Butler Post Game Thread

[superjohn]

I think this team is good, not great. Probably not a serious March threat. We are going through the adjustment period that virtually every defending champion does. Guys move on and new guys in new roles need to adjust and sometimes don’t quite work out. Biggest thing I see is the fact that we no longer have the totally dominant shot blocker inside. Both Sanogo and Clingon controlled the inside. Guys dribbled by their guarder only to find very large athletic people who understood how to block shots standing in the way. That made the defense infinitely better. Neither Johnson nor Reed are that type of player.

On offense, we have a 6th man running the point. I like him. He was terrific in his role. He is just ok as the full time ball handler. In some ways it takes away from his ability to hit those corner 3s. I honestly don’t know how we just miss so many bunnies.

I think Hurley is a jerk. Good coach. Great recruiter but still a jerk. It will be interesting to see if he is another Coach K who won back to back, then won 3 more titles and 7 more Final Fours or more like Billy Donovan who also went back to back but only made 1 more Final Four and zero additional titles. Side notes he has one earlier final four run. His only post title Final Four he lost in 2014 to UConn. He was considered the next big thing in 2007. He was just a good coach when he left for the NBA in 2015.

"Billy Donocan was just a good coach when he left for the NBA in 2015."

His last four seasons in college he went to three elite 8's and a final 4 in his last season. Four final 4's, two national championships.

Yep, just a good coach. What???

 

[ctbro1999]

"Billy Donocan was just a good coach when he left for the NBA in 2015."

His last four seasons in college he went to three elite 8's and a final 4 in his last season. Four final 4's, two national championships.

Yep, just a good coach. What???

There are some truly horrid takes being tossed around in the Boneyard today.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Dude you are really saying Jalen Adams was better all around player than Tristen Newton because he shot better? LOL! I think what ever you are drinking tonight you need to go to sleep. Jalen while a good one on one player was not really a team player. He was a ball hog and offense wasn't smooth with the ball in his hands. You really think Jalen Adams would work in this offense? I don't see it.

Also, my post wasn’t meant to say that Jalen Adams is better than him. I don’t care to go back and forth about that.

It’s moreso meant to show just how bad Newton shot from the field despite having the most ideal circumstances possible for a PG.

 

[controlfade]

Steven A loves him

 

[Waquoit]

It’s moreso meant to show just how bad Newton shot from the field despite having the most ideal circumstances possible for a PG.

Oh, in that case it's still a fail.

 

[Excalibur]

Also, my post wasn’t meant to say that Jalen Adams is better than him. I don’t care to go back and forth about that.

It’s moreso meant to show just how bad Newton shot from the field despite having the most ideal circumstances possible for a PG.

Part of that was Newton was the bail out guy at the end of the shot clock, and part of that was just his streakiness as a shooter.

Newton was great, but it's a testament to how good the roster was that he wasn't the best player (or even the second best player) on either championship team. (Hawkins/Sanogo in 2023, Clingan/Spencer in 2024)

 

[mauconnfan]

Steven A loves him

It’s sn asinine thing to say and a bad look. Creighton won’t foul them the next game unless they try to. Stupid and arrogant.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

As usual Vecenie nails it. I'm glad to be a fan during the Dan Hurley experience, warts and all

 

[AllHusky]

This team would be a top 5 team in the country if we had 2 things:

1) A healthy McNeeley
2) A 6'5" PG who can create his own shot, rebound, pass, and defend. AKA, another Tristen Newton. Going after a short 6'0" 150lb Mahaney in the portal was such a bad decision, especially with Diarra and Nowell both being undersized. We needed a BIG guard. Someone with some physicality on the perimeter and the coaching staff made the wrong decision.

That being said, Liam coming back changes everything. He's our best offensive player and defender. He can pass, rebound, and shoot. He can drive to the hoop and finish through contact while drawing fouls. We need him back, badly.

Is there an opportunity for Liam, Alex and Jaylin to play as 2-4? Gives you the bigger guard at the 2. Still relying on Hass as the 1 just about 100% of the time. Does Solo even have a chance of being effective at the 1?

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Part of that was Newton was the bail out guy at the end of the shot clock, and part of that was just his streakiness as a shooter.

Newton was great, but it's a testament to how good the roster was that he wasn't the best player (or even the second best player) on either championship team. (Hawkins/Sanogo in 2023, Clingan/Spencer in 2024)

It’s a cop out when the other guy was constantly going 1 on 5. You don’t take that many end of shot clock shots. He was just a very inefficient scorer.

In the 5 games Clingan was out he was 14/56 from the field. Good for 25% from the field on over 10 shots a game.

You can find the game logs here if you want to look for yourself.

Tristen Newton 2023-24 Game Log | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2023-24 Game Log for Tristen Newton

www.sports-reference.com

I’m hopeful we can find/develop a much better PG in the future that can take advantage of the easy opportunities this offense can provide them.

Hopefully that PG is Nowell and we don’t kick the can down the round on yet another HS PG recruit for a transfer.

 

[Palatine]

Stewart is on the edge of making a jump. Terrific against Dixon at Nova. Horrible at home versus Telfort. But he is bringing the energy and you can see him figuring out his role on offense. He wants it. And he is working his tail off. Looking for a breakout game.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Always wonder how accurate this is with 23 year old kids in amazing physical condition playing 2 games a week.

Anyone who thinks college kids should play a full game and expect them to compete at a high level for the whole game is either trolling or has no idea what they are talking about. NBA teams manage minutes like pitch counts, and even high school coaches track playing time to maintain their top players. Even back in the day, players like El-Amin would take plays off to rest up. NBA players did this all the time before coaches and trainers really started paying attention to minutes played.

On top of deteriorating performance from overplaying the talent, fatigue is cumulative, and bad steps or other mistake are more likely when a player is tired than when they are fresh. Or we could do like Auriemma and play one of the greatest players of the last decade in the last minute of a 20+ point blowout, and see where that gets us.

 

[boog204]

Stewart is on the edge of making a jump. Terrific against Dixon at Nova. Horrible at home versus Telfort. But he is bringing the energy and you can see him figuring out his role on offense. He wants it. And he is working his tail off. Looking for a breakout game.

Man, Jaylin is like the most beloved player on this board. Last four games.... 14, 0, 14, 4. Not sure how you all think he's "figuring out his role" when he is more or less invisible every other game. He's got tons of talent for sure. But nothing has shown me he's figured out really anything.

Also, it would help if he could guard someone. He's just as bad as Solo and yes, he was great against Dixon, a guy Stew clearly had an athletic advantage on. But it's not a surprise that opposing teams 2/3's tend to have career games against us. Solo and Stew are the defenders.

 

[NotADime89]

It’s a cop out when the other guy was constantly going 1 on 5. You don’t take that many end of shot clock shots. He was just a very inefficient scorer.

In the 5 games Clingan was out he was 14/56 from the field. Good for 25% from the field on over 10 shots a game.

You can find the game logs here if you want to look for yourself.

Tristen Newton 2023-24 Game Log | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2023-24 Game Log for Tristen Newton

www.sports-reference.com

I’m hopeful we can find/develop a much better PG in the future that can take advantage of the easy opportunities this offense can provide them.

Hopefully that PG is Nowell and we don’t kick the can down the round on yet another HS PG recruit for a transfer.

 

[Palatine]

Nowell is being given a shot. Since Nova he has gotten meaningful minutes in the first half of games. He doesn’t score and has been taken advantage of on defense. He needs to start showing something with the minutes he is being gifted.

 

[djct1999]

No audio. I refuse to believe that is ŵhat he actually said.

Then go look on his feed on x.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Um, no he isn't. This team requires coaching. He has done an AWFUL job. Much easier to coach two teams that sent 7 guys to the pros. Let's see what he's made of now, because this team needs COACHING badly.

Reactionary much? You think missing bunnies is bad coaching? You think not being fast laterally fast enough is bad coaching (maybe bad recruiting, but bad coaching???) We have the best darn coach in America bud. You dont have to love the performance, but dont hate on the coach.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

This is the epitome of being a brat. Have some damn class man. I don’t care how right you think you are you don’t say stuff like this.

Did Coach K, Pop, etc. ever say stuff like this?

Man I’m a Michigan fan and Jim Harbaugh went to a Super Bowl in the NFL and never got remotely to saying stuff like this when Big Ten refs were bending him over when he first got ther

Nobody in the history of modern day college basketball was as good as we were last season. If there's any people who expect that again right away they have no understanding of basketball or they're completely delusional.

I don't really think anyone is holding them to those standards though.

This entire board thought we would be better. And of course, the entire board now understands that we are, in fact, not as good as we though we would be. That's ok. That does not mean the ceiling isn't high. It only means that there is work to do.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

This entire board thought we would be better. And of course, the entire board now understands that we are, in fact, not as good as we though we would be. That's ok. That does not mean the ceiling isn't high. It only means that there is work to do.

Huh? Who thought this year’s team would be better than a 3-loss, BET/Reg Season and NCAA championship team? Who was predicting an undefeated season and winning each game by 25 ppg? Please, show me.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Wayyy too early to throw in the towel on Nowell. He looked bad today but he needs more reps. We should have gotten him those reps earlier on in the season, but he was battling some injuries. Now the margin for error is so small that we can't afford to chance it. Rarely do freshmen PGs make an impact at UConn.

this!

 

[ctbro1999]

It’s a cop out when the other guy was constantly going 1 on 5. You don’t take that many end of shot clock shots. He was just a very inefficient scorer.

In the 5 games Clingan was out he was 14/56 from the field. Good for 25% from the field on over 10 shots a game.

You can find the game logs here if you want to look for yourself.

Tristen Newton 2023-24 Game Log | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2023-24 Game Log for Tristen Newton

www.sports-reference.com

I’m hopeful we can find/develop a much better PG in the future that can take advantage of the easy opportunities this offense can provide them.

Hopefully that PG is Nowell and we don’t kick the can down the round on yet another HS PG recruit for a transfer.

Did Tristen kick your dog or something? Or did he lose you some parlays? You seem unusually determined to prove he wasn't a great Husky. Who needs haters when you have fans like this.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Let the pearl clutching commence!

did he lie?

 

[Waquoit]

As usual Vecenie nails it. I'm glad to be a fan during the Dan Hurley experience, warts and all

Ehh. Dan needs to be careful. That stuff doesn't fly as well when you're 19th in the poll.

 

[RuffRuff]

Anyone who thinks college kids should play a full game and expect them to compete at a high level for the whole game is either trolling or has no idea what they are talking about. NBA teams manage minutes like pitch counts, and even high school coaches track playing time to maintain their top players. Even back in the day, players like El-Amin would take plays off to rest up. NBA players did this all the time before coaches and trainers really started paying attention to minutes played.

On top of deteriorating performance from overplaying the talent, fatigue is cumulative, and bad steps or other mistake are more likely when a player is tired than when they are fresh. Or we could do like Auriemma and play one of the greatest players of the last decade in the last minute of a 20+ point blowout, and see where that gets us.

NBA game is 48 minutes, 3x/week over 82 games. Newton played 38 minutes in semi/finals in the BE tournament last year, after playing 33 in a blowout against Xavier. I still question how much these kids really wear down as the college game isn't nearly as rigorous as an NBA season 3x longer, with longer games in a more compact time frame. Braden Smith plays all 40 minutes a ton, as an example.

It feels overblown a bit, especially for a guard. I could see if it was a big.