Chief’s Briefs - Villanova Edition

[Chief00]

Hawkins and Karaban had their offense going when other guys did not. Slater, Dixon and Daniela carried Villanova. Hawkins and Karaban had about 60% of our points. But, late hoops by Sanogo and Jackson were key. Diarra needs to work on his foul shooting to be in games late.

Is anyone tired of the refs letting Nova dig in their shoulders on post up moves?

The game was definitely played at Villanova’s pace. They boxed out better than any team we have played against. They rebound well. We nearly matched their good foul shooting and got leads in transition and loss them in the High Hedge World.

Andre hits a 3 after missing several shots but a foolish T takes the possible momentum away. He’s got to be smarter than that and this is a recent Act 2 with talking trash to the opponents bench. Chief’s advice is when you make a shot, act like you have been there before and will be there again. Let your game doing the talking first, then if you talk a little trash know where to do it.

Not to bring up the high hedge again, but it materially negatively impacted the game again. Sanogo’s foul on a three point shot 23 feet away from the basket and then the first half bench time of your top player is an ingredient you want. In the second half he picked up a reach in 2/ feet from the hoop.

Villanova loves to post up in the half court, the perfect opportunity for a double Big but we were not comfortable trying it.

Another game where we play better with full court pressure led by Diarra, who’s game changing energy immediately jump off the page when Jim Calhoun watched practice. The added benefit is it makes the high hedge a non factor.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Diarra was a disrupter on defense. I just wish he could control himself more on the offensive end.

 

[Drame]

I wouldn't call that a high hedge. A high hedge pushes the opponent a lot further out. That's just a hedge which you do to allow your teammate to recover if you arent going to switch. Unless you switch, you have to hedge or your opponent has got a clear path to the basket.

 

[gtcam]

I didn't like Dan Hurley's line-up mixes at all tonight
The Sanogo/Dixon battle was interesting and Dixon was impressive. Sanogo was frustrated the whole game but did come up with some timely stops and baskets. There will be more games like these for AS. DC got his 1st real NBE battle and I felt he played a bit rushed - he'll learn.
AJax - shut up and play basketball - let your actions be your words.
Diara needs to work on his FTs but his energy is high, his arms are long and his hands are quick. Newton and Alleyne - where are you?
Good to see Karaban hit some long ones - has to be good for his mental game
The Hawk is The Hawk - sooooo smooth and his D is really good - he does have some mental lapses that need to go away. He is the straw that will stir this drink.
Joey C had a tough night - don't expect that to last.
This was the first time in years when I felt from the 5 minute mark into the game that UConn was definitely going to beat Nova.
This is going to be a real fun season

 

[Daz]

Hawkins and Karaban had their offense going when other guys did not. Slater, Dixon and Daniela carried Villanova. Hawkins and Karaban had about 60% of our points. But, late hoops by Sanogo and Jackson were key. Diarra needs to work on his foul shooting to be in games late.

Is anyone tired of the refs letting Nova dig in their shoulders on post up moves?

The game was definitely played at Villanova’s pace. They boxed out better than any team we have played against. They rebound well. We nearly matched their good foul shooting and got leads in transition and loss them in the High Hedge World.

Andre hits a 3 after missing several shots but a foolish T takes the possible momentum away. He’s got to be smarter than that and this is a recent Act 2 with talking trash to the opponents bench. Chief’s advice is when you make a shot, act like you have been there before and will be there again. Let your game doing the talking first, then if you talk a little trash know where to do it.

Not to bring up the high hedge again, but it materially negatively impacted the game again. Sanogo’s foul on a three point shot 23 feet away from the basket and then the first half bench time of your top player is an ingredient you want. In the second half he picked up a reach in 2/ feet from the hoop.

Villanova loves to post up in the half court, the perfect opportunity for a double Big but we were not comfortable trying it.

Another game where we play better with full court pressure led by Diarra, who’s game changing energy immediately jump off the page when Jim Calhoun watched practice. The added benefit is it makes the high hedge a non factor.

Surprised to see Jackson taunting again. He needs to break that habit immediately. It’s not a good look and not what you want from the team leader.

 

[Chief00]

Diarra was a disrupter on defense. I just wish he could control himself more on the offensive end.

It is tough when you’re not a great shooter. He just needs to understand and appreciate his role, I do like how the game changes due to Diarra leading uptempo for steals and tradition offense.

 

[GHSWolverines]

It is tough when you’re not a great shooter. He just needs to understand and appreciate his role, I do like how the game changes due to Diarra leading uptempo for steals and tradition offense.

I agree 100%. You know sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it too

 

[DMIL]

Surprised to see Jackson taunting again. He needs to break that habit immediately. It’s not a good look and not what you want from the team leader.

Jackson just needs to be more effective with channeling that energy. He has that killer instinct Championship teams need and is evolving in real time before our eyes. I like a UCONN team that is a bit chippy and that will be needed as we continue into Big East Play. I'd like to see the team get to a point where they stop getting in there own way with momentum killing self inflicted errors. With that said, this team has a ton of head room and has barely scratched the surface at this point in the season.

 

[Chief00]

I didn't like Dan Hurley's line-up mixes at all tonight
The Sanogo/Dixon battle was interesting and Dixon was impressive. Sanogo was frustrated the whole game but did come up with some timely stops and baskets. There will be more games like these for AS. DC got his 1st real NBE battle and I felt he played a bit rushed - he'll learn.
AJax - shut up and play basketball - let your actions be your words.
Diara needs to work on his FTs but his energy is high, his arms are long and his hands are quick. Newton and Alleyne - where are you?
Good to see Karaban hit some long ones - has to be good for his mental game
The Hawk is The Hawk - sooooo smooth and his D is really good - he does have some mental lapses that need to go away. He is the straw that will stir this drink.
Joey C had a tough night - don't expect that to last.
This was the first time in years when I felt from the 5 minute mark into the game that UConn was definitely going to beat Nova.
This is going to be a real fun season

True, one does get that winning feeling. I was shocked too AJax did that, let the game do the talking. And I shouldn’t send a mix message, but if you are going to do that a little - know where the refs are - and don’t do it a few feet away. But, best not to do at all. It immediately substracts from his shot.

 

[Chief00]

Sorry for all the typos in the OP. I was going to edit it but got interrupted and by the tone I returned to do it - the 5 minute deadline had occurred.

 

[Hoops91]

It was fascinating that Villanova didn’t shoot 3’s. Jay Wrights whole game for the last 10 years was shooting 3s and that killed teams. Still Villanova played great offense which was impressive against UCONN. They got back on defense better than any team I’ve seen so far which affected UCONNs transition.

Karaban was terrific. He was the one recruit I thought was overrated. As much as I was right with other recruits I was wrong about him, he’s solid.

The problem for opposing teams is they don’t know who to stop, UCONN has soooo many ways to score.

The only teams they will lose to is someone that drops a ton of 3s on them. Otherwise they are unstoppable…

 

[Kenny11]

I thought we didn’t play well but thankfully karaban and hawkins hit some shots and we made some other timely plays. Refs were tough on us though we got a couple make up calls too.
Hurley couldn’t seem to find Joey C any minutes. Nova played super slow and we didn’t get out on the break at all. Good job on whitmore by Jackson and karaban.

Nova’s point guard is horrendous. How do they not have a more talented point guard they can play??? He walked the ball up the court, passed, and got out of the way for the entire game. I know our starting pg had a very bad game (Newton looked like the was sleepwalking) but their point guard didn’t even feel like a player worthy of a scholarship at such a program.

 

[Palatine]

It was fascinating that Villanova didn’t shoot 3’s. Jay Wrights whole game for the last 10 years was shooting 3s and that killed teams. Still Villanova played great offense which was impressive against UCONN. They got back on defense better than any team I’ve seen so far which affected UCONNs transition.

Karaban was terrific. He was the one recruit I thought was overrated. As much as I was right with other recruits I was wrong about him, he’s solid.

The problem for opposing teams is they don’t know who to stop, UCONN has soooo many ways to score.

The only teams they will lose to is someone that drops a ton of 3s on them. Otherwise they are unstoppable…

They shot threes. They didn't make them. Hurley decided to leave Dixon one on one and press the three point line. It worked they were 5-22 from the arc. Dixon had the illusion of a good game but he was 6-16. Not very efficient.

 

[CL82]

Otherwise they are unstoppable

We’re doomed.

 

[jdb50]

Clingan disrupted Dixon shots close to the rim twice. Diarra harassing Nova on D was a big part of our success. Hawk had a solid game. The rest of the team can play better and we still got the win.

 

[bluestreak]

Is anyone tired of the refs letting Nova dig in their shoulders on post up moves?

I felt like Adama should have taken more advantage of this on offense. He could have scored or drawn more fouls on Dixon. Sanogo is a better player but I thought Dixon was more prepared.

 

[M.S.G.]

I think what stood out to me more than anything was the level of talent on the floor. This is the first time since we left the Big East years ago that we have better basketball talent. The past few years, and especially the end of the Ollie tenure when we played good teams the talent disparity was obvious, now I wouldn't say that we are vastly more talented than Villanova right now but we definitely are more talented currently.

 

[Excalibur]

I wouldn't call that a high hedge. A high hedge pushes the opponent a lot further out. That's just a hedge which you do to allow your teammate to recover if you arent going to switch. Unless you switch, you have to hedge or your opponent has got a clear path to the basket.

Stop trying to confuse him with basic basketball concepts.

 

[Husky25]

Surprised to see Jackson taunting again. He needs to break that habit immediately. It’s not a good look and not what you want from the team leader.

It's not his fault. Kevin Ollie was called for a T after cleared the scorer's table in December 2015, vs. Maryland. We're told that refs have long memories.

 

[August_West]

Joey C had a tough night - don't expect that to last.

Nova guards are the worst possible matchup for Joey. Big, Strong, experienced. They are a real tough group to guard. It's nice when we have pieces that can be used when matchups don't favor certain players. Joey will get his. I think Xavier is a good matchup for him.

 

[CL82]

This is as good places any to stick this


Love that Danny can laugh at himself. Not to minimize the hard work it took to get us here, or keep us here, but I feel like he is having a blast this season.

 

[Old blue]

Surprised to see Jackson taunting again. He needs to break that habit immediately. It’s not a good look and not what you want from the team leader.

I'm fine with his taunting every now and then if that comes with his frentic defensive pressure. I don't believe in handicapping his mouth if it risks reducing his fire.

 

[Chief00]

I thought we didn’t play well but thankfully karaban and hawkins hit some shots and we made some other timely plays. Refs were tough on us though we got a couple make up calls too.
Hurley couldn’t seem to find Joey C any minutes. Nova played super slow and we didn’t get out on the break at all. Good job on whitmore by Jackson and karaban.

Nova’s point guard is horrendous. How do they not have a more talented point guard they can play??? He walked the ball up the court, passed, and got out of the way for the entire game. I know our starting pg had a very bad game (Newton looked like the was sleepwalking) but their point guard didn’t even feel like a player worthy of a scholarship at such a program.

Steals (12 to 3) and our 3’s I thought made the difference. When this team plays at a fast pace, good things happen.

 

[Chief00]

I'm fine with his taunting every now and then if that comes with his frentic defensive pressure. I don't believe in handicapping his mouth if it risks reducing his fire.

I talked to some people and of course he should not have responded and 2 feet from the ref, BUT the Villanova bench was trashing him on various possessions with no whistle from the refs - calling him “no shooter”, “leave him open” and mixing it with some very colorful language. So when he made it, Andre felt entitled to say something.
True, he should have put his head down and run back the other end - but we are the school of “When You Banned Us”, “We Shocked the World”, “Not One Dime Back”!!!!

 

[August_West]

It's not his fault. Kevin Ollie was called for a T after cleared the scorer's table in December 2015, vs. Maryland. We're told that refs have long memories.

Actually bigern was ejected first that game, his fault for this mess.


Also whatever happened to Diamond Stone?

 

[Chief00]

I wouldn't call that a high hedge. A high hedge pushes the opponent a lot further out. That's just a hedge which you do to allow your teammate to recover if you arent going to switch. Unless you switch, you have to hedge or your opponent has got a clear path to the basket.

What’s your idea of a high hedge, half court?
One foul was well above the 3 line. The bottom line is it doesn’t work whatever you choose to call or define it and Sanogo had a bad game as a result. I know we have our share of Soccer Dads here who love telling stories about Adama’s quick feet from his soccer days. But, a muscular 260 pound guy running to close from 20 feet away, can’t put the brakes on with the combination of speed and density of mass when the opponent makes just a little unexpected move or sometimes none at all. It is basic Physics!

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Surprised to see Jackson taunting again. He needs to break that habit immediately. It’s not a good look and not what you want from the team leader.

Thought he was on the verge of losing his cool again when he got the tie-up (with Slater) on the floor and a jump ball was called. He kept trying to rip it away after the whistle blew.

That said, I’m predicting AJax doesn’t get another T this year…Hmmm, on second thought, he’ll get T’d in the BE tourney. Shaka Smart instigated.

 

[coachn]

Larry Bird was a noteorious trash talker. All part of the game. Ts should have have gone both ways.

That said Dre be the great leader that you are and let your talent speak for itself

Chief great Briefs. Look for them after every game.

 

[jibsey]

Actually bigern was ejected first that game, his fault for this mess.


Also whatever happened to Diamond Stone?

Didn’t that Diamond thread have the most posts in board history?

 

[Scrutineer]

They shot threes. They didn't make them. Hurley decided to leave Dixon one on one and press the three point line. It worked they were 5-22 from the arc. Dixon had the illusion of a good game but he was 6-16. Not very efficient.

I am so sick of watching Villanova's best play........banging their shoulders into our defenders as they back them down towards the basket.
Just once (or more if it works) I'd like to see our defender quickly spin out of the way as the second or third violent bump is about to happen and watch Dixon/Daniels/Whoever travel or fall over their own feet.