Chief’s Briefs - Kansas Edition

[Chief00]

A great road win. Now you know why I said Mullins had a very special shot. 17 points in 23 minutes on 50% shooting in his first away game and then 2 key foul shots to seal the game. He also added 5 rebounds.

Additionally, Ball was streaky hot for 17 points on 46% shooting and Reibe shot 75% for 12 points and 8 rebounds. I love the way Reibe rolls to the basket after setting a screen and has the hands to catch, dunk or shoot a soft shot. The steady Karaban had 11 points and 6 rebounds but only managed 1-5 from 3.

While Stewart, Smith, Demary and Ross combined for just 4 points, their defense contributed to Kansas shooting only 35% FG and 28% 3PT. Additionally, the 4-some had 9 assists and 12 rebounds. Tough, aggressive play on the road.

Despite missing Reed, we came back from a 1st half rebounding deficit to a 38-32 advantage. Consistent with other wins we had a 12 to 8 assist advantage along with our rebounding edge.

Not happy about seeing John Gaffney. Having a ref in your conference is suppose to counter the home team advantage of your opposition, but with Gaffney and UConn the opposite consistently happens. KS had a 10-15 foul advantage resulting in 21 foul shots to our 8. Thank you Val Ackerman who doesn’t seem to realize UConn is her meal ticket.

On to Florida at MSG next Tuesday and Texas on Friday. We may have to do without Reed on Tuesday and perhaps on Friday. His injury looked bad last game. We have a 10 day game break 12/21 to 12/31 so at this point with 3 elite OOC wins booked already, Hurley may wait and let him heal.

 

[Scot-e]

Mullins is our best player, seriously.
If we get a little more from the PG spot it will go a long way.
Ross> Stew
Mullins> Ross I think he is in the starting lineup from now on.
DOOMED!!!

 

[alexd]

Did we cancel the upcoming ETA&M game? 🫠

 

[EnochRoot]

Did we cancel the upcoming ETA&M game? 🫠

No Chief just got his calendar backwards. Texas (ETA&M) is Friday. Florida is next Tuesday at MSG.

 

[Chief00]

No Chief just got his calendar backwards. Texas (ETA&M) is Friday. Florida is next Tuesday at MSG.

No I got things 100% correct. I was discussing our 6 early Elite OOC games that are important for tournament seeding. We are 3-1 now and have Florida on Tuesday 12/9 and Texas on Friday 12/12. I know ETA&M is 12/5 but that’s not an elite OOC Game, which I was discussing.

 

[EnochRoot]

No I got things 100% correct. I was discussing our 6 early Elite OOC games that are important for tournament seeding. We are 3-1 now and have Florida on Tuesday 12/9 and Florida on Friday 12/12. I know Texas ETA&M is 12/5 but that’s not an elite OOC Game, which I was discussing.

OK, but well no. You didn't get it 100% correct because your omission created confusion.

Otherwise, keep up the good work.

 

[Chief00]

OK, but well no. You didn't get it 100% correct because your omission created confusion.

Otherwise, keep up the good work.

I am not responsible for people who self identify with confusion. This discussion had the context of when Hurley would bring Reed back and the need to win a decent number of elite OOC games. The school you casually mentioned isn’t in that category.

 

[mjmoney23]

Reibe's improvement from the New Haven game is amazing. He is finishing at the rim, being more aggressive on the boards and is boxing out/positioning much better. Talk about making the most of your opportunity! While he didnt put up a noteworthy statline, Ross' overall play has also improved tremendously from last year. His hustle play to grab the offensive rebound and kick it out to Mullins for a 2nd three point attempt is a play that sticks out to me as one of the biggest of the game. Chief, with the full integration of Mullins into the rotation, who's minutes do you see getting reduced as we move on?

 

[husky429]

Reibe's improvement from the New Haven game is amazing. He is finishing at the rim, being more aggressive on the boards and is boxing out/positioning much better. Talk about making the most of your opportunity! While he didnt put up a noteworthy statline, Ross' overall play has also improved tremendously from last year. His hustle play to grab the offensive rebound and kick it out to Mullins for a 2nd three point attempt is a play that sticks out to me as one of the biggest of the game. Chief, with the full integration of Mullins into the rotation, who's minutes do you see getting reduced as we move on?

Ross and Stewart are lossing minutes to Mullins. Neither of them has made the statistical leap we needed.

 

[Chief00]

Ross and Stewart are lossing minutes to Mullins. Neither of them has made the statistical leap we needed.

Let’s not minimize their defense and rebounds. It is a very complicated picture with Reed’s injury, which we truly don’t even know for certainty what it is with Hurley transparency on injuries. When Reed is out Stewart has to play more due to his length.

 

[Chief00]

Reibe's improvement from the New Haven game is amazing. He is finishing at the rim, being more aggressive on the boards and is boxing out/positioning much better. Talk about making the most of your opportunity! While he didnt put up a noteworthy statline, Ross' overall play has also improved tremendously from last year. His hustle play to grab the offensive rebound and kick it out to Mullins for a 2nd three point attempt is a play that sticks out to me as one of the biggest of the game. Chief, with the full integration of Mullins into the rotation, who's minutes do you see getting reduced as we move on?

At one point last night Mullins had 15 points in 15 minutes, so given his gifts and talent I don’t know if we can evaluate him like most players - as I have been saying since August he’s a truely special talent - the guy who had zero nervousness on his game sealing foul shots at Kansas. After just 2 games I can’t pretend to put my arms around all that but I will sit back and pinch myself and enjoy it while it lasts. Being a UConn fan is really special.

 

[Kenny11]

The lack of foul trouble was huge for us. I don’t think he we had to play Koroma in the second half at all. We did pick up some quick fouls in the second half early and then we were able to play very good defense without fouling.

When solo, Mullins and karaban are on the court together, our centers are going to be able to get a lot of easy points in the paint.

 

[Improviser]

Mullins is our best player, seriously.
If we get a little more from the PG spot it will go a long way.
Ross> Stew
Mullins> Ross I think he is in the starting lineup from now on.
DOOMED!!!

His defense is surprisingly good IMO. Seems to keep his man in front of him for the most part.

Has good movement without the ball, and all this against a tough opponent on the road. Nice rebounding too.

 

[ucp990411]

Ross and Stewart are lossing minutes to Mullins. Neither of them has made the statistical leap we needed.

I thought Ross's defense and energy were keys in the second half last night. There is so much more to the game than stats. I criticized him heavily last year but really like his play this year.

 

[CL82]

Such an amazing game by our freshman in an extraordinarily tough atmosphere. If anyone had any doubts whatsoever that Mullins would've made a difference in the Arizona game, those doubts should be completely gone. He's an amazing talent, and we are incredibly lucky to have him.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Ross and Stewart are lossing minutes to Mullins. Neither of them has made the statistical leap we needed.

At this point, Ross's main job is not to stuff the stat sheet. It's to play elite perimeter defense, crash the boards when it's feasible (not his main role) and be an opportunist on offense. There will be games where he may end up getting 5-6 shots, others where he may only get a couple.

Through a relevant sample size, our overall offense and defense metrics are MUCH better when he is on the court. This is both across all games, and against our elite competition:

All games:

Against BYU/Arizona/Illinois/Kansas:

All that being presented, yes Ross will lose some minutes if Mullins stays healthy. We'd expect that to happen when our 5* player becomes available to play.

 

[husky429]

At this point, Ross's main job is not to stuff the stat sheet. It's to play elite perimeter defense, crash the boards when it's feasible (not his main role) and be an opportunist on offense. There will be games where he may end up getting 5-6 shots, others where he may only get a couple.

Through a relevant sample size, our overall offense and defense metrics are MUCH better when he is on the court. This is both across all games, and against our elite competition:

All games:
View attachment 114159

Against BYU/Arizona/Illinois/Kansas:
View attachment 114160

My point was addressed more at Stewart. It's getting to the point where unless he gets hot early we might as well play Furphy.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

My point was addressed more at Stewart. It's getting to the point where unless he gets hot early we might as well play Furphy.

Yea Stewart is such a frustrating enigma. Overall, he is playing at least decent and sometimes very good defense. We know he has the tools to make a big impact on offense. It's just not happening consistently; not sure it ever will. But I hope it does!

 

[Dove]

Chief!!!!

Not even a hat tip to Braylon or Eric? C'mon, man!!!

 

[Dove]

At this point, Ross's main job is not to stuff the stat sheet. It's to play elite perimeter defense, crash the boards when it's feasible (not his main role) and be an opportunist on offense. There will be games where he may end up getting 5-6 shots, others where he may only get a couple.

Through a relevant sample size, our overall offense and defense metrics are MUCH better when he is on the court. This is both across all games, and against our elite competition:

All games:
View attachment 114159

Against BYU/Arizona/Illinois/Kansas:
View attachment 114160


All that being presented, yes Ross will lose some minutes if Mullins stays healthy. We'd expect that to happen when our 5* player becomes available to play.

 

[bluestreak]

Yea Stewart is such a frustrating enigma. Overall, he is playing at least decent and sometimes very good defense. We know he has the tools to make a big impact on offense. It's just not happening consistently; not sure it ever will. But I hope it does!

Exactly !

 

[NewBlood]

Plenty to be happy about. I thought Ross played an underrated game tonight. He had a key rebound, a key take to the rim, a smart kick out. Keep it up young man, this is what will be a difference maker as he is the 3rd guy off the bench (could start for many teams).

I think we saw the end of the Jaylin Stewart as a key player era in UCONN. I love Stew, I do, but man you have to show up in these moments. His defense was good and for certain matchups, that will be key, but you saw the difference in overall players between a Mullins and Stewart. 17 points, 5 boards, 23 minutes.

Even without adding Reed to the starting lineup this team is significantly better with Mullins getting the 3 spot. Throw in the Kodiak Bear (whom if was healthy tonight, I think we beat Kansas by 10+, he would have owned the paint tonight on those switches), this is a championship team.

On to a game against the Florida, where you know Danny wants revenge. Cupcake as an appetizer, but one more more non home OOC game vs a top 15 team

5-1 was the goal, we are getting closer and closer to it. Proud of this team

 

[sledog]

At this point, Ross's main job is not to stuff the stat sheet. It's to play elite perimeter defense, crash the boards when it's feasible (not his main role) and be an opportunist on offense. There will be games where he may end up getting 5-6 shots, others where he may only get a couple.

Through a relevant sample size, our overall offense and defense metrics are MUCH better when he is on the court. This is both across all games, and against our elite competition:

All games:
View attachment 114159

Against BYU/Arizona/Illinois/Kansas:
View attachment 114160


All that being presented, yes Ross will lose some minutes if Mullins stays healthy. We'd expect that to happen when our 5* player becomes available to play.

How do u read / interpret this stuff?

 

[Spaceman213J]

Stewart seems like a guy who, if he misses his first couple of shots, is his own worst critic and gets down on himself. Often, his body language says it all. I wish we had gotten a little more from him offensively, but he already has had some really tough defensive assignments this year and was probably relieved that Petersen was out last night.

The team just beat Illlinois and Kansas (in Fog Allen) with less than stellar games from Demary, nothing from Reed and a streaky Ball.

I think the scouting for the last couple of games and planning by Hurley & staff have been pretty good (not that ever isn't). They've given up some wide open 3s, but for the most part, it is to guys shooting low percentages on the year. I think they understand with Reed out or hobbled, they need to sacrifice some perimeter D to try and help the team rebound and are leaving the guys who are mostly unproven or not a great track record shooting taking those shots.

Reibe looks really good and watching some of his high school stuff still has a few skills that he has yet to use. If a team ever gives him 1 on 1 open space, he's got a pretty good handle for a 7 foot center.

Last night was the first time Malachi seemed sped up a bit at times. Still, I love his effort. I thought Koroma, even though physically outmatched, worked really hard when he was in.

It may have not been pretty, but again, shows this team can win in a variety of ways against quality opponents. Hoping we get to see the 'perfect 40' with Karaban, Mullins and Ball all on at the same time with a healthy Reed. I think that's why Hurley held Mullins out for so long and is being cautious with Reed. I think he knows with a team "A" game, they can take out anybody, anywhere.

 

[husky429]

How do u read / interpret this stuff?

Offense more = better
Defense less = better

Dark green good. Red bad.