UNH Post Game Thread

[Hunt for 7]

Let me sum it up. Whatever you saw last night is related to the simple fact that this was a trap game. Our clutch players like TN and AK whether they will admit it or not just wanted to get this game over. For some reasons the refs decided to call everything by the book in the second half. When all we wanted was for the game to end so we could start focusing on real competition. Other than DH wanting to get Clingan some confidence going into Friday the game was just not going to be one that was going to be pretty.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

We shot 14% from three last night. We do that against Kansas and game over. Cam is fine. Need to get Karaban and Newton back to their normal three-point shooting percentages.

Getting Castle back will really help our three-point percentage. Tristen is better off the ball as a scorer and shooter than running the offense.

The ball doesn’t move as well with Tristen at point guard as it does with Castle. Tristen plays at a pace where sometimes the ball gets stuck with him and players are standing around watching.

By the way, can we please stop talking about Solo? He is the least important starter. Put the ball in the basket when he gets a chance, I really don’t care if it’s a two pointer or three pointer. The amount of discussion on this is ridiculous.

I agree that we need Karaban to step back up. But I’m about as worried about him as I am about the Sun coming up.

Tristen Newton has had 2 games all year he’s hit more than one 3. That's Stonehill and Manhattan. He’s been having a great year so far still.

We can’t shoot 14%, but we don’t need to be gangbusters to win either.

Agree on the pace with Castle compared to Newton too. Castle is a lot more aggressive when it comes to attacking and it helps everyone else

 

[Waquoit]

I've seen the phenomenon for years in these cupcake games. It reaches a point in the 2nd half where the energy dissipates and there is nothing left to prove; it just becomes a matter of playing out the string without anyone getting hurt. Totally meaningless to the big picture. Survive and advance.

 

[husky429]

I bet if you were to splice all his 3s into one video (which I guarantee our video staff has done), you’d see his footwork and mechanics are really good on about ~60% of his shots. Those are the ones that went in or were dead-on but didn’t fall.

The best 3pt shooters that shoot in the 40-45% range (e.g., Cam probably have 90%+ reproducible shot mechanics on their attempts just to get to 40ish % makes.

Seems about right. It's why I'm happy to give Solo as many reps as possible in these games where it doesn't really matter. Practice is one thing, developing consistent footwork when you're going at 100mph in a D1 game is a very different beast.

 

[PAHusky]

Says the guy who thinks he’ll never be a PG and wants him to be a 3 and D guy. But yeah, I’m the one who wants to limit his game.

Being De’Aaron Fox/Russell Westbrook would make him a lot more money than being Bruce Brown.

Sort of funny that you mention Fox - the ringer just had the below on the progression of his game this year:

De’Aaron Fox, who is averaging a career-high 29.9 points, is taking four more shots per game than he did last season, with the most notable difference coming behind the arc. Fox has cut out deep midrange jumpers in favor of taking more 3s: Last season, he attempted six pull-up 2s and only 2.7 pull-up 3s per game. This season, he’s taking 4.8 pull-up 2s and five pull-up 3s. We’re still dealing with small samples here, but his percentages are up, and clearly Fox intends to go from an All-NBA guard to a potential MVP candidate by raising his scoring efficiency and volume.

I think that you're right in the Solo can be much more than just a shooter, but the guy hasn't been able to consistently get by his man and he's taking clean looks in an offense that prioritizes that - what's the issue? Guards/wings these days need to be able to shoot, unless you're so good at doing everything else that it doesn't matter (Jackson).

I'd be more worried if he were missing from midrange constantly.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Sort of funny that you mention Fox - the ringer just had the below on the progression of his game this year:

De’Aaron Fox, who is averaging a career-high 29.9 points, is taking four more shots per game than he did last season, with the most notable difference coming behind the arc. Fox has cut out deep midrange jumpers in favor of taking more 3s: Last season, he attempted six pull-up 2s and only 2.7 pull-up 3s per game. This season, he’s taking 4.8 pull-up 2s and five pull-up 3s. We’re still dealing with small samples here, but his percentages are up, and clearly Fox intends to go from an All-NBA guard to a potential MVP candidate by raising his scoring efficiency and volume.

I think that you're right in the Solo can be much more than just a shooter, but the guy hasn't been able to consistently get by his man and he's taking clean looks in an offense that prioritizes that - what's the issue? Guards/wings these days need to be able to shoot, unless you're so good at doing everything else that it doesn't matter (Jackson).

I'd be more worried if he were missing from midrange constantly.

Regardless of how Fox’s game progressed in the NBA, he came in there as a super athlete who was unstoppable getting to the rim with no jumpshot. Then the NBA developed one for him.

It is not necessary to be able to shoot to get drafted high and play well. It is 100% necessary to be a great to elite slasher/attacker of the basket.

 

[yungdowork]

Regardless of how Fox’s game progressed in the NBA, he came in there as a super athlete who was unstoppable getting to the rim with no jumpshot. Then the NBA developed one for him.

It is not necessary to be able to shoot to get drafted high and play well. It is 100% necessary to be a great to elite slasher/attacker of the basket.

Fox was a 5-star and the #6 recruit in the nation. He averaged over 12 shots a game during college and was one of the best players on a team with 7 guys that made the NBA. I love Solo but comparing him to All-NBA talents right now just seems crazy.

I’m happy with him so far, but he is the 4th, and often 5th, option on offense right now. Next year, there’s a good chance we see more of him doing the stuff he’s capable of, just like how it happened with Hawk. We need to be patient.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Fox was a 5-star and the #6 recruit in the nation. He averaged over 12 shots a game during college and was one of the best players on a team with 7 guys that made the NBA. I love Solo but comparing him to All-NBA talents right now just seems crazy.

I’m happy with him so far, but he is the 4th, and often 5th, option on offense right now. Next year, there’s a good chance we see more of him doing the stuff he’s capable of, just like how it happened with Hawk. We need to be patient.

We can use Shai as an example who’s closer in ranking. 33 composite. Solo was 45.

I agree that when Solo has more of a defined role that fits his skillset with more usage he’ll do better next year.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

We can use Shai as an example who’s closer in ranking. 33 composite. Solo was 45.

I agree that when Solo has more of a defined role that fits his skillset with more usage he’ll do better next year.

Shai has always had a refined game. We don’t need to compare Solo to one of them.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Solo's fine. He's getting extended minutes because Castle's out but it's not like he's looked overmatched through 7 games. He looks like a freshman with potential who's playing with more experienced guys and not looked at like a primary scoring option, which is exactly what he is.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Just because the small sample size is the only sample size doesn't negate the fact that it's still a small sample. Not saying he's suddenly going to be a great shooter or he shouldn't try to get to the rim more, but 7 games is a small sample whether it's within a larger 100 game career or it's the only 7 games

Sure, and because Hurley seemingly has so much faith in his shot, I’m not saying he should stop shooting completely. But there’s still no evidence, yet, that he’s an elite shooter, even dating back to high school/AAU.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Generally you can see if someone is a great shooter whether or not it goes in. Which sounds crazy... but even during Hawkins freshman season or Karaban during a slump (until recently), good shooters have consistent form and usually are backrimming misses.

Solo is all over the place with pretty inconsistent footwork. That makes me think he's still a year away from being a positive contributor from distance.

I debated bringing this up in my original post, so I’ll say you’re echoing one of my concerns with his shooting. You used the Hawkins and Karaban examples, so since someone mentioned Lambs cold start to his career, I’ll just mention he also had a very consistent looking shot imo. But I know people usually don’t find subjective takes on stuff like this from non “experts” very persuasive.

 

[uconnfan68]

"Yet" is the important word here.
Early in the season, Hawk had a stretch (when he started getting real minutes) where he went 5-25 from 3. If he had just stopped shooting from distance he never would have had the crazy games he's had, and he wouldn't be being talked about in all the major media circles as a top rookie this year.

DH has seen Solo hit shots in practice. He also sees that he's rushing in games. When he slows down, he is betting that those practice results will translate. There is really no reason to disagree except for the fact that it hasn't happened yet, which isn't a good enough reason to stop trying. The sample is way too small. He has to take open 3's in games to start hitting open 3's in games.

Will Solo missing 3's be the reason we lose to kansas ? I dont know. Probably not. I can guarantee that he will be more discerning with his shot selection, as he was during the close texas game. But we will probably lose a couple games this season.....unfortunately. If it happens to be this one, at least it wont have been St Johns at home like last year.

Seemed like everyone but Cam was rushing shots. Trying too hard to break that record. Glad they got out of the way before this weekend.

 

[navery12]

Sure, and because Hurley seemingly has so much faith in his shot, I’m not saying he should stop shooting completely. But there’s still no evidence, yet, that he’s an elite shooter, even dating back to high school/AAU.

Agreed, just think it's too early to accurately say he's a good or bad shooter. Joey Calcaterra was a 45% 3 point shooter last year and had a 7 game stretch in January where he shot 22% from 3. Andre Jackson also shot 22% from 3 during that same stretch. So without some additional context and games played it's really hard to say which group he falls in, though it's likely somewhere in between those 2 guys

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

But there’s still no evidence, yet, that he’s an elite shooter, even dating back to high school/AAU.

Except for the fact that coach has said that he is consistently drilling them in practice at a rate that even surprised him. He wants him to shoot the shots so he gets more comfortable shooting the shots.

In the regular season, it's a good strategy. Later in the season he should be more comfortable

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Except for the fact that coach has said that he is consistently drilling them in practice at a rate that even surprised him. He wants him to shoot the shots so he gets more comfortable shooting the shots.

In the regular season, it's a good strategy. Later in the season he should be more comfortable

This new logic of practicing missing shots being a good thing is certainly new.

I don’t see how missing shots helps someone get more comfortable either. If anything it’s a confidence killer.

 

[navery12]

This new logic of practicing missing shots being a good thing is certainly new.

I don’t see how missing shots helps someone get more comfortable either. If anything it’s a confidence killer.

Yes, that's what Solo is doing. He's practicing missing shots. You really nailed this take, well done

 

[Huskyforlife]

Agreed, just think it's too early to accurately say he's a good or bad shooter. Joey Calcaterra was a 45% 3 point shooter last year and had a 7 game stretch in January where he shot 22% from 3. Andre Jackson also shot 22% from 3 during that same stretch. So without some additional context and games played it's really hard to say which group he falls in, though it's likely somewhere in between those 2 guys

I’d say we have a pretty good idea he’s not an “elite” shooter. But there’s certainly enough time for him to prove that wrong. I agree it’s too early to decide where in the range of good-terrible he is.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Sort of funny that you mention Fox - the ringer just had the below on the progression of his game this year:

De’Aaron Fox, who is averaging a career-high 29.9 points, is taking four more shots per game than he did last season, with the most notable difference coming behind the arc. Fox has cut out deep midrange jumpers in favor of taking more 3s: Last season, he attempted six pull-up 2s and only 2.7 pull-up 3s per game. This season, he’s taking 4.8 pull-up 2s and five pull-up 3s. We’re still dealing with small samples here, but his percentages are up, and clearly Fox intends to go from an All-NBA guard to a potential MVP candidate by raising his scoring efficiency and volume.

I think that you're right in the Solo can be much more than just a shooter, but the guy hasn't been able to consistently get by his man and he's taking clean looks in an offense that prioritizes that - what's the issue? Guards/wings these days need to be able to shoot, unless you're so good at doing everything else that it doesn't matter (Jackson).

I'd be more worried if he were missing from midrange constantly.

Maybe he needs to work on his off hand and figure out how to beat guys off the dribble going right rather than always going to his strong side.

 

[Sibeerian]

Don't watch it. Or not the 2nd half at least. It's borderline unwatchable.

I was there live and zipped through the recording just to see if those second half calls were as atrocious as they appeared to be. (They were.)

 

[JustbrewitMan]

This new logic of practicing missing shots being a good thing is certainly new.

I don’t see how missing shots helps someone get more comfortable either. If anything it’s a confidence killer.

So, to operationalize your logic (which clearly is better than Hurley's, since you've now at least decupled-down on your original take!)...Solo should be instructed to only take shots that he knows he has 100% chance of making.

Sounds like a perfect developmental plan.

 

[Mookson]

Seriously? He shot 40.2% from three last season on pretty high volume. Before tonight he was at 37.9%. He'll be fine. I bet he starts hitting threes much better pretty soon. Gimme a break overreacting to one game. Smdh

Relax bud, I was mostly joking, but you don’t want your sniper in a confidence/ shooting slump going into the biggest game of the season that’s all I’m saying.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

This new logic of practicing missing shots being a good thing is certainly new.

I don’t see how missing shots helps someone get more comfortable either. If anything it’s a confidence killer.

Good grief
Yes, everyone should stop doing everything they're not above average at immediately because they have not yet mastered those skills 7 games into the season.
You've convinced me.