Putnam Science vs Brewster Academy Yesterday

[Ricker]

Putnam won by 20ish. All the stars on the court had their moments looking good and looking very average or just fading into the flow of the game. CJ Keyser (Wichita St), Alpha Diallo, Taurean Thompson, for Brewster, and Mamidou Diarra, Hamidou Diallo, and Saul Phiri, for Putnam.

Hamidou is such an athletic stud going to the hoop it makes your jaw drop. When he intends to make such a move you see him gather his intention outside the 3 pt line and literally fly to the hoop. At points in a game this play happens over and over again like when Daniel Hamilton is into a flow defensive rebounding and running.

The problem is that Hamidou and Mamidou miss as many layups as Purvis, Gibbs, and Nolan. Yesterday there was a couple empty possessions after 3-4 point blank put backs. If Mamidou doesn't dunk it there is only a 50% chance the layup is going in. Hamidou makes shots but is more of a scorer than accurate shooter. They both get to the line endlessly and both are capable of making several in a row or missing several from the line. Hamidou has a foul shooting routine that I think contributes to his missing. 5 bounces, spins the ball significantly onto his left nonshooting hand with the ball spinning, (with his primary hand off the ball completely), then goes right into his shooting motion with his right hand finally on the ball about chest high. It's like a golf back swing with 1 hand on the club until you start your downswing.

The good news is the game was tied 35 -35 at half and Hamidou and Mamidou willed the team to win, and will the team to score on particular possessions. The bad news is it was 2 steps forward 1 step back the whole way. Highlight was Hamidou missing a free throw when a Brewster coed lifted her shirt and distracted him. Refs sent her back to the stands before the second shot. Excellent ta tas. Kept one eye on her the rest of the way just in case.

Love these players but don't expect it will end our frustrations with missed layups or free throws.

I did ask the Putnam Science entourage of about 6 persons watching the game if they could clue me in about Zach Brown. They described the post game issue as an altercation that was less than an actual fight and they confirmed it was with the opposing team. They said that Zach was immature and had anger management issues the coach wasn't willing to deal with as a distraction. We all surmised that, so the only added 'fact' I'm adding is that there was no claim by these people he was baited taunted, or justifiably provoked. They said his basketball ability was evident but so was his immaturity. I tried to get them to tell me if the Putnam players liked him or were turned off, but the only feed back I got was that he was at Putnam such a short time they didn't really observe enough to comment.

Not much this time but for what it is worth.

P.S. Don't ask me for the girl's name unless cash is up front.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Thanks for the detailed report!

 

[raf46]

Putnam won by 20ish. All the stars on the court had their moments looking good and looking very average or just fading into the flow of the game. CJ Keyser (Wichita St), Alpha Diallo, Taurean Thompson, for Brewster, and Mamidou Diarra, Hamidou Diallo, and Saul Phiri, for Putnam.

Hamidou is such an athletic stud going to the hoop it makes your jaw drop. When he intends to make such a move you see him gather his intention outside the 3 pt line and literally fly to the hoop. At points in a game this play happens over and over again like when Daniel Hamilton is into a flow defensive rebounding and running.

The problem is that Hamidou and Mamidou miss as many layups as Purvis, Gibbs, and Nolan. Yesterday there was a couple empty possessions after 3-4 point blank put backs. If Mamidou doesn't dunk it there is only a 50% chance the layup is going in. Hamidou makes shots but is more of a scorer than accurate shooter. They both get to the line endlessly and both are capable of making several in a row or missing several from the line. Hamidou has a foul shooting routine that I think contributes to his missing. 5 bounces, spins the ball significantly onto his left nonshooting hand with the ball spinning, (with his primary hand off the ball completely), then goes right into his shooting motion with his right hand finally on the ball about chest high. It's like a golf back swing with 1 hand on the club until you start your downswing.

The good news is the game was tied 35 -35 at half and Hamidou and Mamidou willed the team to win, and will the team to score on particular possessions. The bad news is it was 2 steps forward 1 step back the whole way. Highlight was Hamidou missing a free throw when a Brewster coed lifted her shirt and distracted him. Refs sent her back to the stands before the second shot. Excellent ta tas. Kept one eye on her the rest of the way just in case.

Love these players but don't expect it will end our frustrations with missed layups or free throws.

I did ask the Putnam Science entourage of about 6 persons watching the game if they could clue me in about Zach Brown. They described the post game issue as an altercation that was less than an actual fight and they confirmed it was with the opposing team. They said that Zach was immature and had anger management issues the coach wasn't willing to deal with as a distraction. We all surmised that, so the only added 'fact' I'm adding is that there was no claim by these people he was baited taunted, or justifiably provoked. They said his basketball ability was evident but so was his immaturity. I tried to get them to tell me if the Putnam players liked him or were turned off, but the only feed back I got was that he was at Putnam such a short time they didn't really observe enough to comment.

Not much this time but for what it is worth.

P.S. Don't ask me for the girl's name unless cash is up front.

thanks for the report. With Brown's background, anger management is not a surprise. A strong male role model is what he needs. AKA Jim Calhoun, John Thompson. Hope the feeling of family and brothers at UCONN helps him grow as a person. Also as a player, which would be great for us.

 

[Gringo]

Highlight was Hamidou missing a free throw when a Brewster coed lifted her shirt and distracted him. Refs sent her back to the stands before the second shot. Excellent ta tas. Kept one eye on her the rest of the way just in case.

Bra or no bra?

 

[Ricker]

Bra or no bra?

Unfortunately, she was only asked to go back to her seat. My guess is if Hamidou had made the first instead of missing, she would have experimented further

 

[UCweCONN]

Bra or no bra?

Applications to Brewster Academy just doubled.

 

[IQ Matters]

Well put ... Mamidou and Hamidou are incredibly talented athletes as are the overall UConn and PSA squads. However, both teams will continue to fall short until either coaching staff can convince the "incredible athletes" to play smart, unselfish and recognize the obvious benefits of kicking the ball out to an actual "accurate shooter." The current reality on both counts numbs the mind.

 

[RichZ]

Love these players but don't expect it will end our frustrations with missed layups or free throws.

Missed layups, yes. But who is frustrated with 78% from the line as a team?

We lead the conference in FT%. Our problem isn't missing FTs, it's getting to the line in the first place. In the AAC, only Temple has shot fewer FTs than UConn. Memphis, for instance, is almost 5 percentage points behind us in FT shooting, but has made more (532) than we have attempted (464)!

Rodney is the favorite Boneyard whipping boy for being a liability at the line, but that was only valid prior to the exam break in the schedule (Mid-December). Since the first of the year, he is at 72.2%. Like the team in general, his problem is getting to the line. For someone who drives frequently, and always with seemingly reckless abandon, he has not attempted single a free throw in the last four games!

 

[IQ Matters]

Refs won't bail out players who chose the lower percentage option of mindlessly and repeatedly driving to the rim with "reckless abandon" and shooting 40% when on the wing stands alone a 60% 3 point shooter ... it's obvious and simple ... hence, the problem with getting to the rim.

 

[Matrim55]

For someone who drives frequently, and always with seemingly reckless abandon, he has not attempted single a free throw in the last four games!

It really is incredible how much he shies from contact when he's going up. Instead of elevating and making himself big, he sort of curls away from the defender.

If you want to draw fouls on your drives, you have to extend to and through the defender's arms. Jalen is (so far) very promising at this, while Rodney, Sterling & DHam are almost tragically bad.

Worth noting that Larrier was pretty good at this as a freshman at VCU. Haven't seen enough of Gilbert or Jackson to say on them, though.

 

[Jaybo]

Was she at least 18?

 

[Chief00]

It really is incredible how much he shies from contact when he's going up. Instead of elevating and making himself big, he sort of curls away from the defender.

If you want to draw fouls on your drives, you have to extend to and through the defender's arms. Jalen is (so far) very promising at this, while Rodney, Sterling & DHam are almost tragically bad.

Worth noting that Larrier was pretty good at this as a freshman at VCU. Haven't seen enough of Gilbert or Jackson to say on them, though.

One of Rodney's issues is no left hand - making his shot often easy to block or to overplay him.