Chief’s NC Briefs - Purdue Edition

[Chief00]

We got punched in the mouth again and survived the first half with a 6 point lead.
Then we win by 15.

When one player Edey has half of our opponent’s points, it was time to try something new. As much as Danny likes one on one defense in the post and hedging help on the top of the key, when our opponent is just 1-2 from 3, it is time to give the help in the post. You can front to deny touches or come from the blind side. Edey is very good with either hand, so surprise is key.

The second half we sent the guard to disrupt Edey and it was pretty effective. Although, the officials allowed him to bump and bang
our Bigs without allowing us to reciprocate.
Will we finally get respect from the refs after #6 NC.

Again our leading in rebounds (by 9) and assists (by 7) was part of the winning formula.

I thought Tristen, Stephon, Cam and Hassan played well. Johnson needs to learn he will foul out doing the high post hedging when needing to go back and defend a great post player. Donovan and Alex made some big plays to contribute to the win too.

 

[REB1094]

Purdue averages 8 threes a game on 41%. They shot 1-7 tonight, and their 1 was a contested fadeaway over a big man

Great job Donovan for allowing us to stay home on shooters. Edey had 37. Next leading scorer 12 on 4-12. Next leading scorer 5

 

[Chief00]

Purdue averages 8 threes a game on 41%. They shot 1-7 tonight, and their 1 was a contested fadeaway over a big man

Great job Donovan for allowing us to stay home on shooters. Edey had 37. Next leading scorer 12 on 4-12. Next leading scorer 5

The defensive strategy was a surprise to me. Let Edey get his 30+ points but stop the threes. It certainly worked on both accounts. Yet, we did start sending a guard at him at the start of the second half when we built the lead and his last series of points - lol the strategy was not to foul out. We use 9 of the 10 center fouls, so were we not trying to stop him stop him until the end?

 

[Hunt for 7]

If they would have called the game fairly Edey would have had several more fouls and that could have changed things, but it did not matter. In the end they gave him pretty much every call unless he actually ran over someone or jumped on his back. Number 4 on Clingan I am not sure if he touched Edey but at that point you can’t reach cuz you know Edey is getting the call.

What struck me is in a year if they Clingan and Edey played head up, I think he could definitely cover him.

I think if the game plan went perfectly we keep Clingan out of foul trouble and Johnson who Edey could not cover in the second half because he was a step slower due to exhaustion does not foul out in 5 minutes played, we could have won by 25-30 points.

WE WERE JUST THAT GOOD!.

 

[gtcam]

It was a great victory and a continuation of dominance that this team has become known for and will be for a while.

IMHO - I thought Stephon should have been the MOP of the FF. Not only was he a dagger to Alabama but his defense vs the opponents best quarterback in both matchups was phenomenal. Nothing against TN but most of his pts vs Bama were in mop up time and his play was somewhat lackluster in the Alabama game. I feel Stephon is the most impactful freshman in the past 40 years.

With the exception of Edey - Purdue is a very average team. No team has the depth of UConn and it was an important factor in the success they enjoyed this season. Spencer replacing AJax's role became a huge plus in that he is an offensive player and a scorer vs being an athletic presence. I don't think anyone on the court last night wanted to win more than Cam - not even Edey.

The refs continue their preference of not calling fouls on Edey and it is very frustrating to watch. At 7'4" my expectation would be that he will dominate, and he does under the hoop but after 4 years the kid can't hit a 10 foot jumper and gets lost away from the hoop. I do not see him being a meaningful NBA player.

On to next season - to me the most satisfying aspect of this victory is that we are tied with UNC and Dook is now breathing UConn's exhaust fumes. My only wish is that UConn played Dook and crushed them last night.

Great team, great victory and UConn is now a storied basketball program and nobody can say they aren't the bluest of bloods. 6-0 in NC games!!!! That is what makes the best of champions - winning every time it's for all the gold.

 

[DRBackup]

Purdue averages 8 threes a game on 41%. They shot 1-7 tonight, and their 1 was a contested fadeaway over a big man

Great job Donovan for allowing us to stay home on shooters. Edey had 37. Next leading scorer 12 on 4-12. Next leading scorer 5

And to be fair, the last 10 points Edey got were after the game was already decided, effectively.

 

[DRBackup]

The defensive strategy was a surprise to me. Let Edey get his 30+ points but stop the threes. It certainly worked on both accounts. Yet, we did start sending a guard at him at the start of the second half when we built the lead and his last series of points - lol the strategy was not to foul out. We use 9 of the 10 center fouls, so were we not trying to stop him stop him until the end?

Absolutely what I expected them to try, at least. And it worked to perfection. Limiting the threes was Purdue's weakness all year. They shot a combined 22 of 68 in their 4 losses

 

[bendm]

The defensive strategy was a surprise to me. Let Edey get his 30+ points but stop the threes.

with all due respect the strategy wasnt a surprise to anyone else, and it worked to perfection. samson didnt get any fouls by hedging they were all on Edey.

 

[uconn_jack]

We got punched in the mouth again and survived the first half with a 6 point lead.

But did we? Purdue I don't think ever lead by more than 2 points for a possession or two. I don't consider being in a 1-2 possession game for the first 15 minutes a punch in the mouth. It may have have felt tenuous for a while, but mostly because it was Purdue since this game went almost exactly the same way they all have.

 

[uconn_jack]

with all due respect the strategy wasnt a surprise to anyone else, and it worked to perfection. samson didnt get any fouls by hedging they were all on Edey.

Yeah, I don't think it was a surprise at all. I also don't think it was their plan to "let" Edey get 37 points, the plan was to let Clingan play him 1v1 and make it as hard for Edey to get his points and not need to lose coverage on the other players. The only reason Edey got his points is because that was their only choice. Edey took 25 shots, the most he has ALL SEASON. Although 15/25 (60%) is fairly efficient, he had to work for them, which I think dulled his ability to defend and rebound. I think it was also misleading since several of his shots cam in the last few minutes of the game where we were just letting him go in virtually uncontested.

 

[CL82]

The defensive strategy was a surprise to me. Let Edey get his 30+ points but stop the threes. It certainly worked on both accounts. Yet, we did start sending a guard at him at the start of the second half when we built the lead and his last series of points - lol the strategy was not to foul out. We use 9 of the 10 center fouls, so were we not trying to stop him stop him until the end?

I don't think there is another way to beat that team. We needed to, mostly, play Edey straight up man-to-man, at least until fouls made it impossible. Then mix a little help, but don't over commit. The key to this game was mostly running these guys off the three-point line and a little bit pace of play. They were completely completely gassed at the end.

 

[husky8273]

has anyone asked Dan about his on court push of Cam?

 

[jibsey]

I guess it's bad taste to complain about refs after Natty 6 but here goes. Edey was punishing and banging our players, Steph, Alex and Donovan and it was ignored. The Karaban one was an assault and should have been reviewed. This stuff happened all game.
In the meantime the world hates Hurley because he walked a foot onto the court? please.

 

[REB1094]

Yeah, I don't think it was a surprise at all. I also don't think it was their plan to "let" Edey get 37 points, the plan was to let Clingan play him 1v1 and make it as hard for Edey to get his points and not need to lose coverage on the other players. The only reason Edey got his points is because that was their only choice. Edey took 25 shots, the most he has ALL SEASON. Although 15/25 (60%) is fairly efficient, he had to work for them, which I think dulled his ability to defend and rebound. I think it was also misleading since several of his shots cam in the last few minutes of the game where we were just letting him go in virtually uncontested.

Just checked the play by play. After Samson fouled out (UConn up 17 with under 6 min left), Edey had 11 points. But Purdue never got closer than 13

Giving up Edey 2s instead of doubling and risking threes down the stretch. Bad job by Matt Painter to not even try to get other shots, he needed lots of points quickly and just drew up low post sets

Before that point, Edey had 26 on 10-19 shooting. Still a monster game, but about 10% lower FG% than his season average

 

[Chief00]

I don't think there is another way to beat that team. We needed to, mostly, play Edey straight up man-to-man, at least until fouls made it impossible. Then mix a little help, but don't over commit. The key to this game was mostly running these guys off the three-point line and a little bit pace of play. They were completely completely gassed at the end.

I agree our defense wore them down.

 

[Chief00]

Yeah, I don't think it was a surprise at all. I also don't think it was their plan to "let" Edey get 37 points, the plan was to let Clingan play him 1v1 and make it as hard for Edey to get his points and not need to lose coverage on the other players. The only reason Edey got his points is because that was their only choice. Edey took 25 shots, the most he has ALL SEASON. Although 15/25 (60%) is fairly efficient, he had to work for them, which I think dulled his ability to defend and rebound. I think it was also misleading since several of his shots cam in the last few minutes of the game where we were just letting him go in virtually uncontested.

I agree you did to exclude the last few shots since Samson was foul out, Donovan had 4 and it was more about running out the clock than anything else.

 

[Chief00]

But did we? Purdue I don't think ever lead by more than 2 points for a possession or two. I don't consider being in a 1-2 possession game for the first 15 minutes a punch in the mouth. It may have have felt tenuous for a while, but mostly because it was Purdue since this game went almost exactly the same way they all have.

True, not in terms of a big lead punch but as Alabama shot 70% from 3’s Edey had half their points at halftime.

 

[giddyup]

Hurley’s strategy required balls because letting Edey go wild and defending the 3 is so unconventional, but it was masterfully brilliant. He studied the analytics and it was the right move: shutdown everything else and Edey can’t score enough to win. That was some HOF coaching. Meanwhile Painter was schooled and had no answer because he rode a one dimensional poney.

 

[Fan1978]

We got punched in the mouth again and survived the first half with a 6 point lead.
Then we win by 15.

When one player Edey has half of our opponent’s points, it was time to try something new. As much as Danny likes one on one defense in the post and hedging help on the top of the key, when our opponent is just 1-2 from 3, it is time to give the help in the post. You can front to deny touches or come from the blind side. Edey is very good with either hand, so surprise is key.

The second half we sent the guard to disrupt Edey and it was pretty effective. Although, the officials allowed him to bump and bang
our Bigs without allowing us to reciprocate.
Will we finally get respect from the refs after #6 NC.

Again our leading in rebounds (by 9) and assists (by 7) was part of the winning formula.

I thought Tristen, Stephon, Cam and Hassan played well. Johnson needs to learn he will foul out doing the high post hedging when needing to go back and defend a great post player. Donovan and Alex made some big plays to contribute to the win too.

Thanks for another season of excellent insights chief. Hope we can land 3-4 quality pieces in portal and or mcneeley and run it back next year

 

[Chief00]

Thanks for another season of excellent insights chief. Hope we can land 3-4 quality pieces in portal and or mcneeley and run it back next year

You’re welcome - a very enjoyable season on the court. Now it is beyond time for the Big East Presidents to clean house in the Big East Commissioner’s Office starting at the top. It is unlikely that will happen but it needs to.

 

[coachn]

I guess it's bad taste to complain about refs after Natty 6 but here goes. Edey was punishing and banging our players, Steph, Alex and Donovan and it was ignored. The Karaban one was an assault and should have been reviewed. This stuff happened all game.
In the meantime the world hates Hurley because he walked a foot onto the court? please.

 

[coachn]

Chief enjoyed your perspective. Looking forward to next year and No. 7.