Daniel Hamilton Defense

[UCNY4]

I want to preface this with saying I think Hamilton is an incredibly gifted player and athlete. It is clear the value he brings us on the offense end (aside from the few forced alley oops a game). However, I have never seen a UConn player worse at team defense. Hamilton consistently overcommits. He joins double teams he has no business being in, leaving his man wide open. He gives up the baseline easier than any small forward in recent memory. And most infuriatingly, he stabs at the ball in the lane going for glory steals and rebounds, all while forgetting to put his ass in a man or switch over to another man for help defense. How does Ollie let him do this? It has to start with Ollie forcing this team, especially Hamilton, to play much more disciplined, concise defense. It is just absolutely mind boggling to watch.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I want to preface this with saying I think Hamilton is an incredibly gifted player and athlete. It is clear the value he brings us on the offense end (aside from the few forced alley oops a game). However, I have never seen a UConn player worse at team defense. Hamilton consistently overcommits. He joins double teams he has no business being in, leaving his man wide open. He gives up the baseline easier than any small forward in recent memory. And most infuriatingly, he stabs at the ball in the lane going for glory steals and rebounds, all while forgetting to put his ass in a man or switch over to another man for help defense. How does Ollie let him do this? It has to start with Ollie forcing this team, especially Hamilton, to play much more disciplined, concise defense. It is just absolutely mind boggling to watch.

Strange timing for this comment IMO. I know he's struggled quite a bit defensively but I thought he actually played one of his better defensive games against UT. Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

 

[Kitaman]

Normally I would rag on the OP for posting this. But I focused on DHam (mainly because of Posters' comments) and I kept gasping, he was getting beat quite often (Rafferty 'blow by' style), not all led to points but wow. Not sure if he's flat footed, slow to react or something else. Its like he plays catch up or chase when his player has the ball and they make their move.

With that said, I expect him to stay next year and work on it, its the only Achilles heel in his game.

 

[UConnSwag11]

It's not just him. Our team at times, likes to employ the James harden style of defense. He played better this game defensively.

 

[uchusky32]

Adams got blown by as well. Right now this is one of our worst defending teams in a long time.

But we got the win! Room fir improvement.

 

[jayteeman]

Gotta say the Ham is a unique skill we have not seen the like of in awhile. When he seems to take charge, it is with caution....but when it's good...man, it ain't pretty but it's incredibly quick, and dominating.

 

[polycom]

D Ham has horrible foot speed. He couldn't stay in front of anyone, however being a good defender is a by-product of hard work so he should be fine.

 

[djct1999]

Lets give this a rest. Its quite simple, DHam plays out of position most times on defense. He is a stretch four who often times, due to switches, covers the other team's 1 or 2. Its more a product of his versatility than lack of commitment to d.

 

[TitleTown]

This is the worst defensive UConn team I have seen in a while!

 

[Dogbreath2U]

D Ham has horrible foot speed. He couldn't stay in front of anyone, however being a good defender is a by-product of hard work so he should be fine.

I think it's a strange combination where dham is generally incredibly quick for his size with the exception of his being much slower in the lateral movement department. He just does not seem to move from side to side well is how it looks to me.

 

[mauconnfan]

DHam's strength is not defense for sure, maybe our worst on man defender. He does other things to make up for it a little but he's not really good not that end. Saw a little zone early and kind of wished we saw some more, this team may be suited for a little mixing in actually. One more thing though, let's not hammer on Adams for getting blurred by Taylor, everyone does. With a guy like that you either give him space and make him shoot it before you get up on him, or else you go guard him and take your lumps. They took too many safari as I can see and i blame the staff on that. Give him space make him make jump shots.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

DHam's strength is not defense for sure, maybe our worst on man defender. He does other things to make up for it a little but he's not really good not that end. Saw a little zone early and kind of wished we saw some more, this team may be suited for a little mixing in actually. One more thing though, let's not hammer on Adams for getting blurred by Taylor, everyone does. With a guy like that you either give him space and make him shoot it before you get up on him, or else you go guard him and take your lumps. They took too many safari as I can see and i blame the staff on that. Give him space make him make jump shots.

I'm shocked there isnt more talk on here about the zone we played. I actually thought it worked really well with the exception of Mack hitting some 3 while we were in it. I think it hides some of our defensive deficiencies and with a team that isn't a great 3 point shooting team, its almost a no brainer as the way to go. I thought we messed up a little bit by going back to man to man for long stretches. I'd definitely like to see more Zone out of this Uconn team.

 

[nycscooby]

The whole team overcommits and is routinely out of position especially our guards. It would be almost impossible to count the number of open looks this team has given up this year. On top of that, we go through stretches in each gane where we give up too many offensive rebounds let alone losing so many of the 50/50 balls. UT went 6-23 from behind the arc and most of thise were uncontested. It is a great win but we got lucky. I am more concerned about the defensive end and rebounding at this point. Also, the inability to turn our opponents over.

 

[scotty0330]

I agree with premise however I actually thought last night was the best he has played defense. He actually contested a few outside shots something he has not done all season, got the steal and layup at mid court.

I am not expecting him to be great nor do I think he was on defensive side last night but thought he was not a liability either. Kid is long and that along with some
Smarter choices i am confident he can improve on that end of the court.

 

[UChusky916]

I don't think Hamilton is as BAD at defense as some posters in this thread make him seem... he's long and disruptive and I thought he had a decent game defensively. He closed better on the perimeter than I've seen him lately. But yes, his foot speed is average for his size and when we have him defend the perimeter like a guard, switching on pick and rolls, eventually he's going to be matched up on a quicker guard who can get by him with speed.

Keep in mind, it's also a pretty smart strategy by opposing teams to attack Hamilton and force him to expend energy on defending. Hamilton already has the ball in his hands a lot on the offensive end, so why not attack him on the defensive end and try to tire him out?

Hamilton is not the ONLY one having problems defending, either. Our defense overall just is not good versus pick and roll teams. We seem to have been exposed a lot when our perimeter defenders don't know whether to hedge and go back to their man versus switching altogether... I've seen a lot of miscommunication on those scenarios throughout the year, and they haven't gotten better.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

This is the worst defensive UConn team I have seen in a while!

Strange because we're rated #22 in Kenpom's Adjusted Defensive Rankings (We were #65 last year, #57 in 2013, #65 in 2012...do you want me to keep going?). So statistics tell you you're wrong, or just have an extremely short memory.

 

[uchusky32]

DHam's strength is not defense for sure, maybe our worst on man defender. He does other things to make up for it a little but he's not really good not that end. Saw a little zone early and kind of wished we saw some more, this team may be suited for a little mixing in actually. One more thing though, let's not hammer on Adams for getting blurred by Taylor, everyone does. With a guy like that you either give him space and make him shoot it before you get up on him, or else you go guard him and take your lumps. They took too many safari as I can see and i blame the staff on that. Give him space make him make jump shots.

Ok, but it wasn't great moves he got beat with.

 

[gtcam]

Lets face it - DHam is not, at this point a good defender - I'm sure he did very little of it before UConn and I think he is forced to defend too many of the opposition 1 and 2 players. None of these guys are lock down defenders one on one - sure AB can swat some balls but that is only one aspect of the D for him. RP maybe the best defender we have but din't think he is disciplined enough to be like Ricky M and others. I thought PN showed some skills in the 2014 run but that has gone.
The zone, to me was refreshing and it allowed the team to do two things, hide some flaws and get a temporary breather. With the exception of closing down quicker on Mack, I thought it looked good and surprisingly organized.

 

[Sky ball]

Hey typical BY post. We get the OOC win we need desperately for RPI Gratz....but we do need something to "Bitch" about. Go Yard!

 

[Kitaman]

Lets give this a rest. Its quite simple, DHam plays out of position most times on defense. He is a stretch four who often times, due to switches, covers the other team's 1 or 2. Its more a product of his versatility than lack of commitment to d.

We're just talking.

 

[Leebo]

This is the worst defensive UConn team I have seen in a while!

You mean... since last year? This team is statistically much improved from last year.

 

[dennismenace]

Strange because we're rated #22 in Kenpom's Adjusted Defensive Rankings (We were #65 last year, #57 in 2013, #65 in 2012...do you want me to keep going?). So statistics tell you you're wrong, or just have an extremely short memory.

Maybe someone who actually understands Kenpom ratings can decipher that and reconcile to the comments which most agree to. That is, this team's defense has an awful lot of holes that could really be exploited by better teams. Perhaps it is the level of competition we are playing? It really is unusual
to see a Uconn team look so unorganized, confused or lethargic on defense. One thing I like is KO working well most of the time with the apparent defensive and other shortcomings of this team. Using Adams (ball handling) in the first half and into the second to break presses and then bringing in a
fresh and explosive Purvis down the stretch was masterful. RP dominated at the end. It is going to be an exciting year and watching this team evolve.
Happy to see Gibbs hit the clutch free throws at the end as well. Great closing minutes.

 

[BrassBonanza]

the oneplay that stood out to me from Hamilton (and it was a positive defensive play) we in the closing minute, after Taylor had scored 4 or 6 pts in a row... DH decided he was going to stop him, you can see it as they all retreat back down on D. He switch off Mack (iffy decision given he shot lights out but whatever) crossed the lane and would have rejected Taylor if not for Taylor's crazy in air adjustment. He did force a miss and help seal the win. I think the ability with DH is there, he needs to has his head plugged in on D all the time and he will be great.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

Maybe someone who actually understands Kenpom ratings can decipher that and reconcile to the comments which most agree to. That is, this team's defense has an awful lot of holes that could really be exploited by better teams. Perhaps it is the level of competition we are playing? It really is unusual
to see a Uconn team look so unorganized, confused or lethargic on defense. One thing I like is KO working well most of the time with the apparent defensive and other shortcomings of this team. Using Adams (ball handling) in the first half and into the second to break presses and then bringing in a
fresh and explosive Purvis down the stretch was masterful. RP dominated at the end. It is going to be an exciting year and watching this team evolve.
Happy to see Gibbs hit the clutch free throws at the end as well. Great closing minutes.

Kenpom takes into consideration (and adjusts for the opponent) when measuring Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. It measures Points allowed per 100 possessions (adjusted for opponent). I.e, allowing 50 points against CCSU isn't the same as allowing 50 points against Maryland. We are statistically way better than we have been averaging over the past 5ish years.

 

[Rico444]

D-Ham had probably his best defensive game of the season last night. He wasn't perfect, but he did a good job of staying in front of his man most of the time. And I thought the team defense outside of one stretch late in the 1st half was very good.