Tentatively Happy - Some Concerns

[TasteofUConn]

Others have given detailed run downs (cf OkaForPrez thread). Some things jumped out at me.
Miller is outstanding. He may be an NBA talent. I was most surprised with his hops. Really gets off the floor quickly. Does everything well. He is not just a glue guy - he is a superglue guy. We've gone from RJ to Kromah to Miller. Next one may end up being the next K. Durant.
Adams looked good and looked spotty - several bad passes and turnovers. Shot looked very good.
Brimah looked the same. Nolan looked the same. Facey looked the same. I'm hoping that each one has improved 10% or so. Don't need much here.
OkaForPrez nailed it with his comment that we can now conclude that SC2 was not slowed by his injury last year. Frankly, he looked awful, and all of those who were calling it last year can cash in their tickets now, because this guy is just not DI material. The amount of PT he gets and how big this year gets will be inversely related.
DHam - not enough data. Looked more aggressive dribbling. He's an unbelievable rebounder for his size.
Thought the defense was questionable in the 1st half.
Thought Purvis was Purvis. I'll love Purvis as long as Purvis is integrated with the offense.
Gibbs wasn't what I expected. Not good or bad. Just not what I expected.

Concerns are chemistry and ball handling at the point. We've been spoiled with Kemba/Shabazz/Boat. Time will tell how Gibbs responds as a primary ball handler. Putting Gibbs and Adams out there creates other issues.

Definitely want to see major sharing of scoring duties. We have 5 verifiable scorers we can put on the court, and I'd like to see each of them averaging over 10 (Miller, Ham, Purvis, Adams, Gibbs).

Love to see Calhoun playing well - if he can just shake whatever mental issue is causing him to, sometimes, throw up blindfolded shots, he might be the X-Factor for us this year. Would love to see him get his MOJO back by mid year. He is very athletic, and can be a force on the boards and on D if we can keep him out there.

All in all, we're going to need some time to see how this team gels, because the talent is clearly there.

 

[KingOPancakes]

I'm not as ready as everyone else to write off Sam after 1 exhibition game this year. He's definitely not a starter at this level, but he looked like he could provide solid minutes and some shooting off the bench.

 

[Vuce]

I'm not as ready as everyone else to write off Sam after 1 exhibition game this year but he looked like he could provide solid minutes and some shooting off the bench.

He can definitely provide some shooting but can he provide some MAKING??!!

 

[4in16]

I'm not as ready as everyone else to write off Sam after 1 exhibition game this year. He's definitely not a starter at this level, but he looked like he could provide solid minutes and some shooting off the bench.

Nobody should be writing off any player after one expedition game, period.

 

[mauconnfan]

I think Phil looked good, quicker more active. Had a great move which he spun to the right but used his left hand to shoot (would have loved a right handed flip) which made defending easier but still, a new move and it worked minus the finish. On the defensive in the right spot most of the time and his help is always good.

Agree on DHam there's just a knack to rebound and a feel for when it's going up as well as where's the ball is coming off the rim. Love that - will see he and Miller fighting for a few I bet down the road as they both have that feel which a couple of others could use.

I think Gibbs was trying to just go out there and be a teammate and it effected the way he played, but this is a good thing for now. He shoots the ball right? and yet he passed on open looks - he had a game plan and that's ok. At 43% from 3 he will not be passing those up as the season begins for sure.

 

[Husky1]

I was at the game and what came to me was simple - we have a lot of weapons! We have shooters, scorers, size and quickness. KO is going to have a lot of fun mixing and matching and will be able to exploit other teams weaknesses and create matchup problems. Another thing that struck me is that we have a bunch of guys that get it - the chemistry is good. 5 in 5 out is so unusual and was one reason I think that we did not blow Tampa out like some thought we would. However, I'll give it to Tampa - they did not play scared and they shot the ball well.
Thought Miller was best player on court, Jalen will contribute right away, Gibbs needs to shoot it, Daniel Hamilton needs to be more offensive minded (for himself), Purvis attacked well, great to see Omar back, Phil did what phil does, sam I think will be role player only, Brimah seemed a bit disappointing but will get there.

 

[microfich]

C'mon one game. Some obvious givens and TBDs, though.

Given:
In the realm of drinking from the bottles of 5th years, Miller Time > I'll have a Kromah > Stay Evans, my friends > empties.
Adams is so 5 star. Blessed talent with a great body for a frosh.
Enoch is a 4 year player. Huge plus: has the unteachable gift of hands not to mention being a bruiser at at least 6'10". Unlike Miller's brew, no hops.
Facey is bigger and jumps even higher. Just not an instinctive player.
Phil is stronger but less cut. May help him. One nice move to hoop but it was Tampa. 5 fouls from a fearless defender that knows the system.
Son of Sam has more weapons and skills than most 10th men but is no killer at this level.

TBD:
Gibbs is a fast, strong combo with a handle whose shot is flat. But so was Rodney's shot at this time later year. And Rashad had no backspin on his. And Shabazz wasn't always in balance. Etc.
Omar was all over the place making things happen. Pulling for him but again: Tampa.
Brimah looks a bit stronger but otherwise showed nothing else new or improved.
Hamilton has a better sense of place and time. Better, not excellent. You need to see him play a lot because he does so many different things.
Rodney looking like a leader. Basketball wise, nothing new shown and TBD on improvement.

Takeaways:
Our deep 1/2/3 play should leave most teams gasping at 32 minute mark.
Miller fills the biggest hole, Gibbs the second biggest. This was the prophecy. It will come to be.
No pure points on this team but Adams has some thick Type PG blood in him. Some nice dishes on his menu.
Tournament is a given.
Two biggest TBDs: Chemistry and go-to guy. KC has built it and they will come.

 

[OkaForPrez]

I'm not as ready as everyone else to write off Sam after 1 exhibition game this year. He's definitely not a starter at this level, but he looked like he could provide solid minutes and some shooting off the bench.

Its his foot speed on defense that's the issue. He had his 2nd hand checking foul after 90 seconds on the floor. I love Sam on O, heady player, but if he can't guard at his position he's not going to see the floor for KO.

Thanks again for the ticket

 

[OkaForPrez]

Rodney looking like a leader. Basketball wise, nothing new shown and TBD on improvement.

Disagree on this. Rodney was much faster in his reads yesterday. As soon as the ball was in his hands he was passing, or driving or shooting and his release looked quicker as well.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Disagree on this. Rodney was much faster in his reads yesterday. As soon as the ball was in his hands he was passing, or driving or shooting and his release looked quicker as well.

Very interesting thought on this. I hadn't really thought about that. I agree that, generally, decisiveness with the ball trumps indecision. But, ultimately, the results are all that matter. I dearly hope that this is sign that KO has instructed the team to keep the ball in motion and make the defense work.

The combination of the advent of the 30 second shot clock and our speed and our depth will, in my opinion, conspire to give us an advantage over most teams. I can see us being very good late in games. Of course, that would also entail getting our FT% over about 70%, so I'm not going whole hog on this theory yet.

 

[microfich]

Disagree on this. Rodney was much faster in his reads yesterday. As soon as the ball was in his hands he was passing, or driving or shooting and his release looked quicker as well.

You're right about his reads. He is one all-in dude. Not sure about the quick release part, though. Maybe a more decisive release.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Very interesting thought on this. I hadn't really thought about that. I agree that, generally, decisiveness with the ball trumps indecision. But, ultimately, the results are all that matter. I dearly hope that this is sign that KO has instructed the team to keep the ball in motion and make the defense work.

The combination of the advent of the 30 second shot clock and our speed and our depth will, in my opinion, conspire to give us an advantage over most teams. I can see us being very good late in games. Of course, that would also entail getting our FT% over about 70%, so I'm not going whole hog on this theory yet.

Of course KO has instructed the team to move the ball. Moving the ball is Bball 101. The ball needs to move to break down the defense. Last year, particularly in the beginning of the year, Purvis seemed to make the wrong play almost every time and late at that. If the defense was selling out on the three with a hard close he shot it, if they gave him space he tried to take them off the dribble and it was always a half beat slow which allowed the defense to stabilize. It's something I've watched closely with him as result and yesterday he was great at reacting vs. thinking. It's a pretty huge detail in his development in my opinion, because his first step is one of his biggest assets (like when he blew past nic moore for the one handed power slam in TCF's latest masterpiece).

 

[Jaker]

I can only surmise that KO owes Sam senior some kind of debt-

 

[Hysteria]

Funny how a year ago I remember a huge thread about Facey possibly being the savior and major contributor in 14.... now no one knows his name . shows how loaded we are .

hold on going to be an exciting year .

 

[jibsey]

Funny how a year ago I remember a huge thread about Facey possibly being the savior and major contributor in 14.... now no one knows his name . shows how loaded we are .

hold on going to be an exciting year .

He still can rebound better than AB and Phil.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Of course KO has instructed the team to move the ball. Moving the ball is Bball 101.

Whoa - easy Toro. No need to go all pedantic on me. Not really what I said. And not really the way we've played over the last few years, including 2014. We often had a PG dribbling for 1/2 the clock or more, scoping out the floor, followed by a quick shot.
What I saw in the 1st game was constant ball movement.

 

[aceboon]

He still can rebound better than AB and Phil.

And a worse defender than both, you still don't get how all of this works.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I'm more than pretty optimistic about the offense. I think i read KO has not put in any offense yet. He may have worded it slightly different. Yet, the ball moved a lot.

 

[aceboon]

I'm more than pretty optimistic about the offense. I think i read KO has not put in any offense yet. He may have worded it slightly different. Yet, the ball moved a lot.

He said he didn't have them running set plays for this game, he just wanted them to move the ball and read + react. You don't reach November and not have them running offensive plays in practice.

 

[JimHurley]

After watching this game, I think the scoring will be a lot more spread out. Something like...
Gibbs 12
Purvis 12
Miller 11
Hamilton 11
Adams 8
Brimah 8
Calhoun 7

 

[MexicoHusky]

He said he didn't have them running set plays for this game, he just wanted them to move the ball and read + react. You don't reach November and not have them running offensive plays in practice.

Are you sure? I've often wondered about when offense gets really stressed in practice. I suspect they done very little work on the offense thus far.

 

[MexicoHusky]

He said he didn't have them running set plays for this game, he just wanted them to move the ball and read + react. You don't reach November and not have them running offensive plays in practice.

Are you sure? I've often wondered about when offense gets really stressed in practice. I suspect they done very little work on the offense thus far.

 

[jibsey]

And a worse defender than both, you still don't get how all of this works.

Well, maybe not but I'm pretty sure that when the ball comes off the backboard you're supposed to grab it.

 

[aceboon]

Are you sure? I've often wondered about when offense gets really stressed in practice. I suspect they done very little work on the offense thus far.

They've been practicing for a month, they're not spending hours of practice just running wind sprints. You don't wait until you are in the midst of your season to start going over offense, especially when you have 2 new starters and at least one other player who figures to be a prominent part of the rotation.

 

[intlzncster]

We often had a PG dribbling for 1/2 the clock or more, scoping out the floor, followed by a quick shot.

I'd say that was more by necessity than design. For good ball movement, an inside out game, you need a big who can pass. The only guy in the last 5 years or so who could do that was DeAndre Daniels, and he hung outside the post more often than not. Essentially, our post game has been a black hole for years, with guys who struggled to catch the ball nevermind pass it.

This year, w Miller, we've got a guy who can do this. Ollie has even said that the offense will often move through him.

Hopefully a little reminiscent of Georges niang at ISU. Creates big mismatches at the college level. Note, I'm not exactly sure what the O will look like at this stage. Just throwing out a hypothetical.