Solo Ball’s minutes last night?

[ctbro1999]

Just a bad game for Solo (write it off and move on), but he did shoot 40% from 3 (2-5). Silver linings! 😁

 

[Donyell 360]

A lot of you are insisting that Stew is the better defender. He certainly has more length, but he has trouble keeping guys in front of him as much as any of our guys do. Ball is quicker and more athletic. He has improved a lot as a defender. He is still a work in progress. I agree with the assessment that Hurley just found a combo that was working and he stuck with it. Let's not read too much into it. Ball will be fine. I hope. My only concern is whether this motivates him or gets him down. Clearly Stew has shown he doesn't let those things get him down. He is a great team player. I think Ball will prove himself to be as well, but we will see.

 

[RuffRuff]

A lot of you are insisting that Stew is the better defender. He certainly has more length, but he has trouble keeping guys in front of him as much as any of our guys do. Ball is quicker and more athletic. He has improved a lot as a defender. He is still a work in progress. I agree with the assessment that Hurley just found a combo that was working and he stuck with it. Let's not read too much into it. Ball will be fine. I hope. My only concern is whether this motivates him or gets him down. Clearly Stew has shown he doesn't let those things get him down. He is a great team player. I think Ball will prove himself to be as well, but we will see.

Solo is the second worst defender per Maya, of true rotation players. You can see why Reibe got so little time yesterday in a tight spot here.

 

[uconngb]

At first I thought it was CFJ making a bad decision. But Kim was actually yelling at CFJ to go as soon as the ball crossed halfcourt. I get that playing fast is what got them there, but you need to understand score and time

He did get a really good look because Braylon flopped, but a turnaround CFJ jumper with 5 seconds left is not the shot you want

It’s a moot point because UConn won anyway, but they left enough time for Silas to come 1 inch off of the most heartbreaking buzzer beater imaginable

That did not look like a flop to me. that looked like Floyd got away with a blatant push off.

 

[RichZ]

Why was Solo Ball on the bench for the latter portion of the game last night? Was his wrist injury acting up?

Didn't seem to be into it on D, and he was too anxious to score points on a night when his shooting was off (3 of 10 from the floor)

 

[StllH8L8ner]

That did not look like a flop to me. that looked like Floyd got away with a blatant push off.

Wouldn’t call it a flop per se as there was some contact. Probably somewhat embellished by BM but a 0.0% chance you’re getting that call under the circumstances. Worked out for us but my heart sank when I saw the shot go up. That’s one you work on in the driveway.

 

[imno1]

Solo has been one of our best player for most of the season so far. He had a bad game last night but I expect him to bounce back as soon as next game. Stewart starting to remind me a little of Andre J. Not that their games are similar but that their impact doesn’t show up in a box score.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Solo has been one of our best player for most of the season so far. He had a bad game last night but I expect him to bounce back as soon as next game. Stewart starting to remind me a little of Andre J. Not that their games are similar but that their impact doesn’t show up in a box score.

Was gonna say the same thing re: AJax and Stew. Good call.

 

[Palatine]

Solo Ball is an absolutely critical piece for us to have a championship season. Period. He will play and he will play major minutes.

 

[ATLDYKA]

Something to note. PC played much faster than they had to at the end of regulation. If they had burned the clock in the last five minutes, they may have won. As it was we got just enough possessions to tie it up. Their inability to play as a slower pace was their downfall.

Sort of reminded me of the NC game where Houston didn't know how to slow down the game and use clock and it cost them.

 

[businesslawyer]

It’s a strange situation. For purposes of offense, you just don’t need all of our five starters on the court at the same time. There’s only so much firepower you need when only one player gets to shoot per possession. Sacrificing one of Solo, Brandon and Alex for more of a glue guy, and having the offensive star fresh to be on the floor getting shots with Reibe and Smith and Ross, makes a lot of sense.

But we’re a long, long way from Solo not starting, even if the starting five is not our best unit. You just may see less of the five starters playing together.

 

[uh-no]

You just may see less of the five starters playing together.

This is the right framing, IMO. Our best 5 players are
silas
mullins
solo
alex
reed

It's hard to argue otherwise

But solo AND mullins out there leaves us in a bit of a bind. It is likely that

• solo/ross
• mullins/stewart

Are more balanced overall and we may see less of mullins/ball together. It's tough because (and i'm shocked i'm saying this after last year), but having solo's aggressiveness off the bounce is something which was lacking when he wasn't on the floor.

 

[Donyell 360]

View attachment 115717
Solo is the second worst defender per Maya, of true rotation players. You can see why Reibe got so little time yesterday in a tight spot here.

I'll take your word for it. Those numbers are all Greek to me. I just know what I see, Stew has trouble keeping guys in front of him. He is better down in the blocks than out on the perimeter, IMO. Solo has trouble as well, but is improving, at least it seems that way to my naked untrained eye.

 

[UConnJim]

Last night, UConn shot great with Karaban 5/9 from 3, Mullins 6/10 form 3, and Demery 4/6 from 3. Ball was 2/5 which is pretty good. When Demery shoots like that, watch out! So, UConn didn't really need more shooting on the floor, but needed better defense as Providence was gashing UConn in the first half. So, Stewart was the answer last night. Every game is going to be different and last night Stewart earned the minutes.

 

[navery12]

I don't have an opinion on it without looking more at the numbers, but it's interesting how many people are suggesting replacing an offensive guy in the starting lineup with a defensive guy like Stewart. Up until last night the complaint on this board was we're an elite defensive team but our offense was the issue

 

[RuffRuff]

It’s a strange situation. For purposes of offense, you just don’t need all of our five starters on the court at the same time. There’s only so much firepower you need when only one player gets to shoot per possession. Sacrificing one of Solo, Brandon and Alex for more of a glue guy, and having the offensive star fresh to be on the floor getting shots with Reibe and Smith and Ross, makes a lot of sense.

But we’re a long, long way from Solo not starting, even if the starting five is not our best unit. You just may see less of the five starters playing together.

Solo is never not going to start. Issue is just that him and Mullins are kinda redundant, so if Solo isn't providing stuff beyond 3pt sniping/hunting shots, and Mullins is better at it, it's an imbalanced compliment. It almost feels like they are competing out there - I have seen Solo look off Mullins when he was wide open a number of times.

I said earlier in the year, our best lineup might be putting Mullins at the 2 and playing Ross at the 3. It was Stew yesterday as Ross has been banged up, but to me that would be our best defensive 5 while maintaining the offensive punch.

Listen to Dauster's recent Top Dogs at the 15 minute mark, he kind of goes into it. It likely is a one game thing and he'll bounce back, but also worth watching. The Seton Hall game will be an interesting test.

 

[ctchamps]

I'll take your word for it. Those numbers are all Greek to me. I just know what I see, Stew has trouble keeping guys in front of him. He is better down in the blocks than out on the perimeter, IMO. Solo has trouble as well, but is improving, at least it seems that way to my naked untrained eye.

His defense has been a significant improvement over last season and the metrics support it. Hopefully one of our math nerds will show it. He also has significantly improved his driving to the basket and midrange game. This game is an outlier for this season.

Comparing him to other of our players would make Ruffs argument stronger if we were not one of the best defensive teams in the country. As long as players have that brown color their metrics are good.

 

[Excalibur]

Ball and Mullins on the court together is an issue defensively against teams with bigger guys at the 2 and 3. Providence qualifies.

 

[uconngb]

Solo has been one of our best player for most of the season so far. He had a bad game last night but I expect him to bounce back as soon as next game. Stewart starting to remind me a little of Andre J. Not that their games are similar but that their impact doesn’t show up in a box score.

That's a great call on JStew. He had a very good all around game against Marquette and the stuff like his dive on the floor to save that possession last night on which I believe we eventually hit a 3 do not show up in the box score. He's definitely playing more within himself now and doing a lot of the little things that we need a complementary player to do. I had ZERO issue with him being on the floor during crunch time last night and he was a key reason we won despite his stats not showing it.

 

[Donyell 360]

I have seen Solo look off Mullins when he was wide open a number of times.

I don't like hearing that. It is somewhat understandable that an established junior would not immediately defer to a freshman. Hopefully as Mullins establishes himself as a consistent shooter, he will earn Ball's respect. Solo has not been a consistent shooter from 3 but his drive game, midrange and drawing fouls in the paint is something Mullins has not show he can do yet, so Ball still adds an important ingredient. If Mullins wants to turn himself into second year Ray Allen, then maybe Ball becomes redundant, but that would be a good problem to have.

 

[superjohn]

I don't like hearing that. It is somewhat understandable that an established junior would not immediately defer to a freshman. Hopefully as Mullins establishes himself as a consistent shooter, he will earn Ball's respect. Solo has not been a consistent shooter from 3 but his drive game, midrange and drawing fouls in the paint is something Mullins has not show he can do yet, so Ball still adds an important ingredient. If Mullins wants to turn himself into second year Ray Allen, then maybe Ball becomes redundant, but that would be a good problem to have.

There's no way Solo is shaking off Mullins and there's no way he doesn't respect him. If he's missed him when he's open it's a question of Solo's vision, he would never in a million years try and keep down a teammate.

 

[RuffRuff]

There's no way Solo is shaking off Mullins and there's now way he doesn't respect him. If he's missed him when he's open it's a question of Solo's vision, he would never in a million years try and keep down a teammate.

Maybe not, but a clear 2-1 break with Mullins sitting there with a wide open layup and you take it to the rim and miss is definitely an unusual dynamic. There's been others. Let's not forget about human psyche here - you have a freshman hotshot coming in to steal your thunder, could be a little bit there that doesn't want to share.

 

[uconngb]

Wouldn’t call it a flop per se as there was some contact. Probably somewhat embellished by BM but a 0.0% chance you’re getting that call under the circumstances. Worked out for us but my heart sank when I saw the shot go up. That’s one you work on in the driveway.

I just hate that logic....a foul is a foul no matter when it occurs. If that shot went in, this Board would still be in meltdown mode today over the non-call.

 

[Inyatkin]

Great, a new thing for us to endlessly parse based on absolutely nothing. Ball is jealous of the freshman! He's protecting his stats!

Would be nice to enjoy a great win without immediately diving into nonsense

 

[Donyell 360]

Maybe not, but a clear 2-1 break with Mullins sitting there with a wide open layup and you take it to the rim and miss is definitely an unusual dynamic. There's been others. Let's not forget about human psyche here - you have a freshman hotshot coming in to steal your thunder, could be a little bit there that doesn't want to share.

We are all human, but I trust Ball's character to figure it out. He seems like a terrific person. Did you see the story about the bond he developed with a sick child? That gave me all the reasons I need to give him the benefit of the doubt.