I was really hoping that the Niels Giffey era was about to explode

[DogMania]

First off I really like Niels. I had hoped he would take advantage of this opportunity but 22 mins, 0-4, 2 Rbs and 2 TOs is not getting it done. Add Daniels 1-3 and Lambs 8 pts and fouling out, UConn got very little production from the wing.

I was surprised to see no Roscoe till late. It wasn't like the wings and 4s did all that much tonight to keep him on the bench. I was assuming it was because he's still not healthy, but JC put him in late on D. Maybe he can defend, but can't shoot with that bad hand.

Other than throwing it over the top a few times to AD and Lamb for some dunks, there wasn't a lot of positives to take from that game.

 

[champs99and04]

I didn't think Giffey was that bad. He played hard on defense, helped move the ball around a few times, and made a bunch of hustle plays. I still think he's the best option at small forward. He's still a little hesitant, and those two corner threes really would have helped, but there is much more to like than not to like about his game. In fact, I wish everybody played as hard as Giff.

 

[HuskyFan32]

First off I really like Niels. I had hoped he would take advantage of this opportunity but 22 mins, 0-4, 2 Rbs and 2 TOs is not getting it done. Add Daniels 1-3 and Lambs 8 pts and fouling out, UConn got very little production from the wing.

I was surprised to see no Roscoe till late. It wasn't like the wings and 4s did all that much tonight to keep him on the bench. I was assuming it was because he's still not healthy, but JC put him in late on D. Maybe he can defend, but can't shoot with that bad hand.

Other than throwing it over the top a few times to AD and Lamb for some dunks, there wasn't a lot of positives to take from that game.

Agreed. I was starting to think he might be the glue guy/ shooter type who plays hard and defends and rebounds. He obv still can be, but tonight was a tough game. He made a few nice plays (offensive board, block, steal, etc) but he missed two straight WIDE open threes at the end when we were down 5. That sealed our fate. If he wants to play, he has to make those. I dont know what to do at the 3. Daniels and Roscoe have been pretty ineffective so that basically leaves Giff when were not in the 3 guard set. We need to figure out how to get some production from that position. And the 4 as well.

 

[SJ]

Me too.

 

[Dove]

Love Niels and hopes he does become a 10 pt/game guy some day. But right now he is a pass-first-and-pass-it-fast guy. His "wide open" threes were rushed (especially that last one.)

If you're gonna miss two straight treys DO NOT do it right in front of JC.

 

[RuffRuff]

He's an off the bench guy in this roster - the only reason he started was to prove some kind of point from the coaching staff. If you think he's starting in March was a possibility, you were kidding yourself. Neils is a valuable part of this team, but not as a guy who commands major, major minutes. This team is a complete clusterduck at the moment - in the era of Jim Calhoun, not sure I've seen a more talented mess of a bunch. And they are extremely talented - I for one, put more onus on the coaching staff this year, they should have recognized what it takes in the post NC hangover given they've been there before and had an ability to dissect this group. If this path continues, not sure there would be a bigger waste of talent in the JC era. This season has been a complete blowing chunks of a year thus far - not sure we have what I would call one impressive win and a now three fairly gross losses. The first third of the year is likely what I would call an F-. Our Florida St win was lucky and against what looks like a non tourney team. Harvard was nice, but if we can't beat Harvard in Gampel, not sure we deserve any post season berth.

 

[BarkingDog]

I like neils too. But I think UConn is a better team when DD and RS are playing well and getting the majority of the minutes at the 3 spot. I hope we get to that point.

 

[huskyharry]

The missed 3s were killers but at least he hustled, played his man tough at the 3 point line, made a steal, grabbed a couple of ORs and had a nice feed to AD for that monster dunk...
That being said, I agree that he is a good role player not the answer as starting 3 for this team.
I really hope he turns it around but I must say I have been most disappointed with DD. he came in ranked as the number ten overall player by one service, which is just a hair below Kidd-Gilchrist and his play has been nowhere close

 

[zls44]

I really hope he turns it around but I must say I have been most disappointed with DD. he came in ranked as the number ten overall player by one service, which is just a hair below Kidd-Gilchrist and his play has been nowhere close

Not sure where you're getting that idea. Defensively, he has been very good.

 

[Prezidint]

I can see NG getting significant minutes in his 3rd and 4th years.
Last night showed that he is not ready for prime time. Maybe it's nerves. Maybe a made shot or two would set him free. Not sure.

Last night, for example, he had zero defensive boards in 22 minutes. Like the two O boards, but not a single defensive board in half the game from the 3 spot? Napier had 4. Hustle plays are great, but they need to come on top of a basic stat line of pts, boards, etc, and not in place of.

I'd like to see DD and RS get the lion's share of the minutes at 3, with DD getting the most. RS has hit his ceiling, and he's pushing it up very slowly, if at all. DD clearly has a long way to go to reach his ceiling. Not sure if 2 months can make a huge difference in his game, but look at Lamb last year.

Fact is, RS now is the RS you're going to get in March.
The NG you see now may or may not be the guy you see in March, but my bet would be on "no major breakout."

DD, on the other hand, clearly has the will, the work ethic, the talent, and the desire to improve. He COULD be substantially better in March. He COULD have a Lamb-esque break out. Not that major, but there.

I'd therefore go with DD 20-25, RS 15, and NG 5ish.

 

[mauconnfan]

I didn't think Giffey was that bad. He played hard on defense, helped move the ball around a few times, and made a bunch of hustle plays. I still think he's the best option at small forward. He's still a little hesitant, and those two corner threes really would have helped, but there is much more to like than not to like about his game. In fact, I wish everybody played as hard as Giff.

Agreed he made a couple really nice back-to-back defensive plays along with being active on the boards even when not getting rebounds. Let's be honest you're only as good as how many shots you make on the other end.......he missed a couple wide open looks.............if he makes them everyone says he played pretty well. But like everyone else he missed his shots.

 

[selles]

Last night, for example, he had zero defensive boards in 22 minutes. Like the two O boards, but not a single defensive board in half the game from the 3 spot? Napier had 4. Hustle plays are great, but they need to come on top of a basic stat line of pts, boards, etc, and not in place of.

Well, we won the boards by 10 and they only had 8 offensive rebounds. That's about the only aspect of our game that wasn't a problem. Giffey's zero defensive boards wasn't a noticeable issue to me watching the game.

Giffey's game is about possessions. A tip here, a deflection to a teammate there, a hedge or fake hedge on defense leading to a turnover. More possessions for us = more chances to score = value. Not all of that value will be reflected in box score stats. As always, Giffey had several of those value plays last night.

What he failed at though - and what he absolutely, absolutely needs to be able to do - is hitting open jumpers. He's not going to create much offense on his own, but if he can be automatic on the open shot then he'll be an excellent complement to Napier/Lamb/Boatright. If he can't, then he causes the same issue we have playing Roscoe at the three - other teams don't have to worry about him and it's hard to run a fluid O.

 

[willie99]

missed some wide open shots, needs to stick them

hustle is just not enough

 

[DogMania]

Some excellent replies here. I didn't mean to make it sound like he didn't do some good things yesterday. He mostly made the right decisions, but simply didn't convert on some important shots. His shot selection was good, on line, but unfortunately short on all of them.

I'm in no way implying that JC shouldn't give him another shot at starting. I was just implying that I had hoped to see him make his mark during his first start this season, but he struggled to take full advantage of it. That's pretty much what my point was. It was not to imply it was a mistake to start him. I think he, RS and NG all bring different things to the table for the wing spot and hope that all an learn to contribute more than they have when called upon.

 

[Kitaman]

He needs a lot more court time. Hopefully Calhoun will accommodate him.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Well, I'm glad that he will get another start. I really don't get why JC goes off on Niels the way he does. Yes, he missed 2 shots. I hope that he gets enough of a run that he can relax enough to show us what he can do. I think that he can do a lot more off the bounce and think that he could be really good flashing to the foul line against zone D's.

 

[UConn3432]

He's got great instincts and plays solid D. Defenses usually help off of him freeing him up for open looks, he's just got to knock them down. I hope they work the ball inside to the bigs early tonight to free up some open 3's for the wings.

 

[Waquoit]

Right now, on this team, the 3 has to make that open corner jumper. To me, it was pretty clear that they were told to shoot it. The open looks are there all day. Let's make a couple!

 

[DogMania]

Right now, on this team, the 3 has to make that open corner jumper. To me, it was pretty clear that they were told to shoot it. The open looks are there all day. Let's make a couple!

I have to agree with this. If our wing can hit an early 3 or two and one of our bigs can knock down some early elbow Js, things should open up for Bazz, Boat and Lamb. It's when defenses don't have to worry too much about the 3s, 4s & 5s scoring they seem to over-commit to stop our dribble penetration with little consequence of doing so.

Somehow this team needs to make teams pay for doubling hard on our guards. That's not been the case the past couple games.

 

[3rdbass]

I think we live and die with DD at the 3. He as another poster already mentioned has the most upside. It just seems he is not there mentally yet and might just need more confidence with more offense running his way. I think his upside is huge if he develops as he does have some handle, a nice jump shot and pretty good on defense. Now for NG I think he should be the backup 3 when they need defense and also can spell JL at the 2 when they need a bigger player to gaurd the opposition. I think RS is really just a 4 and needs to stay there. I really think he should be splitting time with TO there and AO should just be a backup for AD at the 5.

 

[Waquoit]

I think we live and die with DD at the 3.

I think that what JC is hoping for as well. It seems that JC is giving the guys 2 cracks per shift at hitting that jumper, 2 misses and it's the next guy's turn.

 

[freescooter]

Really, dogmania? You expected GIFFEY to EXPLODE? this guy is almost the definition of a role player. He might occassionally go off for 10 ponts, but mostly he comes in and plays hard for a few minutes, get a rebound here, make a defensive play there, you'd like him to score a little, but you aren't going to rely on him for that. then goes back to the bench and do the same thing again when he's called upon.

 

[DogMania]

Really, dogmania? You expected GIFFEY to EXPLODE? this guy is almost the definition of a role player. He might occassionally go off for 10 ponts, but mostly he comes in and plays hard for a few minutes, get a rebound here, make a defensive play there, you'd like him to score a little, but you aren't going to rely on him for that. then goes back to the bench and do the same thing again when he's called upon.

Who said anything about "explode"? I don't recall using that word, but nevertheless, all I was hoping for was exactly what I said, that Niels would take advantage of the start and put up solid numbers and do what is expected of him. What do I mean by solid numbers, I don't know. Let's say around 20 minutes, 8 to 10 points, 2 to 3 assists, a couple steals, 1 or no TOs, 4 to 5 rebounds, solid defense, hustle plays like diving on the floor for loose balls which many of his teammates seem to be reluctant to do. Compare that type of line with what they're getting from Scoe and Daniels, and I think most of us would be happy with those numbers. That doesn't sound like "Exploding" to me.

What is it you have to take what someone posts and "EXPLODE" it into something that was not intended?

 

[Gurleyman]

I was going to point out the thread title to you, but then I remembered that you use so many words, that it is probably not possible for you to keep track of them all.