Tipping Point

[Hoops91]

At this stage in the season and after last night’s game I believe this is a tipping point for Hurley. He knows he has to change up his lineup. I expect to see Hawkins get a big bump in time. Bouknight was very similar to Hawkins statically until game 16 of his freshman year, then he turned it on. Hawkins can shoot, his best game was against #4 Auburn, that should tell you something. For a shooting guard he can dribble. He can defend. Get him in the game and get him the ball!



A few things that drive me crazy and some other things



UCONN dribbles too much
Their 3pt defense is killing them again
Cole should never inbound the ball
Cole in crunch time needs to stop recklessly driving in the lane throwing up nonsense like James Harden - it’s like he morphs into someone else at the end of the game when feeling the pressure - stick to your game- there are so many ways to score
AJ needs to be benched when he turns the ball over after a dumb pass, that's the only way he'll stop doing it and get better
AJ should always guard the other team’s best player, not Martin- we saw Martin exposed in the Seton Hall game
I’d love to meet AJ’s high school coach that didn’t force him to change his shooting form, that’s inexcusable
Gaffney's minutes are going to fade away.


And finally, they are still talented enough to win but Hurley needs to stop being the cool coach and start getting pissed at these guys when they don’t execute- I won’t ever compare him to Calhoun but he needs to change how he’s doing things

 

[Chin Diesel]

UCONN dribbles too much
Their 3pt defense is killing them again
Cole should never inbound the ball
Cole in crunch time needs to stop recklessly driving in the lane throwing up nonsense like James Harden - it’s like he morphs into someone else at the end of the game when feeling the pressure - stick to your game- there are so many ways to score
AJ needs to be benched when he turns the ball over after a dumb pass, that's the only way he'll stop doing it and get better
AJ should always guard the other team’s best player, not Martin- we saw Martin exposed in the Seton Hall game
I’d love to meet AJ’s high school coach that didn’t force him to change his shooting form, that’s inexcusable
Gaffney's minutes are going to fade away.


And finally, they are still talented enough to win but Hurley needs to stop being the cool coach and start getting pissed at these guys when they don’t execute- I won’t ever compare him to Calhoun but he needs to change how he’s doing things

Dilemma with end of game scoring is UConn doesn't have anyone who can consistently break down a defender one on one with the dribble. Not a killer if you run an offense where players run hard through screens with purpose and free themselves for shots. But UConn doesn't do that either. So, they're stuck with Cole or Martin trying to overpower their defender to get a good look at the rim or have someone like Polley taking a contested 3.

 

[Candyman]

At this stage in the season and after last night’s game I believe this is a tipping point for Hurley. He knows he has to change up his lineup. I expect to see Hawkins get a big bump in time. Bouknight was very similar to Hawkins statically until game 16 of his freshman year, then he turned it on. Hawkins can shoot, his best game was against #4 Auburn, that should tell you something. For a shooting guard he can dribble. He can defend. Get him in the game and get him the ball!



A few things that drive me crazy and some other things



UCONN dribbles too much
Their 3pt defense is killing them again
Cole should never inbound the ball
Cole in crunch time needs to stop recklessly driving in the lane throwing up nonsense like James Harden - it’s like he morphs into someone else at the end of the game when feeling the pressure - stick to your game- there are so many ways to score
AJ needs to be benched when he turns the ball over after a dumb pass, that's the only way he'll stop doing it and get better
AJ should always guard the other team’s best player, not Martin- we saw Martin exposed in the Seton Hall game
I’d love to meet AJ’s high school coach that didn’t force him to change his shooting form, that’s inexcusable
Gaffney's minutes are going to fade away.


And finally, they are still talented enough to win but Hurley needs to stop being the cool coach and start getting pissed at these guys when they don’t execute- I won’t ever compare him to Calhoun but he needs to change how he’s doing things

What have you seen that indicates that Hawkins can dribble? He is a turnover waiting to happen when he dribbles. I’m nervous when he’s alone dribbling up court.

 

[Palatine]

UCONN dribbles too much - the lack of second strong ball handler causes this and that's what is needed to solve it
Their 3pt defense is killing them again - the overall defense needs to improve, that would include the 3-point defense
Cole should never inbound the ball - okay
Cole in crunch time needs to stop recklessly driving in the lane throwing up nonsense like James Harden - it’s like he morphs into someone else at the end of the game when feeling the pressure - stick to your game- there are so many ways to score - I believe the idea is that he either scores or we get the rebound as happened at the end of the game last night with Martin.
AJ needs to be benched when he turns the ball over after a dumb pass, that's the only way he'll stop doing it and get better - completely disagree. He needs to play fast to learn how to play fast. He'll eventually learn from the mistakes.
AJ should always guard the other team’s best player, not Martin- we saw Martin exposed in the Seton Hall game - It was Hurley that was exposed in the Seton Hall game. Sometimes a guy needs help.
I’d love to meet AJ’s high school coach that didn’t force him to change his shooting form, that’s inexcusable - Completely agree
Gaffney's minutes are going to fade away. -they pretty much have already. What happened to guy we saw in the NCAA tourney?

 

[HooperScooper]

Hawkins can shoot, his best game was against #4 Auburn, that should tell you something. For a shooting guard he can dribble.

What have you seen that makes you believe he can dribble? He has the loosest handle I can ever remember from a UConn guard. It's scary how bad he is at securing the ball when he dribbles. I hope he works tirelessly on his handle in the offseason.

 

[husky429]

At this stage in the season and after last night’s game I believe this is a tipping point for Hurley. He knows he has to change up his lineup. I expect to see Hawkins get a big bump in time. Bouknight was very similar to Hawkins statically until game 16 of his freshman year, then he turned it on. Hawkins can shoot, his best game was against #4 Auburn, that should tell you something. For a shooting guard he can dribble. He can defend. Get him in the game and get him the ball!



A few things that drive me crazy and some other things



UCONN dribbles too much
Their 3pt defense is killing them again
Cole should never inbound the ball
Cole in crunch time needs to stop recklessly driving in the lane throwing up nonsense like James Harden - it’s like he morphs into someone else at the end of the game when feeling the pressure - stick to your game- there are so many ways to score
AJ needs to be benched when he turns the ball over after a dumb pass, that's the only way he'll stop doing it and get better
AJ should always guard the other team’s best player, not Martin- we saw Martin exposed in the Seton Hall game
I’d love to meet AJ’s high school coach that didn’t force him to change his shooting form, that’s inexcusable
Gaffney's minutes are going to fade away.


And finally, they are still talented enough to win but Hurley needs to stop being the cool coach and start getting pissed at these guys when they don’t execute- I won’t ever compare him to Calhoun but he needs to change how he’s doing things

You have a few decent points sprinkled in with a whole lotta rubbish here my dude.

1) Hawkins has the potential to be an amazing player, but he's struggling right now mentally. He was not a good ballhandler in high school or AAU. Read every post I made on the kid. He also isn't a good finisher. The stuff like not even being able to catch the ball or dribbling in a straight line... that's new. That freshman slump stuff and IMO it's completely in his head right now. He's better than he's showing. He is a wholly different player than Bouk and hasn't shown nearly the ability to takeover games.

2) We don't dribble too much. We actually don't dribble that much at all--we only have 1 PG on the roster. It's something I would consider a strength of our team. Our TOs aren't generally from dribbling... they're from bad passes.

3) Cole is throwing up garbage in crunch time because we aren't getting into sets quickly enough and he's desperate. It's partly his fault, but a lot of that is on the coach and his teammates too.

4) AJ is already getting benched when he makes boneheaded passes. His development has simply been astounding this year. I don't think criticizing how Hurley has handled him is warranted. Balancing letting the kid learn to take calculated risks, and benching him for dumb decisions is not an easy thing... and IMO Hurley has been on point. The results speak for themselves. Kid looks like a burgeoning star.

5) Martin vs. Jackson on defense is entirely matchup dependent. I don't think switching defensive matchups is a weakness of Hurley's. That's his break and buter. His defensive weaknesses are with overuse of the high hedge at times, not using a zone, and being slow to aggressively double guys who are hot.

6) Hurley isn't playing cool coach. Not even coach. The guy looks like he's going to have an aneurysm for 80% of the game. You can't just scream at kids when they don't execute--you have to coach them early and often to TEACH them to execute. Whether he's doing that or not has been debated ad naseum on this board.

 

[Hoops91]

I understand it's hard to be critical of Cole, he's been our only dependable player and has been really solid all year. I just wish he could stay under control and not feel he has to create the offense all by himself. If they move the ball quickly and call the right plays they can get an open look. I'm thinking future tournament time, I want him to be more under control in tight big games.

Dilemma with end of game scoring is UConn doesn't have anyone who can consistently break down a defender one on one with the dribble. Not a killer if you run an offense where players run hard through screens with purpose and free themselves for shots. But UConn doesn't do that either. So, they're stuck with Cole or Martin trying to overpower their defender to get a good look at the rim or have someone like Polley taking a contested 3.

 

[XLCenterFan]

The 1-handed passes from Ajax kill me and he shoots like Horace Grant. He is going to put someone on a poster this year though.

We have 1 PG on this team...that's it. Cole takes a beating like AI used to.

Sanogo needs more touches, and they need to be closer to the rim.

DH needs to draw up some plays...I feel like I'm watching KO's offense sometimes.

I really like this team. We are underachieving at this point in the season, but are on schedule rebuild-wise. As much as I love DH, I feel like with a different coach, we would only have 1/2 losses right now.

 

[Northbound]

Just let Jackson play he'll reel that stuff in over time you want that kid on the floor as much as possible. Does anyone love those one-handed passes, absolutely not.

You can drive to Albany Academy and meet Brian Fruscio and have a word with him, I'm sure he'll be all ears.

Andre didn't really "need" an great outside shot in HS and that was always the knock on him, but he's working on it even if it's a bit unorthodox.

 

[Hoops91]

Have you seen him shot? Your kidding, right? The next time you talk to your buddy Brian tell him he did a great coaching developing AJ. If he could shoot he would average 25 a game on this team. He looks uncomfortable taking a foul shot, his form is so bad. Did he really coach him or did he let him do whatever he wanted? Hurley needs to change this or he has no shot at the NBA.

 

[imno1]

Have you seen him shot? Your kidding, right? The next time you talk to your buddy Brian tell him he did a great coaching developing AJ. If he could shoot he would average 25 a game on this team. He looks uncomfortable taking a foul shot, his form is so bad. Did he really coach him or did he let him do whatever he wanted? Hurley needs to change this or he has no shot at the NBA.

When do we stop saying AJ can’t shoot? His form is not textbook but he’s 2nd on the team in 3pt % at 47% and 50% overall. Andre is also 78% on free throws.

DH needs to draw up some plays...I feel like I'm watching KO's offense sometimes.

I really like this team. We are underachieving at this point in the season, but are on schedule rebuild-wise. As much as I love DH, I feel like with a different coach, we would only have 1/2 losses right now.

I feel this is overstated. UConn is 2nd in the league in scoring yet we don’t have anyone who can create one on one when needed.

 

[Conndog]

Can players especially freshmen become better dribblers through practice? I think shooting results can improve with repetition and practice and perhaps some coaching to tweak fundamentals, but how about dribbling? Taliek was perhaps the smoothest dribble and facilitator in UConn's history, maybe he can coach him to improve?

 

[huskyfan224]

I can’t believe people are actually criticizing Andre. He is our best prospect and does everything on the court. His improvement is eye opening and he’s still scratching the surface in my opinion. Yes, he needs to stop making some bad passes, especially momentum killing ones, but other than that I have no complaints. His jumper is improving and still needs work, but I think it’ll get there. I’m just waiting on a posterizing dunk

 

[Get a Job]

When do we stop saying AJ can’t shoot? His form is not textbook but he’s 2nd on the team in 3pt % at 47% and 50% overall. Andre is also 78% on free throws.


I feel this is overstated. UConn is 2nd in the league in scoring yet we don’t have anyone who can create one on one when needed.

Is that on a per game or per minute basis? We play a ton of overtime.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

AJax is shooting 48% from 3. I don't care if he shoots underhand if he does it at a 48% clip

 

[WhereistheDove?]

AJax is shooting 48% from 3. I don't care if he shoots underhand if he does it at a 48% clip

This. He clearly needs some distance to get the shot off, but the board consensus coming into this year seemed to be that he needed to be able to hit enough shots at a high enough clip that defenders had to at least respect it and couldn't play 5 feet off. He's definitely doing that so far this year.

 

[Northbound]

Have you seen him shot? Your kidding, right? The next time you talk to your buddy Brian tell him he did a great coaching developing AJ. If he could shoot he would average 25 a game on this team. He looks uncomfortable taking a foul shot, his form is so bad. Did he really coach him or did he let him do whatever he wanted? Hurley needs to change this or he has no shot at the NBA.

Wtf are you talking about - my buddy - the guy is a hs coach you don’t have to be in covert ops to know who he is and if you followed recruiting at all you’d have known his name.

You’re mister big balls who wants to “meet AJ’a coach” i was just making sure you knew who to ask for.

Talk about a dude that’s wound a little tight - lighten up francis.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Dilemma with end of game scoring is UConn doesn't have anyone who can consistently break down a defender one on one with the dribble. Not a killer if you run an offense where players run hard through screens with purpose and free themselves for shots. But UConn doesn't do that either. So, they're stuck with Cole or Martin trying to overpower their defender to get a good look at the rim or have someone like Polley taking a contested 3.

Hawkins is supposed to be that guy but his handle is not remotely as advertised.

 

[husky429]

Have you seen him shot? Your kidding, right? The next time you talk to your buddy Brian tell him he did a great coaching developing AJ. If he could shoot he would average 25 a game on this team. He looks uncomfortable taking a foul shot, his form is so bad. Did he really coach him or did he let him do whatever he wanted? Hurley needs to change this or he has no shot at the NBA.

He's a career 80% FT shooter. Does it look pretty? No, but it's going in. Nothing else matters but the points.

This is such a weird thing to harp on. He might have taken the biggest leap in 3 point shooting % on our team EVER, and you're still complaining.

Yeah, his HS coach didn't help develop his shooting. But, frankly, 90% of that is on the players shoulders anyways.

Hawkins is supposed to be that guy but his handle is not remotely as advertised.

The only people that said Hawkins had handles didn't actually watch him play. It has been his biggest weakness since 18 months ago when I first watched him at Dematha.

Can players especially freshmen become better dribblers through practice? I think shooting results can improve with repetition and practice and perhaps some coaching to tweak fundamentals, but how about dribbling? Taliek was perhaps the smoothest dribble and facilitator in UConn's history, maybe he can coach him to improve?

Yes. You can drill alone all sorts of ways, but the most improvement is gonna come just grinding and playing 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 games with really intense pressure from your teammates. It's all about reps.

 

[Kitaman]

Can anyone explain why on offense Whaley is sent out to the perimeter (3 point line)? What is he supposed to do there but set picks, or is that the reason?

His skill strength is close to the basket (rebounds/scoring/putbacks), but its negated when he is parked outside.

 

[husky429]

Can anyone explain why on offense Whaley is sent out to the perimeter (3 point line)? What is he supposed to do there but set picks, or is that the reason?

His skill strength is close to the basket (rebounds/scoring/putbacks), but its negated when he is parked outside.

3 things.

1) Sanogo is better at all those things so he takes priority playing near the basket. Whaley needs to stay on the perimeter for spacing, then.

2) I thought we've done a better job recently keeping whoever is playing the 5 (whether Sanogo or Whaley) off the perimeter. It feels to me like we've done less of the high weave

3) If we want Andre/Rese/anyone to drive the ball, the post needs to be vacated by the big. Sets where Sanogo and Whaley are on the perimeter, we're often looking to have Rese attack a closeout from the right wing.

 

[Sphinx]

Have you seen him shot? Your kidding, right? The next time you talk to your buddy Brian tell him he did a great coaching developing AJ. If he could shoot he would average 25 a game on this team. He looks uncomfortable taking a foul shot, his form is so bad. Did he really coach him or did he let him do whatever he wanted? Hurley needs to change this or he has no shot at the NBA.

Trouble is, they're never gonna fix AJ's shooting while those stats keep lying. Second best 3-pt shooter on the team (10 for 21) behind Akok (12 for 23), who, as we know, also can't shoot. And AJ might be more disposed to make his FT style more "comfortable" if he weren't the third best FT shooter on the team, behind Cole and Polley. Gotta make AJ stop filling the stat sheet and start meeting the eye test. When that's done, we can start working on making his passing look like everybody else's.

 

[August_West]

What have you seen that makes you believe he can dribble? He has the loosest handle I can ever remember from a UConn guard. It's scary how bad he is at securing the ball when he dribbles. I hope he works tirelessly on his handle in the offseason.

Yeah, he can (and has multiple times ,including St Johns) turn the ball over in open court dribbling unguarded in the open floor, simply because he's running and dribbling.

 

[August_West]

Can anyone explain why on offense Whaley is sent out to the perimeter (3 point line)? What is he supposed to do there but set picks, or is that the reason?

His skill strength is close to the basket (rebounds/scoring/putbacks), but its negated when he is parked outside.

Cant park him inside when Sanogo is there. As a 4 he needs to be a mild 3 threat. and yes, set screens. Hurley also has him trying to play Hi-Low action with Sanogo. Whaley is where he should be when Hurley plays him with Sanogo. Its not Whaley's strengths, but you have to play him. Hes too good defensively.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

yeppers, gonna be a heck of an offseason bball skills school for us. we got
ajax shooting a 1000 shots per hour,
hawk dribbling around cones and chairs for a week,
adama firing passes back out to trash cans (the big ones) for a month,
and tyler, assuming they change the rules again, skipping rope like, well, lets just hope that he makes it to double dutch.

or, they're just fine, and will work to better their craft.
hopefully, the rules don't change again. six year seniors is just plain goofy.

oops, forgot donovan. he should get started right away on his hair game.
mebbe some braids like aaliyah edwards? those are nice.