Not good.

[Excalibur]

Anyone not seeing the obvious limitations of our players is willfully ignorant. What did we have for weapons this year? A good lead guard who can create his own shot and get to the rim, a couple of decent standstill jump shooters who can't shoot coming off screens, and a serviceable post threat in Facey. The offense reflected that, despite the unsupported claims that it was inflexible and archaic. We essentially relied on the one guy who could break down defenders off the dribble to penetrate and kick to open shooters, or tried to play inside out with Facey in the post. Motion wasn't going to work with guys who can't shoot on the move. Not that we ran what we did run particularly well -- the waving people around was in order to get spacing correct, but you would think that would correct itself at some point during the season. And none of it accounts for the opening losses to Wagner and Northeastern. That's why next year will be telling . . .

 

[BlueMAB]

Motion with purpose, and quick ball movement leads to layups and open jumpers (catch and shoot). Not shots "on the move". I've never seen an offense designed to get guys to "shoot on the move", unless that shot is a layup. All 5 guys don't need to be in motion, but at least 2 or three do.

The back and forth passes across the top of the zone are a waste of time. Standing still and passing the ball around the zone is a great way to kill the clock and end up forcing something as the shot clock winds down. When the zone rotates it creates open space, but the offense has to step in and take that space. Instead our guys sit outside the arc and fall in love with the three, but we aren't a good shooting team.

That's why losing Gilbert and Larrier and their ability to both shoot and attack the zone was so important.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Let me give you some AAC related big man problems that UConn is having.

We lost 2 bigs to BE teams over the last couple of years. Both of these kids like Ollie and liked UConn, and UConn was even leading for them, and on them early, but both Omari Spellman and Jesse Govan went to the BE teams that couldn't sniff UConn's jock for 20 years in the BE. And Spellman signed with Nova BEFORE it went on a national championship run. In fact, the last time Spellman saw Nova compete against UConn was when UConn blew Nova out in the tourney 2nd round.

These are AAC style problems that UConn is having.

Govan and Spellman weigh like 260 pounds.

Wait - you're trying to make the argument that recruiting guards and swing men is not an issue in the AAC (it hasn't been) but that the line is drawn with big men who won't play in the AAC?

Isn't it more likely that UConn, besides Drummond, hasn't put a quality big man into the league since Charlie V back in 2005?

At least in that stretch with Calhoun the bigs got drafted like in the 1st round like Boone, Hilton and Thabeet.

UConn's big man recruiting has one big issue and that is our staffs haven't put quality big men into the league in ages. Kids notice that more than league affiliation.

 

[upstater]

Wait - you're trying to make the argument that recruiting guards and swing men is not an issue in the AAC (it hasn't been) but that the line is drawn with big men who won't play in the AAC?

Isn't it more likely that UConn, besides Drummond, hasn't put a quality big man into the league since Charlie V back in 2005?

At least in that stretch with Calhoun the bigs got drafted like in the 1st round like Boone, Hilton and Thabeet.

UConn's big man recruiting has one big issue and that is our staffs haven't put quality big men into the league in ages. Kids notice that more than league affiliation.

UConn lost Govan coming off an NC and prior years when underrated talent held their own on the court (Olander, Okwandu). Do I think kids like Spellman and Govan would come to UConn if not for the AAC? Yes. Maybe not both, but certainly one.

Not sure if Brimah scared anyone away or what, but there is playing time here.

 

[chiller99.5]

Just watching during the Ollie regime some things stand out. Ollie still favors coaching pro style , and continues to cultivate guard play. Big men have come and gone but dont seem to improve under their position coaches. Having won in the past with guard oriented ,tough defense pressure and a shot blocker he seemed locked in on this recipe.After Daniels and Hamilton left for the big show we have lacked shooting from the 3 spot either due to injuries or lack of talent.We thought Lubin was going to be that big lunch pail go to work power guy and he didnt pan out, and now Enoch is playing soft . Something is wrong position coach wise and for me that would be the first adjustment if this team falters when healthy.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

UConn lost Govan coming off an NC and prior years when underrated talent held their own on the court (Olander, Okwandu). Do I think kids like Spellman and Govan would come to UConn if not for the AAC? Yes. Maybe not both, but certainly one.

Not sure if Brimah scared anyone away or what, but there is playing time here.

That's too small of a sample to garner whether or not the AAC swayed their decision. Especially given that while in the AAC we've consistently landed top flight guards and wings.

I think it's far more likely that guards see UConn and see a tradition of quality with Kemba, Lamb, Napier, Boatright and now Adams and with Ollie being a former NBA PG it's a desirable place to come play.

To my prior point about big men, it's not the same as it was when Calhoun was here and we lead the nation in shot blocking for about a decade. You're basically looking at Drummond and then a mish mash of serviceable at best big men since Adrien and Thabeet left (Oriahki certainly showed flashes and was a major factor in the 2011 run I will say).

Like you, I agree that KO becoming the face of the program and improving is our best shot at being an elite destination. I do not think he is our only shot though.

We can blame the AAC for some things, but when it comes to recruiting and developing big men, I think that's on the staff, not the league.

 

[ctchamps]

I believe what some of this year's issues have boiled down to is the fact that KO seems to run his offense through his more senior players (Purvis, Facey and Brimah). Unfortunately, 2 out of these 3 guys just aren't consistent. If you look back at some of the stats, we haven't had very many games where 2 players on our team have had a good game on the same night (I'm defining "good" as making 50% of your shots and scoring over 15 points). In fact, the biggest reason has been Purvis' poor shooting. He was consistently a 43-44% shooter during his previous 3 years, and this year he has shot 36%. Some of this is likely a result of having to take more shots and be more of a focus of the offense rather than getting his shots in the flow of the offense. When he is on and we get contributions from either Jackson or Vital, we're usually in a good position, but he hasn't been on very much. I think Jalen often defers on the offensive side and that has hurt us a bit as well (the past few weeks he has been hurt so I think he's had to defer even more). I actually think the only chance we have at making a run is having Purvis shoot it well and getting more shots for Vance...I don't think we can rely on Jalen being 100% for the remainder of the year.

Agree with struggling to get consistently good performances from more than two players, but the rest of the post isn't backed up by statistics.

When it comes to seniors in the past thirteen games I'm not seeing much difference in who had the better offensive performances between Kentan and Rodney and yet I'd bet the predominate opinion in this forum is similar to yours. That Kentan was far superior to Rodney and far more consistent. And Jalen deferring to Rodney is patently incorrect.

UConn vs SMU ............ ECU vs. UConn ...... UConn vs. USF ........Tulane vs. UConn
Kentan 6-9 1-1 ...........Kentan 4-10 5-5........ Kentan 4-12 4-6.......Kentan 8-15 4-5
Jalen 1-10 1-2 ...........Jalen 8-11 2-2 ....... Jalen 6-14 6-6.......Jalen 3-15 2-2
Rodney 0-4 2-2 .......... Rodney 6-12 3-4 ...... Rodney 4-7 3-5......Rodney 4-9 4-4

UConn vs. Cinci ....... USF vs. UConn......... UConn vs. UCF..........Memphis vs. UConn
Kentan 1-8 0-0 ..... Kentan 3-7 1-2....... Kentan 5-9 2-2........Kentan 2-5 4-6
Jalen 3-9 2-2....... Jalen 6-9 0-0......Jalen 6-11 2-2....... Jalen 8-16 1-2
Rodney 8-14 0-0 ..... Rodney 8-13 1-1 ......Rodney 5-12 3-4 ........Rodney 4-13 0-0
Brimah 6-12 4-6

UConn vs. Temple .......... UConn vs. Houston ......... UConn vs. SMU ..........UConn vs. East Carolina
Kentan 3-5 2-4 ..........Kentan 4-10 1-3........ Kentan 6-9 2-2 ......... Kentan 2-7 8-14
Jalen 5-13 2-2 ....... Jalen 5-14 7-8...........Jalen 1-10 1-2........... Jalen 5-15 1-1
Rodney 7-14 0-0..........Rodney 3-8 3-4......... Rodney o-4 2-2...........Rodney 3-15 3-3
Christian 2-12 2-2


Cinci vs. UConn
Kentan 1-9 6-6
Jalen 2-7 0-0
Rodney 4-11 6-6
Brimah 5-6 1-4

 

[huskymagic]

I know you guys hate bringing up the UC women, but watching their game last night, I couldn't help but wonder....WHY are the women such better shooters than the guys? It boggles my mind to think these guys can't just put the ball in the hoop. That is the most basic of basics, isn't it?

Well considering that 99% of the women have zero athleticism, quickness, or hops if they can't shoot from the perimeter what good are they for at the D-1 level. The men's game is played at a much higher intensity level, with better athletes, and better defenders. Put Katie Lou at your local varsity men's high school basketball team and see how well she shoots against the boys. Plus the guys we have aren't exactly shown for being shooters other than Vance. We have mostly slashers and athletes on the team.

 

[Huskybass]

To all the KO apologists who claim it was injuries that derailed this season, you do realize that KO made a conscious decision to have 11 scholarship players instead of 13 on the roster?

Probably not the greatest decision knowing that Gilbert, Durham and Diarra all had fairly significant injuries prior to coming to UConn.

At some point, there has to be some accountability on the coaching staff.

 

[upstater]

To all the KO apologists who claim it was injuries that derailed this season, you do realize that KO made a conscious decision to have 11 scholarship players instead of 13 on the roster?

Probably not the greatest decision knowing that Gilbert, Durham and Diarra all had fairly significant injuries prior to coming to UConn.

At some point, there has to be some accountability on the coaching staff.

You do realize they sign commitments in November, right?

 

[Huskybass]

You do realize they sign commitments in November, right?

And there are no options to bring in additional recruits to round out the roster after November?

Some of you excuse makers astound me?

 

[UCfor3]

We need a bucket getter. Next year the team will consist of 4 point/combo guards(MAL, Jalen, Gilbert, Vital) and 3 tweener 6 ft 8 combo forwards(Larrier, Vance, Polley). There is no in between 6 ft 5 swingman/wing on this roster that can score like a guard on offense and defend a 3 on defense. It is a poorly constructed roster in this way. It seems like they are obsessed with recruiting these combo forwards that seem miscast as college 3 spots. Ollie usually always reverts to a small 3 guard lineup anyway so why pretend? Versatility is great but having 3 of these guys instead of having at least one true college wing is not a balanced roster.

 

[upstater]

And there are no options to bring in additional recruits to round out the roster after November?

Some of you excuse makers astound me?

Have you even looked at the recruiting rankings?

It is now March. The McD's All-American game hasn't even happened yet.

From 20 to 100, there are 5 uncommitteds. One of them is Zach Brown. 2 are from overseas and probably won't play American ball. I'm sure Ollie would love to have a spring signee like Mohammed Bamba. But the chances are slim.

From 100 to 150, there are 2 uncommitteds. One of them is a kid named Ondigo from Putnam Science. A 6-11 center from Putnam Science who has never even been mentioned on this board.

The point is, there are hardly any kids available in the spring. The kids that were available? Ollie went after them. Jaylen Fisher and Alpha Diallo committed elsewhere in the spring. Taurean Thompson was on UConn's campus for an official in the summer. He committed to Syracuse in July.

But again, Alterique got hurt in the McDs game. Durham was hurt before that, but Durham did not have any injury issues with his knees this year. As for Diarra, can you provide a link that shows we knew there were injury issues last year?

Some of you haters astound me.

 

[mauconnfan]

Have you even looked at the recruiting rankings?

It is now March. The McD's All-American game hasn't even happened yet.

From 20 to 100, there are 5 uncommitteds. One of them is Zach Brown. 2 are from overseas and probably won't play American ball. I'm sure Ollie would love to have a spring signee like Mohammed Bamba. But the chances are slim.

From 100 to 150, there are 2 uncommitteds. One of them is a kid named Ondigo from Putnam Science. A 6-11 center from Putnam Science who has never even been mentioned on this board.

The point is, there are hardly any kids available in the spring. The kids that were available? Ollie went after them. Jaylen Fisher and Alpha Diallo committed elsewhere in the spring. Taurean Thompson was on UConn's campus for an official in the summer. He committed to Syracuse in July.

But again, Alterique got hurt in the McDs game. Durham was hurt before that, but Durham did not have any injury issues with his knees this year. As for Diarra, can you provide a link that shows we knew there were injury issues last year?

Some of you haters astound me.

Pretty simple everyone isn't it:

Haters will hate and apologists will apologize

 

[BUConn10]

We need a bucket getter. Next year the team will consist of 4 point/combo guards(MAL, Jalen, Gilbert, Vital) and 3 tweener 6 ft 8 combo forwards(Larrier, Vance, Polley). There is no in between 6 ft 5 swingman/wing on this roster that can score like a guard on offense and defend a 3 on defense. It is a poorly constructed roster in this way. It seems like they are obsessed with recruiting these combo forwards that seem miscast as college 3 spots. Ollie usually always reverts to a small 3 guard lineup anyway so why pretend? Versatility is great but having 3 of these guys instead of having at least one true college wing is not a balanced roster.

Literally said the same thing about the random Polley signing. Guys like him are promising and when they work out are worth gold but most times they are too raw and don't really solve our problems in a weak front court. Let's hope he comes in more polished than advertised.