We were wrong about this group

[Kitaman]

I will repeat: We are a mid/late January team. Last night will not be the team we see next year.

It takes time to acclimate everyone to each other and to the system (whatever that is). We will be fine.

 

[UConn990411]

I will repeat: We are a mid/late January team. Last night will not be the team we see next year.

It takes time to acclimate everyone to each other and to the system (whatever that is). We will be fine.

That doesn't explain the complete lack of effort of defense.

 

[Kitaman]

That doesn't explain the complete lack of effort of defense.

I wonder if the rule change this year is affecting veteran players. Touch/bump fouls is handcuffing guards. Purvis had 2 touch fouls before mid 1st half. I really wonder if that makes them less aggressive, and for vets harder to adjust.

 

[scotty0330]

Other vets have to adjust...Uconn is not the only team with juniors and seniors who were able to get away with touch fouls last year that is a point of emphasis this year. Many of the guards are getting beat off the dribble and the communication for help is not happening in some cases at all where there was a wide open lane to the rim.

 

[David 76]

You can't play good teams and not play defense. I am also realizing this team isn't what I thought it was. Maybe they can grow but theie defense, individual and team, really need to improve. With the exception of Purvis (and last night AB) I don't see the effort on defense. It is a team problem, not a Gibbs problem.
The offense needs work too. We don't move the ball around as we should. No one can hit from the perimeter in the first 25 minutes. I thought we had shooters. Against good competition it is all on DHam and Miller.
On both sides of the court, there is no positioning or boxing out for rebounds. How many times did I see 3 red jerseys alone around the basket.

 

[scrappy2.0]

Sucks to have such high expectations and realize early that we aren't anything like we thought we would be. Most glaring problem is we don't have a point guard. Gibbs clearly isn't a point guard and outside of shooting he is a liability, he can't guard anyone. Don't want to single him out because everyone looks lost, not seeing any toughness from anyone. We have struggled on offense in a lot of seasons but we always played defense, this group doesn't play any defense. No good takeaways, Ollie has his hands full.

We have a PG 6-8 Daniel Hamilton.

 

[Mr. Hand]

That doesn't explain the complete lack of effort of defense.

I think the defensive struggles stem largely from just two things: the problems on offense taking bad shots so that our defense is scrambling to recover from lack of floor balance, and the inability to finish defensive possessions by securing the rebound.

We don't play team offense or team defense. We are a bunch of individuals trying to play a team game at this point.

 

[UConnSwag11]

We have a good team. We have the talent. We don't have a leader. We don't have someone who's not afraid to take the shot or get in the face of his teammates. We look lost because we don't have a floor general. To help Gibbs I think he needs to play off the ball as a 2 until he's comfortable at the 1. If that mean purvis or Hamilton at the one, so be it

 

[CL82]

The offense needs work too. We don't move the ball around as we should. No one can hit from the perimeter in the first 25 minutes.

Early in the season we had a great inside/out game getting the ball to the paint and then kicking out to guards to shoot the three in rhythm. Against better competition it has disappeared. Too often guys are moving laterally to get an open look from the three. That's a much harder shot.

 

[Hugo]

Gibbs had an awful start, terrible. So did many others in that jersey yet he's the guy? Thought he was pretty good after that, not great, not a great PG but not bad vs a player like Trimble. Not sure what everyone watched? I would love for Jalen to be the guy and he's damn close but the 2 of them in together is even better. Needed them both there with Purvis on offense late. Unfortunately AB made some nice plays on the defensive end and forced KO to keep him there. But again, our people have no room on offense with a big who they don't even bother guarding and never picks anyone.

The 4 on 5 is a real dilemma. We need AB in for his shot blocking, but he's totally useless in our current offense. What we don't do and need to do is somehow get him more involved offensively so they are forced to guard him. I understand the "hands" and "court sense" issues and realize he may never be a real threat in the post, but right now we basically never feed him down low. He has shown some ability in the past to score in the post and IMO we need to at least keep the opposing D honest by occasionally feeding him down low. Maybe he can at least pick up some fouls on their bigs as well as opening up the perimeter a bit.

I have a side issue that if any big recruits (Zack Brown) watch our games, I'm sure they will notice how we utilize the 5 in our offense. Sure, we are guard centric, but right now we are also totally ignoring a post up game with the 5. Not sure why a 5* big man would want to come here seeing how we might use him. I know you can spin this several ways including "gee, if you commit we would use you like a true 5", but that might be a very hard sell.

 

[Hugo]

We have a good team. We have the talent. We don't have a leader. We don't have someone who's not afraid to take the shot or get in the face of his teammates. We look lost because we don't have a floor general. To help Gibbs I think he needs to play off the ball as a 2 until he's comfortable at the 1. If that mean purvis or Hamilton at the one, so be it

Unfortunately neither one is a true PG and putting Dan Hurley at the point takes away our only feasible wing.

 

[tzznandrew]

I wonder if the rule change this year is affecting veteran players. Touch/bump fouls is handcuffing guards. Purvis had 2 touch fouls before mid 1st half. I really wonder if that makes them less aggressive, and for vets harder to adjust.

His second foul came at 17:01 on a reach over the top (I forget if it was a shot or a rebound...regardless, not a great play).

I think the new rules are something we have to consider. Someone like Gibbs may not have looked as bad on D last year because handchecking wasn't as serious. Who knows.

But adjust they must.

 

[Marat]

I will repeat: We are a mid/late January team. Last night will not be the team we see next year.

It takes time to acclimate everyone to each other and to the system (whatever that is). We will be fine.

I am not giving up on them, either.

Remember those MSU/Izzo teams in the 2000s that would take their lumps playing tough competition in Nov/Dec and look like they were dead in the water, only to comeback to ride their way into a Final Four? I do.

Remember the 2011 Feb game @MSG vs SJU when UConn was pasted by 20+ and UConn fans were filing out of MSG with 5-10 minutes to go? Did that look like a team that could go on a historic winning streak in March?

How about the 2013/2014 New Year's Eve debacle @Houston when they made UConn look like they didn't even belong on the floor with lowely Houston in the 1st half? That didn't look like a team that could do any damage in March.

The point is that there is time to correct things, and I expect they will.

 

[polycom]

I really need to stop coming on here after a bad loss, I forget how passionate people are able UConn and that clouds their reasoning abilities. 8th game of the season and we think this team is horrible, they clearly have talent more then being lost on offense they currently don't have an identity. Once they find an offensive identity they will be fine, also the defense will also come considering "UConn" style of defense is essentially all but illegal in our current NCAA. This team will be fine, they'll make it to at least the Elite 8. DHam is a pro.

 

[UConn990411]

I think the defensive struggles stem largely from just two things: the problems on offense taking bad shots so that our defense is scrambling to recover from lack of floor balance, and the inability to finish defensive possessions by securing the rebound.

We don't play team offense or team defense. We are a bunch of individuals trying to play a team game at this point.

That's part of it, as are the rule changes. But it's baffling how easy opposing guards are able to get into the paint. I don't care how good of a shotblocker you have - it's almost impossible to beat legit teams when the majority of their shots are 5 feet and in.

Also, considering the personnel, it's baffling that this team isn't better at rebounding.

 

[intlzncster]

He is but so is DHam who gets burnt more than anyone here cares to admit. May be the worst off the ball too never mind on it. Well besides AB. But guarding Trimble isn't happening all that often. I get we are used to Ricky Moore, Kemba, Ryan B on D but not everyone will be that. He's still a good player and played okay today, others played much worst.

Hamilton might be worse than Gibbs on D right now. It's crazy. We can handle one hole on the defensive end, and that has to be Hamilton, given his offensive contributions, but we can't handle two.

 

[Ripper32]

I would like to see more structure on offense. Too predictable on the offensive end.

 

[intlzncster]

I think the defensive struggles stem largely from just two things: the problems on offense taking bad shots so that our defense is scrambling to recover from lack of floor balance, and the inability to finish defensive possessions by securing the rebound.

The biggest problem is that they're not getting stops. They then don't get any transition points, and they then can't set up the defense. Transition points are UCONN bread and butter, and are also the easiest buckets to get in basketball.

 

[Mr. Hand]

The biggest problem is that they're not getting stops. They then don't get any transition points, and they then can't set up the defense. Transition points are UCONN bread and butter, and are also the easiest buckets to get in basketball.

If you can't rebound, you can't run, it's that simple.

 

[pnow15]

Give Brimah a break. Stone is a lottery pick. Amida is late 2nd rd project.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I don't understand how people can stop rooting for a team in the middle of the 8th game of the season.

I don't think OP is doing that, as one of the only people on here who was bearish of this team before the season I just see OP discussing some of the very real flaws with this team. Part of being a real fan is being able to talk about what isn't going right with the team.

That being said, I seriously hope KO has the balls to bench Gibbs in favor of Adams. I think Calhoun would have buried Gibbs on the bench at this point, not sure if KO is just too much of a "buddy"-type coach to do it.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

A measured assessment after the game surely considers the entirety of it. We know this team starts slowly, and suddenly people are saying we're NIT bound.

What have you seen from this team so far that suggests otherwise? Hard to beat decent teams spotting them double digit leads in the first 10 minutes of every game.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I am not giving up on them, either.

Remember those MSU/Izzo teams in the 2000s that would take their lumps playing tough competition in Nov/Dec and look like they were dead in the water, only to comeback to ride their way into a Final Four? I do.

Remember the 2011 Feb game @MSG vs SJU when UConn was pasted by 20+ and UConn fans were filing out of MSG with 5-10 minutes to go? Did that look like a team that could go on a historic winning streak in March?

How about the 2013/2014 New Year's Eve debacle @Houston when they made UConn look like they didn't even belong on the floor with lowely Houston in the 1st half? That didn't look like a team that could do any damage in March.

The point is that there is time to correct things, and I expect they will.

The point is that those teams all made adjustments, this team can't just run out the same group out there and not make any adjustments and magically expect better results. Gibbs needs to be the PG, that doesn't mean I think Gibbs is a terrible player, I just think he's mis-cast as a lead guard and that Adams is a better penetrator and passer than Gibbs.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I am not giving up on them, either.

Remember those MSU/Izzo teams in the 2000s that would take their lumps playing tough competition in Nov/Dec and look like they were dead in the water, only to comeback to ride their way into a Final Four? I do.

Remember the 2011 Feb game @MSG vs SJU when UConn was pasted by 20+ and UConn fans were filing out of MSG with 5-10 minutes to go? Did that look like a team that could go on a historic winning streak in March?

How about the 2013/2014 New Year's Eve debacle @Houston when they made UConn look like they didn't even belong on the floor with lowely Houston in the 1st half? That didn't look like a team that could do any damage in March.

The point is that there is time to correct things, and I expect they will.

The point is that those teams all made adjustments, this team can't just run out the same group out there and not make any adjustments and magically expect better results. Gibbs needs to be the PG, that doesn't mean I think Gibbs is a terrible player, I just think he's mis-cast as a lead guard and that Adams is a better penetrator and passer than Gibbs.