Chief’s Briefs - Morehead State

[Sphinx]

Our 3 pt defense is what killed us. If we can improve that and rebounding, we are in for a fun, competitive season.

We didn't even use Jalen as our primary option on offense, and basically were without Yakwe, Diarra and Sid. Things will improve once those guys get integrated more. I'm especially looking forward to Sid getting out there- I think he provides us with something we don't have at the moment.

Sid will certainly be important, along with Diarra and Yakwe and a healthy Whaley, in adding competent bodies to the human wave attack, or "40 minutes of hell" that UConn can impose upon an opponent, but your're right, Sid can also join Jalen and Alterique (and possibly Carlton underneath) as a true individual talent who can "operate" in a smartly integrated half-court offense. This can give Hurley an option against other quick teams who can get back on defense.

 

[Sphinx]

Just to mention that Whaley was terrific on defense in the few minutes he got to play before the sprain. We must hope that he recovers quickly. Playing without Isaiah and Mamadou is a considerable handicap to a team that relies so much on aggressiveness.

 

[Chief00]

I will say again, recruiting is our number 1 priority. We need better talent. But, the intense play should help.

 

[jimva]

This was the first game in two years where I have not changed the channel before half time, so for me that was a big win. I agree with most of the comments above. My one disappointment was Vital. While he did do a good job rebounding, he dribbled into traffic and turned over the ball to many times. In the first half I thought this really killed our run. I am sure Hurley will correct this though.

 

[warbler1055]

I have mixed feelings about last night game. Loved the coach, the great energy, good defense. But team needs to improve soon and fast. We couldn't put Morehead away decisively and let them hang around. The game could have turned on a dime. A WIN but 10 points vs Morehead is hardly reassuring!!! But I have hope for the future and not the desperation of the last 3 years.

 

[huskyrob1]

UConn played with energy the entire game and beat Morehead State by only 10 points. Having said that the game was fun and entertaining.
We play very hard defense at a high intensity level throughout the game, yet we do this with effort and teamwork rather than by being talented 1x1 locked down defenders.
One thing Chief loves is we try to run on every possession even off of made baskets. That’s the mindset of a true running team and Chief loves that. Coach Miller used to give Chief all the reasons we couldn’t run and push the ball, Coach Hurley is totally committed to running, it is becoming the culture of the team.

I thought Josh played really well tonight and we need that inside offensive option to free up the guards. He filled the stat sheet very well and that’s covered in another thread, so I will leave it at that.
Smith played really well, probably played over 30 minutes and is an all round player. Smith and B Adams coupled with Gilbert, J Adams and Vital provide us with backcourt depth so that we can play pressure defense and push the ball on offense - music to Chief’s ears.

We need to work on our foul shooting. The % wasn’t good and Jalen made some poor decisions on the line. On the technical, he stood on the line for a long time before being given the ball. He should have walked off the line. On another foul shoot, the ref gave him the ball but then Jalen told everyone Morehead State did not have a guy under the basket on one side. Of course, he should have stayed quiet and shot the ball.
Other guys just need to improve their shooting through individual practice.
Vital played hard nosed and rebounded well for a guard.
Cobb never seemed to get into the flow of the game and the guards either missed him or don’t have confidence giving him the ball - not sure which yet.
I though Prolly was a disappointment, he’s getting good minutes but not showing much productivity.

Good post Chief. You nailed it. Josh is so much improved over last season, footwork, finishing with confidence. Gilbert is our best outside shooter and ballhandler based on what I saw last night, we need him and like you I hope his shoulder is good to go. Looks like Akok loves UConn, would love to say he's in the bag, but won't. Lol

 

[Ewekon]

They shot 9/28 (32%). Not amazing. But maybe we could have run them off the line a bit better a few times.

Their transition points, offensive rebounds, and FTs killed us. Can't let a tiny Morehead team (biggest player 6'7") go to the line 15 times or grab 13 offensive rebounds. Colombia was the only cupcake last year that grabbed at least 13 orebs and that game went to OT.

We

Good post Chief. You nailed it. Josh is so much improved over last season, footwork, finishing with confidence. Gilbert is our best outside shooter and ballhandler based on what I saw last night, we need him and like you I hope his shoulder is good to go. Looks like Akok loves UConn, would love to say he's in the bag, but won't. Lol

Was AkAk there?

 

[Chief00]

Good post Chief. You nailed it. Lol

That’s why Fishy pays me the big bucks to write these Briefs.

 

[Stinger92860]

I will say again, recruiting is our number 1 priority. We need better talent. But, the intense play should help.

Confirmed by me. They beat a team by 10 at home which was 8-21 last year. They have a lot to work on.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

UConn played with energy the entire game and beat Morehead State by only 10 points. Having said that the game was fun and entertaining.
We play very hard defense at a high intensity level throughout the game, yet we do this with effort and teamwork rather than by being talented 1x1 locked down defenders.
One thing Chief loves is we try to run on every possession even off of made baskets. That’s the mindset of a true running team and Chief loves that. Coach Miller used to give Chief all the reasons we couldn’t run and push the ball, Coach Hurley is totally committed to running, it is becoming the culture of the team.

I thought Josh played really well tonight and we need that inside offensive option to free up the guards. He filled the stat sheet very well and that’s covered in another thread, so I will leave it at that.
Smith played really well, probably played over 30 minutes and is an all round player. Smith and B Adams coupled with Gilbert, J Adams and Vital provide us with backcourt depth so that we can play pressure defense and push the ball on offense - music to Chief’s ears.

We need to work on our foul shooting. The % wasn’t good and Jalen made some poor decisions on the line. On the technical, he stood on the line for a long time before being given the ball. He should have walked off the line. On another foul shoot, the ref gave him the ball but then Jalen told everyone Morehead State did not have a guy under the basket on one side. Of course, he should have stayed quiet and shot the ball.
Other guys just need to improve their shooting through individual practice.
Vital played hard nosed and rebounded well for a guard.
Cobb never seemed to get into the flow of the game and the guards either missed him or don’t have confidence giving him the ball - not sure which yet.
I though Prolly was a disappointment, he’s getting good minutes but not showing much productivity.

I think Cobb came in with every intent to play like a madman but got very tentative after he picked up a weak foul shedding a smaller guy who was hugging him.

Polley will frustrate us all year. He’ll have games like tonight and he’ll have games where he’s 4/7 from 3 and games where he’ll attack the rim and games where he gets 8 boards.

Vital was his same overly aggressive do too much self on O but thankfully he was the same pain in the butt on D and hard nosed rebounder too. If he accepts his role as a lock down defender and rebounder that’ll be huge considering he’s probably the 4th best offensive guard. Hurley loves him and I hope he gets that acrossto him.

This game was only as close as it was because Morehead hit a lot of tough contested threes. That’s kind of random and won’t happen every night. Also we could have built the lead up near 20 but instead they cut it under 10 because we had a couple bad possessions at the end when the ball was in AG’s hands and not Jalen’s.

I like Tarin’s game but I think I also liked Anderson after the first game last year.

 

[dennismenace]

Good post. I am still very concerned about Gilbert’s shoulder holding up. He is much shorter than Jalen Adam’s and has much shorter arms and because of his shoulder situation doesn’t have the strength to finish strong or ability to extend his arms like Jalen to get a shot off. His height and short arms makes it difficult not to get swallowed up by big dudes inside and see his teammates. He is very quick though off the dribble and Gilbert’s improving outside shot makes him more difficult to defend.

From everything we have heard the shoulder is much better than ever due to the type of surgery. The BY resident medical staff can fill us in if need be on that. I think of AG's skill sets as more of a point guard who can score than a shooting guard. I think his talents (explosiveness, speed and field of vision) are more like Boat's who used his skills of separation to get his shot off. Boat seemed to maximize every skill to offset his lack of height. Short guard? Get down lower and get in the lower grill? I think some of these rough spots will be worked out as Hurley enlightens them. I think AG has a lot of heart and character for all he has gone through. He's a warrior. We have to remember that Bazz, Boat, Kemba were also young once.

Really was fun watching them hustle for 40 mins. Hurley pregame interview was great. "We want other teams to hate playing us because we play so hard". In other words he wants opponents to be mentally defeated before they even get on the court. They will know they are going to be in fight. Now that's a standard.

Looking forward to the winter again!

 

[Sphinx]

I think Cobb came in with every intent to play like a madman but got very tentative after he picked up a weak foul shedding a smaller guy who was hugging him.

Polley will frustrate us all year. He’ll have games like tonight and he’ll have games where he’s 4/7 from 3 and games where he’ll attack the rim and games where he gets 8 boards.

Vital was his same overly aggressive do too much self on O but thankfully he was the same pain in the butt on D and hard nosed rebounder too. If he accepts his role as a lock down defender and rebounder that’ll be huge considering he’s probably the 4th best offensive guard. Hurley loves him and I hope he gets that acrossto him.

This game was only as close as it was because Morehead hit a lot of tough contested threes. That’s kind of random and won’t happen every night. Also we could have built the lead up near 20 but instead they cut it under 10 because we had a couple bad possessions at the end when the ball was in AG’s hands and not Jalen’s.

I like Tarin’s game but I think I also liked Anderson after the first game last year.

Several hard truths among your observations. Polley will indeed frustrate, although he's getting the same early chance from Hurley that he got from KO. Must be a great practice player. Simply lacks quickness and strength. B. Adams is as good a shooter and far less statuesque. Have high hopes for AG, but he is not now a reliable ball handler, and he remains an adventure at the FT line. He is still very much learning the point. Jalen is today the team's best PG and it's one and only dependable "go to" guy. Come MSG, the ball had better be in Jalen's hands in the pinch. AG's day will come. My opinion.

 

[Marat]

I will say again, recruiting is our number 1 priority. We need better talent. But, the intense play should help.

Akok looked interested watching the game play for the several times the TV zoomed in the bench. He wasn't playing on his phone or sleeping like in that picture with Boeheim when visiting Cuse.

 

[the Q]

The 3pt d and rebounding are lacking.

But the effort was off the charts.

Hurley needs more box out drills. 1 on 1 rebounding was always a personal favorite of mine. Get 3 in a row and get out. Eventually they’ll get it.

Outside shooting could be an issue, but you know Polley and vital will get hot at some point.

I loved not seeing 35 footers from our guards.

Some of the passes to Carlton were absolutely fantastic. Beautiful dimes. And he really moved to get himself in good position for catches and to then make finishes. A good start that way.

It’s really hard to play 40 minutes of hell with 3 core guys out, so it’s hard to not feel good that way.

 

[Lthusker456]

They shot 9/28 (32%). Not amazing. But maybe we could have run them off the line a bit better a few times.

Their transition points, offensive rebounds, and FTs killed us. Can't let a tiny Morehead team (biggest player 6'7") go to the line 15 times or grab 13 offensive rebounds. Colombia was the only cupcake last year that grabbed at least 13 orebs and that game went to OT.

Smaller teams like this usually are pesky like that I feel like. Always gonna hustle hard and somehow grab every O board in the game. I usually see big guys struggle a bit.

 

[80shusky]

Yes. 6’5” guy - height. His Afro maybe adds an inch. Has a decent looking body though for trench warfare.

Just like Fletch.

 

[Chief00]

From everything we have heard the shoulder is much better than ever due to the type of surgery. The BY resident medical staff can fill us in if need be on that. I think of AG's skill sets as more of a point guard who can score than a shooting guard. I think his talents (explosiveness, speed and field of vision) are more like Boat's who used his skills of separation to get his shot off. Boat seemed to maximize every skill to offset his lack of height. Short guard? Get down lower and get in the lower grill? I think some of these rough spots will be worked out as Hurley enlightens them. I think AG has a lot of heart and character for all he has gone through. He's a warrior. We have to remember that Bazz, Boat, Kemba were also young once.

Really was fun watching them hustle for 40 mins. Hurley pregame interview was great. "We want other teams to hate playing us because we play so hard". In other words he wants opponents to be mentally defeated before they even get on the court. They will know they are going to be in fight. Now that's a standard.

Looking forward to the winter again!

As a person Gilbert is truly outstanding and he’s a good basketball player. You know Chief always keeps it real though - the trainer was working on Gilbert shoulder and arm extensions during the timeouts. Maybe precautinary measures but seeing it up close gives one some reality of how on the edge he is playing.

 

[intlzncster]

OT Briefs thought. I love Hurley.

Looks like he bought his suit off the rack without alterations while Taliek and Tom Moore have perfectly tailored suits. LOL - who’s the guy making the big bucks?

Hurley doesn't strike me as a guy who wants to waste time on fashion. His wife probably buys his clothes for him

 

[Chief00]

Hurley doesn't strike me as a guy who wants to waste time on fashion. His wife probably buys his clothes for him

Bingo. I think we had another coach like that - who’s wife probably did his clothes shopping - after awhile though he did have some nice taylored suits for the F4’s.

 

[Chief00]

Akok looked interested watching the game play for the several times the TV zoomed in the bench. He wasn't playing on his phone or sleeping like in that picture with Boeheim when visiting Cuse.

Chief accidentally and incidentally ran into Akok after the game - nice kid. Trust he will make the right decision for himself at the appropriate time. It’s his moment.

 

[BlueandOG]

The best NCAA hoops coach over the past two seasons is the best dressed guy in Philly. Nothing says you can't dress well and win. That said, WIN first, then buy the clothes.

 

[Kenny11]

I thought some of the guys were a little anxious which is to be expected.

Alterique's handle is a little rusty but I'm so excited for him. He is going to be a great player here.

The ball movement was pretty good but the spacing was not....this is very fixable.

I thought Whaley looked good in the few minutes he played, Carlton obviously had a very good game. Cobb did not do much of anything.

I like some of the things Polley brings and he is going to be a good player in the long term but that position is our biggest hole right now in my opinion. He can shoot, but his on ball defense isn't good and he doesn't rebound. Sometimes he tried to tap the ball with one hand when he could grab it with two. We really need an athlete like Sid getting major minutes in that spot, especially against Syracuse next week. Unfortunately, it appears that the suspension will continue for a little while.

 

[BIIIG]

Jalen having 16 in only 21 minutes shows Hurley is definitely getting after him on decision making. Escalate those numbers to 30 minutes a game and we are going to see a more decisive, disciplined, and efficient Adams.

I was really impressed with Gilbert on defense. Wasn't always getting the steal but did a great job of using his body to guide his defender into the BIG's sweet spots. UConn had 6 blocks in the first half, and I think a lot of that needs to be attributed to Gilbert

 

[Chief00]

The best NCAA hoops coach over the past two seasons is the best dressed guy in Philly. Nothing says you can't dress well and win. That said, WIN first, then buy the clothes.

You must be a friend of Geno’s LOL

 

[Towney007]

Shoulders never really come back 100%. It's just always going to be a worry. Sucks, but that's what it is.

As for the game last night -

What was bad was either habitual/hangover/instinct from last year and entirely fixable. Spacing sucks, too much dribbling, I mean... there's no point in rehashing it, everyone knows it. It was way farther and fewer between last night which is all you can ask for. It's going to take some time to un-Ollie a lot of these kids.

Rebounding is... sorry. It's bad. Boxing out is bad, positioning is bad... we won on the boards last night. When we play a team that's got legit talent we're gonna get plowed. This to me - is the thing that I don't think will fix itself all that easily. We just need bigger, better bodies down low and we don't have that.

Other than those two things, I was mostly pleased for a first game of the season. I want to see some more consistency and focus from Adams. He was fine last night - but he's our best player. He's gotta be more locked in and less sloppy with the fouls. The team needs him really badly. Can't be having that. I mean last night was more his downside - but he's gotta put on the big boy pants and lead a little more is all. I guess I feel a lot of what Hurley does. He's got the potential to be a special college basketball talent and just skirts by on raw ability. And he can do that and help the team - even be its 'best player', but he's just capable of more, I think. I want to see that. His motor just felt a tick down from everyone else's. I see what Hurley's getting at.

Gilbert just looks like a super talented kid who hasn't played much D1 basketball, never mind the injury. I wouldn't worry about him at all.

Absolutely loved everything from Josh Carlton last night. If he can do what he did last night 4 of every 5 nights, we're going to play in a post season tournament for sure.

TSmith is going to be a really solid addition and honestly is a great off the bench piece for just about any college basketball team in the top 50. I'm in on him.

So overall, good start. Win's a win. So many points last night where if this were last year's group, we'd have lost the game. But we didn't. We held dams, hustle and energy is there, showed some derpiness, but that's to be expected. On to UMKC.