Either Stewart or Ross needs to start | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Either Stewart or Ross needs to start

I hate to make a scapegot of Solo after a loss. The issues have been glaring for a while. It's hard for me to swallow a kid being allowed to take the shots he does. Take 3s, but take them open and in the flow of the offense. The early offense contested shots really frustrate me. That's on the COACHES.

This season he's had 3/10, 1/8, 1/6, 2/9, 1/7, 0/5, 2/10 games.... at a certain point someone has to say STOP SHOOTING. No one player needs that volume, particularly one who is shooting 30% from deep. Get to the rack, break pressure, find your mid-range J, pass and rebound. There are so many more options to positively impact the team than taking 10% or more of our possessions on a shot you can't make right now.

Solo's offensive rating is 116 and defensive rating is 105.

Silas: 127/97
Mullins: 117/100
AK: 131/102
Reed: 121/92

Jayden: 122/100
Jaylin: 107/101
Smith: 108/103
Reibe: 128/98

Obviously these two stats aren't everything. But it's fair to say that Solo's defense is worse than the rest of this team by a decent margin.

Your first paragraph is spot on. If he's missing good looks, then so be it. But his shot selection is awful. He doesn't get his feet set, he's shooting off the dribble (which he didn't do well last year, either), and he's rushing everything because he's pressing. People here have questioned Braylon's shot selection as well, but he's now up to 45/39, and it's rising. He has the green light that Solo should not.
 
Stewart not developing has hurt us, Seemed to have potential his freshman year had a good game against Marquette in the big east tournament. Truly can't figure out his regression since his freshman year. He has become so passive it kills me watching him when he comes in. He is not the answer to replace AK next year and Hurley has to recruit over him. Always had Stewart over Ross but that's over. Of all the players we've had in the last few years he frustrates me the most by far because he really is athletic and looks the part it just hasn't happened.
 
It’s a tough time to reinvent yourself but
Our defense needs it
My thinking is use Mullins as sixth man for 25-27 start Ross and solo
Also don’t play karaban hurt
Play Stewart there
Take a. Chill...evey team hits a stretch and needs regrouping..coach will find it..be happy we are where we r..in a few years may not have the talent to be here or cbb may be a thing of the past..the new g league!!
 
Ross deserves more minutes and he's getting them. Starting? I don't think so, yet.
While his offensive contributions have been uplifting, he's nowhere near the level of a big-time shotmaker/scorer like Ball.
We are not advancing past week 2 with Solo playing the microwave role.

Stewie is funked out right now. He has the pedigree so I'm hopeful but we can't afford giving him starter minutes today.

Back to the real problem. With (if) Alex (is) limited we have no one back there to help Reed after they get by (Solo.) Creighton took immediate advantage and went to the line time after time.

It will be interesting to see what Hurley Inc. does for a bandage. We don't have another playable big body that can guard a 4 most of a game and Solo is laterally challenged. Zone is not happening. More Ross minutes should help up top if he's in for Solo but only for short stretches. Otherwise, giving Solo help by doubling or shielding off the driver in some form may help. Again, for short stretches.
Gotta get Alex healthy.
 
Ross deserves more minutes and he's getting them. Starting? I don't think so, yet.
While his offensive contributions have been uplifting, he's nowhere near the level of a big-time shotmaker/scorer like Ball.
We are not advancing past week 2 with Solo playing the microwave role.

Stewie is funked out right now. He has the pedigree so I'm hopeful but we can't afford giving him starter minutes today.

Back to the real problem. With (if) Alex (is) limited we have no one back there to help Reed after they get by (Solo.) Creighton took immediate advantage and went to the line time after time.

It will be interesting to see what Hurley Inc. does for a bandage. We don't have another playable big body that can guard a 4 most of a game and Solo is laterally challenged. Zone is not happening. More Ross minutes should help up top if he's in for Solo but only for short stretches. Otherwise, giving Solo help by doubling or shielding off the driver in some form may help. Again, for short stretches.
Gotta get Alex healthy.

We can't be sending a double for Solo's man on the perimeter. That's ridiculous. Either Solo needs to take a step back and play D, or he's an enormous liability. As you said, we have no definitive rim protector, and our rotations are inconsistent at best.

I'm for starting Ross if for no other reason than to hopefully wake Solo up and motivate him. Dan Hurley has benched him late and now benched him early. This is the next step. If the offshoot is Ross can tap into the talent he has, but is inconsistent to apply, then winner, winner. Dan Hurley has to do something different. Just running the same problems out there game after game has finally burned us. He said this in the press conference. He's gotta make some changes, and for the first time, he was pretty clear that that was on the table. We know that Solo has been a really, really bad defender for two years. It was somewhat mitigated by his shooting last year.
 
I think the solution to this issue is fairly straightforward and doesn't involve switching one of our guys in to the starting line up. Our guys are beat down. Its a long season and Hurley practices these guys really hard, we are starting to see that wear and tear on guys like Karaban especially. The way this team is playing defensively is all the evidence you need, we've seen our defensive efficiency hit the tubes in the past few games and its been so frustrating to watch our on ball defense as opposing teams run right by us to the rack.

The solution.... this team needs some rest. These guys have the defensive intensity in them, we saw it in non-con and early big east, they are just worn down right now. After reading Hurley's book, I think he knows that practicing guys harder in a downswing isnt going to get them out of the funk.

Its a tough stretch coming up and we'll probably take a couple more knocks over the next couple weeks, but Hurley has learned a lot since hes been here and I think he understands the trade off of making some sacrifices to get your team humming in the BET and NCAA.
 
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Creighton spread the floor and there were no UConn defenders in the lane. Creighton would then take their man off the dribble and drive to the hoop and make easy baskets. There was nobody in the lane with help defense and it makes the UConn defense look worse than it is. In other words, UConn doesn't have the right personnel to play the defense they are trying to play and I think Hurley has to make a scheme change.

On another note, I looked up the Evan Miya rankings of the UConn players to see if they have improved from last year:

Demery: 196 to 8
Reed: 80 to 30
Karaban: 73 to 49
Ball: 284 to 232
Ross: 1401 to 504
Smith: 606 to 506
Stewart: 616 to 590
 
Maybe don't have a guy shooting 30% from three take 15 three's a game . Maybe don't play a guy who is awful at defense and shooting 30% from three play so many minutes. Half of Ball's minutes need to just get spread out between the other starters, Ross and Stewart. If you are going to let him chuck, have him do it with the bench squad since you'll have a much more inefficient offense out there.

Not only do so many missed three's equate to zero points but it also doesn't make the defense work hard, easier for the opponent to transition to offense and most importantly, we don't get to the line. 3pt shooting is important of course in the game today but the pendulum has swung to far recently.

Here's a stat - in our last 3 games we are average 32 3pt attempts per game. Prior to those three games we're averaging 22 attempts per game.

This is an easy fix.

One other problem that is not an easy fix is that Reibe is REALLY bad at defense, I was surprised to see how low his BPR is .84. To put that into perspective, Ball's BPR is 1.38. So, as soon as Reed is off the court, we are not going to be good at defense. Not sure how you fix that aside from playing Reed more minutes, but then he gets into foul trouble. Probably can get away with playing Karaban at the 5 if the other team has a small line up, maybe.
 
Maybe don't have a guy shooting 30% from three take 15 three's a game . Maybe don't play a guy who is awful at defense and shooting 30% from three play so many minutes. Half of Ball's minutes need to just get spread out between the other starters, Ross and Stewart. If you are going to let him chuck, have him do it with the bench squad since you'll have a much more inefficient offense out there.

Not only do so many missed three's equate to zero points but it also doesn't make the defense work hard, easier for the opponent to transition to offense and most importantly, we don't get to the line. 3pt shooting is important of course in the game today but the pendulum has swung to far recently.

Here's a stat - in our last 3 games we are average 32 3pt attempts per game. Prior to those three games we're averaging 22 attempts per game.

This is an easy fix.

One other problem that is not an easy fix is that Reibe is REALLY bad at defense, I was surprised to see how low his BPR is .84. To put that into perspective, Ball's BPR is 1.38. So, as soon as Reed is off the court, we are not going to be good at defense. Not sure how you fix that aside from playing Reed more minutes, but then he gets into foul trouble. Probably can get away with playing Karaban at the 5 if the other team has a small line up, maybe.
Solo has been really bad but so has Jaylin. Stewart ain't the answer.
 
Of course you do, we know that by now. He’s a nice bench guy, hustle guy, solid defender but if he’s starting in your top 5/10 team you’re not that team any more.
Just give it a chance and see what happens mau. Haha
 
Solo has been really bad but so has Jaylin. Stewart ain't the answer.
Then just play Demary and Mullins more. They should both be playing 32 minutes a game come tournament time.
 
The hype for solo ball has always exceeded the reality. I think Coach Hurley keeps expecting him to be this mythical guy and latches on to any small improvement as proof positive. Put him as our sixth man, make him look inside at himself and maybe he’ll respond.
 
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Are we benching Mullins in this scenario? Man, this place has completely lost its mind.
I don’t look at it as benching anyone
We’re adjusting the lineup to add defense to unit 1 and to stagger the pt of solo and Mullins Our team played better like this start of year
 
the time to make changes was months ago. You have to ride with your guys and coach them up somehow. You bench Solo and you risk making it worse.
 
Maybe don't have a guy shooting 30% from three take 15 three's a game . Maybe don't play a guy who is awful at defense and shooting 30% from three play so many minutes. Half of Ball's minutes need to just get spread out between the other starters, Ross and Stewart. If you are going to let him chuck, have him do it with the bench squad since you'll have a much more inefficient offense out there.

Not only do so many missed three's equate to zero points but it also doesn't make the defense work hard, easier for the opponent to transition to offense and most importantly, we don't get to the line. 3pt shooting is important of course in the game today but the pendulum has swung to far recently.

Here's a stat - in our last 3 games we are average 32 3pt attempts per game. Prior to those three games we're averaging 22 attempts per game.

This is an easy fix.

One other problem that is not an easy fix is that Reibe is REALLY bad at defense, I was surprised to see how low his BPR is .84. To put that into perspective, Ball's BPR is 1.38. So, as soon as Reed is off the court, we are not going to be good at defense. Not sure how you fix that aside from playing Reed more minutes, but then he gets into foul trouble. Probably can get away with playing Karaban at the 5 if the other team has a small line up, maybe.
Here's the thing, and I don't say this as a reason to not make lineup or rotation changes, we just did most of what you suggested in the first paragraph and lost. Ball has been averaging 30 minutes per game and played 19 against Creighton. Ross averages 16 minutes a game and played 27 minutes.

Unless the rest of the team is making shots, which didn't happen in the 2nd half on Wednesday, it's rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need Jaylin to be able to do anything useful on the basketball court so he can help Karaban rest. We need Malachi to not look like a 12 year old when he gets into the paint and misses wide open layups so Silas isn't playing 35 minutes a game every night.
 
It’s crazy how bad at defense he is. I can’t figure out why. He’s athletic, he’s quick, he’s strong. I think he’s trying… Doesn’t make sense
this is my question, too! why????
 
Maybe it’s time to work in a zone during stretches, teams now game plan see how week we’ve been on defense. Either we get beat off the dribble or we foul.
 
As someone with just a casual knowledge of basketball, what is it about Solo that makes his defense so bad? Is it something fixable with better technique or effort, or is it a physical limitation?
 
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Here's the thing, and I don't say this as a reason to not make lineup or rotation changes, we just did most of what you suggested in the first paragraph and lost. Ball has been averaging 30 minutes per game and played 19 against Creighton. Ross averages 16 minutes a game and played 27 minutes.

Unless the rest of the team is making shots, which didn't happen in the 2nd half on Wednesday, it's rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need Jaylin to be able to do anything useful on the basketball court so he can help Karaban rest. We need Malachi to not look like a 12 year old when he gets into the paint and misses wide open layups so Silas isn't playing 35 minutes a game every night.
Its a fair point but I would push back since its only one half. Such a small sample size. It was also a s cond half adjustment that probably wasn't anticipated. Let them make these adjustments in practice and a few games starting like that and see what happens.

Also you can cut Ball by 8 minutes and give 3 to mullins and demary and 2 to karaban. Dont necessarily have to play the other bench guys a lot more.
 
As someone with just a casual knowledge of basketball, what is it about Solo that makes his defense so bad? Is it something fixable with better technique or effort, or is it a physical limitation?
I keep asking this question and not getting any answers except he has 'no lateral quickness'.
 
Who are you excited about when shooting an open 3 pointer? Right now the order is Mullins, Demery and Ross with a decent drop to Ball and Karaban. Mullins, Demery, Ross and Reed should start w/ the 5th starter being an opponent match up decision (big, small, ball handler, rebounder).

Ball is more of an offensive threat on mid range shots, but a defensive weakness. Karaban is a better rebounder, but I cringe every time Karaban drives to the basket as he is constantly stripped or takes a tough shot. Stewart hits the occasional big shot, but no consistency. These guys, Reibe, and a few minutes for Smith are what we have. There is no savior on the bench. Demery and Mullins seem to get it as they have both been more aggressive on offense and are creating their own shots.
 
The hype for solo ball has always exceeded the reality. I think Coach Hurley keeps expecting him to be this mythical guy and latches on to any small improvement as proof positive. Put him as our sixth man, make him look inside at himself and maybe he’ll respond.
I agree. Take this for what it is worth, but one of the best HS coaches in the country told me he was surprised when UConn took Ball and Ross (they were HS teammates)--no slight to either player because they are very good players and by all accounts great teammates, but he did question whether they were national championship type players for a program like UConn. I'm sure John Gwynn had his flaws, but he was damn good coming off the bench.
 
Here's the thing, and I don't say this as a reason to not make lineup or rotation changes, we just did most of what you suggested in the first paragraph and lost. Ball has been averaging 30 minutes per game and played 19 against Creighton. Ross averages 16 minutes a game and played 27 minutes.

Unless the rest of the team is making shots, which didn't happen in the 2nd half on Wednesday, it's rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need Jaylin to be able to do anything useful on the basketball court so he can help Karaban rest. We need Malachi to not look like a 12 year old when he gets into the paint and misses wide open layups so Silas isn't playing 35 minutes a game every night.
I just prefer him to pass when he drives and concentrate on hitting 3s. He has missed a few open layups but most of time when he tries to shoot inside he gets blocked. His defense has been good recently and he is hitting his outside shot so he is giving us a little something right now.
 
this is my question, too! why????
There’s much more to bring a solid defender than athleticism, etc. Bird was an all-nba defender and actually has a higher career defensive rating in some metrics than Jordan, Pippen, Kobe. Bird wasnt doing it with athleticism. And yes I just compared Solo to Larry Bird.
 
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I agree. Take this for what it is worth, but one of the best HS coaches in the country told me he was surprised when UConn took Ball and Ross (they were HS teammates)--no slight to either player because they are very good players and by all accounts great teammates, but he did question whether they were national championship type players for a program like UConn. I'm sure John Gwynn had his flaws, but he was damn good coming off the bench.
Ball was second team all big east last year. The guy put up 20+ two games in a row a few back that essentially saved the offense’s ass against bad teams. Talking about ball and Ross being national championship level players when they’ve both won one - albeit playing little- is sort of funny.

He sucks on defense I think the question is more “how do you best get ball out of the slump” with options like shorter leach, come off the bench, etc. Ross is not the answer - every time he gets more minutes his play goes down. Best in small bursts. And Stew still unreliable. So whatever option is best for getting Solo going is what matters, whether that is
 
Ball was second team all big east last year. The guy put up 20+ two games in a row a few back that essentially saved the offense’s ass against bad teams. Talking about ball and Ross being national championship level players when they’ve both won one - albeit playing little- is sort of funny.

He sucks on defense I think the question is more “how do you best get ball out of the slump” with options like shorter leach, come off the bench, etc. Ross is not the answer - every time he gets more minutes his play goes down. Best in small bursts. And Stew still unreliable. So whatever option is best for getting Solo going is what matters, whether that is
I never been a big Ross fan but you can tell in how he is shooting he has confidence in his game. He has been consistently decent for a good stretch of games even if his numbers don't blow you away. This is coming from someone who was a big Stewart fan but realize that guy has no drive in him. I say start Ross and have Ball come off the bench for Mullins. Like others say we don't really play well when both Mullins and Ball are on the court at the same time.
 
Ball was second team all big east last year. The guy put up 20+ two games in a row a few back that essentially saved the offense’s ass against bad teams. Talking about ball and Ross being national championship level players when they’ve both won one - albeit playing little- is sort of funny.

He sucks on defense I think the question is more “how do you best get ball out of the slump” with options like shorter leach, come off the bench, etc. Ross is not the answer - every time he gets more minutes his play goes down. Best in small bursts. And Stew still unreliable. So whatever option is best for getting Solo going is what matters, whether
There is no doubt when Solo is on he can shoot it. The question is, based on what we've seen the last two years, do you think Solo in his current role, is the right guy? I think it is a fair question to ask. For someone to be so athletic with an incredible wingspan to struggle so mightily on defense means something--and it is one of the reasons why this team can't pull away from very average Big East teams. Either the last two years this team has under achieved or maybe isn't as good as we thought at the start of each season--and that includes our so called best players.

Yes they were on a national championship team and I'm sure they were great team guys and practice players--but they didn't play any meaningful minutes in games. Big props to both of them and Stewart for sticking around in this era, and I like Hurley's loyalty, but at some point something has to change.
 
Can't have Ball, Mullins & AK on the floor together for an extended period.....too much minus D.

Ross starts for Ball, Stewart starts for AK (unless AK is healthy) & Solo subs as the 6th man.
 
Can't have Ball, Mullins & AK on the floor together for an extended period.....too much minus D.

Ross starts for Ball, Stewart starts for AK (unless AK is healthy) & Solo subs as the 6th man.
Ross and Stewart for extended minutes together is a tough lineup. That leaves Silas and to some extent Mullins as the only guys that can really create their shot semi-consistently.
 
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