UConn clobbered 20-11 on the boards, first half. This despite starting 3 bigs over 6’8”. That’s pretty much the only reason why they are losing. Sad.
Cincy game
- Thread starter KhalidShockedTheWorld
- Start date
With SMU losing by 47 to UCF today, UConn can move back into a tie for 9th place in the AAC with a win.
2 words - Alterique Gilbert
The kid is a cancer on offense... reckless, forced shots, won't share the ball or throws it into terrible places where his team mates can't do anything with it. 8 or 9 trips in a row start at of the 2nd half he was a zero and played his team right out of the game. ..... he single handedly turned a 3 point deficit into a 15 point Cincy lead.
19:28 Alterique Gilbert missed Jumper.
18:46 Alterique Gilbert missed Three Point Jumper.
18:31 Alterique Gilbert Turnover.
17:22 Alterique Gilbert Turnover.
16:54 Alterique Gilbert missed Three Point Jumper.
15:09 Alterique Gilbert missed Free Throw.
14:17 Alterique Gilbert missed Layup.
13:07 Alterique Gilbert missed Jumper.
11:54 Alterique Gilbert missed Jumper.
Not only that but his hero ball leads to other guys like Wilson and Vital throwing up garbage. Uconn only made it a game once AG stopped shooting and despite his 5-18 on FG's (plus another 0-6 night on 3pt's) and 4 TO's.........once Uconn got back into it I knew he was gonna try to be a hero again and sure enough he throws up a 25 ft
3:52 Alterique Gilbert missed Three Point Jumper.
NEWS FLASH AG, your not KEMBA, Shabazz or even Jalen ! I'll give him alot of credit for his D, but he's a poison to the offense and if he wants to help his team.....he needs to learn to make his team mates better as a true PG first and stop freezing them out by being a reckless ball hog. Also it would be nice if he learned to use a pull up/mid range (like Kemba did between his soph and JR years) on his reckless drives to the hoop that draw everyone on top of him. That only clogs up everything in the lane especialy for the bigs, when(or if) he tries to pass to em' from 2ft away.
The kid is a cancer on offense... reckless, forced shots, won't share the ball or throws it into terrible places where his team mates can't do anything with it. 8 or 9 trips in a row start at of the 2nd half he was a zero and played his team right out of the game. ..... he single handedly turned a 3 point deficit into a 15 point Cincy lead.
19:28 Alterique Gilbert missed Jumper.
18:46 Alterique Gilbert missed Three Point Jumper.
18:31 Alterique Gilbert Turnover.
17:22 Alterique Gilbert Turnover.
16:54 Alterique Gilbert missed Three Point Jumper.
15:09 Alterique Gilbert missed Free Throw.
14:17 Alterique Gilbert missed Layup.
13:07 Alterique Gilbert missed Jumper.
11:54 Alterique Gilbert missed Jumper.
Not only that but his hero ball leads to other guys like Wilson and Vital throwing up garbage. Uconn only made it a game once AG stopped shooting and despite his 5-18 on FG's (plus another 0-6 night on 3pt's) and 4 TO's.........once Uconn got back into it I knew he was gonna try to be a hero again and sure enough he throws up a 25 ft
3:52 Alterique Gilbert missed Three Point Jumper.
NEWS FLASH AG, your not KEMBA, Shabazz or even Jalen ! I'll give him alot of credit for his D, but he's a poison to the offense and if he wants to help his team.....he needs to learn to make his team mates better as a true PG first and stop freezing them out by being a reckless ball hog. Also it would be nice if he learned to use a pull up/mid range (like Kemba did between his soph and JR years) on his reckless drives to the hoop that draw everyone on top of him. That only clogs up everything in the lane especialy for the bigs, when(or if) he tries to pass to em' from 2ft away.
Last edited:
one more thing..... watch the replay of the game with 6.2 secs left and cincy trying to in bound the ball....the referee counted with his hand motion clear as day to 5 secs and still gave Cincy a timeout even though he was starting his 6 count and despite the violation....SMH !
Last edited:
In real time it looked to me like Cincy called TO too late on that play. That, and Broome's 3 pointer from at least 6 feet behind the 3 point line, with 1/10th of a second on the shot clock (which expired just as he released) constituted major breaks for Cincy at the end of this game. Cincy also got major breaks to win the first game between these 2 teams. However, UConn did not really play that well for 35 minutes and I can't say they deserved to win today.
After watching this game, I'm left to wonder what has gone on this season. With no coaching change at all, on paper this should have been a much better team than last year, since they didn't really lose any major parts, everyone has a year more experience, and AG played for most of the season. Yet, here they are sitting one game below .500 in late February. On the positive side, rebounding hasn't a glaring issue (yesterday aside), they haven't lost any games they shouldn't have lost, and they were only really blown out in two games. However, the record is what it is. If I could point to one thing that kills them it would be the horrible second half starts. Cincy was going to be a reach for them anyways, but spotting them a 15 point lead out of the gate in the second half sealed the game. I also get back to my concerns about the lineup. Watching yesterday's game, I'm even more convinced that whatever advantage Hurley believes the three-small-guards-plus-a-forward-who's-really-a-two-guard-who-can't-dribble lineup gives them on the offensive side is given back with interest on the defensive end. I didn't expect a lot out of the team this year, but I did think that the record would show some improvement. A win over Cincy would have been a great way to kick start this team and give some hope, but right now I think this season has been a disappointment.
I would say on balance the team has been a disappointment. They are 13-14, and if they split their final 4 games, 15-16 and a first round loss in the AAC tournament will mean no postseason, again. UConn needs to win 3 of the last 4, which may be a stretch, but even then, if they lose in AAC tourney they will be 16-16. That’s not what you want.
The flaws of the team have been well discussed: lack of size and strength, poor assist totals, substandard rebounding from the bigs such that a 6’2” guard is their best rebounder, and poor decision making/low IQ basketball on a consistent basis, particularly from the guards corps, which is the supposed strength of the team. The team lacks cohesion on offense, and is terrible at finishing drives and scoring ops, mostly because of their weak physical profiles.
The flaws of the team have been well discussed: lack of size and strength, poor assist totals, substandard rebounding from the bigs such that a 6’2” guard is their best rebounder, and poor decision making/low IQ basketball on a consistent basis, particularly from the guards corps, which is the supposed strength of the team. The team lacks cohesion on offense, and is terrible at finishing drives and scoring ops, mostly because of their weak physical profiles.
All this is true, yet I struggle to see why there is no marked improvement over last year. Without getting into the glaring weaknesses which have become standard for this team recently, this is the exact same team as last year - just with more experience and better talent. Throw in a new coach who should know what he is doing, and you would think they would be a few wins over .500 at this point. Yet the results could be even worse than last year. Shouldn't the increased experience, better talent, and new coach have been worth a few more wins?
I thought UConn would be around 16-11 or 17-10 right now, based on everything that you say. The league is tougher than in past years, and UConn has lost some close games in which lucky bounces did not fall their way. The 2 Cincy games, with better luck, would have been wins. The other part of it is the team's chemistry has not been good and the constant deployment of 3 guard lineups have not created enough TOs and generated enough offense to overcome their defensive deficiencies. Unfortunately, they have looked like last year's team too often, while flashing glimpses of being better. But those glimpses have not come against anyone good except in the Syracuse game, which seems like an outlier in this team's performance this year.
Covered this before but...Larrier, Polley, Wilson (the undersized/anorexic stretch 4's) that are only strong enough to play the 3, has got to go. They were all recruits based on KO's delusion probably because of the 6-9 Daniels playing the 4. You might get away with it like the NC team did in 2014, but only if you have another 6-8/210lb forward who was a good defender and rebounder like Giffey playing with him as a 3. Even that team was deficient early in the year defensively until they benched Omar at the 3 ( who was really about 6-4). Small ball doesn't work unless you have some beasts physically (see this years Houston team) at the 4-5 or some stronger talented guards like Foye on Nova when they playing that style back in the day. But even Jay Wright, who DH read his book on small ball, doesn't play that style anymore.
Last edited:
" But UConn has certainly been snakebit. The Huskies are 0-5 since Adams, the team’s best player and leading scorer, suffered a sprained MCL. He’s working hard to get back this season (don’t rule out Senior Night on March 7), but nothing is certain. Gilbert missed four games after injuring his surgically-repaired shoulder on Jan. 26 and has been rusty since his return on Thursday night. Kassoum Yakwe, expected to be the type of long-armed shot-blocker Hurley needs, is out for the season, and it appears Mamadou Diarra essentially is, as well. "
Hurley's take on the AAC and mentions size of the players......so maybe he will re evaluate the (3 guard w/ anorexic 4's) small ball he's been trying to play..... It's fine for the A-10 but it doesn't work in the power 6 conferences.
----In short, it’s been an eye-opener for Hurley, who coached Rhode Island in the Atlantic-10 the prior six seasons. “It’s a really good league,” Hurley said on Wednesday. “I’d say the guys are probably a little bigger, probably an inch or two taller than they were in the A-10, a little bit stronger in terms of their body. It’s a better league.”-----
----In short, it’s been an eye-opener for Hurley, who coached Rhode Island in the Atlantic-10 the prior six seasons. “It’s a really good league,” Hurley said on Wednesday. “I’d say the guys are probably a little bigger, probably an inch or two taller than they were in the A-10, a little bit stronger in terms of their body. It’s a better league.”-----
Last edited:
I realize Rome was not built in a day, but when will we see the results of the Sal Alosi strength and conditioning regime? Maybe we can also start recruiting some guys who are somewhat finished products physically so Alosi won’t be working 365/24/7 putting meat and muscle on these guys?
This.... ^^^^^... which is the opposite of what KO brought in the last few years
