Stonehill Post Game Thread

[MilliniumPrince]

44 fg% against Stonehill isn't great.

91 ft% against anyone us outstanding

 

[REB1094]

That was a fun game! Lots of things to like, but these stuck out the most-

• Welcome to UConn Stephon Castle! Under control all game, so good in the open floor and in the middle of the zone, and let the game come to him this time. 7-7 from the FT line!!
• Engaged and active Tristen Newton is a very dangerous player. Efficient 20 piece today
• Right from jump ball I could tell Clingan was going to feast. Took his time in the post, which led to some better looks. Looked like he was playing against children
• Ball and Ross look like real players. They don't look lost out there, and I think their learning curves will be pretty short

Hard to find things to dislike after a 40 point win, but there were 2 things that I noticed..

• I don't like the 1-3-1 zone. It led to some good traps and steals, but gave up a lot of good looks. Don't really want to see it against better competition
• Don't love the Ball/Diarra lineups without Castle or Newton in the game. I do think Ball had a really good game today, and Diarra is best as a defensive disruptor. They have roles that they will be really good at, but lead ballhandler isn't one of them

Not much went well for Stonehill today but shoutout Jackson Benigni #3. 22 points and 4 threes. He showed up to play. From CT

 

[3rdbass]

Samson Johnson is going to have to get on the Karaban diet and fitness program. LOL!

 

[alphasigko]

Clingan is really good for sure, but he appears clueless on his FT shooting

 

[3rdbass]

That was a fun game! Lots of things to like, but these stuck out the most-

• Welcome to UConn Stephon Castle! Under control all game, so good in the open floor and in the middle of the zone, and let the game come to him this time. 7-7 from the FT line!!
• Engaged and active Tristen Newton is a very dangerous player. Efficient 20 piece today
• Right from jump ball I could tell Clingan was going to feast. Took his time in the post, which led to some better looks. Looked like he was playing against children
• Ball and Ross look like real players. They don't look lost out there, and I think their learning curves will be pretty short

Hard to find things to dislike after a 40 point win, but there were 2 things that I noticed..

• I don't like the 1-3-1 zone. It led to some good traps and steals, but gave up a lot of good looks. Don't really want to see it against better competition
• Don't love the Ball/Diarra lineups without Castle or Newton in the game. I do think Ball had a really good game today, and Diarra is best as a defensive disruptor. They have roles that they will be really good at, but lead ballhandler isn't one of them

Not much went well for Stonehill today but shoutout Jackson Benigni #3. 22 points and 4 threes. He showed up to play. From CT

Yeah this is not the team to play 1-3-1 zone. I think tradition zone would be better. I know Dan wanted to speed up the game more but it just gave them too many open shots.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

107 with Cam not shooting well. Offensively this team is a juggernaut. Defense needs to get better though

 

[UCTitleTown]

As long as the team focuses on ball movement every game, this team will be hard to beat.

Also, all starters in double figures.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Hurley is giving Spencer the Joey C treatment on D.

Last year Joey C really struggled early on keeping his man on front of him and losing site on back doors. Hurley wouldn't bydge and change rotations and Joey C got much better.

Spencer needs to get used to playing his man straight up.

 

[Poe]

You know you have a really good team when it’s hard to pick the “best” player. The big four are all looking really good, and even though Spencer’s shot was off today I really like what he brings; his head is always up and looking to make the extra pass. All these guys really complement each other and the team is really balanced. I wouldn’t want to be an opposing coach trying to figure out who to stop.

 

[HailUConn]

Samson’s insane coverage at both ends of courts:

 

[slepers]

44 fg% against Stonehill isn't great.

91 ft% against anyone us outstanding

I think it was 57%

 

[Austin316]

I’m loving how fast Samson is able to run up and down the floor. We can definitely have a run and gun offense when he’s out there.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

One of the many things I love about this team: they have so many guys who can lead a rush, handle and dish.

Just in the starting lineup alone, all but Clingan fit this mold. On the bench, Diarra, Ball, Ross and Stewart all have handle.

Not a lot of "true PGs", but just so many guys who have guard qualities, even though we've got a ton of size.

 

[HailUConn]

Our starting backcourt Castle/Newton is going to be the problem for the rest of basketball world. I don’t know if there has ever a team with two guards who can pull a triple double on a given night.

 

[HooperScooper]

Figured out who castle reminds me of. Jimmy butler. Not in butlers selfish scoring game but in his build and the way he moves and glides with the ball. Deliberate then with that spin, idk if can stop him getting to rim at will with our spacing

Many people agree with you because that's been mentioned a bunch of times on here.

 

[auror]

Stonehill plays exclusively 5-out lineups with 5 fairly quick shooters who max out at 6'8". There aren't even that many Big East teams built like that. Our traditional defense isn't designed well to stop penetration against 5 out lineups in general and on top of that Clingan (coming off injury and looking a little heavy) can't chase what are realistically small forwards around screens. But on the other end, obviously he eats them alive. That's why the gambling play was the Over today (it hit with like 6 minutes left). I'm not worried about the defense against most teams. Nova might be the only team that can take advantage of it against UConn this year in the Big East.

So we experimented a bit more with the 1-3-1 zone and the half court trap stuff. We were up 40. Good chance to work on stuff in game action. 1-3-1 can limit 3-pointers, but it is weak to back door cuts and they got us a few times on it. Good practice.

 

[Icehawk]

This game made me sad, sad that Castle's going to the NBA next year. Can't wait to see our guys against Indiana and see how it all holds up under some pressure. I'm sure D will tighten up as they get seasoned. I'm feelin' good though, like '22-23 good if you know what I mean.

 

[freshler40]

Solid win. Clingan needs to hold the ball up high. His tendency is to take it down to chest high where it can get stollen. His pace shooting is better but still should improve. Loved our guards but even they had some trouble breaking the press. The guards need to look downcourt or to our center more to break this press and score more easily with passes to breaking forwards. We looked better on offense playing up-tempo!
We have excellent scoring balance. We also have top rebounding guards and quick hands. Our three point shooting will have to improve against better teams to be effective.

 

[Glenn]

Clingan is really good for sure, but he appears clueless on his FT shooting

Actually, he looks like me from the line. Which is not good

 

[Punkbo]

Still got Karaban, but I agree Newton looks better overall. Fun times!

Today, I didn’t even have to use my AK
I gotta say it was a good day

 

[runner11]

One of the many things I love about this team: they have so many guys who can lead a rush, handle and dish.

Just in the starting lineup alone, all but Clingan fit this mold. On the bench, Diarra, Ball, Ross and Stewart all have handle.

Not a lot of "true PGs", but just so many guys who have guard qualities, even though we've got a ton of size.

Right, even without a true PG, we have plus passers at every position. The team will be a nightmare to zone.

My biggest bright spot is Castle because it is clear he gets it. There were a couple of occasions in the first game when I noticed Castle hadn’t gotten the ball for a while and I worried he might start jacking. But he is clearly a pass first player, and as such, he continues to make the extra pass. I think over time he will play more on-ball and Newton will thrive with a score first mentality. So many kids in his situation are either asked to carry a team from the jump, or to figure it out with a crew of other talented but inexperienced freshman. Adding one super stud to experienced squad is for sure the “meta.”

 

[Fan1978]

• Castle looked so much more composed and confident than the opener. Has a great feel for and control of the speed of the game.
• Not remotely concerned about Spencer’s shooting today, a bit more concerned about him getting blown by on the defensive end quite a few times. They may have to scheme him some help.
• Really like Spencer’s ability to facilitate in spurts. He’s got really good court vision and keeps the ball moving. Really nice to have him be able to step into the lead role for stretches because….
• Diarra’s offensive game is what it has been. He’s a great piece defensively but just can’t play the point offensively. The ball movement really slows down and he doesn’t make good decisions. We seem to have enough ball handlers that we hopefully won’t have to ask him to do much in that capacity.
• Team ball movement was by and large really good today, pretty much regardless of lineup.
• The Newton/Castle backcourt is really fun and creates a ton of flexibility.
• Need to see more from Samson on the boards and defensively.

Great analysis. Spencer inability to defend was my main observation. Clingan and castle are elite defenders. Hurley is going to need to mix in some zone to cover for Spencer and the freshman. Castle looks really good in open court.

 

[Candyman]

To pick nits:

Their guards got to the paint at will, they couldn’t score in the paint but their guards drove at will.

Samson had 1 rebound. I know Castle and Newton rebounded well but still need Samson to rebound.

Three point shooting was around 29 percent until Ross and Diarra hit.

 

[REB1094]

Samson’s insane coverage at both ends of courts:

There was the full Samson Johnson experience in thise few minutes. Really bad defensive mistake gave up a wide open layup, but recovers to block it and then beats everyone down the court for a dunk

Pretty sure he fouled a guy 20 feet from the hoop the next possession. And then a few possessions later had another dunk lol

 

[HooperScooper]

Clingan is really good for sure, but he appears clueless on his FT shooting

Interestingly his 0-2 were the only free throws missed by the team today as they were 17-19. Clingan's only shot 9 free throws total, 4-9, so it's early to be worried about it.