Chief’s Post-Mortem

[Chief00]

Chief will start with the premise, good shooting cures a lot of other ills. We did not have that universal cure this season. So all these other things really hurt us.

What happened last night wasn’t a surprise, it may have just fully presented itself a game earlier in the tournament than expected. But, these elements of vulnerability have been there in various forms in nearly all our wins and loses.

Chief until recently thought starting lineups were overrated and it was who played throughout the game. With our starting 5 this season, I have revised my thinking. Consistently, it set a terrible tempo and mindset for the games. All the things various posts described about last night’s game began with our tortuous offense during the first 10 minutes. 10 in10 became our motto, usually scoring about 10 points the first 1/4 of the game. By then our opponent was dictating to us. The other team could prepare for being able to double from 2 positions and who they would leave wide open and where. Our inability to adjust and mix those variables up is concerning. Stubborn is easy to prepare for.

Another theme this season was a lack of appreciation of how defense and offense are connected. Despite our shot blocking and defensive rebounding, Chief saw no effort to translate those strengths into a running game that would score points in transition.

Just watching New Mexico State’s clever inbound play, which basically resulted in putting the ball in their top scorer hands when they wanted to despite pressure, made Chief realize we have unfortunately not been so clever this season.

Chief will also add too often the UConn player who took the shot was the guy our opponent wanted to take the shot and in the spot on the court they chose.

As Chief has been preaching, you need to choose how you want your star to expend his energy, especially when he is a 240 pound guy. If you think it’s defending a 180 pound guard 30 feet from the basket, I beg to differ. What perhaps worked at URI or Wagner won’t work here against the teams we often play.

 

[Tenspro2002]

They may have wanted their guy to take fade-away 17-footers and 3's with a hand in their face, but that doesn't make them good shots.

They just happened to hit an absurd percentage of them.

 

[bendm]

the slow motion image of sanogo running through teddy allen at halfcourt as the shot clock expires will haunt me forever.

 

[Chief00]

They may have wanted their guy to take fade-away 17-footers and 3's with a hand in their face, but that doesn't make them good shots.

They just happened to hit an absurd percentage of them.

It’s a good shot if it goes in and too many of them did. In my opinion, what you need to understand in basketball is that guys get hot, it’s part of the game. When they do, you make mid course adjustments to throw his rhythm off or make them feel uncomfortable by crowding them, denying the ball or switching the defense. Our failure to make mid game adjustments is baffling.

 

[dogpause]

It will haunt many of us. And probably Sanogo too, but at least it was an effort mistake. The person who should have been guarding Teddy made a bigger mistake, IMO.

 

[dogpause]

Great take Chief, as usual.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Andre Jackson was almost exclusively asked to turn misses into early offense. In fact it’s one of the things that made us successful all season.

When we got ourselves into trouble was when we couldn’t get stops in the first place.

I’ll skip the high hedge argument, no arguing with you there.

 

[Chief00]

Andre Jackson was almost exclusively asked to turn misses into early offense. In fact it’s one of the things that made us successful all season.

When we got ourselves into trouble was when we couldn’t get stops in the first place.

I’ll skip the high hedge argument, no arguing with you there.

I agree to some extent, that was the ask. The challenge is that he is one of our top rebounders. He was careless with the ball until the last 1/3 of the season when he dramatically improved in that area. I thought Calhoun identified needing another penetrator off the dribble was a need for this team. I know Danny has mused about Andre bring a pg - Chief sees him more as a point forward and a guy to fill the lane on the break rather than the guy who runs it but I do love his passing ability.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Chief will start with the premise, good shooting cures a lot of other ills. We did not have that universal cure this season. So all these other things really hurt us.

What happened last night wasn’t a surprise, it may have just fully presented itself a game earlier in the tournament than expected. But, these elements of vulnerability have been there in various forms in nearly all our wins and loses.

Chief until recently thought starting lineups were overrated and it was who played throughout the game. With our starting 5 this season, I have revised my thinking. Consistently, it set a terrible tempo and mindset for the games. All the things various posts described about last night’s game began with our tortuous offense during the first 10 minutes. 10 in10 became our motto, usually scoring about 10 points the first 1/4 of the game. By then our opponent was dictating to us. The other team could prepare for being able to double from 2 positions and who they would leave wide open and where. Our inability to adjust and mix those variables up is concerning. Stubborn is easy to prepare for.

Another theme this season was a lack of appreciation of how defense and offense are connected. Despite our shot blocking and defensive rebounding, Chief saw no effort to translate those strengths into a running game that would score points in transition.

Just watching New Mexico State’s clever inbound play, which basically resulted in putting the ball in their top scorer hands when they wanted to despite pressure, made Chief realize we have unfortunately not been so clever this season.

Chief will also add too often the UConn player who took the shot was the guy our opponent wanted to take the shot and in the spot on the court they chose.

As Chief has been preaching, you need to choose how you want your star to expend his energy, especially when he is a 240 pound guy. If you think it’s defending a 180 pound guard 30 feet from the basket, I beg to differ. What perhaps worked at URI or Wagner won’t work here against the teams we often play.

These are good, and I think accurate, observations Chief. I’ll add to your comments on shooting that in four years Hurley has recruited no freshman shooters. The only shooter is a Howard transfer.

I’ll also add that those inbounds plays and lack of offensive identity and creativity are also on the coach.

 

[Dove]

Adama needs to be a man possessed next season. His second half was woeful. A rebounding fiend but a soft serve ice cream cone on offense.

 

[auror]

I’ll add to your comments on shooting that in four years Hurley has recruited no freshman shooters. The only shooter is a Howard transfer.

Hawkins was supposed to be a freshman shooter. He was recruited as such. Shot looks good, it just didn't go in enough. Karaban hopefully will be as well. Other guys like Gaffney, Akok, and Johnson were known as people who took and made 3s, but weren't necessarily expected to be snipers as freshmen.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Chief I appreciate your summation. DH is defense first. As a result, the players used up most of their energy on this side of the court. It makes me wonder if they have the legs and stamina to play on the offensive end. After all they're not training to be navy seals.
The question becomes (for DH) does defense trump offense by the metrics he desires? Much reflecting needs to be done.
I am a NY Giants fan and they have emphasized defense first forever. When is the last time they have had a successful season using this philosophy?
I am proud of these huskies and what they have accomplished. Overall, it was a fun season to watch them.
DH's heart and soul is for his players and the program. However, I hope he does some reflection this off season. Some on the BY want his ass on the hot seat. Really??? Rome was not built in a day.

 

[blackuc]

While Dan might preach defense first, the truth be told is that we are lousy at it. Blocked shots and rebounding masked some of this but we cannot guard man to man and it was very evident this year in our biggest games . Against Seton Hall Richmond did whatever he wanted in the game he was healthy in. In the Big East tournament Gillespie went wherever he wanted on the court and last night Teddy Buckets did the same. I am not sure why we are so bad because we have plenty of athletes who should be able guard.

 

[Giddyup5]

Sorry, but I can’t ever like a Chief post. But he did bring up a good point.

The start of games matter.

Hurley also agrees with that premise. He thought that starting with Whaley Jackson Sanogo would start with a physical imposing lineup that would set the tone of our identity—defense and rebounding.

Well—there is also a physiological aspect of sports. If you sacrifice offense, it keeps the other team mentally and emotionally in the game. They believe they can win. Compare that to blitzing them out the gate and doubts enter their minds.

This doesn’t even address the fact that playing Sanogo and Whaley together was clearly a mistake for so many other reasons that have already been discussed.

 

[jibsey]

We tried to guard him, deny him, double him, nothing worked. Their other guard went 3-6 from 3. The kid had an amazing night. Team defense was good and they got a few O rebounds with shots so bad they bounced far away back to them, extra chances. 13-13 from line. In the meantime who was driving to the rim for us? Cole, that was it. We don’t have that type of 2 guard and we desperately need it next year.

 

[Chief00]

While Dan might preach defense first, the truth be told is that we are lousy at it. Blocked shots and rebounding masked some of this but we cannot guard man to man and it was very evident this year in our biggest games . Against Seton Hall Richmond did whatever he wanted in the game he was healthy in. In the Big East tournament Gillespie went wherever he wanted on the court and last night Teddy Buckets did the same. I am not sure why we are so bad because we have plenty of athletes who should be able guard.

In general, I think we guard to vertical and not with our knees bent and keeping the offensive player between the knees. When you play that way guys can take you off the dribble.
As for our paint defense, I do think we improved in terms of not going for pump fakes. That and a reduction in Turnovers were the two biggest areas of improvement that Chief can identify for the let’s be positive crowd.

 

[Chief00]

We tried to guard him, deny him, double him, nothing worked. Their other guard went 3-6 from 3. The kid had an amazing night. Team defense was good and they got a few O rebounds with shots so bad they bounced far away back to them, extra chances. 13-13 from line. In the meantime who was driving to the rim for us? Cole, that was it. We don’t have that type of 2 guard and we desperately need it next year.

Personally I would have tried a box in one. I guess I am still in the days of Ricky Moore or Rash Jones for what denying without the ball is all about. Part of that is really invading his body space without fouling. Those guys would literarily suffocate someone on defense.

 

[gtcam]

It will haunt many of us. And probably Sanogo too, but at least it was an effort mistake. The person who should have been guarding Teddy made a bigger mistake, IMO.

Sanogo was where he shouldn’t have been and because he was so high it became a switch assignment situation and Sanogo was too slow to react and it became a desperation lunge. Sanogo is not a high IQ basketball player which I am going to attribute to a small extent to his starting to play the game later in life. In the large picture, that play is small compared to the things he needs to work on in order to be a complete player. Again, Sanogo is not a 5 and will never play that position in the NBA. He is a 4 with no midrange game and very limited passing acumen. He has amazing fast feet at this level but he needs to work on his take off and lift from a stop. He should be dunking 35% of his interior shots and he isn’t close to that. He has the potential but needs much work.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I still have faith in Hurley, but look at the plays after a timeout. NMS more often than not got a really good look.

If Hurley has a deficiency, I think it's drawing up plays on offense, especially after timeouts. Now shooters give you more options. People talk about Karaban taking Polley's role, but I think he'll be an improvement. He looked pretty good at lifting the defender up and is willing to drive. Also, he appears to finish with his left pretty well.

The offensive rebounding and the pure grit and tenaacity of RJ Cole did mask a lot. I cannot imagine where this team would have been without him. I quickly went from being a guy wanting Gaff to get more time at the beginning to RJ being one of favortie Huskies of all time. Praying for a miracle that he returns.

Overall, I agree with Chief about everything in this post. Nicely done.

 

[Palatine]

The problem with the high hedge is the cheap fouls. Not that it eats up too much energy.

Sanogo's problems on offense stem from the fact he is too deliberate. When he receives the ball he should either 1- go immediately to basket and shoot or 2- throw the ball back out and reset. Getting the ball and dribbling or just standing figuring out what to do is problematic. Get the ball. Go or throw. Move it.

On Thursday (as the TV announcer mentioned) Sanogo didn't roll on the pick and roll. It was a pick and stand. Not good. And Hurley should have fixed it.

It is relatively easy to do these things. Sanogo is a load and capable of putting up BIG numbers. Hopefully this is just part of his learning curve.

 

[Chief00]

Sanogo was where he shouldn’t have been and because he was so high it became a switch assignment situation and Sanogo was too slow to react and it became a desperation lunge. from a stop.

Agreed. I will also say this, it’s a little embarrassing seeing how Josh has flourished in Houston. I am very happy for him, but why aren’t we able to coach up our Bigs more?
My heart tells me Adama is a coachable type kid. The problem is that assuming you coach him up and he follows it but then it’s not reinforced by a guy hitting a 3 on a pass back outside. So right now it’s a very muddy puddle.

 

[Chief00]

The problem with the high hedge is the cheap fouls. Not that it eats up too much energy.

Sanogo's problems on offense stem from the fact he is too deliberate. When he receives the ball he should either 1- go immediately to basket and shoot or 2- throw the ball back out and reset. Getting the ball and dribbling or just standing figuring out what to do is problematic. Get the ball. Go or throw. Move it.

On Thursday (as the TV announcer mentioned) Sanogo didn't roll on the pick and roll. It was a pick and stand. Not good. And Hurley should have fixed it.

It is relatively easy to do these things. Sanogo is a load and capable of putting up BIG numbers. Hopefully this is just part of his learning curve.

I personally think it’s both - I wish he would wear some gadget to tell us how many miles he runs in a game. Antidotally,he looks tired at the end of games and exhibits missed foul shots or close end shots that often present tiredness.

 

[lsuconnman]

I still think we should thank Boston College for our performance.

When’s the last time you saw a school withdraw from a conference…and then let the rest of the members take the conference name, logo, and IP with them? Fortunately, the Big East invited UConn back a decade later…Now recruiting is magical.

 

[SwingDog]

These are good, and I think accurate, observations Chief. I’ll add to your comments on shooting that in four years Hurley has recruited no freshman shooters. The only shooter is a Howard transfer.

I’ll also add that those inbounds plays and lack of offensive identity and creativity are also on the coach.

I am hopeful that Alex Karaban will prove to be the freshman shooter, and Jordan Hawkins will build on the progress he made this season as a skilled shooter.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

These are good, and I think accurate, observations Chief. I’ll add to your comments on shooting that in four years Hurley has recruited no freshman shooters. The only shooter is a Howard transfer.

I’ll also add that those inbounds plays and lack of offensive identity and creativity are also on the coach.

I’ll clarify, for those who point out that Hawkins is a good shooter. I agree, so I stand corrected. Though in my defense recall that it took half the year to get him any PT on a team that clearly needed that skill, and even then marginally used until his concussion.