this team is not flawed

[MexicoHusky]

Obviously we are seriously undermanned, but i like this team more than last years team. The guards (not Dham) are running the team again...which is appropriate.

I liked Dham, but his team was flawed. He was a great handler, passer and player in general. But he wasn't fast enough to beat guards off ghe dribble consistently. Wasn't a good enough shooter to effectively play off the ball. Wasn't big enough to dominate down low.

If nothing else, I like Adams a lot better as a leader. I believe our ceiling is higher.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I really love how Jalen is growing. He took the game as an opportunity to be a confidence builder for his teammates and continually found them to get them involved. He was VERY efficient doing so too. 5/8 from the field, 3/3 from the line, 10 assists and 1 turnover. I do like this team more than last years team also. Everyone is starting to find their roles it seems. I hope Durham can get more and more playing time throughout the year because he shows flashes on the court. Think he just needs more playing time to really start making a big impact.

 

[Matrim55]

Obviously we are seriously undermanned, but i like this team more than last years team. The guards (not Dham) are running the team again...which is appropriate.

I liked Dham, but his team was flawed. He was a great handler, passer and player in general. But he wasn't fast enough to beat guards off ghe dribble consistently. Wasn't a good enough shooter to effectively play off the ball. Wasn't big enough to dominate down low.

You're conceptualizing this the wrong way. Hamilton played those roles because Adams wasn't ready and neither Gibbs nor Purvis nor Cassell could reliably run a high-level D1 offense. So he was put into spots where he always had the ball in his hands and was asked to be the main creator, the guy who bailed us out at the end of the clock, the best rebounder, and the guy who'd draw double teams. That's a lot for any one guy to handle.

If we had this year's version of Adams on last year's team Hamilton probably would've put up something like 45/40/90 shooting stats because he simply wouldn't have had to take as many bad shots.

Oh well -- spilled milk.

And as for the rest of your post... I admire your optimism, and think that this team will continue to improve. But our rebounding is still poor and we don't defend the 3 as well as we should, our shooting comes and goes and our FT% is awful. Those are all pretty big flaws.

 

[MexicoHusky]

We definitely have flaws, but the foundation of guards running the team is better than a swing man running the team. But as you say, Dham may have done what he did out of necessity.

 

[upstater]

About the FT%, Brimah is sticking out like a sore thumb. Something has changed in his motion. Not for the better.

But Adams, Facey and Purvis are now looking like they looked at the end of last year. Which is a good thing.

Forgot who I was trading posts with about Purvis's FTs, but after starting the season 8-15 in 2 games, Purvis is now 11-12 over 4 games.

Jalen started 2-5 in one game, and then has gone 22-28.

Brimah is now sub .500. He shot .824 last year. Granted, because of his injury, he was 28 of 34, but he is 16 of 35 this year.

 

[elmcityboy]

even a week ago i would have disagreed -- it didn't seem like this team had a solid option at the 4 with durham recovering and larrier out. last year's team had miller and hamilton. however, if facey stays hot the way he has, it feels like a much more complete squad.

i believe what other people are saying about brimah's shot -- he added a lot more upper body mass and his movement has been hindered a lot.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I really love how Jalen is growing. He took the game as an opportunity to be a confidence builder for his teammates and continually found them to get them involved. He was VERY efficient doing so too. 5/8 from the field, 3/3 from the line, 10 assists and 1 turnover. I do like this team more than last years team also. Everyone is starting to find their roles it seems. I hope Durham can get more and more playing time throughout the year because he shows flashes on the court. Think he just needs more playing time to really start making a big impact.

Totally agree on Jalen and I wish that Juwan had gotten more time yesterday. It made no sense to me that the did not get in during the second half. It could well be that KO was using the minutes to get AB, SE, and Kelis Fisher going. Maybe he's not entirely well yet. I think that he is the one who could really be the strongest of the bigs from the foul line against zones with some practice (although Kelis Fisher was very good yesterday, albeit with little pressure on him when he got the ball).

 

[GemParty]

Last place in the AAC for FT%. Wow.

 

[JSM1970]

They have 8 primary players, how many teams really give key minutes to many guys beyond that? This arguement is tired.

The problem is the front court is inconsistent, undisciplined and generally bad at times.

The backcourt is solid when RP plays well.

I'm waiting to see them in their first few league games, get a sense of where they're at.

Obviously we are seriously undermanned, but i like this team more than last years team. The guards (not Dham) are running the team again...which is appropriate.

I liked Dham, but his team was flawed. He was a great handler, passer and player in general. But he wasn't fast enough to beat guards off ghe dribble consistently. Wasn't a good enough shooter to effectively play off the ball. Wasn't big enough to dominate down low.

If nothing else, I like Adams a lot better as a leader. I believe our ceiling is higher.

 

[mauconnfan]

They have 8 primary players, how many teams really give key minutes to many guys beyond that? This arguement is tired.

The problem is the front court is inconsistent, undisciplined and generally bad at times.

The backcourt is solid when RP plays well.

I'm waiting to see them in their first few league games, get a sense of where they're at.

Your problem is your comments are inconsistent, undisciplined and generally bad at times.

 

[Brochacho]

Don't let a win over a team 307th in defensive efficiency change the reality of this team. We are 181st in offensive efficiency. Still can't defend the 3. Still can't make FTs. Rodney Purvis still turns the ball over in mind-boggling ways. Amida's fouls vs minutes played has regressed to the level of his freshman season. Our freshman are both extremely streaky and extremely important; looking back at the box scores it looks like Chaminade was the only instance in which Vital and Vance played well in the same game.

With all that said, its a joy to watch this team, and its great to watch the players build towards what should be a very good 17-18 team. Hoping they catch a little bit of March magic to send Amida, Purvis, and Facey out the right way.

 

[mauconnfan]

Don't let a win over a team 307th in defensive efficiency change the reality of this team. We are 181st in offensive efficiency. Still can't defend the 3. Still can't make FTs. Rodney Purvis still turns the ball over in mind-boggling ways. Amida's fouls vs minutes played has regressed to the level of his freshman season. Our freshman are both extremely streaky and extremely important; looking back at the box scores it looks like Chaminade was the only instance in which Vital and Vance played well in the same game.

With all that said, its a joy to watch this team, and its great to watch the players build towards what should be a very good 17-18 team. Hoping they catch a little bit of March magic to send Amida, Purvis, and Facey out the right way.

Yep^^^

 

[InKembaITrust]

Obviously we are seriously undermanned, but i like this team more than last years team. The guards (not Dham) are running the team again...which is appropriate.

I liked Dham, but his team was flawed. He was a great handler, passer and player in general. But he wasn't fast enough to beat guards off ghe dribble consistently. Wasn't a good enough shooter to effectively play off the ball. Wasn't big enough to dominate down low.

If nothing else, I like Adams a lot better as a leader. I believe our ceiling is higher.

Nice sentiment, but you can find a flaw with any college basketball team. Sure they are coming along nicely with the pieces they have, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that they are not flawed. Poor choice of words. However, the team's last 3 games, 2 of which I attended, have shown a great deal of progress.

- Excluding the Syracuse game, Rodney NEEDS to put 40 minutes of solid play together.

- Enoch & Brimah need to limit the silly fouls, keep their hands above their head and get better position underneath the hoop

-Vital & Jackson have been improving, but they need to limit their lackadaisical passing at times. Few times they throw lasers at our 7 footer's feet.

-They've been good as of recently, but the TOs need to be drastically limited

-and on and on etc. etc.

The bright spot is Jalen. He's shown some serious maturity the past 3 games. I'm praying he doesn't leave for the draft after the season. Would love to watch his Junior year like all of us.

 

[pj]

They have 8 primary players, how many teams really give key minutes to many guys beyond that? This arguement is tired.

Of the 8, only 3 are in the backcourt. Since Purvis is best at SF, that basically leaves you with no backups. Adams is the only PG, so we're severely deficient there.

Never mind the difficulty doing 5 on 5 practices with 8 players.

Just because you can make a great team by selecting the best 8 of 13, does not mean you can have a great team out of 8 players.

 

[SubbaBub]

We don't have a consistent inside presence against any Top 100 team, we can't hit outside shots consistently and are getting beat at the foul line.

Yeah, no flaws here.

We beat North Florida. What do you want, a Helm's Trophy?

 

[The Funster]

It's only one game but the way the bigs played gives us hope. We don't need double-doubles just rebounds and some points down low. If they play with confidence they can do it. If we can get 20 points and 20 rebounds out of the 4 & 5 spots we'll be in really good shape.

 

[JSM1970]

That's fair, but really what do people expect? This not a good team talent wise right now being down 2 of its best players, maybe they can play well and catch some magic in the AAC tourney.

Of the 8, only 3 are in the backcourt. Since Purvis is best at SF, that basically leaves you with no backups. Adams is the only PG, so we're severely deficient there.

Never mind the difficulty doing 5 on 5 practices with 8 players.

Just because you can make a great team by selecting the best 8 of 13, does not mean you can have a great team out of 8 players.

 

[Husky25]

They have 8 primary players, how many teams really give key minutes to many guys beyond that? This arguement is tired.

While it is true that most teams don't go beyond an eight man rotation, at least two (possibly three) players getting significant minutes for UConn were not expected at the beginning of the year.

The problem is the front court is inconsistent, undisciplined and generally bad at times.

Albeit vs. a weak opponent, but the front court was pretty good yesterday.

The backcourt is solid when RP plays well.

Me thinks you are confused about what the word, "consistent," means.

 

[pnow15]

So, judging by the comments on this board, I guess it was a good thing Lebron never attended UConn.

 

[SubbaBub]

It's only one game but the way the bigs played gives us hope. We don't need double-doubles just rebounds and some points down low. If they play with confidence they can do it. If we can get 20 points and 20 rebounds out of the 4 & 5 spots we'll be in really good shape.

It was a tomato can of tomato cans. A replacement for the Marathon Oil games of yore.

We have yet to beat an actual NCAA team not named Syracuse.

They get credit for taking care of business. Something they didn't do 2 or 3 times this season.

 

[BUConn10]

This may be the single greatest UConn team ever assembled. Last night in the win over North Florida I could not see a single flaw or error. I think at this rate of improvement we can cruise to a final four with no problem.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

About the FT%, Brimah is sticking out like a sore thumb. Something has changed in his motion. Not for the better.

But Adams, Facey and Purvis are now looking like they looked at the end of last year. Which is a good thing.

Forgot who I was trading posts with about Purvis's FTs, but after starting the season 8-15 in 2 games, Purvis is now 11-12 over 4 games.

Jalen started 2-5 in one game, and then has gone 22-28.

Brimah is now sub .500. He shot .824 last year. Granted, because of his injury, he was 28 of 34, but he is 16 of 35 this year.

Brimah is a different person at the line after being very good the last couple years. I'm not convinced it's his injury. I think he put on too much muscle and hasn't figured out how to shoot with his new body.

 

[Husky25]

It was a tomato can of tomato cans. A replacement for the Marathon Oil games of yore.

We have yet to beat an actual NCAA team not named Syracuse.

They get credit for taking care of business. Something they didn't do 2 or 3 times this season.

The Marathon Oil games were exhibitions that did not count in the final standings. A game vs an opponent like North Florida is typical for the 1st contest after Finals week.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I watched the replay knowing the final score. Knowing that we ended with 80 I was kind of bummed we had 70 with like 9 minutes left

 

[upstater]

Brimah is a different person at the line after being very good the last couple years. I'm not convinced it's his injury. I think he put on too much muscle and hasn't figured out how to shoot with his new body.

I meant he didnt get many free throws last year because of his injury. He already has more free throws this year than the entire last year.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Totally agree on Jalen and I wish that Juwan had gotten more time yesterday. It made no sense to me that the did not get in during the second half. It could well be that KO was using the minutes to get AB, SE, and Kelis Fisher going. Maybe he's not entirely well yet. I think that he is the one who could really be the strongest of the bigs from the foul line against zones with some practice (although Kelis Fisher was very good yesterday, albeit with little pressure on him when he got the ball).

Yeah you have to think Ollie just wants to take it slow with Juwan. He will be a serious force once healthy.

 

[Deleted at users request]

This team is of course with it's flaws like many. But I do think there is enough talent on this team to come together for a good tournament. I have a theory that these early losses and injuries could be a blessing in disguise for this team. Ollie's teams seem to listen and play better when they play like they have nothing to lose. Seeing how we start conference play will say a lot.

 

[Huskies4ever]

We beat North Florida. What do you want, a Helm's Trophy?

Hell, yeah!!!

They must be important cuz the 'Cuse fans cling to them like our 4 NCAA Titles.

 

[chiller99.5]

Real drop off talent wise probably leads to inconsistent levels of practice and scrimmages