Frustrated

[superjohn]

This game was there for the taking and any time we could have taken it we shot ourselves in the foot. Our guards have a pretty big rep around here but they were hugely disappointing. Alterique had an awful game, as did Vital and Smith but I'm most disappointed with Jalen. He always gets his points but he's a senior and has yet to make the leap. Still the lazy plays, still looks gassed all the time, and just doesn't make the plays when the game is on the line. I love the kid and glad he stayed but I just feel many here overrate him. A bigtime player makes the and 1 at the end, instead we walk away with one point. He wanted no part of that first ft.

The good, we compete. Cobb can score against big teams frontcourts. Sid is the best athlete on the team. Polley can hit big shots.

There was just too much bad for us to win a game that was there for the taking today.

 

[RoderickSpode]

Adams wasn’t perfect but kept us in it at times today. Gilbert was disappointing.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Some guys were allowed to adopt bad habits for years, and unfortunately it takes more than a few months under a new coach to teach it out of them.

This program is headed in the right direction, and we're playing with the right attitude now. But the intricacies of situational play, intelligence, decision-making, is going to take longer, and more bluntly is going to take new blood untainted by the last few years.

 

[JMick]

Adams wasn’t perfect but kept us in it at times today. Gilbert was disappointing.

Gilbert was terrible and no one stepped up to fill his shoes. That's what killed us. We're not going to win with one guard playing well

 

[smoothcriminal]

Gilbert did not play like an elite guard today. We have hold him to higher standards if we want to be great.

 

[Ajs120102]

Ok can we stop being delusional for two seconds? This team still has habits from Ollie’s years. They aren’t a tournament team over night. I’ve said this from day 1. They can sneak in during the AAC tourney but def not a tournament team. If you’re looking at the “long haul” UConn is gunna be a powerhouse starting next year. The recruits saw how loud XL can get. It wasn’t a blow out so it didn’t turn off recruits. They saw a coach they’d wanna play for. You can’t go from being numb to 30 point losses last year then complain they don’t play well enough. Enjoy the ride. It’s a process. It’s very unfair to the kids on that team to demand immediate NCAA tournament berth after what happened. I’m happy with this team.

 

[Jaker]

Adams is who he is . He will never be kemba or shabass so we have to stop expecting that from him.

 

[Travelman6]

Considering Hurley has only had them for a few months this was an amazing showing. Ya, I am bummed about the loss but I am certian Hurleys impact is good for +10 points in todays game vs if he had not been made the coach.

 

[JMick]

Ok can we stop being delusional for two seconds? This team still has habits from Ollie’s years. They aren’t a tournament team over night. I’ve said this from day 1. They can sneak in during the AAC tourney but def not a tournament team. If you’re looking at the “long haul” UConn is gunna be a powerhouse starting next year. The recruits saw how loud XL can get. It wasn’t a blow out so it didn’t turn off recruits. They saw a coach they’d wanna play for. You can’t go from being numb to 30 point losses last year then complain they don’t play well enough. Enjoy the ride. It’s a process. It’s very unfair to the kids on that team to demand immediate NCAA tournament berth after what happened. I’m happy with this team.

The easy part of the schedule and the 'cuse win have skewed everyones expectations

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Every player needs to make 50 free throws before they leave practice. And Hurley needs to be quicker to hook guys like AG and Vital when they make bad decisions. AG should know by now he is not getting his shot over guys in the paint. He beeds to stop short and pull up or kick it out. Vital has one thing in mind when he drives and is often out of control. There’s good things to be taken away, but Arizona is a team we should be with our guard play.

 

[Huskyforlife]

This game was there for the taking and any time we could have taken it we shot ourselves in the foot. Our guards have a pretty big rep around here but they were hugely disappointing. Alterique had an awful game, as did Vital and Smith but I'm most disappointed with Jalen. He always gets his points but he's a senior and has yet to make the leap. Still the lazy plays, still looks gassed all the time, and just doesn't make the plays when the game is on the line. I love the kid and glad he stayed but I just feel many here overrate him. A bigtime player makes the and 1 at the end, instead we walk away with one point. He wanted no part of that first ft.

The good, we compete. Cobb can score against big teams frontcourts. Sid is the best athlete on the team. Polley can hit big shots.

There was just too much bad for us to win a game that was there for the taking today.

Gilbert, Vital, and smith should've played better, that is obvious. But how can you be mad at Adams for this game? Yeah the layup he missed ended the game, but he was the only guard keeping us in the game at some points. Did you want him to put up 40 to make up for everyone's problems?

 

[pj]

Ok can we stop being delusional for two seconds? This team still has habits from Ollie’s years. They aren’t a tournament team over night. I’ve said this from day 1. They can sneak in during the AAC tourney but def not a tournament team. If you’re looking at the “long haul” UConn is gunna be a powerhouse starting next year. The recruits saw how loud XL can get. It wasn’t a blow out so it didn’t turn off recruits. They saw a coach they’d wanna play for. You can’t go from being numb to 30 point losses last year then complain they don’t play well enough. Enjoy the ride. It’s a process. It’s very unfair to the kids on that team to demand immediate NCAA tournament berth after what happened. I’m happy with this team.

It is unfair to demand immediate NCAA tournament caliber play, but I do expect them to get there by March.

I do think they should have a realistic shot at winning the AAC tournament.

 

[uconnever]

yea Adams played well in spurts but he kept us in the game, he and Cobb. All of our other guards just couldn't get it going and made a lot of poor decisions. We still were in this game as poor as we played, so things should get better.

 

[Excalibur]

Ok can we stop being delusional for two seconds? This team still has habits from Ollie’s years. They aren’t a tournament team over night. I’ve said this from day 1. They can sneak in during the AAC tourney but def not a tournament team. If you’re looking at the “long haul” UConn is gunna be a powerhouse starting next year. The recruits saw how loud XL can get. It wasn’t a blow out so it didn’t turn off recruits. They saw a coach they’d wanna play for. You can’t go from being numb to 30 point losses last year then complain they don’t play well enough. Enjoy the ride. It’s a process. It’s very unfair to the kids on that team to demand immediate NCAA tournament berth after what happened. I’m happy with this team.

All true. So is the fact that the game was winnable and would have been won if Gilbert even had a merely below average game.

 

[3rdbass]

Adams is who he is . He will never be kemba or shabass so we have to stop expecting that from him.

Yeah, where is the improved outside shooting? Two open 3's in the second half that he missed really hurt.

 

[3rdbass]

All true. So is the fact that the game was winnable and would have been won if Gilbert even had a merely below average game.

Gilbert is still learning to play the game against bigger guys that are almost as quick as him. He can't get the separation he is use too in High School. He has never been a great shooter so he has to learn to penetrate and dish without going too far inside.

 

[Ajs120102]

It is unfair to demand immediate NCAA tournament caliber play, but I do expect them to get there by March.

I do think they should have a realistic shot at winning the AAC tournament.

I think this is the type of game to help them win that tournament. But when it comes to March (if they don’t win the AAC tourney) and they are put in the NIT you can’t b**tch and moan. Each year is a step up the ladder. Hurley isn’t giving these kids miracle potions, it’s a step by step process. They are having fun again. We are having fun. I forgot what it was like to actually be super sad losing a meaningful game. Imagine next year when Bouknight, Gaffney, Alterique, Akok, Carlton, Sid Wilson, the list goes on. It’s gunna be incredible. Just temper expectations this year.

 

[Candyman]

Vital had 7 turnovers. Wtf. That’s insane for a guard who doesn’t have the ball in his hand that much. They played man and cut off dribble penetration like Iowa did and our guards forced it.

Jalen hits those two free throws then we down 1 with 25 seconds left. We would have had a chance. Except we had to pray they missed free throws.

 

[Huskymagic]

This game was there for the taking and any time we could have taken it we shot ourselves in the foot. Our guards have a pretty big rep around here but they were hugely disappointing. Alterique had an awful game, as did Vital and Smith but I'm most disappointed with Jalen. He always gets his points but he's a senior and has yet to make the leap. Still the lazy plays, still looks gassed all the time, and just doesn't make the plays when the game is on the line. I love the kid and glad he stayed but I just feel many here overrate him. A bigtime player makes the and 1 at the end, instead we walk away with one point. He wanted no part of that first ft.

The good, we compete. Cobb can score against big teams frontcourts. Sid is the best athlete on the team. Polley can hit big shots.

There was just too much bad for us to win a game that was there for the taking today.

Totally agree John about Adams. He came up small in the big moments especially with the easy and 1 over Jeter he missed.

His handle is loose and he looks gassed way too many times.

He’s mentally weak.

PS: No one should have any pretentions about Sloppy Smith. Rique killed us today though. He needs to play better and not overpenetrate. Coaches need to be all over him about that.

PS: Jalen gets no lift on shot. Coaches need to be on like bees to honey about using his legs on 3 point shots. He shoots all arms.

 

[superjohn]

Some guys were allowed to adopt bad habits for years, and unfortunately it takes more than a few months under a new coach to teach it out of them.

This program is headed in the right direction, and we're playing with the right attitude now. But the intricacies of situational play, intelligence, decision-making, is going to take longer, and more bluntly is going to take new blood untainted by the last few years.

For sure but if we wanted to be a tournament team this loss really hurts those chances. Our future is awesome, I'm just focusing on this year though.

Think I'll always wonder how Jalen's career would have played out had he been coached by Hurley/someone like him for 3 years instead of Ollie for 3.

He still has a lot of bad habits, he's a senior yet looks like a guy with a lot of natural ability who never found out the most efficient way to play the game and how to win tight games.

 

[Purple Stein]

I expected this team to make a deep NIT run. They look like a better team than that, so I’m not complaining.

This loss will be a growing experience for a lot of the guys.

 

[shazzketball]

As others have said, we can’t build a house in one night. This is a good building block. Last year if we went down by 8 with 7 mins to go to this type of team we would have lost by 20. Hurley has everyone playing hard, and that’s something that wasn’t the case the past 2 years. It takes time, but i’m confident that bad habits will disappear and we will feel more comfortable in those tight game situations

 

[Urjetsfan]

When the chips were down, Uconn reverted to what they've done the last couple of years, one on one basketball. It will take time for Hurley to reverse that but I think he will possibly by mid season.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

As frustrating as people feel now - this is a game that gets the team ready to win the AAC tournament. Really think this team will be good down the stretch

 

[UChusky916]

When you consider how bad our guards played, how bad we were defensively, and the foul discrepancy, it was actually a miracle we were in this game to the end.

I think that bodes well for us, despite the loss.