ok, last years chemistry issues?

[caw]

It's clear as day in the comments from Borges that Napier, Boatright, or Lamb was the issue. Based off of what I have heard, I think it was Napier.

I imagine there were issues across the board.

First let's look at leadership:

1. Calhoun benches Oriakhi for lax play. Oriakhi responds by sulking and calling out Calhoun in public (twitter). Who knows what was said in private. Either way this takes away from the leadership on the team. You have a popular most senior player (who is co-captain) and the head coach arguing on the bench and in the press/twitter. Let's not even get into Oriakhi's daddy issues.
2. Calhoun misses a string of games. This further takes away from the leadership, by taking away a very strong willed coach.
3. Napier tries to assert himself and has issues. First, he has a bit of an abrasive personality. He seems a bit too serious, which may have clashed with some of the more laid back personalities on the team. Second, he is the same year as the majority of players. Third, he isn't the most talented among his peers (fellow sophomores). Ideally Oriakhi would have been a stronger, positive presence and Napier could have taken less of a leadership role until this coming year.

Second let's look at on the court issues:

1. Boatright misses a ton of early season games. This causes Lamb and Napier to be the only two guards on the team. With both Napier and Lamb on the court almost 40 minutes a game, the wear and tear on their bodies is evident by the time Boatright gets back. I don't blame Boatright for this, but it was an issue. Secondly, Napier picks up his nagging ankle injury (see current boot). Thirdly, this messes with the flow of rotations and sets back the halfcourt offense by at least 10 games.
2. Drummond commits late in the summer, which means he misses a ton of summer practice with the team and coaches. I truly believe he would have been much better if he had had more individual workouts with the team and coaches. His high school and AAU coaches failed him.
3. Roscoe wanting and failing to play the 3 effectively. His best games were at the four, where his hustle was great. His ballhandling and shooting left a lot to be desired at the 3 (or even the 4).
4. Shortcomings from all the bigs offensively. Screening, shot-making, charges, etc. were just bad.
5. The 3's all failing to provide a consistent, or any, presence (making Lamb play the 3 a ton).

Other off the court issues:

1. Daniels, I do not blame him (obviously), but his sisters health issues had to have a drag on his mental game.
2. Hangover from a bunch of freshman winning a NC.
3. Kemba leaving (strong willed, likeable leader who loved Calhoun).

 

[Burnsbros23]

If Boatright and Napier had a problem with each other one would of left. Boatright and Jeremy are always messing around on twitter and seem to be pretty close. So maybe Jeremy and Bazz had some problems that i didnt realize last year.

 

[sparky]

JC needs to own this one. His substitution patterns were puzzling at best. I believe he the unintended consequences of his coaching, even when he wasn't there caused dissention in the ranks.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

So who was the root of the issues with the team chemistry? Is it an individual or group thing? Napier, boatright, AO or lamb...the reason i ask is because calhoun has brought it up a few times in the past and napier is quoted saying it a bunch of times this weekend.... i have my money on olander

Ask Tylers dad he will tell ya who 1 of the prob was! Yes he will...Does the word "snot face" mean anything to you?

Who could that possibly be?

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Ask Tylers dad he will tell ya who 1 of the prob was! Yes he will...Does the word "snot face" mean anything to you?

Who could that possibly be?

There were many issues though not just "snot face" so with all due respect he shouldn't be called out alone. hahaha

 

[willie99]

Calhoun pushes buttons, he wanted more from Scoe & Alex. While Scoe seemed to adjust and won minutes, Alex was a baby from day one.

It was Alex, IMHO

 

[Chief00]

Alex, despite his whining, was generally well liked by most players. Napier tried to lead but did not know how other than put others down. Napier was too moody to lead the team....as Calhoun once commented publicly some days he would not say a word at practice and others he would talk a lot.

Now with Alex I agree his relationship with Calhoun got broken and never got fixed. Alex felt Calhoun owed him loyalty based on what he did last year; Calhoun wanted results 2011/2012 too.

The Roscoe thing I don't understand, other than we burnt a lot of minutes early on with Olander when it would have been more upside going with Roscoe. He seemed to handle it relatively well but that transfer to me was a surprise.

Up until the Fairfield game it seemed that the team was exceeding expectations especially when you consider all the obstacles...Calhoun in/out/in/out/in and Boat in/out/in/out - yet Olander really gave them nothing starting that game and Roscoe/Alex never really consistently re-emerged.

 

[huskyharry]

AO and RS were clearly unhappy enough with the situation that they voted with their feet and left. That degree of unhappiness clearly hurt team chemistry but it was only part of the problem...
Unless they caught the ball for alley-oop dunks, AO, AD and RS were offensive liabilities because of poor ball handling, poor passing ability and inconsistent to poor shooting outside ten feet...this led to RB, SN and JL being reluctant to pass to them, partly because they were afraid the ball wouldn't come back out and partly because they kept waiting for the alley-oop opportunity and then had to force shots and poorly managed the shot clock. JLamb took a lot of rushed 3 pointers with over five seconds on the shot clock and had a disappointing season. SN holdin on to tHe ball stagnated the offense.
TO started well but lost confidence after his heel injury. SN and RB lacked confidence in NG, TO and DD and were reluctant to pass the ball their way.
Plenty of blame to go around from last year.
This year they need to trust each other and keep the ball moving.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

i'm hoping napier becomes the unquestioned leader of the team this year.

 

[Huskies4ever]

i'm hoping napier becomes the unquestioned leader of the team this year.

I mean, he's not transferring. He's JC's man. Maybe some players resented him being co-captain. Who knows? I really don't think he's the cancer some make him out to be. I think, in reading these posts, there were certainly many issues, both in chemistry, and in skill.
As for Roscoe, he was great. A Calhoun warrior. He played hard and left it all out on the floor. However, he was very flawed as a ball player, and didn't show any improvement. That, and the fact he was caught playing hooky, after our APR issues, didn't do him any favors when two top 10 recruits came in.
Roscoe and AO were integral to our championship run. You could argue Calhoun messed up. He owed these two respect and appreciation, but not playing time. That is earned. We don't know what went on behind the scenes or in practice. Watching AO in 2010-11, I noticed if he picked up an early foul, he wouldn't play as aggressively, and he would get frustrated. He seemed to be the type who would get rattled and sulk easily. Last year, he was the co-captain. You want playing time? Battle in practice, and show you deserve it over AD. As a leader, he certainly was not a good influence on the team. And he wasn't an upgrade over AD. He was more experienced, though and should have shown it with a more mature attitude, instead of calling his coach a mumu. I'm surprised how well Calhoun handled that. Could you imagine Bobby Knight? Yikes!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Chemistry, by definition, is not an issue with a single individual. It is an issue between people.

Like others have said, I think the issue was between Bazz and Lamb. Their personalities could not be more different, and they ended up competing with each other for shots -- we all know Bazz's tendencies to hoist 3's early in the shot clock. That might be what Bazz was referring to about things getting to his head.

AO's embarrassing "leadership" was another issue entirely, but I don't think was a source of friction among the players.

 

[Waquoit]

You want playing time? Battle in practice, and show you deserve it over AD.

So you're saying that AD earned his PT by battling in practice? I doubt that. AD was anointed with PT based on his potential. I think JC knew that this team wasn't going to the Final Four unless Drummond got real good, real quick. And that wasn't going to happen with AD sitting so the normal "you earn your PT practice" rule went out the window for him. The plan didn't work, instead it killed the team chemistry. The players get some of the blame but JC rightly gets the biggest slice.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

So you're saying that AD earned his PT by battling in practice? I doubt that. AD was anointed with PT based on his potential. I think JC knew that this team wasn't going to the Final Four unless Drummond got real good, real quick. And that wasn't going to happen with AD sitting so the normal "you earn your PT practice" rule went out the window for him. The plan didn't work, instead it killed the team chemistry. The players get some of the blame but JC rightly gets the biggest slice.

The other side of that coin is the fact that Drummond played 12 minutes in the first game of the season.

The reason Oriakhi got so few minutes early in the season wasn't because of Drummond, it was because he was being outplayed by Olander. Sure, Drummond's minutes went up as the season went on, but Olander's went down once he stopped playing as well. Oriakhi just never got out of the funk he got himself into early on.

 

[Danzz]

Calhoun.
He destroyed the team chemistry early in the season by benching Scoe and relegating AO. It's really that simple.
Scoe was the heart and soul of the inside guys. He epitomized UConn toughness. He sustained an iconic eye injury during "The Run." He was tougher 'n nails when we needed it. For that, he was benched in favor of a guy who only committed to the team a few months before. That guy was an unproven frosh who ended up having a fairly sizable dud of a first season.
AO was the inside anchor on the team during The Run. His reward for that was being put 2nd on the depth chart behind another johny-come-lately who was almost certainly a one and done and who ended up having a so-so season. His minutes were also cut.

Last year was on Calhoun.

He didn't give Scoe and AO any deference for what they had already put in at UConn, and they returned the favor.

1. Calhoun for the reasons you mentioned
2. Drummond because when JC started him, the whole lineup and offensive focus of the team changed

 

[mauconnfan]

So you're saying that AD earned his PT by battling in practice? I doubt that. AD was anointed with PT based on his potential. I think JC knew that this team wasn't going to the Final Four unless Drummond got real good, real quick. And that wasn't going to happen with AD sitting so the normal "you earn your PT practice" rule went out the window for him. The plan didn't work, instead it killed the team chemistry. The players get some of the blame but JC rightly gets the biggest slice.

That is such BS.............AD played more because he was better, even when he wasn't that good. He was better defensively because he could guard someone on occasion and he could block shots. He was better offensively because at least he made the defense think about what was behind them because of the alley pop. Alex, for all we know, did nothing the summer prior. It certainly would look that way considering his game lacked any improvement whatsoever and that was obvious to all. Then add the attitude and he deserved what he received. Like it or not he thought he was better than he was, he didn't work on his hands, his back to the basket game and his effort. He lacked effort in rebounding and never boxed out despite the fact his inability to rise off his feet in any capacity. As strong as he was he could've been Rodman-like but elected to think better of himself and he sat. He played too much as far as I'm concerned and he's gone........to blame JC/staff for a kid who didn't work on his game and didn't get any better with all these kids have in place is a complete joke!

 

[Waquoit]

Thato blame JC/staff for a kid who didn't work on his game and didn't get any better with all these kids have in place is a complete joke!

Blaming a kid instead of a multi-millionaire is the joke.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Blaming a kid instead of a multi-millionaire is the joke.

Talk about a strawman argument. By that rationale, it would be unfair to ever criticize a player no matter the situation.

Calhoun is not beyond reproach here, but neither is Oriakhi. He didn't play well, period. Olander outplayed him early in the year, Drummond (and even Roscoe at times) outplayed him later in the year.

 

[Waquoit]

Talk about a strawman argument. By that rationale, it would be unfair to ever criticize a player no matter the situation.

Calhoun is not beyond reproach here, but neither is Oriakhi. He didn't play well, period. Olander outplayed him early in the year, Drummond (and even Roscoe at times) outplayed him later in the year.

No straw man at all. AO isn't blameless. But that doesn't mean he deserves all the blame. Go back and read the threads like this one. The general theme is it's the players that get all the blame. Saying JC "is not beyond reproach here" is probably as harsh as it gets. And that's too soft. If the atmosphere was truly "toxic" last year, that's the coaches fault.

 

[freescooter]

Calhoun pushes buttons, he wanted more from Scoe & Alex. While Scoe seemed to adjust and won minutes, Alex was a baby from day one.

It was Alex, IMHO

Coaches push buttons all the time. Sometimes their strategies don't work. They read guys wrong or they use an approach that "worked before" or they just make errors in judgement. It wasn't the first time and it won't be the last time. When that happens, its on the coach. He may have had a plan, but when it didn't work, he stayed with it anyway. That was the situation last year.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

No straw man at all. AO isn't blameless. But that doesn't mean he deserves all the blame. Go back and read the threads like this one. The general theme is it's the players that get all the blame. Saying JC "is not beyond reproach here" is probably as harsh as it gets. And that's too soft. If the atmosphere was truly "toxic" last year, that's the coaches fault.

Well I'm not really referring to the whole "toxic" thing as much as I'm referring to your argument that Drummond was handed a bigger role than Oriakhi without earning it. No matter what you think about Drummond, he was simply better than Oriakhi was last year. Calhoun benched AO to try and get him going - that didn't work. Then he gave AO his starting job back thinking that would get him going - that didn't work either. He just wasn't very good last year.

 

[Waquoit]

Well I'm not really referring to the whole "toxic" thing as much as I'm referring to your argument that Drummond was handed a bigger role than Oriakhi without earning it.

It's all part of the same whole. If a body is riddled with cancer, treating that one tumor doesn't make that much of a difference. Calhoun's actions set forces in motion that he was ultimately unable to control.

Yes, it would have been great if AO had handled the situation as well as Ricky Moore did when JC took his job away and gave it to KEA. But Ricky wasn't coming off a National Champioship.

 

[freescooter]

Calhoun's actions set forces in motion that he was ultimately unable to control.

That's my reading too.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Calhoun's actions set forces in motion that he was ultimately unable to control.

True, but what actions are we talking about here? Benching a player who wasn't playing well in favor of guys who were playing better than him? Most coaches probably do the same thing, just with less screaming.

 

[freescooter]

The whole Drummond situation was just poorly handled last year...it had a significant domino effect on the team. it wasn't a question of playing someone who was better...it was the whole way things were handled...moving Oriakhi to power forward, moving Roscoe to the bench...it would have been one thing if Drummond was a terrific player, but he just wasn't...good for a freshman big man, but no where near the dominant player many were expecting, and he was not as good as Oriakhi was at the end of 2011. One didn't get the sense that Drummond "earned" his time exactly but more that a decision was made to play him and try to work Oriakhi in at the 4 and Smith off the bench...it caused problems all the way around.

 

[Palatine]

Calhoun was in physical pain last year and forced to miss multiple games.

Do you think that might have had an impact? DUH!

Jeez Louise, this entire thread misses the forest for the trees. It wasn't Drummond or Lamb or AO or complacency or chemistry or physics. It was a coach in pain operating at 50% or less and then leaving for surgery.