UConn-PC game thread
- Thread starter TripleDribbleMan
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Was not really a good half of basketball on either end by UConn. PC looked more cohesive on offense and shot the ball well. UConn looked rushed on offense and took a lot of quick and bad shots. Gilbert didn’t play most of the first half and ball movement is better with him out there although he played a bit wildly in his limited first half minutes. Cobb and Carlton both looked good, but both picked up fouls and UConn had to play Isaiah Whaley at the 5........where is David Onuorah? Kwintin Williams barely played and he doesn’t look very imposing physically. Diarra also didn’t play more than a couple minutes after starting the game .......
You get rid of one pig (Purvis), who loves to jack-up crap and shoot his team out of games and ya get another( Larrier, 3-12 FG, 0-4 3pt , 1st half). Does he get this ? Some guys just have no clue how to play offense...it's not about throwing up prayers, it's about moving the ball around and making the other team work and get out of position until you get a good shot.
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Larrier definitely had a very poor half. He was being double teamed and was taking too many contested shots and also driving into traffic a la Purvis. Driving into traffic was a Purvis specialty. I think some of these problems we see out there go away once Gilbert plays more and shows generalship.
Dee Rowe is about 6 rows down in front of me. He never seems to miss a game.
These are the best seats I ever had at a UConn game BTW..... halfcourt 10 rows up guys
These are the best seats I ever had at a UConn game BTW..... halfcourt 10 rows up guys
I’m in an airport so not watching, but if Larrier doesn’t have a feel for the game...ala Purvis, it’s gonna be a long season. And he’s already announcing this is his last year?
I used to get those seats in the Dom Perno era. Well, only because people either left aka CT Mutual Classic when Northeastern hammered them it didn’t show. Enjoy KSTW!
Larrier just turned ball over driving into traffic leading to dunk on other end. He is trying to do too much
Now he just turned it over twice on the break for an 8 pt turn around.... players like this(who think they're better than they are) kill any team.
Hating what I'm seeing so far. Hope I'm not in for another extremely long season.
I know it's just the first game of pre-season, but these two teams aren't even close. I guess that's what you get when you have a bunch of guys who never played together before. This doesn't bode well for that great non-league start UConn needs to build their resume.
Tyler Polley has had some good minutes. Dude can ball. He is really skinny though.
Last 5 minutes UConn has surged a bit. This is the depth of the team although no Onuorah and almost no Williams tonight.
And no Larrier on the floor during that surge ....hmmm ?
I agree with Respect33. PC is the far more experienced team. They are #23 ranked and have 5 starters back.
Diarra has fouled out. I bet he didn’t even play 10 minutes. Certainly got his money’s worth of fouls.
I didn’t say it didn’t worry me. I wasn’t expecting UConn to look like a well oiled machine but the first half was bad. Larrier was bad and is appropriately on the bench right now.
It's not worrisome if you think UConn has a few years to rebuild. If you think they need to get into the tournament this year....
UConn may very well improve dramatically once these guys get used to playing together. Unfortunately, the chances for quality wins are few and far between once league play starts, so I don't personally believe they have the luxury of a slow start.
UConn may very well improve dramatically once these guys get used to playing together. Unfortunately, the chances for quality wins are few and far between once league play starts, so I don't personally believe they have the luxury of a slow start.
True, he looked under control and didn't force....but isn't that a KO trait ?.....he loves recruiting these 6-6 to 6-8 wings under 190lbs...that could never play for someone like Cincy or SMU
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One other thing regarding PC is 2 of their starters, both 6-7, who could have bruised up Uconn even more, did not play (one who's 227lbs and the other 240 ) ......Cooley's another guy who recruits grown men to play for his team, Diallo at 211 is the lightest guy over 6-6.
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In terms of the big picture, I saw nothing tonight that alleviated my concerns going into tonight, which were (1) shooting the 3; and (2) development of a reliable low post scorer. Cobb looks like he can board and handle and has some potential to help on #2, but foul trouble hampered him tonight and also hampered Carlton. I saw nothing from Kwintin Williams in his limited minutes tonight to make me believe he will be other than a deep bench player. Diarra looks like he has a good body but fouled out in possibly 8 or 9 minutes of action. A bunch of foul prone bigs means it's a good thing there are a lot of bodies.
I could not find a box score to see what the final stats were on boards, anyone know?
I was impressed with PC- they are a good team and with 5 starters back they played like a seasoned team.
Larrier had an abominably bad game, but he was trying to do too much. Let's hope his basketball IQ is better than what he showed tonight.
I thought Jalen looked a bit tired at times tonight like he did last year, but he played valiantly, as did Vital. I liked Antoine Anderson. More is needed from Gilbert, and once he gets some game action, more will be received.
It's just one game, but they have some depth and I think they will get better.
I could not find a box score to see what the final stats were on boards, anyone know?
I was impressed with PC- they are a good team and with 5 starters back they played like a seasoned team.
Larrier had an abominably bad game, but he was trying to do too much. Let's hope his basketball IQ is better than what he showed tonight.
I thought Jalen looked a bit tired at times tonight like he did last year, but he played valiantly, as did Vital. I liked Antoine Anderson. More is needed from Gilbert, and once he gets some game action, more will be received.
It's just one game, but they have some depth and I think they will get better.
PC didn't play it's starters starter minutes, a couple barely saw the floor. They had an 18 point lead when they put their walk-ins in.
MAL looked like he'd start for Uconn, let's never see the excuse that he feared competition for minutes at Uconn again.
If you missed the game here is what you need to know: same high pick offense only they don t have players capable of setting good picks so if you thought it was anemic before...and no interior D. Just got carved up in the lane for 40 minutes. Maybe the screens will improve but the d will not, they're missing size, speed and shot blocking. This is going to be a rough season. I thought that JA and AL might be able to carry this team to some wins if we saw good play from Terry and they got some boards, but the deficiencies are going to be very difficult to overcome, this team's greatest problem, though, is it's coach.
You'll read the excuse that ko was working out rotations. Here's some hard truth: jalen, Terry & vital played starter minutes, so did AL (but 2 quick fouls benched him). There is nobody else. They have some raw bigs, there will be lots of fouls this coming season, many will be because of moving screens.
Terry was a black hole last night. Maybe that changes & it's just a complaint about play in a exhibition but we've all seen it before so it's definitely worth noting.
Anderson is probably good for a team like Fordam.
MAL looked like he'd start for Uconn, let's never see the excuse that he feared competition for minutes at Uconn again.
If you missed the game here is what you need to know: same high pick offense only they don t have players capable of setting good picks so if you thought it was anemic before...and no interior D. Just got carved up in the lane for 40 minutes. Maybe the screens will improve but the d will not, they're missing size, speed and shot blocking. This is going to be a rough season. I thought that JA and AL might be able to carry this team to some wins if we saw good play from Terry and they got some boards, but the deficiencies are going to be very difficult to overcome, this team's greatest problem, though, is it's coach.
You'll read the excuse that ko was working out rotations. Here's some hard truth: jalen, Terry & vital played starter minutes, so did AL (but 2 quick fouls benched him). There is nobody else. They have some raw bigs, there will be lots of fouls this coming season, many will be because of moving screens.
Terry was a black hole last night. Maybe that changes & it's just a complaint about play in a exhibition but we've all seen it before so it's definitely worth noting.
Anderson is probably good for a team like Fordam.
andersonfro, I agree with most of what you say, the interior D is worrisome. We did not see Onuorah and I suspect he would have started and he also might be the best defensive option at the 5. UConn does have a lot of bodies, and can afford the foul issues, but someone has to block some shots and clog up that lane.
On another note, Diarra fouled out in 6 minutes of action. This may be a record of some kind. I remember Chuck Okwandu having some foulouts in 8-10 minutes early in his career and then there was the Facey 8 minute foulout trying to play the 5 after Brimah left with fouls against Tulane. Is a 6 minute foul-out an unofficial UConn record? Anyone know? Also, this kid (Diarra) has a big strong body and I don't understand why these fouls were necessary.
On another note, Diarra fouled out in 6 minutes of action. This may be a record of some kind. I remember Chuck Okwandu having some foulouts in 8-10 minutes early in his career and then there was the Facey 8 minute foulout trying to play the 5 after Brimah left with fouls against Tulane. Is a 6 minute foul-out an unofficial UConn record? Anyone know? Also, this kid (Diarra) has a big strong body and I don't understand why these fouls were necessary.
Rebounds were 34-29 in favor of PC, but UConn had 11 offensive boards to 3 for PC. I believe rebounding isn't going to be the issue. Interior defense (could be shored up by Onuorah) and shooting are the issues, both possibly fixable with time and experience.
I think you & andfro hit on most of the things we all saw...also it's hard to get many offensive rebounds(PC) when you shoot 67% & 53 % on 3's....Uconn shot...37%/ 27% on 3's...here's the link to the box score:
Uconn vs. PC Final Stats
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One other positive note, in case anyone is looking for one, were the positive postgame comments of Adams and Vital. Both seem to get it’s a process that will take time even though some posters are calling for rushed results. I also thought the body language of the players was good when they got down by 27. No finger pointing, no yelling at each other for missed defensive assignments. Jalen looked tired at times but he was mentally in the game and none of the emotional outbursts we have seen with him in the past yelling at coaches and teammates.
This is also going to sound funny but I also liked Ollie’s body language. I was not far behind the UConn bench and had a good view of Ollie. At one point in the game Vital missed someone who was wide open at the 3 point line and hoisted a contested shot. As the play was unfolding Ollie, in Mick Cronin-like fashion, began waving his arms wildly as he saw the improper decision being made. You could tell by the way he was flailing that he wanted the ball rotated. I also noticed that KO had very positive and reassuring comments and body language to the players as they came out of the game.
One guy seated not far from me- possibly andersonfro- mildly heckled Ollie, yelling, “this is terrible, Kevin.”
This is also going to sound funny but I also liked Ollie’s body language. I was not far behind the UConn bench and had a good view of Ollie. At one point in the game Vital missed someone who was wide open at the 3 point line and hoisted a contested shot. As the play was unfolding Ollie, in Mick Cronin-like fashion, began waving his arms wildly as he saw the improper decision being made. You could tell by the way he was flailing that he wanted the ball rotated. I also noticed that KO had very positive and reassuring comments and body language to the players as they came out of the game.
One guy seated not far from me- possibly andersonfro- mildly heckled Ollie, yelling, “this is terrible, Kevin.”