OC and NG

[Huskies4ever]

Calhoun and Giffey were sensational. However, once again, Shabazz was the man! He has been superman for this group.

19-7 (9-5)

Not bad!

 

[aboogieee]

Saw a lot of good things tonight.. But what will stick w/ me the most is Phil Nolan's block that led to a fastbreak & a nice pass from Boatright to Calhoun. Vintage UConn.. atta boy Phil! Builds confidence.

But The careless TOs bother me

 

[jleves]

Saw a lot of good things tonight.. But what will stick w/ me the most is Phil Nolan's block that led to a fastbreak & a nice pass from Boatright to Calhoun. Vintage UConn.. atta boy Phil! Builds confidence.

But The careless TOs bother me

Careless turnovers don't bother me - those can be cleaned up. It's the nervous turnovers that bother me - like getting trapped on inbounds plays. Our guards are too good to get trapped yet it happens all the time.

 

[husky99]

Oc is getting beter and better

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Omar playing one handed with some fire! Nice the way he adjusted his shot with the injury to make those shots in the second half...big baskets. Nice left handed backdoor shot. Best is the way he is fighting for the ball on the boards.

Niels is building....playing better and better, but still guided/short-armed that one shot that shows he is still working through his "over carefulness." When he shoots fluidly, it's a thing of beauty. It looks like he will never miss another free throw. He's fighting on D and competing on the boards. I like the small lineup that has he and DD as the big guys. We seem to play a lot better with the small, quicker lineup.

 

[aceboon]

Omar has really impressed me with the improvement of his decision making and ability to make offensive moves with the ball. In the beginning of the season, unless he was spotting up for an open jumper he was a disaster with the ball. He still has his moments but he's much more sure with what he wants to do offensively and I love how he shows the ball and either gets the midrange off or gets to the rim and draws contact. I really think he's going to be our next great wing, a trio of him, Boat, and Bazz should be unstoppable on the perimeter next year.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Overall a good game by the team.

My one quibble is that the team D is mediocre when Giffey is not on the court.

 

[BoatShow]

Calhoun definitely doesn't look like a freshman at this point of the season.

 

[caw]

I don't like OC dribbling in the open court, but when he makes a quick offensive move, he's solid.

Does anyone else see him shoot his mid-range shot and cringe until it goes in (which it almost always does)? It just looks so flat and wrong but it's so damn good.

 

[djct1999]

The biggest surprise for me, in a year of many, is the stellar play of Niels. He seems to be improving by the half and certainly each game is better than the last. I know its Depaul, but I saw things from Niels last night that I havent really seen before. If confidence is what he needed, I can only expect a big senior year from him! In the words of Bart Scot, "Can't Wait!"

 

[DMW88]

NG is really really playing w confidence. His BBall IQ is really high. He is really a team player. If everyone comes back, and the freshmen bigs can contribute on boards and D, next year could be special!

 

[mauconnfan]

Giffster is really playing well and confident.......he is tough and loves banging people to boot!!! Much better athlete than we first thought, he should have a really nice Sr year and hopefully he gets rewarded for his loyalty with a nice tourney run next year.....he as well as others really deserve that!

 

[Chief00]

NG is really really playing w confidence. His BBall IQ is really high. He is really a team player. If everyone comes back, and the freshmen bigs can contribute on boards and D, next year could be special!

I have seldom seen one year translate into the next in recent years. Every year for better or worse is a standalone show. Perhaps that part of having a talented program with early deflections into the NBA and transfers for guys wanting more playing time? Team chemistry can also be a funny thing. At any rate, it has been fun this year other than the rebounding.

 

[Huskies4ever]

I have seldom seen one year translate into the next in recent years. Every year for better or worse is a standalone show. Perhaps that part of having a talented program with early deflections into the NBA and transfers for guys wanting more playing time? Team chemistry can also be a funny thing. At any rate, it has been fun this year other than the rebounding.

I also believe that some players are responding better to KO's approach versus JC's.

 

[James]

I have this theory that the American game has been hard for Giffey to grasp. He saw the floor on a chip team. He's really starting to shoot threes like FTs, which should frighten other teams. I wonder how tight him and bazz are.
As far as Calhoun, I'm coming around to the idea of him playing sorta like Rip. his motor is off the charts and you know he's watching tons of film with how he's improved. I had a thread a while ago comparing him to lambs freshman year, interesting juxtaposition.
I'm also coming around to the idea that KO might just be a genius. we guard screens so well now. Technically he's got a pool of knowledge I'm not sure another college coach has.

 

[upstater]

I have this theory that the American game has been hard for Giffey to grasp. He saw the floor on a chip team. He's really starting to shoot threes like FTs, which should frighten other teams. I wonder how tight him and bazz are.
As far as Calhoun, I'm coming around to the idea of him playing sorta like Rip. his motor is off the charts and you know he's watching tons of film with how he's improved. I had a thread a while ago comparing him to lambs freshman year, interesting juxtaposition.
I'm also coming around to the idea that KO might just be a genius. we guard screens so well now. Technically he's got a pool of knowledge I'm not sure another college coach has.

There was a reason Calhoun was so high on Ollie. You'd think that after all those years people would've trusted Calhoun on something like this.

And yes, playing bball in the NBA for 14 years under many different coaches is probably a good way to understand how the game of bball should be played IF the player is heady and also plays a key position (PG).

 

[James]

Apparently he hoops with them at practice ? Crazy ! It's a great lovefest as far as the media, what recruit wouldn't want to play for a guy like Ollie ? we should have our pickings.

 

[Tenspro2002]

There was a reason Calhoun was so high on Ollie. You'd think that after all those years people would've trusted Calhoun on something like this.

Calhoun also had an ego the size of Connecticut and obviously wanted to have his fingerprints still on the program. (And the way he did things at the end made that even more obvious. You think if he retired in April Ollie is the coach right now?)

It was hard to tell how much Calhoun really thought of Ollie's capacity as coach, versus just wanting to make sure he got the job.

 

[upstater]

Calhoun also had an ego the size of Connecticut and obviously wanted to have his fingerprints still on the program. (And the way he did things at the end made that even more obvious. You think if he retired in April Ollie is the coach right now?)

It was hard to tell how much Calhoun really thought of Ollie's capacity as coach, versus just wanting to make sure he got the job.

Wow, you can't please some people. Here is one of the greatest coaches of all time making an assessment about a coach's abilities, and it appears his assessment was dead on. The guy was an expert in these matters (as opposed to all the message board wannabes). Fingerprints on the program? You don't want an association with one of the greatest coaches of all time? UConn fans are so pampered. They think what happened at UConn is easy to reproduce. if it is, why can't a hundred other schools do it? And how it ended at the end: a 70 year old coach busts his hip and can't move around--his assistant is very frank in saying that this was the factor in his retirement. Apparently, according to you, back in April, Calhoun started planning how he was going to rig his fall from a bike in late August. Indeed, he probably fell multiple times and was getting frustrated with the lack of broken hip.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Wow, you can't please some people. Here is one of the greatest coaches of all time making an assessment about a coach's abilities, and it appears his assessment was dead on. The guy was an expert in these matters (as opposed to all the message board wannabes). Fingerprints on the program? You don't want an association with one of the greatest coaches of all time? UConn fans are so pampered. They think what happened at UConn is easy to reproduce. if it is, why can't a hundred other schools do it? And how it ended at the end: a 70 year old coach busts his hip and can't move around--his assistant is very frank in saying that this was the factor in his retirement. Apparently, according to you, back in April, Calhoun started planning how he was going to rig his fall from a bike in late August. Indeed, he probably fell multiple times and was getting frustrated with the lack of broken hip.

No, but JC had said for years how he wanted to do it the way Dean Smith did. Well, what did Dean Smith do? Waffled for 6 months, retired on the doorstep of the season and forced UNC to hire his buddy as head coach.

Obviously what Calhoun sold us in Ollie wasn't tainted goods, but to say he was completely innocent and wasn't manipulating the situation is a bit naive.

 

[James]

What argument could possibly be made against Calhoun lobbying for Ollie ? If he doesn't 'manipulate' we wouldn't be in this great position. if Calhoun moves to Florida disassociates himself with conn, we most likely are in the sh1tter.
there are a bunch of posters who hated the lack of a national search, mainly the calipari hater, no where to be found.

 

[mauconnfan]

Calhoun also had an ego the size of Connecticut and obviously wanted to have his fingerprints still on the program. (And the way he did things at the end made that even more obvious. You think if he retired in April Ollie is the coach right now?)

It was hard to tell how much Calhoun really thought of Ollie's capacity as coach, versus just wanting to make sure he got the job.

That's ridiculous........JC cares a lot about the program and knew who the best fit was to keep it in the direction we all want it as much as he........you are correct in the possibility KO may not be the coach without the timing, but JC had it figure out right didn't he? If you call making sure the program is in good hands and continuing to be successful by keeping the family tradition "ego/fingerprints" then so be it........it worked!!

 

[upstater]

No, but JC had said for years how he wanted to do it the way Dean Smith did. Well, what did Dean Smith do? Waffled for 6 months, retired on the doorstep of the season and forced UNC to hire his buddy as head coach.

Obviously what Calhoun sold us in Ollie wasn't tainted goods, but to say he was completely innocent and wasn't manipulating the situation is a bit naive.

I'll say it again. What Calhoun did was rarer than rare. He knew what it took when so many top coaches don't. If they knew, they'd do it, but they can't. Calhoun recommended Ollie.

And you discount that broken hip!