I'm talking both ends. He's so damn quick that he can go by his man at will. When he's hitting step-back threes like he was in the first half tonight, there's nothing you can do but send help. The floaters he hit in the lane were gorgeous. On the other end he took on the challenge of guarding Pritchard and simply disrupts the hell out of ball-handlers. Watching him guard the ball as if he were a shark honing in on his prey reminds me a lot of Boatright. I think I'm in love.
Otherwise, what a ballsy win. I don't want to get into the habit of sub-tweeting last years team because I don't think that's totally fair, so I'll say it this way: they look like they know how to play, they look like they expect to win, and they look like they'll slit your throat open to do it. Some of the rebounds Vital and Larrier and Anderson were pulling out down the stretch against bigger players is UConn basketball in a nutshell. I said it before and I'll say it again - the players that are still here are here for a reason. They're right for the program and the program is right for them. It's back to watching five Kevin Ollie's out there with the way they guard, just like in '14. The fact that they went Gilbert-Adams-Anderson-Vital-Larrier down the stretch is just so reminiscent of the lineups with Giffey at the five in '14. Just put your five best players on the court and hold on for deer life. That lineup isn't sustainable but will be freaking deadly in spurts.
Adams didn't play his best game tonight, but he still imposes his will on the game at times in ways not many if any other guards in the country can. You can't teach the way he challenges bigs at the rim, leans into their chest and finishes. That's a gift and the next step needs to be letting the jumper fly a little more freely. He doesn't have to be a great shooter, he just needs to take enough of them to plant the idea in the defenders head.
Carlton is damn enticing. Not sure when I've seen a UConn frosh come in and they're actually sending a hard double on post catches. It looks like he knows what to do with the ball in traffic, too. Having that is so valuable for the offense.
I'm not as worried about the three point shooting as others. It's bad right now but I think it's something that can get better. My biggest concern coming into the season was defense and we're answering the ball there. There are times when the offense gets a little, OK a lot stagnant, and I think that can be a product of the freedom Ollie gives his guards with the ball. Moving forward you'd like to be a little quicker to identify those lapses and get into our stuff quicker. He coaches us on offense a little bit like we're an NBA team which works really well when the players are playing well and not so much when they aren't. But don't be fooled into thinking he can't be a wizard with the clipboard when he wants to be - guy draws up some great stuff out of timeouts and in other situations. Also not sure what other coaches have the balls to play Larrier at the five down the stretch. Glad to have him would be an understatement.
As I'm posting this SMU finishes off their upset over #2 Arizona. It looks like they're going to be damn good again this year (lost a nail-biter to Northern Iowa the other day, which isn't a bad loss) - add them to the collection with Wichita and Cincinnati, both top ten teams, and you have some real firepower. Then you have Temple who won their preseason tournament and collected a couple nice victories, a UCF team that is still undefeated, and of course, us, still undefeated and as far as I can tell on pace to be undefeated the rest of the way. What I'm saying is not only do we have a real team on our hands but we could have a real conference on our hands this year gentlemen. UConn basketball is back. I'm fired up. Hartford is the new Times Square. Bring on Michigan State.
