DePaul Post Game Thread

[UCann]

Anyone else get a feeling that this team often plays to not lose, vs playing to win? It explains the slow starts, lack of energy, and poor effort always it seems until it looks like we might lose and then all of a sudden they turn it on to catch up or go ahead. And they rarely put teams away. Just seems like the motivation is off. Not sure who’s fault that is but there seems to be so much pressure on these guys that maybe there’s no joy in winning just relief in not losing and that’s why we see what we’ve been seeing.

 

[3rdbass]

Offensively, absolutely no doubt about it. But how can you explain why Stew's +/- is seemingly always in the negatives? I think we downplay just how bad Stew is defensively.

Wow inconsistent defensively in the first half at times I believe it was more who was on the court with him as he played a lot of the first half too as he was the only UConn guy consistently scoring. I know Mahaney/Reed/Ross normally came in with ,Stewart, Johnson, Ball/Diarra going out,and all 3 had good +/- might of impact. Our bench with Reed and Mahaney were clearly more effective at times than the starters Johnson/Diarra. Though Diarra rebounded some with a lot better 2nd half especially defensively.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

The team responded after the boos whether the pollyannas here like it or not.

They responded to their coach most likely laying into them at halftime.

The boos are simply douchie on all the blue hairs and mom jeans in the crowd’s part.

 

[Scoe]

Bad correlation. Booing occurred in first half. Still ended with an eight point deficit. They responded to the coaches who were yelling at them at halftime.


I understand it as well. It's hard to hold back frustration. Booing is a release and makes the fan feel better.

I doubt it helps the team however. Very few teams do better at away games than home games. If fans had the discipline they demand from their players they would act in the two ways needed to support the team - show up at games no matter how good or bad their team is and cheer and never boo their team.

A few years back when the number 2 Georgia football team hosted the number 1 Alabama team the stadium was packed and noisy with expectations running high. Alabama trounced Georgia. The Georgia fans stood the entire game. No one booed their team. No one left until the game was over. 92,746 fans with easily 90% of them bulldogs. That's an elite fanbase.

It's subjective if a player or team gives up in a game. Booing on the other hand is a fanbase that is giving up on the team and that is not subjective.

Really gonna compare Bama to DePaul? If UGA was getting destroyed by Vanderbilt the crowd would be booing. Fortunately booing doesn't happen often and I'm sure it was maybe 20-30 percent of the fans not the majority.

 

[sdglast]

AK has to figure it out. That's 3 out of the last 4 games with less than 10 pts on horrible percentages. Can't be playing this poorly while McNeeley is out. Toughest part of the schedule coming now as well.

He's getting the best defender they have, and all overplaying the 3, taking that away from him. We see his athletic limitations, as he just can't blow by defenders and is struggling to finish near the basket. Certainly, when McNeeley comes back, you may see some improvement with AK. The better defender will get McNeeley, and McNeeley's ability to get to the rim and/or kick out will help a shooter like AK. Still, if you are supposed to be a great player, you have to be able to score in multiple ways. The last 2 years, AK was a 3-4 option, who got a lot of open looks with defenders scrambling to defend multiple better options. Now with more focus on him, you are seeing the warts. Not that he isn't a good player or doing other things well (assists and rebounding), he just isn't a scorer. He is a shooter and, at times, a very streaky one. Not saying McNeeley and healthy Diarra make this team a NC contender, but I suspect once McNeeley integrates back the offense will look better and the rebounding should improve. For me, Hurley needs to consider integrating some zone into his defense, as this team really struggles when they are spread out. You have St. John's coming in, and they are a bad shooting team who is going to go to the basket at will against UConn. Zone would help in that game and also help in situations like the Butler games, where Telfort was just abusing whoever was guarding him. Give a team a different look at times. UConn is not a good defensive team, and not sure even with McNeeley back they will improve at all in that regard. I think the glass half full view is that the offense will run much more smoothly with McNeeley, but it may take 2-3 games to get him integrated.

 

[HCCForever]

Fans who leave early btw are just as bad as the fans who boo if not worse.

I can understand to a certain extent leaving Gampel early due to the traffic although I would never do that and I have waited 30 or so minutes to leave the garage. I cannot understand leaving a game early in Hartford since I rarely ran into much more than 5 minutes of traffic. Of course, I grew up on the mean streets of Hartford in the crime infested former Insurance capital of the world /s so I knew where to park.

 

[yungdowork]

Stewart isn't really quick enough at the 3. He's a much better defender at the 4. His minutes should really be as a sub for AK. Ross is quick, twitchy and should be a good defender but isn't because he's constantly gambling for steals and blocks rather than just playing straight up. I think some of that is a desire to make a big play and prove he needs to be on the court. Offensively, and on the boards, Stewart is much, much better than Ross.

Yeah but AK isn’t quick enough at the 3 either and realistically he is never playing less than 30 minutes a game, so there aren’t really available minutes at the 4. He’s already played 40+ minutes 4-5 times this season.

I actually think a lot of people are still underrating Ross. Per 40, he has more rebounds, steals, blocks, and assists than Stewart. If he could start making some of his open looks, that’s a valuable player to have on the roster.

 

[Gurleyman]

Not saying this was everyone, but the boos happened after there was a collision for a loose ball that led to a breakaway (no foul - but live at the arena, it could have looked like one). And that was one play after Stewart had the ball stolen on what could have been a foul. It’s possible that some of the boos were directed at the officials - or people jumped in with the booing thinking it was at the refs.

That might be looking at it in the best possible light.

 

[husky429]

I am disgusted people boo'd. Back to back champions and people are booing? C'mon.

This is one of the only times I've disagreed with you on here. It's a new season and an entirely different team. They haven't won s%^t as a group. I wouldn't boo the team, but I can't blame folks for it. It's not about losing. The total and complete lack of effort was an embarrassment to to every player who has bled for this team to win. And that's not even considering these guys are making six-figures to suit up here.

You don't want to try? Get boo'd. They're not student-athletes any more. They may be 18-22-year olds, but they are professional athletes who were staring at rebounds, playing selfishly, and not bothering to listen to coach.

 

[RuffRuff]

He's getting the best defender they have, and all overplaying the 3, taking that away from him. We see his athletic limitations, as he just can't blow by defenders and is struggling to finish near the basket. Certainly, when McNeeley comes back, you may see some improvement with AK. The better defender will get McNeeley, and McNeeley's ability to get to the rim and/or kick out will help a shooter like AK. Still, if you are supposed to be a great player, you have to be able to score in multiple ways. The last 2 years, AK was a 3-4 option, who got a lot of open looks with defenders scrambling to defend multiple better options. Now with more focus on him, you are seeing the warts. Not that he isn't a good player or doing other things well (assists and rebounding), he just isn't a scorer. He is a shooter and, at times, a very streaky one. Not saying McNeeley and healthy Diarra make this team a NC contender, but I suspect once McNeeley integrates back the offense will look better and the rebounding should improve. For me, Hurley needs to consider integrating some zone into his defense, as this team really struggles when they are spread out. You have St. John's coming in, and they are a bad shooting team who is going to go to the basket at will against UConn. Zone would help in that game and also help in situations like the Butler games, where Telfort was just abusing whoever was guarding him. Give a team a different look at times. UConn is not a good defensive team, and not sure even with McNeeley back they will improve at all in that regard. I think the glass half full view is that the offense will run much more smoothly with McNeeley, but it may take 2-3 games to get him integrated.

I'd have to think that teams have tried the zone against StJ, because if there is any team out there to try it against, it's them. They're in the bottom 5% in the country in 3pt shooting. It almost seems too obvious, and I'm sure Pitino exploits it in other ways.

AK needs McNeeley back more than anyone - once he gets put back into his normal role and shooting volume, taking the kind of shots that work best for him, he'll be fine.

 

[ctchamps]

Stewart is definitely worse on D, but Ross isn't exactly good either. Gave up two head scratching and one plays directly under the hoop last night.

The second and one is from an inexperienced player totally losing his player on an inbounds play.

The first and one Reed got totally schooled and Ross was alert enough to come to the play with a potential to make a stop. His premature jump is a timing issue. He's only had 400 minutes of game time experience between last season and this.

When I watch Ross I see a player who is engaged with everything that is happening on the court when the other team has the ball. He is reactive even when it's not his player handling it. Stewart and Mahaney on the other hand are glued to watching their player for the most part. Solo is transitioning which is why his defense is improving and he made that fantastic block. Or maybe his one on one defense is improving allowing him to be more comfortable to watch the court. So in court awareness on the defensive end Ross is ahead of Stewart without question.

As far as the plus and minus differential between Ross and Stewart, some of it can be explained to timing when a player is on the court and whether the team is making or missing baskets more than the other team and is not always relatable to how well a player plays. Stewart is well ahead of Ross on the offensive end. But a part of Ross's weakness is the staff are not giving him the green light. If we were down players similar to Vital's sophomore season and Ross was getting the playing time Vital had we'd being seeing a different player on the offensive end.

 

[yungdowork]

Not saying this was everyone, but the boos happened after there was a collision for a loose ball that led to a breakaway (no foul - but live at the arena, it could have looked like one). And that was one play after Stewart had the ball stolen on what could have been a foul. It’s possible that some of the boos were directed at the officials - or people jumped in with the booing thinking it was at the refs.

That might be looking at it in the best possible light.

Yeah a couple people in my section very obviously thought the ref was getting booed and stopped once they realized that was not the case

 

[ctchamps]

Not saying this was everyone, but the boos happened after there was a collision for a loose ball that led to a breakaway (no foul - but live at the arena, it could have looked like one). And that was one play after Stewart had the ball stolen on what could have been a foul. It’s possible that some of the boos were directed at the officials - or people jumped in with the booing thinking it was at the refs.

That might be looking at it in the best possible light.

It was my impression as well.

 

[Hurleyman216]

Everyone who thinks we’re just going to get steamrolled by Marquette should back of the ledge. They almost lost to DePaul a couple weeks ago (2 point win) and they’ve had a number of other nail biting wins in the Big East. We could very easily be flipped with them in the standings with a couple plays going our way. Let’s play the game before completely throwing in the towel.

 

[AllHusky]

He’s not a typical D1 guy. He was picked as one of the 10 best D1 guys. Those missed FTs and the ankle injury have glued themselves to his confidence. He seems very frustrated. He’s probably not first team big east at this moment while Ball is getting noticed. Ball played his best D last night as side from the blocks. Which isn’t saying too much. Funny, our new guys are improving but our 3 vets are struggling or have plateaued. I knew Jaylen would get points tonight since he blew last game so I guess he’s a no show for Marquette. Ross to me needs to yield his minutes to Abraham. Aside from jumping I’m not sure what else he brings and he senses that too and seems to be trying too hard when he’s out there.sad. We have the weapons and just need to get in the top 75 defensively to really be a threat. I think it gets done. I would rather loose to jump shots by keeping guys in front of us vs getting joked with blow bys

I voiced my concerns about Alex playing through his ankle injury after it occurred. Basketball, more than any other sport produces the most consistent and intense pressure on the ankle. Obviously needs pure rest to go along with the daily rehab I am sure he is getting. Lets hope Alex is able to get incrementally healthier over the next month and go into tournament time feeling good.

 

[ctchamps]

No Liam, AK missing practice time so his ankle may not be completely healed, Nowell in a boot, undisclosed injuries to HD but serious enough for Hurley to mention he's banged up, left me very nervous about this game. I wonder how much the injury to AK is impacting his shooting.

We were not only losing skills at several positions but leadership. AK is the captain in huddles. But during game time HD is the one directing the team. He isn't as skilled as some of the guards we've had in the past, but he is surprisingly good. He had very little in the tank yesterday. And without his energy (or Liam's) this team doesn't have the goods to generate it on their own.

We were lucky HD had enough in the second half when we needed it. My hope is he and Alex completely before next game especially if Liam isn't ready.

 

[Chin Diesel]

L

Ridiculous. The place was packed to the gills, the crowd was involved the whole time. They tried to get it going early, but the team was not responding. The team responded after the boos whether the pollyannas here like it or not.

The XL was not packed to the gills last night.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Bad correlation. Booing occurred in first half. Still ended with an eight point deficit. They responded to the coaches who were yelling at them at halftime.


I understand it as well. It's hard to hold back frustration. Booing is a release and makes the fan feel better.

I doubt it helps the team however. Very few teams do better at away games than home games. If fans had the discipline they demand from their players they would act in the two ways needed to support the team - show up at games no matter how good or bad their team is and cheer and never boo their team.

A few years back when the number 2 Georgia football team hosted the number 1 Alabama team the stadium was packed and noisy with expectations running high. Alabama trounced Georgia. The Georgia fans stood the entire game. No one booed their team. No one left until the game was over. 92,746 fans with easily 90% of them bulldogs. That's an elite fanbase.

It's subjective if a player or team gives up in a game. Booing on the other hand is a fanbase that is giving up on the team and that is not subjective.

I'll go on a limb and suggest if #1 UConn was playing #2 DePaul last night and it was a 28-14 deficit the crowd reaction would have been much different than what we saw last night when #25 UConn was playing a 1-9 (In-conference) DePaul team.

Let me know what happens next time Georgia football is getting trounced at home in the first half by Rice.

 

[formerlurker]

The XL was not packed to the gills last night.

I came here to say the same thing. It filled in nicely after the tipoff but there were plenty of empty seats around the arena. As for the booing, it really seemed to come from the section Big Red sits in and lasted about 10 seconds. In my opinion it was definitely directed at the team's effort, not the refs. Shortly after, there was a horrible call and that's when the boos were directed at the zebras, who were trash again all night.

 

[Drfla]

Just to give context. Stew came out we were losing 47-44. Ross replaced him. When Stew returned we were up 64-54. So that's a 20-7 swing in eight minutes. This is the third or fourth time this has happened this year.

Ross just happened to be on the court during a 14-0 run when Solo scored 7 points in less than a minute. Not sure what Ross contributed to the run. Stewart’s inconsistency drives me crazy but he hit a couple of key threes and despite +/- I‘m pretty sure he had more impact on the win last night than Ross.

 

[Bonamassa]

The booing was interesting. I think fans were so frustrated at that point in the game that the boos just came out of nowhere then stopped almost immediately. I'm willing to bet that a high percentage of those that booed were surprised by their own reaction, caught themselves, thought "what am I doing?" and stopped. I also think that it was the perfect storm with all of this year's frustrating injuries on top of the poor play in the game at that point and the worries re the upcoming schedule.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Gutted out a win in a game where so many bunnies were missed and nothing was falling from anywhere in the first half. Defense was terrible to start the game on top of nothing falling.

Stew has shown he can score but outside of the fantastic job against Dixon his defense has been pitiful. He is not staying in front of his man leading to blow bys and is taking unnecessary gambles for steals putting a lot of pressure on Reed and Johnson to try and clean up the mess.

Ross appears engaged on defense but has shown nothing on offense. He makes the same gambles Stew does but is quick enough to recover, unfortunately he is constantly leaving his feet too early which leads to fouls and layups.

Ball, outside of losing focus on defense at times, is starting to show much needed improvement on that end. Nothing needs to be said about him on offense. He is a bucket.

Need Hass and Karaban to get back to being healthy. I think the added pressure that falls on them without Liam, on top of being a little banged up, is showing. We need them both on the floor even when they are struggling.

I liked Mahaney staying aggressive even when his shots were not falling. I think he has turned the corner and is now finding his role.

Reed is a monster when he is engaged. When he is not getting touches he loses focus and becomes too stationary.

I would love to know what the fan said to Karaban. Whatever it was Karaban barked back at them to shut up. Good for him.

 

[RuffRuff]

The XL was not packed to the gills last night.

I'm not sure if it filled out post tip, but Peacock had a clear view of the inside just before tip and the place looked barely half full.

 

[my2cents]

We keep seeing what Jaylin Stewart can do. Pretty soon everyone will realize what we have and will let this kid go to do his thing on the court.

 

[yungdowork]

I'm not sure if it filled out post tip, but Peacock had a clear view of the inside just before tip and the place looked barely half full.

It really did fill out, but as always an 8pm Wednesday tip against the last place team in the conference is going to have some empty seats. The people who have the seats next to mine are both teachers over an hour away from Hartford. Not hard to see how some people in that situation don’t end up going