Rhode Island Post Game Thread

[businesslawyer]

the number of "liam off the bench" takes is...surprising. he's going to be our next lotto pick.

The two are not directly related. He will or will not be a lottery pick based on how well he’s projected to help an NBA team a few years out. He will or won’t get starters minutes based on whether he helps us win games this year.

 

[IndyLives]

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

 

[IndyLives]

Reed will be the key to a FF/3peat run. We've been spoiled at the 5 the last 2 years, but dominate center play is critical to winning a Title.

 

[ec33]

The spent the summer working on offense and two to three weeks on defense. It isn't surprising that the offense is ahead.

Relax.

 

[cp176]

We were so good with rim protection (Clingan) last year that yes it does look different but not weak. As this group continues to develop much like they did in the second half last night, I think that we will all be pleased. This group has incredibly talented depth. DH will have work to do just to determine who gets the majority of minutes on any given night. The group of Ross, Stewart, Mahney, Ball and any of the big men might be as quick a team as i can remember seeing. Adding Nowell to this group as well, and I think it is a great tribute to this coaching staff and what they want to accomplish that they can get this much talent through the door. It takes a lot of luck to even compete at the level they hope to compete at but this group will for sure. Once again, I was stunned by the talent on display in the second half.

 

[cp176]

Reed will be the key to a FF/3peat run. We've been spoiled at the 5 the last 2 years, but dominate center play is critical to winning a Title.

I agree with you but very few teams could be blessed with a 7'2" rim protector. We might see a lot of fouls out of our bigs this year for sure but after watching last night you never know we might even have 3 big boys to throw out there if needed. Last night, I think that I counted about 3 uncontested shots, and we all know how much DH hates that!

 

[dennismenace]

Is there a box score out there? If so, where?

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/uconnhuskies.com/documents/2024/10/14/EX_URI.PDF

 

[HCCForever]

Was there. Decent crowd. I think this should be a yearly charity exhibition game between the two schools. It just makes sense.

I don't believe it is as simple as that. The announcers talked about a waiver being granted to play this game. A charity game early in the season is great but would involve more than just the two schools to be approved.

 

[uconnblueinky]

Dan Hurley post game quote : I've never been more nervous before an exhibition game , I thought we were going to lose by 15 and I wanted to throw up all day.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Amy chance playback is or will be available?

Try Uconn+ App

 

[dogpause]

I feel no desire, or obligation, to find anything wrong because I know DH will. But I saw a lot of positives:

Solo is a Man. He's got the kind of body that this team needs, and his shooting and confidence are incredible. Going to be tough to take him off the floor.

Mahaney immediately displayed leadership skills, talking to other players during dead balls and directing teammates. He's an ignitor.

Hurley focuses on offense at this time of year, this team has lots of weapons, and a lot of fouls to give. How many times will we score 100 points this year? Probably a lot. Already looks like the raw version of a DH-UConn team on offense. The defense will show up later.

Going to be a fun year.

 

[Conndog]

Coach has new eyeglasses this year

 

[GoUconn7961]

Samson is NOT a starting center. He is a widget big. Get some dunks. Change of pace. Nothing more

I think IF (Big if right now)Reed can put it together he'll start over Samson at some point. Samson is just better off the bench. He's a foul magnet.

 

[navery12]

Hopefully after seeing the game tonight people will finally realize that Stewart and Mahaney coming off the bench doesnt mean they're struggling or not good players. The rotation of Ball, McNeeley, Mahaney, Stewart and even Ross is going to be fun to watch this year. They're all really good players who'd start on most teams in the country

 

[jibsey]

Haven’t seen the game yet but my question is about the defense which was the reason we shut teams like Purdue down and built big leads. Will this team have that capability by year end? Scoring droughts happen but we have 2 titles under Hurley starting with D and that has always been his focus.

 

[navery12]

the number of "liam off the bench" takes is...surprising. he's going to be our next lotto pick.

I've realized that the Boneyard is largely dumb so I'm not too surprised. I am surprised by the amount of usually smart posters though with some pretty crazy McNeeley takes though

 

[Vancat]

McNEELY O'HARA


sorry couldn't resist

 

[Storrs South]

Amy chance playback is or will be available?

It should be on UConn+ but it's also on YouTube now

 

[navery12]

Haven’t seen the game yet but my question is about the defense which was the reason we shut teams like Purdue down and built big leads. Will this team have that capability by year end? Scoring droughts happen but we have 2 titles under Hurley starting with D and that has always been his focus.

Dan Hurley is our coach still, so yes. People are concerned every fall about how the defense is going to look after losing X and Y. But with 6 months to work with, Dan Hurley could turn you and me into good defenders

 

[caw]

Haven’t seen the game yet but my question is about the defense which was the reason we shut teams like Purdue down and built big leads. Will this team have that capability by year end? Scoring droughts happen but we have 2 titles under Hurley starting with D and that has always been his focus.

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.

 

[Scot-e]

Haven’t seen the game yet but my question is about the defense which was the reason we shut teams like Purdue down and built big leads. Will this team have that capability by year end? Scoring droughts happen but we have 2 titles under Hurley starting with D and that has always been his focus.

Defense was really good in second half. No Cling Kong- but we all knew that would bring us back to earth this year.

On a side note I loved this early game. My dad - a huge Uconn fan- would always tell me ”you have to wait to see the team play on the court”. I think we are in for an entertaining season.

 

[JerseyAlum]

Also could not watch due to conflicts but surmising the halftime “conversation” was on a par with those of last year because out 2nd halves have been a show of force. We don’t always crush in the first half but this was typical Hurley halftime magic.

 

[UCan3]

Good Game - Rhode Island came to play! They had size and strength - perfect first game opponent.

Impresssions?

First half was the guys learning to play together. Figuring out who’s going to stick around and rebound and who was going to get motoring on the fast break. Learning how to play pressure D together - no issues w/1st half - growing pains.

Mahaney is the guy that will be the lynch pin to the whole operation. In March, he will be the man. Surpassed my best expectations.

McNeely picked the right place to play for a year or two. His game will come along and he‘ll be ready for the draft. He didn’t have the best night but kept at it - still figuring out how he fits in.

Solo Ball looked great last year when he took over for Stephon - at the time - I was thinking how do you keep him on the bench. His D has improved greatly and his offense looks next level. I knew he was real deal.

Johnson needs to continue to work on his game, otherwise the minute/split may not be good for him.

Karaban also has to find a flow - how to play with this new team. He got better as the game went on.

The one takeaway is unlike any other program in D 1, the guys coming off the bench come in ready to “tear it up” and there is no drop off when they come in. They often “turn it up” on the opponent… it’s not fair LOL… Opposing coaches, good luck with drawing up schemes to go against 12 starters.

We will lose some games this year - more than the past few years - but watch out for us come March!

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Singare looks like he belongs. We may be better served with a three-headed center model, particularly if SJ struggles with wet-paper-towel post defense and the penchant for fouling

He got two minutes at the end against URI’s backup center. He looked like he had improved, but nothing about his usage tonight tells me that Hurley expects him to play meaningful minutes this season. I’ll be happily wrong if he plays well enough to insert himself in the rotation, but I’d be happy if he plays well enough that we’re not running out the Stewart/Karaban look at center when there’s foul trouble.

 

[Husky Alien]

WAIT, wait just one minute: i am the president of the Solo Ball fan club! You can be vice president, but i was there first!!!

Not so fast! Lol, I've been saying he's my break out player this year and I got some flack for it. Fortunate or unfortunate he was replaced by Castle and his minutes were diminished. He is going to be a special player for us.