Butler Post Game Thread

[thekollieman]

“hope is not a strategy.” Ross will compete with Landrew for the starting SF, May the best man win. Stew can compete with Pierce or some other transfer. My point was Hurley should be recruiting a starting caliber PF and selling him on that opportunity. I don’t think he’s penciling stew in as the starter and targeting backup caliber PFs like he did with Malachi as a backup PG.

I don’t purport to be responsible for our program’s strategy. That being said, player retention has been a stated strategy that has paid championship dividends. So, I HOPE we retain Ross and Stewart, which would likely happen in part by prioritizing their fit in next year’s lineup.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

last step to fully unlocking this team will be getting Silas in some kind of scoring rhythm. He's gotta be more aggressive in scoring and can't wait to shoot when the shot clock is running down and out of sorts.

No sir, that statement is incorrect. The last steps in unlocking this team is ensuring that we can make our free throws and eliminating the 5-10 minutes of sheer lunacy fouling on every darn possession. Those things, along with Silas, are the things needed to unlock this team.

 

[KembaRunner]

I would like to mention 1 negative that I keep seeing. Some others have brought this up. I hope they get better at it. In general they miss fast break finishing opportunities. In the first half Ball and I think it was Ross had a 2 on 1 fast break. Ball had Ross wide open for an easy layup but he kept dribbling to the hoop and got fouled and hit both free throws so 2 points anyway. Ball seems to be really bad handling the ball on fast breaks since I've noticed him doing this in other games.

In the 2nd half someone had Karaban for an easy layup but didn't pass to him. Karaban threw up his hands in frustration after not getting the ball.

I’ve noticed this a few times with Solo. He holds onto the ball to try to do a euro or something fancy. He should pass ahead and maybe get it back for an alleyoop.

Last night they caught him from behind as he began his move and fouled him so it worked out.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Haven't thought about this in a very long time, but does anyone remember how JC would call a time out less than a minute into the game when his team would come out low energy flat? Hurley, as great a coach he is in his own right, should watch a little JC tape and take a page out of his book. Just sayin'!

Yeah we are super lucky we have an incredibly deep team that can take a punch and dish it back...but I really hope to never see such a bad stretch to open a game again. We really could have used one of those patented JC early time outs lol

 

[NHUConnfan]

Defense is actually what we did really, really well last night - we are 4th in Ken Pom, moved up from 7. It's our strength to date. Not sure what this cat was watching.

Without a doubt I think this team's bread and butter is defense. They foul a lot, but they are so active on both sides of the floor that we tire out teams and then they start to get lazy.

We held Butler to a season low last night. They are a good offensive team.

While we've seen some flashes of really pretty offense, I think this team's identity is defense first. And last night, our defense was at its worse when we nonstop were turning over the ball in those first 5 minutes.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Mullins just needs to slow down a hair and let the offense come to him. He seems to be hunting his shot a bit and forces it up early in the shot clock, leading to some ugly misses. When he has hit feet set and plays within the offense, he looks like a star. The talent is there, he just needs some patience.

You don’t like his hair? 😉

 

[RuffRuff]

Without a doubt I think this team's bread and butter is defense. They foul a lot, but they are so active on both sides of the floor that we tire out teams and then they start to get lazy.

We held Butler to a season low last night. They are a good offensive team.

While we've seen some flashes of really pretty offense, I think this team's identity is defense first. And last night, our defense was at its worse when we nonstop were turning over the ball in those first 5 minutes.

Defense travels, it's consistent.

This system takes a while to get down offensively, especially when you have two players working back in from injury. It can only get better. Where it will really take off, is if we can start pushing in transition.

 

[navery12]

I don’t purport to be responsible for our program’s strategy. That being said, player retention has been a stated strategy that has paid championship dividends. So, I HOPE we retain Ross and Stewart, which would likely happen in part by prioritizing their fit in next year’s lineup.

And a large part of that retention has been being honest with guys about their roles, that's not going to change just because they're going into year 4. We need to bring in the best talent that fits the system and compete for national championships. Bringing in elite transfers was just as important to those championships

 

[RuffRuff]

 

[superjohn]

 

[RuffRuff]

View attachment 114722

Lol.

When CBS guys are bringing up the question, it's not like they're doing it for S&G's. There is some legitimacy to it. I would opt for the field for sure, as it's Uconn/Duke/Purdue/ISU plus the other 300+ teams vs two. AZ is very good, but I don't think they are UM good. I'd lump them closer to the former four than UM. I also think there are ways to beat UM - a team like ISU would be one that would give them trouble. Anyone that can keep up with them on the boards, yet also put pressure on the ball could be a problem. An MSU is going to be a harder matchup than Purdue.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Lol.

When CBS guys are bringing up the question, it's not like they're doing it for S&G's. There is some legitimacy to it. I would opt for the field for sure, as it's Uconn/Duke/Purdue/ISU plus the other 300+ teams vs two. AZ is very good, but I don't think they are UM good. I'd lump them closer to the former four than UM. I also think there are ways to beat UM - a team like ISU would be one that would give them trouble. Anyone that can keep up with them on the boards, yet also put pressure on the ball could be a problem. An MSU is going to be a harder matchup than Purdue.

Maryland would have likely beat Michigan if they didn’t lose one of their players to injury and another to a somewhat sus ejection early in the 2nd half. Michigan is a very good team but also very beatable.

 

[thekollieman]

And a large part of that retention has been being honest with guys about their roles, that's not going to change just because they're going into year 4. We need to bring in the best talent that fits the system and compete for national championships. Bringing in elite transfers was just as important to those championships

No doubt. I just think those two guys are capable of earning the roles and I hope they do.

 

[RuffRuff]

Maryland would have likely beat Michigan if they didn’t lose one of their players to injury and another to a somewhat sus ejection early in the 2nd half. Michigan is a very good team but also very beatable.

Unlikely

Brew, we’re on the same page as far as believing in Ross abilities. He’s for sure made progress this year undoubtably and shows flashes of the kind of player he can be with everything you noted. His confidence has came a long way from last year.

If he was 10% confident offensively last year I’ll say it’s risen to a 50-60% this year. His defense continues to be lights out so I have no comments there.

My only point about Ross is getting that next 20-30% to match most others on the team. Solo, Mullins, and the other starters and Stew fly at 80-90.

And we can see it in how he moves in the offense is what I’m pointing out. It changes when he hits a few shots which then lead to the drive and dump off to Reed because it’s at that point he starts believing he should be the one making a play because he’s hot.

I would like him to feel that way all the time whether he’s missing or making shots. And in the first half he for sure did not feel that way and I put the video out to show that.

Mullins, for example, had a couple of turnovers and missed shots but it didn’t shake him for a second. That would not have been the case with Ross.

Again, just want to see him be more active in wanting the ball as it’ll not only help him have more consistency on offense, but as the film shows, it’ll help space the floor in general for his teammates and not muck up offensive possessions.

Love that you know what % everyone's confidence is at. Utterly hysterical. Need to market your confidenceomometer.

 

[DRBackup]

Took care of business. Didn’t watch Sportscenter this morning but Jayden’s dunk was I assume #1 of the Top 10?

Donny’s comments on playing in Hartford vs playing in Gampel gave me a chuckle.

Sadly, not in the top 10 at all. Sportscenter is a joke. In the top 10, though, was just a run of the mill down the lane dunk from the first 5 minutes of the game by Butler. How on earth that's better than any of Ross' dunks, let alone the one handed put back dunk, I have no idea.

 

[DRBackup]

Really? You care about this crap?

So you can only opine on whether or not ESPN and sportscenter sucks if you care deeply about it ? WTF ?!

 

[Lafayette]

Lol.

When CBS guys are bringing up the question, it's not like they're doing it for S&G's. There is some legitimacy to it. I would opt for the field for sure, as it's Uconn/Duke/Purdue/ISU plus the other 300+ teams vs two. AZ is very good, but I don't think they are UM good. I'd lump them closer to the former four than UM. I also think there are ways to beat UM - a team like ISU would be one that would give them trouble. Anyone that can keep up with them on the boards, yet also put pressure on the ball could be a problem. An MSU is going to be a harder matchup than Purdue.

The season is only 1/3 done for regular season games. Them asking this while Michigan has played less top talent and we lost only for having two starters out makes it a moot question.

Maybe toward the end of the regular season heading into conference tourneys we can revisit since AZ and Michigan have many more games to trip them up.

 

[jake14mw]

Wow, maybe I'm going to have to watch the game again. I thought Demary was terrible offensively when watching. I was surprised to see he wound up with 11 assists and people were praising him. Admittedly I was dozing a little in the second half so maybe it's me. I was thinking when I was watching, wow, this guy is a over dribbling shot clock killer. I haven't liked him on offense this year.

Defensively, he has been exactly what this team needed, so I'm happy overall. Also, I know what Hurley expects from him on this team is very different from his role last year. At UConn, the 15 foot pullup is almost a complete no-no. I think he'll adjust his play and settle in nicely by March.

 

[tennmike]

One interesting Hurley post game comment was that Mullins has no idea where he is supposed to be on offense...and what you see him doing is on talent alone. Then noticing Furphy directing Mullins in the final couple minutes of the game. It is going to be fun to watch the uptake.

 

[RuffRuff]

One interesting Hurley post game comment was that Mullins has no idea where he is supposed to be on offense...and what you see him doing is on talent alone. Then noticing Furphy directing Mullins in the final couple minutes of the game. It is going to be fun to watch the uptake.

Waiting for an "it's coming".

 

[mauconnfan]

Didn’t get a chance to read it all seems like I’ve been busy as hell since the end of the late game vs Butler.

After seeing Butler last week I was concerned about some match ups but it all worked out fine. Admittedly it helped us after a slow start to have Ajayi and Kaiser get into foul trouble very early and never found rhythm but still a great team W.

The good… I mean Ross and his minutes off the bench were critical and the energy was great. He scored, he guarded, easily his best game as a Husky if this is the beginning of more to come, wow. Solo again great first half his mid range is so solid then add a couple threes hoping he starts getting back to the long range guy he can be. Tarris nice job early as well, used the body and Jones couldn’t handle him at all. Silas, early TOs but then he did a solid job with some excellent passes and rebounded as well. His defense on Bizjack was fantastic, great effort there. Alex a quiet game but guarded people, didn’t need a huge one from him. Reibe just keeps growing before our eyes kids a huge piece of this and now just goes out and does his job every night. 4 blocks and only 1 which he got off the ground, stays in his feet, moves them and just gets straight up, smart kid. Mullins can score the ball, so much more coming soon. Need to screen better for this kid, players slipping screens too early need solid picks.

The bad….. start with FTs and TOs. Need to make FTs all of our NCs were money to close out games, these guys aren’t need to get better. Bad possessions still especially early need to take care of the ball much better. Fouls still an issue, don’t care about our depth need people to know we need them in the game late able to guard people without having 4 fouls. Reeds defense, his hedges were way too long way too often. Butler didn’t take advantage enough and Jones isn’t a finisher but we will get torched by good passing and finishing teams if he doesn’t get better at that. Also he had some great scores with his back downs but way too many were too slow and will stagnate the offense. Need to get him the ball in the low block, 1 or 2 dribbles from a finish not 5-6 dribbles and many times a turnover. Can’t be a black hole offense. Still think he’s slowly getting into his best shape as well. Hope Stew is ok, need both he and Ross to continue to be impacts off the bench. Malachi had a rough one, not concerned though.

Good win by 19 as they continue to get the chemistry and ways to go, but like so much of what we’re seeing.

 

[ucp990411]

Except for the fist 5 minutes or so we looked very good. Interesting that we have 2 very different 5s. Reed is just a bull,especially if the refs let him play like they did last night. They could have put 4 guys on him and he was going to the hoop. Reibe is more not exactly a finesse guy but ball handler, passer.

But that game was a physical mismatch. If that’s the #3 team in the NBE, Hurley needs to sit down with Geno to discuss how Geno keeps his team focused when he plays through the weak schedule he has to deal with.

On Ross he played great. Not convinced yet though. I’ve watched many coming out parties over many years. Sometimes they are real. Other times they are 1- shot wonders. Let’s see what he does going forward. I hope it’s real.

If that is the third best team in the conference we need a new conference

 

[aboogieee]

Really solid performance overall. Now that conference play has started, I hope the coaching staff digs a little deeper into the bag. I’m still waiting on the corner skip—that’s a nice DHO action for Silas.