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- Aug 26, 2011
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Awful, awful performance. '99 title team in the house, crowd fired up, major opportunity to climb up a few spots in the polls and earn a protected seed, and we just lay an absolute egg. As much as I love Ollie, this loss has to fall on the head coach first and foremost. He didn't put his players in a position to succeed today, and it was obvious to anybody watching the game who the Hall of Famer was.
There have been some concerning trends cropping up for a while now. Even the Memphis win - which many of us thought was a turning point for this team - should have raised some question marks. Napier and Boatright put the team on their backs in the second half, but for much of the first half and early second half it was a layup drill for the Tigers. The Temple game was also dis-concerting, but many of us shrugged it off as a typical trap game. UConn's offense was extremely lethargic and unsettled against a brutal defensive team, and if Temple had been able to throw it in the ocean at all, we would have had a brawl on our hands into the final two minutes.
There are clearly some flaws in the roster that restrict our ability to score against elite defensive teams, today being exhibit A. Good defensive teams like Cincinnati, SMU, and Louisville don't let one or two players beat them, it has to be a collective, well-coordinated execution of the offensive sets. If you're going to come down the court and run pick and roll every time - and although that wasn't all we ran, it was basically what are offense devolved into after we got down double digits in the second half - good defensive teams are going to be able to figure it out at some point. Earlier in the season, I talked about trust as possibly the most essential component of an efficient offensive attack. The Memphis win back and January gave me hope that this offense was beginning to turn the corner in that regard, but this game tempered those beliefs and then some.
The lack of trust isn't entirely the fault of Boatright and Napier, though they do share some of the responsibility. It speaks more to the fact that our forwards - Giffey and Daniels, especially - can't take more than two dribbles without turning it over or dishing it back out to re-set the offense. I'm sure there will be a lot of chatter on this board about how Daniels doesn't have a killer instinct or whatever, but the bigger problem is the guy simply can't dribble or make a play in traffic. Something as simple as Giffey and Daniels being able to converge the defense and kick the ball out would help this offense immensely. Kromah was able to elevate the offense a bit earlier in the year with his complementary ball-handling and play-making ability, but unfortunately defenders are now daring him to shoot, and in games like this where he can't throw it in the ocean, we really have no choice but to sit him down.
The bottom line is great defenses force offensive players into doing things they aren't comfortable doing, which is why the most well-rounded and balanced offenses are generally the best. Teams are swarming Boatright and Napier on ball screens, and they don't have the confidence in their teammates to dish it into the middle of the floor and allow the forwards to make a play. So yeah, you can blame the guards some, but this has been a problem with UConn offenses that really dates all the way back to 2010 now, and I'm hopeful that the recruitment of more mobile, diversely skilled wings like Daniel Hamilton will resolve this problem as shortly as next year.
Over-helping continues to be a problem on the other end. There's absolutely no excuse for a team like SMU to shoot 47% against us. Pack the paint and make them hit mid-range jump shots - it's really not that complicated, and the fact that they don't have basic concepts like this down at this point is mind-boggling. Layups and open three's will doom any defense, and this team simply allows way too many of them. Despite these continuing problems, there's still a ton of defensive talent on this roster, and they morph into a borderline dominant unit when Brimah plays. For as maddening as this team is, they're going to stay in games for that reason.
Player notes:
Bazz - He picked a bad time to play possibly his worst game of the season. 5 of 16, 2 assists, 5 turnovers...that pretty much speaks for itself. He played hard, and it looked for a minute like he might will us back into the game in the second half, but he just made too many mistakes, and, as much as I rarely say this about Shabazz, he looked for his own shot rather than making the right play a bit too much today. He'll be back.
Boat - 11 free throws is highly encouraging. He's noticeably more aggressive than he was earlier in the year, and he's possibly been the most consistent defensive player on the team (something I never would have thought before the season). He still makes mistakes and has his flaws, but I didn't have a huge problem with the way he played today.
Lasan - Might be the worst game he's played in a Husky uniform. He missed four of his five shots - which were all wide open - and really allowed the SMU defense to pack it in. I didn't think his defense was as good, either, but I'd have to watch again to be sure. Curious to see what others think about his defense today.
Omar - Thought he actually played really good defense today in the minutes he got. If he continues to do that, he'll have a chance to get at least a few minutes a game. He's also a 30% three point shooter in his career at UConn on 200+ attempts - at what point do we either A) tell him to stop shooting or B) re-model his stroke? He kind of has that low release that has the tendency to be problematic in the face of pressure, and there are a lot of moving parts to his release. As somebody who had a similar release to Omar in his playing days - though obviously not against near the same level of competition - I can at least guess what the problem might be. The low, mechanically flawed release points can be fine when you're shooting in a gym by yourself, with ample time to set up, but when you need to get the shot off in a split second, it has a funny way of sailing off mark. I was one of those kids who could hit 20 3's in a row in a shoot-around, but in the games I was largely mediocre from three. I could be reaching with the personal anecdote, but it's something to consider.
Giff - He played OK, I guess. Not one of his finer performances defensively, I didn't think. He was, at least, semi-aggressive on offense, and we'll need more of that moving forward. I think Giffey is a real good role player who is great to have on the team. Can you win six in March with him playing 30 minutes? I don't know. Maybe if Kemba Walker's on the team.
DD - We all were in agreement before the season that this guy was going to determine the fate of our season, and I think that has pretty much held true. It was nice to see him at least hit the glass today, and I thought the defense was exposed when he went to the bench with foul trouble mid-way through the second half. Clearly, though, he just doesn't give us enough in games like this. He needs to get to the next level soon.
Nolan - Again, he's just limited. He'll be a nice third big man for the next two years, but he's not much more than that right now. He's had his moments against inferior competition, but he just doesn't provide enough rim protection or offense to be a consistent contributor in games like this.
Tyler - This was definitely a game where we should have seen Tyler more, IMO, especially in the first half when the offense was setting the program back decades. Unlike Nolan, Brimah, and even Daniels, Tyler can actually catch the ball, face the basket, and at least keep the ball moving without everything going to hell. The offense clearly moves more smoothly when he's on the floor, and in games like this, I'd probably be willing to sacrifice a little defense for that - there's no point in re-iterating his weaknesses here.
Brimah - As much as games like this demonstrate how far he has to go, they're equally encouraging in terms of his ability to impact a game. Eight rebounds and three blocks is nice production considering he battled foul trouble for most of the game (as he always is). We just have to be patient with, I'd be shocked if he wasn't a great player in two years.
This is the third home game we've lost this season, and the second against an unranked team. SMU is good, but they had no business coming into Gampel on a day that was meant to celebrate the history of the program and thoroughly outplaying us. We have to protect our home court better than this. This loss will see us fall from the rankings, and tumble into the seven and eight seed territory that we're trying to avoid. If we have to play Duke in North Carolina or Kansas in Wichita, I don't want to hear any complaining. You gotta win these games to stay out of spots like that. We've got a lot of basketball left to play this season, but in all likelihood we are going to finish in fifth place in the AAC. That's a major disappointment. Until Wednesday.
There have been some concerning trends cropping up for a while now. Even the Memphis win - which many of us thought was a turning point for this team - should have raised some question marks. Napier and Boatright put the team on their backs in the second half, but for much of the first half and early second half it was a layup drill for the Tigers. The Temple game was also dis-concerting, but many of us shrugged it off as a typical trap game. UConn's offense was extremely lethargic and unsettled against a brutal defensive team, and if Temple had been able to throw it in the ocean at all, we would have had a brawl on our hands into the final two minutes.
There are clearly some flaws in the roster that restrict our ability to score against elite defensive teams, today being exhibit A. Good defensive teams like Cincinnati, SMU, and Louisville don't let one or two players beat them, it has to be a collective, well-coordinated execution of the offensive sets. If you're going to come down the court and run pick and roll every time - and although that wasn't all we ran, it was basically what are offense devolved into after we got down double digits in the second half - good defensive teams are going to be able to figure it out at some point. Earlier in the season, I talked about trust as possibly the most essential component of an efficient offensive attack. The Memphis win back and January gave me hope that this offense was beginning to turn the corner in that regard, but this game tempered those beliefs and then some.
The lack of trust isn't entirely the fault of Boatright and Napier, though they do share some of the responsibility. It speaks more to the fact that our forwards - Giffey and Daniels, especially - can't take more than two dribbles without turning it over or dishing it back out to re-set the offense. I'm sure there will be a lot of chatter on this board about how Daniels doesn't have a killer instinct or whatever, but the bigger problem is the guy simply can't dribble or make a play in traffic. Something as simple as Giffey and Daniels being able to converge the defense and kick the ball out would help this offense immensely. Kromah was able to elevate the offense a bit earlier in the year with his complementary ball-handling and play-making ability, but unfortunately defenders are now daring him to shoot, and in games like this where he can't throw it in the ocean, we really have no choice but to sit him down.
The bottom line is great defenses force offensive players into doing things they aren't comfortable doing, which is why the most well-rounded and balanced offenses are generally the best. Teams are swarming Boatright and Napier on ball screens, and they don't have the confidence in their teammates to dish it into the middle of the floor and allow the forwards to make a play. So yeah, you can blame the guards some, but this has been a problem with UConn offenses that really dates all the way back to 2010 now, and I'm hopeful that the recruitment of more mobile, diversely skilled wings like Daniel Hamilton will resolve this problem as shortly as next year.
Over-helping continues to be a problem on the other end. There's absolutely no excuse for a team like SMU to shoot 47% against us. Pack the paint and make them hit mid-range jump shots - it's really not that complicated, and the fact that they don't have basic concepts like this down at this point is mind-boggling. Layups and open three's will doom any defense, and this team simply allows way too many of them. Despite these continuing problems, there's still a ton of defensive talent on this roster, and they morph into a borderline dominant unit when Brimah plays. For as maddening as this team is, they're going to stay in games for that reason.
Player notes:
Bazz - He picked a bad time to play possibly his worst game of the season. 5 of 16, 2 assists, 5 turnovers...that pretty much speaks for itself. He played hard, and it looked for a minute like he might will us back into the game in the second half, but he just made too many mistakes, and, as much as I rarely say this about Shabazz, he looked for his own shot rather than making the right play a bit too much today. He'll be back.
Boat - 11 free throws is highly encouraging. He's noticeably more aggressive than he was earlier in the year, and he's possibly been the most consistent defensive player on the team (something I never would have thought before the season). He still makes mistakes and has his flaws, but I didn't have a huge problem with the way he played today.
Lasan - Might be the worst game he's played in a Husky uniform. He missed four of his five shots - which were all wide open - and really allowed the SMU defense to pack it in. I didn't think his defense was as good, either, but I'd have to watch again to be sure. Curious to see what others think about his defense today.
Omar - Thought he actually played really good defense today in the minutes he got. If he continues to do that, he'll have a chance to get at least a few minutes a game. He's also a 30% three point shooter in his career at UConn on 200+ attempts - at what point do we either A) tell him to stop shooting or B) re-model his stroke? He kind of has that low release that has the tendency to be problematic in the face of pressure, and there are a lot of moving parts to his release. As somebody who had a similar release to Omar in his playing days - though obviously not against near the same level of competition - I can at least guess what the problem might be. The low, mechanically flawed release points can be fine when you're shooting in a gym by yourself, with ample time to set up, but when you need to get the shot off in a split second, it has a funny way of sailing off mark. I was one of those kids who could hit 20 3's in a row in a shoot-around, but in the games I was largely mediocre from three. I could be reaching with the personal anecdote, but it's something to consider.
Giff - He played OK, I guess. Not one of his finer performances defensively, I didn't think. He was, at least, semi-aggressive on offense, and we'll need more of that moving forward. I think Giffey is a real good role player who is great to have on the team. Can you win six in March with him playing 30 minutes? I don't know. Maybe if Kemba Walker's on the team.
DD - We all were in agreement before the season that this guy was going to determine the fate of our season, and I think that has pretty much held true. It was nice to see him at least hit the glass today, and I thought the defense was exposed when he went to the bench with foul trouble mid-way through the second half. Clearly, though, he just doesn't give us enough in games like this. He needs to get to the next level soon.
Nolan - Again, he's just limited. He'll be a nice third big man for the next two years, but he's not much more than that right now. He's had his moments against inferior competition, but he just doesn't provide enough rim protection or offense to be a consistent contributor in games like this.
Tyler - This was definitely a game where we should have seen Tyler more, IMO, especially in the first half when the offense was setting the program back decades. Unlike Nolan, Brimah, and even Daniels, Tyler can actually catch the ball, face the basket, and at least keep the ball moving without everything going to hell. The offense clearly moves more smoothly when he's on the floor, and in games like this, I'd probably be willing to sacrifice a little defense for that - there's no point in re-iterating his weaknesses here.
Brimah - As much as games like this demonstrate how far he has to go, they're equally encouraging in terms of his ability to impact a game. Eight rebounds and three blocks is nice production considering he battled foul trouble for most of the game (as he always is). We just have to be patient with, I'd be shocked if he wasn't a great player in two years.
This is the third home game we've lost this season, and the second against an unranked team. SMU is good, but they had no business coming into Gampel on a day that was meant to celebrate the history of the program and thoroughly outplaying us. We have to protect our home court better than this. This loss will see us fall from the rankings, and tumble into the seven and eight seed territory that we're trying to avoid. If we have to play Duke in North Carolina or Kansas in Wichita, I don't want to hear any complaining. You gotta win these games to stay out of spots like that. We've got a lot of basketball left to play this season, but in all likelihood we are going to finish in fifth place in the AAC. That's a major disappointment. Until Wednesday.
