Short and not very sweet DePaul ThoughtZ™

[RichZ]

1. Trying to forget that first half ever happened.
2. Karaban shot 1 for 14. Despite a couple decent shooting outings over the last month or so he's become unreliable, scoring-wise of late. I don't see an obvious hitch in his giddy-up, other than his 3 point attempts seem awfully flat. But even when he's ON, he doesn't employ much of an arc, that probably isn't the issue.
3. The short stretch from 10:30 or thereabouts to 8:20 or so in the 2nd half made all the difference for us. 2 Reed layups followed by a layup and a three (plus a made foul shot on each) by Solo, then another Reed layup, all while DePaul was limited to 2 made FTs, and we were finally where we belonged. It should be noted that Alex made the dime on three of those 5 pivotal scores. Diarra had the other two assists.
4. Stewart had one of his best games of the season, going 3 for 3 from two and 3 of 4 from three, and chipping in 4 boards and a blocked shot.
5. This was one of those games that we pretty much have to be thankful to manage a win against a team we should have destroyed, swallow hard and find a way to play much, much better against Marquette Saturday.

 

[inWV]

Karaban is gassed. He's average 38 minutes per game in the last 10 (with 2 ovt games). And he is expending a lot of energy doing the non-scoring things needed so that UCONN doesn't lose the game. Last night would have been the night to get him some minutes on the bench, but the team played so poorly in the first half so that wasn't an option. Hopefully Stewart can continue to carve out a role and given consistent play so that when McNeeley comes back, there will be three forwards who can play starter level minutes at a high level, plus a defensive piece in Ross. But the problem is that Karaban does the things on the court that contribute to overall success and it's hard to sit him. But they have to get him freshened up for the stretch run in March.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

We’re all hating on Alex’s shooting last night but no one is talking about his 8 assists!

 

[Spaceman213J]

We’re all hating on Alex’s shooting last night but no one is talking about his 8 assists!

He does so much of the little things that are important to winning. I've posted it about it before, but my knock on Ross is that he almost never really 'hits' someone with his backscreens. He shows and then ducks toward the hoop to early and when you never stay and hit someone with the pick, no is going to bite and they will anticipate the roll to the hoop. Stewart seems like he's getting his body on opposing players more when he sets screens.

As far as his shot, I think he's pressing a bit.

I'm worried about Diarra. He just doesn't look right and if he can't stay in front of his man or go full speed on the fast break, that's a big loss for the team. Thankfully, Mahaney looks like he's getting a little comfortable out there and learning how to play with this set of guys.

It was nice to see Reed wake up and going back to being a bear inside. It's tough because when he's going, they need to keep feeding him, but Diarra is below average at feeding the post. I'd rather have Karaban, Mahaney or Stewart feeding the post.

The team needs to play for 40 minutes though. They can't be doing this in the tournament. It will burn them in the end and it will be an early exit from the tournament.

 

[pj]

We’re all hating on Alex’s shooting last night but no one is talking about his 8 assists!

Hurley mentioned that he can't take Alex off the court because he's the quarterback on the court, organizing both defense and offense. The team would become very discoordinated without him.

 

[Luckyhusky81]

Anyone know what was going on wi the Hassan? He seemed to be in pain throughout the game

 

[alphasigko]

IMO he is still off on his shooting because of long term effects of his concussion. It could have possibly affected his depth perception.

 

[HooperScooper]

Anyone know what was going on wi the Hassan? He seemed to be in pain throughout the game

Hurley said freshman Ahmad Nowell will not be available after he suffered an ankle sprain in practice on Monday, and Hassan Diarra has had some practice time off as well to deal with knee soreness and general wear and tear that has come with his rise in minutes.

“He’s a warrior, he’s giving you everything he’s got out there every single night,” Hurley said. “And he’s played through it, you could see him in the Xavier game, he was limping a little bit out there and just struggling a little bit physically. But he’ll play hurt, he’ll battle for you. He’s a UConn man.”

‘Banged up’ version of the No. 25 UConn men’s basketball team set to host DePaul Wednesday; What to know

The No. 25 UConn men enter Wednesday’s home bout with DePaul banged up in the backcourt and likely still missing Liam McNeeley, who is nearing return.

www.courant.com

 

[HooperScooper]

We’re all hating on Alex’s shooting last night but no one is talking about his 8 assists!

“He’s a terrific player,” DePaul coach Chris Holtmann said. “He’s not defined by his scoring in any way, he’s so highly-engaged – I don’t even know what his numbers were, I just know he’s a damn good player. Eight assists… He missed some shots he’s normally gonna make, for sure, he had a couple clean looks, but we did want speed on him… I think you’ve got to have speed and quickness on him or else he’s too good at getting to his spots offensively and coming off screens. But he’s one of the best players in college basketball and he’s one of the most enjoyable kids to watch as a coach.”

Alex Karaban’s winning ways on display despite rough shooting night: ‘He’s a terrific player’

DePaul coach Chris Holtmann didn’t need to see Alex Karaban’s shooting line Wednesday night before explaining why he is a ‘terrific player’ anyway.

www.courant.com

Alternate access:
Alex Karaban’s winning ways on display despite rough shooting night: ‘He’s a terrific player’