New starting 5 | The Boneyard

New starting 5

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Ok so we can't rebound or defend opposing big guys. I think now is a good time to stop playing small ball and move Brimah to the 5, Olander/Nolan/Facey to the 4 and Daniels to the 3. We obviously can't rebound so why are we playing a small lineup? We don't even get out and run.
 
If we were going to do this we'd have to play zone on D. Our defense on 4's would be worse than our defense on 5's is now.
 
If we were going to do this we'd have to play zone on D. Our defense on 4's would be worse than our defense on 5's is now.

Now we're talking! I think maybe we should play zone
 
No offense intended, but this is a nonsensical post.

You want us to put in MORE of our less than stellar big men?
Sounds brilliant.
If you put in two guys who average 3 boards per 40, then we'll have 6 boards. Problem solved.
 
Ok so we can't rebound or defend opposing big guys. I think now is a good time to stop playing small ball and move Brimah to the 5, Olander/Nolan/Facey to the 4 and Daniels to the 3. We obviously can't rebound so why are we playing a small lineup? We don't even get out and run.

I agree. It's easy to block out our bigs, since we never have more than 1 big on the floor at once. And I don't consider DD a big at a whooping 190 lbs. Opponents know we cannot rebound so they put 2 bodies on our one big in the game. I'd love to see some combination of 2 of Nolan/Brimah/Facey/Olander on the court at the same time, but I can't remember that happening. While DD plays PF, there is nothing PF about his game. We have solid ball handlers in Napier, Boatright, Kromah in the backcourt. Giffey has a solid enough handle too. Sometimes you just need to rebound & pound the opponent, which is obviously something UConn has gone away from, hence we struggle. Where is our energy guy on this team?
 
I can't believe anyone would be serious about having 2 of Olander/Brimah/Facey/Nolan on the court at the same time? LOL……..how cocked can anyone get?
 
I can't believe anyone would be serious about having 2 of Olander/Brimah/Facey/Nolan on the court at the same time? LOL……..how cocked can anyone get?

Agreed. I actually think the line up Ollie played today is the right one. As bad as Olander is, he is currently our most serviceable big. I think we need to shorten the rotation and have Brimah/Nolan come in for Olander, and Kromah come in for our guards.
 
A team that plays small, stays small. Every opponent knows UConn is an easy target in the paint since we only throw out 1 big out at a time. It's always 1 on 3 in the big guy dept, Laugh all you want but it's the reality, hence we are routinely out rebounded. It's why our guards rebound so well, because they are not boxed out.
 
Ok so we can't rebound or defend opposing big guys. I think now is a good time to stop playing small ball and move Brimah to the 5, Olander/Nolan/Facey to the 4 and Daniels to the 3. We obviously can't rebound so why are we playing a small lineup? We don't even get out and run.
Clearly we are not going to be getting "big" help this year unless we develop it as painful as that probably will be to watch. I disagree only in that IMO Olander should get "mop up minutes" and nothing more. He can't defend(zero foot speed, no lateral quickness, horrible anticipation and judgement, no "hops", no athleticism, marginal strength so if he's not beat off the dribble he's pushed around and in foul trouble more often than not) and has one of the worst low post offensive games that I've ever seen.

We can criticize Brimah and Nolan but they have had a fraction of the overall basketball experience that Olander has had and absolutely deserve the minutes to develop their potential(Brimah more so than Nolan but I've noticed reasonable improvement on both sides of the ball from Nolan from last year). I think all of our expectations for this team for this season have probably been too high. However, with the players being added to the roster for next year, we have every right to have strong expectations if Brimah and Nolan get the PT they absolutely need this year. I absolutely agree with posters calling for more quality "big" help but we may get some pleasant surprises with more minutes for Brimah and Nolan at the 5 and Facey at the 4 now while laying the foundation for next season. And based on quality and consistency, Kromah gets minutes before either Giffey or Calhoun. What's happened to your game Neils? You're thinking too damn much! Your middle name is "Hesitation"!!
 
Exact opposite……I'd give up the other teams bigs giving us trouble and play Boat, Bazz, DD, Giff and Lasan………best 5 period! Could care less about a "big" they don't rebound anyway……these guys get as many minutes as they can handle and do the best they can do……play some zone if you have to but try like hell to keep people off the court that don't help you!
 
Exact opposite……I'd give up the other teams bigs giving us trouble and play Boat, Bazz, DD, Giff and Lasan………best 5 period! Could care less about a "big" they don't rebound anyway……these guys get as many minutes as they can handle and do the best they can do……play some zone if you have to but try like hell to keep people off the court that don't help you!

Agreed, get rid of the bigs...small ball. Spread out the D and open up some lanes...Boat, Bazz, Giffey, Daniels, Kromah,
 
Exact opposite……I'd give up the other teams bigs giving us trouble and play Boat, Bazz, DD, Giff and Lasan………best 5 period! Could care less about a "big" they don't rebound anyway……these guys get as many minutes as they can handle and do the best they can do……play some zone if you have to but try like hell to keep people off the court that don't help you!
I certainly understand your frustration(and even anger) with our "bigs" mau. I certainly share it more often than not. But, where Olander has been an unmitigated disaster, Brimah(especially) and Nolan deserve the opportunity to see what they can become. The plain fact is that without top quality 4s & 5s on the floor we get trashed by the majority of teams who would seriously contend for both league and national hardware. I think we all had our heads in the sand, after the unexpected success last year, regarding just how big a problem our talent at 4 & 5 was going to be down the road. We are getting pushed around by teams with middle of the pack talent at those positions. It is only(until Brimah and Nolan reach their potential ... If that will be enough for now) going to get worse. I'm sure, despite all the talk about "toughness", that the talent gap at those positions has hit the coaching staff square on the jaw. In fact, I'll bet serious money that that reality check happened a long time ago. I'm just going to grit my teeth and stay the course with KO while hoping between talent development and recruiting that we will be rooting for a serious national threat in the next 2-3 seasons.

GO HUSKIES!!!! :-)
 
No offense intended, but this is a nonsensical post.

You want us to put in MORE of our less than stellar big men?

why not? what are we doing well right now?

running offense?
rebounding?
defending the paint?
defending the 3?
 
why not? what are we doing well right now?

running offense?
rebounding?
defending the paint?
defending the 3?

So the answer to that is to make the collective group on the floor worse? How is that logical?
 
Facey is the only one on the team that looks comfortable rebounding. No one else wants to do the dirty work. I believe brimah is going to be a stud in a year or two but the kid just has no hands and that has to do a lot with how raw his IQ still is.
 
Nolan should be playing PF. He has the ability to put up points because he can shoot the ball. He just does not look comfortable playing center.
 
I can't believe anyone would be serious about having 2 of Olander/Brimah/Facey/Nolan on the court at the same time? LOL……..how cocked can anyone get?
Not as cocked as someone that think OC is the answer to lack of rebounding. ;^)
 
Exact opposite……I'd give up the other teams bigs giving us trouble and play Boat, Bazz, DD, Giff and Lasan………best 5 period! Could care less about a "big" they don't rebound anyway……these guys get as many minutes as they can handle and do the best they can do……play some zone if you have to but try like hell to keep people off the court that don't help you!
We've seen that lineup a lot already. They get steamrolled on the boards, can't defend low, and are easy to defend. Trap the ball and we can't get out.
 
It does not matter who is out there, if they are not going to box out and are just standing around while the ball is in the air we will get crushed on the glass and continue to lose. I want people who are willing to give the effort down low and throw their body around, it is not about size its about effort and fundamentals.
 
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We've seen that lineup a lot already. They get steamrolled on the boards, can't defend low, and are easy to defend. Trap the ball and we can't get out.

I agree but we do with our "bigs" in there too……and reality is they were okay with that lineup in there on the other end and at least we have 5 potential threats on O……
 
It's definitely time for the KO suggestion box.
So the answer to that is to make the collective group on the floor worse? How is that logical?


well, if we're going to play even worse, then forgetaboutit

geez
 
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