Why no Adams at the end

[raf46]

It was his surge, 7 points, that got us back in the game. I know KO went with the older players, Gibbs, Purvis, but last night Adams was the better player.

 

[huskiesnyc]

No clue why Adams wasn't out there in the end, and also no clue why Phil was...

 

[pnow15]

Gibbs is a fifth year senior and Ollie's calculation is that the can coach Gibbs up to serious point guard status. Adams is a freshman and Ollie is not confident that Adams has the maturity to make a long run in the NCAA's. Gibbs is leaving Ollie little choice but to go with Adams.

 

[Jaker]

JA is the future of the program, so Ollie should be going with him all the time, it will only help this team in the long run.

 

[Bryan Lord]

Phil didn't hurt us but he almost did twice. Two times he was nearly rebounded but the ball bounced right to save his butt.

 

[August_West]

Gibbs is a fifth year senior and Ollie's calculation is that the can coach Gibbs up to serious point guard status. Adams is a freshman and Ollie is not confident that Adams has the maturity to make a long run in the NCAA's. Gibbs is leaving Ollie little choice but to go with Adams.

While Maybe KO is thinking of Gibbs for the long haul (I can get behind long haul plans if they are sound) you also have game adjustments to make. Last night JA was the catalyst in keeping us in the game down the stretch. He needed to be in there. If not a Gibbs expense, then at Purvis' or DHams . There was a way to keep JA on the floor last night in the very late minutes and KO did not find it. Our offense started to click again for that short period he was out there and then poof it was gone.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

While Maybe KO is thinking of Gibbs for the long haul (I can get behind long haul plans if they are sound) you also have game adjustments to make. Last night JA was the catalyst in keeping us in the game down the stretch. He needed to be in there. If not a Gibbs expense, then at Purvis' or DHams . There was a way to keep JA on the floor last night in the very late minutes and KO did not find it. Our offense started to click again for that short period he was out there and then poof it was gone.

No good deed goes unpunished with KO! Adams puts his best offensive stretch together of the year and BAM...Pine City USA!

 

[Silk31]

Baffling on KO's part...I wonder if any reporters actually asked him that in the post game - would love to hear his reasoning on that one.

 

[MexicoHusky]

In my opinion the Temple game should be the end of Gibbs as the starting point guard. I've been told multiple times how good he was at Seton Hall. I'm not seeing it. I'm not giving up on him, but he's a three point shooter and a good foul shooter...I don't see a ton else. He's one of the worst penetrating guards we've ever had. He consistently shoots his layups short. Last night he wasn't overly pressured. He played a ton of minutes. He controlled the ball much of the game. And he did almost nothing. At halftime the directive was to drive the ball. Adams came in for a brief period of time and did exactly that. Gibbs tried...he just doesn't have those skills.

Again, I'm not giving up on Gibbs, but he's a really bad penetrating guard. That's probably top priority to play pg. Or very near the top priority. I don't think we've ever had a starting PG so bad at penetrating. Taliek, KO...these guys couldn't shoot, but they could effectively get in the lane.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Ollie was clearly going with the same game plan down the stretch that had just worked in the prior close game that we won. Hard to fault him for the personnel choices late. Phil was in because the Temple guards were destroying us in the lane. Adams has a tendency to make incredibly foolish freshman mistakes which we cant afford in a close game.

 

[John]

In my opinion the Temple game should be the end of Gibbs as the starting point guard. I've been told multiple times how good he was at Seton Hall. I'm not seeing it. I'm not giving up on him, but he's a three point shooter and a good foul shooter...I don't see a ton else. He's one of the worst penetrating guards we've ever had. He consistently shoots his layups short. Last night he wasn't overly pressured. He played a ton of minutes. He controlled the ball much of the game. And he did almost nothing. At halftime the directive was to drive the ball. Adams came in for a brief period of time and did exactly that. Gibbs tried...he just doesn't have those skills.

Again, I'm not giving up on Gibbs, but he's a really bad penetrating guard. That's probably top priority to play pg. Or very near the top priority. I don't think we've ever had a starting PG so bad at penetrating. Taliek, KO...these guys couldn't shoot, but they could effectively get in the lane.

Dyson would get into that lane like a running back.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Dyson would get into that lane like a running back.

I'm not sure about you, but I loved Dyson and would trade 3 Gibbs for 1 Dyson

 

[UConnStats]

Complaints aside, I think Adams realized last night what he is capable of doing when he confidently attacks the basket. The separation he created with the lean-back and 1 was spectacular. He was the silver lining.

 

[John]

I'm not sure about you, but I loved Dyson and would trade 3 Gibbs for 1 Dyson

no knock on Dyson - but he's another UConn guard that would get into that lane.

 

[August_West]

No good deed goes unpunished with KO! Adams puts his best offensive stretch together of the year and BAM...Pine City USA!

Now In fairness to KO I *think* I get his thinking:
gibbs was a late game savior in both the previous games and KO talked him up about being our late game poise guy in the pressers.
DHam is our star (and as bad as he was playing he delivered game tying free throws down the stretch and a couple buckets)
Purvis is our leading scorer and best defender.

Those are his thoughts.

I still think based on immediate results JA needs to find minutes when effective.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Now In fairness to KO I *think* I get his thinking:
gibbs was a late game savior in both the previous games and KO talked him up about being our late game poise guy in the pressers.
DHam is our star (and as bad as he was playing he delivered game tying free throws down the stretch and a couple buckets)
Purvis is our leading scorer and best defender.

Those are his thoughts.

I still think based on immediate results JA needs to find minutes when effective.

I think part of being a good coach is not breaking up winning combinations when things are going well. You actually have to be very careful of this. In this case and at this particular time the Adams situation applies. Logic dictates that it will be difficult indeed for a substitution to be able to strengthen a combination that is already functioning well on the court. I understand what you are saying but as it turned out the substitutions did not strengthen our chances of winning in this game. It was clear certain players were not mentally ready to play. The season is long and it is hard for players to be up for every game. We should have been up for Temple. With college kids you don't know what may be going on in their personal lives to cause them not to be focused. Ollie is the guy who has to make adjustments because he is responsible for knowing where his kids heads are to a certain degree.

The only reasons in this game for pulling JA (during this home stretch) should have been injury, foul trouble or fatigue. None of these applied. I have not been high on Adams at all this year. He has been a big disappointment coming into the game. Having said that he is 1 of the biggest pieces of the puzzle to get us to that next level. The kid needs confidence because he does have the talent. So the idea of pulling him when Ollie did made no sense to me at all.

Your points are well taken though. Thanks...

 

[JSM1970]

Or possibly Gilbert if Adams doesn't improve his perimeter game, 20% from 3 so far. But I'd have confidence he'll improve here.

JA is the future of the program, so Ollie should be going with him all the time, it will only help this team in the long run.

 

[jibsey]

I think JA is the best guy we have to get a midrange off the dribble shot, Rodney would be second. If DHam had that down we would be talking about his last games in a Husky uni.

 

[JimHurley]

That's my main question of last night. He was undeniably the hot hand and was giving us the spark we needed. He should have been in the last 5 minutes with the ball in his hand.

 

[Mr. French]

In my opinion the Temple game should be the end of Gibbs as the starting point guard. I've been told multiple times how good he was at Seton Hall. I'm not seeing it. I'm not giving up on him, but he's a three point shooter and a good foul shooter...I don't see a ton else. He's one of the worst penetrating guards we've ever had. He consistently shoots his layups short. Last night he wasn't overly pressured. He played a ton of minutes. He controlled the ball much of the game. And he did almost nothing. At halftime the directive was to drive the ball. Adams came in for a brief period of time and did exactly that. Gibbs tried...he just doesn't have those skills.

Again, I'm not giving up on Gibbs, but he's a really bad penetrating guard. That's probably top priority to play pg. Or very near the top priority. I don't think we've ever had a starting PG so bad at penetrating. Taliek, KO...these guys couldn't shoot, but they could effectively get in the lane.

I basically 100% agree. I got trashed for saying Gibbs was below average against Tulane. He hit some big 3s and clutch free throws but otherwise, what does he give us? And that's on a good day.

His PG skills are sorely lacking, and I think that's one major reason why our O looks so stagnant. He doesn't penetrate and when he does, he rarely makes an important/good pass, make a strong finish or draw a foul. His pick and rolls are usually useless, taking two weak dribbles then backing out of the hedge and resetting.

I like his overall skill set as a useful shooter and secondary scoring option, but his lack of PG skills are killing this offense. My opinion is that Adams' frosh mistakes, being usually aggressive mistakes, are easier to live with because of his positives, with Gibbs as a wing player, catching and shooting or driving off of a kick out and blow by. He hasn't shown any ability to run the team from the PG position the way this offense requires. KO needs to see that soon, imo.

 

[intlzncster]

JA is the future of the program, so Ollie should be going with him all the time, it will only help this team in the long run.

Who cares about the long run? I care about the now, and immediate future.

Right now, they should be in a play the hot hand plan. Roles aren't yet defined, so play the guy who is getting it done.

Last night, it was Adams.

 

[intlzncster]

I basically 100% agree. I got trashed for saying Gibbs was below average against Tulane. He hit some big 3s and clutch free throws but otherwise, what does he give us? And that's on a good day.

That's because he wasn't below average against Tulane. By a good margin.

Whether he should be the starting PG is an entirely different question.

 

[ASweet3781]

In a game where we scored 53 points and struggled to put the ball in the basket, there is no answer possible to why Adams got yanked for the final 7 mins after his 7 pt surge gave us the lead. Only possible answer is Ollie couldn't recognize how the game was going.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I think UCONN fans have been complaining about who should play PG for literally the last 10 yrs...maybe longer.

 

[Mr. French]

That's because he wasn't below average against Tulane. By a good margin.

Whether he should be the starting PG is an entirely different question.

I guess we disagree. He hit a few 3s... I saw very little good PG play, regardless of his stat totals.

I don't think he was BAD, but much the same as most games this year, his running of the team was lacking. The entire span of Tulane's run in the second half is a good example.

I'm not trying to bash him as a player, but I haven't seen his ability to be a PG in this offense.