I truly believe we can win it all

[Hans Sprungfeld]

He wasn't fine mentally for a large chunk of the conference season. I'm a big believer in the psychology of sports - when we are talking 21 year old kids who play an extra three weeks two seasons in a row, test NBA waters and come back into a media frenzy with tons of hype, I think there can be a certain level of hangover that can hit. The kids been to the apex and back. Here's to hoping the tourneys resurrect the old Alex.

Not my usual Reply toward you:

Have you been a regular watcher of the CT Scoreboard podcast episodes during the present season and the prior two?

They are essentially 1-to-1, split screen interviews between host Jared Kotler (@gwhuskyfan) and Alex.

The conversations are quite down to earth, and provide a modestly rendered portrait of a student-athlete who works hard and cares, and experiences the ups and downs of his own play and that of his team.

They aren't looking to set off sparks, but they do capture a certain tone that I've come to value deeply within the arc of each season. And they project an authenticity that mutes some of the edgier speculation that gets attention within this community and the larger sports media world.

 

[RuffRuff]

Not my usual Reply toward you:

Have you been a regular watcher of the CT Scoreboard podcast episodes during the present season and the prior two?

They are essentially 1-to-1, split screen interviews between host Jared Kotler (@gwhuskyfan) and Alex.

The conversations are quite down to earth, and provide a modestly rendered portrait of a student-athlete who works hard and cares, and experiences the ups and downs of his own play and that of his team.

They aren't looking to set off sparks, but they do capture a certain tone that I've come to value deeply within the arc of each season. And they project an authenticity that mutes some of the edgier speculation that gets attention within this community and the larger sports media world.

I've seen a couple, they're good. It's easy to sit back as a fan and expect this or that when it comes to a student athlete (in Alex's case truly a student), but they have ebbs and flows just like any human would. In Alex's case, you have someone that has experienced what few in the game have in his first two years. There is bound to be some come down, and mid season after one of your better players goes down would sound about right. I think we'll see flashes of the old Alex coming with a second wind of the post season. This is why he came back.

 

[Ripper32]

I can see an athletic SEC team stomping us into the ground. And there are a bunch to pick from.

 

[alexd]

Just eight more games playing like we did the last 12:00 last night and we're good.

 

[Pmac923]

I can see an athletic SEC team stomping us into the ground. And there are a bunch to pick from.

The problem is these teams can’t prepare for our movement on offense regardless of athletes . In the Big East they don’t allow our freedom of movement. The SEC teams go by the wayside in the big dance because of their erratic style of play. They give up a lot of points in the SEC.

 

[c29328]

This time of year is crazy. I can no longer open the UUUUUUUUU post or the haiku posts due to previous losses. I still have to find them to see they are there and then intentionally not open. I need to open any scouting post every time. And haven’t even seen this years Senhor or food yet. I am losing my mind.

 

[Ripper32]

The problem is these teams can’t prepare for our movement on offense regardless of athletes . In the Big East they don’t allow our freedom of movement. The SEC teams go by the wayside in the big dance because of their erratic style of play. They give up a lot of points in the SEC.

Our guards aren't dynamic to push through an athletic, well coached team that can half court trap/aggressively hedge and force our sets to start far away from the basket. Then on top of it, we have some frontcourt depth issues, which are exacerbated by SJ taking bad fouls. SJU showed where are we deficient against a deeper, more athletic lineup

 

[superjohn]

Then on top of it, we have some frontcourt depth issues, which are exacerbated by Samson Johnson taking bad fouls. SJU showed where are we deficient against a deeper, more athletic lineup

We probably have the best center duo in the country.

 

[RuffRuff]

So you're a psychologist who saw Alex? Lol

The speculation on this board makes me laugh sometimes. It's like when there are injuries. Hurley tells us what the doctors told him and then multiple posters on here give their own timelines with no medical information except that their cousin once did the same thing and was out x amount of time.

Um, it was widely discussed - he missed the two free throws against Nova, then went on a 6-47 from three tear. Were you not around for that? I'm not pretending to be his psych, just saying players go through emotional lulls.

 

[Scrutineer]

Starting next Sunday. Every team is 0-0. A new season. We can outscore just about any team in the Tournament. Gotta bring the energy on defense and rebounding and limit our TOs. Brackets and seeding/matchups do matter.

Let's bring it and roll the dice.

As you were typing that, the Committee was poring over all the metrics trying to load our bracket with the teams with the greatest chances to beat us. Must justify the season's hyping of the SEC and B1G don't you know!

 

[Pmac923]

Our guards aren't dynamic to push through an athletic, well coached team that can half court trap/aggressively hedge and force our sets to start far away from the basket. Then on top of it, we have some frontcourt depth issues, which are exacerbated by Samson Johnson taking bad fouls. SJU showed where are we deficient against a deeper, more athletic lineup

We said the same things last year during this tournament. People questioned our athleticism as a unit. Many of the turnovers against St John’s weren’t necessarily forced. How many teams are truly better coached? Sure we have our flaws but we lost those games bc Karaban and McNeeley didn’t make shots. Reed is a game changer off the bench. Bring them on.

 

[Scrutineer]

Karaban is the key. In the pivot, it doesn't matter if it's Tarris or Samson, we just need one to step up, and it's rare one doesn't. We know what Ball and Liam are and we're seeing a slightly better Hass lately, but the wildcard is AK. He shoots poorly and we can lose to anyone. He shoots well and it frees everyone else up. He's the veteran leader of this team and his importance can't be underestimated. Karaban leads the caravan, in my opinion.

I think you're right mainly because there is so little big game (NCAA tournament and even Big East) experience among the other major offensive threats. Sure, HD and SJ have the 12 games in the last two tournaments but the others were little used and we won so convincingly there was little pressure on anyone.

 

[Umami Zen]

As you were typing that, the Committee was poring over all the metrics trying to load our bracket with the teams with the greatest chances to beat us. Must justify the season's hyping of the SEC and B1G don't you know!

Could say a lot of things- I'll leave it at the bigger conference BB teams benefit from their FB teams NIL "boosters" for roster construction budget and the BE refs do not see any disparity or lack of fairness in fouls called on UConn opponents in UConn games when compared to us. Somewhat un-related to your OP but still bothers me. Ain't gonna change any time soon.

Just gotta play the next opponent/try to win- and not sweat the small stuff. LOL

 

[Scrutineer]

Um, it was widely discussed - he missed the two free throws against Nova, then went on a 6-47 from three tear. Were you not around for that? I'm not pretending to be his psych, just saying players go through emotional lulls.

I've said it in a couple other threads, but my take is AK was feeling the effects of the concussion for over two months and has now worked his way through that.

Unless I missed it, there's been no discussions here about how a concussion and its effect on fine motor skills might impact long range shooting mechanics. It would be interesting to hear an educated opinion from a neurologist, neurosurgeon or physiatrist.

When he returned from the concussion he had four up and down games (went 4-8, 1-3, 2-7, 4-6 before the 6-47 run).

He was 4-6 against Georgetown in the game right after missing the FT's at Villanova and then the bottom dropped out. He was shooting 42.1% on three's prior to the concussion.

Why else would a player who was shooting over 42% on three's at the time of his concussion suddenly go 6-47 over the next two months with most of the misses being way off target? His career stats would seem to rule out "emotional lulls".

 

[Ripper32]

We said the same things last year during this tournament. People questioned our athleticism as a unit. Many of the turnovers against St John’s weren’t necessarily forced. How many teams are truly better coached? Sure we have our flaws but we lost those games bc Karaban and McNeeley didn’t make shots. Reed is a game changer off the bench. Bring them on.

We had three highly capable ball handlers last year and all were capable of running the offense. Maybe we have one atm? Maybe mahaney regains his confidence. I think our guards can be choked out with the right scheme and players & it's not Hurleys fault.