Chief’s Briefs - USF Edition

[3rdbass]

More than a skills deficiency, we don’t have enough guys with strength and physicality. If we could shoot and take care of the ball, we could offset this some. USF just beat the heck out of us - our guys are just not of sufficient physical stature to win this type of game.

Yeah, we could get past not having good bigs if we could shoot. But under 40 percent total and 27 percent 3 pt shooting is embarrassing against USF. We need bigger guys for sure to stop all the easy layups but we need shooters who can put the ball in the basket. This team doesn’t have either one. I mean Polley should never be second on the team in shots going 1-10. Vital needs to step up and take more shots.

 

[Chief00]

Yeah, we could get past not having good bigs if we could shoot. But under 40 percent total and 27 percent 3 pt shooting is embarrassing against USF. We need bigger guys for sure to stop all the easy layups but we need shooters who can put the ball in the basket. This team doesn’t have either one. I mean Polley should never be second on the team in shots going 1-10. Vital needs to step up and take more shots.

Chief has been saying recruiting is our top priority this season and now I think that has gone from the minority to majority viewpoint.
I think you really do start with 4 to 5 open spots. That doesn’t mean we won’t get 1-3 starters from the current group but that will be due to experience rather than talent upside. Now, I think, even the most casual fan recognizes that this “experience” is a double edge sword due to the losing baggage of the last few years.

 

[Hankster]

Quick rant on Jalen: he had no turnovers in the first half until he seemed to realize he hadn’t passed the ball directly to the other team and then proceeded to do exactly that. I’ve never seen a player give the ball directly to the opponent like Jalen has since his freshman year. It’s almost like he’s color blind. Then with 6 minutes left in the game he made that beautiful drive and got blocked because he did a triple pump while bringing the ball to his right hand (plus avoiding contact) because after 4 years in college he can’t finish with his left hand. A few minutes later he got blocked again while refusing to go to his left hand and avoiding contact but was bailed out with a bad foul call. He just hasn’t really improved much here during his career and is an underachiever overall. Now that my rant about Jalen is over, he was our best player tonight (along with Vital) which shows how bad everyone else was starting with the coaching. This was a pathetic night for uconn. USF is not good.

It is sad where your star guard get's his pocket picked every game. For the last couple of years. Carlton is not good. Okay against CYO teams. I disagree on USF not being good.They are well....good. That is it. Rideau(sp) carried USF on his back the first half. It should of been a blowout for us in the first half.
What is going on the second half? Again play well, only to bottom out the second. Seems like these coaches figure us out then it's lights out. Seems we don't adjust to their adjustment.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I think there's plenty of effort. But hey, believe it or not one time my fat blob self played one on one with Charles Barkley. I tried really hard. But.

I don’t think there were any future NBA HOFers on the floor for USF. Rebounding is 1/3 strength, 1/3 desire, and 1/3 technique. True, we in general lack strength, but desire and great technique boxing out and positioning can make up for a lot. But we are 0 for 3 on these components.

 

[Milo65]

Some teams can overcome lack of talent with grit and determination. Unfortunately, this group of guys (except Vital) lack the cojones and pure basketball IQ. They get punched in the mouth and instead of fighting back they resort to hero ball, turnovers, sloppy play, missed assignments and cold shooting. Give me a Rickey Moore, Spider Ursery, Lyman DePriest type of guy. Maybe not the most talented, but will layout and shutdown other players. Instead we have guys that lay down.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Why is Hurley not getting more blame for this? Just curious

Hurley gets some blame, mainly for lack of offensive and defensive game planning and creativity, and for fielding a team that lacks discipline and intensity . All four of our guards put on blinders when the going gets tough. And I am so tired of seeing that guard weave out top that creates no mismatches and opens no lanes.

But to have our bigs be even a little productive takes having multiple outside threats from 3, to open the middle. We had none last night. There are no knock down shooters. Polley can be, but wasn’t last night even when open. USF stopped worrying about everyone outside the arc. Recruit bigs, but dammit, recruit shooters too.

 

[CTBasketball]

I have a different take than most.

Look at their body language, expressions, reactions, etc. It’s awful. They all look like little Ollie’s out there, especially Jalen. It’s a toxic behavior that will not win you games. Hurley was screaming plays and assignments from the bench and most of the time it took the players 5+ seconds to realize they have to look over at him. Cuz Jalen sure as hell wasn’t relaying those plays. Lil Al was the only one I see trying to set things up.

 

[djct1999]

Is it too early to blame the coaching?

If you do, you don't know much about basketball. The coaching staff inherited this mess. Start blaming the coach after a full cycle of his recruits. I guarantee you the results will be different.

 

[ASweet3781]

If you do, you don't know much about basketball. The coaching staff inherited this mess. Start blaming the coach after a full cycle of his recruits. I guarantee you the results will be different.

The team gave up over 50 points in the 2nd half for the 2nd straight game and the coach is apparently off limits until he gets his players. Nice deal if you can get it.

 

[djct1999]

I have a different take than most.

Look at their body language, expressions, reactions, etc. It’s awful. They all look like little Ollie’s out there, especially Jalen. It’s a toxic behavior that will not win you games. Hurley was screaming plays and assignments from the bench and most of the time it took the players 5+ seconds to realize they have to look over at him. Cuz Jalen sure as hell wasn’t relaying those plays. Lil Al was the only one I see trying to set things up.

100%. The second half brought horrible flashbacks of last year. The self implosion, the lack of hustle, the static offense was a learned behavior. Not much Hurley can do or coach. He is trying. I am sure he is sick over this because his teams don't play like that. Best case scenario is we gut this roster and start over.

 

[djct1999]

The team gave up over 50 points in the 2nd half for the 2nd straight game and the coach is apparently off limits until he gets his players. Nice deal if you can get it.

Its called a rebuild. Blame the guy who brought these players in. What can the current coach do when the team is void of talent? If you are comparing apples to apples, this same roster has already out performed last years pile. KO burned this program to the ground. It will take time, and yes, D1 talent, to rise from the ashes.

 

[djct1999]

The other team is fighting us with grown man’s bodies against skinny teenagers.

The other team was fighting for loose balls while we were just standing there. The other team wanted it, while our players didn't care.

 

[dennismenace]

Fair, but it can't be that USF's big men are that more talented than ours. Maybe it is the case, but it's scary to think our talent level has fallen that far.

The bigs bodies on USF looked like night and day compared to Uconn. They were far more athletic and stronger and they had an attitude about the boards belonging to them. They also know how to position themselves. It's like we had more talented players for the aau circuit but USF guys were acquired to dominate the next level with the physicality not only on the boards but every aspect of the game. That point guard looked like he could be playing tailback on some D1 football teams and had a lot of heart. I think they have some upside and will be interesting to watch. As said above, we need to recruit to compete at the next level.
When Polley tried driving in those guys gave him a message. Very intimidating. And pretty much fearless.
Vital got clobbered but still came up fighting. That's what is needed and that will have to be found on the recruiting trail.

 

[djct1999]

More than a skills deficiency, we don’t have enough guys with strength and physicality. If we could shoot and take care of the ball, we could offset this some. USF just beat the heck out of us - our guys are just not of sufficient physical stature to win this type of game.

Disagree here, Chief. Its all about skill deficiency. Lets play a game. Take a top 10 program. Who on this team would see valuable minutes? Who on this team wouldn't even see the floor? We don't have talent. And our best player, well, he isn't that good either.

 

[ASweet3781]

The bigs bodies on USF looked like night and day compared to Uconn. They were far more athletic and stronger and they had an attitude about the boards belonging to them. They also know how to position themselves. It's like we had more talented players for the aau circuit but USF guys were acquired to dominate the next level with the physicality not only on the boards but every aspect of the game. That point guard looked like he could be playing tailback on some D1 football teams and had a lot of heart. I think they have some upside and will be interesting to watch. As said above, we need to recruit to compete at the next level.
When Polley tried driving in those guys gave him a message. Very intimidating. And pretty much fearless.
Vital got clobbered but still came up fighting. That's what is needed and that will have to be found on the recruiting trail.

After reading this description you'd wonder how USF ever lost to The Citadel.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I saw a game of two middle of the pack mid-majors where USF happened to be the better team last night. We are an AAC team with an AAC roster. Do we have a single NBA caliber player on this team? Jalen Adams may bounce around for a few years, but that's it. Most of the rest of the team is not even good enough to play in Europe.

Maybe Hurley can pull some rabbits out of his hat from a recruiting perspective, but I expect slow grind rather than overnight success, if Hurley is able to turn it around.

 

[Walker11]

In order to turn the season around, we need to bring back the game thread.

 

[huskyrob1]

South Florida killed us on the offensive boards. That was the key to the game. They played their style and tempo. We don’t have strong guys and lost the 50/50 balls.

At some point we realized with the refs calling it close - to take it to the rim. But it was too late and we were down by 11.

Chief’s goal was to finish the first half strong and get in at halftime up by double figures. We failed that test due to some late turnovers and not boxing out. But, give USF credit, they get after it on the boards. Thankfully, they aren’t a good foul shooting team, but they did improve in that area in the second half and it was all downhill from that point.

I still don’t understand the benefit of a 6-10 guy chasing a guard down 25 feet from the basket. Fortunately, USF did not take advantage of the Big on guard mismatch that this creates inside but a good offensive team would.

Both Carlton and Wilson need to go up stronger on their offensive moves. Cobb played tentative but having said that - he needs to play at least 25 minutes a game.

Rideau was the key to the game, he was aggressive and physically stronger than our guards. Over-all USF just outmuscle us and was more aggressive. Jacobs was right about Yetna. He murdered us. They got the crowd in the game, and Chief can remember years there when it was a UConn crowd.

Polley was a huge disappointment tonight. He had a ton of open looks and either turned them down or missed open shots. Your “best shooter” can’t perform like that.

Vital and Adams played good at times but not consistently. Gilbert played good defense.

Get ready to criticize me, but the first priority this year is recruiting. We need stronger, more talented players with good BB IQs.

I thought our guard play sucked, when it counted in the 2nd half, Collins and Rideau were getting to the line and making more foul shots than we were. Guarding either player in the open floor seemed impossible for Adams, Vital and Al, and letting Collins almost get his own rebound off a missed FT in the far corner showed that our guards either didn't care, were gassed, or both.

 

[Huskybass]

Why is Hurley not getting more blame for this? Just curious

Because Hurley was left with a mess that is going to take a year or two to clean up. This isn't rocket science.

 

[dennismenace]

Disagree here, Chief. Its all about skill deficiency. Lets play a game. Take a top 10 program. Who on this team would see valuable minutes? Who on this team wouldn't even see the floor? We don't have talent. And our best player, well, he isn't that good either.

You have to be trained to compete against and defeat your likely opponent. Yes, you need skill and talent but
if you are only trained to compete at the AAU level; sorry, this is not the AAU. The "top ten" programs have talent, physicality and a competitive desire both individually and as a team culture. I think we will have to wait until Hurley gets his own recruits; this team is deficient and it would take a lot of "unlearning" to create a warrior attitude which would include the physical as well as the mental/emotional to turn it around this year.
They are leaderless on the floor during a lot of minutes in every game. I hope I am wrong as far as this year but I have hope that the future is still bright. Hurley knows what it takes.

 

[pj]

Hurley succeeded at his previous schools, we have to believe he'll succeed here. Frustrating that the team isn't better, and I'll be honest, I thought the addition of Alterique and Sid Wilson would make a bigger difference than they have. I thought Jalen, Carlton, and Whaley would progress and they haven't.

Very disappointing the last two games. The last two opposing coaches have figured out this team's weaknesses and how to go after them. From 33-20 at 2:20 in the 1st to 57-49 USF at the 5:49 mark, USF outscored us 37-16. That kind of extended stretch of being dominated shouldn't happen. Then to finish the game it was even, 19-19. When they had to dig down and fight, they couldn't get stops.

I hope Hurley can figure this out, he was on a roll and I don't want to lose momentum.

 

[djct1999]

You have to be trained to compete against and defeat your likely opponent. Yes, you need skill and talent but
if you are only trained to compete at the AAU level; sorry, this is not the AAU. The "top ten" programs have talent, physicality and a competitive desire both individually and as a team culture. I think we will have to wait until Hurley gets his own recruits; this team is deficient and it would take a lot of "unlearning" to create a warrior attitude which would include the physical as well as the mental/emotional to turn it around this year.
They are leaderless on the floor during a lot of minutes in every game. I hope I am wrong as far as this year but I have hope that the future is still bright. Hurley knows what it takes.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Marbles90]

Because Hurley was left with a mess that is going to take a year or two to clean up. This isn't rocket science.

I think you all are missing the point about coaching. I don't even care about wins and losses. What I worry about is the lack of hustle, discipline, toughness especially in the areas of defense and rebounding. Heck even the announcers at one point said "USF just wanted it more." That is a culture that needs to be changed with the current team and the future teams. I get the "waiting for his players" thing but the fact he can't move the needled on this team is a sign. I hope I am wrong and you all are right about getting his guys and that this team is so far beyond hope. But not making the current team ANY better than last year is a bad coaching sign in my opinion.

 

[whaler11]

This thread is hilarious. Nobody thought the roster was ‘devoid of talent’ in September. The search function can lead you to many chuckles.

 

[Stinger92860]

Cobb and Carlton need to take the ball to the basket with authority. It's a matter of effort and intestinal fortitude.

Cobb needs someone to get him the ball inside. I got it, his defense needs improvement, but he had 7 boards in 14 minutes. We know he can score inside. Why not run a few plays for the man?

 

[Walker11]

This thread is hilarious. Nobody thought the roster was ‘devoid of talent’ in September. The search function can lead you to many chuckles.

In particular, searching "Carlton" can yield some interesting results. Even from people who are taking victory laps for "always knowing" Carlton sucked.

 

[jdb50]

Cobb needs someone to get him the ball inside. I got it, his defense needs improvement, but he had 7 boards in 14 minutes. We know he can score inside. Why not run a few plays for the man?

Totally agree. It is easier to defend our guards when we have no inside game. I still would like to see 2 bigs Yakwe and Cobb on the floor at the same time with an offensive plan to use them. Take Polley off the floor and put Vital, Al and Adams with them.

 

[huskyrob1]

Cobb needs someone to get him the ball inside. I got it, his defense needs improvement, but he had 7 boards in 14 minutes. We know he can score inside. Why not run a few plays for the man?

I would've given you 3 "likes" but could only give you one. Lol

 

[Huskybass]

I think you all are missing the point about coaching. I don't even care about wins and losses. What I worry about is the lack of hustle, discipline, toughness especially in the areas of defense and rebounding. Heck even the announcers at one point said "USF just wanted it more." That is a culture that needs to be changed with the current team and the future teams. I get the "waiting for his players" thing but the fact he can't move the needled on this team is a sign. I hope I am wrong and you all are right about getting his guys and that this team is so far beyond hope. But not making the current team ANY better than last year is a bad coaching sign in my opinion.

The roster is full of players who have serious holes in their games. Once Hurley gets players like Bouknight on the floor who have complete games, things will turn around. Talent and skills play a huge role in winning and there is no denying that Bouknight, Gaffney and Akok ( and hopefully 2 more great recruits) will be a significant upgrade in talent.

I am not saying that Hurley gets a pass, but he does deserve some time to bring in talent and transform the culture of the program. This team lost EIGHT games by 20 or more points last season. Anyone who thought year one under Hurley was going to be great just didn't have an appreciation for the level the program had fallen to. If there hasn't been significant progress in another year or two, then its time to start questioning Hurley.
I have no worries about Hurley being the right guy for the job, but realistically this is a 2 to 3 year rebuild given what he took over.

 

[Chief00]

Disagree here, Chief. Its all about skill deficiency. Lets play a game. Take a top 10 program. Who on this team would see valuable minutes? Who on this team wouldn't even see the floor? We don't have talent. And our best player, well, he isn't that good either.

Granted we lack shooting and are careless with the ball but it’s men against boys in terms of strength and physicality. Effort can take a weak guy only so far against a significantly stronger dude. USF wasn’t exactly skilled either - they were animals on the boards.