Chief’s Briefs - Iona Edition

[Chief00]

See you Sunday!

Sanogo - wow - dominating. He toyed with his defender all game who could not match his skill, feet or strength. He played great when we needed him most. 28 points and 12 rebounds. MVP!

40 points and 22 rebounds from our two Bigs. Very productive time for both of them. That’s why we need to focus on getting them both minutes.

After halftime, we came out actually running plays for Hawkins and it worked. A lesson for future games. Additionally, our bench played well with the exception of Diarra, who did not keep his head up on lay-ups. The bench had 24 points.

After last game, I said we needed to get the ball in the hands of our play makers during the second half - and I thought we did that.

Our two starting guards were 0-9 in the first half. Iona was on fire. Our disastrous high hedge defense was surgically picked apart by Pitino as we left shooters open while unintentionally double teaming other guys. Again we make a run with Clingan. Despite, Iona shooting unconscious, they were up only 2 at halftime. A good sign.

Why do we keep putting Andre on the 3 line forcing that issue - why not operate on the baseline? Otherwise Andre had a very good game and looked good in transition and assisted on various half court plays.

The second half our defense improved as we stuck to our men and avoided the crazy mismatches of the high hedge.

Anderson had some bizarre calls against us as he has all season. He’s got a personal issue with us and should be removed from our games.

Next up!

 

[Excalibur]

We hedged more and recovered better in second half.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Andre is definitely more effective on the baseline.
AS and DC dominated in the paint both rebounding and scoring

 

[Ewekon]

Love it; but. We didn't play Pitino, we played Iona.

If Adama can pull a Danny Manning then we have a real shot. We were better at every position today. On paper. In game.

Cup half, no, 3/4 full.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Defense was soft and the offense had lackadaisical movement off the ball switch flipped and the intensity went up on both ends. You saw Hawk scorching around screens and even Alex and Alleyne. Hawk was a different player once that fist shot dropped. Energy level went up on both ends and the boards.

Sanogo was a machine. He’s a human mismatch and we found ways to get him the ball and let him work. Nothing Iona could do about it. DC had good minutes in relief. Alex had a solid game and as usual got called for phantom fouls.

The monkey is gone. Hurley won a game. These guys won a game. I expect a much better start on Sunday.

 

[Husky25]

Helped that Iona's own 7 footer was nearly non-existent.

 

[jibsey]

I’m watching Edey now and even though he has the size Adama’s quickness could get him in foul trouble. But the guy is a human wall.

 

[nomar]

I loved a lot that I saw, but I really enjoyed watching Seth Davis’s halftime analysis proven to be completely moronic before the second half was a minute old.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Helped that Iona's own 7 footer was nearly non-existent.

Look who was guarding him. TZHE TWIN FORCES

 

[Chief00]

Defense was soft and the offense had lackadaisical movement off the ball switch flipped and the intensity went up on both ends. You saw Hawk scorching around screens and even Alex and Alleyne. Hawk was a different player once that fist shot dropped. Energy level went up on both ends and the boards.

Sanogo was a machine. He’s a human mismatch and we found ways to get him the ball and let him work. Nothing Iona could do about it. DC had good minutes in relief. Alex had a solid game and as usual got called for phantom fouls.

The monkey is gone. Hurley won a game. These guys won a game. I expect a much better start on Sunday.

I agree Sanogo doesn’t get the appreciation be deserves despite getting some accolades. Defense is often about taking ownership of your man and intensity - if you play intensely and own your man - you generally are with your man after all the high hedge nonsense. Clingan is a disruptor and doesn’t take the bait of trying to cover a guard. Adama has such great feet he seems to view it as a challenge and leaves his man for the guard. on desecond

 

[Chief00]

I loved a lot that I saw, but I really enjoyed watching Seth Davis’s halftime analysis proven to be completely moronic before the second half was a minute old.

Thank you #1 Casual Fan!

 

[Rico444]

I’m watching Edey now and even though he has the size Adama’s quickness could get him in foul trouble. But the guy is a human wall.

We don't have to worry about that anymore.

 

[Husky25]

Look who was guarding him. TZHE TWIN FORCES

On defense too. He was supposed guard the inbounds pass on the press. Iona got them once or twice, but UConn didn't have much trouble with the pressure.

 

[jibsey]

On defense too. He was supposed guard the inbounds pass on the press. Iona got them once or twice, but UConn didn't have much trouble with the pressure.

I was very pleased with the way we handled pressure today. Hurley has really trained the troops on this. We scored easy on that press at least twice and Pitino had to pull back a bit. Bodes well for future pressure? Diarra was shaky today. Is he vital to our rotation?

 

[Excalibur]

Clingan gets a lot of attention here, but it was Alleyne that kept things close in the first half when Iona was making everything they put in the air.

 

[caw]

13-2

What is the assist to TO ratio of our two main ball-handlers (Jackson+Newton)?

 

[Chief00]

We hedged more and recovered better in second half.

Why do something you need to recover from? That’s like having to recover from a drug addiction. Why get addicted in the first place, if you can avoid it? Our objective should not be to create mismatches for the other team. While most Bigs prefer not to match up against a guard 23 feet from the basket, because Adama has relatively quick feet, views it as a challenge. He almost always switches to the guard. Then his man rolls to the basket and Adama is left on that crazy treadmill running back to the basket but defensively out of position.

 

[tomtom80]

I loved a lot that I saw, but I really enjoyed watching Seth Davis’s halftime analysis proven to be completely moronic before the second half was a minute old.

Seth Davis is a tool. Pre game he was all but guarenteeing the Iona upset, and appeared to be giddy about it. Seems he has dissed us regularly this year

i enjoyed yelling “ Seth, u see that?” throughout the second half

 

[jibsey]

Seth Davis is a tool. Pre game he was all but guarenteeing the Iona upset, and appeared to be giddy about it. Seems he has dissed us regularly this year

i enjoyed yelling “ Seth, u see that?” throughout the second half

Does everyone remember how the media treated us in 2011 and 2014? I do. It was only after we won a few tourney games that they started to come around. The media was on our bandwagon at 14-0 and then left as we struggled. Some of them have now hedged their bets and have us as a “surprise” FF team. They are all jerks but Sanogo’s numbers last night were eye popping and they can’t help but notice it. If we put away St. Mary’s they’ll all be coming back on board believe me.

 

[REB1094]

Does everyone remember how the media treated us in 2011 and 2014? I do. It was only after we won a few tourney games that they started to come around. The media was on our bandwagon at 14-0 and then left as we struggled. Some of them have now hedged their bets and have us as a “surprise” FF team. They are all jerks but Sanogo’s numbers last night were eye popping and they can’t help but notice it. If we put away St. Mary’s they’ll all be coming back on board believe me.

Not to take away from the chip-on-the-shoulder angle, but I think it’s reasonable for national sports media to hype the #2 ranked team when they’re winning, not hype them up while they’re losing to SJU/Seton Hall and struggling to put away Georgetown, and then get back on the hype train if they make the sweet 16

UConn recently plays better as the perceived underdog anyway

 

[ctchamps]

I was very pleased with the way we handled pressure today. Hurley has really trained the troops on this. We scored easy on that press at least twice and Pitino had to pull back a bit. Bodes well for future pressure? Diarra was shaky today. Is he vital to our rotation?

I’m probably the only individual who was happy with the minutes Diarra gave the team yesterday. Yes he missed a layup that was open. One was blocked. And he took a three early in a possession with an open Joey to his left. Not a problem for me. He had 3 assists to one turnover.

The one boneheaded defensive play where he slid off his player to double a player AJax had locked down with time running out on the shot clock giving his player a wide open three was my biggest grievance.
Otherwise his defense was good.

What Diarra did was put pressure on their defense to run back to their basket. He’s our quickest guard and I felt he contributed to the process of demoralizing and tiring out Iona along with the rest of our bench.

This is our way! I have spoken!

 

[giddyup]

Adana’s foot work was out of this world, and he was a nightmare for Iona… the second half was insane. I’ll give credit when it’s due. Whatever Hurley did to finally wake up Adama and Hawk worked.

Agree that having AJ just drifting and rotating along the Arc deleverages him. He needs to be around the baseline because he can be devastating on the boards. I did like his one move to penetrate from the 3 line when Iona was baiting him to take it. You could see the wheels turning in AJs head.

Iona was on fire, but we also were playing terrible D and terrible D leads to teams catching fire. The biggest offenders were Hawk and Adama. I hope the lesson is learned.

Got to get more shots for AK. It’s crime he gets so few looks. Kid is a great player.

Allyene is turning out to be a key contributor. He has found his stroke and kept us in the first half with DC.

DC is a game changing monster. I wish there was a way to get both Adama and DC on the floor for a few minutes.

Games are going to harder, not easier. We need to show up for 40 minutes. We beat Iona playing poor D for a half. Thera won’t hunt moving forward.

 

[alphasigko]

That Iona kid Clayton is damn good... Understandably, he was the MAC POY. In the 1st half he was basically uncontested and scored and passed at will; in the 2nd half we put some pressure in him and limited his productivity which was an excellent halftime adjustment. He is also only a sophomore... Portal bait if Pitino moves on?

 

[ctchamps]

That Iona kid Clayton is damn good... Understandably, he was the MAC POY. In the 1st half he was basically uncontested and scored and passed at will; in the 2nd half we put some pressure in him and limited his productivity which was an excellent halftime adjustment. He is also only a sophomore... Portal bait if Pitino moves on?

Midseason adjustment. We play good defense first half and intense defense second half. Necessity to avoid foul trouble because of the BE refs foul calling discrepancy.

I have spoken!

 

[ucp990411]

I’m probably the only individual who was happy with the minutes Diarra gave the team yesterday. Yes he missed a layup that was open. One was blocked. And he took a three early in a possession with an open Joey to his left. Not a problem for me. He had 3 assists to one turnover.

The one boneheaded defensive play where he slid off his player to double a player AJax had locked down with time running out on the shot clock giving his player a wide open three was my biggest grievance.
Otherwise his defense was good.

What Diarra did was put pressure on their defense to run back to their basket. He’s our quickest guard and I felt he contributed to the process of demoralizing and tiring out Iona along with the rest of our bench.

This is our way! I have spoken!

You are not the only one who thought Diarra brought things to the game yesterday. Some people watch the game and don’t see the little things. I thought he played well. The only player not afraid to dive for loose balls.

 

[Excalibur]

Why do something you need to recover from? That’s like having to recover from a drug addiction. Why get addicted in the first place, if you can avoid it? Our objective should not be to create mismatches for the other team. While most Bigs prefer not to match up against a guard 23 feet from the basket, because Adama has relatively quick feet, views it as a challenge. He almost always switches to the guard. Then his man rolls to the basket and Adama is left on that crazy treadmill running back to the basket but defensively out of position.

You literally want us to play defense using a tactic that is used by no other team in the country. We attacked the ball screen in the second half, and rotated to cover the roll. It was an adjustment that worked. Full stop.

That aside, be ready for more hard hedging on Sunday. Before the injury, VCU’s hard hedge was very disruptive against St. Mary’s.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I’m probably the only individual who was happy with the minutes Diarra gave the team yesterday. Yes he missed a layup that was open. One was blocked. And he took a three early in a possession with an open Joey to his left. Not a problem for me. He had 3 assists to one turnover.

The one boneheaded defensive play where he slid off his player to double a player AJax had locked down with time running out on the shot clock giving his player a wide open three was my biggest grievance.
Otherwise his defense was good.

What Diarra did was put pressure on their defense to run back to their basket. He’s our quickest guard and I felt he contributed to the process of demoralizing and tiring out Iona along with the rest of our bench.

This is our way! I have spoken!

FWIW we are going to need him tomorrow. St Mary leading scorers is the point guard Logan Johnson and you need to stay in front of him to guard him effectively. If he gets an angle on you he uses a combination of strength and quickness to get his shot off. AJ may end up guarding him if for some reason Newton or Diara have trouble. But he is key to their success. Diara does a real good job of staying in front of the man he guards. The only issue is that Johnson looks like a big 6’2” and Diara may be too small to guard him. Thank goodness Hurley has so many options.

 

[Chief00]

You literally want us to play defense using a tactic that is used by no other team in the country. We attacked the ball screen in the second half, and rotated to cover the roll. It was an adjustment that worked. Full stop.

That aside, be ready for more hard hedging on Sunday. Before the injury, VCU’s hard hedge was very disruptive against St. Mary’s.

You lack the technical understanding about how a defense should be executed. When you play 4 out and 1 in and the 1 in guy is chasing the point guard 25 feet from the basket you are typically rotating a 6-4 guy against a 6-9 or 6-10 guy going to the rim. It is a situation that creates fouls and mismatches.