The goal for the next 6 weeks.

[Husky25]

Hamilton didn't do it all on his own in '99. El-Amin forced his way into the conversation by the time BE play started.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The way this team has been playing defense, their defensive identity might be 'there "go to guy". Their depth is also key. I think for the next 6 weeks, they just need to come out of it healthy. They have more than a handful of guys who can 'go off' on any given night.

For me, it's scary because these guys really haven't been playing together for all that long. They may even get better finding each other and learning from each other.

Finally, about Hawkins, Rip didn't become the alpha until near the end of his sophomore season. Rashamel Jones was the leading scorer for most of the year. Hawk is learning and if he stays healthy, he could end up being a steady force this season. I'm impressed with how much he has improved defensively. The announcer rightfully talk about his sweet sroke and athleticism, but he's becoming a pretty darn good on the ball defender.

I don’t disagree with any of this. But at some point in an elimination type situation, we will need one guy that rises out from the rest.

@Spaceman213J , you are off by a year. Rip led the team in scoring as a frosh and Rash was a double digit scorer. Rip's sophomore year was KEA's freshman year and Rash had a reduced role while Rip was a 20 point scorer. Rip clearly established himself as the alpha during his frosh season.

Hawk is learning to move like Rip and Ray and physically is more like Ray than Rip but Rip had a much better handle than Hawk and could get himself free with the dribble.
I'm fine with Hawk's spot up shooting skills as is and if he just concentrates on refining his movement away from the ball to get himself free, I am good with it this season.

I don't think UConn needs Hawkins to be able to break his man down for UConn to become elite with end of clock situations.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Newton not playing like himself is the only issue. He’s got to find his game and lead this team. He’s the guy we have to create a shot, control the tempo and make free throws. He’s been too unselfish and needs to seek his offense.

We have so many weapons that it hasn’t mattered. When we are in an epic battle with 2-3 minutes left, our main weakness is going to be Newton not stepping up as our lead guard and Hurley having to put Diarra in to handle the pressure. Diarra is too erratic and turnover prone for that role at this point. Newton was a 17ppg guy at ECU. He is not a role player, he’s our point guard. We will pay down the line if he doesn’t get this figured out.

I am confident when the game is on the line and the pressure is tight, Diarra will be on the bench unless there is foul trouble or injuries. Above all else for end of game situations, Diarra is a horrible FT shooter for a guard and a below average FT shooter regardless of position.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Go to by committee. But if the score is tied with 15 seconds to go and it’s our possession, at this point I’d say give the ball to AJax and have him drive for a contested layup, lob to DC, or a kick off to Joey Chesnut. Hopefully toward the end of the season we can entrust in Newton.

 

[Icehawk]

Goal for the next 6 weeks? Go 13-0 and pound the everloving shiite out of Creighton.

Newton IS a go-to guy, even if he's had some less than stellar games he is a foul magnet and hits free throws. We've got backups too like Joey if needed. Makes it lot harder to shut us down when almost everyone is a threat of some kind.

 

[BlueMAB]

I am confident when the game is on the line and the pressure is tight, Diarra will be on the bench unless there is foul trouble or injuries. Above all else for end of game situations, Diarra is a horrible FT shooter for a guard and a below average FT shooter regardless of position.

I can’t remember if it was Iowa St or Oklahoma St, but Hurley was subbing Diarra and Joey C in/out for defense/offense.

I don’t think Diarra gets nailed to the bench, if it’s close and we’re winning.

 

[DisabledVet]

We don’t need no stinkin’ go to guy. Just get Samson back and woven into the rotation and we’ll be fine.

 

[Hoophound]

I am confident when the game is on the line and the pressure is tight, Diarra will be on the bench unless there is foul trouble or injuries. Above all else for end of game situations, Diarra is a horrible FT shooter for a guard and a below average FT shooter regardless of position.

Yeah. That was my whole point. Newton better get it together or we will have one other choice, Diarra. Not good.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I can’t remember if it was Iowa St or Oklahoma St, but Hurley was subbing Diarra and Joey C in/out for defense/offense.

I don’t think Diarra gets nailed to the bench, if it’s close and we’re winning.

Right. So in the context of UConn needing to develop a go to player or go to set offense in tight games Diarra won't be on the floor for offense.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

For those whose memory fails them, or have an agenda to shade things toward their favor, here's just one telling...

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As we've seen here, there have been dominant players, balanced teams, and Batman & Robin-like duos.Everybody working together - coaches, players, and fans.

Steady improvement, one game at a time.

 

[husky429]

Go to by committee. But if the score is tied with 15 seconds to go and it’s our possession, at this point I’d say give the ball to AJax and have him drive for a contested layup, lob to DC, or a kick off to Joey Chesnut. Hopefully toward the end of the season we can entrust in Newton.

Jackson isn't a good option for this spot because he's not a good scorer. Defense knows he is going to pass the ball the second he touches it. I'm giving Jackson a layup 99/100 times as an opposing coach or player--he's terrible at them. He's going to settle for a sketchy floater that goes in about 20% of the time if you just play him 1v1 and faceguard everyone else.

You put Jackson in to break pressure, and then run some kind of weakside action with Sanogo/Hawkins getting open for a 3 or roll to the rim. As turnover prone as Newton has been, he still needs to be the guy in these moments.

 

[uconn_jack]

Whoever has the hot hand. Frankly, most of them seem to have the confidence and killer attitude this year.

 

[REB1094]

20+ point scorers by game and the margin of win:

1. Nobody (31)
2. Sanogo (29)
3. Newton (20)
4. Sanogo, Hawkins (36)
5. Sanogo (35)
6. Newton (24)
7. Sanogo (15)
8. Nobody (18)
9. Sanogo, Hawkins (10)
10. Nobody (21)

So it’s clear Sanogo is the #1. Hawkins is the #2. Newton can sneak in there. So those are our go to guys.

If we ever get to a point where we need a “traditional” go to guy that just takes the ball in isolation and gets buckets, then our offense has failed. It’s clear that our system is designed around everybody getting their touches and we have the pieces to make sure that happens

 

[navery12]

Yeah. That was my whole point. Newton better get it together or we will have one other choice, Diarra. Not good.

Not picking on you because it's been a popular opinion the past 2 days and your post just spurred me looking it up. But I really don't understand all the hand-wringing over Newton not being good. For the season he's averaging 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists a game, and the last 5 games against high major opponents he's been at 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists per game.

Would be nice if he could cut the turnovers down a bit from 3 a game, but I'm just not seeing this huge issue at PG everyone is talking about

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not picking on you because it's been a popular opinion the past 2 days and your post just spurred me looking it up. But I really don't understand all the hand-wringing over Newton not being good. For the season he's averaging 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists a game, and the last 5 games against high major opponents he's been at 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists per game.

Would be nice if he could cut the turnovers down a bit from 3 a game, but I'm just not seeing this huge issue at PG everyone is talking about

He carried us in a game and had a triple double. People want to see more of that I suppose. I think he can be better, but we don't want him to lead us in scoring. There is no huge issue at PG other than UConn fans thinking great teams require a PG to be the go to guy. Kelly, Smith, Sheffer, KEA, Price, Marcus, Kemba, Bazz. We've had some great ones, and I didn't even list Taliek or Ben who was effectively a Combo.

 

[Edward Sargent]

If we're going to entertain any real run at the end of the conf schedule, the conf tourney and the Dance, we are going to need to identify the go-to guy.

All the great teams had a guy to lean on when everything else went wrong. Injuries, early fouls, lid on the basket. Rip Hamilton was your guy in 99. Caron Butler vs Maryland in the tourney. Shabazz and Kemba in their runs.

It's not going to be Sanogo. You just can't accomplish that through a center. Jackson just doesn't score consistently enough when we're cold one night to count on. It's gotta be Hawkins. Hawkins has to figure out how to play within the offense, but take it over when they need him to take it over.

No but I would like Sanogo to get the assist

 

[BlueMAB]

Right. So in the context of UConn needing to develop a go to player or go to set offense in tight games Diarra won't be on the floor for offense.

I don't/didn't disagree with you, just pointing out we've seen him go offense/defense with Diarra/Joey, and it wasn't even that close of a game. Newton isn't coming out, IMO.

 

[CL82]

Dilemma is Jackson is probably the best at being able to break down his defender but he is reluctant to shoot.
Newton can get by his man, is a real good FT shooter if he gets fouled but decision making on the fly hasn't been great.
Hawkins has looked better going to the hoop and is also a real good FT shooter but I still don't trust his handle going one v. one with the ball when the clock is running down.
Crazy as it sounds, Joey has been pretty good lately getting to the rim for layups and is money from the line.
This I do know. In the NCAAT if it's tight at the end of the game, Joey C will be on the floor on offense.

If I could have, I would have given that post a second like just for “Joey ”.

 

[CL82]

I thought the goal was going to be - find a judge.

Or at least another nauseating plea to get the job back after he pooped the bed last season.

 

[CL82]

Ok D

Lol, should have gone with “Shut up D”

 

[Huskybass]

Not picking on you because it's been a popular opinion the past 2 days and your post just spurred me looking it up. But I really don't understand all the hand-wringing over Newton not being good. For the season he's averaging 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists a game, and the last 5 games against high major opponents he's been at 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists per game.

Would be nice if he could cut the turnovers down a bit from 3 a game, but I'm just not seeing this huge issue at PG everyone is talking about

I love Newton and think he is a very valuable piece of this team, but if you watch the Florida game again you will have to admit he was completely out of sorts. All we need is for him to play his regular game, he's a quality player. I'm just saying he wasn't his normal self against Florida. He looked fatigued or sick or something. Even though he was off, we still blew out a decent team on the road. When he returns to form, this team becomes an even tougher out.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Not picking on you because it's been a popular opinion the past 2 days and your post just spurred me looking it up. But I really don't understand all the hand-wringing over Newton not being good. For the season he's averaging 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists a game, and the last 5 games against high major opponents he's been at 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists per game.

Would be nice if he could cut the turnovers down a bit from 3 a game, but I'm just not seeing this huge issue at PG everyone is talking about

He carried us in a game and had a triple double. People want to see more of that I suppose. I think he can be better, but we don't want him to lead us in scoring. There is no huge issue at PG other than UConn fans thinking great teams require a PG to be the go to guy. Kelly, Smith, Sheffer, KEA, Price, Marcus, Kemba, Bazz. We've had some great ones, and I didn't even list Taliek or Ben who was effectively a Combo.

That triple double seems to be a double-edged sword. Kinda reminds me of Brimah's 40 point game where he ran the rim and had a bazillion alley oop dunks. It was such an outlier statistically you know you can't repeat it but you wonder if it opens up a higher ceiling than initially anticipated.

No one expects Newton to average a triple double, or most likely not get another one this season. It did show he can be an impact player and dominate a game but for UConn to play its best Newton has to be the third or fourth option on offense and be more of a distributor than primary scorer.

And he's struggling to find the balance. Part of that struggle is being confident when to shoot and when to pass. He's been weakest with those decisions while penetrating and trying to pass off the dribble. Cutting down the live ball TO's is a reasonable goal for him to improve during this season and it will directly help make UConn a better team.

 

[Huskybass]

Nothing wrong with Sanogo, Hawkins, and Jackson being the stars and Joey C., Newton, Alex and Diarra hitting daggers. I like it.

 

[Husky25]

Not picking on you because it's been a popular opinion the past 2 days and your post just spurred me looking it up. But I really don't understand all the hand-wringing over Newton not being good. For the season he's averaging 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists a game, and the last 5 games against high major opponents he's been at 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists per game.

Would be nice if he could cut the turnovers down a bit from 3 a game, but I'm just not seeing this huge issue at PG everyone is talking about

Averages can be deceiving.

Newton's per game TO average on 11/26 was 1.7. If he hadn't commit 15 in his last three games, his per game average would be lower than 2.7 and the comments about it would be fewer.

 

[Waquoit]

So it’s clear Sanogo is the #1.

I'm not sure Sanogo is #1. As good as he is for the 1st 38, I don't trust him in the last 2. We've efforted to get him the ball in tight games over the last 2 years without much success. He misses bunnies.

 

[Husky25]

20+ point scorers by game and the margin of win:

1. Nobody (31)
2. Sanogo (29)
3. Newton (20)
4. Sanogo, Hawkins (36)
5. Sanogo (35)
6. Newton (24)
7. Sanogo (15)
8. Nobody (18)
9. Sanogo, Hawkins (10)
10. Nobody (21)

So it’s clear Sanogo is the #1. Hawkins is the #2. Newton can sneak in there. So those are our go to guys.

If we ever get to a point where we need a “traditional” go to guy that just takes the ball in isolation and gets buckets, then our offense has failed. It’s clear that our system is designed around everybody getting their touches and we have the pieces to make sure that happens

Sanogo is not the #1 option with 15 seconds left, down 2. He takes too much time and doesn't recognize when he should pass out of it in time, if at all. He'd be good for a put back though.

Down 2 on the last possession, the lineup I'd put out there would be Sanogo, Clingan, Hawkins, Joey C. and either Jackson or Karaban. Actually, maybe both and take out Sanogo.

Regardless, Hawkins is my 1st option for the shot.

 

[Askgreek]

Newton not playing like himself is the only issue. He’s got to find his game and lead this team. He’s the guy we have to create a shot, control the tempo and make free throws. He’s been too unselfish and needs to seek his offense.

We have so many weapons that it hasn’t mattered. When we are in an epic battle with 2-3 minutes left, our main weakness is going to be Newton not stepping up as our lead guard and Hurley having to put Diarra in to handle the pressure. Diarra is too erratic and turnover prone for that role at this point. Newton was a 17ppg guy at ECU. He is not a role player, he’s our point guard. We will pay down the line if he doesn’t get this figured out.

I agree 100% he is the key to the season all else being equal.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

That triple double seems to be a double-edged sword. Kinda reminds me of Brimah's 40 point game where he ran the rim and had a bazillion alley oop dunks. It was such an outlier statistically you know you can't repeat it but you wonder if it opens up a higher ceiling than initially anticipated.

No one expects Newton to average a triple double, or most likely not get another one this season. It did show he can be an impact player and dominate a game but for UConn to play its best Newton has to be the third or fourth option on offense and be more of a distributor than primary scorer.

And he's struggling to find the balance. Part of that struggle is being confident when to shoot and when to pass. He's been weakest with those decisions while penetrating and trying to pass off the dribble. Cutting down the live ball TO's is a reasonable goal for him to improve during this season and it will directly help make UConn a better team.

I'm kind of repeating myself with my sole comment in Chat last night, and highlighting that Newton took zero free throws in the past two games, but if I had a breakdown of 1st & 2nd half in the triple double game, I could offer the exact numbers.

By memory impression, Tristen was 2-9 FGs from the field in the 1st half against Buffalo. He finished the game 4-14, including 0-5 from 3.

In the 2nd half, he went right to the hole from beginning and finished 14-17 from the line, 22 points, in addition to the assists and rebounds.

To me, he got himself unstuck by drawing fouls, and I wish he'd done it last night. I still think it could be a function of not fully adjusting to AJax being in the lineup, and I still think it's a coaching priority to maximize an historic strength that is likely to pay dividends in close games when free throws for any source will be essential.

Might even be a worthy goal for the next two weeks.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Or at least another nauseating plea to get the job back after he pooped the bed last season.

We're still more likely to get insistence that he's the cause of any success that may come, and zero responsibility for fanning flames of discord, shirked responsibility, broken commitment.

I never rule out a changed head or heart, or the power of genuine amends toward rekindling embers that may still exist, but that's my generous spirit & willingness to work as a team, not my current betting line.

 

[CL82]

We're still more likely to get insistence that he's the cause of any success that may come, and zero responsibility for fanning flames of discord, shirked responsibility, broken commitment.

I never rule out a changed head or heart, or the power of genuine amends toward rekindling embers that may still exist, but that's my generous spirit & willingness to work as a team, not my current betting line.

Well, spoken and well reasoned. My response?

“He’s dead to me.”