Joey C vs Diarra

[uconn_jack]

If Joey is making his shots, he can be a major spark plug for a run that helps us win a game. If he’s not making his shots, he has no reason being out there

If Diarra is causing hell for opposing guards, he can be a major spark plug for a run that helps us win a game. If he’s not causing hell, he has no reason being out there

They’re situational players. Diarra’s situation came up twice in the last 4 games. Joey’s hasn’t come up yet. That’s why Diarra is getting the minutes right now. Could change if Joey’s shot starts falling again (which it eventually will)

For better or worse, we don't have many (maybe not any) players that HAVE to be on the floor. You can maybe argue Hawkins and Dre, but remember, we even did well when they were out with injuries. Even our all American doesn't have to be on the floor. Everyone on this team can be viewed as situational players. It's the blessing and curse of having such a deep and talented team.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The flip side is moving from Calcaterra is Diarra is not sacrificing a little scoring ability, it's sacrificing a lot.

I like what Diarra has done the past 3-4 games with his defense and setting a tone of toughness. And at the same time Joey C's shot has been off. Recency bias is in play.

There are still about 20-25 mpg available for Diarra and Joey C if starters are healthy and out of foul trouble. How those minutes are distributed will be based on flow of game and what they do when they get in the game. Obviously foul trouble or injuries would increase their usage.

Not right now though. As others have pointed out, Joey has been missing badly. If he's slumping, hard to play him over Diarra even if Diarra's offensive ceiling is far lower.

Not in the stretch we're talking about though, Calcaterra has made 1 FG in the last 4 games combined. When he's on he's obviously going to get minutes, but when he's in a slump like he is now then Diarra is going to get minutes over him

It's almost like you two read the part where I wrote that minutes going forward between the two of them will vary based off of how they are doing on the floor. Almost.

 

[navery12]

It's almost like you two read the part where I wrote that minutes going forward between the two of them will vary based off of how they are doing on the floor. Almost.

We agree on that, I'm just saying that's not the discussion that's being had. It was about Diarra being played over Calcaterra these last few games

 

[husky429]

Didn't read the comments. Don't need to. They're both situational players. If Joey isn't shooting it well on any given day, it only makes sense to give the minutes to Diarra.

Some days Diarra will get the most minutes, other days Joey C. This is what depth looks like... you're never going to have 9 guys playing 15+ minutes. Some guys are always going to play 25 minutes or more... For #7-9 on the roster, it's necessarily more matchup and hot-streak dependent.

 

[Hoops91]

He needs more time and touches to get his stroke going. I 100% expect Hurley is going to start giving him more time. This is what Hawkins looked like with limited time last year

 

[Jimdish255]

Diarra’s defense won us the Creighton and Villanova game. Otherwise we might be looking at a 2-4 conference record right now. What are you talking about?

I love Joey but he’s been ice cold for 4 of his last 5 games. He’s gotta snap out of his slump if he wants more minutes, and we don’t have the luxury of letting him shoot his way out of it in close games

When you're not getting regular minutes you can expect more inconsistency. That's where Joey is now. Tossed in and expected to play at a high level under a variety of circumstances. Similar for Diarra. Hurley has decided they're plug-in guys unless injury or absence creates more available minutes. I think for a shooter it's probably a tougher task than a guy who relies on high energy and defense.

 

[Greedo]

He needs more time and touches to get his stroke going. I 100% expect Hurley is going to start giving him more time. This is what Hawkins looked like with limited time last year View attachment 82843

He doesn't though. When he goes into the game, he's going in to give a burst on the offensive end. If his shot isn't falling from the second he goes in the game, his defense is too much of a liability for him to stay in the game. If his shot is falling, then it becomes worth it to have teammates covering for him on the defensive end.

He's not a good enough all around player to let him play through a slump. It's up to him to get out of it off the court and be ready to go the second he steps into the game.

 

[BlueMAB]

Last four games:
9min/game
1/12 from the field
1/7 from 3PT

Total Stats
37 minutes
3 points
3 reb
1 assist
2 steals
4 fouls
1 TO
8% FG
14% 3PT

He's getting open looks and they aren't going in. until they do, he shouldn't play more than 10 minutes. He isn't a freshman adjusting to college ball like Hawkins, he's a super senior.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Maybe look at the +/- for each and see if that changes your mind

 

[REB1094]

He needs more time and touches to get his stroke going. I 100% expect Hurley is going to start giving him more time. This is what Hawkins looked like with limited time last year View attachment 82843

Hawkins was a jittery freshman and was viewed as an important piece for our future so I could understand Hurley playing him through cold spells. Joey is a 5th year senior. There will be a game where Joey will play 15-20 minutes because he goes crazy and hits 3 threes in a few minutes. Once that happens, he’ll get a longer leash for sure. He’s a solid veteran and we’ve seen several times how easily he can light up a scoreboard

But he’s 1-12 since Georgetown. 0-3 in 9 minutes vs. Creighton, 0-5 in 9 minutes vs. Providence. Can’t justify the minutes when Diarra’s defense was one of the most important factors of our game winning run against Creighton

I have faith in Joey. He’s a knockdown shooter that’s just adjusting to a really tough conference while hitting a cold spell. He’ll get his time, but he needs to make the shots first

 

[DW1361]

Diarra got more minutes because Newton wasn’t getting it done at the point. At the 10 minute mark in the second half when we made a decisive run both Diarra and Joey were on the floor. If Newton was on his game then Diarra would have received the same minutes Joey did. Both are very capable subs. Joey does a lot of things other than shoot threes. He plays with a lot of energy and makes very good decisions. In the few minutes he gets he really brings it and when the threes are not falling he still pulls his weight out there. I don’t see him getting more minutes barring an injury, but for those that are critical of his game should pay more attention to what he brings other than from three.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Diarra is a dog on defense. Joey C is a pure shooter, but he’s been off lately. I’m better with Diarra getting more minutes for now, but they both serve a role and deserve to see the court.

 

[tykurez]

Yea it’s pretty simple from Hurley’s perspective at this point … if neither are going to score then Diarra gets the minutes because he’s such a stout defender.

The only other thing to consider is how Joey opens up the floor for Hawkins or Newton - defenses can sag off of Diarra because he cannot shoot.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I think a fun study would be uconn players who have had one big game. I remember one game coombs-mcD had a monster game but don't remember many more after that one. (He did rebound well i think) .Forget who it was against. Maybe it was 2 games. Either way

 

[storrsroars]

All I want for 2023 is for Diarra to watch tape of Ricky Moore 20 hours a day. That is all this team needs from him to take it to another level.

Play defense, focus on ball handling and be very conservative with the ball, and - I mean this seriously - stop shooting. The immense value he brings as a defensive stopper at PG and just being able to dribble up the court for 5-10 minutes a game and initiate the offense would make him irreplaceable.

But you'll need his shooting early on in the NC game

 

[Colin G]

This just comes down to how the starters ahead of them are playing. Very clear that Diarra is Newton’s backup and Cal is Hawkins’ backup, Hawkins has been awesome, Tristen not so much. Good to have Diarra off the bench so if Tristen starts playing non aggressively as he can it’s a quick hook and Diarra comes in. Cal will get his minutes but on a much less consistent basis than Diarra because it’s known Diarra will come in and play lockdown D and with a ton of energy, much more consistent of a skill/role than Calcaterra microwave offense. Plus when your team is shooting cold better to double down on lockdown d and grinding it out than try to shoot your way out of it at times IMO.

 

[ctchamps]

We're on the third iteration of the Joey vs. Hassan debate. Early in the season the predominate argument was Joey brought little on offense and was a defensive liability while Hassan brought much more with his defense so the minutes should be given to Hassan.
Then it went 180 degrees where the predominate feeling was reversed and people were calling for Hassan to get little or no minutes.
Now at least we are getting a decent acknowledgement from this forum for situational substitutions.

Joey California has become Joey Calgary. It happens. Players go through a slump. Not worried about him. We haven't seen the last of his contributions on offense. In close games we'll need him at the end of games for free throws because Hassan is a FT liability. That is why there was offensive defensive subbing in the Creighton game in the last couple of minutes.

Triston did a decent job on Nembhard. But Diarra completely shut him down. Unfortunately we couldn't capitalize on the TO's caused by Diarra. He completely frustrated him. Cameras don't lie.

Bottom line is we are fortunate to have both of them. They are providing depth and options and that's what make teams better.

 

[Dogdeacon]

He needs more time and touches to get his stroke going. I 100% expect Hurley is going to start giving him more time. This is what Hawkins looked like with limited time last year View attachment 82843

Respectfully, even if Hurley gives Joey 3 times the minutes in chart above, Joey is not turning into Jordan Hawkins.

He was a 31-38% three point shooter over 4yrs at San Diego and averaged roughly 12ppg playing 28 minutes soph-senior. That is more than enough sample size to tell us ~15mpg & a 7pt average is about right.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

When you're not getting regular minutes you can expect more inconsistency. That's where Joey is now.

He's in the exact same position he was in a couple weeks ago. The only difference is that the shots that were going in before are not going in at the moment. I don't think it's really a cause for concern. It would have been dumb to expect him to continue shooting threes at a 60+% clip or whatever he was at. He just needs to see the ball go through the hoop and he'll be fine. I'm expecting him to break out of this slump sooner rather than later.

 

[imno1]

We need Joey to resume making shots. Our offense has not been good in conference play. We can't rely on Sanogo and Hawkins for all our points. What can be done to get Alex more involved offensively? If we can get double digit scoring from Karaban and Newton we are hard to beat.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

Not right now though. As others have pointed out, Joey has been missing badly. If he's slumping, hard to play him over Diarra even if Diarra's offensive ceiling is far lower.

I was at the game Saturday. I was watching him in the shoot around and you could tell he was frustrated missing shots then too.

 

[gtcam]

I just don't like having guards on the floor that can't shoot. I would sacrifice a little defense for this


View attachment 82839

Diarra is here for his defense and JoeyC for his offense - period
If JoeyC isn't scoring his usefulness is abated
Diarra has been playing defense - he plays

I hope you can understand this point

 

[bendm]

last 4 games:
9.25 mpg on 8% shooting

previous 13 games:
19.2 mpg on 53% shooting

not hard to spot the correlation

 

[WhereistheDove?]

last 4 games:
9.25 mpg on 8% shooting

previous 13 games:
19.2 mpg on 53% shooting

not hard to spot the correlation

Correlation does not necessarily equal causation. If he was shooting better, he'd be getting more minutes. Hard to say his shooting woes are caused by his lack of playing time (if that is what you're suggesting).

 

[bendm]

Hard to say his shooting woes are caused by his lack of playing time (if that is what you're suggesting).

it's the opposite of what i was suggesting