Sacred Heart Post Game Thread

[tedsdrunk]

If we can figure out how to get second half Tarris for the whole game we will win it all.

 

[Hunt for 7]

AMs role will need time. What was discouraging in this game was how little command he had out there, as you want to see some leadership out of your PG. He looked a beat slow, hesitant, and had a hard time on defense. It looked more like the open practice player than the URI player.

Hurley said Ross would have started today if healthy - wondered fro whom.

The only starter that he could have started over and did not play well was PG. Other than that it would have been McNeeley or Ball. If he is playing better than them, well ok then get ready CBB because we will be there again. Train kept a rollin.

Samson started last night but clearly in a physical game Reed Jr is on the floor more if he can stay out of foul trouble. He could develop into something special. You can see why he was rated so highly coming out of high school. He is clearly bigger than Sanogo in every category that can be seen. He is huge wide, long and tall. Can’t see heart we know Adama was probably the nicest person off the court but he could impose his will on the court. If Reed Jr finds that, another well ok then……….

 

[microfich]

This night was as entertaining as it gets.

At the pre-20 minute warm-ups, we saw sports fashion at a championship level. The new warm-up duds were a brilliant and classy sight in off-white adorned with gold. It might be my blue/white glasses but the players did seem proud and it was fully deserved.

We advance to the banner ceremony intro. The massive new scoreboard was transfixing and transforming. It is in 3 sections and vids can be programmed to use each separately or spread across the 3 as one image. They showed highly professional mixes of championships past and recorded words of thanks and support from our 4 draftees of last year.

The roaring crowd was primed as we moved to the banner drop.

Cut to the court where the returnees stood separately with the coaches in the dark, bathed in blue light as Connor introduced them each and then implored the curtain to fall and white hot spotlight to reveal the 2024 championship banner.

Large noise.

Starting lineup intros followed in concert with 5 new colossal UCONN letters each spewing a gigantic and crowd-warming geyser of fire for each player.

The game itself showed a UConn team of talent and purpose. We have an ocean of depth. Threes are difference makers, and we will make many, but blocks and steals are what gets a crowd electrified. We played defense with extended arms, covered lanes, shifting feet and help from behind. Hurleyball. This is where we are further along than even last year November. Offensively there's a lot to come but of the limited sets and patterns they did throw out there we knew where each other was, or at least should be (Alex snickers.).

We fans were lurching forward in our Lamborghini all night with all cylinders firing and just a few sputters that others will detail.

We are big.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

(sarcasm off)

My engine was revving and I was ready to attack, then saw that tiny little note. Well played!

 

[KingAG]

I can’t wait for those d heads on Sleepers Media to issue Tarris Reed and apology at some point this season. 15 and 11 is nothing to sneeze at. And he got 9 rebounds in 12 minutes in the second half lmao

 

[AllHusky]

Biggest problem was my Football watching eyes had trouble keeping up with the game.

 

[superjohn]

The only starter that he could have started over and did not play well was PG. Other than that it would have been McNeeley or Ball. If he is playing better than them, well ok then get ready CBB because we will be there again. Train kept a rollin.

Samson started last night but clearly in a physical game Reed Jr is on the floor more if he can stay out of foul trouble. He could develop into something special. You can see why he was rated so highly coming out of high school. He is clearly bigger than Sanogo in every category that can be seen. He is huge wide, long and tall. Can’t see heart we know Adama was probably the nicest person off the court but he could impose his will on the court. If Reed Jr finds that, another well ok then……….

I'm excited about Ross but let's wait and see. We've all seen what Solo can do and Hurley says McNeeley is the best freshman he's ever had and he might be the best freshman in the country. Considering Hurley had Steph Castle as a freshman just last season and Cooper Flagg is a current freshman in college basketball that is monumental praise for McNeeley's game. Karaban also said he thinks McNeeley is the best freshman in the country...

 

[HuskyHawk]

Mahaney has an off game, doesn’t shoot much at all and the yard is down on him again lol. He was arguably our best player against URI but all is forgotten, crazy. Remember the “Cam can’t keep anyone in front of him” talks early last year. Geez

Anyway McNeeley is real good and already improving on D, much more physical than I expected we know he can shoot but that lefty take and his rebounding were real good,

SJ and Reed both solid, Tarris can absolutely rebound in traffic strong man. SJ with a reach and foul 30 ft from the basket please stop!

Hassan not bad, couple bad TOs and didn’t make any wide open looks but we know he’ll be better. D always solid. Still like him as 6th man happy to see that.

Alex is a leader impressed with his on the court coaching, and of course his play. Very aggressive and when he’s making shots like that we will be very good.

Solo may be the real deal he can shoot it. His defense has improved as well, wow this team has shooters.

The one I like despite short minutes, Nowell. Kids gonna be real good. Pest on D, strong going to the basket that finish’s at the rim the defender bounced off him. 3 rebounds in 8 minutes? Like his game there will be more minutes as this season goes along.

Good win lots to like!

This is an impressive collection of players. I think there is really ongoing open competition at every spot but Alex's. Hurley is going to play the guys that play best. Mahaney needs to compete with Diarra and Nowell at the 1 and Ball and Ross at the 2. I think my main concern with Mahaney is that he plays at a slightly slower pace. He has to make decisions more quickly, move the ball more quickly to fit with the rest of the group. I think that will come with more time and game reps.

Team was really sloppy to start. Looked like guys who hadn't really played together, which is the case. As they each get more comfortable with each other I think we will see more crispness. They cleaned a lot up at halftime so I don't think it will take them long.

 

[James]

Didn't anticipate Karaban taking possible a NPOY level leap this year, but I'll take it! Really enjoy hearing McNeeley gush about how much of a mentor and leader he is too

 

[boog204]

First game so some observations are far too small sample size... But.

Reed needs to start instead of Samson. Not because Samson did anything wrong per say, but because Reed makes the offense flow better, is a better rebounder, and will be the better overall defender. I think we'll see this change sooner rather than later.

Mahaney didn't do much but he should be the starter. He'll give us a better offensive weapon and Diarra off the bench gives you juice and a spark.

Liam is an absolute stud. Anyone who questioned him (and there were some) after the URI just doesn't get it. Sorry. Dude was hitting 3's, rebounded, defended, connected, and probably hit more off hand shots in a game then I can remember any of our players, kinda, ever. If he hits his free throws he goes 20-10 in his college debut?

Solo is a star in the making. He'll be a low teens scorer this year and if he sticks for a third year, could become a Ben/Beal/Donovan Mitchell type smaller 2G scorer who could push the lottery.

AK... Nothing needs to be said.

Abraham will be a player in time. He's got a certain something that I really like. I don't think he'll see many minutes this year but he's got a nice future as that intangible guy to support the stars.

Okay, so now the thing that I'm "worried" about. We have great depth in terms of numbers and talent. But we need a wing to be a dependable scorer/shooter off the bench. Stewart is not a guy you can depend on to hit shots and he looked careless with the ball. I'm curious if Ross was available if he would have been the first wing off the bench.

 

[Palatine]

You can see the chemistry and anticipation is a work in progress.

Do you think that LM will shoot 50% from the foul line this year? What was that?

Karaban -7 and Diarra -6 had over half our 25 assists. Diarra will be our assist leader this year. IMHO he is our best PG by far.

 

[Deleted at users request]

One more thing with Reed. I can see him developing an offensive game a notch below Sanogo’s and having defense a notch below Whaley with Hurley. He’s a nice mix between the two players.

 

[Hurleyman216]

It’s wild how good McNeeley is. I’m wondering if he was just a bit overshadowed by Flagg in high school because they played for the same team and played similar positions. Flagg is probably slightly more athletic than McNeeley, but my guess is Flagg was also “the guy” on that team and was the one who took more shots. I’ve seen them both play quite a bit and now that they’re in college I’m honestly not sure which one is the better player. They are certainly two of the best freshman I’ve seen in recent memory.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I can’t wait for those d heads on Sleepers Media to issue Tarris Reed and apology at some point this season. 15 and 11 is nothing to sneeze at. And he got 9 rebounds in 12 minutes in the second half lmao

I went looking.... Nothing.

 

[Deleted at users request]

It’s wild how good McNeeley is. I’m wondering if he was just a bit overshadowed by Flagg in high school because they played for the same team and played similar positions. Flagg is probably slightly more athletic than McNeeley, but my guess is Flagg was also “the guy” on that team and was the one who took more shots. I’ve seen them both play quite a bit and now that they’re in college I’m honestly not sure which one is the better player. They are certainly two of the best freshman I’ve seen in recent memory.

Let’s relax a bit. McNeeley is a highly skilled great offensive player who’s a perfect fit for this system.

Flagg is a generational prospect on both ends of the floor and a potential #1 pick.

He’s going to be fine regardless at Duke getting experience learning how to create his own shot, but he’d be a monster in this offense that’d give him so many easy looks.

 

[RuffRuff]

It’s wild how good McNeeley is. I’m wondering if he was just a bit overshadowed by Flagg in high school because they played for the same team and played similar positions. Flagg is probably slightly more athletic than McNeeley, but my guess is Flagg was also “the guy” on that team and was the one who took more shots. I’ve seen them both play quite a bit and now that they’re in college I’m honestly not sure which one is the better player. They are certainly two of the best freshman I’ve seen in recent memory.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Cooper has 2-3 inches, has a long wingspan and can jump through the gym. He’s been touted a generational talent for reason. It’s not because McNeeley was overshadowed. Ian is a better shooter, and that’s where it ends.

Not sure you’ve watched any of the other action out there but a number of freshman showing the goods. BYU kid, Texas kid, Maryland kid, Georgia kid, Harper. Titus had an interesting angle on it and that this is the first freshman class whose development wasn’t disrupted by Covid, thinks it could be the year of the freshman.

 

[RuffRuff]

I went looking.... Nothing.

Give em a day. Will most certainly cover the game as not much action elsewhere, although Kalks 49 sure to be a hot topic.

 

[Stew Crew]

Karaban was much more demonstrative on the court. After the lob to Johnson, he was running down the court laughing and gesturing to the crowd. You could also see him mentoring McNeeley on the court. After McNeeley gave up a shot in the lane and ended up throwing the ball away, you could see Karaban talking to him about taking the shot.

I'm guessing that Nowell's lack of playing time might be because he is a bit behind on picking up the offense. For the most part, he floated on the perimeter on offense. We saw similar things from Stewart early last season.

I am sure Mahaney will improve on defense. When I first saw Calcaterra, I didn't think there was any way he would see the court in big games. He learned quickly. Someone posted a video recently of Bobby Knight about how sitting on the bench is a great motivator.

I'm surprised about the negative comments about Diarra. It was one game last night. He has proved himself as a beast on both ends of the court over the past 2+ years.

It was great to see Reed diving for balls on the court at least twice last night. I'm sure it wasn't lost on Hurley.

 

[Stew Crew]

One more thing with Reed. I can see him developing an offensive game a notch below Sanogo’s and having defense a notch below Whaley with Hurley. He’s a nice mix between the two players.

Sanogo worked really hard on his footwork on offense in order to make that big improvement. I expect we will see something similar with Reed, Jr.

 

[JerseyAlum]

Below is current and won't look like this soon. Funny as UConn not "Connecticut" we are near the bottom b/c tie breaker is alphabetical. Good parity for one game in for all in the Big East...except Nova...but hey Columbia is my grad alma mater so let's go!

 

[boog204]

It’s wild how good McNeeley is. I’m wondering if he was just a bit overshadowed by Flagg in high school because they played for the same team and played similar positions. Flagg is probably slightly more athletic than McNeeley, but my guess is Flagg was also “the guy” on that team and was the one who took more shots. I’ve seen them both play quite a bit and now that they’re in college I’m honestly not sure which one is the better player. They are certainly two of the best freshman I’ve seen in recent memory.

I think Liam is the perfect complimentary star. He's does all of the little things super well and those get overshadowed. I remember watching him whatever All-Star game he was in and he scored big and hit shots but he was the only guy setting screens, moving the ball, creating angles/space. It's stuff that might go unnoticed or even "unneeded" in more ISO based offenses. With the stuff that we run, its essential and it's makes everything better.

 

[bendm]

We had 13 blocks tonight.

And Alex had half of them after averaging under 1 bpg last year. Thinking 7 blocks was a fluke but can’t tell if you genuinely don’t think rim protection is a weakness or if you’re just arguing for the sake of it.

 

[Deepster]

I will not overreact from Game 1 and the opponent, but all night I kept thinking Diarra > Mahaney. Maybe I'm just sentimental right now, but I feel more comfortable about Diarra in the "Hurley mold" and worry Mahaney is just too new in too big a position controlling the offense to warrant playing over Hass.

 

[Deepster]

And Alex had almost half of them after averaging under 1 bpg last year. I can’t tell if you genuinely don’t think rim protection is a weakness or if you’re just arguing for the sake of it.

I think 3, maybe 4 of his blocks came on drives where he came from behind for the block. I don't call that true "rim protection" like you got with Donovan and Sanogo.

 

[husky429]

I can’t wait for those d heads on Sleepers Media to issue Tarris Reed and apology at some point this season. 15 and 11 is nothing to sneeze at. And he got 9 rebounds in 12 minutes in the second half lmao

Tough rebounds too. He's huge and willing to sacrifice his body to get the ball.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

My takeaways from the first game:
1. Forget about his numbers, Alex just looked different. More assertive. More vocal. More fired up. Blocking shots; looking dangerous of the dribble, beautiful passing, deadly shooting. Alex Karaban 3.0 may be dangerous for opponents.
2. As president of the Solo Ball fan club, this game was nothing short of thrilling. This kid is going to be an All-America type player this year. He is definitely going pro after this year.
3. Liam is going to be awesome, no question about it. He looks big for a wing. He also has a dog about him, to go with a beautiful offensive game. We are lucky to have him.
4. Aidan looked nervous and tentative. I think he will be fine, but you can tell that the lights were a bit bright for him yesterday.
5. Hassan better watch out. I am one of those folks who believe that Nowell may overtake him this year. I am well aware that Dan will give Hassan plenty of rope, but I think Nowell is just better. The cream always rises to the top with Dan. Nowell is going to be factor this year.
6. Samson Johnson: fouled out with 7 minutes to go against Sacred Heart. Can we please stop pretending that he is something that he is not? The problem here is that TR committed two very quick fouls too. This is worth keeping an eye on.
7. Reed: I hate to give those two podcasters from the Big X credit, but they have mentioned that Reed would disappear from games and then show up for 3-5 minute spurts. Well, Reed had a terrible first half, and a solid second half. This is not going to be good enough when the games count. And allowing SH's 6' 7" center to get him in foul trouble is not going to be good enough either. I would have loved to see Singare play a little more, because I am convinced that we are going to need him. I see other comments that say Reed was a monster. Can we see him play against a guy his size before we call him a monster? The center position may be our only weakness. Maybe.
8. Defensively we were solid and we played without our best guard/wing defender. I cannot wait to see what Ross brings to the rotation. Remember, looking way ahead, Duke has Kon Knueppel, a deadly shooter at 6'7". I think Ross will be the guy who stops those types of players because of his length and leaping ability. Looking forward to seeing him develop this year.
9. We are so freakishly deep that Abraham is unlikely to see the floor, and this kid is nice. Like Liam, his body just looks different. He had a play last night when he slipped to the right to get his shot off. It wasn't a highlight play, just a play that you typically see a guard do, not a forward. If we stay healthy, this guy will stay on the bench, and that is crazy.
10. And lastly, you can tell Dan loves this team. His body language screams positivity. Looks very confident. And that makes me feel very confident.

 

[homunculus]

Karaban also said he thinks McNeeley is the best freshman in the country...

Alex speaks like a coach. Head Coach Karaban someday?

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I can’t wait for those d heads on Sleepers Media to issue Tarris Reed and apology at some point this season. 15 and 11 is nothing to sneeze at. And he got 9 rebounds in 12 minutes in the second half lmao

He got like 4 offensive rebounds that one possession lol. Looked really strong out there, albeit against a super small front line.

 

[superjohn]

And Alex had half of them after averaging under 1 bpg last year. Thinking 7 blocks was a fluke but can’t tell if you genuinely don’t think rim protection is a weakness or if you’re just arguing for the sake of it.

You're the one who posted we're without any rim protection. Don't post something stupid and not expect to get called out on it. It's UConn basketball, we always have rim protection. Our two centers have a 7'5 wingspan and a 7'4 wingspan. We have length at the wing/guard and they'll get some help side blocks at the rim.

We'll be one of the best rim protection/shot blocking teams in the country like we always are.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I think 3, maybe 4 of his blocks came on drives where he came from behind for the block. I don't call that true "rim protection" like you got with Donovan and Sanogo.

AK had 2 blocks in both the semifinal and final last year as well, on a good run. I think he could average 1.5 or so this year, he has good timing and seems to have a good wingspan too (I could be wrong, idk)