Karaban!!M

[Tenspro2002]

Alex seems like he is going to have a Colin Gillespie like career.

For opposing teams it’s going to seem like he plays 9 years at UConn.

Really hard to believe that he is only half way through his freshmen year.

By the time he is done, he will no doubt go down as one of the all time UConn fan favorites, if not jersey on the wall. Hard to see him translating to the NBA (hope I am wrong) but doesn’t mean he can’t be an AA caliber player here.

Thank you Alex!!!!!

Honestly, he reminds me of those 6'8 white guys that Syracuse would get to play in the zone, rebound, and shoot 3s. Those guys annoyed the hell out of us. Imagine what other teams will think about Karaban.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

He doesn't do everything and he can go into shooting slumps (and I wish when he pick-and-popped he'd get 3 inches behind the 3-point line instead of 3 feet), but he doesn't make many mistakes and does a lot of little things.

Your post has a lot of good points, but it's hard to justify that a player goes into actual shooting slumps when they shoot a 59 2p% (251st in the nation) and a 38.4 3p% (373rd in the nation).

When was his last subpar shooting game? The Xavier game on NYE?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Alex Karaban
He’s the man

Every one of those shots in the 2nd half was money

Every shot
Was in a big spot

the one at the end of the first half and one of the misses in the second half were halfway down before rimming out. His shots are always online.

When you get people like Alex and Andre, they don’t think about themselves so he doesn’t feel a lot of pressure, Alex, because he’s not thinking about Alex 24 hours a day.”

Alternate free access:

Calm, cool and consistent: All UConn freshman Alex Karaban thinks about is the sport​

Such a rarity for any late teen or young adult.

 

[imno1]

Yesterday they made an effort to get him open shots. More of that please.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Yesterday they made an effort to get him open shots. More of that please.

The more Hawkins and Newton shoot well from outside betterthe better it is for Karaban because teams will cheat even more towards defending those two and gamble on leaving Karaban open.

Amazingly enough Sanogo seems to play much better when there are three guys on the floor demanding constant perimeter attention. When they run the offense with multiple screens and movement it prevents the defense from collapsing on Sanogo.

Long-winded way of saying UConn seems much smoother on offense doing and outside in offense where the primary goal is to get a perimeter scorer a shot and a dump down Sanogo is the back up plan, rather than the inside out of dumping it Sanogo and trying to run the offense through Sanogo on the block.

 

[J187Money]

Your post has a lot of good points, but it's hard to justify that a player goes into actual shooting slumps when they shoot a 59 2p% (251st in the nation) and a 38.4 3p% (373rd in the nation).

When was his last subpar shooting game? The Xavier game on NYE?

Alex Karaban 2023-24 Stats per Game - NCAAM - ESPN

The 2023-24 NCAAM season stats per game for Alex Karaban of the UConn Huskies on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

Subpar games (statistically):

Both Xavier games (11 pts total)
Creighton (2 pts)
Florida (3 pts)
OKST (4 pts)
DePaul (4 pts)

The Xavier games are the only games where he played poorly AND we lost. He is having an amazing Freshman season and we are so lucky to have him. The shot yesterday was straight ONIONS!!

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Brandon Miller?

Miller is 75th, which is still amazing for a freshman playing a prominent role in the SEC.

Based on the metrics, I was quoting, Syracuse's freshman Maliq Brown is 13th in the nation in KenPom offensive rating:

70.4 2p% (17th in nation), 104th in O rebounding %, 422nd lowest TO rate.

After not being a part of the rotation earlier in the season, Brown has been pretty impressive in the last nine games: 9.0p, 6.6r, 1.6s, 0.9b, 74.5 2p% in 30.4 mpg

 

[Chin Diesel]

Alex Karaban 2023-24 Stats per Game - NCAAM - ESPN

The 2023-24 NCAAM season stats per game for Alex Karaban of the UConn Huskies on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

Subpar games (statistically):

Both Xavier games (11 pts total)
Creighton (2 pts)
Florida (3 pts)
OKST (4 pts)
DePaul (4 pts)

The Xavier games are the only games where he played poorly AND we lost. He is having an amazing Freshman season and we are so lucky to have him. The shot yesterday was straight ONIONS!!

And he didn't hesitate at all. He hunts for the big shot. I'd have to look at the tape again but at least one other Husky had a look at 3 and passed it up. When that ball touched Karaban's hands, he was ready and launched it. The moment isn't bigger than him.

 

[ucp990411]

My question is: If you were the coach in the next couple of years do you play him at the 3 or 4? He is a 3 at the next level and an important and often overlooked part of being a coach is to get players ready for the next level. He struggles on defense vs physical 4's but can he guard a 3? He certainly can shoot and his handle is getting better.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Was also impressed with his interior passing the last game. Would love to see him develop a pull up jumper. I think he'll finish around the rim as he gets stronger.

He had a play yesterday where he grabbed a rebound and was looking for an outlet but all UConn's guards were being shadhowed by Gtown players.

Karaban took a quick look, put the ball on the floor and quickly dribbled the ball over half court to get the offense running. So refreshing to have a 4 who can rebound and dribble. And shoot.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

He had a play yesterday where he grabbed a rebound and was looking for an outlet but all UConn's guards were being shadhowed by Gtown players.

Karaban took a quick look, put the ball on the floor and quickly dribbled the ball over half court to get the offense running. So refreshing to have a 4 who can rebound and dribble. And shoot.

And pass, too. Just think of how good he's going to be in a couple years.