Enough blaming the players

[intlzncster]

Yeah, I agree with you. KO also beat Thad Matta, Shaka, JTIII, and Bielein this season. Just manipulating numbers to fit a preconception.

And don't forget Izzo, Calipari, Donavon, Hoiberg, Wright, and Martelli. That didn't suck.

 

[intlzncster]

It's a two-way street and Ollie hasn't been good but we simply need to get the talent level in the program back up and get past the negative impact of the sanctions, a new coach and the conference shift. Adams was a good start in the '15 class, hopefully the incoming frosh next year prove to be a talented group. We have to get some NBA-caliber kids back in the program.

As for in-game, KO is a lot like JC on the offensive end - he's stubborn but also gives his kids a tremendous amount of freedom and leeway to make plays. Plenty of people bashed JC for it over the years when our halfcourt offense looked gross. Neither coach is a micromanager on the offensive end but of course JC was a master with plays out of timeouts and pretty darn good with OOB stuff. Right now, our players (especially the backcourt outside of Jalen) aren't talented enough to make plays consistently. A more structured offense would be better off with this group but you aren't going to make a massive change like that mid-season - or ever, most likely. KO will probably be just like JC and always stick to his guns and hope he has the talent on board for the offense to succeed.

Great post.

 

[KemBuckets21]

And don't forget Izzo, Calipari, Donavon, Hoiberg, Wright, and Martelli. That didn't suck.

Yes, let's not forget this. haha. My friend is a kansas fan and he said it was the flukiest run to a title he's seen. I kicked him in the gut for spouting out this nonsense. .

 

[huskyinfl]

@Huskyforlife You are making a blanket statement about players. Previous UConn players have made more than KO can dream about others are in jail. No one is stopping these guys from picking up degrees in engineering, finance, comp sci etc. A college degree, especially from a top university increases earning potential over a high school diploma. Other people like soldiers must sacrifice 4 years and possible death for the GI Bill education. These players get a lot of perks at UConn and other top schools. What is out of state tuition now 160k for 4 years?

 

[huskyinfl]

As Bill Belichick says all the time, "It's a players game. Players play".

Is Ollie and staff a part? Absolutely, but the buck stops with the guys on the floor.

At the end of the day, all the talent in the world or not, no one is ever happy with a team that lacks a top shelf experienced PG.

Agreed. The question is why isn't KO acting more like Belichick in adapting the team to play to it's strengths or take away the other teams strength? Make a game slow, ugly, foul and frustrate or speed it up, run and gun. Use the chess pieces you have to get the game you want or the game you can win. You can't force guys to continue to play a system they can't execute then blame them. Adapt.

 

[intlzncster]

Agreed. The question is why isn't KO acting more like Belichick in adapting the team to play to it's strengths or take away the other teams strength? Make a game slow, ugly, foul and frustrate or speed it up, run and gun. Use the chess pieces you have to get the game you want or the game you can win. You can't force guys to continue to play a system they can't execute then blame them. Adapt.

I'd guess I'd say, to continue the analogy, it's because he doesn't have a half way decent quarterback to run his team.

 

[Candyman]

Agreed. The question is why isn't KO acting more like Belichick in adapting the team to play to it's strengths or take away the other teams strength? Make a game slow, ugly, foul and frustrate or speed it up, run and gun. Use the chess pieces you have to get the game you want or the game you can win. You can't force guys to continue to play a system they can't execute then blame them. Adapt.

I absolutely agree with this right here. I think Ollie is a good coach with a good offense if he has the right players. This team doesnt and he hasn't adjusted.

 

[7774]

Agreed. The question is why isn't KO acting more like Belichick in adapting the team to play to it's strengths or take away the other teams strength? Make a game slow, ugly, foul and frustrate or speed it up, run and gun. Use the chess pieces you have to get the game you want or the game you can win. You can't force guys to continue to play a system they can't execute then blame them. Adapt.

I think the problem with this is that our biggest weakness is decision making by our ball handlers aside from Adams. Hamilton, Purvis, and Gibbs don't make optimal decisions most of the time in half court sets. What different system can they execute successfully as average decision makers? Every system requires decisions to be made. Adjusting our system forces them to try to make decisions in a new adjusted system, when they struggle making decisions in the system they have spent a few months/years learning.

 

[Mano]

I think the problem with this is that our biggest weakness is decision making by our ball handlers aside from Adams. Hamilton, Purvis, and Gibbs don't make optimal decisions most of the time in half court sets. What different system can they execute successfully as average decision makers? Every system requires decisions to be made. Adjusting our system forces them to try to make decisions in a new adjusted system, when they struggle making decisions in the system they have spent a few months/years learning.

It's refreshing on this board to see a level headed examination of some of the deficiencies of the offense minus the post loss vitriol and hot takes. So thank you to @7774 @intlzncster @KemBuckets21 @huskyinfl @Lefty2one @UConnJim among others.

That said, I just don't see an easy fix for these guys. The high pick, screen and roll has been incredibly good to UConn teams in the past but some of them were blessed with guys who knew when to dish and when to pull up and when to attack the basket. We've seen it before, even with all his athletic gifts, Ryan often got himself too deep into the paint before getting swallowed up at the tin (until his senior year when he clearly cribbed his pull-up jumper game from Bazz's very successful arsenal), Gibbs suffers from the same problems. Teams are zoning us a lot this year and it just stalls out our offense leading to those minutes long scoring droughts. Flashing that guy to the free throw line has often lead to a breakdown here and there but it's all for naught if they aren't making the open shots. We had a number of open 3's yesterday, one or two of them go down and it's a different game. Perhaps a couple of them could've been passed up to attack the basket, but between Rodney's seemingly small hands that cause him to fumble what looks like a sure lay-in (there was one opportunity where he swung the ball across the front of his body at point blank range and airballed a two-footer), and Sterling's inability to elevate or use his body to shield from contact, I think I'd rather have them bombing from 3. Only Jalen seems to know how to contort his body to get his shot off under duress. And as for DHam (who played mostly great yesterday) I'd love to see him go right into defenders during his Tasmanian devil, whirling dervish forays into the lane. Draw some fouls, get to the line more as another poster said. They had success getting into the lane and even finding the open man, but the shots just didn't fall.

I'm rambling now and have lost and coherence to any point I may have been trying to make but I'd be very curious to see some shot charts for our losses that maybe include defender proximity on some of those open looks. A few of those go down here and there and it's a different season.

 

[InKembaITrust]

Maybe they should change that from "good" to experienced.

Also, I think it's worth noting their years of head coaching experience:

Dunphy - 27
Cronin - 13
Haith - 12
Sampson - 27
Pitino - 36
Brown - ∞

HCKO - 4

Anyone care to wager that his record against each will improve some day?

Big time reality check fact about KO that most forget to incorporate when bashing him on his coaching woes. Sure the guy was in the league as a player for a long time, and had tutelage from some of the best in the business, but there is a major difference from learning it to putting it into practice. The guy has been a basketball coach for 4 YEARS! He needs to be cut a little slack at times.

 

[QDOG5]

This thread has shown me that KO has beaten good coaches and been beaten by good coaches. I'm an Ollie fan but if you aren't at worst you would have to say he is decent at his job. So, it gets back to the players. This team lacks a "go to" guy. Without one offensive droughts are inevitable. The Huskies have one player who can beat his man off the dribble and he is a freshman. Teams know he can't knock down the 3 so he gets even more room from his defender making it tougher to drive. DHam has turned out to be more of a stat sheet stuffer than a guy who can consistently get himself a good look with the shot clock winding down. Everyone else on the team is at least a notch below these guys in creating his own shot. UConn needs more talent. Bottom line. When I watch them play I ask who has NBA potential and the answer is DHam and JA maybe. After that it is a stretch to project anyone else on that team as a future NBAer. Also, I will say that imo no player on this team has been better than they were projected when they came to UConn. Maybe AB but he still doesn't have ONE go to offensive post move in his third year. KO told us Rodney would be a Ferrari but that isn't the case. Gibbs and Miller are good players. Repeat good. I won't go on. Hopefully this incoming class has some studs. If so, I think we will all regard KO as a better than decent coach.

 

[jayfromfla]

Truly there are some very talented players at UCONN this year. Unfortunately they don't play as a team. All too often one player tries to carry the team and the others will just stand around. I don't have a solution because you can't force a leader to lead. It is a natural thing IE bazz. Some of the coaching staff seemed disengaged. The team concept is needed on offence and they need to be up the whole game.

 

[joober jones]

Not a Ferrari, but not exactly a Yugo either.