Florida - Report Card

[RuffRuff]

Only from 1 guy who likes to hastily post everything that comes to his mind all day long. 😀

The board librarian is getting snarky.

 

[my2cents]

Just give the entire team a B+ and call it a day. Too many first half fouls and rebounding cost us the A.

 

[bendm]

Ross on the inbounds panicking and dribbling into the sideline was a bit of what we saw last year

Alex should not have passed him the ball there, there was another guy open to his right he could have given it to

 

[bendm]

Tarris Reed Jr.
24-Min. 12-Pts. 1-Reb. 2-Ast. 1-Stl 2-TO

Reed had 5 rebs

 

[HooperScooper]

Alex should not have passed him the ball there, there was another guy open to his right he could have given it to

Easier said than done.

 

[bendm]

Easier said than done.

i'm just saying the blame isnt 100% on ross for that TO even though that's what the box score says. i'd say it was 50/50.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Just quoting your post because I just watched that inbounds play again on the replay link on YouTube.

This is just more of a confirmation post with video replay that we need to be better on late game inbounds plays.

We're out of timeouts. This was the only time Alex did a quick inbounds instead of the delay tactic of giving it to the Ref first. I think this was because we had gotten a delay warning an inbounds or two before (though the announcers first said on UConn, then said on Florida...so I'm not sure)...so wanted to avoid a possible technical foul.

At any rate, Florida deliberately leaves Ross most open since he's the weakest guard available (Demary & Smith are also in the frontcourt) and also the closest player to a corner trap.

Alex quickly obliges and gives a perfect delivery of the ball to Ross in the Coffin Corner. Oof.

Demary & Smith basically are stationary as Ross gets the ball and the trap comes. Fland drops off Ball and guards the possible outlet pass back to Alex. Ball is wide open after this but really out of the field of vision for Ross as he attempts to dribble out of the double down the sideline. We know what happened next.

Ross definitely looked nervy there in the corner trap. Most role players will be. We see it all the time. But he got hung out to dry with no TOs. The same thing happened to Demary, but luckily Hurley was able to bail him out with a TO.

I don’t fault Ross for the turnover. That is a failing of the staff and the other players on the court that he ended up with the ball. Ross has been a really nice piece this year but has obvious limitations and should never have been put in that situation. IMO 9/10 times, that same exact outcome would occur. It’s just not his skillset.

 

[Gurleyman]

I don’t fault Ross for the turnover. That is a failing of the staff and the other players on the court that he ended up with the ball. Ross has been a really nice piece this year but has obvious limitations and should never have been put in that situation. IMO 9/10 times, that same exact outcome would occur. It’s just not his skillset.

At least it was a dead ball turnover -- when you panic and throw a live grenade out in the middle of the floor, you can't get matched up defensively.

Typically Mullins will be out there in those situations - Demary, Smith, Ball, Mullins and Karaban will probably be the press break/FT shooting lineup when we go small ... but Ross may find himself out there on offense if we do offense/defense and he's still on the floor after a stop, so he'll need to be prepared to break pressure and hit foul shots.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

At least it was a dead ball turnover -- when you panic and throw a live grenade out in the middle of the floor, you can't get matched up defensively.

Typically Mullins will be out there in those situations - Demary, Smith, Ball, Mullins and Karaban will probably be the press break/FT shooting lineup when we go small ... but Ross may find himself out there on offense if we do offense/defense and he's still on the floor after a stop, so he'll need to be prepared to break pressure and hit foul shots.

Mullins, Smith, Ball, or Demary would have had only a marginally higher chance of getting out of coffin corner than Ross did. It was a perfectly executed trap by Florida by two tall, long, athletic players.

Demary got into the same exact pickle but on the opposite side. Only a timeout bailed him out.

 

[uconnfan68]

Alex Karaban
39-Min. 13-Pts. 2-Reb. 1-Ast. 1-Stl 2-Blk.
Typical lunch pail game, productive and efficient. A nice second half play where he blocked Lee and then hit a three. Made big plays at the right time as he always seems to do. #Legend
Grade: B+

Solo Ball
34-Min. 19-Pts. 1-Reb. 2-Ast 2-TO
Played to the level of the moment. HIs mid-range game is a beautiful weapon. 3-8 on threes, aggressive to the rim and had a nice first-half dish in the paint to Reibe. BIG three late in 2nd half, to put us up 6 and hit enough FTs at the end to seal it. BBIQ wavered sometimes.
Grade: A-

Silas Demary Jr.
20-Min. 6-Pts. 3-Reb 1-Ast. 1-Stl 1-TO
Brought some first half aggression, maybe too much as he only played 8 first-half minutes due to foul trouble. Made some big FTs under a minute and looked good getting to his spots but we need more minutes and production from our lead guard.
Grade: C

Jaylin Stewart
23-Min. 7-Pts. 4-Reb 1-Ast. 1-Blk Seems to always show out for the big games, brought some good energy and put himself in position for some good looks. Most of his damage done in the first half. He oozes talent and when I think of the quintessential basketball player, the way he moves and plays matches it.
Grade: B+

Eric Reibe
15-Min. 9-Pts. 2-Reb 1-TO
Flashed some good hands and a powerful dunk followed by a three in the first half. Was tough on the boards against some tough FL bigs. Productive usage.
Grade: A-

Malachi Smith
22-Min. 5-Pts. 3-Reb. 9-Ast. 1-TO
Ok first half and made mistake a Senior guard shouldn’t make in turning it over and then fouling for an “and-one”. Played like a champion in the 2nd half. Beautiful drive and dish to Reibe, and a crazy Euro-step for a bucket late in the game. Made enough FT’s to help win it.
Grade: A-

Tarris Reed Jr.
24-Min. 12-Pts. 1-Reb. 2-Ast. 1-Stl 2-TO
The Bear is back! Got involved instantly on offense and was mucking it up on the boards on both ends. Good defense forcing UF to a shot clock violation late in the second followed up by a powerful take down low. Looked more agile than against KU.
Grade: A-

Braylon Mullins
11-Min. 6-Pts. 2-Reb 1-Ast.
Only played 2-minutes in the 1st half due to foul trouble. Showed his talent and athleticism in a productive stint before fouling out with 3-miuntes left. That needs to be cleaned up, he’s too important to be on the bench.
Grade: B-

Jayden Ross
12-Min. 0-Pts. 2-Reb 1-TO
Kept Lee in check after a hot first half. His only real statistical stamp on the game was an untimely TO.
Grade: C+

Overall - B+ A little ugly, but played tough. Credit to UF, they’re better than their record.

Game Balls - Solo Ball, Malachi Smith, and Coaching Staff for having these guys ready for a fight.

Hate to be harsh, but I think you graded Solo too high. He missed at least 3 jumpers in the paint. He has to make those. And can’t lose the ball even if they call a foul on the guy that hacked you. The ball was in your right hand (and that’s not your dominant hand), and the opponent was on your right. Just keep it on your left and you get a layup (don’t need a dumk!!!) plus 1.

This is why I have to watch and mutter in private at home.

 

[PAHusky]

The discourse on here around Ross and, to a lesser extent, Stewart is hilarious. They’re both very talented but wildly inconsistent role players. Stewart sometimes seems like he flips a coin to see which half he’s going to show up for. Ross goes from great defense to looking like he’d get cut from a CYO team, sometimes in the same run.

The people on here chiding posters for criticizing either - particularly Ross, he seems to have the most vocal fanbase - are just as obnoxious crowing whenever they play well. The sooner Mullens gets up to speed and Hurley can use the two of them as matchup based role players the sooner we’re spared from two page breakdowns about how Ross not understanding traps on the sideline works.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

They all need to rebound better.

 

[zdirty]

Mullins has potential for sure. but fouling out in a big game? a lottery pick? lolz. he’s ramping up to be a McNeeley with no nba career in the doldrums of charlotte (yes I saw he’s projected maybe Dallas. hyperboles are way more fun)

 

[Inyatkin]

Mullins has potential for sure. but fouling out in a big game? a lottery pick? lolz. he’s ramping up to be a McNeeley with no nba career in the doldrums of charlotte (yes I saw he’s projected maybe Dallas. hyperboles are way more fun)

Yeah he fouled out in a game so he has no future and neither does McNeeley. This is a good post

 

[willie99]

We beat another one of the best teams in the country

It's tradition, we are UConn

A+

What's wrong with you people?

 

[87Xfer]

We seem a lot more organized and in control when Alex is on the floor. He will be missed a lot next year.

When is he not on the floor?

 

[444JR]

The discourse on here around Ross and, to a lesser extent, Stewart is hilarious. They’re both very talented but wildly inconsistent role players. Stewart sometimes seems like he flips a coin to see which half he’s going to show up for. Ross goes from great defense to looking like he’d get cut from a CYO team, sometimes in the same run.

The people on here chiding posters for criticizing either - particularly Ross, he seems to have the most vocal fanbase - are just as obnoxious crowing whenever they play well. The sooner Mullens gets up to speed and Hurley can use the two of them as matchup based role players the sooner we’re spared from two page breakdowns about how Ross not understanding traps on the sideline works.

How many 2nd half minutes did Stewart get? He had a good first half. I don’t remember him playing after Mullins subbed in just after the 15:00 minute mark of the 2nd half. Hurley decided to go with Ross/Mullins/Smith the rest of the way.

Stewart in 22:36 minutes of play
(17:21 in 1st Half):
7pts
2-4 FG
1-2 3P
2-3 FT
4 Reb — 2 Def 2 Off (second highest on the team)
1 Ast
1 Blk
0 Personal Fouls
+6

While guarding would be AA Thomas Haugh

Stewart’s historically had a shorter leash with Hurley. Memphis in Maui comes to mind as another example of JStew getting benched after a solid to very good first half.

The issue is, we do see the confidence waiver after he misses one shot or blows one defensive assignment.

First half stats(pictured) tell a positive story of Stewart’s 1st half performance guarding Haugh.

The purpose of my comment is to contend the idea that Stewart only ever plays one good half when he didn’t, and often hasn’t, been afforded the opportunity to do so in big spots like this.

Maybe Hurley/Staff made the call to ensure Condon had to chase Karaban around screens instead of continuing to guard Stewart whose usage rate is much lower — among other factors I’m sure.

 

[Kitaman]

I’m still not worried with Demary - guy is playing with full effort and he’s still learning the offense and not being selfish. T Newt had 41 assists and 27 turnovers in his first 10 games - and that team was still rolling. Silas is at 51 assists, 18 turnovers. Their game score averages were about the same through those stretches, with Silas edging out Newton.

I love this team - they haven’t seemed like they’ve nailed the offense just yet, but I love seeing that they play hard, and defend.

Thanks for this post. I tend to treat Demary like Kobe vs Mike (Newton). I'm looking for the Mike and not appreciating the Kobe.

Your post will stop my comparisons going forward. Silas will be the right guard for this team.

 

[DW1361]

We beat another one of the best teams in the country

It's tradition, we are UConn

A+

What's wrong with you people?

You need to understand the rating system of RayRay’s report card. It is based on the perceived ceiling of the player/team and how well they performed that night. You are right the team deserves an A+ for beating Florida, but we did that while not playing as well as we are capable of.

 

[LStudfellow]

I realize most of you are on the "treat Braylon Mullins with kid gloves while he gets assimilated into the rotation" bandwagon at this point, and I get that.

But a B- for his performance is being generous. Quite generous. My high school freshman year history teacher would have given that performance the old "courtesy C" because that is what it deserved. A definite regression from his breakout performance against Kansas.

He picked up multiple reach-in fouls on Defense because he was consistently out of position and not moving his feet well... and as a result he played only 1:36 in the first half and 11 minutes overall. His defensive performance ranked closer to a D.

Practically anyone else who played like that and most of you would have been howling about how badly he under-perfomed expectations and contributed little if anything.

Do I fully expect we will see very few performances like that going forward? Yes. His talent is obvious and court awareness and offensive abilities are at an elite level. But that doesn't change the fact that Mullins had little if anything to do with us winning this game Tuesday night.

 

[willie99]

You need to understand the rating system of RayRay’s report card. It is based on the perceived ceiling of the player/team and how well they performed that night. You are right the team deserves an A+ for beating Florida, but we did that while not playing as well as we are capable of.

It's all beyond meaningless to me, no disrespect intended

A+, that's my grade for the team, the players, the coaching staff and the plsyers

I'm a bottom line guy

 

[RuffRuff]

Hurley disagrees. He thinks Ross is responsible for settling the defense down when he put him in. And that was a key move in the game. Hurley trusts him and sees

How many 2nd half minutes did Stewart get? He had a good first half. I don’t remember him playing after Mullins subbed in just after the 15:00 minute mark of the 2nd half. Hurley decided to go with Ross/Mullins/Smith the rest of the way.

Stewart in 22:36 minutes of play
(17:21 in 1st Half):
7pts
2-4 FG
1-2 3P
2-3 FT
4 Reb — 2 Def 2 Off (second highest on the team)
1 Ast
1 Blk
0 Personal Fouls
+6

While guarding would be AA Thomas Haugh

Stewart’s historically had a shorter leash with Hurley. Memphis in Maui comes to mind as another example of JStew getting benched after a solid to very good first half.

The issue is, we do see the confidence waiver after he misses one shot or blows one defensive assignment.

First half stats(pictured) tell a positive story of Stewart’s 1st half performance guarding Haugh.View attachment 114510

The purpose of my comment is to contend the idea that Stewart only ever plays one good half when he didn’t, and often hasn’t, been afforded the opportunity to do so in big spots like this.

Maybe Hurley/Staff made the call to ensure Condon had to chase Karaban around screens instead of continuing to guard Stewart whose usage rate is much lower — among other factors I’m sure.

Worth noting that while Dan Hurley backed his guy for the “defensive” run, he was -12 in the Net.

 

[DW1361]

It's all beyond meaningless to me, no disrespect intended

A+, that's my grade for the team, the players, the coaching staff and the plsyers

I'm a bottom line guy

Well if you are right that beating Florida was our A+ game then we are doomed. I think most however believe we are still going to improve and we will have to if we plan to win it all. I do understand your sentiment. It was an awesome effort by our guys and a great game. I was so excited I was up for hours afterwards!!!

 

[RuffRuff]

Well if you are right that beating Florida was our A+ game then we are doomed. I think most however believe we are still going to improve and we will have to if we plan to win it all. I do understand your sentiment. It was an awesome effort by our guys and a great game. I was so excited I was up for hours afterwards!!!

That was not even close to our A+ game. I might even call it our C+ game. There is so much that still has to play out for us to peak.

Tarris healthy
Mullins healthy & getting starting minutes
Solo figuring out his slump
Silas figuring it out - may take some time

These are major variables. I don't think this Uconn team at this point is even close to peaking. That may not happen until Feb.

 

[gtcam]

Easier said than done.

aren't most of these next morning quarterback findings easier said than done?
Would love to see some of these people calling perceived bonehead moves get into the fray of high level D1 hoops and see how they would react. Mistakes are made just as surprises like shooting an occasional elephant when hunting mice.