Yes exhibition... but still | Page 5 | The Boneyard

Yes exhibition... but still

Three of PC's top guys did not even play last night! Our back court is good but our front court is (and seems to be perpetually) weak, young and inexperienced. If they don't improve dramatically it will be a long year and Ollie will be sitting on one of the the hottest seats in BBall. We can't afford to be mediocre. Benedict won't hesitate to make a move. He didn't hire him and Calhoun has moved on.
 
On defense last night, it was pretty clear that the guys haven't played together before as guys would get lost with switches and then had to figure out where to be. And, we can't let players get around our perimeter defense as we don't have a shot blocker in the middle. I think the defensive problems can be fixed with time. At the end of the game with the three guards of Gilbert, Adams, and Vital on the floor together, the team played well on both ends of the floor. They got some fast breaks, spread the floor, moved the ball, and scored.

The biggest concern that I had from last night was the play of Larrier. He had a really poor all-around game last night and the team played poorly when he was on the floor. He didn't shoot well, defend well, rebound well, pass well,... He took 15 shots in the first half which tells you a lot about last night's game as the ball pretty much stopped when he got it and he just jacked it up. Maybe the issue is not really playing in live action for 2 years. Maybe he had a bad night. Maybe his knee is not fully recovered. But, maybe he is not as good as we all have hoped.
 
RJScootin said:
Sad to see posters talking about Providence as a team out of UConns league now. So great we shouldn't expect UConn to come close to competing.

Hope UConn schedules more games at Mohegan in future. Fun place to watch a game. Maybe not schedule such college basketball juggernaut to make it a little more enjoyable next time.
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Agree as far as the venue. I sat in the second row of the upper section and could see only the court (like being right on top of it) and the one row of folks in front of me. Comfortable chairs and room for people to get by. Place is spotless including men's rooms. Drove right into the "Riverview garage" and never had to even go outdoors. Delighted to find a Pepe's Pizza shop and it was sold during the game by slice as well. I enjoyed watching PC give them a real challenge early in the preseason. I think PC is well coached and their he was really into it. Talked to a PC fan and when I said I thought they were pretty good he said he thinks Rhode Island is better. Overall all of this is good for New England. Helps to thin out the talent going to the P5 and making a way for talented coaches to raise up programs.
 
Nostical said:
Three of PC's top guys did not even play last night! Our back court is good but our front court is (and seems to be perpetually) weak, young and inexperienced. If they don't improve dramatically it will be a long year and Ollie will be sitting on one of the the hottest seats in BBall. We can't afford to be mediocre. Benedict won't hesitate to make a move. He didn't hire him and Calhoun has moved on.
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That is if Benedict is still here. Isn't Auburn looking for a new AD?
 
The issue last night was absolutely defense. PC shot something like 75% from 3 and about the same from the field. They didn't miss. Uconn couldn't rebound and push. Adams and vital looked good. I liked what I saw from Diarra (aside from the nickel/dime fouls) Cobb and carlton.

Larrier couldn't get anything to fall...that will change.

I was hoping kwintin would play more. I didn't read this whole thread. Maybe someone had some insight?
 
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KembaStepback said:
The issue last night was absolutely defense. PC shot something like 75% from 3 and about the same from the field. They didn't miss. Uconn couldn't rebound and push. Adams and vital looked good. I liked what I saw from Diarra (aside from the nickel/dime fouls) Cobb and carlton.

Larrier couldn't get anything to fall...that will change.

I was hoping kwintin would play more. I didn't read this whole thread. Maybe someone had some insight?
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Agreed. I mean we scored 76 points. If we tighten up our defense on most nights 76 will be enough to win
 
Larrier needs to keep the ball moving. It stops with him like melo. No one makes any cuts and they all stay on the perimeter. I do think our bigs will improve and be a good option down on the post. Defensively we need to improve immediately
 
UConn men' hoops is just another stark reality of the damage done to the school's revenue sports by conference realignment. It will obviously take longer with the women with Geno still coaching. When he leaves, start the hourglass. Without a P5 conference platform, UConn athletic program is taking on water
 
TouchdownHusky said:
UConn men' hoops is just another stark reality of the damage done to the school's revenue sports by conference realignment. It will obviously take longer with the women with Geno still coaching. When he leaves, start the hourglass. Without a P5 conference platform, UConn athletic program is taking on water
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That display last night has nothing to do with P5 conference
 
TouchdownHusky said:
UConn men' hoops is just another stark reality of the damage done to the school's revenue sports by conference realignment. It will obviously take longer with the women with Geno still coaching. When he leaves, start the hourglass. Without a P5 conference platform, UConn athletic program is taking on water
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We have a very solid schedule this year with a lot of ranked teams so next we have to get recruits to buy in.
 
dennismenace said:
Agree as far as the venue. I sat in the second row of the upper section and could see only the court (like being right on top of it) and the one row of folks in front of me. Comfortable chairs and room for people to get by. Place is spotless including men's rooms. Drove right into the "Riverview garage" and never had to even go outdoors. Delighted to find a Pepe's Pizza shop and it was sold during the game by slice as well. I enjoyed watching PC give them a real challenge early in the preseason. I think PC is well coached and their he was really into it. Talked to a PC fan and when I said I thought they were pretty good he said he thinks Rhode Island is better. Overall all of this is good for New England. Helps to thin out the talent going to the P5 and making a way for talented coaches to raise up programs.
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I'm shocked Pepe's is willing to put their name on that pizza that was served in the arena. It was lukewarm and covered in oil. I actually believe it was worse than regular arena pizza. But agreed great clean arena.
 
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GemParty said:
That is if Benedict is still here. Isn't Auburn looking for a new AD?
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Not officially. But it’s not looking good for him.
 
the Q said:
Not officially. But it’s not looking good for him.
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Not looking good in the sense Auburn won't hire him or not looking good in the sense bad news for UConn because they will hire him?
 
nomar said:
You don't seem to grasp the full reality of the situation.

We need time to gel. And we do have time to gel. Not a lot of time, but time.

Anyone who thought this team would play well right off the bat should have their head checked. Because that notion was crazy.

I agree that the team needs to have a decent enough record to compete for an NCAA berth, or Ollie's on the chopping block. But if we get there, it's going to be because the team improves over time, not because it's magically great right out of the box.

I really can't tell you how silly I think it is for anybody who's been watching college basketball for longer than 2 months to have thought that this team would be playing well in November.
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It would be silly in a vacuum, except this is exactly what we've all said over and over again the last few years and it doesn't turn around.

I'm no longer making excuses for KO and saying we need time to gel. We need results.
 
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gampelcrazies said:
Also another thing to point out was the refs were awful both ways tonight. Really took the flow out of the game.
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Refs called the fouls. The players were awful at not fouling. Which is to be expected in an exhibition game.
 
OkaForPrez said:
Here's your annual reminder about October/November Hot Takes.

Sam Cassell Jr
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That was a rosy take.

This program doesn't do pleasant surprises anymore. I don't expect Larrier to be as bad all season as he was last night, but it's not too early to say he was badly over-hyped.
 
Storrs South said:
Not looking good in the sense Auburn won't hire him or not looking good in the sense bad news for UConn because they will hire him?
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Sorry my bad. Not looking good for the auburn ad. He's getting a lot of heat for a debacle with the softball team. He's probably gonna get fired.
 
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A few takeaways:
1. This team will rely heavily on Jalen
2. Rique needs to take the ball to the rim more
3. All 3 freshmen will be very good, even if not this year
4. Cobb will give us a decent post presence and will rebound well
5. Anderson may not be a top 3 guard, but his toughness and defense will get him 15-20 minutes a night
6. Vital is going to be huge and likely the second highest scorer
 
nomar said:
You don't seem to grasp the full reality of the situation.

We need time to gel. And we do have time to gel. Not a lot of time, but time.

Anyone who thought this team would play well right off the bat should have their head checked. Because that notion was crazy.

I agree that the team needs to have a decent enough record to compete for an NCAA berth, or Ollie's on the chopping block. But if we get there, it's going to be because the team improves over time, not because it's magically great right out of the box.

I really can't tell you how silly I think it is for anybody who's been watching college basketball for longer than 2 months to have thought that this team would be playing well in November.
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I agree in part, but I think you're overstating the situation to suggest that people would be crazy to think we could be good off the bat. Did anybody expect us to beat #2 Michigan State and railroad Kentucky in 2010? I mean seriously, try to think back to that moment when a Husky team starting three freshman was taking on a group that returned four starters from a final four team. Yes we had Kemba, yes we had Calhoun, but those things only became clear in hindsight. At the time, the idea that we could hang with Michigan State, much less beat them, was the stuff of fantasy. Hell, it was the stuff of fantasy five years ago when we opened the season in Germany against the same Michigan State program.

But now we need to get our head checks to think they should turn in a representative performance against Providence? They ranked 60th last season in KenPom, guys. They didn't make it to the round of 64 and they were missing two of their five starters - Lindsay and Holt - for this exhibition. They recruit from the same tree that we do and those same recruits, and I'm talking about the first and second year guys, put a clown suit on us. They shot 67%. Sixty seven percent. They led by 27 with 8 minutes left. I would argue that you need your head checked if you expected that.

It's not the end of the world and it would be foolish to draw too many conclusions from what amounted to a charity game. Things change quickly in college basketball for obvious reasons, but there is also variance. That was one game and if a few less shots fall for PC, it shouldn't dramatically alter the outlook. The same would be true if UConn won. I do think, though, that it is fair to be alarmed at this point, and I don't think that's because expectations were unrealistic.
 
champs99and04 said:
I agree in part, but I think you're overstating the situation to suggest that people would be crazy to think we could be good off the bat. Did anybody expect us to beat #2 Michigan State and railroad Kentucky in 2010? I mean seriously, try to think back to that moment when a Husky team starting three freshman was taking on a group that returned four starters from a final four team. Yes we had Kemba, yes we had Calhoun, but those things only became clear in hindsight. At the time, the idea that we could hang with Michigan State, much less beat them, was the stuff of fantasy. Hell, it was the stuff of fantasy five years ago when we opened the season in Germany against the same Michigan State program.

But now we need to get our head checks to think they should turn in a representative performance against Providence? They ranked 60th last season in KenPom, guys. They didn't make it to the round of 64 and they were missing two of their five starters - Lindsay and Holt - for this exhibition. They recruit from the same tree that we do and those same recruits, and I'm talking about the first and second year guys, put a clown suit on us. They shot 67%. Sixty seven percent. They led by 27 with 8 minutes left. I would argue that you need your head checked if you expected that.

It's not the end of the world and it would be foolish to draw too many conclusions from what amounted to a charity game. Things change quickly in college basketball for obvious reasons, but there is also variance. That was one game and if a few less shots fall for PC, it shouldn't dramatically alter the outlook. The same would be true if UConn won. I do think, though, that it is fair to be alarmed at this point, and I don't think that's because expectations were unrealistic.
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I gotta say, I don't always agree with what you write, but as someone who essentially writes for a living, I appreciate your well-crafted posts.

I didn't expect much out of the team in this game, or in the first few weeks of the season, and I suppose I didn't appreciate how many people did. I didn't expect PC to shoot 67%, no, but yeah I do think that it was Pollyannish for anyone to think that a team with approximately 3,000 new pieces was going to click immediately. Could they have? Sure. Anything's possible; UConn fans know that better than anyone. But was it likely? This isn't 20/20 hindsight. I was saying this all summer.

I do expect great things out of Adams, and Vital is solid. And I expect Gilbert will be very good this year. But he's essentially a freshman. Larrier has a high ceiling but, IMO, a low floor as well. I was not impressed by him before his injury last year, although admittedly the sample size was small. And we replaced our two (four?) best big men with a JUCO, an average Ivy Leaguer, a dunker and some freshmen (one a RS).

Don't get me wrong; I think this team can be good, once Gilbert and Larrier get their sea legs and the guys learn to play with one another. But you simply can't throw a new team out there for the first time against a decent team and expect miracles. Hey, at least we only turned it over 10 times.

Hopefully the team can start gelling by Thanksgiving.
 
TouchdownHusky said:
UConn men' hoops is just another stark reality of the damage done to the school's revenue sports by conference realignment. It will obviously take longer with the women with Geno still coaching. When he leaves, start the hourglass. Without a P5 conference platform, UConn athletic program is taking on water
Expand ...

Why the hell are you here? Honestly. You're a turd in the bowl.
 
JimOllie said:
A few takeaways:
1. This team will rely heavily on Jalen
2. Rique needs to take the ball to the rim more
3. All 3 freshmen will be very good, even if not this year
4. Cobb will give us a decent post presence and will rebound well
5. Anderson may not be a top 3 guard, but his toughness and defense will get him 15-20 minutes a night
6. Vital is going to be huge and likely the second highest scorer
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Anderson looked lost on defense. Gilbert should be the facilitator. We need our wings to make more cuts to the basket. We had four of our players on the perimeter and then it lead to one on one threes. We have the talent but putting it together is another thing
 
kansashusky said:
I just want to remember who the poster was that suggested Kwintin would be turning pro after this year.

Edit* It was @AZHuskiePop
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If you understand his background and age Then you might have a clue
He was going to go pro this. year.
,when he got the UConn offer. He had no NBA delusions.
Going pro does not necessarily mean NBA . But if he shows anything at UConn it can mean making more money. It’s going to be a long season he will get his chance.
My statement was he will not be here next year and I still believe that.The problem with many on the board is they forget that the players are human. Humans don’t fit neatly into to some compartment.
Unless this kid suddenly gets a burst of scholarship there is zero benefit to him staying more than a year.
 
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