Positive Take Aways

[AntG168]

Rebounding: we improved to be at least decent in this area. If brimah and facey can bring this energy on the boards every game I think we'll be fine

Vital: I can't help but think he gonna hit some HUGE shots for us in his career. He is not afraid to take the big shot. He plays like he belongs. He has "IT"

Larrier: He's right on the verge of being VERY good. He needs to work on his shot selection and be stronger with the ball. But if our guards can get him in spots where it's easier for him to score then he'll be an NBA draft pick

Ollie: Didn't coach a great game. The offense is still too predictable. But he showed some of the old Ollie "Fire" on the sidelines which was good to see.

 

[Towney007]

Yeah so I guess from me...

-Rebounding was way, way, way better tonight. Against a pretty good inside team. Really positive sing. You could argue that it saved our bacon tonight.

-Raw talent on this team is a *significant* step up from last year. I'm REALLY excited about this freshman class.

-Freakin' Facey man... Dunno if he'll ever put it all together this year - but he was great tonight. Great aggressiveness, good on the boards. Liked the fire I saw from him.

-Vital seems like that perfect supporting dude on a national title contender some day. He's still a freshman, but talent is obvious and I think he's going to contribute a ton off the bench and appreciably more as the season rolls along.

-Larrier is the best player on the team. It's just obvious. Needs to be stronger with the ball in the high post though. Had the ball knocked out of his hands way too many times. That and he doesn't quite 'fit' yet - but not in a way that say.. Purvis doesn't fit. I think he'll be a guy who adapts and figures it out. Could be a monster on this team though.

-When the offense clicked - which was only in spurts - we looked really good. Lots of guards and quickness, can slash to the hoop a lot. We can shoot reasonably well even though our stuff in the second half was ka ka.

Step in the right direction, but we've still got a long ways to go to get out of the woods.

The noticeable difference when this team is running and slashing to the hoop and when they aren't is jarring. They'd saw off 10-15 points in the matter of a few minutes and then wham-o. Back to the half court set and doing absolutely nothing with it.

 

[Husky25]

Reimplement the Steve Nash drill. UConn left a dozen points on the court and don't inspire much confidence when the head to the line.

 

[mauconnfan]

AB did get rebounds (and tough ones) which he hasn't in the past, good sign. Others need to crash and quit watching it's strange to watch. Way too many shots during play in which no one is close and yet no one sees the opportunity to crash from the wings?

 

[gtcam]

My positive takeaway and it probably wont come to fruition - we MAY see a few day reprieve/lessening of "its on KO" from the likes of James, etc.

I think the W is just what the doctor ordered BUT I don't see what UConn has on the floor right now can come close to playing with UNC and others in Maui. I am now convinced that I really overestimated this team. I did LOVE KF's attitude and his desire last night - I want him to be a huge factor this year. I think Vital might be the hidden gem. AS had a better night overall but his defense is questionable at times and falls to sleep on bigs who can step out.

What is up with the foul shooting - I thought UConn shook that monkey off its back at end of last year ? It pretty much cost the NEU game and it will hound them again if they can't convert.

But as mt Dad always said a win is a win and this one UConn needed badly - sometimes the first taste of victory can go a long way - this team desperately needed a V

I hope AG is back soon - sometimes these separations are not as bad as they look. I've had kids in slings two days and back on the field in 3-4.

 

[mauconnfan]

My positive takeaway and it probably wont come to fruition - we MAY see a few day reprieve/lessening of "its on KO" from the likes of James, etc.

I think the W is just what the doctor ordered BUT I don't see what UConn has on the floor right now can come close to playing with UNC and others in Maui. I am now convinced that I really overestimated this team. I did LOVE KF's attitude and his desire last night - I want him to be a huge factor this year. I think Vital might be the hidden gem. AS had a better night overall but his defense is questionable at times and falls to sleep on bigs who can step out.

What is up with the foul shooting - I thought UConn shook that monkey off its back at end of last year ? It pretty much cost the NEU game and it will hound them again if they can't convert.

But as mt Dad always said a win is a win and this one UConn needed badly - sometimes the first taste of victory can go a long way - this team desperately needed a V

I hope AG is back soon - sometimes these separations are not as bad as they look. I've had kids in slings two days and back on the field in 3-4.

Not sure we'll get that "great job by the big mans coaches" in the games which AB and KF had will we gtcam? Good call on that one.

FT shooting atrcious, even AB who was very solid looks to have changed something suddenly. Not a good FT shooting team for now.

Outlook is dim for the year with injuries and limitations abundant. But one never knows! LOL

 

[jibsey]

Any chance we have for an upset rests on AB and KF playing out of their mind now. And of course one or two bad fouls called can deep six that. Vance is also going to have to wake up and give us a couple 3's a game. You can't shoot 20% and beat these teams in Maui. Hate injuries but in this scenario I like being underdogs with nothing expected.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I loved the rebounding, and it really picked up when KO was forced to go big and play Larrier at the 3 and Facey at the 4 with Brimah. I don't understand why Ollie didn't see that lineup as being very tough to match up against. I hoped it would be our regular starting lineup. Most teams can't handle that kind of length.

Purvis has to break the ice and make a few 3's eventually. He's too good a shooter to be shooting...what 12%?

FT's were awful again. A strength last year is now a weakness? Brimah looked terrible and was good last year at the line.

Adams is the PG. If he isn't playing PG I don't really want him on the floor. He has no idea what to do as a SG. If Ollie insists on playing Adams with Gilbert (which I don't like) Gilbert needs to be Boatright to Adam's Napier. Vital looks like a nice combo guard who can play well in any role.

The W will hopefully help them, especially because it was hard. I think they read their press clippings and were coasting vs. Wagner. Even after, they didn't believe they could lose to Northeastern. Now they played much harder, and it was barely enough to be a bad team. With Oklahoma State and maybe UNC up next, I think we will see them play the way we thought they could, even if it doesn't yield a W, they will be in the game.

 

[Palatine]

Positives, we scored more than the opponent. But his is not a good basketball team and the thing it lacks most is poise.

 

[upstater]

Free throws were bad early last year too--they improve as the season goes on.

This was essentially the same type of performance we saw in the first two games.

A lot of missed 3s. If Rodney makes even a couple of those, etc., the game is not close.

 

[Husky25]

Free Throws were responsible for both loses and nearly cost them again.

4 things must improve for Uconn to even sniff 20 wins (in this order).

Free Throw %
Perimeter Defense
Offense vs Pressure
Offense vs Zone.

 

[Marat]

Free throws were bad early last year too--they improve as the season goes on.

This was essentially the same type of performance we saw in the first two games.

A lot of missed 3s. If Rodney makes even a couple of those, etc., the game is not close.

Exactly. Also, if a few more front end of the foul shots fall in then we have another 4-5 pts.

And if CV converts those layups on the break or the team sprints back on defense after those misses, the game is out of reach for LMU.

Several ifs, but they can all be corrected.

 

[gtcam]

Not sure we'll get that "great job by the big mans coaches" in the games which AB and KF had will we gtcam? Good call on that one.

FT shooting atrcious, even AB who was very solid looks to have changed something suddenly. Not a good FT shooting team for now.

Outlook is dim for the year with injuries and limitations abundant. But one never knows! LOL

I hear you Mau
The blame game folks are a bit quiet today