Please don’t blame Diarra

[Scottobot]

I see a lot of criticism of Diarra taking bad shots at the end of the shot clock. I don’t think it’s fair. The alpha dogs, Karaban and Ball need to find Diarra when there is 7 seconds left on shot clock and demand the ball. What is happening is UConn runs their sets and they usually work, but when they don’t Hassan is left holding the bag and he does the best he can. While Diarra is awesome at so many parts of the game, creating his own shot at end of shot clock is a weakness. Everyone on their team knows this. They need to come to him and bail him out of that situation. He is constantly left high and dry, and he does make some shots, but he can’t conver that situation at an efficient enough percentage. I think when Liam is healthy he will help a lot with that, because he did often go demand the ball in that situation and take the tough shot. I think when Liam was healthy Hurley wanted Ball just running and looking for threes, but now with Liam out we need a second player who will find Diarra in that situation, take the ball and get a decent percentage shot. I think Ball and Karaban have to be those guys.

 

[uchusky32]

I agree with this. But he's the point guard and he is supposed to have the ball in his hands to create. So should Ball at the 2 spot. Our SFs should as well. LM can create more often than not. The others more not than often.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I think Ball and Karaban have to be those guys.

I don't think Ball has shown much of an ability to create his own shot and Karaban is definitely not that guy. In the post-game presser Hurley lamented this team's lack of shot-creators when he was explaining why Hassan has the ball so often at the end of the shot clock. He's certainly craftier off the dribble than both of those guys.

I assume the ball is in Liam's hands at the end of the shot clock when (knock on wood) he's back.

 

[jibsey]

I see a lot of criticism of Diarra taking bad shots at the end of the shot clock. I don’t think it’s fair. The alpha dogs, Karaban and Ball need to find Diarra when there is 7 seconds left on shot clock and demand the ball. What is happening is UConn runs their sets and they usually work, but when they don’t Hassan is left holding the bag and he does the best he can. While Diarra is awesome at so many parts of the game, creating his own shot at end of shot clock is a weakness. Everyone on their team knows this. They need to come to him and bail him out of that situation. He is constantly left high and dry, and he does make some shots, but he can’t conver that situation at an efficient enough percentage. I think when Liam is healthy he will help a lot with that, because he did often go demand the ball in that situation and take the tough shot. I think when Liam was healthy Hurley wanted Ball just running and looking for threes, but now with Liam out we need a second player who will find Diarra in that situation, take the ball and get a decent percentage shot. I think Ball and Karaban have to be those guys.

Correct. What they diagram in the huddle I have no idea but we need 3 options for the clearest shot.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Correct. What they diagram in the huddle I have no idea but we need 3 options for the clearest shot.

Exactly. Just tell Hurley to draw something up that gets 3 guys wide open shots. Ideally our best three shooters.

 

[RayRay19]

Need a playmaker. Looks like Liam is the only true one on the team.

 

[Fishy]

Diarra tends to end up with the ball by default.

He’s effectively the one person who can move with it, so it tends to find him and everyone else watches - but he does tend to shut down on looking for options too early.

 

[RuffRuff]

Exactly. Just tell Hurley to draw something up that gets 3 guys wide open shots. Ideally our best three shooters.

Why not draw something up that gets all five guys open while he’s at it? Was thinking about a play called the grendade where they all come to the ball and hide it, then quickly dart from the pile while the defense doesn’t know where the ball is. Pretty sure the Globetrotters ran it. Not sure why Hurley doesn’t use it.

 

[Palatine]

Diarra has been an excellent point guard. Good handle, good vision, very good distributor.

He has not reached his ceiling as a scorer or as three point shooter. It seems he has taken a small step backwards this season in those areas. Also because of the high edge, on occasion, he finds himself in a bad mismatch under the basket.

A little improvement in those areas and he would be on one of the all BE teams.

 

[REB1094]

Hassan Diarra started the year as the 6th Man and now he's expected to be the only guy in the starting 5 who can take the ball and make something happen. Even worse, at the end of clocks he's expected to be an isolation scorer

It's not fair to him but he's taken it in stride and done it as well as he can. Even when he plays poorly it's really hard to blame him for being forced into a role 2-3 levels above what it should be

 

[uconnfan68]

I see a lot of criticism of Diarra taking bad shots at the end of the shot clock. I don’t think it’s fair. The alpha dogs, Karaban and Ball need to find Diarra when there is 7 seconds left on shot clock and demand the ball. What is happening is UConn runs their sets and they usually work, but when they don’t Hassan is left holding the bag and he does the best he can. While Diarra is awesome at so many parts of the game, creating his own shot at end of shot clock is a weakness. Everyone on their team knows this. They need to come to him and bail him out of that situation. He is constantly left high and dry, and he does make some shots, but he can’t conver that situation at an efficient enough percentage. I think when Liam is healthy he will help a lot with that, because he did often go demand the ball in that situation and take the tough shot. I think when Liam was healthy Hurley wanted Ball just running and looking for threes, but now with Liam out we need a second player who will find Diarra in that situation, take the ball and get a decent percentage shot. I think Ball and Karaban have to be those guys.

Some of that is our version of milking the clock. Definitely needs some work.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I think the staff banking an entire season of primary shot creation on Mahaney was a questionable choice. That’s not Diarras fault, but the ball does stick sometimes.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I don't think Ball has shown much of an ability to create his own shot and Karaban is definitely not that guy. In the post-game presser Hurley lamented this team's lack of shot-creators when he was explaining why Hassan has the ball so often at the end of the shot clock. He's certainly craftier off the dribble than both of those guys.

I assume the ball is in Liam's hands at the end of the shot clock when (knock on wood) he's back.

That’s why the roster construction this season was/is so confusing. The miss (so far) on Mahaney is big, they obviously thought he could be a creator, but we have a ton of wings who aren’t much off the bounce and Diarra as a PG who has never been a guy who gets his own really. A guy like Sion James on Duke would have been perfect for us.

 

[ec33]

I think the staff banking an entire season of primary shot creation on Mahaney was a questionable choice. That’s not Diarras fault, but the ball does stick sometimes.

You would think that perhaps Dan Hurley would consider the option of putting Mahaney out there in these end of game situations along with Diarra. They are the two best at creating their own shots and perhaps having both of them on the court simultaneously could create a favorable match up for one of them.

This decision would be easier if Mahaney was actually consistently finishing off the good looks he creates during the game.

 

[Giddyup5]

A lot of good points discussed.

I think the adjustment has to be click management with the pieces we have. We cannot start our set with 12 seconds left and hope we get the last shot.

Start with 20 seconds and get the best early shot available. If that means the other team gets the ball back so be it.

 

[boog204]

This is the first year I can remember where we don't have a late in the shot clock takeover type player. That guy could still very well be Liam but he wasn't given that opportunity fully, yet. Last year we had three guys who could do that. Hass does the best he can. He's not a great shooter so teams know he's going to try and drive and far too often he just gets in awful spots and even worse, at times picks up his dribble in really awkward places. It's not his "fault" and I don't blame him. We are not very good in those one possession type situations because our entire offense is built off of movement/screening/cutting not guys being able to iso.

 

[Conndog]

I see a lot of criticism of Diarra taking bad shots at the end of the shot clock. I don’t think it’s fair. The alpha dogs, Karaban and Ball need to find Diarra when there is 7 seconds left on shot clock and demand the ball. What is happening is UConn runs their sets and they usually work, but when they don’t Hassan is left holding the bag and he does the best he can. While Diarra is awesome at so many parts of the game, creating his own shot at end of shot clock is a weakness. Everyone on their team knows this. They need to come to him and bail him out of that situation. He is constantly left high and dry, and he does make some shots, but he can’t conver that situation at an efficient enough percentage. I think when Liam is healthy he will help a lot with that, because he did often go demand the ball in that situation and take the tough shot. I think when Liam was healthy Hurley wanted Ball just running and looking for threes, but now with Liam out we need a second player who will find Diarra in that situation, take the ball and get a decent percentage shot. I think Ball and Karaban have to be those guys.

Hass too often takes it all the way to the basket and ends up with a wild shot that gets blocked or completely misses- maybe he’s trying to draw contact to get to free throw line. I’d love to see him more often just take a pull-up jump shot.

 

[Husky68]

Few years ago wondered why Vitale and Gilbert hogged the ball, especially late in the clock. Watched a few more games and saw it wasn't them, all the other guys that got the ball if it wasn't to take an open shot they gave the ball right back (like Karaban of the prior two years). Need other guys to hunt the ball and their shot and drive late in clock (at 10 seconds not 2 seconds).

 

[Scottobot]

I would like to see Ball try half drive pull up jump shot at end of clock. I think he could convert that at a higher rate than what we are currently doing.

 

[IndyLives]

I kinda agree. Boy, Danny left Diara out to dry in the last 10 minutes of the Georgetown game...Danny took the air out of the ball to nurse a 23-point lead & Diara took the brunt of it.!

 

[ec33]

Of course, the answer to this is get Liam back healthy. If that doesn't occur, this is an exercise in futility because this team isn't accomplishing more than "moral victories" without him

 

[August_West]

Diarra tends to end up with the ball by default.

He’s effectively the one person who can move with it, so it tends to find him and everyone else watches - but he does tend to shut down on looking for options too early.

That is a perfect description of whats happening. I think he is a little gun shy to give it up because then there would be the possibility of nothing getting up and at least he will get something. He's not real wrong there, it's a difficult circumstance to be in because teams are all over solo and alex from receiving anything that will allow a look, but you are absolutely right that there have been occasions where it seems that he has made up his mind to keep it a second or two before he needs to.

 

[August_West]

I would like to see Ball try half drive pull up jump shot at end of clock. I think he could convert that at a higher rate than what we are currently doing.

In an end of clock scenario his handle just isnt quite solid enough to get to even that spot with everyone overplaying. Otherwise, yes.

 

[HooperScooper]

I would like to see Ball try half drive pull up jump shot at end of clock. I think he could convert that at a higher rate than what we are currently doing.

He's done those shots a hand full of times the last few games and as far as I remember he hit every one of them. I don't remember if any of them were at the end of the shot clock.