Memphis Post Game Thread

[uconngb]

Could be but I don't see Hurley doing it, he loves Hass off the bench. It's just a weird situation because the best roles are Hass being Mister energy off the bench and Aidan's best role is coming in at shooting guard and filling it up.

We're probably just going to have to deal with the point guard position not being ideal this season.

Answer: Nowell

 

[uconngb]

They didn’t do much of that after the first half. Not sure why Stewie didn’t play more 2nd half and OT, puzzling.

Because he was playing so well ??

 

[444JR]

The sophomore leap NBA talent hype was 100% bonafide hot air.

Dumbfounds me that Jaylin Stewart does not receive the same level of love and benefit of the doubt as Solo Ball and Jayden Ross. Makes no sense.

 

[bendm]

I just don’t know why people think Mahaney off ball would make his shots go in? He also played plenty of minutes with Diarra today. Mahaney at the 2 just makes our defense worse.

Agreed. He’d be an even bigger liability on D against bigger guards. I think he should be playing 15mpg behind Diarra as a score first PG. shoot every time he’s open and don’t turn it over. If he’s hitting his shots he plays more if not than he plays less.

 

[RuffRuff]

Until we get some stability from the PG position, the ceiling of this team is quite limited. Against higher level teams with quicker/physical guards, Mahaney becomes unplayable on both ends. I think we’ll need to mix in more zone this year strategically. The overall lack of 1 on 1 shot creation/ penetration is a bit unnerving. I think we need to expedite Nowell’s development and give him some min.

Loved Reed’s game today. Offense should run through him more like what we did with Adama at times.

I’m starting to wonder if the staff over indexed on elite “processing” with Mahaney at the sake of physical tools. You can’t teach size, speed and physicality, all of which he’s showing a severe shortage in competing with better athletes. People keep talking about TNewt needing a year to figure it out, yet fail to recognize he had plus physical traits for his position. The only way Mahaney becomes a net positive and not a liability is if he demonstrates intangibles that overcome the physical shortages. I honestly don’t know how they make it work.

 

[uconngb]

Ross couldn't guard dribble penetration either.

I think it’s time to retire the “Ross is Reggie Lewis”nonsense. This ain’t Lemoyne.

 

[444JR]

On Mahaney.. I told you so.

He will be a killer in the Joey California+ role.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Mahaney had a bad game, but I am willing to give him a little more time. The staff must have seen something.

 

[RuffRuff]

Mahaney had a bad game, but I am willing to give him a little more time. The staff must have seen something.

Or they have no other choice, yet.

 

[Huskyforlife]

All the Nowell stuff seems like backup qb syndrome tbh. Nobody has any idea how good he is right now, his defense didn’t even look good against mid majors.

 

[superjohn]

I’m starting to wonder if the staff over indexed on elite “processing” with Mahaney at the sake of physical tools. You can’t teach size, speed and physicality, all of which he’s showing a severe shortage in competing with better athletes. People keep talking about TNewt needing a year to figure it out, yet fail to recognize he had plus physical traits for his position. The only way Mahaney becomes a net positive and not a liability is if he demonstrates intangibles that overcome the physical shortages. I honestly don’t know how they make it work.

He played at St. Mary's not Mount St. Mary's.

He had 23, 20, 18, 16 against Gonzaga. 25 against New Mexico. 22 against Utah. 19 against Boise State. 20 against San Diego State. 18 against BYU. 14 against Houston.

He doesn't look good as starting point guard but the guy has proven he can score the ball and score against good competition.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

All the Nowell stuff seems like backup qb syndrome tbh. Nobody has any idea how good he is right now, his defense didn’t even look good against mid majors.

His defense certainly looked better than Mahaney’s in those games. It’s not backup QB syndrome, it’s we’ve seen Mahaney for this portion and think Nowell should get some more run when healthy.

And I will gladly eat my words tomorrow if he comes out and makes us on here look like fools btw. I want to see the kid be great, heck, i’ve seen him be really good the past 2 years!

 

[superjohn]

All the Nowell stuff seems like backup qb syndrome tbh. Nobody has any idea how good he is right now, his defense didn’t even look good against mid majors.

I thought he looked good in his minutes but he's played so few minutes and against such awful teams it's hard to know. I know he's really talented and doesn't have the body of a freshman.

Tahaad Pettiford is getting 21 minutes per game for #4 Auburn, he's a lot more slight than Nowell and I don't think he's any better than him.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I thought he looked good in his minutes but he's played so few minutes and against such awful teams it's hard to know. I know he's really talented and doesn't have the body of a freshman.

Tahaad Pettiford is getting 21 minutes per game for #4 Auburn, he's a lot more slight than Nowell and I don't think he's any better than him.

Tahaad is great, probably more crafty than Ahmad, but Ahmad is a Running Back

 

[3rdbass]

Mahaney had a bad game, but I am willing to give him a little more time. The staff must have seen something.

The problem is he has had 5 bad games. It isn't just one bad game it is a pattern now and before he was playing against lower level teams.

 

[3rdbass]

All the Nowell stuff seems like backup qb syndrome tbh. Nobody has any idea how good he is right now, his defense didn’t even look good against mid majors.

I disagree on that. He was very physical and kept in front of his man. He certainly played bettter than Mahany did on D. I do agree he is still a Freshman so there is still unknown about him but Mahaney isn't the answer at PG.

 

[RuffRuff]

He played at St. Mary's not Mount St. Mary's.

He had 23, 20, 18, 16 against Gonzaga. 25 against New Mexico. 22 against Utah. 19 against Boise State. 20 against San Diego State. 18 against BYU. 14 against Houston.

He doesn't look good as starting point guard but the guy has proven he can score the ball and score against good competition.

This is pretty faulty rationale, on many levels. He wasn’t brought in to be a 2G. He played in the WCC for the bulk of his numbers, which sends two schools to the dance annually max. His efficiency numbers last year were not good, at 37% shooting. Most of his points came via inefficient volume in a system predicated on slow pace. His defense is a clear liability. The eyeball test is not great.

After hitting up the open practice in August was curious as to if I was missing something, threw on the Grand Canyon tape from the NCAAT last year and it looked a lot like what we’ve seen. GC had good athletes and went by him downhill all game. AM got his 13 points on 5-21 shooting. PPG alone are not a great indicator of overall production.

 

[superjohn]

This is pretty faulty rationale, on many levels. He wasn’t brought in to be a 2G. He played in the WCC for the bulk of his numbers, which sends two schools to the dance annually max. His efficiency numbers last year were not good, at 37% shooting. Most of his points came via inefficient volume in a system predicated on slow pace. His defense is a clear liability. The eyeball test is not great.

After hitting up the open practice in August was curious as to if I was missing something, threw on the Grand Canyon tape from the NCAAT last year and it looked a lot like what we’ve seen. GC had good athletes and went by him downhill all game. AM got his 13 points on 5-21 shooting. PPG alone are not a great indicator of overall production.

Your post was about him not having the size, speed, and physicality to compete with better athletes. His career has shown he can compete and score the ball quite well against against top athletes.

We all know he hasn't looked good as our starting point guard but it's nonsense that he can't compete against athletes at this level.

 

[thekollieman]

The sophomore leap NBA talent hype was 100% bonafide hot air.

It’s November… I remember people doubting Clingan’s potential this time last year too. Maybe it doesn’t pan out for all three of them, but it’s way too early in the season for that level of declaration.

 

[uconnever]

Mahaney is a bench player. I said over the summer he a better Joey C. I remember when Joey was getting blown by in the beginning of the year too, but not later in the year so who knows, Mahaney may improve also. I also like it when he drove and his ideas were good, he just couldn’t finish. Maybe Clingan and Sanogo hid these problems. Reed is an animal and looks like an All American, but he’s not really a shot blocker even though he can. Looking at our bench, I’m afraid the staff may have painted themselves into a corner with Aidan, so it has to work. And it may, it just may. Also the team overall BBIQ isn’t as high as the last two years and they still need to learn each other better. I think it will all work in the end.

 

[HooperScooper]

It’s November… I remember people doubting Clingan’s potential this time last year too. Maybe it doesn’t pan out for all three of them, but it’s way too early in the season for that level of declaration.

Wasn't Clingan coming off the foot injury?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

His defense certainly looked better than Mahaney’s in those games.

In the games where we beat the junior colleges and someone compared him to El Amin?

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Hurley should’ve taken the Lakers job #firehurley

My brother from another mother!!!

 

[thekollieman]

Wasn't Clingan coming off the foot injury?

I believe so. My point stands without the Clingan comparison, though. I just prefer to ride it out in support of our dogs and have a little faith along the way.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Tough loss. Team fought hard. Lotsa players made big shots for both teams. We lost but there was a lot of good that came from this game. We’ll be just fine. We showed championship heart, fight, and talent.