Chief’s Briefs - PC Edition

[NJHusky]

On one level I agree, and I think Hurley has figured out the Mahaney role, he could pay huge dividends in the games ahead.

He played a good game. He’s playing Liam’s role, just not as well.
when Liam comes back that role is taken.

 

[bendm]

Heavy minutes for Ball (37), Diarra (38), Alex (39!). Nowell still MIA.

 

[Seamus84]

Didn’t think a team would have enough possessions to score 19 points in 1:46. But we allowed P.C. to do it with lazy defense amazingly committing 5 non-sensical fouls. We also had to use multiple timeouts just to inbounds the ball (thank god we had them). Hope they work on end of game time & situation recognition and handling presses this week.

 

[3rdbass]

Nowell is hurt, was wearing a boot

Really I didn't see that. I thought he had a shoulder issue?

 

[3rdbass]

Heavy minutes for Ball (37), Diarra (38), Alex (39!). Nowell still MIA.

Chief just said he was wearing a boot! Nowell! I need to rewatch the game and see that.

 

[Scrutineer]

Mahaney is going to have to provide scoring. Ross and Stewart surprisingly still look lost at times. Love stewart but he is uncomfortable with ball in his hands when he is not shooting. When ross is on the court he is no threat on offense which brings the entire offense to a standstill. He has the tools to be a good defender but can’t seem to stay in front of his man on defense and then gets caught off the ground for fouls. Hopefully it clicks soon.

I keep thinking DH needs to find a video of Lyman DePriest on Dana Barros in the 1988 NIT. For those who weren't there nor watched it on TV, Barros ate us up in the first half but JC put Lyman on Barros in the second half and he couldn't get a shot off.
Ross seems as fast as Lyman and is taller and longer so maybe he needs to watch the footwork and technique of one Lyman DePriest and become the star defender we could really use right now. Lyman was all over the smaller, fast, Barros so tightly that he never got a good look at the basket.

 

[Scrutineer]

Watched Ross as he came out of the game in second half. Put his head down twice while walking up and down the bench. Looks like a kid who expects to fail, not pissed that he didn't succeed. Maybe too much inference, but body language was very clear to me.

I think he bases his success or failure on his offense and is so desperate to score he rushes..........and misses........so much he's down on himself.
Also seems to get the worst calls on defense. There was one time today where we watched the call three times and still couldn't see why he was called for a foul. That may have been where he left the game with his head down.
When your coach annoints you a future NBA star based on summer workouts and you don't deliver what it was said you could do for the team it has to weigh on you.

 

[Scrutineer]

Really I didn't see that. I thought he had a shoulder issue?

He has really long arms............

 

[alphasigko]

Didn’t think a team would have enough possessions to score 19 points in 1:46. But we allowed P.C. to do it with lazy defense amazingly committing 5 non-sensical fouls. We also had to use multiple timeouts just to inbounds the ball (thank god we had them). Hope they work on end of game time & situation recognition and handling presses this week.

And designate a last shot shooter other than Hass.

 

[Chief00]

He played a good game. He’s playing Liam’s role, just not as well.
when Liam comes back that role is taken.

I get the aggregate available minutes part but I think given his size we would expect McNeeley to produce more rebounds and individually create more offense. Having said that Mahaney can be an outstanding FG shooter and FT shooter. He can also be part of a 3 headed ball handling system.

 

[Chief00]

I think he bases his success or failure on his offense and is so desperate to score he rushes..........and misses........so much he's down on himself.
Also seems to get the worst calls on defense. There was one time today where we watched the call three times and still couldn't see why he was called for a foul. That may have been where he left the game with his head down.
When your coach annoints you a future NBA star based on summer workouts and you don't deliver what it was said you could do for the team it has to weigh on you.

I struggle to see a PT minutes preference for Ross over Stewart. Stewart has both better over-all size and better shooting stroke. They are both athletic.

 

[Chief00]

I think this win is so important at this point of the season - playing without arguably UConn's best player.
Ross to me is an enigma- what does DH and staff see in this kid?
AK looked uncomfortable on D in the 1st half - came alive in second half.
Diara was the player of the game
Ball can shoot a 3 but he has to be able to defend and get under the basket and fight for a rebound. Having him and Ross on the floor together is playing 5v3.5
Nobody could stop Sam on pick and roll in first 4 minutes and then it stopped.
Perimeter D sucks - getting beat off the dribble, 50/50 balls, not communicating - that is not DH ball.
BUT - they won, if they hadn't I'm not sure what the psyche of this team would be going into Nova game.
Big win - lot's and lot's to work on.

Good points - losing the 50/50 balls in the first half was so unUConn like. Our decision making defending 3’s this season needs a lot of improvement. Johnson thinks he’s a point guard and defends 3’s 27 feet from the basket rather than defending the paint.
Lots to learn from after our great comeback, we almost handed the game back to our opponent. Ironically, being in the double bonus FT so early (which seldom happens) saved us. Our 3 guards (Diarra, Ball, Mahaney) shot 19 for 22 from FT or 86%, which was a big part of our win.

 

[Mister P]

And designate a last shot shooter other than Hass.

Hass has hit shot clock buzzer beaters along with Solo hitting a couple of nice designed corner threes after inbounding the ball with a couple of seconds on the shot clock and darting to the corner to receive a pass back but have we seen any end of half or game plays this year for Alex ? It does seem that Hass has been the one taking these shots(and he did hit a end of half three a couple of games ago)
Alex was the go to guy 2 years ago for these shots and I’d like to see him be the primary guy again in these situations.

 

[gtcam]

PCee is strictly a 1v1 team and those teams have very little in terms of assists
It's a lot like the Squids Kentucky teams, without all the high level talent.
They will score in spurts and feed emotionally off those spurts.
Once the shots stop falling, frustration creeps in and they begin to foul.
They are not a very good team.

 

[Seamus84]

I struggle to see a PT minutes preference for Ross over Stewart. Stewart has both better over-all size and better shooting stroke. They are both athletic.

I agree. But am now coming to the conclusion that the "athletic" tag has stunted their development. Watching them on offense, they both run to a corner, hang out for a couple seconds and then just run around...they don't constantly set pics that are the key to our motion offense or maneuver for a weakside rebound. Both need to focus less on athleticism and more on bball skills.

I used to work for a guy who said "What got you here, isn't going to keep you here", meaning you've got to constantly improve your skills. It's great that JR and JS can jump out of the gym (and that may have been enough in high school) but we need them to be more McNeeley and Castle and less Kwintin Williams and Stanley Wilson.

 

[Waquoit]

Alex was the go to guy 2 years ago for these shots and I’d like to see him be the primary guy again in these situations.

Two years ago he was they guy they left open.

 

[Mister P]

Two years ago he was they guy they left open.

Fair point. He does get more defensive attention now than he did his freshman and sophomore years. But it still seems that plays have been designed for other players to take the shot.

 

[Waquoit]

Fair point. He does get more defensive attention now than he did his freshman and sophomore years. But it still seems that plays have been designed for other players to take the shot.

Trust me, I want AK taking those shots too.

 

[AllHusky]

PCee is strictly a 1v1 team and those teams have very little in terms of assists
It's a lot like the Squids Kentucky teams, without all the high level talent.
They will score in spurts and feed emotionally off those spurts.
Once the shots stop falling, frustration creeps in and they begin to foul.
They are not a very good team.

Did you see how far off Pierres 3 pointers were in the last quarter of the game?

 

[HuskyHawk]

I struggle to see a PT minutes preference for Ross over Stewart. Stewart has both better over-all size and better shooting stroke. They are both athletic.

There's something Hurley wants from Stewart he's not getting. But I don't know what it is. He's less reluctant to play him at the 4 when AK is out than he is at the 3. So my guess is that there is some defensive rotation or role as a 3 that Stewart hasn't picked up. Remember Ball started when Castle was out. Stewart played, but he mostly played at the 4.

I really expected Stewart to be one of our best players. We're not nearly as good as I hoped we might be because he's not bringing what I expected. Hopefully this time with Liam out will help him find it.

 

[businesslawyer]

I keep thinking DH needs to find a video of Lyman DePriest on Dana Barros in the 1988 NIT. For those who weren't there nor watched it on TV, Barros ate us up in the first half but JC put Lyman on Barros in the second half and he couldn't get a shot off.
Ross seems as fast as Lyman and is taller and longer so maybe he needs to watch the footwork and technique of one Lyman DePriest and become the star defender we could really use right now. Lyman was all over the smaller, fast, Barros so tightly that he never got a good look at the basket.

In that game, it wasn't about DePriest's footwork -- it was his size and strength. IIRC on the first possession someone set a solid screen for Barros and Lyman just took the screener out at full speed. Hard. He got called for the foul, but no one was willing to set a screen for Barros after that.

 

[Waquoit]

In that game, it wasn't about DePriest's footwork -- it was his size and strength. IIRC on the first possession someone set a solid screen for Barros and Lyman just took the screener out at full speed. Hard. He got called for the foul, but no one was willing to set a screen for Barros after that.

It was about Lyman's leadership, too. Someone just looking back at the stats wouldn't get the true picture of his value. I haven't told this one for awhile. I forget the game but I remember the quote. He came off the bench to turn a game around after getting a few DNP's in a row. When asked about that he said, "I knew Coach would get back to me." I get the feeling the players get that vibe from Dan.

 

[Chief00]

There's something Hurley wants from Stewart he's not getting. But I don't know what it is. He's less reluctant to play him at the 4 when AK is out than he is at the 3. So my guess is that there is some defensive rotation or role as a 3 that Stewart hasn't picked up. Remember Ball started when Castle was out. Stewart played, but he mostly played at the 4.

I really expected Stewart to be one of our best players. We're not nearly as good as I hoped we might be because he's not bringing what I expected. Hopefully this time with Liam out will help him find it.

Hurley admitted it with Hassan, some of the coaching staff’s pre season role perceptions were wrong. It is healthy to do adjustments now.

 

[Chief00]

Good Diarra article.

UConn's Dan Hurley Admits Hassan Diarra Should've Been Starter: 'I Screwed Up'

Great leaders know that admitting a mistake isn’t a sign of weakness but rather a way to build trust. It’s no surprise that two-time national champion head coac

www.si.com