When did we turn the corner - and why?

[Strummer]

Any theories as to when we went from being an on and off team with potential into a winning machine? My theory says that 3 things conspired.

First, I do not count the development of Brimah and Nolan - they were going to develop in their freshman and soph year, and the development has been very good, but not, per se, enough to warrant citing. Also, while not dismissing Samuel's improvement, I don't believe that it, as well, accounts for the turning.

1. Boatright. Guy has completely reached a new level. He was scratching at it. Reaching for it. Visiting and leaving it. All season. Now he's there. He's a ba$ of a defender that is like a sliver in the other PG's ass for 36 minutes a game. It's easy to overlook how critical this is. There are NO easy up the court and entry passes for the other team. There are no forward facing dribbles above the 3 point line. You must protect the ball all game, or Boat is on it. His offensive game has also become better and more consistent. He is really knocking down his shots, and particularly the 3 ball and the pull up from 15. He's almost automatic from 15 at this point. That puts huge pressure on a defender, because you can't simply back off and dare him to drive and shoot over you. This, first and most importantly.

2. Giffey assumes starting role/minutes. Seems like a long time coming. His ascension into the starting spot/minutes has corresponded with our sharp upturn. Not much to add here. We all know the drill. The guy does a bit of everything, from creating floor space, to defending, to boarding, to adding energy. In many ways, he was the missing link. He averaged about 20 a game in the first 1/2 of the season. Going back to South Florida in late February, and excluding 2 losses to Ville, his minutes jumped up to average 33 or so, with only two games clocking fewer than 30 (28 and 29). I know many others here felt that him coming in at the 5 minute mark always seemed to correspond with us turning it up a notch. Now we have him playing 30-35 and (outside of Ville) we haven't lost in a month and a week with this time distribution.

3. The story would not be complete without mentioning DD. DD had a stretch of 18, 15, and 21 minutes played in early March, with 5, 4, and 7 points scored. Excluding the two thumpings we took from Ville, he has since logged closer to 33 a game, with double digit scoring in each game and an average of about 15 and 7. Moreso, and really critically, he has been very, very consistent. He's essentially finishing up this year in the exact same fashion that he finished up last year - very strongly.

Put those three together and you have a vastly improved UConn team from the team that beat Florida by 1 basket.

The absolute best part is that the talking heads are still describing DD as "inconsistent," even though he has been very consistent over the last 3-4 weeks, they still think Giff is only a spot up shooter, and they believe that Boat can be handled by larger guards.

So I'm not sure if Ollie just decided to use the guys differently, or if their play resulted in more minutes, but it's working, quite well.

I think we got 'em.

Final note for the Mojo - I was at the big library today checking out an issue of Science magazine, and, on the way down the "S" aisle I saw the Sports Illustrated mags. I wanted to see if the library stocked the swimsuit issue. I randomly pull a boxed group of mags off the shelf and start thumbing back from the April issue - and 2 or 3 issues in I see the "NCAA preview" issue from 2004 with Oak and Taurasi on the cover. Bout crapped myself. Quickly put the SIs back, grabbed my Sci mag and got the hell out of Dodge.

 

[Mots010]

Did the library carry the swim suit issue?

 

[Huskybass]

I think your 3 points are very good ones. I also think Samuel's emergence and toughness has been a huge factor. He has contributed more in the past month than just about all of us expected.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Any theories as to when we went from being an on and off team with potential into a winning machine? My theory says that 3 things conspired.

First, I do not count the development of Brimah and Nolan - they were going to develop in their freshman year, and the development has been very good, but not, per se, enough to warrant. Also, while not dismissing Samuel's improvement, I don't believe that it, as well, accounts for the turning.

1. Boatright. Guy has completely reached a new level. He was scratching at it. Reaching for it. Visiting and leaving it. All season. Now he's there. He's a ba$ of a defender that is like a sliver in the other PG's ass for 36 minutes a game. It's easy to overlook how critical this is. There are NO easy up the court and entry passes for the other team. There are no forward facing dribbles above the 3 point line. You must protect the ball all game, or Boat is on it. His offensive game has also become better and more consistent. He is really knocking down his shots, and particularly the 3 ball and the pull up from 15. He's almost automatic from 15 at this point. That puts huge pressure on a defender, because you can't simply back off and dare him to drive and shoot over you. This, first and most importantly.

2. Giffey assumes starting role/minutes. Seems like a long time coming. His ascension into the starting spot/minutes has corresponded with our sharp upturn. Not much to add here. We all know the drill. The guy does a bit of everything, from creating floor space, to defending, to boarding, to adding energy. In many ways, he was the missing link. He averaged about 20 a game in the first 1/2 of the season. Going back to South Florida in late February, and excluding 2 losses to Ville, his minutes jumped up to average 33 or so, with only two games clocking fewer than 30 (28 and 29). I know many others here felt that him coming in at the 5 minute mark always seemed to correspond with us turning it up a notch. Now we have him playing 30-35 and (outside of Ville) we haven't lost in a month and a week with this time distribution.

3. The story would not be complete without mentioning DD. DD had a stretch of 18, 15, and 21 minutes played in early March, with 5, 4, and 7 points scored. Excluding the two thumpings we took from Ville, he has since logged closer to 33 a game, with double digit scoring in each game and an average of about 15 and 7. Moreso, and really critically, he has been very, very consistent. He's essentially finishing up this year in the exact same fashion that he finished up last year - very strongly.

Put those three together and you have a vastly improved UConn team from the team that beat Florida by 1 basket.

The absolute best part is that the talking heads are still describing DD as "inconsistent," even though he has been very consistent over the last 3-4 weeks, they still think Giff is only a spot up shooter, and they believe that Boat can be handled by larger guards.

So I'm not sure if Ollie just decided to use the guys differently, or if their play resulted in more minutes, but it's working, quite well.

I think we got 'em.

Final note for the Mojo - I was at the big library today checking out an issue of Science magazine, and, on the way down the "S" aisle I saw the Sports Illustrated mags. I wanted to see if the library stocked the swimsuit issue. I randomly pull a boxed group of mags off the shelf and start thumbing back from the April issue - and 2 or 3 issues in I see the "NCAA preview" issue from 2004 with Oak and Taurasi on the cover. Bout crapped myself. Quickly put the SIs back, grabbed my Sci mag and got the hell out of Dodge.

The head coach Kevin Ollie is the biggest difference. Everything you mention is correct and on point. Ollie has matured as an X and O's coach over the last several weeks (and used his personnel much better). His character, demeanor and above all CONFIDENCE (Villanova interview at halftime) is contagious.

My biggest fear tomorrow is if KO can match strategy with Donovan. In my opinion BD is the best coach in America. If he can we win the National Championship.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

This

 

[intlzncster]

My theory is much shorter: Tournament time is UCONN time.

 

[UConn5]

re: Ollie's coaching...I felt the same (that there has been a marked positive difference over the past month or so), but I think its all of the above. I'm not convinced Ollie suddenly learned how to coach. I think its more likely that a bunch of the guys allowed themselves to be coached and grew to the point where they were able to do what Ollie wanted them to do.

That, and the fact that none of our opponents have been named Louisville since the AAC tournament.

 

[intlzncster]

The absolute best part is that the talking heads are still describing DD as "inconsistent," even though he has been very consistent over the last 3-4 weeks, they still think Giff is only a spot up shooter, and they believe that Boat can be handled by larger guards.

I chuckle when I here this. So-and-so's guards are bigger and will give the Huskies problems. It's actually the opposite. Our speed and quickness gives us an advantage over bigger guards. It's the small fast guards that can keep up who give us the biggest problems (Louisville).

Unrelated side note: Boat looks like an NBA Jams player when he pops to shoot. He jumps so high and his legs flail sometimes.

 

[storrsroars]

Easy. When Senhor stepped off the plane from Brazil and onto the Bradley tarmac.

 

[champs99and04]

Pretty much spot-on. A couple additional thoughts:

• Giffey's emergence as a capable complementary ball-handler has added a whole new dimension to the offense. It may sound relatively simple, but the fact that he is now able to dribble the ball for five seconds without turning it over allows us to run Bazz and Boat through screens away from the ball. Whereas previously in the season, Giffey would flip the ball back to Bazz unless there was room for him to shoot - presumably out of a lack of confidence in his ball-handling - he's now a big enough threat as a driver that he can facilitate the offense from the wing. His making the leap from "spot-up shooter" to "capable double digit scorer who can finish at the rim, hit mid-range jumpers, and even post-up", has strengthened the diversity of the offense tremendously and made us that much harder to defend. One sequence from, I think it was the Iowa State game, demonstrated this in a nutshell. Bazz and Giffey ran pick and rolls on consecutive possessions. On the first possession, Iowa State swarmed Bazz, Giffey drifted to the wing (a play I think we've seen fifty times this year), and he drained the three. On the second possession, Iowa State switched the screen, Giffey posted up the smaller defender and scored. These are the type of dilemmas Giffey's improvements have forced defenses into, and if your big men don't have the ability to guard the perimeter, you're pretty much screwed.
• As you mentioned, Boatright has turned the corner big time - the Memphis game in the AAC Tournament seemed to signal the proverbial light-bulb going off in the head. His scoring numbers haven't seen a demonstrable uptick, but in regards to decision making, he's clearly made the leap. I've said this before, but it's worth re-iterating: Boatright's physical limitations are going to restrict him in certain facets of the game (post-defense, finishing at the rim, passing through traffic, etc.), but he has one elite skill, and that's his ability to collapse the defense at will. Point guard may well be the toughest position to learn in this sport, but the hardest thing about the position is knowing what to do after beating the initial defender and exploding to the foul line area - between the swarming mass of bodies, the maze of arms, and drifting shooters, there are about 1,000 different variables to process in a split-second. We've seen countless UConn point guards struggle with this - Kemba would barrel through multiple help defenders on his way to the rim, and Boatright's game was ridden with similar tendencies for his first 2+ years here. Now, though, he seems to be doing a much better job of identifying shooters, strolling into mid-range jumpers, and drawing fouls. His evolution as a player has been a pleasure to watch, and if he sticks around for one more year, he's going to be given free reign to do some of the same things Kemba and Bazz have done here. Defensively, his transformation from sophomore to junior year is damn near stupefying. Last year, he was extremely fundamentally flawed on that end, a frequent ball-watching offender, and always the guard opposing teams would attack in pick and rolls. He was still disruptive, sure, but not nearly the finished product he is now, somebody who makes it his goal to torment opposing guards for 40 minutes - poor Travis Trice is going to be having nightmares for weeks.
• Making shots doesn't hurt. We all have fun analyzing the game on this site, 24/7/365, myself being the biggest offender, but at its core the game can often be condensed to make or miss, especially once you reach a certain level of play. From Napier, to Daniels, to Kromah, to Boatright, guys are knocking down shots with regularity after scuffling from deep in the latter part of conference play. We've reached a historic level of proficiency from the charity stripe, and our guards - Napier and Boatright - are some of the best improvises in the country.

 

[RyMaN600]

I chuckle when I here this. So-and-so's guards are bigger and will give the Huskies problems. It's actually the opposite. Our speed and quickness gives us an advantage over bigger guards. It's the small fast guards that can keep up who give us the biggest problems (Louisville).

One of the announcers at the end of the MSU game said it as well: Florida's guards get on top of you, UCONN's guards get underneath you.

 

[UConn5]

I also want to echo the Giffey thought. I've watched all the NCAA tournament games with the same people (not uconn fans) and most of them have made a comment to the effect of "Who is that german guy? He is solid, does a little of everything and hits a bunch of 3's."

Nothing but good things can come of a guy like that getting a lot of minutes.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

When did we turn the corner? - When the dance began and the prize was in sight.

Why? - Because we are UConn damnit!

 

[CL82]

Any theories as to when we went from being an on and off team with potential into a winning machine? My theory says that 3 things conspired.

First, I do not count the development of Brimah and Nolan - they were going to develop in their freshman and soph year, and the development has been very good, but not, per se, enough to warrant citing. Also, while not dismissing Samuel's improvement, I don't believe that it, as well, accounts for the turning.

1. Boatright. Guy has completely reached a new level. He was scratching at it. Reaching for it. Visiting and leaving it. All season. Now he's there. He's a ba$ of a defender that is like a sliver in the other PG's ass for 36 minutes a game. It's easy to overlook how critical this is. There are NO easy up the court and entry passes for the other team. There are no forward facing dribbles above the 3 point line. You must protect the ball all game, or Boat is on it. His offensive game has also become better and more consistent. He is really knocking down his shots, and particularly the 3 ball and the pull up from 15. He's almost automatic from 15 at this point. That puts huge pressure on a defender, because you can't simply back off and dare him to drive and shoot over you. This, first and most importantly.

2. Giffey assumes starting role/minutes. Seems like a long time coming. His ascension into the starting spot/minutes has corresponded with our sharp upturn. Not much to add here. We all know the drill. The guy does a bit of everything, from creating floor space, to defending, to boarding, to adding energy. In many ways, he was the missing link. He averaged about 20 a game in the first 1/2 of the season. Going back to South Florida in late February, and excluding 2 losses to Ville, his minutes jumped up to average 33 or so, with only two games clocking fewer than 30 (28 and 29). I know many others here felt that him coming in at the 5 minute mark always seemed to correspond with us turning it up a notch. Now we have him playing 30-35 and (outside of Ville) we haven't lost in a month and a week with this time distribution.

3. The story would not be complete without mentioning DD. DD had a stretch of 18, 15, and 21 minutes played in early March, with 5, 4, and 7 points scored. Excluding the two thumpings we took from Ville, he has since logged closer to 33 a game, with double digit scoring in each game and an average of about 15 and 7. Moreso, and really critically, he has been very, very consistent. He's essentially finishing up this year in the exact same fashion that he finished up last year - very strongly.

Put those three together and you have a vastly improved UConn team from the team that beat Florida by 1 basket.

The absolute best part is that the talking heads are still describing DD as "inconsistent," even though he has been very consistent over the last 3-4 weeks, they still think Giff is only a spot up shooter, and they believe that Boat can be handled by larger guards.

So I'm not sure if Ollie just decided to use the guys differently, or if their play resulted in more minutes, but it's working, quite well.

I think we got 'em.

Final note for the Mojo - I was at the big library today checking out an issue of Science magazine, and, on the way down the "S" aisle I saw the Sports Illustrated mags. I wanted to see if the library stocked the swimsuit issue. I randomly pull a boxed group of mags off the shelf and start thumbing back from the April issue - and 2 or 3 issues in I see the "NCAA preview" issue from 2004 with Oak and Taurasi on the cover. Bout crapped myself. Quickly put the SIs back, grabbed my Sci mag and got the hell out of Dodge.

I'm sure Donovan has a better handle on who we are than the talking heads, but still, I love being considered an underdog. It's good for the mojo.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I also want to echo the Giffey thought. I've watched all the NCAA tournament games with the same people (not uconn fans) and most of them have made a comment to the effect of "Who is that german guy? He is solid, does a little of everything and hits a bunch of 3's."

Nothing but good things can come of a guy like that getting a lot of minutes.

For me, the most notable change in Giffey's game has been his rebounding. He has gotten tougher and more aggressive getting to and securing the basketballs. He has also been solid with the basketball and more of a threat to drive to the hoop (as mentioned above). Giff seems to be significantly stronger and is no longer just tipping balls but controlling rebounds. It seems like he has been making less mistakes in leaving his man to "over-help."

I really want to see him have a solid to outstanding game tomorrow because I think that Donovan may try to shutdown Shabazz with double teams and "long" defenders. If that happens, Boat and Giffey will be key players. Boat most of all.

 

[patrick]

When we outscored Louisville by 4 points in the 2nd half of the AAC championship game!

 

[TheChamps990411]

I chuckle when I here this. So-and-so's guards are bigger and will give the Huskies problems. It's actually the opposite. Our speed and quickness gives us an advantage over bigger guards. It's the small fast guards that can keep up who give us the biggest problems (Louisville).

Unrelated side note: Boat looks like an NBA Jams player when he pops to shoot. He jumps so high and his legs flail sometimes.

This is why i think we have a great shot at winning it all. If you can disrupt the other teams pg for 40 minutes it keeps them from getting into any consistant offensive flow and causes turnovers when others have to handle the ball. Then once you get in the opposing guards heads they start making mental mistakes and thats when you gottem. just ask MSU.

 

[dogpause]

Thank Kemba. We're a different team when competing in a tournament.

 

[Kitaman]

I have to say something happened after the Louisville slaughter. In there lies the answer.

 

[willie99]

I think it happened a few minutes into the St Joe's game, when somebody called them gutless

 

[Deepster]

When?

When the Judge decided he felt like whipping up a Mojo maelstrom. Again.

 

[August_West]

When? When the Judge decided he felt like whipping up a Mojo maelstrom. Again.

That is only analysis needed.

 

[Waquoit]

I saw it in the Cincy away game. The played team ball and was winning most of the game. Bazz went away from team ball late and they lost. I think then Bazz realized he could trust his teammates. That was reinforced when he had to sit versus Nova and the team thrived without him. Now we have a star, a supporting cast that knows their roles and the right coach making the right calls. They are dangerous team right now

 

[J-dog]

When Jim Calhoun was hired as the head coach...

 

[DrewDog85]

Any theories as to when we went from being an on and off team with potential into a winning machine? My theory says that 3 things conspired.

First, I do not count the development of Brimah and Nolan - they were going to develop in their freshman and soph year, and the development has been very good, but not, per se, enough to warrant citing. Also, while not dismissing Samuel's improvement, I don't believe that it, as well, accounts for the turning.

1. Boatright. Guy has completely reached a new level. He was scratching at it. Reaching for it. Visiting and leaving it. All season. Now he's there. He's a ba$ of a defender that is like a sliver in the other PG's ass for 36 minutes a game. It's easy to overlook how critical this is. There are NO easy up the court and entry passes for the other team. There are no forward facing dribbles above the 3 point line. You must protect the ball all game, or Boat is on it. His offensive game has also become better and more consistent. He is really knocking down his shots, and particularly the 3 ball and the pull up from 15. He's almost automatic from 15 at this point. That puts huge pressure on a defender, because you can't simply back off and dare him to drive and shoot over you. This, first and most importantly.

2. Giffey assumes starting role/minutes. Seems like a long time coming. His ascension into the starting spot/minutes has corresponded with our sharp upturn. Not much to add here. We all know the drill. The guy does a bit of everything, from creating floor space, to defending, to boarding, to adding energy. In many ways, he was the missing link. He averaged about 20 a game in the first 1/2 of the season. Going back to South Florida in late February, and excluding 2 losses to Ville, his minutes jumped up to average 33 or so, with only two games clocking fewer than 30 (28 and 29). I know many others here felt that him coming in at the 5 minute mark always seemed to correspond with us turning it up a notch. Now we have him playing 30-35 and (outside of Ville) we haven't lost in a month and a week with this time distribution.

3. The story would not be complete without mentioning DD. DD had a stretch of 18, 15, and 21 minutes played in early March, with 5, 4, and 7 points scored. Excluding the two thumpings we took from Ville, he has since logged closer to 33 a game, with double digit scoring in each game and an average of about 15 and 7. Moreso, and really critically, he has been very, very consistent. He's essentially finishing up this year in the exact same fashion that he finished up last year - very strongly.

Put those three together and you have a vastly improved UConn team from the team that beat Florida by 1 basket.

The absolute best part is that the talking heads are still describing DD as "inconsistent," even though he has been very consistent over the last 3-4 weeks, they still think Giff is only a spot up shooter, and they believe that Boat can be handled by larger guards.

So I'm not sure if Ollie just decided to use the guys differently, or if their play resulted in more minutes, but it's working, quite well.

I think we got 'em.

Final note for the Mojo - I was at the big library today checking out an issue of Science magazine, and, on the way down the "S" aisle I saw the Sports Illustrated mags. I wanted to see if the library stocked the swimsuit issue. I randomly pull a boxed group of mags off the shelf and start thumbing back from the April issue - and 2 or 3 issues in I see the "NCAA preview" issue from 2004 with Oak and Taurasi on the cover. Bout crapped myself. Quickly put the SIs back, grabbed my Sci mag and got the hell out of Dodge.

"library" ???? WTF is a Library???