Late Game Management

[karstenkibbe]

What about screening for Polley or Hawk? Guys who can make shots.

We aren’t ineffective. We simply don’t do it. No hard, clean screens for our shooters. No screen and roll for our bigs. I think the offensive output yesterday was a bit smoke and mirrors compared to reality.

Anyone else notice our (nonexistent) offensive sets coming out of second half timeouts?

 

[UCfor3]

Going to have to make Hawkins a much bigger part of the offense and going to have to play Diggins for us to reach our potential.

100% spot on. Deferring to experienced players only make sense if they are playing like experienced players and not blowing leads at the end of games. If we are gonna do that anyway we might as well live or die with the upside of youth at some point.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Turning point for me was Jackson at the line with 1:41 to go up 4. Makes the first ft to go up 5 but misses the second however Mich St gets called for a lane violation so he gets to retake. Misses the 2nd again and Sanogo fouls Marble while going for the rebound giving Mich St a 1&1 while taking just 1 second off the clock.
If Jackson makes either of those 2nd free throw attempts OR Sanogo doesnt foul and Mich St is forced to play a full possession on offense, I think we still win the game

Exactly this.

Even if MSU scores on the other end, we're up 3-4 with about 1:20 on the clock and can take it under a minute.

Most likely scenario is MSU has to foul, or at worst we get a last shot at the win in regulation.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Frustrating. Hurley is turning into the Aaron Boone of late game decision making. I was hoping Murray was going to add his Xs and Os to resolve this chronic issue.

 

[jimva]

I think Hurley did a great job. I think we lost because Whaley was out. Everyone one else, except Gaffney played great.

To all the Hawkins should be starting - STOP!

He will be a great UCONN player in the end. This was his third game. Tons of potential, but he needs to earn Hurley’s trust. That is a time thing not an ability thing. It will happen. If he keeps on current trajectory I think he will be a +/- 30 min a guy come January.

 

[Conndog]

For the life of me, stop giving Sanogo the ball with <10 seconds on the shot clock when he’s 10 feet from the basket. Or teach him to pass.

How about take Sanogo out period if it’s close and crunch time? Having Polley, Hawkins, Martin, AJ, and Cole gives us plenty of firepower and good free throw shooting. If you need height and interior defense, sub Whaley for anyone other than Cole. Maybe we close out the game and Sanogo will get the message too.

 

[Ctedgeman]

Great point about sanogo's foul on the free throw. That was the game right there for me. Gave MSU 2 free points and no time off the clock.

Today we had what I will just call CV-itis (I love CV by the way). The guys who were keeping us in the game are the same ones who made bonehead plays at the worst possible times. Frustrating...

 

[bmayuc]

Remember when we were struggling in the crunch with CV, and freshman bouk became our crunch time guy?

Just saying if hurley doesn't improve in situational coaching we could give hawk the ball. At least he will get a quality look.

 

[gtcam]

There’s no way we should have lost that game. I wanted the Baylor test bad. Michigan state sucks this year and they beat us ugggh.

First - MSU doesn't suck and Izzo took DH to the shed in the final minutes
This team will not be successful against the better teams on their schedule if they continually throw the ball to Sanago who decides that it is he and only he that will play hero ball and throw up prayers from 10 to 15 feet with 3 players collapsed on him. It's an absolute shame that Sanogo either can't or won't take a look and see what two players are open when that happens. How DH can watch that and not address it is beyond belief.
The team needs a 3 pt basket and Hawkins is nailed to the bench - he may not have had a good shooting day but he and Polley are the only 2 capable of hitting a shot under pressure.
To be outscored the way they did at the end is embarrassing. Screw the stupid shirts that say the cumulative time of the Creighton NBE tourney loss and Maryland loss - thats on Bouk in my mind, The final 2 minutes of this debacle is a huge dark moment. I will say it again - DH needs an established D1 coach as a mentor to help him deal with the pressure of big games and how to coach with a clear mind during these times. He won't make it if he continues on this path.
RJ Cole needed some relief today and Gaff gave him little and using Martin as a point guard isn't the answer. Rahsool never saw the floor - thats BS - he couldn't have been worse than Gaff
Speaking of Martin - what a ticker that kid has - thank God he played today
The officiating all tournament has been horrible in all the games. That outside ref had no business making that call on RJ but that isn't what cost UConn the game.
Tomorrow is another day - UConn should beat VCU but if they aren't ready that team will run them off the floor

 

[the Q]

It’s clear the guards really aren’t going to create their own shot if they can’t get a straight line drive to the lane.

Something that worked really well has been Martin posting up a guard like Bonzi wells in the late 90s.

Might go to that at this point

 

[Improviser]

Unless Akok

First - MSU doesn't suck and Izzo took DH to the shed in the final minutes
This team will not be successful against the better teams on their schedule if they continually throw the ball to Sanago who decides that it is he and only he that will play hero ball and throw up prayers from 10 to 15 feet with 3 players collapsed on him. It's an absolute shame that Sanogo either can't or won't take a look and see what two players are open when that happens. How DH can watch that and not address it is beyond belief.
The team needs a 3 pt basket and Hawkins is nailed to the bench - he may not have had a good shooting day but he and Polley are the only 2 capable of hitting a shot under pressure.
To be outscored the way they did at the end is embarrassing. Screw the stupid shirts that say the cumulative time of the Creighton NBE tourney loss and Maryland loss - thats on Bouk in my mind, The final 2 minutes of this debacle is a huge dark moment. I will say it again - DH needs an established D1 coach as a mentor to help him deal with the pressure of big games and how to coach with a clear mind during these times. He won't make it if he continues on this path.
RJ Cole needed some relief today and Gaff gave him little and using Martin as a point guard isn't the answer. Rahsool never saw the floor - thats BS - he couldn't have been worse than Gaff
Speaking of Martin - what a ticker that kid has - thank God he played today
The officiating all tournament has been horrible in all the games. That outside ref had no business making that call on RJ but that isn't what cost UConn the game.
Tomorrow is another day - UConn should beat VCU but if they aren't ready that team will run them off the floor

The only D1 coach as mentor I can think of is Jim Calhoun. Do you think Hurley would have him sitting on the bench and would JC do that? You do need in game presence for this idea to work. If JC would agree, it would be an interesting. Calhoun had Blaney. Would Hurley want Calhoun?

Otherwise, do you pay Larry Brown or Pete Gillen or some retired coach?

I don't think Seth Greenberg would leave the studio.

 

[uconngb]

Unless Akok

The only D1 coach as mentor I can think of is Jim Calhoun. Do you think Hurley would have him sitting on the bench and would JC do that? You do need in game presence for this idea to work. If JC would agree, it would be an interesting. Calhoun had Blaney. Would Hurley want Calhoun?

Otherwise, do you pay Larry Brown or Pete Gillen or some retired coach?

I don't think Seth Greenberg would leave the studio.

Larry Brown already filling that role for Penny. JC would be interesting. Hurley needs something. He’s really, really bad in end of game situations.

 

[huskyfan224]

A lot of this is frustrating and avoidable for sure. However, I don’t care what people will say, Hurley doesn’t make them miss bunny after after bunny after bunny after bunny. It was hilarious watching how many point blank misses occurred that changed momentum throughout the entire game


Like dude, make a layup, you are a Division 1 basketball player

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Honestly they should’ve gone to the hole immediately for 2 and crashed the boards for the put back. Polley want going to be allowed to shoot by izzo and sanogo wasn’t getting it in deep easily. Have a better plan than a guard who wasn’t playing well dribbling around aimlessly. Painful play calling. Did Jason Garrett get in the huddle?

End of the first half play was poor.

And the inbounds play with 10 seconds left on the click was poor.

This is a clear weakness. Things start too late, and aren't even tied into a well-called play.

It's of my greatest frustrations as a UConn fan, not just w/Hurley.

 

[CTisballers]

Sonogo took a horrible shot with the shot clock winding down he tends to not pass once double and triple teamed. RJ coles commit a stupid reach in for the and 1 not to mention the careless turnovers. All that said we still be in the game. This team will be good enough to make March Madness

 

[businesslawyer]

I’m really not a fan of this take.

Refs are paid to do a job. They’ll miss calls from time to time since they’re human, but they shouldn’t miss them that badly.

Two things can be true at once - UConn should have executed better and the refs stole that lead from them late.

I can forgive the foul call on Cole. That’s normally a foul and refs anticipate. The non-call when Martin was shoved out I find harder to accept. They saw that. For some reason that didn’t care.

 

[Candyman]

There is no way your center should be 8-18 from the field especially when he’s not an outside shooter. All those misses came in the paint. Center should be a high percentage scorer.

Adama will always get good block position so he will always be posting up calling for the ball, even if he just missed 3 ina row. Because he had great position doesn’t mean you should always throw him the ball. Especially when he’s is posting up with 5 seconds left on the shot clock.

Hurley has to know when Adama doesn’t have it and we use him to set screens and crash the boards. He has 2 assists in 6 games,

 

[Kolumbo]

Lot's of great points in these threads, strengths and weaknesses. The good news: It's only Thanksgiving! This team and these young guys will be playing very differently in a month, 2 months, etc. Let's enjoy the journey.

Now beat VCU!!!

 

[2Infinity]

Unless Akok

The only D1 coach as mentor I can think of is Jim Calhoun. Do you think Hurley would have him sitting on the bench and would JC do that? You do need in game presence for this idea to work. If JC would agree, it would be an interesting. Calhoun had Blaney. Would Hurley want Calhoun?

Otherwise, do you pay Larry Brown or Pete Gillen or some retired coach?

I don't think Seth Greenberg would leave the studio.

Funny you bring this idea up. Watched the end of the Memphis game last night and who was on their bench shouting out instructions to the players? It was Larry Brown! Kind of funny to watch because he didn't seem to come up for air. lol Penny was at the other end of the bench and seemed to be barking out his own directives. Made you wonder if Brown's presence was causing Penny to feel a bit uncomfortable and/or competitive.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Sucks. Now we're gonna face a VCU team that likely won't add anything onto our resume come tourney time, instead of a top 5 team in Baylor.

Eh, still counts as a quad 2 win. They are a decent team.

 

[tower1]

Th
This is so true. He doesn't manage substitutions well at all. Why does he keep Dawkins out so much ?

 

[tower1]

The players need to learn too. Only blaming the coach is a copout. Hurley didn't throw the ball to the defender like Martin did today. He didn't call the foul on Cole. He didn't lose the ball like Hawkins yesterday. He didn't foul a 3 point shooter and throw away an inbounds pass like Whaley yesterday. Those are just a few of the bonehead plays recently. There are more. Disappointing for an experienced team. Everyone was screaming for Hawkins to be in yesterday and then he lost the ball. Then everyone said freshman mistake and that's why he wasn't in the game. Easy to Monday morning quarterback. Everyone has to get better. Coaches and players.

Yes Hawkins lost that ball yesterday but he should of been in the game way before that. We had a 10 point lead and he goes out and never came back in till we were down 10 ! That was poor coaching. Hurley sticks with certain players that are screwing up too long.

 

[Hi-Low]

I think Sanogo has no confidence in his passing at all. I notice at top of key when he goes out there he will only hand ball off and never pass. Once he gets the ball in the paint there is zero chance of him passing out to an open man. Other teams must be picking on this. He's too important to be on bench at end of close games so this must be fixed soon.

 

[Watchdog]

There's no leader.
Who's the Tate, Khalid, Taliek, Kemba or Shabazz on this team?
It won't get any better recruiting so many forwards and centers.
Anyone else notice the makeup of the team?
The love affair with big players may pay dividends with Castle's arrival, but what happens next year?