The defense is terrible

[UCTitleTown]

It's also apparent that unlike last season, we can't survive an ice cold AK night and win.

 

[homunculus]

And Hero Ball, every play. Talented, but very low basketball IQ. They gotta learn how to draw fouls also.

I typically find the phrase “they fell too much in love with the 3” to be overused, but I found myself shouting at the tv to stop shooting 3’s.

 

[Edward Sargent]

UConn’s players have had problems in the past with the help defense in Hurley’s man to man, especially with the rotation of the second helper, and experience really matters in figuring the rotations out.

We don’t have that experience, and our ball defenders are not just getting beaten, they are getting smoked, putting a ton of pressure on the rotation. One of the things to remember is that the guy that screwed up is not always the guy that looks like he screwed up. For example, Diarra often seems to run across the court to close on 3 point shooters that I am pretty sure are not his assignment. When you see Diarra running 20 feet in a close out, which has happened multiple times in both games, I think someone else has blown their assignment and Diarra doesn’t want to give up uncontested threes.

Anecdotally, it feels like defenses, which are so dependent on tight team play, are struggling on a lot of teams in the transfer portal era because of all the player turnover. We just appear to be getting hit extra hard this season.

Except for Mahanney the portal players aren't our defensive liability. Geez Singare looked better out there defensively than Samson.

 

[Edward Sargent]

"Ahmad in the first half I liked," Dan Hurley said. "Ahmad in the second half, he showed his inexperience. But, he plays with some physicality out there. I think he's going to be a good player. I think we have to play him."

We'll have to deal with the freshman mistakes and let him develop. I'd imagine those minutes are going to come at the expense of Mahaney.

If you play him he won't be a freshman in March

 

[Okafour rings]

I don't think we fully appreciate how great Clingan was for us the last two years - the best defender in the country who helped the other 4 UConn players on the court overplay the 3-point line all year.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I don't know how we solve the defensive problems with our current personnel. Ball and McNeeley have to be better, they have the physical tools, no excuses. But if they're just bad defenders, we can't afford to bench them offensively.

 

[Excalibur]

LOL at the "hero ball" crap.

 

[VA Blue Dog]

Case in point of how weak our perimeter defense is. Against us Memphis shot 12 for 22 on threes, 54.5%.
Then they get blown out by Auburn by 14 points. Memphis shot 67% from three but only got 9 three point shots off. Colorado was 9 for 16, 56.3 % against us. Perimeter defense against cream puffs does not count.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

LOL at the "hero ball" crap.

I’ll admit I can’t remember the last time that term got used for UConn players. It’s been a long time. All the greatest hits making an appearance!

 

[Horatio]

I typically find the phrase “they fell too much in love with the 3” to be overused, but I found myself shouting at the tv to stop shooting 3’s.

Especially Ross last game

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I don't think we fully appreciate how great Clingan was for us the last two years - the best defender in the country who helped the other 4 UConn players on the court overplay the 3-point line all year.

Don’t speak for everyone. The sane among us appreciate what Clingan was. That was one of the best college basketball teams of the last half century and he was a big reason why.

The people that expected this team to be last year’s team in November and are flooding this board with their Johnny Fontane “woe is me” garbage are the ones that sound stupid. But that’s just one man’s opinion.

 

[djct1999]

A subtle change is to simply switch reed and Johnson in the starting lineup. Johnson remains a dunk machine who flourishes as a change of pace center.
He is not a starter and when he gets two fouls by the first tv timeout it changes everything.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Any team can play a decent 1-3-1 if it just hustles, but the team quit against Dayton in the last 7 minutes. That was brutal.

 

[jibsey]

At one time, Dan Hurley probably focused too much on defense and we struggled. He began to realize you can't win on defense alone. He focused more on offense and the results spoke for themselves. Our offense was tremendous the last couple of years. However, as great as our offense was, it's easy to forget, we also always had a couple of exceptional defenders on the floor. The last 2 years were an exceptional blend of both offense and defense.

This year, it seems the team has plenty of offense but it is well below average on defense at virtually every position. If they can't find a way to play WAY better team defense than they have so far, this will be a lost season. Playing Nowell and Stewart more over Mahaney and Ross plus limiting Johnson's minutes will help some, but they have a long way to go.

I'm actually concerned with the future too. Did Dan Hurley get caught up in all the hype about our offense and focus too much on it? Our highly ranked recruits seem similar to many of our current players in that they are very skilled offensive players but not tremendously athletic or known for their defense. UConn has historically beaten more talented teams by shutting them down. If history has shown us anything, it's that you need defense to win championships. I'm hoping Dan Hurley hasn't forgotten that.

Great post. I like the idea of Nowell and Stew more as long as they can handle the D. Nowell we’ve seen so little of but I hope Hurley will give him a lot more chance to show what he can do.

 

[controlfade]

Great post. I like the idea of Nowell and Stew more as long as they can handle the D. Nowell we’ve seen so little of but I hope Hurley will give him a lot more chance to show what he can do.

With as bad as the rebounding has been Stewart would be giant plus, unfortunately he has a very short leash right now .

 

[Icehawk]

Newton, Spencer and Karaban didn't have incredible footspeed or hops, just incredible brains on the court. I don't think athleticism is a major limiting factor.

We lost 5” of height at the guard position, that doesn’t help either.

Castle came out of high school known as soft/bad on D. How has that turned out with a year of experience with our staff? The kid locked down every assignment in the NCAAs, and is getting assigned to guard players like Curry in the NBA and more than holding his own.

Really? That seems insane based on his D at UConn (after a few game’s experience) and the buzz I see reported in his current NBA play.

Some changes in rotation and a focus on defensive fundamentals can right this ship, I am going to keep my Kool-Aid even if I’m only taking sips and not chugging it down

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Basketball is no longer like Hoosiers where you want to just smell what gum the other guy is chewing. Even base man-to-man defenses have complicated reads, traps, weak side fills, and rotations, and Hurley’s seem particularly complex.

Unlike many on this board, I don’t have a quick fix other than play more junk defenses, which only works for stretches of a game, if it works at all.

UConn’s team defense is worse than its individual defense, if that is possible. I got nothing other than out scoring the opponent, because lots of stops do not seem likely.

 

[HooperScooper]

Really? That seems insane based on his D at UConn (after a few game’s experience) and the buzz I see reported in his current NBA play.

I remember an article on Castle during the season last year when he said he didn't know he could play defense like he was doing because nobody had ever asked him to play defense before he got to UConn. When you're the star in high school and AAU the expectations are much different than when you get to college and the pros.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I remember an article on Castle during the season last year when he said he didn't know he could play defense like he was doing because nobody had ever asked him to play defense before he got to UConn. When you're the star in high school and AAU the expectations are much different than when you get to college and the pros.

Castle may not have realized it, but he had some intangibles that some guys on this team don't have. I don't remember him watching the play and losing his guy like these guys have. I look at Castle and the closest thing athletically to him is Ball. Ball should be and still could be a really good defender, but he has to pay attention to detail. I don't know if playing/practicing with Clingan has hurt his development at that end.
I wonder if there is any chance we will Nowell in a 2 point guard system like Calhoun ran at times or even if Ross gets a little play at point. His size could help cover for a speed disadvantage against some smaller guards.

 

[alphasigko]

Also, the Euro style offense that Hurley preaches isn't working.

Not sure I have seen anything in this year's offense that remotely resembles the dynamic "Euro style offense" of last year, in which there were players constantly rotating, criss-crossing, picking and cutting all over the half court. This year at area around the key is continually vacant with our guards and 5s dribbling and passing above the arc and the forwards generally stationary in the corners.

Hopefully the coaches figure it out way sooner than later.

 

[CTBasketball]

This will not happen but bringing Ball off the bench as a spot-up shooter will keep his defensive liabilities off the court.

Mahaney needs to grow up and play the 2 guard like he knows he can. He was not this bad last two years on defense even vs. high major opponents.

 

[UConnJim]

I look at Castle and the closest thing athletically to him is Ball. Ball should be and still could be a really good defender, but he has to pay attention to detail.

Castle is a unique and gifted athlete. Physically, Ball looks stronger than Castle, but Castle is taller, longer, and quicker. Castle can disrupt Steph Curry and there is nobody on the UConn roster who could do that.

 

[jibsey]

Castle is a unique and gifted athlete. Physically, Ball looks stronger than Castle, but Castle is taller, longer, and quicker. Castle can disrupt Steph Curry and there is nobody on the UConn roster who could do that.

Castle was human steel and for his position at UConn have we had anyone stronger?

 

[Lambeau]

Nostalgia is probably not going to help; I hope the staff is not sitting around pining away for Castle and Clingan.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Nostalgia is probably not going to help; I hope the staff is not sitting around pining away for Castle and Clingan.

This staff has always been forward-looking. They'll figure it out with this group

 

[ctchamps]

Not sure I have seen anything in this year's offense that remotely resembles the dynamic "Euro style offense" of last year, in which there were players constantly rotating, criss-crossing, picking and cutting all over the half court. This year at area around the key is continually vacant with our guards and 5s dribbling and passing above the arc and the forwards generally stationary in the corners.

Hopefully the coaches figure it out way sooner than later.

Second half of the UMES game was the first time I saw that offense on a consistent basis.
Can they perform it against better teams? It’s obviously unknown. But it wasn’t good against the first four weak teams so there’s that.

 

[freescooter]

This staff has always been forward-looking. They'll figure it out with this group

Sometimes it is just a question of having the right guys. It is, at least in theory, possible to be a good team by just our scoring people and playing minimal defense. Play a mix of man and junk zone to slow teams down but don’t expect much by way of turnovers and stops. Doesn’t seem we have the level of players to dominate defensively this year. Scorers on the other had, we have. This isn’t a model to win a national championship but maybe it gets you enough to dance.

 

[DogMania]

The team D just isn't good. It seems it breaks down a lot with the perimeter players getting beat off the dribble. How much of this is a lack of physicality, poor technique with positioning and hedging or something else. They seem to take too many chances at times, and the fours and fives are just not hedging on the screen and then getting back on their bigs with the perimeter players re-engaging with the player they were guarding. Seems players are turning the corner and driving right at the basket and they just can't defend without fouling, putting the other team on the line way too much.

And on offense, they're just not getting into the motion offense and running quickly enough to gain an advantage. They need to take advantage of the open threes but also curl and drive into the lane more often. They just don't seem like they're executing it. And when they face more athletic and physical teams those teams are pressuring the ball where they just can't seem to get into their offense. Lastly, it's not all on the guards who have the ball in their hand, seems often their teammates aren't exactly getting open off the ball giving them opportunities.

 

[3rdbass]

Castle is a unique and gifted athlete. Physically, Ball looks stronger than Castle, but Castle is taller, longer, and quicker. Castle can disrupt Steph Curry and there is nobody on the UConn roster who could do that.

I'm not sure Castle is quicker but more that Ball is an Airhead when it comes to D. He just doesn't have good defensive instincts. Castle was taught these at early age. Also, Ball is also very lazy player on D. Not sure why but he needs to work on it and learn how to get in a true defensive stance. He is too upright at times.

 

[Excalibur]

I'm not sure Castle is quicker but more that Ball is an Airhead when it comes to D. He just doesn't have good defensive instincts. Castle was taught these at early age. Also, Ball is also very lazy player on D. Not sure why but he needs to work on it and learn how to get in a true defensive stance. He is too upright at times.

I'm just not sure he has the lateral quickness to be a great on-ball defender. He's fast and can jump but the same things that limit him offensively (good straight line driver but can't really break down a defender) are also limiting him on the defensive end.