Good game for Adams

[UConnSwag11]

he ran the offense extremely well, got to the lane whenever he wanted, was vocal, played a lot this game, and had the confidence to take a pull-up. He was suspect on defense at times. He seemed to be worried about getting called for a touch foul. He needs to limit his turnovers but he's been playing very well. Need his confidence to continue to grow. If he can continue to get to the lane when he wants, Gibbs and the others need to be ready for the kickouts

 

[Kitaman]

Yeah he's a very good 'freshman' and getting better. That play where he got blocked on the break, made me laugh because it showed one of the major differences in Div 1 ball and high school (i.e. mixtapes). Div 1 ballers got game, fortunately so does Adams.

By the way that quick Texas guard was impressive. The announcers says he plays with more control nowadays, but we could get to rack at will, giving our tea fits.

 

[UConn990411]

Was that "block" a goal tend? It was definitely a foul.

 

[HooperScooper]

Was that "block" a goal tend? It was definitely a foul.

I thought it was. Ball hit the backboard first. That's goaltending.

 

[mauconnfan]

Jalen is passionate isn't he? He reacts to everything good and bad. He does so many good things but has a ways to go. Talented as hell but last night, solid overall helping bring the ball up. Great move to the lane to kick out to Gibbs for an open 3 and delivered it in shooting position as pointed out by Fran, good stuff.

 

[UChusky916]

With a freshman like Adams, you gotta take the good with the bad and hope the learning curve is quick when it comes to limiting the bad. Thankfully, he's doing a lot more good than bad right now. I'll take a few of his turnovers in exchange for his ball handling, his transition game, and his ability to set guys up within the flow of the offense.

I'd like to see him get in the lane a bit more, maybe draw some contact to get to the line and in the lane he can utilize that floater of his... he's got that shot down. His mid-range game seems solid.

 

[Hankster]

Yeah he's a very good 'freshman' and getting better. That play where he got blocked on the break, made me laugh because it showed one of the major differences in Div 1 ball and high school (i.e. mixtapes). Div 1 ballers got game, fortunately so does Adams.

By the way that quick Texas guard was impressive. The announcers says he plays with more control nowadays, but we could get to rack at will, giving our tea fits.

Wow, I agree.At will most of the time. From the top of the key it looked like each step was 6 feet long. Long arms. Nicely done. However that slowed down in the second half. Nice adjustment. I wonder if Brimah would of had an effect. Probably would. However I am sure Texas plan would of pulled Brimah out from under.

 

[imno1]

That he got called for two carries was crap. Not because they weren't, they were but because we see it so much on every level and it rarely gets called.

 

[Askgreek]

I thought it was. Ball hit the backboard first. That's goaltending.

That was I saw as well. The announcers were discussing how great a play it was and showed the slow motion replay, which clearly showed the ball hit the back board first before you blocked it. It was a tough call for the refs, but the fact that the announcers kept going on about how good a play it was, was just annoying after it was clearly a goal tend.

 

[Kitaman]

Was that "block" a goal tend? It was definitely a foul.

It could have been but I was just commenting that a year ago that wasn't happening to Jalen. Just saying that freshman balling on the Div 1 level is so much a big difference and challenging. It makes them look like what they are talented 'freshman'.

Oh and mixtapes, well . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[gtcam]

I think JA is going to be great guard at UConn. He shows great poise and has the fire needed. The carries were created by Shaka getting into the refs ears in order to frazzle the freshman.
Shaka also played the delay game to freeze SG on the foul line at the end of the game - it was bush league but some coaches do it all the time. KO has too much integrity, in my opinion, to play that game.
JA was definitely fouled on the drive and replay clearly showed goaltending but it was home cooking most of the night anyway.
UConn may have gotten one call going to the hoop while getting beaten up (what's new?) but Texas received a FT situation on nearly every drive.

 

[Excalibur]

That he got called for two carries was crap. Not because they weren't, they were but because we see it so much on every level and it rarely gets called.

The first one was pretty clear. The second was a lousy call.

 

[gtcam]

It could have been but I was just commenting that a year ago that wasn't happening to Jalen. Just saying that freshman balling on the Div 1 level is so much a big difference and challenging. It makes them look like what they are talented 'freshman'.

Oh and mixtapes, well . . . . . . . . . . .

I saw JA in person many times in HS/prep and AAU. His mix tapes are justified - the kid has great talent and can flat out play. If he were to been given the ball from day one we would see a different level now. Yeah he's a freshman and a second option off the bench - that does make somewhat of a difference.

 

[superjohn]

One of the carries was so blatant it had to be called.

 

[InKembaITrust]

With a freshman like Adams, you gotta take the good with the bad and hope the learning curve is quick when it comes to limiting the bad. Thankfully, he's doing a lot more good than bad right now. I'll take a few of his turnovers in exchange for his ball handling, his transition game, and his ability to set guys up within the flow of the offense.

I'd like to see him get in the lane a bit more, maybe draw some contact to get to the line and in the lane he can utilize that floater of his... he's got that shot down. His mid-range game seems solid.

I'd have to agree with this post. Great way to go through all of the positive characteristics that make him one of the most versatile players we have. I think when you have our top 3 most versatile players on the court (Hamilton/Miller/Jalen) we are a scary team. Such a deadly combination of athleticism, shot making & driving.

How about that transition And-1 lay in from Jalen in the first half? Kid was a blur driving through their whole team showing flashes of Kemba/Bazz/Boat.

I think he is our best ball handler coming off high picks. Has that natural ability to confuse the defense and get players off balance. Is a natural at doing that, drawing weak side help from a big man, and has great passing ability/instincts to find the open man in those situations.

Really looking forward to next year with him and Alterique, transition points ALL DAY!

 

[Kitaman]

I saw JA in person many times in HS/prep and AAU. His mix tapes are justified - the kid has great talent and can flat out play. If he were to been given the ball from day one we would see a different level now. Yeah he's a freshman and a second option off the bench - that does make somewhat of a difference.

Not disagreeing, I just feel that mixtapes are more representative of what to expect in years 2 and 3, not year one. As freshman we will see glimpses and potential. The same applies to AG, the adjustment is so huge.

By their sophmore year they will have 'caught up', particularly those 4-5 star high school superstars including Adams. By the way even Briscoe is adjusting down in hillbilly land.

 

[selles]

he ran the offense extremely well, got to the lane whenever he wanted, was vocal, played a lot this game, and had the confidence to take a pull-up. He was suspect on defense at times. He seemed to be worried about getting called for a touch foul. He needs to limit his turnovers but he's been playing very well. Need his confidence to continue to grow. If he can continue to get to the lane when he wants, Gibbs and the others need to be ready for the kickouts

He was ok last night. Not bad for a freshman in his first big-time road game. Taylor taught him some lessons on D, hopefully he'll internalize them and improve. It will help us a lot if he's a defensive force by March. He certainly has the potential.

What I really liked though was reading this in Amore's article on the game:

"Purvis also got pep talks from teammates, including freshman Jalen Adams.

"Jalen was just telling me, 'You're the best player on the court, just play like it,'" Purvis said. "Just try to talk me up, and I really needed that. My shots weren't falling in the first half."

The kid is a born leader and for this particular team, that's huge.

 

[Tenspro2002]

KO has too much integrity, in my opinion, to play that game.

Did JC lack integrity when he would work the officials to earn a makeup call?

KO is going to (and probably has) cost us games by his unwillingness to earn us a favorable or even neutral whistle.

 

[dennismenace]

He was ok last night. Not bad for a freshman in his first big-time road game. Taylor taught him some lessons on D, hopefully he'll internalize them and improve. It will help us a lot if he's a defensive force by March. He certainly has the potential.

What I really liked though was reading this in Amore's article on the game:

"Purvis also got pep talks from teammates, including freshman Jalen Adams.

"Jalen was just telling me, 'You're the best player on the court, just play like it,'" Purvis said. "Just try to talk me up, and I really needed that. My shots weren't falling in the first half."

The kid is a born leader and for this particular team, that's huge.

Humility (see things as they really are) on the part of Purvis. Another big reason he is getting better all the time. Adjusting and overcoming. Great leadership by the freshman point guard. Glad to see this post. Makes the future seem a lot brighter when guys are helping one another and working together.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Jalen gets a little bit of the anti-Gibbs treatment on here. I thought he was pretty lousy last night. He had the nice and-1 in the first half and, to his credit, he doesn't stop attacking, but I thought he was far from good on either end. If I was going to make a list of the guys warranting their own positive thread he wouldn't be on it, although some of the guys who have their own negative threads would be. But I was in an airport lounge with the sound turned off so maybe I missed something.

 

[Gurleyman]

Jalen gets a little bit of the anti-Gibbs treatment on here. I thought he was pretty lousy last night. He had the nice and-1 in the first half and, to his credit, he doesn't stop attacking, but I thought he was far from good on either end. If I was going to make a list of the guys warranting their own positive thread he wouldn't be on it, although some of the guys who have their own negative threads would be. But I was in an airport lounge with the sound turned off so maybe I missed something.

I think Jalen gets a bit of a pass because he always seems to be playing hard. Not always smart - he makes freshman mistakes - but he's making mistakes of over aggression.

Gibbs doesn't always give off that same vibe - he's sort of got more in common with Ben Gordon than the jersey number. Even if he's playing hard, he sometimes looks like he's coasting. And I think we had high expectations for a fifth-year lead guard to be more of a take over the game guy. But we are clearly very, very fortunate to have him because you can afford to be judicious with Jalen's minutes and not be forced to play him 35 on a night he's a little out of kilter. In a sixth man role, he's got the chance to just play and not worry so much about game management.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Thought Jalen played well on offense and it definitely appeared to be a goal tend on the block.

However, he certainly has a way to go on offense.

It'll all come with time. Kemba, Shabazz and Boat took time as well.

 

[James]

jalens ability to get into the paint and kick out is really great. i counted 6 dimes to corner shooters in the first half. I love his tight handle and how he operates in the pick n roll, so damn shifty. he does play matador defense at times as a lot of frosh do, hopefully he continues to grow on that end.

 

[djct1999]

Did JC lack integrity when he would work the officials to earn a makeup call?

KO is going to (and probably has) cost us games by his unwillingness to earn us a favorable or even neutral whistle.

he has cost us a game. remember maryland?

 

[HuskyHawk]

he has cost us a game. remember maryland?

The 1st half cost us that game, not the Technical.

As for Jalen, he looks like a very talented kid, and plays like a talented kid. I am thrilled that we have him and I'm very happy we have Gibbs so that Jalen isn't our sole option at PG.