Chief’s Briefs - Georgetown Edition

[dogpause]

I love Jackson, but the "T" was pretty stupid. I would have like to seen Hurley yank him (even if it's just for one possession). Jackson has been there long enough to know any team can get you on any given night in the Big East. You can't kill a potential run beccause you want to chirp a little. He's better than that, and I think he'd be the first to say so. Still, I love what he does on the floor. Another reason why I don't like the T. He needs to be on the floor and you don't want him on the bench of a close game because of foul trouble.
Joey C and Hassan were big as well, and DC was solid.

Andre has been taunting for several games now, I hope he learned a lesson. Love his play, but that needed to be addressed.

 

[Umami Zen]

As Dan Hurley said post-game.. There was a lot of chirping on the floor during the game.. Part of trying to get inside your opponent's head.. Some guys are more enthusiastic than others.. Patrick was one of the best.

 

[Chief00]

Andre has been taunting for several games now, I hope he learned a lesson. Love his play, but that needed to be addressed.

I agree, let your game doing the talking. But, as a Celtics fan, I must admit no one talked smack like LB.

 

[Chief00]

As Dan Hurley said post-game.. There was a lot of chirping on the floor during the game.. Part of trying to get inside your opponent's head.. Some guys are more enthusiastic than others.. Patrick was one of the best.

I think that’s why there use to be the rule no intra conference transfers.

 

[BFieldHusky]

Well, he should talk to two of his senior referee colleagues. When you say Big East official do you mean an actually basketball referee or a paper pusher administrator official ?

Ref.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Chief, you summarized this entire game as concisely as possible. Great job.

Absolutely true that Georgetown can play at our speed. Also, that they made us pay for Adama's hedging. I'm surprised that more teams don't do that, or at least attempt it. This was a good challenge for us. Can't believe Georgetown is 5-9, they're very talented and Ewing did a good job preparing them.

A lot of what Gtown did to make UConn "pay" for the hedging was making 10'-12' midrange J's which many coaches don't like and don't emphasize. Gtown made those shots at a high level last night. I'd take my chances almost every game forcing guards to take mid range J's off the dribble.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree, let your game doing the talking. But, as a Celtics fan, I must admit no one talked smack like LB.

What you can do in the NBA and what you can do in college, especially in this era, definitely not the same.

 

[Palatine]

I have watched a few G'town games this year. They played way over their heads. They usually play fast without purpose or efficiency. Last night they shot their butts off.

The fact we had 5 offensive rebounds was bizarre. Perhaps the Clingan/Sanogo collusion in practice had more affect than suspected.

Hurley has lots to work on.

 

[elmcityboy]

If Georgetown “has guys” why are they so bad? Can someone who has watched a ton of them tell me if Ewing is really that bad?

yeah, it's the defense and the turnovers. just an undisciplined team. think about this -- they didn't MISS A SHOT for the first ~5 minutes of the game (think they went 9 for 9 or something) and they never really had a lead because they gave up wide open looks on the other end.

 

[mussels]

As Dan Hurley said post-game.. There was a lot of chirping on the floor during the game.. Part of trying to get inside your opponent's head.. Some guys are more enthusiastic than others.. Patrick was one of the best.

I’m guessing that’s the case from how we shot on the last possession rather than just letting the clock run out. Not a good look in my opinion (punching down never is), but hopefully they learn.

 

[Chief00]

Maybe, but the game should not be about the refs. BTW, the refs eyes should be on the game on the court, not in the stands.

Well he was walking on the court during the game feeling pretty good, talking trash to opposing players, etc. You don’t think it was appropriate for the ref to eject him? It wasn’t a close call.

 

[Chief00]

Chief, you summarized this entire game as concisely as possible. Great job.

Absolutely true that Georgetown can play at our speed. Also, that they made us pay for Adama's hedging. I'm surprised that more teams don't do that, or at least attempt it. This was a good challenge for us. Can't believe Georgetown is 5-9, they're very talented and Ewing did a good job preparing them.

I see talent on the Georgetown side. Sure some guys shot much better than usual but they surely pass Chief’s eye test for talent.

 

[Husky25]

Whether it is true or not, it's a faulty premise to just assume that the Bouknight incident vs. a different team in a different season had anything to do with last night's officiating. I could understand if an official had an adversarial relationship with a coach (More on that below), but it should not be the team's responsibility to enforce a fan's (former player or otherwise) ejection from the arena. In an NCAA contest, it's the responsibility of arena security. Otherwise, what is to stop fans from being unruly, merely to penalize the opponent? Granted, officials are human and are not immune to holding a grudge, there is no evidence that suggests either tech was not legitimate and some conspiracy of payback for a past unrelated game.

For one thing, Brian O'Connell called the Jackson tech. Not Mike Roberts. Also, while I observed a number of back-and forths between the players, Jackson mugged at the Georgetown bench and probably said a few choice words, right in front of O'Connell. He was jawing after the dunk off of Clingan's hook & lateral as well. My guess is is that the tech was to regain control of this game, after a number of "unsportsmanlike" instances.

Regarding Hurley's tech, it WAS called by Roberts, but again, I don't buy into the far-fetched conspiracy theory mentioned above. Based on Hurley's mic'ed up portion of the under 12:00 minute TVTO of the 1st half ("We're not throwing enough body blows. We're just playing nice with them. We're not getting after them, defensively. We're not catching moves. We're not being disruptive..."), and Gtown going on a 12-2 run to start the 2nd half, Hurley had seen enough. Based on the look on Hurley's face in the immediate aftermath (stoic smirk. Not remotely flipping out), It was purposeful.

By that as it may (and I'm not gonna lie), I didn't think it worked, as GTown extended their lead to 7 in the immediate aftermath. Of course, now that I look at the box score, Hurley must have known that Georgetown has no bench. Their starters all played 30+ and only Mozone had double digit minutes off the bench. They were gassed by the time UConn started their 31-13 run to end the game. GTown went something like 4/21 in the final 11:50.

So getting back to the techs. Nathan Farrell was last night's 3rd official and did the game in February vs. 'Nova when Hurley got tossed for revving up the crowd. I could be mistaken, but it looks like Farrell gave Hurley the 1st tech (according to the YouTube replay). However, according to the recap, the 2nd was assessed by James Breeding (not shown on the replay). Farrell did not assess a technical foul last night.

IMO, every one of UConn's techs this year has been earned on their current "merits (for lack of better term)." I don't think any have been assessed based on reputation.

 

[Husky25]

Maybe, but the game should not be about the refs. BTW, the refs eyes should be on the game on the court, not in the stands.

If a fan interferes with a game in progress, officials have every right to remedy the situation. However, they should call on the game manager (I.e. arena personnel) to enforce the ejection. The game manager is the home coach at levels lower than Div. 1 NCAA basketball.

 

[Excalibur]

i thought that the hedge from sanogo was effective in the first half, georgetown just made insanely difficult one-on-one shots all night. georgetown countered effectively by slipping the screens in the second half and we made an adjustment of our own to end the game.

This is correct. We got beat whether we dropped or hedged, and the idea that the hedge impacted our rebounding is silly. Most of the shots came well after Sanogo had recovered.

Regardless, we're not "high hedging" to an extent anywhere near what we've done in Hurley's previous years. What we do now is somewhere in between that and the show/recover hedging that we did under JC.

 

[elmcityboy]

This is correct. We got beat whether we dropped or hedged, and the idea that the hedge impacted our rebounding is silly. Most of the shots came well after Sanogo had recovered.

Regardless, we're not "high hedging" to an extent anywhere near what we've done in Hurley's previous years. What we do now is somewhere in between that and the show/recover hedging that we did under JC.

we also hedged against butler and basically doubled them up on the boards.

it's ridiculous to criticize our defensive scheme when we are a top-10 defense in the country. last night was an aberration that had more to do with tough shot-making (and, you could argue, maybe effort level) than some schematic breakdown.

 

[Malamute]

If a fan interferes with a game in progress, officials have every right to remedy the situation. However, they should call on the game manager (I.e. arena personnel) to enforce the ejection. The game manager is the home coach at levels lower than Div. 1 NCAA basketball.

Roberts almost tossed a fan last night from the same on court seats Bouk got tossed from. Had a brief conversation with the fan who eventually apologized, but he came close to Rossi g him. Things were at a fever pitch for a moment.

 

[businesslawyer]

Seems like a bit of a narrative-serving stretch. Who knows, but it certainly seems unlikely.

I'm sure it was unacceptable in the eyes of those who reffed that game. That other crews are remembering it a year later? As you said, hard to believe but not impossible.

 

[Husky25]

Roberts almost tossed a fan last night from the same on court seats Bouk got tossed from. Had a brief conversation with the fan who eventually apologized, but he came close to Rossi g him. Things were at a fever pitch for a moment.

IIRC, Bouknight received a warning first, and was tossed after repeatedly disrupting ongoing play. I assume the apologetic fan last night only needed the warning.

I still don't think it has anything to do with either technical, nor result in UConn having a short leash with officials.

 

[Malamute]

IIRC, Bouknight received a warning first, and was tossed after repeatedly disrupting ongoing play. I assume the apologetic fan last night only needed the warning.

I still don't think it has anything to do with either technical, nor result in UConn having a short leash with officials.

I agree. Just pointing out an observation. I will say conduct during the game does have an effect. After the Hurley T you could see the refs huddling during a time out complaining to each other (assume about coach). Human nature to be impatient at that point. Some of these refs take it to a personal level.

 

[Chief00]

This is correct. We got beat whether we dropped or hedged, and the idea that the hedge impacted our rebounding is silly. Most of the shots came well after Sanogo had recovered.

Regardless, we're not "high hedging" to an extent anywhere near what we've done in Hurley's previous years. What we do now is somewhere in between that and the show/recover hedging that we did under JC.

As I said previously when we play full court defense it took the high hedge fiasco off the table - that’s when those problems went away and we took the lead.

 

[Chief00]

IIRC, Bouknight received a warning first, and was tossed after repeatedly disrupting ongoing play. I assume the apologetic fan last night only needed the warning.

I still don't think it has anything to do with either technical, nor result in UConn having a short leash with officials.

It is really a bad look when people in University AD designated seats are behaving like that. Who is selecting these clowns to sit there?

 

[Chief00]

IIRC, Bouknight received a warning first, and was tossed after repeatedly disrupting ongoing play. I assume the apologetic fan last night only needed the warning.

I still don't think it has anything to do with either technical, nor result in UConn having a short leash with officials.

I have a lot of empathy for the woman who was sent down to manage James and his posse buddy, but it was clear when they showed up at Gampel, given their condition, Hurley appeared to want nothing to do with them. I think if you show up obviously in that condition, the school has every right to say, you are not sitting in our 1st row court side seats today.
We need a much more muscular presence to do that and it is unfair to put this woman in that situation. I don’t care what’s in her job description, it is not on her. I am all for having a beer or two or whatever but from the start this went way beyond that.

 

[Chief00]

IIRC, Bouknight received a warning first, and was tossed after repeatedly disrupting ongoing play. I assume the apologetic fan last night only needed the warning.

I still don't think it has anything to do with either technical, nor result in UConn having a short leash with officials.

If the refs feel they have to control the game because building security won’t help if things get out of hand, you get a quicker T whistle. You can make the argument we deserved them and not knowing what was said, I have no opinion on that. But, I also know often they choose not to hear comments, as long as they are not prolong or overly aggressive. Given everything those are the ones that we have greater exposure to now.

 

[CL82]

Guys would give love for Gaffney. Diggins too. Floyd Jr no. Akok def NO.

Why?

 

[CL82]

It is really a bad look when people in University AD designated seats are behaving like that. Who is selecting these clowns to sit there?

I am available to sit there and will enthusiastically cheer for the team while retaining an appropriate level of decorum.

Hit me up Dave!

 

[ctchamps]

If the refs feel they have to control the game because building security won’t help if things get out of hand, you get a quicker T whistle. You can make the argument we deserved them and not knowing what was said, I have no opinion on that. But, I also know often they choose not to hear comments, as long as they are not prolong or overly aggressive. Given everything those are the ones that we have greater exposure to now.

One could make a valid argument that the reputations of Andre (tech in Butler’s game) and the antics of last season by Hurley factored into the technicals in this game if one needs to get into the heads of why refs make their calls.

My beef is with Roberts. His reaction to Diarra after the called foul was every bit as out of control as the reactions he is supposed to control.

 

[Waquoit]

You know things are going good when Chief has to go back to last year to find something to harp on.

 

[Kenny11]

Karaban had a tough night. He needs to work on his body to get much stronger.

It looks like he lost some weight since the season started. That used to happen to me, gaining muscle in the offseason/pre-season and then losing it during the season.

 

[CL82]

You know things are going good when Chief has to go back to last year to find something to harp on.

Or when someone pretends that there’s some thing to complain about a packed Gampel during season break?