Can KO Reshuffle the Deck?

[Kauffmak10]

he isn't playing with a full deck.
this team is just not any good.
we're 3-3 .500 team that can't even beat yale
YOU ARE WHAT YOUR RECORD SAYS YOU ARE
and they Suck

Brimah is at least a year away from being good against good competition
Purvis seems like an above average talent but certainly Not elite
Nolan is nothing but a backup center
Facey may be a good player by his senior year
Cassell can possibly be a decent backup guard
Samuel is an average backup guard
Rock may b a useful rebounder by his junior year
Calhoun is scared to even take the court and when he does he flat out sucks

D-Ham is prolly wishing he went to UCLA
Boat well we all love Boat.

that sound like a good team to you?

You need to change your screen name: You are def NOT what Uconn is about

 

[Gurleyman]

So far, your suggestions seem to carry the most promise. Having Brimah frequently involved in the offense as a first or 2nd option should improve the ball movement only the players are also moving. In the last 2 losses, the ball was moving only around the perimeter. Brimah being a good passer, if he cannot throw up a shot from 5-10 feet, has the options lob it to cuts or curls in the middle or Ham, Boat or anybody else. The 3rd or 4th even 5th pass should find an open shot, if player movement is dynamic.

Another idea to beat the zone, is to post Ham at the the free throw line where he can do damage with a jump shot with or without a dribble, or a lob to Brimah or Facey or even a last-ditch kickout to the perimeter in the last 5-7 seconds.

Brimah isn't a good passer at all - at least not yet. He doesn't react well to double teams and gets panicky when he's faced with pressure. He threw the ball right into a Yale player's hands yesterday trying to kick it back out. As he matures, he may get better (he did have a nice shuffle pass to DD against Florida last year), but he's not ready to have the offense run through him regularly.

Hamilton would be great at the free throw line, but we also need him to stretch the zone and he can't do both. An alert zone will sag in on Hamilton when he flashes to the middle and leave Facey and Samuel unguarded outside (or Cassell until he proves he can make them). In a perfect world with a healthy and confident Purvis and Calhoun in addition to Cassell, we'd have more options to make the defense pay for sagging and Hamilton would have room to work in the middle of the zone. He'd be perfect in there if there was any space at all.

 

[8893]

Brimah isn't a good passer at all - at least not yet. He doesn't react well to double teams and gets panicky when he's faced with pressure. He threw the ball right into a Yale player's hands yesterday trying to kick it back out. As he matures, he may get better (he did have a nice shuffle pass to DD against Florida last year), but he's not ready to have the offense run through him regularly.

Hamilton would be great at the free throw line, but we also need him to stretch the zone and he can't do both. An alert zone will sag in on Hamilton when he flashes to the middle and leave Facey and Samuel unguarded outside (or Cassell until he proves he can make them). In a perfect world with a healthy and confident Purvis and Calhoun in addition to Cassell, we'd have more options to make the defense pay for sagging and Hamilton would have room to work in the middle of the zone. He'd be perfect in there if there was any space at all.

This is why I'd like to see some sets with Facey flashing at the free throw line. From what I've seen, he can pass well and he doesn't mess around too much in front of his own goal. He can also hit some shots. Granted, I was spared last night's game, in which I understand he did not acquit himself very well, so that hope may be tempered (I was at my daughter's play and taped it; and then a friend texted me at the end and ruined the "surprise," mercifully allowing me to avoid wasting my time watching it on the DVR).

 

[huskymagic]

So far, your suggestions seem to carry the most promise. Having Brimah frequently involved in the offense as a first or 2nd option should improve the ball movement only the players are also moving. In the last 2 losses, the ball was moving only around the perimeter. Brimah being a good passer, if he cannot throw up a shot from 5-10 feet, has the options lob it to cuts or curls in the middle or Ham, Boat or anybody else. The 3rd or 4th even 5th pass should find an open shot, if player movement is dynamic.

Another idea to beat the zone, is to post Ham at the the free throw line where he can do damage with a jump shot with or without a dribble, or a lob to Brimah or Facey or even a last-ditch kickout to the perimeter in the last 5-7 seconds.

Storm I like the idea but Hamilton probably won't be effective at the free throw line because teams will play semi-zone playing him for that when they know we don't have any decent outside shooters. Brimah needs to touch the ball every possession in the half court. In practice KO has 8 days to practice with him as the focal point and learning when to pass the ball out, when to shoot, spot the cutters, etc. Brimah can open up space for Hamilton to be more efficient and Boat to be more effective.

People don;t understand that if you don't have a decent perimeter game with very good shooters, and have exclusively slashing guards, the best option is to play through a good big(Brimah) who can create the necessary space to allow slashers to operate more freely.

 

[mauconnfan]

I just can't agree with any of the "Brimah needs to touch it more" sorry. The kid gets his feet tangled when he needs to look for more then second for someone to pass to now, how could this help us? He's a long way away from an impact passer from anywhere. LONG way!

 

[David 76]

I like the notion of involving Facey more. We have to try something to beat zone D. I also trust KO will find a way to improve this team.

 

[Silk31]

Let's see what KO can cook up because he has done a pretty poor job so far even with the injuries. Where are those great set plays that he would draw up out of timeouts??...they are non existent and could have used those the last two games, especially in the last 6 and a half mins vs Texas

In KO I still trust (obviously) but he is not above the blame thus far

 

[Stinger92860]

We need a guy who can flash to the FT line and the best guy to do that is Hamilton. It was scares the hell out of me that we only have one guy with the needed skills.

With dham, the defense has to react when he gets the ball in the middle of the zone. He can shot and dribble drive. I believe he also the ability to find the open man on double teams and rotations. Unfortunately he is also our best 3 point shooter.

Our best approach will be to push the ball and score in transition and play better D for 40 minutes. We need to recruit 3 point shooters.

 

[The Funster]

Brimah is the guy who, if he gets you 12 pts. great but if he gives you a donut, it's OK because you don't rely on him at all for offense anyways.

On another note: it's always interesting to see when the quitters start giving up on a season.

 

[Stinger92860]

Brimah is the guy who, if he gets you 12 pts. great but if he gives you a donut, it's OK because you don't rely on him at all for offense anyways.

On another note: it's always interesting to see when the quitters start giving up on a season.

I kinda agree, but we need consistency from him. Where does the 12 points come from, when we can't throw the ball into the ocean from behind the arc?

 

[The Funster]

I kinda agree, but we need consistency from him. Where does the 12 points come from, when we can't throw the ball into the ocean from behind the arc?

He needs to clog the middle defensively, block some shots, get in some heads and get some rebounds. That's his job. He gets points with put backs and running the baseline. UConn has to work the offense outside in instead of inside out. There's work to be done offensively but it doesn't start with Brimah.

 

[Stinger92860]

Never said it started with him. Just asking for consistency and where the points comes from.

 

[The Funster]

If you're asking where Brimah's points come from you've got it backwards.

 

[mauconnfan]

Herein lies the problem. We have 2 starting big men who I would prefer not to work through on offense. I disagree with AB touching the ball every possession for sure and I am almost as sure I do not want Facey doing much more. That's not good and that's why we see the consistent passing around the perimeter, because they don't want to give it to them either.

I watched Kentan the other night when he was setting picks, which aren't all that solid although he tries. He never looked for the ball or made a natural roll to the basket even when it was obvious his defender would've allowed it. I don't think the confidence is there for him to be an integral part of the offense, from him or the staff. And having seen him with the ball, passing and handling I totally agree. He's a solid rebounder and becoming a little better on D, but the fact he is playing as many minutes as he is this year is telling of the issues this team will need to overcome this start. He should be a 12-18 minute guy.

 

[David 76]

Yes, we are undermanned in our front court. I kept hoping we would get another big. A lot of posters, who seem to forget, were sure Nolan and Rock would be more than enough help up front.
But, at least we have 2 guys with some skills who will continue to improve with KF and AB. Even if we can't run the offense through them.

 

[RipCity]

I think that eventually, someone besides Boatright will emerge a la Jeremy Lamb his freshman year and really share the load with Boatright. The question will remain whether that'll be enough.

Great time for a nine day break though.

 

[The Funster]

I think that eventually, someone besides Boatright will emerge a la Jeremy Lamb his freshman year and really share the load with Boatright. The question will remain whether that'll be enough.

Great time for a nine day break though.

I think that is the first step. We need a second ball handler (not named Hamilton). Then with Hamilton out on the wing, either shooting or slashing, you now have the defense stretched. That will create space for the 4 & 5 to develop their game inside.

 

[James]

This season has been disastrous, I've almost broken my leg jumping off the purvis bandwagon. We needed him to be our second best player IMO to contend, even with a bum ankle his minutes were simply disastrous vs yale. You can't fault boatright for being the scoring pg he is, because who else is getting buckets? Its him and hamilton and thats it. It is what it is

I noted in the chat of the yale game how shocking the comments KO made were, the ones about "staying in the gym after practice to get more shots up". Like seriously? You should be kicking these kids out of the gym for how poorly they've shot the ball. And you know KO knows this, he doesn't like having to do that. No coach does.

We might be asking a bit too much from hamilton, to be our consummate do everything scorer as well as confident leader. thats tough for a frosh. Just gotta wait and see if somebody makes a leap, hamilton, purvis or facey.

 

[uconnfan68]

Herein lies the problem. We have 2 starting big men who I would prefer not to work through on offense. I disagree with AB touching the ball every possession for sure and I am almost as sure I do not want Facey doing much more. That's not good and that's why we see the consistent passing around the perimeter, because they don't want to give it to them either.

I watched Kentan the other night when he was setting picks, which aren't all that solid although he tries. He never looked for the ball or made a natural roll to the basket even when it was obvious his defender would've allowed it. I don't think the confidence is there for him to be an integral part of the offense, from him or the staff. And having seen him with the ball, passing and handling I totally agree. He's a solid rebounder and becoming a little better on D, but the fact he is playing as many minutes as he is this year is telling of the issues this team will need to overcome this start. He should be a 12-18 minute guy.

He also should be a monster on the offensive boards. We need more lobs and offensive rebounds to score points.

 

[jibsey]

This season has been disastrous, I've almost broken my leg jumping off the purvis bandwagon. We needed him to be our second best player IMO to contend, even with a bum ankle his minutes were simply disastrous vs yale. You can't fault boatright for being the scoring pg he is, because who else is getting buckets? Its him and hamilton and thats it. It is what it is

I noted in the chat of the yale game how shocking the comments KO made were, the ones about "staying in the gym after practice to get more shots up". Like seriously? You should be kicking these kids out of the gym for how poorly they've shot the ball. And you know KO knows this, he doesn't like having to do that. No coach does.

We might be asking a bit too much from hamilton, to be our consummate do everything scorer as well as confident leader. thats tough for a frosh. Just gotta wait and see if somebody makes a leap, hamilton, purvis or facey.

KO's DNA is to work to overcome a problem and I love him for that, but....... There are 3 point shooters and there are guys who think they are 3 point shooters, like Purvis. TSam has no illusions which is fine. I would have hoped that Boat would be more reliable in that by this time in his career but he does a lot of other things for us. It's a big deficiency in today's college game.

 

[huskymagic]

KO's DNA is to work to overcome a problem and I love him for that, but.. There are 3 point shooters and there are guys who think they are 3 point shooters, like Purvis. TSam has no illusions which is fine. I would have hoped that Boat would be more reliable in that by this time in his career but he does a lot of other things for us. It's a big deficiency in today's college game.

There lies the problem: we have one decent 3 point shooter in Hamilton who is feeling a lot of pressure to carry the team from the perimeter. When you don't have good consistent shooters, you have no choice but to play inside out or hope and pray shots start falling. We will find out soon enough against Coppin State. The bigger problem is team chemistry and leadership when times are tough in games, no one steps up. It has to be the trio of Brimah, Hamilton, and Boatright. It's early but if I had to guess, I don't think Boatright has the command or respect of one or some of the players in the locker room, and that friction is causing our inability to close games and play good basketball. Pure conjecture on my part.

 

[Paesano]

No matter how much he shuffles, there will still be three jokers in the deck. The team will be much better next year when three cancers leave. Bazz was a strong enough leader to keep people in line. KO is trying to do it from the coaching box this year. So far, it isn't working out.

 

[FeedTheDove]

There lies the problem: we have one decent 3 point shooter in Hamilton who is feeling a lot of pressure to carry the team from the perimeter. When you don't have good consistent shooters, you have no choice but to play inside out or hope and pray shots start falling. We will find out soon enough against Coppin State. The bigger problem is team chemistry and leadership when times are tough in games, no one steps up. It has to be the trio of Brimah, Hamilton, and Boatright. It's early but if I had to guess, I don't think Boatright has the command or respect of one or some of the players in the locker room, and that friction is causing our inability to close games and play good basketball.

Boat has to have the command over himself before he can get it over the other players. Boat's demeanor was very off during the Yale game - Freshman/sophomore type Boat demeanor. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he was playing hurt and obviously struggling. However, those are the types of games where Boat needs to be the positive, upbeat voice on the court, on the bench, and in the huddle - NO MATTER how he is playing individually. I can't say that he wasn't doing that, but it sure didn't seem like it.

I absolutely hate making Bazz/Kemba comparisons to Boat. But all I'm going to say is that with 1.7 sec left and a possible chance of winning a game, you wouldn't have seen either of them at midcourt, hand on hip, shaking their heads absolutely defeated.

Looking for Boat and the squad to bounce back strong vs. Coppin State in Hartford. Then it's time to kick some ass and break some hearts.

 

[Paesano]

The bigger problem is team chemistry and leadership when times are tough in games, no one steps up. It has to be the trio of Brimah, Hamilton, and Boatright. It's early but if I had to guess, I don't think Boatright has the command or respect of one or some of the players in the locker room, and that friction is causing our inability to close games and play good basketball. Pure conjecture on my part.

In that leadership forum held at the pentagon during the off season, one of the coaches said something to the effect that people won't care what you say until they think that you care. Boat has not developed that trust and, in my opinion, has always been a little selfish and reckless. Ollie was hinting at it in his press conference.

 

[David 76]

No matter how much he shuffles, there will still be three jokers in the deck. The team will be much better next year when three cancers leave. Bazz was a strong enough leader to keep people in line. KO is trying to do it from the coaching box this year. So far, it isn't working out.

Three cancers? What the hell are you talking about?

If you are including Boat, please return any satisfaction you received from last year;s championship. Without him, it doesn't happen.
And you do you think doesn't respect Boat on this team.