Northern Arizona Post Game Thread

[TheChamps990411]

We didnt see much but i was really, really impressed by JStewart. He is much bigger than i thought and its definitely not baby fat. I know he had some injury issues and didnt practice much but man im really excited to see what he can do. He put up 5 points 3 rebounds in 9 minutes and made his presence felt immediately after getting on the floor. Hes got some NBA pedigree and just watching him move on the court he looks well schooled.

 

[superjohn]

I just wish Clingan would get meaner at the rim. More dunks, more finishes through contact.

He usually dunks everything. I think his timing from being away had his timing off and had him a little less explosive. Some of those would've been alley oops and some of those would've been blocks when he was a tick late.

 

[inWV]

UConn covered the spread by about 20, so they did more than they were supposed to do. They could have won by 50.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Overall it looks like this team is going to be really, really good and a serious threat to repeat. I really like Samsons improvement. The freshmen are very impressive. I cannot wait to see what this team looks like when it all comes together. DC will only get better and better and should be dominating the conference by seasons end. No reason this team shouldnt win 30+ games this season if injuries dont become an issue. Wow im really excited about this team.

 

[uconngb]

Covered. Don't forget covered.

That was never in doubt from before tipoff. Key was taking 2nd half line too -10……just as easy as the game line

 

[UConnJim]

It was a first game. The rotation needs to be developed and I think it will take more time than last year due to the new players. And, we shot 28% form 3 as we had a number of players shooting 3s that probably shouldn't. Spencer looks good on offense, but he seems to have trouble guarding on defense. Right now, Karaban looks like the best NBA prospect and he will be the scoring leader this year.

 

[caw]

We didnt see much but i was really, really impressed by JStewart. He is much bigger than i thought and its definitely not baby fat. I know he had some injury issues and didnt practice much but man im really excited to see what he can do. He put up 5 points 3 rebounds in 9 minutes and made his presence felt immediately after getting on the floor. Hes got some NBA pedigree and just watching him move on the court he looks well schooled.

He's going to be good. He just needs time to learn the system.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Karaban looked like the star. Spencer looked underwhelming but he’ll be fine, just seemed to defer a bit too much.

Only things i’m critical of are the perimeter D and fouling. Just working out the kinks.

I thought the refs sucked. That 2nd half foul call on Samson was bogus, that Northern Arizona biker dude threw Samson into his own man.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I feel like this team could easily average 75 a game. Newton/Karaban/Clingan should combine for 45 and then between the rest of a 9 man rotation consisting of Spencer Castle Samson Diarra Solo and Jaylin, 30 points should be easy.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

I just wish Clingan would get meaner at the rim. More dunks, more finishes through contact.

Looks less mobile, less explosive than last year.

Could be the month plus layoff from lower body physical activity. Also he looks heavier than last year which might be be why he didn’t get good lift when he’d dunk.

 

[BrassBonanza]

Castle's on ball D and recovery agility was super impressive. AJ will be missed but Steph has the ability to be a shutdown defender - no doubt.

I'm just hoping Cam can defend up to Hawkins level - Jordan played some underrated great D down the national championship stretch.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He usually dunks everything. I think his timing from being away had his timing off and had him a little less explosive. Some of those would've been alley oops and some of those would've been blocks when he was a tick late.

Nah even last year at times he was either rushing the shot or not going up quite strong enough. Happened a couple times this game too, just needs to set himself better.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Castle's on ball D and recovery agility was super impressive. AJ will be missed but Steph has the ability to be a shutdown defender - no doubt.

I'm just hoping Cam can defend up to Hawkins level - Jordan played some underrated great D down the national championship stretch.

He won’t. Hoping he’ll adjust to the defensive scheme and get better, but he got blown by several times. He’s obviously nowhere near as athletic as Hawkins. I have a feeling we will be relying on Castle to pick up what slack has been left behind. Hopefully Diarra’s offense has improved such that he can be in the game for longer stretches because he is a great defender

 

[JohnFSilver]

Did Fanta, Donny Marshall, and Jim Calhoun just break Bill Walton's record for longest talk-a-thon during game play without ever saying anything about the game we are watching? A fan like my wife hasn't got any idea who the new players are. First game of the year, maybe at least identify the players, and maybe who a foul is called on. That was terrible.

Lol. Loved it.

 

[jleves]

Looks less mobile, less explosive than last year.

Could be the month plus layoff from lower body physical activity. Also he looks heavier than last year which might be be why he didn’t get good lift when he’d dunk.

Actually I think Calhoun mentioned he has slimmed down a bit. I think it's just a month of not being able to exercise and practice. He'll get there.

 

[BrassBonanza]

He won’t. Hoping he’ll adjust to the defensive scheme and get better, but he got blown by several times. He’s obviously nowhere near as athletic as Hawkins. I have a feeling we will be relying on Castle to pick up what slack has been left behind. Hopefully Diarra’s offense has improved such that he can be in the game for longer stretches because he is a great defender

yea I was watching Cam tonight and really like him offensively, but he is looked a little slow fighting through screens and on switches. He will be on the 3rd guard option for most nights, but I hope it was just an off night for him.

 

[Rocktheworld]

yea I was watching Cam tonight and really like him offensively, but he is looked a little slow fighting through screens and on switches. He will be on the 3rd guard option for most nights, but I hope it was just an off night for him.

Like I said, hopefully as the season moves along and he gets more comfortable with the team he becomes a better scheme defender

 

[Deleted at users request]

Actually I think Calhoun mentioned he has slimmed down a bit. I think it's just a month of not being able to exercise and practice. He'll get there.

Yeah he just got back from a foot injury. It’s very reasonable that he may not look as fluid or explosive as he did before currently.

Its good he’s playing now to work his way into shape again.

 

[JohnFSilver]

what was scary/odd was they didn’t shoot well as a team from 3, or the foul line and still scored 92 points.

They also did that without creating a ton of turnovers or fastbreak points. Poor stonehill.

 

[3rdbass]

I hate these first game was on the Fox App but I was able to stream in on my Apple TV so no biggie. It looks like Karaban might be our leader on this team. I loved Newton's new take charge scoring mentality. I guess he realizes there is no Hawkins and Sanogo and he needs to step up offensively. Clingan was solid even though he didn't show anything we haven't seen last year. Castle started slow but he ended it with a bang. He is really smooth player and just plays at his speed which I love. He is going to be special. The rest of the Freshmen still trying to find themselves. I guess I was most disappointed with Ball as he looked lost on offense with his shot what to do when he had the ball. It was nice to see both Johnson and Diarra give us solid minutes off the bench. We will need both this year. Cam was sold if not unspectacular. It looks like he is still figuring when to pick and choose hid offense but he plays good D even though he isn't the quickest guard. Good first game and nice to win by 43.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

what was scary/odd was they didn’t shoot well as a team from 3, or the foul line and still scored 92 points.

They also did that without creating a ton of turnovers or fastbreak points. Poor stonehill.

Stonehill? They lost 89-44 tonight to GW.

 

[3rdbass]

Looks less mobile, less explosive than last year.

Could be the month plus layoff from lower body physical activity. Also he looks heavier than last year which might be be why he didn’t get good lift when he’d dunk.

Yeah and even though they said his playing weight was down he looked bigger. I thought he looked leaner and more mobile last year. Last time we had that issue was with Josh Carlton where he bulked up but then slowed down. Hopefully it was the injury that made him gain a few extra pounds and he will shed them soon.

 

[ThabeetDown]

Even though he was pretty sub par for the majority of the game (minus that 1 min stretch in garbage time) I was really impressed with Castle's attitude. Never saw him sulking or hanging his head. Just tried to do better next play. That is why he's going to be very successful in Storrs.

Like the flashes we saw from Stewart too. Coming into the season I thought he'd be the #2 freshman, seems to be so far. Looking forward to seeing him grow.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Even though he was pretty sub par for the majority of the game (minus that 1 min stretch in garbage time) I was really impressed with Castle's attitude. Never saw him sulking or hanging his head. Just tried to do better next play. That is why he's going to be very successful in Storrs.

Like the flashes we saw from Stewart too. Coming into the season I thought he'd be the #2 freshman, seems to be so far. Looking forward to seeing him grow.

Had 12 pts 5 rebs and 2 dimes. Even if you take that 5 point flurry out he was still filling up the box score and made the best hustle play of the night. I agree is on court body language is strong, I think I’m an easier grader than you are on his performance.

 

[Scottobot]

Team looks good. Starters had a number of good sets with both Clingan and Samson to get low post baskets. On one of those SJ alley oops, Spencer set a wicked screen on the backside cut that made the play happen. Castle has a pretty good ball handle for a 6’6 guard. Karaban looked like a pro. Multiple drives and finishes at the hoop from both sides and finishing with both left and right hands with contact. Castle’s flurry we he hit a 3 and then later toasted his defender on a spin move drive to bucket was pretty impressive.
Only concerns were poor free throw percentage, and outside of Karaban and Clingan they might have a hard time defending on low block against a bulky big man like Bryce Hopkins.

 

[alphasigko]

We got some guys.

Loaded

 

[Yanksrock615]

Did Fanta, Donny Marshall, and Jim Calhoun just break Bill Walton's record for longest talk-a-thon during game play without ever saying anything about the game we are watching? A fan like my wife hasn't got any idea who the new players are. First game of the year, maybe at least identify the players, and maybe who a foul is called on. That was terrible.

How about you point them out to her?

 

[superjohn]

Nah even last year at times he was either rushing the shot or not going up quite strong enough. Happened a couple times this game too, just needs to set himself better.

As I said I think his timing and explosiveness was a bit off from the layoff, it has nothing to do with him not being mean enough.

There were times last season he was off balance and rushed it but he usually tries to dunk everything. He was over 72% at the rim last year.

 

[Jimdish255]

Right now there's 3 guys that have to stay healthy for us to make another run. Newton, Karaban and Clingan. Some good potential for the future but the now depends on all them being durable.

 

[caw]

I can't think of a past UConn player to compare to Castle. He was impressive for his first game.