Improvement

[HuskiesAllDay]

I gotta ask. What does this team do any better than we did at the beginning of the year.? Or last year even?

Kevin Ollie is a god around here. And rightfully so. I love him. He's a great face of the program and looks like a great recruiter. But I'm wondering about his coaching. Granted he's very limited with players and size but we have shown zero improvement in any area.

Boat, Calhoun, and Daniels are all worse than at the beginning of the year. In fact they're all worse than they were to start last year. Facey and Samuel don't even play so who knows. Nolan is barely better if at all . Olander is worse. Our rebounding, shooting and general offense has not improved at all. Isn't it on the coach to improve some of these things? We get out hustled every game. We always start out slow. These things are on him.

We never change the gameplan. He never switches up the lineups. And nobody shows any improvement. At some point he needs to do something.
I know I will get killed for this post but think about it objectively.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

The only reason our record is any better is because of our new conference. If it wasn't for shabazz we would have close to 15 losses. Zero improvement and it's very concerning

 

[boog204]

I agree to an extent, except, I don't think we are overly talented. Bazz is on another level. Boat is very athletic but is actually pretty limited overall due to his size and his iffy PG skills. Giffey and Kromah have peaked and are what they are. DD is painfully soft and our bigs are just not very good. I think KO has done a great job this year b/c I really don't think we are all that talented collectively.

If I can fault KO for anything it's that he seems to have trouble making adjustments. Against the heavyweight coaches (Pitino and Brown), he has looked very inexperienced and unable to make a meaningful change to affect play. Pitino came out in a matchup zone with automatic switches. Pitino knows that we have zero post game and only a couple of guys who can create so it's a stifling gameplan. Still, we ran the same pick and rolls and hand offs all game which result in zero offensive advantage. Saying KO is not on Pitino and Brown's level is a no brainer, but he has gotten schooled 4 times by these guys and each game was a near carbon copy of the previous one.

 

[ScottBonz]

We were unconscious from 3 early on but we can't hit one now. Its not even in and out. We are missing by a a lot.

 

[upstater]

One game. You're questioning Ollie's coaching based on one game. Should never be done.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

I agree to an extent, except, I don't think we are overly talented. Bazz is on another level. Boat is very athletic but is actually pretty limited overall due to his size and his iffy PG skills. Giffey and Kromah have peaked and are what they are. DD is painfully soft and our bigs are just not very good. I think KO has done a great job this year b/c I really don't think we are all that talented collectively.

If I can fault KO for anything it's that he seems to have trouble making adjustments. Against the heavyweight coaches (Pitino and Brown), he has looked very inexperienced and unable to make a meaningful change to affect play. Pitino came out in a matchup zone with automatic switches. Pitino knows that we have zero post game and only a couple of guys who can create so it's a stifling gameplan. Still, we ran the same pick and rolls and hand offs all game which result in zero offensive advantage. Saying KO is not on Pitino and Brown's level is a no brainer, but he has gotten schooled 4 times by these guys and each game was a near carbon copy of the previous one.

I agree on boat. But it's on the coach to either sit him when he continuously makes the same mistakes. Or coach him up and teach him how to play. There's no doubt he has talent. But he's out of control
Agree 100% on the adjustments. We don't make any and if it's not working we just get smoked.

We are limited in size and depth. And 24-7 is a good record. Although a lot of that is on shabazz being great and the terrible bottom of the AAC.

But in KOs first game we beat Michigan st and 60 or so games later we just lost to l ville by a thousand. Collectively as a team and individually we have shows little to no improvement. And the effort hasn't gotten any better either. At some point, some of this falls on coach

 

[Yonick]

I have been following UConn for a long, long time. I cannot ever remember playing a worse mismatch than the one Louisville enjoys over us. I also do not remember playing a team that wanted the game more than this Louisville team did over us.
We can go in two different directions. Either fold our tents, or decide to get off our duffs and play.
Omar & Daniels disapeared as the season progressed. Facey really didn't improve much. Giffey was misused more as the season moved on. Boat seemed to become a disruptive player, rather than a productive player.
These are traits I've never seen from a UConn team before.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

One game. You're questioning Ollie's coaching based on one game. Should never be done.

Your reading comprehension is as good as our rebounding and offense. Right because i referenced just this game and not the entire season or two for 6 or 7 players. It was just today

We have shown no improvement as a team or individually since the beginning of the year. And even last year for the most part. That's close to 60 gryames. Not one

 

[UConnDad]

Your reading comprehension is as good as our rebounding and offense. Right because i referenced just this game and not the entire season or two for 6 or 7 players. It was just today

We have shown no improvement as a team or individually since the beginning of the year. And even last year for the most part. That's close to 60 gryames. Not one

Our record seems to not support your premise. I will respectfully disagree. We are in the tourney with a chance to do some damage. We have played badly in a few games. But we must have played fairly well in others. If you've seen no improvement I think you haven't been paying attention. Louisville is better than us but that does not mean we have stagnated and are not better than most.

 

[Palatine]

One game. You're questioning Ollie's coaching based on one game. Should never be done.

That will be done based on the first game of the NCAA. And it is all that counts.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

I have been following UConn for a long, long time. I cannot ever remember playing a worse mismatch than the one Louisville enjoys over us. I also do not remember playing a team that wanted the game more than this Louisville team did over us.
We can go in two different directions. Either fold our tents, or decide to get off our duffs and play.
Omar & Daniels disapeared as the season progressed. Facey really didn't improve much. Giffey was misused more as the season moved on. Boat seemed to become a disruptive player, rather than a productive player.
These are traits I've never seen from a UConn team before.

Excellent and objective analysis. I agree 100%. Very sad and disappointing

 

[OkaForPrez]

Your reading comprehension is as good as our rebounding and offense. Right because i referenced just this game and not the entire season or two for 6 or 7 players. It was just today

We have shown no improvement as a team or individually since the beginning of the year. And even last year for the most part. That's close to 60 gryames. Not one

Brimah isn't developing? Bazz hasn't developed over the last 2 years? Giffey hasn't developed?

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Brimah isn't developing? Bazz hasn't developed over the last 2 years? Giffey hasn't developed?

Brimah can't stay on the court so what good is it. His stats haven't improved. Giffey has gotten considerably worse since the start of the year. He's shooting something like 30 percent from 3 since conference play started. And bazz is incredible. I said besides him. Of course he is amazing. If it wasn't for him we would have 15 losses

So one guy is incredible. One is better but can't stay on the court. One got better but has regressed considerably since. And four or five are much worse. And as a whole the team isn't any better. Is that good????

 

[upstater]

Your reading comprehension is as good as our rebounding and offense. Right because i referenced just this game and not the entire season or two for 6 or 7 players. It was just today

We have shown no improvement as a team or individually since the beginning of the year. And even last year for the most part. That's close to 60 gryames. Not one

I saw a lot of improvement.

Not a matter of reading comprehension. Where were you in the last couple weeks when UConn went 7-1? 7-1 is much better than the 4-7 record that they closed out the 2011 regular season with. What did you write after the last game that year?

You chose to make this post about Ollie on the day they got blown out. Naturally I thought it was related to today's game.

 

[upstater]

That will be done based on the first game of the NCAA. And it is all that counts.

Calhoun? Ever have a one and done?

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

I saw a lot of improvement.

Ok so go on...

Who is better? And how? In what ways are we a better/ more balanced/ versatile team? Care to elaborate at all, or are your writing skills as bad as your reading comprehension abilities?

 

[upstater]

Ok so go on...

Who is better? And how? In what ways are we a better/ more balanced/ versatile team? Care to elaborate at all, or are your writing skills as bad as your reading comprehension abilities?

You provided absolutely no details about the lack of improvement in the first post, just made some general statements so no one even knows what you're referring to. Go into detail next time, some substance, and then maybe I can figure out where you saw no improvement.

1. Boat has shown steady improvement all year, much more comfortable running the offense than he ever was, rarely drives out of control like he did quite often last year. When is the last charge call you saw on Boat? Had multiple charges last year.

2. Daniels was coming on right at the point he was out of games with the high ankle sprain. Too bad for him, he didn't improve, with the notable exception of 3 point shooting. He was 10x better as a 3 pt. shooter this year.

3. Our rebounding imrpoved. This is an absolute fact.

4. Our shooting improved, %s are much higher. That being said, the last week or sp has had ugly shooting with a lot of missed bunnies and 3s. I would put it like this: shooting has improved a lot this year, this team is one of the best outside shooting teams in the nation, but they've gone cold the last week.

5. The offfense hasdefinitely improved from where it was early in the year when Bazz and Boat were pounding the ball. Much more movement, more open 3s, more cuts and screens for payups (albeit they are missing them). They are doing a lot less one-on-one driving as opposed to early in the year.

6. "We get out hustled every game.: No. Some games. not every. Were they outhustled against Cincy last week?

You must be blind.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Ok so go on...

Who is better? And how? In what ways are we a better/ more balanced/ versatile team? Care to elaborate at all, or are your writing skills as bad as your reading comprehension abilities?

Man, you're an a s s. This ___ is tough to read on a day when they get destroyed. You want to say that not a single aspect of any player's game nor the team as a whole has improved over the course of 60 games, fine. Knock yourself out. But just because you make some butthurt pronouncement after they get whupped doesn't somehow make it a fact. I don't know why anyone would even try to have a rational discussion with someone who only wants to hear the conclusions he's already made in his head.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Man, you're an a s s. This ___ is tough to read on a day when they get destroyed. You want to say that not a single aspect of any player's game nor the team as a whole has improved over the course of 60 games, fine. Knock yourself out. But just because you make some butthurt pronouncement after they get whupped doesn't somehow make it a fact. I don't know why anyone would even try to have a rational discussion with someone who only wants to hear the conclusions he's already made in his head.

Calhoun boat and Daniels were supposed to be the core of the team besides bazz and each of them is considerably worse than at the start of the year. And last year for that matter. Is it my job to lie and say they're better. Or is it on the coach to make them better not worse? I don't see how questioning this is out of bounds. That's two juniors and a sophomore. All top recruits. All way worse than last year. Yeah great sign

 

[UConnDad]

I'm not feeling your user name right now HuskiesAllDay. Ur lucky i can only post in my position. I have a few substitute monikers for U

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

You provided absolutely no details about the lack of improvement in the first post, just made some general statements so no one even knows what you're referring to. Go into detail next time, some substance, and then maybe I can figure out where you saw no improvement.

1. Boat has shown steady improvement all year, much more comfortable running the offense than he ever was, rarely drives out of control like he did quite often last year. When is the last charge call you saw on Boat? Had multiple charges last year.

2. Daniels was coming on right at the point he was out of games with the high ankle sprain. Too bad for him, he didn't improve, with the notable exception of 3 point shooting. He was 10x better as a 3 pt. shooter this year.

3. Our rebounding imrpoved. This is an absolute fact.

4. Our shooting improved, %s are much higher. That being said, the last week or sp has had ugly shooting with a lot of missed bunnies and 3s. I would put it like this: shooting has improved a lot this year, this team is one of the best outside shooting teams in the nation, but they've gone cold the last week.

5. The offfense hasdefinitely improved from where it was early in the year when Bazz and Boat were pounding the ball. Much more movement, more open 3s, more cuts and screens for payups (albeit they are missing them). They are doing a lot less one-on-one driving as opposed to early in the year.

6. "We get out hustled every game.: No. Some games. not every. Were they outhustled against Cincy last week?

You must be blind.

Boat literally shoots 3-12 every game. And if he has gotten so much better running the offense, the why is our offense so abysmal these days?

I guess he has gotten better as a true point guard. I'll give
You that. But overall he's a lot worse than last year when at least he was scoring 15,16 points a game. He shoots some variety of 2-4 for 9-14 every game.

I can't agree that our offense has improved. It is so stagnant and non existent now. At least at the start of the year we were masking threes. We can't hit a shot now.

Our rebounding is still awful. Tough to blame that on coach due to lack of size but our effort is nowhere near where it needs to be boxing out.

So to my initial post , I would say that as a team we are no better than last year. And this is with everyone a year older and a major upgrade in kromah over Evans. We're also an old team by today's standards with many upperclassman. Our record is only better due to the conference. Put us in last years big east and we have 11 losses easily So no we haven't shown much improvement

 

[upstater]

Boat literally shoots 3-12 every game. And if he has gotten so much better running the offense, the why is our offense so abysmal these days?

I guess he has gotten better as a true point guard. I'll give
You that. But overall he's a lot worse than last year when at least he was scoring 15,16 points a game. He shoots some variety of 2-4 for 9-14 every game.

I can't agree that our offense has improved. It is so stagnant and non existent now. At least at the start of the year we were masking threes. We can't hit a shot now.

Our rebounding is still awful. Tough to blame that on coach due to lack of size but our effort is nowhere near where it needs to be boxing out.

So to my initial post , I would say that as a team we are no better than last year. And this is with everyone a year older and a major upgrade in kromah over Evans. We're also an old team by today's standards with many upperclassman. Our record is only better due to the conference. Put us in last years big east and we have 11 losses easily So no we haven't shown much improvement

Look at the stats. This team early on couldn't rebound over a middle school team. They are much better rebounders than they used to be.