New Hampshire post game thread

[alphasigko]

One observation: there is not one player in constant motion inside and out like Cam in this offense...he seemed to be everywhere....without that, the offense seems to be pretty stagnant when compared to last year.

 

[UConNick]

Can’t believe we covered after that iffy first twenty minutes. I knew we weren’t gonna have another 2/13 from deep half, but the switch just completely flipped. Not that I bet on UConn, I’m far too superstitious to do that, but good teams win, great teams cover, and all that.

Not John Gaffney’s best game, but he’s usually one of the better refs I see for us consistently. Now 37-4 in games he refs for us since the 12-13 season, including 24-1 over the last 4+ seasons (only L was the 2022 BE semi against Nova)

I’ve said before that back when I was in school, he was always super nice and came over to chat with us students at the front of the section before games. So I tend to keep an eye out for him and smile when I see him doing a game (and especially our games, given that gaudy record lol).

 

[husky429]

You know why it’s not a real worry for me? Because Nowell, if given time, can be better than anyone. Hurley has a culture here and Mahaney and Hass will get all the chances they need to be the best they can be for the team while Ahmad gets his reps in in practice and spot minutes. Hass deserves them for his service, and Mahaney is a high profile portal player that comes with unspoken promises, and chances. But if things go south Hurley has the best overall lead guard ( when all is said and done, I’m not saying this very moment) getting ready. Love that kid, and him knowing his place in the big picture is yet another reason why.

We are going to fine either way, but I bet Aidan steps up anyway.

Nowell is going to be nasty. We brought in a small guard to a system that is normally positionless. Shows you how highly the staff thought of him

 

[HooperScooper]

One observation: there is not one player in constant motion inside and out like Cam in this offense...he seemed to be everywhere....without that, the offense seems to be pretty stagnant when compared to last year.

We need to stop comparing this year's team to last year. By mid-season last year's team was a machine. We're just going to get frustrated if we keep trying to compare this year to last year.

 

[alphasigko]

We need to stop comparing this year's team to last year. By mid-season last year's team was a machine. We're just going to get frustrated if we keep trying to compare this year to last year.

Good point

 

[HooperScooper]

Raftery still can't say Sanogo right, you can't have him call a game with a guy named Pissis.

It makes me laugh every time he says Sunoco. Not sure he knows how to pronounce Singare right either. Was it my imagination or did he say Sing-a-ray when Singare came into the game? Or was he pronouncing it right? I always thought it's Sing-are-ay.

 

[alphasigko]

It makes me laugh every time he says Sunoco. Not sure he knows how to pronounce Singare right either. Was it my imagination or did he say Sing-a-ray when Singare came into the game? Or was he pronouncing it right? I always thought it's Sing-are-ay.

You are correct on both counts!

 

[Icehawk]

Karaban's D after the first few minutes seemed incredibly strong tonight, he's solid like a rock. McNeeley is impressing me, and I can't wait to see him against stronger competition.

I like the current rotation of starting Johnson as a high energy, offensive impact and then following it up with Reed's more conventional style but Samson has to score more than 2pts doing so. I'd care less about his fouling if Singare was getting meaningful playtime but with it looking like a 2-person rotation at C, Johnson has to do better. It does seem a little surprising we saw small ball instead of bringing Singare in still, I absolutely trust Hurley at this point but in the little we've seen of Singare he seems like a viable option for a few minutes at least?

I am going to have faith that with more games under his belt Mahaney will thrive, we saw this previously - it can take a bit for players to get on program.


On to the next one!


EDIT I fixed the McNeeley/Mahaney swap - I accidentally had them backwards!

 

[superjohn]

I didn't focus in on Mahaney's defense but McNeeley played great defense.

Hurley actually called out McNeeley and Solo for not being good defensively which surprised me. I was focusing in on McNeeley on that side of the ball and I thought he was super active and was making life difficult for them. Guess I wasn't paying enough attention or didn't know what to be looking for.

 

[superjohn]

We need to stop comparing this year's team to last year. By mid-season last year's team was a machine. We're just going to get frustrated if we keep trying to compare this year to last year.

They only beat UNH by 20 last year in the 7th game of the season. They beat UNH tonight by 39 in the second game of the season in what was an off game for UConn.

 

[Scottobot]

my 4 takeaways
1. Get Karaban the ball when team is cold on offense
2. Reed is good
3. Ross is good
4. Diarra is the best Pg and best passer and team plays best when he is on court

 

[temery]

I watched the game. Anyone else?

I fell asleep at 8:30 in the morning and just woke up a little while ago.

 

[Mike Honcho]

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Speculation on my part on a very small sample size (two games) but, due to when each player first entered games, it appears DH is planning on having nine players in the rotation, but will consider expanding to ten if Nowell proves worthy.

 

[caw]

A few thoughts on a rewatch.

I didn't think Mahaney was that bad overall, he is doing what he needs to do but just missing a lot of open shots. His biggest problem is he is overthinking things a bit. I think he will acclimate eventually. Not the Spencer route and hopefully not the Ashworth route either, but somewhere in between. (He's no Timberlake at least).

The 2-4 are one of the best in college right now. Solo had an off shooting night and he still played very well.

Samson is Samson but he is boxing out better this year and his offense is still very good.

The (current) bench:

I liked the way Stewart played. Not a great boxscore game but he did a lot of little things that were good (setting screens, a few drive and kicks) and played solid defense. I still say he looks much more comfortable in the system than last year.

Ross is noticeably bigger (muscle). He put on some good weight. I see the comparisons to Jackson but Ross is much more of a scorer. A bit of a mix of Bouk and Jackson.

Diarra runs the show better than Mahaney because he isn't overthinking things. He knows the sets.

Reed is just a beast. When he makes simple plays he just is destroying the other team. He hasn't gone outside his lane much yet either. His Michigan games he often tried to do too much, whether bad coaching, bad teammates or something else. He's not doing that yet at UConn and his strength's are on display.

Having Diarra, Stewart, Reed and Ross off the bench is absurd.



In the few minutes they got I liked what I saw from Abraham and Nowell. I will say Nowell was a bit too hyped when he threw that ball out of Samson's flight zone.

 

[djct1999]

Ignoring the box score, here are a few of my thoughts. McNeeley impressed. The kid is so active, it’s really hard to believe this is only his second college game. Taris is a presence on the block. Solo, Stewart, Jayden….::two things are clear, the ceiling for all three is extremely high, but there will be many inconsistent nights, especially vs better competition. Mahaney will be fine, give him a month. This is all about adjustments, new expectations/role, and culture. It’s why he came here but it will take time. Diarra is good enough to start and probably deserves to but his role off the bench is too valuable. He goes from a good starter to an exceptional first guard off the bench. It may be worth it to keep him in that role. Johnson really hasn’t shown much development from last year. Amazing athleticism and bounce, great in spurts, but not a dependable starter as a big. Finally Alex. I love this kid. I wasn’t sure if he would be comfortable as the alpha of this team. Somehow, he has exceeeded my expectations yet again. He still is Alex, plays within the game and is a second coach on the floor. That said, he is playing with a purpose, his leadership is off the charts, and if this continues, he will help his draft stock immensely.

 

[Sibeerian]

It makes me laugh every time he says Sunoco. Not sure he knows how to pronounce Singare right either. Was it my imagination or did he say Sing-a-ray when Singare came into the game? Or was he pronouncing it right? I always thought it's Sing-are-ay.

To be clear I love Raff and think he should be stored in Tupperware between games to preserve him.

I would love a definitive pronunciation for Singare since I've heard it a few ways. I thought sing-ARE-ay but also have heard it with equal emphasis on all three syllables.

 

[aburks41]

It took Newton until late January to figure it out in his first year here. And he had games where he was BAD. Like really bad. Mahaney has 2 years of a very very solid track record. His role on this team is completely different than his role at Saint Mary’s. It may take him a couple months before it clicks but that’s probably why Hurley is starting him. He needs to accelerate the process and give him as much game time reps as possible. He won’t get more comfortable quite as fast if he’s sitting on the bench behind Diarra

 

[Sphinx]

<snip>

I am going to have faith that with more games under his belt McNeeley will thrive, we saw this previously - it can take a bit for players to get on program.

On to the next one!

And it's easy to have faith in a player who keeps posting double/doubles while he's getting on program.

 

[Storrs South]

It took Newton until late January to figure it out in his first year here. And he had games where he was BAD. Like really bad. Mahaney has 2 years of a very very solid track record. His role on this team is completely different than his role at Saint Mary’s. It may take him a couple months before it clicks but that’s probably why Hurley is starting him. He needs to accelerate the process and give him as much game time reps as possible. He won’t get more comfortable quite as fast if he’s sitting on the bench behind Diarra

Newton is a good parallel.

He did have a triple double his third game -- similar to Mahaney playing well v URI -- but was extremely inconsistent really for the entire season but knew how to adapt his game better after the Seton Hall and SJU debacles, in the latter case he airballed a free throw.

What's weird is after those games he went on a tear for 5 games including a triple double v Marquette but then basically took a backseat to the Big 3 for the remainder of the season until the championship.

Mahaney will get it, he's too talented and the staff and system are too good but it's going to take time and there will be games like URI and games like Sacred Heart.

The goal is he chips in where needed and asked this year to support Solo, McNeeley, Ross, and Karaban and then next year he can elevate to that level of All Big East guard.

The wings lead the way this year and Aidan just needs to pick and choose his spots.

 

[jibsey]

So far, Mahaney & McNeeley on the court at the same time is poison for good defense.

Don’t expect him to be as physical as Spencer, he doesn’t have that, Spence was a rebound monster.
His size and strength are a concern but he needs to be more assertive.

 

[dennismenace]

He HAS to figure out defense. He was letting his man get by nearly every time. It puts too much pressure on our bigs and was part of the reason both Samson and Hoss got 2 fouls in the 1st half.

Agree. If he doesn't figure it out he will be like Joey California coming off the bench for some instant offense.

One thing for sure. Jayden Ross is going to be eating a lot of minutes. He has a gigantic first step and is now a two way threat. His offense made me think of a budding Dr J type. Wow.

 

[formerlurker]

To be clear I love Raff and think he should be stored in Tupperware between games to preserve him.

I would love a definitive pronunciation for Singare since I've heard it a few ways. I thought sing-ARE-ay but also have heard it with equal emphasis on all three syllables.

This will help everyone out with how to say Youssouf's last name correctly:

 

[dogpause]

Second bad game for Aiden. One more and it’s a real worry. He’s getting outclassed by mediocre mid major guards. Garbage time points aren’t gonna cut it. I’m rooting for him to figure it out.

IMO, Aiden is going to be fine. The kid is a gamer, he's smart, a good passer, and very good shooter. He's going from A-Ball to the Big Leagues. Before long, we'll be calling him Aiden-California.

 

[cohenzone]

Back too late from the game to post last night. I pretty much never reach a general conclusion about the future off of a very early season game against an over-matched opponent. Keep in mind that we have a pretty young team overall with a few older new faces just forming an identity and I would not expect today to look like a month from now. I think in some ways New Hampshire was a good test. I think they were overall much quicker than our guys expected and hurried us a lot through a big chunk of the first half. I would not be shocked if they do ok in their league. But we have way more talent and scary depth.

Without going a lot of player by player, a few things. We have a lot of good shooters. And I think that includes young end of benchers Nowell and Abraham.
Diarra needs to be more consistent but after a pretty rough first half, he came off the bench in the second half and really impacted the game. Our soph class is really good. Ball is a confident, skilled young guy. Stewart has his moments. But damn, Hurley wasn’t blowing smoke about Ross. Confident and aggressive. Singare even looks like he could be ok beyond garbage time. He seems to do good things when he has the chance. McNeeley is a really strong and skilled kid. One and done I’m not so sure, and I hope not. I don’t salivate when young stars leave early. This team with Clingan would be scary. Which leads me to the last observation. I think Reed is good and Samson has his role. I think the kind of team we might, and I emphasize might, have trouble with are teams with very big and/or strong talented big men. And I don’t think there are many that we play. Obviously Kalkbrenner is tall, skilled and experienced but even if we have trouble with certain posts, overall I hope our team quickness skill and depth will be hard to beat.