This one’s on the coaching staff

[HuskyFich]

Sanogo or Whaley, cause the tallest player on St John’s was about 6’5”. Have Martin and Adams crashing the boards for a second chance opportunity.

Champagnie is 6’8
Whaley is 6’9

 

[McLovin]

But I thought you said they shouldnt go to a poor foul shooter? Sanogo is a poor foul shooter. Whaley is mediocre and just missed one.

Poor foul shoot AND poor at finishing around the rim is a bad option, which is what Martin was. Nothing against the kid, he’s a heck of a player, but should not have been put in that spot.

While Sanogo and Whaley are not great FT shooters, they are far superior options for attempting a shot in the lane.

You’re right, we don’t have a perfect option because he is currently injured. But we did have better options than Martin to attempt that shot.

 

[superjohn]

But I thought you said they shouldnt go to a poor foul shooter? Sanogo is a poor foul shooter. Whaley is mediocre and just missed one.

Sanogo was our best player and abusing them down low. He took him out with 12:46 left and never put him back in. That was the game.

 

[McLovin]

Champagnie is 6’8
Whaley is 6’9

If Sanogo and Whaley are out there, champagne can only guard one. That means the other has a mismatch for a high quality 4 foot shot.

 

[UCfor3]

Sanogo was our best player and abusing them down low. He took him out with 12:46 left and never put him back in. That was the game.

Im not talking ahout that. Read back a few posts. Talking about the last set where Martin was fouled. McLovin said we shouldnt have gone to a bad FT shooter. I said who then and he then said Sanogo, possibly our worst FT shooter. I agree he should have played more and wouldnt even object if they went to him at the end. Just didnt agree with the premise of McLovins post.

 

[McLovin]

Im not talking ahout that. Read back a few posts. Talking about the last set where Martin was fouled. McLovin said we shouldnt have gone to a bad FT shooter. I said who then and he then said Sanogo, possibly our worst FT shooter. I agree he should have played more and wouldnt even object if they went to him at the end. Just didnt agree with the premise of McLovins post.

What I meant, and sorry if it was not clear, was not that we shouldn’t have gone to a bad free throw shooter (our team is all poor FT shooters right now lol). What I was saying is that Martin is neither a good FT shooter nor good around the rim, which is why Whaley or Sanogo (both with more touch inside) would have been a better option.

Putting a kid who can't shoot free throws and struggles to finish inside (aka Martin) in a position to drive the hoop for a game winning shot is unfair to the kid and asking too much. Good coaching means put players in the best position to be successful. Putting Martin in that spot was not good coaching. We had a better option sitting on the bench.

 

[UCfor3]

What I meant, and sorry if it was not clear, was not that we shouldn’t have gone to a bad free throw shooter (our team is all poor FT shooters right now lol). What I was saying is that Martin is neither a good FT shooter nor good around the rim, which is why Whaley or Sanogo (both with more touch inside) would have been a better option.

Putting a kid who can't shoot free throws and struggles to finish inside (aka Martin) in a position to drive the hoop for a game winning shot is unfair to the kid and asking too much. Good coaching means put players in the best position to be successful. Putting Martin in that spot was not good coaching. We had a better option sitting on the bench.

We will never know. If Sanogo was in, and I wish he was, and he got the ball on the block and he got hacked and bricked both FT's, there would be a different bunch of chuckleheads on here complaining about going to him cuz hes a freshman and a poor foul shooter. Its all revisionist history. We could all agree on a few things. Sanogo should have played more and we need to start making FTs at the end of games. Sometimes you can't pick and choose who is open and who the D takes away. Even set plays break down. Whoever gets to the line has to start drilling them. The margin of error without Bouk is razor thin.

 

[McLovin]

We will never know. If Sanogo was in, and I wish he was, and he got the ball on the block and he got hacked and bricked both FT's, there would be a different bunch of chuckleheads on here complaining about going to him cuz hes a freshman and a poor foul shooter. Its all revisionist history. We could all agree on a few things. Sanogo should have played more and we need to start making FTs at the end of games. Sometimes you can't pick and choose who is open and who the D takes away. Even set plays break down. Whoever gets to the line has to start drilling them. The margin of error without Bouk is razor thin.

You are correct, the people complaining in that scenario would be the chuckleheads. Instead, Sanogo was left on the bench and the entirety of the fan base with even half a brain are now left scratching their heads.

 

[navery12]

Last game Hurley was a genius for putting the ball in Martin's hands at the end of the game, now he's dumb for doing the same thing?

 

[McLovin]

Last game Hurley was a genius for putting the ball in Martin's hands at the end of the game, now he's dumb for doing the same thing?

Martin was our most competent offensive player against DePaul (7 of 14 from the field), so it was the right move. Martin was not our most competent offensive player today (4 of 11 from the field). That player, Sanogo (6 of 11 from the field), was left sitting on the bench.

 

[navery12]

Martin was our most competent offensive player against DePaul (7 of 14 from the field), so it was the right move. Martin was not our most competent offensive player today (4 of 11 from the field). That player, Sanogo (6 of 11 from the field), was left sitting on the bench.

But that's not what you said, you said putting the ball in the hands of a bad FT shooter at the end of the game is dumb and Sanogo is an even worse FT shooter

 

[McLovin]

But that's not what you said, you said putting the ball in the hands of a bad FT shooter at the end of the game is dumb and Sanogo is an even worse FT shooter

My god if I have to explain this one more time I'm going to lose it. Please read any one of these posts where I explain this.

Poor foul shoot AND poor at finishing around the rim is a bad option, which is what Martin was. Nothing against the kid, he’s a heck of a player, but should not have been put in that spot.

While Sanogo and Whaley are not great FT shooters, they are far superior options for attempting a shot in the lane.

You’re right, we don’t have a perfect option because he is currently injured. But we did have better options than Martin to attempt that shot.

What I meant, and sorry if it was not clear, was not that we shouldn’t have gone to a bad free throw shooter (our team is all poor FT shooters right now lol). What I was saying is that Martin is neither a good FT shooter nor good around the rim, which is why Whaley or Sanogo (both with more touch inside) would have been a better option.

Putting a kid who can't shoot free throws and struggles to finish inside (aka Martin) in a position to drive the hoop for a game winning shot is unfair to the kid and asking too much. Good coaching means put players in the best position to be successful. Putting Martin in that spot was not good coaching. We had a better option sitting on the bench.

 

[Milo65]

We decided to play to St John’s strengths, their outside shooting against ours. End of story. Take Sanogo out so we could play patty cake around the perimeter and drive to the hoop so we could miss foul shots.

 

[Improviser]

Last game Hurley was a genius for putting the ball in Martin's hands at the end of the game, now he's dumb for doing the same thing?

Last game, Martin consistently made critical shots and was in the flow and created a positive flow. His shooting percentage was off this game, not taking away his hustle and effort.

It goes by who is having a good game, unless you have a Ray Allen who plays a bad game, but is good enough by virtue of his skillset, to make the winning shot.

Smart to know the flow and who has the best chance of getting the W in a particular game.

 

[ucp990411]

THIS is the biggest problem. Not sure if the plan on the “last” possession was to get the ball inside to Martin from Polley, but if it was (it probably was at least given to Polley as an option) it’s just terrible coaching. Not only has Martin proved he can’t make layups, but he also shoots 60% from the line. Either way, this was a low percentage option in the most critical possession of the game.

While we can blame Martin for missing his FTs, the real blame should be on the staff who unfairly put a poor FT shooter / guy who can’t make layups in position to make a high pressure shot.

Whaley wqs wide open underneath when Polley shot

 

[navery12]

My god if I have to explain this one more time I'm going to lose it. Please read any one of these posts where I explain this.

Fair enough, agree to disagree on this one

 

[HuskylnSC]

Can't blame free throw misses on coaching.

Yeah, you kind of think you can. There are fundamental flaws is some of the guys approach. Martin had a good run today but missed when it counted. He got out of his sequence. Free throw shooting is like a golf swing. Approach, knees bent. couple of bounces to loosen the wrists, deep breath, grip, eyes on the target, keep your head still, start the shot from the legs, shoulder-elbow-wrist aligned release. It's a mechanical move with some variations. When Martin missed he looked at the rim late (shouldn't be eyeing the rim anyway) causing him to move his head and threw off his depth perception. His misses were back rim clankers.

 

[Hankster]

Everyone in America knew that Sanogo should have gone back in at the under-8. We were on a run until he came out. It is absolutely inexcusable that Hurley did not opt to put him back in. THAT is the reason we lost.

FT misses happen. Missed layups happen. They're kids and make mistakes. We must expect better performance from our coach being paid millions a year.

Just got on, was ready to post the same thing. Sonogo seemed to do very well under the iron, in traffic. Why he was not put in is beyond me.

 

[UCfor3]

Last game Hurley was a genius for putting the ball in Martin's hands at the end of the game, now he's dumb for doing the same thing?

We have a fanbase that loses their mind and blames the coach every time they dont get their desired result. So when he actually might deserve some criticism like today, it all just sounds like more white noise complaining. We have someone who basically just says "more Polley" every 3 minutes during every game chat(today he switched to Carlton for some reason despite Adama being our best big).

 

[UCfor3]

Last game Hurley was a genius for putting the ball in Martin's hands at the end of the game, now he's dumb for doing the same thing?

Martins 3 put is in a position to win this game as well. The FTs have been a problem. It hasnt been just one or 2 guys either.

 

[UconnFanDC]

When you keep playing the same players who keep missing FT's in the game and keep running the offense through the same.poor FT shooters it's coaching.

I'm not disagreeing

 

[UconnFanDC]

Yeah, you kind of think you can. There are fundamental flaws is some of the guys approach. Martin had a good run today but missed when it counted. He got out of his sequence. Free throw shooting is like a golf swing. Approach, knees bent. couple of bounces to loosen the wrists, deep breath, grip, eyes on the target, keep your head still, start the shot from the legs, shoulder-elbow-wrist aligned release. It's a mechanical move with some variations. When Martin missed he looked at the rim late (shouldn't be eyeing the rim anyway) causing him to move his head and threw off his depth perception. His misses were back rim clankers.

This is a lot. Lol. Some players just can't/won't shoot better then we'd hope during a season. Still guys in NBA that can't get it. Lol

 

[Spaceman213J]

Sanogo also helped force a travel.

 

[mauconnfan]

THIS is the biggest problem. Not sure if the plan on the “last” possession was to get the ball inside to Martin from Polley, but if it was (it probably was at least given to Polley as an option) it’s just terrible coaching. Not only has Martin proved he can’t make layups, but he also shoots 60% from the line. Either way, this was a low percentage option in the most critical possession of the game.

While we can blame Martin for missing his FTs, the real blame should be on the staff who unfairly put a poor FT shooter / guy who can’t make layups in position to make a high pressure shot.

But he also made a high pressure shot, that 3 he hit was critical in giving us a chance. Giveth and taketh away.

 

[Greedo]

The foul shooting is moot if Sanogo stays in the game. Hurley saw them playing small ball and wanted to match them like for like defensively. IMO, by doing that Hurley was playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

Hurley hates the zone and will never go to it. But saying never to anything is just stubbornness. This was the perfect time to go to a zone. St. John's had good shooters on the floor, but playing to win is daring them to make those shots and relying on our dominant rebounding when they miss. Then use Sanogo and Whaley to abuse their small ball line up on the offensive end.

UConn is known for its dominant guards, but for better or worse, Hurley has assembled a team with a killer front court. That front court should be this team's identity while Bouk is out, not small ball line ups that rely on streaky shooters to knock down threes. A good in-game coach makes adjustments depending on the team he has. Pound it down low. If we get Kemba and Shabazz clones in the future we rely on our phenomenal guard play again, but we don't have Kemba and Shabazz clones. We have Sanogo and Whaley.