Vital and Gilbert

[UConn990411]

I would have liked to have seen Vital benched for the rest of the game when Hurley pulled him 2-3 minutes in to the second half.

Hurley sent a message to the team when he stood up for Gilbert in front of the crowd at Charleston. Felt like he lost a chance to send a message to the team when he put Vital back in the game. He was a walking turnover and playing hero ball.

Yup, and the most frustrating part is that it seems like there are different standards for different players.

I’m optimistic with the direction Hurley has this program going in, but the in-game coaching needs some work. Not saying he has to adopt Calhoun’s quick hook, but some accountability for upperclassman guards seems reasonable.

 

[tykurez]

They were both bad and are going to need to fix this if they want to play any meaningful minutes in a tournament this year.

You just cannot win many games when your starting backcourt has a complete dud.

 

[millertime7774]

Vital cutting in front of Gilbert to intercept the pass, then fumbling the ball away to lose the game, is the least surprising thing I've ever seen on a basketball court.

Jesus - I just rewatched it, he cuts right in front of AG. He's done.

 

[krinklecut]

It’s not like Bouk was lighting it up tonight. Gilbert and Vital are the backcourt for now until the young guys mature. Can’t just throw them in.

I'm not one of the guys who bashes Hurley - I think he's doing more with what he has than a lot of coaches could. That said, it's hard to light it up when plays aren't going through you. Dan Hurley said it himself, they aren't running plays for bouk yet, and it was clear they weren't tonight.

 

[Zarkotics]

I’m just sick of knowing that Vital is going to play hero ball. You could anticipate every time he’s about to take a bad shot. There needs to be a short leash with this guy to limit his terrible decision making.
As much credit as he gets for playing “hard”, at what point does stupidity outweigh heart? He just has such a low basketball IQ in situations and desperately wants to be the hero every time!

 

[Stainmaster]

Same thing in all our losses, our guard leaders were disastrous. Vital has to be benched if we have any intereat in making the tournament. Quit keeping Bouknight on a leash. Gilbert gets an F but we need him, Vital gets lower than an F. How many times do you try and fit a square peg into a round hole? He is what he is, nothing has changed. He plays hard but his bball IQ is just way too low to be relied upon the way we've always tried to rely on him. Nice kid but he just played one of the worst basketball games I've seen.

Coach isn’t going to take your advice on this. Just want you to be prepared for it.

 

[UConnMike04]

Addition by subtraction next year.

 

[pluckage5]

Gilbert’s ability to consistently underperform shows he is not a viable player to have start and rely on.

 

[UconnFanDC]

I do think Vital coming off bench would be better for us then Gilbert coming off bench. Gilbert not same player as he was coming out of high school due to his shoulder surgeries. His shot not the same but he does play hard

 

[TWG236]

This was a winnable game. We got absolutely nothing from ANY of our guards. Based on this game, I don't know how you can give Bouknight, Adams or Gaffney would have given us any more then Vital or Gilbert. None of them showed up.

 

[superjohn]

Coach isn’t going to take your advice on this. Just want you to be prepared for it.

And it's gonna cost us a tourny appearance.

 

[YoungFree]

Rique is the floor leader....Vital....well, he tries to be a hero....he's not MJ, LeBron, or Kobe....he needs to pass....plain and simple. That game was within our grasp and we'll fought. We are 6-3 and only one of those is a bad loss. Keep your heads up Yard, things are looking up!

 

[Candyman]

Hurley is not benching anyone so we will continue to roll out these two. And we will continue to be bad.

 

[Milo65]

Lmfao great game from vital

7 turnovers
1-5 from 3
2-8 from the field
2-5 at the line

Not all his fault. Our guards as a group 3-22 with 16 turnovers. There is your game.

 

[Stainmaster]

And it's gonna cost us a tourny appearance.

Life ain’t fair. Deal with it.

 

[KodiacKemba]

All four guards were bad .... and the turnovers sheesh

 

[RF79]

CV didn’t take advantage of his free throws and made a lot of poor decisions.

 

[UCfor3]

Guards win close games. There is a reason we lose almost all of these types of games in the end. I appreciate their effort but they are just not that good and they play nothing resembling seniors on the court. Im sure they are great off the court and with their teammates but this is like Groundhog Day.

 

[YoungFree]

This was a winnable game. We got absolutely nothing from ANY of our guards. Based on this game, I don't know how you can give Bouknight, Adams or Gaffney would have given us any more then Vital or Gilbert. None of them showed up.

Adams played good defens,. Rique still dished out the ball, Bouknight and Gaffney are Freshmen at the Garden so give em a break, Vital....well, he played hero ball again...if he had stolen that ball at the end or hit a three this board would have been praising him. That's what happens when you play hero ball....

 

[Jax Husky]

News flash: they will disappoint you too.

I can stand to be disappointed with freshman. A senior making the plays Vital makes is unwatchable.

 

[superjohn]

This was a winnable game. We got absolutely nothing from ANY of our guards. Based on this game, I don't know how you can give Bouknight, Adams or Gaffney would have given us any more then Vital or Gilbert. None of them showed up.

Bouknight barely played. Hurley's got him tied up.

 

[Stainmaster]

I can stand to be disappointed with freshman. A senior making the plays Vital makes is unwatchable.

So don’t watch then.

 

[YoungFree]

CV didn’t take advantage of his free throws and made a lot of poor decisions.

1st off free throw game of the year...still Top 10 in the country. Even John Stockton and Jason Kidd had bad free throw games.

 

[amidagoat]

Akok looked like a monster tonight. If he did not have those two early fouls, we win this game. There is a lot to look up for. A year ago, we lose this by 15. The fact that we had 22 turnovers and were able to be in the game till the buzzer speaks volumes about our improvement. Cincy, Nova, Memphis all still good resume games.

 

[alohachris]

Totally agree. Vital & Gilbert are Queens AAU, park types of players with all too predictable games. To the bench!

UConn needs some guards & a swing man who can consistently hit three's off the dribble. That'll open up the paint. Vital & Gilbert aren't those guards.

22 turnovers tonight! They did nothing to set up Akok or Bouk. Terrible leadership & selfish shot selections with bad, bad form. Ever notice that they rarely hit the bigs when they are open or where bigs like it - except on alley-oops.?

And little Gilbert forcing the drive into the lane? We all know what usually happens - a block or turnover trying to get it over to a big too late. If he keeps shooting & shooting like this, I'd sit him for a half or even a whole game so he gets the message. Alterique is not a shooter, period. He's got to get his mind right!

Polley provides absolutely nothing if he's not getting/hitting open shots off a pass. No dribble. No rebounds. No left hand. No D. No moves. No passing or creating. He may have a great looking basketball body, but Polley plays soft & scared, not aggressive enough. I wouldn't start him either.

In fact, I'll bet that Danny Hurley can't wait to get rid of all of Ollie's Follies. All have basic fundamental flaws. They are not the kinds of players UConn or Hurley needs to rebuild UConn as a power. Just confirms that Ollie was a terrible recruiter. UConn needs fundamentally sound players with great talent AS WELL AS role playing hustlers (like Vital & Gilbert)! I'm sure they'll arrive in Storrs when we're in the Big East.