Chief’s Briefs - Florida Edition

[Chief00]

A big win on a big national stage. We played hard and we played well. We still need to cleanup the first half undiscipline fouls that put us in an early penalty, mess up our rotations due to foul trouble and gave FL 27 foul shot attempts. Despite that, FL did a lot of uncalled grabbing on defense.

Reed came out strong but soon was sent to the bench with foul trouble.
Florida did not take advantage of their 16 offensive rebounds and too often did not convert on their second chances. Reed (5) and Stewart (4) were our top rebounders but we need more. We were outrebounded by 12.

Smith led our team with 9 assists and no one else had more than 2 assists. So the rebounding and assists that usually lead us to victory were not key factors tonight. What won the game was 50% FG and 44% 3PT.

I thought Karaban and Ball hit shots when we needed them most. They combined for 1/3 of our points and scored their 32 points at big moments.
Reed and Mullins combined for 35 minutes but we need them in the game together more to built up the rhythm we will need now that they have returned to the court.

 

[alphasigko]

5 missed FTs, 3 late in the game. Need to tighten that up to be better than 68%.

 

[SwingDog]

What won the game was 50% FG and 44% 3PT.

...and pretty good (but not perfect) free-throw shooting down the stretch.

 

[uconnyankee]

The last two comments sum up everything….

 

[M T Pockets]

Struggling to inbound the ball late in the game still haunts this team

 

[dogpause]

It's a bit scary to see us get out-rebounded by such a wide margin, but comforting to know we could still win.

 

[Chief00]

Struggling to inbound the ball late in the game still haunts this team

I agree, we are very defensive and not in the attack mode when we inbound under pressure. Why do we end up with the ball in a corner trapped by two players?
We need to get the ball to the middle and look for cutters going downcourt.

 

[Chief00]

It's a bit scary to see us get out-rebounded by such a wide margin, but comforting to know we could still win.

For a team that has all kinds of other depth, we lack a true muscle power forward. We miss having that. Additionally, the high hedge taking up Bigs fouls 25 feet away from the basket trying to steal the ball from a guard adds to the challenge.

 

[djct1999]

We won this game on pure will and grit. Execution wise wasn’t great but still good enough to beat what I think will be a top 10 team. This team is scary good now with room to be exponentially better in two months. If that happens, this may be the best UConn team ever.
Think about it. We got Silas as a total non factor. Mullins had an effective 5-7 min stretch and Tarris at 75%.

 

[alphasigko]

For a team that has all kinds of other depth, we lack a true muscle power forward. We miss having that. Additional the high hedge taking up Bigs fouls 25 feet away from the basket trying to steal the ball from a guard adds to the challenge.

Like Tate of UofA

 

[Chief00]

5 missed FTs, 3 late in the game. Need to tighten that up to be better than 68%.

Stewart and Demary 2-3, Ball 4-6 and Smith 1-2. Our best foul shooter was Reed 2-2.
Alex played 39 minutes and did not get to the line. His 3-5 from three was key though.

 

[Chief00]

We won this game on pure will and grit. Execution wise wasn’t great but still good enough to beat what I think will be a top 10 team. This team is scary good now with room to be exponentially better in two months. If that happens, this may be the best UConn team ever.
Think about it. We got Silas as a total non factor. Mullins had an effective 5-7 min stretch and Tarris at 75%.

Assuming they stay healthy getting Reed and Mullins minutes together for longer stretches will be key.
Some will hate me saying this but why is Gampel our most ineffective home court? MSG, TD and PeoplesBank we now seem to play better in.

 

[Cornhusky]

Struggling to inbound the ball late in the game still haunts this team

They need to get the ball in quicker after a make and not allow teams to setup.

 

[my2cents]

Why does it seem late in games do we let teams run up the court in 4/5 seconds and score uncontested lay ups?

 

[Hankster]

We won this game on pure will and grit. Execution wise wasn’t great but still good enough to beat what I think will be a top 10 team. This team is scary good now with room to be exponentially better in two months. If that happens, this may be the best UConn team ever.
Think about it. We got Silas as a total non factor. Mullins had an effective 5-7 min stretch and Tarris at 75%.

Mullins has to be the only player I have ever seen fouled out of a game so fast. Has to be a record. You said Mullins had effective 5-7 minutes? wow!! That is quick.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

My thoughts regarding inbounding.
1) Why not have Karaban on the receiving end? He’s our top FT shooter along with Solo. I understand wanting a good decision maker on the inbound but the off ball movement is more important anyways.
2) Similar to point 1, Ross should not be on the receiving end. He is an important defensive piece but as the last poster mentioned we seem to allow a free layup at will. So how much does Ross’ defensive ability matter in that situation?
3) Need to stretch the floor better on inbounding. 2/3 of the most critical moments last night went to the corner. One was a timeout call, the other a turnover. We have big guards that should be able to receive and turn.

 

[Windham4th]

Why does it seem late in games do we let teams run up the court in 4/5 seconds and score uncontested lay ups?

Because everyone is sitting on 4 fouls at that point haha

 

[Edward Sargent]

Reed really tired in the second half and Reibe definitely needs to get stronger but that is a great one two punch
Mullins was out of control in the first half offensively and defensively. He was taking really bad shots but then settled into a nice mid range run.
Silas I think needs to shoot more to establish his rhythm. Wish he had a little floater in his bag. He'll be fine.
I think we will see Stewie starting for the foreseeable future. He has been a first half player for us all year.
Alex is rounding into form nicely as is Solo. Both are now what they are going to be

 

[Spaceman213J]

Mullins has to be the only player I have ever seen fouled out of a game so fast. Has to be a record. You said Mullins had effective 5-7 minutes? wow!! That is quick.

To be fair, the refs were consistently inconsistent. It seemed like one ref was calling everything on the UConn bench end and the other not so much and the last being a little inconsistent. Why is a hand-check by Mullins a quick whistle and a Florida player grabbing his jersey after Mullin blows by him with the ball a no-call.
He does have to stop reaching in though. During the chat during the game some question why he was on the bench at the 4:00 minute mark. I think Hurley was hoping to have him in during that last minute or so when inbounding the ball was a nightmare.

 

[Spaceman213J]

Solo, Mullins, Smith and Demary (who did a pretty good job) have to stay in front of their man or at least be able to steer the ball handlers away from the front of the rim.
This has a huge impact on rebounding. When bigs have to fight over screens and seals from opponents to help a beaten perimeter defender, they give up good rebounding position in doing so. When you do that against a big & physical team, you're going to have trouble competing on the boards.

Wonder if we have any 2nd halfs with Reed & Reibe not in foul trouble if we will see Hurley let them play together for a few minutes to give Karaban a break. Karaban is tough and battles, but I'm afraid of the wear & tear on his body with the number of minutes he has played and against the competition he has played.

Finally, we need the Malachi of last night's second half. He has been really good at times.

 

[Mr. French]

I agree with everyone saying to keep the ball in the middle…however, there’s another team playing. They’re pushing our guys to the corner and allowing that catch. It’s easier said than done.

 

[Palatine]

Solo, Mullins, Smith and Demary (who did a pretty good job) have to stay in front of their man or at least be able to steer the ball handlers away from the front of the rim.
This has a huge impact on rebounding. When bigs have to fight over screens and seals from opponents to help a beaten perimeter defender, they give up good rebounding position in doing so. When you do that against a big & physical team, you're going to have trouble competing on the boards.

Wonder if we have any 2nd halfs with Reed & Reibe not in foul trouble if we will see Hurley let them play together for a few minutes to give Karaban a break. Karaban is tough and battles, but I'm afraid of the wear & tear on his body with the number of minutes he has played and against the competition he has played.

Finally, we need the Malachi of last night's second half. He has been really good at times.

The players are in their early 20s. You know what they do on their off days. They play basketball.

 

[Excalibur]

For a team that has all kinds of other depth, we lack a true muscle power forward. We miss having that. Additionally, the high hedge taking up Bigs fouls 25 feet away from the basket trying to steal the ball from a guard adds to the challenge.

Literally the opposite is true. When we played drop coverage we gave up a ton of easy penetration, which results in bigs having to help near the basket, which leads to weak side rebounds.

 

[giddyup]

Literally the opposite is true. When we played drop coverage we gave up a ton of easy penetration, which results in bigs having to help near the basket, which leads to weak side rebounds.

we don't have a power forward that is going get up on the boards and make his space. We loose a lot of 50/50 rebounds and get pushed out of position. Reed is the best we have contesting the glass and you saw that guy slowly wind down. There isn’t enough support and he’s being asked to do a lot.

 

[uconnfan68]

Mullins has to be the only player I have ever seen fouled out of a game so fast. Has to be a record. You said Mullins had effective 5-7 minutes? wow!! That is quick.

My freshman hs coach had to pull me out after 4 fouls in 2 minutes. He didn't want me to foul out.