Chief’s Briefs - FSU Edition

[Chin Diesel]

Be careful using the term 'hero ball'. I used the term in another thread and my b-ball knowledge was criticized by one of the savants on this board, one who can do and say no wrong.

I used it several times in the chat today and "hero ball" was on full display on multiple occasions today.

Too many times players took it to the rim without a game plan, took quick jumpers without working the ball or making the defense work and players taking shots outside their areas of strength.

 

[jorge34]

Agree with this. I don't get these people saying we're better than FSU and should beat them handily. Not based on what I saw. Men against boys.

And Chief nailed it - as he always does - on the ball screen defense. They ______ killed us all night - we looked like we'd never worked on defending screens before. The entire half court was wide open for them, we were chasing the ball all night.

I suppose you can at least say we seem to have ditched the habit of losing to teams we should beat. Now they've gotta work on beating the teams that are better than them.

And considering all that, if they shoot better from the FA line and hit just a couple of the wide open 3’s, it’s a different game.

I think they are close....if they can clean up the turnovers and lapses in defense

 

[Huskybass]

I agree with everything you said except the "men against boys" part. I believe UConn has proven they belong on the same floor with some of the top teams in the country. The Huskies never stopped fighting tonight and actually gave themselves a chance to win or put the game in overtime, cutting it to 5 with a minute left. The only game they were handily defeated was against Iowa.

Sorry, but the Men Against Boys quote is accurate. Their power forward played strong and mature, he made winning plays. Our guys aren't there yet. Some may never get there. Its simply the truth.

With roster turnover, great recruits and player development Hurley will have us a Top 25 team in a year or two. His approach is great, the talent just hasnt developed yet or is waiting to arrive. A couple examples:
Gilbert has all the skills. His biggest area for growth is decision making. That will come in time.

Polley: Nice offensive player, but really needs to work on his defense and rebounding, otherwise he doesnt provide much net advantage over his opponent.

Josh: Looks all conference against mid majors, but not effective yet against the big boys. But he is skilled, and I am hopeful that by next season he is a 12 and 7 type guy, even against legit front lines.

There are 3 examples of guys who havent quite matured yet. Then there is Sid. We are seeing flashes, but not the impact player some expected. The kid only has a handful of games under his belt and is still looking for his fit on the team. Once he acclimates, I fully believe he will be an impact player.

 

[Chief00]

He's 25-33 for the season. Above 75%. I'd really like my starting PG to in the mid 80's or better percentage wise since they should be handling the ball with close leads. He's been solid overall.

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I agree. Again, I am a Gilbert fan and think if he can clean up a few things he can really be something. He just needs to concentrate better on his first foul shot - maybe get more of a routine. That and not over penetrating would go a long ways. He has good depth on his threes because he gets a lot of elevation into his shot.

 

[Chief00]

Sorry, but the Men Against Boys quote is accurate. Their power forward played strong and mature, he made winning plays. Our guys aren't there yet. Some may never get there. Its simply the truth.

With roster turnover, great recruits and player development Hurley will have us a Top 25 team in a year or two. His approach is great, the talent just hasnt developed yet or is waiting to arrive. A couple examples:
Gilbert has all the skills. His biggest area for growth is decision making. That will come in time.

Polley: Nice offensive player, but really needs to work on his defense and rebounding, otherwise he doesnt provide much net advantage over his opponent.

Josh: Looks all conference against mid majors, but not effective yet against the big boys. But he is skilled, and I am hopeful that by next season he is a 12 and 7 type guy, even against legit front lines.

There are 3 examples of guys who havent quite matured yet. Then there is Sid. We are seeing flashes, but not the impact player some expected. The kid only has a handful of games under his belt and is still looking for his fit on the team. Once he acclimates, I fully believe he will be an impact player.

Good analysis and it was man against boy upfront tonight. On Sid to be impact player - he needs to get stronger and tighten his game. Eliminate careless turnovers and make them pay at the line.

 

[jorge34]

On Sid to be impact player - he needs to get stronger and tighten his game. Eliminate careless turnovers and make them pay at the line.

By mid January this kid will be a much different player. He’s has skill

 

[Jaker]

In big games the offense has been terrible so far.

 

[jorge34]

In big games the offense has been terrible so far.

It’s early. FSU is a senior laden team coming off elite 8 appearance.

And they didn’t look so hot either on offense

 

[Okafour rings]

By mid January this kid will be a much different player. He’s has skill

It's just not going to happen that fast. Probably looking at next season.

 

[jorge34]

It's just not going to happen that fast. Probably looking at next season.

I will agree to disagree

 

[UconnU]

Weird game. So many fouls and stoppages that the game just didn’t seem to flow right. It also seemed like they were playing on ice, It was way too slippery out there.

 

[FlakeyFoont]

"Entirely too many and a bad habit needs to be unlearned in real time. Something needs to get their attention."

Sid, listen up.

"Another point is part of the dumb fouls I mentioned is leaving our feet and reaching on 1x1 defense when we should be playing vertical defense."

Tyler, listen up.

 

[Travelman6]

Probably is just coach speak but Leonard Hamilton just said in his press conference that Uconn is a tournament team in his eyes.

Let's ignore the metrics or whatever for a moment, using the eye test they are a top 50 team right now, no doubt, a very flawed one but by the end of the year they will be top 40 which would get them in I am sure...or be one of the last ones out. Not quite there yet but starting next year we can start to get excited about nice sweet 16btpe runs being possible again

 

[Baltic]

Josh certainly did not have a good game, but having been ejected early in the second half with his second arm bar call didn’t help the situation.

 

[UconnU]

Josh certainly did not have a good game, but having been ejected early in the second half with his second arm bar call didn’t help the situation.

He was ejected from the game? I missed that part.

 

[BlueDogs]

They played well in the opening 10, good enough for the next 6, and reverted to no execution KO ball the last 4. Came out offensively flat in the second half, lost their concentration, and that was that. Winning mindsets and competitive will remain to be developed. Critical 3s were missed that could have changed the complexion of the game, especially going into and out of the half. It’s going to take more than 10 games to shake off losing habits that bite you in the rear ended. Jalen still hasn’t found the competitive steel to hit the shots when they count the most. Not all baskets are equal.

 

[Excalibur]

Be careful using the term 'hero ball'. I used the term in another thread and my b-ball knowledge was criticized by one of the savants on this board, one who can do and say no wrong.

Can’t help being a child, I see. What happened to that thread, anyway?

 

[husky429]

He was ejected from the game? I missed that part.

I believe you aren't allowed back in the game, but can stay on the bench after two flagrant 1s. A flagrant 2 gets you in the locker room.

 

[Scrutineer]

They played well in the opening 10, good enough for the next 6, and reverted to no execution KO ball the last 4. Came out offensively flat in the second half, lost their concentration, and that was that. Winning mindsets and competitive will remain to be developed. Critical 3s were missed that could have changed the complexion of the game, especially going into and out of the half. It’s going to take more than 10 games to shake off losing habits that bite you in the rear ended. Jalen still hasn’t found the competitive steel to hit the shots when they count the most. Not all baskets are equal.

Last week I mentioned how Shamorie Ponds carried St. John's in a big game and today watched Myles Powell dominate in the second half to lead Seton Hall (of all teams) over Kentucky. If Jalen showed leadership and had games like that we'd have at most one loss.
Let's face it, he hasn't shown he can consistently play at a high level...........yet. Let us pray.

 

[Walker11]

I believe you aren't allowed back in the game, but can stay on the bench after two flagrant 1s. A flagrant 2 gets you in the locker room.

Am I the crazy one? Didn't Carlton have one flagrant? The first was on FSU. Were there 4 total and I somehow missed one? My stream did go out for 1 minute and this would make sense.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Just got back from the game and it only took 20 minuets as Route 21 empty. That may have been the highlight.

Overall, an ugly game. UConn could have won; but, did not. The refs went insane as there were technical to start-off each half within the first 2 minutes. May kept both teams from having any rhythm. Also, if the Refs are going to have a bad game, it has to be consistently bad for both teams. For example, their big guy,
Koumadje, had length and a soft FT touch (was he shooting downhill); but, he's horrible on the boards (not strong enough) and has horrible footwork. He did not set his feet on a single pick and as always moving. He could have picked-up 5 fouls in the 1st half on that move alone.

Anyway, some issues for UConn:

• They lost because of their shooting, 38% FG, 33% 3-Point, 79% FT and most of those numbers went-up at at the end of the second half. when it was too late. There was a stretch for 6 or so minutes in early in the second where they could not buy a basket.
• Florida St was noticeably taller, which seemed to impact the shooting % more than the rebounds/blocks as those were event
• With about 10 minutes left, Koumadje and Kabengele both had 4 fouls. UConn needed to drive to the rim , take shots and force the Refs make the call. They did not do that enough, even when one of Florida St.'s top guards, Forrest, picked-up his 4th with about 5 minutes left.

 

[Madmannsucks]

seems the team stopped sharing the ball on offence for a bit(which is becoming a trend)and missed a lot of easy shots. FSU is a better team.....but IMO, not by leaps and bounds.

 

[UconnU]

Scary that Florida state was playing without their 6’9 240 pound power forward who led their team in scoring last year lol. That team was gigantic, we were giving up 3 inches at every position.

 

[AdamaNation]

It's just not going to happen that fast. Probably looking at next season.

One cup if Kofi can change it

 

[AdamaNation]

Chief,

You hit on two of the biggest problems I noticed tonight as well. Free throws and going under screens. It was infuriating watching the defense on every screen up top. I understand the hedging philosophy that Coach Hurley preaches, but those were ineffective or non-existent on far too many screens tonight. I’ll also never comprehend how some pure “shooters” (read Gilbert and Wilson) regularly miss free throws.

Enjoyed the analysis once again and was very proud of the fight the team displayed in the last 4 minutes. Thought Hurley should have worked for the technical earlier in the half though.

All the defensive woes with hedging and topping screens will drop significantly with Akok, and even more so,with a true swatting big anchoring the d.