Official Newton Thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Official Newton Thread

Scottobot said:
Agree with everything said above. Newton has just been fantastic last 4-5 games. Hard to believe we were debating about who should play PG a month ago.
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A month ago? Most if the board was debating two games ago!
 
Mazhude said:
I think a lot of this is Hurley freeing up the players to be players again. We are not the same one trick ponies (feed Sanogo and wait) that we were a month ago...
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I’ve been wondering if we’re seeing Hurley deal with having players who are going to go pro, or at least get drafter. It seemed like as the number of scouts who were coming out to watch Adama rose, our throw-to-adama-and-pray offense became more frequent.

I get it, you want to do best by these guys and do everything you can to help their stock rise. Of course, though, this is all speculation.

Gotta let this team just play ball.
 
krinklecut said:
How insanely cool must it feel to be the first player to do something spectacular at a place like UConn? How many absolute ballers have come through and no one’s been able to do what he did this season.
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There's still time for him to get another one too.
 
He's the key to our season. No one else in the starting lineup can handle the ball and create their own shot. Glad he got his confidence back and understands he can use his size to power his way to the basket in college ball. Been excellent for a couple weeks now.
 
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UDann said:
He is the key. During January losses he look lost and lackadaisical with passes. Now looks in control and its becoming his team. This is the player I thought we were getting. Nice job Tristen.
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Agreed. I was excited when he transferred to UConn because this the player I thought we were getting as well-the player from ECU that scored 25 against UConn in the COVID year
 
Everyone knew he could play, as is the case with most of our transfers. The thing I think we all forget is UConn is a major step up from ECU, Va Tech, San Diego and A&M. There is history here and major expectations. Couple that with the grind of a Big East schedule, and it likely creates a lot of pressure. I think being at a school like UConn and the fact that we rose to #2 so quickly in the season might have impacted the team - maybe we got a bit too confident and players got a bit comfortable. maybe it was the first loss to Xavier and they didn’t know how to respond, leading to that tough stretch in January.

Whatever the case, I think every transfer who saw the floor last night contributed and played well - which is what this teams needs every game moving forward.
 
Mazhude said:
I think a lot of this is Hurley freeing up the players to be players again. We are not the same one trick ponies (feed Sanogo and wait) that we were a month ago...
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Sanogo is doing more too.

Like initiating plays away from the basket and driving towards the basket, which give him better court vision, rather than just camping in the post and shooting off doubles.
 
HuskyHawk said:
He’s passing, scoring, drawing fouls and defending well. I listened to people say we had no PG and well, that was not a good take. Key to Tristan is that calm demeanor. He doesn’t get rattled, doesn’t panic. It inspires a lot of confidence. Just needed the team to trust him.
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You could live to 100 years old, UConn could have a roster entirely made up of John Stockton's children, and you'd still have geniuses on this website claiming we don't have "a real point guard." This will never, ever change.
 
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krinklecut said:
I’ve been wondering if we’re seeing Hurley deal with having players who are going to go pro, or at least get drafter. It seemed like as the number of scouts who were coming out to watch Adama rose, our throw-to-adama-and-pray offense became more frequent.

I get it, you want to do best by these guys and do everything you can to help their stock rise. Of course, though, this is all speculation.

Gotta let this team just play ball.
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I don’t really feel like this was the cause. I think it had more to do with the rigidness of their offense - they seemed to be robotically going through the plays and sets without reacting to what the defense was giving them. Hurley even said as much. Opponents were just pressuring the ball knowing nobody was going to drive the lane. The first half of the Xavier game we were just setting screens and dribble handoffs around the perimeter - side to side but never north to south. You saw they finally made the adjustment in the second half and it’s carried through last night.
 
CallMeBruce said:
You could live to 100 years old, UConn could have a roster entirely made up of John Stockton's children, and you'd still have geniuses on this website claiming we don't have "a real point guard." This will never, ever change.
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Honestly, too many people are just nostalgic for a style of PG play that is somewhat outdated, or at least that doesn't fit with the modern motion offense we're running. "We need a guy who can break down his man...", yeah, that's ISO basketball. That's not what we run. I do not want anybody out there on the ball that long, waiting for a clear out so they can attack one on one. Eliminating the illegal defense rule made that a failed strategy (not the college ever had the rule).

Last night we played some beautiful modern motion offense. People constantly in motion. The ball, constantly in motion, mostly through the air. It generates open shots and lanes to the basket much more effectively than ISO ball ever did.
 
Tristen and Adama are startin" to get a good non-verbal vibe goin' on .. Gettin' the ball to Adama in his spots.

He's a Texas laid-back dude but it's starting to look like he's really enjoying himself and his teammates.. All good.
 
CallMeBruce said:
You could live to 100 years old, UConn could have a roster entirely made up of John Stockton's children, and you'd still have geniuses on this website claiming we don't have "a real point guard." This will never, ever change.
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HuskyHawk said:
Honestly, too many people are just nostalgic for a style of PG play that is somewhat outdated, or at least that doesn't fit with the modern motion offense we're running. "We need a guy who can break down his man...", yeah, that's ISO basketball. That's not what we run. I do not want anybody out there on the ball that long, waiting for a clear out so they can attack one on one. Eliminating the illegal defense rule made that a failed strategy (not the college ever had the rule).

Last night we played some beautiful modern motion offense. People constantly in motion. The ball, constantly in motion, mostly through the air. It generates open shots and lanes to the basket much more effectively than ISO ball ever did.
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Meh. The college game at highest levels when everything breaks down on a possession in a high pressure tourney game ( or others ) in crunch time, needs a guy who can at least be a threat to create his own. That will never change.
 
IMO.. Newton's improved play recently has been impacted by a few things.. Among them.. Role definition clarity.. Either through his play/performance or his coach's encouragement/confidence.. He's playing more stress free. Jackson is fitting into a less ball-dominant role and allowing Newton to be the primary ballhandler.. Except when he's(Andre) getting a defensive board and immediately advancing the ball up the floor.Andre is playing looser now as a result.

Tristen averaged 37 pts/game in HS..He knows how to score.. He's starting to get to the hoop with more frequency and getting "and ones" because of his strength and skill around the basket. Scorers know how to improvise-which TN does well.Other than Hawk.. I'll take our chances with Tristen at the line in crunch time to make important FTs.. Triple doubles don't come around too often.. Glad he's with us.
 
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LIke with most players, when he plays under control and with confidence, he is a player any coach would want on his team. He's also unselfish and smart. Refs just have to let him play and not get mugged.

Here, in my house, we're still talking about the assist to Karaban for the dunk. It was impressive.

Also have to give Sanogo a little love on that play. Watching the replay, there was an instinct for him to try to catch that bullet pass. He flinches, but something (BB IQ or instinct) told him to let it go. He probably would have just deflected it out of bounds as hard it was thrown. He had no chance at the clean catch. He let it go and Karaban got an easy 2.
 
Newton and Hawk attacking the rim is what we are missing. Even if they miss it frees up an offense board that we seen Sanogo and Jackson grab and put back.

We were shooting lights out from three the first 14 games then we started settling for way too many and Newton got very passive. He needs to be aggressive even if he misses or turns it over. Sanogo starting to pass more out the double team, still too long but he’s passing. Had 3 assists.
 
BiggieSmall said:
Newton and Hawk attacking the rim is what we are missing. Even if they miss it frees up an offense board that we seen Sanogo and Jackson grab and put back.

We were shooting lights out from three the first 14 games then we started settling for way too many and Newton got very passive. He needs to be aggressive even if he misses or turns it over. Sanogo starting to pass more out the double team, still too long but he’s passing. Had 3 assists.
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Were missing is what I meant.
 
Just like R.J. Cole needed to figure out Big East play, Newton took a step back when BE play started. Now he's ready and looking more confident. Also, Hawkins needed to be more assertive in his game and that has become more evident in his recent play. Both portend well for continued Uconn success.
 
Spaceman213J said:
Also have to give Sanogo a little love on that play. Watching the replay, there was an instinct for him to try to catch that bullet pass. He flinches, but something (BB IQ or instinct) told him to let it go. He probably would have just deflected it out of bounds as hard it was thrown. He had no chance at the clean catch. He let it go and Karaban got an easy 2.
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I noticed this as well. He probably read Tristen's eyes but whatever it was, it was a heads up read.
 
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Mike Honcho said:
I noticed this as well. He probably read Tristen's eyes but whatever it was, it was a heads up read.
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Let's be honest, Newton rarely throws a pass too hard, sometimes too soft/lazy, but not too hard. Have to think the players know each others tendencies by now.
 
temery said:
I've merged a couple with the game thread but think he deserves his own thread today.
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Hi. Does Newton have eligibility past this year? Would live to have him back
 
Scrappy3 said:
Hi. Does Newton have eligibility past this year? Would live to have him back
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1 year remaining, TBD what he does though since using a Covid year is a tossup for a lot of guys
 
Scrappy3 said:
Hi. Does Newton have eligibility past this year? Would live to have him back
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Yes, he has 1 more year of eligibility due to the COVID year.
It remains to be seen if he wants to come back as a grad student. It probably depends on how this season shakes out, his professional opportunities, and who stays/leaves for the draft. So who knows. I'm sure most of these players don't have a concrete plan for after this season yet.

Would love to have him back as a two-headed monster in the backcourt with Castle next season, assuming Hawkins leaves for the NBA.

The only player on the team who has no eligibility left after this season is Joey California.
 
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