Chief’s Briefs - @ Houston

[Chief00]

Too many whistles today.

The turning point today was Dave O’s stretch in the 2nd half. KO gave Dave undeserved minutes and he gave the team nothing. Williams would have been a better choice.

Both Gray and Adams had really excellent offensive games. One thing is certain Anderson is not the defensive stopper KO uses him as - hence various guys going off against us.

Effort wasn’t an issue today - second half turnovers hurt and Anderson is not the go to guy he envisions himself as being. We had periods of no field goals and a lack of offensive rebounding and a lack of scorers contribute to that statistic.

Again, I don’t understand why KO keeps rewarding nonproductivity by giving Dave O minutes. It drives me crazy.

I thought Larrier played better today, he can rebound vertically if he starts by getting position. He has long arms and can jump vertically.

What it really comes down to is we have two players you want in at crunch time and Adam’s is worn down by then.

Houston is undefeated at home and I really like their coach.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Because . . . UConn has a lack of talent.

 

[Chief00]

Because . . . UConn has a lack of talent.

True, but the mental mistakes and lack of adjustments hurt too.

 

[willie99]

I concur Chief, I don't see why an unproductive grad transfer gets minutes over the freshmen, must be something we're not seeing

I would think it should be more about development at this point, but I think Kevin is still trying to salvage something

And I concur about the officiating, it was an ugly game

 

[The Funster]

The grad transfer well ran dry for us this season. AA should have been the fifth guard, not fourth and DO should never have been here. I thought when KO flipped out on that screen foul DO would have been on the bench for good.

 

[Coach J]

So 3 games ago Williams shows as much life as any of our big men all year (except for the previous time he also did earlier this year), and gets 4 minutes last game, and a DNP in today's game. I just don't get it, as the people he played in his place gave us next to nothing both games. What's the definition of insanity?

 

[willie99]

True, but the mental mistakes and lack of adjustments hurt too.

and a couple of those "mental mistakes" were just mind boggling

Carlton's intentional foul, WTF? Really?

And DO running into the back side of the defender he was trying to pick, I just can't believe what I saw

 

[Chief00]

KO knows he out, but he coach hard today - just not very smart in the second half after Houston made the adjustment on Adam’s. And what does Dave O have on him?

 

[bmo22]

Having DO in down the stretch was not a good decision by KO. He can’t score and doesn’t give the team enough in other areas to make up for it. It felt like the illegal screen was the turning point in the game.

 

[Chief00]

and a couple of those "mental mistakes" were just mind boggling

Carlton's intentional foul, WTF? Really?

And DO running into the back side of the defender he was trying to pick, I just can't believe what I saw

Polley also got lost on some screens.

 

[Fan4ever]

Jalen is a fantastic player, dedicated to improving his game. I just can't understand how you have an offensive strategy which is 80% centered on him, he plays ~40 minutes/game, draws a ginormous amount of physical contact and the plan is to have him available at game end? I am genuinely surprised he is not hurt at this point in the season, after 2 seasons of going through this. He is one tough BB player.

2017 preseason wish, someone teach DO how to use his body! Geez, after 5 years in D1 college BB?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Playing DO and not Diarra and Williams is inexcusable. Playing 3 guards or two plus Polley and Larrier all game was a mistake. We needed rebounds and while Larrier did a nice job, but we need him to be no more than the 3rd biggest guy on the floor, not playing the 4.

 

[Hankster]

I agree Chief on Dave O. I felt that way all year. He had some "wow" moments but all in all, why is he here. I have this feeling Williams is not going to play much for Ollie. Maybe he will transfer. Who knows. I think Ollie needs to trim the fat for next year. Maybe the last two games showed he finally found a combination. There were more than two fouls the officials called that I was totally confused. These touchy fouls do not warrant a whistle.Especially how this game went. There were times when the whistle blew both teams looked at each other like WTH? Good game pups. WTG. Lets see how the tournament goes now. The confidence has to be sky high now.

 

[Chief00]

Jalen is a fantastic player, dedicated to improving his game. I just can't understand how you have an offensive strategy which is 80% centered on him, he plays ~40 minutes/game, draws a ginormous amount of physical contact and the plan is to have him available at game end? I am genuinely surprised he is not hurt at this point in the season, after 2 seasons of going through this. He is one tough BB player.

2017 preseason wish, someone teach DO how to use his body! Geez, after 5 years in D1 college BB?

I agree Jalen is one tough guy. If he adds conditioning and game prep discipline - he could work his way into the first round next year.

 

[JMick]

So 3 games ago Williams shows as much life as any of our big men all year (except for the previous time he also did earlier this year), and gets 4 minutes last game, and a DNP in today's game. I just don't get it, as the people he played in his place gave us next to nothing both games. What's the definition of insanity?

it's coaching malpractice.

 

[wethyhusky]

I don’t get Ollie... KW has good game and then never plays...Diarra has really good game and then sits entire second half. Are we certain DO isn’t related to him?

 

[gtcam]

Larrier disappeared in the second half and decided to play as soft as you can get - yeah he made some open shots and he pulled off some rebounds but they fell into his hands for the most part
Diarra played 3 minutes and had 3 fouls in the first half he plays well when he doesn't accumulate fouls, which is far too rare
AA did some good things but the bad outweighed the good today
DO is an enigma but Caleton can't stay in due to bonehead plays, Diarra is mostly a foul machine, Polley is so soft on D it hurts, Whalley has turned into a disappointment, Williams (don't know why he didn't play maybe bad practice or matchup, and Cobb - who the hell knows about him One serviceable big and the game is in the W column
Too many missed FTs which hasn't hurt this team in a while
I agree Chief00 - way too many whistles
Yeah Sampson is a really good coach and a likeable guy???? No way

 

[Danzz]

KO knows he out, but he coach hard today - just not very smart in the second half after Houston made the adjustment on Adam’s. And what does Dave O have on him?

Don't get playing DO. He doesn't rebound much and can't defend or set screens without fouling.

 

[QDOG5]

To me that was the best game the team has played all year. We were close late and JA, who is unquestionably our best player, decides to play hero ball and forces an awful shot. If we play like today in the tourney we actually win two games. I'm afraid the lack of discipline will keep us from any real upsets.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I agree Jalen is one tough guy. If he adds conditioning and game prep discipline - he could work his way into the first round next year.

and a jumpshot

 

[Chief00]

True, when he practices shooting he doesn’t make the percentage an elite shooter would.

 

[HooperScooper]

The turning point today was Dave O’s stretch in the 2nd half. KO gave Dave undeserved minutes and he gave the team nothing. Williams would have been a better choice.

I'm convinced that DO has compromising pictures of Ollie. There's just no other plausible reason why Ollie plays DO as many minutes as he does.

 

[Horatio]

Obviously KO is mocking us by playing DO
over better guys. That's all I got.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

The grad transfer well ran dry for us this season. AA should have been the fifth guard, not fourth and DO should never have been here. I thought when KO flipped out on that screen foul DO would have been on the bench for good.

AA is not the go to guy he was the fourth guard until Gilbert’s injury.
ThankGod we had him.
A fourth or even 3rd guard who can run a team is a gift.
Why would anyone expect a superstar fourth or even third guard.
Last years team didn’t even have a fourth guard. It came back to bite us in the butt.
He can run the team which gives Adams much needed rest.
I think he was a good and needed grad transfer pickup.

DO on the other hand was a panic add when Enoch baled on us.
Diarra’s career was in question. The guys who transferred were all bigs
Pretty difficult to replace without notice.
Cobb and Williams were also Juco desperation moves
Carlton ,Polley and Whaley were 2-3 year projects
Too say our frontcourt prospects were scary is an understatement.

 

[olehead]

So 3 games ago Williams shows as much life as any of our big men all year (except for the previous time he also did earlier this year), and gets 4 minutes last game, and a DNP in today's game. I just don't get it, as the people he played in his place gave us next to nothing both games. What's the definition of insanity?

If Coach Ollie is back KW is as good as gone. Though it would be a bit irrational given that he's a Jr. (not sure how many years of eligibility) and he lacks game experience, I believe he would ultimately Sprewell KO which would really set the young man back. He can play. He should go to a Central Connecticut, Hofstra or a program of that ilk. He'd play, develop and really have a chance to enjoy the game. I'm rooting for KW, no matter where he ends up.