Chief’s Briefs - Kansas Edition

[coachn]

We definitely would have pushed the ball with Castle.
He makes this good team a great one!

 

[Chief00]

We definitely would have pushed the ball with Castle.
He makes this good team a great one!

I agree. Diarra has the push mindset too, but doesn’t have Stephon’s full toolbox of skills. In particular, when Stephon pushes the action, he can also make you pay on the foul line.

 

[Chief00]

This is a very fair take. While I agree with Hurley that we aren’t as good on Dec 1 as we were last year I think it’s also clear that this team has less margin for error. It’s not as strong and deep as it was. Castle will help a lot, as will the minutes Solo gets now. But it’s not likely to be as good. Still really good. Just not as good.

When you win the NC with a string of games winning by double figure margins, you are not only very good but the stars also align. Everything goes right.

My own view is if Clingan and Castle get healthy we have an opportunity to do it. I am not sure about Spencer’s feet or Karaban’s hand, if those are concerns?

I agree, as should have been expected, we miss Adama’s post moves/rebounds, Hawkin’s shooting and Andre being Andre.

I have always said Calhoun was wise to sometimes play an OOC elite game in late January/February. Stacking all 5 of them all up now puts a lot of pressure on the coaches and players and may not always yield the most optimal handling of injuries or freshman. It also may be one too many. I am impressed with guys showing grit playing through injuries but is it always a smart approach?

 

[mauconnfan]

A couple things. Can we stop with the Cam Spencer “wasn’t good” or “struggled” crap. Instead let’s say thank you for gutting it out due to our short bench and playing on 2 bad feet. For those who didn’t hear Danny’s post game interview he said Can came in the game with a tweaked foot and injured the other during the game. You could see it in the fact he couldn’t turn with his dribble or penetrate and kick as usual.

The other thing is I was impressed with Dan Hurley for not going too crazy often and potentially getting a T. It was there for the taking a few times but he held back and coached as we were in the game, 2 Freebies would’ve killed us for sure. Well done.

 

[mauconnfan]

I agree. Diarra has the push mindset too, but doesn’t have Stephon’s full toolbox of skills. In particular, when Stephon pushes the action, he can also make you pay on the foul line.

Diarra was part of one of the absolute biggest no calls. That review of the out of bounds which turned their way showed a horrible missed call. That was an easy lay in but instead Jackson (think it was) got nothing but left arm and made him lose the ball. Dickinson was busy fighting for position with Clingan away from the ball there was no rim protection at all, it was an easy deuce at a critical point.

 

[Kemba Time]

Here’s the thing: Kansas couldn’t stop Newton by himself, but at the end of the game they were able to contain him by throwing multiple defenders and forcing the ball out of his hands.

When UConn has Newt and Castle together, you can’t do that. It’s kind of like a much bigger version of when UConn had both Boat and Bazz to deal with — and nobody has an answer for that.

You can pick your poison but either way, you’re drinking it.

 

[hypercat2.0]

You could sense something was off within the first few minutes of the game. They practiced feeding the ball to Clingan all night during the NH game. He wasn’t in the paint for more than 10 seconds in the first half. For some odd reason he was blocking for pick and rolls constantly where there was nowhere to go.
Hurley waits way too long to call a time out to make adjustments for fear it will show weakness. He should have had Clingan calling for the ball from the onset. He needs to score a few points quickly to get his confidence up. He’s afraid to dribble and seems lost now that Sonogo is gone.

 

[Conndog]

Dan did state that last year's team was better on December 1st last year than this team is this year. As long as this team learns and grows, it will be fine in March. I was happy to see this team come back after tough start to game. Without Newton, the game could have been over early. Even the Jayhawk announcers mentioned that this was a very tough first road game of the year for UConn.

This year’s squad has fewer impact outside shooters. Only new shooter (so far) is Spencer. Last year, besides Newton and Karaban, there was Hawkins, Joey C, and Alleyne. It was a much more potent roster. Granted you still can only play 5 at a time, but wow that is a loaded squad.