Chief’s Briefs - St John’s Edition

[FfldCntyFan]

Full disclosure, my sister did it again and scheduled a family party 30 minutes into the game. So my observations will be brief on what I did see.

Hawkins, Sanogo and Jackson led the way with Andre getting comfortable with the baseline and drives to the hoop. Two good adjustment.

We got 32 points from our bench which brought back memories of the Nike tournament. Joey C, Clingan and Alleyne played well. This made up for rare recent poor game from Karaban and a mix type game from Newton.

We saw the value of having a shot blocker rim protector against a team that could beat us off the dribble. We had 11 block shots to 3.

A good game but then our trait of self- imploding and not closing a game took over.

Good to see Hurley finally figured out it was a good time to put Joey C in the game. I would prefer him over Newton at closing time due to better decision making. Diarra has some pluses but his foul shooting is a hindrance if he was available.

You should have considered being a casual brother today.

 

[Chief00]

A win is always good, especially a road conference win but MSG is hardly a hostile environment for UConn.
The massive amounts of turnovers in the second half is unacceptable and nearly caused the game to become ultra close. Sanogo’s court vision and passing is suspect.
Closing out games is a bad trend and a really good team and coach is going to clamp the D down and hound UConn. Closing out the game is the difference between advancing or going home in the NCAAs. It isn’t a one off with this team, it’s a habit and should have been coached through long before this date. Not good.
Nice to see Joey C and NA breakout and UConn will need them from this point forward.
AJax played a really good final 33% of the game. He is much more effective when running the baseline. UConn can’t afford to play 4v5 for 2/3 of a game.
AK battles the whole game and does the little things that make a difference.
Hawk was pressing too much early but settled in. A little out of control on his drives but did play some nice D. And guess what? My man scored 20 again and led the team in scoring again. I have to laugh at the box score that shows he had only 2 rebounds. He had that many in the opening 5 minutes. My son and I counted at least 7.
DC was a huge factor in this game, without him there may not have been a W. He is young and the refs cut him zero slack.
Too many fouls but 80% were justified. Still the NBE officiating is the worse aspect of the league.
Need to beat both DePaul and Nova

We need that Clingan Block Party

 

[Chief00]

You should have considered being a casual brother today.

I was on the borderline of pulling the plug today on going, but we had a death in the family this past year and it is not the time for drama.

 

[Chief00]

I think all 4 bench players, Clingan, JC, Alleyne, and Diarra are the key. Having 4 guys that could step up any time of the bench is essential for winning 6 in row. The starters will have some bad games occasionally, and having options off the bench will save the day in a tournament game. Last year’s early exit I blame on having no options off the bench.

I also really like Andre being positioned on the baseline. I think this was great mid season adjustment by Hurley. I like his man trying to double Sanogo, and the pass going to Andre for dunk. I liked the play they ran at end of the first half, even though the pass was off and it didn’t work. I am not wild about Andre shooting 3s, even though his form is looking much better. The team in general shoots too many 3s. We don’t need Andre to be another 3P shooter. I loved it when he drove to basket, drew contact and got to FT line. Driving to the hoop and drawing FTs is what this team needs. I’d love to see Andre focus on that rather than being another 3P shooter.

Finally, Sanogo is a great captain and team leader. Several times he grabbed one of his teammates, when they were about to get a technical foul, and pulled them away from the St John’s player who was taunting.

I have said consistently that Andre can eventually become a good three point shooter. He’s got the arch, backspin, soft touch and to make it happen. This summer will be key.

 

[temery]

Control the tournovers.. Chief is the NIL guy.. 24-7..

Would crack me up if a player got an NIL deal to endorse something like Pepperidge Farm turnovers.

 

[Rico444]

If Joey gets hot in March we can win the whole thing.

 

[coachn]

Chief the usual good stuff. Wish we could close out games better.
The group as a whole makes up for the loss of Cole.

 

[ctkaiser]

We are playing better but the late game loss of focus right after the AJ lob/Jam is a little concerning. We still need to stay focused to close games against quality teams. Another W.

Maybe use the shot clock a little.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Casual. Pathetic. I would have skipped that party or hijacked the tv in the house.