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Message: [QUOTE="Kemba Time, post: 5178629, member: 2962"] You wanted some technical analytics, so here goes: UConn’s offense was No. 2 in KenPom efficiency when Liam got hurt, and has dropped to No. 10 (for the entire season) since. Torvik offensive rating was No. 3 with Liam and is No. 24 since. For a team that needs a truly elite offense to overcome some clear defensive shortcomings, with or without Liam, it’s the difference between being able to score its way deep into the second weekend (or beyond) and being in danger of losing as early as Round 1 come March. Practically, it’s also the difference between being unbeaten in Big East play and having 3 close losses by January 25. It’s not about Liam being the messiah or even an All-American level player, it’s about the cumulative impact of his role. I liken it to a baseball team losing an impact shortstop and replacing him with its second baseman than having to move an outfielder to second and a bench player to that outfield role. You become weaker in a handful of ways beyond just the loss of that one player. Here is how that plays out for UConn without Liam: + On a team short on ball-in-hand creators, Liam was being put in an increased go-to role there leading up the injury — check his assist totals in the games right before he got hurt. Essentially, Hurley was running a horns play to get Liam the ball in downhill space anytime a bucket was needed. (Think Ben Gordon or Jeremy Lamb coming off a screen at the wing in the Calhoun days). Liam then had the option of a jumper, drive to the hoop or kick to an open man in any key spot that Ross or Stew aren’t capable of replicating. That has led to Hass being “stuck” with the ball in his hands more times than anyone would have wanted in those need-a-bucket late-game spots. + To fill that gap, Karaban has had to step into more of a ball-creating wing role than his screen-and-pop/spot-up game warrants. Instead of being the screener, top-of-the-key 4 or open shooter benefiting from Liam’s ability to draw in that situation, he has had to get the ball and attempt to go downhill — creating the parade of floaters/jab step-and-go approach that we saw late in the Nova and Creighton games. + Similarly, without a true creator that defenses have to honor by helping down when he is attacking downhill, teams have been able to stick to Solo on the perimeter, making him have to work incredibly hard for shots or go through prolonged periods without while being face-guarded since defenses can just key on him without paying. Liam’s return single-handedly fixes all those holes without him doing more than we have already seen from him. That doesn’t make this team a shoe-in for a deep run, but it instantly creates a ceiling that is lacking right now. He is that important to what this team is trying to accomplish offensively and overpowering opponents with offensive efficiency is essential for this team to succeed. [/QUOTE]

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