Highlights v. Lafayette

[Storrs South]

 

[awfuldan]

Thanks!

The color commentator's ramblings are pretty pronounced in this. Three straight trips down the floor that he's talking about UCF..

 

[pj]

Looks like Carlton is trying to add some of Cobb's motor, and Polley's gaining confidence in catch and shoot. Great to see.

 

[Storrs South]

Thanks!

The color commentator's ramblings are pretty pronounced in this. Three straight trips down the floor that he's talking about UCF..

I feel like every ESPN telecast they try and have these discussions about college basketball on a national scale and they forget to talk about the game.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Love the heel to toe ratio at 4:18

 

[StepbackCity]

Did I hear them say Memphis was one of the best teams in the AAC. No. Go away. Just quit.

 

[Broski]

All Carlton proved tonight was that his length is sufficient against less talented, smaller teams like Lafayette. He was able to reach over defenders for blocks and rebounds, and never really fought for position on offense but was able to get open shots around the rim due to his height. Against bigger, stronger teams he gets pushed around and watches shots rather than finding the closest opponent to box out. He reminds me of the kid growing up who used to dominate because of his height but once everyone else grew and caught up, his lack of motor and overall softness shined through.

Gilbert, on the other hand, really impressed me tonight. He understands that we have several guys who can fill it up on any given night, and in games where others are hitting shots he can make the most meaningful impact by drawing defenders and kicking it to the open man. 10+ assists is exactly what a coach wants out of their point guard in a game like this.

From a team perspective, one thing I took away from last night's game is our guys can really wear a team down. Hurley has obviously made conditioning a high priority and his fast paced, push the ball ahead style has really been taking a toll on teams down the stretch. A great deal of our threes last night came uncontested because our 5 beat their 5 down the court. This conditioning will also be instrumental for hitting shots when they matter most. Polley, Jalen, and CV consistently got their legs under them and feet set when faced with an open shot, and being able to do that until the final buzzer is key to being able to hit big shots.

 

[Storrs South]

All Carlton proved tonight was that his length is sufficient against less talented, smaller teams like Lafayette. He was able to reach over defenders for blocks and rebounds, and never really fought for position on offense but was able to get open shots around the rim due to his height. Against bigger, stronger teams he gets pushed around and watches shots rather than finding the closest opponent to box out. He reminds me of the kid growing up who used to dominate because of his height but once everyone else grew and caught up, his lack of motor and overall softness shined through.

Gilbert, on the other hand, really impressed me tonight. He understands that we have several guys who can fill it up on any given night, and in games where others are hitting shots he can make the most meaningful impact by drawing defenders and kicking it to the open man. 10+ assists is exactly what a coach wants out of their point guard in a game like this.

From a team perspective, one thing I took away from last night's game is our guys can really wear a team down. Hurley has obviously made conditioning a high priority and his fast paced, push the ball ahead style has really been taking a toll on teams down the stretch. A great deal of our threes last night came uncontested because our 5 beat their 5 down the court. This conditioning will also be instrumental for hitting shots when they matter most. Polley, Jalen, and CV consistently got their legs under them and feet set when faced with an open shot, and being able to do that until the final buzzer is key to being able to hit big shots.

Carlton is going to be tested again on Saturday. Even if he can't muscle up a couple points on offense, he needs to be a factor protecting the rim and guarding the pick and roll or it's going to be a repeat of Zona. Vital can cover him on the rebounding so he just needs to focus on those two areas.

 

[ThabeetDown]

-Love the play where Jalen goes into the center of the zone. All eyeballs go on the ball movement on the perimeter and they leave our best player wide open for a high % shot at the FT line. Even if teams begin to figure this out, Jalen has enough court vision to dish it out to a now wide open shooter. Hope to see more of this, especially vs FSU who I assume will play a lot of zone with their length
-Polley's growth in confidence is HUGE. Just like what the commenter said, that 3 he took at the top of the arc was something he might not have even taken, let alone made, at the start of the year. Really enjoy him scoring at the rim as well -- he's quickly becoming a guy that can consistently score from every area of the floor which not many guys can say
-Even though he wasn't scoring, you can just see how important Gilbert is on offense -- something that was missing tremendously the last 2 seasons. You can't expect Jalen to score and distribute (same with Vital) so having one guy that can take on a pure point guard role as needed is massive. I still expect Gilbert to go back to scoring as needed because we'll need him to take more than 4 shots a game vs good teams
-B Adams/Smith combined for: 40 min, 20 pts, 6-14 FG (1-4 3P), 7-9 FT, 8 REB, 3 AST. You take that every time from your bench guards. If they put those numbers up every game you are beyond happy. Worth noting that B Adams outplayed Smith 23 min to 17
-Obviously much different opponent than Arizona, but only 1 TO for Jalen and 3 for Vital. All you can ask for is improvement game-to-game