Chief’s Briefs -Lafayette Edition | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Chief’s Briefs -Lafayette Edition

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cowboysnation said:
It’s amazing to me how Kwintin’s athletic ability never translates into superior play. Kid was trying hard and working his butt off today....but it seems like everything that could go wrong does go wrong with him. He missed badly twice, ball slipped out once, got beat on a fast break once, got lost on defense twice. Didn’t even attempt to get any offensive rebounds. Just started running down the court the min the ball went up. I just don’t get it
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First Night seems like decades ago. LOL People wonder why Chief never attends First Night, in part because it tells you very little. However, Chief is glad so many fans enjoy it.
 
Chief00 said:
FSU will answer some questions - they have some studs up front.
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Yes. Not going to be easy. Although I only watched them once, they look good, real good. Everyone in sync. Nice flow offensively. Would be a nice road win.
 
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Chief00 said:
Gilbert was a true point guard tonight, distributing to teammates and setting the tone. Chief thinks we kept the turnovers down to about 10. Plenty of assists.

True, competition was much weaker than Sunday, but Chief respects that we did not play down to it. Good job by coaching staff to keep the juice on and correct things such as sloppiness with the ball. After the tough loss, Chief told critics, Gilbert was coachable and he showed it today.

Polley was the other star today. His shot really looked crisp. Chief likes the release point on his shot and tonight the ball simply flowed into the basket. If you are swishing the ball, you don’t have to worry about the rims.

I won’t list Josh as a star not because he didn’t play well but because Chief wants to see him do it against good Bigs. On the other hand - can Cobb every play well in the games we are suppose to win? But, given the choice Chief likes the numbers he puts up against the Big Boys. Florida State’s Big front line is going to be a heck of a challenge.

Chief thought both Jalen and Brendan Adams played very well. Jalen is developing a very good pull up jumper. Brendan, had a box score stuffing game - given his minutes.

Chief is still concerned about Bigs switching on guards so far away from the basket - never a good thing. They seem to get lost in 3 point land. Would like to see the guards fight over screens more and Bigs stay between their man and the basket. Simple concept.

I did see more of the defender keeping the offensive player between his knees by moving both feet in concert rather than one at a time. This may seem like a minor technical detail to a casual fan but it really does impact outcomes.

The size of the crowd was disappointing tonight. Seems like at least half the fan base views UConn MBB as entertainment - they simply won’t pay to see a cup cake game. While Chief loves an elite competitive game, attending the game today supported the team and program; furthermore it’s part of doing your homework in learning about the team and players -picking up on various nuances.

Perhaps some will say - well Chief will do that for me? True, but in a pure basketball World, it’s part of the process. It makes you legit.

View attachment 37153
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Your concern bout switching is why I’m surprised Whaley doesn’t get more burn.

I wonder how atrocious he must look in practice.
 
Moving feet in concert requires jumping. Chef means coordinating feet movement and lateral sliding.
 
Good work on reporting the details and nuances you see.

You can skip the editorializing on "casual" fans and "legit" though. Patronizing and unnecessary. It's 2018, pretty much only retirees can clear schedules for every game. And in case you forgot, sports are not an obligation. They are entertainment. Life would go on without them.
 
Chief00 said:
Gilbert was a true point guard tonight, distributing to teammates and setting the tone. Chief thinks we kept the turnovers down to about 10. Plenty of assists.

True, competition was much weaker than Sunday, but Chief respects that we did not play down to it. Good job by coaching staff to keep the juice on and correct things such as sloppiness with the ball. After the tough loss, Chief told critics, Gilbert was coachable and he showed it today.

Polley was the other star today. His shot really looked crisp. Chief likes the release point on his shot and tonight the ball simply flowed into the basket. If you are swishing the ball, you don’t have to worry about the rims.

I won’t list Josh as a star not because he didn’t play well but because Chief wants to see him do it against good Bigs. On the other hand - can Cobb every play well in the games we are suppose to win? But, given the choice Chief likes the numbers he puts up against the Big Boys. Florida State’s Big front line is going to be a heck of a challenge.

Chief thought both Jalen and Brendan Adams played very well. Jalen is developing a very good pull up jumper. Brendan, had a box score stuffing game - given his minutes.

Chief is still concerned about Bigs switching on guards so far away from the basket - never a good thing. They seem to get lost in 3 point land. Would like to see the guards fight over screens more and Bigs stay between their man and the basket. Simple concept.

I did see more of the defender keeping the offensive player between his knees by moving both feet in concert rather than one at a time. This may seem like a minor technical detail to a casual fan but it really does impact outcomes.

The size of the crowd was disappointing tonight. Seems like at least half the fan base views UConn MBB as entertainment - they simply won’t pay to see a cup cake game. While Chief loves an elite competitive game, attending the game today supported the team and program; furthermore it’s part of doing your homework in learning about the team and players -picking up on various nuances.

Perhaps some will say - well Chief will do that for me? True, but in a pure basketball World, it’s part of the process. It makes you legit.

View attachment 37153
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On Sunday, Arizona's athleticism on D forcing 19 TO's while going 19/22 from the line (to our 8/13) was an example of our problem when AG doesn't assert himself as the true PG. FSU will give us similar problems if he can't get into the paint and create..
 
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cowboysnation said:
It’s amazing to me how Kwintin’s athletic ability never translates into superior play. Kid was trying hard and working his butt off today....but it seems like everything that could go wrong does go wrong with him. He missed badly twice, ball slipped out once, got beat on a fast break once, got lost on defense twice. Didn’t even attempt to get any offensive rebounds. Just started running down the court the min the ball went up. I just don’t get it
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What athletic ability? He can put up crazy dunks with a running start and no one else on the court. He is not coordinated enough to play actual basketball.
 
I think choices were the key factor in limiting turnovers and increasing assists. When Gilbert drove the ball he dished it rather than trying to finish over much bigger players. Jalen took the 10 foot jumper several times, rather than forcing the ball all the way to the rim. Tarin took a couple at that range as well. These choices equaled better results today, and will be key to dealing with Florida State's 7'4 guy. Whether those shots and passes were coaches' adjustments and the kids listened, I don't know.

FYI we played Florida State in Khalid's freshman year and he repeatedly drove the lane and ate the basketball time after time against a big FSU front line that year too. I think he coached himself from that experience and I don't recall him ever having a similar full game experience again.
 
CAHUSKY said:
I enjoyed watching it. Showed me we can dominate inferior opponents, which wasn’t guaranteed the past couple of years, that Gilbert can be a natural PG and impact the game without shooting and Polleys shooting confidence continues to grow. I’ll take that even against a middle school opponent.
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I think Chief nailed the key points in his OP, and you neatly capsulize the most important three in yours.

A key goal for this season is to separate ourselves totally and convincingly from the mid-major level of basketball into which we descended the past two seasons. This we are accomplishing.

Gilbert, as I've been pointing out for two years, is not a natural PG. He was not his team's PG in high school. He has always been a "score first" guard. Jalen reminded us of that after last night's game. But what we saw last night was a player who has remade himself, who showed that he can play pure point. He spent the night drawing the defense to himself and then passing off or kicking out. No more driving into tall timber, no NBA threes (although, fear not, there will be a sequel to "The AG Story" called "AG Shoots Again.") Worth noting that last night';s style of play from AG is our ONLY chance against Florida State.

As for Tyler, he is showing new dimensions almost every game. He is certainly our best shooter, but he has also become a fearless driver (although there are times when he could use a runaway ramp). While comparisons to the senior DeAndre are premature, comparisons to the sophomore DeAndre seem entirely appropriate -- and probably come down in Tyler's favor. Oh, if he could rebound!
 
cowboysnation said:
It’s amazing to me how Kwintin’s athletic ability never translates into superior play. Kid was trying hard and working his butt off today....but it seems like everything that could go wrong does go wrong with him. He missed badly twice, ball slipped out once, got beat on a fast break once, got lost on defense twice. Didn’t even attempt to get any offensive rebounds. Just started running down the court the min the ball went up. I just don’t get it
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I think it comes down to the fact that Kwintin is not very good. That is why he plays with the walk ons.
 
storrsroars said:
Good work on reporting the details and nuances you see.

You can skip the editorializing on "casual" fans and "legit" though. Patronizing and unnecessary. It's 2018, pretty much only retirees can clear schedules for every game. And in case you forgot, sports are not an obligation. They are entertainment. Life would go on without them.
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Thanks for your feedback. Looks like Chief struck a nerve. Sorry.
If you are a true fan of a team you will attend some games when it’s perhaps not your top entertainment option at the moment. Games you know they will likely win, games you know they will likely lose, games when travel is bad, games that are nearly meaningless for tournament eligibility. Games where others back out,
Chief believes you do have a responsibility to support the team not to just be entertained. None of us are perfect but if you consider this patronizing or unnecessary (as if most things on this blog are “necessary”), so be it. Chief is NOT lowering the bar.
 
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Ricker said:
I think choices were the key factor in limiting turnovers and increasing assists. When Gilbert drove the ball he dished it rather than trying to finish over much bigger players. Jalen took the 10 foot jumper several times, rather than forcing the ball all the way to the rim. Tarin took a couple at that range as well. These choices equaled better results today, and will be key to dealing with Florida State's 7'4 guy. Whether those shots and passes were coaches' adjustments and the kids listened, I don't know.

FYI we played Florida State in Khalid's freshman year and he repeatedly drove the lane and ate the basketball time after time against a big FSU front line that year too. I think he coached himself from that experience and I don't recall him ever having a similar full game experience again.
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Once you make assists when you drive, then the defense has to play you more honest and that reduces the help, which Gilbert encounters when he drives. This will open up his shot space.
 
It is no secret that @storrsroars lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Be that as it may (and my thoughts on this is also no secret), I have a hard time classifying anyone...well, very few in any case...posting on the Boneyard as "casual," whether or not they attend games.
 
Chief00 said:
Thanks for your feedback. Looks like Chief struck a nerve. Sorry.
If you are a true fan of a team you will attend some games when it’s perhaps not your top entertainment option at the moment. Games you know they will likely win, games you know they will likely lose, games when travel is bad, games that are nearly meaningless for tournament eligibility. Games where others back out,
Chief believes you do have a responsibility to support the team not to just be entertained. None of us are perfect but if you consider this patronizing or unnecessary (as if most things on this blog are “necessary”), so be it. Chief is NOT lowering the bar.
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I live in Pittsburgh, so unless/until UConn joins the ACC, I'm not attending any UConn games. I'm really trying to not be insulting here. But even your response is condescending, not to mention the child-like third person self-references.

The notes, comments and opinions you offer regarding game action are worthwhile. So let me put this into a food analogy. If you were a food or restaurant critic, you'd discuss layering of flavors, seasoning, textures of the various components of a dish and how they all work together in harmony for something delicious or didn't work and the dish was a failure. You might also talk about the ambience or prices or whatever. But you don't write that if readers don't eat there they're not really interested in decent food. Nor that you are so far above the hoi polloi that you're the only arbiter of taste that matters.

You can certainly paint a picture of why one would want to attend. Let those words speak for themselves. No need to browbeat those you consider lower than yourself while doing it.

As the current presidential funeral emphasizes, there are still positives in being "gentlemanly" and not a bully.

And btw, there's no "bar" to be lowered vis a vis condemning casual fans on not filling the seats. You seem to be confusing an annoying behavior on your part with a standard of accomplishment.
 
After the last 2 years, the team has not yet earned XL sellouts against a scrub team with no stars.
 
storrsroars said:
I live in Pittsburgh...
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Bush league on you. It's only 16 hours round trip, with no bathroom breaks or pit stops. If you started out before lunch, you definitely could have made tip off and home again with two hours to spare before making the kids' breakfast before school.
 
cowboysnation said:
It’s amazing to me how Kwintin’s athletic ability never translates into superior play. Kid was trying hard and working his butt off today....but it seems like everything that could go wrong does go wrong with him. He missed badly twice, ball slipped out once, got beat on a fast break once, got lost on defense twice. Didn’t even attempt to get any offensive rebounds. Just started running down the court the min the ball went up. I just don’t get it
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I've been thinking about this and I'm going with processing time. His read and react time is slow. He also plays very flat footed. I've said this before but it's like he's a walk on from the football team. He's athletic, but he just doesn't look like a basketball player out there.

Seems like a great kid though. I definitely pull for him when he's out there.
 
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CL82 said:
I've been thinking about this and I'm going with processing time. His read and react time is slow. He also plays very flat footed. I've said this before but it's like he's a walk on from the football. He's athletic, but he just doesn't look like a basketball player out there.

Seems like a great kid though. I definitely pull for him when he's out there.
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I'm glad Williams got 7+ minutes last night, but he did not show anything to garner a thought that he deserved anything else but junk time.

I don't think he has any eligibility left, so maybe UConn can schedule their NFL scouting Pro day around the AAC and NCAA/NIT Tournament. TE may be his calling.
 
I was at the game last night. Sat in my friend's seats, three rows behind center court, and about 15 feet from Coach Hurley. I enjoyed watching (and listening!) to him as much as the game, itself. He is coaching these guys so hard. He is constantly on them...especially on defense. On offense, he called quite a few sets, as well. The players seem to be responding to him. From where I was last night, I would have caught an eye roll or a shoulder droop. I only saw effort. Coach Hurley was still on the officials during the last minute of a 30 point game, imploring them to "make a call" when he saw a foul go down without a whistle. The comparison to 1986's Coach Calhoun are certainly apt, but Coach Hurley is coaching offense as well as defense. The ball movement and the pace are such where the team has constantly (except maybe for 10 minutes against Iowa) been able to score points. They have avoided the absurd scoring droughts that we saw last year.

At the beginning of the year, I was hopeful that we'd have a winning record and make a post season tournament of come sort...NCAA, NIT, CBI...whatever. I think that looks pretty probable now. It's a long season, but you cannot help but be ecstatic at what you're seeing if you are UConn fan.
 
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Husky25 said:
Bush league on you. It's only 16 hours round trip, with no bathroom breaks or pit stops. If you started out before lunch, you definitely could have made tip off and home again with two hours to spare before making the kids' breakfast before school.
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I actually did an overnight trip to last year's Cuse football game and had the pleasure of meeting CoachCap and Waquoit at their tailgate.

But I got free food and booze for sitting through that disaster.
 
storrsroars said:
I actually did an overnight trip to last year's Cuse football game and had the pleasure of meeting CoachCap and Waquoit at their tailgate.

But I got free food and booze for sitting through that disaster.
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Five hours drive? Child's play. Though just knowing that Syracuse is the destination must add hours to the experience as it is.

My wife's brother (and family) lives in Gibsonia and had their wedding reception at PNC Park. We flew out there once when we my oldest was still under 2, but have made the drive three other times. The first (for their wedding), I drove the distance straight through with only two stops and my wife, 2.5 month old and mother (for babysitting purposes) in tow.

The last two times we (Wife and two kids) picked out a hotel in Altoona, start out around 5 or 6:00, and aim for a midnight arrival, changing drivers halfway through. The hotel is a nice adventure for the kids and we finish the journey the next morning.

For four people, flying anywhere is a cool $G to most places.
 
bazz&boujee said:
4.5[/QUOTE
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Kitaman said:
Thanks for clarifying this. It thought it was a "Where's Waldo Chief?" photo.
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It was a none too subtle attempt by Chief to tease the Boneyard. He's the guy in the white shirt in Row G right in the middle of the photo.
Since he's now well above his playing weight he had to blur the photo so no one could read the rather large company name embroidered on the left chest.
 
Husky25 said:
It is no secret that @storrsroars lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Be that as it may (and my thoughts on this is also no secret), I have a hard time classifying anyone...well, very few in any case...posting on the Boneyard as "casual," whether or not they attend games.
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Calling other people “casual” is something certain posters do to make themselves seem superior and negate all who disagree with/criticize them as uneducated.
 
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