More Giffey, less Daniels

[tzznandrew]

When you're open you have to be confident to take the wide open shot, or even try to dribble and create something. I would rather not see the charge that he had yesterday, but at least force the defense to react to you and then pass to someone else that is wide open instead of the exaggerated jab steps and pivots out on the perimeter. That is the part of the difference b/w Syracuse and UConn. Experience is part of it but they also bring in guys like Southerland who aren't afraid to shoot when they're open and they have that confidence to make a play. We have 3 wings and a PF who look scared to shoot and when they do it doesn't seem like they have much confidence that the shot will go in.

Daniels has the confidence it will go in, but hasn't necessarily had the accuracy (although he went 2-2 recently). He also hasn't done much to create besides shooting.

 

[ford82]

Giffey should play more than Daniels simply because he plays better defense and is stronger with the ball. Daniels gets pushed around ALOT and can't get rebounds at his position.

 

[tzznandrew]

Giffey should play more than Daniels simply because he plays better defense and is stronger with the ball. Daniels gets pushed around ALOT and can't get rebounds at his position.

Giffey has 2 rebounds in the last 5 games to Daniels' 4. Niether are very good rebounders yet, especially given the minutes.

I'm inclined to agree with the defense. Unfortunately this team has multiple problems, some defensive, some offensive.

 

[Ts5034]

Its a shame Daniels just couldnt get it going this season. I remember some people on here saying he could be like last years Jeremy Lamb. There is no doubt he has the talent and can play so id like to see him stick around.

 

[mauconnfan]

If rebounding is a reason DD shouldnt be playing then people really need to take a look at other bigs stats.....I realize DD needs muscle and confidence and maybe now is not his timr but there are minutes out there for him and Tyler despite some peoples thoughts....

 

[tzznandrew]

Its a shame Daniels just couldnt get it going this season. I remember some people on here saying he could be like last years Jeremy Lamb. There is no doubt he has the talent and can play so id like to see him stick around.

He has the same problem we had a couple of years ago at the 3, when we had Marcus Johnson and Stanley Robinson. Neither was significantly better enough than the other, either in games or in practices, and so the minutes were split and erratic (there was also a 3 guard offense without either in it--AJ-Dyson-Wiggins) and neither of them really broke out. I think that is part of Daniels and Giffey's (and, until the last couple of games, Roscoe--but he has lots of experience with the other guys) problems.

Neither has been able to develop chemistry with the rest of the team, and so they are wildly inconsistent.

 

[ford82]

If Daniels is going to contribute this season he has to be able to make open shots, because Giffey is better than him in every other facet of the game. That is why they play Daniels right, because they think he could be a scoring threat, but he hasn't been. He is shooting something like 34%.

 

[Ts5034]

I agree. Idk if im just stating the obvious but i think thats why this team has been so inconsistent. They never could find the right rotation that maximizes everyones talent and gives them the best chance to win. One example is Olander. No disrespect to him but he is not a starter and no way he gets in the game before Roscoe which was the case earlier this season.

 

[Jimdish255]

Giffey looked a lot better last night. Some good interior passing and aggressive defense. Rolled back that pounding he dished out in the lane and it looked like a good block in slo-mo. If only he could convert on his shot. That nice form he showed glimpses of last year seemingly disappeared and his confidence with it. I hate to say it but something may have changed in practice without JC and it's helping certain guys like Neils. Maybe Ollie time is near.

We need a guy who can get to the line AND make some foul shots. It's killing us.

 

[RichZ]

I don't understand the love affair with Giffey. He often seems indecisive with the ball and telegraphs his passes badly, and he's not fast enough to offer help on defense and still get back to his man.

 

[tzznandrew]

If Daniels is going to contribute this season he has to be able to make open shots, because Giffey is better than him in every other facet of the game. That is why they play Daniels right, because they think he could be a scoring threat, but he hasn't been. He is shooting something like 34%.

I don't think statistics bear out your point that "Giffey is better than him in every other facet of the game."

I took their stats, and equalized them to 20 minutes a game (since Daniels plays more minutes, albeit slightly)

Daniels: 5.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.9 bpg, 0.6 spg, 1.2 tpg. He'd average 5.1 shots per game. He's shooting 34% total, 24% from 3.
Giffey: 4.4 ppg, 2.5 rgp, 0.7 apg, 0.3 bpg, 0.5 spg, 0.6 tpg. He'd average 3.2 shots per game. He's shooting 41% total, 44% from 3.

So, equalizing minutes, Daniels would average more points (by nearly a point), rebounds (by nearly a board), assists (isn't Giffey supposed to be the better passer?), blocks, and steals per game. Giffey has half as many TOs, but that seems to be from a lack of aggression (which I base off of his fewer shots). He's shooting fine, when he shoots. Which, it seems, he should do more. If he's not shooting more, he shouldn't be playing, as he's certainly not doing anything more than Daniels that shows up in statistics.

 

[mets1090]

Stat's rarely tell the whole story. Giffey tends to play a more assertive overall game than Daniels even when he hesitates to shoot, IMO. I don't think he's clearly the better player but I do think he tends to keep things moving more than Daniels does.

 

[tzznandrew]

Stat's rarely tell the whole story. Giffey tends to play a more assertive overall game than Daniels even when he hesitates to shoot, IMO. I don't think he's clearly the better player but I do think he tends to keep things moving more than Daniels does.

Stats certainly aren't the whole story. But too many people are panning Daniels and making assertions that are wildly disproportionate to the facts.

I Giffey needs to look for his own offense when in there, otherwise there is little point to him being there. Teams will (and have been) play them 5 on 4.

 

[mcs333]

BE only games. DD 2.5 pts, 30% and 17% from 3. Griffey 2.9 , 42 % and 46 from 3. Rebounds, assist the same. DD plays 10 minutes, Giffey 12.5. Overall Giffey shooting % is better but overall their stats are about the same.

 

[huskymagic]

I just fear totally benching Daniels could kill his confidence and make him start second guessing everything. He clearly has the skills to emerge and probably will but for now he doesn't have the right 'feel'.

emerge when in the next 4 years your talking about lol. Daniels wont be able to get good minutes at UCONN because he just isnt that good. UCONN has better players and will recruit better players than him making Daniels a 5 to 10 minute glue at best. He thinks he is better than what he is and thats really the problem that for the foreseeable future he needs to play like a glue guy and do all the dirty work, but he unfortunately is a finesse player who is not suited for that role. I feel bad because he is a nice kid but he wont be able to be the player that the recruiting rankings predicted he would be.

 

[tzznandrew]

And you can tell all this from the limited minutes he's gotten as a freshman?

 

[huskymagic]

And you can tell all this from the limited minutes he's gotten as a freshman?

i knew this from the first game he ever played and even before he even stepped on the court . Why do you think I made a big deal about losing Moe Harkless because I knew he was going to be a special player and that was going to be a big loss for us.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

i knew this from the first game he ever played and even before he even stepped on the court . Why do you think I made a big deal about losing Moe Harkless because I knew he was going to be a special player and that was going to be a big loss for us.

Posters like HuskyMagic follow the same trajectory with every UConn player. When they are recruits, he believes they will be program saviors. By the middle of their freshman year, when it turns out they are just freshman, he writes them off and the next crop of recruits are the program saviors. Then, by late in their sophomore year or early junior year, when they are starting to produce, he will claim he knew it all along.

 

[blackbird]

For all this talk about Giffey feeding the post, he's got 10 assists this year, and 18 all of last year. Daniels has 15.

In the past 5 games, they each had a DNP.

Giffey had a total of 2 points (25% shooting, 0-1 from 3), 0 assists, 2 rebs, 1 blk, in 17 total minutes.
Daniels had 11 points (25% shooting, 3-8 from 3), 2 assists, 4 rebs, 1 blk, in 35 minutes (most coming in one game).

Giffey played better defense against Syracuse--a bit. He had that nice foul on Waiters. He had a nice hustle rebound. But he also had his shot blocked in a stupid drive that led to a run-out.

I think Daniels can be very good. I think Giffey can be the 6th man on a championship team--hell, he was already the 7th or 8th man on last years.

You don't get an assist when you feed a guy who is posting up, because the player posting up makes a basketball move...

Giffey's the glue player that every team needs but people tend to undervalue. (Kelly Faris for the women). He's a smart player who hustles and plays defense. And can make a shot when open. He also knows his limits. Smart and solid really needs to be introduced (and played consistently) on this team.

 

[mets1090]

Stats certainly aren't the whole story. But too many people are panning Daniels and making assertions that are wildly disproportionate to the facts.

I Giffey needs to look for his own offense when in there, otherwise there is little point to him being there. Teams will (and have been) play them 5 on 4.

I think that at this point they basically provide the same productivity. Daniels can't score unless he's given a wide open shot and provides little else on offense. Niels is a better passer IMO regardless of what the assist stats say.

If anything, Niels at least showed that he was willing to try to drive a little bit on the zone in the Cuse game which I don't think Daniels has been willing to do. Any time Daniels has driven I've felt like it was either obvious he was going to pass or he was going to pick up a charge. Yes Giffey has shown the same things at times, adding to my opinion that they are similar production wise, but I just get the feeling that he is a little better against the zone. This is probably because European style basketball lends itself to zone/help defense more than American basketball which tends to be a lot more 1 on 1 oriented so Giffey probably has more experience with it than Daniels.

This leads me to believe that Giffey is a little bit more ready to contribute now but that by the time he is a SR and Daniels is a JR, Daniels will probably be the better player.

 

[mauconnfan]

Posters like HuskyMagic follow the same trajectory with every UConn player. When they are recruits, he believes they will be program saviors. By the middle of their freshman year, when it turns out they are just freshman, he writes them off and the next crop of recruits are the program saviors. Then, by late in their sophomore year or early junior year, when they are starting to produce, he will claim he knew it all along.

Pretty easy to talk about Harkless now huh nelson? I agree......and still so sure he will "transfer" because he "thinks he's too good....." Wow it never ends with dopes who have copy n paste!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Pretty easy to talk about Harkless now huh nelson? I agree......and still so sure he will "transfer" because he "thinks he's too good....." Wow it never ends with dopes who have copy n paste!

Harkless looks like he is going to be great. What difference does it make? He went to St. Johns. The idea that Daniels is a terrible player because he isn't a star as a freshman is idiotic beyond belief. Freeman, Donny Marshall, Ollie, Josh Boone, and Thabeet all struggled mightily their freshman year. 4 of those guys went on to be NBA players. HuskyMagic should have told the scouts that those players couldn't possibly be any good because they weren't good as freshman.

The irony is that a UConn fan has this attitude. Calhoun is a good, not the great game coach, and he often does not get his top recruiting targets. The reason there are three banners hanging in Gampel is because Calhoun is the greatest player development coach in the last 30 years, and possibly in NCAA history. Calhoun wins championships because no coach improves players more from their first practice to graduation. Let's give Daniels a little bit of time to develop.

 

[Palatine]

I don't understand the airballs and bricks DD is throwing up. It's like he has no confidence in his shot. He looked much better in November.

 

[Palatine]

Harkless looks like he is going to be great. What difference does it make? He went to St. Johns. The idea that Daniels is a terrible player because he isn't a star as a freshman is idiotic beyond belief. Freeman, Donny Marshall, Ollie, Josh Boone, and Thabeet all struggled mightily their freshman year. 4 of those guys went on to be NBA players. HuskyMagic should have told the scouts that those players couldn't possibly be any good because they weren't good as freshman.

The irony is that a UConn fan has this attitude. Calhoun is a good, not the great game coach, and he often does not get his top recruiting targets. The reason there are three banners hanging in Gampel is because Calhoun is the greatest player development coach in the last 30 years, and possibly in NCAA history. Calhoun wins championships because no coach improves players more from their first practice to graduation. Let's give Daniels a little bit of time to develop.

Calhoun is a GREAT game coach. Good grief, don't you watch any of the games.

Bobby Knight said if he could have a coach for one game, his first choice would be K and his second would be JC.

So on the one side is Muntz on the other is Knight.

 

[tzznandrew]

Calhoun is a GREAT game coach. Good grief, don't you watch any of the games.

Bobby Knight said if he could have a coach for one game, his first choice would be K and his second would be JC.

So on the one side is Muntz on the other is Knight.

Quick question--where did you get the Knight quote, because it's a great one.