Rhode Island Post Game Thread

[Scrutineer]

He was also a great athlete. That doesn't hurt.

Yes, but so is Samson. I was writing determination but only deter showed up. Rodman was relentless and determined and knew the angles. Johnson doesn't have the experience Rodman had and may not be relentness enough to get position and do whatever he needs to do to block out and get the rebounds.

 

[Scrutineer]

Just a tidbit. We played a couple possessions with NONE of our listed guards on the court. No Diarra, No Ball, No Mahaney, and No Nowell. Hurley is very purposeful on what he does and considered this scrimmage as important time to the point that he was saying he even wanted Tom Moore to negotiate allowing the coaches to stop the game at times to instruct players. I wonder if there is a particular circumstance he has in mind to prepare for

Duke in the Final Four with all their size?

 

[businesslawyer]

Not counting guys from Duke and UK which always have multiple 5*s coming off the bench, there have been 24 Freshmen lotto picks over the last 5 Years and 0 came off the bench.

What are the numbers with two time defending champions? My point being, that saying Indiana would never not start a Frosh lottery pick really isn’t relevant to us. But since you excluded the two schools that have the most freshman lottery picks, you’ve already decided the answer before you asked the question

 

[Tenspro2002]

1 reb from Samson even after putting on 20 lbs is very concerning but I love that Reed grabbed 10. If Samson starts I think it has to be a 20/20 timeshare give or take based on foul trouble or we’re gonna get killed on the defensive glass

It's not a weight/strength thing, it's an instincts thing and Johnson, bluntly, doesn't have them. It was a bit unrealistic to expect him to take a leap in that area in a few months.

 

[Scrutineer]

So many good observations already posted on this game.

One thing that stood out to me was how excited, upbeat and positive the vibes were from the bench. When players came off the floor it looked like the last minute of the NC game with all the smiles and high fives. Maybe it's because so many got to play meaningful minutes but more likely the culture DH has developed.

Also, to reiterate on rebounding and defense, it was so obvious tonight how much DC controlled the games last year when you see how clogged the lane was when Rhody was on offense in the first half. It often looked like all five of their players were in the lane and our guards had a lot of fouls they wouldn't have had last year because they didn't have to reach in against guys who got around them on their drives to the basket with DC there to block or alter the shots.

 

[runner11]

Warms my heart to see all the Solo love. Welcome to the bandwagon people!

As we all see though Mahaney is great too. Solo just looked like that good of a player which is impressive because they looked like the best two on the team tonight.

Maybe I’m misremembering but I thought the controversial take was “ Solo is a point guard” and not “Solo is good” - there was more off-season buzz with him than anybody else.

I think we also see why we are trying to land both Adams and Mullins.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I said in the summer Solo Ball would be starting. Too much raw talent.

He has plenty of raw talent. The question is whether that talent can operate within a Dan Hurley team system. It didn't last year. Last night looked pretty good.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It won’t be as good. The defense in the tournament was epic. This team doesn’t have that defensive ceiling. It probably doesn’t have the ceiling of the 2023 team either.

That said, it should be good enough for the offense to carry UConn most of the time. Remember UConn won each game in the tournament the last two years by double digits. There is wiggle room.

We're going to have to win more games this year like last year's game in the BET against St. John's. Fortunately, we appear capable.

 

[superjohn]

Maybe I’m misremembering but I thought the controversial take was “ Solo is a point guard” and not “Solo is good” - there was more off-season buzz with him than anybody else.

I think we also see why we are trying to land both Adams and Mullins.

Yep, he's making that up. I've been incredibly high on Solo as have many/most boneyarders we just don't agree with HuskyWarrior that he should be our point guard.

 

[superjohn]

We're going to have to win more games this year like last year's game in the BET against St. John's. Fortunately, we appear capable.

It's going to be our best offensive team, best shooting team, and deepest team yet. Won't have the same lockdown abilities with Clingan and Castle gone. Won't have the two headed Sanogo Clingan monster. This team will win as an offensive juggernaut and the defense and rebounding will get better as they get more comfortable.

 

[MexicoHusky]

View attachment 104209

we did not embarrass ourselves from 3

 

[MexicoHusky]

I didn't watch the game yet and I certainly don't know if we can win the NC again. But coming off back-to-back NCs it does sound like DH has put together a very solid team. Better than anyone can reasonably expect. Looking forward to seeing where we end up.

 

[awy]

wonder if isaiah is 'nicked up' and that's why he didn't play a bunch. he's another source of athleticism and defense on this roster.

 

[RuffRuff]

It's going to be our best offensive team, best shooting team, and deepest team yet. Won't have the same lockdown abilities with Clingan and Castle gone. Won't have the two headed Sanogo Clingan monster. This team will win as an offensive juggernaut and the defense and rebounding will get better as they get more comfortable.

I’d expect some games this year with the lackluster first halves into second half runways. The two major advantages this team has is shooting and depth. Goal for this team will likely be to keep opposing teams in the low 70s, as opposed to the 60s like last year. I could see stats like steals, transition points and 3s up this year. UConn was not great 3pt shooting team last year at 84th % in the country, and 76th in 3s made. Unlikely to be the juggernaut like last year, which was so efficient on offense and could clamp down defensively, dominating both ends. This team could boat race when hot, but also leave a lot of teams in it due to the defensive end when cold.

Wondering if Hurley moves a bit to the Oats model this year, which is typically top ten in 3s made/game. Personnel this year looks a lot more like the typical Oats team without the classic big 5.

 

[Waquoit]

He has plenty of raw talent. The question is whether that talent can operate within a Dan Hurley team system. It didn't last year.

I thought he fit in just fine when he started the first 12 games. He struggled a bit coming off the bench but that's not a concern now.

 

[awy]

uconn was up there in 3's if you look at pace adjusted stat. it's just that they ran very deep and time consuming sets and didn't focus on the quick transition 3 like some of the more track meet teams.

i do think they are attempting to play more like alabama on offense this year but with better defense. but they should still have the advantage of creating easy at the rim conversions in the half court with the unmatched set plays. if it works out well it'll be a rather explosive offense with the ability to lower the variance that may sink an exclusively 3 reliant team with well executed sets in the half court.

 

[navery12]

Situationally maybe - what if AK picks up fouls early vs Diarra. I mean if all being even and no starter is needing to come out, the rotation is bigger in the front court than the back. Maheney was especially good shooting last night. Liam struggled a little on D but hey, first game.

I don't think Ross would be the first guy off the bench no matter who picked up the foul. Mahaney would be the first sub for either Diarra or Ball, Stewart for McNeeley or Karaban, and Reed for Johnson. Ross will get some minutes but he's still behind a few guys

 

[FfldCntyFan]

One thing that we need to accept (this may be the third or fourth time I've posted something like this) is we will not be able to replicate last season's defense. I'm confident that DH will get this team playing as good a defense as they can but it is a given we won't be able to replace Clingan's defensive presence and it is highly unlikely that we will be able to fully replicate Castle's defensive presence. This does not mean we cannot win it all again, we will just need a bit of a different approach.

One thing I can see as a strong possibility is that with our depth, we can have the opponent gasping for air a couple times each half. We can still run complex offensive sets, requiring the opponent to try to match up, but we may be able to run them at a higher pace, forcing the defense to expel an inordinate amount of energy, wearing them out while we continue to swap players in and out of the lineup.

I'm looking forward to an interesting season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It's going to be our best offensive team, best shooting team, and deepest team yet. Won't have the same lockdown abilities with Clingan and Castle gone. Won't have the two headed Sanogo Clingan monster. This team will win as an offensive juggernaut and the defense and rebounding will get better as they get more comfortable.

That's how I see it. Don't be surprised if we break out a press and really start running and stressing other teams to take advantage of our depth. We won't be as good in half court defense. So maybe we play more full or 3/4 court defense. Guys like Ross can be a real pest playing that way.

 

[RuffRuff]

uconn was up there in 3's if you look at pace adjusted stat. it's just that they ran very deep and time consuming sets and didn't focus on the quick transition 3 like some of the more track meet teams.

i do think they are attempting to play more like alabama on offense this year but with better defense. but they should still have the advantage of creating easy at the rim conversions in the half court with the unmatched set plays. if it works out well it'll be a rather explosive offense with the ability to lower the variance that may sink an exclusively 3 reliant team with well executed sets in the half court.

Really good take - perhaps a mixed combo of the HC sets of last year, with the -12 second shot clock runs of Bama last year. With depth you have fresh legs that can get up the court and position to rebound on the offensive end. You can be sure they’re using analytics to strategize how they maximize the roster strengths.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

So yea, I admit to being a Samson Stan. So all the incessant complaining about his deficiencies irk me. Granted, I do agree with some of them. But in true internet message board fashion, I think it gets exaggerated.

What follows is a long post, but I am critically re-watching the game possession-by-possession for objective analyses of Samson Johnson criticism points. There;'s a TL/DR summary at the end for ADHD folks. I'll get to the rest of the game later.

Here's narrative summary of his first rotation (from 20:00 to 15:18). Note: O1, D1, etc is offensive possession #1, defensive possession #1, etc. RebO = having a legitimate opportunity for a rebound on the play.


O1-Comes out to 3pt line. Sets 3 screens, McNeeley drives & scores while Samson Johnson still at 3pt line. No RebO

D1-On JB. High-hedges. Recovers. Does effective seal-out of JB. 3pt shot from corner clanks opposite side long, Ball with RB. No RebO.

O2-Offensive set again takes Samson Johnson out high. Enters lane when Ball shoots [and hits] corner 3. JB boxes him out since already has position established. No RebO

D2-Picks up JB at foul line. JB gets position on left side, seals. Samson Johnson re-establishes position between JB & basket. Ball reverses & play stops (? Kick ball or foul…announcers never say). Inbounds play…pass goes to JB at FT line. He passes off , rest of play Samson Johnson/JB are inconsequential. URI makes the shot. No RebO

O3-Samson Johnson set 2 high screens including the 1 that frees AK for a made 3. No RebO

D3-Samson Johnson sets up guarding JB on the blocks. Diarra steals pass at top of key. Takes it to hoop for a layup.

D4-URI pushes pace. Guard beats McNeeley down court for a layup. Samson Johnson hustles back, alters shot/may have gotten a finger on ball to block shot, missed layup URI. Samson Johnson momentum takes him under hoop, JB cleans up rebound. McNeeley fouls JB on putback. JB makes 1st FT, misses 2nd. Samson Johnson boxes out on left side OK, McNeeley gathers miss on right side. No RebO

O4-Classic beautiful UConn set, Samson Johnson sets a couple high screens, then PnR, Samson Johnson open, but Diarra lob is right over the hoop; Samson Johnson can’t dunk it without committing a goaltend.

D5-URI pushes pace after missed lob. Samson Johnson has to recover from under hoop; is ~5 yds behind all players, URI sets at top of key; McNeeley is under hoop. Left side has 2 open URI players at 3pt line. Samson Johnson runs out to cover one. JB flashes from FT line to hoop; SB rotates down to cover him (setting up a mismatch). Samson Johnson guards URI player in corner; he lobs it into JB, who gets fouled on the layup attempt by Diarra who rotates down to help SB. Nothing Samson Johnson does wrong here. JB makes the And-1. No RebO.

O5-Set starts. Samson Johnson sets effective screen at FT line to free McNeeley who misses 3pt attempt. Samson Johnson naturally out of good Reb position due to setting the screen. Reb goes left. SB grabs it and puts it back for the make. No RebO.

D6-Samson Johnson effectively battles with JB underneath. Play rotates from left to right. Shot goes up from left. Samson Johnson boxes out JB. Both are slightly left-center, a couple feet from the rim. Purists would say it may have been a little weak box-out technique-wise. Rebound goes left-baseline though, and Ball secures the RB. No RebO.

O6-SB pushes pace, Samson Johnson and JB come up court behind SB. Samson Johnson goes to left corner of FT line (to establish position for offensive set). SB hucks up a quick 3. JB naturally has position on Samson Johnson. He seals Samson Johnson. Another URI player gets the rebound. No RebO.

D7-URI player drives from top of key left side, gets a step on AK. Samson Johnson comes off JB to try and block the layup. Alters shot, it misses, but JB is left open to get Reb since Samson Johnson came to help. JB is fouled on the putback attempt by Diarra. No RebO. Could maybe quibble about if Samson Johnson should have leaked off JB to help. But I’m not a UConn coach so I don’t know what Samson Johnson should do there. JB makes both FTs.

O7-Samson Johnson starts high in the set. Gets ball, dishes to Mahaney, flashes down lane, is open for alley-oop but Mahaney misses opportunity. Ball reverses to right, Karaban shoots a 3. Samson Johnson is on the left block after curling around after his flash to the hoop. JB comes over to box out. Samson Johnson side-steps him, but stays behind him (probably not a bad thing since 3s usually miss long. Rebound goes high and long to the left FT line. Both Samson Johnson and Solo go after the Reb, both get a hand on it, it gets bounced on the floor. A 50/50 ball, URI player gets it, McNeeley strips it, SB recovers, and dishes to AK for the easy layup. Samson Johnson in position to get a Reb but he & Ball both deflect it (and it stays alive). RebO but no Reb, but play stays alive.

D8-JB gets good position down low with Samson Johnson on his back. Entry pass from FT line. JB pivots, goes right drop step. Samson Johnson contests, doesn’t foul, JB makes tough contested layup. No RebO, of course.

O8-Standard set. Samson Johnson sets a couple of FT line screens, flashes under hoop, goes to right side. SB drives around Mahaney into lane, pulls up and makes the jumper. JB stays on Samson Johnson on right side to keep lane open for the drive. No RebO.

D9-Samson Johnson & JB start down low. JB flashed up to 3pt line. Two URI guards on right side. JB looks to be setting a screen. Samson Johnson looks like he may have been anticipating this and sets his defense back-right of JB. But JB immediately cuts to the hoop. Samson Johnson in bad position. Kudos to JB and the URI set need to be made though. AK rotates over to guard JB, who receives the pass on the right block. Samson Johnson rotates down to double-team. JB could have been called for a travel, but instead a foul is called. Honestly, could have been called on either AK or Samson Johnson. Not sure who got called (think it was Samson Johnson), announcers didn’t say and then it went to commercial break.


TL/DR: What are the BY’s biggest beefs about Samson Johnson?

“Fouls too much!” - Welp, he made a ton of nice screens, played a lot of decent/adequate post defense, and got called for 1 questionable foul.

“Doesn’t Rebound” - Technically true, but his role in offensive sets often clearly puts him in no position/bad position to rebound. The one legitimate opportunity he had, he was there (with SB), and both tipped it away from each other. Both teams also made a ton of shots in this first 5min stretch…not many legit opportunities to grab rebounds.

“Only Dunks” – In this 5minute stretch, technically true, but he did not have any opportunities to legitimately do anything to take a post shot/jumper the way the offensive possessions went.

“High Hedges too much and gets burned on it and it ruins the defense” – Nope, didn’t happen in the first 5min.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Maybe I’m misremembering but I thought the controversial take was “ Solo is a point guard” and not “Solo is good” - there was more off-season buzz with him than anybody else.

I think we also see why we are trying to land both Adams and Mullins.

That got a lot of flack. But there were for sure some who didn’t think he’d be a starter or were unsure if he’d be able to make a big jump. A lot had Mahaney above him because they didn’t think he could be this good.

I’ve been adamant that Solo could be one of the best players on this years team because he’s that good, not necessarily because Mahaney would struggle.

And this was before we started receiving reports on how well he was playing.

It wasn’t just the point guard take.

 

[DogMania]

One thing that we need to accept (this may be the third or fourth time I've posted something like this) is we will not be able to replicate last season's defense. I'm confident that DH will get this team playing as good a defense as they can but it is a given we won't be able to replace Clingan's defensive presence and it is highly unlikely that we will be able to fully replicate Castle's defensive presence. This does not mean we cannot win it all again, we will just need a bit of a different approach.

One thing I can see as a strong possibility is that with our depth, we can have the opponent gasping for air a couple times each half. We can still run complex offensive sets, requiring the opponent to try to match up, but we may be able to run them at a higher pace, forcing the defense to expel an inordinate amount of energy, wearing them out while we continue to swap players in and out of the lineup.

I'm looking forward to an interesting season.

Excellent assessment. They don't have the same roster construction as the last two seasons.

My guess is they'll make teams expend a lot of energy trying to defend our motion O and trying to get into their own sets as UConn applies a lot of 3/4 and half court pressure.

We might not have Castle, but we have a lot of players, a few pesty athletes in Ball, Diarra, Stewart, Ross and Nowell, who can apply a lot of on the ball pressure that should wear teams down as you well noted.

What will be important is for them to improve their team defense rebounding, which is more positioning, technique and effort. I'm sure Danny is already having them work at it, and we'll see improvements in the next game.

This exhibition was so helpful for the staff and players to see what areas they need a little more focus on. If I were to guess it would be interior D, team rebounding and sustaining their multi-action motion offense for longer stretches to create better scoring opportunities and to wear out the opponent, and not abort the sequences for some of the drives into traffic, early shots and attempted dribble drives. Don't get me wrong. Sometimes taking an early shot or drive to the basket before the D gets set is a good thing, but I thought there were times, especially in the first half where I felt they abandoned their motion offense too early.

Also note, that it takes time for all the players to learn how to move quickly through the sequences where they create great scoring opportunities. It simply takes time. They'll be executing at a higher level as the season goes, but learning to stick with it for longer stretches prepares them for it. I got a sense that Hurley got frustrated a few times that they weren't running them as long as he wanted where they took some early shots or dribbled into traffic.

This team has a lot of players who can flat out score, more than most collage teams. They'll learn how to maximize that by creating good scoring opportunities in both transition and in the half court. For their first sort of real action after a shaky early stretch, they looked pretty darn good.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I'm not so worried about the defensive end. As you said, worse case, we have 15 fouls to give to play good tough defense inside and on the break and to rebound effectively.

I'm much more worried at the offense productivity at the 5. If we dont get much, teams will start cheating and cover tight on the perimeter, which interrupts the flow that Danny wants to achieve.

That’s one thing I’m worried about too against a team with better athletes. Who’s going to be the guy to break guys down off the dribble if things get muddied up.

Believe Mahaney showed good ability there. Didn’t see much from anyone else in this game outside of 1 drive by Solo and a few by Stewart.

 

[bendm]

What are the numbers with two time defending champions? My point being, that saying Indiana would never not start a Frosh lottery pick really isn’t relevant to us. But since you excluded the two schools that have the most freshman lottery picks, you’ve already decided the answer before you asked the question

lol. we're talking about the likelihood of a frosh that doesnt start getting drafted in the lotto... you said one had nothing to do w/ the other and i disagree. every player is obviously unique but we should look to recent history for precedent. as a self identified business lawyer you should know that.

yeah i should have just included Duke and UK in the first place because even then just reed, dillingham, and shaerpe are the only freshmen lotto picks since 2019 that didnt start. that's 3 out of 33 frosh lotto picks since 2019.

so if Liam cant beat out stew and mahaney for a starting spot then it should be safe to say that will further lower the odds of what is already an unlikely outcome.

the fact that i had to spell all this out just to say a frosh projected to go in the lotto is probably going to start is nuts.