Cassell / Nolan lineup early on

[UChusky916]

WTF was KO thinking here?

BEFORE THAT SUBSTITUTION:
UConn scored 18 pts in under 9 mins.... plus/minus of +11

AFTER THAT SUBSTITUTION:
UConn scored 33 pts in ~31 mins... plus/minus of -20


The team was playing well, seemingly in a rhythm, up 18-7. 11:44 left in the first half.
After the TV timeout we see Nolan and Cassell in the game with Jalen, and almost all of our starters sitting.

Guess what happened? UConn makes 1 shot in the next 8:30. Gibbs looked out of sync after being pulled, had multiple turnovers. Offense had NO flow. No one could score. Team looked awful.

We've seen KO play some odd lineups before... but this one TOTALLY killed any flow that the team had early on. A real head-scratching move.

Worth noting... Nolan saw, what, 6 minutes tonight? He had 4 fouls, 1 turnover, 1 rebound. That's AWFUL.

 

[Kitaman]

Its certainly getting late in the season to be experimenting. Did Casell enter game before Omar?

 

[Stainmaster]

When I saw #0 and #10 in, the first thing that popped into my head was the Syracuse game. As for Nolan, can it kill our role players to play two consistent games back to back? Save for maybe two of Calhoun's games earlier in the season, whenever someone off the bench does well they tend to sh.it the bed in the next game.

 

[Stainmaster]

Its certainly getting late in the season to be experimenting. Did Casell enter game before Omar?

I didn't see Omar until the second half. Very surprising.

 

[Fishy]

Kevin Ollie's substitutions and that one in particular are ridiculous.

 

[Kitaman]

I didn't see Omar until the second half. Very surprising.

Ollie needs to be careful here. Omar is a senior who paid his dues. Many basketball players would be hurt by this kind of move. I know we will think that Omar is a team player, but player's pride is always on display.

Ollie should know better, not sure the logic in this case, since I saw no reason to call Cassell's number over Omar's. Let's hope this doesn't grow legs, but this fan feels bad for Omar having to wait for the 2nd half to see floor time. Especially with the poor display of offense.

 

[Hoophound]

Kevin Ollie's substitutions and that one in particular are ridiculous.

It's crazy. This was a key strength in years 1 and 2. Totally bizarre.

 

[Stainmaster]

Ollie needs to be careful here. Omar is a senior who paid his dues. Many basketball players would be hurt by this kind of move. I know we will think that Omar is a team player, abut player's pride is always on display.

Ollie should know better, not sure the logic in this case, since I saw no reason to call Cassell's number over Omar's. Let's hope this doesn't grow legs, but this fan feels bad for Omar having to wait for the 2nd half to see floor time. Especially with the poor display of offense.

It doesn't even have to go as deep as that. Cassell is a pure liability handling the ball and defending his man at this level. When Omar is in, I don't feel nervous about him chucking a pass right at another player or being stuck in the absolute wrong spot.

 

[SaeHusky]

Those substitution made no sense. Totally took us out of rhythm

 

[champs99and04]

I'm guessing the rotation will be shrunk to eight when Brimah returns and this will work itself out organically, but I had the same thought. It's concerning that he thought it'd be a good idea to play Nolan and Cassell a the same time.

Our five starters will be as they were before the injury: Gibbs, Purvis, Hamilton, Miller and Brimah. Then you have one reserve off the bench at the guard (Adams), wing (Calhoun), and forward (Facey) positions. Nolan will be utilized as a specialist of sorts in case the opposition poses problems with the pick-and-pop.

I have no interest in seeing anybody else play.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

And, quite frankly, my interest in the guys who should play is waning.

 

[Kitaman]

Explanation: 'Its all about practice'

"Sam has been playing well in practice," Ollie said. "Wanted to get a shooter in there. Omar has been struggling from the three-point line the last couple of games and Sam had been playing real well in practice, making some shots. I just gave him a chance. Everybody's just got to be alive."

 

[TRest]

Explanation: 'Its all about practice'

"Sam has been playing well in practice," Ollie said. "Wanted to get a shooter in there. Omar has been struggling from the three-point line the last couple of games and Sam had been playing real well in practice, making some shots. I just gave him a chance. Everybody's just got to be alive."

Let's hope one of the walk-ons doesn't start lighting it up from outside at practice.

And what the hell does "Everybody's just got to be alive" even mean?

 

[gtcam]

Explanation: 'Its all about practice'

"Sam has been playing well in practice," Ollie said. "Wanted to get a shooter in there. Omar has been struggling from the three-point line the last couple of games and Sam had been playing real well in practice, making some shots. I just gave him a chance. Everybody's just got to be alive."

And as a shooter in there, Sam hit how many shots????

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Let's hope one of the walk-ons doesn't start lighting it up from outside at practice.

And what the hell does "Everybody's just got to be alive" even mean?

It's one of Ollie's main rules for playing time. If you're dead, you won't play. Everyone else gets a shot.

 

[Tommyboy]

Another lineup question that has me scratching my head was Nolan in there near the end of the game. Somewhere in the last 5 minutes I think. I know Miller and Facey had 4 fouls but the game was getting away from them. What was he saving them for? Potential overtime? Just doesn't make any sense.

 

[imno1]

Phil played badly but I can't get on Ollie for trying him. He's had some surprisingly adequate moments recently. Not so last night. KF and SM have got to stop fouling so much if we have any chance of salvaging the season. This team is just too flawed. SG and RP need to have open looks to score but can't do much else. Hamilton is in a huge slump which seems to coincide with the decision for him to shoot more. His assists are way down in conference play. SM needs more touches, is a below average rebounder for his position especially for someone with his hops. KF can't seem to have two decent games in a row. He is way too foul prone to stay on the court for a decent run. Omar has completely disappeared after showing some promise. Jalen to me shows the most upside and needs more playing time. He's prone to mistakes but no worse that the others.

Oh we are the worst passing team in cbb in my opinion. Our passes are slow and lazy.