Just plain terrible.

[intlzncster]

Again you can't discount his blocks during the run, they were critical. But you can't dismiss the stupid 3rd foul when Trimble was out of control and he fouled him just because. If he puts his hands straight up he throws up a prayer and he gets the rebound (maybe lol). For every good thing I can name 2 plays on defense which he was late or not around. Rebounded better especially early but I can't even name a play on the offensive end where he did anything. This team can't be struggling in half court playing 4 on 5 basketball it's that simple. He never gets position to rebound in the offensive end against good, big guys. Always swinging away from behind. And the one time he gets the ball in scoring position on the low block he throws up a very weak 4 foot air ball, is this good for our offensive flow.

"half decent" games being acceptable is making this team what it is. Gibbs needs to step up too, Miller needs to do more, Adams needs to be more consistent and finish, Rodney more consistent, DHam needs to finish around the rim in the first half and he also really needs to get a left hand to be great. I mean many guys played ok and are going to play better I believe, they've done it before. But AB, same guy like it or not. Block some shots, miss his assignment because he's thinking whether or not to block the shot and then run down the other end and get nothing against good teams. Not even a damn pick of impact ever. What do you want me to say, he's going to be fine?

Knock Knock...no one's home!

While some of these things are true. Brimah needs to be in the starting lineup. Their biggest problem right now is our defense. As others have said, it's a layup line without him in there. We can't get stops, which leads to a lack of transition points, which leads to being forced into a half court offense. They had ZERO fast break points at the half yesterday. Half court offense is clearly not UCONN's strength. And it's not just Brimah in there either; there isn't much offense being run, as the PG situation is unsettled. They aren't cohesive in the half court right now.

As you said, Brimah needs to eliminate the dumb foul, because they need him on the floor.

 

[Pmurph678]

DHAM is great an all, but his offense is so limited for being as skilled as he is. How many times is he going to drive to the bucket, pump fake 4 times and put up some awkward shot.

It works surprisingly well, but it doesn't translate against solid opponents.

 

[SubbaBub]

Brimah
Miller
Hamilton
Purvis
Gibbs (Oleander remix)

That is the starting five, Adams comes in for whichever of Rodney or Sterling is missing open shots or jacking up dumb ones. This shouldn't take more than 2 minutes gametime. Or pull the JC 10 second sub for something egregious.

Calhoun comes in for minutes if either is really off on their shot like Gibbs was last night. That's your back court.

Enoch comes in for Brimah if he gets in foul trouble. Nolan only to rest one of them.

Facey comes in for Miller if he gets in foul trouble.

Use the three guards to spell Hamilton.

I don't think the small lineup can guard or rebound well enough to use on purpose. So Hamilton at the 4 doesn't work for me.

This team needs guys on the court that will rebound and rotate on defense. Staying in front of the ball handler or fighting through screens might be too much to ask.

Taking bad shots or missing too many open ones should earn time on the bench.

 

[Mots010]

I wish Dham had a little back-to-the-basket game, similar to that Euro dude on St Joe's in 2014. That guy destroyed us with post ups and dishing when help came.

 

[Stinger92860]

This guy wouldn't improve his offensive game if he lived with Pete Newell and his staff every summer. What are you guys watching. If he was any good at all on offense and even if Coach Miller does suck he'd be better for he fact he's played 2 1/2 years - he's not. It's not coaching he's no good on that end because he retains zero and has no natural instincts except blocking shots. It's the sam thing on both ends, either block a shot or get beat on a pick and roll, or late to help. The offense isn't as good!

He's not getting better and it's not on the staff. Purvis is better, Hamilton is better, Facey is even better, Enoch will be better. He is what he is accept it because it's not getting better. Keep hammering Gibbs!

What has me shaking my head, is the Brimah jump-hook, where he does not leave the ground and his release point is near his head. That gets blocked 80% of the time. Its the same move he has had for 2.5 years. Are you telling me we can't teach him how to extend and jump in one motion? If he can't at least try to do that then you tell him to forget about that "move".

 

[buddy]

Maryland's players, and most of the P5 teams that UConn has/will face, have bigger, stronger guys. UConn gets pushed around because they don't have the body strength to compete. Recruiting needs to focus on strength and bulk down low. UConn cannot establish a presence there and it is very costly.

 

[uconngb]

Yep I said he was awful first 5 minutes, didn't guard too many people but no the only one there. But overall not bad, not our worst player on the court tonight that's for sure.

I think he was relative to what our expectations are. He has really under-delivered in every non-cupcake game. I think he should be shown the bench and maybe be used as a John Gwynn-like offensive weapon coming off the bench. He does not deserve to start. Brimah, unfortunately, is the best of a bunch of bad options in the middle.

 

[intlzncster]

UConn gets pushed around because they don't have the body strength to compete. Recruiting needs to focus on strength and bulk down low. UConn cannot establish a presence there and it is very costly.

You mean like Enoch? The only problem is that he is raw. Our guys have a bigger problem with getting in the right position (technique wise). It's not like they're establishing great position and THEN getting pushed off it. They don't even go to where they are supposed to be (mental).

 

[lange10]

Our half court offense is putrid. I think that is the biggest issue, to be honest. Defense and rebounding is about desire and effort. But if we continue to run this atrocious half-court offense of "pass the ball around the perimeter until Dham creates for himself 1 on 3 and hope he makes a forced shot in the paint" (which I'm not faulting Dham for by the way. He has been great and if we ran a real offense, his FG% would be much higher) we aren't getting past the first weekend in March. Gibbs shoots 45% from 3 but can't get an open look off a screen? Miller is a great offensive threat in the low block but never gets the ball. When teams go zone (in which you want to attack the gaps and get the ball in the middle) we don't have a man at the free throw line to dissect the D. We don't run inbounds plays...ever. I don't know what is happening in practice.

 

[boog204]

1. Gibbs, Purvis, Hamilton means we have no true point card on the court. Adams needs to play
2. Because we are a 3 guard offense, this leaves an undersized Miller and a Charmin Soft Brimah to rebound
3. Brimah give us little on the offensive end which means teams can sell out on us on the perimeter and he is one dimensional on defense. A shot blocker that can be taken out of the game by spreading the floor.
4. Bench is overrated. Calhoun, Nolan, Cassel, and company brought nothing
5. Gibbs and Purvis are beaten defensively leading to guard penetration and easy buckets


Most important: I could always say that Allen, Rip , Gordon, Walker, Napier would/could take over the game carry the team. Hamilton showed flashes in the second half, but not enough.

1. Is Adams a point guard though? He had a nice dish to Miller but he also made some awful decisions (he's a frosh, I know) so I'm not sure he's ready to take the reins. I agree that none of the three guys are a point.
2. Agreed... The Miller = Dennis Rodman hyperbole is looking a bit foolish.
3. Agreed but that's the give and take with AB. If our offense plays like it can, you can deal with a one-dimensional player.
4. Agreed... None of them are athletic or skilled enough to really help and Enoch is too raw just yet. I think we were all hoping either Omar or Cassell could give us something but both are pretty lost and/or flawed.
5. x1000... Blown away by how poorly our perimeter D is. Add DHam there; he is just as bad. Some of the worst perimeter D I've ever seen by a UConn team.

 

[tzznandrew]

Maryland's players, and most of the P5 teams that UConn has/will face, have bigger, stronger guys. UConn gets pushed around because they don't have the body strength to compete. Recruiting needs to focus on strength and bulk down low. UConn cannot establish a presence there and it is very costly.

You do realize that our recruiting is on par with--or better than--all P5 schools not named Kentucky, Duke, UNC, and Kansas, right?

 

[boog204]

You do realize that our recruiting is on par with--or better than--all P5 schools not named Kentucky, Duke, UNC, and Kansas, right?

He's not wrong though in saying that prior to this year we haven't recruited many tough big men. Miller, Enoch, and Diallo (on paper) are a welcome change from years of Amida, Nolan, Olander, and to a lesser extent AO and Drummond, etc. Both of these guys, while physically imposing, were pretty soft as well.

 

[tzznandrew]

He's not wrong though in saying that prior to this year we haven't recruited many tough big men. Miller, Enoch, and Diallo (on paper) are a welcome change from years of Amida, Nolan, Olander, and to a lesser extent AO and Drummond, etc. Both of these guys, while physically imposing, were pretty soft as well.

To be fair, though, we got Brimah, Facey, Nolan, etc. while we were in the Big East.

 

[gtcam]

The frontcourt coaching is becoming a concern. We used to be able to count on raw, unheralded bigs developing over their 4 years here. Are Nolan, Facey, and Brimah significantly better than they were when they got here?

Who here is coachable to turn it on immediately? None of these guys. UConn LOVES to recruit the wings and the PGs but a quality big man? Christ, NG was the best big man during the tourney run and DH will again lead the team in rebounding.
Enoch may have potential and I still see some real good in Facey, AB is AB (a Thabeet in sheeps clothing) and PN is a senior.
I am on the side that KO is not the reason for the loss and I call the technical unfortunate - it didn't lose the game
This team lacks a PG, a leader, and all kinds of toughness and desire
A bunch of nonchalant guys who (with exception to DH, JA, SE and KF) have thus far shown a complete lack of "getting your hands dirty" desire and attitude.
I am hoping that JA turns out to be that person next year. Maybe he can start NOW!!!

 

[intlzncster]

Who here is coachable to turn it on immediately? None of these guys. UConn LOVES to recruit the wings and the PGs but a quality big man? Christ, NG was the best big man during the tourney run and DH will again lead the team in rebounding.

No he wasn't. He played sparely (and well) at the 4. That's it. It was Daniels by a mile. And I certainly didn't see NG guarding the Julius Randles or Patric Youngs of the world.

 

[superjohn]

No he wasn't. He played sparely (and well) at the 4. That's it. I certainly didn't see him guarding the Julius Randles or Patric Youngs of the world.

Niels did guard Julius Randle for stretches of the title game though and Randle did nothing against him.

 

[intlzncster]

Niels did guard Julius Randle for stretches of the title game though and Randle did nothing against him.

I wasn't implying he didn't guard these guys at all, just that he wasnt the primary guy. Poor phrasing on my part.

It's not like he was playing starting minutes at the four. When he and Daniels were in, it was Daniels at the 4 and NG at the three. Daniels was by far and away our best big in that tournament.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I'll pile on.

Two things that every great UConn team has had that this team lacks....

1) A game manager in the backcourt. El Amin, Ollie, Sheffer, Taliek, Kemba, etc, etc, etc. Some guys were true PG's, some were more hybrids, but they all managed the flow of a game. There is NONE of that right now. The flow and tempo of our offense and our ability to go in and impose our brand of basketball on another team is non-existent.
UConn has a rich PG tradition even prior to Calhoun
We have one true PG on this team. Adams has to be given the team . He will make Mistakes but it's still a better team with him running it.
He may be our Best freshman PG since KEA.
Free up Gibbs ,and Purvis to bomb a few and take pressure off Hamilton

2) Team defense. A UConn staple. The ability to stifle a team for an 8-10 minute stretch. I'll attribute this to these guys just not having enough minutes together and hope Ollie can do what Calhoun did in getting them to peak in mid-to-late Feb....but I'm not holding my breath right now.

Absolutely true , but just like offense it requires chemistry. ,Impeding our development Is our lack of a rotation constistancy.

 

[David 76]

For what it's worth, I like how Adams brings great energy on the defensive end - he's a freshman so he gets beat once in a while, or plays too hard and picks up cheap fouls (thinking about Jay Bilas quote "not every possession is the Alamo" more so than the cheap one yesterday), but I don't question his effort or even his attention to detail. He fights around screens when he's supposed to, and sticks with shooters when he's supposed to. You don't see very many freshman mental mistakes from him, and you never see a lack of effort.

Brimah also had a very good rebounding game yesterday. 7 in 18 minutes, several of which were out of his area or in heavy traffic. He pulled down one long one off a missed FT yesterday late from a maze of five people that I don't know how he got. He had to go full extension reaching back to get a paw on it and pulled it in. Offensively, he is what he is - limited with the occasional bonus points (he did make a face up jumper yesterday), but our other four starters are all proven double digit scorers and plenty of teams, including our own, have been successful with defensive role players surrounded by scorers.

I also think Adams has shown flashes of greatness on offense and defense. Is he ready? Will Gibbs snap out of this funk? I don't know. But I think anyone not showing effort on "D" should sit. Even DHam. Send a message

 

[tzznandrew]

But Uconn strives to be with Kentucky, Duke, UNC and Kansas in the conversation. You cannot say that UConn players currently looked anything like what even Maryland put on the court last night physically. It was men against boys. If he continues to get "stick men" they will get broken.

We've literally never recruited like that top tier. We have won, traditionally, a different way.

And yes, they didn't look great yesterday down low. But I merely meant to disabuse people of this idea that when it comes to recruiting, there's the P5, and then there's us. I mean, it's not like JC didn't have teams physically abused down low. Maryland's Lonny Baxter destroyed us in 2002, and pretty much every Pitt team wreaked havoc in the paint. People almost certainly lamented how Charmin soft we were in 2009 after DaJuan Blair WWE'd Thabeet.

 

[UConNick]

None of our bigs as of now have the mean streak or junkyard dog attitude a guy like Adrien (God help him) or even (Soph year) Oriakhi had. Ollie always preaches that he's recruiting kids with the right types of personalities; imo sometimes you need that hard nosed player to come in and show the opponent that nothing will be easy.

I say this also in lieu of some comments I heard from a member of Ollie's staff (don't think he's a coach but works closely with KO) today, that the four kids coming in next year are all in the same personality mold. I am in no way suggesting that having kids with a good attitude is detrimental, or that having kids with a 'bad' attitude is necessary, but it helps to have players that genuinely don't like the guys on the other side of the court, and channel that intensity right into their performance.

The rest of this post is just reiterating some of those comments. I'm trying to 'hide' it a little in this thread, because the guy also mentioned that the coaches read the Boneyard and knows that they're being heavily criticized!

He talked about how Jackson is such a pure shooter, and has a very good handle for his height. Also said that he bleeds blue, and that the relaitonship with DHam definitely played a bit of a role in the recruitment.

In terms of Durham, he reiterated what we already know: he's a top 15 player in the country that had the power schools back off a bit after the injuries. However, there are big expectations for him, because an ACL tear isn't what it used to be. A Daniels comparison was also made, something I found rather interesting. To me, what made Daniels great was his shooting ability at his size, and I don't know if I see that in Juwan.

Gilbert was the player he was most excited for. Straight up floor general who comes from one of the best high schools and one of the best AAU programs in the country, and that he brushed off many elite programs during his recruitment because he so passionately wanted to be a Husky. Can he reclassify and suit up this year? He's exactly what we need right now!

Diarra's words were the ones I was the most interested in sharing. He mentioned how he's got a great head on his shoulders, and the coaches are in love with his wingspan. Most interestingly, the guy said that Diarra "knows how to pick good friends." I may be reading too far into that statement, but to me, that says one thing: Hamidou Diallo.

Final little tidbit: he mentioned how one player in particular wanted to come here but was at Maryland, and therefore really wanted to prove himself against us. To me, that confirms that Stone would be a Husky right now if the decision had been 100% his.

 

[CTBasketball]

To throw Gibbs that deep is beyond ridiculous but hey that's what you see from this. You can't discuss Gibbs defense without talking about DHam's because it could be worst. He gets a pass though I get it! Gibbs is not that bad and neither is DHam they just both need to get better. Coaching staff at Seton Hall wasn't on the same page with Gibbs right? And the other 5 transfers? But it's Sterling, I mean we'd be 8-0 without him! LOL

Purvis is confusing agree. But his HS confidence was there for the run, need it more often.

KO can do what he wants, he's the coach. Should he take a little responsibility - yes. Does he have to? No it was 1 point. Maryland is well coached but so is our team, guys just need to step up. Their bigs out rebounded ours dramatically and you can't teach that size or will, or smarts rebounding the ball. We need people who go get it, Miller needs to do more of that.

First off I apologize on the late timing. No cell phones at work.

Now, I will agree with you. DHam plays matador defense - maybe he'll end up in Spain. A guy with his athleticism and length with that defensive repertoire is embarrassing.

I believe KO gave them more than just 1 point - that was a severe momentum switch in favor of Maryland. We got outscored 9-2 down the stretch and played bad defense once again. I just don't see how you can do that in that situation. Give your kids a chance to win the game.

And finally Gibbsy boy. He does play atrocious defense, and you're right not as bad as Hamilton in some spots. Outside of Gibbs' defense, the problem I have with him in the game is that he lurks in the corner when he doesn't have the ball. Makes no movement unless a screen is set for him or he is in an isolation. Every possession is like this. And he fueled the fire at Seton Hall - him and Isaiah Whitehead split the locker room down the middle, each taking 5 or so guys. Coaches sided with the future, Whitehead and Carrington so Gibbs fell from grace. That created big problems why the Pirates went 4-13 down the stretch last year. Once Whitehead came back from injury, he took some of Gibb's scoring away.

 

[intlzncster]

None of our bigs as of now have the mean streak or junkyard dog attitude a guy like Adrien (God help him) or even (Soph year) Oriakhi had. Ollie always preaches that he's recruiting kids with the right types of personalities; imo sometimes you need that hard nosed player to come in and show the opponent that nothing will be easy.

I say this also in lieu of some comments I heard from a member of Ollie's staff (don't think he's a coach but works closely with KO) today, that the four kids coming in next year are all in the same personality mold. I am in no way suggesting that having kids with a good attitude is detrimental, or that having kids with a 'bad' attitude is necessary, but it helps to have players that genuinely don't like the guys on the other side of the court, and channel that intensity right into their performance.

The rest of this post is just reiterating some of those comments. I'm trying to 'hide' it a little in this thread, because the guy also mentioned that the coaches read the Boneyard and knows that they're being heavily criticized!

He talked about how Jackson is such a pure shooter, and has a very good handle for his height. Also said that he bleeds blue, and that the relaitonship with DHam definitely played a bit of a role in the recruitment.

In terms of Durham, he reiterated what we already know: he's a top 15 player in the country that had the power schools back off a bit after the injuries. However, there are big expectations for him, because an ACL tear isn't what it used to be. A Daniels comparison was also made, something I found rather interesting. To me, what made Daniels great was his shooting ability at his size, and I don't know if I see that in Juwan.

Gilbert was the player he was most excited for. Straight up floor general who comes from one of the best high schools and one of the best AAU programs in the country, and that he brushed off many elite programs during his recruitment because he so passionately wanted to be a Husky. Can he reclassify and suit up this year? He's exactly what we need right now!

Diarra's words were the ones I was the most interested in sharing. He mentioned how he's got a great head on his shoulders, and the coaches are in love with his wingspan. Most interestingly, the guy said that Diarra "knows how to pick good friends." I may be reading too far into that statement, but to me, that says one thing: Hamidou Diallo.

Final little tidbit: he mentioned how one player in particular wanted to come here but was at Maryland, and therefore really wanted to prove himself against us. To me, that confirms that Stone would be a Husky right now if the decision had been 100% his.

Great post. Thanks

 

[Stainmaster]

And finally Gibbsy boy. He does play atrocious defense, and you're right not as bad as Hamilton in some spots. Outside of Gibbs' defense, the problem I have with him in the game is that he lurks in the corner when he doesn't have the ball. Makes no movement unless a screen is set for him or he is in an isolation. Every possession is like this. And he fueled the fire at Seton Hall - him and Isaiah Whitehead split the locker room down the middle, each taking 5 or so guys. Coaches sided with the future, Whitehead and Carrington so Gibbs fell from grace. That created big problems why the Pirates went 4-13 down the stretch last year. Once Whitehead came back from injury, he took some of Gibb's scoring away.

The Whitehead problems were much more on Whitehead's side...his HS coach and father of his best buddy was hired by Willard in a package deal to get him to commit. Whitehead and his buddies (Delgado, Carrington, Trevonn Morton) were noted as being the source of discord in that locker room. Look at Jaren Sina's transfer situation.

 

[Mano]

First game that i've ever left early.. literally in WELL over a decade. This team is just flat out mind boggling... no words. Just disappointment.

How on earth do you leave a game like that early?!? Unless, you know, it's not your choice. *ahem*BigErn*ahem*