Highlights v. Saint Michael's | The Boneyard

Highlights v. Saint Michael's

UConn is a ten-man team that is still vulnerable to injury, but the good news is that there is no dead wood among the ten. Looks like they will all see action and contribute. And Adams might well be the backup PG that saves the day should AG go down for a time. Very encouraging.
 
Takeaways

1. All due caveats - this was a bad D2 team they played

With #1 out of the way

Positives

1. CV has really scaled back the infamous adventurous dribbling escapades that plagued him in the past. He played in control, made the passes that were there to be made, didn't over-penetrate. He may have finally found it.

2. CV and AG will be good, which we all know.

3. Polley - just looks so smooth out there. He makes really good decisions with the ball, and he is such an efficient scorer we absolutely must find 12-15 shots for him per game. His defense was good. He still is a complete no-show on the glass, however. Gets bounced around too easily and displaced, doesn't have great quickness or strength to go get the ball in a crowd.

4. Whaley/Adams - Again, this was a D2 team, but the things these guys showed that were most important were intantibles - they both played tough, hardnosed defense that will translate at any level, and they played with SWAGGER. I think of both of them as interns at the CV school of defense, toughness, and swagger. If we can get that out of them all year, we are going to be flat out good cuz these guys are our core bench players.

5. Akok - Revelation. He is what we all heard he was. He can shoot, he plays smart, he can board a bit, and he will be a factor on both sides of the floor. What a great missing piece. Feels like we haven't had a guy like this in a decade.

6. Team Defense - Now that we have 2-3 shotblockers back there, Hurley's pressure man scheme looks goooooooooooooood. The outside players cause havoc, and funnel drives to the big guys to swat it away. Looked a lot like UConn of 2002-2009. What a pleasure and asset it is to have personnel that fits your style finally. With Josh, Whaley, Akok, and Wilson patrolling back there we should see some pretty spectacular rim protection this year.

Negatives

1. Gaffney was not good. If we are going to be good this year, we need additional ballhandlers to spell AG. Maybe Bouk can own some of that, and CV/Adams were serviceable today tho not ideal. But Gaffney has to be able to play a solid 15 minutes per game. I don't know how much was the ankle(he didn't look right out there physically) and how much was first game freshman jitters, but he was very tentative, he was stripped of the ball a couple times, and he was pushed around on defense quite a bit and exposed. He needs to heal up and just try to hang out with CV, Adams, and Whaley and hopefully that confidence and swagger rubs off on him.

2. Bouknight didn't play - his status remains up in the air and every game he misses are opportunities for him to get his feet wet and get used to playing on the big stage before the rough part of the schedule comes around. Hopefully the pre-trail diversion is accepted and he can put that mess behind him.

3. Half Court Offense - YEEEEEEEEEEESH. I'll just leave it there.
 
Alterique is staying much more square through his shot. He'll shoot a higher percentage this year if he continues that. Vital may have seniority, but Alterique is the leader of this team.

Adams played tentative and unsure last year. He looked much more confident last night, and it was reflected in his play. Hopefully he keeps the same mentality for the next 3 years.

I'm impressed by Akok. He showed flashes last night, and I think he's going to be a special player really soon. Our next lottery pick.

Whaley's improvement both physically and in his game are the biggest takeaways from last night. Player development is important, especially when you need to turn lower-ranked bigs into contributing players during a rebuild. If Whaley contributes this year, the staff will have back-to-back years where big men have taken significant steps forward, which would be a huge benefit to the team and major recruiting advantage.

Pumped for the next game and for Bouknight to eventually get on the floor.
 
The half court offense was vanilla on purpose. That is the purpose of a secret scrimamge, you can run through several sets and concepts with no tape getting out. I think they ran maybe 4 sets all night, which I am completely fine with. I also appreciate Hurley not pressing and making the team execute in half court defense.

Bouknight will really take the pressure off in the half court. Hopefully he returns soon.
 
kansashusky said:
The half court offense was vanilla on purpose. That is the purpose of a secret scrimamge, you can run through several sets and concepts with no tape getting out. I think they ran maybe 4 sets all night, which I am completely fine with. I also appreciate Hurley not pressing and making the team execute in half court defense.

Bouknight will really take the pressure off in the half court. Hopefully he returns soon.
Expand ...
I agree with us not wanting to tip our hand, but I don’t think the half court will be friendly to us. However, if we can turn opponents over like we did last night and get some free points, it would take a lot of pressure off of the offense in that setting.

This is the first year since 2015-16 that I can see our defense giving our offense some lift. But with our shallow depth, Gilbert and the frontcourt need to stay healthy.
 
UConnStats said:
I agree with us not wanting to tip our hand, but I don’t think the half court will be friendly to us. However, if we can turn opponents over like we did last night and get some free points, it would take a lot of pressure off of the offense in that setting.

This is the first year since 2015-16 that I can see our defense giving our offense some lift. But with our shallow depth, Gilbert and the frontcourt need to stay healthy.
Expand ...
I agree. Our path to victory this year is to turn teams over, block shots, and get out in transition.

Two guys who really can help in the half court this year are Carlton and Bouknight. We didn't see it last night, but Hurley really wants the guards to throw the ball into the post to Carlton once every 3-4 possessions. Against the Sacred Hearts of the world I would expect even more. He is going to be tough for teams to handle.

Bouknight is a guy who can get his own shot. As he learns to play in the offense, that will be very helpful.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last open scrimmage we have during Hurley's tenure. He likes the closed scrimmages against D1 opponents, and he was very obviously holding back in terms of half court sets. He made comments after the game saying "Thank god that is over".
 
bmayuc said:
Takeaways

1. All due caveats - this was a bad D2 team they played

With #1 out of the way

Positives

1. CV has really scaled back the infamous adventurous dribbling escapades that plagued him in the past. He played in control, made the passes that were there to be made, didn't over-penetrate. He may have finally found it.

2. CV and AG will be good, which we all know.

3. Polley - just looks so smooth out there. He makes really good decisions with the ball, and he is such an efficient scorer we absolutely must find 12-15 shots for him per game. His defense was good. He still is a complete no-show on the glass, however. Gets bounced around too easily and displaced, doesn't have great quickness or strength to go get the ball in a crowd.

4. Whaley/Adams - Again, this was a D2 team, but the things these guys showed that were most important were intantibles - they both played tough, hardnosed defense that will translate at any level, and they played with SWAGGER. I think of both of them as interns at the CV school of defense, toughness, and swagger. If we can get that out of them all year, we are going to be flat out good cuz these guys are our core bench players.

5. Akok - Revelation. He is what we all heard he was. He can shoot, he plays smart, he can board a bit, and he will be a factor on both sides of the floor. What a great missing piece. Feels like we haven't had a guy like this in a decade.

6. Team Defense - Now that we have 2-3 shotblockers back there, Hurley's pressure man scheme looks goooooooooooooood. The outside players cause havoc, and funnel drives to the big guys to swat it away. Looked a lot like UConn of 2002-2009. What a pleasure and asset it is to have personnel that fits your style finally. With Josh, Whaley, Akok, and Wilson patrolling back there we should see some pretty spectacular rim protection this year.

Negatives

1. Gaffney was not good. If we are going to be good this year, we need additional ballhandlers to spell AG. Maybe Bouk can own some of that, and CV/Adams were serviceable today tho not ideal. But Gaffney has to be able to play a solid 15 minutes per game. I don't know how much was the ankle(he didn't look right out there physically) and how much was first game freshman jitters, but he was very tentative, he was stripped of the ball a couple times, and he was pushed around on defense quite a bit and exposed. He needs to heal up and just try to hang out with CV, Adams, and Whaley and hopefully that confidence and swagger rubs off on him.
Expand ...


Couple of quick counters.
  • I liked how CV played within himself. Hopefully doesn't try to do too much as the competition rises.
  • Akok looked good in certain situations. He moved better than I thought he would. That said, he looks extremely vulnerable to screens. He doesn't have the strength to go through them. And his footwork/speed was far too slow to go around them. He will be able to recover with a block at times, but I expect him to give up a fair amount of threes.
  • Polley still can't go to the hoop. He had a decent penetrating move on the baseline, but he still throws up absolute bricks (he was fouled but still). And rebounding is a huge problem as we all know.
  • I'm def wait and see on Whaley and Adams. This level opponent doesn't tell you much about 'real' post play. And Adams looks slow (obv big). I want to seem him against the quicker stronger guards he'll face...will he keep that composure? hopefully he'll be able to carve out a solid 8 min a game idk.
  • Willing to give Gaffney a pass. Been in a boot for almost 2 weeks. Hadn't scrimmaged. Freshman PG almost always struggle.
  • Bouk's f up is going to really hurt the team for the first half of the year.
 
I’m worried about depth especially. Gaffey was unimpressive to be kind. I just focused on Akok a few times and he was getting pushed around by the St Mikes guy. He looks like he has some talent but he is not there yet by any means. He will be interesting to watch over the next couple of seasons. Wilson I’m afraid is what he is. A high major athlete who doesn’t know the game. Basically I think the guys who carried the team last year will have to do so this year. None of the newcomers made me say WOW! This guy is a can’t miss. OTOH I thought Polley looked very smooth. If he had Wilson’s athleticism or Wilson had his skill set we’d be saying Ray Who?
 
For those who believe Polley doesn't get enough boards, watch those highlight clips. For whatever reason you'll see Vital crashing the defensive boards and Polley heads towards half court to be a wing for a fast break. I still think he should be around for rebounds by mistake but it's pretty clear having Polley near the basket when the ball is shot isn't Hurley's goal.
 
freescooter said:
I’m worried about depth especially. Gaffey was unimpressive to be kind. I just focused on Akok a few times and he was getting pushed around by the St Mikes guy. He looks like he has some talent but he is not there yet by any means. He will be interesting to watch over the next couple of seasons. Wilson I’m afraid is what he is. A high major athlete who doesn’t know the game. Basically I think the guys who carried the team last year will have to do so this year. None of the newcomers made me say WOW! This guy is a can’t miss. OTOH I thought Polley looked very smooth. If he had Wilson’s athleticism or Wilson had his skill set we’d be saying Ray Who?
Expand ...
This is not good if true. Akok is a shot blocker but a rail. The Wilson you describe is last year’s Wilson. If we’re going to be carried by Adams and Whaley whoa. But if Bouknight is a stud we’ll be OK I think.
 
I don't see anyone talking about Sid. Granted these are just highlights so we don't see his bad stuff, but his good stuff looks really good. Looks smooth and precise out there.
 

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