouble all the time. If these 3 are not going to play better D, then Hurley should start playing Martin some minutes at the 2. Related to that, why does Hurley revert to small lineups at the end of the game? It is easier to press small lineups, and Polley is the best free throw shooter on the team if he wants free throw shooting. [/QUOTE]

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