Seriously man blaming the execution of everyone else but not Shabazz the point guard whose job is to make the game easier for everyone else and know where they like the ball. UConn in general has never been a good half court team with some notable exceptions as have been mentioned.
The team is not in sync because there is no identity and no leadership quality in anyone to will the team together and to get guys playing at their maximum level. Kemba, El-Amin, Rip were guys who elevated the play of the guys around them. Guys gave it their all for Kemba because he was an all around player who could do everything on the court defend, score, run up tempo and half court sets, encourage guys when they were down, etc, etc. Many guys on the team are not giving their maximum effort each and every night like last year and no one looks happy to be out there on the court playing basketball which is why Kemba said after the Cincinnati loss that these are not the same guys I played with last year.
If Shabazz as the point guard and according to you is the leader of the team then he has to take a good amount of criticism for his performance and the team's poor play. Everyone needs to be held accountable for their performance including Lamb who hasn't looked good defensively and doesnt demand the ball like a future lottery pick should.
It was incorrect of me to give Shabazz a total pass in not bearing responsibility for the loss. I was being a counterweight to the preponderance of posts that were foisting the majority of responsibility upon Shabazz for the Cincy loss and in doing so I underplayed his responsibility. I'm a firm believer when the team wins every player including the bench guys and coaches share the win, and when a team loses the same holds true.
I do place an element of value with leadership and positive reinforcement in helping generate motivation and positive performance.
Since I can't impact the players on the team because I have no exposure to them, the best I can do is try to encourage people in this forum to express themselves in a manner that you would like to see the team demonstrate. But I recognize that not all people have the capacity to be gracious and supportive. Not every player is cast in the die of a Kemba Walker and not every poster can express themselves in the same uplifting manner that Kemba was able to do last season. I can live with the posters being who they are in the same manner I can live with Shabazz being a different individual from Kemba. However since I can interact with people in this forum, I'll continue to try to encourage people to be supportive in their criticism as opposed to be derogatory or inflammatory. And I hope in my moments of human weakness, when I succumb to my anger, people will help me regain my composure.
I expected there to be a Kemba rebound this season not only with the loss of all that he did on the court but with many of us wishing he was still on the team. And I expected that his replacement would be expected to perform to Kemba's persona as well as his skill set. This is not always conscious on our parts but this behavior is typical. When JC finally retires, the next coach will have a difficult time because so many fans have identified the program with JC. Because we tend to identify ourselves with certain things including teams, JC's absence will be our loss. The next coach will have a difficult time in satisfying many of us no matter how successful he may be.
This is getting long. I apologize. As observers we see things in the course of a game. First, not everyone sees the same things. Even the best observers miss things. Second, even when people see the same set of events, there isn't always a consensus of about that event. We place different values and weights to each event because we are "biased". By this I mean every human computer (brain) is different and is programmed differently which leads to a biased or individualized perspective.
Shabazz has exceeded my expectations. I think his role as a leader has been more than adequate. I don't feel that he can be held accountable for AD and AO going a combined 3-16, or Jeremy going 5-12. In spite of these three players having a bad game on the offensive end, they were given more than enough opportunities. I would offer they should have had been given less chances given that they had contributed so many wasted offensive possessions.
Shabazz's failures were his five turnovers, one of which was a slip that we were all fortunate he didn't injure his knee, and the two times he let his player take a wide open shot. In these circumstances he was in control of the play and those failures could be directly attributed to him. How the players ran the plays while he was waiting to get them the ball, or how they handled the ball once they got it was up to the other players and not Shabazz's responsibility. You cannot will me to think or act differently than the way I want to think or act and the opposite holds true about me trying to influence you. This applies to Shabazz and his team mates. He can only ask them to perform to a standard. It is up to them to decide to comply.
