Trying to restore sanity

[EASTFLA]

I've read a lot of doomsday threads and posts here regarding this year's team. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations after a pair of Championships. This isn't either of those teams, and when it gets compared to them, it is a disservice to these kids. We are 16-7, and think about this:

We lost to Memphis by 2 in OT
We lost to Villanova on Karaban's missed free throws
We lost to Colorado by 1
We lost to Creighton by 5
We lost to Xavier by 4
We lost to St. John's by 6

We threw up all over ourselves against Dayton

The average margin in those 6 games was 3.3ppg. Full disclosure here, we won some close ones too. We played 8 games without our best player. If just a couple of those close losses (Hurley technical game, Karaban free throw game), changes, we are 18-5, if a couple others changed we could be 19-3, but we aren't, we are 16-7, and can't change the past, but this team is not dead in the future.

Positives:

Ball has become our best scorer
McKneeley is back and performing well
Stewart is shooting 20-31 in his last 6 games, and is 10-18 from 3 (55.6%). On the season he is now 38% from deep, 2nd best on the team. He also has more rebounds in his last 3 games than any other 3 consecutive games all season.
Our defense has allowed 66ppg over our last 3, and 2 of those were vs. St. John's and Marquette.
When Reed plays 23 or more minutes (basically usage above Samson), he averages 14.1ppg and 9rpg.

I haven't given up on this team, there is still 11 games before the NCAA Tournament. We have 4 Q1 wins, just 26 teams have more, and we have a chance for more. This team has more warts than our last 2 teams, but we lost 7 players to the NBA, that is not easy to absorb. We have 11 important games left. Each is an opportunity to erase some of those warts.

GO HUSKIES!

P.S. I did not edit this for typos

 

[Palatine]

The biggest issue is the regression of AK. If he comes back to normal we will be in good shape.

 

[UC15]

I've read a lot of doomsday threads and posts here regarding this year's team. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations after a pair of Championships. This isn't either of those teams, and when it gets compared to them, it is a disservice to these kids. We are 16-7, and think about this:

We lost to Memphis by 2 in OT
We lost to Villanova on Karaban's missed free throws
We lost to Colorado by 1
We lost to Creighton by 5
We lost to Xavier by 4
We lost to St. John's by 6

We threw up all over ourselves against Dayton

The average margin in those 6 games was 3.3ppg. Full disclosure here, we won some close ones too. We played 8 games without our best player. If just a couple of those close losses (Hurley technical game, Karaban free throw game), changes, we are 18-5, if a couple others changed we could be 19-3, but we aren't, we are 16-7, and can't change the past, but this team is not dead in the future.

Positives:

Ball has become our best scorer
McKneeley is back and performing well
Stewart is shooting 20-31 in his last 6 games, and is 10-18 from 3 (55.6%). On the season he is now 38% from deep, 2nd best on the team. He also has more rebounds in his last 3 games than any other 3 consecutive games all season.
Our defense has allowed 66ppg over our last 3, and 2 of those were vs. St. John's and Marquette.
When Reed plays 23 or more minutes (basically usage above Samson), he averages 14.1ppg and 9rpg.

I haven't given up on this team, there is still 11 games before the NCAA Tournament. We have 4 Q1 wins, just 26 teams have more, and we have a chance for more. This team has more warts than our last 2 teams, but we lost 7 players to the NBA, that is not easy to absorb. We have 11 important games left. Each is an opportunity to erase some of those warts.

GO HUSKIES!

P.S. I did not edit this for typos

Expectations that were put on by the coach himself.

https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/article/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball-ncaa-three-peat-19845498.php?utm_content=cta&sid=&ss=P&st_rid=null&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CT_UConn_Alert

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I don't know what seed UConn will get in the NCAA Tournament, but I feel confident they will be the most dangerous [insert seed number here] in the bracket.

 

[Umami Zen]

Many of our losses were winnable. For a variety of reasons we didn't close the deal in those games. In our losses I would bet you would find AK performing under his season averages but contributing in other ways. He frequently has athletic and long wings defending him with physicality and disrupting our sets to get him open. Injuries and our PG situation has added to that challenge.

Is it a challenge to win in Omaha? Absolutely. Can it be done? With smart D/low TOs/ Kodiak Bear in the paint and freedom of movement in our sets. I believe its doable.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I've read a lot of doomsday threads and posts here regarding this year's team. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations after a pair of Championships. This isn't either of those teams, and when it gets compared to them, it is a disservice to these kids. We are 16-7, and think about this:

We lost to Memphis by 2 in OT
We lost to Villanova on Karaban's missed free throws
We lost to Colorado by 1
We lost to Creighton by 5
We lost to Xavier by 4
We lost to St. John's by 6

We threw up all over ourselves against Dayton

The average margin in those 6 games was 3.3ppg. Full disclosure here, we won some close ones too. We played 8 games without our best player. If just a couple of those close losses (Hurley technical game, Karaban free throw game), changes, we are 18-5, if a couple others changed we could be 19-3, but we aren't, we are 16-7, and can't change the past, but this team is not dead in the future.

Positives:

Ball has become our best scorer
McKneeley is back and performing well
Stewart is shooting 20-31 in his last 6 games, and is 10-18 from 3 (55.6%). On the season he is now 38% from deep, 2nd best on the team. He also has more rebounds in his last 3 games than any other 3 consecutive games all season.
Our defense has allowed 66ppg over our last 3, and 2 of those were vs. St. John's and Marquette.
When Reed plays 23 or more minutes (basically usage above Samson), he averages 14.1ppg and 9rpg.

I haven't given up on this team, there is still 11 games before the NCAA Tournament. We have 4 Q1 wins, just 26 teams have more, and we have a chance for more. This team has more warts than our last 2 teams, but we lost 7 players to the NBA, that is not easy to absorb. We have 11 important games left. Each is an opportunity to erase some of those warts.

GO HUSKIES!

P.S. I did not edit this for typos

This is season 71 as a Huskie fan
and I’ve never given up on a team ever.
This team has enough talent to challenge anyone and have yet to even come close to playing as well as I think they’ve capable
The next one is a tough one , probably the toughest one still on our schedule. A win here and we could win out as playing St John’s in the Garden is not even a true road game.. The downside to that is having.to endure the posters claiming this is the greatest team ever . They have the capacity to be very good , great is a rare accolade reserved for only a few teams but even very good teams can be successful.if they find the magic. That magic , critical mass, , moment when the team exceeds the sum of its parts is always possible everytime you step on the floor . It even could happen in Nebraska.

 

[Stinger92860]

I don't know what seed UConn will get in the NCAA Tournament, but I feel confident they will be the most dangerous [insert seed number here] in the bracket.

We need to get in first. We certainly cannot lose 4-5 more games. That could place us on the bubble.

 

[RuffRuff]

Agree with the message in part, but you could just as easily dissect many of the close wins. Butler, Xavier, Baylor. PC. We had some pretty flimsy wins in there too. It’s not like we have been in command with some WTF losses, people are watching the games and see the quality of play. Look no further than our KP defensive rating.

Can anyone grab the KP luck index for UConn?

 

[jake14mw]

I think people are just being honest with what they see. When I watch games I'm watching to see how we look and what our potential is, etc. The wins and losses speak for themselves. I have faith in the staff, but I think the point guard situation, and the on ball defense issues are things that are tough to find a coaching way out of. On the other hand, Karaban can certainly start hitting shots and gain his confidence back. That would be a big boost.

 

[drayenob]

 

[80shusky]

I've read a lot of doomsday threads and posts here regarding this year's team. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations after a pair of Championships. This isn't either of those teams, and when it gets compared to them, it is a disservice to these kids. We are 16-7, and think about this:

We lost to Memphis by 2 in OT
We lost to Villanova on Karaban's missed free throws
We lost to Colorado by 1
We lost to Creighton by 5
We lost to Xavier by 4
We lost to St. John's by 6

We threw up all over ourselves against Dayton

The average margin in those 6 games was 3.3ppg. Full disclosure here, we won some close ones too. We played 8 games without our best player. If just a couple of those close losses (Hurley technical game, Karaban free throw game), changes, we are 18-5, if a couple others changed we could be 19-3, but we aren't, we are 16-7, and can't change the past, but this team is not dead in the future.

Positives:

Ball has become our best scorer
McKneeley is back and performing well
Stewart is shooting 20-31 in his last 6 games, and is 10-18 from 3 (55.6%). On the season he is now 38% from deep, 2nd best on the team. He also has more rebounds in his last 3 games than any other 3 consecutive games all season.
Our defense has allowed 66ppg over our last 3, and 2 of those were vs. St. John's and Marquette.
When Reed plays 23 or more minutes (basically usage above Samson), he averages 14.1ppg and 9rpg.

I haven't given up on this team, there is still 11 games before the NCAA Tournament. We have 4 Q1 wins, just 26 teams have more, and we have a chance for more. This team has more warts than our last 2 teams, but we lost 7 players to the NBA, that is not easy to absorb. We have 11 important games left. Each is an opportunity to erase some of those warts.

GO HUSKIES!

P.S. I did not edit this for typos

I agree the team has been very competitive in these games. It has made all of the games except Dayton great games to watch. You are right that it is a good team. 16-7 is ok. The "doomsday" folks however are being realistic to an extent. At some point you are what your record says you are. The team can only afford 3, maybe 4 more losses and still make the tournament barring a great BET run. It's getting dicey here. I'd like to see them at least make the tourney and get a shot. The 100+ defense says they likely won't get very far but a shot makes it a decent season. Especially after two nattys in a row.

 

[NJHusky]

The biggest issue is the regression of AK. If he comes back to normal we will be in good shape.

Imo That is the retrospective look.

The major issue going forward is PG play with Hass compromised. I hope AN can stay healthy and contribute or LM can play point forward.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

I've read a lot of doomsday threads and posts here regarding this year's team. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations after a pair of Championships. This isn't either of those teams, and when it gets compared to them, it is a disservice to these kids. We are 16-7, and think about this:

We lost to Memphis by 2 in OT
We lost to Villanova on Karaban's missed free throws
We lost to Colorado by 1
We lost to Creighton by 5
We lost to Xavier by 4
We lost to St. John's by 6

We threw up all over ourselves against Dayton

The average margin in those 6 games was 3.3ppg. Full disclosure here, we won some close ones too. We played 8 games without our best player. If just a couple of those close losses (Hurley technical game, Karaban free throw game), changes, we are 18-5, if a couple others changed we could be 19-3, but we aren't, we are 16-7, and can't change the past, but this team is not dead in the future.

Positives:

Ball has become our best scorer
McKneeley is back and performing well
Stewart is shooting 20-31 in his last 6 games, and is 10-18 from 3 (55.6%). On the season he is now 38% from deep, 2nd best on the team. He also has more rebounds in his last 3 games than any other 3 consecutive games all season.
Our defense has allowed 66ppg over our last 3, and 2 of those were vs. St. John's and Marquette.
When Reed plays 23 or more minutes (basically usage above Samson), he averages 14.1ppg and 9rpg.

I haven't given up on this team, there is still 11 games before the NCAA Tournament. We have 4 Q1 wins, just 26 teams have more, and we have a chance for more. This team has more warts than our last 2 teams, but we lost 7 players to the NBA, that is not easy to absorb. We have 11 important games left. Each is an opportunity to erase some of those warts.

GO HUSKIES!

P.S. I did not edit this for typos

Perfectly said. We’ve been in every game except one. Injured and role players moving up. We’ve made something really hard look extremely easy the past couple years and still putting 7 players in the league. College basketball is fluid and you can’t stay on top forever, but having a decent season and making the tournament is important on the (down) years. That’s what the blue bloods do. I still believe we can be dangerous in March if things come together.

 

[DMIL]

I don't know what seed UConn will get in the NCAA Tournament, but I feel confident they will be the most dangerous [insert seed number here] in the bracket.

Success in the NCAA tournament generally requires dominant, elite, consistent guard play. This team in the tournament is built differently than some of our successful tournament teams from the past. The talent on paper is there for them to at least win 2 games if they get a favorable draw and can play clean mitigating their worst tendencies this year. The book is not on them though and they will need to show the ability to mitigate turnovers against aggressive defensive teams.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I've read a lot of doomsday threads and posts here regarding this year's team. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations after a pair of Championships. This isn't either of those teams, and when it gets compared to them, it is a disservice to these kids. We are 16-7, and think about this:

We lost to Memphis by 2 in OT
We lost to Villanova on Karaban's missed free throws
We lost to Colorado by 1
We lost to Creighton by 5
We lost to Xavier by 4
We lost to St. John's by 6

We threw up all over ourselves against Dayton

The average margin in those 6 games was 3.3ppg. Full disclosure here, we won some close ones too. We played 8 games without our best player. If just a couple of those close losses (Hurley technical game, Karaban free throw game), changes, we are 18-5, if a couple others changed we could be 19-3, but we aren't, we are 16-7, and can't change the past, but this team is not dead in the future.

Positives:

Ball has become our best scorer
McKneeley is back and performing well
Stewart is shooting 20-31 in his last 6 games, and is 10-18 from 3 (55.6%). On the season he is now 38% from deep, 2nd best on the team. He also has more rebounds in his last 3 games than any other 3 consecutive games all season.
Our defense has allowed 66ppg over our last 3, and 2 of those were vs. St. John's and Marquette.
When Reed plays 23 or more minutes (basically usage above Samson), he averages 14.1ppg and 9rpg.

I haven't given up on this team, there is still 11 games before the NCAA Tournament. We have 4 Q1 wins, just 26 teams have more, and we have a chance for more. This team has more warts than our last 2 teams, but we lost 7 players to the NBA, that is not easy to absorb. We have 11 important games left. Each is an opportunity to erase some of those warts.

GO HUSKIES!

P.S. I did not edit this for typos

The prime objective of any team pursuing a high seed in the NCAA tournament is NO BAD LOSSES. We have two (Colorado and Dayton). Amazingly, Villanova does not count as a bad loss.

Losses to St. John’s and Creighton don’t kill a team on Selection Sunday, but bad losses do.

 

[homunculus]

I just rewatched the Memphis game. I implore everyone to go back and rewatch it with fresh eyes not clouded by the outcome, if you have access to it.

Memphis is now ranked #14 in the AP poll, and that was a great performance from them. They’re one of the best teams we’ve played this season, and they played frenetic, physical defense.

There are plenty of things to be said about why we lost that game, but “lack of a PG” was simply not one of them. Our offense was fine, even good for the most part, and it was run just about equally by Mahaney and Diarra. Defensive lapses were our biggest problem, and those were primarily by McNeeley, Reed, Ross and Ball.

Memphis set the template for beating us this year, and everyone has been using it since. Grab, hold and shove our cutters on offense, and grab, hold and shove our on-ball defender as you set a pick. You won’t be called for anything, and you’ll get that millisecond the shooter needs to get a shot off. Which is precisely why our opponents always seem to get clean looks while we have struggled to. I’m not holding my breath but if this starts getting called in the tournament, this is a whole new ballgame.

Even still we almost pulled it off.

Some players like AK and AM have absolutely fallen off a cliff, while others like Ball have grown. We need them to all come back up to the same level if we want to do anything of note in the post season. It’s the simple reality of this team as it’s composed. If you think that means we’re doomed, well, maybe we won’t win the championship every single year, imagine that.

 

[boog204]

I wrote out a long rant but will reduce it to this. I think there's a lot of talent on this team and we can beat just about anyone. We can also lose to anyone. There are some major issues that I do not think are entirely "fixable" at this point and in retrospect, this team was poorly constructed with a lack of ballhandlers and poor defensive fundamentals. I think we can be a Sweet 16 team. But I also wonder if DH's stubbornness, rightfully earned based on his success, prevents us from adapting. We're at game 24 now and the fanbase (and DH) have been more or less saying the same thing since our loss to Memphis.

Having Liam back and in the flow will help immensely. I believe AK, after three years of watching him be an excellent player, will shoot himself out of the slump. These factors will be huge. But I do not have confidence that our poor ballhandling and PG play will improve. I do not think we're going to learn positional defense and rotations now and I wonder if opposing teams have figured out that our offense has become very one-dimensional in simply trying to get three guys open 3's.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I could be wrong but I don't see this as the place to come to in an attempt to restore sanity.

 

[boog204]

I just rewatched the Memphis game. I implore everyone to go back and rewatch it with fresh eyes not clouded by the outcome, if you have access to it.

Memphis is now ranked #14 in the AP poll, and that was a great performance from them. They’re one of the best teams we’ve played this season, and they played frenetic, physical defense.

There are plenty of things to be said about why we lost that game, but “lack of a PG” was simply not one of them. Our offense was fine, even good for the most part, and it was run just about equally by Mahaney and Diarra. Defensive lapses were our biggest problem, and those were primarily by McNeeley, Reed, Ross and Ball.

Memphis set the template for beating us this year, and everyone has been using it since. Grab, hold and shove our cutters on offense, and grab, hold and shove our on-ball defender as you set a pick. You won’t be called for anything, and you’ll get that millisecond the shooter needs to get a shot off. Which is precisely why our opponents always seem to get clean looks while we have struggled to. I’m not holding my breath but if this starts getting called in the tournament, this is a whole new ballgame.

Even still we almost pulled it off.

Some players like AK and AM have absolutely fallen off a cliff, while others like Ball have grown. We need them to all come back up to the same level if we want to do anything of note in the post season. It’s the simple reality of this team as it’s composed. If you think that means we’re doomed, well, maybe we won’t win the championship every single year, imagine that.

So are you claiming that we are so bad/pure defensively that we do not "grab, hold, or shove" on defense? We commit a million fouls a game because we cannot keep anyone in front of us. Watch us play defense. We commit fouls off the ball, too, that are not called. Hell, I don't think Samson has executed a legal screen in two years.

I concur that the freedom of movement thing is not called. But it's not called on us either. If teams are getting wide-open looks or having a layup line its because of our poor defense. Not some officiating bias. Also, isn't it a bit contradictory to state that Memphis was so physical and getting away with stuff and then say our offense was "fine" and "good"? If it was such a horrendous oversight by the officials, then how did we still drop 90+?

 

[husky429]

We don't have the horses on defense to close out those games. I think everything else is fluff, honestly. We've managed to score without AK playing up to his potential, and even with Mahaney barely knowing how to tie his own shoes before the game against high-major competition.

We just can't defend... I mean, CENTRAL has a better defensive rating than us. There are only a handful of high-major teams with worse defense than us. We don't cause turnovers (#238), foul too much (#337), can't defend the 3 (#293)... Our 2pt defense and defensive rebounding are top-100, but not elite. And not enough to make up for how much our perimeter defense is killing us.

Solo, Mahaney and Jaylin's defense are horrendous. Hass is hobbled and AK was never great. Liam is improving, but a freshman. Ross is fine but flawed too. There's just too many pieces to hide on defense for this team to be anything but alright at the end of the day.

I still enjoy watching them play, but championship expectations aren't there for me.

 

[Methalius]

If you look at the predictions at the beginning of the season, I cautioned the peeps on here that this was not the team of 2022-23 or 23-24. Those teams had experience at important positions. They had a stabilizing player running the point. They had a couple of go to scorers and guys who knew their role. This team I believe is equally if not more talented as those teams however, they are young and they don't have someone like Newton who really grew into his own in 2023 and beyond. Diarra has done a good job but he is not Newton. Next year UConn will be a force assuming the majority of the team returns. I believe that McNeeley is gone to the NBA but I still believe that this team has the talent to be a big time team come tournament time. I still believe Hurley and company will get this corrected for the Big East Tournament and hopefully the NCAA tournament.

 

[boog204]

Solo, Mahaney and Jaylin's defense are horrendous. Hass is hobbled and AK was never great. Liam is improving, but a freshman. Ross is fine but flawed too. There's just too many pieces to hide on defense for this team to be anything but alright at the end of the day.

I still enjoy watching them play, but championship expectations aren't there for me.

And in addition to being poor individual defenders, it's a collective issue as well. Solo and especially Jaylin are very poor at fighting through screens. So now you have a potential switch/mismatch (with another poor defender) because most of our players do not read the screen and find an angle. It happens at least a few times a game where AK is taken to the hoop with ease by a 2 or 3 or our 5 is trying to guard a 1 or 2.

 

[Brochacho]

Sure with 26 more points spread across half a dozen games we are 22-1 instead of 16-7. But that doesn’t change that we:

-Are a poor defensive team
-Have one point guard (injured and will be fasting in March)
-Have only one player (McNeeley) can take their man off the dribble with consistent success (Diarra can too if healthy)

Karaban, McNeeley and Ball may carry us to a FF or even NC if they go nuclear in March. But the fact of the matter is that this team just isn’t that good. Going to enjoy the rest of the season and store up the unbridled optimism for next year’s undefeated championship run.

 

[Kitaman]

Perhaps this team is not yet cohesive and in synch. With last season's player turnover and adding new players combined with the vets is not easy to build a cohesive machine in a few months. Liam's injury was a huge setback or postponement to this important development.

I'm also big on leadership, believing Napier or Kemba could easily work with this group. No offense to Diarra (who is hurt) but this has to become his team for us to go very far.