It's going to get fricken ugly on this forum tonight!

[DogMania]

I think I'd rather bang a nail into my head than read this board tonight. If it's anything like the chat it's going to be filled with a bunch of player-team-coaching bashers.

With that said, it was a mess of a game. Here's my assessment:

I rarely blame the refs, but they allowed SHU to bump and reach-in causing many of our TOs. Now I'm not crediting the loss to the refs. They helped, that's for sure. But credit SHU for really taking it to UConn.

Many are going to say this is a bad loss. SHU is a very good team. I would not be shocked if they finish in the top 5 to 6 of the BE this season. They are surprisingly good and this is not a fluke. They really shot the ball well during on stretch in the 2nd half. They play excellent pressure D, especially when the officials allow them to bump and reach in. Reminded me of some of the Pitt games where we had no chance on winning when the refs call it like they did. Give SHU credit for taking what what the refs gave them.

Lack of responding to adversity! They just didn't make adjustments and handle the adversity. Why the h*ll Blaney didn't try to get T'd up in the first half when SH was hacking away is beyond me. He waited like 20 minutes too long to get T'd.

Rebound *ing ball! I've complained all season long that our bigs don't box out. I blame the staff to some degree for not making them accountable to doing the little things. Watch a player like Giffey. He boxes out on every rebound. Watch AD and AO. They simply turn around and watch the ball. Get a fricken body on someone, PLEASE. Maybe watching tape of this game will light a fire under our bigs.

Poor game adjustments - Seems the coaching staff was lost as to making an adjustments to what the Pirates were doing. JC must have been beside himself watching that game.

Bazz simply had a real bad game. I think he's really hurting. Didn't handle or shoot the ball well at all tonight. Blaney had him play off the ball for much of the game and I think it had to do with his bad wrist/hand or whatever his problem is. Whatever the reason was he simply had a bad game. It happens. Boy did he turn it over at an alarming rate at one point.

Boatright is a freshman. He's been very good but SHU's pressure even caused him problems. Credit the Pirates for playing really well on D. Ryan struggled to pick up the slack. It wasn't that he was bad, just wasn't special to make up for bad play by many of his teammates.

Alex - He's looked lost most of the season and continues to struggle. I hope he figures it out.

Lamb was okay - quiet night for the most part.

AD - Not sure what to make of this game. It wasn't like his teammates did much to get him the ball in good scoring position. But I guess he could have played like he wanted it, and I didn't see that.

Olander played hard, was active and agressive. He had a nice game but didn't get much help. Seemed to struggle on the defensive end though.

Roscoe had some nice energy plays early on but then lost his way.

Giffey was one of the few bright spots. He shot it well. He played with a ton of energy, especially on D. I like what I saw from him. His teammates seemed like they were stuck in mud or something. I wonder if some of the players were sick. I'm probably reaching here, but a lot of people, including me, were really hit hard by one of two viruses. Nasty stuff. If any of the players had what I had it would take them a number of days to get their energy back. Just wondering. Maybe not an issue.

Daniels looked good early on, but then didn't play much if at all in the 2nd half. Anyone know why?

Just a real bad overall game by UConn. A very good game by the Pirates. A poorly officiated game allowing way too much bumping and reaching in w/ little consequence. It seemed it wasn't called the same way for both teams. I'm not saying UConn would have won if it was called differently, but it would have been a lot closer game.

I could go on and on. Just a bad game, but not as bad a loss as many will think. SHU is much better than most realized. They are undeated at home and other than the bad loss to SU, they've played very well this season against some good teams.

 

[temery]

I upped the time between posts to cut down on the quick/rapid emotional replies. That should help.

I think I'd rather bang a nail into my head than read this board tonight. If it's anything like the chat it's going to be filled with a bunch of player-team-coaching bashers.

With that said, it was a mess of a game. Here's my assessment:

I rarely blame the refs, but they allowed SHU to bump and reach-in causing many of our TOs. Now I'm not crediting the loss to the refs. They helped, that's for sure. But credit SHU for really taking it to UConn.

Many are going to say this is a bad loss. SHU is a very good team. I would not be shocked if they finish in the top 5 to 6 of the BE this season. They are surprisingly good and this is not a fluke. They really shot the ball well during on stretch in the 2nd half. They play excellent pressure D, especially when the officials allow them to bump and reach in. Reminded me of some of the Pitt games where we had no chance on winning when the refs call it like they did. Give SHU credit for taking what what the refs gave them.

Lack of responding to adversity! They just didn't make adjustments and handle the adversity. Why the h*ll Blaney didn't try to get T'd up in the first half when SH was hacking away is beyond me. He waited like 20 minutes too long to get T'd.

Rebound *ing ball! I've complained all season long that our bigs don't box out. I blame the staff to some degree for not making them accountable to doing the little things. Watch a player like Giffey. He boxes out on every rebound. Watch AD and AO. They simply turn around and watch the ball. Get a fricken body on someone, PLEASE. Maybe watching tape of this game will light a fire under our bigs.

Poor game adjustments - Seems the coaching staff was lost as to making an adjustments to what the Pirates were doing. JC must have been beside himself watching that game.

Bazz simply had a real bad game. I think he's really hurting. Didn't handle or shoot the ball well at all tonight. Blaney had him play off the ball for much of the game and I think it had to do with his bad wrist/hand or whatever his problem is. Whatever the reason was he simply had a bad game. It happens. Boy did he turn it over at an alarming rate at one point.

Boatright is a freshman. He's been very good but SHU's pressure even caused him problems. Credit the Pirates for playing really well on D. Ryan struggled to pick up the slack. It wasn't that he was bad, just wasn't special to make up for bad play by many of his teammates.

Alex - He's looked lost most of the season and continues to struggle. I hope he figures it out.

Lamb was okay - quiet night for the most part.

AD - Not sure what to make of this game. It wasn't like his teammates did much to get him the ball in good scoring position. But I guess he could have played like he wanted it, and I didn't see that.

Olander played hard, was active and agressive. He had a nice game but didn't get much help. Seemed to struggle on the defensive end though.

Roscoe had some nice energy plays early on but then lost his way.

Giffey was one of the few bright spots. He shot it well. He played with a ton of energy, especially on D. I like what I saw from him. His teammates seemed like they were stuck in mud or something. I wonder if some of the players were sick. I'm probably reaching here, but a lot of people, including me, were really hit hard by one of two viruses. Nasty stuff. If any of the players had what I had it would take them a number of days to get their energy back. Just wondering. Maybe not an issue.

Daniels looked good early on, but then didn't play much if at all in the 2nd half. Anyone know why?

Just a real bad overall game by UConn. A very good game by the Pirates. A poorly officiated game allowing way too much bumping and reaching in w/ little consequence. It seemed it wasn't called the same way for both teams. I'm not saying UConn would have won if it was called differently, but it would have been a lot closer game.

I could go on and on. Just a bad game, but not as bad a loss as many will think. SHU is much better than most realized. They are undeated at home and other than the bad loss to SU, they've played very well this season against some good teams.

 

[UCHuskies08]

They also shot pretty ridiculously from 3, not an excuse or the reason we lost, but it was a great game by them, and a not-so-great one by us.

 

[hoopsknowitall]

Now would be a great time to bring up a few points about Jerome Dyson and how he's poisoned this years team.

 

[DogMania]

They also shot pretty ridiculously from 3, not an excuse or the reason we lost, but it was a great game by them, and a not-so-great one by us.

Yeah, the Pirates caught fire from deep at one point in the 2nd half and thrust the dagger in for good.

 

[rw005]

This loss is going to be hurting a lot, but Seton Hall was the better team, I'm sorry but that's what I saw throughout the game.

Also, somethings I do notice, Olander is wide open many times, how come no one ever passes it his way?

AO and Drummond need to practice rebounding drills and blocking some more.

Boat needs to drive into the paint, not just force a jumpshot.

Blaney should have called some timeouts...it's like he just said that "this is your problem, you fix it, I won't bother."

Bazz don't fall in love with the 3 pointer...

 

[RoderickSpode]

I don't think the board will be as bad as you think. Surely ChickenLittle's fingers are anxiously trembling over his keyboard, dying to regale us with stories of how Lamb's bad karma cost us, but I think that one thread he started has relieved his blueballs for the time being.

 

[BugsyCT]

Just a bad night all around. They played great, we played lousy. Props to the Hall - they look like a NCAA tourney team already.

Welcome back JC.

 

[Deepster]

Is anyone really panicked on January 3rd?

Hasn't 3 titles gotten JC and his staff SOME leash in terms of prepping a team to peak at the right time? I didn't blink at the score, effort or result tonight. The shizz happens over a course of a season. The talent is there. The coaching staff is there. The format is tried and tested. Who is dumb enough to question that because of tonight?

 

[DogMania]

Is anyone really panicked on January 3rd?

Hasn't 3 titles gotten JC and his staff SOME leash in terms of prepping a team to peak at the right time? I didn't blink at the score, effort or result tonight. The shizz happens over a course of a season. The talent is there. The coaching staff is there. The format is tried and tested. Who is dumb enough to question that because of tonight?

You should have seen what it was like in the chat. It was ugly. I expected a lot worse on the board but it hasn't been nearly as bad as the chat which shocks me. Maybe most of those nutcases are still hitting each other over the head in the chat as I type.

 

[champs99and04]

This is one of those "Throw out the tape" type games. UConn played about as bad as they can possibly play. Oriakhi and Drummond were really nowhere to be found for most of the night. The two of them combined played 47 minutes, shot 2 of 7, and grabbed seven rebounds. SEVEN REBOUNDS IN 47 MINUTES! That is unacceptable for two guys with their combination of size and athleticism. They simply do not know how to rebound. They have the athleticism, but right now they do not have the instincts, fundamentals, or desire. Andre Drummond still does not know how good he is. When he attacks the boards, protects the rim, and tries to dunk everything in sight, he's a heck of a lot better than he is when he plays passive. I want Andre to play agressive, that's the only way he's going to get better and develop as a player. I don't know what to say about Oriakhi at this point. He's just not rebounding the basketball. At the begginning of last season he was getting a ton of points on the offensive boards, but this year he has either stopped attacking the boards, or just isn't getting the ball to bounce the right way. I keep telling you though, the kid has made some nice moves down low. His footwork is a lot better than it was last year, and he's really utilizing his strength to bully his defender. The problem is he has brutal touch around the rim. It is a challenge for him to hit a point blank layup at this point. He just needs to do the Mikan drill like five hours a day.

I don't know what to say about Roscoe at this point. I don't think he's hit a jump shot since he's been in high school, he doesn't set good screens, and he can't create a shot for himself or anybody else. I hate to pile on, but we're just playing four on five offensively when he's on the court. Maybe with Kemba, we were able to overcome some of his defeciencies, I'm not sure.

Giffey played great tonight, as far as I could tell. Honestly, there is no reason he shouldn't be playing 30 minutes a game if he plays like that. He spreads the floor, he can hit a shot off the dribble, he's a very good passer, he always seems to come up with the loose ball, and he overall makes us a much better offensive team. With Olander and Giffey out there against the zone, it is like a completely different team. You get Olander in the middle, Drummond down low, and Bazz/Lamb/Giff on the wing, the zone suddenly becomes difficult to play. Defensively Giffey plays hard, and he's far from a liablity. He isn't the same force on the boards that Scoe is, but you rarely see him get beat off the dribble or blow an assignment. I'm not sure why he hasn't played more, but in my mind he has earned a start with his effort tonight.

Lamb played his usual game offensively. He scored a lot of points on only a few shots. I know many want him to become the "go to guy", but I think he's one of those guys who is just more comfortable as the #2 guy. Defensively I did not think Lamb played well at all. He was getting lost on screens, and was a big reason for many of the lapses.

Boatright played about as well as you'd expect a freshman to play in only his second road game, facing a lot of defensive pressure. I actually thought he played better than Shabazz, and even had some nice drives where he created a shot for others.

There is no way you could pin the loss on one person, because it was the ultimate team disaster, but as floor general and captain, Shabazz needs to take responsiblity for the lack of execution on the offensive end. How many times would Shabazz dribble around at the top of the key, pass it to Lamb, then weakly call for a screen and hoist up a bad shot as the shotclock was expiring? I realize Oriakhi and Drummond are far from reliable inside, but sometimes you just have to give them the ball. It gives the defense something to think about, and it gives them confidence. As a PG, he has to do a better job of trusting his teammates, and putting them in a position to score. Trust me, it would make things a lot easier if we could develop some semblance of a post game.

All and all, the bright spots in this one were few and far between. Seton Hall pretty much whipped their asses, and they did not respond. Seton Hall wanted it more, they were tougher, quicker to the loose balls, etc. I realize it is difficult to play with the same level of intensity coming off a national championship, but sooner or later they'll have to learn. You can get away with taking plays off against Maine and Holy Cross, but against a good Big East team, you'll get beaten down as soon as you get a little bit comfortable. Next time we play Seton Hall, I expect the outcome to be much different, as they'll know exactly what they have to do if they want to win.

Hopefully Calhoun lights into their asses tomorrow at practice, and we see a different team on Saturday @Rutgers, who by the way, won't be an easy win by any stretch.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

This was last year's St John's game, more or less. So what.

I'm just trolling the board for laughs at this point. I'm sure they're in here.

 

[ford82]

I liked how UConn started the game. I think it was 11-2 and they looked ready to play. Obviously, the inconsistency and lack of focus hurts them against quality teams. You have to be ready to play legit basketball when you come up against teams that actually know how to play and have athleticism. You can't just rely on athleticism during the Big East schedule. Alex's basketball timing is way out of whack. He seems in a fog, not trying to harp on it, but it is really odd to watch. Just another example of how basketball is one of the best ways to observe human psychology. I agree, Bazz looked like he was struggling with injuries and fatigue, resulting in a very poor game by him.

 

[TRest]

Is anyone really panicked on January 3rd?

Hasn't 3 titles gotten JC and his staff SOME leash in terms of prepping a team to peak at the right time? I didn't blink at the score, effort or result tonight. The shizz happens over a course of a season. The talent is there. The coaching staff is there. The format is tried and tested. Who is dumb enough to question that because of tonight?

My son is 14 and new to being a serious Husky fan. He was beside himself watching this game and couldn't believe I wasn't that upset. There will be more games, grasshopper.

 

[zyron]

You should have seen what it was like in the chat. It was ugly.

That is while it is happening though. You should have heard me during the game, it was a stream of F#$% and S@#$. Once the game is over most calm down however.

Except babyscunt.