Georgetown Post Game Thread

[Mister P]

BTW, am I the only one who thought this was unsportsmanlike by Cooley to not only stand on the court, but also to jump up and down right behind Liam while he was shooting?

I think Cooley was being demonstrative towards the Hoya defender because he was po’d that he left Liam to help double team down low which left Liam wide open on the kick out. It appeared that he chewed him out some after the basket was made.

 

[uconnbill]

But that’s not our IDENTITY. So, noT

So you fall on the sword with the players who can't run the defense you want. You need to mix it up as even the pro's play some zone, just saying

 

[boog204]

Here are some stats from freshmen year UConn point guards:

3 Point FG%: Boat 37.7%, Bazz 32.6%, Walker 27.1%, Price 27.3%, Marcus Williams 17.6%, T Brown 25.0%, Ricky Moore 29.4%

FT%: Boat 69.0%, Bazz 77.1%, Walker 71.5%, Price 69.0%, Marcus Williams 69.2%, T Brown 54.5%, Ricky Moore 52.0%

Assist/TO Ratio: Boat 1.82, Bazz 1.67, Walker 1.61, Price 1.80, Marcus Williams 1.79, T Brown 2.04, Ricky Moore 2.00

Nowell: 3 Point FG% = 20.0%, FT% = 57.1%, Assist/TO Ratio = 2.70

Nowell has been injured with sporadic playing time which makes being competitive more difficult. He is a highly rated recruit who needs to play now to get ready for March and he will developed for next year just like a l the above UConn PGs.

Nowell has played around 100 minutes the entire year. You’re comparing him stats wise to guys who were starters (Price, Taliek), sixth men on Natty and FF teams (Bazz and Kemba,) Boat who could have easily been the starter and a backup in Ricky, who played on a 32 win team and locked up Allen Iverson in the BET. Oh and Marcus Williams, a guy who had a 13 assist game. As a freshmen. Off the bench.

This has unfortunately been a lost year for Nowell and his rust is very, very evident. He looks much slower and lacks explosiveness. Hope this is just injury related.

 

[uconngb]

So you fall on the sword with the players who can't run the defense you want. You need to mix it up as even the pro's play some zone, just saying

I was being sarcastic….of course we should have been changing things up

 

[navery12]

So you fall on the sword with the players who can't run the defense you want. You need to mix it up as even the pro's play some zone, just saying

The issue is that I'm not sure a zone even helps these guys. Apart from it just being something they don't practice, I just don't see it going well.

Most of the defensive issues don't stem from a lack of size or skills or talent, we just have a lot of players who have very little basketball accumen on the defensive side. They're not getting out muscled for the most part, they're just losing their man or getting caught staring at the ball. And I think the same thing happens in a zone defense

 

[uconnfan68]

I will say two things:

1. It will kill us to at least switch to a zone now and then. Like when weaker man defenders are in the game.

2. Dan Hurley HAS GOT TO STOP WITH THE CENTER HEDGE ON THE PERIMETER! For the one or two times it is successful it costs us 5 times that in open dunks in the paint or wide open threes because we are always scrambling to recover. It is flat out stupid to continue doing when it costs us every game.

Or our center fouling the 3pt shooter.

 

[Mr. French]

I will say this, as maybe a non sequitur to what's been discussed here:

Some posters, notably @HuskyWarrior611 have been critical of Solo's ability to attack, and in turn our coaches' willingness to emphasize that with him.

I have to think he's getting that message now. I've seen him be much more aggressive attacking and using his athleticism. There's still a lot to be learned as far as controlled finishing, but he's attacking much harder lately.

PS, no dig at 611, I was just saying he's one of the many posters (and some rightly so) critical of Ball's ability to attack for his talent level. He's clearly TRYING it more the last handful of games.

 

[freescooter]

Most college players have shortcomings. It’s only when they don’t produce that fans make that shortcoming that player’s identity. We had a tiny backcourt in 2014, Boat was no bigger than Mahaney and that team managed to play D well enough to win the championship including against teams along the way like Michigan State. (And everyone can spare me the moving goalposts about their overall comparative value as players, we’re talking about size.) The problem is not with any single player, or their physical attributes - everyone on the team including Diarra, Karaban and McNeeley are getting blown by or losing assignments. It is a systemic problem, stemming from the fact that the coaching staff has been slow (or flat out refusing) to adapt to the weapons they have in their arsenal, believing in the system above all else.

I agree with this but please don’t compare Nowell to Boatright and/or Napier. Yeah they are all short. 2 were outstanding players. One is behind Mahaney on the depth chart. Even if Hurley changes his system Nowell isn’t the solution

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I will say this, as maybe a non sequitur to what's been discussed here:

Some posters, notably @HuskyWarrior611 have been critical of Solo's ability to attack, and in turn our coaches' willingness to emphasize that with him.

I have to think he's getting that message now. I've seen him be much more aggressive attacking and using his athleticism. There's still a lot to be learned as far as controlled finishing, but he's attacking much harder lately.

PS, no dig at 611, I was just saying he's one of the many posters (and some rightly so) critical of Ball's ability to attack for his talent level. He's clearly TRYING it more the last handful of games.

No dig taken! I’m happy to see that being emphasized. Don’t expect him to be good at it this year, if he ends up being + before year end that’s great!

But it’s important that it’s being emphasized and he’s working on it now and then will be able to refine it based on experience over the offseason.

 

[Palatine]

I agree with this but please don’t compare Nowell to Boatright and/or Napier. Yeah they are all short. 2 were outstanding players. One is behind Mahaney on the depth chart. Even if Hurley changes his system Nowell isn’t the solution

Boatright was incredibly quick with an excellent vertical for a guy his height. Napier was very savvy, a very good ball handler, good shooter, not as quick as Boat but much quicker than Nowell.

 

[Mr. French]

No dig taken! I’m happy to see that being emphasized. Don’t expect him to be good at it this year, if he ends up being + before year end that’s great!

But it’s important that it’s being emphasized and he’s working on it now and then will be able to refine it based on experience over the offseason.

Even when I disagree, sometimes vehemently, I can tell you know stuff about ball so I just didn't want it coming across like I was "calling you out."

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Even when I disagree, sometimes vehemently, I can tell you know stuff about ball so I just didn't want it coming across like I was "calling you out."

 

[3rdbass]

Boatright was incredibly quick with an excellent vertical for a guy his height. Napier was very savvy, a very good ball handler, good shooter, not as quick as Boat but much quicker than Nowell.

I'm not sure about that. Napier had a great change of pace dribble though and was quick with his hands on D. I don't think Nowell is slow I just think he hasn't adjusted to the game speed due ot being injured most of the season and never gettng any consistent minutes. He seems to be doing better recently but definitely has a lot to grow into even a decent player.

 

[RuffRuff]

The issue is that I'm not sure a zone even helps these guys. Apart from it just being something they don't practice, I just don't see it going well.

Most of the defensive issues don't stem from a lack of size or skills or talent, we just have a lot of players who have very little basketball accumen on the defensive side. They're not getting out muscled for the most part, they're just losing their man or getting caught staring at the ball. And I think the same thing happens in a zone defense

Not sure I agree. Managing your territory versus chasing a man, reading a switch, fighting through picks has a lot less complexity to it. When the basis of the issue is being too slow footed and having spacial awareness issues, a zone could help. They don’t need to run it 40 minutes, but to splash in for 3-4 minutes here and there can be the kind of curveball to throw off another team just enough.

When you’re letting some of the worst 3pt shooting teams in hoops light you up I really don’t know what you have to lose honestly. To keep up the same strategy at this point when you have almost a full season sample of the defense being awful feels silly. Man when done well has the higher upside but done poorly has lower downside. Zone keeps you in the safe middle.

 

[navery12]

Not sure I agree. Managing your territory versus chasing a man, reading a switch, fighting through picks has a lot less complexity to it. When the basis of the issue is being too slow footed and having spacial awareness issues, a zone could help. They don’t need to run it 40 minutes, but to splash in for 3-4 minutes here and there can be the kind of curveball to throw off another team just enough.

When you’re letting some of the worst 3pt shooting teams in hoops light you up I really don’t know what you have to lose honestly. To keep up the same strategy at this point when you have almost a full season sample of the defense being awful feels silly. Man when done well has the higher upside but done poorly has lower downside. Zone keeps you in the safe middle.

Well that's my point, I wouldn't say any of Ball, Stewart, and Ross are slow footed and they're still horrible defenders this year. And if we're already getting burned by 3 point shooting now, that's going to get worse in a zone which is even more susceptible to wide open 3's. Changing it now would be nothing short of a disaster

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Not sure I agree. Managing your territory versus chasing a man, reading a switch, fighting through picks has a lot less complexity to it. When the basis of the issue is being too slow footed and having spacial awareness issues, a zone could help. They don’t need to run it 40 minutes, but to splash in for 3-4 minutes here and there can be the kind of curveball to throw off another team just enough.

When you’re letting some of the worst 3pt shooting teams in hoops light you up I really don’t know what you have to lose honestly. To keep up the same strategy at this point when you have almost a full season sample of the defense being awful feels silly. Man when done well has the higher upside but done poorly has lower downside. Zone keeps you in the safe middle.

The defense looks worse in person than even the story the analytics tell. The breakdowns that I see in the games, especially away from the ball, would be unacceptable during a middle aged pickup game at the YMCA. I think defensive instincts are somewhat intrinsic, and Ball and Steward in particular just don't have them.

 

[REB1094]

Not sure I agree. Managing your territory versus chasing a man, reading a switch, fighting through picks has a lot less complexity to it. When the basis of the issue is being too slow footed and having spacial awareness issues, a zone could help. They don’t need to run it 40 minutes, but to splash in for 3-4 minutes here and there can be the kind of curveball to throw off another team just enough.

When you’re letting some of the worst 3pt shooting teams in hoops light you up I really don’t know what you have to lose honestly. To keep up the same strategy at this point when you have almost a full season sample of the defense being awful feels silly. Man when done well has the higher upside but done poorly has lower downside. Zone keeps you in the safe middle.

Well that's my point, I wouldn't say any of Ball, Stewart, and Ross are slow footed and they're still horrible defenders this year. And if we're already getting burned by 3 point shooting now, that's going to get worse in a zone which is even more susceptible to wide open 3's. Changing it now would be nothing short of a disaster

The only zone that Hurley has played since the start of our run is an ugly 1-3-1 or extended 2-1-2 that instantly gets burned every single time

It's not a bad idea to mix in some zone for short bursts to keep other teams guessing and to disrupt rhythm, lots of teams do it. But I would bet that Hurley has not spent 1 second in practice this year on an actual 2-3 or 3-2 zone

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The only zone that Hurley has played since the start of our run is an ugly 1-3-1 or extended 2-1-2 that instantly gets burned every single time

It's not a bad idea to mix in some zone for short bursts to keep other teams guessing and to disrupt rhythm, lots of teams do it. But I would bet that Hurley has not spent 1 second in practice this year on an actual 2-3 or 3-2 zone

Smart high school and youth coaches throw in a trap zone if their base defense really sucks. It can't be any worse than what we are doing.

 

[RuffRuff]

Smart high school and youth coaches throw in a trap zone if their base defense really sucks. It can't be any worse than what we are doing.

Yup - I’ve seen many a college program use it effectively, in more than just spurts. It’s a tool, and for the right team can be useful. Especially now that we are going into do or die season and you want to be able to pull out all the stops and even surprise a team.

Man would eliminate all these pumped out close outs because we are reacting too slow to a switch or chasing a man from behind. It removes this whole high hedge strategy which I’ve come to find useless and rarely providing the ROI Hurley keeps clawing for. It’s a better defense for Tarris to keep him out of foul trouble and on the interior not running all over the place.

Hurley has stated he needs to go more vanilla offensively, given how bad we are defensively maybe he should try that too.

 

[djct1999]

You can also argue that it's easier making assists to Ben, Rashad, Emeka and Charlie than it is to Solo, Liam and Karaban.

If you watched Marcus, you would quickly realize it didn’t matter who he was passing it to. He was that gifted a passer.

 

[djct1999]

Yup - I’ve seen many a college program use it effectively, in more than just spurts. It’s a tool, and for the right team can be useful. Especially now that we are going into do or die season and you want to be able to pull out all the stops and even surprise a team.

Man would eliminate all these pumped out close outs because we are reacting too slow to a switch or chasing a man from behind. It removes this whole high hedge strategy which I’ve come to find useless and rarely providing the ROI Hurley keeps clawing for. It’s a better defense for Tarris to keep him out of foul trouble and on the interior not running all over the place.

Hurley has stated he needs to go more vanilla offensively, given how bad we are defensively maybe he should try that too.

While I agree we should eliminate the high hedge, I feel any sort of zone would actually expose us more. Out backcourt is small, one is hobbled, and lack lateral speed. Our front court, is even slower. Teams with any sort of ball movement would rip us apart. The solution to me is simple, go straight man, elliminate the high hedge and any sort of switching. Play straight up, knees bent, dig deep. Let’s go!

 

[RuffRuff]

While I agree we should eliminate the high hedge, I feel any sort of zone would actually expose us more. Out backcourt is small, one is hobbled, and lack lateral speed. Our front court, is even slower. Teams with any sort of ball movement would rip us apart. The solution to me is simple, go straight man, elliminate the high hedge and any sort of switching. Play straight up, knees bent, dig deep. Let’s go!

Right now Hassan can barely defend with his knee. When he’s out and we want to go big with Liam/Stew would be the best opp to use it.

Going no switch man would be fascinatingly scary!

 

[upstater]

If you watched Marcus, you would quickly realize it didn’t matter who he was passing it to. He was that gifted a passer.

I watched Marcus and I agree. Heck, I watched Bobby Dulin. Just saying this is a discussion about a player coming on after freshman year. That was also the best team in UConn history, IMO.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Right now Hassan can barely defend with his knee. When he’s out and we want to go big with Liam/Stew would be the best opp to use it.

Going no switch man would be fascinatingly scary!

I do not like no-switch because it is so easy to attack. I like matchup zones if the back of the zone players can make quick reads, which I think Reed and Johnson could have done.

The high hedge should only be used against really good guards (Kam Jones and Ashworth are the only two I would do it against), otherwise the costs outweigh the benefits, especially with UConn.

I like zone traps because all you need is hustle to make it adequate, and it forces the ball out of the other team's best player's hands. It is an attacking defense rather than a passive defense like man-to-man or most traditional zones, which I think makes it easier to play because there are not as many complicated reads.

 

[djct1999]

Right now Hassan can barely defend with his knee. When he’s out and we want to go big with Liam/Stew would be the best opp to use it.

Going no switch man would be fascinatingly scary!

Not necessarily, if Taris and Alex hold firm on the block and can offer help in the lane. The problem now is teams are pulling out bigs away from the hoop and there is no help.