Well, That Was Refreshing

[Chin Diesel]

Nothing but good coming out of tonight.

First half was just domination getting to the rim and making a ridiculously high percentage of shots.

Second half was more e haphazard but saw more shooting from outside.

Individually, all the top 8 looked good and knew their roles. Diggins, Johnson and Springs looked like moment was bigger than them tonight.

Cole. Very good game. Under control at a times. Would take tonight's performance every game. Not just the raw numbers but his pace and composure.

Akok and Jackson. Just so active on defense and moving from defense to offense. I lost count how many times they would hedge on the perimeter and then get a rebound. Or, just moving from defense to the rim on offense. Bonus on Jackson's FT shooting. He can get to the line a bunch with his drives to the hoop. He can make 80% and that really good.

Polley nice game as well being active and doing what he does best.

Sanogo. My goodness. The ball just gets to the rim so softly. And the foot work. And the made FT's.

Gaff very good as back up. He and Cole had a real good run for about 5 min in first half where Gaff freed up Cole to be a scorer.

Whaley was quiet.

Martin, good game but we saw him do this last year against lesser competition. He's the one player whose performance tonight worried me against higher level competition. But for tonight it worked. Except when he tried to make plays off the dribble. That ended up poorly Everytime tonight

Great job by Hurley and staff rotating players in and out. Yes, it was CCSU but there were so ma u combinations that seemed to work and mesh.

Very relaxing game to watch.

 

[UCfor3]

Nothing but good coming out of tonight.

First half was just domination getting to the rim and making a ridiculously high percentage of shots.

Second half was more e haphazard but saw more shooting from outside.

Individually, all the top 8 looked good and knew their roles. Digging, Johnson and Springs looked like moment was bigger than them tonight.

Cole. Very good game. Under control at a times. Would take tonight's performance every game. Not just the raw numbers but his pace and composure.

Akok and Jackson. Just so active on defense and moving from defense to offense. I lost count how many times they would hedge on the perimeter and then get a rebound. Or, just moving from defense to the rim on offense. Bonus on Jackson's FT shooting. He can get to the line a bunch with his drives to the hoop. He can make 80% and that really good.

Polley nice game as well being active and doing what he does best.

Sanogo. My goodness. The ball just gets to the rim so softly. And the foot work. And the made FT's.

Gaff very good as back up. He and Coke had a real good run for about 5 min in first half where Gaff freed up Cole to be a scorer.

Whaley was quiet.

Martin, good game but we saw him do this last year against lesser competition. He's the one player whose performance tonight worried me against higher level competition. But for tonight it worked. Except when he tried to make plays off the dribble. That ended up poorly Everytime tonight

Great job by Hurley and staff rotating players in and out. Yes, it was CCSU but there were so ma u combinations that seemed to work and mesh.

Very relaxing game to watch.

Least anxiety UConn game I can remember and in the best possible way.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

whoa. my thought at endgame was 'well, that was pleasant,' and you roll with the same idea. did u have pizza too?

richie got big.

 

[elmcityboy]

i actually thought whaley played a perfect game tonight, outside of the turnovers -- played good defense, a couple of nice passes, and finished around the rim. hard to say that martin had a worrisome game with 14 points on 6/9, but i agree that he needs to do it against better competition.

i was really impressed with cole and akok. jackson showed (incredible) flashes. and sanogo was the best of all of them.

 

[elmcityboy]

this team needs to learn how to throw the lob in transition though, haha. probably missed 4 or 5. my only criticism tonight.

 

[CTBasketball]

Jackson is still very hesitant to shoot. That’s my one takeaway.

 

[HuskyAlum012]

Anyone else notice Corey Floyd not dressing? Is he officially red-shirting or nursing an injury?

 

[HuskyAlum012]

Anyone else notice Corey Floyd not dressing? Is he officially red-shirting or nursing an injury?

 

[Chin Diesel]

this team needs to learn how to throw the lob in transition though, haha. probably missed 4 or 5. my only criticism tonight.

It's mostly due to not having the right player throwing the lob.

I know. Master of the obvious stuff but I really only trust Gaff, Jackson or Cole throwing an alley oop lob while in motion.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Jackson is still very hesitant to shoot. That’s my one takeaway.

Donny Marshall hit on that observation early in first half. Donny basically said it's CCSU and you might as well use tonight to get used to shooting in a game.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Donny Marshall hit on that observation early in first half. Donny basically said it's CCSU and you might as well use tonight to get used to shooting in a game.

He also said he was in his top 3 most athletic players in UConn history

 

[Chin Diesel]

He also said he was in his top 3 most athletic players in UConn history

Yep.

Burrell
Ben G
Jackson

 

[Palatine]

Can't really take anything away from a game like this. We haven't had a lot of early season blowouts lately. It's nice because it is an opportunity to get the freshmen on the court. I'll will say this, they looked more comfortable playing fast than we have seen in recent past.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Yep.

Burrell
Ben G
Jackson

Rudy and Stanley come to my mind as well.

 

[Mister P]

Positives all around.

My biggest plus from the game was Akoks play. There were a lot of off-season comments questioning if he would be fully healthy but I think his play answered those questions.

He had a very good stat line but to me, his energy was what we all wanted to see. No hesitancy, quick off his feet, attacking the defenders shot, putting himself in the right position on both sides of the court and just looking like he did pre injury.
Welcome back AA.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

anyone else think that Whaley looked bulkier than last year and not quite as quick?

 

[Platt81]

He also said he was in his top 3 most athletic players in UConn history

He also didn’t list Ray in his all time UConn starting 5…..but gave Doron the nod, so I’d say his analysis of all things isn’t great…

 

[ClifSpliffy]

there is no comparison with last years offense.
this will be the most 'hit the openiest man' offense in many years.
cool.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Rudy and Stanley come to my mind as well.

I was just regurgitating Donny's list.

 

[CTBasketball]

Rudy and Stanley come to my mind as well.

Marcus Johnson!!!

 

[jdb50]

Great passing all around plus the team looked to run way more than the past few years. Akok is back which is a huge asset and for those who were not there got a huge ovation when he entered the game. Polley played good D often trying to cover players much shorter than him.
As expected the defense was full bore all game and no one went through the motions.
Jackson! Excellent defense by him on his man and hedging and looking to block shots. He is worth more than the price of admission. It is like we have a velociraptor on the court when he is in. His floater is a nice way to avoid charges. There were a few missed dunk/ conversions and an in and out 3 but that will come. What a talent.
Diggins started slow but settled in. Nice to have him getting time this year.
Gaffney was very efficient shooting, playing D and running the team. Looked very confident.
Springs has good instincts and is someone I would like to see get more time if that is possible.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Can't really take anything away from a game like this. We haven't had a lot of early season blowouts lately. It's nice because it is an opportunity to get the freshmen on the court. I'll will say this, they looked more comfortable playing fast than we have seen in recent past.

You say two things in and of themselves which are noteworthy.

This team easily blew out a team it was supposed to blow out.

This team looked comfortable playing fast and played pretty good playing fast.

 

[jdb50]

Anyone else notice Corey Floyd not dressing? Is he officially red-shirting or nursing an injury?

Hawkins and Floyd were in sweats.

 

[storrsroars]

Granted it's CCSU, but the starting five shot 74% from the floor. Certainly part of that is the competition and our bigs had their share of dunk, but I'd like to think some of it is simply improvement and taking better shots. RJ now looks like can lead this team to the promised land - great decisions and floor management, zero TOs. Akok is a bonus. Looks like a good squad to root for, likeable, competent and fun to watch.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

-Look, I know it was vs. CCSU, but:

- 8-13 (61.5%) from 3pt range was not too shabby. Andre's 1 attempt at a 3 looked pure, too...just didn't fall. All you "zOmG wE cAn'T ShOoT" negative nellies, let me know how you want your crow cooked. I think our shooting may be improved this year

-Defensive movement and activity looked really good. Turnover stats speak for themselves

-FT shooting was solid, especially from Sanogo & Jackson, who look to have many attempts/game

-Whaley was great on D & a steadying force out there

-Akok may have lost a little vert, but seemed to move quick, played tough smart D and active offensively

-Martin & Cole were great

-Gaff overall played well, showed good signs of improving his north/south game

-Polley much more active on D (though made a few oops mistakes), offense looked fine