We need a point guard

[ktuck911]

Hurley is a great Head Coach... Unfortunately, that UConn brand puts a crap load of pressure on his back to win now in this day and time... when, if we fans who've been here through the lean times (mid 80s up and until we started winning championships) can remember/appreciate, the fact that we built ourselves up over the course of a few years with similar squad (cohesive unit)... That one and done crap ain't workin here... We're not built like those P5 schools...

 

[MuchoDogYears]

To Fishy’s credit, he spoke a hard truth that a lot of the BY doesn't want to hear. Do we need a PG? No, but…

We need Newton to play up to his capability. He simply doesn’t do that most games. When he does, we’ve been dominant.

Newton needs to bring consistent intensity and focus to the court. Whatever is going on with him from the neck up during games needs to stop.

If Newton is going to continue bringing a lackadaisical approach, four out of every five games, and not care enough about the team or winning to play at his highest level, then I wouldn’t start him.

 

[navery12]

To Fishy’s credit, he spoke a hard truth

That's an interesting way to say terrible opinion

 

[Hurleyman216]

To Fishy’s credit, he spoke a hard truth that a lot of the BY doesn't want to hear. Do we need a PG? No, but…

We need Newton to play up to his capability. He simply doesn’t do that most games. When he does, we’ve been dominant.

Newton needs to bring consistent intensity and focus to the court. Whatever is going on with him from the neck up during games needs to stop.

If Newton is going to continue bringing a lackadaisical approach, four out of every five games, and not care enough about the team or winning to play at his highest level, then I wouldn’t start him.

I don’t think you get it…Newton had basically 2 tough, physical defenders on him when he was in the game with AJax because AJax’s man was sagging. What exactly is he supposed to do? He has the speed to get to the lane, but not to get past the guy literally camped at the foul line. Diarra is considerably quicker off the dribble even though he isn’t as good of an offensive player. Hurley going with Diarra was actually a brilliant coaching move that likely won us that game. There were multiple plays where Diarra was able to get past his man, draw Ajax’s guy to him and hit AJax for a dunk. Seton Hall also gave Newton fits in the 2nd half of the first game against them as they were draped all over him as soon as he came across half court. In most leagues those are fouls, but in the Big East that’s just “big east basketball”.

For all the negative posters on the BY here talking about how much Hurley sucks as an in game coach making adjustments, I haven’t seen one comment praising him for adjusting yesterday by playing Diarra more than Newton. Newton didn’t do much yesterday because he only played 15 mins. It was a great coaching move to use our bench to adjust to the style of play rather than forcing something you know won’t work.

 

[ktuck911]

I think Newton's focus needs to intensify more late in games, primarily as a ball handler. The Big East guard play hate in games has given fits whenever the ball goes through him. You gotta have better play from your PG position in situations like that, plain and simple. He's got the talent, but he's got work harder in those situations handling the basketball and facilitating...

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

It may be the flashbacks to the loss against Miami with Rice's buzzer beater.

To rid yourself of the flashbacks, I recommend that you use Darius, various, and precarious in a limerick.

 

[Jbirdp5]

My opinion of Hurley has not changed since halfway through his first season. There are some things he is very good at, and there are some things where he needs a lot of help. How he addresses this second category will dictate how successful he is as a head coach.

I think that’s the consensus feeling. How he has addresses his deficiencies is where the opinions start to vary so wildly

 

[Buffett10]

18 tos and 18% shooting from 3. We aren’t going very far with that.

You guys are absolute clueless "fans" I use that term lightly... everyone and there brother thought we were the best team in the country to start the season...then they quickly changed to Purdue. How's that working for Purdue now? Think they lost 3 out of past 4. Players have off gamed. Seton Hall is definitely no slouch defensively. I forgot they should have shot 85% from 3 and only had 5 turnovers.. hahahaha I'm a critical fan to. But I knew going into this season we weren't gonna be a top 10 team. Worse thing that ever happen to our fan base is that awesome run we had at the PK. Gave all you delusional fans the idea somehow we were gonna win the national championship... quick side note the majority of the board didn't think we would be in the too 25 this year..shocking we have spent more time in the top 25 then we have outside it all year.. be a cuse fan they could use some fans.

 

[Deleted at users request]

You guys are absolute clueless "fans" I use that term lightly... everyone and there brother thought we were the best team in the country to start the season...then they quickly changed to Purdue. How's that working for Purdue now? Think they lost 3 out of past 4. Players have off gamed. Seton Hall is definitely no slouch defensively. I forgot they should have shot 85% from 3 and only had 5 turnovers.. hahahaha I'm a critical fan to. But I knew going into this season we weren't gonna be a top 10 team. Worse thing that ever happen to our fan base is that awesome run we had at the PK. Gave all you delusional fans the idea somehow we were gonna win the national championship... quick side note the majority of the board didn't think we would be in the too 25 this year..shocking we have spent more time in the top 25 then we have outside it all year.. be a cuse fan they could use some fans.

I keep seeing people talk about other teams dropping other games to compare to ours. Those teams we keep bringing up our still top of their conference, Purdue at #1. We are a distant 5th. So it’s not the same.

 

[CaptainRon]

That's an interesting way to say terrible opinion

If there is one thing we of all teams should know, guards mean everything in the tourney. You can’t blow off his concerns.

 

[mauconnfan]

You need to shoots 3s to win. Especially if they are open and you are a shooter who can make them at an acceptable percentage.

Take everything you learned about hoops as a kid and ignore it. The 3, at high volume, and anything above 33% is good hoops.

People act like the 3 is bad basketball, and the postup 2 is good fundamental basketball.

Not enough 3s in 1995UConn sweet 16 loss to miss state.

UConn, with Ray “Freakin” Allen, was 10-48 from 2 in that game trying to attack Eric Dampier.

If Ray, second greatest shooter of all time after Curry, did Ray, and shot more 3s (he was 4-10) UConn wins that game.

They took 18 3s and 48 2s that came agaisnt a team with an nba center who played 15 years as a defensive guy.

Huskies go to final four if they shot more 3s that came. They were 7-20 from 3. 21 pts on 20 shots while they scored 20 points on 48 shots from 2.

If the damn 3 is wide open, and you are a 3-point shooter, take the 3.

I watched this evolution first hand in college. Calhoun embraced the 3 in the 2000s with Gordon, Rashad, walker, price. All those guys.

Calhoun was an insanely adaptive coach. He pressured in the 90s, went to man half court defense funneling to his bigs in 2000s, and after Hamilton concentrated on lead guards win can breakdown players (walker, Napier, boStright, price) late in his career. He would say they need to make more 3-pointers (not take. Make).

Add to his adaptiveness with lots of zone on the 2nd half versus Butler in the NC game.

 

[mauconnfan]

You guys are absolute clueless "fans" I use that term lightly... everyone and there brother thought we were the best team in the country to start the season...then they quickly changed to Purdue. How's that working for Purdue now? Think they lost 3 out of past 4. Players have off gamed. Seton Hall is definitely no slouch defensively. I forgot they should have shot 85% from 3 and only had 5 turnovers.. hahahaha I'm a critical fan to. But I knew going into this season we weren't gonna be a top 10 team. Worse thing that ever happen to our fan base is that awesome run we had at the PK. Gave all you delusional fans the idea somehow we were gonna win the national championship... quick side note the majority of the board didn't think we would be in the too 25 this year..shocking we have spent more time in the top 25 then we have outside it all year.. be a cuse fan they could use some fans.

Speaking of clueless and delusional but I say that lightly as well. Uconnfan68 is a great fan and what he said is very much correct!

 

[Kemba15]

As predictable as you
Blowing sunshine ain’t gonna change the fact that the team has underperformed in the NBE and hasn’t won an NCAA game under Dan Hurley.
The team started lights out very early and has become mucked up in mental mistakes, horrible line-up rotations, not being prepared and out willed by the opposition more than not. This isn’t a talent issue and if you were honest with yourself, you would come out and say it. A team more often than not gets it personality on the court from somewhere - where is that?
I’ve coached for nearly 30 years, some at a high level and know a bit. I’ve also followed UConn basketball longer than you’ve been on this earth and can tell you that unless there are some quick adjustments, a replay of the post season during the past two seasons is going to be repeated. The team has the talent to go a long way and I hope they do. However the kids can sense when a coach is more afraid to lose than anything else.
BTW GTown might have ripped Marquette that night
I respect your undying loyalty to Dan Hurley, that is your privilege as a fan.

First of all, my comment was to UconnSwag, who I’m positive many people will agree has been overly doom & gloom lately. You his handler or something?

Second, I’m not “blowing sunshine” at all. I don’t think Hurley has proven he’s a great coach but I have a different perspective than some of you.

I’m generally happy being a consistent top 25 team. That means lots of national exposure and that every game is something to look forward to. These are good and fun things for a fan.

I’m also generally happy that he’s improved year over year. This is a good thing for a fan of the program.

I’m also generally happy that he and his staff continue to land really good recruits, who time after time talk about his vision and culture fit as a reason for committing. This is a good thing for a fan of the program.

He now needs to win in the tourney. Every single person here knows this.

Finally, if you’re so smart that you can guarantee we will bow out early in March without even knowing the matchups you should probably be doing something better than arguing with me on a message board lol

 

[cohenzone]

I agree with you. Especially your last sentence. ‘Make more 3-pointers (not take. make)”

My issue is we don’t have those shooters. We have Hawk, AK, and (Newton/Alleyne when on). Those 4 almost never play together.

Is it better to be hoisting 3s if you are 25% shooter or taking 2s at 50%?

There are days when 3s aren’t falling. What is our offense then?

The problem is you don’t know a shot isn’t falling until after it misses. It’s more a case of taking a good shot by the right player based on the flow of a possession. After that, if the right shot doesn’t fall, that’s basketball.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I agree with you. Especially your last sentence. ‘Make more 3-pointers (not take. make)”

My issue is we don’t have those shooters. We have Hawk, AK, and (Newton/Alleyne when on). Those 4 almost never play together.

Is it better to be hoisting 3s if you are 25% shooter or taking 2s at 50%?

There are days when 3s aren’t falling. What is our

Add to his adaptiveness with lots of zone on the 2nd half versus Butler in the NC game.

Dude can coach.

 

[Storrs86]

Hold on.

If anyone is arguing the talent of the team they are nuts.

There are, likely, 5 nba players on this roster.Hawkins and Clingan probabky o my first round picks.

1. Hawkins
2. Clingan
3. Jackson
4. Sanogo
5. Karaban (shooing is worth twice what any other skill is out there. Double its value)

Newton, perhaps his size gets him a summer league look and if his shot improves he can be a player.

Team has a lot of talent, but is missing elite ball handling. .

Team is good. I don’t know what to tell y’all. This isn’t a great team. But it is better than the Shabazz Napier title team and the previous three NCAA tourney teams.

I would be disappointed if this team didn’t hit the sweet 16. After that mark? They have some weaknesses that can be exploited in backcourt. So asking for more than that is being a fan.

But it is better than the Shabazz Napier title team and the previous three NCAA tourney teams.

this team is better than Napier's 2014 NC team? You are kiddin' right? In what universe?

you need a clutch shot - you take Hawkins over Shabazz?
you need a guy that does everything - pass, rebound, open 3 - you take freshman AK over senior Giffey?
you need your backcourt to play stifling D - you take Newton & Hawkins over Boat & Shabazz?
you need to take it into the lane and draw a foul - you take Newton, Diarra & Hawkins over Shabazz, Boat & Daniels?
you need a consistent reliable sub - you take Joey C or Diarra over Kromah?
you need ice-water in his veins, clutch FT shooting to close out a game - you are taking AJ, Newton, Diarra & Hawkins over Shabazz, Boat, Giffey & Daniels?

that Shabazz team beat a #4 seed, #3 seed, a #2 seed and the #1 overall seed to win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP and you honestly think this team is better than that team?

 

[Husky68]

We don't need different or better players we need the current players to have an attacking/finishing mind set, can't leave it all up to this mythical point guard named Kahlid-Taliek-Kemba-Napier.

How often does AJ have a clear lane to attack the rim and do some crazy pass.

In conference play:

Karban plays power forward (keep talking about comparison with Giffey but NG played small forward and only started 16 games his senior year) and takes 64% of his shots from 3's and takes less than 1 FT per game (playing over 30 minutes per game).

AJ, as noted above gives up the ball instead of attempting to finish. 42% of his shots are 3's and hitting at 25% clip. Takes 1.25 foul shots per game (plays 29 minutes per game).

Sanogo and Hawkins are doing all the offensive heavy lifting, taking a shot about every 2.5 minutes of playing time while being focus of opponent's defense. JH shoots 58% of shots from 3's and yet leads the team with almost 5 FTA per game. AS shoots 88% of his shots from 2's and gets only 2.75 FTA per game (not getting calls, maybe, but also very elusive getting shots off).

Newton drives, he has 11 less FTA's than Karaban, AJ and AS "combined" (67 to 78). He takes about as many shots as Karaban and AJ while also leading the team in assists. Diarra shoots 42% of his shots from 3's hitting 25% clip and missing almost half of his foul shots.

Clingan best 2 point shooter and worst foul shooter.

Besides the bone head plays by the players (usually involving stupid passes either poorly done or poorly conceived) or lack of coaching preparation (inbounds plays, finishing end of games, how to get ball up court quickly, putting in lineups with no shooters on the court, etc.) the need on offense is for the 40% of team (AJ and AK) that doesn't think their role includes asserting themselves on offense to actually start doing that.

 

[navery12]

If there is one thing we of all teams should know, guards mean everything in the tourney. You can’t blow off his concerns.

I can and just did

 

[Chief00]

By not developing the Double Big over the season, we are playing to our opponents strengths not ours. It became clear to me by early January that was the only paradigm type shift we could make to dramatically improve, yet for some inexplicable reason, that change hadn’t been made.
The disappointing thing is we are repeating basic mental type mistakes: standing with a back heel out of bounds, inability to run a simple inbounds play, playing defense with a reach not our feet, throwing 90mph fastball passes from 3 feet away, putting players in position to fail on offense, seemingly not realizing you don’t get extra credit/points for degree of difficulty, not capitalizing on uptempo when we get the rebounds.
So many of our problems are mental or mindset rather than physical. But it all needs to start with dominating physical and for that the Double Big is needed. If Andre simplified his passing and dribbling, he could be one of the best fast break, uptempo guards in the conference. After the Double Big obstructed a shot and got the rebound for the break.

 

[JohnFSilver]

But it is better than the Shabazz Napier title team and the previous three NCAA tourney teams.

this team is better than Napier's 2014 NC team? You are kiddin' right? In what universe?

you need a clutch shot - you take Hawkins over Shabazz?
you need a guy that does everything - pass, rebound, open 3 - you take freshman AK over senior Giffey?
you need your backcourt to play stifling D - you take Newton & Hawkins over Boat & Shabazz?
you need to take it into the lane and draw a foul - you take Newton, Diarra & Hawkins over Shabazz, Boat & Daniels?
you need a consistent reliable sub - you take Joey C or Diarra over Kromah?
you need ice-water in his veins, clutch FT shooting to close out a game - you are taking AJ, Newton, Diarra & Hawkins over Shabazz, Boat, Giffey & Daniels?

that Shabazz team beat a #4 seed, #3 seed, a #2 seed and the #1 overall seed to win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP and you honestly think this team is better than that team?

Don’t let 6 games fool you. That team was a 7 seed and had lost by 30+ points coming into the ncaa tourney.

And, they were fourth place in aac and life or death with st joes. This team is better. They just don’t have dynamic guards and a great player.

It’s ok that they got on a run. That’s beauty of tournament. But they were a 7 seed for a reason.

 

[mauconnfan]

Don’t let 6 games fool you. That team was a 7 seed and had lost by 30+ points coming into the ncaa tourney.

And, they were fourth place in aac and life or death with st joes. This team is better. They just don’t have dynamic guards and a great player.

It’s ok that they got on a run. That’s beauty of tournament. But they were a 7 seed for a reason.

Fair point but so is his. I mean we have no one like Shabazz that we know we can count on game in game out. And we have no one at all like Boat who can cut the head off the snake with his in the face defense. 2 crucial areas this team lacks.

 

[alphasigko]

By not developing the Double Big over the season, we are playing to our opponents strengths not ours. It became clear to me by early January that was the only paradigm type shift we could make to dramatically improve, yet for some inexplicable reason, that change hadn’t been made.
The disappointing thing is we are repeating basic mental type mistakes: standing with a back heel out of bounds, inability to run a simple inbounds play, playing defense with a reach not our feet, throwing 90mph fastball passes from 3 feet away, putting players in position to fail on offense, seemingly not realizing you don’t get extra credit/points for degree of difficulty, not capitalizing on uptempo when we get the rebounds.
So many of our problems are mental or mindset rather than physical. But it all needs to start with dominating physical and for that the Double Big is needed. If Andre simplified his passing and dribbling, he could be one of the best fast break, uptempo guards in the conference. After the Double Big obstructed a shot and got the rebound for the break.

I could not agree more with this analysis. VERY well said.

 

[Hoophound]

Don’t let 6 games fool you. That team was a 7 seed and had lost by 30+ points coming into the ncaa tourney.

And, they were fourth place in aac and life or death with st joes. This team is better. They just don’t have dynamic guards and a great player.

It’s ok that they got on a run. That’s beauty of tournament. But they were a 7 seed for a reason.

They had the pieces, they just needed to put it together. This team appears, for now, to be lacking a key piece.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Don’t let 6 games fool you. That team was a 7 seed and had lost by 30+ points coming into the ncaa tourney.

And, they were fourth place in aac and life or death with st joes. This team is better. They just don’t have dynamic guards and a great player.

It’s ok that they got on a run. That’s beauty of tournament. But they were a 7 seed for a reason.

Yes, the 2014 team almost blew it to open the tournament against St Joe's but I can't see the current team winning against any of the other five schools the 2014 team knocked off. At best this team is a very weak version of the Kentucky team we beat in the finals and I can't imagine our current backcourt having close to the success that Michigan St, Florida or Kentucky had against our 2014 backcourt and each of those were dominated.

I can't see our current team winning a game that matters against that team.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yes, the 2014 team almost blew it to open the tournament against St Joe's but I can't see the current team winning against any of the other five schools the 2014 team knocked off. At best this team is a very weak version of the Kentucky team we beat in the finals and I can't imagine our current backcourt having close to the success that Michigan St, Florida or Kentucky had against our 2014 backcourt and each of those were dominated.

I can't see our current team winning a game that matters against that team.

This team blew out the best team in the country. They can beat anybody and yes, they could have beaten any of those team. What they aren't is consistent, so the challenge I have is imagining them playing 6 good games in a row. I think that's true of most teams though, the NCAA champion almost always survives a poorly played game. But we are more up and down than most.

I still don't know why we are so fixated on PG. Our PG is the only player in UConn history to have two triple doubles. How does Hurley ensure that we get that version of him? I think it's easy, give him the ball and tell him it's his job and that he believes in him. Stop trying to make Andre the PG. Last summer I thought they could split the duty and Newton could shift off ball since he's a good shooter. Well he can't. It's not a role he's comfortable in.

 

[Punkbo]

This team is good. Are we good enough to win games in the tournament? We’ll soon find out, but the pieces are there. That’s why the computers love us. I feel good about our chances to win every time we play. As we know, the tournament is about matchups and we match up pretty well with a lot of teams.

The 2014 team won because of the alpha male (Shabazz), the ability for scorers to step up at the right times (Daniels and Giffey), defensive intensity (Boatright) and made FTs (team). Can Hawk play the Shabazz role….yes, can Sanogo and AK play the roles of Daniels and Giffey….yes, can AJ play the Boatright role….yes. Will they? Who knows? We’ll find out in March. But to the point of the thread, we need more consistent play at the PG position if we want to win 6 games in a row.

 

[Palatine]

Yes, the 2014 team almost blew it to open the tournament against St Joe's

Aye, there's the rub. This team loses versus St Joe's because it can't finish games. We have yet to come out on top in a close contest. It is a real weakness and one that is fatal in March.

It is virtually impossible to blow out all opponents in NCAA. What would be helpful is to win a back and forth one score game in the BET. Do that, and we're a threat for three weekends.

 

[superjohn]

There’s a couple debatables here already and I only skimmed it( Brogdon, Archidiachano). And you couldn’t

Yep it's debatable that first team All-American, ACC POY and defensive player of the year Malcolm Brogdon wasn't a better college pg as AJ Price, lolz. You want a Big East replacement pg for Ryan Arcidiacano on the list you can add Troy Bell, Dan Callindrillo, Myles Powell (pg/sg), Brandin Knight, Russ Smith...

350+ schools play D1 basketball and basketball has been around for a long time.

 

[Punkbo]

Yep it's debatable that first team All-American, ACC POY and defensive player of the year Malcolm Brogdon wasn't a better college pg as AJ Price, lolz. You want a Big East replacement pg for Ryan Arcidiacano on the list you can add Troy Bell, Dan Callindrillo, Myles Powell (pg/sg), Brandin Knight, Russ Smith...

350+ schools play D1 basketball and basketball has been around for a long time.

Wow @superjohn. I’m impressed by the depth of your knowledge. It’s not often that you see a Dan Callindrillo reference. Well done!

 

[August_West]

Don't ask for a ban unless you're really about that life.

Lulz