Pummel the Pirates Game Thread

[UConnDan97]

You can’t get any rhythm or confidence with 3 minutes here, two minutes there, when you’re a shooter who never sees the ball because of hero ball by the big 3. Adams, Vital and Larrier would actually get themselves easier shots if the defense had to worry about them passing.

You can't complain about rhythm when you play a quarter of the game and put up a stat line of 2 points and 2 boards, whereby the majority of that happened in the last 10 seconds of the game...

 

[Doctor Hoop]

You can't complain about rhythm when you play a quarter of the game and put up a stat line of 2 points and 2 boards, whereby the majority of that happened in the last 10 seconds of the game...

You miss the point. He doesn’t see the ball unless he rebounds it. Our top 3 look for their own shot as first, second and 3rd option. And a quarter of the game for a freshman in 3 or 4 two-to-three minute stretches doesn’t work unless you’re John Gwynn.

 

[mauconnfan]

My headline: Inept Huskies Hold Off Hapless ECU, 70-65

Wow the creativity in this screams 1-2 hours of thought.

 

[UConnDan97]

You miss the point. He doesn’t see the ball unless he rebounds it. Our top 3 look for their own shot as first, second and 3rd option. And a quarter of the game for a freshman in 3 or 4 two-to-three minute stretches doesn’t work unless you’re John Gwynn.

I'm not missing the point at all.

Do Adams, Larrier, and Vital need to pass more? Yes. But you can't tell me that there aren't shots out there to be made. Anderson seems to find plenty of shots to miss every game, so they are coming from somewhere.

As for the rebounding portion; yes, he has to rebound to increase his shots. He's a forward. They're supposed to rebound...

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Anderson is one of only 3 guards, of course he handles the ball, and therefore can find shots. Plus he gets 25-30 minutes per game.

Sure Polley could be more active when his feet see the hardwood. But a) he’s a freshman, and b) he clearly was relegated for something and is just now seeing a little bit more floor time. But the kid has a nice shooting stroke and needs more shots, especially with our current group of outside threats. 2 for 16? He couldn’t be worse.

 

[UConnDan97]

Sure Polley could be more active when his feet see the hardwood. But a) he’s a freshman...

What do you want me to say? Yes, he can be more active and he's a freshman. He got plenty of playing time commensurate with his performance in that playing time. Whaley is a freshman too, and got 7 boards as a forward.

Polley has tremendous upside and I'm confident he's going to be a very good player for us. But when you're in a game thread criticising Ollie for not playing a kid and bragging about how right you are, it helps to know that the coach actually gave him more court time than you thought and perhaps even more than he earned today.

Sometimes it's actually NOT Ollie's fault. Imagine that...

 

[joober jones]

Wow the creativity in this screams 1-2 hours of thought.

At least Hapless Huskies and Putrid Pirates would have scored some points for alliteration.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

What do you want me to say? Yes, he can be more active and he's a freshman. He got plenty of playing time commensurate with his performance in that playing time. Whaley is a freshman too, and got 7 boards as a forward.

Polley has tremendous upside and I'm confident he's going to be a very good player for us. But when you're in a game thread criticising Ollie for not playing a kid and bragging about how right you are, it helps to know that the coach actually gave him more court time than you thought and perhaps even more than he earned today.

Sometimes it's actually NOT Ollie's fault. Imagine that...

You must have me mistaken for someone else, someone who blames Ollie for everything.

Sure, he got 10 minutes against ECU. And 1 against Tulsa, 4 against WSU, 5 against Auburn, in a freaking blowout, 3 against Arizona. That’s 13 minutes in 4 games, 3+ minutes per game. Before that? 8 against Coppin State, during which he scored 5 points and grabbed two rebounds. All I said was he’s in the doghouse. And clearly he was.

 

[August_West]

You miss the point. He doesn’t see the ball unless he rebounds it. Our top 3 look for their own shot as first, second and 3rd option. And a quarter of the game for a freshman in 3 or 4 two-to-three minute stretches doesn’t work unless you’re John Gwynn.

Polley started games early this year. There is a reason he doesn't see much floor now. He has been abysmal. He is shooting worse than Anderson and that shouldn't be possible.

I don't want him trying to shoot his way out of this or getting bigger minutes. He's going to have to do this one good play at a time in limited minutes to prove himself.

 

[mauconnfan]

Polley started games early this year. There is a reason he doesn't see much floor now. He has been abysmal. He is shooting worse than Anderson and that shouldn't be possible.

I don't want him trying to shoot his way out of this or getting bigger minutes. He's going to have to do this one good play at a time in limited minutes to prove himself.

It's hard to tell on him, I like his potential but yeah he has to show it when given opportunities. At the same time he seems to have that old "JC quick hook" with Kevin that others don't. One mental or physical error he's ousted immediately while other have rope. That's tough on a kid depending on their mental being and could hold him back from just going out there and playing. Yesterday he got a long pass from Anderson and had a full lane to the basket but elected to take an 18 footer. He should have gone hard to the hole looking to make or get to the line. He has a ways to go I hope he's patient with the staff and himself and stays put. He would be a real nice 4 year piece I have no doubt.

 

[August_West]

It's hard to tell on him, I like his potential but yeah he has to show it when given opportunities. At the same time he seems to have that old "JC quick hook" with Kevin that others don't. One mental or physical error he's ousted immediately while other have rope. That's tough on a kid depending on their mental being and could hold him back from just going out there and playing. Yesterday he got a long pass from Anderson and had a full lane to the basket but elected to take an 18 footer. He should have gone hard to the hole looking to make or get to the line. He has a ways to go I hope he's patient with the staff and himself and stays put. He would be a real nice 4 year piece I have no doubt.

Others don't have rope though. Only larrier and Adams do. Every other player on team including vital has spent time in quick hook doghouse at some point this season

 

[mauconnfan]

Others don't have rope though. Only larrier and Adams do. Every other player on team including vital has spent time in quick hook doghouse at some point this season

True. Wish we had some players to make it easier for KO to yank the superstars when deserved. I have noticed the one guy in the last 2 games who seems to have rec'd a couple more feet of rope is Whaley, good for him he's earned a little more trust.

 

[August_West]

True. Wish we had some players to make it easier for KO to yank the superstars when deserved. I have noticed the one guy in the last 2 games who seems to have rec'd a couple more feet of rope is Whaley, good for him he's earned a little more trust.

Yup. He did. He worked his way back . Let's hope polley can. I love his upside too, but he's in a tougher spot because of his position. His minutes come at the expense of larrier and vital. His handle not good enough to spell guards and no physical presence to spell bigs. And with his poor shooting right now we can't be taking minutes from larrier and vital even with their errors. Polley just needs to be solid when called on and he can grab a bit back. But in no way can we give him a larrier or Adams type leash or even 1/2 of one with this current team makeup.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

It's hard to tell on him, I like his potential but yeah he has to show it when given opportunities. At the same time he seems to have that old "JC quick hook" with Kevin that others don't. One mental or physical error he's ousted immediately while other have rope. That's tough on a kid depending on their mental being and could hold him back from just going out there and playing. Yesterday he got a long pass from Anderson and had a full lane to the basket but elected to take an 18 footer. He should have gone hard to the hole looking to make or get to the line. He has a ways to go I hope he's patient with the staff and himself and stays put. He would be a real nice 4 year piece I have no doubt.

I think where I am, particularly with a team with so many new players, is I believe early on you have to identify players with potential and skills you can use, and then let those players develop to build the team you want down the road.

I disagreed with a lot of the yard in the preseason, who wanted Whaley buried as last man off the bench. Whaley is now a key guy. I disagree with many on Polley. I see a lot of potential, particularly for a team with no great shooters (2/16?!!). With his length he can get his shot off like Jackson last year. Like Jackson he didn’t light it up early on, but the shooting motion is better than Adams or Vital, and his shot trajectory is better than Larrier’s flat shot. And he has a better handle than Larrier. We need guys who can shoot 3’s. Here’s one that we should be developing.

 

[notthestuff]

Yup. He did. He worked his way back . Let's hope polley can. I love his upside too, but he's in a tougher spot because of his position. His minutes come at the expense of larrier and vital. His handle not good enough to spell guards and no physical presence to spell bigs. And with his poor shooting right now we can't be taking minutes from larrier and vital even with their errors. Polley just needs to be solid when called on and he can grab a bit back. But in no way can we give him a larrier or Adams type leash or even 1/2 of one with this current team makeup.

I think your still just holding onto your anger at Polley from the Syracuse game...

The coaching staff needs to figure out how to get him some confidence because there is offensive upside that this team could use even in limited minutes. But yeah, he certainly shouldn't have a long leash.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Shouldn’t be in that spot to begin with


Rewatch it it bounced right at him. But you can praise him all you want.

Yeah, I just rewatched it. The shot went up and he did his job first boxing out the big he was guarding, then moved to the ball. He grabbed the ball up high, two hands, surrounded by 3 ECU players, then held it tight getting fouled. I stand by my assessment.

 

[UConnDan97]

You must have me mistaken for someone else, someone who blames Ollie for everything.

Sure, he got 10 minutes against ECU. And 1 against Tulsa, 4 against WSU, 5 against Auburn, in a freaking blowout, 3 against Arizona. That’s 13 minutes in 4 games, 3+ minutes per game. Before that? 8 against Coppin State, during which he scored 5 points and grabbed two rebounds. All I said was he’s in the doghouse. And clearly he was.

I guess we're differing in the definition of a doghouse. When I use the word doghouse, I'm implying that a coach has an issue with a player, most often times of the behavioral variety.

Being nailed to the bench is different than being in the doghouse. But now that I'm understanding what you mean by that, I will still say that there is only one way that a forward can get off that bench at UConn. He's gotta bring more activity, as even you have mentioned.

Remember all that praise that Ollie heaped on Williams two games ago? Well even though he grabbed 3 boards and scored 3 points yesterday, he only got 9 minutes of burn (1 minute less than Polley) because he missed two box outs.

I believe in Polley. I think he has tremendous upside. But the activity has to be there...

 

[Paesano]

After yesterdays stellar performance, our Sagarin rating degraded to 116. Last year on this date, their ranking was 101. But they are young. There, I said it for you. But they are 116 and FALLING. THAT is alarming. Two weeks ago they were 95th. Four weeks ago they were 89th. A young team can start out bad but they should improve faster than the average team and this team isn't.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I guess we're differing in the definition of a doghouse. When I use the word doghouse, I'm implying that a coach has an issue with a player, most often times of the behavioral variety.

Being nailed to the bench is different than being in the doghouse. But now that I'm understanding what you mean by that, I will still say that there is only one way that a forward can get off that bench at UConn. He's gotta bring more activity, as even you have mentioned.

Remember all that praise that Ollie heaped on Williams two games ago? Well even though he grabbed 3 boards and scored 3 points yesterday, he only got 9 minutes of burn (1 minute less than Polley) because he missed two box outs.

I believe in Polley. I think he has tremendous upside. But the activity has to be there...

I’m with you there. I just think that you have to give freshmen with potential a little more court time if you want them to be contributors later. He makes some mistakes, but it’s not like our “stars” don’t.

 

[UConnDan97]

I’m with you there. I just think that you have to give freshmen with potential a little more court time if you want them to be contributors later. He makes some mistakes, but it’s not like our “stars” don’t.

While I agree with that, I think that Polley's minutes are being dropped in favor of Whaley and Diarra. And at this point in the season, I would say rightfully so. They played a combined 37 minutes (46 minutes when including Williams) for a combined 9 points 9 rebounds 3 blocks (12 points 12 rebounds with Williams).

Part of that is the large amount of three guard ball that we play where Larrier becomes the 4. But the other part is that the other forwards are giving us moderate production. Still, I'm with you that perhaps the 4 minutes that DO got could have gone to Polley, or maybe slightly less of the smaller lineup...

 

[Doctor Hoop]

While I agree with that, I think that Polley's minutes are being dropped in favor of Whaley and Diarra. And at this point in the season, I would say rightfully so. They played a combined 37 minutes (46 minutes when including Williams) for a combined 9 points 9 rebounds 3 blocks (12 points 12 rebounds with Williams).

Part of that is the large amount of three guard ball that we play where Larrier becomes the 4. But the other part is that the other forwards are giving us moderate production. Still, I'm with you that perhaps the 4 minutes that DO got could have gone to Polley, or maybe slightly less of the smaller lineup...

Ollie says he wants to see more minutes for Polley - we will see what happens. He hit the clutch free throws at the end to ice the game, Larrier didn’t. I think you’re right that the others have earned more time, particularly Whaley, but none of them have shooting range, whereas I think Polley does.

And I’m not a fan of the three guard lineup at all. We only have three guards, and one of them (all three really) is erratic at best as an outside threat. One of our few advantages is wing length. So use it!

 

[August_West]

I think your still just holding onto your anger at Polley from the Syracuse game

I blame Polley for that loss.