Chief’s Briefs - WSU Edition

[Chief00]

Edmund alone could swallow our entire current roster like a vitamin.

Edmund is a Corrections Officer in Cheshire. He has a great skill set for that position.

 

[Chief00]

To Chief's credit he has said all along that the main focus this year would be recruiting. The talent and players who work well together just is not on the roster that Hurley took over. Bouknight, Gaffney and Akok are a great start to restoring the talent level to return to relevance on a national level. AG is legit, Sid has lots of potential, and Josh is a serviceable big.

Things are headed in the right direction, but it isnt translating into wins just yet. 2 years from now you will see the talent and performance that we all are looking for.

#ChiefCertified

 

[Chief00]

This team has been very unlucky. Not just that inbounds, but Broome nailing that deep 3. In the first Cinci game, a horrible intentional foul call against CV allowed Cinci to get to OT. Last second shot last night by a lefty drifting out of bounds. Injuries to Adams and Gilbert, plus Yawke and Diarra.

Luck alone accounts for about 4 of our losses. Ideally you play well enough that you can overcome the bad luck, but this team isn't there yet.

So true, good teams overcome bad luck and nearly everything else.

 

[notthestuff]

I preface my rant by saying I do think Hurley is the right guy for this job and truly believe we will look much better 2 years from now. He has them playing hard and competing and the recruiting class is solid so far. However, I have a slight concern as this offense is very difficult to watch. We run about 120 variations of the same weave and dribble hand off that all lead to the same ball screen and isolation for our guards who operate interchangeably in the set. It will obviously look better once we have 3 multi dimensional guards with interchangeable skill sets on the floor but this team this year does not have that. The holdover players have improved from last year and coaching staff seems to be struggling to utilize their strengths. As Hurley himself pointed out, CV is a good shooter off the catch and a good rebounder but not good at penetrating and creating, yet the offense continually puts him in situations that call for for him to create. Same with Tarin Smith who is only competent on offense at getting the ball across half court. He can't shoot and he is a dreadful passer yet the offense has him constantly attacking off the dribble. This place destroys Polley, who in spite of a 3/26 stretch in the middle of the season is shooting 38% from 3 and the offense does nothing to get him shots except alternate running him off a pick and pop or flair that NEVER result in him getting the ball even when he's open. He gets ripped here for standing around the 3 point line but that's the offense and what he is supposed to do after his flair. Then we finally have a player like Sid who is actually an athlete and we do nothing to get him going to the rim. Instead we run a 20% three point shooter off the same pick and pop flair action as Polley.

Before everyone pounds me about how talent deficient we are, I'm not saying we are a final 4 team, or even a top 4 team in the conference, especially without Jalen, but there are plenty of adjustments that can be made to minimize these players weaknesses and maximize their strengths that would help in these winnable games. As boring as Calhoun was as an offensive coach, he always adjusted to what he had. When he had RIP and Ray it was all about motion off the ball. When he had Emeka, we were post oriented. He ran stuff for Stanley to get lobs. He ran pin downs for Lamb to get him his mid-range jumper. When he had KO or a Taliek at point who weren't great shooters or dynamic offensive players he didn't put them in the same spots he put Kemba. This isn't Hall of Fame coaching stuff. You adjust to what you have that's what coaches are supposed to do. I hope this is just a year 1 getting to know the players and being more focused on culture and recruiting than wins and losses right now because this needs to get better even if the talent improves

 

[husky429]

While I see what you're saying not "all the time" to a point, I prefer to get back to 101 most of the time. Hate how easy the baseline/sideline on pressure is given up will never be a proponent. Baseline or on top when ou try to pressure guys always get the sideline too often it's a no-no and a very easy place to take a charge also. But he's the coach so he knows what he's doing I'm jus a dope, that much I am sure of.

You're not wrong. I do think kids think "give up sideline" means don't play tough D sometimes. It means if you're GOING to get beat, make it baseline. But obviously try not to get beat at all...

 

[Chief00]

I preface my rant by saying I do think Hurley is the right guy for this job and truly believe we will look much better 2 years from now. He has them playing hard and competing and the recruiting class is solid so far. However, I have a slight concern as this offense is very difficult to watch. We run about 120 variations of the same weave and dribble hand off that all lead to the same ball screen and isolation for our guards who operate interchangeably in the set. It will obviously look better once we have 3 multi dimensional guards with interchangeable skill sets on the floor but this team this year does not have that. The holdover players have improved from last year and coaching staff seems to be struggling to utilize their strengths. As Hurley himself pointed out, CV is a good shooter off the catch and a good rebounder but not good at penetrating and creating, yet the offense continually puts him in situations that call for for him to create. Same with Tarin Smith who is only competent on offense at getting the ball across half court. He can't shoot and he is a dreadful passer yet the offense has him constantly attacking off the dribble. This place destroys Polley, who in spite of a 3/26 stretch in the middle of the season is shooting 38% from 3 and the offense does nothing to get him shots except alternate running him off a pick and pop or flair that NEVER result in him getting the ball even when he's open. He gets ripped here for standing around the 3 point line but that's the offense and what he is supposed to do after his flair. Then we finally have a player like Sid who is actually an athlete and we do nothing to get him going to the rim. Instead we run a 20% three point shooter off the same pick and pop flair action as Polley.

Before everyone pounds me about how talent deficient we are, I'm not saying we are a final 4 team, or even a top 4 team in the conference, especially without Jalen, but there are plenty of adjustments that can be made to minimize these players weaknesses and maximize their strengths that would help in these winnable games. As boring as Calhoun was as an offensive coach, he always adjusted to what he had. When he had RIP and Ray it was all about motion off the ball. When he had Emeka, we were post oriented. He ran stuff for Stanley to get lobs. He ran pin downs for Lamb to get him his mid-range jumper. When he had KO or a Taliek at point who weren't great shooters or dynamic offensive players he didn't put them in the same spots he put Kemba. This isn't Hall of Fame coaching stuff. You adjust to what you have that's what coaches are supposed to do. I hope this is just a year 1 getting to know the players and being more focused on culture and recruiting than wins and losses right now because this needs to get better even if the talent improves

Some good points. My understanding is that Coach Young focused on the offense this year.

 

[Connrack]

Hurley is the coach of this team and it is his job to get them to play like winners. They are playing harder than last season but not much better even with the improvement of Carlton and Vital.

They are unequivocally playing better than last year in large part because they are playing harder.

 

[RF79]

I hate losing. I hate to see my only team from the state I was born and raised in go thru this transitional period. It sucks but like what most of know and also mentioned these guys lack talent but we’re playing hard for a team of bench players and mid major transfers with Hurley at the realm. Our record in the AAC as much as it pains me to say this reflects on our talent level. We can’t catch a damn break for nothing. Better days are coming

 

[August_West]

flair action

 

[jkfer98]

Anyone else see this? When Gilbert hit the three to tie it, CV was walking towards the ref gesturing something... was he trying to call a timeout? You could see Hurley say something to him as he was coming down the floor.

 

[August_West]

Anyone else see this? When Gilbert hit the three to tie it, CV was walking towards the ref gesturing something... was he trying to call a timeout? You could see Hurley say something to him as he was coming down the floor.

He was. Hurley tried to call time out too.

 

[gtcam]

Brendan Adams hits 3 threes (nice to see) and all of a sudden he's a recruiting gem to so many
After 27 games and many appearances, one decent game doesn't do it - sorry
Not saying that he won't be a real contributor by year 3 or 4 but I am holding back my anticipation

While AG did drive too much for my liking, I thought he was a real trooper and showed why he could be a special player - just hope his health holds out
I don't like this playing games with CV's head - the kid is a wild pony and those types are hard to harness and when you try sometimes it works while the fail rate is high. He is a player that provides spark and some of his team mates feed off of it. Plus the kid shows zero fear - something most on this team lack
I like that Carlton decided to dunk once or twice - now I know he can and hopefully it's something he will do more often than not.
Rebounding - my God - the totals look good because WSU missed so many shots but how many offensive rebounds did WSU get? Has Polley had more than 2 rebounds in any game?

This should have been a win - If Dan Hurley is going to use so few players, and I understand why, he needs to be a better judge of TO management. His team got winded and WSU went on that mid 2nd half frenzy.

Bright side - NO second half opening collapse but both teams went through the motions in that nearly unwatchable opening 10 minutes.

I think both teams are on a level playing field right now - the biggest difference is that WSU's best player is a senior who has played on winning teams and they have a 7' guy in the middle who has presence and just enough skill to be a factor against teams lacking inside depth/skill.

The AAC officiating sucks - only place Ted Valentine could find work - it's a shame

 

[Chief00]

Brendan Adams hits 3 threes (nice to see) and all of a sudden he's a recruiting gem to so many
After 27 games and many appearances, one decent game doesn't do it - sorry
Not saying that he won't be a real contributor by year 3 or 4 but I am holding back my anticipation

While AG did drive too much for my liking, I thought he was a real trooper and showed why he could be a special player - just hope his health holds out
I don't like this playing games with CV's head - the kid is a wild pony and those types are hard to harness and when you try sometimes it works while the fail rate is high. He is a player that provides spark and some of his team mates feed off of it. Plus the kid shows zero fear - something most on this team lack
I like that Carlton decided to dunk once or twice - now I know he can and hopefully it's something he will do more often than not.
Rebounding - my God - the totals look good because WSU missed so many shots but how many offensive rebounds did WSU get? Has Polley had more than 2 rebounds in any game?

This should have been a win - If Dan Hurley is going to use so few players, and I understand why, he needs to be a better judge of TO management. His team got winded and WSU went on that mid 2nd half frenzy.

Bright side - NO second half opening collapse but both teams went through the motions in that nearly unwatchable opening 10 minutes.

I think both teams are on a level playing field right now - the biggest difference is that WSU's best player is a senior who has played on winning teams and they have a 7' guy in the middle who has presence and just enough skill to be a factor against teams lacking inside depth/skill.

The AAC officiating sucks - only place Ted Valentine could find work - it's a shame

I actually don’t have an issue with Valentine. There are many refs not as kind to UConn.

 

[jibsey]

First things first. It’s 5:47am and Chief has already put the loss last night to bed. Mapping out what game to attend tonight. Tournament time is tough, since you can’t plan ahead very much. Chief is very excited about some of the 2020 guys we are involved with. A wider net than last year and get to see the whole full process for these guys and will see how Hurley prioritizes from here on 2020 and completes 2019.

Chief, I’m worried more about 2019. Please assure me that I will be happy with what Hurley brings in for the last 1 or maybe 2 recruits to start next season. Will he get a quality big man?

 

[Chief00]

Chief, I’m worried more about 2019. Please assure me that I will be happy with what Hurley brings in for the last 1 or maybe 2 recruits to start next season. Will he get a quality big man?

That’s my concern too - a quality Big with some degree of physicality. Quite frankly, we are still grinding hard on this position. Still optimistic, but we need to close the deal.

 

[intlzncster]

First things first. It’s 5:47am and Chief has already put the loss last night to bed. Mapping out what game to attend tonight. Tournament time is tough, since you can’t plan ahead very much. Chief is very excited about some of the 2020 guys we are involved with. A wider net than last year and get to see the whole full process for these guys and will see how Hurley prioritizes from here on 2020 and completes 2019.

I'm excited to see what happens with 2020. That's the first real class Hurley will be on top of. With 2019, staff got into the game so late, that it's tough to evaluate. Most coaches have been developing relationships with the kids for years. I think they did great given that circumstance.

Fans hate hearing "wait until...yada yada yada", but it's a reality. Recruiting is about building relationships, and that takes time.

 

[Chief00]

Fans hate hearing "wait until...yada yada yada", but it's a reality. Recruiting is about building relationships, and that takes time.

So true, but Chief loves the Casual Fans anyways! Chief is always amazed how quickly a few losses can deflate the genuine euphoria the Casual Fans feel at First Night. Chief often warns that we got to do the Grind to be good. To Chief, there is fun and a lot of hard work in that Grind. But, sometimes for a coach or a player it can be a lonely trip at times. Chief’s guess is the Casual Fans will start coming back next season and in 2020/2021 we won’t be able to keep them away - LOL!

 

[BlueDogs]

Here’s what’s to like. They have basically battled down to the wire in 5 games over the month giving themselves a good chance to win. Each time they shriveled under the pressure missing key shots, making turnovers, unable to key possession of a loose ball, etc. WSU was a tiny watershed moment with AG hitting a ridiculous apparent dagger 3 with a few seconds left. Somebody took the brass ring and went for it. Unfortunately, we didn’t do the right things to close out the few seconds...again another part of having a winning mentality. I really think Hurley has this team leaning ever closer in the right direction.

My prediction is they perform well in the AAC tourney and win 2 games.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I've been out of touch since last Saturday traveling, and plan to watch this tomorrow, but based on the comments this seems to have been a game that, even without JAdams offense we might have won. That's actually a good sign on the road. Much better than the game at SMU at any rate.

 

[intlzncster]

I've been out of touch since last Saturday traveling, and plan to watch this tomorrow, but based on the comments this seems to have been a game that, even without JAdams offense we might have won. That's actually a good sign on the road. Much better than the game at SMU at any rate.

If the opponent hits what's effectively a prayer to win, you've done a pretty good job, especially in the context of what has been our effort this year on the road.