Marquette Post Game Thread

[cp176]

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

If anybody on this roster is likely to be playing in the NBA next year, it is Ball. Every aspect of his game is better and his shooting is of no concern. Physically this kid is impressive.

Karaban needs to be on the court whether he scores or not. Rebounding, passing and leadership counts.

Demary does need to cut down on his fouls but he looked like what we thought we were getting yesterday. Fewer turnovers, excellent defense, and solid shot.

I was impressed with Stewart and his energy yesterday. He is the player that might just be figuring things out. He could be very good for us next year.

Mullins has obvious talent with great potential but he just physically gets knocked around. If he truly like it here, I am looking forward to watching his development as he matures. Obviously that means next year.

 

[HW611]

If anybody on this roster is likely to be playing in the NBA next year, it is Ball. Every aspect of his game is better and his shooting is of no concern. Physically this kid is impressive.

Karaban needs to be on the court whether he scores or not. Rebounding, passing and leadership counts.

Demarcus does need to cut down on his fouls but he looked like what we thought we were getting yesterday. Fewer turnovers, excellent defense, and solid shot.

I was impressed with Stewart and his energy yesterday. He is the player that might just be figuring things out. He could be very good for us next year.

Mullins has obvious talent with great potential but he just physically gets knocked around. If he truly like it here, I am looking forward to watching his development as he matures. Obviously that means next year.

Dreaming of a sophomore year Mullins with 10+ pounds averaging 20+ a game as the best scorer we’ve seen under Hurley.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Dreaming of a sophomore year Mullins with 10+ pounds averaging 20+ a game as the best scorer we’ve seen under Hurley.

It’s great to have dreams.

 

[HW611]

It’s great to have dreams.

Here goes another disagreement where you take the side of being risk adverse and not believing how good a kid can actually be.

 

[Sibeerian]

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.

Not trying to twist your words or take them out of context, but I think a great crowd will also get loud when the team isn't playing well and needs a boost. To me it's very stirring when the fans rise up and make noise after a bad couple of minutes to spur the team on. Proactive versus reactive. Students are good at this.

 

[Blades]

Kind of a random offshoot but I have always felt the rims at Gampel are super tight. I have nothing to base this on other than my fat rear end watching games but there never seems to be any friendly bounces for either team.

I had to look since it seemed like shooting at Gampel (trending bad from 3) has been a problem( especially following the Xavier road game when they were letting it fly and were lights out)..........splits FWIW

 

[Umami Zen]

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.

Agree with your points. Guess I was saying that his energy in this particular game stuck out to me re: the rest of the team. He was caff-They were de-caff.

 

[cullaville]

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.

If those are the qualifications for being on the team and getting playing time - I qualify

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Here goes another disagreement where you take the side of being risk adverse and not believing how good a kid can actually be.

That is a comically bad straw man but you already know that.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

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.

Maybe! But Dan wasn’t thrilled. We can all be better. And I know winning by 15 all game doesn’t help with crowd noise.

 

[Donyell 360]

Honestly, I'll take a Solo who is a mid-30's shooter from 3 if it means all other facets of his game are improved over a 1-dimensional 41% 3-pt shooter.

Well said and I agree. I prefer this version of Solo to last year. Plus, if he shoots 30% from 3 all year, he can't go pro, right? No matter how good the rest of his game looks. Maybe next year he puts it all together and becomes an All-American. Exciting to consider.

 

[TheRealKBuks]

Here goes another disagreement where you take the side of being risk adverse and not believing how good a kid can actually be.

I think the point here is that Mullins will not be here for a sophomore year.

 

[Palatine]

Dan's point was that sometimes the crowd needs to get the team going (not the other way around). The crowd can help the team when it is in a lull. He would like to see more of that.

 

[Vancat]

Not trying to twist your words or take them out of context, but I think a great crowd will also get loud when the team isn't playing well and needs a boost. To me it's very stirring when the fans rise up and make noise after a bad couple of minutes to spur the team on. Proactive versus reactive. Students are good at this.

Fair! Not sure what the cause was, but we definitely could have been louder.

 

[Donyell 360]

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.

I couldn't name a single backup point guard on any team in the country so I have no idea whether Malachi is the "best" of that group. But the reason we are concerned is that Silas seems to spend a lot of time on the bench with foul trouble. I would guess Malachi is playing more minutes than a typical backup point guard. So if that is going to continue, we have reason for concern going forward.

Let's see Silas figure out the foul problem and this consternation about Smith will go away.

 

[Deepster]

Maybe! But Dan wasn’t thrilled. We can all be better. And I know winning by 15 all game doesn’t help with crowd noise.

It was one of those games, much like Texas at XL, where any time the crowd started to get revved up there was a bucket or a foul that completely stopped the momentum. Every time they stood up yesterday, they sat right back down.

Again, maybe some of that is self entitlement and being too used to being up by 15 against a conference opponent. Sucks but it is what it is.

 

[HW611]

I think the point here is that Mullins will not be here for a sophomore year.

At this moment in time. It would be a mistake.

 

[Waquoit]

Dan's point was that sometimes the crowd needs to get the team going (not the other way around). The crowd can help the team when it is in a lull. He would like to see more of that.

That's part of what makes a great student section. IMO, UConn hasn't had one since COVID hit. I know folks are sick of me bringing it up, but PBA crowds have gotten loud as a pick-me-up often. I think it's because they don't wait for the student section.

 

[freescooter]

Depends what you call a while. Check DePauls history

Apparently you missed last years Seton Hall and DePaul’s entire Big East history. A few Georgetown teams in the Patrick Ewing coaching era were only not the worst due to the existence of DePaul.

 

[KingAG]

We really need to enhance our game day experience. It's good but not what it could be.

 

[boog204]

Is Smith way better than Millender?

Smith doesn’t facilitate the offense. He bogs it down where we have to throw up a last second shot. He drives to the hoop and gets blocked consistently. He can’t make free throws. Occasionally he’ll make a good assist for a bucket but he doesn’t focus on doing that. He’s a decent shooter at the point guard position. But as for running UConn’s offense, it’s obvious he doesn’t actually have a clue of
how to do it.

I like the energy he brings, I like the competitiveness he brings, I like his shooting, I don’t like that he doesn’t facilitate the offense. And the coaching staff either realizes that he doesn’t have the capability to run the offense, or for some reason they simply don’t care to coach him up to play point guard the way it should be played.

Yes, without question... Smith was a three-year starter for a 20-win team that made the NCAA tourney. Smith has already had games of 8 assists against 'Zona, 14 and 9 against Illinois, and 9 assist games versus Florida and Texas. Doesn't facilitate the offense? He's literally been our top assist guy in four of our five biggest OOC games this year because he can get in the lane and find people. Demery, while a very good PG, is not a drive-and-dish guy. Smith gives us a different look and wrinkle.

Yes, Smith, too often, dribbles too much, and the offense at times doesn't flow. I don't put all of the blame on him for that. He has struggled mightily at the FT line. He also might be the best backup PG in the country, and some of y'all want him benched for a guy in Millender, who seems like a great kid, who was up until last year a pretty good D2 player?

That's not a knock on him. That's who he is. You like the "energy" he brings? Against, who, Bryant? Millender, again, has not played one meaningful minute as a Husky, which was as designed. He's a practice player. A 24-year-old who is here to practice hard, and if by emergency, hopefully won't pee on himself in the moment.

 

[QDOG5]

Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. Enough already

 

[Class of 09]

i get our fans weren't loud but these last few games have been very meh to get the crowd going anyway

Gampel sucks. It’s a daycare and nursing home with a small student section

 

[noelle]

silas offense improvement is a bigger long term takeaway than the team's shooting struggle. as long as silas is showing this kind of improvement things should look good for march.

mullins just toeing the line between confident and rash and sometimes going over. he should settle down eventually.

more than anything this game shows jayden ross +- is legit.

 

[freescooter]

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.

I think his assist to turnover ratio is one of those misleading stats. Hard to have turnovers if you spend the entire shot clock dribbling then pass to somebody with under 10 on the clock or drive into the trees and throw up a wild prayer. The guy doesn’t make anything happen. And he is a point guard. Got to make free throws.

Honestly, the whole offense just bogs down when he is in there. I can’t imagine us having to play a long stretch with him as our #1 let alone try to get through the tournament.