We need a point guard

[willie99]

Newton is way way better when he is not on the floor with Jackson.

Look at the numbers early when Jackson was hurt or coming off the bench or games Jackson is in foul trouble.

Interesting, I would like to see that

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Biggest problem today was game management with 5 minutes left. Running down the clock. Then trying to run our offense wirh 12 seconds without a strong ball handler who can get their own shot. We continued to run Hawk off screens with 10 seconds in the clock. He ends up giving the ball to Sanogo who has no business with the ball with 4 seconds left. .

How many times does Danny have to see this before he realizes it's not working?

This. I commented in the chat that we don’t have a guy who can reliably break down his man to either get a solid shot or draw and dish … at any position on the floor … with a short clock.

The guy who should be able to is Jackson, but he can’t because you don’t have to respect his shot. Newton doesn’t have enough quicknes. Hawkins doesn’t quite have the deceptive handle yet. Karaban doesn’t have the first step. Alleyne, no. Diarra may be the closest.

With five minutes up double digits run the regular offense. If you’re up 10 with 90 seconds left, fine, run clock. This is a coaching decision.

 

[willie99]

20-7
5-2 run after bad 1-5 stretch
Ranked 20th
Top 10 in Quad 1 wins
Top 10 net rankings

Enjoy the ride people

 

[Doctor Hoop]

People are literally criticizing after a win!

The criticism doesn’t disappear after a win. The criticism exists because observers see flaws in strategy and in execution that should be improving as the season moves toward March.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

We're going to finish 5th in the Big East in Hurley's 5th season!

And Boneyard posters still haven't grown up and gotten better. Still waiting for the coach to go first, like it's his fault they're unhappy.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

You’re coming off as they guy who has his panties stuffed into his hole here. If you don’t start a thread to explain how we really lost a game we won you’re a pom pom waver by default? Lazy, miserable take. Enjoy seething all next year if we ever accidentally win a game then too.

Post/Custom title

 

[coachn]

Told you so in pre season.
Have hope that it will work out.
Commitee is different.
This team has a lot of heart.

 

[polycom]

I think people should be required to state how many hours of basketball they watch outside of UConn basketball before posting. I think that context would help with understanding some of the arguments that are made here.

This is college basketball we are talking about why does the nba matter? They are two completely different sports.

Yes we need more from the point guard position regardless of who is playing it.

We won today, but the flaws that we’ve had all season aren’t any different today.

If we had an elite college point guard our record would be better.

I watch many hours of basketball outside of UConn.

Carry on

 

[navery12]

Newton is way way better when he is not on the floor with Jackson.

Look at the numbers early when Jackson was hurt or coming off the bench or games Jackson is in foul trouble.

Interesting, I would like to see that

Top is Newton and Jackson together, bottom is Newton and no Jackson

 

[ktuck911]

I am stunned that someone built a team without a point guard and thought it would work. And that he thinks he can do it again next year.

If Seton Hall doesn’t lose KR in the first half, we’re 0-2 against Seton Hall this year - we can only score against them in spurts and when they start to pressure our offense, we simply fall apart. We had Sanogo out there at the end trying to run the offense.

That was just ugly.

I agree. Our guard play is weak. Yeah, we can score, but we seriously lack in other facets at the position. Gonna be nearly impossible to win any tourneys without one.

 

[HeGotGame]

You have no idea what you're saying.

Cool. Tell me more about the team’s talent. Please. Go on.

Won’t even getting into a Hurley discussion with you, it’s not worth it, you and @UConnSwag11 have the same schtick there and it’s sub 100 iq arguments on it.

 

[Chin Diesel]

we still need to find a PG in the portal. just Castle won't be enough.

Just catching up on this thread.

Post #17 nails the answer and yet there are 160 more replies, none of which are more correct or insightful.

Newton may come back next. Or, he may not. Castle was brought in to he a PG.

Diarra is also on roster next year.

One more pure PG from the portal is highly desirable for roster composition.

 

[3rdbass]

Just catching up on this thread.

Post #17 nails the answer and yet there are 160 more replies, none of which are more correct or insightful.

Newton may come back next. Or, he may not. Castle was brought in to he a PG.

Diarra is also on roster next year.

One more pure PG from the portal is highly desirable for roster composition.

I think Hurley is more concerned with getting some shooters in here since we lose Hawkins, and JC. We need a guard who can keep the offenses honest. Castle starts with Diarra backup PG. That is new basketball landscape we live in. Castle is not coming in here as McDonald's All American to be a backup.

 

[Billy Jack]

It really boggles my mind.

When he got here, he just could not dribble a basketball.

Q: are we looking at the recruiting rankings when we recruit? I know Diggins was highly ranked for what he ways. Yet Jay Wright took a pass. I seem to remember that both Napier and Boatright were in that 80-100 range in the rankings. Napier was maybe even lower than that. Who is scouting these kids?

Boatwright was #55 on 247 and consensus #64. Shabazz was a consensus #75.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

"All we can hope for is that they kick butt in both [tournaments] but I'm certainly not expecting it."

This would make a good game day t-shirt to represent those whose confidence in this team is captured by the OP.

Too late to get one now. So we have to do what we can with what we have.

Yep, that's the amazement built into this thread.

Who starts a present-tense thread that instantly presents an impossibility?

We broke the press once, and Hawk and Adama had a 2-on-1; and Hawk pulled up and held the ball. I couldn’t believe it.

Seton Hall had no place bringing it within 6. We once again had 16 or so point lead that we pathetically nearly choked away. Late-game decision making continues to plague us. Seton Hall is not a very good team; if this happens again against Providence, we will be embarrassed again. It would be one thing if we just missed shots, or rebound’s didn’t land our way; but the way we tighten up late in games, now even with a huge lead, is really something else. I really wish I had no reason to be a broken record on this.

Maybe posts like this are freaking the team out, so that they can't play better, and instead play worse.

These posts can't possibly be helpful, but it's like nobody can stop themselves from being anxious, concerned, worried, pessimistic, and unhappy with coaches and players who can't or won't change.

How does it make sense for people who don't change to be unhappy with people who don't change?

Look at the way this board stays uptight after a victory and wonder what that's about.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Lots of weapons if utilized properly.

Bingo

 

[Doctor Hoop]

The lowest our Kenpom projected win percentage got in the last 5 minutes was 98.5%.

Unfortunately stats don’t play the game, the team - players and coaches - does. And those players and coaches nearly let a 16 point lead turn into a 1 possession game at under a minute against a middling Big East team, without their best player.

 

[Kathy]

The lowest our Kenpom projected win percentage got in the last 5 minutes was 98.5%.

Do you watch the game or the stats?

 

[Kemba15]

C

Do you watch the game or the stats?

If you actually thought we were going to lose that game you’re one of those people who assume the absolute worst is going to happen no matter what.

The amount of freaking out on this board after a win in which we were up 14 with 3 mins left and won by 9 is truly next level

 

[Matt1010]

Unfortunately stats don’t play the game, the team - players and coaches - does. And those players and coaches nearly let a 16 point lead turn into a 1 possession game at under a minute against a middling Big East team, without their best player.

The last few minutes were beyond ugly and probably the worst stretch of basketball Sanogo has played in his career, but at the same time basketball is a game of runs and the outcome was really never in doubt. If Sanogo shoots/hits one of those 3s on the designed pick and pops this isn't even a discussion right now.

Do you expect other teams to never go on runs? We were also up 9 early in the 2H and that lead dropped to 2 within 3:30 minutes, it happens. Fortunately more times than not we are better at going on big runs than our opponents.

Every game isn't going to look like the Marquette game but since our big losing stretch we are 4-1 with an average margin of victory of 11. Win at home against PC on Wednesday and this team will really be heading in the right direction.

 

[Kemba15]

Our coach said UConn would be winning championships by now. We've yet to win a regular season Big East, yet to make a Big East tournament finals, yet to win a NCAA tournament game, and we're going to finish a distant 5th in the Big East regular season this year.

Some people choose to ball wash when we have nothing to show for Hurley's tenure so far other than making tournaments, others choose to be realistic about where we are and what we've accomplished.

If UConn wins the Big East tournament and makes it to the second weekend I'm confident the overwhelming majority of the "whiners" will be happy and congratulate Hurley for accomplishing something. I'm also confident if we flame out again the excuse makers will continue to make excuses.

no excuses if they don’t win a tourney game this year. But that doesn’t mean I’ll want to fire him. I trust Hurley’s ability to bring in big time players and build a program. The tourney wins need to come and I’m confident they will.

And whether we flame out in the tourney or make a run is not what the conversation should be today. There are miserable people on here who literally can’t enjoy a single win because they have one or multiple things to complain about no matter what.
This isn’t the Gtown game….Seton Hall is a tough team who almost picked off Xavier on the road. Nothing to apologize about

 

[Rico444]

Sometimes I feel like half this board doesn't watch any games outside of ours. They would be freaking out if they were a fan of pretty much any other team in the nation. Look at the Big East alone, I can't imagine the mental breakdown this board would have if we lost to Purdue or Butler, and yet Xavier lost to both. Marquette got blown out by us, we would say that's proof we're not good enough to hang with the best teams in this league if the opposite happened to us. Providence just lot to St. John's and only beat Rider by one point earlier this year!

Every game is not going to be a blowout or include a flawless performance. Nobody in college basketball does that. There are things that need to be cleaned up, but ultimately we're a top 15 team and have the ability to make a deep run in March. I wanted us to be a top 5 team the way we started but I think its safe to say we're not that. So my recommendation would be to stop worrying so much and try to enjoy the ride.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Top is Newton and Jackson together, bottom is Newton and no Jackson

View attachment 84230

So, without Jackson, assists go up, turnovers go down and he scores at the rim. With Jackson he shoots 3s better. Makes sense. But this is still imperfect. Jackson off the ball vs Jackson on the ball is the test. Yesterday it was clear from the opening moments that Hurley wanted Jackson on the ball.

 

[CTBasketball]

I think it’s more important we get Jackson, Clingan, etc going than winning by 20 with Sanogo/Hawkins each getting theirs. Jackson needed this.

I still think Newton is a freedom of movement/less physical guard, which will benefit him in the NCAA’s. I’m worried about his play, but remaining hopeful.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

I agree. Our guard play is weak. Yeah, we can score, but we seriously lack in other facets at the position. Gonna be nearly impossible to win any tourneys without one.

except like the PKI?

 

[Brochacho]

Sometimes I feel like half this board doesn't watch any games outside of ours. They would be freaking out if they were a fan of pretty much any other team in the nation. Look at the Big East alone, I can't imagine the mental breakdown this board would have if we lost to Purdue or Butler, and yet Xavier lost to both. Marquette got blown out by us, we would say that's proof we're not good enough to hang with the best teams in this league if the opposite happened to us. Providence just lot to St. John's and only beat Rider by one point earlier this year!

Every game is not going to be a blowout or include a flawless performance. Nobody in college basketball does that. There are things that need to be cleaned up, but ultimately we're a top 15 team and have the ability to make a deep run in March. I wanted us to be a top 5 team the way we started but I think its safe to say we're not that. So my recommendation would be to stop worrying so much and try to enjoy the ride.

Here's the thing with Seton Hall. They're basically the separator between who sucks and who doesn't in the Big East. They swept St. John's, DePaul, Butler and Georgetown. 1-8 vs the rest of the league.

Their best player played 7 minutes. Despite this, they almost cut it to a one possession game with about a minute left on our home court after being down 16 a few minutes prior. Our team has obvious flaws - inconsistent guard play and in-game adjustments. Other teams deal with this too, but the point of this thread is to take an honest look at this team. We struggled with a team we should've killed. Our flaws aren't going to be fixed by March - we just have to hope Newton balls out and we don't play tight games.

 

[Kathy]

C

If you actually thought we were going to lose that game you’re one of those people who assume the absolute worst is going to happen no matter what.

The amount of freaking out on this board after a win in which we were up 14 with 3 mins left and won by 9 is truly next level

Never said I thought we would lose - but after 40+ years of watching CBB - all conferences - metrics don't always tell the whole story. Some on here seem to use them as gospel - the eye test is also very telling.

 

[NJHusky]

I don’t get the 5th in his 5th season thing either. As if every season is supposed to surpass the past one. With that logic by his 6th season anything less than 3rd is unacceptable . And so on and so on until anything less than a 1st place finish is unacceptable. Right?

That’s just not a realistic trajectory for any college program. You’re going to have down years. And this year isnt even that

So last year was an up year? Losing our only NCAA game…as the favorite? Well at least we won the BE ….oh wait.

 

[Waquoit]

Me - “We need a point guard”
Pundits - “UConn needs a point guard”
Everyone else on earth - “They need a point guard”
Aliens from outer space - “Those earthlings need a point guard”

You kids -

That ain't it. It's just that we heard you the first 10 times.

 

[uconnfan68]

This is the issue. UConn fans have an expectation that is unrealistic. You’re going to stay miserable

Get off my lawn!