Concern going into Tournament play | The Boneyard

Concern going into Tournament play

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RayRay

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Overall I feel great about this team going into the BE tourney and the madness. This team wins by being consistent, playing great D, and out rebounding opponents and crashing the offensive boards, and we really don’t need to live and die by the 3 like a lot of college teams, so all is good to make a deep run on those fronts.

My biggest concern is that we have very little experience in close games. Only USC and Creighton early in the season. Every other win has been incredibly comfortable and really never in doubt, and as great as that is, it could really hurt us if the next big pressure moment where we have to absolutely close is in a tournament game. Hopefully Hurley, Bouk, Cole, and the seniors can provide that steady hand and nerves of steel that you need in those moments in March.
 
RayRay said:
Overall I feel great about this team going into the BE tourney and the madness. This team wins by being consistent, playing great D, and out rebounding opponents and crashing the offensive boards, and we really don’t need to live and die by the 3 like a lot of college teams, so all is good to make a deep run on those fronts.

My biggest concern is that we have very little experience in close games. Only USC and Creighton early in the season. Every other win has been incredibly comfortable and really never in doubt, and as great as that is, it could really hurt us if the next big pressure moment where we have to absolutely close is in a tournament game. Hopefully Hurley, Bouk, Cole, and the seniors can provide that steady hand and nerves of steel that you need in those moments in March.
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I have a good vibe about this. I don't think nerves is/are going to be our issue. I think they are going to play loose and attack. If we lose I think we will lose to a better team.

At this point I really only have one question and concern. Can Bouk be the best player in the tournament? If he can, we are going to win it all.
 
NDakotaHusky said:
I have a good vibe about this. I don't think nerves is going to be our issue. I think they are going to play loose and attack. If we lose I think we will lose to a better team.

At this point I really only have one question and concern. Can Bouk be the best player in the tournament? If he can, we are going to win it all.
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Yes, I agree with you on Bouk. He hasn’t been exactly quite the same since injury but I also think that has to do with getting conditioning back and Hurley having him conserve more energy. We definitely need best player in the country James against the best in March.
 
BET is a business trip getting ready for the Big Dance. Take care of business by staying focused and not being over-confident.

Tighten up the rotations and play smart D. Low TO/ efficient offense. Share the ball and find open teammates. Make your FTs.

Have fun at MSG and move on to the Bright Lights of Indianapolis where the big dogs are.

This time of year is why you chose to play BB at UConn. Let's do this.
 
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I would be surprised if Polley got many open looks in the tournament. Teams review film and see that is all he does.
 
RayRay said:
Overall I feel great about this team going into the BE tourney and the madness. This team wins by being consistent, playing great D, and out rebounding opponents and crashing the offensive boards, and we really don’t need to live and die by the 3 like a lot of college teams, so all is good to make a deep run on those fronts.

My biggest concern is that we have very little experience in close games. Only USC and Creighton early in the season. Every other win has been incredibly comfortable and really never in doubt, and as great as that is, it could really hurt us if the next big pressure moment where we have to absolutely close is in a tournament game. Hopefully Hurley, Bouk, Cole, and the seniors can provide that steady hand and nerves of steel that you need in those moments in March.
Expand ...
I think that’s a somewhat valid concern, as is our at times miserable FT shooting. I think next weekend we’ll likely get some experience in at least 1 close game which will be good.

I think we know this team well, in that we can’t know what to expect. At their best, they can beat anyone out there who isn’t on their best day, at their worst, we’re going home first round. I am liking the fact that Polley and Martin haven’t had a great game in a long time, and lately we’ve been winning well while not playing our best basketball.

I think our best games are ahead of us, teams gotta stay positive, have fun, support each other, work hard and we’ll be successful
 
Cole cooling off is #1. Bouk being smothered by better defensive opponents is #2. If those two are hot then whatever we get from the bigs goes to margin of victory.

Foul trouble, missed FT, and turnovers are always a concern come tournament time.
 
Having one of the best offensive players in the country helps.
 
With Nova losing Gillespie and Creighton and McDermott having issues, we have as good a chance as anybody to with the BET. Winning and getting more experience for the NCAA is the biggest opportunity- that and another title.
 
This team has shown the ability to come from behind. IMO, this is at least comparable in value. Also, and I might be alone on this, but I get the sense that Bouk, while on the right track, is still not all the way back, so I think there's room for upside.

I feel pretty good about this team and beleive that Coach Hurley has been focused on the big picture - being at our best come tournament time.
 
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ucp990411 said:
I would be surprised if Polley got many open looks in the tournament. Teams review film and see that is all he does.
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TP has difficulty getting his shot off with the ball in his hands.(ala Bouk) .. He needs his teammates to find him in his spots/be open.. and/ or get open in rhythm.. To get his shot off. Doesn't have the shake and bake moves in his bag of tricks.

If we share the ball and make the extra pass. TP can have an impact with his stroke.
 
ucp990411 said:
I would be surprised if Polley got many open looks in the tournament. Teams review film and see that is all he does.
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If he's in the game with Sanogo, Bouknight and Cole then he has a good chance to get open looks.
 
Polley should buy Sanogo a steak dinner and say look for me when you get double teamed outside the circle.

That would be worth 10-12 pts a game for Polley vs the 2-6 that Sanogo would get and the 4-6 that the opponent might get off turnovers.
 
RayRay said:
Overall I feel great about this team going into the BE tourney and the madness. This team wins by being consistent, playing great D, and out rebounding opponents and crashing the offensive boards, and we really don’t need to live and die by the 3 like a lot of college teams, so all is good to make a deep run on those fronts.

My biggest concern is that we have very little experience in close games. Only USC and Creighton early in the season. Every other win has been incredibly comfortable and really never in doubt, and as great as that is, it could really hurt us if the next big pressure moment where we have to absolutely close is in a tournament game. Hopefully Hurley, Bouk, Cole, and the seniors can provide that steady hand and nerves of steel that you need in those moments in March.
Expand ...
Umami Zen said:
BET is a business trip getting ready for the Big Dance. Take care of business by staying focused and not being over-confident.

Tighten up the rotations and play smart D. Low TO/ efficient offense. Share the ball and find open teammates. Make your FTs.

Have fun at MSG and move on to the Bright Lights of Indianapolis where the big dogs are.

This time of year is why you chose to play BB at UConn. Let's do this.
Expand ...
So important, the team having the ability to execute mistake free basketball the last six minutes, taking good shots, defending, not turning the ball over, and making their foul shots. That swagger that a team develops, that confidence they have after learning how to close out games, the belief that they will win these close, down to the wire games.
 
Defensively, I think we're good enough to go all the way.

What's hurt us in the past has been slow starts on offense early, and random spurts of offensive ineptitude. We've been lucky to recover from those poor stretches in many games. But against better teams, we can't afford to get into a hole, and Hurley's going to have to find a way to manufacture high-percentage looks for easy buckets when we're struggling.

Lately, RJ has been the guy to provide scoring in crucial moments... particularly from mid-range and by getting in the lane. Bouk should be able to impose his will for buckets at times too because he's so gifted. If Martin is mismatched on a smaller guy, he can post up and overpower teams for some easy buckets, but he's been MIA of late. Sanogo has shown he is good for a bucket if he can post-up and we can get him the ball. Polley can stroke it from 3, but at times has struggled to get open since teams started to game-plan for him. We also generate some easy buckets simply by crashing the offensive boards. Hurley has done well drawing up out-of-bounds plays and plays coming out of timeouts.

If we can continue to find ways to consistently score offensively, I have no doubt we can beat anyone in the country on any given night because of our lock-down defense and depth.
 
They haven’t been in high stakes one and done for a long while, we should temper our expectations. I love the makeup of the team with a new guy steeping up on any particular night..Martin, Cole, Whaley, Adama.. but part of the process in the return is rebuilding the nerves of steel. I look at it like every game after BET game one is a bonus to enjoy and savor.
 
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UChusky916 said:
Defensively, I think we're good enough to go all the way.

What's hurt us in the past has been slow starts on offense early, and random spurts of offensive ineptitude. We've been lucky to recover from those poor stretches in many games. But against better teams, we can't afford to get into a hole, and Hurley's going to have to find a way to manufacture high-percentage looks for easy buckets when we're struggling.

Lately, RJ has been the guy to provide scoring in crucial moments... particularly from mid-range and by getting in the lane. Bouk should be able to impose his will for buckets at times too because he's so gifted. If Martin is mismatched on a smaller guy, he can post up and overpower teams for some easy buckets, but he's been MIA of late. Sanogo has shown he is good for a bucket if he can post-up and we can get him the ball. Polley can stroke it from 3, but at times has struggled to get open since teams started to game-plan for him. We also generate some easy buckets simply by crashing the offensive boards. Hurley has done well drawing up out-of-bounds plays and plays coming out of timeouts.

If we can continue to find ways to consistently score offensively, I have no doubt we can beat anyone in the country on any given night because of our lock-down defense and depth.
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Absolutely agree that the slow starts are concerning. We don't get behind my a little, we get behind by a lot. Fortunately, we do not seem to panic, but in a tourney environment, you falter, you go home.
 
My biggest concern is getting the ball inbounds at the end of close games to our good FT shooters.

That's how an 11 point lead becomes 5 real fast
 
If Bouk gets his jump shot back, we can make a deep run I think the tournament and play with just about anyone. If he doesn't, then we can still have some success but I'm concerned we can play with the best of the best.
 
HuskyFich said:
My biggest concern is getting the ball inbounds at the end of close games to our good FT shooters.

That's how an 11 point lead becomes 5 real fast
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That is a concern. It amazes me that so many coaches put too many players in the backcourt as potential receivers of the inbounds pass, this eliminates spacing which you need. Just put two guys there as potential receivers, they will get open. And so many inbound passes go to the corner - the last place you want that pass to go. And please get the ball in asap to the first open teammate.
 
Playing well is important in the tournament. It was ever thus.
 
Umami Zen said:
BET is a business trip getting ready for the Big Dance. Take care of business by staying focused and not being over-confident.

Tighten up the rotations and play smart D. Low TO/ efficient offense. Share the ball and find open teammates. Make your FTs.

Have fun at MSG and move on to the Bright Lights of Indianapolis where the big dogs are.

This time of year is why you chose to play BB at UConn. Let's do this.
Expand ...
I agree with you completely.

And in contrast to how I have responded to some of your earlier posts, I commend the clarity of expression. Your writing is easier to read without proprietary punctuation, which I experienced as calling needless attention to itself, disruptive to comprehension, and running counter to your then-stated desire to focus on content.

We move together
One challenge and then the next
A game at a time
 
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Hans Sprungfeld said:
I agree with you completely.

And in contrast to how I have responded to some of your earlier posts, I commend the clarity of expression. Your writing is easier to read without proprietary punctuation, which I experienced as calling needless attention to itself, disruptive to comprehension, and running counter to your then-stated desire to focus on content.

We move together
One challenge and then the next
A game at a time
Expand ...
"Be Water, My Friend'. Bruce Lee

Impressive Haiku shout out.
 
Kembacity said:
I think that’s a somewhat valid concern, as is our at times miserable FT shooting. I think next weekend we’ll likely get some experience in at least 1 close game which will be good.

I think we know this team well, in that we can’t know what to expect. At their best, they can beat anyone out there who isn’t on their best day, at their worst, we’re going home first round. I am liking the fact that Polley and Martin haven’t had a great game in a long time, and lately we’ve been winning well while not playing our best basketball.

I think our best games are ahead of us, teams gotta stay positive, have fun, support each other, work hard and we’ll be successful
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I absolutely LOVED that Wednesday's game showed 15-16 FTs.
SubbaBub said:
Polley should buy Sanogo a steak dinner and say look for me when you get double teamed outside the circle.
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The remaining puzzle piece is passing out of a double team or clogged lane. I'd love to see some attempts and success with it tomorrow.

Son of Robert said:
So important, the team having the ability to execute mistake free basketball the last six minutes, taking good shots, defending, not turning the ball over, and making their foul shots. That swagger that a team develops, that confidence they have after learning how to close out games, the belief that they will win these close, down to the wire games.
Expand ...
My UConn basketball mantra is defensive stops, no turnovers, made free throws. If you have the lead and do those, then the other team cannot catch up.
 
ucp990411 said:
That is a concern. It amazes me that so many coaches put too many players in the backcourt as potential receivers of the inbounds pass, this eliminates spacing which you need. Just put two guys there as potential receivers, they will get open. And so many inbound passes go to the corner - the last place you want that pass to go. And please get the ball in asap to the first open teammate.
Expand ...
We should learn from the girls team. They play basketball the right way.
 
Defense and rebounding are big keys, which can be still be done if our offense isn’t flowing. Has been great to see many others step up at certain spots over the past few games. Luv to see Sanogo stay out of foul trouble and Polley chip in with some threes. Hopefully Martin stays involved, keep that compression sleeve tag out if it helps!
 
Having Bouk and Jackson back helps a great deal. I believe Bouk being out helped us in a way so in a way we learn how to deal in the event he is out with foul trouble and that other teams will try to take the ball out of his hands, not saying of course we dont need him to play like the player he is obviously.

There were definitely encouraging signs from the last game,

-Sanogo stepping up huge against Seniors of Seton Hall after looking like he had hit a freshman wall.

-not having to use Carlton after looking like we definitely needed him, giving him more rest essentially giving him another week. Just good to have that luxury.

-Whaley stepping up dominating Karnishovis, however you spell that dudes name, doesn't deserve to have his name spelled right anyways lol

-Hitting 15-16 fts and facing the press is good preparation of what we could see from other teams moving forward

What we need going forward.

-Getting off to better starts not that its a huge deal being down 8 early or trailing at the half but would be nice to break that habit

-Less turnovers and finishing at the rim

-Polley wanna 3, just give us maybe 2 a game

-Gaffney, needs to step up great hightlight dunk take, but more consistency care of the
basketball.

The key is to be a team peaking and not have peaked. Gotta get better little by little and we got a shot.
 
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