Marquette Post Game Thread

[MuchoDogYears]

Yes

I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying that none of us know, while obviously the coaching staff agrees with you.

But regardless of what the coaching staff thinks, or any boneyard poster, Smith’s play on the court is not convincing.

And if Millinder is worse, then that means that UConn‘s heralded depth at point guard is actually a mirage. Because if Silas goes down, Smith would not be capable of leading UConn through the tournament at the point guard position. It would be a worse situation than last year playing with a hobbled Hassan Diarra.

 

[jleves]

Is Smith way better than Millender?

Yes - Smith is currently second in the Big East in Assist/Turnover ratio at 3.0.

He may have had a couple bad games but just like Demary, he's learning. Way better than last year.

 

[uconngb]

Another game with Silas Demary picking up an early 4th foul.

We are not going to where we want to go if that continues to happen. UConn is not a juggernaut with Smith running the point.

This

 

[ucp990411]

Marquette could be the worst Big East team I have seen in a while.

Depends what you call a while. Check DePauls history

 

[uconngb]

Slow start, good flow for ten minutes in first half. Dud of a finish to the first half.
First 6 minutes of second half was watching a lead grownand paint dry. Last 15 minutes was a snooze fest.


Marquette is a bad team and a terrible shooting team.


Positives- They won. Solo is becoming a scorer and not just a shooter. Theyneon easily with Kelraban and Mullins non-factors offensively. Stewart was aggressive and stuffed the stat sheet. Just need Stewart or Ross to be effective each game. Riebe is a great back up center. A luxury all but a few teams have at their disposal.

Negatives- Silas fouls too much and we are seeing Smith's ceiling and limitations. Horrible ahoot8ng from AK and Mullins.

Roles are being defined. Offense runs much better wit Demary in the line up but he takes himself out with fouling. Smith has to get his FT touch back. EveryFT attempt by Smith looks horrible. It's a mental block 2
which shows with his form. Dude could Schhitt out a diamond with the way he is pressing.

It is almost reasonable to see if Millneder can handle back up PG duties.

LOL'd at anyone who took UConn with the points.

Great recap….hit all the points. Have to find a way to keep Silas on the floor more. Smith is becoming a real head case. The form on his foul shots is his awful now.

 

[superjohn]

Do people already forget the beginning of the season?

35 assists and 6 turnovers against Arizona, Illinois, Florida, and Texas.

He totally sucks.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

We went from Malachi should start over Demary to is Millender better than Malachi. So by transitive property Millender is better than Demary?

This board never ceases to amaze me.

You have it wrong. The posters here who thought that Malachi Smith is a decent back up point guard, but not better than Silas, are the ones who are questioning whether or not Millender MAY be better than Smith if given a chance.

 

[REB1094]

14-1, top 5 team in the country, wins over 4 ranked teams (1 top 10), average margin of victory in 4 conference games is 19 points

And we’re arguing about changing the rotation because it’s not working

 

[Dove]

Getting to 80 points is a struggle.

 

[CTBasketball]

We went from Malachi should start over Demary to is Millender better than Malachi. So by transitive property Millender is better than Demary?

This board never ceases to amaze me.

Malachi had a few good games, including one vs. Illinois, and people are anointing him the best backup PG in the country.

If we didn’t have Silas we’d be cooked.

 

[Chin Diesel]

LOL. Yeah, Malachi is a ball pounder. He's more of the old school PG.

Might help Smith to vary his pace, seems to always play to a long shot clock, but the coaches seem OK with this pace.

I was specifically referencing his FT routine and shooting. Dude is wound so tight shooting FT's.

 

[KingAG]

You have it wrong. The posters here who thought that Malachi Smith is a decent back up point guard, but not better than Silas, are the ones who are questioning whether or not Millender MAY be better than Smith if given a chance.

The point is both sides are stupid. Millender wasnt even the pg for IU Indy last year. He’s not better than Malachi. He was brought in as a practice body.

It’s the classic mistake that fans make every year. That the guy that doesn’t play is better than the guy that does. It’s dumb. If Alec were indeed possibly better than Malachi Hurley would play him

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If we didn’t have the guy the staff specifically targeted to be our starting point guard as our starting point guard we wouldn’t be as good. Good stuff.

I mean, if Duke didn’t have Boozer they might be cooked. But they do. So who cares?

It is pretty ridiculous that a few weeks ago people were clamoring for Smith to start.

We have a pretty great staff. He’ll be fine.

Malachi had a few good games, including one vs. Illinois, and people are anointing him the best backup PG in the country.

If we didn’t have Silas we’d be cooked.

 

[Chonky]

I’d like Millender to get some PT just because he seems like a real good dude. Always enthusiastic on the bench with his teammates and working the crowd. It’s obvious he came here to be a part of a storied program regardless of how much run he gets.

And for anyone who was at the game…..he knows his Husky lore pretty well. They played a bit wheret the players give their all time UConn starting 6 and dude went 8 deep. Even dropped Charlie V in there.

 

[Jumpman62114]

Silas is such a good defender with his feet and positioning, I dont know why reaches in so much for the “highlight play” on defense. If he gambled less and played more solid and walled up he wouldn't be in foul trouble every game. It’s a bad habit that the staff has to continue to correct. Its one thing to gamble if you’re a bad defender, but his defensive play for 95% of the possession is so good.

 

[UCLJ0211]

The point is both sides are stupid. Millender wasnt even the pg for IU Indy last year. He’s not better than Malachi. He was brought in as a practice body.

It’s the classic mistake that fans make every year. That the guy that doesn’t play is better than the guy that does. It’s dumb. If Alec were indeed possibly better than Malachi Hurley would play him

Millender started 25 games for them last year, shot almost 44% from 3 and ranked #12 in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. I’m not saying he’s necessarily better than Smith, but it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if he got more than a couple spot minutes a game. He seems more than capable.

 

[superjohn]

Millender started 25 games for them last year, shot almost 44% from 3 and ranked #12 in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. I’m not saying he’s necessarily better than Smith, but it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if he got more than a couple spot minutes a game. He seems more than capable.

His IU Indy team lost to Robert Morris by 53 points last season and Millender had 0 points and 1 assist in 26 minutes in the game.

Millender is great in his role as a great teammate who is a practice player/emergency depth guard. In no way is he close to as good as Malachi, there's levels to this.

 

[KingAG]

Millender started 25 games for them last year, shot almost 44% from 3 and ranked #12 in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. I’m not saying he’s necessarily better than Smith, but it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if he got more than a couple spot minutes a game. He seems more than capable.

All of that can be true. He wasnt their pg. And he did that at IU Indy, How many guys do you expect in the rotation? Right now we have 9 guys who get minutes. All of whom are better than Millender.

 

[superjohn]

I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying that none of us know, while obviously the coaching staff agrees with you.

But regardless of what the coaching staff thinks, or any boneyard poster, Smith’s play on the court is not convincing.

And if Millinder is worse, then that means that UConn‘s heralded depth at point guard is actually a mirage. Because if Silas goes down, Smith would not be capable of leading UConn through the tournament at the point guard position. It would be a worse situation than last year playing with a hobbled Hassan Diarra.

Our point guard depth is what it was always supposed to be. Silas and Malachi.

Silas is better than Malachi and Malachi is probably the best backup point in the country. Any top team is going to be in trouble if their starting point guard goes down. UConn would've been a disaster if Hassan went down last season.

 

[Rocktheworld]

View attachment 115571

Is this our mojo fountain this year?

 

[SwingDog]

Silas is such a good defender with his feet and positioning, I dont know why reaches in so much for the “highlight play” on defense. If he gambled less and played more solid and walled up he wouldn't be in foul trouble every game. It’s a bad habit that the staff has to continue to correct. Its one thing to gamble if you’re a bad defender, but his defensive play for 95% of the possession is so good.

He actually brought this up in post-game presser. He said he prides himself on being a tough defender as a bigger guard but acknowledged that occasionally he gets beat and has to learn to be able to live with it rather than committing what I would call the "frustration foul."

 

[uconnfan68]

Getting to 80 points is a struggle.

We’re lucky we didn’t get shot clock violations. Taking way too long to get organized or are they just getting some rest? Either answer isn’t good.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

We’re lucky we didn’t get shot clock violations. Taking way too long to get organized or are they just getting some rest? Either answer isn’t good.

We’re lucky we didn’t get shot clock violations and instead scored on uncontested shots at the rim?

 

[caw]

Positives I saw were Stewie's impact/energy in the paint-Had some excellent entry/dump passes to the Bigs and played tough D. Thought Solo did a nice job on the boards for a guard. Good to see.

I'm sure Danny will have them focused vs Friars. Gotts bring the energy Wed.

Stewart is finally making quick decisions consistently. IMO he's never had an energy problem. He had some shot making problems but his biggest issue was that he was hesitating on what to do just a bit too long.

 

[HW611]

Takeaways

Ball is rounding into a complete player

Karaban is a perfect role player

Silas has to cut down on fouls (duh and is an easy fix)

Smith main focus has to be moving the ball, not dribbling it

Mullins is so talented but the come back for year 2 campaign is currently strong

 

[UConnTrumbull]

I was there. Not close to a wine and cheese guy in the 200's. The game had no flow. Refs called over 20 fouls in the first half. There were no runs and very little competitiveness in the second half. Not a high energy game at all.

That’s fair. The 200s are never the problem though. The average age in the lower bowl must’ve been retirees.

 

[NJHusky]

Silas is such a good defender with his feet and positioning, I dont know why reaches in so much for the “highlight play” on defense. If he gambled less and played more solid and walled up he wouldn't be in foul trouble every game. It’s a bad habit that the staff has to continue to correct. It’s one thing to gamble if you’re a bad defender, but his defensive play for 95% of the possession is so good.

Did y listen to Hurleys post game presser. Was being snarky saying he thinks Silas like being in foul trouble. Lol

 

[CL82]

Stewart had a good game with blocks, assists and rebounds

The box score line of six points, four rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes does not do him justice. It seems like he has a few minutes where he's everywhere, often bringing critical momentum.

 

[Vancat]

That’s fair. The 200s are never the problem though. The average age in the lower bowl must’ve been retirees.

I'm in the lower bowl and of retiree age. The crowd and I have no problem getting loud when the team is playing well. The game just wasn't conducive for getting the crowd going.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Stewart is finally making quick decisions consistently. IMO he's never had an energy problem. He had some shot making problems but his biggest issue was that he was hesitating on what to do just a bit too long.

He just needs the ball. It's constantly annoying that our PGs just ignore him when he's open and are overly focused on getting the ball to AK or Solo. Stew has shown some real ability to create at the foul line, like Daniel Hamilton lite and we need to get him the ball. He keeps making good cuts off of screens to get to that open spot and rarely gets the ball. From that position he can feed the 5, distribute to the shooters outside or just score himself.