Chief’s Briefs - Hartford Edition

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Didn’t he say “inner city rivalry” game?

and he called us "Connecticut State" numerous times

“UConn’s always had great point guards, guys like Ben Gordon”

he spent so much of the game rattling off random UConn players from 20 years ago I felt like I was tailgating with my uncle.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

If we play like this next week we go 0-3.

For all the hype, Cole is not impressing me.
Sanogo is a gem - he is performing above his hype.
Bouk thinks he can just show up and be the man.
Jackson cannot shoot at all.
Gaff needs more minutes and looks - I wouldn't mind if he started at point for a few games.
Whaley is a beast in spurts - let's get him more involved.
Martin can be good.
We need fewer guys getting more minutes, and a more cohesive unit on the floor.

Gaffney 100% needs to run point. Cole probably had the ball in his hands 80% of the time at Howard but this ain’t Howard. He needs to get used to playing off the ball or he shouldn’t play.

 

[Chief00]

Polley will take some time to regain aggression and trust his knee. Also, you lose explosion but also endurance after an ACL. Those take time to rebuild, and rehab alone doesn’t do it. The game 2 nights earlier likely made last night tougher on him than you know. That will improve with PT.

He’s a really solid shooter, be patient.

It happens at the start of every season in the cupcake games. If some posters are to be believe, if someone played well, they are the answer to our issues. If someone played poorly, they should be benched for the season. It is true, we find out information about a player but it’s usually more than one data point.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If our “best on the court tonight” scores 6 points it’s going to be a long season. LOL

This might be the most casual observation I’ve ever read on this board.

 

[Chief00]

This might be the most casual observation I’ve ever read on this board.

At some juncture, you do have to score points to win. You can do everything else well, but if that doesn’t happen you lose.

Jim Calhoun use to say, other than inbounds plays, Red Auerbach just ran six offensive plays (admittedly with multiple options which the offense selects based on how the defense reacts). In short, at its heart, it’s a simple game.

 

[Chief00]

Just wanted to mention I don’t think Danny chose the word “immature” by accident. Notice he did not keep saying “inexperience” or some other word. To be a leader you need a certain amount of maturity, which goes beyond the court into the locker room and beyond. CV became that guy the second half of last season.

 

[Fatroony5]

Just wanted to mention I don’t think Danny chose the word “immature” by accident. Notice he did not keep saying “inexperience” or some other word. To be a leader you need a certain amount of maturity, which goes beyond the court into the locker room and beyond. CV became that guy the second half of last season.

Agreed. Whose going to emerge as the true leader for this team is a big question mark. There’s plenty of upperclassmen on this team, but someone needs to be a leader on the floor. Whaley and Cole seem like the guys to take that step, hopefully they (or someone else) is up for the challenge. Leadership is so important, especially when things get tight out there. Need someone to settle the team in and set the tone for everyone else to follow suit. Can’t have those lapses anymore, good teams will pounce on that.

 

[businesslawyer]

He looks like a guy who is playing to keep his minutes instead of just playing the game. i hated that he went in for the dunk last game instead of just passing it ahead to Sanogo.

No. There was zero risk that Adams wouldn't score uncontested there. If he throws a pass to a frosh big who has just run the court, there is some risk that either the pass or the catch is bad. I don't know why we're psychoanalyzing someone who eliminated a risk from a sure fire 2 points just because some watching on television wanted to see Adama dunk.

 

[husky8273]

and he called us "Connecticut State" numerous times

Anyone have a clue who the color commentator was? Said he played for John Thompson at Georgetown and was later a coach ("I knew the firing squad" when referencing fired coaches).
[/QUOTE]
I think this is him, Chris Walker - he said he was recruited by JT - Chris Walker

 

[gtcam]

Watched the game with a UofFlorida fan, Clemson fan and UMichigan fan. Needless to say I was extremely underwhelmed by the overall performance
Following the game we/I came up with the following:
1. UConn was extremely undisciplined on both sides of the ball
2. Low basketball IQ was quite evident
3. Lack of leadership on the court and on the sidelines - DH returned to that practice of discipline the refs rather than his players. Perfect example - Bouk in the 2nd half tries to do the impossible, loses the ball and then commits a stupid foul - JC would have yanked him out of the game immediately. DH starts yapping at the refs.
4. The fouling was juvenile. With the exception of Whaley, no one wanted to play defense with their feet - it was all hands and arms.
5. Whaley was wonderful
6. Sanogo is going to be a beast
7. Gaffney had a much better game- good to see - still isn't moving his feet on D
8. Bouk started out like an All American and by the end of the game he was the 3rd best player of both teams. He needs to be so much more consistent and learn to accept the tempo of the game and pace himself. He is so talented and a joy to watch when he is playing within himself.
9. UHart is not the 6th best team in the American East- no way
10. What the heck is the issue with JCarlson? he couldn't play any appreciable minutes in these 2 games? They may need him down the road. DH must have his reasons but I feel for the kid.
11. Martin shows some great athleticism - I want to see him play more - I think he can add some unique play to the team.
12. IF the team plays like this in the NBE they will get punked, do I expect them to? No. It's too bad they don't have much of a schedule before NBE play in 17 days. There's way too much talent on this team to perform like they did the last 5 minutes of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half (with exception of the Whaley spurts).
BRING ON VANDY

 

[UKemba15]

Whaley and Martin won the game for us together imo. The Martin to Whaley run out assist was the nail in the coffin

That pass from Martin was really, really good. I didn’t know that was in his skill set, but if both he AND Jackson can rebound and push breaks like that then @tcf15 is gonna be spending a lotta time on dunk mix videos this season...

 

[Chief00]

Watched the game with a UofFlorida fan, Clemson fan and UMichigan fan. Needless to say I was extremely underwhelmed by the overall performance
Following the game we/I came up with the following:
1. UConn was extremely undisciplined on both sides of the ball
2. Low basketball IQ was quite evident
3. Lack of leadership on the court and on the sidelines - DH returned to that practice of discipline the refs rather than his players. Perfect example - Bouk in the 2nd half tries to do the impossible, loses the ball and then commits a stupid foul - JC would have yanked him out of the game immediately. DH starts yapping at the refs.
4. The fouling was juvenile. With the exception of Whaley, no one wanted to play defense with their feet - it was all hands and arms.
5. Whaley was wonderful
6. Sanogo is going to be a beast
7. Gaffney had a much better game- good to see - still isn't moving his feet on D
8. Bouk started out like an All American and by the end of the game he was the 3rd best player of both teams. He needs to be so much more consistent and learn to accept the tempo of the game and pace himself. He is so talented and a joy to watch when he is playing within himself.
9. UHart is not the 6th best team in the American East- no way
10. What the heck is the issue with JCarlson? he couldn't play any appreciable minutes in these 2 games? They may need him down the road. DH must have his reasons but I feel for the kid.
11. Martin shows some great athleticism - I want to see him play more - I think he can add some unique play to the team.
12. IF the team plays like this in the NBE they will get punked, do I expect them to? No. It's too bad they don't have much of a schedule before NBE play in 17 days. There's way too much talent on this team to perform like they did the last 5 minutes of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half (with exception of the Whaley spurts).
BRING ON VANDY

Not much to argue with, we need to
make a lot of progress and soon. What Chief tries to tell our football board, is that there is no substitute for what you learn from actually playing games in any sport. You need that measurement.

 

[Jbirdp5]

No. There was zero risk that Adams wouldn't score uncontested there. If he throws a pass to a frosh big who has just run the court, there is some risk that either the pass or the catch is bad. I don't know why we're psychoanalyzing someone who eliminated a risk from a sure fire 2 points just because some watching on television wanted to see Adama dunk.

Flipping the big man the ball is the play there. To talk about the kid dropping the pass is a poor excuse. It’s not the biggest deal in the world but passing it was the right basketball play.

 

[Chief00]

Flipping the big man the ball is the play there. To talk about the kid dropping the pass is a poor excuse. It’s not the biggest deal in the world but passing it was the right basketball play.

I think it’s bigger than the one basket and depends on the game situation. In a one point game with under a minute you go for the easiest path to the basket with the least risk. That would be Adams. During an uncompetitive game or early /middle - give it to a Big who runs the court. Demonstrating a willingness to share the ball is so important for team togetherness. LOL - I will tell you there are some good guards that have the attitude it depends on the Bigs hands and ability to make the play without a travel.

 

[CL82]

Another positive was hearing the U-C-O-N-N chant in the second half after UConn made a run and a TO was called !
I just wish it was done with 10k people in attendance.

If you want to make the broadcast feel more like a UConn men’s basketball game, they should work some recordings of the pep band standards into the broadcast.

 

[Chief00]

I appreciate everyone’s fabulous interest in Chief Briefs - Hartford Edition. As is Chief’s practice of focusing on the game ahead, I am closing this thread and all eyes are on USC on Thursday.
Thank You.