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I wasn't able to watch the game live but was able to watch a recording of the game. Here's a few observations:
Wolf - Not enosch of Enosch. The big fella moves well for a kid his size and has shown nice soft hands as well. After a hot start, it seemed the handlers weren't even looking to feed him in the post. I like when the guards can beat their man off the dribble and attack the player who's guarding Wolf and then feed him on the release. I also like when they feed him the ball in the middle and they move w/out the ball. Enosch is a very good passer. It just seems they went away from that early on and I don't know why. They really need to do a better job of including him in the offense.
Loosely related to the above, when they do feed Wolk above the foul line, the guards need to run back to him if they're not open with the initial cuts. They left him out to dry a few times, at least once resulting in a 5 second call. Not a biggie, just something they need to be more aware of.
Omar...oh my! It really looked like after the first two exhibition games that Omar was going to have a special season. There's a lot of ball to be played and maybe he'll still have that special season. But he's gone from our go-to-scorer to really struggling in all aspects of his game. I think he's going to be okay, but it just seems his confidence has been shaken. He had little to no hesitation with his offense. Now it seems if he misses some of his early shots, he second guesses himself. At some point, if not already being done so, the staff needs to get him to be aggressive and look more for his offense though within the flow of the game. I'm not saying he should force shots, such as taking a lot of 3s. He went 0-6 tonight though 4 out of those 6 shots were 3s. Taking that many 3s per shots taken is not a good breakdown for him or any player to that matter, unless that player is not a great athlete and is more a 3pt specialist. OC is not that type of player, so he should be getting more midrange and attacking the basket type shots. He needs to balance being careful with the ball, which he's struggled with of late, while looking for good scoring opportunities and taking his shots with confidence, like he did early in the season. I think he's going to come around. As much as I like seeing UConn get Ws, with the post season not a possibility, I want to see the staff work hard at getting him straightened out so that he can be one of next year's leaders, especially on offense. If Omar can get back on track, it should open things up for Bazz & Boat. Teams won't be able to key on those two. Right now, if I'm an opposing coach, I'm telling my kids to not let Bazz or Boat beat you. If you have to give up a lightly contested shot, let it be Omar. Hopefully sooner than later, Omar will make teams pay for taking that approach. For now, that's not a bad way to attack UConn.
Daniels - I'm happy to see him go off tonight, but I warn folks not to get too excited. I noticed that many of his shots, he simply over-matched his defender. His offense looked a tad on the slow side but effective. I think if he was guarded by bigger and more athletic defenders, many of his shots would not have come so easily. Please note, my intent is not to trash DD. I know he's been struggling with back spasms and that might be impacting his movement and ball handling of late (though he's never been a good handler and needs to really work hard and improve on that part of his game). For a kid who was highly ranked, he's always been more smooth than explosive. Hum...I find it interesting that Omar is similar in that regard...more smooth than athletic/explosive. With that said, there have been a lot of very effective players in both college and NBA that were more smooth operators. Lawrence Moten is an example. I'm sure there are others we can think of. Paul Pierce is probably a good example. Pierce is never going to wow you with his hops, but he has a big time handle, wards off defenders with his strength and knows how to create space for his very effective shot making.
I have little doubt that if DD and OC can get stronger and develop their ball skills both can be very good offensive players, especially at the college level. I just don't think either player will show enough improvement this season in those two areas to put up solid consistent numbers. I'm just hoping for consistent improvement in both as the season goes on, and then over the spring and summer, for the two of them to hit the weight room like madmen and work super hard on their ball handling. Lately, I get really nervous when either of those two dribble in traffic. If I were an opposing coach, I'd be telling my players to attack those two when they're handling the ball in both the half-court and in transition. Unfortunately, the odds right now are good to come away with the ball.
Tyler seems to have lost some confidence lately. I wonder if he's feeling the pressure now that Wolf is taking some of his minutes away. It's too bad we have little depth at the 5. I think those two would be good playing side-by-side often, but KO just can't take a chance to get both in early foul trouble. TO needs to get back on track, not try to do too much which I think is plaguing him lately, and to show his value by being a high effort guy and taking smart shots. He's developed some nice post moves. He's not a great leaper, so when he doesn't create enough space, his shot is prone to being altered or blocked. He's also a good passer out of the post, though he needs to make sure he doesn't take too many high risk passes, which seems to happen on occasion. It will be a nice bonus to this team when both he and Wolf can play well the same game. If we can just get something like 15 to 20 pts and 14 to 16 rebounds combined out of these two, that would go a long way for this team.
Bazz & Boat - When these two play well in the same game, UConn is a handful. When one shoots the ball well and the other not-so-well, this team is particularly vulnerable, especially since the team generates so few points off the offensive glass and second chance opportunities. There's little doubt that both are capable of filling it up. We just need more consistency from this pair. I want to see more games where we get a big game out of one and a solid out of the other. Getting 7-11 & 16 point out of one and just 2-7 and 6 from the other just doesn't cut it. Add to that, that they only got 3 FTs combined tells me that they didn't attack the basket well tonight at all.
The offense - they weren't particularly effective in the half-court. They don't seem to move in the half-court with the speed and energy that they need to to generate a lot of good midrange and deep-post looks. They did have a few nice dishes to players that were cutting to the basket, but I'd like to see a lot more. They haven't been seeing as much zone this season as the past few years, though tonight they saw a lot and struggled at times attacking it. I don't know if part of the lack of movement, crispness and energy in the half-court has to do with the lack of depth. RB and SN are playing a lot of minutes and probably have to pace themselves. I've noticed they seem to pick things up a tad in the 2nd half of some games once they're clear of foul trouble, though often seem to wear down late in the second half, likely do to the long stretches they're out on the court with little rest. With that said, I'd like to see our bigs and wings move off the ball with a lot more energy. Wolf, Tyler, DD and Giffey should bust it a tad more while in there, though it's always a juggling act when it comes to subbing players in and out often, or keeping a guy out there who shows solid play for a good stretch of time. IMO, this is one of the hardest parts of being a head coach. Sometimes a lot of energy you get from moving players in and out of the line-up can yield you inconsistencies in shooting the ball and overall half-court chemistry, that you can get from keeping a unit together and out there for a longer stretch. It just seems that this team often hits a wall on offense and goes for long stretches struggling to set up anyone for a good look at the basket. I see far too often 30 seconds of dribbling and passing the ball around the perimeter and then either a forced deep or highly contested midrange shot going up with little time on the clock. Hopefully they'll learn to run their sets more crisply and effectively as the season goes on.
This brings me to my next point, rebounding. This team really struggles on the glass, particularly on the offense end of the floor. They get very few second chances, so they have to make the most out of their first and only shots. Half court execution becomes even more critical if you can't generate many additional chances. They also give up a lot on their defensive end of the floor. Giving the other team more shots and not generating many of extras of their own, is going to cost them once they begin to go up against high major competition. Creating Turnovers is one way to make up for some of this, though they have to create more than they make. They had some horrible TOs in the NC St game the other night that turned out costly. Getting back to rebounding, I hope they can improve their technique and effort on the glass as the season goes on. They're obviously not going to get stronger and bigger overnight, so getting that extra 5 or so rebounds due to technique and effort can really go a long way. Hopefully getting out-rebounded won't cost them most games, because it sure looks like we're going to be outrebouned most nights.
Transition - Not a lot of blazing speed on this team other than RB. It doesn't seem we beat teams down the floor in transition. Even if we don't have a bunch of speedsters sure seems we should be able to get more transition opportunities than we do. IMO, this team should get more in transition to make up for the rebounding differential. The lack of easy baskets off of transition puts a lot more pressure on our half-court execution. It sure seem a long time since we've seen a UConn team excel in transition. My all time favorite UConn team that showed good half-court / full-court offense was the 99 NC team. They'd run when the could, but could also execute in the half-court. I'd just like to see this team move the basketball up the court via both the dribble and the pass and get more good shots at the rim before the D gets set. Not sure if the results are more due to a lack of personnel, a lack of execution or a lack of just simply looking to push the ball more often. Seems lesser teams are driving the ball on us in transition more than us on them. Maybe my perception of this is off.
Half-court D - this has arguably been the most shocking surprise of the season. I thought this team would get shredded in the half-court due to their lack of experience and depth in the post, though they've been very stingy in the half-court, giving very few good looks to the opposition. In fact, this team has handled the high screen better than many of the prior husky teams. Other than a great 11 game run two years ago, that team even struggled to keep teams from driving into the paint. This team has done a good job of keeping teams out of the paint on a consistent basis. Where they do slip up here is with securing the rebound after forcing highly contested shots. Just consider how much more stingy our D would be if they weren't giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, though they only gave up 6 tonight. That's probably a lot when you consider Harvard's lack of size in the post though.
3 Point shooting - This is one area that this team is a head scratcher. They are a very streaking 3 pt shooting team. They can fill it up quickly at times. I think we had a game recently where they had a 6 for 8 streak shooting the 3 ball, though they go into some serious droughts at times. I think the team has a lot of shooters who are very capable. One could argue that this team has more 3 pt shooters than any team team that I can remember. Boat, Bazz, Niels, Daniels and Omar are all capable of knocking down the 3. Going 4-17 tonight simply isn't cutting it though, and some of those were wide open looks.
As depleted as this team is this year due to the defections and those who left to the NBA early, this team is a lot more capable than I thought they'd be. I see this team beating some very good teams this season when they have many parts of their game going well. I also see them losing some games like they did against NC St when they have too many parts of their game not going so well. At least they are capable, which many fans thought would not be the case this season. I'm hoping they'll improve as the season goes on, they can add a few nice pieces to the two they already signed, and be set for a deep post season run next season.
Wolf - Not enosch of Enosch. The big fella moves well for a kid his size and has shown nice soft hands as well. After a hot start, it seemed the handlers weren't even looking to feed him in the post. I like when the guards can beat their man off the dribble and attack the player who's guarding Wolf and then feed him on the release. I also like when they feed him the ball in the middle and they move w/out the ball. Enosch is a very good passer. It just seems they went away from that early on and I don't know why. They really need to do a better job of including him in the offense.
Loosely related to the above, when they do feed Wolk above the foul line, the guards need to run back to him if they're not open with the initial cuts. They left him out to dry a few times, at least once resulting in a 5 second call. Not a biggie, just something they need to be more aware of.
Omar...oh my! It really looked like after the first two exhibition games that Omar was going to have a special season. There's a lot of ball to be played and maybe he'll still have that special season. But he's gone from our go-to-scorer to really struggling in all aspects of his game. I think he's going to be okay, but it just seems his confidence has been shaken. He had little to no hesitation with his offense. Now it seems if he misses some of his early shots, he second guesses himself. At some point, if not already being done so, the staff needs to get him to be aggressive and look more for his offense though within the flow of the game. I'm not saying he should force shots, such as taking a lot of 3s. He went 0-6 tonight though 4 out of those 6 shots were 3s. Taking that many 3s per shots taken is not a good breakdown for him or any player to that matter, unless that player is not a great athlete and is more a 3pt specialist. OC is not that type of player, so he should be getting more midrange and attacking the basket type shots. He needs to balance being careful with the ball, which he's struggled with of late, while looking for good scoring opportunities and taking his shots with confidence, like he did early in the season. I think he's going to come around. As much as I like seeing UConn get Ws, with the post season not a possibility, I want to see the staff work hard at getting him straightened out so that he can be one of next year's leaders, especially on offense. If Omar can get back on track, it should open things up for Bazz & Boat. Teams won't be able to key on those two. Right now, if I'm an opposing coach, I'm telling my kids to not let Bazz or Boat beat you. If you have to give up a lightly contested shot, let it be Omar. Hopefully sooner than later, Omar will make teams pay for taking that approach. For now, that's not a bad way to attack UConn.
Daniels - I'm happy to see him go off tonight, but I warn folks not to get too excited. I noticed that many of his shots, he simply over-matched his defender. His offense looked a tad on the slow side but effective. I think if he was guarded by bigger and more athletic defenders, many of his shots would not have come so easily. Please note, my intent is not to trash DD. I know he's been struggling with back spasms and that might be impacting his movement and ball handling of late (though he's never been a good handler and needs to really work hard and improve on that part of his game). For a kid who was highly ranked, he's always been more smooth than explosive. Hum...I find it interesting that Omar is similar in that regard...more smooth than athletic/explosive. With that said, there have been a lot of very effective players in both college and NBA that were more smooth operators. Lawrence Moten is an example. I'm sure there are others we can think of. Paul Pierce is probably a good example. Pierce is never going to wow you with his hops, but he has a big time handle, wards off defenders with his strength and knows how to create space for his very effective shot making.
I have little doubt that if DD and OC can get stronger and develop their ball skills both can be very good offensive players, especially at the college level. I just don't think either player will show enough improvement this season in those two areas to put up solid consistent numbers. I'm just hoping for consistent improvement in both as the season goes on, and then over the spring and summer, for the two of them to hit the weight room like madmen and work super hard on their ball handling. Lately, I get really nervous when either of those two dribble in traffic. If I were an opposing coach, I'd be telling my players to attack those two when they're handling the ball in both the half-court and in transition. Unfortunately, the odds right now are good to come away with the ball.
Tyler seems to have lost some confidence lately. I wonder if he's feeling the pressure now that Wolf is taking some of his minutes away. It's too bad we have little depth at the 5. I think those two would be good playing side-by-side often, but KO just can't take a chance to get both in early foul trouble. TO needs to get back on track, not try to do too much which I think is plaguing him lately, and to show his value by being a high effort guy and taking smart shots. He's developed some nice post moves. He's not a great leaper, so when he doesn't create enough space, his shot is prone to being altered or blocked. He's also a good passer out of the post, though he needs to make sure he doesn't take too many high risk passes, which seems to happen on occasion. It will be a nice bonus to this team when both he and Wolf can play well the same game. If we can just get something like 15 to 20 pts and 14 to 16 rebounds combined out of these two, that would go a long way for this team.
Bazz & Boat - When these two play well in the same game, UConn is a handful. When one shoots the ball well and the other not-so-well, this team is particularly vulnerable, especially since the team generates so few points off the offensive glass and second chance opportunities. There's little doubt that both are capable of filling it up. We just need more consistency from this pair. I want to see more games where we get a big game out of one and a solid out of the other. Getting 7-11 & 16 point out of one and just 2-7 and 6 from the other just doesn't cut it. Add to that, that they only got 3 FTs combined tells me that they didn't attack the basket well tonight at all.
The offense - they weren't particularly effective in the half-court. They don't seem to move in the half-court with the speed and energy that they need to to generate a lot of good midrange and deep-post looks. They did have a few nice dishes to players that were cutting to the basket, but I'd like to see a lot more. They haven't been seeing as much zone this season as the past few years, though tonight they saw a lot and struggled at times attacking it. I don't know if part of the lack of movement, crispness and energy in the half-court has to do with the lack of depth. RB and SN are playing a lot of minutes and probably have to pace themselves. I've noticed they seem to pick things up a tad in the 2nd half of some games once they're clear of foul trouble, though often seem to wear down late in the second half, likely do to the long stretches they're out on the court with little rest. With that said, I'd like to see our bigs and wings move off the ball with a lot more energy. Wolf, Tyler, DD and Giffey should bust it a tad more while in there, though it's always a juggling act when it comes to subbing players in and out often, or keeping a guy out there who shows solid play for a good stretch of time. IMO, this is one of the hardest parts of being a head coach. Sometimes a lot of energy you get from moving players in and out of the line-up can yield you inconsistencies in shooting the ball and overall half-court chemistry, that you can get from keeping a unit together and out there for a longer stretch. It just seems that this team often hits a wall on offense and goes for long stretches struggling to set up anyone for a good look at the basket. I see far too often 30 seconds of dribbling and passing the ball around the perimeter and then either a forced deep or highly contested midrange shot going up with little time on the clock. Hopefully they'll learn to run their sets more crisply and effectively as the season goes on.
This brings me to my next point, rebounding. This team really struggles on the glass, particularly on the offense end of the floor. They get very few second chances, so they have to make the most out of their first and only shots. Half court execution becomes even more critical if you can't generate many additional chances. They also give up a lot on their defensive end of the floor. Giving the other team more shots and not generating many of extras of their own, is going to cost them once they begin to go up against high major competition. Creating Turnovers is one way to make up for some of this, though they have to create more than they make. They had some horrible TOs in the NC St game the other night that turned out costly. Getting back to rebounding, I hope they can improve their technique and effort on the glass as the season goes on. They're obviously not going to get stronger and bigger overnight, so getting that extra 5 or so rebounds due to technique and effort can really go a long way. Hopefully getting out-rebounded won't cost them most games, because it sure looks like we're going to be outrebouned most nights.
Transition - Not a lot of blazing speed on this team other than RB. It doesn't seem we beat teams down the floor in transition. Even if we don't have a bunch of speedsters sure seems we should be able to get more transition opportunities than we do. IMO, this team should get more in transition to make up for the rebounding differential. The lack of easy baskets off of transition puts a lot more pressure on our half-court execution. It sure seem a long time since we've seen a UConn team excel in transition. My all time favorite UConn team that showed good half-court / full-court offense was the 99 NC team. They'd run when the could, but could also execute in the half-court. I'd just like to see this team move the basketball up the court via both the dribble and the pass and get more good shots at the rim before the D gets set. Not sure if the results are more due to a lack of personnel, a lack of execution or a lack of just simply looking to push the ball more often. Seems lesser teams are driving the ball on us in transition more than us on them. Maybe my perception of this is off.
Half-court D - this has arguably been the most shocking surprise of the season. I thought this team would get shredded in the half-court due to their lack of experience and depth in the post, though they've been very stingy in the half-court, giving very few good looks to the opposition. In fact, this team has handled the high screen better than many of the prior husky teams. Other than a great 11 game run two years ago, that team even struggled to keep teams from driving into the paint. This team has done a good job of keeping teams out of the paint on a consistent basis. Where they do slip up here is with securing the rebound after forcing highly contested shots. Just consider how much more stingy our D would be if they weren't giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, though they only gave up 6 tonight. That's probably a lot when you consider Harvard's lack of size in the post though.
3 Point shooting - This is one area that this team is a head scratcher. They are a very streaking 3 pt shooting team. They can fill it up quickly at times. I think we had a game recently where they had a 6 for 8 streak shooting the 3 ball, though they go into some serious droughts at times. I think the team has a lot of shooters who are very capable. One could argue that this team has more 3 pt shooters than any team team that I can remember. Boat, Bazz, Niels, Daniels and Omar are all capable of knocking down the 3. Going 4-17 tonight simply isn't cutting it though, and some of those were wide open looks.
As depleted as this team is this year due to the defections and those who left to the NBA early, this team is a lot more capable than I thought they'd be. I see this team beating some very good teams this season when they have many parts of their game going well. I also see them losing some games like they did against NC St when they have too many parts of their game not going so well. At least they are capable, which many fans thought would not be the case this season. I'm hoping they'll improve as the season goes on, they can add a few nice pieces to the two they already signed, and be set for a deep post season run next season.
