Chief’s Briefs - Florida Edition

[MuchoDogYears]

I think we are seeing the evolution of AJ becoming our point guard.

If Newton doesn't improve, and he's had three (4?) bad games in a row, I'd hand the ball to AJ as our PG, start Joey C at shooting guard, and sit Newton until he starts playing at the level he's capable of. I still believe he's the long-term answer at PG this year but not currently with the inefficiency and looseness that he's been playing with against P5 opponents.

That lineup would improve both the starting 5's outside shooting and playmaking. D and rebounding would suffer somewhat in return, but I'd expect a net overall positive.

Karaban has hit the freshman wall. Waiting for him to bust through it; think it'll be less games rather than many.

 

[Jaydumo20]

@Chief00 can you shine some light on Alleyne's role with the team? I know we have been saying that he will turn it around but I'm seeing someone who is now scared to shoot or make a mistake. I'm not harping on the 1 weak point, I just know how valuable a 3rd ball handler can be. Especially in tough close games.

 

[Chief00]

If we look through the lense that Andre is our PG, there really isn't a flaw on this team. Netwon had a rough game -- I actually thought he'd step up like the Oregon game (I view the Ducks and Gators as very similar teams) but it was Joey C the one that stepped up instead (I told friends we needed 12-15 points from one of our guards not Hawk, and Joey C was the man last night). As someone pointed out in another thread, really just need Jackson to get to the rim more -- fine with the 2/5 shooting from 3, but dude needs to be able to score at the hoop to really unlock his game -- because as soon as he starts being able to do that, he'll have the easiest assists of his life to Adama/Cling. Some of his passes last night were NBA quality (not that it's anything new).

There is still a role for Newton on this team -- I think we should take the main distributor role off his plate and let him concetrate on scoring by getting to the hoop and drawing FTs, his biggest strength. If you take a look at the successful UConn teams in the past, Newton could thrive as Bazz to Andre's Kemba or Boat to Andre's Bazz or even Vital to Andre's Gilbert. He can still be a secondary distributor, but the offense needs to run through Andre (which it pretty much is).

Another thing I wanted to chat about was Karaban. Obviously tough game for him with the fouls -- and it's a real shame we don't have Samson (who was still in a boot as of the OK St game btw). Defensively, you are seeing him get exposed against physical teams. Which is normal for most freshman not named Donovan Clingan. (And also like DC he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt as a freshman and gets a lot of meh fouls called on him that in 2 years refs won't call on him. You see this in the NBA with young players and it's just part of officiating in general, baseball too with balls and strikes). Another downside is that he offers pretty limited rim protection, so when paired with Sanogo teams have pretty much a free path to the hoop (which is masked by our elite perimeter D most of the time because guys can't even get to the rim). I think the original gameplan coming into the season of Samson/Adama and Alex/Donovan would be perfect offensive and defensive compliments to each other. If Samson is healthy and able to contribute, it will make us that much more elite on D as he can rim run for Sanogo on D and still stretch the floor on O. When AK is with DC, you have a 7-2 wall if you get beat by your defender.

I think as time moves further away from his finger surgery, you will see him drive more.

 

[Chief00]

@Chief00 can you shine some light on Alleyne's role with the team? I know we have been saying that he will turn it around but I'm seeing someone who is now scared to shoot or make a mistake. I'm not harping on the 1 weak point, I just know how valuable a 3rd ball handler can be. Especially in tough close games.

Good question. Alleyne definitely helps our defense, especially against bigger guards. The season still has a long ways to go.

 

[Husky25]

I didn't mind Sanogo being a black hole last night. He was having his way with Castleton. Even in the early going when it wasn't falling for Sanogo, Castleton was clearly overmatched. He had a bad showing. I am concerned that refs are going to re-discover their rulebook and call 3-seconds on Sanogo as the season goes on.

Clingan is maturing before our eyes, a development from bodying up on Sanogo for the past six months. Jitoboh had that one sequence where he had the baby hook over him, and then taunted down the court, but Clingan was not intimidated and wouldn't let him get handsy either on the other end of the court. Dykes was right on when he alluded to DC as a tall basketball player vs. a big guy who happens to play basketball. He also

Speaking of the rulebook:
1. How did Todd Golden avoid getting T'ed up?
2. Clingan is 7'-2" and Sanogo is a beast, but that doesn't mean that the hacks need to be proportionately harder, Shaq-style, in order for a foul to be call.
3. Castleton's reputation preceded him, but unless there are no other centers in the SEC, he did not show why he is 1st team All-SEC last night.
4. OTOH, the non-call on the Jackson block and stare down was an obvious makeup. Then again, the game was mostly in hand.

Minute distribution was much better than Thursday, but some of that was obviously out of necessity. Karaban needs to put on some weight and control his body better against bigger frontcourt players. He's gotten muscled the last two games, but fouls were called last night. He's only a freshman, but looking ahead, he's sort of a tweener in a Kevin Freeman fashion. Lucky for him, he can shoot. Lucky for UConn and fans alike, he hit the trey that swung momentum back to UConn for good.

What can be said about Calcaterra? Diarra and Alleyne might be better defensively, but offer next to nothing at the moment offensively. Cal's D is more than adequate, given his offense. Nine guys played significant minutes, but only seven scored. I hope Diarra and Alleyne aren't getting skittish. They have to keep their heads up.

I have a real concern at the 1. UConn does not have a true point guard. They have a few people who can bring the ball up vs. token pressure, but the offense runs through Jackson, a 6'-6" wing. They need to find a secondary ball-handler who can facilitate the offense and give Jackson a blow more often. Calcaterra is UConn's 2nd best ball handler right now.

 

[Chief00]

This sentence is an affront to the endeavor of written communication.

Chief loves the Casual Fan, who lives to be offended or “affronted”. Whatever gets you through life I guess. Always do my best, but invariably when you pick something up hours later, you quickly see a mistake/typo that wasn’t apparent before. The edit window doesn’t allow it to be changed at that point.

 

[my2cents]

Pretty hilarious that we have ID all the issues, while we destroy everyone in our path. The biggest difference I see in this team vs most of UCONN teams of the recent past, we are the big boys on the block now. No team in college basketball can match up with our physicality. NOBODY. This puts us way ahead everyone from the get go.
We know college kids are going to have off games, we have a team that can survive and win, despite that.

 

[Husky25]

If the game is on the line late, who is on the court? Who takes the shot?

Sanogo, Karaban, Jackson, Hawkins and Calcaterra.

Hawkins, Calcaterra, or Karaban, in that order, take the last shot.

 

[Chief00]

Pretty hilarious that we have ID all the issues, while we destroy everyone in our path. The biggest difference I see in this team vs most of UCONN teams of the recent past, we are the big boys on the block now. No team in college basketball can match up with our physicality. NOBODY. This puts us way ahead everyone from the get go.
We know college kids are going to have off games, we have a team that can survive and win, despite that.

That’s any excellent point. Physicality and good Bigs.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

With our current roster construction, player skill sets, and offensive strategies/sets, we just do not need a “traditional PG”

I repeat: WE. DO. NOT. NEED. A. TRUE. PG.

Enjoy the ride. This is the best UConn BB we’ve seen in nearly a decade.

 

[Icehawk]

1. How did Todd Golden avoid getting T'ed up?

No freakin' clue. I was 100% sure it was going to be called. These were definitely home town refs, 9 vs 28 FTs? Didn't matter

 

[Deadrody]

Shrugs, it’s the byproduct of a 15 minute limit on editing.

Which is, of course, entirely pointless.

 

[HuskyCLT]

The 15 TOs need to be cut, but it is tough to complain about much when they still win by 21. They completely controlled Florida from the tip and the game was never in question.

The only other negative I saw last night was the amount of times Jimmy Dykes said "ball." Definitely a good showing by the team when I start to take note of what the announcers are saying.

 

[PAHusky]

Completely unrelated to all of this but I sat next to Boeheim at Smith and Wollensky last night while I watched the game on my phone. Didn't catch him picking his nose but don't doubt that he did. Felt good for the mojo and turned out ok for the team.

 

[Scrutineer]

The key this year is if Adama has the recognition to pass the ball out to the shooter, while the double is coming but hasn’t arrived yet.

Part of the equation is the shooters have to keep working to get in position to be open on the switches.

 

[bendm]

there is still a role for Newton on this team -- I think we should take the main distributor role off his plate and let him concetrate on scoring by getting to the hoop and drawing FTs, his biggest strength

agree on the first part. slightly concerned about the second part.

i thought the last play of the second half was a perfect example/opportunity for TN to attack the paint and get fouled but he dumps it off to a guy around the hoop not necessarily in scoring position and time runs out. he hasnt attempted a FT in the past 2 games now. idk what the problem is.

 

[Vancat]

Chief loves the Casual Fan, who lives to be offended or “affronted”. Whatever gets you through life I guess. Always do my best, but invariably when you pick something up hours later, you quickly see a mistake/typo that wasn’t apparent before. The edit window doesn’t allow it to be changed at that point.

Aw Chief, you were doin' so good.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Completely unrelated to all of this but I sat next to Boeheim at Smith and Wollensky last night while I watched the game on my phone. Didn't catch him picking his nose but don't doubt that he did. Felt good for the mojo and turned out ok for the team.

at Smith and Wollensky last night

humble brag.
did you have the horseradish sauce? outstanding!

 

[PAHusky]

at Smith and Wollensky last night

humble brag.
did you have the horseradish sauce? outstanding!

Took the wife for our annual Christmas dinner. Had to do it early this year with a little one at home now. Had never been before but thought the food was a solid 8/10 but the wait/service/ambience was a bit lower. No horseradish sauce, should have come here first for recs.

I recognized Jimmy B right away and asked my wife to confirm and she of course had no idea who he was. She did see a gigantic ring on his wife's finger though, so she googled his wife of all things and gave my hunch the nod.

 

[Husky25]

I’m hoping Johnson comes back from his injury sooner than later because we need more depth in the front court. Karaban, Sanogo and Clingan each picked up 2 fouls in the first half.
Donovan was inserted back in with 1 foul after Adama picked up his second foul with 5 or 6 minutes remaining in the half. He proceeded to pick up his second foul within a minute and remained in the game. Luckily, Donovan did not pick up a third foul before the half ended.

With league play coming up there will be tough, physical games where we need another big to give up fouls and spell Adama and Donovan.

UConn is fully capable this season to execute Hurley's preferred (so I hear) 1 in-4 out offense. I understand what you are saying on the defensive end, when they play a more disciplined front court. Florida being undisciplined helped mask UConn's lack of length.

 

[Frank06830]

 

[TXHuskyFan]

at Smith and Wollensky last night

humble brag.
did you have the horseradish sauce? outstanding!

Humble brag. Knows that the horse radish sauce is worth having at Smith and Wollensky!

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Humble brag. Knows that the horse radish sauce is worth having at Smith and Wollensky!

once went on a ribeye spirit journey with a pal over the course of around one year. literally, planes, trains, and automobiles. i think metro nyc had aboot 5 places on our list.
like i said, 'planes, trains, and automobiles.' that Tampa place felt like a mob hit would go down at any moment. anyway,
pro tip. Texas, Oklahoma, and Kali Central Valley, are some kind of steak heaven. u can throw a rock there and hit a place that should have like 10 stars. apparently, people around my way don't get out very much. sumone should tell the new yak times that it's a big country.
and for dessert, sir? steak tartare!
and to drink, sir? meatballs! (got this one from homer simpson. lol)
my pal would answer the q 'and how would u like ur steak, sir?'
'walking.' every single time. imma 'black and blue' type of ribeye chomper.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Nice game summary Chief. Agree regarding your point about our big man play. Is this the best 1-2 punch we’ve ever had out of the five? Emeka was an amazing dominant player, but the combination of Sanogo and Clingan is inventing and so hard to defend. I have to believe that banging away against each other at practice is making each of them into Into better players.

Jackson going 2-5 from deep is so impactful. How often have we said the Jackson just needs to be good enough from three to force people to guard him. He delivered that last night. His athleticism and court vision allows him to impact the game without scoring, but hitting the open three makes people guard him out to the line, opening up the paint. I love to see him drive by defenders and take it to the hole more.

This x x is a fun team to watch. As long as they keep up the same intensity and focus we are going to be incredibly tough to beat.

Is it the best two we've had? On the offensive end, I think so. We've had teams with multiple good bigs.

What I think is so unique is having these two guys in an era when many college teams don't really have one. Or have a quality 4 playing the 5. Watching the NBA, you see the whole small ball era is shifting again. As with any sport, at some point, if nobody has true centers, anybody who does can exploit that. We have two. Cisse was a legit big, and OSU gave us the most trouble as a result. Castleton is a nice player, but he's a tall 4, more like Johnson. Sanogo and Clingan wouldn't look like this against Ewing or Olajuwon.

Obviously we have quality players all over, and lots of depth. I think the real key is our ability to defend with so much intensity for 40 minutes, and get scoring from many different sources.

 

[August_West]

The 15 TOs need to be cut, but it is tough to complain about much when they still win by 21. They completely controlled Florida from the tip and the game was never in question.

The only other negative I saw last night was the amount of times Jimmy Dykes said "ball." Definitely a good showing by the team when I start to take note of what the announcers are saying.

I dont like Jimmy Dykes. He was very complimentary of us last night, which is appreciated but he is a southern idiot (I dont like those people) , I would take Bill Walton every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Sorry for partying.