Chief’s Briefs - Georgetown Edition

[Palatine]

Whose the Big E?

Hurley has called Eric Reibe "Big E" on occasion. I think it is because he is 7 feet tall and his name beginis with E.

BTW, he is very active on the high hedge

 

[Cornhusky]

Now that we have empirical evidence our bench was weaker than some thought, there’s less wisdom highly valuing our rotations.

Regardless of a deep bench or not, subbing at or around the 4 minute mark is too quick.

 

[Glastonhusky]

This is a difficult Brief to write. The reality was it was a close game, and Georgetown arguably slightly outplayed us the second half. We are a team that somehow knows how to win games but too often doesn’t play with the dominance we had hoped we had.

First, I love it when Karaban plays a tight effective game, rather than try to be a high shot volume scorer. Tonight he had 18 points, shot 63%, including 4-6 from 3pt. He went 4-4 from the line, including two key foul shots late. He also had 3 rebounds and 2 steals. While doing all that, he became the player, who won the most games in UConn history.

Solo Ball was our high shot volume scorer tonight, also hitting some key shots. He led the team with 20 points, shooting 41% FG (7-17) and 33% from 3pt. While their approaches were different, we needed both Alex and Solo’s end results. Solo also contributed 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Reed had 5 fouls,1 rebound and 4 points tonight in 18 minutes. His fouls came from poor decisions but also from the high hedge putting him in a position to fail. When our opponent misses 31 FG shots and 8 FTs and our center gets just one rebound - you know it would be a long night. Thankfully Reibe was the one productive guy off our bench with 10 points (5-7) but still only 2 rebounds.

What concerns me, despite our wins is we have not fixed many of our problems this season and its mid February:
1) An inability to inbound the ball nearly cost us the game tonight.
2) Our coaching staff seems to be in denial regarding that many of our opponents now have the book on exploiting our high hedge defense. If we can’t fix it, we need to at least give our opponents other looks.
3) I always say preseason depth, as reported in the media, most often is overrated. Absent Reibe, our bench contributed very little tonight.
4) Demary had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. He shot 50% from FG and 90% from FT (9-10). Exactly the type of foul shooting you want from your point guard late in the game. Smith was quiet tonight but we will need him too. How does that happen?
5) The crowd could have been better tonight, but I sympathize with many who had to make adjustments to watch a 8pm game on Valentine’s Day. Again, a schedule will never be perfect but we hopefully also address some lessons learned for future seasons so our team gets the support they deserve.

I wasn't sure fouling up 3 with 12 seconds left was the right call. If the kid made them both we would be up 1 and have to inbound the ball and who knows what would have happened. Glad it worked out.

 

[AllHusky]

That was a very contrived and made up celebration/event.

And Fanta just drew attention to it. That microphone should never be in his hands.

 

[Old Man UConn]

So agree on Point 2 the high hedge. We do not need all the time and Reed lacks athletic ability to play it, the reasons for the fouls.
We HAVE no depth, Stewart for whatever reason has lot the coaches faith. e has such a promising freshmen year. Ross is up and down and we are short a second point. Smith is not that but he can play off the ball.
Another point is the fight, i mean a fight, in the t. Johns and PC game. #31 of the friars should be thrown off the PC team for what could be called assault and battery. That was not a good look for the league and the officiating let it get away from them. Not shocked.

 

[AllHusky]

So agree on Point 2 the high hedge. We do not need all the time and Reed lacks athletic ability to play it, the reasons for the fouls.
We HAVE no depth, Stewart for whatever reason has lot the coaches faith. e has such a promising freshmen year. Ross is up and down and we are short a second point. Smith is not that but he can play off the ball.
Another point is the fight, i mean a fight, in the t. Johns and PC game. #31 of the friars should be thrown off the PC team for what could be called assault and battery. That was not a good look for the league and the officiating let it get away from them. Not shocked.

Probably a perfect time for AD Dave and Hurley to double down on officiating issues and complaints

 

[HuskiesFourLife]

Whose the Big E?

Hurley often refers to him as Big E

 

[Vancat]

"Fans" leaving while Karaban was getting honored postgame was absolute blasphemy. Show some damn respect to the winningest player in UConn HISTORY.

We honestly didn’t hear that was happening.

 

[Fan1978]

This is a difficult Brief to write. The reality was it was a close game, and Georgetown arguably slightly outplayed us the second half. We are a team that somehow knows how to win games but too often doesn’t play with the dominance we had hoped we had.

First, I love it when Karaban plays a tight effective game, rather than try to be a high shot volume scorer. Tonight he had 18 points, shot 63%, including 4-6 from 3pt. He went 4-4 from the line, including two key foul shots late. He also had 3 rebounds and 2 steals. While doing all that, he became the player, who won the most games in UConn history.

Solo Ball was our high shot volume scorer tonight, also hitting some key shots. He led the team with 20 points, shooting 41% FG (7-17) and 33% from 3pt. While their approaches were different, we needed both Alex and Solo’s end results. Solo also contributed 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Reed had 5 fouls,1 rebound and 4 points tonight in 18 minutes. His fouls came from poor decisions but also from the high hedge putting him in a position to fail. When our opponent misses 31 FG shots and 8 FTs and our center gets just one rebound - you know it would be a long night. Thankfully Reibe was the one productive guy off our bench with 10 points (5-7) but still only 2 rebounds.

What concerns me, despite our wins is we have not fixed many of our problems this season and its mid February:
1) An inability to inbound the ball nearly cost us the game tonight.
2) Our coaching staff seems to be in denial regarding that many of our opponents now have the book on exploiting our high hedge defense. If we can’t fix it, we need to at least give our opponents other looks.
3) I always say preseason depth, as reported in the media, most often is overrated. Absent Reibe, our bench contributed very little tonight.
4) Demary had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. He shot 50% from FG and 90% from FT (9-10). Exactly the type of foul shooting you want from your point guard late in the game. Smith was quiet tonight but we will need him too. How does that happen?
5) The crowd could have been better tonight, but I sympathize with many who had to make adjustments to watch a 8pm game on Valentine’s Day. Again, a schedule will never be perfect but we hopefully also address some lessons learned for future seasons so our team gets the support they deserve.

Chief where are the backdoor cuts on offense. Karaban is the only cutter. Should be readily available for solo and mullins. We simply need more easy buckets and would lead to better 3 point looks.

 

[Ricker]

My expectations from this team were much higher in December than they are now. My expectation of a sweet 16, and solid probability of a final four have now morphed into just a fan's delusional hope.

I cringe every time we have to inbound the ball after a made basket. I think that is our real Achilles heal in a close game vs quick guards. Reed made himself a big target 1 time and made the entry pass easy, but if he had then got fouled that would have been as good as a turnover. Nothing happens in the first 2-3 seconds inbounding the ball. Our players don't even look at Alex until he has held the ball for a couple seconds.

In end of game situations we need a center that can make a foul shot. Fouling Reed or Reibe for a 1 and 1 is a winning play for the opponents.

Against Georgetown Reed didn't get the ball 4 dribbles from the hoop and force the issue to a turnover. I hope that was a purposeful avoidance of an obvious failing idea.

Hurley complains about Reed with 1 rebound and Reibe with 2, and says Donovan never had those types of games. Clingan was a bigger talent, but maybe, just maybe, playing more drop coverage would have them at the rim when our guards get beat, and, have them in better rebounding position. Just sayin Donovan came out on a shooter like Kalkbrenner but played in the paint more.

 

[Cheddie]

Reed is not quick enough to be that far out and recover. On top of that he reaches in and fouls out there. The offense gets easy layups or to the line and Reed is out of position for rebounds. But our staff keeps having him do it rather than playing near and protecting the rim.

Yes! "he reaches in and fouls out there"

 

[Seamus84]

Just watched the replay and come away with a much less pessimistic take. Yes, Tarris struggled to get in the flow (and his foul at the end was head-scratching), Lewis exploited Solo (in 1st half, adjustments made in the 2nd) and the bench was once again frustratingly non-existent. But, we took control late in the first half and were up 14 at the 15-minute mark of the 2nd. From then on, this was an 8-10 point lead and every time we were about to extend GT (Mulready and Mack) made a tough (or at least out of character) 3 to keep it relatively close. Btw, GT took a lot of 3s which made for long rebounds and contributed to the lack of rebounding by our bigs.

My point is that I was prepared to see us regressing to mid-November form and objectively didn’t see us as playing that poorly. Our leaders (Solo, AK and SD) kept their composure and GT played better than their record and we came away with a typical BE conference win.

Btw, I also listened to Dan Hurley’s post-game presser and was expecting Gampel to be a morgue. On TV at least, the crowd seemed like a sell-out and sounded loud. Bring in Creighton.

 

[DMIL]

If ever the year to stay happy with the wins, reserve judgement. Is this team 2006 UConn or 2023? They feel flat and missing something right now, but also in a position where it feels rare that all players play to their potential in a given game. There is nothing about them visually that offers you the confidence of a title contender, but they are 24-2 and beat 3 teams widely considered title contenders early in the year, barely lost to a 4th down two men. The story will be written on this team in March.

So who are we?

2006 established themselves as a top team early, top 4 all year, won the Maui. Their flaws were exposed as the year developed. Once they hit March, they were a pumpkin.

2023 established themselves early, hit a rough patch in January then peaked when it mattered and went on what was the most dominant tourney run in Uconn history at the time.

I'm not sure where this team goes, but I suppose that's the fun of it.

It's leaning towards the 2006 squad in the way that it feels. There was something off with that team despite the immense talent and it was exposed several times in the tournament.

The 2006 squad did flash more against weak opponents. However, against a well coached team their defensive weaknesses were exploited and at times that team was lathargic, lacking a killer instinct.

Moving forward, I think the staff has an opportunity to put Reed in a position to be more successful in not asking him to do things he is not good and or lacks the most discipline. He excels at Bullyball. Let him and keep him closer to the paint.

I also think that having Ball and Mullins playing at the same time creates a natural imbalance with the offense based on the strengths of the starting 5 and weakens the team further defensively. It's a quagmire indeed to ask either one of them to come off of the bench in more of a 6 man role. However, I think this approach could stabilize our bench and improve our overall balance across our line ups. The team will not be able to count on meaningful offensive production from Ross or Stuart this year. Anything we get from them will need to be considered a bonus. Defensively, the both add some value.

 

[HooperScooper]

Hurley has called Eric Reibe "Big E" on occasion. I think it is because he is 7 feet tall and his name beginis with E.

BTW, he is very active on the high hedge

Elvin Hayes is the original Big E. I think that is what Hurley is alluding to using the nickname for Reibe.

Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma materHouston Cougars.

Elvin Hayes - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RuffRuff]

It's leaning towards the 2006 squad in the way that it feels. There was something off with that team despite the immense talent and it was exposed several times in the tournament.

The 2006 squad did flash more against weak opponents. However, against a well coached team their defensive weaknesses were exploited and at times that team was lathargic, lacking a killer instinct.

Moving forward, I think the staff has an opportunity to put Reed in a position to be more successful in not asking him to do things he is not good and or lacks the most discipline. He excels at Bullyball. Let him and keep him closer to the paint.

I also think that having Ball and Mullins playing at the same time creates a natural imbalance with the offense based on the strengths of the starting 5 and weakens the team further defensively. It's a quagmire indeed to ask either one of them to come off of the bench in more of a 6 man role. However, I think this approach could stabilize our bench and improve our overall balance across our line ups. The team will not be able to count on meaningful offensive production from Ross or Stuart this year. Anything we get from them will need to be considered a bonus. Defensively, the both add some value.

Really good points.

I feel it's hard to know which way they lean, as still too many variables in the air. I also think about about kids like AK, anyone that has been on the two NC's. Are these the dog days of the season for them?

Your last point I've thought back as far as two months ago.

As of right now, while they haven't looked great, they've generally accomplished exactly what you would hope - control destiny to a 1 seed. From there, it's all about which version of them shows up.

 

[DMIL]

Really good points.

I feel it's hard to know which way they lean, as still too many variables in the air. I also think about about kids like AK, anyone that has been on the two NC's. Are these the dog days of the season for them?

Your last point I've thought back as far as two months ago.

As of right now, while they haven't looked great, they've generally accomplished exactly what you would hope - control destiny to a 1 seed. From there, it's all about which version of them shows up.

They certainly aren't bulletproof, despite the potential remaining. I don't think they have to be. With Demary ascending, he gives us our best shot in the tournament to achieve our ultimate goal. I do think it's important to be honest about what we are 👀. Hurley's words in the post game conference was telling. There were some alarms and acknowledgement that the team is not playing championship level basketball.

 

[Edward Sargent]

It was an event that was only happening if UConn won. Better to have it before or during a stoppage of play at the next game. Fans last night weren’t great but nor did UConn set the table well. A 8pm game on Valentine’s Day did not make many fans attending the game - a very popular guy in their house. Then add on another event after the game at a moments notice, when we won in the last seconds is a stretch. It is easy for those in their living room, who don’t have to deal with the above, parking and traffic - to lecture others who make the trip to Storrs. But, the university needs to look in the mirror too.

Well if your date doesn’t find UConn games romantic enough you should question whether she’s marryin’ material😂

 

[sdglast]

Just watched the replay and come away with a much less pessimistic take. Yes, Tarris struggled to get in the flow (and his foul at the end was head-scratching), Lewis exploited Solo (in 1st half, adjustments made in the 2nd) and the bench was once again frustratingly non-existent. But, we took control late in the first half and were up 14 at the 15-minute mark of the 2nd. From then on, this was an 8-10 point lead and every time we were about to extend GT (Mulready and Mack) made a tough (or at least out of character) 3 to keep it relatively close. Btw, GT took a lot of 3s which made for long rebounds and contributed to the lack of rebounding by our bigs.

My point is that I was prepared to see us regressing to mid-November form and objectively didn’t see us as playing that poorly. Our leaders (Solo, AK and SD) kept their composure and GT played better than their record and we came away with a typical BE conference win.

Btw, I also listened to Dan Hurley’s post-game presser and was expecting Gampel to be a morgue. On TV at least, the crowd seemed like a sell-out and sounded loud. Bring in Creighton.

I think you make a great point....they got up 14, but this was pretty much a 7-10 point game most of the 2nd half. UConn had opportunities to blow it open a bit more, but either couldn't make that one key stop or get that one key basket. As I mentioned in another post, Georgetown was coming off a week off, so they may have been the fresher team coming down the stretch as well. If UConn didn't let this became a game in the last 2 minutes, it would not have been as bad as it felt. Still, they have to improve especially defensively as lately that has been their Achilles heal. They have won the rebound battles the last 2 games even with Reed the Reibe getting 3 rebounds total. I know people are talking about this Georgetown team being a bottom rung Big East team but they can finish 10-10 in the league and likely in 5th place. They have played much better lately. I understand the pessimism from many of the fans, there are absolutely things that need to improve, but I am still bullish on this group.

 

[Edward Sargent]

It's leaning towards the 2006 squad in the way that it feels. There was something off with that team despite the immense talent and it was exposed several times in the tournament.

The 2006 squad did flash more against weak opponents. However, against a well coached team their defensive weaknesses were exploited and at times that team was lathargic, lacking a killer instinct.

Moving forward, I think the staff has an opportunity to put Reed in a position to be more successful in not asking him to do things he is not good and or lacks the most discipline. He excels at Bullyball. Let him and keep him closer to the paint.

I also think that having Ball and Mullins playing at the same time creates a natural imbalance with the offense based on the strengths of the starting 5 and weakens the team further defensively. It's a quagmire indeed to ask either one of them to come off of the bench in more of a 6 man role. However, I think this approach could stabilize our bench and improve our overall balance across our line ups. The team will not be able to count on meaningful offensive production from Ross or Stuart this year. Anything we get from them will need to be considered a bonus. Defensively, the both add some value.

Good points but if Mullins and Solo together are an offensive quagmire and Ross and Stewie don’t give you much in O who replaces Mullins or Solo to correct the quagmire? Malachi?

 

[Excalibur]

Just watched the replay and come away with a much less pessimistic take. Yes, Tarris struggled to get in the flow (and his foul at the end was head-scratching), Lewis exploited Solo (in 1st half, adjustments made in the 2nd) and the bench was once again frustratingly non-existent. But, we took control late in the first half and were up 14 at the 15-minute mark of the 2nd. From then on, this was an 8-10 point lead and every time we were about to extend GT (Mulready and Mack) made a tough (or at least out of character) 3 to keep it relatively close. Btw, GT took a lot of 3s which made for long rebounds and contributed to the lack of rebounding by our bigs.

My point is that I was prepared to see us regressing to mid-November form and objectively didn’t see us as playing that poorly. Our leaders (Solo, AK and SD) kept their composure and GT played better than their record and we came away with a typical BE conference win.

Btw, I also listened to Dan Hurley’s post-game presser and was expecting Gampel to be a morgue. On TV at least, the crowd seemed like a sell-out and sounded loud. Bring in Creighton.

There were long stretches of solid play, but the bad stretches are impressively bad.

 

[DMIL]

Good points but if Mullins and Solo together are an offensive quagmire and Ross and Stewie don’t give you much in O who replaces Mullins or Solo to correct the quagmire? Malachi?

It's about the offensive balance, the inside, outside game, the proper spacing on the perimeter and knowing who should be taking what shot and where at the right time. Often, there is too much overlap which impacts spacing and can create un-needed redundancy around who should be taking the shot. We've seen this often by this team when passing up a great or good shot for ultimately a worse contested shot. That's the confusion that I'm referring to.

Reed, Silas, Alex, Ball or Mullins and Ross or Stewey as your starters. You trade in offensive fire power for more offensive balance, length and defense.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

"Fans" leaving while Karaban was getting honored postgame was absolute blasphemy. Show some damn respect to the winningest player in UConn HISTORY.

Shoulda done a small ceremony the next pre-game. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a post game celebration for an individual achievement of that magnitude. Who on earth plans this stuff?

 

[boog204]

And Fanta just drew attention to it. That microphone should never be in his hands.

It is absolutely baffling that anyone enjoys his play by play. He’s yelling 1/2 the time, and when he is not, he’s a cornball. On top of it, he just lets Donny go on and on about nothing. It’s just terrible, mutable broadcast. The best part of last nights broadcast was Hash and JC and you couldn’t understand what either were saying.

 

[RitzLuce1]

Btw, I also listened to Dan Hurley’s post-game presser and was expecting Gampel to be a morgue. On TV at least, the crowd seemed like a sell-out and sounded loud. Bring in Creighton.

It was. This was reinforced by numerous people at the game on the spaces. Yes some rows in the overflow student section were empty. Who cares. How did this become a thing? Well yes Cooley is a troll and Dan took the bait. But Calhoun's grandson made a big deal about it on X and than asked Dan about it in the postgame. Driving the story. But hey it's distracting everyone so I guess it worked.

 

[imno1]

It is absolutely baffling that anyone enjoys his play by play. He’s yelling 1/2 the time, and when he is not, he’s a cornball. On top of it, he just lets Donny go on and on about nothing. It’s just terrible, mutable broadcast. The best part of last nights broadcast was Hash and JC and you couldn’t understand what either were saying.

The team, staff, refs, fans and announcers have all been criticized. Can we get to the band next