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- Aug 26, 2011
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That one stung. It stung because this team is so close to putting it together, and all the great things that happened yesterday from an execution and coaching standpoint are going to be marred by the somewhat fluky final seven minutes. Everything everybody has already said is true: we controlled the game, almost wire-to-wire, on the road against a good team, down our second best player and with our best player scuffling. When everything has been said and written about, though, we're going to be reeling from that one because I really believe UConn is a better team than Cincinnati. That's not to say Cincinnati isn't a really good team that is especially difficult to beat at home, it's just that when you really examine the rosters in their entirety, it's pretty obvious as to which team has more talent. We've now lost four games this season - Stanford, Houston, SMU, and Cincinnati - where I've been damn sure we were the better team. I can never be upset with this team, though, only frustrated. Those kids played their a**es off yesterday - it was a great game between two good teams, the sort of palpable intensity that gives you reason to overlook all of the aesthetic eyesores college basketball can produce at times and love the sport.
Were I to examine our current situation critically - which I'm sure many of our other friends on this board already have covered - I could certainly make the case that this is a season that reeks of under-achievement and disappointment. We're in fifth place in a five team league, we've played four difficult games in conference play, and lost three of them (granted, three were road games). Even in the non-conference slate, some pretty bad teams - Maryland and Boston College - gave this team all they could handle. We beat an underwhelming Indiana team by one in an ugly game, dropped a home game to a Stanford team that we should have beat, and of course, lost to a dreadful Houston team. "Another season being irrelevant on the national scene", another poster might say.
But even though this season has given us plenty of reason to be negative (though probably less than some would let on), there is another reason, as the game last night exemplified, that gives us so much hope. The reason, put simply: Kevin Ollie can really, really coach. Sure, he's reminded everybody of his inexperience in certain spots, the team still makes many of the same maddening mistakes they've been making for two years, and the three guys we banked on "making the leap" - Daniels, Boatright, Calhoun - have either regressed or improved just enough to leave us wanting more.
For all his flaws, though, he's had the team ready to go in every big game we've played in since he took over. Whenever the spotlight has been on this team, and we've played on ESPN, against ranked teams, this team has represented themselves well. Even being just barely north of 40 - which is outrageously young for a coach - he's never had his pants pulled down by a Hall of Fame coach, and he's won more of the x's and o's battles than he's lost in games that require him to be on top of his game. From game planning, to tactical adjustments in-game, to out of bounds plays at the right time, to motivating his players...the guy has passed every test with flying colors. Being the basketball dork that I am, maybe I get more excited than I should when I see successful plays diagrammed, but he drew up a couple of superlative plays last night that were astonishingly successful against arguably the best defensive in the country.
If I knew how to take a screen shot, that would probably be the most effective course of action here, but since I'm technologically inept, I'll direct you to the point in the game the play occurred and briefly explain what I think is going on:
With about three minutes remaining in the first half, and UConn coming out of a TV timeout up five, Kevin Ollie sees an opportunity to extend the lead to ten. The first play is, on the surface, only modestly intricate, but it's purpose is to set up the next play. At the 2:55 mark, you can see the play beginning to unfold: the left side of the floor clears out, allowing Lasan Kromah to attack the basket from the left wing. Brimah bolts to the right block, setting a down screen for Boatright, who appears to pop up and set a decoy pick for Kromah (if it was a real pick, it seems doubtful Boatright would be the one setting it). Napier is stationed at the top of the key, and Giffey on the right wing. About a split-second after Boatright arrives, Kromah blows right by Sanders - who seems to be bracing himself for the oncoming screen, and not in ideal defensive position - and gets to the tin before Jackson can arrive. 28-21 UConn.
Now that Cincinnati is acquainted with Kromah's first step, Ollie wisely returns to Kromah on the very next play, except this time, in hopes to capitalize on the occasionally over-aggressive Cincinnati help defense with one of the best shooters in the country, Niels Giffey. The play is formatted the exact same way - with Kromah on the left wing, Brimah setting a down screen for Boatright, and Boatright popping up for a decoy screen - with one additional wrinkle. At 2:19, you can see Cincinnati has already lost: Kromah beat Sanders again, Jackson is forced to abandon Brimah to help on the drive, and now Brimah is free to pop up from the right block to screen for Giffey, allowing him to cut to the right corner uninterrupted. Kromah attracts the help, and skips a cross-court pass to Giffey. Brilliant. (It's possible that these two possessions featured the exact same play, and that Kromah simply explored two different sub-options within the same design).
There were more instances of mis-direction, off-ball screening, and otherwise successful offensive construction that Ollie generated at opportune times, but most people probably don't want to read another one of my 10,000 word posts. If you're interested, I'll be happy to point out other examples - just DM me, or something. Normally, it would seem fairly obvious that there are going to be sprinklings of elaborate play developments throughout the course of a high-stakes game like this one, but unfortunately, there is a segment of the board that still believes UConn doesn't run offense, so I'm happy to provide evidence to the contrary given the chance. As disappointing as last night's result was, games like that - coupled with Ollie's recruiting - tells me that this program isn't leaving the national scene anytime soon, conference be damned.
Lastly, I thought the defense was generally solid. Cronin does an admirable job of ensuring that Kilpatrick is in constant motion. Cincinnati's personnel, offensively speaking, is very limited, but when so many of their possessions are occupied by such extensive screening for one player, it begins to take a toll on the defense by the end of the game. Kromah did a great job on limiting Kilpatrick's dribble penetration, but the off-ball defense - which is more team-oriented - was prone to some sporadic lapses in communication, which is why Kilpatrick shot 5-8 from three (many of these looks were wide open). I still think this defense should be better - when you have two defenders on the wing like Giffey and Kromah, coupled with a shot blocking presence like Brimah, I have to believe that there are still some imperfections in our team defense that haven't been resolved. The defense has improved, but it's not there yet. There are some loopholes in the system - which I would imagine is a product of our youth at the center position - that produce an excessive amount of layups and three's. It's unreasonable to expect every shot to be hotly contested, but the best defenses have that mindset. If this team wants to win in March, the breakdowns need to become fewer and further between, and communication mishaps have to be just about extinct.
I'll get to the player notes later tonight or tomorrow, but the coming weeks will obviously shape the way we perceive the Cincinnati game. Was it a valuable learning experience (like all those games we lost when we ran the gauntlet in the Big East three years ago) that will harden the team in a tournament setting, or was it a missed opportunity that more or less solidified this teams reputation as a squad that makes just enough mistakes to never reach their ceiling. What I will say, is that this game didn't change my perception of the team at all. They're as talented as all but a few teams in the country from an athleticism and skill perspective, they're determined, and even if their tournament run ends prematurely, I know that this team is going to expect to win and play their hearts out whenever they take the court. They will be a tough out, and if we lose, it will be because the other team just made more plays on that day. As a fan, that's all I can really ask for. Go Huskies.
Were I to examine our current situation critically - which I'm sure many of our other friends on this board already have covered - I could certainly make the case that this is a season that reeks of under-achievement and disappointment. We're in fifth place in a five team league, we've played four difficult games in conference play, and lost three of them (granted, three were road games). Even in the non-conference slate, some pretty bad teams - Maryland and Boston College - gave this team all they could handle. We beat an underwhelming Indiana team by one in an ugly game, dropped a home game to a Stanford team that we should have beat, and of course, lost to a dreadful Houston team. "Another season being irrelevant on the national scene", another poster might say.
But even though this season has given us plenty of reason to be negative (though probably less than some would let on), there is another reason, as the game last night exemplified, that gives us so much hope. The reason, put simply: Kevin Ollie can really, really coach. Sure, he's reminded everybody of his inexperience in certain spots, the team still makes many of the same maddening mistakes they've been making for two years, and the three guys we banked on "making the leap" - Daniels, Boatright, Calhoun - have either regressed or improved just enough to leave us wanting more.
For all his flaws, though, he's had the team ready to go in every big game we've played in since he took over. Whenever the spotlight has been on this team, and we've played on ESPN, against ranked teams, this team has represented themselves well. Even being just barely north of 40 - which is outrageously young for a coach - he's never had his pants pulled down by a Hall of Fame coach, and he's won more of the x's and o's battles than he's lost in games that require him to be on top of his game. From game planning, to tactical adjustments in-game, to out of bounds plays at the right time, to motivating his players...the guy has passed every test with flying colors. Being the basketball dork that I am, maybe I get more excited than I should when I see successful plays diagrammed, but he drew up a couple of superlative plays last night that were astonishingly successful against arguably the best defensive in the country.
If I knew how to take a screen shot, that would probably be the most effective course of action here, but since I'm technologically inept, I'll direct you to the point in the game the play occurred and briefly explain what I think is going on:
With about three minutes remaining in the first half, and UConn coming out of a TV timeout up five, Kevin Ollie sees an opportunity to extend the lead to ten. The first play is, on the surface, only modestly intricate, but it's purpose is to set up the next play. At the 2:55 mark, you can see the play beginning to unfold: the left side of the floor clears out, allowing Lasan Kromah to attack the basket from the left wing. Brimah bolts to the right block, setting a down screen for Boatright, who appears to pop up and set a decoy pick for Kromah (if it was a real pick, it seems doubtful Boatright would be the one setting it). Napier is stationed at the top of the key, and Giffey on the right wing. About a split-second after Boatright arrives, Kromah blows right by Sanders - who seems to be bracing himself for the oncoming screen, and not in ideal defensive position - and gets to the tin before Jackson can arrive. 28-21 UConn.
Now that Cincinnati is acquainted with Kromah's first step, Ollie wisely returns to Kromah on the very next play, except this time, in hopes to capitalize on the occasionally over-aggressive Cincinnati help defense with one of the best shooters in the country, Niels Giffey. The play is formatted the exact same way - with Kromah on the left wing, Brimah setting a down screen for Boatright, and Boatright popping up for a decoy screen - with one additional wrinkle. At 2:19, you can see Cincinnati has already lost: Kromah beat Sanders again, Jackson is forced to abandon Brimah to help on the drive, and now Brimah is free to pop up from the right block to screen for Giffey, allowing him to cut to the right corner uninterrupted. Kromah attracts the help, and skips a cross-court pass to Giffey. Brilliant. (It's possible that these two possessions featured the exact same play, and that Kromah simply explored two different sub-options within the same design).
There were more instances of mis-direction, off-ball screening, and otherwise successful offensive construction that Ollie generated at opportune times, but most people probably don't want to read another one of my 10,000 word posts. If you're interested, I'll be happy to point out other examples - just DM me, or something. Normally, it would seem fairly obvious that there are going to be sprinklings of elaborate play developments throughout the course of a high-stakes game like this one, but unfortunately, there is a segment of the board that still believes UConn doesn't run offense, so I'm happy to provide evidence to the contrary given the chance. As disappointing as last night's result was, games like that - coupled with Ollie's recruiting - tells me that this program isn't leaving the national scene anytime soon, conference be damned.
Lastly, I thought the defense was generally solid. Cronin does an admirable job of ensuring that Kilpatrick is in constant motion. Cincinnati's personnel, offensively speaking, is very limited, but when so many of their possessions are occupied by such extensive screening for one player, it begins to take a toll on the defense by the end of the game. Kromah did a great job on limiting Kilpatrick's dribble penetration, but the off-ball defense - which is more team-oriented - was prone to some sporadic lapses in communication, which is why Kilpatrick shot 5-8 from three (many of these looks were wide open). I still think this defense should be better - when you have two defenders on the wing like Giffey and Kromah, coupled with a shot blocking presence like Brimah, I have to believe that there are still some imperfections in our team defense that haven't been resolved. The defense has improved, but it's not there yet. There are some loopholes in the system - which I would imagine is a product of our youth at the center position - that produce an excessive amount of layups and three's. It's unreasonable to expect every shot to be hotly contested, but the best defenses have that mindset. If this team wants to win in March, the breakdowns need to become fewer and further between, and communication mishaps have to be just about extinct.
I'll get to the player notes later tonight or tomorrow, but the coming weeks will obviously shape the way we perceive the Cincinnati game. Was it a valuable learning experience (like all those games we lost when we ran the gauntlet in the Big East three years ago) that will harden the team in a tournament setting, or was it a missed opportunity that more or less solidified this teams reputation as a squad that makes just enough mistakes to never reach their ceiling. What I will say, is that this game didn't change my perception of the team at all. They're as talented as all but a few teams in the country from an athleticism and skill perspective, they're determined, and even if their tournament run ends prematurely, I know that this team is going to expect to win and play their hearts out whenever they take the court. They will be a tough out, and if we lose, it will be because the other team just made more plays on that day. As a fan, that's all I can really ask for. Go Huskies.
