Jalen Adams & game-deciding 14-0 run...

[alexd]

It was a 17-0 run. If you're going to bitch at least do it accurately.

 

[August_West]

It’s simple and I’ve been saying this since last January, when jalens game really emerged with Gilbert out. when Jalen and Gilbert are on the floor together Jalen needs to be on ball at least 70 percent of the time. I know that’s not what KO has in mind for that back court but Jalen is the alpha he is a junior , he is so much better when dominating ball. Alterique is going to have to defer and KO needs to hand the keys to Jalen.

 

[Palatine]

I remember beating Yale by 10 in an opener and the Yale coach saying he had the better team. Very tough game. We looked quite equal.

Oh, we won the NC that year.

 

[sportsart]

I feel like you can't blame Ollie for Jalen not being better... I mean look at the scooter thing... his attitude can be problematic. He is not a mature leader. He is more arrogant and feisty than Walker or Napier... that can work for him in some games but work against him in others.

Amazing you didn't get 1 like.

 

[Huskie2019]

Amazing you didn't get 1 like.

I did

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I feel like you can't blame Ollie for Jalen not being better... I mean look at the scooter thing... his attitude can be problematic. He is not a mature leader. He is more arrogant and feisty than Walker or Napier... that can work for him in some games but work against him in others.

Feistier than Napier who as a Sophomore and Junior was an inch away from coming to blows with some of his teammates. That’s funny, Napier was a mean dude where Kemba was a gentle machine.
Does Adams have the intensity of those guys that’s the million dollar question.
He seems a tad laid back if anything .KO has to light the fire in him somehow to actualize that obvious talent.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Missed by all was the way the depth inabled us to put the team away in the end.
Last year we closed weakly due to fatigue.
Once this group actually becomes a team they will be difficult to beat because of this and their ability to make free throws.
We scored in the 70’s against a team that wanted a score in the 50’s that eventuly lead to their demise.
This group has a bit to go before it becomes a team but it has some nice pieces to fit together.
For you non belivers Adams is very good , does he have the will to be a Kemba or even a Bazz ,I don’t know but it will be very interesting to find out.

Spot on Pop, Whaley would probably be playing 25 mins a game last year. When he can go out and play hard D bring energy in 2 min spurts he’s awesome.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Any idea how many at the game??

5 and half thousand

 

[methodology]

Don't understand people getting on AG. He was getting into the lane at will and distributing like a lead PG should. He had 2 quick assists and for layups and then guys couldn't hit shots and AG struggled to put the ball in the hoop. There were a lot of positives with him however he is super quick and I'm not sure anyone can stay in front of him and keep him from getting in the lane and being a triple threat to distribute, take a pull up/ floater or layup/ get fouled. He definitely needs to fine tune his shot though

His defense was terrific last night also. Pesky as hell and always right in front of the offensive player. He is going to frustrate and irritate opposing guards all year and that will lead to more turnovers, steals and opposing teams starting their offensive sets further out.

He's still a freshman and made freshman mistakes but I'm willing to live with them as he learns and blossoms as the year goes on. The make up of this team is there o be dangerous. Just have to hope there continuous improvement throughout the year to be reach their ceiling

 

[CL82]

I get people's frustration that we don't appear to have smooth running offense. Often it seems like we rely too much on 'isolate and attack' and ball screens. But the biggest impression I walked away with from last night is that we have a lot of very talented pieces. Larrier seems poised to be the man. JA can put the team on his back for stretches. Our bigs though imperfect, will be able get rebounds and hold their position down low. The days years of being pushed around in the paint seem to be over. Whaley's upside is huge.

I really like this team. It's going to take some time to figure out how to best put the pieces together, and the PK80 may be rough, but I'm excited about the season. I suspect that we may be a pretty dangerous team by the end of the year.

That said, "we're doomed."

 

[GetTheFacts]

LOL @ Ollie for saying (yet again) that he wants to pick up the tempo offensively. Ranked 299th in tempo through two games.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

My hope is that both the teams we played are Tourney teams later and I can look back and feel better. We will typically have better guards then our opponents and settling for ridiculous outside shots most of 1st half and allowing Larrier and others to handle the point (turn it over) at top of key was mind boggling. We finally turned things around when we just went into full desperation drive to the rim, get fouled or score mode.

 

[UChusky916]

Hard to overstate how HUGE Adams was down the stretch:

• Down by 9 with 5+ mins, he got the run started by penetrating and kicking to Polley for spot up 3.
• Ensuing possession, he got the defensive rebound, went coast-to-coast, and got an acrobatic layup AND-1, the first of 4 consecutive baskets he made for us down the stretch.
• Next 3 baskets he made by manipulating and confusing the defense with his dribble penetration... twice he got to the rim for easy buckets, and the other he created space for a jumper.
• Created next bucket with dribble penetration and kick-out to Anderson which pushed the lead to 5 with under a minute and make the game MUCH more comfortable.

He basically made every play possible for us down the stretch and practically single-handedly won the game

 

[DonaldDraper]

I get people's frustration that we don't appear to have smooth running offense. Often it seems like we rely too much on 'isolate and attack' and ball screens. But the biggest impression I walked away with from last night is that we have a lot of very talented pieces. Larrier seems poised to be the man. JA can put the team on his back for stretches. Our bigs though imperfect, will be able get rebounds and hold their position down low. The days years of being pushed around in the paint seem to be over. Whaley's upside is huge.

I really like this team. It's going to take some time to figure out how to best put the pieces together, and the PK80 may be rough, but I'm excited about the season. I suspect that we may be a pretty dangerous team by the end of the year.

That said, "we're doomed."

We need more of this stuff on the BY. I feel like there are way too many impulsive people looking for every game to be a blowout when we don't even understand what combinations we want to play. There is a GD fire Ollie post in every thread and it is super annoying. I like watching the Huskies improve over the course of the season and that is part of the fun. When they improve and learn without taking Ls then the process is a lot more fun.

- The Adams/Gilbert/Anderson combo looked promising. If our opponents have one slower piece in 1-3 then we can get penetration.
- AG carved through that defense last night and got almost half of the team's assists. He also drives into a hole and has to get bailed out or puts up a tough shot. As he sees that on tape he will get better at spotting the hedge man earlier to kick it out without getting stuck. Boatright had a similar problem and showed great improvement in about a half a season.
- The NBA high PnR offense was effective tonight. The bigs were setting great screens and all of the guards were using the screens. That how we only had 9 assists on 25 FGs. My only worry here is that we don't shoot the 3 ball well enough and the D will start sagging behind the screen. Look for our guards to try and knock down a 3 early in the game if the D sags. This will change how the D has to play.
- We have a lot of fouls with the bigs, DO and EC can play a similar game and are very active. That makes this fun.
- The high energy defense with a deep bench is going to wear teams down. We saw that pretty clearly last night.
- The million turnovers needs to come down to a reasonable number 12 or below. This is likely a function of them not gelling early in the season.
- Larrier was limited all night, but took some very confident shots. We haven't seen him and JA both play well on the same night. If they do, we can be scary good.
- If CV gets his sniper rifle back it will add a new dimension.

Lets enjoy watching this progress rather than be overly negative. This was a lot more organized than the PC game and this year we have players that actually want to win as a team. There is a lot to look forward to.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

There is something wrong with the way we prepare for games. We should beat Stony Brook by atleast 15 on talent alone. And this isn't just based on last night. As some of you said, we've seen the same story for 4 straight seasons.
Every game, we are never prepared for the other team's strengths, and it's not until halftime that we figure out something to neutralize the other team.
This should be happening every practice leading up to every game, not at halftime after we are down 7.
Im not going to pretend like I know what adjustments they should make, but I know from an observer's perspective, the same issues happen each year with different UConn teams.

But Jalen does need to take over the game from the start, and slowly get others involved in scoring. Not the other way around.
If Jalen knocks the other team early with a few quick baskets, then that will start to open up other people.

 

[Palatine]

Last year, we lose this game.

This year, we win by eight.

I think there will be a big carry over from this game and we beat BU by 20 points. I expect many fewer turnovers, a better percentage from the arc, and the same energetic defense.

 

[James]

I agree with the notion that Adams needs a fire lit under him at times, but I mean that’s just his personality it seems. Napier’s competitive nature almost crossed over to hostility , you can’t teach that.

One thing I would like for him to do is be a more consistent team/help defender, he is probably the most physically gifted player on the team and should be impacting both ends with his size and speed. A lot of times he jogs around and calls for a switch instead of putting his fingerprints on the possession.

 

[Kembacity]

I'm endlessly entertained by the idea that Kevin Ollie has never proven himself as a coach, because he won in 2014 with Calhouns players. They were coasting on JCs coaching the entire season right, KO talking in their ears all season while they're just like "nah nah nah nah remember what Jimmy Calhoun taught me, remember what Jimmy Calhoun taught me"

 

[upstater]

What happened last night is bad shot selection for UConn in the first half, and a lot of misses.

Until the end of the second half, SB was hitting 3s because of bad defense for UConn, getting lost on switches.

Not prepared? There are 11 new players without experience in this system. It's clear they are lost.

As for the offensive woes, bad shooting and bad shot selection will do that to you.

Both of these problems are correctable: play better perimeter defense, don't get lost on switches.

 

[The Funster]

Jalen scored 9 of the points himself, and assisted the two other buckets (a Polley 3 and an Anderson long-range 2). He also had three defensive rebounds during the stretch.

I'm mad at Ollie for a lot of things, but I think what I'm pre-emptively most mad at is the fact that he's going to have wasted most of this kid's career. Adams is a special, clutch talent, but he should not have to will us to a win over Stony Brook at home, no matter any of the other variables.

I've been an Ollie defender for a long time, but I'm over it and have sold all my stock.

I hope he proves me wrong, but I am so frustrated at four straight years of starting the season like this because we continually start games like this. We are inevitably out of it until the furious second-half comeback.

It has to be better.

I get your point. I'll know the progam is "back" when we play a cream puff and run them out of the gym. Some of these games should be 40 point laughers. For now, I like what I see from this roster, though.

 

[blackbird]

I’ve been watching Uconn for 10+ years. We rarely, if ever, kill teams. Uconn has always played to the competition.

 

[Matrim55]

It was a 17-0 run. If you're going to bitch at least do it accurately.

Adams wasn't involved in the final 3 points of the run.

 

[Adios]

I’ve been watching Uconn for 10+ years. We rarely, if ever, kill teams. Uconn has always played to the competition.

That's over the past ten years. We used to slay teams with Calhoun.

Adams is a way better baller than pretty boy Diallo.

 

[UCFan1513]

It’s simple and I’ve been saying this since last January, when jalens game really emerged with Gilbert out. when Jalen and Gilbert are on the floor together Jalen needs to be on ball at least 70 percent of the time. I know that’s not what KO has in mind for that back court but Jalen is the alpha he is a junior , he is so much better when dominating ball. Alterique is going to have to defer and KO needs to hand the keys to Jalen.

Agreed. I’ve found myself scratching my head too many times while Jalen is sitting in the far corner with Anderson and Gilbert pounding the ball at the top of the key. Not sure what Ollie doesn’t see in Jalen that we do. Let’s hope he begins to put him on ball. We can’t survive with 3 guys splitting time as the ‘primary’ ball handler. Far too disjointed and leads to sloppy basketball, as we saw last night. I’m all for this whole ‘positionless basketball’ thing, but you need a bonafide point guard who takes the role of the primary ball handler and distributor.

 

[Matrim55]

Both of these problems are correctable: play better perimeter defense, don't get lost on switches.

We've been saying this for four years...