Two Lane ThoughtZ™

[RichZ]

1. First half Bouk had a couple good plays, but mostly seemed a little out of sync or unsure of himself. Totally different player in the 2nd half. Confident and engaged. That's the Bouk we need to see on the regular.
2. Tyler was a different player right from the get go. Anyone who ever thought we'd see a 19 point night from him on a night when his 3 point shot is off (2 of 7) is either prescient or optimistic beyond Scrappy level. Yet there he was, playing aggressively in the paint -- grabbing boards and driving for dunks and layins. Personally, I think it was the haircut. He needs to visit the same barber before every game.
3. I honestly don't remember Polley missing more than a couple 3s, but the box score said he missed 5 of them.
4. On CV's third foul, when he got the D board and dribbled out of traffic, he had that look. I knew that come hell or high water, he was going full court, all the way the rim. Evidently, so did the Tulane D. The guy set up to draw the charge as CV was crossing the 3 point line. SIGH
5. As the game unfolded, I felt like we played even in the first half, and outplayed them handily in the 2nd half. But in retrospect, it seems we didn't play that well at all. Every time we seemed ready to run away, we let them climb back into striking distance. In the end, both teams had 55 points from the field, so basically, we beat them by 6 free throws. Still, somehow it felt a lot more like a 12 to 15 point game, than a 6 point game.
6. Great rebounding effort, especially by Polley and Akok. And of course Vital. His nose for the ball coming off the boards is uncanny.
7. How can you control 17 more rebounds and shoot a (marginally) higher percentage from the field, yet only score 1 more field goal than the opponent?
8. The answer to #7 above, is apparently turnovers. We only turned them over 5 times while committing 11 ourselves?
9. No Sid, and barely any Whalley.
10. I know that Tulane doesn't really have a big man, but Whalley and Carlton only combined for 24 minutes. Akok didn't really play the middle in their absence, yet we managed to survive, and to eat them up on the boards.
11. Only 6 minutes for Gaffney, who really seemed out-of-sorts when he was on the court.
12. Akok needs to be more involved in the offense. He is 3rd on the team in minutes played but 5th (by a pretty wide margin behind 4th) in field goal attempts.
13. I was pleasantly surprised by Kahlid as a studio analyst. He looked great, made some great analysis, and showed his enthusiasm for and love of UConn basketball.
    

 

[Huskybass]

I would be willing to pay for that exact same Tyler Polley haircut every week if it wasn't some sort of booster violation.

19 and 11 from Polley! NOBODY would have EVER guessed 11 rebounds from Polley considering his career high in 3 years was 6. Superb job, Tyler. Please keep up the focus and intensity.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Good Summary Rich.

• Loved the energy from Polley. Night and Day difference from probably our most passive player to a guy flying all over the court. Need more of that.
• Bouknight is so smart away from the ball. I was watching him read plays, knowing that Al was about to Pass to Polley, who would shoot, and JB went to the hoop to rebound. Once he gets into attack mode for a full game he's going to shine.
• Akok must take more shots and call for the ball. Not 3s. I'm good with about three 3 point shots from him. I want him to be more aggressive calling for the ball inside and posting people.
• Al had a very good game on the offensive end, but was too often guarding Hightower who was just too big for him to handle. Still loved the overall efficiency.
• Vital played hard but not smart. It was classic CV, and not the better version we've seen at times. He still gets emotional when his man scores and makes dumb decisions trying to make up for it individually. His ego limits him.
• Adams was oddly ineffective. I thought this would be a big game for him. Need to see the good Brendan more consistently.
• Josh was OK. More energy on offense and shot the ball better. Loved the dunk. His interior D was fine, but as usual the opponent tried to pull him outside, which leaves us vulnerable. Hurley needs to find a way to change his defensive assignment so that he doesn't roam far from the rim.

Some encouraging signs, and a step in the right direction. But we need to get strong games from all these guys to beat Wichita State.

 

[Huskybass]

"Bouknight is so smart away from the ball. I was watching him read plays, knowing that Al was about to Pass to Polley, who would shoot, and JB went to the hoop to rebound. Once he gets into attack mode for a full game he's going to shine".

The upside is so high. I can't wait for the day Hurley finally unleashes the Beast that is Bouknight. This kid needs 15-20 touches per game, minimum.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I kind of feel like they’ll beat WSU just to play with our hearts

 

[Waquoit]

1. First half Bouk had a couple good plays, but mostly seemed a little out of sync or unsure of himself. Totally different player in the 2nd half. Confident and engaged. That's the Bouk we need to see on the regular.

I say start him now and let him play through his mistakes. He's ready. And he's our best player.

 

[RichZ]

Josh was OK. More energy on offense and shot the ball better. Loved the dunk. His interior D was fine, but as usual the opponent tried to pull him outside, which leaves us vulnerable.

He consistently switches to covering a guard on picks, leaving a guard -- too often AG -- covering a big. It's just a second or so before he returns to the paint, but it still feels like we're standing there naked for a moment, 5 or 6 times a game.

 

[Excalibur]

I had this in the highlights thread but it fits better here:



1) For the second straight game, there was plenty of movement and action in our offensive sets, yet again we struggled to finish in the half court offense. We really need someone to emerge as a primary scorer. Bouknight seems like the most logical candidate but he seems to be in a shooting funk.

2) We are so much better when we can rebound and push tempo. I realize that it's harder to speed up the game than it is to slow it down, but I do wish we'd find a way to run more. We started to pull away once each half - in both cases it was by running the floor after defensive rebounds. When the game slowed down Tulane got back in it.

3) The lob to Bouknight was a nice set design coming out of the (I think 8 minute) timeout in the first half. The set coming out of a later timeout where Bouknight tossed it over Vital's head was hot garbage.

4) Gaffney's ankle is clearly bothering him again. He looked like he had cement shoes on in his limited minutes.

5) I think Tulane will end up around .500 in conference play this year. That's pretty impressive given the roster turnover and how bad they were last year. The Chinese kid at center has some pretty good offensive skills but I'm not sure I've ever seen someone so lost on defense.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He consistently switches to covering a guard on picks, leaving a guard -- too often AG -- covering a big. It's just a second or so before he returns to the paint, but it still feels like we're standing there naked for a moment, 5 or 6 times a game.

Yes. More than 5-6 times a game too. It's not Josh that causes that, it's the coach. He's doing what he's told. Hurley needs to stop worrying about bigs shooting 3s and worry more about layups.

 

[Dove]

Polley showed Akokian enthusiam after great plays.

We have no alpha dog yet. That guy who shows up every game. These blips in player success and regression are mind-numbing.

 

[Excalibur]

Yes. More than 5-6 times a game too. It's not Josh that causes that, it's the coach. He's doing what he's told. Hurley needs to stop worrying about bigs shooting 3s and worry more about layups.

You guys act like Hurley is the only coach who does this. It's pretty damn common around college basketball. The idea is to disrupt the dribbler and his vision of the court, pushing him away from the hoop, and to make big men catch the ball going at the basket, which many college bigs struggle to do. The risk is that you don't rotate fast enough and give up a layup, or your guard over-helps and leaves the weak side three open. Carlton's not particularly good at it due to a lack of foot speed. But it's not an inherently flawed strategy. Virginia defends most ball screens with a hard hedge, switch and recover strategy.

 

[Huskybass]

Polley showed Akokian enthusiam after great plays.

We have no alpha dog yet. That guy who shows up every game. These blips in player success and regression are mind-numbing.

I was thinking about this last night. Polley, Carlton, Vital, Gilbert, Akok, Bouknight, and Adams have all had big games this season, and Gaffney, Wilson, and Whaley have all impacted a game or two as well. There IS promise on this team, but the inconsistency is baffling.

 

[joober jones]

#8 Surprised me. Whaley's play has picked up as of late and gluing him to the pine, especially in a game where Carlton saw such little action, was baffling. I'd have liked to see him in with Akok and Polley for an even more impressive rebounding clinic.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

AG is still a mystery to me. Overall played much better and really liked the 7-2 assist to turnover ratio. He had a very good first half and stayed within himself. Glad the last shot at halftime went in, but I hated the shot selection on it, Somewhere in the 2nd half he let his positive game get to him and he played hero ball with the dribble penetration and ill advised shots for a few consecutive series. 1st half Al that went with the flow, took mostly good open shots and passed well is all we need from him.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Never thought he would rack up double digit boards over the course of three games. The fact he did it in one is astonishing.

 

[Apollo]

Polley showed Akokian enthusiam after great plays.

We have no alpha dog yet. That guy who shows up every game. These blips in player success and regression are mind-numbing.

"Akokian" ha, that is awesome

 

[HuskyHawk]

You guys act like Hurley is the only coach who does this. It's pretty damn common around college basketball. The idea is to disrupt the dribbler and his vision of the court, pushing him away from the hoop, and to make big men catch the ball going at the basket, which many college bigs struggle to do. The risk is that you don't rotate fast enough and give up a layup, or your guard over-helps and leaves the weak side three open. Carlton's not particularly good at it due to a lack of foot speed. But it's not an inherently flawed strategy. Virginia defends most ball screens with a hard hedge, switch and recover strategy.

Oh I know. It's what he wants his 5 to be able to do. But every team we play knows Josh can't do it, so they intentionally lure him out and then run plays to exploit the opening. It's why I think we need to pop into zone now and then to frustrate that tactic. Or at least have Josh playing a soft zone around the basket.

 

[RichZ]

You guys act like Hurley is the only coach who does this. It's pretty damn common around college basketball. The idea is to disrupt the dribbler and his vision of the court, pushing him away from the hoop, and to make big men catch the ball going at the basket, which many college bigs struggle to do. The risk is that you don't rotate fast enough and give up a layup, or your guard over-helps and leaves the weak side three open. Carlton's not particularly good at it due to a lack of foot speed. But it's not an inherently flawed strategy. Virginia defends most ball screens with a hard hedge, switch and recover strategy.

Thing is, it was kind of working earlier in the season, but he never really ventured past the 3 point line. Now, it seems like he'll go to half court with the guard at times.

 

[businesslawyer]

but I'm not sure I've ever seen someone so lost on defense.

And we thought Enoch wouldn't ever be forgotten!

 

[Chief00]

Yes. More than 5-6 times a game too. It's not Josh that causes that, it's the coach. He's doing what he's told. Hurley needs to stop worrying about bigs shooting 3s and worry more about layups.

Exactly, Chief can never understand our romance in putting Bigs as far away from the hoop as possible. Especially, when they don’t have good mobility like Josh.

 

[Vancat]

Akokian

 

[Waquoit]

And we thought Enoch wouldn't ever be forgotten!

Enoch? The guy who started and got a double-double in a win for the 13th ranked team the other day? That Enoch?

 

[businesslawyer]

Enoch? The guy who started and got a double-double in a win for the 13th ranked team the other day? That Enoch?

Yup. Please explain to me how success he's having now -- after he would have graduated and left UConn -- is relevant to the fact that when here he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen wear a UConn uniform.

 

[Waquoit]

Yup. Please explain to me how success he's having now -- after he would have graduated and left UConn -- is relevant to the fact that when here he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen wear a UConn uniform.

Seemed like an unfunny cheap shot to me.

 

[businesslawyer]

Seemed like an unfunny cheap shot to me.

O.K. Had you stated that there wouldn't be a need for a conversation.

But I stand by my point. I watched him play in our uniforms for two years and I think he was the worst defensive player I ever saw. I don't wish him badly. I didn't doubt his upside when here and I'm perfectly happy for him if he's reaching it now. But he can go on to be all NBA and it doesn't change one iota how poor a defensive player he was while he was here.