East Texas PM Post Game Thread

[Fan1978]

Nineteen turnovers against a marginal team have to be concerning. Many poor passes, bounce passes when had the size advantage???? Why??? We need more dribble penetration by our guards.

Spot on, solo 3 point shot is great but lousy passes and can’t get to hoop off dribble. Ross still not reminding me of reggie lewis. Hopefully the attention to detail will improve against real teams. Nowell can get to the rim and needs to play more.

 

[Hunt for 7]

This was just the definition of a trap game. It had every component. Our effort was there but our focus was already on Maui. These are just kids and although some are seasoned at travel and seeing new things they are still very young adults or still teenagers.

At 19 knowing I was going to play the game I love most in a place I have only seen on TV, I would be focused on that experience.

The turnovers are interesting as most came on just sloppy passes. Just thinking they could mail it in and that it was a low level scrimmage.

I think a lot of credit should go to East Texas as they were very focused and had some decent guards.

I do think this can happen when you have such a large rotation. We are trying to fit in 10 players if you count Nowell which I think you have to. We have the talent this team probably more athletic than either NC team. Unfortunately it’s really hard to build cohesion when you have so many different rotations that are put in the court together.

We will get better but I think we might be overall loser with the ball this year than we were the last two years. Not sure what the answers is but do feel confident the staff will figure it out. Should be interesting next week.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Sloppy, but Ross dunk was sweet.

When does Maui start?

 

[Hunt for 7]

Sloppy, Ross dunk was sweet.

When does Maui start?

Monday 2:30PM ET for us.

 

[Mister P]

that changes nothing and he made the dunk.

A wise man once said, "Ask him to walk, be nice, if he won't walk, walk him, but be nice, If you can't walk him, one of the others will help you and you will both be nice... I want you to remember, that it's the job, it's nothing personal."

 

[microfich]

Takeaways:
McNeeley will be a fierce force once the games get real.
Mahaney continues to improve on his coach-up progression. Will be a big plus.
Nowell has that 'shot out of a cannon' extra gear. Wow.
Need a floor leader when AK is out.
TAMC was well-coached, in our lanes and stopping our stuff. We won with athleticism and scoring of TOs.
In a way, glad we were hit in the face like this by a team that could disrupt because we'll be seeing plenty more of that soon enough.

 

[cp176]

4 games in against lesser opponents has given them a chance to evaluate. I don't buy into the statement made by some that they played bored last night. If I'm coming off that bench, it is my time to impress. I think that they will have to shorten up the rotation and make some pretty tough decisions. A lot of counseling I see coming. Tough to play without a lead guard who makes the game easier for everybody and can get to the rim on their own. Diarra looks like the one that can do it plus has the strength to defend on the other end. Nowell could be that man in waiting. Ball and Mahaney are both legit off the ball scorers. As athletic as both Ross and Stewart seem to be they got to take care of the ball. Johnson will look a whole lot better when someone other than Karaban and Diarra figure out how to find him at the basket. Both centers will be hard for anyone to handle. The tandem of Karaban and McNeeley I think are going to be as good as we will see all year from any team. It is going to be fun to see how they develop. Tonight I get to turn the page and watch the women and I can't wait.

 

[my2cents]

The fact Hurley didn't slow things down in response to the turnovers makes me think his plan is to pick up the pace on offense and is willing to accept mistakes at this point.

Saw you changed the font sizes, thanks.

 

[REB1094]

Remember when we were freaking out because Stetson played us competitively in the second half en route to a 30+ point win?

Not saying we’re going to rock everyone and breeze our way to another championship, but Hurley has proven he has no issues re-focusing teams after a small hiccup like the last 10 minutes yesterday

 

[ctbro1999]

Remember when we were freaking out because Stetson played us competitively in the second half en route to a 30+ point win?

Not saying we’re going to rock everyone and breeze our way to another championship, but Hurley has proven he has no issues re-focusing teams after a small hiccup like the last 10 minutes yesterday

It's like replacing 4/5 starters and 60% of minutes played per game from a national championship-winning team is hard or something.

 

[gtcam]

As I have said many times, Nowell is someone worth giving many more minutes. The kid is fearless and a pure gamer - T Brown type energy. He is not afraid to make an occasional mistake and when he does he pulls his big boy pants up and gets to it. If I didn't know he is a Philly guard he could easily pose as a down to the bones NYC PG.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I assume you're talking at least partially about me. I have no issue with the complaining or being critical of yesterday's performance. Do I think it's dumb and reactionary, yes. But that's the Boneyard.

My issue is with all the long term ramifications being laid out of having 1 bad game. Go read the Mississippi Valley State game thread from last year, same situation with a bad team right before our MTE. Was our worst game of the season and then all of the issues people raised were immediately quelled when we dominated Indiana a few days later

Of course it’s reactionary. It’s a fan forum. Fan is short for fanatic. Fanatic doesn’t even begin to describe some of us. No one is saying we suck. It’s easier to point out mistakes and poor play, especially in a game where even according to Danny no one really played particularly well.

 

[ctbro1999]

As I have said many times, Nowell is someone worth giving many more minutes. The kid is fearless and a pure gamer - T Brown type energy. He is not afraid to make an occasional mistake and when he does he pulls his big boy pants up and gets to it. If I didn't know he is a Philly guard he could easily pose as a down to the bones NYC PG.

He seems like one of those guys where he has only 2 modes....off or 100% balls to the wall. There's no middle.

 

[Vancat]

This was a memorable game for me. On the way in, back by the new skating facility, a deer darted out and bounced off my front fender. I think she was OK because she got up and ran off afterwards. But it was quite jarring. After we parked, I inspected for damage and the fender trim had popped off a little and I was able to pop it back in (covered with deer hair). Went in Gampel and sat down but I was still feeling a little jacked up about the deer hit, so decided to get an alcoholic beverage. I never drink at games, but made my way to the beer kiosk in hopes I could calm down, relax & enjoy.

As I was waiting in line, I turned around and Bill Murray was standing behind me. I said hello & shook his hand and we had a nice conversation about the food & drink available. He had a kid on his back and one at his feet, grandchildren I assume. Anyway I think he appreciated that I didn't ask for a selfie or try to talk about his career, as some guy did a few minutes later. Super nice guy and enjoyed talking about normal dumb stuff with him. Anyway it made my deer encounter thoughts take a back seat and put a smile on my face for the rest of the night.

 

[TheShot1990]

Could Nowell be our new "mini-microwave?" I believe his name was John Gwynn. Anyone old enough to remember him?

 

[HuskyHawk]

The defense was good. Against a bad team but they continued to focus on D despite the score. I expect that was what Dan was looking for. The offense has a lot of shooters, but not nearly as many gifted passers as in years past. Mahaney isn't a Cam Spencer level facilitator, and is much worse than Newton or Castle. Diarra is our best PG right now. We might need to run more stuff through McNeeley.

I think this team is still very good, but the offense is probably going to be more run and gun. I don't think our half court offense is going to be nearly as good as the last two years.

 

[Mr. French]

It's like replacing 4/5 starters and 60% of minutes played per game from a national championship-winning team is hard or something.

Exactly. Every team is gelling in November still. It can be a forecaster, but it certainly doesn’t need to be. This team and the turnover and the new roles, this should br EXPECTED.

Thinking every guy is going to instantly and seamlessly fit into their new and higher pressure roles is unreasonable.

 

[Icehawk]

I loved the drives by Karaban and McNeeley that had strong spin moves to the basket. They look good.

Me, I am all in. Get on the damn train y’all. Choo mothereffin choo!

 

[J187Money]

I love that he calmed down at the end of the press conference and laughed and talked about Geno and his record. He is right to be irritated and will use it but he will also get over it and move on.

 

[Scrutineer]

When’s the last time UConn had a negative assist to turnover ratio? Beyond sloppy. They got good looks when they didn’t turn it over, but jeeez, a negative assists/turnover is a buy game was rough. Need to clean that up, almost seemed like they were just going through the motions

It's human nature. You know you're good, you're playing your fourth straight team that has no chance to win, and you know you're heading to Maui in a few days. Better competition and a place most 19 year olds never figured they'd be visiting anytime soon.
As good as our coaching staff is, the only thing that might have mattered is scheduling a better team for the last game before the trip.

 

[Tmac4468]

Spot on, solo 3 point shot is great but lousy passes and can’t get to hoop off dribble. Ross still not reminding me of reggie lewis. Hopefully the attention to detail will improve against real teams. Nowell can get to the rim and needs to play more.

Solo wasn't the only one to make some lazy/terrible passes, but his felt like the most disappointing.

 

[Scrutineer]

Sloppy game. The offense does not look anywhere close to what it needs to be. We’re not getting nearly enough lob dunks or backdoor cut layups. I think they’re in for a tough practice.

Right. Nowhere near the team of the past two years......yet.
Back door cuts? Lob dunks? We were talking about how few there were in the first couple games but it hasn't seemed to get any better.
My cynical mind suggested DH is baiting the future opponents into forgetting we ever did either of those.......

 

[Scrutineer]

Huh? Out of the rotation? He is playing meaningful minutes and like Donny mentioned he is doing a good job looking for other open players and not pushing it when not there. He is going to get his minutes but we might see him here for at least one more year. Too early to tell after 5 scrimmages including Rhode Island game. LOL!

Maybe I missed it, but while DH has touted SB and JR quite a bit we haven't heard nearly as much, if anything at all, from him about JS.

His minutes are up from last year overall, along with his assists and rebounds, but scoring is lagging and last night he was 10th in minutes with 9. He's also missed all his 3's.

JR and TR were tied for 7th with 16 and AN was 9th with 10 and even saw time in the first half. JS does some nice team oriented things but just doesn't seem as comfortable on offense as he did at the end of last year.

 

[Scrutineer]

It will be interesting to see how much time Nowell starts to get. He clearly is our only consistent creator on offense. Ball has been a disappointment on D and Mahaney just looks so slow out there at times . Diarra can drive but he might be a better 6th man. I still think Mahaney is playing out of position at PG and maybe we should start seeing more Nowell there.

AN getting time in the first half and 10 minutes overall may have been a signal to others that we have options at the point.

 

[Storrs South]

If the turnovers were an issue games 1-3 I would be concerned.

Think they are just bored of the buy games.

Time to lock in and beat someone with a pulse.