Napier's minutes

[nelsonmuntz]

He looks tired on every play and his production has fallen off a cliff. Napier should be destroying a chump like Truck Bryant and instead he was 0-6 with 0 points. He wasn't getting by anyone on Rutgers either, and their guards are still in diapers. He should have smoked those clowns. And Theodore made him look silly.

I think Calhoun needs to cut back Napier's minutes. He has gone from 24 mpg to 36 mpg, and against anyone good he is playing close to 40 mpg. Khalid El Amin is the only sophomore point that was effective playing those kind of minutes, and he was taking whole stretches of games off. Being the primary point, picking up the other team's point, and being a scoring threat is very hard on a young guard. Last year he had Kemba to do a lot of that stuff, and he was also playing a lot fewer minutes. Kemba dipped his sophomore year when his minutes went up, and Napier is doing the same.

I thought the whole point of Boatright was to give Napier a blow. I think if Napier is held under 35 mpg for the rest of the year, his production would go way up on both ends. I don't think he is physically ready to play the kind of minutes as the primary point that he is racking up right now.

I also think Lamb should spend some more time on the bench, because he seems to be wearing down a bit too. The best part of Lamb's game last year were his floaters off the dribble. They are undefendable. This year, he is taking a lot more jump shots and not getting by folks like he did last year. He is still playing the 3 most of the game, so he is still defended by forwards for the most part. I think he is slowing down too with all the minutes he is playing.

Finally, one of the main reasons to play a 3 guard is to run the other team into the ground, but we aren't running that much even with 3 guards. I think that is another sign that Napier and Lamb are tired.

I would like to see Boatright getting about 15 mpg in a pure backup role, with another 5-10 or so in a 3 guard set. We saw what happened last night when we are patient on offense and get the big guys the ball. We need to do more of it. Oriakhi and Drummond should both be 30 mpg players, with Olander, Smith, Daniels and Giffey all around 10-15. Keep everyone fresh, and keep the pedal to the floor. The 4 backup frontcourt players give Calhoun a lot of looks, but most importantly, keep everyone fresh.

 

[bobbygt]

I think this is a great point.

He needs to be getting about 32 minutes a game.

Uconn showed last night that they can win in spite of SN. However, in order for this team to be really good, SN needs to contribute more. I think resting him more would do wonders for him physically and mentally.

 

[tykurez]

However, in order for this team to be really good, SN needs to contribute more.

Both great points, and this one is key. This is an entirely different team when Shabazz is scoring closer to his average (given that he's not the only one of course.)

I'd like to see more set plays for him while Boatright is in there as he's been fantastic shooting the ball this year when he's in rhythm. Having set plays for both Bazz and Lamb while having Drummond loom in the background should be this team's bread and butter.

 

[bajapugsley]

i think some people may have expected Shabazz to be more like Kemba when Kemba was a junior. i don't have the stats handy, but how was Kemba his sophomore year? i fully agree Shabazz needs some improvement, but one of the reasons he looked so good when he was in the game is mostly he was in when Kemba was in.

with no Kemba, people are able to focus more exclusively on Shabazz and not worry about Kemba. again, we've all seen and noted the areas Shabazz could/should improve, but i don't think he's that far off from sophomore Kemba - in fact, Shabazz may be better. but i don't have a good enough recollection to compare the two of them in 2 different seasons 2 years apart...

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Both great points, and this one is key. This is an entirely different team when Shabazz is scoring closer to his average (given that he's not the only one of course.)

I'd like to see more set plays for him while Boatright is in there as he's been fantastic shooting the ball this year when he's in rhythm. Having set plays for both Bazz and Lamb while having Drummond loom in the background should be this team's bread and butter.

I don't like the offense when all 3 guards are in at once. It is almost entirely 1 on 1 basketball.

 

[Tenspro2002]

i think some people may have expected Shabazz to be more like Kemba when Kemba was a junior. i don't have the stats handy, but how was Kemba his sophomore year? i fully agree Shabazz needs some improvement, but one of the reasons he looked so good when he was in the game is mostly he was in when Kemba was in.

1) You're absolutely right that people had unrealistic expectations for how Shabazz would perform, as a sophomore, in an entirely new role, with no security blanket to bail him out

2) Kemba as a sophomore: bad the first half of the year, much better the second half of the year

3) Because everyone keyed on Kemba, he got to go against the other team's inferior defensive guards; also, he could play much more aggressively and energetically knowing that he didn't have to be "the man" for 35 seconds of the shot clock for 35 minutes a game.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

3) Because everyone keyed on Kemba, he got to go against the other team's inferior defensive guards; also, he could play much more aggressively and energetically knowing that he didn't have to be "the man" for 35 seconds of the shot clock for 35 minutes a game.

This is my whole point about the minutes. Napier is playing closer to 38-39 mpg against decent competition, and he does have to be "the man" for 35 seconds of every shot clock on offense and defense. It is wearing him down. I think if Calhoun rolled back his minutes to 32-35 mpg, it would make a big difference.

 

[Scot-e]

If Boat looked like he could handle more time at the point in practice he would be getting more time there. JC must not like what he sees at this point and so Bazz plays big minutes- hopefully that will change and he can get some time on the pine during games in Feb.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

we only have 3 true guards. bazz, boat, and lamb. if we had another true guard, everyone could get another 5 minutes of rest per game.

we just dont have the number of guys we need in the backcourt. its unfortunate, but we knew what was happening before the season started. we were hoping that either giffey, or daniels could develop the handle necessary to play the backup 2 for spells, but it hasnt happened.

until we can get a 4 man rotation back there....this is what we have. bazz needs to heal up, and the offense needs to set better screens, and all of this talk goes away.

 

[Kitaman]

I really think Bazz has some nagging minor injuries that have not fully healed. The 'healthy' Shabazz can shake and bake a player out of his shoes, I haven't seen that from Bazz in a while. Remember at the beginning of the season he was playing full games. He seems a step slow which could indicate some physical condition, even if minor, for a point guard with the ball constantly in his hands, it has an impact. I just think he needs more in-game rest to fully recover. Maybe shifting him to the 2 spot with RB could help some.

Obviously I could be totally wrong but he appears to have something bothering him health wise.

 

[gibhunter]

Boat was bringing up the ball much of the comeback time of the game, then gave it to Napier to run the half court set. It worked pretty well with 8 assists for Napier and 4 for Boatright. That's a good strategy and similar to what we did when Kemba and Napier were in together.

 

[upstater]

It's the injuries! It's obvious.

I see players pressing Napier way out and normally he'd blow by them to make a play.

If anything, I wasn't expecting Shabazz to be this good this year. I was very impressed by his shot and control. I thought we'd be having bigger problems at the point. He has been horrid the last 3 games, but it's obvious to me that something is hampering him. He is being tested and he simply can't drive by his defender like he used to. Ankle? Hamstring? Quad? Groin?

 

[UChusky916]

I really think Bazz has some nagging minor injuries that have not fully healed. The 'healthy' Shabazz can shake and bake a player out of his shoes, I haven't seen that from Bazz in a while. Remember at the beginning of the season he was playing full games. He seems a step slow which could indicate some physical condition, even if minor, for a point guard with the ball constantly in his hands, it has an impact. I just think he needs more in-game rest to fully recover. Maybe shifting him to the 2 spot with RB could help some.

Obviously I could be totally wrong but he appears to have something bothering him health wise.

Agreed 100%. He's picked up so many dings and bruises and I've heard at least 2 reports of him getting hurt in practice. He's not the type of kid to use that as an excuse, so I doubt he'd come out and say it.

I agree with the OP that his minutes need to be a little lower so that when he his on the floor he can make an impact.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Maybe I don't recall this correctly, but it seems to me that Calhoun did not play so many players so many minutes per game. He got away with it last year with Kemba playing Superman. It seems to me that JC also has little patience with players being injured and may err on the side of wanting them to tough it out when they might be better taking it easier and getting better. As many have noted in this thread, Bazz has appeared to be significantly less than 100% and it has been a big factor in his difficulty penetrating and handling tight pressure. I hope that JC will give him more breaks during the game, which will also allow Boat some time to develop as well. We absolutely have to have both of them healthy and playing well to have any chance to go far this year.

 

[Waquoit]

I really think Bazz has some nagging minor injuries that have not fully healed. The 'healthy' Shabazz can shake and bake a player out of his shoes, I haven't seen that from Bazz in a while. ....Obviously I could be totally wrong but he appears to have something bothering him health wise.

I agree. He is not 100%. It's a knee or ankle thing.

 

[Chin Diesel]

we only have 3 true guards. bazz, boat, and lamb. if we had another true guard, everyone could get another 5 minutes of rest per game.

we just dont have the number of guys we need in the backcourt. its unfortunate, but we knew what was happening before the season started. we were hoping that either giffey, or daniels could develop the handle necessary to play the backup 2 for spells, but it hasnt happened.

until we can get a 4 man rotation back there....this is what we have. bazz needs to heal up, and the offense needs to set better screens, and all of this talk goes away.

The lack of production at the 3 spot has forced Uconn in to more three guard sets with Lamb playing the 3. If we were getting solid production out of the 3 spot, Boatright could come in to spell Napier. Instead Boatright, Napier and Lamb are all playing 30+ minutes every night.

There's 120 minutes to divide up between the PG, SG and SF. When Daniels, Smith and Giffey are only taking up 25 of those minutes, it falls on the three guards to absorb them.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The lack of production at the 3 spot has forced Uconn in to more three guard sets with Lamb playing the 3. If we were getting solid production out of the 3 spot, Boatright could come in to spell Napier. Instead Boatright, Napier and Lamb are all playing 30+ minutes every night.

There's 120 minutes to divide up between the PG, SG and SF. When Daniels, Smith and Giffey are only taking up 25 of those minutes, it falls on the three guards to absorb them.

I think it is a chicken and egg problem. We aren't setting up the big men at all, so there is no production from the 3 or 4 for that matter. Giving Giffey or Daniels the ball 25 feet from the basket is not including them in the offense. The offense is almost entire 1 on 1 isolations with the three guards with dump offs to Drummond if the guy with the ball gets doubled. The offense as a whole sucks as a result. Also, by playing 3 guards, UConn is giving up its height advantage, which hurts it on D and on the boards. Most teams have 3 decent guards. Few teams have anywhere near the front court depth UConn has. Furthermore, if you are going to play 3 guards, you should at least press and run, yet UConn is doing little of that. So we end up with a slow, short team.

Hence losses to Seton Hall and Rutgers.

 

[Waquoit]

We aren't setting up the big men at all, so there is no production from the 3 or 4 for that matter.

Scoring 20 on a Top 25 team without being set up at all must be a performance for all-time.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Scoring 20 on a Top 25 team without being set up at all must be a performance for all-time.

Do you really think the big man production has been good this year? How many shots are the guards taking relative to the frontcourt?

 

[ctchamps]

Do you really think the big man production has been good this year? How many shots are the guards taking relative to the frontcourt?

I would say the vast majority of half court sets, RB and SN are looking to get either AD, AO or JL the ball to score. But AD and AO do not have the skills to get position on offense, particularly AD, and JL is often double teamed so throwing the ball to him will just result in a turnover.

With that said I do see improvement. JC has been emphasizing practices to get the frontcourt involved and it has paid off imo. This is a young team made younger with the loss of its primary playmaker and scorer gone.

 

[tykurez]

I would say the vast majority of half court sets, RB and SN are looking to get either AD, AO or JL the ball to score. But AD and AO do not have the skills to get position on offense, particularly AD, and JL is often double teamed so throwing the ball to him will just result in a turnover.

With that said I do see improvement. JC has been emphasizing practices to get the frontcourt involved and it has paid off imo. This is a young team made younger with the loss of its primary playmaker and scorer gone.

I think that's been the focus recently, only because it was so opposite of what the focus was initially.

There have been a number of times where AO has gotten fantastic position only to have the guards completely miss him (which I think has been some cause for his frustration) or AD has been wide open only to be completely missed or get the ball late.

Calhoun stated it's an area that's going to be stressed going forward and hopefully they continue to improve upon it. Quite frankly, this offense will be much better off if they can work inside out.

 

[ctchamps]

I think that's been the focus recently, only because it was so opposite of what the focus was initially.

There have been a number of times where AO has gotten fantastic position only to have the guards completely miss him (which I think has been some cause for his frustration) or AD has been wide open only to be completely missed or get the ball late.

Calhoun stated it's an area that's going to be stressed going forward and hopefully they continue to improve upon it. Quite frankly, this offense will be much better off of they can work inside out.

I think there has been a combination of things going on. Earlier in the season the bigs were being asked to set screens to allow the guards to drive to the basket and take shots or get the ball to JL. I'm sure that's what the team practiced and they were executing what the coaches wanted. Now the team is practicing different sets and the emphasis has changed. Hence the team is taking a lot less threes. Hopefully, as the team gets more comfortable with the different sets, they can be more flexible and the guards will be heady enough to take advantage of this.

AO is specific to himself. I'm guessing but there were probably several factors with his frustration and most of those factors were not because of the guards failing to get him the ball even with his claims that this frustrated him. Guards want the team to make every possession count and AO was missing, and still misses, a lot of shots from close to the basket. After a while the guards become concerned about him as an option. Most of AO's frustration, imo, is from reduced minutes and those reductions are not the result of the guards failure but his own.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I would say the vast majority of half court sets, RB and SN are looking to get either AD, AO or JL the ball to score. But AD and AO do not have the skills to get position on offense, particularly AD, and JL is often double teamed so throwing the ball to him will just result in a turnover.

With that said I do see improvement. JC has been emphasizing practices to get the frontcourt involved and it has paid off imo. This is a young team made younger with the loss of its primary playmaker and scorer gone.

Did Oriakhi forget how to get position? Because he was getting position last year? The fact that Oriakhi and Drummond aren't both averaging 10+ points given how much 3 guard we play shows that the guards are not even trying to get them the ball except on drive bailouts. Napier is shooting 42.5%, but is 13 for 47 his last 5 games. He is crashing. I don't have a problem with Boatright getting 20 or so mpg given how well he is playing offensively (defense could use a lot of work), but more of those should be backing up Napier. Sophomore point guards are rarely effective playing over 35 mpg.

I think it was Pitino in the 90's that was one of the first to really focus on mpg. His stacked Kentucky teams were playing 9 and 10 every game, and his approach was that whether it is Delk or Walker or Mercer, he wanted them playing at absolutely full speed and not pacing themselves. He would get them some bench time to recover, they didn't need to worry about it. That kind of thinking is most critical at the point, because that position requires so much work on both sides of the ball. El-Amin used to pull off playing close to 40 a game, but he was not hiding the fact he was taking plays off. He would literally stand 30 feet from the basket with his hands on his hips and let Moore run a set for Hamilton or Freeman. On defense, Moore was also always picking up the top guard. Napier is getting killed on both ends, and his performance on both ends is deteriorating rapidly.

 

[tykurez]

I think there has been a combination of things going on. Earlier in the season the bigs were being asked to set screens to allow the guards to drive to the basket and take shots or get the ball to JL. I'm sure that's what the team practiced and they were executing what the coaches wanted. Now the team is practicing different sets and the emphasis has changed. Hence the team is taking a lot less threes. Hopefully, as the team gets more comfortable with the different sets, they can be more flexible and the guards will be heady enough to take advantage of this.

AO is specific to himself. I'm guessing but there were probably several factors with his frustration and most of those factors were not because of the guards failing to get him the ball even with his claims that this frustrated him. Guards want the team to make every possession count and AO was missing, and still misses, a lot of shots from close to the basket. After a while the guards become concerned about him as an option. Most of AO's frustration, imo, is from reduced minutes and those reductions are not the result of the guards failure but his own.

I agree with the first part ... this team is still very much learning and I think as they start to get the hang of it, we'll see more of the execution we saw in the last part of the WVU game.

As far as AO goes ... I know this has been discussed ad nauseam, and I agree there are several factors at play (and minutes is certainly a top candidate.) But I think misses or no misses, if a guy has good position on the blocks and is calling for the ball, you should at least run some offense through that (he doesn't necessarily need to shoot the ball.) I understand he's been struggling, but it gets the defense off balance. I think that's why Calhoun made it a point to stress they were going to get the ball to the bigs more. Last year the first set on offense was almost exclusively through the bigs on the block. If you can establish that early, it opens up so many other options on the floor.

 

[Waquoit]

Do you really think the big man production has been good this year? How many shots are the guards taking relative to the frontcourt?

I don't think it's for a lack of trying. I think it's a work in progress and it's getting better. You said they aren't setting up big men at all, which is pure nonsense.