Rothstein: "UConn’s struggles shouldn’t be a massive surprise"

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I agree with Ollie on this point we’re 3-3 in conference which should easily be 4-2. It’s not about the ooc games imo that is going to keep us out the tournament it’s about the aac. Win ya league you win a bid it’s that simple.. looking at the aac it’s a winnable league and if we play the right way and have winning strategies we’ll be above water to actually have a good chance of getting a bid

The only ugly lost was to Memphis, smu is down this year, Houston, Cincinnati still in that can’t shoot category, we beat Tulane,ucf w tacko, had Tulsa but didn’t foul, ECU and was in the game vs Wichita until the last 3 mins and you never know which temple team ur going to get

Everyone is knocking each other off, so these next 8 games are big for seeding for the aac tourney. We can really see what we have in Polley with Larrier on the shelf, bring in hustle/active guys like Williams to spell Whaley and feed Carlton more.. I’ll give it til end of season to give my final take on our situation

I'll grant you your optimism, not because I share it but because it offers something beyond the endless drone of repetition from those certain that your scenario cannot happen. The willingness to allow the unknowable to unfold is a signpost of emotional maturity that's lost on many who post . . . even if their dire predictions come true.

 

[Travelman6]

Disagree that underperformance is a significant issue. Maybe the Tulsa game, maybe a couple of close wins could've been more comfortable. But outside of the Tulsa loss, there's no game we lost that we realistically win with the healthy roster we have. Rothstein is spot on here, there's just not a lot of talented players playing. Anderson and DO are just downright bad and not skilled to be playing at a level beyond the bottom of D1, we can't sugarcoat it. Carlton, Diarra and Whaley are developing into nice players and have some good raw skill, but aren't at the level they need to be in order to produce consistently at this level. Vital is a great 6th/7th man at this point in his career, not our top 2-guard. If Gilbert is healthy, we beat Tulsa, we have a shot against Syracuse and Arizona, and that's it. Polley and Williams aren't meaningful additions. We just don't have good players playing valuable minutes. Counting on developing and/or severely undertalented players for 120 minutes (at a minimum) per game doesn't cut it.

Losing to Nova, Zona, Arkansas, Auburn and MSU is one thing. Sure. That on its own is not even the issue. Getting your clocks cleaned in all of those games (lets be real) is another. Plus Memphis absolutely spanking Uconn. I do not mind 10-9 persay, I mind the way in which the team has gotten to that record, which is, more or less, 7 ugly loses including an absolute disaster vs Memphis, 1 decent loss vs a good WSU team and 1 bummer, close loss vs an okay Tulsa team. If MSU and Zona were Uconns two worst losses, with the 7 other losses being closer than 10, but still losses, I would not have as much of an issue. The blowouts of 15 or more is cause for concern.

 

[jibsey]

It's apparent that a certain number of fans who could see blowouts the rest of this season and still want KO back through next season, possibly because of his contract and the injury situation. They haven't seen enough yet. It's a free country.

 

[August_West]

He should have been begging Jackson, Durham, Enoch, and MAL to stay. All would have been starters. The fact the sophomores decided to sit on the bench this season and in the cases of Durham and Enoch maybe the rest of their career instead of start for KO is telling.

Only Enoch wouldve been a starter out of this group, this season. Durham maybe. MAL from some accounts (other than the Glenn Miller cover) did not like being behind Adams, Gilbert and Vital. And seeing his PC performance thus far he wouldve been rightfully behind those three. There was no way to know at that time Gilbert is hurt again. Jackson wouldve gotten some starts I believe but he also had Larrier and Vital to contend with. And if Jackson was starting at the 3 that puts Larrier at 4 and takes Durham off table for sure.

So yeah, Enoch was the only one with a starters expectation.

 

[intlzncster]

The incoming players- Akinjo, Lukas, Mathews, and Wilson. None are shooters. So our top issue from this season will not be resolved. Akinjo, Mathews, Vital and Gilbert can get hot from three but none are known for their shooting prowess. Plus first year players always struggle some unless your a top 10 player and NBA ready.

FWIW. Both Matthews and Akinjo can shoot the ball. I thought Wilson had a decent mid range game.

 

[Javjudah]

He should have been begging Jackson, Durham, Enoch, and MAL to stay. All would have been starters. The fact the sophomores decided to sit on the bench this season and in the cases of Durham and Enoch maybe the rest of their career instead of start for KO is telling.

I disagree, if you don't want to be at UCONN and buy into the program don't let the door hit you on the way out.
All those players were highly ranked but had similar deficiencies. Enoch and Jackson were terrible defenders, Jackson tried. Jackson would be a nice sixth man (shooter) on a good team. Unfortunately his dad thinks he's Paul George. Enoch didn't show any improvement, terrible foot speed.
MAL would have been a very nice defender/ball handler but we need guards that can shoot.
Durham I think have the highest upside. He was coming off a major injury but he has talent. I think he should have been redshirted last year as he needs to work on his body and get stronger.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I can't honestly say he has earned the 3rd. I do believe he has earned the 2nd.

It seems like forever ago but it really hasnt been that long ago (a season and a 1/2) where we were an 8 (or was it 9 seed) in the NCAA's and won a game and met up with a 1 seed after looking pretty damn good winning AAC tourney (after getting through an epic 4 OT game) .... it was about as good a result as we couldve expected coming off a so so regular season and the future looked OK with the #8 recruiting class coming. Obviously last year and the beginning of this year have been brutal on our psyche as fans used to "UConn" basketball. But it hasnt been very long since we could compete. Its been one full season and the start of this one.

Ehhh, that 2016 season is not something he should hang his hat on.

A team with Adams (Fr.), Gibbs (Sr.), Purvis (Jr.), Hamilton (So.), Miller (Sr.), Facey (Jr.), and Brimah (Jr.) should never have been in the position of earning a #9 seed and a date with #1 after winning the AACT. That team should have been Top 15 and a protected seed, but failures in player and team development led them to massively underachieve until showing a pulse for about 4 games in March.

You're right that we had the illusion of being on the up-swing in terms of recruiting in the spring of 2016, though those guys turned out to be mostly overrated (Jackson, Enoch), soft (Durham, Enoch), or damaged goods (Gilbert, Durham, Diarra).

And that's the blip of excitement amid 4 years of uninspired, mediocre play, recruiting and development failures, and player exodus.

 

[August_West]

Durham I think have the highest upside. He was coming off a major injury but he has talent. I think he should have been redshirted last year as he needs to work on his body and get stronger.

Yeah I think Durham will be the one over the next year or two where we say "oh man" just a bit. I can see him thriving in Brey's offense. And I think this year off will do him great, he really shouldve been redshirted last year.

 

[August_West]

That team should have been Top 15 and a protected seed, but failures in player and team development l

You going to blame Ollie for Gibbs "development" that is pretty good. 5th year most coveted grad transfer. What was KO supposed to do with him? He was not the knockdown assassin we were promised over the course of that year (very streaky) and he struggled as a one guard. He was a finished product who didnt play as advertised for a good portion of that year.

Purvis and Brimah? Sure as juniors they needed to be better and I will hang that on Ollie. I wont hang Hamiltons abhorrent shooting slump that season on Ollie either.

 

[polycom]

You going to blame Ollie for Gibbs "development" that is pretty good. 5th year most coveted grad transfer. What was KO supposed to do with him? He was not the knockdown assassin we were promised over the course of that year (very streaky) and he struggled as a one guard. He was a finished product who didnt play as advertised for a good portion of that year.

Purvis and Brimah? Sure as juniors they needed to be better and I will hang that on Ollie. I wont hang Hamiltons abhorrent shooting slump that season on Ollie either.

Why not? A bad shooting game, fine thats the player. But a massive shooting slump, this isn't baseball there are only so many games. You have to work to get your players better shots.

 

[Travelman6]

From the same link:

"Pitt is now 0-7 in ACC play and all of the Panthers’ losses have come by double figures. It would be an absolute shock if Kevin Stallings wins a conference game this year."

Well, at least Uconn is not Pitt. What a dumpster fire THAT is becoming. But good for you ACC, for taking Pitt, slow clap for you....

 

[August_West]

Why not? A bad shooting game, fine thats the player. But a massive shooting slump, this isn't baseball there are only so many games. You have to work to get your players better shots.

go to TCF's site and watch the middle section of that season again. Hamiltons issue wasnt shot quality. It was finishing some pretty great looks. We ran our team through him.

 

[UConnStats]

Gibbs missed some hero ball game-ending shots, but he was a good player. I think he’s generally remembered less fondly than he deserves.

 

[Giddyup5]

Ollie terribly underperformed with that team.

1). He ran more dedicated post ups for Brimah then Shonn Miller. Seriously, every half he would run dedicated post ops for Brimah and misused one of the best post options in the country. Brimah should have been solely used as a rim runner and defender.

2). Insisted that Gibbs be the point guard. I know Jalen was a freshmen, but he should have plugged Jalen in at PG from day one. Yes, there would have been early season growing pains, but it would have paid off by Feb/March. Gibbs or Purvis off the bench was the obvious move.

These last 2 seasons have been terrible. But the signs of his deficiencies as a coach was the waste of talent he had on that team.

 

[Tenspro2002]

You going to blame Ollie for Gibbs "development" that is pretty good. 5th year most coveted grad transfer. What was KO supposed to do with him? He was not the knockdown assassin we were promised over the course of that year (very streaky) and he struggled as a one guard. He was a finished product who didnt play as advertised for a good portion of that year.

Purvis and Brimah? Sure as juniors they needed to be better and I will hang that on Ollie. I wont hang Hamiltons abhorrent shooting slump that season on Ollie either.

I said player and team development, and should have been more specific on each.

Players: juniors Purvis, Facey, and Brimah, as well as sophomore Hamilton, should have been developed better. Obviously KO has nothing to do with development of grad transfers Gibbs and Miller.

Team: Gibbs actually was an excellent shooter, but was miscast by KO as a ball-dominant guard. He couldn't blow by anyone, couldn't create late in the shot clock (which itself shouldn't be necessary, but this was KO's offense after all). By December this board was calling for Gibbs to be moved off the ball, where he was a great spot-up threat. KO didn't start doing that until March. He also did a bad job of integrating Miller, who was the highest-IQ big we've had since Okafor and could do just about anything, including shoot from the perimeter. The offense should have run through him.

The whole being much less than the sum of the parts, and several of the parts falling short of expectations, fall on the head coach.

 

[AntG168]

I can't honestly say he has earned the 3rd. I do believe he has earned the 2nd.

It seems like forever ago but it really hasnt been that long ago (a season and a 1/2) where we were an 8 (or was it 9 seed) in the NCAA's and won a game and met up with a 1 seed after looking pretty damn good winning AAC tourney (after getting through an epic 4 OT game) .... it was about as good a result as we couldve expected coming off a so so regular season and the future looked OK with the #8 recruiting class coming. Obviously last year and the beginning of this year have been brutal on our psyche as fans used to "UConn" basketball. But it hasnt been very long since we could compete. Its been one full season and the start of this one.

Wow. This is true, I hadn’t thought of it that way. It feels like we’ve been terrible for ever. This last year and a half has been brutal

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I disagree, if you don't want to be at UCONN and buy into the program don't let the door hit you on the way out.
All those players were highly ranked but had similar deficiencies. Enoch and Jackson were terrible defenders, Jackson tried. Jackson would be a nice sixth man (shooter) on a good team. Unfortunately his dad thinks he's Paul George. Enoch didn't show any improvement, terrible foot speed.
MAL would have been a very nice defender/ball handler but we need guards that can shoot.
Durham I think have the highest upside. He was coming off a major injury but he has talent. I think he should have been redshirted last year as he needs to work on his body and get stronger.

We wouldn’t be better if Jackson was in Polley’s roll, Durham was in Whaley’s roll and Enoch was in DO’s roll?

 

[Husky68]

Ehhh, that 2016 season is not something he should hang his hat on.

A team with Adams (Fr.), Gibbs (Sr.), Purvis (Jr.), Hamilton (So.), Miller (Sr.), Facey (Jr.), and Brimah (Jr.) should never have been in the position of earning a #9 seed and a date with #1 after winning the AACT. That team should have been Top 15 and a protected seed, but failures in player and team development led them to massively underachieve until showing a pulse for about 4 games in March.

You're right that we had the illusion of being on the up-swing in terms of recruiting in the spring of 2016, though those guys turned out to be mostly overrated (Jackson, Enoch), soft (Durham, Enoch), or damaged goods (Gilbert, Durham, Diarra).

And that's the blip of excitement amid 4 years of uninspired, mediocre play, recruiting and development failures, and player exodus.

I hear you on the 9 seed team should have done more to be a better seed, Ollie proved in 2014 that he couldn't coach as he lead the national championship team to only a 7 seed!

 

[AntG168]

We wouldn’t be better if Jackson was in Polley’s roll, Durham was in Whaley’s roll and Enoch was in DO’s roll?

Durham in whaley’s roll, no. Durham gave me no reason to believe he’d contribute this yr. With Enoch and Vance you have a point

 

[Palatine]

Only Enoch wouldve been a starter out of this group, this season. Durham maybe. MAL from some accounts (other than the Glenn Miller cover) did not like being behind Adams, Gilbert and Vital. And seeing his PC performance thus far he wouldve been rightfully behind those three. There was no way to know at that time Gilbert is hurt again. Jackson wouldve gotten some starts I believe but he also had Larrier and Vital to contend with. And if Jackson was starting at the 3 that puts Larrier at 4 and takes Durham off table for sure.

So yeah, Enoch was the only one with a starters expectation.

That's not the point he is making aboth Enoch, Durham and Jackson. It is that the lack of continuity that exacerbates the injury situation.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I hear you on the 9 seed team should have done more to be a better seed, Ollie proved in 2014 that he couldn't coach as he lead the national championship team to only a 7 seed!

The 2014 regular season, after the Florida win, was pretty mediocre if you're being objective. Brimah salvaged what would have been a fairly forgettable year.

 

[August_West]

Jackson was in Polley’s roll,

LOL Vance Jackson and his Dad think Vance is Marvin Bagley jr. And you think he would've stuck in Tyler Polley's role?

 

[August_West]

That's not the point he is making aboth Enoch, Durham and Jackson. It is that the lack of continuity that exacerbates the injury situation.

Fully agree. But yes it is the point. He called all four of them Starters. All four of them would NOT have started this year.

 

[August_West]

I hear you on the 9 seed team should have done more to be a better seed, Ollie proved in 2014 that he couldn't coach as he lead the national championship team to only a 7 seed!

Its amazing isn't it? The Ollie haters move the bar around so much on here. I have seen time and again people saying " I want to be competitive and compete for tournament berths"

and then as soon as you bring up times where we have done that you get posts like this:

The 2014 regular season, after the Florida win, was pretty mediocre if you're being objective. Brimah salvaged what would have been a fairly forgettable year.

People moving the bar and trashing National Championship seasons to prove Kevin Ollie sucks.


If you ever need to look any further on why there is a big group of Men's fans that will NEVER be happy unless we are the UConn Women, look no further than that post.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Player recruitment, Player retention, Player growth- do we have any semblance of this at all? It's not like we've had some sort of fluky string of out of the blue injuries. Gilbert and Durham were hurt before they even arrived here. - As Head Coach he's responsible for all of these choices. - "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.”- Our restaurant needs a new cook imo.