I give a ton of credit to Providence. I never thought I would think this, but I envy their program. They have a team. At UConn, we have a bunch of individuals.
I think a large part of our problem is that two of our main guys are looking towards the NBA instead of focusing on UConn. 8 assists to 10 turnovers for a supposedly guard oriented team is troubling and suggests people are looking only for themselves. The lack of defense especially help defense also shows that we play as individuals.
Terry Larrier has NEVER proven himself. He averaged 6 pts at VCU and and did okay against Wagner and Northeastern last year. He has proven nothing, and yet there is this expectation that he will help us this year significantly. He has no interest in rebounding, he likes to turn the ball over, and he doesn't pass the ball very much. Not a tough player, and if he is going to play the four, he needs to be tough.
We cannot shoot the ball. With the athleticism that we have, we should be attacking the rim. The problem is, teams will consistently sag or play zone against us because we dont have a single player that will shoot over 35% from three except for Christian.
We have no transition game at all, and never score easy buckets. So many times Providence would push the ball down the floor and score within the first five seconds of their shot clock. We wait around and dribble until ten seconds left.
I know it is early. I know we will grow. But some of these issues are becoming a common theme with Ollie's teams. Good coaches make adjustments given their clientele. Some issues on this team HAVE to change. We better step up to learning curve quick because no one has any sympathy for UConn and our new group. There are no excuses.
