Why can’t Polley get open to shoot off of screens? | The Boneyard

Why can’t Polley get open to shoot off of screens?

Kenny11

Kenny11

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This is our 4th season watching Polley. He has shown he can be a very good, sometimes great shooter while trailing a play, spotting up on a fast break or spotting up in the halfcourt when the defense falls asleep. When he’s on fire he can shoot off the dribble a little bit, but not often.

Uconn runs him off of screens all the time and there are very few times when he actually gets open to shoot. The defenses know he is a shooter and they play him very tight and as long as they don’t fall asleep this works to stop him. Sometimes this attention opens up offense for other guys, but it would still be preferable if he could get open to bomb threes off of screens.

I think he does a poor job changing pace when the screens are coming. He seems to be running as fast as he can. He also doesn’t square up before he catches and doesn’t seem balanced on the catch either. One of the only times this year I remember him hitting a 3 off a screen this season was a really nice play where Bouknight was a decoy and set a screen for him and totally tricked the defense. Otherwise Polley doesn’t get open, catches but isn’t balanced enough to shoot, or has to take a bad shot. Am I missing something? This seems like something he should’ve gotten better at. I know it’s not something you can practice on your own but studying how other players get open should be able to teach him a lot.

When bouk is back I expect pollley to get a lot of open looks but can rip or Ray come in and give Tyler a few pointers please!
 
Unfortunately, I think he’s just not that athletic or explosive. He really can shoot. I expect him to have a few more excellent moments and games. I’m hoping Bouknight’s return will open things up for him. He’s just not going to ever create opportunities for himself that consistently.
 
ToolzieFan said:
Unfortunately, I think he’s just not that athletic or explosive. He really can shoot. I expect him to have a few more excellent moments and games. I’m hoping Bouknight’s return will open things up for him. He’s just not going to ever create opportunities for himself that consistently.
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Yes, Bouk will definitely open things up for him. I think andre’s vision will too. Andre looked for Polley a few times today. I’m not expecting Polley to cross guys up and make step back threes but I wish he could find ways to get open more
 
Yes, he's too easy to defend as the focal point of the offense. He's only really effective in transition or off of offensive rebounds or broken plays.

I don't think he provides enough to make that worthwhile.
 
if hurley encourages spacing, we could be dunk city 2.0 w/bouk, tyrese, jackson,
 
Kenny11 said:
Yes, Bouk will definitely open things up for him. I think andre’s vision will too. Andre looked for Polley a few times today. I’m not expecting Polley to cross guys up and make step back threes but I wish he could find ways to get open more
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He did look for Polley more than Gaffney did,

Also, teams are face guarding him and holding him while he's coming off of screens. He has no room to breathe anymore. We do better with him now when we're in transition
 
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A lot of Gaffney's easy drives today came from the lack of help defense because Seton Hall was face guarding Polley, so he had a productive day even if he didn't score much.

We do not run good screens for Polley. A shooter like Polley needs screeds off the ball, not on the ball, and the screen and pops that they run with Polley don't fool anyone and could be defended by most middle school teams. The sad part is that with his height, Polley does not need much space to get his shot off, but he does need an actual offense rather than the pickup game we saw today.
 
We really need Bouk back in there to attract some defenders to free up Tyler. Can’t knock the kid for that. If we had some other guys stepping up offensively it would make things easier for Ty.
 
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Kenny11 said:
This is our 4th season watching Polley. He has shown he can be a very good, sometimes great shooter while trailing a play, spotting up on a fast break or spotting up in the halfcourt when the defense falls asleep. When he’s on fire he can shoot off the dribble a little bit, but not often.

Uconn runs him off of screens all the time and there are very few times when he actually gets open to shoot. The defenses know he is a shooter and they play him very tight and as long as they don’t fall asleep this works to stop him. Sometimes this attention opens up offense for other guys, but it would still be preferable if he could get open to bomb threes off of screens.

I think he does a poor job changing pace when the screens are coming. He seems to be running as fast as he can. He also doesn’t square up before he catches and doesn’t seem balanced on the catch either. One of the only times this year I remember him hitting a 3 off a screen this season was a really nice play where Bouknight was a decoy and set a screen for him and totally tricked the defense. Otherwise Polley doesn’t get open, catches but isn’t balanced enough to shoot, or has to take a bad shot. Am I missing something? This seems like something he should’ve gotten better at. I know it’s not something you can practice on your own but studying how other players get open should be able to teach him a lot.

When bouk is back I expect pollley to get a lot of open looks but can rip or Ray come in and give Tyler a few pointers please!
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He is slow. He doesn’t fight through screens. He can’t shoot of of any movement.
 
It’s crazy cause he is an elite shooter but he lacks the quickness and quick twitch ability to be successful coming off screens and pin downs.. he needs offense created for him
 
With him being overplayed so much, it would be nice to run a designed quick hitter back door cut for him to keep the defense honest.
 
On a few occasions he's open but doesn't shoot. It's almost like he doesn't so much as want a guy running at him. He needs to catch, elevate and shoot in one motion. Instead he catches and shoots only when there's nobody in his zip code
 
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Kenny11 said:
Yes, Bouk will definitely open things up for him. I think andre’s vision will too. Andre looked for Polley a few times today. I’m not expecting Polley to cross guys up and make step back threes but I wish he could find ways to get open more
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I thought Andre got Polley the ball for his only 3, but they didn't give him an assist.
 
I agree with polley in the game this gave gaffney no double and easier scoring opportunities. Which is why he should start over adams in my opinion. I wish polley could drive to the basket after he catches to loosen up the very tight defense being played on him. He probably doesn’t have the handle/ quickness to be successful at this. Obviously this is what bouk does so well. At least polley gets the ball out of his hands quickly when he knows he isn’t going to do anything with it.
 
Most is on Tyler for not using the screens well and tight, and just plain continuous work. But I will ask how many baseline and opposite screens we saw to get him open? How many times you see teams run baseline screens on each side o the lane to free up good shooters? Like to see a few a game for Tyler instead all we do see is perimeter screens and pick/rolls which the defense is either stepping inside the screen or they are switching to make sure he isn't getting good looks. They all saw the Marquette game it won't happen again to anyone else at least until the return of Bouk.
 
Edward Sargent said:
Neither Polley or Brendan are ever in position to take a shot
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Gotta disagree. Adams gets 3-4 good looks a game. As infuriating as Adams limitations are relative to his playing time, I'm about 90% right on whether he makes or misses a 3 before he even releases the ball. He's not a bad shooter when he has his feet set and catches the ball in rhythm. Unfortunately he shoots too often when not in rhythm.
 
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UConn_Top_Dog said:
We really need Bouk back in there to attract some defenders to free up Tyler. Can’t knock the kid for that. If we had some other guys stepping up offensively it would make things easier for Ty.
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In the games I’ve seen, Polley is often guarded by guys who appear to be 3-4+ inches shorter than him. Doesn’t that mean he’s always open?

(Clearly I’ve not played much basketball)
 
Edward Sargent said:
Neither Polley or Brendan are ever in position to take a shot
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Brendan just stands in that freaking corner and hits like 15% of the same 3 he takes over and over again. Would like to say he should drive more like when he hit that sweet reverse but at worst it’s a charge and at best it’s a travel most of the time.
 
We so desperately need to increase our pace of play. It’s the number one problem I have with our offense. We are way to deliberate and predictable in our half court sets.

Easier to get Polley open during transition threes and on the secondary break.

We have the wings and athletes to be running all day long. When forced into half court, run the offense through Sanogo and Bouk.
 
mauconnfan said:
Most is on Tyler for not using the screens well and tight, and just plain continuous work. But I will ask how many baseline and opposite screens we saw to get him open? How many times you see teams run baseline screens on each side o the lane to free up good shooters? Like to see a few a game for Tyler instead all we do see is perimeter screens and pick/rolls which the defense is either stepping inside the screen or they are switching to make sure he isn't getting good looks. They all saw the Marquette game it won't happen again to anyone else at least until the return of Bouk.
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We don’t do nearly enough screens away from the ball. Ours are mostly ball screens/pick and roll, high screens from Whaley/Sanogo/Carlton. Those 3 aren’t threats from the perimeter which gives the D an easier time. If you want to get Polley open 3’s he should be the screener out high for the pick and pop 3, or be part of the screen action away from the ball.
 
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