Observations

[superjohn]

I'm certainly more optimistic after tonight.

Larrier- when he takes the right shots he is a damn good offensive player. Smooth stroke and he's money in the midrange. Ollie needs to cement it in his head that 2 point shots with his foot on the line don't make a lot of sense.

Alterique- Rusty as hell and the deep shot just isn't there yet. He can pretty much break anyone down and get in the lane but is scared of contact and leaves himself trying to make crazy layups. I'm not worried about him at all though.

Vital- Rough night. Falls in love with the three a little too much and needs some work on shot selection. Just a bad night for him but we know he can play.

Cobb- Space eater body and can handle the ball. I like that he carves out space but needs to get the ball in better position and to work on his touch.

Anderson- Good stesdying veteran presence, had some nice looks in the half court and can hit the big shot.

The freshman- This was the best thing I saw all night. All three of them look like they know how to play the game. I know it's against Colgate but we had many freshman in the past who would look totally lost in their first game. They all do things I really like and although similarly sized they do different things. None of them put the ball on the floor after going up and getting it, just not seeing the little stupid things we normally see from freshmen that drive us nuts. Best thing is they all have nice strokes from the ft line.

If Jalen made a jump from last year, Terry figures out shot selection and gains back his explosiveness, Alterique gets back to being Alterique then we will have the three headed monster we envisioned. What makes me see a higher ceiling than I was thinking is the surrounding players are better than I expected. Ollie really has something to work with in this group, which makes me intrigued.

 

[ConnZag3]

Was fun to watch an entertaining brand of basketball for most of this game. Pressing, pushing the tempo, feeding the post...it's like a whole new coaching staff took over to start the season.

Still too many offensive lulls and bad defensive rotations, but all in all it was a pretty good start to the season without our all-conference player.

And 18/19 from the FT line? Miraculous...

 

[sledog]

yes - the front line insticktively heads to the hoop. very dif than last yr

 

[Danzz]

Was fun to watch an entertaining brand of basketball for most of this game. Pressing, pushing the tempo, feeding the post...it's like a whole new coaching staff took over to start the season.

Still too many offensive lulls and bad defensive rotations, but all in all it was a pretty good start to the season without our all-conference player.

And 18/19 from the FT line? Miraculous...

More like a different group of players took over.

 

[Kitaman]

What I saw tonight is a team that has the potential to compete (play hard) and fight. Sure they didn't put Colgate away, but that was due to them not having Jalen so suddenly and so many new and different parts. Some pleasant surprises in Anderson and the freshman.

This team will be the team that rights the ship and steers it back to UConn port. This may not be our year but I'll be damned if we aren't on our way back up.

Coach Ollie is on to something, and now can really separate himself from Calhoun.

 

[Robertelamin]

It was fun watching Cobb knock people around.

 

[huskiesnyc]

I think this will be a much more enjoyable team to watch compared to last year. Whaley, Polley and Carlton all look better than expected and play with real energy which was nonexistent with the three soft players that transferred out.

 

[Travelman6]

Stay healthy. Build on this for the next two games and show up and play better than last year vs Oregon and Uconn could be on to something interesting for the rest of the year.

It was fun watching Cobb knock people around.

That is just what Uconn needs. Just what the doctor ordered. A tough minded Caron Butler 2.0 type. Or Rodman Jr minus the craziness. If he can gobble up a few boards, put 1 or 2 back in and eat up 3 or 4 fouls in a dozen or so minutes, I will be thrilled. 6 points, 6 boards, 2 blocks, 2 or 3 changed shots kind of games will leave me thrilled.

 

[Hamms30]

man.. Whaley was coming out of nowhere for those put back. Nice to see more than one guy around the offensive boards. Defensive help and rotation needs some work. Fun game to watch, good start!

 

[Walker11]

I'm certainly more optimistic after tonight.

Larrier- when he takes the right shots he is a damn good offensive player. Smooth stroke and he's money in the midrange. Ollie needs to cement it in his head that 2 point shots with his foot on the line don't make a lot of sense.

Alterique- Rusty as hell and the deep shot just isn't there yet. He can pretty much break anyone down and get in the lane but is scared of contact and leaves himself trying to make crazy layups. I'm not worried about him at all though.

Vital- Rough night. Falls in love with the three a little too much and needs some work on shot selection. Just a bad night for him but we know he can play.

Cobb- Space eater body and can handle the ball. I like that he carves out space but needs to get the ball in better position and to work on his touch.

Anderson- Good stesdying veteran presence, had some nice looks in the half court and can hit the big shot.

The freshman- This was the best thing I saw all night. All three of them look like they know how to play the game. I know it's against Colgate but we had many freshman in the past who would look totally lost in their first game. They all do things I really like and although similarly sized they do different things. None of them put the ball on the floor after going up and getting it, just not seeing the little stupid things we normally see from freshmen that drive us nuts. Best thing is they all have nice strokes from the ft line.

If Jalen made a jump from last year, Terry figures out shot selection and gains back his explosiveness, Alterique gets back to being Alterique then we will have the three headed monster we envisioned. What makes me see a higher ceiling than I was thinking is the surrounding players are better than I expected. Ollie really has something to work with in this group, which makes me intrigued.

Not sucking is actually quite an accomplishment for a young big. You can tell right away when a kid doesn't belong and that wasn't the case at all. There will be up and downs but I am excited to watch them all develop.

It's nice that every guy on the roster had good feet. Even Cobb looked very nimble on switches. Not to trash (maybe to trash) but there are definitely 2 less lead footed players on the roster.

 

[upstater]

More like a different group of players took over.

Just in terms of quickness: Polley, Whaley, Carlton -- they move much faster than > Durham, Jackson, Enoch

 

[upstater]

At one point I was thinking, "Man, Amida would have swatted that layup away," and then on the other end, I watched Anderson fire a pass to Whaley, and it stuck to his hands. He hit 2 free throws.

We may be giving up Amida's shotblocking ability BUT if we gain buckets on the other end, it could be good.

Will also say that I saw Whaley swat 2 shots on the blocks late in the game on 2 straight possessions.

 

[3rdbass]

At one point I was thinking, "Man, Amida would have swatted that layup away," and then on the other end, I watched Anderson fire a pass to Whaley, and it stuck to his hands. He hit 2 free throws.

We may be giving up Amida's shotblocking ability BUT if we gain buckets on the other end, it could be good.

Will also say that I saw Whaley swat 2 shots on the blocks late in the game on 2 straight possessions.

Whaley is a very active player on both sides of the ball. He seems to lack some awareness on both offense and defense though. He double team a small guard for way too long and let an open 3 for his man and looked lost trying to create offense that one time in the second half. Though I love the energy and rebounding he brings to the game.

 

[Palatine]

The defense looks better than last year. It is early but it looks more active.

 

[Kembacity]

so many PFs to watch, I wish we could play 6 men just to get them more minutes. Let's get Jalen back and see what we have, I know Terry wont shoot that well every night, but Gilbert/Vital hopefully wont shoot that poorly either. I love Vital to the bucket and I really liked the on ball D that Anderson and Gilbert showed. Sure it was Colgate but they were very crafty at staying in front of their man

 

[jorge34]

I think this will be a much more enjoyable team to watch compared to last year. Whaley, Polley and Carlton all look better than expected and play with real energy which was nonexistent with the three soft players that transferred out.

Agreeeeed
And I would add Cobb being being more than expected as well

 

[Rico444]

It was fun watching Cobb knock people around.

Except for that one rebound when he sent Gilbert flying.

 

[Walker11]

Really not worried about CV. This is a make or miss game and CV came out a little jacked up and back rimmed several quick shots. All on target, all looked good, just a little amped. An inch less and the optics would be totally different.

AGs play would be more worrisome if he didn't have do much rust to shake. He will be fine.

TL is going to always get criticism because he is so GD good and our expectations are so high. I was a little ticked by a few step back deep 2s but that's just how it goes. When the bar is so high, complaints come more easily. Extremely happy for him, playing so well after enduring so much.

 

[jibsey]

Really very pleased with the newcomers, good hands and rebounding, also good around the rim. Polley and Whalley athletic with skills. One negative was Gilbert who played great defense but can’t shoot the 3 or finish at the basket. Beforehis injury last year he hadthe same problem with his drive. Going into the lane and getting stuffed. We needhim to knock down wide open 3’s, some were ugly, wonderabout that.

 

[3rdbass]

Except for that one rebound when he sent Gilbert flying.

I think that was Anderson he sent flying.

 

[Danzz]

Just in terms of quickness: Polley, Whaley, Carlton -- they move much faster than > Durham, Jackson, Enoch

Yes definitely. This team is much more athletic. They are still adjusting but they are more fun to watch.

 

[starpka]

Encouraging night. Played good D most of the night especially on ball reversals, not giving away easy open 3s like we did last season. Larrier came back as advertised, Whaley had flashes of Deandre Daniels, Polley was solid, and Anderson was a pleasant surprise and very impressive as a pure point. All in all saw a lot of depth.

 

[Yorkeez4]

After reading these post I had to go back and make sure this was the boneyard - so many positive posts! Good job!

 

[Ewekon]

AG aspires to be the one and only AI. And I couldn't like him but his game spoke for itself. AG has a long way to go. Iverson was 170 soaking wet.

Larrier needs the other 25% of his basketball IQ to kick in. I was surprised he looked so good. And then ugh.

The game was far too close considering the opponent. Idc that Jalen was out.

It was not a loss. I think Polley has the most upside. Oregon could be harsh.

 

[Son of Robert]

There is so much to like about Uconn's performance tonight. Good victory over a Colgate team that played well. The execution on defense was promising, and offensively Larrier was confident and hot. KO has a very talented and driven team here that will definitely develop over the season and contend in March. Momentum is a beautiful thing, and there is no better foundation for the morale and confidence of a team than putting in the hard work and seeing it pay off with W's. Go Huskies!