John Gallagher thinks Huskies are better than Kansas | The Boneyard

John Gallagher thinks Huskies are better than Kansas

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Mike Anthony article. Short by his standards.

“Look, I'll put it on the table,” Gallagher said after the Huskies’ 90-60 victory at the XL Center. “I think UConn's better, I think by a couple baskets, and here's why: At the end of the day, [Donovan] Clingan's ball-screen coverage is a little better than Hunter [Dickinson’s].”

“If you look at [Alex] Karaban — Karaban is an NBA first-round pick,” Gallagher said. “He's a first-round pick at the end of this year. Go look at his numbers. I told [UConn assistant] Tom Moore, 'Did you guys think he was this good when you got him?' He's very impressive. So I think UConn's better and I think, at the end of the day, Kansas and Coach [Bill] Self, who I love, they don't have the sweat equity that UConn has. They have to get that. They could have it by March. But if you watch the Marquette game the other day, they were a little throttled, so to speak.”



Alternate access:
Manhattan's John Gallagher has faced UConn men and No. 1 Kansas. Why he thinks Huskies are better team
 
Mike Anthony article. Short by his standards.

“Look, I'll put it on the table,” Gallagher said after the Huskies’ 90-60 victory at the XL Center. “I think UConn's better, I think by a couple baskets, and here's why: At the end of the day, [Donovan] Clingan's ball-screen coverage is a little better than Hunter [Dickinson’s].”

“If you look at [Alex] Karaban — Karaban is an NBA first-round pick,” Gallagher said. “He's a first-round pick at the end of this year. Go look at his numbers. I told [UConn assistant] Tom Moore, 'Did you guys think he was this good when you got him?' He's very impressive. So I think UConn's better and I think, at the end of the day, Kansas and Coach [Bill] Self, who I love, they don't have the sweat equity that UConn has. They have to get that. They could have it by March. But if you watch the Marquette game the other day, they were a little throttled, so to speak.”



Alternate access:
Manhattan's John Gallagher has faced UConn men and No. 1 Kansas. Why he thinks Huskies are better team
I agree really. Karaban and Spencer are the main advantages. Dickerson is better on offense than Clingan, but on defense it is reversed. On the other hand, without Castle, McCullar is much better than Solo. PG is about a wash. That said, KJ Adams is so much more athletic than Alex he may give him problems.
 
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Mike Anthony article. Short by his standards.

“Look, I'll put it on the table,” Gallagher said after the Huskies’ 90-60 victory at the XL Center. “I think UConn's better, I think by a couple baskets, and here's why: At the end of the day, [Donovan] Clingan's ball-screen coverage is a little better than Hunter [Dickinson’s].”

“If you look at [Alex] Karaban — Karaban is an NBA first-round pick,” Gallagher said. “He's a first-round pick at the end of this year. Go look at his numbers. I told [UConn assistant] Tom Moore, 'Did you guys think he was this good when you got him?' He's very impressive. So I think UConn's better and I think, at the end of the day, Kansas and Coach [Bill] Self, who I love, they don't have the sweat equity that UConn has. They have to get that. They could have it by March. But if you watch the Marquette game the other day, they were a little throttled, so to speak.”



Alternate access:
Manhattan's John Gallagher has faced UConn men and No. 1 Kansas. Why he thinks Huskies are better team
Dickinson is very strong and can score it from anywhere. It’s going to be a defensive challenge for us.

But he might be one of the worst defenders, at least relative to his national hype, that I have ever seen. The guy literally gives 0 effort on defense.

I think if we win it’s going to be because Hurley figures out a consistent way to get Clingan open by making Dickinson “chase” him out to the perimeter and back inside again.
 
Dickinson is very strong and can score it from anywhere. It’s going to be a defensive challenge for us.

But he might be one of the worst defenders, at least relative to his national hype, that I have ever seen. The guy literally gives 0 effort on defense.

I think if we win it’s going to be because Hurley figures out a consistent way to get Clingan open by making Dickinson “chase” him out to the perimeter and back inside again.
How is the Kansas backup C? Could SJ give us the advantage if HD and DC cancel each other
 
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Dickinson is very strong and can score it from anywhere. It’s going to be a defensive challenge for us.

But he might be one of the worst defenders, at least relative to his national hype, that I have ever seen. The guy literally gives 0 effort on defense.

I think if we win it’s going to be because Hurley figures out a consistent way to get Clingan open by making Dickinson “chase” him out to the perimeter and back inside again.
Dickinson is toast in this matchup defensively.

Our offense presents an impossible choice. Clingan goes out and sets a dribble handoff pick and roll. You try and drop your less mobile big and then Newton and Spencer can just pull up wide open from 3 behind Clingan's massive screen. You play it more aggressively at the level and then Clingan or Johnson is rolling or slipping to the rim for a dunk or short roll pass to a shooter in the corner. You play it inbetween and our PGs are attacking into your big and then throwing the lob or Clingan is getting into oreb position. You switch it and Newton is getting your big in foul trouble or we're putting your big in a blender of off ball action.
 
Dickinson is toast in this matchup defensively.

Our offense presents an impossible choice. Clingan goes out and sets a dribble handoff pick and roll. You try and drop your less mobile big and then Newton and Spencer can just pull up wide open from 3 behind Clingan's massive screen. You play it more aggressively at the level and then Clingan or Johnson is rolling or slipping to the rim for a dunk or short roll pass to a shooter in the corner. You play it inbetween and our PGs are attacking into your big and then throwing the lob or Clingan is getting into oreb position. You switch it and Newton is getting your big in foul trouble or we're putting your big in a blender of off ball action.
Yup, I imagine that screens with Clingan will be a big part of what we do offensively
 
We can win if Clingan is closer to 100% than we’ve seen so far. He looked better physically yesterday than we’ve seen so far this season, but he’s still got some ways to go. Containing Dickinson down low for 30 minutes is crucial, cause Samson doesn’t have the strength to matchup with him for long stretches.

Having castle to matchup physically with McCullar would be huge. That allows Newton to guard Jackson/their 2 guard and conserve energy for offense. I’d have Spencer guard Harris so he’s not physically outmatched.

Without Castle, I’m not sure I trust Ball on McCullar, but we might need someone stronger than Newton to guard his physical drives, and absorb all that contact. You also have to account for Phog Allen refs, who will surely call many fouls on his drives.

We know we can win handily if our shots are falling, but in the toughest road environment of the sport, you gotta be ready for a grinder of a game.
 
How is the Kansas backup C? Could SJ give us the advantage if HD and DC cancel each other
An average backup, at best. Which is part of the reason why they have had to play Dickinson over 33 MPG against their 3 power conference opponents this year.

Winning the net possessions when he is on the bench is also going to be important for us if we want to get a win.
 
How is the Kansas backup C? Could SJ give us the advantage if HD and DC cancel each other

According to our resident Jayhawks expert, trash. Parker Braun, extremely meh stats and efficiency last year on low usage at Santa Clara. Nepo recruit who actually has to play.
 
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According to our resident Jayhawks expert, trash. Parker Braun, extremely meh stats and efficiency last year on low usage at Santa Clara. Nepo recruit who actually has to play.
He’s not a terrible backup C. Smart. Makes the right play, but not an impact player in any respect. Johnson would give him fits. He isn’t athletic enough. They‘d put Adams on Johnson and Braun on Karaban defensively. That would be great for Alex.

But none of that will decide the game. Shooting will probably be the key. I think we have a clear advantage at SG. C and PG are a wash. KU has a clear advantage at SF. PF is slight edge UConn. Karaban is the better player, but Adams is a terrible, awful matchup for him. UConn has the bench edge.
 
He’s not a terrible backup C. Smart. Makes the right play, but not an impact player in any respect. Johnson would give him fits. He isn’t athletic enough. They‘d put Adams on Johnson and Braun on Karaban defensively. That would be great for Alex.

But none of that will decide the game. Shooting will probably be the key. I think we have a clear advantage at SG. C and PG are a wash. KU has a clear advantage at SF. PF is slight edge UConn. Karaban is the better player, but Adams is a terrible, awful matchup for him. UConn has the bench edge.
I wonder if Adams isn’t as tough a matchup as it seems. Adam’s is an athletic freak, so obviously that doesn’t bide super well for Karaban, but he isn’t going to score on jumpers and is more one dimensional than the guys that have really given him trouble.
 
Dickinson is toast in this matchup defensively.

Our offense presents an impossible choice. Clingan goes out and sets a dribble handoff pick and roll. You try and drop your less mobile big and then Newton and Spencer can just pull up wide open from 3 behind Clingan's massive screen. You play it more aggressively at the level and then Clingan or Johnson is rolling or slipping to the rim for a dunk or short roll pass to a shooter in the corner. You play it inbetween and our PGs are attacking into your big and then throwing the lob or Clingan is getting into oreb position. You switch it and Newton is getting your big in foul trouble or we're putting your big in a blender of off ball action.

I really hope it plays out like this.
 
I agree really. Karaban and Spencer are the main advantages. Dickerson is better on offense than Clingan, but on defense it is reversed. On the other hand, without Castle, McCullar is much better than Solo. PG is about a wash. That said, KJ Adams is so much more athletic than Alex he may give him problems.
Kansas isnt a good shooting team. For them to win theyre going to have to shoot well from 3 and hope we have a night off. If we are hitting from three and they arent its a wrap and it might not be close. If Kansas hits some 3s and DC gets in foul trouble and AK, CS and Newt just arent hitting from the outside itll be a tough night. Thats a lot of ifs for Kansas but thats what its going to take. This Uconn team is no joke. This team plays like it didnt win a game in conference last season. They are not playing like anything is owed because theyre the champs they play like theyve won nothing.
 
I wonder if Adams isn’t as tough a matchup as it seems. Adam’s is an athletic freak, so obviously that doesn’t bide super well for Karaban, but he isn’t going to score on jumpers and is more one dimensional than the guys that have really given him trouble.
He scores by attacking the rim and on lobs, exactly the things Alex struggles to defend. I’d much rather see Alex paired up against a guy who stays outside.

@TheChamps990411 is right that they aren’t a great shooting team. But Dickinson can shoot. If I’m Self I play him mostly outside and force Clingan away from the rim. Then McCullar and Adams have big matchup advantages in the paint. Keep DC back and Hunter just rains 3s.
 
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I really hope it plays out like this.
I'll put it this way. Dickinson isn't going to decide the game defensively in Kansas' favor. If it doesn't play out that way, it's because Kansas' guards and wings were able to lock and trail so close defensively that our guards couldn't turn the corner or create advantages. Harris and McCullar are really good defensively.

Or we just missed 3s and couldn't keep up scoring with Kansas. It's hard to score on the road, especially for role and bench players.
 
Here’s a bold prediction: Dickinson is going to leave Clingan wide open on the perimeter, and he’s going to make a three very early. Maybe not two, like Adama against Miami, but just one will give them a whole other aspect of our dynamic offense to worry about.
 
I’m genuinely curious to see what they get out of Dickinson defensively in this game. The couple KU games I’ve watched this year, his effort level on defense has been embarrassing. He’s going to get killed defensively with UConn’s pick and roll game if that happens. If playing Clingan and UConn at home doesn’t get Dickinson to put even a reasonable amount of effort in, he just needs to pack it up and go home.
 
I’m genuinely curious to see what they get out of Dickinson defensively in this game. The couple KU games I’ve watched this year, his effort level on defense has been embarrassing. He’s going to get killed defensively with UConn’s pick and roll game if that happens. If playing Clingan and UConn at home doesn’t get Dickinson to put even a reasonable amount of effort in, he just needs to pack it up and go home.
He’s not great defensively but he’s also avoiding fouls so he can play 32-33 minutes. He won’t leave the paint to guard Donovan on PnR. Why bother? You’d attack Dickinson inside. But both teams have things that can be exploited and guys to exploit them. It’s going to be a very interesting game.
 
He’s not great defensively but he’s also avoiding fouls so he can play 32-33 minutes. He won’t leave the paint to guard Donovan on PnR. Why bother? You’d attack Dickinson inside. But both teams have things that can be exploited and guys to exploit them. It’s going to be a very interesting game.
Well, if he doesn’t leave the paint when Clingan sets a pick, there will be nobody to help our on player whose defender is being screened. Our various shotmakers will take advantage.
 
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Here's a good clip of what our offense might do against an aggressive switching/ball denial defense with someone sagging off Clingan/Johnson. Also could be why Gallagher considers us the best.

(Won't embed because it's a clip, click to watch).
 
Here's a good clip of what our offense might do against an aggressive switching/ball denial defense with someone sagging off Clingan/Johnson. Also could be why Gallagher considers us the best.

(Won't embed because it's a clip, click to watch).

Our team is pretty unique in that we have enough high IQ passers/cutters to make a cut-heavy offense work. I love back-cutting versus pressure but it doesn't REALLY seem to work more than a few times a game for most teams. Our guys have the chops to pull it off. We're really dangerous versus pressure and presses.
 
Our team is pretty unique in that we have enough high IQ passers/cutters to make a cut-heavy offense work. I love back-cutting versus pressure but it doesn't REALLY seem to work more than a few times a game for most teams. Our guys have the chops to pull it off. We're really dangerous versus pressure and presses.
It's just crazy because this was beautiful execution (to the point where a mistake by their D was inevitable at some point). But it's not even our main offense. It's just like a random sub thing we can do vs. some looks. We're not Princeton or whomever where this is every possession.

Our scheme "bag" is so big.
 
It's just crazy because this was beautiful execution (to the point where a mistake by their D was inevitable at some point). But it's not even our main offense. It's just like a random sub thing we can do vs. some looks. We're not Princeton or whomever where this is every possession.

Our scheme "bag" is so big.
This. It's not anyone aspect of our scheme it's that it can beat you a lot of different ways and is unrelenting. Yes it's physically tough for a lot of teams to match up with us, but it's mentally tough for everyone who plays us.
 

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