Pros, Cons, Conclusions vs. Buffalo | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Pros, Cons, Conclusions vs. Buffalo

Brandon86 said:
As he should have. I was yelling at the TV. That was a shellfish play. Lesson learned that shouldn’t have to be taught.
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Marine Life Shellfish GIF
 
shizzle787 said:
Watching in person, Newton does his work quietly. I looked up at halftime and realized he had 12, 7, and 5. Would have never guessed.
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Agree. Me as well. Was sitting close to the floor and still didn’t see the whole package of Fig Newtons.
 
UConnSwag11 said:
Only cons are that our bigs put the ball down below their waist when catching it and when they're surrounded they never kick it out. They try to go right back up,

Also, is there a reason why Sanogo doesn't dunk? Is he unable to?

Edit: Sorry for the confusion. Yes, he dunks a few times a game. He lays it up much more than he dunks. Lower percentage shot
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adama has top shelf, soft shooting hands. the best! he flicks it, shoots it, hooks it, taps it, and all the rest with a gentle touch. of course it was only a matter of time until he extended his range. great paws ...

...worth protecting. many ballers who can easily dunk won't do it as often as it looks like they should, cuz they remember, and don't want to screw up a hand, short or long term, by whacking it again on the iron. it hurts when that happens.
the other minority of dunkers are complete opposite. they don't care, or have kevlar coated mitts, and want to rip the thing down every time, even if they bleed afterward. they go in knowing the possibility and don't care. i am constantly amazed by mechanics who do a job knowing the chances of a knucklebuster are high. much respect.
go ahead. misjudge ever so slightly on sticking the dunk, and u can have a sore wrist for a quarter, or a week. a couple of mishits where the iron crosses your palm unexpectedly, followed by the dreaded wrist direct whack? yeah, ur thru with that shot for the day.
i don't know why adama doesn't crush more, and im not asking him to, but i do know that more than a few avoid those potential stingers like the plague.
the winning dna for dunkers, or any baller for that matter, has a bigger hand with long fingers. then, owning the ball with grip allows them to more place it, including last second change of location, rather than just smashing it with no ability to change its direction. we're talking very small distances here, like an inch or two, on last minute change of plans. even the simplest straight up and down requires practice to do it instinctively for most. adama is not 'chocolate thunder.' you may plan one thing on the rise, then get an unexpected bump from a defender, and in a heartbeat, plan a goes out the window. if it were easy, every 6-5er and up would do it. many don't, can't or won't.
 
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jibsey said:
We’re not a good shooting team especially from 3. That could change if Hawkins returns. Joey C. Is going to get a lot of minutes because he can actually shoot.
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He's a nice weapon to have off the bench because of his shooting but I think his minutes will be dependent on who we're playing. There just won't be big minutes when we're at full strength.
 
Thought the defense was good. Buff had their runs but they are supposed to be a very fast offense and it took a late surge for them to get to 64

Very impressed by Alleyne’s tanacity. He will guard any one, any size, any time.
 
Mister P said:
Con… third game in a row where there was a UConn player ahead of the ball handler in the offensive zone where the ball was not passed to the open man ahead of him for a uncontested layup. Saw the frustration on Hurley’s face after Sanogo did that and missed the dunk. I’m positive this will be addressed by the coaches.
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To me, it looked like he was trying to give it up for Tristen to get the rebound.
 
In the post game radio show, they kept talking about how Karaban had the highest +/- on the team with +28. Guy just does a lot of things even when he isn't shooting particularly well. Seems to have a high bball IQ.
 
Once AK, Alleyene and Newton (hopefully) all start shooting better, we’re gonna be really, really good.

Joey C shut me up in the chat and hit some big shots, but boy, like some others already mentioned, he is a BAD defender. Not sure how much Hurley will be able to put up with on that front.

Adama had one of those games he has every so often where becomes a black hole, doesn’t think to pass, and just doesn’t help that much overall. He’ll be fine, but I have to wonder after all this time on campus how the coaching staff still hasn’t taught him to kick out after being denied on moves A,B,C. Maybe they have and he’s just stubborn, but it’s time to learn.

Newton lives at the line, had an amazing overall game as well. It is a bit worrisome how often he falls hard on drives though, can’t afford to lose him, especially if Diarra plays the way he did tonight.

DC and AK, not much more needs to be said. Hugely impactful players and only going to improve. Clingan could learn a thing or two from Adama about taking his time in the post, not rushing his shots. AK will start to shoot better, and when he does it’s gonna be tough to keep him off the floor.

Good win, no wins really come without flaws. Also wanted to mention the press break did not look very good, back to the drawing board on that one Coach.
 
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storrsroars said:
OMG, our 5th guard isn't a completely well-rounded player! What was Hurley thinking?
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He’s actually much better than I expected as a ball handler and defender. I had low expectations. He may not break anyone down but he doesn’t dribble the ball off his feet either. He communicates well on defense and does well positionally.
 
storrsroars said:
OMG, our 5th guard isn't a completely well-rounded player! What was Hurley thinking?
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People seem to forget that Hawkins played lousy defense at the beginning of last season...he got better as the year went on. Give it a rest about Joey C. and his defense.
 
Ya, it is ok. Just one of those early-season games we will (likely) soon forget against a poor team. No cause for concern but nothing to be over the moon about either. Would it have been nice to win a little more convincingly, by 30 for example, sure. But nothing to lose sleep about.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Alleyne. Had a bad shooting night
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It's kind of insane to me that Alleyne shot nearly 40% from three before he got here. That shot is... Not good. His footwork is almost never the same shot to shot. His elbow is not at all where you would teach it to be and he sometimes twists his body completely sideways when shooting. Very strange shot for someone with such a good percentage.
All that matters is it goes in.
 
I thought we played poorly, but ended up winning by 20 down 2 starters. That’s a good feeling.

I’m interested to see rotations when Jackson and Hawkins get back. Would prefer that to be gelling two games before the PK Tournament.
 
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Alright y’all I’ve had a night to sleep on it and I think I was too critical in my conclusion.

Missing 3 starters, played the worst first half of the season, still won by 20. That’s a solid game no matter how many shots didn’t fall.
 
Verne said:
It's kind of insane to me that Alleyne shot nearly 40% from three before he got here. That shot is... Not good. His footwork is almost never the same shot to shot. His elbow is not at all where you would teach it to be and he sometimes twists his body completely sideways when shooting. Very strange shot for someone with such a good percentage.
All that matters is it goes in.
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His shot is really, really ugly. I wonder if his form looked this bad last year when he was hitting threes at 40%.
 
Letsgohuskies11 said:
In the post game radio show, they kept talking about how Karaban had the highest +/- on the team with +28. Guy just does a lot of things even when he isn't shooting particularly well. Seems to have a high bball IQ.
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I'd like to see them get Alex more shots. He needs double digit attempts.
 
superjohn said:
He's great. We were certainly better with him on the court tonight than with Sanogo on the court. Going into the season I don't think anyone thought he would be this good and would ever be the better option on the court than our star big man in any game.
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The only question with Clingan, and some of the others, is whether it translates to better opponents.

He has the size, hands, and footwork, but will he be neutralized by better athletes? Same with guys like Calcaterra.
 
UCSouth said:
People seem to forget that Hawkins played lousy defense at the beginning of last season...he got better as the year went on. Give it a rest about Joey C. and his defense.
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The difference is that with Hawkins, he had to learn and adjust to this level (and stop being muscled around). Joey C is a 5th year guy who has the mental aspect down, it's a question of athleticism, which can maybe be compensated for a little, but can't be taught.
 
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Tenspro2002 said:
The difference is that with Hawkins, he had to learn and adjust to this level (and stop being muscled around). Joey C is a 5th year guy who has the mental aspect down, it's a question of athleticism, which can maybe be compensated for a little, but can't be taught.
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Joey C had a catch and shoot off a screen that was very quick release. He could do that against almost anyone if he’s fed right.
 
imno1 said:
I'd like to see them get Alex more shots. He needs double digit attempts.
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Nah. His real value is in doing everything else (passing, taking care of the ball, disruption on D, spacing the court). He's not an elite scorer yet, but he's elite for his age and position at some of those other things. 6-8 shots a game with 4 of them from 3 seems about right to me.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Pro #3. Clingan had a rebound in the second half basically without jumping and grabbed it away from Buffalo players and got the put back. Lappas, on the commentary, had an off the cuff, completely impromptu, "wow" comment. It's a comment a coach makes when they are watching all sorts of plays and someone just stands out above and beyond. That same type of comment happened several times during AJax's freshman year when he would just make a play you can't coach and you can't gameplan against. It's just one player being better than everyone else on the floor and coaches notice those types of things.
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I hate to have the captain obvious post, but we are gonna love that kid. Lapis also commented about how Clingan was keeping the ball high. That’s a small, incremental, improvement that makes a huge difference in his game. I think watching Donovan improve and grow is going to be one of the huge pleasures of being a UConn fan. He is smart, a hard worker and, obviously, incredibly physically gifted.
 
My 2 cents so far:
I'm thrilled that everyone seems to see Alex's intangibles
Alex is 7-11 FT so far - I expect that to become 9-11 in the future
Alex is 4-14 from 3 so far - I consider that a starting slump that will be 6-14
I'm not surprised by Donovan's effectiveness, but I am happily surprised by his lack of fouling
I thought Donovan would be limited this year by foul trouble that to his credit, he has avoided
Low # of fouls = More productive minutes = Results we are seeing

When we were closing out the game I hated our entry passes into the corners where Newton was trapped.
He dealt with it but I think we need better execution there. I would think a high entry pass to Clingan could be a strategy where he could keep the ball high and turn and distribute to a guard. If he is fouled it is better than a backcourt turnover. He has experience being swarmed and should stay poised.
 
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