Creighton Post Game Thread

[UCan3]

Reed had 15 points at the half on what was 7-9 shooting. The only problem is that we abandoned him the entire second half.

Well he did have several turnovers. I would like to see him not always act like it’s him vs 5 defenders and start some inside out passes.

He turned ball over ALOT last night when he should have passed it so do not agree we “abandoned” him…

 

[KingAG]

Actually, yes. It was

No it wasn't. The term sure fire 1st round draft pick was never reported. He had some teams interested in him in the late first. And a bunch in the early second.

Now go back and explain why Shabazz Napier should be docked for playing 4 years in college...oh wait.

 

[uconngb]

No it isn't. Most UConn greats played 3-4 years.

You realize the difference between 3 and 4 years?? Good god you are thick. It’s over 500 points for the level of player we are talking about. AK wouldn’t even make the top 20 in scoring if all of our players stayed 4 years

 

[uconngb]

No it wasn't. The term sure fire 1st round draft pick was never reported. He had some teams interested in him in the late first. And a bunch in the early second.

Now go back and explain why Shabazz Napier should be docked for playing 4 years in college...oh wait.

Exactly, he wasn’t a sure fire first round pick. As I said.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

AK is all-time for us. Not sure how DeAndre Daniels and Oriakhi are even mentioned as near him.

This discussion has been going for like 10 pages. Games like this, which happen somewhat often with AK, are why I am frustrated. As a Senior who has won everything twice, he can’t be this inconsistent at this point. Adding little-to-nothing to games is rather inexcusable at this point.

That doesn’t take away from any of his accomplishments.

 

[amishboy]

Karaban is NOT getting drafted in the 1st round this year. I’ll bet anyone on that.

Either you missed the point, or you forgot the /s sign!

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Let me provide some much-needed perspective. I was on a date last night with my wife. I didn't even follow the score on my phone. After reading six pages of this thread I can already tell you that this is another BY overreaction. If this game was rock bottom, then this is a good thing, isn't it? Unlike last year, we did see this team win and/or compete against the best teams in the country: Kansas, Florida, BYI, Illinois and Arizona. That's the 4th, 8th, 10th and 12th currently ranked teams. That is not nothing. So we have to fix things. Cool. Our coaching staff is really good. And remember, we have a team that plays down to their competition but also plays up to the competition. I guarantee you the top teams want no part of playing us come March.

 

[KingAG]

You realize the difference between 3 and 4 years?? Good god you are thick. It’s over 500 points for the level of player we are talking about. AK wouldn’t even make the top 20 in scoring if all of our players stayed 4 years

I don't feel like investing the time into explaining this to you. But there are many players who stayed 4 years. They all don't end up top 10 in scoring. There are a few who did. Bazz, Boat, Chris Smith, Corny Thompson, tony hanson. They are all UConn greats. The others stayed 3 Rip, Ray, Kemba. Staying 4 years doesn't guarantee you will compile stats. Being great does.

So yes, great players who stay in school compile stats land build there legacy. Its the perk of staying in school lmao. Good work here buddy.

 

[Stinger92860]

You have first hand knowledge of this? I hate when boneyarders claim to know things they cant possibly know. See what I did there?

Do you know that he was a sure fire first round pick? See what I did there?

I have no idea, but it’s my opinion he never goes in round 1. I’d like to be wrong.

 

[KingAG]

Do you know that he was a sure fire first round pick? See what I did there?

I have no idea, but it’s my opinion he never goes in round 1. I’d like to be wrong.

I have no clue. Much crazier things have happened

 

[KingAG]

No, I read this as his being upset that people regard him as the next coming of Larry Bird.

AK is a fine basketball player, but his strength is his versatility; he’s one of those guys who can do many things well, but none great (and some not very well), so he’s a complementary player, rather than a prospective POY candidate.

We would've had a three-peat (or three in four years) only if Reed had been DC, if Solo had been Cam, if Liam or Braylon had been Steph, etc., and if AK had again been able to complement & support them.

In sum, let’s appreciate him for what he does do, rather than dream that he’s “the guy.”

STRAWMAN

 

[Umami Zen]

News flash for the Kevins and Karens of the Yard. Our win at Creighton is now considered a Q1 W. I know-Hard to believe-Isn't it?

 

[RuffRuff]

Just to be clear, you're not saying that Hurley duped him into remaining these past two years, are you? Because that seems like a very 20/20-hindsight sort of view.

No. I don’t think AK got any guarantees he was going first round so they made a deal, as Hurley was punch drunk off B2B and possible Threepeat. He went on to construct a porous attempt at it hoping AK could be the man and Mahaney his PG. I’m honestly starting to question whether the run was a bit more luck than intentional (Timberlake).

What he does with this team in March will be telling. The only move he’s made that is a slam dunk these last two cycles is Silas.

 

[TheShot1990]

Chiming in on the Ross starting over ball theme. Everyone saying we sacrifice offense for defense but has Danny ever given Ross the total green light to shoot on every open look like Solo does? Jayden is shooting 40% and has taken 142 fewer 3PA than Solo.

 

[HuskiesFourLife]

true, but we had an alpha guard on that team.

I think Silas can be that guard

 

[3rdbass]

What I have learned from this thread is we lost due to the fact that Alex Karaban is and has never been a first round pick. Classic Boneyard. LOL!

 

[Griffman]

For those complaining about how we have to shoot more FT's in practice etc. and our coaches need to do a better job teaching them blah blah blah.. Let me tell you that it's not on the coaches. Some guys just suck at foul shots and they will always suck. Steph Curry can spend a summer with Reed and he will still suck. Karaban, Mullins, Ball and Demery are all shooting over 79% and the rest of the team is terrible and it's not going to change.

The only thing that can change is getting the right players on the line more often and that comes down to how we run our offense. We are a jump shooting team and jump shooters don't draw fouls. For the first time this year Mullins was aggressive going to the basket which was great to see but he's shooting 1 FT a game. As long as we continue to go to Reed most of the game then we're going to get the same results. I would hack-a-Reed if I were the opponent. Give Reibe more minutes and spread the floor and run as much as possible.

 

[RashadRay11]

AK is all-time for us. Not sure how DeAndre Daniels and Oriakhi are even mentioned as near him.

This discussion has been going for like 10 pages. Games like this, which happen somewhat often with AK, are why I am frustrated. As a Senior who has won everything twice, he can’t be this inconsistent at this point. Adding little-to-nothing to games is rather inexcusable at this point.

That doesn’t take away from any of his accomplishments.

Hurley said he is playing hurt

 

[Bonamassa]

This ragging on Alex Karaban an injured 2 time NC and winningest player in UConn history because the team had a bad loss is disgraceful. You all need to be sent to bed without supper.

 

[BFieldHusky]

Alex was just named as one of 30 players to the Naismith Trophy Mens College Player of the Year Late Season time. Along with Silas. Another L for Ruff.

 

[80shusky]

Everybody all running off the dock with their hairs on fire in here.

 

[Deepster]

There seems to be a lot of really hot and really cold takes on Alex.

End of the day, it's hard to blindly clap along for a 5th year senior that repeatedly puts up 0-4 pts in the first half of big games when you're trying to be a title contender.

If he left after the 2024 title and went pro, ended in the G League or Europe at this point, he'd be a full blown Husky icon with no detractors whatsoever. We're counting on him though and he's just not delivering.

 

[Hurlees4hed]

I just don't see Hurley sitting Ball, even if I think it's worth trying. I don't know how the staff will fix the issues we have. But our non-conference showing was good enough that I still think the ceiling can be championship level. Just need to figure things out quickly. Gotta finish strong.

 

[FearThePups]

Believe it or not, the best thing to happen to this team will be this loss. Less of a target, more playing uphill. I'm not trying to sugar coat it. I think they'd start playing better if they weren't waiting to fall off that tight rope theyve been walking.

(P.S. this season has been like 5 years long with a twilight zone feel to it)

The best thing was losing to St. John’s. Let not rationalize that it’s ok to lose to Creighton at home. This team has regressed we can only hope to see the 2nd weekend.

 

[superjohn]

Let me provide some much-needed perspective. I was on a date last night with my wife. I didn't even follow the score on my phone. After reading six pages of this thread I can already tell you that this is another BY overreaction. If this game was rock bottom, then this is a good thing, isn't it? Unlike last year, we did see this team win and/or compete against the best teams in the country: Kansas, Florida, BYI, Illinois and Arizona. That's the 4th, 8th, 10th and 12th currently ranked teams. That is not nothing. So we have to fix things. Cool. Our coaching staff is really good. And remember, we have a team that plays down to their competition but also plays up to the competition. I guarantee you the top teams want no part of playing us come March.

Yes, we have those out of conference wins and it's still why we were in position for a 1 seed before last night but we haven't looked anything like that team in a long time and those teams all look like they've inproved a lot minus BYU who isn't deep enough and lost their second best player...

If this was just some one off game against a bad Creighton team we could chalk it up as just being an awful night but we've all seen the way we've been squeaking out wins against bad teams for a while. We've all seen our defense go from looking great to looking horrible...

We're at the point where we need a lineup change and some adjustments in how we play defense because we look like a team that was figured out like a month ago and as other teams are surging we're regressing. If we don't make changes and change our approach we're looking at three more losses before we even get to the NCAA tournament.

We're scoring the ball but as Hurley said our defense is dreadful and a joke. It's all about fixing the defense, if we don't start playing D again the season is lost. He's not a lockdown defender and not the answer but Ross can be some sort of answer to addressing the joke of a defense we've been seeing. Hurley needs to start him and have Solo off the bench as our microwave scorer.