- Joined
- Aug 24, 2011
- Messages
- 3,051
- Reaction Score
- 6,254
There seems to be many haters on the national forums who don’t think AD will have much of an impact, but IMO they are missing the big picture.
UConn doesn’t need AD to play like the best center in college and/or an NBA ready Big. All we need from AD is a slight upgrade from Chuck, (though I think we’ll get a big upgrade), along with an improved Alex, Roscoe and Tyler. AD is a very good passer. If he can learn to stay out of foul trouble, give us between 20 to 30 minutes, 8 to 10 points in the paint (probably will do better than that once he gets up to speed sometime around mid-season or sooner), double digit rebounds, a few blocked shots, many altered shots, and play sound help defense, his net impact will be huge.
If Bradley and/or Wolf develop enough to give us some minutes in the post, then this team will have far more than enough big bodies to man the 4 & 5. Even if Bradley and/or Wolf are little used, the level of play at those two positions will remain high throughout most of the 40 minutes, something that looked like a possible weakness before AD committed.
UConn proved last season that they could win an NC without a great deal of offensive production from our post players. Now granted the lack of efficiency in the post did impact the team last season, especially during that bad stretch at the end of BE conference play. I'll be shocked if our front-court isn't efficient enough offensively by the middle of conference play where teams will not be able to extend their perimeter defense.
Maybe I'm being overly optimistic...wouldn't be the first time...but I see this team being more balanced offensively than last season due to the addition of AD and the overall improvement by the returning players.
The combination of Alex and Andre will not only improve the scoring opportunities for the other 3 on the floor, they should also benefit from the quickness, ball handling and passing from the other three players JC throws out on the floor with them.
Lamb, Roscoe, Giffey, Daniels, Olander, Bazz and Boatright are all capable of knocking down Js and many of them are very good at driving it to the basket. I doubt we'll see UConn firing away from 3 like UK does. JC likes his team to create and take good percentage shots. He uses the 3-ball threat to open things up more so that a weapon in and of itself. In fact, teams that rely on the 3-ball rarely win championships. In close games under great pressure and tired legs, those 3s don't go down as easy, while a team that have been successfully executing good percentage shots throughout the game can continue that offensive attack and score more efficiently when it counts most. The NC game against Butler, case in point!
IMO the key to this upcoming season lies with the bolded names listed above. The more these players develop well rounded offensive games (hitting lighty to uncontested intermediate Js, at least keep-you-honest 3pt shooting, ability to put it on the floor and finish lay-ups, dunks and mid-range contested shots, dishing off the dribble or kicking it out to open teammates, etc.) the more dangerous this team will be.
With Alex and Andre on the floor at the same time, teams will have a lot of trouble stopping either without double teaming them. As long as they force teams to play them straight up, this team will be a nightmare to stop. Unfortunately, we will likely see tons of zone defense, so perfecting that pass to the foul line to one or more players capable of doing something with it there will be critical to get teams out of zone defenses. If Alex and Andre or whatever combination of bigs can't do damage inside if guarded straight-up, then our perimeter players would be left lightly or unguarded.
The more I think about this, the more I think teams are going to find it hard to stop this team once they learn to adjust to any type of D that faces them. Think about it! Even if teams play them straight up, players like Lamb, Boatright, Daniels and Bazz, should be able to blow right by most defenders. If help comes over, they'll either pass to an open Big who can finish in traffic or kick it out to some other perimeter player who can attack the basket if there is an open path to it. Oh, and if that's not tough enough to defend, they'll be able to kick it out to Roscoe or one of the other teammates that can hit 3 or the intermediate J. Last season's team wasn't great from 3, but part of the reason for that we they worked harder to create better shots at the expense of letting it fly from 3 like some teams would do. This team doesn't need to be prolific from 3, just good enough to keep teams from packing it in, and I'd be shocked if we don't end up with line-ups that have at least 2 to 3 players who can hurt you if left wide open or lightly defended.
Note that I haven't even talked about the defense. Once AD and the other bigs learn to play sound help-D, this team won't need to score all that much to win games. They proved that last season and most of our best defenders are returning. I don't take this part of the game lightly, since all it takes is one of the 5 defenders executing poorly to blow up the D. I don't know how JC got last years group clicking on D like they did during the post season, but they rarely encountered defensive breakdowns, like we saw earlier. The new bigs need to learn when to come over and double if needed or when to stay where they are and not give up the weakside offensive rebound which absolutely killed them two years ago. They will need to learn when to come out and hedge on the high screen and re-engage back into the post once the perimeter player clears the scene and re-engages with the handler.
And of course the new perimeter players need to learn to create good angles when being funneled toward screens and go over them instead of under them, which Bazz too often did and got caught out of position. Lamb learned that quicker than Bazz. Part of the problem with Napier is his size and strength. Hopefully he's worked hard in the weight room and will be able to use his body to funnel the handler further from the on coming screen and not get forced under it. The technique requires anticipation, quickness and strength not to get caught at the wrong angle when being driven toward the high screen. These 3 bolded factors make it much harder for teams to drive the defender into the screen. By simply giving yourself a few more inches of push back so that you can slip above the screen even if you're trailing the handler at an angle, allows you to be in position to get back in front of the handler as the big disengages from his hedge back toward the basket or back to the screener if that player is a pick-and-pop type scorer. For whatever reason, these techniques take a while to learn. The less physically and mentally a player is prepared for this, the longer it takes to learn. For example, there was no way Bazz was going to put on 10 to 15 pounds during last season, so he had to rely on anticipating more, cheat less at critical times during the game and at certain places on the floor (i.e. cheating with a wrap-around when the handler is at the elbow and the big is moving up for a screen is not a good idea) and getting to the proper angle before the handler drives him into the screen. UL's guards absolutely killed our guards with this the first two games, but our guys fixed it the third time, though part of the success might have been with Siva and/or Knowles a bit banged up and not as capable of exploiting the high screen as they did before. I think it was a combination of both since UConn proved they could handle the high screen throughout the NCAA tournament.
So much for my vow to leave shorter posts, though I hope some folks like this type of Xs & Os breakdown from time to time. To sum this up, the addition of AD gives this team the right number and types of pieces to be highly successful. I have no doubt that they have the physical tools to execute at a high level on both ends of the floor. The only possible area of physical vulnerability is they're small at the 1 and a tad thin at the 2 & 3. In all cases, I think the personnel has the athleticism and/or length to make up for the lack of muscle and/or height. If they were able to overcome this last season, I think they'll be even better equipped to do so this upcoming season. JC and his staff must be champing at the bit. I don't think they've ever had a more talented team 1 through 11. More experienced, more talented starting 5 maybe, but never the depth of balanced talent like this group. Once they get about 8 players deep who have learned to execute at a high level, this team will be one scary team to face. It might take longer than I think, but by the mid-point of the BE season, this team will hit its stride and not look back. I don't think we'll see a late season swoon like last year. There's far too many experienced returning players and far too much overall talent for this team to hit that kind of wall. But if that happens, I would not be shocked to see them put together a similar type of run as we just witness this past spring. It might not end with a back-to-back NC, but a return to -4 would not shock me in the least.
UConn doesn’t need AD to play like the best center in college and/or an NBA ready Big. All we need from AD is a slight upgrade from Chuck, (though I think we’ll get a big upgrade), along with an improved Alex, Roscoe and Tyler. AD is a very good passer. If he can learn to stay out of foul trouble, give us between 20 to 30 minutes, 8 to 10 points in the paint (probably will do better than that once he gets up to speed sometime around mid-season or sooner), double digit rebounds, a few blocked shots, many altered shots, and play sound help defense, his net impact will be huge.
If Bradley and/or Wolf develop enough to give us some minutes in the post, then this team will have far more than enough big bodies to man the 4 & 5. Even if Bradley and/or Wolf are little used, the level of play at those two positions will remain high throughout most of the 40 minutes, something that looked like a possible weakness before AD committed.
UConn proved last season that they could win an NC without a great deal of offensive production from our post players. Now granted the lack of efficiency in the post did impact the team last season, especially during that bad stretch at the end of BE conference play. I'll be shocked if our front-court isn't efficient enough offensively by the middle of conference play where teams will not be able to extend their perimeter defense.
Maybe I'm being overly optimistic...wouldn't be the first time...but I see this team being more balanced offensively than last season due to the addition of AD and the overall improvement by the returning players.
The combination of Alex and Andre will not only improve the scoring opportunities for the other 3 on the floor, they should also benefit from the quickness, ball handling and passing from the other three players JC throws out on the floor with them.
Lamb, Roscoe, Giffey, Daniels, Olander, Bazz and Boatright are all capable of knocking down Js and many of them are very good at driving it to the basket. I doubt we'll see UConn firing away from 3 like UK does. JC likes his team to create and take good percentage shots. He uses the 3-ball threat to open things up more so that a weapon in and of itself. In fact, teams that rely on the 3-ball rarely win championships. In close games under great pressure and tired legs, those 3s don't go down as easy, while a team that have been successfully executing good percentage shots throughout the game can continue that offensive attack and score more efficiently when it counts most. The NC game against Butler, case in point!
IMO the key to this upcoming season lies with the bolded names listed above. The more these players develop well rounded offensive games (hitting lighty to uncontested intermediate Js, at least keep-you-honest 3pt shooting, ability to put it on the floor and finish lay-ups, dunks and mid-range contested shots, dishing off the dribble or kicking it out to open teammates, etc.) the more dangerous this team will be.
With Alex and Andre on the floor at the same time, teams will have a lot of trouble stopping either without double teaming them. As long as they force teams to play them straight up, this team will be a nightmare to stop. Unfortunately, we will likely see tons of zone defense, so perfecting that pass to the foul line to one or more players capable of doing something with it there will be critical to get teams out of zone defenses. If Alex and Andre or whatever combination of bigs can't do damage inside if guarded straight-up, then our perimeter players would be left lightly or unguarded.
The more I think about this, the more I think teams are going to find it hard to stop this team once they learn to adjust to any type of D that faces them. Think about it! Even if teams play them straight up, players like Lamb, Boatright, Daniels and Bazz, should be able to blow right by most defenders. If help comes over, they'll either pass to an open Big who can finish in traffic or kick it out to some other perimeter player who can attack the basket if there is an open path to it. Oh, and if that's not tough enough to defend, they'll be able to kick it out to Roscoe or one of the other teammates that can hit 3 or the intermediate J. Last season's team wasn't great from 3, but part of the reason for that we they worked harder to create better shots at the expense of letting it fly from 3 like some teams would do. This team doesn't need to be prolific from 3, just good enough to keep teams from packing it in, and I'd be shocked if we don't end up with line-ups that have at least 2 to 3 players who can hurt you if left wide open or lightly defended.
Note that I haven't even talked about the defense. Once AD and the other bigs learn to play sound help-D, this team won't need to score all that much to win games. They proved that last season and most of our best defenders are returning. I don't take this part of the game lightly, since all it takes is one of the 5 defenders executing poorly to blow up the D. I don't know how JC got last years group clicking on D like they did during the post season, but they rarely encountered defensive breakdowns, like we saw earlier. The new bigs need to learn when to come over and double if needed or when to stay where they are and not give up the weakside offensive rebound which absolutely killed them two years ago. They will need to learn when to come out and hedge on the high screen and re-engage back into the post once the perimeter player clears the scene and re-engages with the handler.
And of course the new perimeter players need to learn to create good angles when being funneled toward screens and go over them instead of under them, which Bazz too often did and got caught out of position. Lamb learned that quicker than Bazz. Part of the problem with Napier is his size and strength. Hopefully he's worked hard in the weight room and will be able to use his body to funnel the handler further from the on coming screen and not get forced under it. The technique requires anticipation, quickness and strength not to get caught at the wrong angle when being driven toward the high screen. These 3 bolded factors make it much harder for teams to drive the defender into the screen. By simply giving yourself a few more inches of push back so that you can slip above the screen even if you're trailing the handler at an angle, allows you to be in position to get back in front of the handler as the big disengages from his hedge back toward the basket or back to the screener if that player is a pick-and-pop type scorer. For whatever reason, these techniques take a while to learn. The less physically and mentally a player is prepared for this, the longer it takes to learn. For example, there was no way Bazz was going to put on 10 to 15 pounds during last season, so he had to rely on anticipating more, cheat less at critical times during the game and at certain places on the floor (i.e. cheating with a wrap-around when the handler is at the elbow and the big is moving up for a screen is not a good idea) and getting to the proper angle before the handler drives him into the screen. UL's guards absolutely killed our guards with this the first two games, but our guys fixed it the third time, though part of the success might have been with Siva and/or Knowles a bit banged up and not as capable of exploiting the high screen as they did before. I think it was a combination of both since UConn proved they could handle the high screen throughout the NCAA tournament.
So much for my vow to leave shorter posts, though I hope some folks like this type of Xs & Os breakdown from time to time. To sum this up, the addition of AD gives this team the right number and types of pieces to be highly successful. I have no doubt that they have the physical tools to execute at a high level on both ends of the floor. The only possible area of physical vulnerability is they're small at the 1 and a tad thin at the 2 & 3. In all cases, I think the personnel has the athleticism and/or length to make up for the lack of muscle and/or height. If they were able to overcome this last season, I think they'll be even better equipped to do so this upcoming season. JC and his staff must be champing at the bit. I don't think they've ever had a more talented team 1 through 11. More experienced, more talented starting 5 maybe, but never the depth of balanced talent like this group. Once they get about 8 players deep who have learned to execute at a high level, this team will be one scary team to face. It might take longer than I think, but by the mid-point of the BE season, this team will hit its stride and not look back. I don't think we'll see a late season swoon like last year. There's far too many experienced returning players and far too much overall talent for this team to hit that kind of wall. But if that happens, I would not be shocked to see them put together a similar type of run as we just witness this past spring. It might not end with a back-to-back NC, but a return to -4 would not shock me in the least.
Experience players know how to get young bigs off their feet and/or leaning the wrong way. I didn't see enough of him to say he's got good instincts. For example Noel who's part of the 2013 class, was extremely advanced defensively. He wouldn't commit till the last moment, then explode to erase or alter the shot. He's special in that regard and I hope we land him. In fact, he's the one I've wanted most, though because of timing (i.e. team is clearly ready to win this year), it's hard not to see AD as a equally important if not more important pick-up.
