That hurt

[Kitaman]

Seriously are you really a UConn fan? If so what is your problem, there is so much wrong with this post.

I know we lost when I see posters replying to freescooter. When we win he's invisible. It just makes a bad situation worse.

I know you know better, just resist Man!

 

[freescooter]

Seriously are you really a UConn fan? If so what is your problem, there is so much wrong with this post.

Cincy's point guard didn't out play Napier? Seriously? Cincy didn't outplay us inside and isn't known for their tenacious defense? Did you watch the game? I admit my feeling that we wouldn't pull this one out was just a gut feeling, but we had a couple of chances and didn't make the shots, were settleing for long range bombs and even if we had hit our last shot, Cincy would have had 10 seconds or so to get off their shot. given how they were playing and how we were playing, I didn't like our odds.

 

[ctchamps]

Uh, no. I based it on what he said himself about what was going on in his head. He admitted that he got into a funk when he wasn't getting the foul calls he expected. And it was on clear display based on his play. Pointing to his hand and shaking his head because he didn't get the foul call is not where his head should be imo. He should be getting his back on defense, because that's where this game was lost. And he had no answers for Kilpatrick.

I agree that this team would be nowhere without Bazz. That's what "live by the Bazz and die by the Bazz" means. But let's not overlook the fact that he still takes plays off, halves off and games off. He admitted that it happened during the Texas road trip from hell, too.

People are throwing up threads positing that he's the best PG in UConn history. Well if we want to anoint him, let's hold him up to the others then. Was there any secret that Kemba was going to be double and triple teamed? What happened then? It opened up opportunities for Jeremy and Shabazz. And in the first half Bazz was getting the ball to Giffey, Boat and Kromah, and that worked. It was when Bazz stopped doing that, started heaving threes and taking ill-conceived drives trying to draw contact that the game got away.

Bazz is a very good player, and when he plays that way we can be a very good team. But it remains the case imo that this team could do anything from losing in the first round to bringing home #4. It all depends on match-ups and whether Bazz rises to the occasion. We'll see.

Perhaps Bazz doesn't understand that he isn't superhuman and that there are days that people can't be at their optimum. I'm not saying he should make excuses for himself, but he doesn't have to compound his off days by making statements that imply he has an attitude problem. Appealing to the ref bothers you? Seriously? He has every right to lobby for himself.

Kemba had plenty of games in which his play was horrible. And he lobbied all the time about missed calls. Kemba had an incredible run tournament time. He strung his best games at the right time. That's the only thing unusual about him. He's not always doing that now in Charlotte where the stakes are just as important.

People often say things that they believe they should say. That doesn't make them true. Shabazz has the personality that blames himself when things go wrong. This isn't always the best thing to do because it gives ammo to those who need to find blame about people's failures.

He could learn from Kemba and just move on when he has a bad game. He doesn't need to punish himself over it. There are plenty of fans that will do that for him.

 

[Inyatkin]

I know we lost when I see posters replying to freescooter. When we win he's invisible. It just makes a bad situation worse.

I know you know better, just resist Man!

It takes so much willpower. More than I have, sometimes.

 

[superjohn]

I know we lost when I see posters replying to freescooter. When we win he's invisible. It just makes a bad situation worse.

I know you know better, just resist Man!

True, it's just hard to resist the urge sometimes. He thinks Sean Kilpatrick is a point guard, haha.

 

[8893]

I thought this game would be a really tough matchup for UConn. Cincy is tough inside, defends like UConn used to, AND they have a point guard who is capable of playing Napier. Without Daniels it was even tougher. Even when we got close down the final minute, to me it just didn't feel like we had a chance. Settling for long range, well defended 3 pointers is not going to get it done.

Seriously are you really a UConn fan? If so what is your problem, there is so much wrong with this post.

I get as frustrated with scooter as anyone, but I'm struggling to find a single thing wrong with this particular post. I'll go even further and say that when they closed the lead to five I felt like they had us right where they wanted us. They were breathing fire and our guys looked like their as were puckered. My 12-year old daughter was watching the game with me and said what we were both thinking (except that I wouldn't allow myself to say it) when she announced that she thought Cincy was going to win when there was still around five minutes left, just from reading the body language.

Truth is, Cincy was a tough matchup for us. They did play tough inside and defended us in a way that would have made Calhoun proud if he was their coach. And Kilpatrick proved more than capable of playing Bazz. He outplayed him in every facet, and in the end our solution seemed to be trying to take well-defended 3-pointers instead of working for a good shot.

 

[8893]

Perhaps Bazz doesn't understand that he isn't superhuman and that there are days that people can't be at their optimum. I'm not saying he should make excuses for himself, but he doesn't have to compound his off days by making statements that imply he has an attitude problem. Appealing to the ref bothers you? Seriously? He has every right to lobby for himself.

Kemba had plenty of games in which his play was horrible. And he lobbied all the time about missed calls. Kemba had an incredible run tournament time. He strung his best games at the right time. That's the only thing unusual about him. He's not always doing that now in Charlotte where the stakes are just as important.

People often say things that they believe they should say. That doesn't make them true. Shabazz has the personality that blames himself when things go wrong. This isn't always the best thing to do because it gives ammo to those who need to find blame about people's failures.

He could learn from Kemba and just move on when he has a bad game. He doesn't need to punish himself over it. There are plenty of fans that will do that for him.

I am much more frustrated by the fans who think Bazz is beyond reproach. He's not. I don't need to blame anyone for their failures. I have plenty of my own, thanks.

Bazz is far and away our best player. We are lucky to have him and we'd be ducked without him. And I'm well aware of Kemba's history both good and bad. But when you start diagnosing Bazz with the flu from your couch simply because he got beat, well I guess I wonder who feels the need to make excuses for whom. If Bazz and those who worship him want to place him on the altar, you've got to understand that he's going to be held up to scrutiny.

BTW, it's not just lobbying the officials. It's that that's where his head was. And that's still where it was after the game. Like it or not, his "excuse" was that he wasn't getting the calls, and he blamed the officiating by saying he shouldn't have put it in their hands. This is not a new thing for Bazz. He calls out teammates, too--just not by name. People here love his cute "don't sleep on me" gestures and his showboating--I don't. Just like I don't like his pseudo-acceptance of responsibility by saying it's his fault for letting the refs screw him, or for not making the other guys make plays, etc. He's growing up and doing it less, and I understand that he's still a kid. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I was surprised at the extent to which he is still doing it after four years.

 

[superjohn]

I get as frustrated with scooter as anyone, but I'm struggling to find a single thing wrong with this particular post. I'll go even further and say that when they closed the lead to five I felt like they had us right where they wanted us. They were breathing fire and our guys looked like their as were puckered. My 12-year old daughter was watching the game with me and said what we were both thinking (except that I wouldn't allow myself to say it) when she announced that she thought Cincy was going to win when there was still around five minutes left, just from reading the body language.

Truth is, Cincy was a tough matchup for us. They did play tough inside and defended us in a way that would have made Calhoun proud if he was their coach. And Kilpatrick proved more than capable of playing Bazz. He outplayed him in every facet, and in the end our solution seemed to be trying to take well-defended 3-pointers instead of working for a good shot.

Oh it was definitely tame compared to his other posts, it's just that we clearly had a good chance against the #7 team on their home court. There is just never a single positive observation from him and he always has to take little shots at our team, "Cincy plays defense like we used to." With the amount he rips on our program, it's not at all surprising he didn't think we had a chance.

 

[ctchamps]

I am much more frustrated by the fans who think Bazz is beyond reproach. He's not. I don't need to blame anyone for their failures. I have plenty of my own, thanks.

Bazz is far and away our best player. We are lucky to have him and we'd be ducked without him. And I'm well aware of Kemba's history both good and bad. But when you start diagnosing Bazz with the flu from your couch simply because he got beat, well I guess I wonder who feels the need to make excuses for whom. If Bazz and those who worship him want to place him on the altar, you've got to understand that he's going to be held up to scrutiny.

You got me all wrong. I'm on the floor jumping up and down and totally into the game.

I can't prove he was sick, but even in Bazz's worse games he doesn't throw up three air balls. None of those shots were that closely contested. To say he was off physically as well as mentally is not making excuses for him.
It's a head scratcher that someone who shoots as well as he does misses so badly. I won't disagree with anyone that he took too many of those shots when they weren't even close. He was pressing. The question is why?

Bazz has done enough in my book to put him in the category of one of the all time UConn greats. He doesn't need to do anything more for me to believe that. You have different criteria. Fine. I just don't get where you see him taking plays off, halves off or games off. The kid leaves it on the floor every game.

 

[CTBasketball]

I think he really could have used at least a 1-2 minute break around a TV timout.

If you weren't watching he was gassed at the end. Totally drained and he was starting to become a liability on defense in addition to his long 3's he chucks when he is tired. The backcourt was gassed and it showed.

 

[8893]

Bazz has done enough in my book to put him in the category of one of the all time UConn greats. He doesn't need to do anything more for me to believe that. You have different criteria. Fine. I just don't get where you see him taking plays off, halves off or games off. The kid leaves it on the floor every game.

No question he's already an all-time UConn great. I fully agree on that. For lack of a better word, I just think he's "cvnty" when things aren't going his way, and that it has a compounding effect on the rest of the team.

 

[superjohn]

I also thought Samuel should have gotten a few more minutes to spell Bazz, Samuel doesn't look out of place out there.

 

[ctchamps]

No question he's already an all-time UConn great. I fully agree on that. For lack of a better word, I just think he's "cvnty" when things aren't going his way, and that it has a compounding effect on the rest of the team.

Each of the players on the team handles adversity differently. I think AB is about the only one who just pops right back into a positive demeanor when things go wrong. And I'm noticing that even he is beginning to change. LK and NG don't pout when they make a mistake but they do become tentative. RB lets a bad play affect him for a while after it happens. He doesn't pout and still goes after it, but a lot less effectively for a few plays. DD goes into funks. OC hasn't come out of a funk since pretty much the start of the season. It's hard to tell the mindset of PN. TO gets into funks. TS seems even keeled but not enough minutes to go by. Same with Facey.

Does pouting on the court influence others? Certainly. Our demeanors have a way of influencing others. These players are who they are. When they're winning they pump each other up. When they're losing or playing badly they compound it with their expressions. They aren't alone. This is a human trait. Just examine this forum for a couple of games.

The best thing about KEA wasn't his pg skills and his terrific court vision. It was his ability to keep the team loose in spite of a demanding coach. Bazz doesn't have this ability. Not many people do. Do I wish he could display it. Certainly. But not many people can be someone they are not.

Kemba was somewhere between Bazz and KEA in terms of keeping his team mates up beat. But that persona isn't the only persona necessary to win. EO was stoic as they come on the court. He wasn't a rah rah guy at all. He led by his play. Bazz leads by his play as well. When he plays poorly his demeanor changes. But it changes when he plays well and his team doesn't. It's his trait and if the players need him to feed off of, then that's as much their problem as his.

 

[CTBasketball]

Each of the players on the team handles adversity differently. I think AB is about the only one who just pops right back into a positive demeanor when things go wrong. And I'm noticing that even he is beginning to change. LK and NG don't pout when they make a mistake but they do become tentative. RB lets a bad play affect him for a while after it happens. He doesn't pout and still goes after it, but a lot less effectively for a few plays. DD goes into funks. OC hasn't come out of a funk since pretty much the start of the season. It's hard to tell the mindset of PN. TO gets into funks. TS seems even keeled but not enough minutes to go by. Same with Facey.

Does pouting on the court influence others? Certainly. Our demeanors have a way of influencing others. These players are who they are. When they're winning they pump each other up. When they're losing or playing badly they compound it with their expressions. They aren't alone. This is a human trait. Just examine this forum for a couple of games.

The best thing about KEA wasn't his pg skills and his terrific court vision. It was his ability to keep the team loose in spite of a demanding coach. Bazz doesn't have this ability. Not many people do. Do I wish he could display it. Certainly. But not many people can be someone they are not.

Kemba was somewhere between Bazz and KEA in terms of keeping his team mates up beat. But that persona isn't the only persona necessary to win. EO was stoic as they come on the court. He wasn't a rah rah guy at all. He led by his play. Bazz leads by his play as well. When he plays poorly his demeanor changes. But it changes when he plays well and his team doesn't. It's his trait and if the players need him to feed off of, then that's as much their problem as his.

Agree on the comparisons, especially the mindset of the players.

But I think this team gets down because of themselves and themselves alone. Not a lot of confidence amongst anyone but Shabazz. And last night we saw Shabazz's worst game since 2012 and he took it out on himself and the refs after. I have no problem doing that, kind of eases the pain of the loss for the guys because they realized Shabazz wasn't on and getting fouls. Ollie isn't a demanding coach and doesn't bring his players emotions/demeanors at all. There isn't any punishment for messing up, so they only get mad at themselves when they mess up. Shabazz and Boat were perfect examples of this last night in the second half.

 

[8893]

Bazz leads by his play as well. When he plays poorly his demeanor changes. But it changes when he plays well and his team doesn't. It's his trait and if the players need him to feed off of, then that's as much their problem as his.

Agree with everything in your post, but it's this last part that's the rub. This is our team and it is what it is, and what it is is our problem when Bazz isn't playing well. He has the ball and, like or not, he controls much of the play. There is no other leader on this team in words or in deeds. He's our guy, warts and all. Most nights, that's enough. But in the one-and-done world of post-season play, an off night from Bazz is likely to mean the end of the road for this team, plain and simple.

 

[aceboon]

Agree on the comparisons, especially the mindset of the players.

But I think this team gets down because of themselves and themselves alone. Not a lot of confidence amongst anyone but Shabazz. And last night we saw Shabazz's worst game since 2012 and he took it out on himself and the refs after. I have no problem doing that, kind of eases the pain of the loss for the guys because they realized Shabazz wasn't on and getting fouls. Ollie isn't a demanding coach and doesn't bring his players emotions/demeanors at all. There isn't any punishment for messing up, so they only get mad at themselves when they mess up. Shabazz and Boat were perfect examples of this last night in the second half.

Ollie isn't a demanding coach? So when Giffey went halfheartedly after a loose ball and Ollie reamed him out, what was he doing then? And I'm not sure how you didn't notice Boat getting pulled for his mistakes yesterday, he definitely got pulled when he was unaware of the D around him and had the ball poked out from him in the open floor. You consistently post out of your ass to the point where I don't even think you believe the stuff you post.

 

[sparky]

Bazz pressed probably because of the matchup with Kilpatrick. I think not having DD really hurt, but NG and Kromah played pretty well. What hurt were missed free throws and Boat had a few bad possessions with the ball. I really thought we had them when Ollie called the TO and set up a play. Unfortunately, Boat didn't execute the play and our spacing was awful. NG was not able to square up to the hoop and thus his shot bricked.

 

[CTBasketball]

Ollie isn't a demanding coach? So when Giffey went halfheartedly after a loose ball and Ollie reamed him out, what was he doing then? And I'm not sure how you didn't notice Boat getting pulled for his mistakes yesterday, he definitely got pulled when he was unaware of the D around him and had the ball poked out from him in the open floor. You consistently post out of your ass to the point where I don't even think you believe the stuff you post.

If you've noticed, Giffey has been the scapegoat of problems all season long. Boat made a dumb mistake and should have been benched, so we knew that was coming. I just don't see how Ollie is a demanding coach when he pretty much lets his players make mistakes and some don't feel consequences.

 

[aceboon]

If you've noticed, Giffey has been the scapegoat of problems all season long. Boat made a dumb mistake and should have been benched, so we knew that was coming. I just don't see how Ollie is a demanding coach when he pretty much lets his players make mistakes and some don't feel consequences.

If you noticed, Giffey stayed in the game after that play, because Ollie knows he can trusts him. Boat has been benched plenty of times, not just last night, he pretty much sat the majority of the stretch run against Indiana in favor of Kromah, probably would've happened again last night given the way he was playing if we had Daniels available. Not sure where you're coming from with Giffey has been the scapegoat all season long, when KO gives him a much more rope than JC ever did. But then again you're also the same dude who posted earlier in the year that Giffey wasn't passed to because he's white, so why should I even bother reasoning with a buffoon. We all know you don't like KO, you've made it plain as day plenty of times, just don't post BS about him not being demanding when guys get pulled and yelled at all the time. If KO wasn't demanding of the players we probably wouldn't have seen the improvement in team rebounding that we have.

 

[CTBasketball]

If you noticed, Giffey stayed in the game after that play, because Ollie knows he can trusts him. Boat has been benched plenty of times, not just last night, he pretty much sat the majority of the stretch run against Indiana in favor of Kromah, probably would've happened again last night given the way he was playing if we had Daniels available. Not sure where you're coming from with Giffey has been the scapegoat all season long, when KO gives him a much more rope than JC ever did. But then again you're also the same dude who posted earlier in the year that Giffey wasn't passed to because he's white, so why should I even bother reasoning with a buffoon. We all know you don't like KO, you've made it plain as day plenty of times, just don't post BS about him not being demanding when guys get pulled and yelled at all the time. If KO wasn't demanding of the players we probably wouldn't have seen the improvement in team rebounding that we have.

I like KO, but I don't put him on a pedestal like most of the people on here. He has the potential to be a good coach, but right now he's an average coach.

He has done a good job with rebounding thus far, but you can't give him all the credit. We've seen Brimah get better every game throughout the season. He's a players coach that lets his guards run the show. But you cannot say he isn't an in-your-face demanding coach. You'd be lying to yourself.

 

[August_West]

The question "how much of a difference would DD have made?" has less to do with how well LK and NG played last night and more to do with "which version of DD would have shown up?"

Agree with this.
Based on historical data I would say chances were better that last night would have been disappearing DD just based on cincinatti's size and physicality.
I think we were actually a net plus with kromah and giffey over DD last night. And I don't mean this to be harsh on DD. Match ups and kromahs really solid skill set made up for his absence.

 

[superjohn]

I like KO, but I don't put him on a pedestal like most of the people on here. He has the potential to be a good coach, but right now he's an average coach.

He has done a good job with rebounding thus far, but you can't give him all the credit. We've seen Brimah get better every game throughout the season. He's a players coach that lets his guards run the show. But you cannot say he isn't an in-your-face demanding coach. You'd be lying to yourself.

"But you cannot say he isn't an in-your-face demanding coach. You'd be lying to yourself." Wait what? You do or don't think Ollie is a demanding coach? Also. did you really say players don't pass to Giffey because he's white?

 

[CTBasketball]

"But you cannot say he isn't an in-your-face demanding coach. You'd be lying to yourself." Wait what? You do or don't think Ollie is a demanding coach? Also. did you really say players don't pass to Giffey because he's white?

I don't think Ollie is a demanding coach because you would see the players get better over the course of the season. If he was a demanding coach he would demand more out of his players, and therefore they would improve. No one has improved this year except for Nolan, Brimah, and Giff, but Giff improved over the summer. Boatright, Calhoun, Napier at times, and Olander have all regressed from last year.

And no.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

No players have improved this year except the players that have improved this year. Got it.

Napier has regressed this year. Got it.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

So when Giffey went halfheartedly after a loose ball and Ollie reamed him out, what was he doing then?

I yelled "goddamnit Giff!" and my secretary closed my office door. Just a lazy play. I don't know if it's a lack of depth or what, but the times when we've got 5 guys on the court flying to loose balls seem relatively rare.