Decourcy

[RuffRuff]

2. Speaking of confusing clubs, UConn has only two quality wins (Florida State, West Virginia) and has lost to four teams with significantly less talent. What’s going on with the Huskies?​

DeCourcy: This is some of the weakest chemistry I've seen since I got the only D of my high school career.​

When Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates dominates your frontcourt, you have issues. Gates grabbed 12 rebounds Wednesday night in the Bearcats’ 70-67 win; UConn’s Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond got that many combined. Gates scored 13 points. The UConn starting bigs had six.​

The Oriakhi-Drummond marriage has seemed doomed from the start. Oriakhi’s November tweets of his treatment hinted he is not thrilled about having his domain invaded by a guy many thought would spend this year in high school. One might expect a champion to react to that challenge by competing harder, but Oriakhi instead allowed his game to collapse. His scoring is off by roughly a third from last season, his rebounding by nearly a half.​

Point guard Shabazz Napier’s recent comments about trying to lead but being thwarted only underscore how obviously this team is failing to mesh. There is far too much talent for UConn to be enduring such problems. But they’re not the only ones.​

Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-01-19/starting-5-unwrapping-the-indiana-uconn-enigmas#ixzz1jwTvXC5J​

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

While I tend to agree with a lot of what was said there, I have learned one thing over the past 25 years....do not doubt Calhoun and the way he builds teams. This team is not where Calhoun hoped it would be at this time. But give me a team with this much talent and Calhoun as the coach....and watch out in March and April. It may not be pretty in January/February...but you never want to face a talented Calhoun-coached team in March/April. Calhoun will get it figured out and no one will want to face us in the NCAA's...especially if we drop to a 4/5 seed type spot.

I may not know a lot...but that I do know.

 

[uconngb]

2. Speaking of confusing clubs, UConn has only two quality wins (Florida State, West Virginia) and has lost to four teams with significantly less talent. What’s going on with the Huskies?​

DeCourcy: This is some of the weakest chemistry I've seen since I got the only D of my high school career.​

When Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates dominates your frontcourt, you have issues. Gates grabbed 12 rebounds Wednesday night in the Bearcats’ 70-67 win; UConn’s Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond got that many combined. Gates scored 13 points. The UConn starting bigs had six.​

The Oriakhi-Drummond marriage has seemed doomed from the start. Oriakhi’s November tweets of his treatment hinted he is not thrilled about having his domain invaded by a guy many thought would spend this year in high school. One might expect a champion to react to that challenge by competing harder, but Oriakhi instead allowed his game to collapse. His scoring is off by roughly a third from last season, his rebounding by nearly a half.​

Point guard Shabazz Napier’s recent comments about trying to lead but being thwarted only underscore how obviously this team is failing to mesh. There is far too much talent for UConn to be enduring such problems. But they’re not the only ones.​

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Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-01-19/starting-5-unwrapping-the-indiana-uconn-enigmas#ixzz1jwTvXC5J​

i actually think he makes a good point regarding chemistry. i thought shabazz's comments about "trying to lead but they won't let me" and AO's body language, as well as Lamb's up and down play could be manifestations of poor chemistry. although last year's team went through significant rough patches as well, but ended up winning it all....does that mean the chemistry came together against Depaul in the BET???

tough thing to figure out, but i think most would agree that right now, the whole is less than the sum of the parts. it would sure help if the NCAA would stop jerking RB around so JC can figure out a set rotation

 

[tykurez]

I honestly don't think there's an off-the-court chemistry issue. I firmly believe these guys are close as brothers ... the same as they were last year.

The issues are solely on the court. They are not meshing yet. They are lacking confidence. To some extent, they are lacking drive. They are lacking 40 minutes of hard-nosed basketball.

All of these things can turn around and if UConn's history is any indication, it just might.

 

[upstater]

I second what tykurez wrote.

Alex was the one coaxing Drummond to come to UConn.

 

[caw]

Oriakhi has not been nearly as demonstrative on the court as he was before. I think he is trying to work through his struggles. He seems more active than before, just isn't seeing the results yet.

 

[champs99and04]

In the two games previous to last night, Oriakhi played really well. I think he'll come to play Saturday against Tennessee, because he seems to play up to the level of his competition, where he'll struggle against smaller, quicker frontlines but can more than hold his own against the bigger guys like Stokes.

Things are still working themselves out, I don't think chemistry is a huge issue. As tykurez pointed out, the 40 minutes of hard nosed UConn basketball is what's really lacking. Consciously, guys might think they are playing hard, but they just aren't as hungry as they were last year, which is to be expected, especially for a bunch of guys who have achieved the ultimate goal at such a young age.

And by the way, is 16-2 Harvard no longer a quality win?

 

[cohenzone]

They also have a had a significant player in and out of the line-up and unavailable. It certainly makes a difference in what happens on the court. That's not to say the big guys get a pass, but chemistry is hard to build if you keep taking way a key element.

 

[DogMania]

I second what tykurez wrote.

Alex was the one coaxing Drummond to come to UConn.

Add me to that list as well. DeCourcy is reaching for something that isn't there as always. Their chem problems are purely taking place on the court.

 

[huskyharry]

I recall another Talking head calling the Huskies the "anti-team" about this time of year... The Dookie Seth Davis when blasting the 2004 Huskies...let the master paint

 

[TheChamps990411]

I think this team needs to look at Giffey as an example. kid struggles most of last season and the begining of this season and wasnt getting minutes. he doesnt complain or get frustrated he keeps playing. then against cincy he played 34 minutes and showed hustle and intensity every minute he was on the floor.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

The issues are solely on the court. They are not meshing yet. They are lacking confidence. To some extent, they are lacking drive. They are lacking 40 minutes of hard-nosed basketball.

Every team has to find their own chemistry.

The perceived lack of confidence (I say perceived because I think some players have too much confidence, if you know what I mean) is in each other. They're not playing as a team yet, working together and using each other to score and defend.

Kemba used his teammates. That's one thing I miss from last year. I remember during the Pitt game Kemba went flying down the lane and threw the ball seemingly wildly off the backboard, but Oriakhi was right there for the easy tip in. Kemba runs over to Oriakhi and screams "I told you!" I think that kind of sums it up.

 

[UConn Hoops1]

I honestly don't think there's an off-the-court chemistry issue. I firmly believe these guys are close as brothers ... the same as they were last year.
The issues are solely on the court. They are not meshing yet. They are lacking confidence. To some extent, they are lacking drive. They are lacking 40 minutes of hard-nosed basketball.
All of these things can turn around and if UConn's history is any indication, it just might.

The loss of Kemba Walker's offensive & defensive contributions from last year are obvious to say the least. As much as he "came on" late last year and despite all of the pre-season and in-season(to date) publicity garnered by Jeremy, he is ,imo, still very much an unproven commodity as the "consistent" go-to guy on this year's team. In fact, I find it a bit worrisome that, when his shots aren't falling and he is being aggressively defended, there is a noticeable change in the energy of his play especially on the defensive side of the ball where he seems,at times, to just give up on his responsibilities. As far as Alex is concerned, I have one remedy and one remedy only for the funk he is(or has put himself) in. And that is to sit him for as long as it takes to start finishing chippies around the rim and to control rebounds that used to be his bread an butter. He is a junior; and he should "own the damn paint". No excuses! Absolutely no freakin' excuses!!! See how long it takes for the taste of pine to make him want to hurl. Enough is enough! BUT, the big miss this season is the never say die attitude that was part of Kemba's DNA. No matter what else happens to improve this team, if they don't get a hold of Kemba's last drop of blood and sweat attitude, this season is going nowhere. And, with the level of talent on this roster, that really would be the ultimate tragedy.There is no entitlement here gentlemen. Stick the NC rings in a lock box; and get your freakin' asses in gear!!!

GO HUSKIES!!! BEAT THE VOLUNTEERS!!!

 

[Palatine]

It's easy to figure out. The team is unsettled because of missing Boatright in the beginning. He comes back. Then the coach goes out. Then Boatright and the coach come back and they seem to right the ship and then Boatright goes out again. And Boatrights influence has been magnified by Bazz's, bad foot.

The team looks unsettled because it is unsettled. Once, the team is settled on the bench and floor, they will start to play like a top ten team.

 

[ctchamps]

I agree with tykurez and others in that there is no off the court issue between the players. I didn't take AO comments about JC seriously. He's a different personality than Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. His statement was just frustration over his play and it bubbled to the surface when his minutes were reduced. If the team has a sustained losing streak problems could develop. But that's the case for any team that struggles.

There are a combination of problems. The RB situation has been unsettling. The transition from Kemba to Jeremy as the number one option is not working because Jeremy does not have the strength to fight the double teams like junior Kemba. The front court is not consistent and although this was the case last season, Kemba was able to negate this inadequacy. And KW was a demon on defense and his absence is noticeable.

Last season the team was Kemba Walker and the Pips. Essentially the team had a front man and back up support. This season the team actually has to change from a one man show to a team effort. I would say that the junior and sophomores actually had a delay to their development because so many plays were run through one player. They can't do that this season. And that means there is a greater degree of complexity and uncertainty for this team. It isn't necessarily a bad thing even if it takes a longer time for the team to get into synchronization and they struggle this season. They have had a lot to unlearn from last season, they are missing a critical component and they have had to integrate three brand new important players, one of whom has had most of this season disrupted. They have only one upperclassman and he has had a history of being inconsistent. I'm impressed they are doing as well as they are all things considered.

 

[huskyhal]

The impact of Boat's absence is not on chemistry, it's on the court. Think about it: last year we had Shabazz and Donnell Beverly available to take some of the burden off of Kemba - not only by him sitting down, but also by allowing him to slide to the 2 with JL sliding to the 3. Even with that, I can remeber some threads during the season criticizing Kemba for 'coasting' during stretches of games. He had a great feel for knowing when to 'coast', and when to go back into high gear.

There is no doubt in my mind Shabazz was trying to do the same thing the other night, because he knew he had to play the full game. And Bazz didn't have the luxury of moving over to the 2 position, so he knew he had to play the full game at point, which is more demanding on both ends of the court. Likewise, Jeremy knew he wasn't coming out of the game, so he was trying to pace himself, too. Given all of that, we still almost pulled this one out.

With Boat available, Shabazz knows a) he's going to get a couple of chances to sit, and b) he's going to get to play some at the 2. This allows him to be more aggressive defensively, and to push the pace when he's playing the point. Same with Jeremy. When we made our run, the defensive intensity exposed some shaky Cinci ball-handling that resulted in turnovers, and also resulted in contested 3's that Cinci missed. Unfortunately, we were not able to maintain that defensive intensity, especially Bazz and Jeremy.

I'm normally not one for making excuses, but in this instance, Shabazz is correct: with RB, we win that game, and probably fairly easily, and we'd be talking about a solid 3-game winning streak.