My “Shake it up” proposals

[freshler40]

I think this is it.

Offensively it almost doesn't matter what changes we make unless one of Newton/Diarra becomes the BE caliber PG we need them to be and we hit some open shots. Until then, going big or staying with our lineup isn't going to matter at all. We can't get to the rim at all, can't create our own shots and Danny's sets have been completely figured out. It's a personnel issue.

On defense I think there's some hope. Switch to zone sometimes to prevent the lay up lines, and hope that it triggers your fast break a bit. DC is a good enough rebounder to cover up that flaw in the zone, and we have a bunch of length.

DC needs to keep his defensive rebounds very high and pass from that position to start fast breaks. That has been completely missing from most of our offensive. He is bringing the ball down too low as evidenced by the purported elbow review of the St John's game and serious foul given which changed much of the game.

Diarra is great at starting the fast breaks but doesn't finish well. He needs to pass to another breaking guard. Newton runs the offensive too slow and a 25 second clock resulting in rushed shots. Seems like we have too many guards that don't penetrate or can finish fast breaks. Joey & Hawkins can, I think.

I do agree with a 2/3 or 3/2 zone when the bigs are on the floor together if that even is to happen. I think early foul trouble prevented the coach from doing that in the past game. The bigs can also set low screens for guard penetration. Other teams do that to us all the time with great success. With another big on the floor that might not work as well for their guards.

 

[freshler40]

Also, have you noticed that when Diarra has the point, he brings the ball up slowly to the frontcourt, and then he dribbles out past the arc for at least 10 seconds before passing it. We have lost the quick ball movement that was apparent earlier in the season. Fewer players are involved in each offensive set.

Seems like Newton does this slow offensive pattern more than Diarra.

 

[freshler40]

Sanogo gets the ball at the top of the paint. Hawkins makes a cut to the basket and Sanogo does not make the pass. I feel like that happens all the time.

Sanogo is not a passing big, DC might be that big.

 

[August_West]

Sanogo gets the ball at the top of the paint. Hawkins makes a cut to the basket and Sanogo does not make the pass. I feel like that happens all the time.

Unfortunately he isn't a good passer, Sanogo trying to hit cutters would be a TO 50% of time. Hell he had an open kickout to the 3 line from the post which is an easy pass (and it was the right thing for him to try) that he almost threw 5 rows into the stands against st johns.

 

[aburks41]

Yes, offensively he's essentially Gaffney with a better handle, and maybe a worse shot. But I don't see the off the ball movement we had earlier either. Guys just standing around. Too much weave, too many ball screens. Everyone blaming the PG play, but the reality is, the offense is designed not to need a PG. It needs loads of off the ball motion and movement of the ball crisply through the air.

Look how different it looked against Iowa State, a good defensive team.

Watching those highlights makes me sad. We looked so fluid on offense and damn sharp on defense. I really don't understand what the hell has happened. The ball movement during the PK85 was a thing of beauty

 

[superjohn]

DC needs to keep his defensive rebounds very high and pass from that position to start fast breaks. That has been completely missing from most of our offensive. He is bringing the ball down too low as evidenced by the purported elbow review of the St John's game and serious foul given which changed much of the game.

Clingan couldn't keep the defensive rebound very high and pass from that position for a fast break. The St. John's player fouled the hell out of him and had his entire arm.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Watching those highlights makes me sad. We looked so fluid on offense and damn sharp on defense. I really don't understand what the hell has happened. The ball movement during the PK85 was a thing of beauty

Early season UConn played some of the prettiest offensive basketball I've seen from a UConn team since mid 2000s. Looked more like I'm used to seeing from Kansas. Suddenly, it now looks like it did 4-5 years ago. Nobody looks like they are having fun anymore. No smiles. They look like a team that is under enormous pressure.

 

[Griffman]

I'm not sure what the shake-up should be but I do know that since we have been going with the starting lineup of Sanago, AJ, Hawkins, Newton and Karaban, I can’t recall even one time when Hurley substituted before the 16:00 minute tv timeout. That’s goes as well for the beginning of the 2nd half. Twenty percent of the minutes every game where he sticks with the same starting lineup regardless of how they are playing or the matchup.

There are so many instances that a player or two should not start the 2nd half based on their play but he never changes and even worse keeps them all in for for 4+ minutes. He never yanks players when they are stinking up the floor. Let's see what changes are in store for tomorrow night.

 

[superjohn]

I'm not sure what the shake-up should be but I do know that since we have been going with the starting lineup of Sanago, AJ, Hawkins, Newton and Karaban, I can’t recall even one time when Hurley substituted before the 16:00 minute tv timeout. That’s goes as well for the beginning of the 2nd half. Twenty percent of the minutes every game where he sticks with the same starting lineup regardless of how they are playing or the matchup.

There are so many instances that a player or two should not start the 2nd half based on their play but he never changes and even worse keeps them all in for for 4+ minutes. He never yanks players when they are stinking up the floor. Let's see what changes are in store for tomorrow night.

It's infuriating. It's like he's pre-programmed.

 

[gsmooth]

Early season UConn played some of the prettiest offensive basketball I've seen from a UConn team since mid 2000s. Looked more like I'm used to seeing from Kansas. Suddenly, it now looks like it did 4-5 years ago. Nobody looks like they are having fun anymore. No smiles. They look like a team that is under enormous pressure.

I think this is one of a few big issues for the team. I alluded to this somewhat in post #2 within this thread a few days ago:

Why UConn is losing games? Simple: it's the defense

Remember when Calhoun had a goal for his teams to limit opponents to under 40 percent? If UConn was doing that they would've only lost one game most likely (Providence) Why UConn is losing games? Simple: it's the defense (losses in bold). Allow opponent above 50 percent: 0-3 Allow opponent...

the-boneyard.com

When their defense is giving up a lot of points the shooters feel that much more pressure to make their open shots and it looks like they are tightening and short arming some of the shots (signs of nerves). It's almost like they are thinking "I know how important this shot is, I absolutely have to make it". When their defense was on point and playing well, they didn't feel so much pressure to make a particular offensive possession work because they knew their defense could stop the opposition-not so much anymore.

Think of it like when you see the professional play 8-ball for billiards. Usually one player runs the table without missing, but when that one player misses the announcers say "uh oh he might lose"-that's an enormous amount of pressure to not have one error.

 

[gtcam]

My proposal:
Start Sanogo and Clingan just to let the Boneyard know it’s not the answer moving forward. Then…

Sit Newton down and tell him how good he can be and tell him he could have his Jersey hanging from the rafters one day, get him back to playing how he was early on. He just lost his confidence. Have Alleyne/Calcaterra/Diarra/Jackson shoot 1000 3 pointers a day even if they need to stay up all night to get them all in.

Making 3’s covers up a lot of mistakes…when our offense goes cold we lose our motivation on defense. Gotta start knocking down our open shots again

IF Newton hasn't been spoken to at least 10 games ago there is something wrong with the coaching staff .......................................
1000 3 pointers a day is ridiculous - surely you jest
This team needs to drive the ball and find a mid range game from someone

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Problem statement(s):

Lack of dribble penetration offensively and on ball defense are the primary issues.

Three point shooting is suffering as a result of lack of dribble penetration. Teams are overplaying on the third level.

Lack of on ball defensive exposes a weakness of Adama on that end, he’s not a rim protector.

Solutions:

Move Diarra to the starting lineup, his handle and defense address both primary issues.

Move Newton to the 2, Hawkins to the 3, AJ to the 4. This gets us smaller at every position which should help us close the quickness gap at both ends. Yes, this demotes AK. But I’m okay sending more shooting to later in the rotation because…

Start Donavan. The rim protection will help cure ills defensively and offensively even if teams pack it down low there’s still enough offensive weapons on the perimeter in Hawk, Newt (assuming moving him off ball helps fix him) and AJ.

Adama now plays his first 5 minutes with AK and JC + lineup dependent decisions. He’s playing against tired or bench bigs which can help get him going earlier. He’ll have spacing.

From there it’s game feel on which lineup is having more success.

Conclusion:

Defense improves in first 5 which is helpful in hostile environments.

Quickness improves which helps on both ends on what is currently being exploited.

Challenges:

“Benching” the pre-season POY is probably unpopular.

In essence you’re starting Diarra in place of Sanogo.

Maybe because Diarra is aggressive and defensively disruptive at times, the BY narrative is that he’s a great defensive player.

What I’ve seen is that after Diarra’s pressure on the perimeter his man drives past him and beats him repeatedly on drives to the hoop. He should get a few minutes PT when we need to stop a three point shooter who can’t dribble and drive.

 

[Icehawk]

I like the idea of having AJ come of the bench a few minutes in - starting shouldn't be the end-all be-all of your "worth".

DC needs to keep his defensive rebounds very high and pass from that position to start fast breaks. That has been completely missing from most of our offensive. He is bringing the ball down too low as evidenced by the purported elbow review of the St John's game and serious foul given which changed much of the game.

He's 7'2", his elbows were at his own shoulder height and the ball above his head. He's VERY good at keeping the ball high. IMO, he shouldn't have even been called for a foul.

 

[MrSec238]

Alleyne has done nothing and I mean NOTHING to warrant starting. I get trying something new, but if I was his teammate and I saw him starting I'd be pissed.

I mean which of those teammates actually deserve to start. They are all playing likes garbage. We clearly need to go to a different rotation and this is one that did work at one point.

 

[aburks41]

I like the idea of having AJ come of the bench a few minutes in - starting shouldn't be the end-all be-all of your "worth".



He's 7'2", his elbows were at his own shoulder height and the ball above his head. He's VERY good at keeping the ball high. IMO, he shouldn't have even been called for a foul.

He got called for that foul because he is 5 inches taller. It was BS. You shouldnt be able to penalize a guy who's elbows are already at head height of an opponent.

 

[Icehawk]

I completely agree - he's just that tall, sorry? It's like the screen he was called on, yeah his feet were a bit wide but it he's friggin tall man.

Oh well, Edey can hip toss a dude though.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Yes, offensively he's essentially Gaffney with a better handle, and maybe a worse shot. But I don't see the off the ball movement we had earlier either. Guys just standing around. Too much weave, too many ball screens. Everyone blaming the PG play, but the reality is, the offense is designed not to need a PG. It needs loads of off the ball motion and movement of the ball crisply through the air.

Look how different it looked against Iowa State, a good defensive team.

Gonna be honest, it looks our offense, but the ball is going in the hoop.

 

[OkaForPrez]

In essence you’re starting Diarra in place of Sanogo.

Maybe because Diarra is aggressive and defensively disruptive at times, the BY narrative is that he’s a great defensive player.

What I’ve seen is that after Diarra’s pressure on the perimeter his man drives past him and beats him repeatedly on drives to the hoop. He should get a few minutes PT when we need to stop a three point shooter who can’t dribble and drive.

Diarra for Karaban, Clingan for Sanogo.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Anyone suggesting benching karaban should not be taken seriously.

 

[huskyfan224]

It’s eye opening how bad Alleyne has been this season. Thru 19 games he and AJ have attempted the same amount of FG and 3PA, Andre has hit slightly more... I know the minutes aren’t the same, but still. Newton has gotten to the line the most out of anyone and still feels like he needs to be there more.

All guards needs to get to the line more and shoot it better, simple as that. We’ve all beaten the defense aspect like a dead horse too.

 

[NJHusky]

I'm not sure what the shake-up should be but I do know that since we have been going with the starting lineup of Sanago, AJ, Hawkins, Newton and Karaban, I can’t recall even one time when Hurley substituted before the 16:00 minute tv timeout. That’s goes as well for the beginning of the 2nd half. Twenty percent of the minutes every game where he sticks with the same starting lineup regardless of how they are playing or the matchup.

There are so many instances that a player or two should not start the 2nd half based on their play but he never changes and even worse keeps them all in for for 4+ minutes. He never yanks players when they are stinking up the floor. Let's see what changes are in store for tomorrow night.

Sounds like maybe you want to sub Kimani for Hurley and see how that works? I remember a few times when JC was out Blaney played some diff rotations that jump started things

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Diarra for Karaban, Clingan for Sanogo.

Sorry I missed that.

I agree with getting Clingan in the starting lineup.

Starting Diarra and Newton instead of Karaban and Sanogo is a major step in the wrong direction.

 

[alphasigko]

I feel like OP has things backwards. Our absolute worst lineups have come with Jackson at the 4.

Once Johnson is back and ready, I'd start this lineup
Newton
Hawkins
Karaban
Johnson
Sanogo

Until then I'd still consider having Jackson come off the bench. Want to see what Newton does without him and with Diarra or Alleyne.

SSDG for Newton

 

[OkaForPrez]

Anyone suggesting benching karaban should not be taken seriously.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Huskyforlife]

Thanks for the feedback!

There’s just no other way to put it. Karaban is one of our 3 most important offensive players, starting Diarra over him makes it objectively worse. More dribble penetration from someone who shouldn’t be penetrating, isn’t better than taking one of our two consistent shooters off the floor. The bigs will struggle even more.

 

[HeGotGame]

Amazing so many people want to fire the coach and change the team up, but you have a 4 page thread that cannot come up with a consensus starting 5............

 

[Billy Jack]

Amazing so many people want to fire the coach and change the team up, but you have a 4 page thread that cannot come up with a consensus starting 5............

Yes, it’s always easier to agree on what you’re against than to agree on what you’re for.

 

[OkaForPrez]

There’s just no other way to put it. Karaban is one of our 3 most important offensive players, starting Diarra over him makes it objectively worse. More dribble penetration from someone who shouldn’t be penetrating, isn’t better than taking one of our two consistent shooters off the floor. The bigs will struggle even more.

Karaban is also objectively our worst defender. So much so that nearly every team we’ve played has attacked him repeatedly when he’s in the game.

He plays because the good outweighs the bad. There’s no doubt about that. And he’s improving rapidly, there’s no doubt about that.

When Clingan is in the game teams lock up offensively. They alter their shot, they stay out of the paint completely.

I want that out of the gate. I want teams to start cold. I believe our net loss of offense with those changes is worth the net gain on defense.

Then I get to bring in Karaban and Sanogo off the bench together. They are complimentary pieces, and now they are guarding subs in their rotation, which protects their liabilities.

And I’ll say it again, because I don’t think all are following, we’re talking about the first 10 min here, and after that the minutes distribution can look exactly as it does today.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Karaban is also objectively our worst defender. So much so that nearly every team we’ve played has attacked him repeatedly when he’s in the game.

He plays because the good outweighs the bad. There’s no doubt about that. And he’s improving rapidly, there’s no doubt about that.

When Clingan is in the game teams lock up offensively. They alter their shot, they stay out of the paint completely.

I want that out of the gate. I want teams to start cold. I believe our net loss of offense with those changes is worth the net gain on defense.

Then I get to bring in Karaban and Sanogo off the bench together. They are complimentary pieces, and now they are guarding subs in their rotation, which protects their liabilities.

And I’ll say it again, because I don’t think all are following, we’re talking about the first 10 min here, and after that the minutes distribution can look exactly as it does today.

He’s not a great defender. But I somewhat blame Dan for thinking he was ready to guard Hopkins/Kaluma/Freemantal, when he has the best defender in the conference to put on them. You can have a good defense with one negative, especially when that negative is 6’7. We had an elite defense in fact for the first 12 or so games, with him and Sanogo starting.

 

[OkaForPrez]

He’s not a great defender. But I somewhat blame Dan for thinking he was ready to guard Hopkins/Kaluma/Freemantal, when he has the best defender in the conference to put on them. You can have a good defense with one negative, especially when that negative is 6’7. We had an elite defense in fact for the first 12 or so games, with him and Sanogo starting.

We did, but it’s a shake up for a reason.