UConn vs SCSU post game thread

[husky429]

So would Kofi.

This game should be example 1a for kofi and akok. They clearly fill holes.

 

[UConnStats]

I dont think wilson is that guy. I think Brendan Adams could defend 3/4 better than him. He's 6'6 and frail.

Diarra is intriguing. I think he may be rusty, but defense and rebounding is all that we really need from that spot right now. Scoring would be gravy

Hurley mentioned in a podcast that Diarra’s mid range jumper was coming along too. That would be a nice wrinkle to his game. Even a useful pump fake would help him get to the rim with his athleticism.

 

[superjohn]

This game should be example 1a for kofi and akok. They clearly fill holes.

We'll know what our future frontcourt is by the end of the month.

 

[Leebo]

Game 1 vs SCSU

E. Cobb- 5.9
C. Vital- 6.2
T. Smith- 6.5
A. Gilbert- 8.0
J. Adams- 6.7
I. Whaley- 5.7
B. Adams- 7.8
T. Polley- 5.8
K. Williams- 5.9
J. Carlton- 5.3

D. Hurley- 10
Dance team- 2.6

Didn't see the game, but all my report cards had grades out of a hundred, so is it actually that bad?

 

[ASweet3781]

Was at the game.

Good Observations

- I noticed at the warmups everyone seemed to be engaged. From the players to the coaches to the managers. It just looked organized, professional, and well run which I didn't get the sense in recent years. That engagement seemed to be present on the bench during the game too.

- I liked the way we played. Pressure D, looked to run A LOT. Good ball movement. You can be a flawed team and still play an entertaining brand of basketball. I think we had a lot of fast break points. I think Hurley was good yanking guys after bone headed plays (IE Vital's T). He seemed to have a good read when to make a move and called a TO after some sloppy stretch.

- Gilbert. Pray for his health. He is the difference between what we saw after the Michigan State game last year and being a possible NCAA Tournament team. He is that good and that much of a difference. He is tough as nails and makes Jalen's job easier. We desperately need him to last the year. But he is such a gamer he drives so much to the hoop I fear he may not.

- I really liked Brendan Adams. Big and strong and can shoot. Tarin was also solid off the bench. We have 5 guards that can play and its likely at least 3 will be on the court at once a lot.

- Jalen had a good stretch in the 2nd half, didn't force.

- We hit some 3's! Always welcome.

- I think they said on the radio we played 11 players and that was without Wilson, Yawke, and Diarra. We have depth.

- Kwintin had a breakaway dunk!

Bad observations

- We have too many unfluid offensive players. Polley will hit an open 3 and you start to think he's our new Rashad and than miss the next two open ones. So does Vital usually. Cobb has a nice turnaround and just when you think we found our post player he'll blow an assist by missing the lay in next chance. Carlton the same.

- Post players as expected just not good enough. I mean if Ollie just recruits one really solid post I'd be really optimistic. It will be by committee and hopefully Yawke and Diarra bring something to the table. I did think Kwintin looked more like a....basketball player.

- As others mentioned Jalen's body language at times is....odd. It's hard to explain. Let's just say it doesn't leave u with a feeling he is gonna have his Kemba/Shabazz year.

- D was shaky at times. Too many blow bys our guards let. Lot's of open 3's allowed especially 1st half.

Ugly observations

- did we tryout putting the new hockey rink under the Gampel floor as an alternative to the new 45 million dollar boondoggle of a hockey rink? I have NEVER seen so many players slipping and falling in a basketball game. When Gilbert went down in the corner I was about to pelt Benedict with my soda.


Overall, I really enjoyed watching them.

 

[UConnSwag11]

New banner under the scoreboards? First time I’ve seen them

 

[zepfan]

I was at the game.
Observations for whatever they're worth.
1. Gilbert staying healthy is the difference between 7 or 8 wins vs. losses. Plays every aspect of the game well. May be our best player. His defense is relentless and he is a constant weapon on offense. Played under control for the most part - gets a little too one on one minded at times but can really make things happen so must live with some of his mistakes.
2. Vital's passion and grit is much needed on this team. However, he still tries to play beyond his abilities offensively. He does not have a jump shot off the dribble. His form is off and there is little sign that he can hit a pull up jumper very well. He can hit the open set shot 3 pointer. Also, on several occasions he took very bad shots driving to the basket. Hurley tolerated a couple but then ranked him somewhere early in the second half and did not put him back into the game. Good! Despite his grit, he kills us with his bad shot selection. He is just not as good of an offensive player as he'd like to be. He has to control himself or he wont play.
3. Brendon Adams is a shooter and a strong freshman. He has a confident nice-looking stroke and god knows we can use a shooter! Worked hard on defense also. Seems very coachable. He should be very much in the rotation.
4. Smith is a nice player. Liked his D and the manner in which he ran the offense. Has some offensive skills. Can't tell if he can shoot or not.
5. J. Adams didn't start. Played under control and hit 2 threes! Need him to shoot well this year.

These 5 guards will be the key to the team this year. Played full court pressure man the whole game. We will go as far as they can take us. All will play.

Front court is very weak. Carlton is still soft and can't finish inside (brings the ball down below his waist when he gets the ball 2 feet from the basketball and gets stripped).Shot very poorly from the line. He is still a work in progress. Whalley was active on D put otherwise barely noticed. Cobb shows the best offensive skills and should be good in spurts. Polley looks a little stronger, moves well for his size, hit one 3 but is often invisible. I think he is still a work in progress. Unless Yawke or Diarra (sp) are much better, our 4 and 5 positions are going to be filled by 5 guys in and out, looking for the someone to be having a good game to give more time to.

Ball movement looked better at times. Team was noticeably less selfish. Also, I loved that Hurley has the bigs hedging very hard on the screens. They actually chase the ball handler back until the guard can recover. I have always preferred this way of handling screens. They did it very consistently and effectively.

With one good post player emerging on this team, our guard play can carry us to a winning season. If we can land one of the top bigs we are recruiting now our team could be right back in the mix next year.

 

[gampelcrazies]

New banner under the scoreboards? First time I’ve seen themView attachment 35902

They have been there for a couple of seasons

 

[superjohn]

I was at the game.
Observations for whatever they're worth.
1. Gilbert staying healthy is the difference between 7 or 8 wins vs. losses. Plays every aspect of the game well. May be our best player. His defense is relentless and he is a constant weapon on offense. Played under control for the most part - gets a little too one on one minded at times but can really make things happen so must live with some of his mistakes.
2. Vital's passion and grit is much needed on this team. However, he still tries to play beyond his abilities offensively. He does not have a jump shot off the dribble. His form is off and there is little sign that he can hit a pull up jumper very well. He can hit the open set shot 3 pointer. Also, on several occasions he took very bad shots driving to the basket. Hurley tolerated a couple but then ranked him somewhere early in the second half and did not put him back into the game. Good! Despite his grit, he kills us with his bad shot selection. He is just not as good of an offensive player as he'd like to be. He has to control himself or he wont play.
3. Brendon Adams is a shooter and a strong freshman. He has a confident nice-looking stroke and god knows we can use a shooter! Worked hard on defense also. Seems very coachable. He should be very much in the rotation.
4. Smith is a nice player. Liked his D and the manner in which he ran the offense. Has some offensive skills. Can't tell if he can shoot or not.
5. J. Adams didn't start. Played under control and hit 2 threes! Need him to shoot well this year.

These 5 guards will be the key to the team this year. Played full court pressure man the whole game. We will go as far as they can take us. All will play.

Front court is very weak. Carlton is still soft and can't finish inside (brings the ball down below his waist when he gets the ball 2 feet from the basketball and gets stripped).Shot very poorly from the line. He is still a work in progress. Whalley was active on D put otherwise barely noticed. Cobb shows the best offensive skills and should be good in spurts. Polley looks a little stronger, moves well for his size, hit one 3 but is often invisible. I think he is still a work in progress. Unless Yawke or Diarra (sp) are much better, our 4 and 5 positions are going to be filled by 5 guys in and out, looking for the someone to be having a good game to give more time to.

Ball movement looked better at times. Team was noticeably less selfish. Also, I loved that Hurley has the bigs hedging very hard on the screens. They actually chase the ball handler back until the guard can recover. I have always preferred this way of handling screens. They did it very consistently and effectively.

With one good post player emerging on this team, our guard play can carry us to a winning season. If we can land one of the top bigs we are recruiting now our team could be right back in the mix next year.

Good chance at landing both of the top bigs.

 

[zls44]

Cobb had a few good moments on the boards in the first half, before he perhaps got winded. I have a hunch that he'll be able to translate that to DI competition better than the others.

That three-point attempt, had it gone, hoooooo boy. Wasn't a bad shot, either.

 

[Towney007]

My takeaway:

-Guard play was way better than expected.
-Front court was way worse than expected.

I can't imagine this team with a single starting-is front court player. Honestly.

 

[Ewekon]

If guys like AkAk and the 3 centers can't see the open minutes they are blind. We shouldn't expect a lot from this front court. I, imho, don't see why anyone here does.

Let's just get over .500 and play some post season ball.

 

[GHSWolverines]

1. Ball movement was very refreshing to watch compared to the last few years. There were a lot more open looks.
2. Front court needs a lot of work. I am not surprised. They were given a lot more opportunities on the offensive end compared to the past few years but need to finish off!
3. I loved the pressure defense. It will get even better as the year progresses.
4. Gilbert is an awesome field general and provides much needed leadership. I hope he stays healthy.
5. I came away impressed with the two newcomers - B. Adams & T. Smith.

 

[EBonz30]

Brendan Adams is going to be a real nice player & Tarrin Smith has a real strong left hand.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I dont think wilson is that guy. I think Brendan Adams could defend 3/4 better than him. He's 6'6 and frail.

Diarra is intriguing. I think he may be rusty, but defense and rebounding is all that we really need from that spot right now. Scoring would be gravy

I think he’s our best big and was last year too, even though he didn’t get the minutes. Hurley commented before he got hurt again that Diarra had developed a nice mid range jump shot.

 

[Sphinx]

Didn't see or hear the game, so appreciate the many fine assessments here. A bit perplexed by the accolades for Gilbert -- based on the box score. He played 27 minutes at point and didn't have an assist. Can anyone explain this? Jalen, whose game didn't seem to impress anyone, had 3 assists in 20 minutes. Tarin Smith had 5.

 

[NJHoops]

Didn't see or hear the game, so appreciate the many fine assessments here. A bit perplexed by the accolades for Gilbert -- based on the box score. He played 27 minutes at point and didn't have an assist. Can anyone explain this? Jalen, whose game didn't seem to impress anyone, had 3 assists in 20 minutes. Tarin Smith had 5.

I think it’s two things-

First, I think a healthy happy, productive Gilbert is always going to get a lot of attention. There were also multiple point guards playing together, and a correct and efficient pass doesn’t always lead directly to a score. The pass before the assist is just as important.

Second, the team got off to a very slow start, and Gilbert was the only one really doing anything. Regardless of opponent, having him take over a part of a game and keep the team is in was just really great to see. He was doing a bit of everything in that stretch.

 

[UofCT]

We'll know what our future frontcourt is by the end of the month.

Oh

Edit: This was my 1,000th post. I've been banned multiple times, I've trolled, been trolled, lurked, but like a 3* senior, I think I finally found my place in this crazy world we call the boneyard. Good times, great memories.

 

[KingAG]

Didn't see or hear the game, so appreciate the many fine assessments here. A bit perplexed by the accolades for Gilbert -- based on the box score. He played 27 minutes at point and didn't have an assist. Can anyone explain this? Jalen, whose game didn't seem to impress anyone, had 3 assists in 20 minutes. Tarin Smith had 5.

Gilbert played very well, it was very encouraging. Ppl saying Jalen didn’t play well confuse me. All in all our guards are VERY good

 

[auror]

The fact that people say Jalen didn't play well and he was 6/11 and 2/3 with 16 points in 20 minutes is a very good sign. Scoring efficiently while playing poorly portends of a high ceiling.

..Still needs to get to the FT line. Take a page from Tarin, Jalen.

 

[zepfan]

I believe J. Adams did play well. He was efficient, chose his opportunities selectively, hit some very nice shots, shared the ball and seemed to let the game come to him. He was not the primary ball handler - this was shared by all the guards, but mostly Gilbert and Smith. He also didn't start and I think was looking to be part of a collective offense, not just the focal point as he has had to do in the past. If he can hit outside shots with more consistency, our back court may be one of the best in the country (top 10 ???).

 

[Rewster]

I agree the body language of JA was not great at times. The few times I keyed on him he seemed he did not like that the ball was not going thru him. He is going to have to get used to not having the ball in his hands the whole game. Not sure if he is going to adjust to that well.

 

[ctchamps]

Best play of the game: Vital full court pass to Jalen for the dunk.

This was a Division II team so we'll have to see how things progress as the season unfolds but ball movement and offensive sets were significantly better than the past two seasons. IMO that's the result of Gilbert and Smith. When they ran the offense it looked like Hurley's RI team. When Jalen ran offense it looked like UConn last season. Lots of dribbling at top of key with the shot clock running down. Jalen can do things that no one else can do but he plays more deliberately than Gilbert and Smith who bring the ball down the court quickly, pass the ball or drive to the basket quickly and much earlier in the possession. Jalen's midrange game was off and he still had good numbers except for five turnovers.

Brendan Adams has game and did not play like a freshman.

On defense Gilbert, Smith and Vital are very disruptive. There would have been more turnovers if the bigs had quicker reflexes. Jalen and Brendan are steady and good defenders. I felt players were able to get by Gilbert far too often and he was bailed out by our bigs. That won't happen against better teams.

I actually felt Polley's defense was much better in this game than most of last season. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to improve. He has a decent handle but once again he drove to the basket and got called for a charge. I agree with the announcer who felt that Polley needs to be able to stop quickly when he drives to avoid charges.

I still like Carleton. He's timid like Steve Enoch but I think he has a more complete game in a less physical body. Somebody give him a Jeff Adrien transfusion.