Eight Tough Rebounds

[businesslawyer]

I'd love to see AB score 16 points (or even close to it) every game, but that is unlikely. What is repeatable from last night, in addition to his defense, is the 8 boards. Which is not something we are used to from AB, especially against a physical team.

The AB we saw last night and the team's perimeter players shooting like they are capable of, combined with out defense, is a team that should be playing come the second weekend of the tournament. Which -- not just qualifying for the tournament -- needs to be the goal every year.

We play another tough, physical team Saturday late afternoon. We will win if AB plays anything like he did last night. I want to see all the pieces come together now.

 

[TasteofUConn]

What is repeatable from last night, in addition to his defense, is the 8 boards.

The thing is, when I watch a basketball game, a lot of the x's and o's are not apparent to me - partly because I don't have the basketball knowledge and partly because I'm too lazy to analyze much.
BUT, that's one of the reasons I come here. You'll note that @OkaForPrez posted elsewhere that Brimah's effectiveness last night was due in part to SMU's style of O, in which Brimah is not being pulled out to the 3 point line a lot. That, no doubt, impacted his rebounding numbers.
So.

 

[boog204]

His boards were "big" boards too. Down the stretch, in space/traffic. Very impressive game for him all around. He still does some things that perplex me, but last night was, to me, the best he's ever played in a UConn uni (ugly as they were.)

 

[Kembacity]

I also want to point out that part of the reason Brimah was so effective last night was the mere fact that he was able to stay out on the court. Yes, sometimes he commits bonehead fouls and leans on a guy, but last night the refs were oddly not against us. There were definitely a handful of nice defensive plays Brimah made that would have normally been called ludicrous fouls.

This season has been atrocious, most of the time our bigs are getting phantom calls, but last night is a glimpse at what can be if they somehow play in a way that doesn't allow the refs to hurt us

 

[CallMeBruce]

I also want to point out that part of the reason Brimah was so effective last night was the mere fact that he was able to stay out on the court. Yes, sometimes he commits bonehead fouls and leans on a guy, but last night the refs were oddly not against us. There were definitely a handful of nice defensive plays Brimah made that would have normally been called ludicrous fouls.

This season has been atrocious, most of the time our bigs are getting phantom calls, but last night is a glimpse at what can be if they somehow play in a way that doesn't allow the refs to hurt us

Yeah, I definitely felt like the officiating was relatively loose last night. Not excessively so, but enough to help our generally foul-prone bigs.

 

[uconngb]

Yeah, I definitely felt like the officiating was relatively loose last night. Not excessively so, but enough to help our generally foul-prone bigs.

Only real head scratcher I recall was the phantom moving screen call on Miller.

 

[mauconnfan]

Only real head scratcher I recall was the phantom moving screen call on Miller.

That was awful you are correct. Miller is a magnet to those and I really can't figure out why.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

6 Offensive boards for Brimah. That's a great output. If he can rebound like that against the best rebounding team in the conference, it's a good sign

 

[BoatShow]

No easy boards vs SMU. Never seen AB ball out like that.

 

[SubbaBub]

Where to I sign for 16/8/4 every night from AB?

 

[mauconnfan]

Where to I sign for 16/8/4 every night from AB?

Where do I sign up for 10/8/3 every night?

 

[imno1]

Yes the fact that he didn't pick up early fouls let Amida play more aggressively than he has all year. As a Brimah fan it has been extremely frustrating with the calls that go against him while the refs turn a blind eye when he gets pushed around during a rebound. Same with Miller and it might be worse with him. The anticipation or assumption foul is the most hair pulling call in basketball and we seem to get more than our share.

With that said I bet AB gets called for a foul within the 1st 2 minutes today and ends up with 2 early ones.

 

[upstater]

Yes the fact that he didn't pick up early fouls let Amida play more aggressively than he has all year. As a Brimah fan it has been extremely frustrating with the calls that go against him while the refs turn a blind eye when he gets pushed around during a rebound. Same with Miller and it might be worse with him. The anticipation or assumption foul is the most hair pulling call in basketball and we seem to get more than our share.

With that said I bet AB gets called for a foul within the 1st 2 minutes today and ends up with 2 early ones.

I watched the game for the first time on TCF's replay and thought that a couple of the first half blocks on Amida could have been called not because they were outright fouls, but they were the kind of ticky-tack plays that go against him all the time.

In other words, the fine line between Amida sitting out the entire first half and playing went with Amida on Thursday, and it can easily swing the other way at any other moment. I guess people will say that means Amida is inconsistent, even if he's playing pretty similarly on both days.

 

[3rdbass]

We need AB to stay out of foul trouble as we are a different team when he is affecting shots inside.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I think that one key for Amida is to keep himself calm and focused as opposed to his tendency to get all amped up and make bad decisions. The late foul on the block looked more like a foul (than it actually was, IMHO) because he went after it too strong. Let's hope that he can hold onto his new approach.