Observations

[superjohn]

Okay Bryant gave us all we could handle for a lot of the game, we settled for outside shots for a while when we should have been attacking the zone and on D we left too many Bryant shooters open and too often we left our feet on a fake. Bryant led for a lot of the game simply because they were unconscious and we were bricklaying.

Ok now for the good, Boat was great and took over when the game was in the balance. Hamilton is good at everything, he hasn't even been shooting it as well as he will but he doesn't let it effect his game, he simply does everything. Brimah, we are just a much better team when he is on the court, he alters everything near the rim and he's improved offensively, he still fumbled some great passes by Hamilton but he is definitely getting there. TSam will play more this year but he will still be that huge spark off the bench with his driving to the tin. Facey is reluctant on offense because of a lack of confidence and still gets lost too much on offense but he is a great rebounder; the best on the team. Cassell is just steady as heck, his shot was off the whole game but he drained the three's to ice the game. Nolan and Rock, not enough to go on.

Several fans in the chat room seem to be making statements about us not being good because of our struggles against three teams they think we should blow out. Sure these games have been much closer then we want but my main takeaway tonight is that this team has the makeup to be special on the defensive end. You could make a case Brimah and Boat are the two best defenders at their position in the entire country and Hamilton, Cassell, Nolan and Purvis are all plus defenders and Facey has the athleticism to be.....................Our fastbreak abilities also has me excited. Boat, Hamilton, Facey and Purvis are a blur. You just don't see many guys at Hamilton's position who can rebound, turn and push it down the court in an instant, it jumps out at you. Facey is also extremely quick at snatching the rebound and looking ahead. We need to be really good at these things because this is where our bread is going to be buttered this year. We have some guys who can knock down some three's but it's nothing like what we had last year.

Remember this is a process and it's important to not make snap judgements, as Ollie said it's all building towards how we look in March and April.

 

[superjohn]

Every time I write a longish post the format gets screwed up and it looks like a brick, sorry.

 

[uconnfan68]

Okay Bryant gave us all we could handle for a lot of the game, we settled for outside shots for a while when we should have been attacking the zone and on D we left too many Bryant shooters open and too often we left our feet on a fake. Bryant led for a lot of the game simply because they were unconscious and we were bricklaying. Ok now for the good, Boat was great and took over when the game was in the balance. Hamilton is good at everything, he hasn't even been shooting it as well as he will but he doesn't let it effect his game, he simply does everything. Brimah, we are just a much better team when he is on the court, he alters everything near the rim and he's improved offensively, he still fumbled some great passes by Hamilton but he is definitely getting there. TSam will play more this year but he will still be that huge spark off the bench with his driving to the tin. Facey is reluctant on offense because of a lack of confidence and still gets lost too much on offense but he is a great rebounder; the best on the team. Cassell is just steady as heck, his shot was off the whole game but he drained the three's to ice the game. Nolan and Rock, not enough to go on. Several fans in the chat room seem to be making statements about us not being good because of our struggles against three teams they think we should blow out. Sure these games have been much closer then we want but my main takeaway tonight is that this team has the makeup to be special on the defensive end. You could make a case Brimah and Boat are the two best defenders at their position in the entire country and Hamilton, Cassell, Nolan and Purvis are all plus defenders and Facey has the athleticism to be......Our fastbreak abilities also has me excited. Boat, Hamilton, Facey and Purvis are a blur. You just don't see many guys at Hamilton's position who can rebound, turn and push it down the court in an instant, it jumps out at you. Facey is also extremely quick at snatching the rebound and looking ahead. We need to be really good at these things because this is where our bread is going to be buttered this year. We have some guys who can knock down some three's but it's nothing like what we had last year. Remember this is a process and it's important to not make snap judgements, as Ollie said it's all building towards how we look in March and April.

Would have liked to watch, but all I saw was a blackout.

 

[buddy]

Okay Bryant gave us all we could handle for a lot of the game, we settled for outside shots for a while when we should have been attacking the zone and on D we left too many Bryant shooters open and too often we left our feet on a fake. Bryant led for a lot of the game simply because they were unconscious and we were bricklaying. Ok now for the good, Boat was great and took over when the game was in the balance. Hamilton is good at everything, he hasn't even been shooting it as well as he will but he doesn't let it effect his game, he simply does everything. Brimah, we are just a much better team when he is on the court, he alters everything near the rim and he's improved offensively, he still fumbled some great passes by Hamilton but he is definitely getting there. TSam will play more this year but he will still be that huge spark off the bench with his driving to the tin. Facey is reluctant on offense because of a lack of confidence and still gets lost too much on offense but he is a great rebounder; the best on the team. Cassell is just steady as heck, his shot was off the whole game but he drained the three's to ice the game. Nolan and Rock, not enough to go on. Several fans in the chat room seem to be making statements about us not being good because of our struggles against three teams they think we should blow out. Sure these games have been much closer then we want but my main takeaway tonight is that this team has the makeup to be special on the defensive end. You could make a case Brimah and Boat are the two best defenders at their position in the entire country and Hamilton, Cassell, Nolan and Purvis are all plus defenders and Facey has the athleticism to be......Our fastbreak abilities also has me excited. Boat, Hamilton, Facey and Purvis are a blur. You just don't see many guys at Hamilton's position who can rebound, turn and push it down the court in an instant, it jumps out at you. Facey is also extremely quick at snatching the rebound and looking ahead. We need to be really good at these things because this is where our bread is going to be buttered this year. We have some guys who can knock down some three's but it's nothing like what we had last year. Remember this is a process and it's important to not make snap judgements, as Ollie said it's all building towards how we look in March and April.

Whenever I hear the word process now I think of UConn Football.

 

[Stinger92860]

Every time I write a longish post the format gets screwed up and it looks like a brick, sorry.

140 character max. We should try it for a day. Twitter Tuesdays.

 

[upstater]

Didn't Boston U. give UConn a good game last year? And BU wasn't exactly a stellar low major. It happens.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Didn't Boston U. give UConn a good game last year? And BU wasn't exactly a stellar low major. It happens.

Beat UMD by 1
Beat Indiana by 1
Beat Loyola Maryland by 10

Beat BU by 17 but I remember them giving an effort to start

 

[Jluc]

Observations- Lubin is pretty much Jeff Adrien 2.0
-Brimah will be a top 5 pick in the upcoming draft
-Hamilton is clearly a one and done and we are screwed at the wing position next year
-Nolan put on 60 pounds of muscle
-Purvis and Calhoun arent going to get any playing time

 

[UcannUconn]

Anyone notice that Brimah only uses his right hand to block shots. I think he could average another block or two if he uses his left when his left is the closest hand to the ball....

 

[4in16]

Anyone who was at the game, did you like the fact the changed the intro music and pre-tip music? I personally didn't and the crowd seemed unsure when to clap.

 

[Matrim55]

Formatted the OP for your reading pleasure:

Okay Bryant gave us all we could handle for a lot of the game. We settled for outside shots for a while when we should have been attacking the zone and on D we left too many Bryant shooters open, and too often we left our feet on a fake. Bryant led for a lot of the game simply because they were unconscious and we were bricklaying.

Ok now for the good:

• Boat was great and took over when the game was in the balance
• Hamilton is good at everything. He hasn't even been shooting it as well as he will, but he doesn't let it effect his game, he simply does everything
• Brimah, we are just a much better team when he is on the court. He alters everything near the rim and he's improved offensively. He still fumbled some great passes by Hamilton but he is definitely getting there
• TSam will play more this year but he will still be that huge spark off the bench with his driving to the tin
• Facey is reluctant on offense because of a lack of confidence and still gets lost too much on offense but he is a great rebounder, the best on the team
• Cassell is just steady as heck, his shot was off the whole game but he drained the three's to ice the game
• Nolan and Rock, not enough to go on.

Several fans in the chat room seem to be making statements about us not being good because of our struggles against three teams they think we should blow out. Sure, these games have been much closer then we want, but my main takeaway tonight is that this team has the makeup to be special on the defensive end. You could make a case Brimah and Boat are the two best defenders at their position in the entire country and Hamilton, Cassell, Nolan and Purvis are all plus defenders. Facey has the athleticism to be.

Our fast-break abilities also have me excited. Boat, Hamilton, Facey and Purvis are a blur, and you just don't see many guys at Hamilton's position who can rebound, turn and push it down the court in an instant, it jumps out at you. Facey is also extremely quick at snatching the rebound and looking ahead.

We need to be really good at these things because this is where our bread is going to be buttered this year. We have some guys who can knock down some threes but it's nothing like what we had last year.

Remember, this is a process and it's important to not make snap judgements. As Ollie said it's all building towards how we look in March and April.

 

[JonnyRI]

Anyone who was at the game, did you like the fact the changed the intro music and pre-tip music? I personally didn't and the crowd seemed unsure when to clap.

The pregame music and intro were awful. Put the crowd to sleep. I was bewildered at why they went away from the traditional stuff that always got the stadium ridiculously fired up. Never thought gampel would be flat at tip off of the opener. Any one know a way to voice this to the powers at uconn? As an aside it was great to see the student section filled. They had a lot of disappointing showings last year.

 

[Huskyhoops25]

My take from this game is that we are going to see A LOT of zone this year. I like it when we are playing fast but we are going to lose several games when our outside shots aren't falling. Boat was good not great, Brimah is definitely improved offensively but needs to learn to gather and get his feet under him when he goes up. That will be glaringly apparent when he goes up against big strong bigs.

 

[Rico444]

My take from this game is that we are going to see A LOT of zone this year. I like it when we are playing fast but we are going to lose several games when our outside shots aren't falling. Boat was good not great, Brimah is definitely improved offensively but needs to learn to gather and get his feet under him when he goes up. That will be glaringly apparent when he goes up against big strong bigs.

This team has issues against the zone every November and December. I'd rather lose a game or two now because of it than in March.

 

[imno1]

My take from this game is that we are going to see A LOT of zone this year. I like it when we are playing fast but we are going to lose several games when our outside shots aren't falling. Boat was good not great, Brimah is definitely improved offensively but needs to learn to gather and get his feet under him when he goes up. That will be glaringly apparent when he goes up against big strong bigs.

I must have had a different game on because I thought Boatright was great last night. He did it all. It was one of his best regular season games of his career. My lord 8 rebounds from the smallest player on the court. If Omar comes back and can hit some shots this team will be so much better. Props to K Facey. He's still learning his role on both O and D but I love his motor and tenacity. All in all they really put it together in the 2nd half sparked by the incredible play of RB.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Whenever I hear the word process now I think of UConn Football.

yes... monitor the process

 

[mauconnfan]

The game itself was played according to the ref's in the first half. The refs were awful most of the game, both ways mind you, but really ba in the first. They let them play and Bryant took full advantage but we seemed a little less physical for whatever reason. That changed in the 2nd half and the Huskies became the aggressor i thought, led by Boat.

Boat was great in the 2nd half, a leader and a defender. Had to happen and it did. He was good on defense in the 1st half but not at all great. Passive for him and it showed. Thought early he was the guy we were afraid of, looking for the oooh's and aaaah's from the crowd rather than just plating the PG. Not the same guy in the 2nd half at all just played hard and threw them on his back.

Amida scares me. He still doesn't know how to "not foul" and that will kill us. His first was plain stupid, went out to guard 33 without his feet ready to defend and after the ball fake to shoot the guy took it to the hole and he grabbed him - can happen. If he beats you let him go you need to be in the game. He got #2 and it wasn't called, ball fake on the baseline and he jumped out and landed on top should have been called and would in any other game. He needs to be so much smarter and so far he's proven to not be there. They NEED him to play 25 plus minutes and for now this will be tough as he's not getting it. If you watched Okafor and Duke earlier I dread this match up. Offensively he looks better making shots. Another problem of his though (not beating him up just stating the truth - love him and he'll be great - good news is he will be here for at least 3 years maybe all 4), especially on the offensive end is he still rebounds backwards too often, always drifts too far under the basket and always reaching back even with position he's not going to get many boards out of position. Great news in when he's in the game he changes it on the defensive end. Brilliant shot blocker.

DHam - love his game, struggled shooting the ball but an elite stat filler. Excellent reading the game, the play ahead of time. Sets up his teammates with drives and kick backs or lobs to the bigs, sees these ahead which I love. Even struggling with his shot his head is in the game. He played some solid D and is learning that quick too. His rebounding in the 2nd half was great and he knows how to protect his rebound using body and elbows. Rough 1st half or at least the beginning but flashes of a very special player we are going to love.

Sam Jr - Rough 1st half, couldn't buy a shot. He's not a great defender but works hard. Reminds me of Marcus Williams on the end, will need to be heady on D because the feet aren't the quickest. When he isn't making shots we will see TSam a lot because of his defensive ability. But the fact he struggles all game but hits 2 huge 3's when it counts is wonderful. He has game for sure.

Facey - The kid was aggressive on the boards and went after some with authority. Love to see him rebound the ball. He has a place now and knows what he needs to do. He actually hedged better in the 2nd half after being caught hanging on to his guy when needed for help in the 1st half. Offensively tentative and will need to assert himself eventually but I like where he is. Work to do on both ends but rebounding is a great thing! Reminds me of Amile Jefferson-type and that would be great for us!

TSam - excellent contributions off the bench. Kid goes to the hole without any concerns for anyone's welfare. Defensively works his bitt off. Maybe a few less jumpers early in the shot clock but other than that he's a rock out there, no worries with him coming off the bench.

Nolan - wow, still think he'll come along but so far nothing really new to report on. Took 2 charges (both calls were wrong) but really nothing else to talk about. Needs to be more involved and rebound and move people around.

Rock - snapped his first rebound down like he was taking the air out of the ball, could hear it on TV. He actually runs pretty well for a big guy as he showed on the press when he didn't cut the sideline off but caught up with the play after getting beat. He was moving people when in and needs to work on his feet but eventually this kid will be a player.

Overall they have a long way to go to find the team chemistry to look smoother. Good news UConn has always found ways to win games without looking smooth. They will struggle and in PR next week will play teams where this performance will not find the W column. They will need to grow up quickly in order to have a smooth start but most of all AB needs to figure out he's more important than his stupid fouls. Watched a lot of hoop last night, many teams were in the same boat so no need to be concerned especially with our youngsters playing key minutes immediately. Patience my friends or the ledge will be yours for the next few weeks!

 

[dsturdy5]

My take from this game is that we are going to see A LOT of zone this year. I like it when we are playing fast but we are going to lose several games when our outside shots aren't falling. Boat was good not great, Brimah is definitely improved offensively but needs to learn to gather and get his feet under him when he goes up. That will be glaringly apparent when he goes up against big strong bigs.

Every November we get a "we are going to see a lot of zone this year!" post (0r 15). Set your watch by it.

 

[fleudslipcon]

The game itself was played according to the ref's in the first half. The refs were awful most of the game, both ways mind you, but really ba in the first. They let them play and Bryant took full advantage but we seemed a little less physical for whatever reason. That changed in the 2nd half and the Huskies became the aggressor i thought, led by Boat.

Boat was great in the 2nd half, a leader and a defender. Had to happen and it did. He was good on defense in the 1st half but not at all great. Passive for him and it showed. Thought early he was the guy we were afraid of, looking for the oooh's and aaaah's from the crowd rather than just plating the PG. Not the same guy in the 2nd half at all just played hard and threw them on his back.

Amida scares me. He still doesn't know how to "not foul" and that will kill us. His first was plain stupid, went out to guard 33 without his feet ready to defend and after the ball fake to shoot the guy took it to the hole and he grabbed him - can happen. If he beats you let him go you need to be in the game. He got #2 and it wasn't called, ball fake on the baseline and he jumped out and landed on top should have been called and would in any other game. He needs to be so much smarter and so far he's proven to not be there. They NEED him to play 25 plus minutes and for now this will be tough as he's not getting it. If you watched Okafor and Duke earlier I dread this match up. Offensively he looks better making shots. Another problem of his though (not beating him up just stating the truth - love him and he'll be great - good news is he will be here for at least 3 years maybe all 4), especially on the offensive end is he still rebounds backwards too often, always drifts too far under the basket and always reaching back even with position he's not going to get many boards out of position. Great news in when he's in the game he changes it on the defensive end. Brilliant shot blocker.

DHam - love his game, struggled shooting the ball but an elite stat filler. Excellent reading the game, the play ahead of time. Sets up his teammates with drives and kick backs or lobs to the bigs, sees these ahead which I love. Even struggling with his shot his head is in the game. He played some solid D and is learning that quick too. His rebounding in the 2nd half was great and he knows how to protect his rebound using body and elbows. Rough 1st half or at least the beginning but flashes of a very special player we are going to love.

Sam Jr - Rough 1st half, couldn't buy a shot. He's not a great defender but works hard. Reminds me of Marcus Williams on the end, will need to be heady on D because the feet aren't the quickest. When he isn't making shots we will see TSam a lot because of his defensive ability. But the fact he struggles all game but hits 2 huge 3's when it counts is wonderful. He has game for sure.

Facey - The kid was aggressive on the boards and went after some with authority. Love to see him rebound the ball. He has a place now and knows what he needs to do. He actually hedged better in the 2nd half after being caught hanging on to his guy when needed for help in the 1st half. Offensively tentative and will need to assert himself eventually but I like where he is. Work to do on both ends but rebounding is a great thing! Reminds me of Amile Jefferson-type and that would be great for us!

TSam - excellent contributions off the bench. Kid goes to the hole without any concerns for anyone's welfare. Defensively works his bitt off. Maybe a few less jumpers early in the shot clock but other than that he's a rock out there, no worries with him coming off the bench.

Nolan - wow, still think he'll come along but so far nothing really new to report on. Took 2 charges (both calls were wrong) but really nothing else to talk about. Needs to be more involved and rebound and move people around.

Facey - snapped his first rebound down like he was taking the air out of the ball, could hear it on TV. He actually runs pretty well for a big guy as he showed on the press when he didn't cut the sideline off but caught up with the play after getting beat. He was moving people when in and needs to work on his feet but eventually this kid will be a player.

Overall they have a long way to go to find the team chemistry to look smoother. Good news UConn has always found ways to win games without looking smooth. They will struggle and in PR next week will play teams where this performance will not find the W column. They will need to grow up quickly in order to have a smooth start but most of all AB needs to figure out he's more important than his stupid fouls. Watched a lot of hoop last night, many teams were in the same boat so no need to be concerned especially with our youngsters playing key minutes immediately. Patience my friends or the ledge will be yours for the next few weeks!

Agree with everything except I didn't know we have two Faceys. But the one we have appears to have a great upside.

It's great that this team has a senior pg. They need Ryan in order to have confidence same as the supporting players for Kemba.

Three keys for this season imo: How fast can Facey develop his defense, can AB fix the things you point out, and can one of the other guards develop to give Ryan the type of support Bazz gave to Kemba and Ryan gave to Bazz.

 

[mauconnfan]

Okay wise guy the 2nd was Lubin and my "edit" option is gone. But thanks for the heads up!

And make it "4" keys: How quickly do we get the rust off of our Ferrari?

 

[fleudslipcon]

Okay wise guy the 2nd was Lubin and my "edit" option is gone. But thanks for the heads up!

And make it "4" keys: How quickly do we get the rust off of our Ferrari?

Fixed it for you.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Boat has to work hard to become really effective against zone defenses. Last year it was Shabazz who was able to break down the zones and make the entry passes. I expect he will get better and better against zones, but not without some growing pains. The main thing I take from last night's game is that Boat showed he can step up and take over when the team needs him to do so.

 

[Waquoit]

They showed great energy and played team ball. That's what I was hoping for.

 

[ktuck911]

Whenever I hear the word process now I think of UConn Football.

Last year's MBB squad was a process too... So that's why I know there's a huge difference from our Football squad... Our bball team will be a problem for the Kentucky's of the world once again come tourney time.. trust and believe...

 

[dsturdy5]

RE: Zone talk. One thing that always stood out to me about the early-mid 2000's UConn teams vs Cuse was they had big men who could make entry passes from the high post. I remember one game in 2005 or 2006 where Boone made a number of great passes to UConn players on the block/cutting along the baseline. If that could be developed in the current crop of big men, it could go a long way to helping the guards against a zone.