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Twelve games into the Kevin Ollie era, and he already has three wins over BCS opponents. The most optimistic of us couldn't have expected more than ten wins with a rookie coach, and seemingly no viable front court options. I was one of the few who defended the one year contract - I thought Ollie was a promising young coach, but I wanted to see him earn the job by first hitting a few check marks that every decent young coach should show right away. Even before tonight, I think most of us agreed that he had passed every one of his tests and earned the job. There just isn't a lot not to like - he's second to none in terms of NBA connections, he's never said anything that makes you scratch your head, and he's a young, energetic man with UConn in his blood who won't bolt at first opportunity. Basically, I just wanted to make sure he didn't his pants when it was actually time to play.
As for this game, you could describe it as ugly, or you could describe it as gritty. I'm sure most of us will choose to view the game in a more positive light, but a neutral bystander probably would have watched a few minutes and changed the channel. You take every win you can get and you don't complain, but it's clear this team still has a ways to progress before becoming a good team. The 10-2 represents a stepping stone, it does not, however, based on watching this team play, indicate how good this team is right now.
I'll start with the positives: defensively, this team played about as they have all year, as many in the game thread alluded to. Sure, part of it was Washington's offensive incompetance, but holding any team to under 30% from the field is pretty damn impressive. From a pure intensity standpoint, this UConn team is heads and shoulders above last years group. They are up in the ball-handlers face every possesion, they close out hard (even though they were bitten by the pump fake a couple times tonight), and there is rarely a ball rolling loose on the floor that a couple guys aren't diving for. This is the least talented UConn team we've seen in years, but they fight every possession, and that's why they're 10-2. They'll make some plays where you shake your head, but they don't dwell on it.
Surprisngly, we only lost the rebounding battle by three tonight, which can be attributed to the one and only Enosch Wolf. This is the second game this season, with the Wake Forest game being the other, where I'm not sure we win without his contributions. He also obviously played extremely well in a losing cause against N.C. State. Not only did he grab nine boards in just 17 minutes, he was also a force in the paint - he provided no breathing room for Washington's big man to get a clean look off, and he discrouaged several Washington guards from penetrating the lane. Even more encouraging, is the fact that Wolf has played well against stiffer competition, more than holding his own against N.C. State, and doubtlessly outplaying the frontcourt players of Washington. I can't say I'm gleeful at the prospect of Olander, Daniels, and Wolf holding down the fort against Louisville and Syracuse, but the kid is seven feet, he can move, and he has soft hands, which is more than we could have hoped for before the year.
The most concerning part of tonight's game, was the half-court offense. Now, if Ollie can replicate the Calhoun blue-print, this program will be in good shape, but one area I'd hope for a little more originality is in the half-court offense. As many here can attest to, Calhoun's half-court offense in his later years at UConn were stale to say the least from time to time. It often involved a guard trying to drill a hole into the court with the basketball, then a big man half-heartedly popping up to set a screen with ten secodns left on the shot clock as the other three guys stood around. The half-court sets started to get a little more intricate in the latter part of the 2010-11 season, but the 2009-10 and 2011-12 teams vastly under-achieved, due in large part to the half-court offense.
What I saw tonight was all to similar to those images of the last couple years. Sure, there were a couple of solid sets in there, but for the most part the offense was stagnant, and unimaginative. There needs to be more fluidity in the offense, especially among the guards. I'm seeing too much one on one play from the guards, and more than anything, too much dribbling. For a half-court offense to maximize efficiency, there needs to be a lot of ball movement from side to side, and in and out. Granted, we're likely never going to get much production from the post, but our most used lineups often consist of Boatright, Napier, two of Giffey, Daniels, and Calhoun, and then Olander or Wolf. Four of those guys have the capability of knocking down the three, and all of them can hit the mid-range shot. I'm a little disappointed that this team hasn't been a little bit more crisp on offense this season. I think we need to spread things out more, allow Boatright and Napier to attack WITHOUT ball screens, and move the ball from side to side on the perimeter until somebody finds some day light. I'm not expecting the Suns circa 2006, but we have the pieces to have a more effective half-court offense than what we've seen so far, IMO.
Player notes:
Boatright/Napier - I blended these two into one, simply because these two seem to feed off each other so much. Right now it's a bit too much of a "your turn, my turn" dynamic than a well-oiled unit. They had something going there in the second half with the backdoor cuts, but they need to find an alternative when that's not there. Tonight I thought it was a little too much Shabazz, and not enough Boatright. Shabazz's contributions on the glass we're invaluable (8 rebounds), but other than that I do not think he played a good game. He made some uncharacteristic decisions in transitiion, barreling to the basket when there was nothing there, and firing the ball over teammates heads. He had seven turnovers tonight, and most of them were simply dumb decisions. He's been great this season, but we need much better ball secruity from our Junior captain if we're going to go into Milwaukee Tuesday and come away with a victory. I'd like to see more off-ball action from both of them, much like what we saw from Kemba a couple years ago.
Giffey - It was a very typical Giffey night. He did a lot of good things out there, mixing it up on the glass, defending well, and moving the ball around the perimeter. He has as good a basketball IQ as anybody on the roster, IMO. He understands his role on the team, and he executes it perfectly. My biggest beef with Giffey, as always, is his reluctance to shoot. He has arguably the smoothest stroke on the team, and he has a decent handle. Why he doesn't go inside more and show off his turnaround, I have no idea.
Evans - R.J. is just a worker out there. He doesn't have a lot of natural basketball talent, but he's a gym rat and he uses his build to his advantage. I really wish we had him back for one more year.
Daniels - I agree with what upstater wrote in the game thread in regards to Daniels' mid-range game. He looks much more comfortable out there offensively with every game, and at this point he's become somewhat of a reliable offensive option. It's kind of unfair that he's playing out of position, because he lacks the bulk to bang around much in the paint. Hopefully he's ok and ready to go Tuesday because we'll need him. That was a nasty hit he took near the end.
Calhoun - I still don't feel comfortable when the ball is in his hands, and his three point shot is out of whack, but every time you look at the box score, you see Calhoun is in double figures. He'll get you a quiet 10-14 points a night, much like Lamb at the begginning of his surge during his freshman year. If the three starts to fall for him he'll be very dangerous in conference play.
Nolan - Loved what I saw from Nolan tonight. He hit three of four at the line, played some tough defense, and provided the interior activity that we need every once in a while. All we need from Nolan at this point is 5-10 minutes a game of relentless work on the glass and running of the floor in transition.
Olander - This kid needs to shoot layups and hook shots with his right hand until he can't feel it anymore. He works his ass off out there, but it's frustrating to see how limited he is with his right - he could actually be a threat on offense if he had one.
After all the this program has been dragged through in the last twelve months, this is a day that has to make you smile as a UConn fan. We've now got some stability at head coach, which is the most important thing for a program to have. I'm ready for Big East play, maybe for the last time.
As for this game, you could describe it as ugly, or you could describe it as gritty. I'm sure most of us will choose to view the game in a more positive light, but a neutral bystander probably would have watched a few minutes and changed the channel. You take every win you can get and you don't complain, but it's clear this team still has a ways to progress before becoming a good team. The 10-2 represents a stepping stone, it does not, however, based on watching this team play, indicate how good this team is right now.
I'll start with the positives: defensively, this team played about as they have all year, as many in the game thread alluded to. Sure, part of it was Washington's offensive incompetance, but holding any team to under 30% from the field is pretty damn impressive. From a pure intensity standpoint, this UConn team is heads and shoulders above last years group. They are up in the ball-handlers face every possesion, they close out hard (even though they were bitten by the pump fake a couple times tonight), and there is rarely a ball rolling loose on the floor that a couple guys aren't diving for. This is the least talented UConn team we've seen in years, but they fight every possession, and that's why they're 10-2. They'll make some plays where you shake your head, but they don't dwell on it.
Surprisngly, we only lost the rebounding battle by three tonight, which can be attributed to the one and only Enosch Wolf. This is the second game this season, with the Wake Forest game being the other, where I'm not sure we win without his contributions. He also obviously played extremely well in a losing cause against N.C. State. Not only did he grab nine boards in just 17 minutes, he was also a force in the paint - he provided no breathing room for Washington's big man to get a clean look off, and he discrouaged several Washington guards from penetrating the lane. Even more encouraging, is the fact that Wolf has played well against stiffer competition, more than holding his own against N.C. State, and doubtlessly outplaying the frontcourt players of Washington. I can't say I'm gleeful at the prospect of Olander, Daniels, and Wolf holding down the fort against Louisville and Syracuse, but the kid is seven feet, he can move, and he has soft hands, which is more than we could have hoped for before the year.
The most concerning part of tonight's game, was the half-court offense. Now, if Ollie can replicate the Calhoun blue-print, this program will be in good shape, but one area I'd hope for a little more originality is in the half-court offense. As many here can attest to, Calhoun's half-court offense in his later years at UConn were stale to say the least from time to time. It often involved a guard trying to drill a hole into the court with the basketball, then a big man half-heartedly popping up to set a screen with ten secodns left on the shot clock as the other three guys stood around. The half-court sets started to get a little more intricate in the latter part of the 2010-11 season, but the 2009-10 and 2011-12 teams vastly under-achieved, due in large part to the half-court offense.
What I saw tonight was all to similar to those images of the last couple years. Sure, there were a couple of solid sets in there, but for the most part the offense was stagnant, and unimaginative. There needs to be more fluidity in the offense, especially among the guards. I'm seeing too much one on one play from the guards, and more than anything, too much dribbling. For a half-court offense to maximize efficiency, there needs to be a lot of ball movement from side to side, and in and out. Granted, we're likely never going to get much production from the post, but our most used lineups often consist of Boatright, Napier, two of Giffey, Daniels, and Calhoun, and then Olander or Wolf. Four of those guys have the capability of knocking down the three, and all of them can hit the mid-range shot. I'm a little disappointed that this team hasn't been a little bit more crisp on offense this season. I think we need to spread things out more, allow Boatright and Napier to attack WITHOUT ball screens, and move the ball from side to side on the perimeter until somebody finds some day light. I'm not expecting the Suns circa 2006, but we have the pieces to have a more effective half-court offense than what we've seen so far, IMO.
Player notes:
Boatright/Napier - I blended these two into one, simply because these two seem to feed off each other so much. Right now it's a bit too much of a "your turn, my turn" dynamic than a well-oiled unit. They had something going there in the second half with the backdoor cuts, but they need to find an alternative when that's not there. Tonight I thought it was a little too much Shabazz, and not enough Boatright. Shabazz's contributions on the glass we're invaluable (8 rebounds), but other than that I do not think he played a good game. He made some uncharacteristic decisions in transitiion, barreling to the basket when there was nothing there, and firing the ball over teammates heads. He had seven turnovers tonight, and most of them were simply dumb decisions. He's been great this season, but we need much better ball secruity from our Junior captain if we're going to go into Milwaukee Tuesday and come away with a victory. I'd like to see more off-ball action from both of them, much like what we saw from Kemba a couple years ago.
Giffey - It was a very typical Giffey night. He did a lot of good things out there, mixing it up on the glass, defending well, and moving the ball around the perimeter. He has as good a basketball IQ as anybody on the roster, IMO. He understands his role on the team, and he executes it perfectly. My biggest beef with Giffey, as always, is his reluctance to shoot. He has arguably the smoothest stroke on the team, and he has a decent handle. Why he doesn't go inside more and show off his turnaround, I have no idea.
Evans - R.J. is just a worker out there. He doesn't have a lot of natural basketball talent, but he's a gym rat and he uses his build to his advantage. I really wish we had him back for one more year.
Daniels - I agree with what upstater wrote in the game thread in regards to Daniels' mid-range game. He looks much more comfortable out there offensively with every game, and at this point he's become somewhat of a reliable offensive option. It's kind of unfair that he's playing out of position, because he lacks the bulk to bang around much in the paint. Hopefully he's ok and ready to go Tuesday because we'll need him. That was a nasty hit he took near the end.
Calhoun - I still don't feel comfortable when the ball is in his hands, and his three point shot is out of whack, but every time you look at the box score, you see Calhoun is in double figures. He'll get you a quiet 10-14 points a night, much like Lamb at the begginning of his surge during his freshman year. If the three starts to fall for him he'll be very dangerous in conference play.
Nolan - Loved what I saw from Nolan tonight. He hit three of four at the line, played some tough defense, and provided the interior activity that we need every once in a while. All we need from Nolan at this point is 5-10 minutes a game of relentless work on the glass and running of the floor in transition.
Olander - This kid needs to shoot layups and hook shots with his right hand until he can't feel it anymore. He works his ass off out there, but it's frustrating to see how limited he is with his right - he could actually be a threat on offense if he had one.
After all the this program has been dragged through in the last twelve months, this is a day that has to make you smile as a UConn fan. We've now got some stability at head coach, which is the most important thing for a program to have. I'm ready for Big East play, maybe for the last time.
