St John's post game thread

[HooperScooper]

Does anyone know what Nowell's injury is? We need him back and we need to let him go through some growing pains these last 10 games or so. Our PG situation is a mess and we need a potential other option.

Diarra and Mahaney are both game-time decisions, Nowell likely out for the third straight game with an ankle sprain.

Injured in practice about 2 weeks ago.

 

[The Viking]

In recent years it seemed we would get 3-4 buckets a game by lobbing it to our center. Now it seems we don't even attempt it

 

[sdglast]

AK cannot get his own shot. He can't take anyone off the dribble, cannot play with his back to the basket, and now seems to lack confidence. He's a one trick pony, and teams have figured that out. I don't want to hear anyone suggest he is an NBA level player. He needs a ton of work on his game. I know Solo is a great shooter, but he's another player who just can't turn the corner and explode to the basket. The last 2 years this team had Newton who, whenever they were struggling, could get to the basket and score. Those are the critical baskets a team needs to inject some confidence back when they are struggling. Not this team, it's a bunch of guy passing the ball around the perimeter with no one (except McNeeley) putting the ball on the deck and creating their own shot. Late in the game, McNeeley got to the basket twice, hitting the lay in and getting fouled on the 2nd drive. That needs to happen more during the game, but not just by him. Solo, Stewart, hell even Karaban have got to start getting to the basket and stop living on 3s. St. Johns is certainly a touch matchup with lots of height (Hurley is going back to the bigger guards with next year's recruiting class), but you gotta be able to turn the corner on them and get to the basket. I thought defensively UConn was good tonight. They rebounded the hell out of the ball as well, but turnovers, missed free throws, and just plain bad offense did them in.

 

[NickDanger]

GREAT first 8 minutes.

AK hasn’t been the same since missing the two free throws vs Nova.

I was saying that tonight: I think missing those two free throws wrecked his confidence

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Mahaney does not look like he belongs in the big east

Analytics said over the summer he was supposed to be an All-American.

His WAR score was 100 or something like that. And he could shoot on top of it.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

In a minute I've counted 20 posts throwing our man Karraban under the bus. From grown men, masquerading as die hard Husky fans. Here's my permanent dislike to all. Teams win, this was a team loss, including coaches. Get over it.

21-70 his last 6 games. He has absolutely wilted.

 

[NickDanger]

Karaban stayed a year too long. I hope he catches some magic in march. He deserves to go out right

Now it looks like he better stay another year

 

[NickDanger]

Analytics said over the summer he was supposed to be an All-American.

His WAR score was 100 or something like that. And he could shoot on top of it.

Hey, I had seen some video of him, and was very hopeful. But I think against the more athletic players in the big east, he can’t cope.

 

[RuffRuff]

Crazy to think we won two championships with two guards at 6’ and under playing together lol.

Different system and times. This ain’t 2014.

 

[NickDanger]

Karaban learning to feel how Ringo felt when Beatles broke up.

Ringo had multiple hit singles after the Beatles broke up, and successful tours up to this day

 

[Scrutineer]

Different system and times. This ain’t 2014.

Shabazz and Boatright would lead us to #7 this year and pretty much any year. They guarded the 6'5" Harrison twins and everybody else and scored on whoever they faced. Hass and Mahaney are not Bazz and Boat.

 

[JMick]

I really hope Karaban can figure it out before the season ends. The team needs him and I really don't want him to go out playing like he has been. He's been nothing but a great player for the team and was a huge part of two championships. He's got the most glaring case of the yips I've seen since chuck knoblauch. I don't think he's going to be able to shoot his way out of it in practice. He's just going to need to see a few shots go down during game time

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Shabazz and Boatright would lead us to #7 this year and pretty much any year. They guarded the 6'5" Harrison twins and everybody else and scored on whoever they faced. Hass and Mahaney are not Bazz and Boat.

Yeah it’s crazy when people say different times like Kemba, Shabazz, and Boat wouldn’t bust everybody in this eras booty.

Those were players you can drop on mars and they can get a bucket.

 

[ctbro1999]

That sucked.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Shabazz and Boatright were on a 7 seed that needed a three point play by Brimah and overtime to get past St Joes in the first round of the tournament. I’m sure you were saying this when they were getting run out of the gym by Louisville in the BET. This stuff is so dumb and useless.

Shabazz and Boatright would lead us to #7 this year and pretty much any year. They guarded the 6'5" Harrison twins and everybody else and scored on whoever they faced. Hass and Mahaney are not Bazz and Boat.

 

[uconnfan68]

Totally spit the bit in the 2nd half. Ridiculous number of unforced TOs.

Karaban unfortunately a ghost all game. Stewart another hot start then vanished like a fart in the wind.

Not vanished. They subbed him out. Up 14, Stewie and Solo on fire, and BOTH get subbed out together.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Shabazz and Boatright were on a 7 seed that needed a three point play by Brimah and overtime to get past St Joes in the first round of the tournament. I’m sure you were saying this when they were getting run out of the gym by Louisville in the BET. This stuff is so dumb and useless.

Diminishing their legacy like this is wild.

Think the point is we don’t need some magical big guard. We’ve won with far less. We just need good players and/or to develop good players.

We’ve won without the 7’s, with sub 6’ guards at both guard spots, with lineups that started freshman Tyler Olander and senior Tyler Olander with a Phil Nolan to match with him.

There’s more than enough talent on this roster.

 

[uconnfan68]

Different system and times. This ain’t 2014.

They would start today too. We don’t have anyone like them.

 

[AllHusky]

Karaban was 22 of 47 from 3 (about 47% against much weaker competition) up to the point he got a concussion. Since the concussion he has been 24 of 91 (about 26%). Last season his 3P% was 37.9. Currently, this season it is 37.6. What does it mean - I am not sure, but statistically he is about where he was last year. But, he started the season with what looked to be an improved 3P shot. After a concussion his 3P% plummeted by almost 50% or by 21 percentage points. Is it possible that he is still suffering effects of the concussion? Maybe some vision issues?

I’ve put that forward and been given the Boneyard roast. He also has some lower leg issues, and maybe foot too. Might be a combination of many factors. Bottom line we need his 15pts game and good D. Win or go home season is approaching.

 

[CTBasketball]

Pitino took Hurley behind the woodshed tonight.

• The gameplan on Ball was fantastic the last 32 min of the game. Run him off 3pt line and face guard him when you can, get in his head. And boy did he collapse mentally the last 32 min on defense and offense.
• Let Karaban shoot himself into the same mental blockage.
• Make Diarra work every possession to make us start our actions with <15/20 seconds on the clock.
• Use our stupidity against us to run the same baseline inbounds play 7-10 times for an easy wide open baseline jumper. Surprised Hurley didn’t try to stop that.

Yea I’m going to forget this one and chalk it up to “we’re rusty with McNeeley” still. Too many times we’ve been punched in the mouth and just die down, especially at home.

 

[Leebo]

So disheartening to see lazy passes even late in the 2nd half... What does it take to raise the urgency level?

 

[gsmooth]

Pitino's offense is not based on analytics. Luis can get open for a mid-range jumper seemingly whenever he wants. And he makes most of them. They're not settling for those shots. They're the intent.

Bingo, finally someone gets it