Other top teams. Possible weaknesses

[ucp990411]

For the first time in several years I am watching other games with teams that we may meet down the road. I have yet to see a team that scares me. Houston, Texas and Virginia all seem very similar to me in that they lack any kind of offensive cohesion and they rely on defense, iso and bully ball. They do play very good defense and rebound very well. Other teams do not run offense nearly as well as we do. Purdue looks very good. Something that I worry about with our team, and I said this preseason is interior defense. Alex Karaban is a very good player but can he hang in there against a team with multiple bangers? Will Sanogo stay out of foul trouble when teams begin to attack him more? If I was an opposing coach I would make him play defense. We really need to have Samson back asap to see what kind of physicality he may bring. And we need to cut down on careless turnovers, they could kill us in a close game.

 

[spudzj6]

Alex Karaban is a very good player but can he hang in there against a team with multiple bangers?

Agree, and we saw that against OK St. With Johnson down for time, I was really hoping to see Springs get some run time out there against their bigger 4's.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

I am hoping that Hurley plays the long game with this team, and develops the team for March (even at the expense of the regular season).

Eg seeing what we have in Springs in case we need him down the line.

Or letting the team play thru adversity in stretches and see if they can self correct (ie don’t rescue them with a timeout).

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Agree, and we saw that against OK St. With Johnson down for time, I was really hoping to see Springs get some run time out there against their bigger 4's.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Whether justified or not, that Oklahoma State game was telling. Karaban was totally gassed by the end, played almost the entire game, was getting pushed around a good bit, and Springs didn't see the court. If Springs is not getting minutes with Samson out, feels like Hurley has made his decision.

 

[BlueMAB]

Eg seeing what we have in Springs in case we need him down the line.

Springs is in his 4th season. Hurley knows what he has.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I've seen quite a bit of Kansas, and UConn is better right now. KU too reliant upon Wilson, and the offense tends to stagnate. If any of you watched the Celtics 3 years ago, when Tatum tended to revert to hero ball, that's what they look like. They could fix that, and if they do they'll be dangerous.

Duke is quite talented, big and young. That team is going to be dangerous in March.

I'll get a better look at UT when they play KU, but the loss to Illinois brings them down to earth a bit.

Alabama vs Houston is going to be really interesting.

A lot changes over the course of a season. Too early to make any real determinations.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Guys, Springs is clearly not an answer. He's not going to play. It's practically a meme at this point for some of you.

Frankly, I'm skeptical we get that much from Samson Johnson either, injury or not. We'll see.

Hurley is going to have to find ways to manage Karaban's minutes and try different lineups. Fortunately, there's plenty of time to figure it out.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I'm spinning this thread to what I thought the title meant.

Other top teams' possible weakness:

Houston: Just one true bucket-getter (Sasser)
Tennessee: Perimeter shooting
Texas: Perimeter shooting
Purdue: All-freshmen backcourt
Kentucky: Free-throw shooting
UCLA: Interior defense
Virginia: A true scoring guard

 

[August_West]

Purdue is really good.

Texas lost last night to Illinois. Real good game.

Houston has #8 Alabama on Saturday. Should be a great matchup. Totally rooting for Bama in this spot.

Virginia is playing better offense than I have seen out of a Tony Bennett team and are very experienced. His teams are always great defensively but this one can score.

I think Purdue is the best of the bunch that isn't us.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Duke is quite talented, big and young. That team is going to be dangerous in March.

I'll get a better look at UT when they play KU, but the loss to Illinois brings them down to earth a bit.

Alabama vs Houston is going to be really interesting.

Duke is a really interesting team to me. Plenty of talent there but not particularly cohesive right now. Going to be a tough test for a first time head coach. Barring a big turnaround from Lively, who looks totally lost out there, I think they're going to keep struggling against teams with talented bigs. Edey and Wilson just ate their lunch and while Filipowski has been great, Lively has been a disaster and Young is just a guy.

Agreed on Alabama/Houston. First real test and chance for them to answer the very real questions about whether they can score with the big boys.

 

[husky429]

I am hoping that Hurley plays the long game with this team, and develops the team for March (even at the expense of the regular season).

Eg seeing what we have in Springs in case we need him down the line.

I think it's fair to say that after 4 years, our coach knows what he has in Springs. If he isn't playing, it's probably for a good reason. It's not like he's sitting a kid that could help us win out of spite.

 

[tykurez]

Or letting the team play thru adversity in stretches and see if they can self correct (ie don’t rescue them with a timeout).

If anything I want the opposite. We’ve had too many years of not calling a timeout to try and stall the opposing team when they’re on a run. I want Hurley calling timeouts if guys so much as look in the wrong direction on a play.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

If anything I want the opposite. We’ve had too many years of not calling a timeout to try and stall the opposing team when they’re on a run. I want Hurley calling timeouts if guys so much as look in the wrong direction on a play.

Yea I was actually thinking about that while writing this.

It’s been a big flaw of Hurley’s and in a big game he needs to know when to take the timeout.

But during the big east conference slate I wouldn’t mind him testing the team and seeing if they can self correct. And I imagine that someone like Newton will be great at doing so.

 

[WestHartHusk]

If anything I want the opposite. We’ve had too many years of not calling a timeout to try and stall the opposing team when they’re on a run. I want Hurley calling timeouts if guys so much as look in the wrong direction on a play.

Agree. I view trying to call properly timed timeouts practice for Hurley in a big-spot.

 

[businesslawyer]

I am hoping that Hurley plays the long game with this team, and develops the team for March (even at the expense of the regular season).

Eg seeing what we have in Springs in case we need him down the line.

Or letting the team play thru adversity in stretches and see if they can self correct (ie don’t rescue them with a timeout).

Springs has been here for a very long time. Why in the world are you still assuming that Hurley needs to see him on the court to know whether he's capable of helping us? If that was the case, don't you think we would have kept seeing him once we got to real opponents?

As for an earlier post, Samson Johnson brings things to the 4 slot that Karaban doesn't (and vice versa). Making Johnson a regular rotation player when he's healthy so that skill set is there when we need it is important.

 

[August_West]

Springs has been here for a very long time. Why in the world are you still assuming that Hurley needs to see him on the court to know whether he's capable of helping us? If that was the case, don't you think we would have kept seeing him once we got to real opponents?

As for an earlier post, Samson Johnson brings things to the 4 slot that Karaban doesn't (and vice versa). Making Johnson a regular rotation player when he's healthy so that skill set is there when we need it is important.

Here's the thing. Samson will and should see minutes when back, but it won't always be at the expense of Alex. People talk about AJ as the "glue guy" and he's all that and more, but Alex is simply a player that Hurley can't stand not having on the floor, he is so versatile on both ends he really makes this team tick. He will end up having just about as many minutes per game as any player on our team this year I think. I dont think Coach wants to play him 38, but he is such a security blanket on the floor that its hard to see him ever under 30.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

we have only one clear weakness - what happens if tris gets injured.
walton waxed eloquently on his game thruout the tourney.

 

[HooperScooper]

For the first time in several years I am watching other games with teams that we may meet down the road. I have yet to see a team that scares me. Houston, Texas and Virginia all seem very similar to me in that they lack any kind of offensive cohesion and they rely on defense, iso and bully ball. They do play very good defense and rebound very well. Other teams do not run offense nearly as well as we do. Purdue looks very good. Something that I worry about with our team, and I said this preseason is interior defense. Alex Karaban is a very good player but can he hang in there against a team with multiple bangers? Will Sanogo stay out of foul trouble when teams begin to attack him more? If I was an opposing coach I would make him play defense. We really need to have Samson back asap to see what kind of physicality he may bring. And we need to cut down on careless turnovers, they could kill us in a close game.

Are you keeping blue index cards with notes on each top team like Calhoun did in 1998-1999?

 

[mussels]

I think it's fair to say that after 4 years, our coach knows what he has in Springs. If he isn't playing, it's probably for a good reason. It's not like he's sitting a kid that could help us win out of spite.

That makes sense, but let‘s remember that Hurley apparently didn’t know what he had with Whaley, and had him glued to the bench until injuries force his hand.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

That makes sense, but let‘s remember that Hurley apparently didn’t know what he had with Whaley, and had him glued to the bench until injuries force his hand.

I think this is revisionist history. Whaley made himself indispensable, he certainly wasn't that when Hurley got to Storrs.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think this is revisionist history. Whaley made himself indispensable, he certainly wasn't that when Hurley got to Storrs.

No, you don’t understand Boneyard rules. When a coach in football or basketball calls on a player who wasn’t playing previously and that player then performs, it means the coach was an idiot for not playing them earlier. It does not ever mean that the coach waited until the player was ready to contribute to give him playing time.

You’ve been here long enough to know that.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

Springs has been here for a very long time. Why in the world are you still assuming that Hurley needs to see him on the court to know whether he's capable of helping us? If that was the case, don't you think we would have kept seeing him once we got to real opponents?

As for an earlier post, Samson Johnson brings things to the 4 slot that Karaban doesn't (and vice versa). Making Johnson a regular rotation player when he's healthy so that skill set is there when we need it is important.

Should have said “to get him ready with live game action for if he’s needed later in the season” instead of “see what he’s got”

yes Johnson is the obvious option to fill that role but if he’s not available for whatever reason would be nice to have a contingency plan.

we should have no trouble in many of our conference games. how would it hurt to give Richie some extra burn to get him ready in case he’s ever needed. Or should we just play Karaban 38 mins if Johnson can’t go?

 

[businesslawyer]

Should have said “to get him ready with live game action for if he’s needed later in the season” instead of “see what he’s got”

yes Johnson is the obvious option to fill that role but if he’s not available for whatever reason would be nice to have a contingency plan.

we should have no trouble in many of our conference games. how would it hurt to give Richie some extra burn to get him ready in case he’s ever needed. Or should we just play Karaban 38 mins if Johnson can’t go?

Isn’t the obvious conclusion that, especially after giving Springs a few looks in our buy games, Hurley continues to believe that Springs can’t help us, that he’s not going to play meaningful minutes absent a rash of injuries and that there is nothing to get Springs ready for?

 

[runner11]

No, you don’t understand Boneyard rules. When a coach in football or basketball calls on a player who wasn’t playing previously and that player then performs, it means the coach was an idiot for not playing them earlier. It does not ever mean that the coach waited until the player was ready to contribute to give him playing time.

You’ve been here long enough to know that.

It is not revisionist history and Hurley’s has even addressed this. But go off, per usual.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

Isn’t the obvious conclusion that, especially after giving Springs a few looks in our buy games, Hurley continues to believe that Springs can’t help us, that he’s not going to play meaningful minutes absent a rash of injuries and that there is nothing to get Springs ready for?

Yea I was actually about to edit my post with that caveat. If he truly is not game capable at all, then no point to give him any burn.

We then just have to hope that Johnson stays healthy and can contribute, otherwise our lack of depth at the 4 will be a weakness.

Can use Jackson there in a pinch I suppose. Otherwise would be forced to give Karaban huge minutes or play Sanogo and Clingan together. Neither of which are ideal.