Chief’s Briefs - Butler Edition

[mjmoney23]

I like this observation. I would say the same about Ball. Mullins and Ball are among the premier 3-point shooters in CBB, and the UConn offense should be geared to getting them open treys. It would be a shame if force-fitting them into Hurley's offensive sets made them 2-point shooters, and there is evidence that this is already happening to Ball. Just my take.

I partially agree with the Solo part. His improvement is his midrange game is profound from last year. He's almost automatic from 14 to 17 feet. It's not like he hasn't been taking threes, they just haven't fell at a high percentage for thr majority of this season. Mullins should absolutely be getting plays set for him to get a good look from deep. I feel Solo gets those opportunities.

 

[Chonky]

Chief, Donny said Hartford is a wine & cheese crowd and that speaking from experience it’s not like being on campus. Your thoughts?

Me, every time a game is on Peacock

 

[Waquoit]

I think Solo is more effective when he can establish his mid-range game then expand. He is getting to be money from there, almost like Rip. Sometimes I don't like his feet from 3 but inside the arc they always seem to be spot on.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Reed wasn’t great last night. 5 TOs and lack of passing out and resetting. I actually kept wanting more Reibe

 

[Chief00]

Calhoun's hedge strategy was "step and recover", to give the guard just enough time to fight over the screen. We tended to give up some open 3s when the big dropped too quickly or the guard didn't get through the screen.

Last night, we fouled more in the second half, when we mostly abandoned the hard hedge, so your point on it being the cause of fouls is still off. Our bigs, for the most part, have not fouled away from the basket much this year, and we're fouling around the basket no matter what strategy we employ.

My point is that there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat. Florida won two straight championships blitzing ball screens with a hard hedge and mixed it in last year as well. Baylor won a championship the same way. Houston does it regularly. The Roy Williams Carolina teams mixed their ball screen defense up a ton. Other teams switch everything (Duke, Villanova under Jay Wright).

You just don’t get it and I explain and reexplain. Again the high extended hedge sets off a chain reaction that create fouls throughout the halfcourt because of the inherent mismatches and us being a step behind trying to recover. Danny and I are a lot closer to the same view than you and me. He is trying to correct these deficiencies through adjustments.
Our foul shot attempts were on the short end of a 13 to 24 FT attempts!

 

[Chief00]

I think Solo is more effective when he can establish his mid-range game then expand. He is getting to be money from there, almost like Rip. Sometimes I don't like his feet from 3 but inside the arc they always seem to be spot on.

I agree, establish yourself and then expand.

 

[Chief00]

Me, every time a game is on PeacockView attachment 114720

Does Donny realize over half of the biggest office buildings in Hartford are in some stage of Foreclosure? He’s living in another era - the Bishops of Hartford era - 30-45 years ago. Bottom line in 3 weeks we have not lost a game in Hartford in 3 years! With Gampel it is a month since the AZ lost.

 

[Chief00]

Reed wasn’t great last night. 5 TOs and lack of passing out and resetting. I actually kept wanting more Reibe

True, Reibe played better against Butler, but I am cheering for a healthy Reed.

 

[Chief00]

The shooting was fine. He’s not going to hit 80% of the jump hooks he takes. The problem with Reed was the turnovers and the black hole nature of his offense yesterday.

Agree there was a period of turnovers.

 

[Chief00]

I partially agree with the Solo part. His improvement is his midrange game is profound from last year. He's almost automatic from 14 to 17 feet. It's not like he hasn't been taking threes, they just haven't fell at a high percentage for thr majority of this season. Mullins should absolutely be getting plays set for him to get a good look from deep. I feel Solo gets those opportunities.

Nothing wrong with doing one’s offense from the inside out.

 

[Excalibur]

Does Donny realize over half of the biggest office buildings in Hartford are in some stage of Foreclosure? He’s living in another era - the Bishops of Hartford era - 30-45 years ago. Bottom line in 3 weeks we have not lost a game in Hartford in 3 years! With Gampel it is a month since the AZ lost.

Half of the office buildings everywhere are in foreclosure.

 

[Excalibur]

You just don’t get it and I explain and reexplain. Again the high extended hedge sets off a chain reaction that create fouls throughout the halfcourt because of the inherent mismatches and us being a step behind trying to recover. Danny and I are a lot closer to the same view than you and me. He is trying to correct these deficiencies through adjustments.
Our foul shot attempts were on the short end of a 13 to 24 FT attempts!

When your "explanation" is objectively wrong, there's nothing to get.

And LOL at the idea that Dan agrees with you when he's been committed to hard hedges (with the right personnel) since the beginning. The only thing we agree on is that Hurley is searching for an answer here. The personnel isn't really built for blitzing/hard hedging, so we started the year with more drop coverage but we're terrible at it. So he went back to a more aggressive hedge and we get beat with slips and dribblers splitting the defenders.

 

[AllHusky]

I have never liked the high hedge. Reibe however has made me a fan. Said this elsewhere too. He seems to already have a feel for it, and he seems fast/quick. That kid is one impressive ballplayer!

 

[Chief00]

When your "explanation" is objectively wrong, there's nothing to get.

And LOL at the idea that Dan agrees with you when he's been committed to hard hedges (with the right personnel) since the beginning. The only thing we agree on is that Hurley is searching for an answer here. The personnel isn't really built for blitzing/hard hedging, so we started the year with more drop coverage but we're terrible at it. So he went back to a more aggressive hedge and we get beat with slips and dribblers splitting the defenders.

I don’t know about your personnel excuse - of course you have the personnel you recruited to play games for you - You did not listen to Dan after the last game. His view more similar to mine than yours.

 

[Chief00]

Half of the office buildings everywhere are in foreclosure.

You are not making much sense - Hartford’s foreclosure rates are worse than most cities.
Tough to have Donny’s high end wine and cheese party with so much foreclosure. lol
Wasn’t his best moment.

 

[Waquoit]

Downtown Hartford is more beer and nachos. The wine bar moved to the upper class suburbs, closer to guys like Donnie.

 

[CL82]

Half of the office buildings everywhere are in foreclosure.

Why would a bank allow people to only use half of the building as security?

 

[Excalibur]

You are not making much sense - Hartford’s foreclosure rates are worse than most cities.
Tough to have Donny’s high end wine and cheese party with so much foreclosure. lol
Wasn’t his best moment.

I'm questioning what office foreclosure rates (not vacancy rates) have to do with the crowd at a game?

 

[Excalibur]

Downtown Hartford is more beer and nachos. The wine bar moved to the upper class suburbs, closer to guys like Donnie.

Nobody going to the games actually lives in Hartford.

 

[Chief00]

Refs let them play in first half same as texas game. Second half was quite different. How are players to know what to expect with this bipolar refs.

Good point - IDK. Big East officiating is broken.

 

[Chief00]

I'm questioning what office foreclosure rates (not vacancy rates) have to do with the crowd at a game?

The wine and cheese analogy was Donny’s not mine. Wine and cheese is associated with money not a foreclosure environment. In short, you step in it.

 

[Chief00]

Downtown Hartford is more beer and nachos. The wine bar moved to the upper class suburbs, closer to guys like Donnie.

That is reality now.

 

[Chief00]

Nobody going to the games actually lives in Hartford.

At some point when you are losing an argument go silent.

 

[Excalibur]

At some point when you are losing an argument go silent.

I'll keep that in mind for when I'm wrong. I'm sure it will happen eventually . . . 😉