What have we learned?

[RuffRuff]

He's been playing out of position his entire time here. I don't think it's a bad idea to keep AK closer to 30 min a game, giving Stew the rest to see how he plays. Having a fresher AK at the end of games can only help.

It's going to be interesting when Alex leaves....Danny has become very reliant on him...playing him almost 40 min a game sometimes

Question is who is his AK next year?

 

[BGesus4]

We’ve learned that even when we’re at the peak of the fan experience—in the middle of having a real shot at 3 titles in four years—some fans will continue to find reasons to be miserable

 

[NewBlood]

Question is who is his AK next year?

Caden Pierce

 

[navery12]

Question is who is his AK next year?

He'll be on campus December 16th watching us take on Butler

 

[OceanDoggie]

Question is who is his AK next year?

If the other Huskies go nowhere this year, it'd be interesting to see if Hurley & Co make a play for Hannes Steinbach and if he'd even be willing to play beside Reibe. I assume they are acquaintances, but I have no idea on that front.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

8 Games in:

in your opinion, what have the staff and returnees learned from last year?

They don’t need to rely on one or two players. Multiple guys are able to step up from game to game.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Reibe looked timid his first few games but now that he has played more and done well, he looks confident. He cried after missing those foul shots against Zona which shows how much he cares. I love Reibe.He’s not Clingan, but he’s as close to Clingan as we are ever going to get.

 

[RuffRuff]

The ACC would definitely feel more relevant. Cuse, BC, Notre Dame, Louisville, plus big matchups with UNC and Duke every year. I want nothing to do with SMU (reeks of the AAC years). I don't know why the ACC wouldn't be salivating to have us but it would also feel like the clock is ticking before the ACC blows up and we are looking for a home again.

Best bet, Big 10

We have less than a 0% chance of getting into the B10. First, we should take anything P4 that comes our way. Like you, playing Oklahoma St isn't exactly what I would call a lot of cultural or geographical symmetry. The B12 has done nothing but move further West with recent expansion too.

 

[RuffRuff]

Reibe looked timid his first few games but now that he has played more and done well, he looks confident. He cried after missing those foul shots against Zona which shows how much he cares. I love Reibe.He’s not Clingan, but he’s as close to Clingan as we are ever going to get.

Not sure why we are comparing - they are entirely different.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

This means that Reed and Reibe will be on the floor at the same time in limited spurts.

 

[RuffRuff]

If the other Huskies go nowhere this year, it'd be interesting to see if Hurley & Co make a play for Hannes Steinbach and if he'd even be willing to play beside Reibe. I assume they are acquaintances, but I have no idea on that front.

Steinbach is being mocked as a lottery pick.

 

[Flipside]

I've learned that we have a great team, again! ... win or lose last night, I had a comfort like I did with our 2023 and 2024 teams, that we have all the pieces (even with injuries) for another title run

While I learned that, I will teach folks here w/ a quote from my Duke BB board - this is what a poster had to say about the game @ Kansas ... and it was acknowledged by many

"Nice win for UConn at the Phog without Tarris Reed. The kid Mullins is a player. Kansas’ offense was horrendous and it wasn’t because UConn was playing lock-down D. Still, UConn had attained a level of confidence where I always expect them to come back from whatever deficit they face to make it a game and/or win."

 

[DW1361]

We’re better and deeper than last year. Everyone who hits the floor will deserve the minutes they’ve been given. Here is expected minute breakdown:

AK 35
Mullins 30
Demary 28
Ball 28
Reed 27
Reibe 15
Smith 15
Ross 12
Stewart 10

This means that Reed and Reibe will be on the floor at the same time in limited spurts. Demary will play off the ball with Smith on the floor at certain times.

I hope we don’t have to go with AK for 35. I feel the past two late season slumps were due to overuse. Hopefully we can stretch a little more from Ross and Stewart. Perhaps give Reibe 2 or 3 more minutes? I actually like seeing Smith and Demary on the floor together. I think it would be cool to see Reed, Reibe, Mullins, Demary and Smith together at times. I also think Solo will get 30. There are certainly more combos for Hurley to work with this year.

 

[willie99]

We're really good

We're national title contenders

Hurley trips kids at practice to cause ankle sprains

 

[Jaydumo20]

We're really good

We're national title contenders

Hurley trips kids at practice to cause ankle sprains

Well done

 

[woodchuck68]

Are you worried one of them is going to start and play more than Mullins? He's not an idiot, Mullins was the starter before he stepped foot on campus.

Also, these are the 8th or 9th guys in the rotation. Name a team with a better 8/9 combo.

 

[NJHoops]

We’ve learned that, despite some whining coming from a small percentage here, this staff does know how to develop talent and that freshmen who can contribute to winning will play. We’ve also learned that recruits (Stewart, Jayden Ross) who don’t play a ton right away but stick around can be both valuable bench pieces and instrumental in maintaining a winning and selfless culture.

Also, not sure if this is a new learning experience, but we know that the staff loves their little offensive sets and wrinkles and whatnot, but he’s a defensive coach at heart and we are all happier when the defense isn’t hot garbage.

 

[boog204]

1. Defense is so much better.
2. Mullins is instantly our most talented offensive player. It's nice to have someone who legitimately looks like a triple-threat every time they touch the ball. And props on rebounding, too. Five in 23 minutes is excellent and better than Stew has been giving us in around the same minutes. Yes, I know, small sample size.
3. We still struggle against teams with superior athleticism. We made the needed adjustments after halftime, but not sure why it took so long to use Kansas' aggressive switching against them, especially when announcers and astute BY'ers were noticing it rather quickly in the chat. We were lucky to only be down 4 going into the break.
4. Reibe has improved so much. After the first couple of games, I didn't think he'd be able to compete defensively this quickly.
5. Kansas will be a tough out, especially if Peterson returns. They are athletic, have guys who can make some plays, and like him or not, Bill Self is statistically one of the best coaches ever.

 

[ctchamps]

He's been playing out of position his entire time here. I don't think it's a bad idea to keep AK closer to 30 min a game, giving Stew the rest to see how he plays. Having a fresher AK at the end of games can only help.

It's going to be interesting when Alex leaves....Danny has become very reliant on him...playing him almost 40 min a game sometimes

The one thing this staff has proved is they can make adjustments to fit the team that's on the floor. Best example is how they utilized AJ with half court offense after the January swoon in 23 versus how they played him prior. Stewart will be the starting four next year and will demonstrate why the staff worked hard to keep him at UConn.

 

[thekollieman]

Does anyone care what this guy says? Just because someone posts a take on UConn on social media doesn't mean it should be taken as important.

We’re on the boneyard. Posting takes on UConn on social media is our common bond. Idk who this Richard Kent fellow is but I’ll gladly endorse some UConn bball optimism.

 

[thekollieman]

Question is who is his AK next year?

Idk if many here would agree, but if we retain all the juniors next year, I would be enthusiastic for a Silas, Solo, Ross, Stew, Reibe starting lineup. There is no AK replacement, but that returning core could carry the torch collectively. I’d be calling on Solo for 20ppg and trust in the Silas as the second coming of Tristen trajectory.

 

[ctchamps]

We’ve learned that, despite some whining coming from a small percentage here, this staff does know how to develop talent and that freshmen who can contribute to winning will play. We’ve also learned that recruits (Stewart, Jayden Ross) who don’t play a ton right away but stick around can be both valuable bench pieces and instrumental in maintaining a winning and selfless culture.

Also, not sure if this is a new learning experience, but we know that the staff loves their little offensive sets and wrinkles and whatnot, but he’s a defensive coach at heart and we are all happier when the defense isn’t hot garbage.

It's not new but needs to be emphasized! Following this point:

I've learned that this forum overlooks the value of player contribution on defense and over values offense at the expense of defense. Which is odd because JC and Geno value(d) defense more than offense as well.

I've learned that Stewart has significantly improved his on player defense and no longer gets out of position or lost on that end. Something he was rightfully criticized at the beginning of the season.

I've learned that Ross is rapidly becoming our best perimeter defender and has gone from worst defender analytically last season to overly twitchy at the beginning of this season to the player that Hurley puts in at critical moments in the second half.

I've learned that our best defensive lineup this season up to this point has been the lineup of Smith, Demary, Ross, Karaban and Reibe. I'm projecting that the best defensive lineup will be Smith/Demary, Mullins, Ross, Karaban, Reed/Reibe in the future with Stewart being the specialist who will be needed to guard physically strong 3's.

I've learned that this forum is not very observant with nuances. Only a handful of posters saw the potential of Ross coming into this season. Most of the posters wrote him off (or dismissed his potential) even after a couple of games. So I expect they haven't noticed how Hurley has been using Ross in our half court sets these last few games compared to earlier this season. Earlier Ross was going from side to side on the court to space the court for Ball and Alex. Recently he's been involved with the motion offense. I believe that the staff is grooming him to be more of a scoring option and once these critical OOC games are complete we will see Ross's offensive contributions significantly improve. If I'm correct Ross will be getting closer to 15 minutes/game rather than the the 10 minutes many believe will happen now that Mullins is healthy.

 

[SubbaBub]

1. Our defense is vastly improved from last years disaster


Yes, but that's a low bar. Reed is important and we still have a few holes. The fouls are down but not enough to not have to worry about foul trouble.

2. Mullins may be our best player


This is hyperbole. He's an obvious liablilty on defense, which teams will exploit as his minutes increase. Great shooter, shows some onions, and wants to complete, but he's no Castle.

3. Reibe will be a two headed monster with Reed if….

He plays, but Reibe has shown he can play, we'll need both in the Tournament when foul trouble really hurts. Koroma can be trusted as a 3rd option to mitigate fouls, which is nice.

4. We need to get Reed healthy

Yup, if we want to compete with Duke, Arizona, and Michigan.

5. We have shown we can play with the best in the country even without 2 of our best players.

Reed, yes. Mullins is an extra at this point. We go as far as the scoring punch of Ball and Karaban all else being equal. Both are streaky. Mullins is first option to bail out Ball having a bad night.

6. Point guard play still needs to improve and hopefully will as they both get comfortable


They are both fine, better than expected. Both need to get better at ball movement, Smith especially but it's still early and I really like what I've seen from both.

7. Our offense really hasn’t fired
On all cylinders yet. Do we have a killer in closing time. Mullins? Silas? Solo?

Reed is our go to, need a basket guy. Jump shooters miss and Karaban can get jammed up on the drive. Reed is Sanogo light, and that's enough if we use him correctly.

8. Karaban and Ball have ceilings to their games and have a hard time crossing it when players are out.

I think both have a better understanding of their strengths and have adapted their play. Ball is making much better decisions this year. His dribble/pop from the free throw line is pretty unstoppable and the #2 option behind Reed inside for need a basket. I hope the staff is drawing up plays to leverage that dynamic.

9. Jaylin Stewart has been a tremendous disappointment and we probably should have upgraded from him in the portal in the offseason. He was given every opportunity with Mullins out to show his stuff and as a 3rd year player should be more consistent and impactful.


Both Stewart and Ross been exactly what we need. Glue and energy guys that can rebound and hit open threes, not sure what else people were expecting from them, Rudy Gay? All the talk in the preseason was Mullins starting. Stewart has done very well in his place. Given what I've seen from Mullins on D in his limited minutes, Stewart is going to start for the foreseeable future.

10. Dan has been calmer this year.

Yes, but still looking like a volcano waiting to erupt.