UConn vs SCSU post game thread

[Stainmaster]

Jump seemed like the best rebounder out the group. While not ideal, idk how he gets no burn this year

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.

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

In our frontcourt? Man, I wish.

Yea, Yahkwe, Diarra and Wilson all Top 100 .. at least on paper yester-year

 

[UConnStats]

Agreed, we desperately need him. Also need something from Mamadou (if he can make it back) and Yakwe. Whaley tries hard and will make a couple of good energy plays but his lack of skills and slight body will be exposed against good competition. Polley still looks like he's not ready for much more than 3 point shooting and I've never understood why so many boneyarders are so high on Carlton.

We'll always need 3 guards on the floor and 4 guards some of the time.

I do like Carlton. He shows flashes of being a solid starting center, but when he makes a mistake, he let’s it start a domino effect where he can’t do anything without getting tripped up. He’s not the type who you want to be relying on for 20 MPG as a sophomore.

Polley has upside which I think is why people like him. He has a pretty stroke, and he’s fairly quick and athletic (especially compared to most 4s). But his timidness kills production. He almost never attacks the rim when he could be blowing by 4s or finishing over 3s. He’s soft on the boards too.

Couldn’t agree more about Whaley. Diarra will be an X factor if he can bring some offense to the table. Yakwe is a big upgrade over Polley on D, but barring a huge change in his play style he will be a negative offensively. We’ll be making a lot of situational substitutes this year trading offense for defense.

 

[husky429]

Positives: Aggressive D, lots of deflections, steals. Guards penetrated well, took it to the hoop strong or dished. Ball moved quickly on offense, not windshield wiper. Brandon Adams and Tarin Smith both showed more game than I expected. AG was steady on O and a pest on D.
Negatives: Thought Carlton regressed from last year, played soft, didn't finish well, didn't rebound. Points scored by UConn were mostly by the guards taking it to the hoop with SCSU having no big bodies inside to stop them. Where will the points come from when they play D1 teams that have some interior height and D? Rebounding will need to be by committee again as none of the big men owned the paint... they should have.

Takeaway: They are who we thought they are. A guard heavy team with very little inside presence. Diarra is needed so hopefully he can return soon. For this team to win as constructed now, they'll have to do it by forcing TO's and playing tough D, and that'll rest on the shoulders of a deep, talented, roster of guards. But somewhere along the way, to win the big games, they need to find (1) a shooter who can hit mid-range jumpers and (2) and an inside game.

We don't need someone to hit long 2s. That guy is Jalen.

This roster with a single adequate front court player is a tournament team easily. 2 and we're top 25.

Need production from the inside.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Akok would fit so well with our needs right now.

 

[Huskyforlife]

We don't need someone to hit long 2s. That guy is Jalen.

This roster with a single adequate front court player is a tournament team easily. 2 and we're top 25.

Need production from the inside.

Lets hope it's Diarra or Wilson.

 

[UConnStats]

Akok would fit so well with our needs right now.

Or our best player since Boat graduated in my opinion, Shonn Miller.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Hurley postgame: Our rebounding was scary bad.

 

[6xChamps]

Or our best player since Boat graduated in my opinion, Shonn Miller.

Man I loved Shonn Miller. Even though he was only here for a year he was an all-time underrated Husky

 

[Huskyforlife]

Or our best player since Boat graduated in my opinion, Shonn Miller.

Miller was awesome, we might be top 25 if he was here.

 

[Adios]

Hurley postgame: Our rebounding was scary bad.

UConn only outrebounded by 4.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Main takeaways-
-This team plays hard and our backcourt is stacked.
-Front court is going to really struggle against a lot of D1 competition and we desperately need Wilson, Yakwe and Diarra.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

UConn only outrebounded by 4.

UConn basketball simply cannot get out rebounded by a Division 2 school. Hurley knows that issue is on the top of the list.

Edit: We were out-rebounded by 4 only on the offensive end. We out-rebounded SCSU defensively.

 

[husky429]

Lets hope it's Diarra or Wilson.

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

 

[superjohn]

Akok would fit so well with our needs right now.

So would Kofi.

 

[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

- Jesus, 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 them View 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.