St. Bonnie ThoughtZ™

[RichZ]

I usually rewrite after the game. Today, I'm going with stream of thought as it happens.

1. Early on, the defense seems a lot more active and fleet of foot than it did last game.
2. Foul against ST B at 9:10 1st half, was bogus. You know how bad a call has to be when I complain even though it was in our favor.
3. What the heck has happened to Hawkins? It's not just the hideous shooting -- he's playing all around awful. His form still looks fine on jumpers, but they are missing badly.
4. Whaley really causing havoc on D - especially against the guards outside the 3 pt line early in the possession.
5. I think I've given up on expecting some kind of turnaround or major improvement from AJax. I hope he proves me wrong. But I just don't see it happening at this point.
6. How did we transform a 7 point lead to a slim 1 point advantage 60 seconds later?
7. Early 2nd half the D doesn't look nearly as energetic as for most of the first half.
8. Wow. Whaley's third was the worst call of the game. Maybe of the season so far.
9. Gafney should never shoot a 3 on the move.
10. Defensive effort picked up again toward the middle of the 2nd half.
11. Hawkins turned it around. As soon as his shots started to drop, he started doing everything right.
12. Jackson trying to prove me wrong now. Still not convinced, but he's got me leaning.
13. These refs have decided to not let the game breathe. They can't even let two plays run consecutively without blowing a whistle.
14. I got the feeling we weren't doing much on the offensive boards. Checked the box and we've got 4 with 6 minutes left.
15. Blocking foul on Gaf was a horrid call.
    
    Back to normal from the 'as it happens' deal to a more reflective take on the game.
    
    
16. Akok played as many minutes (34) as Cole!
17. I'm still not convinced on Jackson. But 9 points, 11 boards and 5 dimes is tough to ignore. If he plays nearly as well in the next couple games as he did in the 2nd half tonight, I'll rest a lot easier.
18. Really missed Tyrese on the offensive boards. He's particularly adept there, and it was the weakest part of our game tonight. It's a week before the next game. Sure would be nice to see him ready by then.

 

[LIuconn]

i think hawk needs more confidence. He took that end of game turnover in the Bahamas so hard on the bench. And the bobbling of the ball, poor shooting is all mental. Hopefully the staff treats him in a way to build him up

 

[jibsey]

Jackson had 11 rebounds, 9 points and 5 assists. He was player of the game.

 

[uconngb]

Jackson had 11 rebounds, 9 points and 5 assists. He was player of the game.

I’ll go w Akok but Jackson was better

 

[djct1999]

To me, this team has the potential to look different in March. While Cole is playing fantastic basektball right now, the three keys to this team and maybe a deep run are in this order: 1. Hawkins 2. Jackson 3. Akok. Hawkins is a nautral scorer. While I am surprised a bit at how poor his handle has been at times, once he gets a full Big East season under his wings, he can develop into a game changer. Part of the reason why we struggle to close out games is because we have the tendency to get stale on offense. Hawkins can change that. His development alone can get us deep into the second weekend. Jackson is an athletic freak and almost always the best athlete on the floor. If he continues at this pace and does the dirty work, he will be a force. Akok can open things up. For him, its strength and speed. Again, a Big East season should help him immensely. Half glass full is having Tyrese and Adama out may help development in places we will surely need as the season progresses. Sky is the limit!

 

[Rico444]

This could be the first UConn team in a long time that actually gets out and runs off of defensive rebounds. The key to that is Jackson, as soon as he comes down with the ball it's like he's shot out of a cannon back the other way. The rest of the guys really feed off of him.