The offense gets worse and worse

[sportsart]

Wow Amidah always a project and KO is not very good coach? Where do we get these people? Seriously wtf do you know about the game that tells you he's not a very good coach? He needs to improve in areas but this team is not very well rounded talented wise and anyone not able to see that isn't very intelligent!

Man I was in a better mood after the game than reading some of this crap our fans throw out…...

You were in a better mood after calling the players p**sies? You are the one who needs to grow up. Calling players out is one thing. Calling them p**sies, when you couldn't carry their jock strap, is another.

You ask someone WTF they know about the game when all you do is come across as a drunkin' blow hard. Get over yourself.

 

[Strummer]

[Responding to my thought that "we don't have the horses."]
we have arguably the best point guard in the country . . . .and a bunch of guys who can at the very least spread the floor.

Did you see the game yesterday? Shabazz is great, but if you're picking him #1 in the country it's only because you have thick fan goggles on. Smith had 13 assists and 4 steals yesterday and helped to completely shut down Shabazz. The "best" guard in the country does not put a complete turd of a game, complete with lack of emotional control directed at his teammates, against the top competition we've faced in two months.

The guys can, "at the very least" spread the floor. Really. That's your assessment as to why we do, in fact, have the horses?

Love this team, and I'll be rooting for them to do well, and I think that Shabazz is among the top 5 MVPs in the country, but . . . .

Kool aid man. You're drinking it.

 

[ASweet3781]

It's drinking Kool Aid if we think the team has the talent where they should be able to break 70 points a couple times at this time of year?

 

[mauconnfan]

You were in a better mood after calling the players p**sies? You are the one who needs to grow up. Calling players out is one thing. Calling them p**sies, when you couldn't carry their jock strap, is another.

You ask someone WTF they know about the game when all you do is come across as a drunkin' blow hard. Get over yourself.

Nice try art……you must be a tough guy too…..lol

Haven't had a beer all weekend unlike you. Pu**ies have a ring to it for you art? it's really not being that hard on them quite honestly so I'm guessing we know what your like! keep following up you're a lot of fun!

 

[Danzz]

AJP still was one of the best pg in our history. He's my favorite husky ever. I've
Said it for years, he was the most underrated husky in a long time. He was a GREAT floor general and he could really score; get to the hoop and shoot. I think he was a better point guard than shabazz. Bazz may be the better overall player but aj was a great point guard. We could really use him

AJ is my least favorite PG in UConn history but not because of his play.

 

[Milo65]

Bad matchup...we sweep Memphis, Memphis sweeps L'ville, L'ville sweeps us...Basketball is a game of matchups. If we had a complete team, with a deep bench and accomplished big men, matchups wouldn't bother us, but we don't.

 

[champs99and04]

Did you see the game yesterday? Shabazz is great, but if you're picking him #1 in the country it's only because you have thick fan goggles on. Smith had 13 assists and 4 steals yesterday and helped to completely shut down Shabazz. The "best" guard in the country does not put a complete turd of a game, complete with lack of emotional control directed at his teammates, against the top competition we've faced in two months.

The guys can, "at the very least" spread the floor. Really. That's your assessment as to why we do, in fact, have the horses?

Love this team, and I'll be rooting for them to do well, and I think that Shabazz is among the top 5 MVPs in the country, but . . . .

Kool aid man. You're drinking it.

First off, I said arguably. Do you really think there is some notable difference between Smith and Napier as players? Dismissing Napier's claim to being the best point guard in the country based on one game is ridiculous. The fact that Smith had 13 assists is exactly the point. Napier can't have games where he distributes to that extent because UConn relies on him to do more.

Also, if you don't think floor spacing is an integral part to an efficient offense, I disagree. Boatright and Kromah are both capable of creating off the bounce for others. Giffey is one of the best spot up shooters in the country. Daniels can be an offensive force if you get him the ball in the right place. As nelson said a couple weeks ago, there are a lot of limitations in the offensive personnel, but there are also a lot of guys who do one or two things really well. It's the coaches responsibility to disguise the weaknesses and showcase the strengths.

Please don't take this as some sort of crusade against Ollie's ability to coach. I think he has a great basketball mind, and in the past he's strung together some excellent offensive game plans. He is a second year coach, though, and if you think he has this team firing on all cylinders like a more experienced coach would, I disagree. The team didn't execute well against the press, and the execution was even worse against the zone, both of which we knew were coming. I didn't expect UConn to tear apart the zone. I didn't even expect them to win. But not being able to eclipse 50 points at this point in the season is disappointing, and the buck stops with Ollie.

 

[Danzz]

First off, I said arguably. Do you really think there is some notable difference between Smith and Napier as players? Dismissing Napier's claim to being the best point guard in the country based on one game is ridiculous. The fact that Smith had 13 assists is exactly the point. Napier can't have games where he distributes to that extent because UConn relies on him to do more.

Also, if you don't think floor spacing is an integral part to an efficient offense, I disagree. Boatright and Kromah are both capable of creating off the bounce for others. Giffey is one of the best spot up shooters in the country. Daniels can be an offensive force if you get him the ball in the right place. As nelson said a couple weeks ago, there are a lot of limitations in the offensive personnel, but there are also a lot of guys who do one or two things really well. It's the coaches responsibility to disguise the weaknesses and showcase the strengths.

Please don't take this as some sort of crusade against Ollie's ability to coach. I think he has a great basketball mind, and in the past he's strung together some excellent offensive game plans. He is a second year coach, though, and if you think he has this team firing on all cylinders like a more experienced coach would, I disagree. The team didn't execute well against the press, and the execution was even worse against the zone, both of which we knew were coming. I didn't expect UConn to tear apart the zone. I didn't even expect them to win. But not being able to eclipse 50 points at this point in the season is disappointing, and the buck stops with Ollie.

No, the buck stops with the players. Coaches can only plan, players have to execute. I have to disagree with the premise that more coaching experience trumps 13 years as an NBA PG. I think what is happening is opponents want to take Bazz out of the game or at least limit his point production because they don't believe the rest of the players can beat them. This isn't about Xs and Os on Ollie's part. The opposing coaches aren't idiots.
We did a lot of what we had to do against the zone: getting the ball to DD around the foul line and penetrating. The problem wasn't the strategy. DD played fine and gave us 17. Bazz and Boat were able to penetrate but not finish or make kick out passes. Turnovers killed us.
Bottom line: we got beat by a well coached team that has more talent than us across the board. There is a reason why we were a 10 pt. dog and it has nothing to do with Ollie.

 

[champs99and04]

No, the buck stops with the players. Coaches can only plan, players have to execute. I have to disagree with the premise that more coaching experience trumps 13 years as an NBA PG. I think what is happening is opponents want to take Bazz out of the game or at least limit his point production because they don't believe the rest of the players can beat them. This isn't about Xs and Os on Ollie's part. The opposing coaches aren't idiots.
We did a lot of what we had to do against the zone: getting the ball to DD around the foul line and penetrating. The problem wasn't the strategy. DD played fine and gave us 17. Bazz and Boat were able to penetrate but not finish or make kick out passes. Turnovers killed us.
Bottom line: we got beat by a well coached team that has more talent than us across the board. There is a reason why we were a 10 pt. dog and it has nothing to do with Ollie.

The thing that concerned me wasn't the poor play. I can live with missed shots. What causes me to believe that the coaches need to do a better job is that time and time again, this team looks completely clueless against the zone (the Louisville zone in particular). I'm not delusional, I realize Louisville has more talent than us and is a better team. But there is a difference between losing to a more talented team and looking completely flummoxed for the entire game. They played with no purpose and seemed to have no inklings of how to beat what Louisville was throwing at them. In other words, they didn't look ready to play, didn't look ready for what Louisville threw at them. That has to fall on the coaches to some extent.

 

[Tdaley]

Here's the thing though . . . .

What "offense" can be run when we have the following:

1 guy who can almost always create his own shot.
1 guy who can, most times, create his own shot but who is so small it is usually a contested shot.
1 guy who can hit wide open jumpers but is limited otherwise.
1 guy with a suspect shot who looks elegant driving on poor competition but challenged against top notch comp.
1 guy who can hit an open 3 if he's feeling it, can put it down and go to the rim, but is dicey at best.
1 guy who hasn't scored since 2013 and who averages a turnover every 1.7 minutes on the court.
3 big guys who can score if they either have an uncontested baby hook, a wide open 10 footer, or a dunk.
1 guy who drives nicely but is just a frosh.

Point is, as some spanish speakers say, you can dress a monkey in silk, but it's still a monkey.

To make it a bit more American - you can only put so much lipstick on this pig.

We just don't have the talent. Plain and simple. It's not Ollie. It's not the lack of an O scheme. It's not execution. It's not will or effort.

WE DON'T HAVE THE HORSES. Simple as that. We've done GREAT with what we have.

Put a 6/4 wing on this team who can catch and take the ball to the rim or pull up and shoot or shoot the 3 and we're final four, and every nit wit bashing the team or Ollie suddenly thinks we're the greatest team ever and Ollie is Wooden.

Very well said. Without the horses up front this team is very limited. Daniels hasn't develop into the player many of us thought he would become this year.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Amida Brimah will never be anything more than the project he is now.

Exhibit A as to why this board is unreadable sometimes.

 

[sawxfan23]

Exhibit A as to why this board is unreadable sometimes.

Ok, Big Ern I will bite. Give me your "Exhibit A" as to why I am wrong. We are talking about a guy who is averaging 4 pts and 2.8 rebounds, cant stay in a game due to foul problems, and has gotten worse instead of better as the season went on. The thought that he will average 20 and 10 like mentioned above makes this board unreadable to me.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Ok, Big Ern I will bite. Give me your "Exhibit A" as to why I am wrong. We are talking about a guy who is averaging 4 pts and 2.8 rebounds, cant stay in a game due to foul problems, and has gotten worse instead of better as the season went on. The thought that he will average 20 and 10 like mentioned above makes this board unreadable to me.

You think Brimah has gotten worse this season? Did you really just say that? And you think this freshman will never be more than what he is now? And I'm supposed to take the time to try to prove you wrong? Save your hysterical rants for the chatroom - at least you'll have a sympathetic audience there.

 

[mauconnfan]

Ok, Big Ern I will bite. Give me your "Exhibit A" as to why I am wrong. We are talking about a guy who is averaging 4 pts and 2.8 rebounds, cant stay in a game due to foul problems, and has gotten worse instead of better as the season went on. The thought that he will average 20 and 10 like mentioned above makes this board unreadable to me.

Who said he had to ever average 2o and 10? You?

How about a kid who has been playing basketball a total of 5 years maybe now, who has shown things only a few who have put that uniform on have? He has a ways to go but he will get there and you will have crow dinners for a while……..if he averages 20 and 10 DHam, Rodney, Sam Jr., Prince, Turtle and all the others who stick around won't be very good now will they. If he improves to say 8 and 6 with 3 blocks a game next year and then 10/8/4 and maybe even 14/11/5 by his senior year do you think that would be a project? Guess again, his ceiling just needs some paint…...

 

[Palatine]

Ok, Big Ern I will bite. Give me your "Exhibit A" as to why I am wrong. We are talking about a guy who is averaging 4 pts and 2.8 rebounds, cant stay in a game due to foul problems, and has gotten worse instead of better as the season went on. The thought that he will average 20 and 10 like mentioned above makes this board unreadable to me.

Exhibit A: As he physically matures he will naturally get bigger and stronger. He is also in an NBA style weight program for the first time. These factors will make him tougher to move in the paint and will result in AB better able to maintain defensive positioning for rebounding and establish offensive position when we have the ball. The result of his natural development as a human being should improve his rebounds and points.

 

[Danzz]

Ok, Big Ern I will bite. Give me your "Exhibit A" as to why I am wrong. We are talking about a guy who is averaging 4 pts and 2.8 rebounds, cant stay in a game due to foul problems, and has gotten worse instead of better as the season went on. The thought that he will average 20 and 10 like mentioned above makes this board unreadable to me.

You are talking about a freshman with limited basketball experience and you think he won't get better? The kid has skills, a great attitude and he will be an important piece going forward. Will he be Patrick Ewing? Probably not but he doesn't have to be. BTW, he hasn't gotten worse.

 

[dtrumpet]

to say Brimah has gotten worse is patently absurd. No, he can't yet cover Montezl Harrell, that doesn't mean he's gotten worse. Hasheem Thabeet had a hard time with Dejuan Blair, this stuff happens at that age and experience.
As I said in another post, the problem with this team is they are no better than they were in january, and thats a problem I'll lay that at least partially on Ollie. Good teams play their best in March, we are not doing that...not even close.

 

[huskyharry]

Anatomy of failure:
The key point was when we went from being only seven points down early in the second half, to being 22 points down with 9:34to go.
Lazy perimeter defense on four occasions by Shabazz.
Boat had one ill-advised drive into the lane where he was gobbled up by a Van Treese.
Two really bad turnovers by Kromah on offense including a bad pass that was intercepted, intended for Giffey and a ill-advised charge. Kromah also totally failed to even attempt to box out Harrell on a couple of occasions.
A couple of blown calls by the officials in Louisville's favor (for example a travel by Smith was called a foul on Olander).
An awful pass by Nolan that was picked off easily by Smith.
And ill-advised entry pass by Boat that was easily picked off.
A good pass by Samuel that was fumbled away by Nolan.
Four perimeter jump shots that were absolutely bricked by Bazz despite having room.
In addition players just melted inside against Harrell when a hard foul or two may have adjusted his outlook a bit.

 

[Waquoit]

If AJP had been injury free, he would have been one of the best PGs to play at UConn (imo).

And not a crook.