Uconn vs USC

[the Blades]

Thursday, Dec. 3, Huskies (2-0) vs. USC @ Mohegan Sun - 7 p.m. TV- ESPN
Early look at the USC line-up:

Click to enlarge:

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Their leading scorer and stud recruit is freshman center Evan Mobley, a 7 footer who weights 215 pounds, but is said to be highly skilled. ESPN and 247 had him ranked #3 in the nation and Rivals had him #4. This may be a game where UConn rotates several bigs on him, like Sanogo, Carlton, and maybe even JB to give him a taste of someone his own size. UConn recruited all of these bigs, so now it is time to play them and put them to the test. Perhaps they can wear Mobley down rotating some bigger bodies on him. You got 15 fouls to give, maybe 20 if you play Whaley at the 5 some. UConn managed to rack up 45 personal fouls in the first two games, perhaps this game they can keep them spread mostly on the bigs with the goal of wearing Mobley down.

 

[the Blades]

This may be a game where UConn rotates several bigs on him, like Sanogo, Carlton, and maybe even JB to give him a taste of someone his own size. UConn recruited all of these bigs, so now it is time to play them and put them to the test. Perhaps they can wear Mobley down rotating some bigger bodies on him. You got 15 fouls to give, maybe 20 if you play Whaley at the 5 some. UConn managed to rack up 45 personal fouls in the first two games, perhaps this game they can keep them spread mostly on the bigs with the goal of wearing Mobley down.

+1, I see it the same way too. DH needs to use his roster and not get stuck on his smaller line-ups. If you're gonna recruit size then use your size vs. a line-up like this, that alot of P-6 schools use. I'd go with.....
C Sanogo
PF Whaley
SF Polley or Martin
PG Cole
SG Bouk

Sanogo to match-up with the inside Mobley (235lbs), Whaley his best defender of the bigs to play Evan who seems to be able to play away from the basket. Then a bigger wing like Polley or Martin to play USC's 6-8 SF. Your first 2 off the bench could be Polley/ Martin at a F spot and Gaf at either G. Followed by Adams, Carlton and Jackson. Time to bring out more size when size is called for. Especially when USC's smallest guy in the bench rotation is 6'7".

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

If UConn goes with Sanogo, Whaley and Martin up front they should be able to hold their own on the boards with anyone. I would lean that way against a bigger team. Whaley seems to be a very effective defender especially on the pick and roll so if Evan is a perimeter oriented big he can certainly see some time on him. It's nice to be able to discuss and have actual flexibility with matchups up front, and to have a number of bodies. Too bad Akok isn't ready as he would be yet another body and 5 more fouls, although I am hoping we can see UConn have less than 21 personal fouls this game. 22.5 personal fouls per game is not the kind of defense you want even with an aggressive and deep team.

 

[the Blades]

 

[the Blades]

Looks like USC is no joke, blew out a 3-0 BYU team to stay undefeated @ Bubbleville this afternoon

• Box score- Final USC ( 79) BYU (53)
  
  
  
  
  

 

[the Blades]

Too bad Akok isn't ready as he would be yet another body

Don't know when this will evolve into game action but.....
( I'm sure Hurley doesn't want a Klay Thompson situation, by putting him out there to soon)

 

[CaNOLEE]

I like the idea of playing a big team.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

That USC-BYU score is a big surprise. BYU was 24-8 last year and beat Gonzaga. USC could be headed towards a top 25 ranking and being one of the better teams in the Pac 12. USC, Oregon, Arizona State and UCLA all look good, and Stanford has their own McDonald's All American freshman.

USC will be a tough team to beat.

 

[the Blades]

+1, I see it the same way too. DH needs to use his roster and not get stuck on his smaller line-ups. If you're gonna recruit size then use your size vs. a line-up like this, that alot of P-6 schools use. I'd go with.....
C Sanogo....PF Whaley....SF Polley or Martin....PG Cole.....SG Bouk
Your first 2 off the bench could be Polley/ Martin at a F spot and Gaf at either G. Followed by Adams, Carlton and Jackson.

As I thought... (around the 12:00 min mark) DH say's he will start a more " imposing as far as physical stature" line-up with only 1 of RJ or Gaf on the floor and no longer go with a 2 PG line-up " which isn't ideal" .....I think this will be a key as Uconn seemed to have no identity or defined roles on offense for the 1st couple of games. ...Also could be Whaley, Polley and Martin up front. With Sanogo 1st big off the bench.

UConn MBB Coach's Show w Dan Hurley 12/1

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

What's Vegas Insider and Odds Shark got on a point spread on this one?

 

[the Blades]

If UConn goes with Sanogo, Whaley and Martin up front they should be able to hold their own on the boards with anyone. I would lean that way against a bigger team. Whaley seems to be a very effective defender especially on the pick and roll so if Evan is a perimeter oriented big he can certainly see some time on him. It's nice to be able to discuss and have actual flexibility with matchups up front, and to have a number of bodies. Too bad Akok isn't ready as he would be yet another body and 5 more fouls, although I am hoping we can see UConn have less than 21 personal fouls this game. 22.5 personal fouls per game is not the kind of defense you want even with an aggressive and deep team.

Hurley could go with 2 Units like these below, with Springs and Brown the odd men. Crispino in the Podcast above, who is a terrible interviewer because he shuts down actual info with stupid half joking comments, mentioned going to Javonte Brown vs. USC. (anyone who follows MBB would know he's not ready)

Tom Moore squashed that on the spot & said Josh Carlton (not Brown) would be back first in the mix, because of his experience and mentioned he got shorted in the small ball games vs. U-Hart and CCSU. Big picture is Moore said they had their reasons to play small ball in the first 2 but where planing on going away from it using more size from the 1-5 positions.

 

[the Blades]

Don't know when this will evolve into game action but.....
( I'm sure Hurley doesn't want a Klay Thompson situation, by putting him out there to soon)

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

I am not expecting much from Carlton except 5 fouls, a few rebounds and maybe a blocked shot or two. He has never been that good against size in the past. He showed a lot of improvement his sophomore year but most of his biggest games were against undersized teams. Then last year he looked slow and he had all kinds of foul issues. He clearly does have experience edge over Springs and JB but I am wondering how much we will see Springs and JB this year if we do not see them this game. They are getting "project" playing time.

 

[the Blades]

I am not expecting much from Carlton except 5 fouls, a few rebounds and maybe a blocked shot or two. He has never been that good against size in the past. He showed a lot of improvement his sophomore year but most of his biggest games were against undersized teams. Then last year he looked slow and he had all kinds of foul issues. He clearly does have experience edge over Springs and JB but I am wondering how much we will see Springs and JB this year if we do not see them this game. They are getting "project" playing time.

I'd say your half right, but Sanogo has clearly passed him and has a much better offensive game (w/ both hands) and plays tougher for sure.
As far as playing against size, Josh's sophomore year he was fine and even better the 1st 9 games last year when he, avg. about 13pts/8 reb with some of his better games when he put up double digits vs. all the P-6 schools he played against, FLA, Indiana, Xavier and Miami. Then he came back after the holidays and played soft as butter. Josh has been an enigma but he's a piece of the puzzle that DH needs to get going.

 

[the Blades]

Preview look @ USC

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

UConn has opened as a 1 point favorite with Vegas Insider.

 

[the Blades]

“There were reasons for where Josh was at in the rotation — coach’s decision, or just things that he needed to address,” Hurley said. “This is obviously a game where all of our frontcourt players, it’ll be all hands on deck, with the size and quality that they keep throwing at you in the frontcourt."

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

You recruit meaningful frontcourt depth, and you gotta play it, especially in games like this where UConn is facing a huge frontcourt. I definitely believe it should be an all hands on deck game, even if there is no foul trouble (which is unlikely), because you really want to see what you have on your hands when you play imposing frontcourt teams down the road. Remember that Hurley did not even play Whaley for 1.5 years, and then suddenly when Akok went down he inserted Whaley and Whaley hit the ground running and playing great, recording double doubles and also playing great D, and it was like "OK----- so why wasn't he playing until Akok went down?"

The truth is by not playing guys you sometimes fail to realize what you have on your hands. It was the exact same thing that caused Rashad Anderson to suddenly come bounding out of Calhoun's doghouse in his freshman year in one game when UConn was getting blown out by UMass and Calhoun decided to bench the starters and play Rashad. A whole bunch of 3s later, a 25 point lead was erased, UConn then won by 11 and Calhoun realized he had a pretty good streak shooter on his bench who could single handedly shoot the team back into a game.

 

[the Blades]

Well DH is going with the first unit I posted above. He made alot of remarks yesterday regarding toughness so this makes sense....

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

That's an appropriate starting lineup but play the other guys and let the best players prove their value in this game. It's kind of tough for Gaffney as he is coming off a 15 point game but the 2 point guard offense didn't seem to stimulate offense like one would have thought. Let's see what happens. It's like mixing a new cocktail, you gotta see how it tastes.

 

[the Blades]

the 2 point guard offense didn't seem to stimulate offense like one would have thought. Let's see what happens.

Also the two point guard line-up DH used in the last few mins gave Uconn problems on D with Cole trying to guard that 6-8 F who was handling the ball. Probably a mistake especially since UCS only has one of their under 6-6 guards playing tonight ( Eaddy). Will be interesting if they can cause USC problems with better pressure in the 2nd along with no fouling to bail them out.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Josh Carlton has made huge contributions this game especially on the O-boards. USC has repeatedly lost track of him and he is either sneaking in or they aren't boxing him out or both. He has given the team a huge lift. Especially with Sanogo on the bench with 3 of UConn's 12 first half fouls.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Not exactly a strong finish for UConn but it's a good W. UConn outplayed USC, 42-31 on the boards led by Carlton who had 11 boards, most of the outstanding variety. Solid win.

 

[the Blades]

They had it all the way !......damn they need alot of work on that Syracuse zone.. WTF happen to Whaley on the foul line, he was money in the 1st half vs. it. Then in the second it was just pass it around the perimeter. But take the W and move on !!!

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

It looked like UConn tried to use Tyrese Martin in the middle of the zone and he was bothered by all of USC's size and length. Their zone was problematic because of their size and length but as Jonny Crispin noted UConn was the more aggressive team most of the game and USC playing all that zone seemed to promote lethargy. USC was also terrible shooting the 3, 3 for 19, they had no legs at all second half. Pride and guts and determination (PGD) won this game, not flash and dash. The PGD wins are the most satisfying.

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

A lot of teams are gonna look at that tape and play zone until they figure it out.
Obvious improvement needed, but its nice to win while the work is in progress.
Encouraged to see the effort on D and the boards.

If Mobley is gonna be a lottery pick he needs a face up game and better jumper.
Has nice touch at the line, should be able to develop.

 

[the Blades]

UConn outplayed USC, 42-31 on the boards led by Carlton who had 11 boards, most of the outstanding variety.

I wasn't worried about Josh carving out a roll like I said in the post above. This ain't his 1st rodeo, he's got size you can't teach and he's played fine vs. P-6's in the past. (When he wasn't slow and sloppy) Looks like the weight loss helped. Pretty sure they don't win the game without him. Isaiah too, who was a beast on D and gave Mobley plenty of problems along with 5 blocks.

Box Score- UCONN (61)- USC ( 58)

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

CFP,

USC played zone with lots of size and length and it's hard to pass the ball against a zone like that. Martin and Bouknight were both getting all of their passes tipped. This reduced UConn to passing it around the perimeter and hoisting some jumpers, which they didn't make. The result was a 3-3 game the last 8 minutes. I don't think other teams will give UConn as much trouble with the zone, it was the size and length and you could see it bothered UConn. UConn will look better against zones than this. But they won the game and that's all that matters. You don't get NET points for looking good against a zone, you get points for the W.

 

[CaNOLEE]

No sleep ’til Indy!

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Did anyone see the Whaley O-board dunk that put UConn up 53-40? Was kind of the game highlight as well as his big time block on Mobley. Whaley has also developed a nice looking mid range "rainmaker" jumper. Do you guys remember who had the classic "rainmaker" jumper? World B. Free. He was a great NBA player.

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

KSTW,
Good point about the length.
They just never made any adjustments.
A couple of times they flashed Bouknight into the middle and it worked without results.
Then they went away from it and seemed to be satisfied just passing the ball back and forth behind the 3 point line.
No screens. No skip passes. No attempts to split 2 guys with a dribble and kick.
The failed alley-oop attempt off the timeout was terrible.

That being said any team that missed 16 of its last 17 FGs and scored 3 points in the last 8 minutes would have lost.

Its a good result

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Couple other things- was very good strategy they used 3 guys on Mobley although it was a really tough matchup for Sanogo. I think Mobley was too quick and had too good a handle but Adama will not see another big with that skill set this year. I agree that UConn doesn't win this game with Carlton's work on the offensive boards. That has to be his role all year.

The game was also a struggle for Polley. I have to say his defense has been bad 3 straight games now. I never saw so many bad fouls from him over 3 games. However he is coming back from an injury so I give him a pass until he gets his legs back.

So Richie Springs and JB are DNPs now for 2 straight games. Are we going to see these 2 get any run?

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

Springs and JB have no role this year barring injury or COVID. Especially when Akok comes back.
Most teams in the BE play small
With 4 bigs ahead of them there is no room.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

That being said any team that missed 16 of its last 17 FGs and scored 3 points in the last 8 minutes would have lost.

True but USC also scored 3 in the final 8 and bricked their way to an ugly 3-19 on 3s, and that's why UConn got away with the win. USC missed a lot of open 3s. I don't think they had any legs at the end of the game. Neither team had anything to close the game.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

One other thing- Tyrese Martin has clearly moved ahead of Jackson at the 3 and Jackson hasn't really given UConn anything in 3 games. Kind of disappointing but he doesn't look ready even though his body is above average. The game looks a bit too fast for him right now. The coaches need to slow it down for him. He has made one good outlet pass in 3 games but hasn't done anything else and looks like he is struggling to find his place.

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

Its early but I agree about Jackson.
Right now he is just an athlete that will give them effort D minutes.
Ball handling and shooting skills are not showing.
Martin clearly ahead in the rotation.

 

[the Blades]

Hurley in the presser:

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Whaley may go down as one of the best defensive players to play at UConn. He can cover all the frontcourt positions, he had a great block on one Mobley and got called for a foul blocking the other Mobley, but was not sure about that call. Now he adds that rainmaker midrange teardrop and it completes him as a player. As Seth Greenberg said, "he is a winner." UConn needs to run some alley oop plays for him.

 

[the Blades]