This was the best game UConn has played this year. Very good D and also Tulane hasn’t been able to defend the ball screens. UConn offense looked functional, although I cringe whenever Anderson drives the ball.
Tulane
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Ollie seems to be going with Whaley and Carlton as his primary bigs and subbing Onuorah off the bench. All 3 have given UConn something today. Adams has played very well although he still turns the ball over too much. He doesn’t have a tight dribble like Khalid El Amin or Chris Smith and when he drives in traffic it can get hellacious for him. Not as hellacious as when Anderson drives though, and when he does I am waiting for something really bad to happen. And just kind of holding my breath.
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Ollie said Shabazz Napier spoke to the team this morning about what it means to wear a UConn uniform. They played like they got the message. Let’s bring in Ray Allen for the next game, Khalid El Amin for the one after that and Kemba for the following game. Just keep it coming and keep it going guys.
It's Jalen or bust for this team, it's what we all said from the very beginning. Limited Anderson just to give Jalen a break off the ball since KO doesn't take JA off the floor for 40 minutes. ( Just like JC would bring in Napier as a FR, even though Kemba would still stay on the court) And KO needs to stop running Jalen around in that stupid motion wheel for nothing...to rest him until they give him the ball in the last 15 secs of the shot clock. Besides that... if I hear another thing about Larrier's athleticism or the NBA I'm gonna throw up, he's a terrible athlete. The kid is a weak stick man with no body control, no hops /explosion and a pathetic handle who dribbles into to worst spots on the court where his weak BB IQ has no chance to succeed. If he doesn't lose it once he puts it on the floor. He has one skill, as a spot up shooter, stick to that TL, it's not a bad skill.. Uconn gets the W despite his play. If you want to see athleticism, check out that kid Frazier on Tulane. But take the W and learn KO.
also...gameball to Josh Carlton for stickin with it and keepin the ball over his head.. career high 10 pts + 6 rebs
also...gameball to Josh Carlton for stickin with it and keepin the ball over his head.. career high 10 pts + 6 rebs
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Larrier is terrible putting the ball on the floor and has bad TOs, but he did play pretty good D this game. He is a D’Andre Daniels type of player. Daniels was not all that great either except as a spot up shooter who was creating mismatches at the 4.....maybe we just have to accept the imperfections of this team. They can win some games if they continue to play like they did today.
Carlton and Whaley are learning and getting better.
Carlton and Whaley are learning and getting better.
Larrier is averaging the same # of rebounds as Jalen(5.1). That is an excellent number for a PG, but not for a guy that was supposed to be our stretch 4. He is also shooting only 42%. He needs to be closer to 50%. At this point, he is what he is. Leaving will be addition by subtraction.
Too bad about Gilbert, because this team has contributors. If Jalen and Gilbert return and there is a new voice in the locker room/sideline, this could be a really good team next year.
Too bad about Gilbert, because this team has contributors. If Jalen and Gilbert return and there is a new voice in the locker room/sideline, this could be a really good team next year.
These guys all have flaws. Jalen isn’t great shooting the 3 and has too many TOs, Larrier has problems with TOs and doesn’t rebound well, Vital plays aggressively but takes some bad shots, and there really isn’t a backup point guard because the ball is a hot potato in Anderson’s hands. The bigs are all foul prone and also somewhat TO prone and none of them are great rebounders, and there is not really a lights out 3 point shooter like Rashad Anderson or Ben Gordon or Albert Mouring. It’s an imperfect team. But, you get the sense that they can win some games if they play a little better like they did today. It’s really a shame about Gilbert because I think Adams would be much, much better if he wasn’t the primary ballhandler as he had to be the past 2 years.
i am REALLY excited about Carlton which means he probably transfers. Whaley is good and Im encouraged but I am not AS high as most of you. He still is just so sloppy but you cant deny that those two are the two who deserve the playing time. I would have loved to see Sid play so we saw less of Terry. I think Terry is a nice kid but agree 1000% that he is not even close to a NBA player.
I was encouraged by the team ball today. I will say Adams is a sure thing pretty much anytime he wants a floater in the lane.....I am VERY impressed by his ability to score on floaters, high off the glass while falling down, banks shots from any angle.....impressive.
Anderson LOOKS like a baller but dude........if Gilbert was healthy Anderson wouldn't play but spot minutes.
I was encouraged by the team ball today. I will say Adams is a sure thing pretty much anytime he wants a floater in the lane.....I am VERY impressed by his ability to score on floaters, high off the glass while falling down, banks shots from any angle.....impressive.
Anderson LOOKS like a baller but dude........if Gilbert was healthy Anderson wouldn't play but spot minutes.
One more thing that you guys touched on with Anderson. I still don't get KO's attraction to him and that 3 guard line-up he loves to go back to, way to long. It took him long enough, but I like that KO finally figured out he gets more from a traditional line-up with Carlton/ Whaley(love his D) at the 4/5 with Onurah (7 rebs) / Diarra off the bench, if just for D and rebounding... with Larrier never at the 4 since he can't rebound or handle the other teams bigs on D. But then KO still wants to force Anderson in for way to much PT, in that 3 guard set (w/ TL @ the 4), when he brings pretty much nothing. I can see it for closing games out at the end since AA's a good FT shooter but that's where that small line-up should end. And I noticed as soon as KO went small, Dunleavy exploited a small Uconn guard down low who was trying to guard the 6' 6" Frazier or a bigger player. ....here's a read from the Tulane side:
NOLA: Tulane offense goes cold in home loss to UConn
"Adams is, obviously, one of the top point guards in the country," Dunleavy said. "He's got a lot of game. He can score it and he can make plays. He can shoot the 3 and he can take you off the dribble."
Also where would this team be without Jalen ? He accounted for 60% of Uconn points on scoring or assists in this game. As off as he seems on his 3pt shot he's tied for 2nd on the team with Vital at 31%. And is the teams triple threat who is now leading them in scoring, rebounding and assists( by almost 3 -1 over everyone else). Like you guys said it's to bad that Gilbert's out since JA gets no rest and worn down because he has to do it all. Though Gilbert at 22% from 3 and 32% on his FG's might not have been the offensive answer that we think.
NOLA: Tulane offense goes cold in home loss to UConn
"Adams is, obviously, one of the top point guards in the country," Dunleavy said. "He's got a lot of game. He can score it and he can make plays. He can shoot the 3 and he can take you off the dribble."
Also where would this team be without Jalen ? He accounted for 60% of Uconn points on scoring or assists in this game. As off as he seems on his 3pt shot he's tied for 2nd on the team with Vital at 31%. And is the teams triple threat who is now leading them in scoring, rebounding and assists( by almost 3 -1 over everyone else). Like you guys said it's to bad that Gilbert's out since JA gets no rest and worn down because he has to do it all. Though Gilbert at 22% from 3 and 32% on his FG's might not have been the offensive answer that we think.
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one more: UConn Men Notebook: Big Day For Josh Carlton, David Onuorah
Anderson Still Searching
"Antwoine Anderson, who went 0-for-5 from the floor in 27 minutes, is still searching for his shot. He’s 3-for-28, including 0-for-14 on 3-point shots, since making a three during the game at Arizona on Dec. 21.
“’Twoine is playing better basketball and it’s allowing us to get Jalen off the ball a little bit on the wing,” Ollie said. “I know 0-for-5 in 27 minutes, but he’s really calming us down and a lot of people don’t see that because they go by the stats.”
True about getting JA off the ball... but no KO the stats don't lie...he needs to be out there about half those minutes.
Anderson Still Searching
"Antwoine Anderson, who went 0-for-5 from the floor in 27 minutes, is still searching for his shot. He’s 3-for-28, including 0-for-14 on 3-point shots, since making a three during the game at Arizona on Dec. 21.
“’Twoine is playing better basketball and it’s allowing us to get Jalen off the ball a little bit on the wing,” Ollie said. “I know 0-for-5 in 27 minutes, but he’s really calming us down and a lot of people don’t see that because they go by the stats.”
True about getting JA off the ball... but no KO the stats don't lie...he needs to be out there about half those minutes.
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31% on 3s sucks donkey balls. This is the one major flaw in Adams game- he also doesn’t have a tight handle which wouldn’t be as much of an issue if he wasn’t the primary ball handler.
Regarding Anderson, he plays too much IMHO and as was already said he would be a mop up kind of guy if Gilbert was healthy and there was real guard depth. One has to be concerned by the minutes Adams is playing and I agree the team is way, way too reliant on him. If Jalen went down with an injury this team would be hard pressed to win any games. It would be a nightmare.
Regarding Anderson, he plays too much IMHO and as was already said he would be a mop up kind of guy if Gilbert was healthy and there was real guard depth. One has to be concerned by the minutes Adams is playing and I agree the team is way, way too reliant on him. If Jalen went down with an injury this team would be hard pressed to win any games. It would be a nightmare.
The PG just needs the 3 to keep the other team honest, Gilbert is even worse, by far. JA shot 35% last year, which is the career number for KEA ... so he still could improve his rate. So you might have have selective memory, Kemba was a career 32% on 3' s (Shabazz was great @ 38% then you had AJ Price 36%, Tate 32%, our SG Dyson @ 31%, KO 26%, Taliek 23% , should I go on ?)....But KO's biggest problem is he hasn't brought in anyone who has been effective to shoot the 3.... Vital... the teams SG.... is hitting at the same rate as JA... Vance (40 % last year) was the only other guy he had to spread out the court and help JA's ability off the dribble...but KO ran him off the team...... JA lead the AAC in assists last year ...so you don't want that guy as your primary ball handler ?
I agree... Jalen forces things at times and makes some bad drives because he gets worn down, has to do to much & gets frustrated with the others..but overall he's still the Answer and he'd be better if he didn't have a team full of Question marks around him.
I agree... Jalen forces things at times and makes some bad drives because he gets worn down, has to do to much & gets frustrated with the others..but overall he's still the Answer and he'd be better if he didn't have a team full of Question marks around him.
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There's a lit to criticize about Anderson, given his lack of shooting ability. However, I like the fact that he gas the ability to penetrate through small gaps in the zone. The problem is that, once inside, he can't score. If UConn had someone who could catch and finish inside, it would really help to break down the zones they consistently see.
He doesn't have the physical strength. Anderson can get to the hole sometimes, but all his drives seem to end in disastrous TOs, blocked shots or bad shots from not being able to take or shake contact. What's likeable about the guy is he plays very hard and is aggressive, and seems to be a great kid with good attitude, but he is useless as a penetrator and as a shooter. UConn needs another guard who can do both with effectiveness. I would take Craig Austrie back in the day over Anderson, or Albert Mouring, or Rashad Anderson, or John Gwynn, or even E.J. Harrison.
RJ Evans had the unofficial record for most times getting his shot blocked, per shots taken. I would take Lasan Kromah over him or Anderson.
Had to add this regarding the lack of shooters on this team.....I guess with a comment like this ^^^^ from the coach, it explains alot regarding him and recruiting ....... Remember the guy Kevin signed to a NLI & lost ? ....We all heard Makai Ashton-Langford ( Stats ) was a bad shooter ...but can you get any worse ? MAL is at 10.5% on 3pt'ers / 47 % on FT's this season. I guess shooting is not a required skill for KO, SMH ! ( BTW, that other KO miss, Hamidou Diallo, is having a nice year, FWIW)
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The only "calming" Anderson does is to give Adams a blow off the ball. He certainly does not do anything to calm me down when I watch him drive the ball. His inability to shoot is a problem for the team, because other teams can sag off him and cut down his passing and driving lanes.
