Chief’s Briefs - Colgate Edition

[Chief00]

As I immediately informed people, Jalen appropriately sat tonight. A couple of observations, he did not mope and cheered his brothers on which is good, but he was joking around a little too much for Chief’s taste. He’s got to channel that hungry Husky thing. Ok let’s put that in the rear view mirror and to the holier than thou crowd I will be repentant about it when UNC admits fake classes are wrong.
Larrier - As George Blaney would say - WOW! He put it together offensively and was Mr Mid Range game until he started hitting threes late. I always prefer starting close and working further out as the game goes on.
Whaley - the dude can bring energy - and he did late.
Polley - KO likes him and he has quite a few tools - lots of length for a guy who tries to break the defender down with a dribble.
Sid - Isn’t 6-7 - my guess more like 6-5 - just a couple inches taller than Adams.
Foul shooting - I liked it tonight.
KO’s Press - He had Larrier and Polley spear head the press in the backcourt. This has some advantages but it’s really hard for 6-9 guys to stop a shorter guard off his dribble. While the press worked at times we often scrambled to fine our half court defense since our forwards were on their guards. This left our guards matched against taller guys.
Cobb - I like him - he is willing to go after a rebound.
Our weakness is shooting - often Gilbert turned down an open jump shot to get a very contested driving opportunity.
Anderson - plays hard but is limited offensively at this level.
Gampel’s ceiling looked good.
Students were very good and I have been critical of them at football games.

 

[joober jones]

Vital and Gilbert were channeling their inner Dyson tonight.

 

[UC313]

I couldnt go to bed without my chiefs briefs. To bed with a smile tonight.

I like the energy of the team. Theyre scrappy on the court and engaged on the bench. Bodes well for team chemistry. The faster these kids can come together the faster we erase the misery of last year.

 

[Blaneylover]

Vital and Gilbert were channeling their inner Dyson tonight.

Perfect description of their night.

 

[UCDaveD]

We’re off to a better start than last year. I’ll gladly take it!

 

[Blaneylover]

As I immediately informed people, Jalen appropriately sat tonight. A couple of observations, he did not mope and cheered his brothers on which is good, but he was joking around a little too much for Chief’s taste. He’s got to channel that hungry Husky thing. Ok let’s put that in the rear view mirror and to the holier than thou crowd I will be repentant about it when UNC admits fake classes are wrong.
Larrier - As George Blaney would say - WOW! He put it together offensively and was Mr Mid Range game until he started hitting threes late. I always prefer starting close and working further out as the game goes on.
Whaley - the dude can bring energy - and he did late.
Polley - KO likes him and he has quite a few tools - lots of length for a guy who tries to break the defender down with a dribble.
Sid - Isn’t 6-7 - my guess more like 6-5 - just a couple inches taller than Adams.
Foul shooting - I liked it tonight.
KO’s Press - He had Larrier and Polley spear head the press in the backcourt. This has some advantages but it’s really hard for 6-9 guys to stop a shorter guard off his dribble. While the press worked at times we often scrambled to fine our half court defense since our forwards were on their guards. This left our guards matched against taller guys.
Cobb - I like him - he is willing to go after a rebound.
Our weakness is shooting - often Gilbert turned down an open jump shot to get a very contested driving opportunity.
Anderson - plays hard but is limited offensively at this level.
Gampel’s ceiling looked good.
Students were very good and I have been critical of them at football games.

I got up to Gampel tonight. Students were good. Larrier was great. I was thrilled with the freshmen and ft shooting. Gilbert and Vital were out of sorts all night. A win is a win!

 

[Chief00]

Indeed, I like Vital but he did not take advantage of this opportunity.
Anderson is effort and fairly quick but is limited. Gilbert and he make for a really short backcourt with very limited outside shooting.
I will give the coaches credit - KO had intensity the entire night.
While I was right about Williams last summer - how he needs to work on fundamentals and not video dunks. I also see a really tough kid who dies for playing time. Cobb and Williams actually wrestled the ball away from Colgate. Have not seen much of that in the last couple of years.

I won’t say who on this forum but one or two guys I think are already a little upset about playing time. This is before KO has even shorten the lineups as he should do. That way I only like depth if 8 guys are a visible level removed from the next 3. Diarra was the odd man out last night.

 

[Kitaman]

I won’t say who on this forum but one or two guys I think are already a little upset about playing time. This is before KO has even shorten the lineups as he should do. That way I only like depth if 8 guys are a visible level removed from the next 3. Diarra was the odd man out last night.

That's to be expected and its could be a good thing, at least the first half of the season. The frontcourt was empty and full of opportunity. Any player wanting more playing time after first game tip off, blew it or simply is not ready (according to the Coaches). Just saying no one to blame but themselves, the bigs couldn't have asked for a better set up.

Ollie will manage that and if it the noise gets too high, he knows how to ignore it. He was an NBA bench person for many many years, and knows all about lack of PT and the best way to manage it as a player (and Coach) better than anyone.

 

[djct1999]

Lots of good Chief, 1 pass(AG), and one major concern. The good starts with Larrier. Truth is, UConn hasn't had an offensive player with his capabilities in quite some time. Overall, the team just feels more athletic. Feels like a blue print from our past which is super exciting. Loved what I saw from Whaley , Polley and the ceiling tiles on tv. Of note, Antoine Anderson had a huge basket that in my mind, sealed the win. Up 3, shot clock winding down, and a nice mid range jump shot. Not sure he can give us 30 minutes a night, but I definitely feel he has a few big shots in him. I will reserve judgement on AG but overall, just seemed to be forcing things out there. I think JA on the court will help him as much as anyone. The bad.................our defense. Because of our youth, I wonder if we are better off going to a match up zone.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Lots of good Chief, 1 pass(AG), and one major concern. The good starts with Larrier. Truth is, UConn hasn't had an offensive player with his capabilities in quite some time. Overall, the team just feels more athletic. Feels like a blue print from our past which is super exciting. Loved what I saw from Whaley , Polley and the ceiling tiles on tv. Of note, Antoine Anderson had a huge basket that in my mind, sealed the win. Up 3, shot clock winding down, and a nice mid range jump shot. Not sure he can give us 30 minutes a night, but I definitely feel he has a few big shots in him. I will reserve judgement on AG but overall, just seemed to be forcing things out there. I think JA on the court will help him as much as anyone. The bad.......our defense. Because of our youth, I wonder if we are better off going to a match up zone.

Agree with all, except the last. Our defense will come around - a lot of guys learning about D and about each other out there right now.

There are two problems. First, everyone on the court needs to know where the shooters are - you can't leave an open shooter in the weak side corner just because the ball is on the strong side. And even without a scouting report 5 minutes into every game you know who the shooters are. Second, this is a problem because we're lunging on closeouts, and being off balance opens up penetration. Then the defense collapses. Colgate found inside passing and kickouts for buckets that shouldn't happen, because the initial penetration shouldn't have happened.

But there's enough quickness, athleticism and length that I think they'll get it. This is what the early season schedule is for.

 

[David 76]

Indeed,
While I was right about Williams last summer - how he needs to work on fundamentals and not video dunks

True. And I thought ignoring fundamentals and focusing on video dunks was the ticket.

 

[Chief00]

Lots of good Chief, 1 pass(AG), and one major concern. The good starts with Larrier. Truth is, UConn hasn't had an offensive player with his capabilities in quite some time. Overall, the team just feels more athletic. Feels like a blue print from our past which is super exciting. Loved what I saw from Whaley , Polley and the ceiling tiles on tv. Of note, Antoine Anderson had a huge basket that in my mind, sealed the win. Up 3, shot clock winding down, and a nice mid range jump shot. Not sure he can give us 30 minutes a night, but I definitely feel he has a few big shots in him. I will reserve judgement on AG but overall, just seemed to be forcing things out there. I think JA on the court will help him as much as anyone. The bad.......our defense. Because of our youth, I wonder if we are better off going to a match up zone.

Thanks - I think because forwards are in front in our press it’s hard to get back to correct matchups in half court defense.
We played hard, just need to communicate better on screens and identify shooters and their spots.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

. Gilbert turned down an open jump shot.
QUOTE]
Cobb did it twice.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Vital and Gilbert were channeling their inner Dyson tonight.

Harsh, but kind of like Dyson when he was trying/forced to do too much. Let's hope it was because Jalen was absent. The big distinction is that we had a front court that didn't care or defer, but wanted to to play. That, and Larrier.

Like many have said, fun to watch. And I'm thankful that Colgate's open shots didn't drop.

 

[mauconnfan]

Good briefs Chief. I will add:

Anderson - yeah I see a potential wall against really good competition but that's ok because he can D, he's tough and proved he can make the occasional shot. Like him, really liked him last night don't win without him
Larrier - as you say WOW he was special last night. Stroke was really good, his choices were good on offense of course when you're 11-18 they're going to be. Defense he lost his guy in the half court set a couple times
but like him on top of the 2-2-1 trap, could be just a little more active but he was really good last night.
Cobb - I mean love the bull in the china shop mentality it's been a while since we've had someone who loves to run into people and can rebound in traffic. He went to get one rebound with 2 guys in his way and won the battle
love his passion to get the ball. He was great on the sidelines (as were most everyone on the bench they really like each other I think) too love what he will bring
Polley - There is so much there, I envision a really good player down the road, better than Deandre just not sure when he will be consistent. But the length, smoothness is evident and he will make shots. Really nice piece on
top of the zone, likes to play D and the long arms and good awareness will become a factor up there.
Gilbert - C'mon Alterique use that floater please. Spent way too much time trying to get to the rack and double pumping rather than just making a shot. I mean it's obvious he can get there but he's too small to finish a lot. I
think we all know he is streaky at best as a shooter so he will look ugly at times from the perimeter. Having said that he made life miserable for the PG and anyone else he guarded. Many doubt his defense? Don't he
can flat out make life miserable for the ball handlers and we saw that last night.
Vital - rough night for kid, love him but he needs to relax a bit. I think he took the 6th man a little too seriously came in was forced to take a 3 clock winding down but the took 2 more ill advised with lots of time left. Tried to
force the offense last night. On defense too many chances, sloughing off his guy looking to make plays away from his man. We know he's better and will be an impact, short memory for him and back to it.
Carlton - You see the toughness, the intelligence and the good things he does, he is also going to just get better. Knows where to be on both ends and can score it down low. Love to see him improve the next couple of years on
his explosion to the rim, but he has all the tools and understanding of the game to be a very good player.
Whaley - I know you've read it here before but the kid is potentially the best player in that class. Josh Boone with more athleticism and foot speed. But Josh was a bit more mature as a frosh on the arts of hedging and was
bigger too. But his nose for the ball on offense is incredible - 2 more cutbacks and over people to do it great length and quick hops. His defense will come but he does have the ability to go out and guard though.
Williams - He wasn't awful out there when he had his run. He's active, learning where to be on O you could see him being directed but is tough, active and quick as heck. He's not a bad 11th or so guy I can tell you that, hope
he stays to learn the game.

Like the trap defense, they did make them rush shots and that's ultimately most of the purpose. I know people hate the open 3 but off that defense there will be some, and there ill be lots of misses because not a lot of teams shoot it that good. Good news is they got back to the paint to cover so not a lot of lay ups - work in progress but really like it.

Lots of options and the big men, well they understand the game a lot better than the last few years and will only get better game to game. Long way to go and there will be pain, but I like this team dn better yet I think they really like each other.

 

[Chief00]

Good briefs Chief. I will add:

Anderson - yeah I see a potential wall against really good competition but that's ok because he can D, he's tough and proved he can make the occasional shot. Like him, really liked him last night don't win without him
Larrier - as you say WOW he was special last night. Stroke was really good, his choices were good on offense of course when you're 11-18 they're going to be. Defense he lost his guy in the half court set a couple times
but like him on top of the 2-2-1 trap, could be just a little more active but he was really good last night.
Cobb - I mean love the bull in the china shop mentality it's been a while since we've had someone who loves to run into people and can rebound in traffic. He went to get one rebound with 2 guys in his way and won the battle
love his passion to get the ball. He was great on the sidelines (as were most everyone on the bench they really like each other I think) too love what he will bring
Polley - There is so much there, I envision a really good player down the road, better than Deandre just not sure when he will be consistent. But the length, smoothness is evident and he will make shots. Really nice piece on
top of the zone, likes to play D and the long arms and good awareness will become a factor up there.
Gilbert - C'mon Alterique use that floater please. Spent way too much time trying to get to the rack and double pumping rather than just making a shot. I mean it's obvious he can get there but he's too small to finish a lot. I
think we all know he is streaky at best as a shooter so he will look ugly at times from the perimeter. Having said that he made life miserable for the PG and anyone else he guarded. Many doubt his defense? Don't he
can flat out make life miserable for the ball handlers and we saw that last night.
Vital - rough night for kid, love him but he needs to relax a bit. I think he took the 6th man a little too seriously came in was forced to take a 3 clock winding down but the took 2 more ill advised with lots of time left. Tried to
force the offense last night. On defense too many chances, sloughing off his guy looking to make plays away from his man. We know he's better and will be an impact, short memory for him and back to it.
Carlton - You see the toughness, the intelligence and the good things he does, he is also going to just get better. Knows where to be on both ends and can score it down low. Love to see him improve the next couple of years on
his explosion to the rim, but he has all the tools and understanding of the game to be a very good player.
Whaley - I know you've read it here before but the kid is potentially the best player in that class. Josh Boone with more athleticism and foot speed. But Josh was a bit more mature as a frosh on the arts of hedging and was
bigger too. But his nose for the ball on offense is incredible - 2 more cutbacks and over people to do it great length and quick hops. His defense will come but he does have the ability to go out and guard though.
Williams - He wasn't awful out there when he had his run. He's active, learning where to be on O you could see him being directed but is tough, active and quick as heck. He's not a bad 11th or so guy I can tell you that, hope
he stays to learn the game.

Like the trap defense, they did make them rush shots and that's ultimately most of the purpose. I know people hate the open 3 but off that defense there will be some, and there ill be lots of misses because not a lot of teams shoot it that good. Good news is they got back to the paint to cover so not a lot of lay ups - work in progress but really like it.

Lots of options and the big men, well they understand the game a lot better than the last few years and will only get better game to game. Long way to go and there will be pain, but I like this team dn better yet I think they really like each other.

I still think consistent shooting and attention span on defense are our possible downfalls. For this team to be successful Polley needs to quickly grow up as a shooter and that means being dedicated to long hours of shooting. He does have a great attitude and talent - so he can do it.

Carlton is tough on himself and wants to play and knows how. He needs to be patient and do the grind. It’s that simple. His B.B. IQ is much higher than some recent Bigs.

Diarra will play more against the physical teams. Both he and Cobb like to rebound. Smile Chief.

 

[Goat]

Wonder if Diarra's minutes are being managed medically? Slow build up like.a pitcher with a limited pitch count?

 

[crazyUCfan23]

Wonder if Diarra's minutes are being managed medically? Slow build up like.a pitcher with a limited pitch count?

This would be my best guess. He definitely seems just as capable if not more capable than Cobb, but his injury had to do with overuse, right? So it makes sense they are being careful managing his minutes early in the season. We will need big minutes from him once we start playing the big boys, especially Cincy in conference.

 

[gtcam]

Anderson was a huge factor last night - he provided maturity and knows when to slow it down, change direction, etc. I think he will prove he can play at this level - Fordham played against some strong teams. Others said he can't hit the jumper - hit a few and one very important pressure shot late in the game right after the guy sitting behind me said - "if we don't score now we are going to lose" and when Anderson shot it he said "F"
When it went in he said - "Lucky" I turned around and said "Experience - you can't teach that"
Cobb is hungry but needs to finish, however, with the exception to shot blocking and conditioning, he is a more rounded player than AB
Polley is going to be a wonderful player - he looks like he belongs and is so smooth
AG will be fine as will CV - KO will be in their heads today and will point out where both these kids need to play within themselves - both have loads of talent. You can see AG was not happy with his play.
Larrier was solid offensively and if he can be consistent with his jumper as he was last night this team will be very dangerous. His defense is still a question mark. He needs to make up for his lack of physical play with being smarter and quicker to stay in front of his guard, He plays from behind way too much and that was vs Colgate, we saw that the Providence 3s and 4s ate him up.
Diarra is a beast but gets himself too many unneeded fouls. If he can stay in the game he would help the rebounding so much
Whaley - what a nose for that offensive put back - do that 3 or 4 times a game this year and that's a huge difference maker - especially with UConn's accuracy he will have the opportunities. I love it
Carlton needs to finish - he has so many opportunities but leaves most too short/soft - has a nose for the ball

This team is quite obviously more athletic and physical than last year. Last year this game was a L, no doubt in my mind.
With JA back, UConn becomes more complete and the importance of first taste of regular season victory cannot be under estimated
I watched KO most of the night - so I could respond to the bashers - he was very involved and the bench was into it (though JA and Sid were goofing at times) looks like a real tight team.

Final note - I know folks like to refer to Dyson in certain ways but if some of these guys show JD's moxie - I'm all for it

Colgate was a fairly solid team - you can tell they have played together and showed discipline - UConn's athleticism bothered them in the second half and forced them into a lot of missed opportunities but have some nice outside gunners - something UConn dearly needs

Overall - Good win

 

[joober jones]

I feel we're a mentally tougher team this year.

 

[Jimdish255]

The only way to respond to lack of playing time is to communicate with the coaches and respond in practice. When you're called on be ready.

 

[Chief00]

I think we eventually took Colgate’s legs away with our press. Unfortunately, I think Gilbert has a low ceiling as a shooter and his shoulder issues make it hard for him to improve through hours of shooting practice.

 

[auror]

Larrier - As George Blaney would say - WOW! He put it together offensively and was Mr Mid Range game until he started hitting threes late. I always prefer starting close and working further out as the game goes on.

Larrier's first shot was missed 1 foot inside the 3 point line, then his next 2 jumpers were 3s that he made, so not sure what you're talking about with the starting inside working outside thing.

 

[gtcam]

Larrier's first shot was missed 1 foot inside the 3 point line, then his next 2 jumpers were 3s that he made, so not sure what you're talking about with the starting inside working outside thing.

if his 1st shot was inside the 3pt line and the next 2 outside - then it was inside/outside!!

 

[Chief00]

Larrier's first shot was missed 1 foot inside the 3 point line, then his next 2 jumpers were 3s that he made, so not sure what you're talking about with the starting inside working outside thing.

Referring to the second half.