Wtf is Ollie's half court offense philosophy?

[GuttyWolf]

Most of the teams we play don't have NBA talent either, he is not getting the best.out of these kids.

I'll take it one step further. None of the teams we have played in conference have NBA talent. Absolutely no excuse for this year.

Comes down to coaching, like you said. Ollie has been horrific.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree completely. In both football and basketball it's alarming how stubborn many coaches are and how poor they are at in-game adjustments. With this team, I don't know what to do besides giving Miller the ball on the block more. When your guards are all streaky shooters, can't run PnR and can't consistently beat someone off the dribble then you're going to be in trouble.

To be fair too, JC was really stubborn himself. We had A TON of ugly halfcourt offensive stretches during his tenure. We were dragged into plenty of slow-it-down games that had fans pulling our hair out watching our offensive execution. He was better than Ollie at exploiting mismatches, etc but Ollie is still a really young coach and will have to improve.

They could try passing. I've seen beautiful offense from Princeton and any number of teams with inferior athletes at every position on the floor.

If you build an offense around guys beating their man one on one and causing the defense to break down, you better have some of those guys. We don't. But guess what? Neither did SMU last night. They used actual ball movement and off the ball movement to free people up for easy baskets. We have four guys standing still at all times...often five. Miller, our great rebounding PF with solid post skills, is nearly always outside the 3 point line. The offensive system is catastrophically inept.

 

[Rico444]

What was the last team that Calhoun coached that had zero NBA talent on it? Ollie can't turn water into wine , the idea he's "done a horrendous job" is a bit hyperbolic... This team is what it is (bubble team) and their talent was overrated by many from the jump (including myself).

If Calhoun had Hamilton and Brimah, they'd be NBA talent by now. Ollie isn't developing these guys at all.

 

[Nebraskan18]

Our offense is the hardest thing I've ever been forced to watch. We pass it around the perimeter until we 1) turn it over or 2) run a pick and roll with 7 seconds left in the shot clock and are scrambling around to try and make a play. And for some reason our transition game is non existent.

 

[UConn76]

When I played high school basketball, we called this our "Circle Offense"... we circled around endlessly and every once in awhile, one of us was tricky enough to do a back door cut and we'd get fed for a layup... Of course, we didn't have the 3 pt shot to rely on back then like UConn has fallen in love with...

 

[Chief00]

What was the last team that Calhoun coached that had zero NBA talent on it? Ollie can't turn water into wine , the idea he's "done a horrendous job" is a bit hyperbolic... This team is what it is (bubble team) and their talent was overrated by many from the jump (including myself).

I appreciate your honesty about the First Night induced hyperbole - oh no now we need to play against real men - the game is much harder than it seemed.

 

[Jaker]

If Calhoun had Hamilton and Brimah, they'd be NBA talent by now. Ollie isn't developing these guys at all.

LOL, AB will never be an NBA no matter who coaches him.

 

[Jerry1714]

I'd have to think those stats are padded from pushover teams. Not sure how they measure efficiency.

Well you would be wrong, they are based on points allowed per 100 possessions with taking into account the opponent to show how the team would perform against the average division 1 offense.

These are not numbers that can be fudged if you play a horrible schedule (which UConn has not). UConn is a very good defensive team, inconsistent at times sure, but overall this season they have been excellent.

 

[TheRogers]

But that "average division 1 team" is relative as well for each team since it will be based on their schedule. In other words would Stony Brook be that high if it played Syracuse's "average division 1 team"? I looked up the calculation and it's a good metric for the team to track it's own performance throughout the year but to take this number and stack it up against another team in some sort of ranking does not seem appropriate to me.

As for the team, they are good defensively around the 15ft to 20 ft perimeter. Interior defense not so much. Defense behind the arc is poor. The frustrating thing is they have games where they can show lock down defense on their weak spots. They just don't do it consistently enough.

 

[mauconnfan]

If Calhoun had Hamilton and Brimah, they'd be NBA talent by now. Ollie isn't developing these guys at all.

Maybe Hamilton, but he's no magician.

 

[gmc1055]

I'm not new here I just don't post much so please be gentile. Here is my take on UCONNs offense. The 2014 team was a beautiful thing to watch. All the player were always moving. They were never in the same spot more than 2 to 3 seconds. Giffey would be in the let corner then the right then he would be at the top of the key for 3. The last two teams take too much time to get into their offense and don't seem to be moving. (How many times have we seen a fast break off a made basket (not that any of our guards could hit a layup). They walk the ball up take too much time dribbling the ball then all the sudden decide its time to speed up try and attack the lane either get caught in no mans land and lose the ball or pass it out with not enough time to take a shot. Shot clock violation. Under JC teams played the zone against UCONN. By the end of the season and into the tournament they knew how to beat it. This year, they look as lost today as game one. Nobody plays man on us. We had Kemba and Shabazz they could break the zone by themselves (inside or outside). The good news is I think have that player in Jalen. Kemba his first year he was moving too fast and a bit out of control and we know what we got two years later. Jalen is the only true point guard on this team. That's my take and I'm sure its nothing new to all you Boneyard Professional.

 

[gmc1055]

In answer to his half court philosophy I haven't found one. It turns into a lot of one on one play and panic.

 

[Rico444]

LOL, AB will never be an NBA no matter who coaches him.

Hilton Armstrong ring a bell? If Amida had developed the way he should've, he'd be better offensively and as a rebounder than he his now; he'd absolutely be an asset to an NBA team. I'm not talking about a lottery pick, but look how far Emeka and Thabeet came under Calhoun (I'm not saying Brimah is as talented as those two, so please don't misconstrue what I'm saying).

 

[Jerry1714]

But that "average division 1 team" is relative as well for each team since it will be based on their schedule. In other words would Stony Brook be that high if it played Syracuse's "average division 1 team"? I looked up the calculation and it's a good metric for the team to track it's own performance throughout the year but to take this number and stack it up against another team in some sort of ranking does not seem appropriate to me.

As for the team, they are good defensively around the 15ft to 20 ft perimeter. Interior defense not so much. Defense behind the arc is poor. The frustrating thing is they have games where they can show lock down defense on their weak spots. They just don't do it consistently enough.

No, it is the average division 1 offense, it is not relative. Every team is compared to the same exact "team." It is a set number it is not UConn's average opponent.

This stat is used by every analyst for a reason, because it is accurate and the best way to judge a team's offense or defense. The selection committee is also using Kenpom now as well.

 

[TheRogers]

No, it is the average division 1 offense, it is not relative. Every team is compared to the same exact "team." It is a set number it is not UConn's average opponent.

This stat is used by every analyst for a reason, because it is accurate and the best way to judge a team's offense or defense. The selection committee is also using Kenpom now as well.

It is relative. All the data used is tallied from the teams box score as I would expect. My contentions with this metric are a) it's stacked up against other teams whose level of competition directly affects the results yet at the same time can vary from team to team. b) the dilution from stats coming from the cupcake games. I understand though its inclusion stemming from ease of calculation and higher
sample size.

 

[Jerry1714]

It is relative. All the data used is tallied from the teams box score as I would expect. My contentions with this metric are a) it's stacked up against other teams whose level of competition directly affects the results yet at the same time can vary from team to team. b) the dilution from stats coming from the cupcake games. I understand though its inclusion stemming from ease of calculation and higher
sample size.

I disagree but if you can find me any metric which supports your point that UConn is not a very good defensive team then I would certainly love to see it.

 

[johnhuskies95]

It is relative. All the data used is tallied from the teams box score as I would expect. My contentions with this metric are a) it's stacked up against other teams whose level of competition directly affects the results yet at the same time can vary from team to team. b) the dilution from stats coming from the cupcake games. I understand though its inclusion stemming from ease of calculation and higher
sample size.

What I love about the internet is that it leads to people who admittedly know very little about a given topic talking as if they are experts. Pomeroy's methodology isn't perfect, but I can assure you it accounts for level of competition.

 

[TheRogers]

I disagree but if you can find me any metric which supports your point that UConn is not a very good defensive team then I would certainly love to see it.

My observations were all from watching every game. It wasn't from any metric. You mentioned this metric so for the sake of discussion I looked it up and merely shared what I thought.

I still maintain interior and behind the arc, defense is suspect. More so behind the arc. When AB is not in foul trouble interior defense gets better. They are good in the mid range area. It's one thing I tend to focus on. Just because the other team misses a shot, if the shot was uncontested or mildly contested that counts as bad defense in my book. It's hard to get a metric on that.

 

[TheRogers]

What I love about the internet is that it leads to people who admittedly know very little about a given topic talking as if they are experts. Pomeroy's methodology isn't perfect, but I can assure you it accounts for level of competition.

Did not say I was an expert. In fact that efficiency metric was the first time when I saw the calculation. Just giving my take on it.

 

[willie99]

Half court philosophy? that's easy

give the ball to Russell Westbrook and let him pound the floor until there's only a few seconds left on the shot clock, he then takes it to the hole and either scores over a bunch of giants or dishes it to KD who actually catches the pass and finishes the play. Either that, or let KD pound the ball and take it to the hole.

Of all of KO's mentors, it appears Scottie Brooks may have had the most influence

 

[Greathusky]

I wish there was more a high-low game where the guard penetrates and throws it back out. Or the high post would do that from the foul line area.

Too much circling the wagons around till time runs out!

 

[Stinger92860]

We certainly need more structure than we have now. In 2014 we had Bazz to bail us out. We don't have anyone who can do that now. The ability to hit one or two desperation shots would dramatically change our record.

What has surprised me recently is our defensive struggles. Not getting back on D, the poor rotations, which I thought was fixed. This team appears to lack discipline and testiculos.

 

[tzznandrew]

We know what his halfcourt philosophy is. We see players doing a bit of a circle offense coming from underneath from weak to ball side and catching the ball. They're supposed to shoot or drive there. And we know he likes to run pick and roll/pop at the top of the key with spacing from shooters.

The problem is this team doesn't have the decisiveness from DHam, the ability to finish at the rim from Gibbs/Purvis/DHam, the ability to be creative coming off the screen (Gibbs) or shoot (Adams). This allows opposing defenses to overplay Gibbs, or go under Adams and essentially neuter our offense.

It can be a beautiful system that empowers guards when it operates well (often in 2014), but it doesn't rely enough on the low block when you have a player like Miller there, and when the team can't run it, it looks like this mess we see today. When we play teams that don't have the athletes, suddenly there's an offensive system (like annihilating USF) . It's always there, but better teams can snuff it out. It's why we beat every bad team and struggle with every good team.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I disagree but if you can find me any metric which supports your point that UConn is not a very good defensive team then I would certainly love to see it.

We're 20 and 10.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I don't believe our offense has changed much since 2013. What's changed is our personnel.
Having Bazz and Boat to bail you out at the end of the shot clock with DD and Giffey on the wings to murder the 3 ball if any help defense moves to defend Bazz and Boat on the blowby worked great.

No so great when Bazz---->Gibbs, Boat----->Purvis, DD------->SM, NG-------->Calhoun.

So I expect more of the same going forward. Let's hope Adams and Arterique can approximate Bazz and Boat.