DePaul Post Game Thread

[Tenspro2002]

Newton played like he was not interested. He traveled, missed shots and made unnecessary/silly fouls. Hope it is a "one off" game for him.

Maybe he's one of these guys who gets up more for the big games (e.g. Kansas, championship game) and can be hit or miss in the lesser games? (He's had some triple-doubles against bad competition, but some games like this too.)

To be honest, I prefer that than the guy who balls out against cupcakes but is overmatched against top competition.

 

[ucp990411]

Good to see Karaban shooting well again. Need him to start developing a plan B for when his outside shot isn’t falling so he stays effective offensively even without it.

Better interior presence from SJ than we’ve seen from him so far this year, good sign.

How many games before Castle gets the Jackson treatment during games and his defender sags off him and clogs our lanes?

Solo’s shot is much better than most on here give him credit for and he played great D.

Diarra joining a long list of unheralded players who leave everything out there all the time and have made the program what it is.

Newton is a great player but an interesting dude in terms of switching it on and off

When this team hits 3s it’s unstoppable. If I’m a future opponent I’m extending pressure as far out as I can to try to make UConn uncomfortable running sets, off the non-shooters to clog the lane and pray hey have an off night.

Butler looks meh against St John’s but there are no road gimmes in the BE

Has Newton had a good scoring game since Castle came back?

Newton had three TOs (something like that) in the first six possessions. Something was off. Could have been something not related to basketball. Very unNewtonlike. After that he dialed it back and was a good teammate rather than the team leader. Nice that Diarra stepped up so convincingly.

There will be games we need Singare. Both Johnson (4) and Karaban (3) were close to fouling out. Who is in the middle then? He is the emergency "break the glass" number 5. Hurley seems content to let the time pass until DC comes back. He obviously thinks hit is more important to get Jackson and the small ball line up meaningful minutes. I must admit that he is a pretty good coach, so it must be a choice.

Never knew that having 3 fouls was close to fouling out.

 

[Waquoit]

I was being sarcastic. Guess I didn’t lay it on thick enough.

I was going to say, my sarcasm detector was flashing.

 

[BrassBonanza]

I really like Karaban at the 5 against the zone D. He can flex to the free-throw line or obviously provide another outside shooter and it lets Castle play at the free-throw line or then in closer to the rim instead of being in the corner at times.

Newton, Spencer, Ball, Castle, Karaban is a really great zone busting line-up.

 

[crazyUCfan23]

I won't humor some of these discussion points but it is obvious Hurley's game plan is to use Karaban at the 5 when Johnson is in foul trouble or needs a breather.

And Hurley managed minutes and lineups to help the team learn how to ay with Karaban at the 5.

It is clear Singare will only get minutes if Johnson amd Karaban are both unable to play.

This is all I will say on this topic and I am glad the team is playing so well us fans can debate 3rd string center minutes.

While Clingan is out, I think Singare's minutes will be matchup dependent. We needed to use his body for afew minutes again Soriano, but there was no real need for him last night with DePaul's lineup.

 

[freshler40]

It's a work in progress and season isn't halfway over.......

Hurley and the staff have seamlessly integrated Spencer in to the starting lineup and have two freshmen ready to contribute every game. The fine tuning of Clingan and Johnson went off the rails due to Don's foot injuries. And they are slowing getting Stewart in to the games.

Hurley has a program now, not just teams each season.

Well put! We don't have to recruit an entirely new team each year like some programs. To continue to be relevant this is the way to go. It also provides the fan base with continuity among players from year to year. Development of players is balanced with a winning attitude. What a great balance. That is what makes Ct a basketball kingdom.

 

[krinklecut]

I was being sarcastic. Guess I didn’t lay it on thick enough.

Came through clear to me.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Don't want to start another thread for this observation, but a lot of people were worried about the Point Guard position next year. We have stud freshman Nowell coming in, and probably Diarra back. Given the vast improvement Diarra has shown on the offensive end (his defense and ball handling were already terrific) does anybody still have concerns about PG? Hassan has been a real bright spot this season.

 

[navery12]

Don't want to start another thread for this observation, but a lot of people were worried about the Point Guard position next year. We have stud freshman Nowell coming in, and probably Diarra back. Given the vast improvement Diarra has shown on the offensive end (his defense and ball handling were already terrific) does anybody still have concerns about PG? Hassan has been a real bright spot this season.

Concerns, no. But I'd still very much prefer the starting PG next year is coming from the portal and Diarra is in the same energy role off the bench

 

[Dutch Boyd]

You have to admit, it’s potentially a huge error by Hurley not to get Singare more minutes last night so he would be “up to speed” and ready for a steady role in the rotation. Missed opportunity. Or something. We could be waking up this morning with another valuable piece but Hurley blew his opportunity to get him up to speed when he had the chance.

On the other hand, I liked playing small ball.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I think testing out a small ball lineup is fine. But we couldn’t both test that out and get Singare some valuable minutes?

Do we really think he’s not going to be needed against much better teams while Clingan is out?

 

[Jimdish255]

No matter what happens during ths stretch without Clingan it's very valuable that the coaches and Samson Johnson are finding out what he can do and watching him develop and create a role for himself. Assuming Clingan can come back and get close to 100% and our other key players remain healthy, this team may be poised to peak near the end of the season. That's good news for us and bad news for the other top dogs with Final Four aspirations.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Can we just work out something where DePaul just leaves the NEWBIE and goes to any low mid-major of its choice. It has been 20 years since they last made the NCAA tournament. They can’t even make the NIT. Last trip there was 2007. Playing in a low mid-major conference would benefit them because they could be competitive. And us because we never have to play them again.

I'd settle for you ceasing to use the word "we."

Face it, you're actually in a position to do something to effect my suggestion, whereas you have no realistic possibility of effecting the changes you want vis-a-vis DePaul.

There is no analysis possible of this game. Moving on.

Translation:
"I have nothing to offer, but thought I'd mention it as the thread's 61st comment.

I'm outta here "

There's always a relative or coach somewhere telling them how badly they're being screwed.

Don't forget to add the fans who add reminders.

After a 10-day layoff, the small ball retooling looks somewhat like a Jay Wright Villanova lineup as the program ascended the ranks without a big, dominant center.

Games at Hinkle and Cintas will be revealing. I'm hopeful that the Georgetown game will present another opportunity to expand options where needs are identified.

 

[Samoo]

I was being sarcastic. Guess I didn’t lay it on thick enough.

The "or something" should have been a dead giveaway ... but not on the BY.

 

[90BSEE]

Like it or not, everything has to be taken in context. Yes, it was a nice, easy, blowout. And it wasn't far from what would have expected going into this game. However, this is a very bad DePaul team. It isn't crazy to say we should have won by more. But we were also without Clingan.

All in all, not bad, not great. My biggest concern is our defense. Even with Clingan we weren't great defensively. Good, yes. Very good, maybe. But not great. Our offense has been ahead of our defense.

 

[housekeys]

From the progress we are seeing with Ball and Diarra as backups to Newton and Castle, likewise with Johnson backing up a healthy DC, it is becoming clear that the remaining depth issue to be addressed is at the wing position. Foul trouble and defensive lapses are the only blemishes of Spencer and Karaban. If Dan Hurley can get Ross and Stewart to become the reliable backups (stressing defense) at the wing, similar to what we are starting to see with Diarra/Ball, it will take our already strong team to the next level. Any contributions from Singare and Roumoglou would be icing on the cake.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Concerns, no. But I'd still very much prefer the starting PG next year is coming from the portal and Diarra is in the same energy role off the bench

So you think our 5* freshman PG is going to be 3rd PG in the rotation? No chance. He's starting.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

So you think our 5* freshman PG is going to be 3rd PG in the rotation? No chance. He's starting.

We start multiple point guards/guys that handle the ball. How do we not know this by now?

Also just fyi, Nowell isn’t a 5 star anywhere as of right now.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

So you think our 5* freshman PG is going to be 3rd PG in the rotation? No chance. He's starting.

I have a,strong suspicion that Nowell will be viewed as one of a handful of our best freshmen PG's ever by March 2025. What I've seen (granted, only highlights) of him reminds me a lot of Kyle Lowry when he first got to Nova except Nowell has about 20lbs of muscle on Lowry from back then.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We start multiple point guards/guys that handle the ball. How do we not know this by now?

Also just fyi, Nowell isn’t a 5 star anywhere as of right now.

We do not start multiple short guards, or play them at the same time. Hurley wants big guards. Ball will be SG, and he's a bit of a combo. Nowell will probably start, with Diarra playing behind him. There's room for a bench guard transfer of course, but not a starting spot.

I also noticed Ross bringing the ball up at the end of the game last night, showing more of a handle than I would expect. A bit Andre Jackson like in that regard.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

We do not start multiple short guards, or play them at the same time. Hurley wants big guards. Ball will be SG, and he's a bit of a combo. Nowell will probably start, with Diarra playing behind him. There's room for a bench guard transfer of course, but not a starting spot.

I also noticed Ross bringing the ball up at the end of the game last night, showing more of a handle than I would expect. A bit Andre Jackson like in that regard.

Who said they had to be short? I’d bet we go into the year with a Grad PG and have solo start next to him. Diarra and Nowell guards off the bench. 15+ mins for both of them is easy with the ability for either to earn more. Obviously this hinges on Diarra even coming back for his last year, who knows.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

The "or something" should have been a dead giveaway ... but not on the BY.

^ this.

I'll add a note of appreciation for it being otherwise a well-pitched entry that did its work more to my taste than the laughter emoji, as well as the second recent playing-it-straight admission that it was sarcasm. Hints of a kinder, gentler @BigErnMcCracken ?

 

[KingAG]

I think testing out a small ball lineup is fine. But we couldn’t both test that out and get Singare some valuable minutes?

Do we really think he’s not going to be needed against much better teams while Clingan is out?

You keep asking the same question.

 

[Jbirdp5]

I mean it’s DePaul. They lost to Nova by 40. Wasn’t expecting anything less than a blowout and that’s what we did. Was looking at it more of a development game.

I can probably go back and pick out 3 or 4 times an older guy just refused to look Stewart’s way when he was open and probably had a turnover because of it. I found that weird. If we’re expecting to use Singare in real games I have no idea why he wouldnt play regular minutes against a low risk opponent.

When you used the term “refused” to look his way you make it seem like people are purposely phasing him out and don’t want him to get the ball. Maybe you don’t mean it that way but that’s what it sounds like. I don’t think with this teams culture and attitude that is even close to being the case here

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I have a,strong suspicion that Nowell will be viewed as one of a handful of our best freshmen PG's ever by March 2025. What I've seen (granted, only highlights) of him reminds me a lot of Kyle Lowry when he first got to Nova except Nowell has about 20lbs of muscle on Lowry from back then.

I don't rule it out, but don't have it in me to be as bold as you. I like what I've seen very much

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Don't want to start another thread for this observation, but a lot of people were worried about the Point Guard position next year. We have stud freshman Nowell coming in, and probably Diarra back. Given the vast improvement Diarra has shown on the offensive end (his defense and ball handling were already terrific) does anybody still have concerns about PG? Hassan has been a real bright spot this season.

Diarra’s ball-handling is not PG level. Not close.

Regardless, he’s improved across the board this year and that matters greatly. Props to him for making himself into a plus player Dan Hurley can trust when he’s out on the court instead of the “don’t know what he’s going to do” player of last year.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

 

[TheRealKBuks]

Concerns, no. But I'd still very much prefer the starting PG next year is coming from the portal and Diarra is in the same energy role off the bench

I get what you're saying but that would be Diarra's third year in this system and I have a hard time believing a transfer would warrant starter minutes over him given his progression curve.

 

[navery12]

So you think our 5* freshman PG is going to be 3rd PG in the rotation? No chance. He's starting.

No, I never said that. You're a UConn fan, so you should be familiar playing multiple PGs at the same time. There are plenty of minutes available at guard, Diarra has spent a ton of time this year as a 2nd PG on the floor

 

[Chin Diesel]

I think testing out a small ball lineup is fine. But we couldn’t both test that out and get Singare some valuable minutes?

Do we really think he’s not going to be needed against much better teams while Clingan is out?

I think that's the thing. He's not just testing it, he's trying to perfect it. I don't see any scenario where there's anywhere close to a 50/50 decision of using Karaban at the 5 as compared to Singare at the 5. Hurley will exhaust all possibilities with Karaban before he starts working on a lineup with Singare.