Defense was not acceptable yesterday

[scrappy2.0]

We wouldve been blown out by a good team. We need to get back to the shop and work on getting out on shooters and preparing for dribble drive hand offs. I have to be on Ollie on this one--I dont think Uconn was prepared. Also shows just how important Brimah is.

I dont know if anyone knows this but we are #12 in the country in true FG% . If a Uconn team is 12 in offense we should be 10-0.

 

[Silk31]

The utter refusal to get out and defend the 3 point line was disgraceful. At a certain point it is pure laziness and that is what is the most unacceptable part of it. These guys were wide open from deep the whole game - how does this happen and how does KO and staff allow that to happen without in game adjustments.

If certain players aren't getting it done out there, then go down the bench and find a guy who will actually get out there and close out on shooters.

The lack of 3 ball guarding isn't a new issue either as we saw it cost us games vs Cuse and Gonzaga...you would think this should be a simple fix but apparently it is not

 

[imno1]

Et Tu Scappy?

 

[scrappy2.0]

The utter refusal to get out and defend the 3 point line was disgraceful. At a certain point it is pure laziness and that is what is the most unacceptable part of it. These guys were wide open from deep the whole game - how does this happen and how does KO and staff allow that to happen without in game adjustments.

If certain players aren't getting it done out there, then go down the bench and find a guy who will actually get out there and close out on shooters.

The lack of 3 ball guarding isn't a new issue either as we saw it cost us games vs Cuse and Gonzaga...you would think this should be a simple fix but apparently it is not

We cant hedge/help off our man without having the ability to get back. Were simply not getting back to the shooter. The intensity on that end is simply not there. A staple of Uconn is playing 40 minutes of hard D. It can be rectified. I dont mind the other team making long 2's --so over play the line and get over the screen /dont double the driver if you can get back to your man.

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

I was at the game. Sure they made a TON of shots they shouldn't have (or at least it appeared that way in the stands). But at no point did I really think we were ever in danger of losing the game, even when we were down in the first half.. SURE the defense wasn't GREAT but I think we all overreacting a little bit.

 

[jibsey]

In the postgame KO indicated that the team was well scouted and Gantz and Jahadi were known, so you can bet that the players knew what they were supposed to do, they just didn't. A big man deadly from 3 is tough because we are always hedging back for the rebound but you are correct in that without better D we have major problems. In our climb back in the Gonzaga game we proved that we have the defensive ability so I don't know what else to say.

 

[MexicoHusky]

KO gave a small post game interview and he seemed a little lost. That may be a harsh way to put it, but I don't blame him. There didn't seem to be any combination that would play defense. I'm not sure what KO is supposed to do in that situation.

 

[Kitaman]

I was at the game. Sure they made a TON of shots they shouldn't have (or at least it appeared that way in the stands). But at no point did I really think we were ever in danger of losing the game, even when we were down in the first half.. SURE the defense wasn't GREAT but I think we all overreacting a little bit.

I agree I kept saying we will win because of superior talent, but not on performance (particularly defensive).

 

[August_West]

The defense it troubling because it is the same items being exploited no matter who the opponent. That frightens me quite a bit. This is not your usual UConn defensive team. Our offense is coming around nicely, the defense is troubling.

 

[CTBasketball]

We just don't have fundamentally sound defenders. Hard to play as a unit when you have 2-3 holes on defense.

 

[imno1]

I was at the game. Sure they made a TON of shots they shouldn't have (or at least it appeared that way in the stands). But at no point did I really think we were ever in danger of losing the game, even when we were down in the first half.. SURE the defense wasn't GREAT but I think we all overreacting a little bit.

If this was a one game anomaly I would agree but except for some stretches our D this year has been really bad. Wide open 3s and matador d to to the basket. A quinella that may cost us a tournament bid. This team has yet to show they can play hard, smart bb for 2 games in a row. 4 of the last 6 games opponents have shot over 45%. A quality D1 defensive team does not let a low major shoot 50% from the field like yesterday. It washed away most of the good we felt after the OS game. We have very little chance of winning at Texas if we play the same D we've been playing.

So a question to those more knowledgable than me. Is it all just lack of effort or is it our guys are not suited to the scheme?

 

[August_West]

If this was a one game anomaly I would agree but except for some stretches our D this year has been really bad. Wide open 3s and matador d to to the basket. A quinella that may cost us a tournament bid. This team has yet to show they can play hard, smart bb for 2 games in a row. 4 of the last 6 games opponents have shot over 45%. A quality D1 defensive team does not let a low major shoot 50% from the field like yesterday. It washed away most of the good we felt after the OS game. We have very little chance of winning at Texas if we play the same D we've been playing.

So a question to those more knowledgable than me. Is it all just lack of effort or is it our guys are not suited to the scheme?

Both, but I believe it is more about not being suited to the scheme, in some case mentally, in some cases physically. For example Gibbs footspeed seems lacking on the defensive end. Hamilton is as bad a defender as he is great offensively and rebounding. Adams plays with energy but is prone to freshman mistakes (obviously) . Purvis is decent but not lock down. Enoch is totally lost defensively. Miller is an enigma. He should be a way better defender then he has been so far.

Effort helps overcome some of that, and we dont always see the full effort. But even when we do, we still have those flaws.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Once again the Board overreacts to a single game coming out of finals.
Traditionally a trap game.
This team has played a defense all year ,which is dependent on their Big Guy.
I would suspect ,if we were forced to play an extended time without him ,KO would come up with a defensive scheme that best utilized the players he has. Who knows maybe we will even plays some zone.
My only concerns right now are getting everyone healthy and CCSU.

 

[Silk31]

Once again the Board overreacts to a single game coming out of finals.
Traditionally a trap game.
This team has played a defense all year ,which is dependent on their Big Guy.
I would suspect ,if we were forced to play an extended time without him ,KO would come up with a defensive scheme that best utilized the players he has. Who knows maybe we will even plays some zone.
My only concerns right now are getting everyone healthy and CCSU.

This isn't an over reaction...no one was truly worried that we would lose this game at any point but when you see the same defensive lapses occur time and time again it is troubling to not see some type of improvement. Majority of defense is effort based...we aren't some mid major that can say that they just don't have the athleticism and talent to be a solid defensive unit. I don't expect us to be one of the better UConn defensive teams but there is no excuse to be below average.

Blown assignments, lack of communication and pure laziness have become a reoccurring theme so this hasn't been a one game type conclusion

 

[imno1]

Once again the Board overreacts to a single game coming out of finals.
Traditionally a trap game.
This team has played a defense all year ,which is dependent on their Big Guy.
I would suspect ,if we were forced to play an extended time without him ,KO would come up with a defensive scheme that best utilized the players he has. Who knows maybe we will even plays some zone.
My only concerns right now are getting everyone healthy and CCSU.

When 4 out of the last 6 teams we've played shoot over 45% against us I don't think it's an overreaction.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Dare I say we are missing Tsam's on ball pressure? Gibbs is a major densive liability so far and I'm not crazy about his body language.

 

[Wise2]

Dare I say we are missing Tsam's on ball pressure? Gibbs is a major densive liability so far and I'm not crazy about his body language.

Or Boat. He was the best defender we had on the ball. Plus he was good for a few steals. The only time we get steals now, is when the other team makes a bad pass.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

We are clearly missing Boat. We have gone 180 degrees from last year where we couldn't score but could defend. Very Strange flip.

 

[Silk31]

We are obviously better on the perimeter defensively a year ago with Boat and TSam to go along with Purvis. Purvis has been just fine this year but Gibbs being below average defender and Adams is a freshman. Jalen definitely shows the ability to eventually become a pretty good defender for us but there's plenty of room to grow for him on D.

It's not all on the perimeter guys though. Miller hasn't been as advertised (I recall a Bleacher Report article that touted him as the best Defensive Player...haven't seen any indication of that so far), Brimah still finds himself out of position and due to our guards getting beat off the dribble he has to rotate and help way too much. Hamilton plays about as much defense as his older brother Jordan did and it really was funny watching him get worked by that stocky lefty yesterday - it took him all game to realize he wanted to go left.

I know Gibbs and Hamilton will continue to be the defensive whipping boys this season but it's an overall team issue and if we were banking on those two anchoring our D then we never had a chance

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

We are obviously better on the perimeter defensively a year ago with Boat and TSam to go along with Purvis. Purvis has been just fine this year but Gibbs being below average defender and Adams is a freshman. Jalen definitely shows the ability to eventually become a pretty good defender for us but there's plenty of room to grow for him on D.

It's not all on the perimeter guys though. Miller hasn't been as advertised (I recall a Bleacher Report article that touted him as the best Defensive Player...haven't seen any indication of that so far), Brimah still finds himself out of position and due to our guards getting beat off the dribble he has to rotate and help way too much. Hamilton plays about as much defense as his older brother Jordan did and it really was funny watching him get worked by that stocky lefty yesterday - it took him all game to realize he wanted to go left.

I know Gibbs and Hamilton will continue to be the defensive whipping boys this season but it's an overall team issue and if we were banking on those two anchoring our D then we never had a chance

we were so spoiled with Kemba/Shabazz/Boat its hard not to notice the glaring differences in the defensive pressure we don't place on the opponents guards. I'm noticing that even the garbage teams we play seem to have fantastic ball movement on us.

 

[boog204]

I know Gibbs and Hamilton will continue to be the defensive whipping boys this season but it's an overall team issue and if we were banking on those two anchoring our D then we never had a chance

Because they are awful on-ball defenders. When someone gets beat off the dribble, it's almost always Gibbs or DHam's guy. It's a difficult dilemma as Adams, while potentially a very good defender, is prone freshman mistakes and without DHam we are a hideous offensive team. However, KO has to get them to at least try defensively. It's a pretty piss-poor effort most of the time.