Sacred Heart Post Game Thread

[FfldCntyFan]

We're a work in progress but wow, once we iron out the rough spots we'll be a problem for anyone.

By February anyone in our way will get steamrolled.

 

[caw]

My quick take aways:
1) Enjoy McNeeley this year - he won't be here next year. Total stud.
2) Incredible depth - just stupid the amount of players they can just sub in with no drop off
3) Reed > Johnson. He will be starting soon, I suspect
4) Alex - such a luxury to have a 3rd year player this good at everything

McNeeley might be the best offensive freshmen UConn has had in a long, long time. If I were other teams I would hate to see Karaban and McNeeley on the wings. Nightmare to matchup against with UConn's offense.

Other freshmen: Abraham and Nowell looked good for their limited minutes.

Sophomores: Ball looks as good as advertised this year. Stewart looked much less lost in the system and though he shot poorly, he took good shots and played well overall IMO.

Transfers and seniors: Samson is very good on offense but same story on defense. Diarra ran the team well but missed a few open shots he was nailing last year. Reed is not as polished/strong as Adama but he may be more fluid and athletic, good looking FT shooting also. Mahaney played similarly to Diarra.

Karaban was a stud, 20-6-7-7 is just an absurd line.

 

[ScottCT]

Some people judging the first game of the season like we're in February.

 

[Spaceman213J]

In a game where he had 0 points, I was impressed with Mahaney. He competed the entire night on the defensive end, which is a good indication that he has fully bought in. Also, I think he is smart enough to know that on this team that he doesn't need to hunt shots.

Still need SJ to not have the silly obvious fouls. He had two in the second half that were obvious to anyone but him. Still, I liked his aggressiveness at the offensive end.

 

[HailUConn]

McNeeley offense repertoire and prowess is by far more advanced than I could ever imagine from a freshman.
we know he can stroke from long distance, but what impressed me most is that Twice he drove into the teeth of defense and scored with left hand tear drops, and got fouled a couple other times.

"He is one of best freshman in the country, if not the best" - Dan Hurley.

We got another good one!

 

[Brochacho]

Diarra
Ball
McNeeley
Karaban
Reed

That’s my starting 5.

 

[Lambeau]

Karaban, McNeeley, and Ball: 12/20 from 3=60%--exactly what Danny's looking for.
Reed 15/11--now we see why Danny's been quietly cofident about the 5.
Mahaney's offense was as bad as he was good against URI--Danny's banking on the good Aidan prevailing.
So 80% great--not a bad beginning.

 

[GoConn]

Fans need to be better. We're back to back national champs!!

 

[Mister P]

 

[Stasher599]

Aside from some sloppiness and the newcomers still getting used to the offense we have a serious shot at a 3peat.

 

[NewBlood]

Hot take prediction of the night based on way too small of a sample size: Nowell ends the season as the starting point guard. My god he looked confident running the offense.

He’s got a lot of game and fire. Attacking the basket in this offense will open up a lot

 

[jibsey]

Does it matter who starts? Our 5’s will get plenty of time as will Diarra whether he starts or not.

 

[RuffRuff]

AK - most complete game of his UConn career, and a great litmus for him seizing that leadership role. He looked like a pro and at a different level than the rest of the floor.

Ian - active and fearless scorer. Lived up to the hype.

Tarris - glimpses of what he’s capable of once he refines. Great game as he’s so athletic for his size, with good hands.

Solo - great shooting night but still lacks activity on the overall. No reason a kid that long and athletic isn’t a constant disruptor. He stands around as an onlooker way too often. Needs to be more than just a jump shooter, especially if he wants to play in the league.

Samson - I thought he played well when he wasn’t fouling, which continues to be a massive issue for him. Offensively he showed things he’s never done. His FT form looked much improved. That said, he should be coming off the bench soon enough.

Mahaney - most disappointing Husky of the night. Things seemed to stall with ball in his hands. Didn’t really have much presence out there, felt a little stunted at the pace of action. Him throwing a donut up as a starter against SHU can’t happen. Can only go up from here, but the PG position is one to watch. Had a hard time staying in front as a defender at times.

Hassan - tough shooting night. Did have 6 assists and the team generally looks better with him out there at PG, as he pushes pace and is so active, and defends. It almost felt like he may have been pressing on the shot as it’s clearly one of the reasons he doesn’t start.

Stew - still waiting for the light bulb to go off and to understand his identity in the rotation. He continues to miss threes, yet constantly fades to the three point line waiting for a kick out which leaves him away from where his real value is. He did get into the paint more on the very back end of the game to grab a couple rebounds.

Other frosh looked good in limited back end minutes.

Great win to start the season, without Ross. All is a work in progress but great to see some of the core pieces show their stuff. The offensive complexity and precision will only go up from here.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Reed did what he should do against a physically overmatched opponent. Still worried the mental lapses will cost us against better teams, but he should be the best center on the roster by march. I’m fine with Samson starting until it’s absolutely clear Reed is the guy.

Idk who’s starting spot Ross was taking, cause Solo and Liam both looked like stars. Great problem to have.

 

[HCCForever]

Good early game to watch. AK was impressive as was Liam and Solo. Most improved since URI game was Tarris. Much to look forward with him.

Samson good in spurts but too many fouls. His 5th foul was the worst.

 

[djct1999]

Great first game. Just enough for Hurley to kick the crap out of them at practice tomorrow. Other than that, a lot of positives from a very young group.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Hassan - tough shooting night. Did have 6 assists and the team generally looks better with him out there at PG, as he pushes pace and is so active, and defends. It almost felt like he may have been pressing on the shot as it’s clearly one of the reasons he doesn’t start.

Fully agree! The form on Hass' shot looked off. Seemed like he was heaving it a little bit, like a kid that is shooting out of his range. Not worried. It'll come around and in the long term he brings D and veteran intangibles.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

A lot of firepower on offense. Think Maui will tell us a lot about just how good this team can be.

As far as things to lookout for/improve:

Solo is shooting how Hurley thought he could last year. But I would like to see more from his offensive game. Didn’t see a lot of drives outside of attacking close outs. This is against SHU too so I hope he can show that against better teams.

Foul trouble at the 5 spot against a team like this is worrisome. Have to fix that against better opponents. Reed played well. Think he’s going to continue to get better and better under Hurley as he really simplifies the game for bigs.

Liam is Liam. He’s perfect fit for this offense and he’s going to score effortlessly all year. Only thing I’m looking out for is his defense against higher level competition.

Karaban played like junior team leader today. 7 blocks is crazy. Wonder if his defense has improved enough to keep those athletic 4s at bay that he used to struggle with.

PG play has a lot of room for improvement.

We are an incredibly deep team. Wish we could’ve saw Ross today. My only question is if we can survive an off shooting night with the amount of 3s we take when it matters.

 

[B1GEast]

Tarris Reed is a monster and should be the starting center in my opinion.

Reed ended up with more minutes and had better stats.

I'm not concerned with who starts. Johnson is very athletic.

 

[dalydosehoops]

I wasn’t up there tonight, but Connor Wilson, who will be covering whatever UConn home games I can’t make, was. Here’s his recap:

Huskies hammer Sacred Heart on banner night as Karaban shines

Alex Karaban opened junior year with 20 points and perhaps most well-rounded effort of his career as UConn raised national championship bann...

dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com

 

[Chin Diesel]

Some people judging the first game of the season like we're in February.

Well, they better start improving their FT's now when their legs are fresh and the competition is light. Otherwise, it's going to be a long February.
15-23 is unacceptable for a championship level team. I don't know what the coaches are "coaching" in practice, but it obviously isn't FT's!!
McNeeley is a 5-star recruit and goes 3-6. No thanks. Park his but on the bench and give Stewart some run.
These guys should be in the gym before practice, after practice and any chance they get shooting FT's by the hundreds.
Hopefully once the crowd left and the lights were turned off Hurley got them all back in there shooting FT's.


(sarcasm off)

 

[Deepster]

More love here for McNeeley. Super polished and confident. Bigger in person that I imagined, broad shoulders and occupied space. Can score a bunch of ways. Worked hard on the boards. Immediately loved the kid.

p.s. - I never want to read another complaint about the scoreboards. They're awesome.

 

[formerlurker]

Alex can't continue to play those many minutes at the absolute beast mode pace he brought tonight.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Here are my thoughts
1. AK player of the game. LM was close to this
2. I think we will be ok st the 5. SJ commits silly fouls and as a result fouled out. TR is going to be good. He had a double-double.
3. We shared the ball. I think we had at least 26 assists.
4. Hurley got on the boys as far as rebounding. Huge difference between the 2 teams.

 

[cellocgg]

5. Too many people leaving early!! Students did great, fans on the other hand...