DePaul Post Game Thread

[John]

XL Center is the worst home court in college sports for all of the success we’ve had. The other night I watched Duke play the 15th place team...in the ACC…and the gym was absolutely bonkers. I know, I know they only have 6k fans or whatever it is packed in, but they bring it regardless of the opponent. As much as I despise them, they’re what a college basketball atmosphere is all about. I’m not convinced everyone at the XL knows there’s a game going on half the time…

were you there?

 

[Rasputin]

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

I thought that it was the refs being booed as well. I was surprised when I got home from the game and saw the criticism of the booing.

 

[gtcam]

The team is banged up and they came back nicely in the 2nd half - thats about it
AK did enough on the floor to even out his poor shooting night - he is not a super star but he is a glue man and proved it last night.
DePaul is MUCH improved and certainly in my eyes not the worst team in the NBE anymore. Once they get a few more decent recruits and portal players they will no longer be the brunt of jokes.
I guess DH knows that he had been blessed by ready made stars the past few seasons and now it's time to start coaching again - at least the remainder of this season.
I expected a very noticeable down shift in player ability overall this season, so this is not a surprise. I'm just surprised it took DH this long to hint at that fact.
UConn will again participate in the Dance and once there you play the tournament with facing elimination every game and if 100% healthy, this team can still make noise.
One game at a time..................................

 

[UConnTrumbull]

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.

Pretty much this. We have a knowledgeable fanbase that recognizes that DePaul at home is a must-win. I don’t agree with booing but you’re right. If it was against Marquette there’s no boos. Anger, but no boos.

 

[John]

The XL was not packed to the gills last night.

Attendance: 15,684

 

[Excalibur]

Attendance: 15,684

We use tickets sold as attendance. VetTix was giving away tickets right up until game time.

 

[F101Voodoo]

You do wonder if games like last night will have any impact on AK making first team all BE, which would be a nice way for him to see out his junior year. My sense is the voting committee will look to give it to him unless there is someone else fully deserving. Right now that team will consist of:

Kam Jones (POY likely)
Eric Dixon
Ryan Kalkbrenner
RJ Luis

Those 4 are locks. Then you have guys like Ashworth or Conwell/Freemantle putting up good numbers. Still feel AK in good position.

Alex's shooting percentages have dropped significantly over the last few games to 43% from the field and 38% from three, after being really solid most of the year.

Is AK. having medical problems? I wonder! Is his confidence injured?

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

The team is banged up and they came back nicely in the 2nd half - thats about it
AK did enough on the floor to even out his poor shooting night - he is not a super star but he is a glue man and proved it last night.
DePaul is MUCH improved and certainly in my eyes not the worst team in the NBE anymore. Once they get a few more decent recruits and portal players they will no longer be the brunt of jokes.
I guess DH knows that he had been blessed by ready made stars the past few seasons and now it's time to start coaching again - at least the remainder of this season.
I expected a very noticeable down shift in player ability overall this season, so this is not a surprise. I'm just surprised it took DH this long to hint at that fact.
UConn will again participate in the Dance and once there you play the tournament with facing elimination every game and if 100% healthy, this team can still make noise.
One game at a time..................................

This is my worry with DH when it comes to evaluating his team which is confusing because he’s such a great evaluator of HS talent. We find diamonds in the rough like nobodies business.

But when they get here we seem to not be able to identify what players should probably get special coaching and get pushed in certain ways until it affects winning.

These past two years we’ve been so talented that it wasn’t going to matter and roles were easy to allocate. This year has been a big mismanagement of who should be what as those decisions were much tougher to make.

 

[John]

We use tickets sold as attendance. VetTix was giving away tickets right up until game time.

I was there, the crowd was fine, it was a Big East game crowd

 

[444JR]

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.

Agreed. The narrative against Jaylin Stewart is baffling. He's one of our own and clearly has the ability to go off in the scoring column. He's a much better post defender than he is perimeter defender, see Villanova game vs Dixon. Tough for both Ross and Stewart to play consistently when their roles are so inconsistent. Someone mentioned Ross has only played 400 minutes. There's a great athlete there, but it's no wonder his timing is off on both ends of the court. Excited to see those two grow every game. Jaylin Stewart 6/7FG for 15 points!! Yet this board has so much negativity for him because of his +/-?? There's four other Huskies on the court with him getting scored on!! Is the expectation that much higher for Sophomore Stewart than it is for Senior starter Samson Johnson 4 points, only 2 shots, and 3 rebounds or Junior Aiden Mahaney who went 3/9FG for 10 points??

I admit that I have a real soft spot for Stewart and Reed Jr. I think their skill level is so clear and they have the tools to be game changers for this team. Alongside McNeeley, healthy Karaban, and rising star Solo Ball we have some dawgs who can beat anyone on their day. Add to that our fearless leader Hassan Diarra. Things just need to click at the right time, but the narrative against Stewart is frustrating to say the least. I'll add that whenever the game plan completely goes away from Tarris Reed Jr. I'm baffled and the announcers always seem to be as well. Almost feels like people are pushing Stewart out the door. I don't get it.

 

[dennismenace]

The players showed absolutely zero sense of urgency for the first 15 minutes. There was so little movement of players on offense. It looked nothing like what us fans have become accustomed to seeing on the court. I have no idea why Hurley let them just stand around and move at a snails pace.
Last 25 minutes was obviously much better. After being down 28-14 UConn outscored DePaul 58-33.
Observations-
The lack of urgency in cutting away from the ball. It literally was at a pre-gane walk through pace.
Samson Johnson just falling to the ground and an absolute refusal to want to rebound. So infuriating to see a big who doesn't aggressively try to grab every ball.
The amount of good looks where the ball was halfway down in the first half and rimmed out.
Alex comes off curls and screens, catches the ball and hesitates way too much. He needs to decide before he gets the ball if it's going to be catch and shoot or catch and drive. He loses so much momentum and space when he hesitates.
Reed was a beast. Sorry not sorry but he needs to start and play as much as his conditioning allows.
Don’t look now but two straight double digit scoring games by Mahaney.
Stewart may be an enigma but he can score which is more than what Ross brings.
Reed, Karaban, McNeeley, Ball and Diarra. Mahaney, Stewart and Johnson off the bench. You figure out that 8-man rotation and see what happens in March and April.

Oddly Mahaney showing a way to get to the rim by effectively using the backboard from a little bit of distance as he goes down the lane. Beats getting hammered and stuffed. Jalen Adams used to use this technique as well. Keeps the defender honest as well.

 

[F101Voodoo]

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 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.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxreply is below..

I also grew up in Hartford we got bulgerised they stole my hard earned summer job money I was saving for college. Parents finally escaped from Hartfords hell . We owned a small single house on the outskirts. I hated the City of Hartford ever since even though I worked for all three BIG insurance companies in Hartford. Escaped from the garbage pit of city hell.

 

[F101Voodoo]

Did Dan Hurley just overplay the THREE PEAT crap and give the team overstuffed BS confidence and it backfired in a nuclear way?

 

[Deepster]

All the talk about our defense this year and I'm surprised how little we recognize losing Castle and what that did to the defense. Forget Clingan. That's obvious. Castle is 2 years removed from high school and shutting down 30 year old NBA veterans. Replace him with the below mediocre defensive performance of Stewart and Mahaney and it's pretty easy to see how we got so bad on the perimeter so quick.

 

[SwingDog]

All the talk about our defense this year and I'm surprised how little we recognize losing Castle and what that did to the defense. Forget Clingan. That's obvious. Castle is 2 years removed from high school and shutting down 30 year old NBA veterans. Replace him with the below mediocre defensive performance of Stewart and Mahaney and it's pretty easy to see how we got so bad on the perimeter so quick.

It's true we don't have a lockdown defender like Castle, but tough, tenacious defense is a hallmark of the program and I would think something that's considered in the recruiting process. Our defensive liabilities this year are what's most disappointing to me. Sure, being a good defender requires some athletic abilities such as quickness but, like rebounding, it's also much about the intangibles like toughness, will, determination, and a mindset where you play every single possession like there's no tomorrow. Because elite defense is such a critical part of Hurley's/UConn's culture, to see us lacking in that department is frustrating...BUT I still think we can get better with what we have. It kills me seeing the likes of Neal and Telfort bullying their way or driving to the basket against us on their strong side, daring anyone to stop them. We have to do better with that if we're going to win the big games.

 

[HCCForever]

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxreply is below..

HCCForever said:
I also grew up in Hartford we got bulgerised they stole my hard earned summer job money I was saving for college. Parents finally escaped from Hartfords hell . We owned a small single house on the outskirts. I hated the City of Hartford ever since even though I worked for all three BIG insurance companies in Hartford. Escaped from the garbage pit of city hell.


I get the point. I moved out years ago but I still have fond memories of growing up in the Southend. Times have changed but it was a nice place to grow up back then.

 

[Waquoit]

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

The blue hairs aren't sitting in the good seats anymore.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Pretty damn funny:

 

[superjohn]

Pretty damn funny:

Meghan Bard

 

[ctchamps]

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.

So you negate my post by ridiculing the Georgia example. That doesn't address the other points I've made about booing. What value does it serve the team?

Analytics weighs losses at an opposing teams court differently than neutral or home courts. The expression home court advantage is said for a reason. Getting to MSG or Barclays Center or TD Garden for the NCAA tournament were advantageous.

From a fans standpoint I think booing our team is great. Tell me how it helps our players.

 

[jake14mw]

He is our best player. Who is all around at everything on offense and would be playing even better than we saw ,if healthy. Its a valid reason

Yes, he is. And injuries are part of basketball. Being without one freshman (as great as he is), is no excuse for playing like that. So, every time Liam gets in foul trouble, or is hurting, the team is expected to limp along until he's back in? I've heard Hurley reference his absence WAY too much. Next man up.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Everyone who thinks we’re just going to get steamrolled by Marquette should back of the ledge.

Now why did you go and do that? We had a great chance to thin the herd of the negative crowd.

 

[F101Voodoo]

HCCForever said:
I also grew up in Hartford we got bulgerised they stole my hard earned summer job money I was saving for college. Parents finally escaped from Hartfords hell . We owned a small single house on the outskirts. I hated the City of Hartford ever since even though I worked for all three BIG insurance companies in Hartford. Escaped from the garbage pit of city hell.


I get the point. I moved out years ago but I still have fond memories of growing up in the Southend. Times have changed but it was a nice place to grow up back then.

I grew up in the south end and southwest end walking distance to Elwood . Bulkelly High graduate. My wife grew up n west end. Got out by early 1970”s.

 

[Chin Diesel]

So you negate my post by ridiculing the Georgia example. That doesn't address the other points I've made about booing. What value does it serve the team?

Analytics weighs losses at an opposing teams court differently than neutral or home courts. The expression home court advantage is said for a reason. Getting to MSG or Barclays Center or TD Garden for the NCAA tournament were advantageous.

From a fans standpoint I think booing our team is great. Tell me how it helps our players.

Yep, you wrote a long post and I replied to part of it.

It's a message board. Get used to it.

 

[Scoe]

In the grand scheme of things, does booing vs cheering really matter to a team or player, noise is noise. I remember when Randy Johnson was a Yankee he said "I don't care if the fans boo me or cheer me but be loud when I'm on the mound".