Jalen Needs To Play 40 Minutes

[PcketknfNiels]

There was a possession in the second half where Gibbs was pounding the ball at the top of the key, and Ollie was hopping mad (literally) to get him to run a play. Eventually the ball found its way into Adams's hands, who drove and finished a tough runner.

Maybe that's the turning point where Ollie says "OK, enough is enough, sorry Sterling, we're not going down with you at the helm". It would be better late than never, but we'll have to wait a few days to see whether Ollie actually makes the necessary adjustment.

It's too late in the season to even matter at this point. This is something that should have happened 15 games ago, at this point letting JA run the offense is purely a move for next year.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This team is too flawed, let the kids play and be ready to take over the next couple years when it will really matter.

This is not a thing that happens.

They are not a great team by any means. But the goal is to win as many games as you can win. Not call Calhoun, Gibbs, Miller and Nolan into your office and say, "Bad news fellas, we're building toward next year when it 'really matters.'"

 

[PcketknfNiels]

This is not a thing that happens.

They are not a great team by any means. But the goal is to win as many games as you can win. Not call Calhoun, Gibbs, Miller and Nolan into your office and say, "Bad news fellas, we're building toward next year when it 'really matters.'"

You can send that message without being so heavy handed, just like you could have voiced your displeasure as a fan without being a belligerent drunk.

 

[tentoes4rings]

You can send that message without being so heavy handed, just like you could have voiced your displeasure as a fan without being a belligerent drunk.

Beautiful.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Let me put it this way. JA will only step up as much as Ollie will let him. If JA assumes pg duties without Ollies blessing he goes back to the bench. Ollie wants Gibbs at the pg spot. Frustrating. But I would say there are bigger problems than this.

Ollie convinced himself at the beginning of the season that Gibbs was the man. He ain't and I think Ollie finally realizes it. I guess we will find out Thursday. I think it's been an incredibly difficult realization for KO but it seems blatantly obvious now; it's time to hand the keys to Jalen.

 

[uconnbill]

Gibbs is better when he is not running the team but playing second fiddle in the back court.

Something has to change before the AAC tournament otherwise this is going to be a long off season of what if's.

 

[TheRogers]

No there are not. This has been the biggest problem with this team's clogged toilet offense all year. KO refuses to adjust to what is happening on the floor and has stuck with Gibbs far too long because of reputation and seniority, which is unfortunate because there have been flashes all year of how good this team could have been if JA were entrenched by now. This team could have made a deep tourney run if KO had been more proactive in handing JA the keys and riding him no matter what. I've been saying this since November.

It all starts with defense. This team oozes with offensive talent. Utilization is not optimal and admittedly that is also a big problem. Handing the pg duties to JA is a start. However, do you recall the number of times teams are down but somehow manages to get back. That's defense. Interior defense because AB was injured or on the mend (acceptable) as well as the lack of development from our more veteran bigs (unacceptable). Three point defense because it does not matter if the other team is shooting a low percentage at the arc. When you consistently allow the other team' s shooter a lot of uncontested or mildly contested 3s that eventually gets knocked down. Here's the part that lends to the frustration - the team has shown it can defend the 3. Why they can't do it throughout the game well I don't know.

 

[tdrink]

I am in agreement that the offense shouldrun through JA, but I think that comes with a completely different game approach.

Shabazz made Uconn a game shortening team that used the whole shot clock without a lot of movement. That allowed them to rest on offense and work super hard on defense. But the strategy relied on "hero ball" from Shabazz. His combination of deep 3's and lulling his defenders made it work. I think KO has been trying to get the same results from SG.

Jalen's attack mode works best on the secondary break. Initiate offense before the defense is set. Good strategy but it lengthens the game. Maybe KO feels like we don't have the bodies or legs for sped up games.

But that is traditional Uconn basketball. And I'd love to see more of it.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I am in agreement that the offense shouldrun through JA, but I think that comes with a completely different game approach.

Shabazz made Uconn a game shortening team that used the whole shot clock without a lot of movement. That allowed them to rest on offense and work super hard on defense. But the strategy relied on "hero ball" from Shabazz. His combination of deep 3's and lulling his defenders made it work. I think KO has been trying to get the same results from SG.

Jalen's attack mode works best on the secondary break. Initiate offense before the defense is set. Good strategy but it lengthens the game. Maybe KO feels like we don't have the bodies or legs for sped up games.

But that is traditional Uconn basketball. And I'd love to see more of it.

Depth should be one of this team's strengths, I'd love to see a more up and down style to utilize that and wear down other teams.

 

[Jerry1714]

"By far the best player on the team," jeez, let's scale it back a little bit.

I do love everything about him, though.

Seriously, it is getting absurd.

 

[Stainmaster]

Seriously, it is getting absurd.

And all he had to do was live out the collective fantasy of the board and yell at his coaches.

 

[Jaker]

crazy talk

 

[Jerry1714]

And all he had to do was live out the collective fantasy of the board and yell at his coaches.

I think Jalen has tremendous potential, but I would love to see him be able to hit a shot from outside the paint with any sort of consistency. Oh and 1 assist and 5 TOs in the last 3 games is not what I want from our "best player."

 

[UCFan1513]

Ideally I'd like to see the line-up as:
PG - Jalen: 34 Minutes
SG - Purvis: 26 Minutes
SF - Hamilton: 26 Minutes
PF - Miller: 32 Minutes
C - Brimah: 26 Minutes
6 - Calhoun
7 - Gibbs
8 - Facey
9 - Enoch
10 - Nolan

 

[Stainmaster]

I think Jalen has tremendous potential, but I would love to see him be able to hit a shot from outside the paint with any sort of consistency. Oh and 1 assist and 5 TOs in the last 3 games is not what I want from our "best player."

I feel the same way. But I don't think that the general mood is conducive to accurate judgement of where he is right now vs. where he could be.

 

[CTBasketball]

I feel the same way. But I don't think that the general mood is conducive to accurate judgement of where he is right now vs. where he could be.

He was a knockdown shooter in high school, my guess is its mental and stingier defense.

 

[Stainmaster]

He was a knockdown shooter in high school, my guess is its mental and stingier defense.

Strongly agree on the second part, NEPSAC Class AAA is the best high school league in the country but even that's no match for Division I competition.

 

[champs99and04]

He was a knockdown shooter in high school, my guess is its mental and stingier defense.

Reminds me of Shabazz's freshman year when he shot 37% from the field and 33% from three in that we knew the percentages weren't indicative of ability.

 

[2north]

Reminds me of Shabazz's freshman year when he shot 37% from the field and 33% from three in that we knew the percentages weren't indicative of ability.

Very true and I think that's the point. Shabazz didn't have to run the team as a freshman but he grew into a great player. To think Jalen playing 40 mins as a freshman will solve all of the teams issues is a stretch.

 

[jayteeman]

Would have been sweet to have a year of a Boat/JA overlap....bad timing....

 

[mauconnfan]

Try to play him 40 but he still has tendency to reach and try to make plays which create foul trouble so 40 is a stretch. Love to see 28-35 every game from him though depending on situation and fouls.

 

[Candyman]

JA will help make this team better by playing 35 minutes a game but they have other issues. We will still see bad shots out of DHam, Miller making dumb fouls, Brimah in foul trouble most of the half, Gibbs, Purvis and Nolan missing layups. JA can't help with any of that.

 

[Palatine]

JA giveth and JA taketh away. He has made bone headed plays at crunch time. He is still very inconsistent. I agree he needs minutes but 40 minutes is absurd. Against Cinny he had 15 point in his last 10 minutes and 2 points in first 10 minutes. If we knew what ten minutes he was going to give us, that would be a big help.

We just have to hope that Ollie knows what he is doing.

 

[Tdaley]

JA is great at driving to the hole but not at shooting or passing yet. That will come with playing time. Unfortunately, this team just doesn't have the ball handlers that we need to break down our opponent's defenses. As such, JA does need to play more mins. I love that Calhoun is having a good bounce back year, but I don't think he should be starting. Calhoun, Purvis and Gibbs are all interchangeable. JA is the only point guard that we have on the team. Start JA!!!! Maybe we can score more then 6 points in the first 5 mins of our games.

 

[CTBasketball]

Reminds me of Shabazz's freshman year when he shot 37% from the field and 33% from three in that we knew the percentages weren't indicative of ability.

Shabazz hit some daggers as a frosh. Jalen just needs some late night gym sessions and he'll be fine.