Shout out to Ross

[uconngb]

Wanted to make this a separate thread because I’ve been absolutely killing him for his defense. Tonight his defense was great and with as bad as Stewart was w the ball we needed him to step in and he did in a big way.

Kudos to Ross, I gladly eat my words and hope he can build on this

 

[GHSWolverines]

He did a great jon defensibely. Stewart can't put a full game together

 

[EastConn'er]

Not really...

 

[UDann]

He did a great jon defensibely. Stewart can't put a full game together

Kudos to Ross. Stewart was on fire and helped give us the lead. Then he completely lost his concentration turning ball over. Hopefully he can get better down the stretch.

 

[Drfla]

Wanted to make this a separate thread because I’ve been absolutely killing him for his defense. Tonight his defense was great and with as bad as Stewart was w the ball we needed him to step in and he did in a big way.

Kudos to Ross, I gladly eat my words and hope he can build on this

Same here. He’s hard to watch sometimes but tonight his D was very good and much needed.

 

[Drame]

Only 1 turnover in 27 minutes and part of the reason we fouled less in the second half. His man defense on penetration was great.

 

[Spaceman213J]

Ross was very solid. He may not be the strongest, but he has length and it looks like he's figuring out how to use it.

Stewart had some really bad turnovers, but let's not forget his 1st 10 minutes. He hit those 3's and did pretty well on the defensive glass. It's just the turnovers were as ugly and as unnecessary as they come. Also, he did bring the ball up pretty well when Diarra and Mahaney were out with foul trouble.

Hopefully, Diarra is able to just rest and in practice they work more on that lineup with Ball, Stewart, Ross, AK and a big in together. I'm not sure what a hobbled Diarra is going to do with Kadary next Friday. He's not big enough and if his movement is degraded, it could be a long night for him. Also, don't want Solo having to guard him. He could put Solo in foul trouble and we need Solo and his shooting on the floor.

 

[ctchamps]

Been defending him since the beginning of this season. I’ll repeat it again. He played only 100 minutes prior to this season. He’s going to be special.

 

[jdb50]

Ross was huge in the last 10 minutes with his D. He stopped leaving his feet! And he did not foul. Tried to stop MQ drives. Great positive steps for him. Hope the offense stars to come around.

 

[Rico444]

Ross is well on his way to being our program's next lockdown defender.

 

[inWV]

Been defending him since the beginning of this season. I’ll repeat it again. He played only 100 minutes prior to this season. He’s going to be special.

I saw a live body that moved well on the court in garbage minutes last year. He’s a bit of an Andre Jackson type player. Lots of athleticism but not a realized offensive game.

 

[ctchamps]

I saw a live body that moved well on the court in garbage minutes last year. He’s a bit of an Andre Jackson type player. Lots of athleticism but not a realized offensive game.

He’s deferring on offense as he should. Several scorers ahead of him. The skills are there. Enjoy watching him develop. He’ll be a much better offensive player than AJ before his career at UConn is over.

 

[Hunt for 7]

• Yesterday at 6:28 PM

I just cannot believe all the people on this board who think Ross cannot defend. There are metrics that show he defends well. Does he get caught biting on pump fakes more than he should, yes he does. But just take the time and watch what happens when he properly challenges three point shots. The man he is guarding does not make them at all and they shoot a very low percentage.

Hurley is the best coach in the country and couple that with the metrics and these arguments about how bad a defenderRoss is only show how little basketball acumen those posters have.

Focus on the negative only. Defense is not a zero sum situation, you only notice him when he does something stupid and that is usually on the ball. So you don’t notice when he is in position doing his job. He does his job or his assignment on defense so much better than Stewart and Ball so that is why he plays more.

Just get over it, he is our best defender you should be encouraging him to stop the mistakes that are easy to see. Because if he stops those he gets very close to being an elite defender. I think we should be hoping he does because it could win us some games over the next 8 weeks.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Well I have been in the Ross bandwagon for sometime. It is not just his defense he actually makes our e tire defense when he is on the floor. Johnson can roam and go for blocks. His help defense is very good. And he cuts off his man by taking the right angle before his man gets to the rim. He is long, quick and jumps well. A little more strength which is on it way and he will be a special defender.

AK played great but when Ross and Johnson are on the floor together with the sudden Ball improvement which I thought might be coming all of a sudden that lack of athleticism on our part is no longer an issue.

I really hope we see a lineup of Samson, AK, Liam, Ross and Ball. We will not need a point guard.

As for Stewart he can be instant offense. Hurley may tighten the rotation wihen McNeeley gets back. Stewart, Reed Jr , Ross and maybe 5 minutes a game from Aiden. If he is playing well he will get more some games.

Starting too see how this team can make a run. This year it really looks like there are two dominant teams Dook and Auburn. I would prefer to stay out of their brackets if given a choice.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Been defending him since the beginning of this season. I’ll repeat it again. He played only 100 minutes prior to this season. He’s going to be special.

NBA scouts were asking for a reason we have to remember he grew late, so just wait, next year he will be a stud. Even by the end of this year we are going to see him expand. He seems to be able to get into the lane off the dribble and he is big enough to get the ball out to the right person. If he was not fouled on that kick out to AK it sets up another open three for Ball.

 

[uconn_jack]

If we only we could meld Stewart's offense and Ross's defense into one peron right now.

 

[ctchamps]

NBA scouts were asking for a reason we have to remember he grew late, so just wait, next year he will be a stud. Even by the end of this year we are going to see him expand. He seems to be able to get into the lane off the dribble and he is big enough to get the ball out to the right person. If he was not fouled on that kick out to AK it sets up another open three for Ball.

If UConn is playing against a good defensive team like Marquette and St. Johns it might make sense to have a lineup with Solo, Ross, Liam and Alex on the court when we want to spell Hassan. Mahaney will be more than fine against most teams but against certain teams this might be the best option. What people forget is that before his growth spurt he was a point guard.

What you, @boog204 and a small number of other posters have noticed is what he does well as opposed to just getting aggravated with his mistakes. His defensive development may not be linear, but if you watch his posture, his quickness to react, his movement one on one you can see the potential for an elite defender.

In this game I saw him handle the ball with confidence. He is almost at the point of getting comfortable to drive to the lane and score or dish. It's not because he suddenly figured things out. It's because he was being asked primarily to set screens or spread the floor by staying on the wing. He's got the speed and the verticality to get high light dunks. The stats certainly don't show it but he is a good 3 pt shooter.

 

[superjohn]

Ross was very solid, he's getting better with the winning stuff thag doesn't jump out. Jaylin not so good on the small stuff but his talent is evident.

 

[ValleyGuy]

Feel bad for Ross, in the sense that it seems they love to throw him the ball with 1 second on the shot clock a lot.

 

[superjohn]

Feel bad for Ross, in the sense that it seems they love to throw him the ball with 1 second on the shot clock a lot.

Numbers won't show it but he played really well last night. Hurley gave him a hug after the ball was thrown into him in no man's land. His minutes are starting to pay off even if the stats don't show.

 

[ValleyGuy]

Numbers won't show it but he played really well last night. Hurley gave him a hug after the ball was thrown into him in no man's land. His minutes are starting to pay off even if the stats don't show.

Yea, I’ve been sour on Ross within the confines of my home. Definitely need his length. As good as UConn is offensively, we know Hurley will reward defense.

I just let out a chuckle when he got the shot clock violation again. They left him to the wolves on that lol

 

[Jaydumo20]

Ross was very solid. He may not be the strongest, but he has length and it looks like he's figuring out how to use it.

Stewart had some really bad turnovers, but let's not forget his 1st 10 minutes. He hit those 3's and did pretty well on the defensive glass. It's just the turnovers were as ugly and as unnecessary as they come. Also, he did bring the ball up pretty well when Diarra and Mahaney were out with foul trouble.

Hopefully, Diarra is able to just rest and in practice they work more on that lineup with Ball, Stewart, Ross, AK and a big in together. I'm not sure what a hobbled Diarra is going to do with Kadary next Friday. He's not big enough and if his movement is degraded, it could be a long night for him. Also, don't want Solo having to guard him. He could put Solo in foul trouble and we need Solo and his shooting on the floor.

In the chat the first 10 minutes of the 1st half was all-
STEW!
He's arrived!
Have a game young man!!!

Plus, the crawl on the bottom of the score on fox sports mobile kept saying "Marquette #9 has no answer of J.Stewart"

Good post!

 

[boog204]

Feel bad for Ross, in the sense that it seems they love to throw him the ball with 1 second on the shot clock a lot.

Someone in the chat ripped him for being “terrible at the end of the shot clock.” Twice in this game he got the ball with 1 second on the clock in tough spots. Even the one at the end of the game the other day was him receiving a terrible pass from Hass where he couldn’t gather because of a close out. With that one he should get some blame bc he has to know when to pull up. But the two last night were not his fault.

 

[dogpause]

I think Ross is starting to turn the corner and could become the most improved player between now and tournament time. His biggest obstacle has been confidence and a lack of PT. Yesterday, his confidence bloomed.

 

[boog204]

If UConn is playing against a good defensive team like Marquette and St. Johns it might make sense to have a lineup with Solo, Ross, Liam and Alex on the court when we want to spell Hassan. Mahaney will be more than fine against most teams but against certain teams this might be the best option. What people forget is that before his growth spurt he was a point guard.

What you, @boog204 and a small number of other posters have noticed is what he does well as opposed to just getting aggravated with his mistakes. His defensive development may not be linear, but if you watch his posture, his quickness to react, his movement one on one you can see the potential for an elite defender.

In this game I saw him handle the ball with confidence. He is almost at the point of getting comfortable to drive to the lane and score or dish. It's not because he suddenly figured things out. It's because he was being asked primarily to set screens or spread the floor by staying on the wing. He's got the speed and the verticality to get high light dunks. The stats certainly don't show it but he is a good 3 pt shooter.

Think it was evident that Ross has the tools to be an elite defender. He just tends to be a spazz. When he keeps his feet, he’s the only guy we have who can guard 1-4 and that makes a big difference when we’re switching everything. Ross with his length and athleticism can get over/under screens.

I know ppl got annoyed I was doing a Ross vs Stew thing but it really makes a difference on the defensive end. Beginning of the 2nd half momentum had shifted and it got down to I think 8 or 9 pretty quickly in the first couple of minutes. We sub Ross and defense tightens up, offense starts flowing a little better (not saying bc of Ross here) and when Stew came back in , we were up 14. Second straight game that sub resulted in us surging ahead. It’s not a coincidence. Getting stops on defense only helps our offense.

First defensive possession after Ross is subbed out, Stew gets caught in a screen, can’t stay with Jones, we are forced to switch and Jones takes AK to the hoop for an easy layup.