Chief’s Briefs - Texas Edition

[ctchamps]

My points on Spencer were about his decision making late in the game, nothing more.

Obviously Spencer's an incredible asset to the team.

I’m pretty sure Hurley had no problem with Cam taking wide open threes in this game. Two games prior it was Cam’s threes that were significant in the victory.

Against Indiana the late three by Cam deflated Indiana’s players reminiscent of what Hawk and Joey did to opposing teams last season. Cam’s 3’s are a legitimate asset that any coach would green light.

Plus he’s a heady player who understands the game and has shown he considers options.

What makes this team so good is you have four playmakers in the starting lineup who really understand the game and all four play unselfishly. It’s looking like we have two playmakers in Diarra and Ball that can come off the bench with the same potential.

 

[Sibeerian]

How tall is Ball? He was flying above the rim on 2 putbacks, kid has some serious spring.

6 foot 3 with freddy krueger arms and flubber in his sneakers

 

[B1GEast]

I’m pretty sure Hurley had no problem with Cam taking wide open threes in this game. Two games prior it was Cam’s threes that were significant in the victory.

Against Indiana the late three by Cam deflated Indiana’s players reminiscent of what Hawk and Joey did to opposing teams last season. Cam’s 3’s are a legitimate asset that any coach would green light.

Plus he’s a heady player who understands the game and has shown he considers options.

What makes this team so good is you have four playmakers in the starting lineup who really understand the game and all four play unselfishly. It’s looking like we have two playmakers in Diarra and Ball that can come off the bench with the same potential.

Nothing wrong with open shot, but that's not always the best shot when the score is close and the bigs aren't in position for a rebound

Watch the game film. There was a moment when Spencer with driving to the basket and there were three Texas jerseys near him and the hoop. Johnson was out of position and couldn't get and alley opp pass or in a good position for a rebound.

Spencer still drove towards the basket. Maybe he should have reset.

Look, it's not a big deal, we won the game and I absolutely love Spencer on the team, just my two cents

 

[ctchamps]

Nothing wrong with open shot, but that's not always the best shot when the score is close and the bigs aren't in position for a rebound

Watch the game film. There was a moment when Spencer with driving to the basket and there were three Texas jerseys near him and the hoop. Johnson was out of position and couldn't get and alley opp pass or in a good position for a rebound.

Spencer still drove towards the basket. Maybe he should have reset.

Look, it's not a big deal, we won the game and I absolutely love Spencer on the team, just my two cents

I thought the same thing about that play. But our perspective from a tv angle is quite different from what a player sees on the floor. He probably saw an opportunity to create a shot or alley oop before the opposing teams reaction.

The thing that blows my mind about this team is how well the starters play together as a unit at this stage. We have four play makers that can assist or make successful plays at a high rate on offense. Our best teams have had three in the past. Of course it’s early in the season but I’m loving what we’ve seen so far.

 

[B1GEast]

I thought the same thing about that play. But our perspective from a tv angle is quite different from what a player sees on the floor. He probably saw an opportunity to create a shot or alley oop before the opposing teams reaction.

The thing that blows my mind about this team is how well the starters play together as a unit at this stage. We have four play makers that can assist or make successful plays at a high rate on offense. Our best teams have had three in the past. Of course it’s early in the season but I’m loving what we’ve seen so far.

I think we might have more than four playmakers, which is scary. I'm trying to temper my expectations.

Can't win every year, but this team has yet to peak, which is crazy.

 

[ctchamps]

I think we might have more than four playmakers, which is scary. I'm trying to temper my expectations.

Can't win every year, but this team has yet to peak, which is crazy.

My expectations have gone up significantly after these past two games. How the season plays out is hard to know. The best teams don’t always finish on top at the end because humans are playing and not robots.

But we have the components to make it happen. I wasn’t sure until now. I like our chances if this team stays healthy and the players continue to reach their potential. But you need a lot of luck as well. It’s why we watch sports. The script isn’t written.

It blows my mind to consider what the two bb programs have accomplished over the past twenty five years. It should not have happened. Too many pieces to the puzzle to win one championship never mind sixteen.

 

[Chief00]

My points on Spencer were about his decision making late in the game, nothing more.

Obviously Spencer's an incredible asset to the team.

There are many coaches across the country who would love to have Cam’s decision making.

 

[Spaceman213J]

Did you forget about Kemba?

I didn't forget about Kemba.

It's just more of the position they play. Kemba would use the crossover or his speed to get the open shot, and was clutch hitting it.

With Karaban, it's more just will and determination. It's more craft and cunning to get those shots off.

 

[Huskybass]

My expectations have gone up significantly after these past two games. How the season plays out is hard to know. The best teams don’t always finish on top at the end because humans are playing and not robots.

But we have the components to make it happen. I wasn’t sure until now. I like our chances if this team stays healthy and the players continue to reach their potential. But you need a lot of luck as well. It’s why we watch sports. The script isn’t written.

It blows my mind to consider what the two bb programs have accomplished over the past twenty five years. It should not have happened. Too many pieces to the puzzle to win one championship never mind sixteen.

Great post. In response to your last sentence, I'm not remotely surprised that UConn won a National Championship under Hurley and that Geno has won a slew. Both demand excellence in all areas. They reap what they have sewn.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I didn't forget about Kemba.

It's just more of the position they play. Kemba would use the crossover or his speed to get the open shot, and was clutch hitting it.

With Karaban, it's more just will and determination. It's more craft and cunning to get those shots off.

I don’t think we need to find a way to call Karaban the best ever at something which seems to be a thing on the board. Think it’s much more respectful to the greats that played here to say he’s following a tradition of something instead.

Great and clutch players and plays run in our history. It’s premature to even put him on that list without him hitting a game winner.

If Karaban is looking like he’d be the best ever anything, it’s probably the best white player to play here. (But he has to get two rings minimum to pass Tyler ).

 

[Chief00]

I don’t think we need to find a way to call Karaban the best ever at something which seems to be a thing on the board. Think it’s much more respectful to the greats that played here to say he’s following a tradition of something instead.

Great and clutch players and plays run in our history. It’s premature to even put him on that list without him hitting a game winner.

If Karaban is looking like he’d be the best ever anything, it’s probably the best white player to play here. (But he has to get two rings minimum to pass Tyler ).

Karaban spends hours working with Luke Murray reviewing video to get better and to find weaknesses in his opponents. Offensively, he is getting close to being very efficient and so skilled - he makes it look easy. When you are a deadly shooter the defense overreacts to any small fake, which frees up space. His height also gives Alex an advantage on getting good looks.
Other shooters also like to play with Alex because he is unselfish.
I think his rebounding has gotten better and his drives, as he has gotten stronger. Alex still must work on defending a strong guy, who tries to his back him down. One area of potential growth would be to deny the ball more in certain spots.

 

[uconnfan68]

Karaban spends hours working with Luke Murray reviewing video to get better and to find weaknesses in his opponents. Offensively, he is getting close to being very efficient and so skilled - he makes it look easy. When you are a deadly shooter the defense overreacts to any small fake, which frees up space. His height also gives Alex an advantage on getting good looks.
Other shooters also like to play with Alex because he is unselfish.
I think his rebounding has gotten better and his drives, as he has gotten stronger. Alex still must work on defending a strong guy, who tries to his back him down. One area of potential growth would be to deny the ball more in certain spots.

Yeah, the guy from Indiana, and Mitchell from Texas definitely over-matched Alex individually, but he made up for it on the other end. We need Clingan or Johnson to help out a little more from the weak side on those guys.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I don’t think we need to find a way to call Karaban the best ever at something which seems to be a thing on the board. Think it’s much more respectful to the greats that played here to say he’s following a tradition of something instead.

Great and clutch players and plays run in our history. It’s premature to even put him on that list without him hitting a game winner.

If Karaban is looking like he’d be the best ever anything, it’s probably the best white player to play here. (But he has to get two rings minimum to pass Tyler

Karaban may not have hit a buzzer beater, but he has hit a number of clutch shots already. He's no slouch, but he is NOT the most athletic person on the team, but he has an ability to get a shot off and nail it when the team needs him to.

Karaban probably isn't even in the top 30 UConn players of all time, yet. But as much as any player I've seen in a UConn jersey, I already have enough trust in him, that if there is a shot at the end to win or ice a game, I have no problems with Alex taking it.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Karaban may not have hit a buzzer beater, but he has hit a number of clutch shots already. He's no slouch, but he is NOT the most athletic person on the team, but he has an ability to get a shot off and nail it when the team needs him to.

Karaban probably isn't even in the top 30 UConn players of all time, yet. But as much as any player I've seen in a UConn jersey, I already have enough trust in him, that if there is a shot at the end to win or ice a game, I have no problems with Alex taking it.

I agree Alex is great there and I would trust him taking those shots. Just think it’s premature to say we’d take him over a Kemba (at minimum) who has hit multiple buzzer beaters/game clinchers in all kinds of moments. Love Alex, but Kemba is Kemba.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I agree Alex is great there and I would trust him taking those shots. Just think it’s premature to say we’d take him over a Kemba (at minimum) who has hit multiple buzzer beaters/game clinchers in all kinds of moments. Love Alex, but Kemba is Kemba.

I love Kemba. Loved when he was on the Celtics, too. I wasn't disrespecting him. It's not a knock on Kemba, but Kemba had that ultra quickness where he could get an open shot almost at will.
If I have a choice between Kemba taking a open 18 footer and some of the shots Karaban had to hit against Texas, I'm with you. I'm taking Kemba all day long. I just love Alex's ability and knowledge of the game to be able to use his body enough to get a hard shot off.

I didn't include Kemba in my initial statement because he doesn't/didn't play the 4 at all. It's just apples to oranges in my eye, but I will deny him being clutch. Kemba could even seal a game with his defense or hit the big shot.

I just wish his knees had held out for a few more years.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Chief - Great write up/review. Spot on.

I was at the game (first time in XL in ages) and unfortunately it was boring.

Warmups were better than the game. Oh btw - Samson Johnson is very talented, maybe a year away from possibly lights out lottery pick. AK doesn’t miss from 3 and Spencer is a JOY to watch (just not sure his game is NBA, but hope he makes bank overseas).

Hoping Monday that Gampel has more energy.

Now I know why BY posters have commented on with the amount of “fans” milling around the XL concourse ALL game long……Jeez. Maybe it’s a different vibe during BE play.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Whoops wrong game, meant to post in Manhattan thread.

Wine……

 

[uconnfan68]

I agree Alex is great there and I would trust him taking those shots. Just think it’s premature to say we’d take him over a Kemba (at minimum) who has hit multiple buzzer beaters/game clinchers in all kinds of moments. Love Alex, but Kemba is Kemba.

Yup, another world.

 

[Waquoit]

Karaban may not have hit a buzzer beater,

Yeah, he has. The 1st half buzzer, still...