USF Postgame quotes

[8893]

Im starting to like Vital more and more. He shows that he has that attitude and wants to win, but im not so sure about some of the other guys, and I think thats what CV is getting at with his quote.

We need more players that have that attitude. We need players that all the other fans love to hate. That last time we had a player like that was Boatright. After he graduated, it just seems like we just never had a true leader with that killer instinct who hates to lose and wants to win.

I agree, and I'll go further and admit that I underestimated Vital's ceiling as a player and his ability to be coached. One of the best coaching moves Hurley has made since coming here imo was his decision to invest his confidence in Vital. As it turns out, it's a wiser investment than I had appreciated at the time.

I think some criticism of Hurley at this point is valid because we are seeing other teams make adjustments at the end of the first half and the entire second half, and we are not responding with adjustments of our own. Admittedly we do not have the plethora of options that we thought we might have, and he is still learning how to get these players to respond. But his work with Vital alone gives me confidence that, with the right types of players, he can build something we can be proud of again here.

 

[tower1]

So 3/4 of the first half? We need to stop with the ridiculous hot takes about how this player or that player "sucks" and needs to be benched. They all need to be better.

The team did a lot of things right in that first 15 minutes. They did a lot of things wrong after that, especially with a let up on defensive effort and especially rebounding. And while I saw some one on three offensive action, what I mostly saw were guys making an effort to move the ball and move without the ball, getting good looks and missing all of them. It was a horrendous shooting night. Those misses lead to USF boards due to our lack of size, strength and will...and they converted them into points on the other end.

There was no great defensive effort by USF, there was no inability for UConn to get shooters open, they just missed everything. All the outside shots, many, many layups and midrange stuff too. If even a reasonable percentage of those shots fall, our defense would be more effective, and we win this game going away. In short it would look like the first 15 minutes. Our lack of size and physicality inside means that when the outside shots won't go in, we can only score by guards attacking the rim. Against a long, strong, physically imposing front court like USF's, that was never going to work.

Lets face the facts. The main problem with this team is the lack of discipline and low basketball IQ. I thought Hurley would control this team but he hasn't. It looks like Ollie is still in charge. They play school ground basketball with little gametime coaching. Jalen could be an outstanding player if he want's but chooses to play out of control. He had so many turnovers but yet didn't get pulled out. This is a perfect example of a team that needed a Calhoun type coach. I thought Hurley would be that type coach to a certain extent but it looks like he doesn't have have control of this team.

 

[August_West]

Hurley presser .gif

 

[Chin Diesel]

Lets face the facts. The main problem with this team is the lack of discipline and low basketball IQ. I thought Hurley would control this team but he hasn't. It looks like Ollie is still in charge. They play school ground basketball with little gametime coaching. Jalen could be an outstanding player if he want's but chooses to play out of control. He had so many turnovers but yet didn't get pulled out. This is a perfect example of a team that needed a Calhoun type coach. I thought Hurley would be that type coach to a certain extent but it looks like he doesn't have have control of this team.

Put me squarely in the camp that as a program going forward, Hurley needs to use Jalen for his teaching moments to the rest of the team. It's obvious to all of us fans, coaches and players that Jalen has the most basketball talent. He does stuff throughout a game that clearly shows low BB IQ and can be corrected and coached.

USF has a guard who is leading the country in steals. That is an easy part of the scouting report and should be on the chalk board in the locker room before the game. Every player on UConn needs to account for his presence on every pass. As fans we have seen great on the ball defenders- Ricky and Lyman. We've seen great passing lane defenders- Burrell, Dove and Caronimo. We've seen great rim protectors too.

So what do we see during a game? Slow, telegraphed passes and players standing there waiting to receive the ball rather than coming towards the ball to decrease the length of the pass. When players do that, they need to take a seat. When you pull the player for that mistake, at halftime or back home you go over that moment on film and compare that to the game plan laid out in the locker room.

When Jalen refuses to draw contact at the rim or go to his left hand, you put him on the bench. Use that to communicate to the rest of the team why off season work outs are essential for expanding your game and skill set. The coaches also show that to the rest of the team that opponents scout and learn how to overcome your skills and as players they need to improve.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Lets face the facts. The main problem with this team is the lack of discipline and low basketball IQ. I thought Hurley would control this team but he hasn't. It looks like Ollie is still in charge. They play school ground basketball with little gametime coaching. Jalen could be an outstanding player if he want's but chooses to play out of control. He had so many turnovers but yet didn't get pulled out. This is a perfect example of a team that needed a Calhoun type coach. I thought Hurley would be that type coach to a certain extent but it looks like he doesn't have have control of this team.

I disagree. I think the play has been much more disciplined than last year and Hurley is a Calhoun style coach. The suspensions have shown it. Meanwhile, I watched some fantastic ball movement last night from our guys, and much better movement off the ball than I saw in any game last year. They often made too many passes leading to turnovers on several occasions. I think they are trying too hard and aren't playing instinctively. They have to find the balance, and of course, they have to make open looks. Several times guys made one pass too many, they need to take the open shots without hesitation and with confidence.

Last night they missed several open layups and nearly every outside shot they took. Most of those were clean open looks, not the rushed, hand in your face shots with 2 seconds on the clock we saw last year. They didn't fall. This team needs to practice 3 point shots 2 hours a day every day.

Most of the out of control play stems from the guards being asked to do too much. When the outside shots aren't falling we have to score at the rim. That lands on the guards because our bigs are essentially useless on offense. So we begin to see what we saw last night, small guards driving into traffic. It's a symptom of two other problems (a) Bigs that don't occupy the attention of the defense and (b) poor outside shooting. It isn't the cause, it's a symptom.

We see what happens when the shots fall. The whole offense looks completely different.

 

[Peacefrog]

Put me squarely in the camp that as a program going forward, Hurley needs to use Jalen for his teaching moments to the rest of the team. It's obvious to all of us fans, coaches and players that Jalen has the most basketball talent. He does stuff throughout a game that clearly shows low BB IQ and can be corrected and coached.

USF has a guard who is leading the country in steals. That is an easy part of the scouting report and should be on the chalk board in the locker room before the game. Every player on UConn needs to account for his presence on every pass. As fans we have seen great on the ball defenders- Ricky and Lyman. We've seen great passing lane defenders- Burrell, Dove and Caronimo. We've seen great rim protectors too.

So what do we see during a game? Slow, telegraphed passes and players standing there waiting to receive the ball rather than coming towards the ball to decrease the length of the pass. When players do that, they need to take a seat. When you pull the player for that mistake, at halftime or back home you go over that moment on film and compare that to the game plan laid out in the locker room.

When Jalen refuses to draw contact at the rim or go to his left hand, you put him on the bench. Use that to communicate to the rest of the team why off season work outs are essential for expanding your game and skill set. The coaches also show that to the rest of the team that opponents scout and learn how to overcome your skills and as players they need to improve.

Yeah, I’d like to see Hurley give this a shot. I used to find myself fretting about some of Calhoun’s quick hooks, thought at times it might be useful to let some of the guys play through a mistake or two. It appears that the current roster is comprised of many players who might have benefited from the Calhoun approach the last few years. Focus on a critical aspect or two and if a guy fails in that regard, pull him to reinforce the message.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Can we afford to bench Jalen for the start of the UCF game?

The time to bench him is when he starts to play loose, sloppy with the ball. Every time. Until he gets the message.
Same with every other player.

 

[auror]

It's a difficult balance to win this year and also try to prepare for the future.

I think Jalen must be frustrating as hell a player to coach. @HuskyHawk mentioned it, but Jalen wasn't just good in the first 15 minutes, he was dominant. He was all over the court. He was seizing his spots. He was finishing moderately tough shots with ease. He wasn't taking tough shots. He was helping rebound and throwing outlet passes to leakers. He was getting steals and finding the ball off deflections. We were up double digits.

And then I don't know if it went to his head or what, but then he started making bonehead plays. He was picking up his dribble and leaving his feet at the free throw line and throwing to literally nobody. He was throwing passes to bigs who weren't even looking at him. He was penetrating, stopping, not even making a move, and going up and getting his shot blocked.

How do you reconcile the two? How do you bench him as some have suggested? He scored 25 points on 50% shooting with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

But he also had 6 turnovers and 4 fouls, and most of them were clearly his fault. Do you quick hook him in the last 5 minutes of the 1H when he made 1 dumb play after the tremendous half? Do you do it after the 2nd one?

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Do you quick hook him in the last 5 minutes of the 1H when he made 1 dumb play after the tremendous half? Do you do it after the 2nd one?

Yell at him after the first, bench him after the second. One sloppy, disinterested, play a game should be the tolerance limit.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

Jalen unraveled after his great showing. I called it when he got "caught in the air" and made a wild over the shoulder pass. He looked a bit defeated after that to me, and his intensity level just seemed to fall off.
We were so spoiled by guys who went four quarters at 100% (Khalid, Kemba, Bazz and many times Boatright) but haven't gotten that from Jalen most nights. Hurley has his work cut out for him.

 

[selles]

It's a difficult balance to win this year and also try to prepare for the future.

I think Jalen must be frustrating as hell a player to coach. @HuskyHawk mentioned it, but Jalen wasn't just good in the first 15 minutes, he was dominant. He was all over the court. He was seizing his spots. He was finishing moderately tough shots with ease. He wasn't taking tough shots. He was helping rebound and throwing outlet passes to leakers. He was getting steals and finding the ball off deflections. We were up double digits.

And then I don't know if it went to his head or what, but then he started making bonehead plays. He was picking up his dribble and leaving his feet at the free throw line and throwing to literally nobody. He was throwing passes to bigs who weren't even looking at him. He was penetrating, stopping, not even making a move, and going up and getting his shot blocked.

How do you reconcile the two? How do you bench him as some have suggested? He scored 25 points on 50% shooting with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

But he also had 6 turnovers and 4 fouls, and most of them were clearly his fault. Do you quick hook him in the last 5 minutes of the 1H when he made 1 dumb play after the tremendous half? Do you do it after the 2nd one?

And when you hook him, to whom do you turn? Smith has been absolutely awful the last couple games. No one was more responsible for Villanova's run than he was. Gilbert is far from back to form, he is fighting it out there mentally. Vital's playing well, but for all those calling for him to shoot it more - the reason he's playing well is because he's bought into Hurley's directive to avoid the bad shots and sins of over-aggression that made everyone want him to shoot it LESS. Shots 11-15 for Vital are rarely positives for the team.

This team stands and falls with Jalen, and was always going to. Hurley recognizes that, it's why he went on such a public campaign to light a fire under him during the preseason. Unfortunately, even when Jalen's playing wonderfully he inevitably has a spell where his focus dulls and you get boneheaded mistakes like throwing the ball right to the other team, or letting the other team simply grab the ball away from him, or half driving and jumping in the air with no clue what to do. Those unforced errors give the other team momentum, Jalen tightens up, and - especially if the other team is half decent - the rest is history. We've seen it over and over again the last couple years.

As you say, very, very frustrating.

 

[Stainmaster]

It's obvious that Hurley can't wait to get his own guys in here (and no, I don't mean grad transfer stop-gaps and Brendan Adams).

Vital might be the only holdover with the attitude he's looking for.

Keep it in your pants.