What is wrong?

[sirjames]

I am no basketball expert, but we have enough good players to be doing better. The offense looks so predictably and mechanical. The stifling defense has disappeared. Hurley is making no sense with his Bouk messages. If he’s done the ok , don’t tease us with this game decision bs. We have several players ( Jackson, Sonogo, Gaffney) that are exceptional. Let’s build on that and go forward.

 

[Brochacho]

Well the biggest issue with today's game is that instead of feeding Sanogo we had to watch Polley brick threes and watch Martin throw layups everywhere but through the hoop.

 

[ucawn]

Yea lots of slow possessions which are frustrating to watch but we really had a good chance, we got Polley clean looks and he couldn’t hit them. That was clearly the game plan, because he could easily shoot over his man, that’s why they started a big lineup. But he was cold and we should’ve moved on after 3 missed wide open looks.

 

[Marat]

Yea lots of slow possessions which are frustrating to watch but we really had a good chance, we got Polley clean looks and he couldn’t hit them. That was clearly the game plan, because he could easily shoot over his man, that’s why they started a big lineup. But he was cold and we should’ve moved on after 3 missed wide open looks.

This is it with Polley. He is streaky and if he is not hitting his shots early, most likely will remain cold. His effectiveness for the duration of the game can be determined early.

 

[Deepster]

I'll tell you what's wrong. We're still rebuilding and we lost one of the best players in the country for the last 7 games.

The margin for error is slim. Oh yeah, and we played about half as many games as the other team today because of repeated COVID shutdowns. Be patient.

 

[Marat]

I am no basketball expert, but we have enough good players to be doing better. The offense looks so predictably and mechanical. The stifling defense has disappeared. Hurley is making no sense with his Bouk messages. If he’s done the ok , don’t tease us with this game decision bs. We have several players ( Jackson, Sonogo, Gaffney) that are exceptional. Let’s build on that and go forward.

I wish Gaffney could be labeled as exceptional.... today he took a step backwards.

 

[ucawn]

Also we used to be so dominant on the glass and that has disappeared into thin air

 

[3rdbass]

I wish Gaffney could be labeled as exceptional.... today he took a step backwards.

Gaffney and exceptional don't go in the same sentence yet.

 

[uconnfan68]

I'll tell you what's wrong. We're still rebuilding and we lost one of the best players in the country for the last 7 games.

The margin for error is slim. Oh yeah, and we played about half as many games as the other team today because of repeated COVID shutdowns. Be patient.

How come most other teams can find good shooters, and we struggle in every possession to get a shot off?

 

[RayRay]

I’ve been pretty positive all season, always looking for reasons why, etc, but I can tell that things are starting to go bad, and if Hurley doesn’t control this ASAP, it could spin out of control.
There were 2 instances from tonight’s game that really stood out to me as a sign that there’s trouble in the locker room/with Hurley.
- 1 was when Tyrese made a bad pass to Sanogo and a TO was called, Hurley was absolutely ripping into Martin and Martin just casually looked the other way and kept walking right past him. I’m worried that’s a sign the players aren’t happy. It could be all the bashing Hurley does in media calls where he basically says the team doesn’t have the offensive skills it needs without Bouk. These guys may be starting to take this personally.
Hurley particularly called out Martin as not being a finesse skill guy and more of a brute, play hard and rebound type of guy.
- 2 there was an instance where we were down 9 in the 2nd half, you could feel the game was out of hand even though there was almost 10 minutes left, and Hurley was on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him do that. To me that’s another sign that Hurley is incredibly frustrated, maybe more so than us fans about this Bouk situation in what was supposed to be such a promising season, and the team is more than likely feeding off his energy.

Hurley is the captain that runs this ship, these guys all look up to him or at least did, and he needs to come up with a serious inspirational speech and get his own head out of his arse if that’s where it is. The team needs their coach and leader right now more than ever. Xavier is going to be a brutal test but Hurley needs to have his guys believeing we can go in there and beat them, otherwise the NCAA tourney is in serious jeapordy of slipping away.

we probably aren’t going to see Bouk until the earliest, next Tuesday, and Hurley needs to pull some serious magic and get this team believing again. The time is right now.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I’ve been pretty positive all season, always looking for reasons why, etc, but I can tell that things are starting to go bad, and if Hurley doesn’t control this ASAP, it could spin out of control.
There were 2 instances from tonight’s game that really stood out to me as a sign that there’s trouble in the locker room/with Hurley.
- 1 was when Tyrese made a bad pass to Sanogo and a TO was called, Hurley was absolutely ripping into Martin and Martin just casually looked the other way and kept walking right past him. I’m worried that’s a sign the players aren’t happy. It could be all the bashing Hurley does in media calls where he basically says the team doesn’t have the offensive skills it needs without Bouk. These guys may be starting to take this personally.
Hurley particularly called out Martin as not being a finesse skill guy and more of a brute, play hard and rebound type of guy.
- 2 there was an instance where we were down 9 in the 2nd half, you could feel the game was out of hand even though there was almost 10 minutes left, and Hurley was on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him do that. To me that’s another sign that Hurley is incredibly frustrated, maybe more so than us fans about this Bouk situation in what was supposed to be such a promising season, and the team is more than likely feeding off his energy.

Hurley is the captain that runs this ship, these guys all look up to him or at least did, and he needs to come up with a serious inspirational speech and get his own head out of his arse if that’s where it is. The team needs their coach and leader right now more than ever. Xavier is going to be a brutal test but Hurley needs to have his guys believeing we can go in there and beat them, otherwise the NCAA tourney is in serious jeapordy of slipping away.

we probably aren’t going to see Bouk until the earliest, next Tuesday, and Hurley needs to pull some serious magic and get this team believing again. The time is right now.

Maybe I'm just not a "sky is falling" type, but the idea of Hurley losing the team does not concern me in the slightest. That kind of stuff cultural stuff is in his wheelhouse.

 

[Deepster]

How come most other teams can find good shooters, and we struggle in every possession to get a shot off?

We don't have a true point guard? We don't have any creators on offense? Jackson is showing signs he can be someone who makes something out of nothing, but he also missed most of the year so far.

Hurley is fine. He's getting the right people in place, but COVID and injuries have hampered growth.

 

[Austin316]

I keep hearing about how intense the practices are... you’d think they might wanna tone it down a little if we keep putting teams on the free throw line. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for a block party. Below is a quick look at the game-by-game comparisons of the 4 losses. Hopefully they can put some emphasis on getting guys like Gaffney, Jackson, and Cole to the line more and pass less around the perimeter. This team would be fun with an up tempo offense even without Bouknight. Jackson needs to unleash that star power he is capable of and Polley can’t be a pop up shooter all the time. Just seems like a slow paced offense coupled with a high intensity defense isn’t working.

PC 18-27 UConn 5-9 (L by 11)
Hall 27-31 UConn 21-25 (L by 7)
Creighton 20-32 UConn 13-15 (L by 8)
StJohns 19-27 UConn 15-23 (L by 4)

 

[Glastonhusky]

I am no basketball expert, but we have enough good players to be doing better. The offense looks so predictably and mechanical. The stifling defense has disappeared. Hurley is making no sense with his Bouk messages. If he’s done the ok , don’t tease us with this game decision bs. We have several players ( Jackson, Sonogo, Gaffney) that are exceptional. Let’s build on that and go forward.

Well, one problem is that of the 3 exceptional players you mentioned, one is a soph and 2 are freshman. the talent on this team is young. It takes time.

 

[Hi-Low]

The players run the NBA.

CBB is supposed to be run by coaches. Dan Hurley has lost control of the Bouk situation. The other players see this. So Dan Hurley needs to take control somehow. He's paid millions so it's his job to figure out how. I imagine he's losing some respect....you can't preach toughness and then be run over.

How else can you explain Dan Hurley broadcasting "game time decision" to the abrupt shift to "nowhere close" in a matter of hours. It's a bad look to say the least.

 

[Ts5034]

What is wrong? Well...we have been shut down like three times because of Covid which led to us having two extremely long stretches during this season between games. There were 17 days between the USC game on 12/3 and the Creighton game on 12/20. Not only were we not playing games, we also were not able to practice during most of that time. After we played Butler on 1/26, a game where we played really well, we got shut down again for almost two weeks, and we have played poorly since coming off that shut down losing to Seton Hall and PC. That cannot be an easy thing to deal with. Within a season, everything is usually so regimented. Because of these shut downs, the entire program has not been able to get in any type of rhythm. When it's all said and done, I predict the Final Four will consist of teams that had very little to no Covid interruptions.

I don't even want to touch the Bouknight situation, that's an entire story by itself at this point.

 

[Watchdog]

What is wrong? Well...we have been shut down like three times because of Covid which led to us having two extremely long stretches during this season between games. There were 17 days between the USC game on 12/3 and the Creighton game on 12/20. Not only were we not playing games, we also were not able to practice during most of that time. After we played Butler on 1/26, a game where we played really well, we got shut down again for almost two weeks, and we have played poorly since coming off that shut down losing to Seton Hall and PC. That cannot be an easy thing to deal with. Within a season, everything is usually so regimented. Because of these shut downs, the entire program has not been able to get in any type of rhythm. When it's all said and done, I predict the Final Four will consist of teams that had very little to no Covid interruptions.

I don't even want to touch the Bouknight situation, that's an entire story by itself at this point.

Also, don't forget, it's hard to win when our Senior class has 13 points and 9 rebounds in 56 minutes while the highly regarded Univ. of North Florida transfer, Noah Horchler, has 9 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

what's wrong? not much, really, just the curveballs that life sometimes pitches.
let's review.
in the past 13 or so months:
akok went down (strike 1), then polley went down (strike 2).
we regrouped, charged to the aac tourney coming up on 20 wins, with a real possibilty for ncaa's.
then, the bug canceled all those tourneys. (strike 3)
new season, but now caught up in new bug routines.
then, ajax went down (strike 4), as we exist under superduper special Connecticut bug rules (strike 5). games and practices start, stop, start, etc.
then james went down (strike 6). we continue the yo-yo routine of superduper special Connecticut bug rules. (strike 7)
as of this moment, we have played 13 games.. pc, for example, has played 20.
i'd be suprised if everyone involved, from the ball boy up to the athletic director, even knows everybody's name yet. at this time last season, we had played 24 games.
still time to make it right on the floor tho (nothing we can do aboot the odd bug rules), if life will cut us a break or two. just not the knee, ankle, wrist, or elbow kinds, as we have enuf of those already.

 

[ToolzieFan]

I keep hearing about how intense the practices are... you’d think they might wanna tone it down a little if we keep putting teams on the free throw line. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for a block party. Below is a quick look at the game-by-game comparisons of the 4 losses. Hopefully they can put some emphasis on getting guys like Gaffney, Jackson, and Cole to the line more and pass less around the perimeter. This team would be fun with an up tempo offense even without Bouknight. Jackson needs to unleash that star power he is capable of and Polley can’t be a pop up shooter all the time. Just seems like a slow paced offense coupled with a high intensity defense isn’t working.

PC 18-27 UConn 5-9 (L by 11)
Hall 27-31 UConn 21-25 (L by 7)
Creighton 20-32 UConn 13-15 (L by 8)
StJohns 19-27 UConn 15-23 (L by 4)

To go even further, our free throw attempt to field goal attempt percentage is 31.3, good for 179th in the country. Our opponents’ percentage is 38.8, which is 304th in the country. Opponents score 22.2 percent of their points at the line, 38th-most in the country. Our free throw percentage is 71.1, which is very middle of the pack, 155th. So, yes, we are certainly losing the free throw battle by sending our opponents to the line far more often than we’re getting there.

You know who is excellent at drawing fouls and also doesn’t foul much on defense? James Bouknight. I’m not making excuses, just saying I miss watching him play.

 

[Milo65]

Team lacks any semblance of leadership on the court. Who’s the guy holding people responsible? So many young players mixed with transfers and seniors who are not starters. This is part of the problem.

 

[willie99]

Maybe the team is using Bouk as a crutch. It's time to grow up

And yes, that includes you Dan. I believe in you, make it happen

 

[Huskyfan4evr]

I really think we need to go away from Whaley at the 4 until he can provide more. When at the 5 yesterday he looked better. With him at the 4 and only scoring 2 points with 2 rebounds he is basically a liability on offense. Its tough though because we have noone else to put in for him. This team is very very limited. Even Jackson who I believe will be great down the road cant create his own shot. I'm not sure what the answer is but need to figure something out soon. Hurley is getting frustrated you can tell and screaming at the players at times. Not sure this will help this group. The talent isnt there. Noone can shoot consistantly or make a layup for that matter.

 

[ucawn]

I keep hearing about how intense the practices are... you’d think they might wanna tone it down a little if we keep putting teams on the free throw line.

PC got into the bonus like 9 mins into the 2nd half because Whaley can’t set a screen for his life.

 

[Slick]

I am no basketball expert, but we have enough good players to be doing better. The offense looks so predictably and mechanical. The stifling defense has disappeared. Hurley is making no sense with his Bouk messages. If he’s done the ok , don’t tease us with this game decision bs. We have several players ( Jackson, Sonogo, Gaffney) that are exceptional. Let’s build on that and go forward.

Gaffney exceptional? Do you mean exceptionally good or bad? I’m confused.

 

[UConnDad]

How can practices be intense and then in the game you pass the ball around until the end of the shot clock. Don’t we practice what we’re going to do in the game?

 

[HuskyHawk]

PC got into the bonus like 9 mins into the 2nd half because Whaley can’t set a screen for his life.

They got into the bonus because Duke isn’t a PG and stumbled against the press all by himself 3 times with no contact. Each time a foul was called. Same with Watson who got foul calls every time he missed a shot.

 

[Kitaman]

Sounds like we're making excuses with COVID and injuries. I think we have the talent to win more games, and certainly could have converted some of our losses to wins. The team has practiced enough to learn each other's tendencies and to be unified to overcome adversities.

Sure excuses can also be called reasons, but in this case its excuses. Its February, we are either good or were not, but its not too late to achieve success, make the Tourney or build for next year. Bouknight is not the cure, as I fear players will defer and stand around watching him or over relying on him. What his absence did prove is that Vital's leadership is still a void. Amazing how we got all over him, but his biggest quality and team contribution (leadership) left with him.

If I were to know what's wrong I would be a head coach. At this point Hurley needs to make his final tweaks and push the right buttons, or this season could be a disappointment.

 

[Dean Wormer]

Maybe I'm just not a "sky is falling" type, but the idea of Hurley losing the team does not concern me in the slightest. That kind of stuff cultural stuff is in his wheelhouse.

Agree. I’m just not as chicken little on this team as others. We are good, and at full strength are much better. Hurley can be a dweeb but I’m not too worried about him other than some in-game blips here and there. Reinforcements are coming. We are fine.

 

[Umami Zen]

Despite the fact that our three best athletes have spent the majority of the year injured, in four of our recent losses we were within two to three points mid-game. In some of those losses we had to rally back from large deficits and we did. And yes, we've played fewer games than many of our opponents because of COVID scheduling.

IMO those were winnable games. We need someone to accept the leadership role until Bouk returns to prevent future losses .Unfortunately, it appears that our seniors are either uncomfortable in that role or incapable of stepping up. We have to find some winners capable of making winning plays at crunch time. Oddly enough it looks to me like our freshmen are willing to step up if given the opportunity. We have to protect AS from foul trouble so that he can stay on the floor.

Need W's in our next two games to reverse the momentum and gain some positive energy prior to Bouk's return. Who knows .Maybe Bouk will be ready for the Nova game and we can run the table up to BET.

It's doable. Let's go out and do it.

 

[boog204]

Exceptional? Let's be real. Bouk is easily one of the best players in the country. We lost him. The rest of the surrounding cast is average at best. Martin is the next best and he's an above average player. Sonogo and Jackson are freshmen and will be inconsistent, Polley is the same streaky player he's always been, Gaffney is nowhere near exceptional, and RJ Cole is the same player he's always been, except now, against real competition. With Bouk, we are an above average team. Without him, we are average because the talent is still not there.