Chief’s Briefs - St John’s Edition

[Chief00]

SJU shot 8% better from the field and 16% better from 3.

Hurley stopped our second half comeback by replacing Reed with Johnson. Things were never the same even after quickly putting Reed back in.

Johnson should be in last year’s role, he isn’t a starting center. Much is on Hurley having Reed and Johnson covering guards at half court, while leaving big men wide open rolling underneath. At least 5 times McNeeley/Ball’s had to rotate and then their man hit threes.

If we stopped the destructive high hedge we could start Reed and not have him and Johnson pile up fouls. That would also give us more rebounds and points in the paint. Additionally, this disasterous hedging also creates poor 3 point defense with many defenders being caught in between and sometimes fouling a 3 point shooter running out late to him.

The flagrant 1 foul in the first half that created a 7 or 8 point swing was the turning point in the game / making a close game a landslide, it did not look like a flagrant foul in the replay.

When pressed, we don’t get the ball to the middle - no excuse for that from a strategy/implementation perspective.

I am all for being hard on players and playing harder, but that doesn’t address our many mental mistakes, turnovers, lack of fundamental screens and poor rotations. Time is here to do things smarter this year.

 

[Mets1432]

Our coaching staff has never adjusted to the players we have.

Makes me extremely worried that Dan will continue to think that what worked during the back to backs will continue to work no matter the personnel. He needs to adjust his style to the strengths of the roster and hasn't been able to do so. Scared for our future.

Also continuing to start Johnson over Reed is just straight insane behavior.

 

[jibsey]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

 

[Hi-Low]

This UConn team was never winning this game today....would have hoped for a better fight though. Season is not lost just unlikely to be anything special as the roster is too flawed....need heroic performances from Liam to beat good teams.

 

[Palatine]

For the game SJU shot 13% better (42%) from three. We went 1-10 from the arc in the first half and 26% for the game Our guys shot 39% on all shots for the game blowing numerous bunnies. They just flat shot their butts off. We didn't. Liam was 2-13. If he didn't miss 8 games in the middle of the season he would be more consistent by now. But that is water under the bridge.

Johnson did nothing wrong where he was in there. He had 8 points and was solid on D. If you start Reed he won't last a half before he fouls out. He fouled out today in 20 minutes of play. Neither Reed on Johnson are the problem.

Our offense is the problem. Today our turnovers cost us 24 points. Sam Johnson has one TO in 20 minutes. Like I said our centers are NOT the problem.

 

[Rico444]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

They're tougher that's for sure. We got punked on the offensive glass and they beat us to most loose balls.

This team isn't as talented as the last few years but we also don't have anywhere near the same toughness those teams had.

 

[uconntoatl]

Yea this team is just not great. Too many unforced turnovers, player regression, and lack of consistency on both ends. Complacency meets regression.

There should be some wholesale roster changes next year

 

[blkknight1]

I said it in the other thread this team has the burden of being 2 time defending Champs but not the dawgs to handle it.

 

[alphasigko]

Johnnies are BIGGER, faster, stronger plus shoot and defend better. They whooped our butts today. IMO they could go far in the tourney.

 

[boog204]

I fully expected us to get blown out. For one, we are a flawed and very fragile team top to bottom. St. John's, is actually not that talented but they have a master technician who could make any team successful and he knows exactly how to game plan to exploit the weaknesses of the opposition. This team would beat us 9 out of 10. It's just a terrible matchup across the board for us.

As said throughout, the biggest issue is that our team is just not very athletic, lacks "complete players," and is frankly pretty soft. There is a lot of "pressure" on us from the expectations standpoint but we just do not seem to have the mentality/physicality to answer to it. I worry going forward about the collective psyche of this team. There appears to be a lot of bickering, etc. going on. Maybe that's what we need? I don't know.

At the risk of being called a "hater" for pointing out fairly obvious deficiencies, we see the same issues from a preparation standpoint that we have all year. We still struggle inbounding the ball. We still struggle with our defensive principles. And we are still struggling to make any adjustments game-to-game. When your coach says that he feels like he's watching the same game tape since November, and nothing has changed, I really start to ponder what is actually being altered to best meet the needs/skills of the team. Again, the team is flawed. But I do not see many variations to try and mask those flaws, especially on the defensive end. I don't hate Dan Hurley. I don't think I'm being "entitled" or whatever. I just don't think he's figured out how to get the most out of this team. JC had a handful of seasons like this, too.

 

[oshkosh]

Our depth is trash. It’s too bad Mahaney couldn’t at least be a 10ppg scorer off the bench. The last two years we had a great bench and everyone knew their role.

 

[businesslawyer]

SJU shot 8% better from the field and 16% better from 3.

Hurley stopped our second half comeback by replacing Reed with Johnson. Things were never the same even after quickly putting Reed back in.

Johnson should be in last year’s role, he isn’t a starting center. Much is on Hurley having Reed and Johnson covering guards at half court, while leaving big men wide open rolling underneath. At least 5 times McNeeley/Ball’s had to rotate and then their man hit threes.

If we stopped the destructive high hedge we could start Reed and not have him and Johnson pile up fouls. That would also give us more rebounds and points in the paint. Additionally, this disasterous hedging also creates poor 3 point defense with many defenders being caught in between and sometimes fouling a 3 point shooter running out late to him.

The flagrant 1 foul in the first half that created a 7 or 8 point swing was the turning point in the game / making a close game a landslide, it did not look like a flagrant foul in the replay.

When pressed, we don’t get the ball to the middle - no excuse for that from a strategy/implementation perspective.

I am all for being hard on players and playing harder, but that doesn’t address our many mental mistakes, turnovers, lack of fundamental screens and poor rotations. Time is here to do things smarter this year.

The thought that coaching strategy determined this game is absurd. Or how he rotated Johnson and Reed.

1. They hit shots. St. Johns is not nearly as good shooting 3s and foul shots as they were in the first half when they blew the game open. If they are now that good, they have a real shot at the Final Four with a good draw.

2. Johnson, Reed and Diarra showed up in the first half. Karaban, McNeeley and Ball did not. We can't win games against good teams if two of those three don't show up, much less all of them.

 

[bendm]

This looked like a varsity team abusing the jv team. Not much you can do when it’s men against boys.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

SJU shot 8% better from the field and 16% better from 3.

Hurley stopped our second half comeback by replacing Reed with Johnson. Things were never the same even after quickly putting Reed back in.

Johnson should be in last year’s role, he isn’t a starting center. Much is on Hurley having Reed and Johnson covering guards at half court, while leaving big men wide open rolling underneath. At least 5 times McNeeley/Ball’s had to rotate and then their man hit threes.

If we stopped the destructive high hedge we could start Reed and not have him and Johnson pile up fouls. That would also give us more rebounds and points in the paint. Additionally, this disasterous hedging also creates poor 3 point defense with many defenders being caught in between and sometimes fouling a 3 point shooter running out late to him.

The flagrant 1 foul in the first half that created a 7 or 8 point swing was the turning point in the game / making a close game a landslide, it did not look like a flagrant foul in the replay.

When pressed, we don’t get the ball to the middle - no excuse for that from a strategy/implementation perspective.

I am all for being hard on players and playing harder, but that doesn’t address our many mental mistakes, turnovers, lack of fundamental screens and poor rotations. Time is here to do things smarter this year.

I’d even try Reed and Samson in certain situations against certain teams. Reed, Samson, Diarra, Karaban and McNeeley would’ve worked against St John’s.

 

[AdamaNation]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

He hates that high hedge. Huh?

 

[alphasigko]

Time is here to do things smarter this year.

Sorry Chief, I think that time has come and gone.

 

[Hankster]

The turnovers are a nightmare guys so bad that it got to be comical. Sorry but to me it's that bad. Our guards get their pockets picked for many games. Even under the rim our guys can't either hold on to the rebound or get the ball tapped away from them from behind. Todays game our guys turned the ball over the first play of the game. Second half, same thing turnover immediately. Teams are hungary to get the ball. We are not.

 

[Poe]

Just rename this the high hedge post. It’s the same post after every game, particularly after a loss.

 

[Chief00]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

Last year we had Castle and Newton rotating into the paint when high hedge blows up and they could offer opposition to front court players. This year it is not doable given the size of our guards. That adjustment is on the coaches not the players.

We produce very few turnovers off the high hedge but it leads to open shots and offensive rebounds you attribute to junk yard dog but it is also due to being out of position. Fundamentally, much of a rebound outcome is determine before a shot goes up.

 

[Chief00]

Just rename this the high hedge post. It’s the same post after every game, particularly after a loss.

It is a trend we can’t ignore and I explained to our Casual Fans in previous post why mechanically it is a major issue this season.

 

[bendm]

@Chief, 99% of your critiques involve fouls and the high hedge.

 

[mauconnfan]

For the game SJU shot 13% better (42%) from three. We went 1-10 from the arc in the first half and 26% for the game Our guys shot 39% on all shots for the game blowing numerous bunnies. They just flat shot their butts off. We didn't. Liam was 2-13. If he didn't miss 8 games in the middle of the season he would be more consistent by now. But that is water under the bridge.

Johnson did nothing wrong where he was in there. He had 8 points and was solid on D. If you start Reed he won't last a half before he fouls out. He fouled out today in 20 minutes of play. Neither Reed on Johnson are the problem.

Our offense is the problem. Today our turnovers cost us 24 points. Sam Johnson has one TO in 20 minutes. Like I said our centers are NOT the problem.

Please stop Reed is our hope only hope at the 5. I like SJ and he’s a great back up but we can’t even think of throwing it inside when we’re running our offense and he’s in and teams know that so we’re easier to defend. He scored late and on lobs when they lost their passion for a while then it all changed back. Of his first 2 fouls only one was a foul and while Ejuifor man handles everyone and gets called for absolutely a small percentage of his fouls we get everything called on our bigs.

Reed rebounds like a man and we need throw it into him more, we need him with 25 minutes and 10-12 shots at least we’re immediately a better team. I agree he gets in foul trouble but Dan needs to stop the hedging with him and adjust so he’s in the game!

 

[CONN78SEJ]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

You said everything correctly, but I think you were looking for the phrase “ball handler”.

 

[CL82]

Johnson is who he is. He's mobile enough to do the hard hedge, but that often results in him being out of position to defend the paint. Similarly he's athletic and quick enough to get blocks, but because he's looking for blocks, he's not boxing out.

 

[mauconnfan]

Johnson is who he is. He's mobile enough to do the hard hedge, but that often results in him being out of position to defend the paint. Similarly he's athletic and quick enough to get blocks, but because he's looking for blocks, he's not boxing out.

^^ This^^

 

[GHSWolverines]

Our coaching staff has never adjusted to the players we have.

Makes me extremely worried that Dan will continue to think that what worked during the back to backs will continue to work no matter the personnel. He needs to adjust his style to the strengths of the roster and hasn't been able to do so. Scared for our future.

Also continuing to start Johnson over Reed is just straight insane behavior.

Agree with you 1000%. While I love our coaching staff, it befuddles me that they did not make adjustments both defensively and offensively based on the personnel. This should have been done by at least midseason.
Well, 4 more games left and I hope we csn go 4 - 0 and reach the finals of th BET

 

[gtcam]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

Correct. He doesn't only need to be smarter but also a better in game coach with match-ups, rotations and a host of other things. He won't be lucky to have every 7"2" home body decide to stay home, or have a Cam Spencer sneak in,
This game was purely men vs boys. UConn looked smaller, slower, less prepared and scared. St Johns played with confidence speed and above all - maturity. I am not at all a Pitino fan but he severely outcoached UConn's staff today. Building depth is important but UConn can't seem to get at least 3 players who produce good results any 1 game.

I am not sure that St Johns will make a ton of noise in the tournament - no idea how they will react to a one and done situation and if they meet up with a mature team who knows how to protect the glass and work it, who can play tough perimeter D - they are going to be in trouble. I can see them becoming very haphazard when pressured. But again, it all depends on the draw.

This season has been an eye opener for sure. The luster has quickly started to loose it's glow. Pitino will come back next year with another carefully pieced together pieces solely from the portal of upper classmen who are hungry to win and doing so in NYC makes it that much more attractive.

Hoping UConn gets into the dance and will if it doesn't implode. If they implode Dan Hurley can look for that 3peat with the Gold Cup tournament.

Final note - I feel for Alex but there was a time during the 1st half when he couldn't catch the ball, defend or score. Yeah Dan Hurley sat him down but not until SJs were up by double figures. We have seen this before when a returning upper class player comes back after championship years and has been anointed the next AA. Josh Boone and Albert M come to mind, only to realize he may have been the weakest overall of the starters the previous year. I was glad to see him shooting better in the 2nd half and if he could hit the 3's at 40% plus and drive to the hoop this changes the dynamic of this team.

On to the next foe......................

 

[Chief00]

Sorry Chief, I think that time has come and gone.

We have to start sometime

 

[CONN78SEJ]

No Chief, sorry. This is not if Hurley were just smarter. They fight like junkyard dogs on putbacks and make them. They have several players that can create 2 point jump shots. They also have in your face defense. Yes they made 3’s today but how do our guards compare athletically to them?
Yes the 8 point play was crazy but it’s not the reason we lost. They are better up and down. And I hate saying it.

St John’s won’t make it past the sweet sixteen. And I love saying it.

 

[Chief00]

@Chief, 99% of your critiques involve fouls and the high hedge.

I explained in other posts how the high hedge impacts the overall defense and foul trouble that led to nearly 50% FG shooting for our opponent. You may be tired of it - but it’s our 8th loss.