Butler Post Game Thread

[John]

Watching the game and noticing Castles defender sag way off him…..Why do we continue to have players that never improve their shot at UConn? Taleik Brown, Andre Jackson, and Stephon Castle come to mind. Why not bring in a shooting guru that can work with these guys? Jackson’s shot in the NBA looks much improved, there is no reason why he couldn’t do that 2 years earlier?

I blame the XL Center and the campus parking situation.

 

[Deleted at users request]

In Between -

• Guys are sagging way off Castle when he's on the perimeter and it kills our offense. BUT he's getting better at finding his way to the hoop, and is really good down there

I said teams would do this with their center in the last post game thread if we played small ball and it would take away Castle’s strength advantage.

Butler did it in the 1st half and was effective doing it. Then Matta had a brain fart and thought his small ball lineup could possibly match ours.

As long as Castle has a size advantage he should still be able to do fine even if guys sag off. Like when he found Newton on that cut to the rim he was posting up the defender on.

 

[Fatroony5]

Just 4 turnovers in the second half. Big key was valuing possessions; if they didn’t turn it over, they’d score… Really interesting to see a Hurley led team have to play so small, thank goodness for Castles defensive versatility, don’t think he sat that second half. It’ll be great to get Clingan back in the fold and his rim protection, just need to keep grinding away for now. Onward and upward.

 

[Gutter King]

quad 1, baby!

Snagging a W against that team on the road should age really nicely. That was an impressive performance by the boys on offense. On Defense we continue to slip but I have 100% faith that Hurley will get us there when the tourney rolls around.

Felt like the refs (again) limited us and made for an unpleasant 1st half, in which we got killed at the line. I was hoping the BE Refs would change from last year, but the sample size is too large to ignore and we'll need to tough it out.

Diarra continues to be a very important part of this teams Identity.
Cam was an animal in the second half earning us key extra positions. The legend grows.
Castle is just awesome and will continue to get awesomer (stfu).

 

[slepers]

Watching the game and noticing Castles defender sag way off him…..Why do we continue to have players that never improve their shot at UConn? Taleik Brown, Andre Jackson, and Stephon Castle come to mind. Why not bring in a shooting guru that can work with these guys? Jackson’s shot in the NBA looks much improved, there is no reason why he couldn’t do that 2 years earlier?

First post in thread...smh

 

[Madmannsucks]

Well that was one fun game to watch.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Welp, we get to enjoy the weekend.

Heckuva road win.

Is this a close game Hurley won?

Diarra once again sparks the offense.

Castle looked pretty dern good.

Spencer with the textbook "Dagger 3".

Basically played most of second half with 4 guards and a wing or PF.

Note to Big East coaches. Hurley knows how to play in-game chess.

Stewart got PT.

This game is why Hurley used DePaul for the five small ball instead of getting Singare minutes.

 

[BGesus4]

Gritty team dub

 

[3rdbass]

Watching the game and noticing Castles defender sag way off him…..Why do we continue to have players that never improve their shot at UConn? Taleik Brown, Andre Jackson, and Stephon Castle come to mind. Why not bring in a shooting guru that can work with these guys? Jackson’s shot in the NBA looks much improved, there is no reason why he couldn’t do that 2 years earlier?

Funny you pick this game to say that when he made a nice 3 and a 2 pt jump shot in the game too. He is still getting in game shape. He sure looked better and at least he can create offense for himself off the dribble.

 

[F101Voodoo]

I don't know what was said at halftime, but the energy and effort was COMPLETELY different in the second half. Congratulations Coach Hurley for another close win! Quad 1

Good -

• Castle did really well on Posh. Made it impossible for him to get anything going, 3 points on 1-5 shooting. Meanwhile Castle 14 points and 9 rebounds, crucial to our comeback
• Karaban took some questionable shots but made really timely ones. Love his leadership
• Newton ends with 17 points even though he shot 3-12. If nothing else, he's going to make some free throws

In Between -

• Guys are sagging way off Castle when he's on the perimeter and it kills our offense. BUT he's getting better at finding his way to the hoop, and is really good down there

Bad -

• How many times did we either just hand them the ball or get it poked away in the first half? Serious lack of care with the ball
• On defense, we are slow and small. Couldn't stay in front or wall up at the rim, gave up baskets and fouled a lot as a result. But we outgunned them so no harm done

1 minute left, 4 point game, Butler locked us down, forced a miss, Hinkle was rocking..6'4 Cam Spencer grabs the rebound then swishes a dagger 3. Guts. Let's go Huskies

 

[my2cents]

Has Newtons free throw flattened out? It seems to have lost a little arc and he’s definitely not stroking it well from the line this year, compared to prior years

He was 10/13 from the line, 77% , give him a break

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Well that was one fun game to watch.

Butler is a fun team to play. They score enough to keep the game interesting, but they can't stop anyone so we put up a big number ourselves.

 

[imno1]

Watching the game and noticing Castles defender sag way off him…..Why do we continue to have players that never improve their shot at UConn? Taleik Brown, Andre Jackson, and Stephon Castle come to mind. Why not bring in a shooting guru that can work with these guys? Jackson’s shot in the NBA looks much improved, there is no reason why he couldn’t do that 2 years earlier?

After a great gritty win and this the the first post smh

Edit: and Castle's best game

 

[3rdbass]

Shout out to Diarra again. Always gives us great D and is one of the few guys on the team that can beat his man off the dribble. He is even making 3's. 4 in the last 2 games.

 

[F101Voodoo]

Energy in the second half was great and in the first minute.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Huge games from Caste and Karaban. Diarra brought some great energy and hit big shots. Cam with the incredible rebound-TO-3 sequence. Johnson played well except for the fouls. Much improved on the boards and good D. Newton money at the line, finally drew some fouls in league play. Still not shooting. Nice to see Stewart contributing.

Not much to complain about. I think the guys get tired and stop moving on offense. A bit too much stationary dribbling caused by the lack of motion.

 

[3rdbass]

I don’t think many teams in the country would beat Butler on the road when they shoot 23-25 from the line so that’s a great win.

I thought they only missed 1. They actually missed 2 I'm surprised. It seemed like they hit every FT.

 

[Chin Diesel]

you have to earn every road win in this conference. we earned this one in the second half.

karaban and castle were incredible. diarra and cam so clutch, too.

Nice road win without Clingan. I've got no complaints.

I swear I felt like I was watching the last rounds of Rocky I or II during last five minutes.

Players looked exhausted and were measured in their overall movements with bursts of adrenaline.

Yo Adrien!!

 

[F101Voodoo]

This was pretty much a team win not just one hero! If this keeps up we will have an exciting season hopefully with another final four appearance.

 

[Waquoit]

I'm thinking Cam might be even better than we think. I loved that sequence where he got stripped when things bogged down and he immediately jumped the pass for a lay-up.

 

[HeGotGame]

Props to Hurley, that's a great job changing the tone at half and getting the guys playing at a different level on both ends.

That game showed why Castle is a top 10 pick and props to AK and Diarra and Spencer. Cam does so many little things that are winning plays.

One add, Stewart is a good basketball player. He has a great understanding for a freshman of spacing, how to make plays with what he's given.

I thought tonight showed a lot and he will be a very good player in the years to come.

 

[elmcityboy]

getting to try out these karaban-at-the-five lineups will pay dividends in march

that play in particular where castle passed it over the top to karaban with davis on him was a perfect example.

 

[Boost'ED]

Loved some of the offensive sets run in the 2nd half.

Notable plays:
-Castle in the post near the baseline ("dunker's spot") was nice, because Tristen made a nice quick cut and Castle (who is a really good passer) saw it right away.
-Castle at the top of the key with a nice over the top pass to a posting Karaban whose shot was goaltended.

This team has a great sense of calmness/steadiness.

We're DOOMED

 

[MJKI]

He was 10/13 from the line, 77% , give him a break

I’m not on the guy, I’m asking a real question. It looks to me like his arc on his free throws, for a guy who historically doesn’t have a ton of arc, has flattened out a little this year. That inherently gives you a little less lenience on a FT. I doubt there’s a real way to track FT arc tho haha

 

[GlastonTim]

I’m not on the guy, I’m asking a real question. It looks to me like his arc on his free throws, for a guy who historically doesn’t have a ton of arc, has flattened out a little this year. That inherently gives you a little less lenience on a FT. I doubt there’s a real way to track FT arc tho haha

I really think the angle of the camera did that. Noticed it from others too.

 

[imno1]

It seems Castle and Johnson are improving by the game.

 

[Chin Diesel]

One add, Stewart is a good basketball player. He has a great understanding for a freshman of spacing, how to make plays with what he's given.

I thought tonight showed a lot and he will be a very good player in the years to come.

J Stew looked comfortable every second he played. First time this year he didn't have a "freshman moment".

And that's a good thing.

 

[prankster]

Welp, we get to enjoy the weekend.

Heckuva road win.

Is this a close game Hurley won?

Diarra once again sparks the offense.

Castle looked pretty dern good.

Spencer with the textbook "Dagger 3".

Basically played most of second half with 4 guards and a wing or PF.

Note to Big East coaches. Hurley knows how to play in-game chess.

Stewart got PT.

This game is why Hurley used DePaul for the five small ball instead of getting Singare minutes.

Thanks for mentioning Stuart. He was fun to watch and had an impact.

 

[CL82]

Watching the game and noticing Castles defender sag way off him…..Why do we continue to have players that never improve their shot at UConn? Taleik Brown, Andre Jackson, and Stephon Castle come to mind. Why not bring in a shooting guru that can work with these guys? Jackson’s shot in the NBA looks much improved, there is no reason why he couldn’t do that 2 years earlier?

Hmmm, @WeAreUCONN's burner account?

 

[Huskybass]

Diarra was outstanding tonight. Halted their momentum and turned the game around.