Where is our weakness?

[FlyChigga]

We do not match up well with teams who can place five guys outside the arc and shoot. Pulling Sanogo and Whaley out of the middle and forcing them to play outside the paint or worse going with a smaller lineup, which I think plays to the other teams strength. Not too many teams can do that. I’d rather we combat this with our big lineup and pound the paint.

Whaley at the 5 is perfectly fine guarding the perimeter

 

[MTBingNinja]

Sanogo needs to stay out of foul trouble is a big one for me.

 

[TheChamps990411]

We do not match up well with teams who can place five guys outside the arc and shoot. Pulling Sanogo and Whaley out of the middle and forcing them to play outside the paint or worse going with a smaller lineup, which I think plays to the other teams strength. Not too many teams can do that. I’d rather we combat this with our big lineup and pound the paint.

I think a line up of Cole,Bouk,Ajax,Tmart and Whaley should be very successful against the 5 out lineup. Problem is our guys cant help themselves fouling guys when they drive. I think this is our best lineup to counter with. I still think our biggest issue is how cold we can get at times. Ironically this team can score in bunches like i havent seen a Uconn team be able to do in a long time.

 

[gtcam]

Way too foul prone - especially the bigs
Handling pressure/press
some player rotation issues
I tend to agree that UConn has had some 3 pt shooting woes but there are enough guys who can shoot the 3 as exhibited vs GTown

 

[ClifSpliffy]

in an imperfect world, the answer is 'zero.'
zero weaknesses. 9 deep, plenty of ballers on the roster able to hang 20 on the oppo, allthewhile playing lockdown d. only 'we' can stop 'us.' it's been brutal this season to watch other teams, in this year of 'el-stinko mbb teams.' on the udder hand, we get to play 'them,' so there's that.

dan rules. he should hand out dimes to opposing coaches before tip, as in 'call ur mom to pick u up, cuz ur done here.'

 

[HuskyHawk]

Whaley at the 5 is perfectly fine guarding the perimeter

Sure. And if he’s at the 5, and Akok isn’t the 4, nobody else in the lineup can guard the paint and we get dominated inside. We can’t afford to match small teams and should instead punish them with size. Force them to play bigger.

 

[Kitaman]

On court leadership is lacking.

Watch when they huddle, no one really takes charge, they just appear rudderless. When teams are making a comeback, a run or when we lack effort no one is challenging their peers or taking control of the situation to settle our team.

This is my only real concern for post season play.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Our weaknesses, ranked:

5. Small teams that spread the floor can neutralize our bigs
4. Only one guy who can put his head down and just get us a bucket
3. Bad FT shooting
2. Inconsistent 3-point shooting
1. Only one guy (Cole) who consistently runs the offense and manufactures good looks

If we lose this month, it'll be because somebody took Cole out of the game and nobody else was there to start the offense and run the show, and it'll all devolve into a bunch of contested Bouk isos.

EDIT: I should add that this is exactly what happened to us in 1996 when Mississippi St. took Doron out of the game and Ricky was hurt. It's not a coincidence that the best UConn teams of all-time have all had two true PGs.

Add in bench scoring and that for the majority of the season teams were in the bonus at the 12-minute mark of both halves. Foul trouble is huge for us.

 

[Milo65]

Whaley at the 5 is perfectly fine guarding the perimeter

Yes, but you lose his help defense when he is pulled out.

 

[August_West]

Maybe I'm just excited because for the first time in 7 years it looks like we have a competent basketball team from top to bottom. But with this team at full strength, lubed up and playing in "mid-season" form, I don't see any glaring weaknesses. We have 3 legitimate scoring threats who can do it at all 3 levels (Bouknight, Cole, Sanogo). We have depth off the bench with Polley & Carlton. We have a freshmen stud who can play 1-4, and honestly might be our best passer / point guard. Our guy who starts at the 4 can shut down any NBA style big we face. Our starting forward is a rebound machine and can be an offensive weapon if needed. Our shooting is a potential liability at times but our offensive rebound makes up for that.

Hats off to Hurley & Co. for not only getting the pieces of the puzzle, but now getting the most out of each piece. I knew with time he would figure it out, and he is not the kind of guy who is going to take his foot off the gas now that he got us zooming forward.

One game at a time, for 9 more games... LETS DO THI5.

Shooting. 3 point shooting.

 

[August_West]

I tend to agree that UConn has had some 3 pt shooting woes but there are enough guys who can shoot the 3 as exhibited vs GTown

We seem to be feast or famine with that. When we make em we make em as a team when we miss we are bad across the board in that department.

 

[Ratso]

it’s all confidence with 3 pt shooting & with bouk getting all the attention,there’s plenty who can hit shots. my concern is found trouble

 

[Fishy]

One weakness that stands out is we don't have any postseason experience or success on the roster. Not sure that matters. We also have stretches of being ice cold offensively.

This.

You have to watch all of one game this year to see that our offense drives into a wall pretty regularly.

Also, foul shooting and just fouling in general.

Plenty of weaknesses on this team.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

During the final two regular season games, UConn second half Free throw shooting was 23/25.

This 92% rate was higher than that of even Bryce Aiken of Seton Hall.

Julian Champaignie's 88.7% rate led the league for those with a minimum of 100 free throw attempts.

 

[auror]

As for the 5 out teams we may have to play..............

I'm not nearly as worried about this as I was earlier in the season.

Why? Jackson. Pure and simple. If a team goes five out he can guard any 3 or stretch 4 who wants to hang on the perimeter and he is plenty quick enough to guard them should they put it on the floor.

If teams go five out, I'll take Cole, Bouk, Jackson, Martin and Whaley all day long.

This is true... except Jackson can only last 2 minutes without picking up a foul. He's averaging 6.2 fouls per 40, which is atrocious for a guard. It's double any of our other guards/wings. He's going to have to use his head on D and be a little less aggressive if we're going to rely on him against these teams (and not just unleash him as a disruptor which seems to be his current role).

 

[Chin Diesel]

Yes, but you lose his help defense when he is pulled out.

If a team goes 5 out, you lose anyone's ability to help on penetration or the rim.

 

[jibsey]

Sanogo needs to stay out of foul trouble is a big one for me.

It’s the biggest no question. Whaley too needs to stay out there. Whether it’s us fouling or refs calling it tightly those bigs have to be smart.

 

[EnochRoot]

They're too prone to Bouknight's stat line, but I suppose that's to be said for most CBB teams.

What I will say is this: we all know this past weekend the committee was looking for reasons to elevate or deflate teams anywhere near the bubble. Had a resurgent UConn eked out a win vs Georgetown, it'd have hurt them more than helped. Instead, they blew Georgetown out of the building by halftime.

Message sent, and message received.

 

[Palatine]

surprised nobody mentioned this...we foul a ton. i could see foul trouble and other teams getting in the bonus hurting us.

That's what foul prone means. I mentioned it three minutes before your post.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I'm as excited as anyone at the momentum they seem to have heading into the BET but for all the sleeper final four talk they really haven't beaten anyone all that good this season.

There is going to be a night, probably sooner rather than later, when the guys whose offense is hit or miss are having a "miss" night and they're going to have to get it done with defense, rebounding and toughness. So I guess withstanding the inevitable offensive lulls is the chief concern. Having a guy like Bouk who commands so much attention certainly helps.

 

[willie99]

Already mentioned

Inexperience

 

[ClifSpliffy]

it’s all confidence with 3 pt shooting & with bouk getting all the attention,there’s plenty who can hit shots. my concern is found trouble

'my concern is found trouble.'

umm, but why go looking for it? i mean, aren't we always being messaged in life, 'don't go looking for trouble, cuz it will find you anyway?' im tellin ur folks that u weren't listening to them. lol.
ps. trouble ain't finding me. i can hide really, really well, and i was taught that 'if u see trouble, turn right around, and hightail it outtathere quickly.'

(i get it, 'foul trouble.' jk. lol.)
and as far as fouls, thus far, we average 2 1/2 more per game than the teams we've played. we've shot .725 on around 350 shots, while they have shot .708 on around 410. other than fts, and as far as the extra chances they get from our fouls, well, so far we are averaging 5 more shots per game than them, so, no. now, who does the fouling is another matter completely.

 

[Rocktheworld]

A little undersized at guard

Our bigs may not know how to handle skilled guys their size

Inexperienced

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I’ll add one more. Other than the USC game, and that was very early, finishing off close late-game situations have been iffy though infrequent. Most wins have been 10+ points, and ‘Nova and St. John’s put us away late.

 

[Riflemen17]

Three weaknesses on the floor, as opposed to experience/success in the postseason:
1. We cover well as it happens, but I still see too many guys beat off the dribble. Jackson tends to give up the baseline. Gaffney can be beat by a quick point guard, as can Cole. That can break down the D, as you have to scramble to recover.

Agree with this. Would love a Ricky Moore clone coming off the bench.