Chief’s Briefs - St John’s Edition

[gtcam]

Silas Demery is a gamer but he doesn't have a PG game. He appears to lack the quick decision making that a real PG uses and cannot see lanes before they close up. He dribbles into the trees with zero ideas of what to do with the ball. I have not seen a player who ends up on the floor as much as he did this tournament. Perhaps he is best used as a 2 because he has proven he can hit the 3s and the midrange shot.

AK played a great game vs Xavier but disappeared vs Gtown and St Johns - a complete non contributor. I applaud his previous contributions but Hurley trying to make him into an AA was/is a mistake. Congrats on a great college career AK but UConn needs your best efforts in the dance. Can you bring it with you?

Ball is an enigma - some days he looks like the best athlete on the court and other times you wonder where he is on the court. Might be best served as a spark off the bench but it may be too late. I have been noticing that he has an overt inclination to never pass to an open Mullens. That is something I am sure the coaching staff has seen on tape and wonder why it hasn't been corrected. If he is to return next season I have no idea where he fits in. As with AK, I applaud his past contributions but it may be time to move on.

Mullens is an 18 yo (which many don't take into consideration) and is a work in process with a great growing curve ahead of him. Will he be back? It depends upon his Dad's input and where he may fall in an already loaded, bloated draft. You could also see him jump to another team where he will feel more comfortable and where he will be able to take more shots .Without BM, UConn loses to Gtown last Friday.

Reed is Reed. If he wants to play hard on a consistent basis he is a monster. If he had AS's motor and drive - wow!

Ross - I had a lot of ?s about him but as the season has grown I have liked his D and his athleticism, he looked like the only Husky who could match up with St John's athletes. He has a huge upside if he could settle into a consistent performance. A very impressive NBE tourney performance

I am not even commenting on Dan Hurley's game prep because I question if there was one.
The NBE refs? They have been treating UConn as is since Hurley joined. Yeah, Calhoun had his run ins but knew how to get into the ref's minds without creating a hostile atmosphere that starts at pregame and into the post game interviews. I have been a huge proponent of refs also being interviewed by the press after the games - why is it they are given a free ride?
Inbounding the ball? Keep the ball out of AK's hands and draw up some simple plays calling for quick changes of direction and keep out of the corners. SIMPLE

This team can still blow our minds and make a great run but they could also lay a rotten egg during the early rounds.
I love UConn athletics and will always be a supporter but this season has me asking a lot of questions of the coaching staff.
It's a new season as of 7PM tonight.
UConn will know where they go and the road ahead. I, for one, will be happy to be rid of the NBE 2025-6 season.
This conference, to be nice, sucks.
Lets go Huskies, March Madness has been/is your turn to excel.

 

[Chief00]

Silas Demery is a gamer but he doesn't have a PG game. He appears to lack the quick decision making that a real PG uses and cannot see lanes before they close up. He dribbles into the trees with zero ideas of what to do with the ball. I have not seen a player who ends up on the floor as much as he did this tournament. Perhaps he is best used as a 2 because he has proven he can hit the 3s and the midrange shot.

AK played a great game vs Xavier but disappeared vs Gtown and St Johns - a complete non contributor. I applaud his previous contributions but Hurley trying to make him into an AA was/is a mistake. Congrats on a great college career AK but UConn needs your best efforts in the dance. Can you bring it with you?

Ball is an enigma - some days he looks like the best athlete on the court and other times you wonder where he is on the court. Might be best served as a spark off the bench but it may be too late. I have been noticing that he has an overt inclination to never pass to an open Mullens. That is something I am sure the coaching staff has seen on tape and wonder why it hasn't been corrected. If he is to return next season I have no idea where he fits in. As with AK, I applaud his past contributions but it may be time to move on.

Mullens is an 18 yo (which many don't take into consideration) and is a work in process with a great growing curve ahead of him. Will he be back? It depends upon his Dad's input and where he may fall in an already loaded, bloated draft. You could also see him jump to another team where he will feel more comfortable and where he will be able to take more shots .Without BM, UConn loses to Gtown last Friday.

Reed is Reed. If he wants to play hard on a consistent basis he is a monster. If he had AS's motor and drive - wow!

Ross - I had a lot of ?s about him but as the season has grown I have liked his D and his athleticism, he looked like the only Husky who could match up with St John's athletes. He has a huge upside if he could settle into a consistent performance. A very impressive NBE tourney performance

I am not even commenting on Dan Hurley's game prep because I question if there was one.
The NBE refs? They have been treating UConn as is since Hurley joined. Yeah, Calhoun had his run ins but knew how to get into the ref's minds without creating a hostile atmosphere that starts at pregame and into the post game interviews. I have been a huge proponent of refs also being interviewed by the press after the games - why is it they are given a free ride?
Inbounding the ball? Keep the ball out of AK's hands and draw up some simple plays calling for quick changes of direction and keep out of the corners. SIMPLE

This team can still blow our minds and make a great run but they could also lay a rotten egg during the early rounds.
I love UConn athletics and will always be a supporter but this season has me asking a lot of questions of the coaching staff.
It's a new season as of 7PM tonight.
UConn will know where they go and the road ahead. I, for one, will be happy to be rid of the NBE 2025-6 season.
This conference, to be nice, sucks.
Lets go Huskies, March Madness has been/is your turn to excel.

Great write-up and I agree on many points. The evolution that has taken place amongst long standing UConn fans from the joy when we rejoin the Big East to the perspective today, is remarkable despite our oncourt success the last few years. Val Ackerman has been a total trainwreck. Most importantly the Integrity of the Game has cratered under her dismal leadership.

 

[Chief00]

The game was ugly for three reasons.

1. They came out ready to play and we didn’t. Just like we didn’t in Milwaukee with a share of the regular season title on the line. Part of that was I’m sure it was easier for them to get up for the game with the revenge factor, but part of that is this team since Big East play started just doesn’t play with full urgency and intensity all the time.

2. The shooting. Despite not being able to hit a 3 to save our lives, we got back to within 7 in the 2d half. Had any of Karaban, Ball or Mullens gotten hot, coming back would not have been impossible. This played into the key possession of the game. Down 10 with the ball coming out of the 8 minute TO, we had a possession with a bunch of offensive rebounds and multiple shots, including good looks from 3 for both BM and Solo. They both missed. That was basically the end of the game.

3. I don’t like complaining about refs, and this game didn’t have egregiously bad calls (for the most part), but this was a game where St. John’s bumped and held just constantly, and not only did the refs from the opening whistle say that was o.k., but we got called for offensive fouls twice in the first half for responding by trying to get the offenders off our guys with the ball. We won’t win games against good teams if constant mild fouls aren’t called when we have the ball. St Johns played really really well against us the way the game was called, and probably played themselves into a pod in Philly alongside us next weekend, but if they play like that they’re going to give up 35 foul shots and lose in the second round. Big East games need to be called like games are called in the rest of the country.

This was a pretty strange season. I don’t want to beat on a team that won as many games as they did, and were within 40 minutes of having earned a #1 seed, BUT, just like Chief talks about his warning signs, the absolute truth is we played our best ball early in the season with Mullens out and being integrated into the team as opposed to once he settled in as a starter. That’s not a knock on him, although he was particularly awful yesterday, but sometimes the pieces don’t fit the way the coach thought they would when the season started. And with Karaban, Ball and Mullens playing together, the pieces just didn’t fit well. Too much finesse, too high a percentage of 3 balls, too many players who need the ball in their hands to be effective, not enough athleticism, physicality and defense. And while Ross had a good tournament (not as good yesterday but still needed for D and athleticism), that’s why we miss Stewart in ways that aren’t always obvious.

Interesting comment about us missing Stewart in ways that are not always obvious. I looked back at the elite OOC boxscores and absent a couple games Stewart was underwhelming, given his minutes then, but yet we won. I think his length helped us and also not another guy who needs double figures in shot attempts.
In a non dysfunctional atmosphere I think Mullins will excel with another year of maturity, and strength development. Sometimes our ballhandler struggle so much from constant grabbing and pushing they don’t keep their heads up and don’t see enought of the court. So often we miss Mullins open in his sweet spots with space but then in the same possession give him the ball when tightly guarded and a less than optimal shot follows perhaps out of frustration or over confidence? While not strong yet he is very athletic and can create offense off the mid range dribble. He needs more college preparation for his game and his handlers need to have the recognition while he might get drafted first round his best pay day is to round out his game and strength with another college season and then get a first half of first round payday.

 

[Chief00]

"Non calls" are not a BY excuse, it is a real thing. Playing physical without fouling (I.e. non calls) is a skill. All coaches, coach it, but some teams are better at it than others. In the NCAA, it depends on how the game is officiated AND if the opposing team is good at the above mentioned skill. The often mentioned FTA disparity and turnovers that have haunted UConn tells us that they are not good at the "skill".

I understand your point but if they consciously or subconsciously have an axe to grind with Hurley, which there is all kinds of evidence to suggest they do - then more foul flopping etc won’t help.

 

[DMIL]

The game was ugly for three reasons.

1. They came out ready to play and we didn’t. Just like we didn’t in Milwaukee with a share of the regular season title on the line. Part of that was I’m sure it was easier for them to get up for the game with the revenge factor, but part of that is this team since Big East play started just doesn’t play with full urgency and intensity all the time.

2. The shooting. Despite not being able to hit a 3 to save our lives, we got back to within 7 in the 2d half. Had any of Karaban, Ball or Mullens gotten hot, coming back would not have been impossible. This played into the key possession of the game. Down 10 with the ball coming out of the 8 minute TO, we had a possession with a bunch of offensive rebounds and multiple shots, including good looks from 3 for both BM and Solo. They both missed. That was basically the end of the game.

3. I don’t like complaining about refs, and this game didn’t have egregiously bad calls (for the most part), but this was a game where St. John’s bumped and held just constantly, and not only did the refs from the opening whistle say that was o.k., but we got called for offensive fouls twice in the first half for responding by trying to get the offenders off our guys with the ball. We won’t win games against good teams if constant mild fouls aren’t called when we have the ball. St Johns played really really well against us the way the game was called, and probably played themselves into a pod in Philly alongside us next weekend, but if they play like that they’re going to give up 35 foul shots and lose in the second round. Big East games need to be called like games are called in the rest of the country.

This was a pretty strange season. I don’t want to beat on a team that won as many games as they did, and were within 40 minutes of having earned a #1 seed, BUT, just like Chief talks about his warning signs, the absolute truth is we played our best ball early in the season with Mullens out and being integrated into the team as opposed to once he settled in as a starter. That’s not a knock on him, although he was particularly awful yesterday, but sometimes the pieces don’t fit the way the coach thought they would when the season started. And with Karaban, Ball and Mullens playing together, the pieces just didn’t fit well. Too much finesse, too high a percentage of 3 balls, too many players who need the ball in their hands to be effective, not enough athleticism, physicality and defense. And while Ross had a good tournament (not as good yesterday but still needed for D and athleticism), that’s why we miss Stewart in ways that aren’t always obvious.

🎯

 

[housekeys]

I understand your point but if they consciously or subconsciously have an axe to grind with Hurley, which there is all kinds of evidence to suggest they do - then more foul flopping etc won’t help.

I am not sure what you are saying.

 

[Chief00]

I am not sure what you are saying.

From the no Big East bias ref camp I have heard all kinds arguments not to believe my lying eyes or the data. If UConn flopped more to get calls like SJ’s, would they get more fouls? My point is if the bias is there consciously or subconsciously - it won’t make a difference in results if we started flopping. That 7 minute into the game technical foul was more about putting the reigns on Hurley the entire game than anything consistent or substantive. Pitino was consistently on the court during the Game and I did not see even a warning. The miss call on Demary getting whacked should have been a flagrant T, bitcsssnt even a foul.
And earlier in the season when Hurley appealed a call they actually upgraded it rather than accept or deny his appeal.
The same crew who defended Val Ackerman pretending she helped the underpaid WNBA players are the same folks defending her now.

 

[gtcam]

From the no Big East bias ref camp I have heard all kinds arguments not to believe my lying eyes or the data. If UConn flopped more to get calls like SJ’s, would they get more fouls? My point is if the bias is there consciously or subconsciously - it won’t make a difference in results if we started flopping. That 7 minute into the game technical foul was more about putting the reigns on Hurley the entire game than anything consistent or substantive. Pitino was consistently on the court during the Game and I did not see even a warning. The miss call on Demary getting whacked should have been a flagrant T, bitcsssnt even a foul.
And earlier in the season when Hurley appealed a call they actually upgraded it rather than accept or deny his appeal.
The same crew who defended Val Ackerman pretending she helped the underpaid WNBA players are the same folks defending her now.

Ive watched the play with Demery several times and I can see points on both sides but how many times have we seen calls up graded to a flagrant 1 that would haven't warranted a second look years ago.
The fact that he came down with his elbow with force onto the area above a players shoulders is a Flagrant 1 or 2 in nearly every other situation. To me, that is a flagrant foul in every level of the game.
How many times has San Antonio's "the alien" been called for fragrant 1s when opposing players have run into his elbows when he is bringing the ball down after a rebound? For goodness sakes, players like Mitchell, Brunson, Harden and others try to run into the elbow on purpose and get the call,
The NBE refs were definitely paying extra special attention to Dan Hurley and completely ignoring Pitino who as you said was walki8ng all over the court and screaming.
This conference is hideous in so many ways. Got to get rid of the idiot at the top of the pile - Val B
Has she ever come out and made a comment about Dan Hurley?

 

[Old Man UConn]

we do get bear hugged a lot on offense. This prevents cutting.
No more Big East officials time to move on.