Chief’s Briefs - Memphis Edition

[TMB4405]

I am guessing Memphis shoots 6-32 from 3 tomorrow. They played great which is a surprise with Penny. A lot of older players who were playing their “super bowl” against us. A lot of teams will do that. Good fight, we did not play great and could have won. Cant get that T under amy circumstance. I doubt refs wanted to T him up so must have been bad.

 

[Conndog]

Memphis is a very good team even if unranked- they played very well, had a great strategy for neutralizing UConn’s strengths, shot fantastically, and UConn still almost won. It’s not the end of the world. I still think this team is very capable of putting it all together and could win it all again. I’d like to see more aggressiveness from Solo and especially Liam. Should Nowell see more action at point? Maybe, but I haven’t given up with Mahaney either.

 

[jibsey]

It’s been said so often, you need strong guard play to win an ncaa title. We don’t have that yet. Our only chance to change that is Nowell. Or make Liam or Stew a guard. Are they quick enough? Mahoney can be a nice player but he’s not physical or athletic enough to play studs.

 

[MrJama100]

The problem was obviously defense. 3 techs in the last 10 minutes (including OT) is tough to overcome too. As much as everyone likes Diarra, Mahaney still to me is the long-term answer at PG. I like seeing both on the floorm but I get the nips when Diarra has the ball. He's a spark, but he still has too many turnovers. Led the team in turnovers (again). Diarra is great, but if we don't get Mahaney's confidence and defense up we won't go very far. Guard play is essential, and Mahaney just seems more polished out there despite the in-process chemistry. Let's see what he looks like in February. The talent is clearly there. He could be averaging 10 pts a game if a few layups dropped. His defense is improving, slowly -despite some bad sequences. Nowell is going to see more time, I think, but Mahaney is still critical. Reed, on the other hand, needs to play Clingan minutes. It's not even a discussion. SJ is the change-up.

 

[Slick]

Who?

Trainer

 

[Yorkeez4]

The boneyard is always fun after a loss. I’m still waiting for the first “is Hurley on the hot seat” post. Granted Hurley hates losing but his focus is developing the team to win in March and April. Anyone who thinks Hurley doesn’t know Reed is a better player than SJ isn’t paying attention. Also, those who wonder why other teams seem to have integrated new players more effectively than Hurley are not paying attention. As has been stated numerous times over the last couple of years - Hurley runs a complex offense and it takes longer to learn. I have seen Duke play and was not impressed with their offensive sets at all.

I think SJ’s T was a result of frustration - he spent a lot of time falling to the floor and getting banged around and funally was fed up. As for Harley’s T -without knowing what he said I cannot judge whether he deserved it or not. Or, as the casual fan knows, sometimes it’s just the cumulative effect of what had transpired the whole game and the ref had finally gad enough.

i do think that both Mahaney and Diarra are under performing. After the year Diarra had last year he seems to have regressed. One has to wonder what is preventing Nowell from getting into fames when it counts. But I trust Hurley knows what he is doing.

One thing that I think shows the offense is not clicking yet is that SJ is not getting many dunks. I think when it starts clicking the pnp will lead to the dunks we’ve gotten use to.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Trainer

That is categorically insane that they teed up our trainer.

 

[AzHusky]

T'ing up the trainer is like giving a T to the fan sitting behind the bench

 

[Mets8692]

I'm okay with the loss. We are gonna lose 4 or 5 more this year.

What I'm not okay with is Hurleys temper and arrogance. And saying after the game that the 2x national champs should get a favorable whistle is a dogshit excuse.

He said everyone should separate this years team from last years but even he hasn't been able to do that yet.

 

[CashewCrew]

And saying after the game that the 2x national champs should get a favorable whistle is a dogshit excuse.

Maybe the worst look he’s ever had, and that’s saying a lot

 

[Mets8692]

Maybe the worst look he’s ever had, and that’s saying a lot

I love Dan Hurley the basketball coach, we all do. Dan Hurley the person is a different story..

 

[TheHorde]

Simple Truth: Coach Baby Pants cost the team the game in the end with the bad T.
Enlightened Truth: Coach Baby Pants cost the team by not playing Stewart in the 2nd half.
Mega Brain Truth: Coach Baby Pants cost the team the game by thinking an undersized transfer from the perennial 2nd place WCC team was enough to replace Newton, Spencer, and Castle all at once, and continuing to start that player to double down on his own error.

Thank you for your interest in UConn men’s basketball.