Chief’s Briefs - UCLA Edition

[Chief00]

Alex Karaban put on a clinic. He was good from both 2pts & 3pts for 27 points, and was a veteran and calming influence. With Reed, Ball and Demary without a FG until 8 minutes into the second half, Karaban teamed with Ross, Reibe and Mullins to hold things together. Alex also had 5 rebounds and led the team on the court encouraging and calming his teammates.

Ball missed some open 3’s but how do you go 0-5 from 3pts without trying a 2pt shot? Good to see that type of one dimensional shooting having minute consequences with only 14 minutes tonight, but granted I believe 2 fouls in first half, which helped reduce his minutes).

Ross and Smith were key players tonight. Ross had a 7 or 9 point run in the first half when no one else was playing well on offense. Smith had only 2 points in 33 minutes but along with Ross gave us great defense and Smith had 6 assists with only 2 turnovers. More importantly he competently ran the team on offense and was a dog on defense.

No player missed more than 1 foul shot. Reed (4-5) and Ross (3-4) were the only guys not perfect. Mullins and Karaban were both (5-5) and Demary (2-2). 90% foul shooting is exactly what’s needed to win during the tournament. Both teams had 21 foul shot attempts but we made 5 more.

Reed had a double /double (10
Points, 13 rebounds) and I love the improvement in his foul shooting (80% tonight). Shows time in the gym! Again as a team we had a big rebound advantage of 36 to 24.

Mullins had 17 points on 55% shooting. Dribbling into the lane for a 10 foot jumper got his game going after a slow start. Something Ball needs to learn from. When he is shooting well his shot barely touches the net. Mullins just needs to resist the freshman urge to rush things which led to 5 turnovers. Demary again needs to do a better job of looking for Mullins when he’s open earlier in the possession. Yet, Demary showed competitiveness and toughness playing when he wasn’t 100% by the eye test.
I thought our defense was good holding UCLA to 39% but think that and our rebounding would be even better if our center did not get caught covering guards 23 feet from the basket and the chain reaction of fouls and mismatches that creates.

 

[Fishy]

Honestly, even with Silas being limited, the offense and the defense just worked better without Ball tonight. Reed’s not an offensive dynamo, but he’s also not stopping the ball the way Solo has been.

I don’t expect that we’ll see Stewart back this year, but I’d like to see Dan Hurley keep Reed’s minutes up for as long as we go. If Solo’s somehow cracks out of his year long slump, great, but otherwise, having a big, active wing who is not soaking shots from AK, BM and TR is preferable.

 

[Chief00]

Honestly, even with Silas being limited, the offense and the defense just worked better without Ball tonight. Reed’s not an offensive dynamo, but he’s also not stopping the ball the way Solo has been.

I don’t expect that we’ll see Stewart back this year, but I’d like to see Dan Hurley keep Reed’s minutes up for as long as we go. If Solo’s somehow cracks out of his year long slump, great, but otherwise, having a big, active wing who is not soaking shots from AK, BM and TR is preferable.

Agree, individual production and helping teammates be more preductive are two factors that must be part of someone’s playing minutes calculation. Alex now is shooting threes + 4.7% above last season and FG + 4.4% above last season. Ball is -11.8% 3pt% and -4.8% FG% below last year.
With Ball, It may seem like we are stating the obvious, at some point rotations can’t be about what you did last season. If your 3pt shot isn’t falling, identify what’s working and get it to hotter guys in a given game or drive like Mullins did to start his engine. Ball can help us but he needs more self awareness if he is in a given game. Maybe taking pressure off himself by sharing the ball more might enable him to relax more and get his rhythm back.

 

[Dove]

Solo doesn't even look upset when he's relegated to the bench due to horrific play.

He needs to drive from the arc to a more comfortable 12-foot range to shake loose some rust.

 

[Old Man UConn]

Big time effort from Ross and Smith. Ross was the stabilizer when not much else was working. Smith may be better as a starter than a bench guy. When the opponent does not press a lot, Smith seems to be solid, a good defender. Ball shots are on the front rim but if he is not scoring he becomes a defensive liability.

 

[Dibbie]

Solo doesn't even look upset when he's relegated to the bench due to horrific play.

He needs to drive from the arc to a more comfortable 12-foot range to shake loose some rust.

When Solo got pulled after missing those 3 in a row, camera went to him on the bench. Guys were encouraging him and he looked mad the shots weren’t falling, but not discouraged. He’s going to make some buckets against a tough Izzo team.

 

[businesslawyer]

1. I have thought for two seasons that Alex could be more than a complimentary scorer, and his limits have been more personality than ability. Would love to see him continue to drive more as he did last night.

2. Both Smith and Ross were outstanding defensively last night. Smith may not start against MSU, but with Stewart out and Solo in his funk you’re going to see a lot more of Silas and Malachi on the floor together next week.

3. Obviously UCLA was without its best player, but we had plenty to overcome last night as well, and for the second straight game at the end of the day we did what we had to do and finish strong. Hopefully in DC we have two “A” games left.

4. Solo needs to not shoot a 3 Friday night until he’s made a 2.

5. As we discussed last week, we haven’t lost in the 2d weekend since ‘06, and in the same building to boot. This will be an extremely difficult weekend to get through, but there are also some demons waiting to be exorcised.

6. Don’t lose sight of the fact that in what pretty clearly the Big East’s worst year ever we still have more teams left in the Sweet Sixteen than the ACC does.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Honestly, even with Silas being limited, the offense and the defense just worked better without Ball tonight. Reed’s not an offensive dynamo, but he’s also not stopping the ball the way Solo has been.

I don’t expect that we’ll see Stewart back this year, but I’d like to see Dan Hurley keep Reed’s minutes up for as long as we go. If Solo’s somehow cracks out of his year long slump, great, but otherwise, having a big, active wing who is not soaking shots from AK, BM and TR is preferable.

You meant Ross not Reed?

 

[Chief00]

1. I have thought for two seasons that Alex could be more than a complimentary scorer, and his limits have been more personality than ability. Would love to see him continue to drive more as he did last night.

2. Both Smith and Ross were outstanding defensively last night. Smith may not start against MSU, but with Stewart out and Solo in his funk you’re going to see a lot more of Silas and Malachi on the floor together next week.

3. Obviously UCLA was without its best player, but we had plenty to overcome last night as well, and for the second straight game at the end of the day we did what we had to do and finish strong. Hopefully in DC we have two “A” games left.

4. Solo needs to not shoot a 3 Friday night until he’s made a 2.

5. As we discussed last week, we haven’t lost in the 2d weekend since ‘06, and in the same building to boot. This will be an extremely difficult weekend to get through, but there are also some demons waiting to be exorcised.

6. Don’t lose sight of the fact that in what pretty clearly the Big East’s worst year ever we still have more teams left in the Sweet Sixteen than the ACC does.

Alex seems to have found that right balance in his game. 48.2% FG, 39.4% 3pt%, 5 rebounds per game and a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. His defense and boxing out have been solid too.
I have not put any money down on #4 yet. Lol

 

[That Guy]

Solo doesn't even look upset when he's relegated to the bench due to horrific play.

He needs to drive from the arc to a more comfortable 12-foot range to shake loose some rust.

Yeah, I don't know about that one. After he missed those 3 in a row and the camera panned to him sitting on the bench he legitimately looked sad.

 

[mauconnfan]

Solo doesn't even look upset when he's relegated to the bench due to horrific play.

He needs to drive from the arc to a more comfortable 12-foot range to shake loose some rust.

Dove cmon. He looked shaken, frustrated he wasn’t helping or playing well. He cares, that’s unfair to say he’s wasn’t upset.