Sick and tired

[upstater]

I don't care what people say but even down to 8 players we shouldn't be losing to this Tulsa team! If KO has another bad year he will be fired.

And that will be the end of UConn athletics.

 

[upstater]

i think enoch needs to lose 20-30 pounds in the offseason. he is just too bulky and has no lift or mobility. vance too, they both look like they are playing in timbs.

But, isn't this the opposite of what we say with Brimah and Facey? Put on some pounds, we say. Not saying you're wrong, but it seems we need one guy on the team to bring the beef.

 

[upstater]

When you don't have enough guards, especially ballhandlers, you lose. One of UCONN's greatest collection of talents ever lost to George Mason, largely because they didn't have a second PG/Ballhandler.

Also important to remember that UConn lost to San Diego when AJ Price went down.

This was the year before Kemba Walker showed up.

I can't even remember who took over for AJ when he tore his ACL. Was it Craig Austrie? Funny that people are saying Austrie would be a huge improvement over Vital, since UConn had no business losing that big game to San Diego (this is a U. San Diego the Catholic school, not San Diego State).

 

[upstater]

So what that still doesn't excuse the fact that Vital is taking the ball up court at the moment and it doesn't excuse Vital for being so weak minded to throw that pass, Honestly to be a D-1 player and to look so scared and tentative against Tulsa? its not like we were going up against Kentucky or Duke or Nova etc. This is not the first time this has happened either meaning the players are doing whatever they feel like and Ollie doesnt have a handle on them? Vance Jackson should go on a diet and stop moving around like a piece of wood out there and start shooting with some lift off the ground. Vital should also get his eyes checked as his shots are all over the place as well. I have never seen so many airballs and shots hit the side of the backboard from "shooters" let alone at UCONN. What the heck were they recruited for and what the heck are they doing in practice to simulate game shots and shooting. The athletic department better have some psychologists come have individual talks with some of the guys as its concerning to say the least. Let's hope for better in the new year with a new year's gift coming as well.

How long have you been watching UConn bball? You act like this "weak-mindedness" as you put it is somehow beneath UConn. Yet we saw what Shabazz did late in the 2011 national championship game when he had a temporary moment of "what the hell!" Things like this happen with 19 year olds. And then they come back and become players of the year.

 

[upstater]

We just don't have enough guards. Jalen is the only ballhandler, only creator, and almost the only scorer. All the other defects of this team grow out of that deficiency.

Alterique will make a huge difference when he gets back, so will MAL, so will Hamidou if he comes. Things could be totally different in a year with 4 top perimeter players plus Vital and Jackson in spot minutes backing them up.

I'm optimistic about next year's frontcourt of Larrier, Enoch, Josh Carlton, Durham, and Polley also. If Enoch or Carlton can emerge as a capable starting center then the team will be very solid. If KO could have reeled in Bamba or Richards, this team would be spectacular.

Clearly, UConn will go small next year, especially if Diallo comes. Guard heavy, with Larrier at the PF.

 

[UCweCONN]

We've been saying "wait until next year" for a few years now.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

How long have you been watching UConn bball? You act like this "weak-mindedness" as you put it is somehow beneath UConn. Yet we saw what Shabazz did late in the 2011 national championship game when he had a temporary moment of "what the hell!" Things like this happen with 19 year olds. And then they come back and become players of the year.

I like your optimism, but this isn't an isolated weak minded play or even a weak Season. You have to go back to the 60s to find such consistent weakness. And the quality of players then versus now is not even close which makes it even more puzzling. We are now on the third season, in a row, with very weak play. I wish I could spin this better, but facts are facts. You can't isolate one game and compare against an isolated weak game during Kemba's years and say it's no different. There's a huge difference

 

[HuskyHawk]

The only thing miserable than watching these games is reading you guy reliving the misery. This team is just sucking a lot of joy out of life and they find new and creative ways to lose each game. It's not just that they are undermanned. They clearly should have beaten Tulsa with the players they had.

 

[upstater]

I like your optimism, but this isn't an isolated weak minded play or even a weak Season. You have to go back to the 60s to find such consistent weakness. And the quality of players then versus now is not even close which makes it even more puzzling. We are now on the third season, in a row, with very weak play. I wish I could spin this better, but facts are facts. You can't isolate one game and compare against an isolated weak game during Kemba's years and say it's no different. There's a huge difference

I don't agree. Obviously. I think these players are strong, tough, and will develop.

I think Vital is going to come back and become a vital (heh) cog for us. I think Jalen will be an all-time great. I am not sure what will happen with Vance, but I see this team coming together strong. It needs a ballhandler like Alterique. Or MAL. Luckily, they are coming.

The kid who is being raked over the coals here is actually on the tougher side, not the weak-minded side. I like Vital a lot.

Come back to this post in a year, you'll see what I mean.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

I don't agree. Obviously. I think these players are strong, tough, and will develop.

I think Vital is going to come back and become a vital (heh) cog for us. I think Jalen will be an all-time great. I am not sure what will happen with Vance, but I see this team coming together strong. It needs a ballhandler like Alterique. Or MAL. Luckily, they are coming.

The kid who is being raked over the coals here is actually on the tougher side, not the weak-minded side. I like Vital a lot.

Come back to this post in a year, you'll see what I mean.

I don't agree. Obviously. I think these players are strong, tough, and will develop.

I think Vital is going to come back and become a vital (heh) cog for us. I think Jalen will be an all-time great. I am not sure what will happen with Vance, but I see this team coming together strong. It needs a ballhandler like Alterique. Or MAL. Luckily, they are coming.

The kid who is being raked over the coals here is actually on the tougher side, not the weak-minded side. I like Vital a lot.

Come back to this post in a year, you'll see what I mean.

I do

I don't agree. Obviously. I think these players are strong, tough, and will develop.

I think Vital is going to come back and become a vital (heh) cog for us. I think Jalen will be an all-time great. I am not sure what will happen with Vance, but I see this team coming together strong. It needs a ballhandler like Alterique. Or MAL. Luckily, they are coming.

The kid who is being raked over the coals here is actually on the tougher side, not the weak-minded side. I like Vital a lot.

Come back to this post in a year, you'll see what I mean.

I do not disagree, that next year if our talent returns, we will be good. My problem is that the talent we still have, should not be placing us as a top 150 or worse team. But yes, next year I have no doubt we're going to be a much different team.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The problem is that when freshman and sophomores made these type of mistakes, Calhoun held them accountable in game and then made sure they didn't happen again. We have a collection of guys on our team who are still doing the same things they've done every season for 3 or 4 years under KO.

To another person's point, I can't get over the amount of air balls and ugly shots we've seen this season. Jackson and Vital seemingly put one up a game.

If you want to say we are undermanned on the road against Cincinnati or Temple fine. Against a .500 Tulsa club with I believe 10 new players on it? It's a slippery slope for excuses.

We are not a tourney team without larrier and gilbert but beating mediocre AAC teams isn't too much to ask.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Most of you appear to be in denial about just how bad Tulsa is. They lost 7-8 best players from last year and brought in garbage recruits. We absolutely had enough to win yesterday and there's no excuse for consistently losing gift wrapped games. We scored a whopping 3 points in overtime

 

[Mr. French]

Also important to remember that UConn lost to San Diego when AJ Price went down.

This was the year before Kemba Walker showed up.

I can't even remember who took over for AJ when he tore his ACL. Was it Craig Austrie? Funny that people are saying Austrie would be a huge improvement over Vital, since UConn had no business losing that big game to San Diego (this is a U. San Diego the Catholic school, not San Diego State).

4-13 matchup that was too tight, but we didn't lose until OT when AJ was already done ... If I remember correctly.

That's so true, not only in college hoops but in our program. We run on multiple guards, multiple creators, and everything else is based off of that. When 2 and sometimes 3 of our only 3 creators on offense are injured, that's going to kill a team, even if we had a stud or 2 in the frontcourt.

Why don't people understand these basic principles of basketball, college basketball, and most specifically UConn basketball.

 

[UofCT]

And that will be the end of UConn athletics.

I disagree. Can't get any worse than this.

 

[UofCT]

please, oh coaching wizard, what would you have done differently and who would you have played?
CV threw a bad pass - not the end of the world
I am most displeased with SE and VJ - both of their overall games were pathetic
Again these were not the kids expected to play 30 minutes and produce right away - only AG and Larrier

We are playing bad teams and losing. Stop making excuses. Our roster isn't NCAA Championship caliber I get that but we still have enough to be competitive in the American.

 

[3rdbass]

And that will be the end of UConn athletics.

Why one good year after a hall of fame coach? Yeah I guess if medicrocity is our new measuring stick. We can't even win the American. Ask Mike Davis of Indiana if he thought he would get fired so soon after that one good year.

 

[Steve85]

I disagree. Can't get any worse than this.

really? too young to remember the Perno years?

I gather that many of the loudest complainers are the youngest here on the Yard, not scientific, just a guess but an educated one. they don't know how bad it was in the Perno years (underachieving teams that had NCAA-worthy talent.)

There is certainly plenty to complain about - even with the injuries - the lack of BBIQ/instincts is an issue with too many players. not sure however how much of that can be "coached out" of a player. some of it can be cleaned up but if you don't have good instincts/BB IQ by the time you arrive on a college campus, I'm not sure how much you can gain in this area.

 

[UChusky916]

Couldn't help but be reminded of 'Heartless and gutless'. I doubt this thread will have a similar effect.

 

[HuskyHawk]

really? too young to remember the Perno years?

I gather that many of the loudest complainers are the youngest here on the Yard, not scientific, just a guess but an educated one. they don't know how bad it was in the Perno years (underachieving teams that had NCAA-worthy talent.)

There is certainly plenty to complain about - even with the injuries - the lack of BBIQ/instincts is an issue with too many players. not sure however how much of that can be "coached out" of a player. some of it can be cleaned up but if you don't have good instincts/BB IQ by the time you arrive on a college campus, I'm not sure how much you can gain in this area.

Why do people say this? Some of the Perno years were absolutely better than this. Several of his teams would crush this team. As he got deeper into the Big East the competition was too great, but even those 12 and 13 win teams got those records again much tougher competition.

My first year at UConn was 84. That team was 13-15. They played three games against the #1 team another agansit #2 and another against #19. Barely lost to #4 SJ and, beat #7 Syracuse twice and beat #20 BC. You guys think this season is better than that? That team had nine games against top 20 teams. It would have won 20 games against this schedule.

 

[tzznandrew]

Come back to this post in a year, you'll see what I mean.

Well, this is the sort of thing most people forget. How many people on the Boneyard now were here in 2006-2007? A team with AJ Price, Austrie, Thabeet, Dyson, Sticks...they were horrible after a good start. And they didn't have the injuries.

People on this board killed these players, talked about how they were losers with a loser mentality, and claimed Calhoun had lost it. Two years later they were in the Final Four.

These things are cyclical. We all had high hopes for this season, and the losses early this year--before the injuries--were troubling. But these kids are going to get better, and people will forget all the hyperbolic things they said in a year.

 

[whaler11]

FWIW - Tulsa was favored.

One thing I'd recommend. Stop crowning next year's team every season.

 

[UConn990411]

Well, this is the sort of thing most people forget. How many people on the Boneyard now were here in 2006-2007? A team with AJ Price, Austrie, Thabeet, Dyson, Sticks...they were horrible after a good start. And they didn't have the injuries.

People on this board killed these players, talked about how they were losers with a loser mentality, and claimed Calhoun had lost it. Two years later they were in the Final Four.

These things are cyclical. We all had high hopes for this season, and the losses early this year--before the injuries--were troubling. But these kids are going to get better, and people will forget all the hyperbolic things they said in a year.

The difference with that Calhoun team is that it got much better in 2007-08, before becoming contenders the following season. One bad season under Calhoun would typically correct itself by the next year.

To be fair to Ollie, his rosters haven't had much continuity since his first two years for a variety of reasons. I would expect everyone back next year aside from the seniors (which could be a blessing), so I'd be surprised if they weren't a lot better. But at some point, the bad patterns and underachieving seasons need to stop.

 

[tzznandrew]

The difference with that Calhoun team is that it got much better in 2007-08, before becoming contenders the following season. One bad season under Calhoun would typically correct itself by the next year.

To be fair to Ollie, his rosters haven't had much continuity since his first two years for a variety of reasons. I would expect everyone back next year aside from the seniors (which could be a blessing), so I'd be surprised if they weren't a lot better. But at some point, the bad patterns and underachieving seasons need to stop.

Sure, I largely agree. 2012-13 got better in 2013-14.

Then they had a year where they lost a transcendent player (Shabazz), along with some other talented players (Daniels, Giffey, Kromah) and struggled to integrate new players (Hamilton and Purvis). They struggled in part because they didn't have a backup for Boatright. That team got better over the course of the year, and if SMU didn't dislocate Boatright's shoulder they may have made the tournament. That team was better the next year, though it struggled to integrate Gibbs, Miller, Adams.

We expected this year to be better even than last year with the addition of new players. But then we lost Hamilton, who was already our secondary ball-handler most plays last year. Then you add in the injuries...it's hard to see a clear pattern, as you noted, because of the excessive turnover of the roster.

 

[UConn990411]

Sure, I largely agree. 2012-13 got better in 2013-14.

Then they had a year where they lost a transcendent player (Shabazz), along with some other talented players (Daniels, Giffey, Kromah) and struggled to integrate new players (Hamilton and Purvis). They struggled in part because they didn't have a backup for Boatright. That team got better over the course of the year, and if SMU didn't dislocate Boatright's shoulder they may have made the tournament. That team was better the next year, though it struggled to integrate Gibbs, Miller, Adams.

We expected this year to be better even than last year with the addition of new players. But then we lost Hamilton, who was already our secondary ball-handler most plays last year. Then you add in the injuries...it's hard to see a clear pattern, as you noted, because of the excessive turnover of the roster.

Agreed, which is why next year will be far more telling. But assuming all the key players are back, we really do need to start seeing steps in the right direction.

 

[upstater]

Why one good year after a hall of fame coach? Yeah I guess if medicrocity is our new measuring stick. We can't even win the American. Ask Mike Davis of Indiana if he thought he would get fired so soon after that one good year.

They won the American last year.

 

[upstater]

I disagree. Can't get any worse than this.

It definitely can. Most certainly it can. And I would bet a lot of money that it would.

 

[Jaker]

With the exception of the Houston game we are not getting blown out and have had chances to win. That is something, it shows that the team is still fighting and cares.

 

[Adios]

That would be Kevin Ollie speaking to the Boneyard.

 

[Sonova]

They won the American last year.

You're a jackass.

 

[UConnDad]

Vance needing to lose weight is a new one. Looking at him, he is broad shouldered and young. Still growing into his body. But to think there is some correlation between physique and hoop ability is absurd!