Butler Post Game Thread

[storrsroars]

Rule number 2 - don’t eat seafood in the Midwest

locally-caught freshwater fish and crustaceans are fine. Saltwater fish and seafood.... take a pass unless the place has a stellar rep.

 

[UCLJ0211]

A 4-point conference win on the road is a blowout.

 

[Tenspro2002]

We can't keep playing McNeeley, Karaban, and Hass 35+ minutes a game. They're going to get burned out or injured if they play that much every night in conference play. We're going to need more from Ross, Stewart, Mahaney, and Nowell to give those guys some rest.

We were able to wear everyone down last year because our bench kept our starters fresh for a full 40 minutes when the opponents were getting gassed.

We won the championship because Edey tried to play 40 minutes at our intensity and ran out of gas in the second half, while we were fresh.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

"Oh you think I can't win close games? I'm going to make ALL wins close."

...and not look like I'm a nervous wreck who has never done it before.

"Good teams win close games" is more relevant and valuable than, "It should never have been close in the first place."

 

[uconnever]

I’d like to see Stewart playing 20 minutes a game. This was the perfect game for him today - we could have used him.

He played like

 

[uconn_jack]

Diarra must be pretty good at trig. Between the huge arc on his FTs and that floater high off the backboard over Screen, dude has a way of calculating angles.

Don't forget that purposely missed free throw a few games back. Didn't work out, but it was perfectly executed.

 

[ec33]

Hurley's thinking in this regard is not in line with the Boneyard brain trust.

The Boneyard brain trust is too focused on winning today and not enough on nursing along guys that could be critical in March (the exception always being guys who never play as they are pristine).

 

[uconn_jack]

Im aware I usually have ref bias and think it's not as bad as it is. Aka Very aware on my bias, but watching us get held on every cut and screen then watching Tarris foul out on a similar bump play we fight thru hurts.

My biggest ref pet peeve is out of position calls. 74-70, Ross pulls down a board on a missed three, Brooks flopped so hard and a ref at mid court on the opposite side of the play blew a late whistle, because he saw brooks fall. Completely missed the flop. Why can't the ref in position over rule that call? It gave them 2 FT and closed the game to one possession under a minute. It's those calls that help you lose a game.

Or how about refs with no angle on a play swallow their whistle. Trust your fellow refs who are in position to make a call if warranted.

 

[mauconnfan]

Alright I didn’t see this one so a box score has me ready to assume but also ask a couple questions.

I checked in on ESPN play by play and when the Huskies were up early 25-11 I saw Samson Johnson with 6/3 on 3-3 shooting but also did have 2 personal fouls so didn’t expect a lot more minutes first half. I think Tarris already had 4 and 2 as well on 2-3 shooting. So how does Samson Johnson stay there with his stats for the whole game and the only difference for Reed is he missed the only shot he took in the 2nd half?

Also another thing that stood out in the box score is Ball. 0-6 from 3 and 2-8 overall. Not sure why he would get 26 minutes when this happens because he doesn’t guard anyone and he only had 1 rebound . I realize Mahaney isn’t great on D either but he seemed like he was making shots maybe those minutes could have been more balanced? Also Stewie only played 6 at least he can rebound and get putbacks why not a few more minutes for him?

Butler is smallish really wondering why we weren’t hammering it down their throats with Reed and Samson Johnson but again, I didn’t see it. Curious for feedback!

 

[Leebo]

Butler is smallish really wondering why we weren’t hammering it down their throats with Reed and Samson Johnson but again, I didn’t see it. Curious for feedback!

Reed was taking it at that 7-footer Screen a bunch and getting shut down. But he was sick apparently, so in hindsight it's not strange that he struggled.

 

[gmc1055]

I also think that there is another version where Mahaney becomes the brunette version of Joey Calcaterra.

Thinking the same thing. Calcaterra and Allyne both got off to rocky starts and look how that turned out.

 

[Storrs South]

Alright I didn’t see this one so a box score has me ready to assume but also ask a couple questions.

I checked in on ESPN play by play and when the Huskies were up early 25-11 I saw Samson Johnson with 6/3 on 3-3 shooting but also did have 2 personal fouls so didn’t expect a lot more minutes first half. I think Tarris already had 4 and 2 as well on 2-3 shooting. So how does Samson Johnson stay there with his stats for the whole game and the only difference for Reed is he missed the only shot he took in the 2nd half?

Also another thing that stood out in the box score is Ball. 0-6 from 3 and 2-8 overall. Not sure why he would get 26 minutes when this happens because he doesn’t guard anyone and he only had 1 rebound . I realize Mahaney isn’t great on D either but he seemed like he was making shots maybe those minutes could have been more balanced? Also Stewie only played 6 at least he can rebound and get putbacks why not a few more minutes for him?

Butler is smallish really wondering why we weren’t hammering it down their throats with Reed and Samson Johnson but again, I didn’t see it. Curious for feedback!

Okay let me go through each of those points:

For Samson you already called it with the fouls. He was just in foul trouble the whole time but also did not do well guarding Andre Screen either which cut his minutes.

For Reed, he was under the weather as others noted but that didn’t seem an issue in the beginning but I’m guessing as game went on his conditioning wasn’t there for the day. As a result, he also was having difficulty guarding Screen and even worse was not able to finish around him on offense. He also dealt with foul trouble.

Mahaney was great and actually surprised it says he only played 9 min because it felt longer. He was in towards end of game which I’m not sure has happened all season with Diarra. I think at the very end he wasn’t in since they wanted to run very precise sets where Alex or Diarra or McNeeley ended up with ball for a shot and ball can stick a bit with Mahaney.

Stew I think got pulled simply because his shot selection was not the best and they were getting great minutes from McNeeley Karaban and most notably Jayden who looked good on defense. Stew took a really poor midrange jumper which didn’t have a shot and then a step back 3 granted it was wide open but missed those both and that seemed to be it for him.

For Solo, his shot selection was good and had a couple just rim out. It happens.

They did try Tarris a lot in the post to start and it was good in beginning but then Screen was getting the better of him and UConn ended up taking A LOT of midrange jumpers which almost never happens. Surprisingly they made most of them.

EDIT: Will also add on Solo thought it was a little bit of a step back for him on defense yesterday, granted Butler's offense is basically a discounted version of UConn's so the sets are a little more complicated and flowing but he struggled throughout the game. A lot of good film to learn and improve.

 

[Excalibur]

Alright I didn’t see this one so a box score has me ready to assume but also ask a couple questions.

I checked in on ESPN play by play and when the Huskies were up early 25-11 I saw Samson Johnson with 6/3 on 3-3 shooting but also did have 2 personal fouls so didn’t expect a lot more minutes first half. I think Tarris already had 4 and 2 as well on 2-3 shooting. So how does Samson Johnson stay there with his stats for the whole game and the only difference for Reed is he missed the only shot he took in the 2nd half?

Also another thing that stood out in the box score is Ball. 0-6 from 3 and 2-8 overall. Not sure why he would get 26 minutes when this happens because he doesn’t guard anyone and he only had 1 rebound . I realize Mahaney isn’t great on D either but he seemed like he was making shots maybe those minutes could have been more balanced? Also Stewie only played 6 at least he can rebound and get putbacks why not a few more minutes for him?

Butler is smallish really wondering why we weren’t hammering it down their throats with Reed and Samson Johnson but again, I didn’t see it. Curious for feedback!

Stewart was the worst player on the floor yesterday. Mahaney had some nice moments on offense but was still a sieve defensively. Butler’s guards did try to play bully ball a bit, even with his flaws Ball was better equipped to handle it.

Johnson just wasn’t as effective as he was early on. But they did a better job guarding the screen, curl, and roll with him and McNeeley. On top of that, Andre Screen played the game of his life.

 

[Deepster]

Allen Iverson wishes he had that name.

Or Lance Armstrong

 

[Palatine]

I checked in on ESPN play by play and when the Huskies were up early 25-11 I saw Samson Johnson with 6/3 on 3-3 shooting but also did have 2 personal fouls so didn’t expect a lot more minutes first half. I think Tarris already had 4 and 2 as well on 2-3 shooting. So how does Samson Johnson stay there with his stats for the whole game and the only difference for Reed is he missed the only shot he took in the 2nd half?

Johnson had another great start. They got him the ball at the rim and he was active on both ends. His second foul was a tangle of players, someone tripped. The refs said Johnson tripped him. Very early the first half. To the bench he went. Tarris came in. He was sick. Screen at 7'1" was a bad match up for him. Screen gave him trouble around the basket. Screen played a great game. He normally scores 6 points. He had 17. He normally has 6 rebounds. He had 10. He normally blocks one shot a game. He blocked 4 and changed others.

Tarris had problems all game (might have bee because of illness). In the second half he did try to back Screen down but it proved unsuccessful. He played a lot more on the perimeter than usual. In the second half they couldn't get Samson the ball. We took a lot of bad shots in close. Many times (I thought) a lob might work but it was never thrown. Butler was committed and very good at team rebounding.

 

[Waquoit]

Hurley's thinking in this regard is not in line with the Boneyard brain trust.

That's how you know Hurley's got it right.

 

[UCan3]

Not only him, but Singare and Abraham too. Rotation, we don’t need no stinkin’ rotation.

Funny you mention that - I was talking to the TV during game - when their center was eating up Johnson and Reed, i was like why not Sigare, Dan?

He’s got the size and can be a better rim protector at times than Johnson.

We won but I give Dan a B- yesterday for coaching.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

They’re 20 year old well conditioned kids playing 2 games a week. And we’ll have a handful of games against bottom tier teams to get the bench more run. They’ll be fine either way.

You are not wrong, but you are missing the point. In the last two years, teams could not keep up for 40 minutes because our guys were fresh and theirs weren’t. That was our “not so secret sauce”. HD may be durable. I do not doubt that he is. And he is playing well. But having 2 HD’s (yes I go back to Nowell) is better than having one HD.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Hopefully that happens, I think Diarra will be even better in a 25 minute role with a good backup

I did not hear one word about Nowell. I heard him speak about Aidan.

 

[RuffRuff]

You are not wrong, but you are missing the point. In the last two years, teams could not keep up for 40 minutes because our guys were fresh and theirs weren’t. That was our “not so secret sauce”. HD may be durable. I do not doubt that he is. And he is playing well. But having 2 HD’s (yes I go back to Nowell) is better than having one HD.

We don’t have that type of roster this year. Our starting 5 was so good last year our backups could be net negative and we’d still be fine. Our bench will be important but it doesn’t have to be as important.

 

[uconngb]

Or Lance Armstrong

You mean Solo Ball??

 

[RuffRuff]

We were outrebounded by a team that ranks 228 in the country in rebounding yesterday, this year we rank as the 134th best rebounding team. That’s a fairly unacceptable stat for a team with title aspirations.

Our starting center averages less rebounds a game than our PG, and our 2G averages close to half as many rebounds as our PG.

The 2G spot is the one place I have the most frustration as Solo has no ability to fill in the blanks. Solo averaging 1.9 rebounds/game and 1.2/assists per game in this system in almost 28 minutes is underwhelming, alongside the defensive liability. When he has 0-5 nights from 3 like he has yesterday I’m not sure what his value is on the court as he had a typical 1 rebound no assist day. He’s a talented kid with a lack of grit & intuition and feels like a player that would have been better suited off the bench in an instant offense role this year than starter.

We need to get better at that spot, I’m just not sure how we do it. I really like what we are in the other 4 spots. I’d say commit to Solo and keep developing but I’m not sure it’s going to happen this season. Him being the worst passer on the team in a system that thrives on sharing the ball is perplexing. To put in perceptive, Ross, Stew and AM all have higher assists per game.

 

[dennismenace]

And I trust Hurley to know what he's ready for at any given time. He always has a plan. He's not a throw em' to the wolves, sink or swim guy. Maybe that's why he wins so much.

Playing time can be like multi dimensional chess. Consider he has 4 top recruits next year who will be tested by D1 ball next year and they are going to desire/need minutes. Then he has these sophomores and frosh who will most likely all be back except perhaps McNeeley. He needs to give guys minutes this year for the stretch and experience for next year. All and all you can see that there is a real art to this aspect of coaching. He and his staff are unmatched at this point so it's a relief to know that nobody does it better.