In the future--better to have the mobile 4

[scrappy2.0]

I dont think the game for the most part can have 2 bigs starting at once.
Villanova is one of the smaller teams as is SMU yet they are of the best and baddest varieties.

Playing 4 and 1 is probably best. Breaking the playing time between the bigs we have--even at 12-14 minutes each--where you can full effort for that time is probably best. If one guy is hot--let him get extended minutes. But for the most part for us to score more in the future--we need better spacing and more dribble penetration.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Pre-injuries Durham (with some more muscle) is the prototype for a 4 in college. Let's hope he can get back to that

 

[UConnSwag11]

I dont think the game for the most part can have 2 bigs starting at once.
Villanova is one of the smaller teams as is SMU yet they are of the best and baddest varieties.

Playing 4 and 1 is probably best. Breaking the playing time between the bigs we have--even at 12-14 minutes each--where you can full effort for that time is probably best. If one guy is hot--let him get extended minutes. But for the most part for us to score more in the future--we need better spacing and more dribble penetration.

How Ollie had the team playing with Daniels and Giff at the four with 2 pgs that can make plays and score is how he wants to play. Pretty sure that's how it would've been with Gilbert and larrier healthy.

Side note/question, is the men's game going to get 4 quarters and when? I think when that happens Ollie will have a major advantage over the other coaches. IMO he spent over a decade in the NBA system and now is in the college game. I think 4 quarters will benefit him

 

[huskiesNhoos]

How Ollie had the team playing with Daniels and Giff at the four with 2 pgs that can make plays and score is how he wants to play. Pretty sure that's how it would've been with Gilbert and larrier healthy.

Side note/question, is the men's game going to get 4 quarters and when? I think when that happens Ollie will have a major advantage over the other coaches. IMO he spent over a decade in the NBA system and now is in the college game. I think 4 quarters will benefit him

I think they're going to try 4 quarters in the NIT or something similar. Maybe it was just resetting fouls, but they're at least moving in that direction it would appear

 

[Travelman6]

I dont think the game for the most part can have 2 bigs starting at once.
Villanova is one of the smaller teams as is SMU yet they are of the best and baddest varieties.

Playing 4 and 1 is probably best. Breaking the playing time between the bigs we have--even at 12-14 minutes each--where you can full effort for that time is probably best. If one guy is hot--let him get extended minutes. But for the most part for us to score more in the future--we need better spacing and more dribble penetration.

I do not understand why Uconn can not look towards Europe more. I love the way those kids play the game. They might not have the most raw talent in the world (though they are closing the gap) but they have such a high basketball IQ that they are often capable of keeping games very close against superior talent on BBIQ alone. Just look at what some of these Euro teams did against team USA up until the final game. Go to Europe, go to Australia too, get some of these kids. They know how to set great screens, pick n´ rolls and box out with the best of them. I do not care what anyone says, if you get the right kid, it can really pay off in the long run. Plus these kids, I would be willing to bet (no proof yet) are more prone to being 4 year players since Euro kids tend to see UNI as a place of EDU first (campuses there do not emphasize sports as much and friends I talk to are shocked at how huge sports are on campus in the states). Plus they do not require as much coaching about fundamentals, they just know after years of solid coaching in europe.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Pre-injuries Durham (with some more muscle) is the prototype for a 4 in college. Let's hope he can get back to that

He had a beautiful three coming of a pick and curl vs Cincy. If his knees hold up he will be incredible.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I do not understand why Uconn can not look towards Europe more. I love the way those kids play the game. They might not have the most raw talent in the world (though they are closing the gap) but they have such a high basketball IQ that they are often capable of keeping games very close against superior talent on BBIQ alone. Just look at what some of these Euro teams did against team USA up until the final game. Go to Europe, go to Australia too, get some of these kids. They know how to set great screens, pick n´ rolls and box out with the best of them. I do not care what anyone says, if you get the right kid, it can really pay off in the long run. Plus these kids, I would be willing to bet (no proof yet) are more prone to being 4 year players since Euro kids tend to see UNI as a place of EDU first (campuses there do not emphasize sports as much and friends I talk to are shocked at how huge sports are on campus in the states). Plus they do not require as much coaching about fundamentals, they just know after years of solid coaching in europe.

I think that KO feels like he needs to bring in highly rated recruiting classes and puts way too much emphasize on athletes and ratings than putting together a team. He always says he wants a run and gun team but hasnt recruited anyone who can get a rebound and throw an outlet pass yet.

 

[upstater]

I do not understand why Uconn can not look towards Europe more. I love the way those kids play the game. They might not have the most raw talent in the world (though they are closing the gap) but they have such a high basketball IQ that they are often capable of keeping games very close against superior talent on BBIQ alone. Just look at what some of these Euro teams did against team USA up until the final game. Go to Europe, go to Australia too, get some of these kids. They know how to set great screens, pick n´ rolls and box out with the best of them. I do not care what anyone says, if you get the right kid, it can really pay off in the long run. Plus these kids, I would be willing to bet (no proof yet) are more prone to being 4 year players since Euro kids tend to see UNI as a place of EDU first (campuses there do not emphasize sports as much and friends I talk to are shocked at how huge sports are on campus in the states). Plus they do not require as much coaching about fundamentals, they just know after years of solid coaching in europe.

Most of the European kids sign professional contracts in their mid to late teens, so the talent you see against the national teams is ineligible for the NCAAs.

 

[upstater]

I think that KO feels like he needs to bring in highly rated recruiting classes and puts way too much emphasize on athletes and ratings than putting together a team. He always says he wants a run and gun team but hasnt recruited anyone who can get a rebound and throw an outlet pass yet.

He's been trying. UConn is struggling in recruiting big guys. It's not like he hasn't tried.

 

[SubbaBub]

We need 20 rebounds a game out of the 4 and 5 spots. They don't need to do much else other than guard. If one of them can make a layup or jump hook that would be fabulous.

The interior defense was poor this season. The perimeter D not much better, I don't care what the stats say.

 

[jkfer98]

He's been trying. UConn is struggling in recruiting big guys. It's not like he hasn't tried.

Yep, part of it is just bad luck too... they had 7 foot, four star center Zach Brown locked up before he decided to get arrested a few times and we dropped him.

 

[ctchamps]

Yep, part of it is just bad luck too... they had 7 foot, four star center Zach Brown locked up before he decided to get arrested a few times and we dropped him.

Exactly. If they got Zach and did not have the injuries the last two recruiting classes would have been KO's first opportunity to demonstrate his coaching ability because those two recruiting classes produced a team that was skilled and deep at all positions. Before those two classes recruiting was limited by the APR.
The only exception was the miss on Stone. That wasn't an APR miss but KO was so close it would have been foolish not to go for him. I'm pretty sure the other misses such as Abu, were partly if not mostly the result of the APR.

 

[upstater]

Exactly. If they got Zach and did not have the injuries the last two recruiting classes would have been KO's first opportunity to demonstrate his coaching ability because those two recruiting classes produced a team that was skilled and deep at all positions. Before those two classes recruiting was limited by the APR.
The only exception was the miss on Stone. That wasn't an APR miss but KO was so close it would have been foolish not to go for him. I'm pretty sure the other misses such as Abu, were partly if not mostly the result of the APR.

What about Jesse Govan and Omari Spellman?

 

[ctchamps]

What about Jesse Govan and Omari Spellman?

Not sure we were ever close with those players at least not Diamond Stone close.
Can you imagine if we got Spellman how the buzzards would treat KO for him not being eligible this season?

 

[RichZ]

I dont think the game for the most part can have 2 bigs starting at once.
Villanova is one of the smaller teams as is SMU yet they are of the best and baddest varieties.

Playing 4 and 1 is probably best. Breaking the playing time between the bigs we have--even at 12-14 minutes each--where you can full effort for that time is probably best. If one guy is hot--let him get extended minutes. But for the most part for us to score more in the future--we need better spacing and more dribble penetration.

I give you Mek and Josh with Charlie V at the 3. Or sub Hilton for Josh. Either way, it was a 20' 8" front line.

 

[Travelman6]

I think that KO feels like he needs to bring in highly rated recruiting classes and puts way too much emphasize on athletes and ratings than putting together a team. He always says he wants a run and gun team but hasnt recruited anyone who can get a rebound and throw an outlet pass yet.

He wants a mid 90s Uconn team, the kind that starred Ray Allen where they ran the ball down your throat for 40 minutes. All that with an NBA style twist. That is what it seems like at least. But the game has changed so much since then. Plus none of these kids this year could play at that pace for 20 minutes, never mind the 40 minutes these kids used to play at in the 90s.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I give you Mek and Josh with Charlie V at the 3. Or sub Hilton for Josh. Either way, it was a 20' 8" front line.

Late in his tenure, JC tried to shoehorn in these NBA-sized lineups.

It worked splendidly with NBA draft picks in Rudy at the 3, CV or Hilton at the 4, and Boone at the 5.

It worked decently well (eventually) with Sticks at the 3, Adrien at the 4, and Thabeet at the 5.

It was a disaster with Roscoe at the 3, Oriakhi at the 4, and Drummond at the 5.

The bottom line is, that sort of thing only works with elite talent at all 3 frontcourt positions. Otherwise your offense gets completely bogged down. Of course, even with a guard-oriented lineup lately, our offense has still been generally bad. Some of that is X's and O's coaching and not merely roster construction.

 

[Travelman6]

Most of the European kids sign professional contracts in their mid to late teens, so the talent you see against the national teams is ineligible for the NCAAs.

Good point. I wish Uconn could send someone out to some town in Croatia and get a gem who has not signed. But maybe it is impossible to find that these days, with technology making the world so small.

 

[jibsey]

I think Larrier can be "elite". So that's one.