Feeding Miller in the post...

[spudzj6]

does anyone know any reason the Gibbs refuses to feed Miller in the post? A few times last night and throughout the season, you have Gibbs and Miller in perfect isolation for a low post feed. Gibbs just dribbles back to the top of the key, where most defenses play our guards way up high and we end up dribbling back to the half court line to switch sides of the court. Subsequently, that's where our guards get stuck and make a desperation heave for 3 at the end of the shot clock.

So you can either feed the ball to miller with 14 on the clock and let him work 5 feet from the hoop, or work from the half court line and throw a ball up from 25 feet at the buzzer. Why would Gibbs NOT give him the ball?

 

[Kitaman]

This fan thinks that they have no chemistry, trust or experience playing together, since they are both seniors playing together for the first time. Gibbs could also not have played that way prior to coming here.

Anyway no one really knows but the one person who can make that happen is the Coach. If Ollie demands plays be called for Miller and consequences if not executed, then it would happen.

Just saying Gibbs is not the sole reason for not dumping the ball down to Miller.

 

[Silk31]

I've posted about this ad nauseam so I kind of wish our guys would feed him as often as I have posted on this topic.

Also it's not just a Gibbs issue, it's the whole damn team

 

[80shusky]

I wish I knew. He spends the whole game with position asking for the ball and they don't get it to him enough.

 

[spudzj6]

I in no way was talking about team chemistry or what the meaning to life is about this team. Not saying Gibbs is the only reason we are struggling nor am I saying about seniors needing to play well just because they are both good in their own right. There is no more to this question other than that one type of play.

I was asking a question about a trend of a series of plays where Gibbs has a clear entry pass to Miller (who has done nothing to sway anyone that he can't handle a post play), decides to just not give him the ball. It has happened on many occasions, including 2 or 3 last night. It's frustrating to then see how the guards dribble into trouble when you could have our best offensive post player with the ball 5 feet from the hoop.

I am a huge fan of college basketball, and an even bigger fan of Uconn sports. I live in Hawaii these days and finding people to talk UConn basketball, let alone college basketball is so hard. I was ecstatic to find this forum because I thought I could freely talk shop with fans who have similar interest in mind. But I continue to see distaste and hate in a lot of posts being made. Sometimes people, such as yourself kitaman, just need to relax and read someone's post for what it is. I was simply making a post to start a conversation on an observation I had. I would like to think anyone on this forum would be a friend I could have these conversations with a beer in hand. We're all rooting for the same outcome in each game, all on the same side.

 

[KemBuckets21]

You can see he gets visibly frustrated too, when Gibbs has the ball 8-10 feet from him then swings the ball to the other side of the court...When we proceed to make a moronic turnover or take a fadeaway three...that loss cut deep.

 

[deedougie]

When Brimah gets back , would be interesting to see Miller get more playing time at the small forward position and not just the post. He is shooting over 50 percent from 2 and 3 so could be a great danger all over the court.

 

[krinklecut]

I really hate that Miller doesn't get fed. I find myself screaming "OH MY GOD PASS IT TO MILLER" a few times a game, at least. He's so vocal about it, you can see him screaming for the ball and he just gets looked past for more passing around the perimeter. He's the only guy who can consistently get the ball through the net and he doesn't get nearly enough chances. So frustrating.

 

[ConnEd]

does anyone know any reason the Gibbs refuses to feed Miller in the post? A few times last night and throughout the season, you have Gibbs and Miller in perfect isolation for a low post feed. Gibbs just dribbles back to the top of the key, where most defenses play our guards way up high and we end up dribbling back to the half court line to switch sides of the court. Subsequently, that's where our guards get stuck and make a desperation heave for 3 at the end of the shot clock.

So you can either feed the ball to miller with 14 on the clock and let him work 5 feet from the hoop, or work from the half court line and throw a ball up from 25 feet at the buzzer. Why would Gibbs NOT give him the ball?

I haven't been able to watch the team as closely this year as the last few, but I did watch a lot of last night's game with full attention, including the last 15 minutes. I saw the same thing. On at least 2 or 3 cases, Gibbs had the ball out on the wing with Miller calling for it in the post. Now, Miller didn't necessarily have ideal position in at least one of those cases. He was pushed well off the block. But Gibbs didn't really give him a look and casually dribbled it back out top where most of our "offense" runs in futility. Even in the case where Miller had been pushed out. You dump it into him. Let him see if there is a spot-up shot open. If not, he passes back out to Gibbs and reposts. This is pretty basic stuff.

The offense they are running seems to always get guys the ball moving away from the basket. They put very little pressure on the defense. And they seem to depend almost solely on an individual penetrating to open things up. Even off the picks, they don't seem to really look for the roll. Even with DeAndre and Giffey, it was pick and pop much more than pick and roll. Miller, Nolan, Brimah, Enoch are not pop guys.

Yes, I'm criticizing after a loss. And I feel equally that the offense they are running stinks even when they win. I haven't gone back to watch games from '13-'14 to see what was different (aside from DD's/NG's pick & pops) because it did look more fluid then. But I bet it depended a lot on the skills of Bazz, Boat, Giffey, Daniels making plays.

 

[Palatine]

It's strange, I remember Boatright just ignoring Giffey when he was wide open behind the arc. It's almost like Gibbs has a blind spot.

 

[gtcam]

I agree BUT SM also doesnt work hard enough to get open and is sometimes too slow at doing so - also needs to work on angles
Its probably not that noticeable on TV but in person it is.
I agree there are many times when he could/should be fed

 

[3rdbass]

does anyone know any reason the Gibbs refuses to feed Miller in the post? A few times last night and throughout the season, you have Gibbs and Miller in perfect isolation for a low post feed. Gibbs just dribbles back to the top of the key, where most defenses play our guards way up high and we end up dribbling back to the half court line to switch sides of the court. Subsequently, that's where our guards get stuck and make a desperation heave for 3 at the end of the shot clock.

So you can either feed the ball to miller with 14 on the clock and let him work 5 feet from the hoop, or work from the half court line and throw a ball up from 25 feet at the buzzer. Why would Gibbs NOT give him the ball?

LOL! Great topic. I told my brother this as it was quite frustrating to see in the Cincy game. He has done it before. He seems to knock really even to look at him and just work the ball back to the top of the key and force something or pass it to DHAM with no time and the same thing. I have no idea why SG doesn't give the ball to our most viable offensive player on the blocks. I mean he was open in the second half most of the time since Cincy was playing our guards tighter to not allow them to get open 3's like they did in the first half. I guess the simple answer is SG is just not a point guard and will never have these instincts. What is weird he did seem to pass inside to SM at the beginning of the season. Maybe they have a personal spat going on. Who knows but that was a huge reason why the offense became so ugly in the second half. So sad!

 

[3rdbass]

I've posted about this ad nauseam so I kind of wish our guys would feed him as often as I have posted on this topic.

Also it's not just a Gibbs issue, it's the whole damn team

Well somewhat true at least DHAM throws into him a little and also the lobs to him. SG seems to not even look his way even when SM has great post position. Very weird if you ask me.

 

[3rdbass]

When Brimah gets back , would be interesting to see Miller get more playing time at the small forward position and not just the post. He is shooting over 50 percent from 2 and 3 so could be a great danger all over the court.

Sorry brother I can't agree with you on that. I rather have AB up high as SM is our only true post player and a better rebounder than AB who is just pathetic there. Simple just feed SM the ball. I don't see what is so complicated about this. Unfortunately I think KO's offense like JC's is to predicated on the guards doing their stuff on the perimeter. Unfortunately this year we don't have these dynamic guards like SN and RB to really create their own offense and need to look inside first.

 

[3rdbass]

It's strange, I remember Boatright just ignoring Giffey when he was wide open behind the arc. It's almost like Gibbs has a blind spot.

Yes, he doesn't even look at SM there. I don't understand it at all but I do know it affecting our offense for the worst.

 

[David 76]

I have no idea why Shonn doesn't get the ball more often. I think Shonn is our most consistent player. I think we need to get the ball into the paint more.

I am tired of passing to guards that are curling and running away from the basket.

 

[UC990411]

I in no way was talking about team chemistry or what the meaning to life is about this team. Not saying Gibbs is the only reason we are struggling nor am I saying about seniors needing to play well just because they are both good in their own right. There is no more to this question other than that one type of play.

I was asking a question about a trend of a series of plays where Gibbs has a clear entry pass to Miller (who has done nothing to sway anyone that he can't handle a post play), decides to just not give him the ball. It has happened on many occasions, including 2 or 3 last night. It's frustrating to then see how the guards dribble into trouble when you could have our best offensive post player with the ball 5 feet from the hoop.

I am a huge fan of college basketball, and an even bigger fan of Uconn sports. I live in Hawaii these days and finding people to talk UConn basketball, let alone college basketball is so hard. I was ecstatic to find this forum because I thought I could freely talk shop with fans who have similar interest in mind. But I continue to see distaste and hate in a lot of posts being made. Sometimes people, such as yourself kitaman, just need to relax and read someone's post for what it is. I was simply making a post to start a conversation on an observation I had. I would like to think anyone on this forum would be a friend I could have these conversations with a beer in hand. We're all rooting for the same outcome in each game, all on the same side.

I apologize that you had to find this place, it's filled with hate and negativity.

 

[CL82]

I really hate that Miller doesn't get fed. I find myself screaming "OH MY GOD PASS IT TO MILLER" a few times a game, at least. He's so vocal about it, you can see him screaming for the ball and he just gets looked past for more passing around the perimeter. He's the only guy who can consistently get the ball through the net and he doesn't get nearly enough chances. So frustrating.

You need to reward the kid for doing the work to get position. He's open, dump it down to him. Add to that that he's the only kid on the team who can consistently finish in the paint; and it's a no brainer to feed him. If they did the defense would collapse a bit making it easier for the guard to get open looks.

 

[uconn_jack]

Miller should get the ball in the post every single possession. Not that he should use it everytime, but he almost always draws a double team and pulls someone off a gaurd.

 

[CTBasketball]

Miller knew what he was getting himself into before he transferred here.

 

[dennismenace]

Miller should get the ball in the post every single possession. Not that he should use it everytime, but he almost always draws a double team and pulls someone off a gaurd.

Didn't KO say at the very beginning of the season that they were going to run their offense THROUGH S. Miller? I was kind of surprised when I heard that but after looking at all these posts (and many others on different threads) and the pretty much abysmal offense we are generating, what happened to KO's original plan? Maybe a good question for a reporter to ask KO. I am quite sure I saw that quoted at the beginning of the season.

 

[David 76]

Miller knew what he was getting himself into before he transferred here.

??