KO's weakness as a coach is apparent

[housekeys]

Jalen has not been a perfect PG, but under the circumstances he has been excellent. However, it is not obvious that he should be our PG next year. Aside from the arguments that both AG and JA can play both, you have to consider a couple of things. Can AG be productive as a 2 guard than as a point? Is JA less productive as a 2?Getting production from one, while not the other is a problem. While many have sung the praises of JA because of his point production (a major plus in a PG - and essential in making deep runs into the NCAA - see KW, Bazz ), the true value is in getting other players involved in the offense and handling/protecting the ball (i.e. assist to TO's). We need production from many spots on the court, and having a super star in JA, whether he is 1 or 2, is not going to be enough. Both of our guards are studs, IMO, so we are in good shape either way. JA has also proven to be clutch. My final thought is that match-ups may be the deciding factor on who starts at the point, and results will be the factor in deciding who finishes.

 

[Candyman]

I see Gilbert taking a Boatright approach and playing most off ball but driving and creating or scoring at every opportunity. Only problem I have is that if Adams drives and finds an open Gilbert can he knock down an open three?

 

[pnow15]

Jalen has a legit shot as an NBA player if Ollie continues to play him at point.
Ollie has to give the ball to Jalen and let him have the team next year.

 

[upstater]

Tulsa had a better league record than us by 1 game and had we lost to Cincy we would have had the same number of losses. We had a better resume but I disagree we were a stone cold lock. Tulsa was their strangest pick last year amongst several, the committee always has a few left out that shouldn't be and few put in who shouldn't be in.

The board here had people looking at all the measures, not only RPI (41) but BPI. Most here looked and said we were a lock. I agreed.

UConn was 23-10 before the Cincy game. Tulsa was 20-12. With a weaker OOC than UConn played. As for league records, I distrust them in unbalanced leagues. Tulsa plays Tulane and East Carolina twice. Just one game separated them, 12-6, 11-7. I feel the same way about the league regular season. Unless you beat the 2nd place team by more than 1 game, the 2nd place team is the real champ if they win the tourney.

Regardless, UConn was far and away ahead of many teams that made it in.
Also, if you recall, the last 4 teams were Tulsa, Michigan, Wichita St, Vandy. The RPI of these last 4 was 62, 57, 48, 63. UConn was at 41 prior to Cincy. And they were way ahead in BPI.

So Tulsa wasn't even the team with the worst RPI. Vandy was at 19-13.

 

[superjohn]

The board here had people looking at all the measures, not only RPI (41) but BPI. Most here looked and said we were a lock. I agreed.

UConn was 23-10 before the Cincy game. Tulsa was 20-12. With a weaker OOC than UConn played. As for league records, I distrust them in unbalanced leagues. Tulsa plays Tulane and East Carolina twice. Just one game separated them, 12-6, 11-7. I feel the same way about the league regular season. Unless you beat the 2nd place team by more than 1 game, the 2nd place team is the real champ if they win the tourney.

Regardless, UConn was far and away ahead of many teams that made it in.
Also, if you recall, the last 4 teams were Tulsa, Michigan, Wichita St, Vandy. The RPI of these last 4 was 62, 57, 48, 63. UConn was at 41 prior to Cincy. And they were way ahead in BPI.

So Tulsa wasn't even the team with the worst RPI. Vandy was at 19-13.

I agree with everything you're saying, it's my lack of trust in the NCAA that makes me a bit hesitant if we are anywhere near the bubble.

 

[Candyman]

The board here had people looking at all the measures, not only RPI (41) but BPI. Most here looked and said we were a lock. I agreed.

UConn was 23-10 before the Cincy game. Tulsa was 20-12. With a weaker OOC than UConn played. As for league records, I distrust them in unbalanced leagues. Tulsa plays Tulane and East Carolina twice. Just one game separated them, 12-6, 11-7. I feel the same way about the league regular season. Unless you beat the 2nd place team by more than 1 game, the 2nd place team is the real champ if they win the tourney.

Regardless, UConn was far and away ahead of many teams that made it in.
Also, if you recall, the last 4 teams were Tulsa, Michigan, Wichita St, Vandy. The RPI of these last 4 was 62, 57, 48, 63. UConn was at 41 prior to Cincy. And they were way ahead in BPI.

So Tulsa wasn't even the team with the worst RPI. Vandy was at 19-13.

Your looking at it after the fact and going by who you know they eventually let in. Going into that game, not knowing what we now know, UConn was not a stone cold lock, they were a bubble team. I know the feeling on this board for the most part was we have to win that game. Especially the doom and gloom of this board.

Even now when college basketball analysts talk about UConn last year they all say Jalen Adams saved UConn's season, that they would have missed the tourney. I read this from quite a few people, Dauster @NBCSports, Norlander @CBS Sports and Eisenberg @Yahoo.

 

[champs99and04]

I absolutely think the OP's theory has merit. Rotations have always been something I've quibbled with in regards to KO, at least over the last couple seasons. If one were to be critical of the 2013-14 team, they could posit that it took him too long to unleash the lineups with Giffey at center, when it had worked so well the year prior (due to necessity). For me, though, it started in 2014-15. I disagree slightly with the OP - I thought we were playing decent basketball by March when injuries had forced his hand. Couple that season with 2013 (when we had no scholarships) and this recent stretch (when we've had seven players) and it's fair to both compliment KO for doing his best work under duress while also wondering if it also might work in his favor.

Last season, he would take players out of the game and seem to forget that they were there. He had a maddening tendency of putting all of his fringe rotation players on the court at one time - the Cassell's, the Nolan's, even Enoch/Facey/Gibbs at times - and opening up an insurmountable rift as his best players look on. His insistence on strictly optimizing a players' minutes based on foul trouble (hey, our point guard picked up two fouls, we should take him out even though it will torpedo our chances of winning!) is also consistent with the overarching problem: occasionally, playing too many guys.

In fairness to him, this has worked in the past - I never would have condoned entrusting Terrence Samuel in 2014, yet the minutes he got throughout the season allowed him to develop to the point where he was a key cog in our run. This season, I was willing to cut back minutes on guys like Facey and Jackson - that ultimately proved untenable because of the injuries, but the point remains that if you cut your rotation too early, you risk compromising development.

But one of the reasons I think this board has been a bit melodramatic about our lack of depth is because they have become accustomed to disjointed rotations geared towards player development rather than team cohesiveness. Personally, I want the best guys out there with each other as much as possible. There are plenty of HOF coaches out there who agree with me. Many don't. The value of a depleted roster is that suddenly, opportunity exists for players to log extended minutes and better themselves - both within the team structure and from an individual standpoint - in a way they may not have been able to with a Terry Larrier occupying 25 front court minutes.

 

[upstater]

Your looking at it after the fact and going by who you know they eventually let in. Going into that game, not knowing what we now know, UConn was not a stone cold lock, they were a bubble team. I know the feeling on this board for the most part was we have to win that game. Especially the doom and gloom of this board.

Even now when college basketball analysts talk about UConn last year they all say Jalen Adams saved UConn's season, that they would have missed the tourney. I read this from quite a few people, Dauster @NBCSports, Norlander @CBS Sports and Eisenberg @Yahoo.

I'm doing anything but looking at it after the fact. I am telling you that on this board we were watching this day by day if not hour by hour, and in that last week, the board was 98% certain before the Cincy game. So to say I am only looking at this in retrospect simply isn't true.

As I wrote earlier, Joe Lunardi's bubble had 17 teams for 11 spots. UConn was one of the top 4 of the 17. And Lunardi wrote that article before the final game of the regular season (which UConn won). After that, UConn was firmly in according to Lunardi. This is long before the AAC championship.

 

[huskymagic]

SO getting back on track to the discussion at hand as no one is worrying about whether us or Tulsa were in the tournament before the AAC tournament. As it turned out from the NCAA committee, we were already in, but Joe Lunardi and other media bums were pushing the narrative that we were in the Last 4 out and needed to beat Cinci.

PS: JALEN IS OUR POINT GUARD IF HE RETURNS NOT ALTERIQUE AND THAT SHOULD NEVER BE MEDDLED WITH AGAIN! SOME OF YOU ARE ARGUING ABOUT TAKING FRESHMAN SHABAZZ(GILBERT) AND HAVING HIM RUN THE TEAM INSTEAD OF KEMBA(JALEN). LET'S BE SERIOUS FOLKS. GILBERT'S ROLE SHOULD BE WHAT BAZZ DID HIS FRESHMAN YEAR AND OR WHAT BOAT DID HIS JUNIOR YEAR.

 

[upstater]

SO getting back on track to the discussion at hand as no one is worrying about whether us or Tulsa were in the tournament before the AAC tournament. As it turned out from the NCAA committee, we were already in, but Joe Lunardi and other media bums were pushing the narrative that we were in the Last 4 out and needed to beat Cinci.

Joe Lunardi, before the last regular season game, which was a win over UCF:

Probable (5). These teams have a 65 percent T.O.P or better and should make the tournament, provided they suffer "no bad losses" down the stretch: Syracuse, Providence, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Connecticut.

Coin flip (8). These teams are in the 50/50 T.O.P range and need at least one more "good win" to make the field: Michigan, Butler, Florida, Oregon State, Gonzaga, Tulsa, St. Bonaventure, Alabama.

Possible (4). These teams have a 35 percent T.O.P. or lower and need a really big finish and/or deep conference-tournament run: George Washington, Ohio State, Washington, LSU.

Long shots (7). These teams aren't completely off the board, but they better not lose before their respective conference-championship games. In a typical year, no one from this category actually makes the tournament: BYU, Stanford, Creighton, Clemson, Florida State, Marquette, Georgia Tech.

 

[Matrim55]

Joe Lunardi, before the last regular season game, which was a win over UCF:

Probable (5). These teams have a 65 percent T.O.P or better and should make the tournament, provided they suffer "no bad losses" down the stretch: Syracuse, Providence, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Connecticut.

Coin flip (8). These teams are in the 50/50 T.O.P range and need at least one more "good win" to make the field: Michigan, Butler, Florida, Oregon State, Gonzaga, Tulsa, St. Bonaventure, Alabama.

Possible (4). These teams have a 35 percent T.O.P. or lower and need a really big finish and/or deep conference-tournament run: George Washington, Ohio State, Washington, LSU.

Long shots (7). These teams aren't completely off the board, but they better not lose before their respective conference-championship games. In a typical year, no one from this category actually makes the tournament: BYU, Stanford, Creighton, Clemson, Florida State, Marquette, Georgia Tech.

The sane people on the board know you're correct. We're all just wondering why you're still arguing with people who will never admit that...

 

[auror]

The board here had people looking at all the measures, not only RPI (41) but BPI. Most here looked and said we were a lock. I agreed.

UConn was 23-10 before the Cincy game. Tulsa was 20-12. With a weaker OOC than UConn played. As for league records, I distrust them in unbalanced leagues. Tulsa plays Tulane and East Carolina twice. Just one game separated them, 12-6, 11-7. I feel the same way about the league regular season. Unless you beat the 2nd place team by more than 1 game, the 2nd place team is the real champ if they win the tourney.

Regardless, UConn was far and away ahead of many teams that made it in.
Also, if you recall, the last 4 teams were Tulsa, Michigan, Wichita St, Vandy. The RPI of these last 4 was 62, 57, 48, 63. UConn was at 41 prior to Cincy. And they were way ahead in BPI.

So Tulsa wasn't even the team with the worst RPI. Vandy was at 19-13.

The committee wasn't a slave to RPI ranking, but they were paying attention to RPI top 50 wins.

From posts at the time:
"Syracuse's inclusion in the field wasn't close. He said the Orange had five top 50 wins, including at Duke and neutral-site wins over UConn and Texas A&M in the Bahamas that were the difference - Committee chair Joe Castiglione."
"Castiglione said Tulsa got in over its competition because of four top 50 wins. "
"Tulsa got in because they were 4-5 against RPI Top 50, UConn was 2-5 before the tournament, would have been 2-6 with Cincy loss."

I think UConn still gets in, but it definitely wasn't a lock just because Tulsa got in.

 

[upstater]

The committee wasn't a slave to RPI ranking, but they were paying attention to RPI top 50 wins.

From posts at the time:
"Syracuse's inclusion in the field wasn't close. He said the Orange had five top 50 wins, including at Duke and neutral-site wins over UConn and Texas A&M in the Bahamas that were the difference - Committee chair Joe Castiglione."
"Castiglione said Tulsa got in over its competition because of four top 50 wins. "
"Tulsa got in because they were 4-5 against RPI Top 50, UConn was 2-5 before the tournament, would have been 2-6 with Cincy loss."

I think UConn still gets in, but it definitely wasn't a lock.

Much discussed at the time, but how about wins just outside the top 50? They don't get ignored. UConn was 5-8 top 75. Guess what Tulsa was? 5-8.

You can cut this up 100 different ways, especially since the committee explicitly said it would take other rating systems into account, BPI, Pomeroy, and UConn was light years ahead of Tulsa there (UConn actually finished at 18 in BPI).

 

[Robertelamin]

If Jalen doesn't have the ball in his hands the majority of the time next year then his talents are being wasted. AG and MAL are going to have to figure out their roles. Ricky, Shabazz and Boat were all able to make it work and it there is a good chance it will only be for 1 year anyway.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

You can say that about every single at large team that isn't a top 5 seed. If the committee is going to do monumental craziness, then of course no one is safe, but here we are talking about reasonable measures. Like how a Tulsa team, with an RPI of 65, and a worse record than UConn, gets in over a UConn team with an RPI of 41 (which is UConn's RPI prior to the Cincy game), better record, and better OOC and SOS.

When the committee seeds Uconn #9, after beating Cincinnati to win the AAC tournament, you're not a "lock" before you win that game. Yes, you're probably in but calling them a lock prior to the win is inaccurate

 

[upstater]

When the committee seeds Uconn #9, after beating Cincinnati to win the AAC tournament, you're not a "lock" before you win that game. Yes, you're probably in but calling them a lock prior to the win is inaccurate

Lunardi had them at better than 65% in prior to the final game of the regular season, which they won. And he said they are a lock if they don't take a bad loss. Lunardi isn't right all the time, but he is highly accurate with this stuff.

 

[NielsisGood]

Adams has been here 1 1/2 seasons. Tell me when you've seen him flourish as a 2G off the ball?

Last season the offense ran much better when Adams was the primary PG and Gibbs was off the ball. Adams didn't look good when Gibbs was the primary ball handler. And neither did the offense.

This season the team has looked much better when Adams is running the show. And that's when Adams has flourished the most.

I think there's a place for Gilbert to also be a ballhandler in the backcourt. The dual headed PG backcourt that UConn has been so successful with in the past. But Adams is your lead guy.

This. Napier and Boat coexisted with Napier being the lead guy just fine. You can have 2 ball handlers on the floor and still be a successful team, but it'd be both an insult to the team hierarchy and not putting the team in the best chance to succeed by not allowing Jalen to be the lead guard. You can still stagger some minutes where Gilbert is running the show when Jalen is resting, but it'd be nonsense if Gilbert didn't take a back seat when both are in the game. The Houston Rockets let their best player handle the ball and run the offense, and it's resulted in a team playing above their talent level.


As for an Ollie's weaknesses, I do like him as an in game coach (honestly thought the way he handled rotations and literally everything during the 2014 run was as good as anything I've ever seen from JC), but he clearly needs to be more of a presence during games, both with working refs and just being an animated figure for his team. Too often I see him sitting down and holding his face in his hands, which is something I NEVER see any of the greats do. He could also stand to call some disciplinary timeouts or make subs to prove a point once in awhile as well. I think KO could also improve his role defining or recruiting players with specific skill sets and allow players to grow like that, meaning tell players to "just mainly focus on shooting" or "I want you to crash the boards" while underclassmen are in the game. Give players a certain goal and then reward them for achieving it.

 

[CL82]

PS: JALEN IS OUR POINT GUARD IF HE RETURNS NOT ALTERIQUE AND THAT SHOULD NEVER BE MEDDLED WITH AGAIN! SOME OF YOU ARE ARGUING ABOUT TAKING FRESHMAN SHABAZZ(GILBERT) AND HAVING HIM RUN THE TEAM INSTEAD OF KEMBA(JALEN). LET'S BE SERIOUS FOLKS. GILBERT'S ROLE SHOULD BE WHAT BAZZ DID HIS FRESHMAN YEAR AND OR WHAT BOAT DID HIS JUNIOR YEAR.

Your use of all caps convinces me that you are right.

FWIW Bazz in his Soph year and especially Boat in his Junior year spent time at the point so that Kemba and Bazz could look for their shots. I think that is the exactly the plan for Gilbert.

 

[AfgHusky15]

We looked good because we played USF and East Carolina, seems a lot of people here don't realize how horrific a team USF is. We are two games removed from an embarrassing drubbing at the hands of SMU.

We are 4 games away from giving an embarrassing drubbing to a good UCF team. In the past 6 games we have played well, except for 2 halves (2nd half Gtown and 1st half SMU). There has been a significant improvement from the beginning of the year and to do so with so many injuries is encouraging.

 

[Mr. French]

Your use of all caps convinces me that you are right.

FWIW Bazz in his Soph year and especially Boat in his Junior year spent time at the point so that Kemba and Bazz could look for their shots. I think that is the exactly the plan for Gilbert.

People can't distinguish these things, apparently.

I don't get the confusion ...

 

[Matrim55]

People can't distinguish these things, apparently.

I don't get the confusion ...

You freaking repped this post:

there is no question that Gilbert will be handling the point on most occasions when they are both in together and most definitely in crunch time.

I think everybody can get behind the "hey, Alterique is going to handle the ball a bit so that Jalen can focus slightly more on scoring, and so that he can be fresh for the last five minutes" sentiment.

But that's not the argument put forth above, nor elsewhere in the thread. The argument folks are making and that you & a few others seem to be supporting is "Next year, Gilbert will be the primary ball-handler and Adams will be more of a SG than a PG." And so I say again: You all are NUTS. The best thing this program has going for it is that we're finally returning our PG, who also happens to be our alpha.

Only time that's happened under Ollie we won a title. Adams is our PG next year.

 

[CTBasketball]

BTW good luck if you read this sober.

1. Why in the world would we have a guy who averages almost 7 assists a game, with over a 2.0 A/TO ratio come off the ball? This has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever read since "Bob Diaco deserves Year 4." This is like saying lets make Chris Paul our 2-gaurd and have Austin Rivers play primary point. What.

2. We haven't even seen Jalen Adams when he's most effective. Give him a knock-down 3-pt shooter or an actual post presence and he can average 10 assists a game. I think Vance next year will be this guy, and hopefully a collection of Larrier, Enoch, Durham, or Mamadou. He's playing with misfit toys for 20 minutes a game right now.

3. If KO and UConn stumbles out of the gate next year, sign him up for the hot seat. We're cutting the fat here, and getting better. No reason to "mess with sub patterns" or "we need find eachother out there" or "we gotta play with heart." We will have an All-American caliber point guard and a potential lottery pick surrounded by pretty damn good role players. Gotta show up.

4. KO needs to introduce the quick hook. It'll solve a lot of our problems I think. His inability to pull Purvis and Brimah from games doesn't teach these kids anything about correcting mistakes.

5. KO's offensive and defensive gameplan has proven to work and be successful when he finds the right guys to fit the right spots. I'm not worried here.

 

[Stainmaster]

His inability to pull Purvis and Brimah from games is a result of the complete lack of people on our bench whom he can put in the game in their stead.

FIFY

 

[joober jones]

I remember in the 14-15 season Ollie would yank players out to prove a point and replace them with Dan Guest. It didn't work so well, but I'm (very marginally) surprised he never tried this tactic with Noyes.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Adams is the leader of the team. He spends the most time on the ball, with a few breathers.

Adams is '11 Kemba and Gilbert is '11 Shabazz.