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Starters, coaches show & first game (Wed @ The XL Center)

the Blades

the Blades

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Jan 20, 2003
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DH podcast----talks about the starters ( no small ball), says Akok is the most ready of the FR to start, Harvard recap( he only had 8 players),
tomorrows exhib in Hartford vs. ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE ( tickets $3 - $13...Ticket Info..)
2019-20-starters-Open.jpg

 
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I presume St. Michael’s has a much smaller team and Hurley is doing the right thing (even though Bouknight is probably in doghouse if not suspended) by going BIG. Against smaller teams from lower divisions of college you want to pound them on the boards first and foremost. Granted it’s an exhibition game but you also don’t want to lose and once you get a big lead then you can fool around with different lineups and matchups. No prisoners should be taken in the first half anyway.
 
Listen to the podcast, you'll learn more...( ps-- don't presume :D )
 
What I got out of that Podcast is they started Akok against Harvard in the “secret” scrimmage and liked what he gave them on defense. I think Hurley said he was pleasantly surprised Akok didn’t look “scary” on D, as freshman sometimes do (like Enoch his freshman year, although he has supposedly evolved into a good defender with proper coaching at Louisville).
 
Pretty much... basically the starting line-up has nothing to do with St. Micheals.... Akok and Polley will both be starters going forward because it gives Uconn the chance to be a top 50 D, which can win you alot of games on it's own like it did for him at URI. Also Akok played 28 mins vs. Harvard for that reason, even though the teams O is behind the D right now, the way DH wants it. ( his main focus)..... and then they'll figure out how to get Akok the ball more as they work on the O as the pre-season evolves.
 
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Also interesting RJ Cole segment that tied into AG not coming back after this year and going pro. DH said it was a good situation because RJ declined applying for a waiver and preferred to sit and work this year while moving up from low major.... instead of splitting time with AG his SR year. . DH said then it'll be RJ and combo G Jalen Gaffney in the mix for PG next season.
 
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I am looking at the schedule and probably going to skip St. Michaels but I may target the November 8 game at Gampel against Sacred Heart. This is an SNY game and pending choosing a streaming service instead of cable which I have not yet done, I might go to this opener game. The Florida game in Gampel November 17 is against a team likely to be ranked in the top 10. That’s an ESPN game
 
I am smelling a lot of playing time for Brendan Adams in the exhibition and the opener. He has a very good opportunity for himself to demonstrate improvement.
 
"That likely leaves only two of the newcomers — redshirt freshman Akok Akok and freshman forward Richard Springs — available to play in UConn's exhibition game Wednesday against Saint Michael's College, a Division II program. Game time is 7 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford."

Write ups-
 
So with Springs & Bouknight out they played with 9 scholly players tonight, ( Gaffney played) it's starting to look like one of Geno's rosters...only 10 scholly players total, that kid Garry even played about 4 minutes tonight. They may need him during the season. :eek:.....

I'd say the team was a B+ to A ...on D... especially in the first half, real active and good switches vs. their motion offense....they needed it because the offense was terrible... low IQ forces and bad shots and half of the scoring was by accident (hail mary shots,etc.).... Whaley ( hit 3 or so 15-17 ft shots) is a serious player now, real active, just a plus player( looks alot bigger) and very effective on both ends. AG got it going in the 2nd half with better decisions...and it seemed like everyone followed. Not much from Josh because they triple teamed him (seriously) every time he got the ball. CV did everything and actually created a little O off the dribble in the 2nd too. But it was a good effort throughout on D and good for the kids to get their feet wet.



Uconn 103-64 = Box Score


Adjusted line-up:
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I watched the game and it was really sobering. Glad I watched it so that I can ratchet down any expectations that I had for this year.

I am not saying I've lost ALL hope but I was getting excited thinking they were an NCAA team and honestly my gut says they MIGHT make the NIT. We have no scorer to rely on and the offense just looked TERRIBLE. Its an exhibition but IT WAS ST. MARKS. We should have been up 30 at half based on athleticism alone. Whaley looking good? What game were you watching? He is so uncoordinated and will get dominated against anyone good.

AG looked decent in the second half but dear god what happens when he is playing against decent defenders?

TP looks like he might have something......there was a play in the first half that he pump faked a three and took it to the rack but instead of being a man he wiggle layup'd. It worked but against real teams that crap gets swatted into tomorrow. he needed to dunk it with anger!

Bouk might be a savior of sorts but count me as disappointed in what I saw from Akok. He seems thin and lost out there. Where are the athlete's and what is up with the JC passing around the perimeter offense? That sucked.

My overwhelming thought is that Vital is a problem and players just have a hard time being on the court with him. I have never been on board with his attitude and mental game.....I think he is a cancer, sorry but its just what I see.
 
Dominicfrank said:
I watched the game and it was really sobering. Glad I watched it so that I can ratchet down any expectations that I had for this year.

I am not saying I've lost ALL hope but I was getting excited thinking they were an NCAA team and honestly my gut says they MIGHT make the NIT. We have no scorer to rely on and the offense just looked TERRIBLE. Its an exhibition but IT WAS ST. MARKS. We should have been up 30 at half based on athleticism alone. Whaley looking good? What game were you watching? He is so uncoordinated and will get dominated against anyone good.

AG looked decent in the second half but dear god what happens when he is playing against decent defenders?

TP looks like he might have something......there was a play in the first half that he pump faked a three and took it to the rack but instead of being a man he wiggle layup'd. It worked but against real teams that crap gets swatted into tomorrow. he needed to dunk it with anger!

Bouk might be a savior of sorts but count me as disappointed in what I saw from Akok. He seems thin and lost out there. Where are the athlete's and what is up with the JC passing around the perimeter offense? That sucked.

My overwhelming thought is that Vital is a problem and players just have a hard time being on the court with him. I have never been on board with his attitude and mental game.....I think he is a cancer, sorry but its just what I see.
Click to expand...

Seriously....your brutal, I'd agree with some of your remarks and haven't always been a big CV fan either and finding a go to scorer could be a major problem...but the more you give your opinions, on hoops and recruits I'd say stick to your day job...

Whaley 7-9 on FG's, hit all his outside shots, covered for everyone who got beat off the dribble with 5 blocks and 6 boards in 18 minutes....What game where you watching ? .....you prove way to many times you don't have a f#cking clue abouts hoops and you prove it every time you give your off the wall opinions ....so spare me Red on Roundball... LOL!
 
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Even if Carlton was triple teamed, 22 3 point shots is too many. These guys have to get used to taking a couple dribbles in and shooting longer 18-20 foot 2s, that are inside the 3 point arc when the defense is collapsed inside. I hope that the coaches are teaching them on this. An open 3 is not necessarily a higher percentage shot.
 
Obviously most of this stuff needs to be tempered because after all it was vs. a (bad) DII team....but as DH said pre-game, you have to play these games to be effective by playing it right ( winning BB), not by out "talenting" them.... So I'd say the D ( holding them to 37%) was the one consistent thing minus a few breakdowns here and there ( Akok on their stretch 4) and some lucky shots they made. Creating 27 TO's and having 20 steals did Uconn's offense a big favor in a 39 point win....Vital's stat line with 15pts, 8 reb, 6 asst (only 2 TO's) w/ 6 steals and 6-6 on FT's you take any day of the week... Also Brendan Adams showed he could do a little more off the dribble was another thought........and one more : Akok and Wilson look a little shaky on FT's but the 81% for the team was a plus stat.

Storrs Central-Notes & Quotes: UConn Exhibition vs. St. Michael's
ON: Whaley in the Mix: A forgotten man last season, Whaley appears to be very much in UConn's plans this year. He did a great job showing why, with 14 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. Whaley was a tidy 7-for-9 from the field and added five blocks with one steal off the bench. He was a force at both ends through his time on the floor. If he can keep that level of play up during the season, it would make for a really strong group of wings (?) along with Tyler Polley and Sid Wilson, who scored 7 points and grabbed 6 rebounds on the night.

Hurley: "He brings a lot of value right (now) to the program. He's a really good backup for Josh (Carlton). ... Obviously, it would be hard to play him and Josh together against some of these smaller schools we're going to be play in the non-conference, but against people like Florida there's a chance to maybe play him at the four."
 
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KhalidShockedTheWorld said:
Even if Carlton was triple teamed, 22 3 point shots is too many. These guys have to get used to taking a couple dribbles in and shooting longer 18-20 foot 2s, that are inside the 3 point arc when the defense is collapsed inside. I hope that the coaches are teaching them on this. An open 3 is not necessarily a higher percentage shot.
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True, especially if your not making them (6-22 ), the D-2 team shot 34, leading to a bunch of long rebounds. That's what Uconn's offense looked like in the first half. A bunch of guys saying "I guess I'll bomb away because I'm open" or some reckless out of control drives with no idea what they were gonna do. 2nd half was a little better and more guys making the extra pass. But most coaches ( analytics) don't want 20 footers either, if your that far out, stay behind the line for the extra point.
 
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the Blades said:
Seriously....your brutal, I'd agree with some of your remarks and haven't always been a big CV fan either and finding a go to scorer could be a major problem...but the more you give your opinions, on hoops and recruits I'd say stick to your day job...

Whaley 7-9 on FG's, hit all his outside shots, covered for everyone who got beat off the dribble with 5 blocks and 6 boards in 18 minutes....What game where you watching ? .....you prove way to many times you don't have a f#cking clue abouts hoops and you prove it every time you give your off the wall opinions ....so spare me Red on Roundball... LOL!
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Blades: I love you buddy but to quote the great Melvin Udall "No need to stop being a lady"

Please let me know what I have been wrong about since I've joined this board. I am not perfect but I'm not wrong about much when it comes to UConn hoops. The thing I can recall that was my biggest surprise, to help you out a little, was that Bazz turned around his Soph /Jr years and did what he did his Sr year. That still doesn't make me wrong about those two middle years as I had direct access to things you just didn't that were happening at practice and within the team. I always wanted him to turn it around but I would have been wrong had someone asked me if he would ever turn it around and I would not have been the only one as he shocked everyone.......WHICH WAS AWESOME. I can rally around a kid turning it around and I still, to this very hour, follow Bazz and root for the kid.

You see Blades I judge people for a living, I'm really good at it. I usually get it right but have no issues being wrong, in fact, when it comes to UConn I LOVE being wrong about the negative I see. Whaley is a GOOD KID who loves UConn but he is far from a good player. His feet are loose as he travels 90% of the time he makes a basketball move with the ball. He has almost no control of his legs and add that to a lower than D1 court IQ and you get a below average D1 player. I love his passion but it's not enough to carry him against even average teams. I want to be wrong that I think he can't develop and I will cheer the kid on but my "spidey" sense is spot on with what I see in front of us right now with him.

Given that you really only disagreed with my Whaley comments I will leave it at that.
 
Dom I appreciate your support of the board ( I don't know about the love stuff, LOL! ) but really whats your highest level of hoops? What were you some 5' 8" kid who got to roll out the balls in gym class ?...and because you where so unathletic you think a guy dunking a ball is BB talent ???

But I'll give it to you strait....when you make personal comments like "What game were you watching?", then you drew first blood so be prepared to be called out on your lack of knowledge of the sport. Some of the stuff you write on here is decent stuff/ on point, but then other stuff is so way off that I don't waist my time to comment on it because it's clueless. I even gave you major props on the FB board regarding the call on Uconn Indy FB ( I already knew that's were it was going too) when most national media and a bunch of know-it alls thought Uconn would go crawling to the MAC or C-USA..... even though Indy FB was always the plan ( have you seen the schedule of P-5's they're lining up ?)

But trust me I've played at a high enough level and coached enough of this game to see things before the casual fan gets it. Like I called out KO on this board and his 2 ridiculous yes men(assts) and knew they would be history, 2 years before everyone besides me & maybe Canolee saw it ? It's funny that all those KO shills that knew so much and wanted to argue with me about him have disappeared ..... You and Bazz was a classic, you wined and complained because of what off court stuff you thought you knew all the way until he lead em' to a NC... But you couldn't see how he evolved after his soph year and that his BB IQ and skill set was at an elite level for a CBB player because " you think you can judge people" which has nothing to do with BB. So we had to listen to you knock the kid relentlessly for 2 years. Or when you thought it was end of Uconn's recruiting world when JC didn't get Jennings....( then they got this kid Kemba)...Same with Selby, Knight etc. but got Bazz instead.

I'd say stick to judging people if your good at it. I used to do that too owning my own entertainment company and good enough at judging talent to be able to retire twice ( in my 30's and later in my 40's) and been financially independent ever since.

Because understanding BB, players upside, seeing improvement ( it's nice to have coaching again) and be able to catch what's changing on the fly may be a little to fast for you...it's a whole different ball game......And regarding Whaley reshaping his game and his effectiveness ? ...Are you for real or just to upset that I didn't rain on this meaningless D-2 parade as much you did, so you had to start in on me ? Because everyone beside you, who watched, thought his game was like night and day from last year and most thought he was the best 2-way player in the entire game: Whaley thread from last night on TOS
Hopefully Whaley translates up in comp, supposedly he did in the win vs. top 35 Harvard ...and from his comments... Hurley thinks it can..... but what does he know ?

That's it I'm done ...so can we still be message board Uconn friends and get back to the critiquing without getting personal ?
 
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the Blades said:
Dom I appreciate your support of the board ( I don't know about the love stuff, LOL! ) but really whats your highest level of hoops? What were you some 5' 8" kid who got to roll out the balls in gym class ?...and because you where so unathletic you think a guy dunking a ball is BB talent ???

But I'll give it to you strait....when you make personal comments like "What game were you watching?", then you drew first blood so be prepared to be called out on your lack of knowledge of the sport. Some of the stuff you write on here is decent stuff/ on point, but then other stuff is so way off that I don't waist my time to comment on it because it's clueless. I even gave you major props on the FB board regarding the call on Uconn Indy FB ( I already knew that's were it was going too) when most the national media and a bunch of know-it alls thought Uconn would go crawling to the MAC or C-USA..... even though Indy FB was always the plan ( have you seen the schedule of P-5's they're lining up ?)

But trust me I've played at a high enough level and coached enough of this game to see things before the casual fan gets it. Like I called out KO on this board and his 2 ridiculous yes men(assts) and knew they would be history, 2 years before everyone besides me & maybe Canolee saw it ? It's funny that all those KO shills that knew so much and wanted to argue with me about him have disappeared ..... You and Bazz was a classic, you wined and complained because of what off court stuff you thought you knew all the way until he lead em' to a NC... But you couldn't see how he evolved after his soph year and that his BB IQ and skill set was at an elite level for a CBB player because " you think you can judge people" which has nothing to do with BB. So we had to listen to you knock the kid relentlessly for 2 years. Or when you thought it was end of Uconn's recruiting world when JC didn't get Jennings....( then they got this kid Kemba)...Same with Selby, Knight etc. but got Bazz instead.

I'd stay stick to judging people if your good at. I used to do that too owning my own entertainment company and good enough at judging talent to be able to retire twice ( in my 30's and later in my 40's) and been financially independent ever since.

Because understanding BB, players upside, seeing improvement ( it's nice to have coaching again) and be able to catch what's changing on the fly may be a little to fast for you...it's a whole different ball game......And regarding Whaley reshaping his game and his effectiveness ? ...Are you for real or just to upset that I didn't rain on this meaningless D-2 parade as much you did, so you had to start in on me ? Because everyone beside you, who watched, thought his game was like night and day from last year and most thought he was the best 2-way player in the entire game: Whaley thread from last night on TOS
Hopefully Whaley translates up in comp, supposedly he did in the win vs. top 35 Harvard ...and from his comments... Hurley thinks it can..... but what does he know ?

That's it I'm done ...so can can we still be message board Uconn friends and get back to the critiquing without getting personal ?
Click to expand...


You crack me up. We are all UConn fans here (6' 2" thank you very much and a collegiate athlete in multiple sports) LOL

Listen, I'll give you that Whaley was great in the second half. No doubt that if you had nothing but highlights anyone would say the kid can play.......AND as a nod to you "What game were you watching?" was overboard.....but I stand by my assessment of Whaley and would wager a cold brew at MSG during the BE tournament next season that I'm right about the kid not having the right stuff. I see a kid who still doesnt have control of his body, lifts his pivot 90% of the time and is wild around the rim with or without the ball.

Whaley is a D2 player with a D1 heart.
 
Dominicfrank said:
AND as a nod to you "What game were you watching?" was overboard.....but I stand by my assessment of Whaley ......Whaley is a D2 player with a D1 heart.
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I see....there we have it... eureka moment.. I normally have way more manners than that. But you still don't want to hear what anyone else thinks including his HC ? .....DH saw what I saw... real effectiveness on both ends........ So come on, your a working man I don't want to take your $$$....

ps.... when your back in CT let me know I have great seats at Gampel.
 
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Dominicfrank said:
what is up with the JC passing around the perimeter offense? That sucked.
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Don't know if you listened to the full Hurley post game above...it's pretty funny when he talks about Exhibition games in general ...he starts laughing.....but he said that the no offense was by design ( at 8:40 mark) ... DH- " we didn't run a play... we didn't throw the ball to Josh....( laughs) we didn't care...we did nothing but play ball, not try to get anything on film and try to stay healthy and make sure nothing bad happens " DH said it's more about getting through it and to lock in on Sacred Heart with nothing on tape for them and really downplayed the whole exhibition game thing.

Also said he'd rather do 2 closed scrimmages( he says those are real games) and a blue and white game instead (Hurley is also not a fan of the co-ed first night ) - I agree ..he'd rather have the guys only blue & white like they used to with Calhoun instead of these exhibition games, if they need to get the butterflies out in front of a crowd.

PS ...KSTW ....he also talks about taking to many( long rushed) 3's right after that
 
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