Chief’s Briefs - Xavier Edition

[Chief00]

I think Gaffney is close is getting close to figuring it out to be a consistent contributor. Today he was indecisive which lead to bullet passes at close range the big couldn’t catch. A simple pull-up or floater in those situations and we would be talking about a solid game he had. Mistakes that can be fixed. He will figure it out.

Chief could ‘t agree more. An enigma inside an enigma.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

lotsa talk aboot points, 70s-80s, running, etc, etc.
two brand spanking new players just added. coach will coach accordingly.
2 back, 1 to go. and so will we.

 

[imno1]

I thought Akok changed the game for us in several ways. Energy for sure. We have been listless for 2 games now and started that way again. But he also solves so many problems. With Whaley at 4 we lack shooting. With Martin rim protection. Akok is just a matchup problem for every team. He altered several shots when he was in. Making 3s is huge but so was that aggressive move to the hoop. Maybe we forget this guy started from day one as a freshman, and Bouknight didn’t.

Cole was huge today. I think Jackson takes some of the pressure off him by handling the role of passing the ball inside, where Cole struggles. 7 assists and much needed scoring. Martin played angry, and thats when he’s best. Whaley showed flashes of the good Whaley on D and the boards but dropped passes and missed around the rim. Gaff needs to knock off the John Elway act with his passes, and trust his shot. He made several nice moves and then blew it. Jackson needs to remain our starting 3 from now through 2022. Should be set in sharpie. He has a nice looking shot and it’s going to fall. Once it does consistently he will be unstoppable with his ability to attack.

Great win. Badly needed boost for the guys, the staff and all of us.

I may be in the minority here but I think Whaley is a decent shooter and I wish he'd shoot a bit more when open.

 

[Kenny11]

The boneyard deserves the game ball! Several things we have been calling for in regards to coaching decisions, lineups and some adjustments by the players happened today

 

[Chief00]

The boneyard deserves the game ball! Several things we have been calling for in regards to coaching decisions, lineups and some adjustments by the players happened today

LOL - imagine Hurley doing that rather than Cole. I liked the point Hurley made about more transition possessions rather than running sets. I think if this team had a push guard the other guys would run and fill the lanes and spot for the 3 point shot.

 

[Umami Zen]

LOL - imagine Hurley doing that rather than Cole. I liked the point Hurley made about more transition possessions rather than running sets. I think if this team had a push guard the other guys would run and fill the lanes and spot for the 3 point shot.

Sool coming!

 

[Tenspro2002]

I think Gaffney is getting close to figuring it out to be a consistent contributor. Today he was indecisive which lead to bullet passes at close range the big couldn’t catch. A simple pull-up or floater in those situations and we would be talking about a solid game he had. Mistakes that can be fixed. He will figure it out.

Gaffney clearly has the talent. It's just a matter of decision-making/belief. I'd much rather have that than the opposite given the other guys on the roster.

We're going to be in good shape next year -- we'll have everyone who played today except Polley and Whaley, Akok back at full strength, and a pretty good recruiting class.

 

[gtcam]

1. RJ no doubt came up huge today, Don't like that UConn has to depend upon him as a PG because he is not that style of baller. He is a SG and effective as a SG. We saw what he could do when he catches and shoots vs when he tries to drive. Its a shame that Gaff is so inconsistent and lacks any confidence in his game. Can't wait til next season when we have a PG and RJ won't have to - he will score a lot more.
2. Again, the team came out with zero idea of how to play and it showed. The last 2 plus minutes were a mess. Does this team practice FT shooting in practice? Do they practice at beating a press? Some may feel that Dan Hurley coached well today but I didn't see that. He stuck Akok in because he didn't really have a choice and he was fortunate Akok looked more than ready. This team is better when it plays big - it gives them an opportunity to play up tempo - something a lot of BYers have been begging for. The Time Out strategy sucked at best. Dan Hurley was bailed out today.
3. Andre has great court vision and should see as much PT as possible. Martin is a bull and he has more positives than negatives. When Akok gets into game shape- watch out. Whalley is an asset on the defensive end and hopefully has found a little offense - this team would suffer if he did not play. Polley hit some 3's but that's what he is supposed to do, had a lucky rebound put back and again played atrocious defense - but is probably the best free throw shooter on the team.
4. I agree what Donny Marshall said and have said the same thing - this team does not require Bouk to be a good team. The talent is there but there is no cohesion, no consistent player rotation and needs a huge shot of confidence and self worth. The solution could be that if Bouk can't play, he doesn't practice with the 1st team. Dan Hurley has to coach what there is not what he hopes to be.
A critical win in a few aspects but what would it look like if the St Johns and PC games were Ws as they should have been? Doesn't really get UConn off the bubble but it doesn't bury them either. I loved the way they played in the final 5 minutes of 1st half and a majority of the 2nd half - it was UConn basketball. Come out strong and finish strong - if they do that this team could make some real noise.

 

[Ant3411]

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

Akok was huge

 

[Jbirdp5]

The Whaley sanogo combo did not look great to me. If Carlton is out of the rotation I would like to see them stagger their minutes much more. Sharing less time I think will help them both.

 

[Hankster]

Chief could ‘t agree more. An enigma inside an enigma.

However I remember clearly. Bouk and Gaff played together some games. Gaff would feed Bouk constantly. Slam Dunks from Bouk were amazing. Gaff had a lot to with it. I had no complaints watching Gaff last year. What happened during the off season is beyond me. So, if Gaff seems to have lost his confidence, maybe a big difference in playing time from last year? Competition?

 

[lange10]

The Whaley sanogo combo did not look great to me. If Carlton is out of the rotation I would like to see them stagger their minutes much more. Sharing less time I think will help them both.

Love what both of them bring but that combo on the floor at the same time holds us back. With Jackson, Akok and (soon) Bouk back in the fold we need to go smaller.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I agree with you 98.5% on everything you say most times. Today is no different! But here's how I feel:

Gaffney, has one great game and most thought having him start over RJ was the way. RJ and Martin have been the most consistent over last 6 games. Gaffney was averaging less then 2 made shots a game b4 the last game. Only Adams stayed starting too long for me. Ijs

To be fair Gaffney has looked like our best player the past 2 weeks of practice. He just needs things to click and translate into games.

 

[RichZ]

I don’t know if we played all that much faster just much more decisively on offense. Didn’t turn down good looks.

We attacked early in the clock instead of our recent trend of passing and weaving with no attempt to take the ball in the direction of the basket for 2/3 of the shot clock, then jacking an off balance or contested three with no-one but one big anywhere near the rim.

 

[RichZ]

Chief sees Andre as a point forward type rather than a pure PG. But, definitely he can help advance the ball and create in the half court. As with others, when you do that, you also have the responsibility to be a good foul shooter under pressure.
Posters can say what they want about Gaffney, much of it is valid. The truth for 2 years, is when he’s gets minutes, somehow they tend to win more. Hurley has made that observation.

He has said he wants to model his game after Pistol Pete. I think the young man needs to study footage of Elgin Baylor -- the original point forward.

 

[Kolumbo]

UConn up by 11 with 1:28 left
UConn up by 8 with 1:03 left
UConn up by 7 with 0:28 left
UConn up by 4 with 0.19 left
This is where everyone had to be thinking they were going to miss free throw an 11 point lead away. All while the announcers had already chalked in the win. Tense moments.

 

[Sibeerian]

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?

There is a one hour cut of the game on YouTube, all action, commercials edited out.

 

[bendm]

man i really hope to see bouk and aj on the court together

 

[Chief00]

He has said he wants to model his game after Pistol Pete. I think the young man needs to study footage of Elgin Baylor -- the original point forward.

His mom said he had a relatively late growth spurt, hence the early guard skills developments. Although, that development did not include outside shooting skills since he was so athletic he could just go by and over people. His shot work has come the last 2 years though.

 

[Chief00]

Sool coming!

Good to see you appear my friend.

 

[Chief00]

UConn up by 11 with 1:28 left
UConn up by 8 with 1:03 left
UConn up by 7 with 0:28 left
UConn up by 4 with 0.19 left
This is where everyone had to be thinking they were going to miss free throw an 11 point lead away. All while the announcers had already chalked in the win. Tense moments.

Very true.

 

[Huskygamble19]

Gaffney made several mistakes in this game including driving to the basket a few times and making passes too late to Whaley and Sanogo that were promptly fumbled out of bounds. He should have just kept going to the basket for the layup. I should point out that he had a breakaway earlier and rolled the ball over the basket. He was not very good in this game. I also thought that at the end of the game they had a terrible time trying to inbound the ball and couple that with the 1-5 free throws, almost cost them the game. It was a very important win despite the poor end play.

 

[UconnFanDC]

To be fair Gaffney has looked like our best player the past 2 weeks of practice. He just needs things to click and translate into games.

Things I don't see/know. All fine but until that happens, and happens consistently, I can't see the reason to start him over Cole. Removing Adams and placing him out there with Cole seemed like the thing to do.

 

[Umami Zen]

Good to see you appear my friend.

AFK-RL

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Gaffney made several mistakes in this game including driving to the basket a few times and making passes too late to Whaley and Sanogo that were promptly fumbled out of bounds. He should have just kept going to the basket for the layup. I should point out that he had a breakaway earlier and rolled the ball over the basket. He was not very good in this game. I also thought that at the end of the game they had a terrible time trying to inbound the ball and couple that with the 1-5 free throws, almost cost them the game. It was a very important win despite the poor end play.

cool, now tell us our record when jmoney starts the game over the past 2 seasons. pro tip: don't look. and, tell us why, after a series of poorly executed inbounds plays yesterday,, coach switched the inbound passer to jmoney -problem solved. finally, tell us why, at the end of games where the result may rest on us making ft's from the inevitable fouls to come, jmoney is always on the floor.
coach said '4-6 weeks' on james' return - correctamundo, notwithstanding the insanities heard here.
coach also said that we seem to win when jalen is on the floor- 2x correctamundo.

pretty funny situation when coach wants him to both inbound the ball, and get the pass. lol.

 

[Chief00]

The intangible benefits of Jackson and Gaffney that don’t directly appear in their boxscore line.
Faster tempo, more athletic and most importantly sharing of the ball at the right time and place with a teammate.
Someone posted we had 21 assists and often these guys are involved in the pass before the assist. When a team plays up-tempo and unselfish there are less forced shots and better more comfortable ones.
While I agree Gaffney needs to shoot more when he drives or pull up I can tell you while as a fan I don’t like it - his teammates are not going to usually complain - although Martin did last game. They like a guy who passes as Chief did when he played LOL. Now he just needs to improve in confidence, decision making and execution abd I believe he will.
Jackson is a no brainer - Chief loves his game as does almost everyone.

 

[EASTFLA]

Which led to less late shot clock possessions but we still need progress there.

I disagree. They played much faster. Cole wasn't walking the ball up he was running it up. We rebounded and got up court much faster. We even had a leak out, when is the last time you saw that. The 3 man weave was not omnipresent as it has been all season, it was there in small doses. We had 21 assists on 28 hoops and considering 3 of those were off steals, or beak aways completely different. I think we had 5-6 players with multiple assists. Quicker shots because the ball was moving, not 20 seconds outside the 3 point line a ball screen, and a bad look by a guy who shoots in the 30s. It was one game, but the game plan was noticeably different. I disagree with your take completely. We didn't shoot great, we took more shots, and took advantage of better shots. It was a pleasure to finally see a real offense, instead of a stagnant mess.

 

[EASTFLA]

Also, we played over our heads in that game. Whalley isn't a 12 point 10 rebound 4 assist 5 block player, or he'd be a 1st round NBA pick. Cole Shot way above the norm, assisted on more baskets than any other game. He hit 5-7 from deep, his average on 7 attempts is closest to 2-7, so take those 9 points away and it looks a lot different. Akok scored 7 points in 10 minutes on the floor (my educated guess is he won't score 7 points in 10 minutes again all season. So what the next thought is, did our style of play suit our players better so even if Whalley, Cole, and Akok don't achieve those career games, does it create opportunities so that we have different players playing above their level because the style of play is better suited to this roster as a whole? I think time will bear out that it does. Chief, love your posts, very complete and factual. For some reason, you have an affinity for Gaffney. I like what he does, but his numbers are so low on the efficiency scale they are not worth 20 minutes, outside the fact if not him, who else? Come on 20 minutes 2 assists 1 rebound, and 1-6? We had 6 players with 2 assists or more. I have seen one game with 20 points, but I think Adams had 15 in a game. It is the full body of work, and if I had to grade his full body of work I would say C-. I would rate the same vs Xavier. We have to keep putting pressure on the opposing defense, when the offense is accelerating the pace the energy transfers to the other end of the court because guys get their heads in the game, and over-achieving raises the bar.

 

[Mooch82]

UConn up by 11 with 1:28 left
UConn up by 8 with 1:03 left
UConn up by 7 with 0:28 left
UConn up by 4 with 0.19 left
This is where everyone had to be thinking they were going to miss free throw an 11 point lead away. All while the announcers had already chalked in the win. Tense moments.

I was beside myself when we were missing those free throws. Luckily, Martin redeemed himself and hit his two with 16 seconds left. If he misses both of those again, I’m not sure we win the game.

 

[Chief00]

Also, we played over our heads in that game. Whalley isn't a 12 point 10 rebound 4 assist 5 block player, or he'd be a 1st round NBA pick. Cole Shot way above the norm, assisted on more baskets than any other game. He hit 5-7 from deep, his average on 7 attempts is closest to 2-7, so take those 9 points away and it looks a lot different. Akok scored 7 points in 10 minutes on the floor (my educated guess is he won't score 7 points in 10 minutes again all season. So what the next thought is, did our style of play suit our players better so even if Whalley, Cole, and Akok don't achieve those career games, does it create opportunities so that we have different players playing above their level because the style of play is better suited to this roster as a whole? I think time will bear out that it does. Chief, love your posts, very complete and factual. For some reason, you have an affinity for Gaffney. I like what he does, but his numbers are so low on the efficiency scale they are not worth 20 minutes, outside the fact if not him, who else? Come on 20 minutes 2 assists 1 rebound, and 1-6? We had 6 players with 2 assists or more. I have seen one game with 20 points, but I think Adams had 15 in a game. It is the full body of work, and if I had to grade his full body of work I would say C-. I would rate the same vs Xavier. We have to keep putting pressure on the opposing defense, when the offense is accelerating the pace the energy transfers to the other end of the court because guys get their heads in the game, and over-achieving raises the bar.

I like guys who play minutes when the team wins. His head coach does too.