Lamb

[superjohn]

It's becoming clear that Lamb's play has dropped off since Big East play started. He seems to have a lot of trouble taking his man off the dribble and just settles for 3's. I'm not trying to be critical of his play I just think he's such a great talent and we are not getting nearly enough out of those talents right now. I wish we would run him off screens constantly like we did with Rip. Last year he would run off screens to get baseline jumpers and cut across the lane for the patented teardrop floaters. My question to the boneyard is what can the coaching staff change to get the most out of Lamb's offensive abilities?

 

[aceboon]

They're trying, the bigs aren't setting good screens and Jeremy's not running particularly hard through them either. Playing 40 minutes he's not gonna be running himself ragged like Rip & Ray but watching him tonight he just seemed to be pretty much jogging through them. Jeremy may not be able to get all the way to the rim but I don't understand why just won't take a couple of dribbles and just rise up over his man and shoot 15-18 footers, its the same thing Bazz was doing but combined with his height and reach advantage Jeremy has like a 6" advantage on these small ass guards, just rise and pop. Either way he needs to be more aggressive out there, he looked more aggressive in Europe than he does right now.

 

[jorge34]

He is the only one I have a bit of concern about so far. I am disappointed in Oriaki, but more concerned about Lamb. He doesn't seem to be adjusting to his role without Kemba in Big East play. Last year, he was a multifaceted scorer, getting to the rim when his jumper wasn't falling. He also was a beast on the boards, and was much more effective on the defensive end of the floor.

Not seeing much of anything other than jump shooting, and a bit in transition.

Not sure what the issue is, but he surely doesn't look comfortable.

 

[UCweCONN]

Where did his floater in the lane from last year go? That shot was automatic and impossible to stop yet he has completely abandoned it this season and instead jacks up 3's. To use myself as an example, when I play pickup games and get tired I stop taking it to the basket and instead jack up 3's because it takes less energy. Maybe Lamb is fatigued from too many minutes? Maybe Allen should get some minutes.

 

[wpq4elamin]

They're trying, the bigs aren't setting good screens and Jeremy's not running particularly hard through them either. Playing 40 minutes he's not gonna be running himself ragged like Rip & Ray but watching him tonight he just seemed to be pretty much jogging through them. Jeremy may not be able to get all the way to the rim but I don't understand why just won't take a couple of dribbles and just rise up over his man and shoot 15-18 footers, its the same thing Bazz was doing but combined with his height and reach advantage Jeremy has like a 6" advantage on these small ass guards, just rise and pop. Either way he needs to be more aggressive out there, he looked more aggressive in Europe than he does right now.

plus teams don't have to worry about the bigs (especially AD and AO) hitting elbow jumpers, so they can help and hedge big time without fear of being hurt by their men... I think it's tough to have AD and AO in that game for that long together... Olander might still be a little hurt, but that's the kind of game where we need him because teams can't help off him because he'll drain the 15 footer

I think Jeremy is settling and sometimes it seems that Shabazz doesnt give it to either wing off the screens even when one or both is open... i don't know why he does that sometimes... jeremy did attack a little bit tonight but most were up and unders which does not allow him to utilize his teardrop floater which we saw at least once a game last year for a deuce...

I'm not so much worried about Lamb in this game as I am AO and AD who were both terrible shooting and dunking tonight... If AO would dunk every ball he touched and Andre puts in that perfect alley, we win this game despite Cincy's hot 3 point shooting

 

[Robertelamin]

I'm more worried about his defense. Seems like everyone can take him off the dribble with ease.

 

[Kitaman]

Lamb is too talented not to dominate the opposing players. He was rushing shots tonight and Cincy was body checking him. Fatigue was a factor up against all those quick guards. Lamb has stopped attacking the basket, that is surprising considering his length and abilities.

The team and Shabazz need to commit to Lamb, and get him touches when he's open. Many possessions he wasn't touching the ball.

 

[mauconnfan]

Lamb is too talented not to dominate the opposing players. He was rushing shots tonight and Cincy was body checking him. Fatigue was a factor up against all those quick guards. Lamb has stopped attacking the basket, that is surprising considering his length and abilities.

The team and Shabazz need to commit to Lamb, and get him touches when he's open. Many possessions he wasn't touching the ball.

No doubt and while Shabazz had great numbers he missed Lamb and even Giffey at times coming off screens as he fell in love with the dribble way too often. Hey truth be told we have no inside game outside of an ocassional dunk by Andre. Neither he or Alex are scary with their backs to the basket and teams are going to worry more about Jeremy beating them than anyone else until one of them steps up and becomes a man at the post. For now it's easy - "find #3"

 

[sparky]

The court is 96ft and we are playing in 1/2 of it. Lamb will explode when we start running. I thought that's what we were going to do this year. JC has us in ncaa tourney mode trying to execute an offense. Let them go JC

 

[DoctorBombay]

The problem w/ UConn's offense, IMO, is that Napier thinks he's Kemba 2.0.....& he's not.
Last year your senior PG was unchallenged as he led a young team & dominated the ball, but most importantly, he produced results.
This year, it almost seems like Napier has taken over the Kemba role, but not everyone's buying it.
Believe me when I tell you, opposing fans fear ONE player on your team- Jeremy Lamb. Napier is good, but I'd rather see him w/ the ball than Lamb.
He needs to feature Lamb & have the offense run thru him FIRST, before chucking up a 30-ft'er from left field. Lamb also has to start demanding the rock from Napier, & be a lot more selfish.

 

[3rdbass]

The problem w/ UConn's offense, IMO, is that Napier thinks he's Kemba 2.0.....& he's not.
Last year your senior PG was unchallenged as he led a young team & dominated the ball, but most importantly, he produced results.
This year, it almost seems like Napier has taken over the Kemba role, but not everyone's buying it.
Believe me when I tell you, opposing fans fear ONE player on your team- Jeremy Lamb. Napier is good, but I'd rather see him w/ the ball than Lamb.
He needs to feature Lamb & have the offense run thru him FIRST, before chucking up a 30-ft'er from left field. Lamb also has to start demanding the rock from Napier, & be a lot more selfish.

KW was only a Junior last year. It might have been hard to realize that since how much he improved his game from his So. to JR. years. Though I agree with the rest of your assessment in that SN tries to do to much and that is partly due to JL being too timed/lazy on offense at times. JL has to learn to drive more and use the floater again(like others have already mentioned).

 

[RickyMoore21]

lamb struggles against physical defenses. he simply gets pushed around and moved off his cuts. he obviously a very talented player but his lack of strength prevents him from being dominant

also it seems a lot of his 3s he is taking arent really in rythm. he often seems off balance and not completely set which is reflected in his poor 3 point shooting of late

 

[DoctorBombay]

KW was only a Junior last year. It might have been hard to realize that since how much he improved his game from his So. to JR. years. Though I agree with the rest of your assessment in that SN tries to do to much and that is partly due to JL being too timed/lazy on offense at times. JL has to learn to drive more and use the floater again(like others have already mentioned).

Wow- could've sworn Kemba was a SR last year, seemed like he'd been around forever.
In any case, Lamb needs to be in constant motion like Ray Allen & Rip Hamilton before him. That part of his game needs to develop if he wants to be one of your best ever.

 

[aceboon]

I'm beyond tired of reading this on here, and I know you're not a UConn fan but it goes for you and every other poster on here that keeps repeating this ad nauseum. Shabazz is forced into taking these last second shots not because he's trying to take "hero shots"(another annoying phrase that needs to be deaded on here, you guys heard Donny Marshall utter it and have ran with it like its gospel) but because bigs are either not establishing position or setting half ass screens and Lamb is sleepwalking around on the court, and the offense bogs down and the ball is left in Shabazz's hand and he has to create something. When we've had PGs who can both handle the ball and score this has always happened. It happened with Kemba, it happened with AJ, it happened with Marcus and now its happening with Shabazz. I'll admit its happening with more frequency with Shabazz but he also happens to play with easily the worst set of bigs when it comes to actually setting screens and freeing up space for our guards and wings to operate. For everyone that is saying Shabazz is trying to hijack the offense the next game I want ya'll to focus on everything going on away from the ball and look at just how hard it is to get anything going when AD is not knocking anyone off their path on a screen and Jeremy is jogging around in looping circles and not working hard to get open.

The problem w/ UConn's offense, IMO, is that Napier thinks he's Kemba 2.0.....& he's not.
Last year your senior PG was unchallenged as he led a young team & dominated the ball, but most importantly, he produced results.
This year, it almost seems like Napier has taken over the Kemba role, but not everyone's buying it.
Believe me when I tell you, opposing fans fear ONE player on your team- Jeremy Lamb. Napier is good, but I'd rather see him w/ the ball than Lamb.
He needs to feature Lamb & have the offense run thru him FIRST, before chucking up a 30-ft'er from left field. Lamb also has to start demanding the rock from Napier, & be a lot more selfish.

 

[DoctorBombay]

I'm beyond tired of reading this on here, and I know you're not a UConn fan but it goes for you and every other poster on here that keeps repeating this ad nauseum. Shabazz is forced into taking these last second shots not because he's trying to take "hero shots"(another annoying phrase that needs to be deaded on here, you guys heard Donny Marshall utter it and have ran with it like its gospel) but because bigs are either not establishing position or setting half ass screens and Lamb is sleepwalking around on the court, and the offense bogs down and the ball is left in Shabazz's hand and he has to create something. When we've had PGs who can both handle the ball and score this has always happened. It happened with Kemba, it happened with AJ, it happened with Marcus and now its happening with Shabazz. I'll admit its happening with more frequency with Shabazz but he also happens to play with easily the worst set of bigs when it comes to actually setting screens and freeing up space for our guards and wings to operate. For everyone that is saying Shabazz is trying to hijack the offense the next game I want ya'll to focus on everything going on away from the ball and look at just how hard it is to get anything going when AD is not knocking anyone off their path on a screen and Jeremy is jogging around in looping circles and not working hard to get open.

I've watched 5 UConn this season & the ones you lost, more often than not, involved Shabazz Napier launching bombs or dribbling into traffic for a turnover.
The ones that you won, either his shot was falling more consistently or he deferred more to someone else- ie, Drummond/Oriakhi/Lamb.
Again, maybe I haven't seen all your games, but thats the impression I got from watching those 5.
Shabazz is a good player- but like alot of young guys, he plays like he thinks he's better than what he actually is. Lamb, OTOH, clearly has potential for greatness- & its Napier's JOB as PG to facilitate, not just settle for jumpers when proper screens aren't being set.
JMHO