Chief’s Briefs - DePaul 2 Edition

[Mike1984]

Sanogo should be sitting and Akok should be getting those minutes. If Akok is not healthy, then he should not be suited up, but we know what he can do.
Without Bouknight , Polley should be starting.
Why give the ball to our 4/5's at the top of the key, as soon as they turn to the basket to make a pass they throw it away.
Small point guards who can't break down their man, or finish it at the rim...really useless in a half court offense. Adams should play the point.
Martin is an enigma....even point blank lay ups that he makes, bounce in, but we lose this game without his two baskets at the end...his foul shooting is putrid.

Glad you put in your 2 cents!

 

[djct1999]

I thought the inbounds play to Martin was the play of the game

It sure beat the inbounds plays of our past.

 

[DMIL]

Tyler days of playing in obscurity are over. Especially with Boutnight out and just off Big East player of the week - he will now get defensive attention. We will see if he is clever enough to create scoring opportunities. He made a couple of 3’s in the first half but needs more consistency.

Probably the surprise of the game is that we got out rebounded. Given our difficulty scoring we need to win in this category. We also had more turnovers than assists, a metric Chief watches.

While we got out to an 11 point lead our offense isn’t pretty and that’s been Chief’s concern when well intended Casual Fans started talking top ten ranking.

Again, we did a good job on Moore.

Josh played a step slow and a thought late. Several times he did not appear to be ready for the ball or a plan what to do with it. In the post he needs to create distance for his shot by using a jump hook with his shoulder creating separation.

Martin had a very good game but still needs to work at finishing around the rim. Chief needs to study better the reasons for that deficiency. It’s not readily apparent. He’s strong, has fairly log arms and plays aggressive. It may be a mental matter of concentration.

DePaul came out with a good run to start the second half. UConn was playing very tentative offensively and DePaul did not overthink their offense. I thought Whaley played with energy but not much focus or with awareness of where his man or responsibilities were. He was running around without much purpose to his activity and lost his man or was late to an assignment several times.
I would like to see Polley come in at 17 minutes mark rather than 15 minutes. Our offense really struggles. Gaffney is turning down shots while Cole is rushing his play on offense.

We don’t have an offense that can afford lots of turnovers, since our shooting isn’t that good either. Another game and Akok doesn’t look even remotely ready. Our half court defense is really good, and I think it wore DePaul down and led to the win. Martin had 5 steaks snd Cole 4.

A win is a win especially without your star.

Nice analysis of this game. I think it was a perfect trap game for UCONN to lose given their:

(1) First top 25 Ranking in a number of years
(2) Familiarity with DePaul with their recent blow out win
(3) Road Game and
(4) A bit of overconfidence.
(5) Still without 2 key starters ( Bouknight & Akok)

About 3 or 4 minutes into the 2nd half I knew UCONN was in for a slugfest. It was a physical defensive game and we did not respond well to it with offensive execution, early turnovers, suspect free throw shooting and lack of controlling the boards.

Despite this I liked how the team stayed with it, pushed through and closed out a tough game where they were not able to establish any consistent rhythm offensively. The defense wore DePaul down and Tyrese Martin stepped up at the end with much better focus and closed the show.

I'm still a little concerned about the lack of consistency with our guard play overall offensively. I never feel like they are fully comfortable within the flow at games and we have a lot of headroom here if a chemistry can be developed.

Whaley's effort continues to be a bright spot even when he is a bit unfocused with his energy. Every bucket, rebound, steal from him was critical in a game like this when no one was really special.

Despite the increased focus on Polley I thought is game was solid. If we can get 12 to 14 points from Polley night in and night out I'll take that all day. When Bouknight is back Polley is going to be the x-factor for us against the best teams in the conference offensively. Polley has a bit of headroom as well.

The defense was certainly a star. There is a lot of headroom with this team. That is what I'm so excited about. They just have to put it all together at the right time. I'm enjoying this ride.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

We are not going far with Cole. Not really a scorer and not serving up a lot of assists. Not a good combo for a point guard

i watched only rj the last few minutes of the game. forget the box score. watch that and see how many times he was near the ball, at the ball, and on the ball.
sometimes, it just magically ended up in his hands. instinct. winning bball.
now watch that dee pall guy who mr tv announcer said was something like voted to preseason all big east. he stinks. i think he tripped over the end line, flying out of bounds.
losing bball.

 

[UconnU]

I want to see what Bouknight can do now that the scouting report to face guard Polley is out. This should create a lot of space for him. If Martin is hitting shots we become a deadly perimeter team with interior size and toughness to boot. The Cole, Bouk, Martin, Polley, Whaley lineup intrigues me.

 

[Chief00]

Nice analysis of this game. I think it was a perfect trap game for UCONN to lose given their:

(1) First top 25 Ranking in a number of years
(2) Familiarity with DePaul with their recent blow out win
(3) Road Game and
(4) A bit of overconfidence.
(5) Still without 2 key starters ( Bouknight & Akok)

About 3 or 4 minutes into the 2nd half I knew UCONN was in for a slugfest. It was a physical defensive game and we did not respond well to it with offensive execution, early turnovers, suspect free throw shooting and lack of controlling the boards.

Despite this I liked how the team stayed with it, pushed through and closed out a tough game where they were not able to establish any consistent rhythm offensively. The defense wore DePaul down and Tyrese Martin stepped up at the end with much better focus and closed the show.

I'm still a little concerned about the lack of consistency with our guard play overall offensively. I never feel like they are fully comfortable within the flow at games and we have a lot of headroom here if a chemistry can be developed.

Whaley's effort continues to be a bright spot even when he is a bit unfocused with his energy. Every bucket, rebound, steal from him was critical in a game like this when no one was really special.

Despite the increased focus on Polley I thought is game was solid. If we can get 12 to 14 points from Polley night in and night out I'll take that all day. When Bouknight is back Polley is going to be the x-factor for us against the best teams in the conference offensively. Polley has a bit of headroom as well.

The defense was certainly a star. There is a lot of headroom with this team. That is what I'm so excited about. They just have to put it all together at the right time. I'm enjoying this ride.

Good observations.

 

[Chief00]

Other than PG, we have great length to use in our close outs.

 

[buddy]

They need to drastically improve the free throw shooting. This game would have been no sweat if the free throw shooting was better, and of course, they would be undefeated if they were better at free throws.

 

[Chief00]

Sanogo should be sitting and Akok should be getting those minutes. If Akok is not healthy, then he should not be suited up, but we know what he can do.
Without Bouknight , Polley should be starting.
Why give the ball to our 4/5's at the top of the key, as soon as they turn to the basket to make a pass they throw it away.
Small point guards who can't break down their man, or finish it at the rim...really useless in a half court offense. Adams should play the point.
Martin is an enigma....even point blank lay ups that he makes, bounce in, but we lose this game without his two baskets at the end...his foul shooting is putrid.

Achilles is a really tough injury to cone back from. We need to be really patient.

 

[Fatroony5]

Glad to get the win (and cover). Hoping Bouk can get back for the next game, great to get some wins without him, but it puts a strain on the backcourt rotations without him. The defense continues to be impressive. They had a few lapses but overall, their defense really wins them games.

Two other thoughts: they need to stop forcing passes into the paint from the top of the key. A few times our bigs are trying to throw passes into the paint from that area and it’s a turnover like every time. I’ve seen that action enough to say, please stop forcing those passes. Secondly, they need to cut down on unnecessary turnovers/possessions in transition. If a layup isn’t there, we need to hunt Polley for 3s, he’s deadly in transition. All in all, take the win and move on. Certainly happy to get another win.

 

[UCLJ0211]

I had a funny feeling about this game since we just played DePaul. I had a feeling they were going to come out a lot tougher this time. It’s hard to beat a team multiple times in a season, especially on their floor.

Also, as it’s been said multiple times but shouldn’t be understated, this team just played 3 games in 3 different cities in 6 days. That’s a lot on even the most well-conditioned athletes and I’m sure there was some fatigue setting in this game.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Got outrebounded. Not surprising, as 2 of the better rebounders didn't get much action.

 

[BrassBonanza]

I'm giving Coach Hurley props for reading the situation here against DePaul in the closing minutes, and calling Martin's number again and again. That, plus some really stellar defense were the deciding factors in the last few possessions.

I really liked the late inbound play to get Ty a layup with about 90 seconds left - great design, needed the easy bucket there.

 

[Kolumbo]

The tour through B1G Country was a smashing success.

 

[Colin G]

I'd take Gaffney over Cole.

In what world?

 

[Ts5034]

Also, as it’s been said multiple times but shouldn’t be understated, this team just played 3 games in 3 different cities in 6 days. That’s a lot on even the most well-conditioned athletes and I’m sure there was some fatigue setting in this game.

Exactly. That is actually very rare to play 3 road conference games in a row. The fact they were all played in less than a week makes it even stranger.

 

[Bezzz]

Also, as it’s been said multiple times but shouldn’t be understated, this team just played 3 games in 3 different cities in 6 days. That’s a lot on even the most well-conditioned athletes and I’m sure there was some fatigue setting in this game.

Tyrese looked gassed at the end, but he powered through.

 

[Chief00]

Tyrese looked gassed at the end, but he powered through.

I think we need to work on guys routines and breathing rhythm when at the line late in the game. Too many guys appeared to rush their first foul shot.

 

[M.S.G.]

Charlie Moore stinks out loud, and so does his fishing show.

The fact he was on preseason 1st team All Big East and Bouk wasn't drives me into uncontrollable rage every time I think about it!

 

[Hankster]

I had a funny feeling about this game since we just played DePaul. I had a feeling they were going to come out a lot tougher this time. It’s hard to beat a team multiple times in a season, especially on their floor.

DePaul adjusted well since the last game. Many here said we played bad. Well, the way I see it, DePaul was ready and their defense was relentless. They out rebounded us. Many times they penetrated with ease. We didn't. Our guys fought the heck last night. Great win. I give DePaul a lot of credit. Did I notice that Butterfingers Carlton and Sonogo did not get much time in the second half?

 

[Edward Sargent]

Tyler days of playing in obscurity are over. Especially with Boutnight out and just off Big East player of the week - he will now get defensive attention. We will see if he is clever enough to create scoring opportunities. He made a couple of 3’s in the first half but needs more consistency.

Probably the surprise of the game is that we got out rebounded. Given our difficulty scoring we need to win in this category. We also had more turnovers than assists, a metric Chief watches.

While we got out to an 11 point lead our offense isn’t pretty and that’s been Chief’s concern when well intended Casual Fans started talking top ten ranking.

Again, we did a good job on Moore.

Josh played a step slow and a thought late. Several times he did not appear to be ready for the ball or a plan what to do with it. In the post he needs to create distance for his shot by using a jump hook with his shoulder creating separation.

Martin had a very good game but still needs to work at finishing around the rim. Chief needs to study better the reasons for that deficiency. It’s not readily apparent. He’s strong, has fairly long arms and plays aggressive. It may be a mental matter of concentration.

DePaul came out with a good run to start the second half. UConn was playing very tentative offensively and DePaul did not overthink their offense. I thought Whaley played with energy but not much focus or with awareness of where his man or responsibilities were. He was running around without much purpose to his activity and lost his man or was late to an assignment several times.
I would like to see Polley come in at 17 minutes mark rather than 15 minutes. Our offense really struggles. Gaffney is turning down shots while Cole is rushing his play on offense.

We don’t have an offense that can afford lots of turnovers, since our shooting isn’t that good either. Another game and Akok doesn’t look even remotely ready. Our half court defense is really good, and I think it wore DePaul down and led to the win. Martin had 5 steaks snd Cole 4.

A win is a win especially without your star.

Forgot to mention defense in the last4 minutes. I think forcing 4 or 5 TOs and holding scoreless deserves mention

 

[Slick]

I'd take Gaffney over Cole.

Gaffney would be much better in the days before there was a shot clock.

 

[Husky25]

Gaffney would be much better in the days before there was a shot clock.

Speaking of the shot clock, UConn ran the weave on probably greater than 80% of their offensive possessions in the half court. The ball never leaves the top of the key for 20 seconds through multiple handoffs.

The offense has to start with more than 9 seconds left on the clock and has to end with something other than a rushed, out of control drive into the Land of Giants.

 

[ucp990411]

I think we need to work on guys routines and breathing rhythm when at the line late in the game. Too many guys appeared to rush their first foul shot.

Good point, Martin has a hitch just before he shoots that he should lose.