Size? Talent? Slim pickings currently...

[intlzncster]

The late 80's teams were better...Cliff Robinson, Chris Smith, Phil Gamble, Rod Sellers, would smoke these guys.

All college teams had more talent then. The college game has changed.

 

[willie99]

Calhoun's first 3 teams in the late 80s were 47-46 and 13-35 in the Big East. No, they were not good teams.

If you go by recruiting rankings, this team has more talent as Adams, Larrier, and Gilbert were all top 50 recruits. But, I don't remember a UConn team having only 2 players back from the season before and throw in the injury to the PG.

Last night was the first night that I actually saw some hope for the rest of the season, especially if Gilbert comes back. The rotation is becoming more clear. PG is Gilbert with Adams the CG. Larrier is the 3 and sometimes a small 4. Diarra is a 4 and Cobb is the 5. Anderson and Vital are the backups at guard and Carlton and Dave O are the backups at 4/5 and Polley is off the bench as a 3. Once the rotation is set, the team can start to improve.

Yes yes yes, and it takes time for teams to jell. It's almost astonishing (not really, not anymore, not around here anyway) that so many "fans" don't understand or appreciate this. No coach in the country is going to be successful this early in the season with two returning rotation players and a bunch of new guys. We just pushed the reset button in May, people may not like it but that's just the way it is.

 

[Bagel&Cheese]

You mean next year we might be struggle against mid majors? Get blown out by good programs? Miss the NCAAs?

We are at rock bottom.

I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet but we are well on our way.

 

[B1GEast]

It's the big men. Our bigs have no experience and lack offensive ability.

We're relying on the guards to carry the load, if they are not shooting well, we can't depend on the bigs to compensate.

Our team is one dimensional.

That's not to say there's no talent, it's just going to take time to develop.

When KO claimed that the team looked as if they never seen a zone, he was right. Our bigs Cobb, Carlton and everyone had never seen a Syracuse zone and were lost.

Breaking down a Case zone requires shooters hitting shots and bigs knowing how to position themselves.

It's not a surprise they out rebound our inexperienced bigs.

We need a big that can score with his back to the rim. We have no such guy.

This team needs more experience, they just have to grow up fast.

 

[KodiacKemba]

Man ppl don’t box out anymore the game has changed , when the shot goes up uconn just stands n watch while the offense dives to the rim which leads to put backs n we all saw the put back slammajamma vs Syracuse.. we have to attack the rim and go up and grab the ball with toughness , plenty of times I see our guards watching n Larrier reacting so late to come to the party leaving our one big to rebound on his own , all 5 has to rebound

 

[Scrutineer]

If anyone doubts there are coaching issues, take a look at this quote from after the Michigan State/Rutgers game this week.

"This feels like the start of something". The toughness, the fundamentals, the teamwork … this showing can’t be attributed to simply a good day or a Michigan State no-show. Once Rutgers gets some shooters, look out. In the meantime, the sight of a program on the rise is unmistakable.

“I hate to lose and I think everyone here came here to beat teams like that," Baker said. "We're really close." (Baker is Rutgers' freshman point guard)

Editorial comment: Sounds like UConn in the 80's. If Pikiell can do it at Rutgers there's hope for UConn.

 

[RipCity]

Pikiell has only beaten Nebraska, Matta’s Firing year Ohio State, Illinois, and Penn State. Pomeroy never loved anyone his teams, with just one top 70 team at Stony Brook. Basically he has just beaten his cupcakes, which Rutgers is eating up because they’re used to barely beating anyone.

Now Ewing is doing the same thing at Georgetown. Making the schedule a joke so the W-L looks good for a couple of months and people can claim that they’re rebuilding. Pass.

My dream scenario is Chris Mack. He’s an offensive genius who has a great eye for talent. If he was at a bigger basketball school/brand like UConn and had the chance to more often recruit top 50 kids, he could really do damage. The problem is that he is Xavier alumni, and likely wouldn’t jump ship for UConn as he didn’t for Ohio State.

Hurley has done what few others can do at URI, which is one of the least relevant schools in a mediocre conference. I also like Daddy McDermott at Creighton, and Eric Musselman at Nevada.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

If ollie could get five star players and one and done recruits, you can ber your arse he would. At this point I feel like he is just trying to fill uniforms and fine enough quality players to have a good practice session.

He had that. And he ran them all out of town. We haven't had any roster stability whatsoever since he took over. Not all his fault since we were thin when he took over. I thought we finally achieved some stability last year with our class, but they all left.

I'm not saying Enoch, Durham, or Jackson, (or MAL) were guaranteed studs, but I'm pretty sure they would all be playing big minutes this year and at the least offering us a lot more than Polley, Whaley, Onuarah, or Williams are right now.

We clearly do not have enough depth or talent on the roster to compete at a high level this year. That is very clear. So expecting us to beat good teams with this roster is unrealistic. But its his fault that we are in this situation.