Wolf and JC

[Greathusky]

Just curious about the board's opinion on this question. Did Wolf deserve more minutes in his first two years but did not becuase he was in JC's doghouse OR did Wolf make tremendous strides this past summer to deserve more playing time? I could picture JC yanking Wolf after the ball was taken from him in the high post and probably would not have seen much minutes after that.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

The latter

 

[arnie3]

This is the best shape that Wolf has been in since he got here. He came into the program with an knee injury and was out of shape. Last year he had that horrible fall in practice that caused a concussion. Over the summer he realized that he could get more playing time, with many of the bigs leaving, and came into this season in great shape. He looked good last night. I don't think that JC had it out for him- he just wasn't very good.

 

[rbny1]

Calhoun had his way of coaching, which included yanking players quickly for mistakes. He was very successful, and we are lucky to have had him as our coach.

Ollie has a different style, which (so far at least) does not include the quick hook. Hopefully he will also be very successful and bring us championships.

The two coaches are different, that's all. Sinatra sang one way, Beverly Sills another way. Both were fabulous.

I have no idea whether Wolf was talented his first two years and suffered under JC's system, or whether he has suddenly improved. It doesn't matter (except to Wolf, of course).

Would Justin Brown have flourished under Ollie? Now, that's a question for the ages.

 

[Husky68]

Kid looks like a different person. Like a Paul Gasol type. He still can't jump but now he can move. He isn't as awkward as a lot of tall skinny guys are and he seems to know how to make the easy plays and can catch the ball (have had some real stone hands guys like AO, Thabeet and Adrien). His preparation and this years opportunity for playing time is more the factor for him this year than anything vs. prior years.

 

[nomar]

I would imagine he's showing a lot more in practice this season than he has in years past. Then again, he only played 12 minutes in the first two games before TO's foul trouble forced Ollie's hand.

 

[ford82]

The biggest reason he didn't play was because of all the other guys in front of him. I agree that it is nice to see a big guy with good hands. Wolf needs to keep working hard. Consistent effort in practice seems to have been or still is an issue with him. He played very little in the Vermont game.

 

[Cheddie]

Yeah, KO has a different style. But EW only played 12 minutes this season before last night. He got more minutes because Olander picked up quick fouls and Nolan and LT were ineffective. I love that he did well with the minutes. But I have to believe that if he was ready in the past, JC would have played him too. Gotta remember, quick hook or not, EW had Drummond and Oriakhi in front of him with JC.

Ford - just beat me w/ your post - same thoughts

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I believe that if Wolf hadn't dropped a good amount of weight before this season he'd still be getting very few minutes. The difference in the number of competent big bodies on this roster vs the past two seasons also plays a role.

 

[ctchamps]

He only got in because TO was a no show and Nolan still has a lot to learn.

He certainly appears to be in good shape physically. He's not athletic like Nolan, but he shows he has a very good understanding of the game. I think Wolf's outward facade gives him the appearance of being low key. His movement is measured. It's not stiff, but economical. I think this translates into a perception the kid doesn't put effort in practice.

This would not endear him to coaches like JC and KO. I'm hoping KO really examines the tape of this game with the realization that Wolf's measured play is an asset and not a liability.

 

[EricLA]

Calhoun had his way of coaching, which included yanking players quickly for mistakes. He was very successful, and we are lucky to have had him as our coach.

Ollie has a different style, which (so far at least) does not include the quick hook. Hopefully he will also be very successful and bring us championships.

The two coaches are different, that's all. Sinatra sang one way, Beverly Sills another way. Both were fabulous.

I have no idea whether Wolf was talented his first two years and suffered under JC's system, or whether he has suddenly improved. It doesn't matter (except to Wolf, of course).

Would Justin Brown have flourished under Ollie? Now, that's a question for the ages.

That was one thing that was crystal clear to me as I watched the Wake game. Wolf made several rather large errors that even the announcers caught very quickly, but Wolf stayed in. Was glad to see the change in tactics. Both teams had their share of runs and fortunately UCONN didn't panic and pulled away midway thru the 2nd half.

I also really like Giffey on the floor. he seems to be everywhere and he's solid. Evans too (not everywhere but really solid). It's not a team of 1 or 2 superstars, rather a team of really solid players and I can realistically see him going 8 deep on a regular basis... (Napier, Boat, Daniels, Calhoun, Olander, Giffey, Wolf, Evans). Not sure how much I like seeing Nolan or Tolksdorf out there at this point...

 

[mauconnfan]

Geez eric "several rather large errors"?? Must say the announcers and you saw a different game than I, he made a couple but not several. I agree that KO has nice patience but he also had to as TO was in foul trouble early.............and we need them all and there will be times we will sing the praises of Leon and Phil believe for a few nice minutes in certain games!

 

[Stinger92860]

It's possible that KO was also surprised with the effectiveness of Wolf. I was shocked when he hit the 15-17 foot 'jumper' from the left side.

 

[maineuconnfan]

regardless of what husky fans think of the guys who left, when you have Oriakhi, Drummond, Roscoe Smith, and you can also count Olander and Daniels, there was really no minutes for him...However I will say as much as I loved Calhoun's coaching style, it obviously is not for everybody. Some players need that quick yank, but some players need to play out their struggles. I think wolf is one of the latter. some people are not able to process on the sideline and in practice the adjustments that need to be made. Some players need to be on the sidelines doing that. It really is a combination of all those things.

 

[ctchamps]

It's possible that KO was also surprised with the effectiveness of Wolf. I was shocked when he hit the 15-17 foot 'jumper' from the left side.

My gut tells me KO was surprised.