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First off, ugly as it may have been, that's still a win on a neutral court (though it wasn't really neutral - great turnout by UConn fans) against a BCS opponent. Wake Forest is young and inexperienced, but they have some talented pieces, most notably McKie, Miller-McIintyre, and Harris. Those kids are no slouches and can legitimately play on the court with anyone from what I saw. UConn fans should be generally pleased with the growth of the club from the first exhibition (which was extremely ugly) to now. It bodes will that they've progressed so noticeably for Kevin Ollie. Not only that, but they were able to battle through some adversity tonight and fend off an upset from a hungry team that could smell a big victory. As we know, it's a lot easier to play as the hunter than the hunted. This is one of those games where you wipe your brow and take the victory without complaining.
As always, there were some positive and negatives from tonights game. Today's game did, however, confirm my suspicion that UConn is not a legitimate top 25 team at this moment. Sure, they have some talented pieces, but their are some glaring weaknesses that will be exposed sooner rather than later with this group. I would say UConn is a top 30-35 team as of right now, which is much better than what fans expected coming into the season. Tonight you saw some mistakes you expect to see from young teams early in the season, and then some other mistakes that absolutely cannot happen. For starters, Ryan Boatright almost got killed a couple times on hard screens around the half-court area. At this level, you cannot allow your starting point guard to run full throttle into a player significantly bigger than him like that. You're taught from fifth grade on to call out screens and talk on defense so this type of thing doesn't happen. UConn is lucky Boatright was not hurt. Secondly, I've counted at least five instances this season where Uconn's big men will flat out get beat for a rebound off a missed free throw. I realize they are undersized, but giving up offensive rebounds on foul shots simply is not something that can happen. The other mistakes are more understandable. Wake Forest shot 7 of 16 on threes tonight, due in part to UConn not crisply rotating and getting around screens defensively. Give some credit to Wake Forest, as they ran some nice offensive sets. Still, guys like Deandre and Calhoun will have to put on some weight or somehow manage to slither through those screens because Wake Forest got too many open looks tonight.
And as many of us suspected, Ollie is limited in his options off the bench up front in the case that a couple players get into foul trouble (I still loathe the two foul rule, btw, but that's another story for another day). We saw that tonight when Nolan and were forced to chip in four minutes a piece at the expense of Daniels and Olander who were on the bench. Not surprisngly, Wake Forest went on a run during that time, which once again confirmed my hunch that those two are not ready to play competitive division one minutes at a high level right now. Hopefully from now on Ollie sticks to a three man frontcourt rotation of Daniels, Wolf, and Olander.
Of course, there were many positives as well. People will rightfully point to UConn's rebounding struggles as a sign of concern, but UConn has created 47 turnovers (+16) in their three games, which more than makes up for any rebounding difficulties. I laid out the blue print for this UConn team during the pre-season: exceptional play from the guards, improved ball movement, takeaways defensively, and the best two players on the floor come crunch time in Napier and Boatright. Thus far, despite the flaws most young teams exhibit early in the season, they have followed that format to a tee, and that's why they're 3-0. UConn's offense isn't exactly the Nash-era Phoenix Sun right now, but Ollie seems to really have something with the high post screens and curls he continually runs.
It certainly helps any offense, though, to have two guys who can consistently beat their man off the dribble, which UConn has in Napier and Boatright. If it's not obvious by now, UConn needs Shabazz Napier to be aggressive to play high caliber basketball. When he's knocking down shots, finding open teammates, pressuring the ball, and attacking the rim, this team is much more formidable. Unsurprisngly, the turning point in the game occured when Shabazz woke up and decided to play.
I don't want to rain on the Wolf parade, because he played excellently tonight, but I do believe this team is much weaker defensively when he is on the court (although it remains to be seen whether his offense can compensate for it), as he seems to be a bit slow guarding the pick and roll. He'll learn, though, and tonight cannot be considered anything but extremely encouraging. I'm not going to go overboard, but he showed a fair amount of skill offensively, to the point that I don't think his performance tonight is a flash in the pan. Obviously the best thing he's got going for him is his height, but he can catch the ball and he has soft hands around the rim. Keep it up, Enosh.
Other player notes:
Omar Calhoun - Can't say I love what I've seen from him this season. He hasn't shot the ball great, his handle is a little shaky at times, and he's basically been a non-factor out there. Granted, he played decently against Vermont, and he's three games into his college career. His future is still bright.
Tyler Olander - Obviously, we need more than 2 points and 1 rebound from him. He played soft tonight, and that can't happen. I really like what he brings to the table, and think he can be an intrical part of the offense in terms of hitting cutters, knocking down open jumpers, and even hitting a hook shot in the post once in a while. We just need more consistency.
RJ Evans - I've been nothing short of thrilled with his play. The kid defends, he's ruthless in the paint, he doesn't play outside himself, and he's a great teammate. I can't say enough good things about RJ Evans from what I've seen. I almost feel guilty that he's playing here instead of helping somebody else who is tournament eligible.
Deandre Daniels - Deandre's a funny guy. He gets me really excited with some of the moves he makes offensively (4 for 4 in the first half tonight if I'm remembering correctly) and then he'll anger me with a Roscoe Smith-esque drive to the lane where he barrels over two people and tosses the ball into the stands. Overall, I'm pleased. He's already a lot better than he was last season, and his jumper looks to be coming into its own. The one thing I'll say is that he needs to do better than two rebounds in 30 minutes.
Niels Giffey - I'm not sure who I've been more impressed with, Giffey or Evans. Neither are incredible talents, needless to say, but they are excellent role players who bring things to the table and take nothing off. Giffey is one of the best one on one defenders on the team from what I can tell, and he is quietly skilled offensively. My one beef with him is that he's not aggressive enough sometimes.
I can already say this team is more fun to watch than the group from last year. There are seven or eight really nice pieces on this team who 99% of the country would love to have in their rotation. They are well-coached, they play hard, and they play for one another. My viewing experience watching this team this year is an A+ easily.
As always, there were some positive and negatives from tonights game. Today's game did, however, confirm my suspicion that UConn is not a legitimate top 25 team at this moment. Sure, they have some talented pieces, but their are some glaring weaknesses that will be exposed sooner rather than later with this group. I would say UConn is a top 30-35 team as of right now, which is much better than what fans expected coming into the season. Tonight you saw some mistakes you expect to see from young teams early in the season, and then some other mistakes that absolutely cannot happen. For starters, Ryan Boatright almost got killed a couple times on hard screens around the half-court area. At this level, you cannot allow your starting point guard to run full throttle into a player significantly bigger than him like that. You're taught from fifth grade on to call out screens and talk on defense so this type of thing doesn't happen. UConn is lucky Boatright was not hurt. Secondly, I've counted at least five instances this season where Uconn's big men will flat out get beat for a rebound off a missed free throw. I realize they are undersized, but giving up offensive rebounds on foul shots simply is not something that can happen. The other mistakes are more understandable. Wake Forest shot 7 of 16 on threes tonight, due in part to UConn not crisply rotating and getting around screens defensively. Give some credit to Wake Forest, as they ran some nice offensive sets. Still, guys like Deandre and Calhoun will have to put on some weight or somehow manage to slither through those screens because Wake Forest got too many open looks tonight.
And as many of us suspected, Ollie is limited in his options off the bench up front in the case that a couple players get into foul trouble (I still loathe the two foul rule, btw, but that's another story for another day). We saw that tonight when Nolan and were forced to chip in four minutes a piece at the expense of Daniels and Olander who were on the bench. Not surprisngly, Wake Forest went on a run during that time, which once again confirmed my hunch that those two are not ready to play competitive division one minutes at a high level right now. Hopefully from now on Ollie sticks to a three man frontcourt rotation of Daniels, Wolf, and Olander.
Of course, there were many positives as well. People will rightfully point to UConn's rebounding struggles as a sign of concern, but UConn has created 47 turnovers (+16) in their three games, which more than makes up for any rebounding difficulties. I laid out the blue print for this UConn team during the pre-season: exceptional play from the guards, improved ball movement, takeaways defensively, and the best two players on the floor come crunch time in Napier and Boatright. Thus far, despite the flaws most young teams exhibit early in the season, they have followed that format to a tee, and that's why they're 3-0. UConn's offense isn't exactly the Nash-era Phoenix Sun right now, but Ollie seems to really have something with the high post screens and curls he continually runs.
It certainly helps any offense, though, to have two guys who can consistently beat their man off the dribble, which UConn has in Napier and Boatright. If it's not obvious by now, UConn needs Shabazz Napier to be aggressive to play high caliber basketball. When he's knocking down shots, finding open teammates, pressuring the ball, and attacking the rim, this team is much more formidable. Unsurprisngly, the turning point in the game occured when Shabazz woke up and decided to play.
I don't want to rain on the Wolf parade, because he played excellently tonight, but I do believe this team is much weaker defensively when he is on the court (although it remains to be seen whether his offense can compensate for it), as he seems to be a bit slow guarding the pick and roll. He'll learn, though, and tonight cannot be considered anything but extremely encouraging. I'm not going to go overboard, but he showed a fair amount of skill offensively, to the point that I don't think his performance tonight is a flash in the pan. Obviously the best thing he's got going for him is his height, but he can catch the ball and he has soft hands around the rim. Keep it up, Enosh.
Other player notes:
Omar Calhoun - Can't say I love what I've seen from him this season. He hasn't shot the ball great, his handle is a little shaky at times, and he's basically been a non-factor out there. Granted, he played decently against Vermont, and he's three games into his college career. His future is still bright.
Tyler Olander - Obviously, we need more than 2 points and 1 rebound from him. He played soft tonight, and that can't happen. I really like what he brings to the table, and think he can be an intrical part of the offense in terms of hitting cutters, knocking down open jumpers, and even hitting a hook shot in the post once in a while. We just need more consistency.
RJ Evans - I've been nothing short of thrilled with his play. The kid defends, he's ruthless in the paint, he doesn't play outside himself, and he's a great teammate. I can't say enough good things about RJ Evans from what I've seen. I almost feel guilty that he's playing here instead of helping somebody else who is tournament eligible.
Deandre Daniels - Deandre's a funny guy. He gets me really excited with some of the moves he makes offensively (4 for 4 in the first half tonight if I'm remembering correctly) and then he'll anger me with a Roscoe Smith-esque drive to the lane where he barrels over two people and tosses the ball into the stands. Overall, I'm pleased. He's already a lot better than he was last season, and his jumper looks to be coming into its own. The one thing I'll say is that he needs to do better than two rebounds in 30 minutes.
Niels Giffey - I'm not sure who I've been more impressed with, Giffey or Evans. Neither are incredible talents, needless to say, but they are excellent role players who bring things to the table and take nothing off. Giffey is one of the best one on one defenders on the team from what I can tell, and he is quietly skilled offensively. My one beef with him is that he's not aggressive enough sometimes.
I can already say this team is more fun to watch than the group from last year. There are seven or eight really nice pieces on this team who 99% of the country would love to have in their rotation. They are well-coached, they play hard, and they play for one another. My viewing experience watching this team this year is an A+ easily.
