Uconn vs. UCF
- Thread starter the Blades
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UConn has the late start because it’s a UConn doubleheader tonight. Women play Louisville at 7 pm on national TV. The men play the nightcap lets hope for two wins on the road!!!
I thought UConn played a tough, competitive game last, a little too sloppy at times, but who knows how things would have been if AG had played. This team looks to me like it's headed in the right direction.
Agreed, UCF is just to tough a match-up down low for Uconn, with Fall, Smith/Brown and Polley forced to guard one of them. They needed another real big,
not skinny wings (like TP and Wilson) to compete. Also have to give UCF credit on D and Johnny Dawkins always having one and a half guys on Jalen knowing he was the only one who could create which caused him to get trapped to many times despite his 27 points.
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UConn is looking like a difficult team to play lately, and even though they are lacking juice inside, they are doing other things to stay in the games. Last night, like Blades said, Jalen had to handle the ball more than usual due to AG being out, UCF trapped him and he made some bad TOs. UConn was still in it despite that, and despite technical fouls on CV and Hurley. I felt like they had a shot to win and UCF to their credit made some shots to seal the game with Tacko Fall and his 28% FT shooting on the bench so that UConn couldn't hack a Taco.
UConn was even on the boards with UCF, again, and made 5 more 3 pointers. Those kinds of numbers will usually win on the road. The game was lost at the line 36 FTs for UCF to 13 by UConn, and a lot of that was UCF going inside on UConn.
UConn was even on the boards with UCF, again, and made 5 more 3 pointers. Those kinds of numbers will usually win on the road. The game was lost at the line 36 FTs for UCF to 13 by UConn, and a lot of that was UCF going inside on UConn.
This may be a dumb question, but is the position balance on this team so bad that they need to keep running Polley out there with the starting lineup? He may be a very good spot-up shooter, which is nice to have on the court. Unfortunately, three of the other starters out there are guards - and small guards at that. I don't see how this team could expect to be competitive against good teams when one of the two "bigs" on the floor spends his time standing around the three point line waiting for someone to get him a good look. He adds nothing else offensively to the team, gets abused on defense by legitimate bigs, and disappears way too often. He would be a nice change of pace guy to bring off the bench, but he has no business being in the starting lineup as one of the forwards on a three-guard team. I realize that Wilson isn't exactly a banger inside, but he can block shots, get rebounds, and do some stuff in the paint. It might be time to shake things up with the rotation.
USNA90,
Totally agree with your analysis. The only problem with starting Wilson over Polley is that Wilson is just as easily physically abused and pushed around defensively by bigs in the low post. However his shot blocking is something of a deterrent on defense when he is able to get good defensive position. Overall, he does add more on D than Polley, but Wilson isn't a good 3 point shooter and so far his offense is behind his defense. Although Vital is the best 3 point shooter on the team, Polley needs to be out there against zone defenses and in situations where one or two 3s needs to be made.
Totally agree with your analysis. The only problem with starting Wilson over Polley is that Wilson is just as easily physically abused and pushed around defensively by bigs in the low post. However his shot blocking is something of a deterrent on defense when he is able to get good defensive position. Overall, he does add more on D than Polley, but Wilson isn't a good 3 point shooter and so far his offense is behind his defense. Although Vital is the best 3 point shooter on the team, Polley needs to be out there against zone defenses and in situations where one or two 3s needs to be made.
Amen, I've been preachin' this from the start of the year..... This is all on what KO left him, but Hurley's version of small ball can't compete vs. teams with legit 4's and a presence down low, especially not with guys like Polley and as KSTW says regarding Wilson who is a 177lbs. Neither of them could start as a 3 let alone a 4 on any team in the Calhoun era. Hell guys like Rudy and Stanley were 6-9 /220lbs at the 3. Caron was a 3 and he was 6-7/235. But now DH is forced to play anorexic 4's ...WTF? ...it just can't work. And I still don't understand why DH didn't make adjustments vs. teams with bigger 4's when he could. If your not getting any shooting from Polley I'd rather get boards and D out of the 4. But the only options would have been Yakwe, when he was healthy( or Diarra if he was) with Carlton... and Whaley for some reason doesn't get a sniff after playing 14 minutes a game last year even though he's a better rebounder and defender than TP.
Houston plays a version of vertical challenged 3 guard small ball with a pair of shorter 4's and 5's, but they're 260 and 230lbs so they can bang. That's why it's imperative for Uconn to bring in 2 more guys( someone should probably transfer out if he's not gonna play) who can battle underneath for next year. They're not gonna have Jalen's abilty to create anymore, so DH better create more balance down low on his roster. Especially when they're not playing these mid majors. Uconn needs the option of putting legit bigs in the frontcourt (especially vs. power 6/7 teams), like the old days.
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If DH is not going to play Whaley he should probably be the one to transfer. It’s not clear to me why Whaley isn’t playing. He seemed like a solid rebounder and shot blocker last year and that is what UConn is needing right now. It may be his work habits are not to DH’s liking. Whatever the case DH doesn’t seem to like Whaley as much as KO did. But Whaley himself isn’t a beefy player. He is just taller than Polley/Wilson and has good athleticism.
Yeah, something's got to change....it's noble that DH honored everyone's scholarship and didn't clean house, but basically he had 2 guys on the roster this year that he won't use in Kwintin and Whaley. Gotta upgrade up front.
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It’s 100% that UConn can get a guy similar to Jake Voskuhl and if a scholly opens up that’s what the team needs to take a step up from where they are right now. They have too many physical mismatches in games against better competition. I see other teams that all have a poor man’s version of Voskuhl. Even Wichita State did, his name was Midtgaard and he had a nice big body although he did get eaten up a few times by the improving Carlton who has shown some signs of craftiness while operating inside. Carlton needs a big defender to be paired with to operate at peak efficiency.
USNA90 I think Polley must have read your post before tipoff, because he is running the court like his pants is on fire and making some very athletic looking plays!
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