Report Card vs St Bonaventure

[gtcam]

Cole, and Gaff are overrated here
Cole has been "the man" many times this year for sure but not sure there was any "the man" this game even though he did have some timely buckets - but so didn't Polley, Hawk and Akok. Based on his ball handling abilities, Cole is indispensable at this time.
All players had great moments and bad moments
It was a total team effort
This was AJ's best game to date in many areas. The kid can sky and pulled down 3 huge rebounds. If he can keep his focus and his head in the game he can be a very good player. I wish he would take those open shots.
Akok hit the 3's he was given and did pull down some rebounds and had some blocks - played bad man to man D but when he was able to freelance on D he was good - his best game by far and I hope he continues
The Hawk looked like a freshman in the 1st half but looked like the kid Ive been watching for 2 1/2 years in the second. He needs to get stronger on his drives to the hoop and regain the confidence in handling the ball - love that shooting form
Whaley got screwed by the refs but again proved to be the best defender and hustler on the court -he has to play maximum minutes
Gaff was up and down and I don't get why Sool is still bolted to the bench
Martin has to return soon
It was a very good win for a team down 2 starters and I think it will be a confidence booster going forward
Good job UConn

 

[SoFla Steve]

Yes but the NET is a static metric and I'd be shocked if they're not top 50 by the end of the season. They're a really good team and should dominate the A10

Absolutely, this could turn into a Quad 1 win.

 

[husky429]

What am I missing? i did not think Cole was very good in the 2nd half. UCONN went on their run when he was out and Gaffney and Hawkins were in. No idea why Hurley stopped the momentum by taking Gaffney out and putting Cole back in, but that was when SBU clawed their way back into the game cutting the lead to 5.

I also thought Jackson and Akok were good too...

Cole went back in when we had lost our momentum with Gaff/Hawkins. It was well coached.

I'm as critical as anyone of Hurley, but he coached well today.

 

[UCFan1513]

Someone with a good eye - what specific offensive and/or defensive adjustments did the staff make in the second half? Agree with the good clock management and lineup management, but wondering about the Xs and Os?

 

[RichZ]

i thought akok and jackson both did better than 7.5 -- jackson was arguably our best player for stretches, passing, rebouding, and getting to the hoop with consistency.

Jackson was a nonentity the first half. Came alive in the 2nd half.

 

[SixRings]

I’ve always thought Hurley has been a decent coach and I love his recruiting and passion at game time. I did not like that he put up with 4 threes with ~7 minutes left and holding onto a slim lead. Thought Hawkins should’ve been in there instead of Polley. But Polley finally hit that dagger so wadafu do I know.
I really liked Akok today. Thought he singularly changed the game with both O and D. Cole didn’t shot well today but he was 100% our glue. This team blows dyck without him. AJ would be so great with a decent shot but it’s not there. He brings his worth on rebounds where he is Fantastic and under appreciated on what that gives us. Hawkins started off slow. Got some shots to go which saved his day. He made a difference in the second half but his handle needs work. He’ll get there. Whaley was great as usual. Gaff meh. Good win. Thought we got some bs calls that helped seal it. Could’ve been closer. I’ll gladly take them.

 

[elmcityboy]

Cole was huge. The shooting splits don’t do his performance justice - he had to force so many at the end of the clock.

Akok and Jackson were equal though, definitely better than 7.5

Whaley’s hedging is a highlight of every game, fully agree on that.

#thereturnofdaggertreyty

yeah, it's a good point from OP. whaley makes the hedge look so easy. he goes in with bad intentions and often times just rips the ball away from the ballhandler. it's unbelievable to watch.

 

[elmcityboy]

Jackson was a nonentity the first half. Came alive in the 2nd half.

he had 5, 6, and 2 in the first half.

 

[jibsey]

Jackson 11rb/9pts/5 assts. Great game.

 

[sdb1989]

Akok deserves a higher grade. He was a difference maker today

 

[Okafour rings]

I didn't say he was the best but he was keeping us in there. It didn't look like his worst as 3 of those 10 missed shots came from the line. You said he didn't do anything good in the game and I said he he did. 3 Pt. shooting was off so he was 4-8 going to the basket and 3 of those misses he shot free throws. I call that being pretty efficient in scoring one way or another FT Line. He was also our leading scorer with 15 points too.

Say what? When a player is fouled while shooting, that missed FG is not included as an attempt. It's only included if it's a made shot.

I was surprised to see his stats as it seemed like he had shot better than that during the game.

 

[alphasigko]

Huh? He drove the ball to the basket and scored or got fouled. He made some tough baskets keeping them in the game until we pulled away in the second half.

And he missed a number of finishes at the rim when he got thru w/o any resistance.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Whaley's effectiveness was checked by two questionable fouls called on him. Kept the game a bit closer for a while.

The Bonnies evened things out by committing 3 fouls that felt like 'bailouts' when at 6 minutes remaining, the team started taking deep shots too early in the clock...which is one of the hallmarks of how we haven't protected leads or closed games out.


Made 5 of final 6 free throws.
Committed only 8 Turnovers.
Schmidt called helpful timeouts while Danny banked UConn's during the tense quick-shot period. It worked out.

 

[AdamaNation]

R. Cole- 9.0: Where would we be without him. As Hurley put it, he’s our man!
A. Jackson- 7.5: has become increasingly aggressive on both boards as the season has progressed. Arguably his best game yet. Finding his do’s and don’ts on offense.
A. Akok- 7.5: Slowly but surely, we’re seeing him climb back to his 100% self. People must be forgetting how good of a shot blocker he once was if they think he’s all the way back. He still has a little ways to go, but it’s apparent, he’s going to get there.
I. Whaley- 7.5: Obsessed with his on screen defense. We’ll never see anything like it again. Fouls kept him from having a great great game.
J. Gaffney- 7.0: he’s repeatedly gotten us out of offensive lulls when we’ve needed it the most. Needs to get back to knocking down his 3s.
T. Polley- 7.0: Still on the cold side. That dagger 3 sure felt spicy though.
J. Hawkins- 7.0: the reason why we didn’t pull away in the first half, and the reason why we pulled away in the 2nd. He needs to put R.J Cole on his Xmas list for keeping the game in hand.

Player of the Match- R. Cole: First time I’ve found myself saying “LEAGUE THIS KID”
Notes- I was part of the “this is a must win game” crowd. Can’t go into a whole week break with 2 game losing juju.
-Hurley coached a fantastic game

Hurley was subbing quite well today. My only issue. And it is only one , was not putting Whaley in for d in the second during a Bonnie’s surge that let OO go strong right on Akok for the s ore. That’s all.

 

[3rdbass]

Say what? When a player is fouled while shooting, that missed FG is not included as an attempt. It's only included if it's a made shot.

I was surprised to see his stats as it seemed like he had shot better than that during the game.

Yes, I messed up on that. For some reason I thought college changed how they count FGA. My bad but my main point still holds. Plus Cole hit the big shot when St. Bonaventure cut the lead to 5. He got fouled and hit a big FG and 1.

 

[Stinger92860]

I didn't say he was the best but he was keeping us in there. It didn't look like his worst as 3 of those 10 missed shots came from the line. You said he didn't do anything good in the game and I said he he did. 3 Pt. shooting was off so he was 4-8 going to the basket and 3 of those misses he shot free throws. I call that being pretty efficient in scoring one way or another FT Line. He was also our leading scorer with 15 points too.

Players can shoot poorly but still play well. Two different metrics. Cole played very well yesterday. And I was happy to see Gaffney dribble face up more often, it led to the and one we needed late in the game.

 

[navery12]

Hurley was subbing quite well today. My only issue. And it is only one , was not putting Whaley in for d in the second during a Bonnie’s surge that let OO go strong right on Akok for the s ore. That’s all.

He had 4 fouls so I don't have an issue with him not being in at that point. Especially with how quick they were calling fouls on him for nothing

 

[AdamaNation]

He had 4 fouls so I don't have an issue with him not being in at that point. Especially with how quick they were calling fouls on him for nothing

I thought he was still in 3. M’bad

 

[businesslawyer]

5-15 for the game. 1-7 from 3. 4-6 from the line.

UConn pulled away while he was on bench.

Cole has been much better than I expected this year and I've admitted to eating some crow. Tonight wasn't one of his better performances.

Disagree. He had a very strong game. His shooting percentage will go down when we’re playing without Sanogo and Martin because he’s the only guy out there other than Polley and Hawkins who is willing to take a low percentage shot to avoid a shot clock violation. But his leadership and decision making, not to mention his defense, have been outstanding all year

 

[dennismenace]

Disagree. He had a very strong game. His shooting percentage will go down when we’re playing without Sanogo and Martin because he’s the only guy out there other than Polley and Hawkins who is willing to take a low percentage shot to avoid a shot clock violation. But his leadership and decision making, not to mention his defense, have been outstanding all year

And he is really the only one who can effectively break full court presses with ballhandling which is scary unless we get Diggins some minutes. We would be totally lost without him (Cole). I recall many being worried during recruiting that we need another guard/ballhandler. We have a lot of height so we can at times pass over it but that remains something which must be addressed sooner or later.

 

[Umami Zen]

Was encouraged by an uptick in winning 50/50 balls.. Good sign for defensive focus/energy.

Cole had a solid floor game as did JG/AJ.. Ball was moving well and with intention.

 

[Stinger92860]

Someone with a good eye - what specific offensive and/or defensive adjustments did the staff make in the second half? Agree with the good clock management and lineup management, but wondering about the Xs and Os?

Remember that inbounds play from half court In the 2nd half. Gaffney to ?Akok? And back to Gaff for the layup. The Bonnie’s were pushing in the back court, great call.

 

[Waquoit]

I also think Ajax had one of his best games

He seems fully integrated already.

 

[Waquoit]

Akok deserves a higher grade. He was a difference maker today

And I think he's going to move forward off of this effort.

 

[Storrs South]

Disagree. He had a very strong game. His shooting percentage will go down when we’re playing without Sanogo and Martin because he’s the only guy out there other than Polley and Hawkins who is willing to take a low percentage shot to avoid a shot clock violation. But his leadership and decision making, not to mention his defense, have been outstanding all year

I want to add that being 3 rows off the court, you see up close our guys were so intense getting after the Bonnies on defense. Cole very much included in that group. Him, Andre, and Whaley really stuck out as being suffocating on the perimeter defensively. It was a joy to watch. At one point Andre made it impossible for SBU to get it to their 2 guard on the perimeter, complete ball denial.