Chief’s Briefs - Xavier Edition

[dennismenace]

"The other lesson today is Hurley needs to lose the mindset we need to play slow in the 60’s. We can win in the mid to upper 70’s. - low 80’s."

Have to agree here. We have alot of depth and good defenders and athletes. A wide open game gives our athletes the opportunity to wear down opponents and less thinking than in a slow down game which our half court offense doesn't do very well. This was an exciting game. We did a pretty good job of containing their guards. That guy Johnson is a dead eye and Freemantle (sophomore) is some kind of talent. He's from Jersey too!

 

[navery12]

This should be the rotation moving forward, these are our best 8 and can integrate Bouknight back in slowly.

Our best minutes of this game were when we separated Sanogo and Whaley. Give them 20 each at the 5 and sprinkle in a few minutes of Whaley at the 4 if needed

Jackson looked decent, the talent is there and I hope Hurley keeps letting him play through the mistakes. Maybe a few too many 3's but just like Whaley he has to take them if the defense is going to play off him. We're a good rebounding team and need to keep the opponent from clogging the paint as much as possible

 

[elmcityboy]

Adams finally back in the role he's earned

is it possible to keep the relentless mean-spiritedness and negativity off the board after a win? it makes the boneyard a more enjoyable place to visit...

 

[ThabeetDown]

I liked the confidence Whaley showed after the first few minutes in terms of taking the open jumpers. Of course, he's going to be 50% at best with those -- but I take that all the time -- just have to keep the other team honest. If you can stretch the floor with 4 guys at a time, the offense is going to score 80+ like they did today. Whaley and also Akok being true stretch 4s opens everything up on offense and thus allows the defense to relax and be elite as we know it can be. Quite frankly having stretch 4s is the key to success for the entire team.

 

[Chief00]

Just stop. Gaffney didn’t run anything today. Cole went for 24 points and 7 assists with the ball in his hands the whole way. This was a Bazz-level performance from RJ and Gaffney had nothing to do with that.

Cole had less ball handling responsibilities and that by itself made him more scoring minded. Gaffney helps in that way. Who else can do that?

 

[YearoftheHusky]

That sequence when Akok hit a three, then blew past the defender for a finger roll made “it” move a little. Basketball .

 

[Utah Top Dog]

I was at the game today and Hurley’s energy was off the charts. Akok changed the game, Gaffney was lost and over passing, Cole and Martin stepped up. Great road win.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

I was at the game today and Hurley’s energy was off the charts. Akok changed the game, Gaffney was lost and over passing, Cole and Martin stepped up. Great road win.

did you drive from Utah?

 

[navery12]

is it possible to keep the relentless mean-spiritedness and negativity off the board after a win? it makes the boneyard a more enjoyable place to visit...

Was not even remotely mean spirited but fair enough

 

[Utah Top Dog]

did you drive from Utah?

Moved to Cincy from Slc 18 months ago

 

[kobebeanbryant]

Cole had less ball handling responsibilities and that by itself made him more scoring minded. Gaffney helps in that way. Who else can do that?

andre

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Was not even remotely mean spirited but fair enough

nah it was a pretty crappy comment

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Cole had less ball handling responsibilities and that by itself made him more scoring minded. Gaffney helps in that way. Who else can do that?

Not really what happened today but okay, Chief.

 

[navery12]

nah it was a pretty crappy comment

Maybe it didn't come across how I intended then but this is the exact opinion being shared across multiple threads all over the Boneyard for the past 3 months

 

[98Uconn]

Working all day at the pharmacy trying to survive the covid driven insanity ? so didn't catch the game... how did Andre do? I know he has great energy and upside but last game didn't see like much of a scoring threat.. did he get much run today and how'd he play?

 

[Kitaman]

Got to give Martin a shout out! He's so steady and never tries to be the flavor of the week. Kid's not scared to mix it up on the inside. Believe it or not he's a good model for AJ. Right now he's our most dependable player.

 

[djct1999]

Huge team win. As someone mentioned elsewhere, perhaps a season saving win. On to the next.

The biggest moment to me in the game was after Xavier tied it at 49 and Martin got the hoop and one, followed by a stop, followed by a Whaley and one. Of further note, did you see our head lunatic react to that Martin play? It was an amazing reaction. I absolute love it when Hurley is that into it.

 

[coachn]

Jackson makes a big difference with his defense and passing. His scoring will come. Boy did he lock up Scruggs..
What is this with the missed free throws in the clutch late in the game.
Remember Kemba, Baz, Boat, CV late in games.
Gafney even missed one. Need Bouk.

 

[SportsFan88]

nah it was a pretty crappy comment

And you called my take snarky lol what was that then?

 

[SeattleHoop]

Cole had less ball handling responsibilities and that by itself made him more scoring minded. Gaffney helps in that way. Who else can do that?

I think AJ can potentially do that. Reminds me a lot of DHam but more athletic and not as good of a shooter. He can definitely get Cole the ball in the right spots imo

 

[coachn]

I'm the Head Lunatic. Game drove me crazy. Great WIN

 

[freshler40]

Akok and Jackson added energy to the squad, giving the team a good boost from the mid point in the first half. Cole and Martin gave UConn consistent production throughout. Cole was the MVP as a 6th man and had a great scoring game as Gaffney ran the point more. I remember after a recent game Hurley said they win the last two season when Gaffney runs things. We moved the ball on offense better than we have all year.

We started the game with me wondering if
there is a non shooting virus circulating in CT?
We lost the battle of the early 3’s. Do we even have a scouting report? Scant evidence of it when we leave good 3 point shooters wide open. Whatever we are doubling to or hedging to help - it’s not worth it. Throughout the game they leveraged mismatches to take the ball to the basket and create open shots or fouls.

While Whaley had some nice blocks (I counted about 4) he continues to treat the ball like it’s a hot potato bobbling it throughout the game. Most of the time it wasn’t a turnover but impacted the play. He just doesn’t play under control. Even Sanogo did not demonstrate his usual good hands today.

Gaffney reverted to playing within himself today. Rather than shooting he threw a few rushed turnover destine passes. Why can’t he stay confident? He missed at least 2 layups. Even after a recent 20 point game? Chief is stumped on that.

Cole played great coming off the bench giving us much needed points. Cole was clearly our MVP as a 6 man in a big road win with 24 points and a half dozen assists. Polley I thought played well given recent expectations - but now he needs to raise the bar as Cole did today.

The other lesson today is Hurley needs to lose the mindset we need to play slow in the 60’s. We can win in the mid to upper 70’s. - low 80’s.

Late game foul shooting needs lots of work. No excuse for what happened in the last minute.

One more point is heavy work on getting the ball in play and running down the clock. We have struggled doing that all season.

 

[Chief00]

One more point is heavy work on getting the ball in play and running down the clock. We have struggled doing that all season.

Agreed.

 

[ucawn]

Working all day at the pharmacy trying to survive the covid driven insanity ? so didn't catch the game... how did Andre do? I know he has great energy and upside but last game didn't see like much of a scoring threat.. did he get much run today and how'd he play?

He’s great. We need to set better screens for him so he can get downhill into the paint. I think he settled for too many outside shots, but his defense, passing, and rebounds were huge.