Chief’s Briefs - USC Edition

[CL82]

Josh looked thinner

#thinjosh

 

[8893]

chief Jimmy

 

[Chief00]

Chief just wanted to clarify one point. I am not questioning Polley’s rehab effectiveness or his work effort to play. Quite frankly, Chief starts with the premise the next season after an ACL injury is a work in progress. Sure some guys beat that, doesn’t look like Polley will. Too bad he’s a senior and is there consideration of a Red Shirt? I haven’t heard that or if he would even want to but after Saturday, something to think about if he still qualifies? The glowing reports of his progress and even the shooting that Chief saw is in contrast to what is happening in competitive games. That’s a lesson to those few, who still maintain that cancelling football was a good idea.

 

[Chief00]

The problem is that while both are capable ballhandlers, decent passers, and usually play within the flow of the offense, neither of them has been a credible threat to break someone down off the dribble, either against M2M or zone.

It's fine to have one guy who is primarily a safe option and a good spot-up shooter. But it's hard to play both of them, along with both Whaley and Carlton, because then you really have only one guy who is creating for himself or pressuring the defense off the dribble.

That’s why we went to Philly to get a PG.

 

[August_West]

 

[Chief00]

I guess you are running this place now - good luck.
When you get 221 views in your latest OP thread, Chief00 can see why you and your moderator pals resort to stuff like this on a thread people actually view.

 

[The Funster]

Need to get a runner on the ws baseline against the zone. Get it to the line and dump down to the runner. It was there last night but only by accident, if that makes any sense.

I think its way to early to make judgements on players. Not enough practice and too many new pieces and a multitude of combinations to sort out.

Martin appears to be getting his legs under him so I'd guess that right now, our best 5 would be Carlton, Whalley, Martin, Bouk and Cole. That could change a lot in the next two months though.

 

[UConnRock]

The zone gave the offense fits. In my view it was a PG issue as there was no penetration or creativity by either Cole or Gaffney which meant no breakdown of the zone to kick out for open shots. Bouk had some good opportunities when he got to the middle of the zone and had some pass/shoot options, but for the most part it was Carlton or Whaley flashing to the middle which had limited impact to SC defense. Cole was disappointing on offense tonight, but had a nice defensive game. Martin and Bouk were the most active in trying to penetrate. I do think the offense was a bit intimidated by the shot blockers for SC

It is really nice having depth at the 4 & 5. This would have been a different game if Whatley, Carlton and Sanogo were not able to be as aggressive in their double teams due to foul trouble or depth issues. Lots of fouls to give at the 4 & 5 which has not been a luxury for years. Sanogo looked like a freshman, his time on the floor had value.

I don't blame Hurley for the substitution pattern. It is still early in the season and practices were limited. If this were a later season or conference game the bench would have been a lot shorter. Hurley and many fans are still trying to figure this team out as there are lots of new pieces to the puzzle. Hurley's ability to figure out the top 8 or 9 and keep cohesive units on the floor will dictate this season's success.

Negative surprises:

1) Polley looked lost and more like a freshman than some of the freshmen
2) Adams didn't supply the normal spark of the bench that has become expected.
3) Cole and Gaffeny as discussed above
4) The inability of UConn as a team to use their athletic ability. Limited fast break points or opportunities. Some of this may have been associated with the quick whistles that put SC in the bonus very early in both halves. But the key to beating the zone is to attack before they are set-up. There seemed to be no desire to attack early.

 

[Vancat]

That was funny.

 

[James]

I actually thought martin was an effective middle of the zone guy because of his size and feel. its 2020 and its still hard for uconn guards to make tight simple entry passes

 

[August_West]

Chief00 can see why you and your moderator pals resort to stuff like this

According to the new terms and conditions everyone just had to click August thinks the above may be a bannable offense for Jimmy.

 

[Rico444]

Chief just wanted to clarify one point. I am not questioning Polley’s rehab effectiveness or his work effort to play. Quite frankly, Chief starts with the premise the next season after an ACL injury is a work in progress. Sure some guys beat that, doesn’t look like Polley will. Too bad he’s a senior and is there consideration of a Red Shirt? I haven’t heard that or if he would even want to but after Saturday, something to think about if he still qualifies? The glowing reports of his progress and even the shooting that Chief saw is in contrast to what is happening in competitive games. That’s a lesson to those few, who still maintain that cancelling football was a good idea.

Casual fans may not realize, but players do not need to redshirt this season, as it will not count as a year of eligibility.

 

[UconnU]

I was really impressed with the fluidity of Evan Mobley. He moves like a wing.

 

[alphasigko]

Watching Cole play last evening reminded me a bit of AG's play last year. That comparison was very evident in his drive and awkward shot late in the 2nd half when, rather than passing to Bouk, he just heaved the ball straight up into the air in his shot attempt. IMO, this team does not need efforts like that.

 

[Chief00]

Casual fans may not realize, but players do not need to redshirt this season, as it will not count as a year of eligibility.

True - I knew that but wasn’t thinking.

 

[Chief00]

I was really impressed with the fluidity of Evan Mobley. He moves like a wing.

He’s a stud with a little coaching and experience. may be the most potentially talented guy we play.

 

[Chief00]

I actually thought martin was an effective middle of the zone guy because of his size and feel. its 2020 and its still hard for uconn guards to make tight simple entry passes

Whaley keeps showing me stuff as well.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He’s a stud with a little coaching and experience. may be the most potentially talented guy we play.

You think so?

 

[evmore]

Quite frankly, one thing we have learned with the exception of Bouknight other guys are up and down. Especially with Polley not playing well, the book on UConn is to play a zone against them.

We box out and go to the ball well on the defensive boards. A bad trend is giving away foolish fouls and allowing your opponents to tally easy points at the line. We do far too much reaching, taking very bad gambles. Otherwise our defense was decent.

Josh looked thinner and played well early. The Josh and Whaley combination is interesting and shows the value of experience. Whaley played well. Sanogo got in foul trouble and it’s tough to be productive on the bench. While Chief really likes his game he needs to make better decisions on the court.

Unfortunately, Chief hasn’t changed his assessment of Polley. He just isn’t moving well after his injury and is having problems getting in the flow of the game. He got in foul trouble as a result. For a guy who is suppose to be a shooter, he’s displaying very little confidence in his shot.

E Mobley is going to be a great player but other than some foolish fouls on him, we defended fairly well until late.

Chief thought Danny was slow to call a timeout on USC’s run halfway through the second half. Nor did we make any offensive adjustments. Gaffney is a good player but he needs to be much more aggressive offensively. We are very dependent on Bouknight offensively. When he’s out of the game, it shows. Even when he was in the game shooting was cool the second half.

Martin is solid but not the star some posters made him out to be after last game. Jackson did not seem ready.

Chief doesn’t know why refs allow timeouts when the ball is basically being contested on the floor. Those are really jump balls.

We desperately need another scorer. But, we did play tougher than our opponent.

Chief makes salient points per usual. Cole and Martin, in that order, are options 2 and 3 offensively and i'm guessing BAdams wrongly sees himself that way too.. Polley is the key to our long term success. If he can get to Rashad Anderson level shooting the ball we can space the floor much better..... which will only help Bouk, who needs space off the dribble.

 

[Chief00]

You think so?

Of course, we don’t know this season for sure who we will play or don’t play - but no one comes to mind with a higher potential ceiling. Who do you think I am missing? Chief is going by the NBA potential eye test not any current college stats.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Of course, we don’t know this season for sure who we will play or don’t play - but no one comes to mind with a higher potential ceiling. Who do you think I am missing? Chief is going by the NBA potential eye test not any current college stats.

I was kidding, Mobley is at worst a top 5 pick in the draft, and probably higher. The kid is not only a great athlete and pretty skilled, he is gigantic. It's too bad he's not going to get better coaching this year. I really don't think Enfield does much more with these guys than get them on campus.

 

[Chief00]

I was kidding, Mobley is at worst a top 5 pick in the draft, and probably higher. The kid is not only a great athlete and pretty skilled, he is gigantic. It's too bad he's not going to get better coaching this year. I really don't think Enfield does much more with these guys than get them on campus.

LOL - Chief gets ask so many questions in these threads it’s possible I forgot someone or did not think of some team we could play. Having said that I am like darn why would I not instantly think of someone that good regardless - they would jump out on the page.

 

[Umami Zen]

LOL - Chief gets ask so many questions in these threads it’s possible I forgot someone or did not think of some team we could play. Having said that I am like darn why would I not instantly think of someone that good regardless - they would jump out on the page.

Keep the Briefs coming.. Always good to get valuable insights and compare notes .. Let's get another W tomorrow..

 

[Chief00]

Thank you for your participation in another successful edition of Chief’s Briefs. With a game at noon today, I am closing the USC Edition.

Chief would be remiss, if I did not thank Jeff Hamilton’s team for putting on a great bubble tournament. Nothing but great feedback and Chief thinks this is just the start of things for Mohegan snd College MBB.

 

[dennismenace]

Not a lot of baskets - but we did win on toughness.

Toughness is very demoralizing to opponents. It is a building block for offense, defense and is the character trait that all great Uconn teams have had. Despite some shortcomings on offense and lack of experience in a few players this demonstration of toughness and will was a great sign and hopefully will continue to be brought
to every game and practice. I was proud of their refusal to give in during the second half as was so often the case in recent previous years. As they grow and the season moves on I'm hoping they have a season they can look back on one day and remember how they grew together as a team.