UCONN Part II

[waterhead]

we called one yesterday but it didn't help. we couldn't get cumberland the ball and with jenifer/williams/scott/brooks out there we had no way to score without cumberland touching it.



why we went to post up scott and brooks ill never know. they haven't been successful doing it all season. we really got fortunate cane hit those 3's, it would have been an awful game to lose up 15 with 11:23 to go to that team without its best player. cronin really had a bad day.


also when we went with cane and jenifer it makes no sense to have jenifer on the ball and cane on the wing. cane is much better creating his own shot and jenifer is much better at catching and shooting. its very strange. when we finally ran a high pnr with cumberland bc of how they were guarding cumberland we used jenifer on the ball instead of cane. weird decisions.

I would agree there. I thought it would have been useful to have Brooks as an option for a couple more minutes late in the game. Also, I am not sure why we saw Brooks take a shot just inside the 3 line or why we continue to see Scott putting the ball on the ground (or even winding up with the ball) late in clocks. It's a turnover waiting to happen.

Time for Cronin to make those decisions easier for those two...and the team. Let them know when and where they can shoot the ball. Tell the guards to keep the ball if the clock is running out unless one of the bigs is open and in the right spot. Etc

 

[cincyalum2014]

Brooks probably had the dumbest 5th foul I have ever seen in basketball. It was a blatant foul, he rushed right into the guy ( I guess he was trying for a jump ball) but good god the lack of awareness from him in that situation knowing that there is over five minutes left and your team needs you in to get rebounds and alter shots. Just a bone head mistake from a guy who is constantly in foul trouble and cant stay on the floor longer than 5 minutes without getting pulled. Luckily it didn't come back to bite us in the butt, but as an upper classman you have to know in that situation to just get back on defense IMO, I don't care if as Mick says "he is new to the situation of being a starter and dealing with being a key player instead of just a guy off the bench" he's still been in the system for 3 years and has started 27 games now.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Nsoseme has literally not made a shot in the month of February, and is 4-12 from the field in conference play. When you consider he rarely attempts anything more than a couple of feet from the basket, that is rather amazing. I know he has had issues with his hand, but he has been one of the worst offensive players in the country this season. He can't make shots, can't pass (4 assists in 325 minutes!!), doesn't screen well, and is 15-48 in his career from the line. His energy is great, but you need more than just energy.

This was the first time Diarra has played 10+ minutes in a game decided by fewer than 20 points, but every time he has gotten minutes he has shown himself to be an effective scorer who can also get on the glass and block shots. He needs a lot of work on defense (he is still not strong enough), but these are his per 40-minute averages for the 6 games in which he has played at least 10 minutes:

17.8 points, 14 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 46% shooting, 67% FT

Overall, he has been the best rebounder on the team on a per-minute basis, is as good a shot blocker as Eliel, and a legit offensive threat. I don't see any reason he can't start to seize backup center minutes.

I have been saying this Re: Eli for a while now. Not to pile on Eli but since returning after his sprained ankle he has 4 rebounds in 4 games and has 3 TO. Diarra does force some things but believe he should eat some of Eli's minutes.

 

[cincycpaw]

I have been saying this Re: Eli for a while now. Not to pile on Eli but since returning after his sprained ankle he has 4 rebounds in 4 games and has 3 TO. Diarra does force some things but believe he should eat some of Eli's minutes.

Mama is very likable, but he has some of the worst hands I’ve seen. After a terrific stretch in the 1st half his second half was not great. You certainly can’t have Scott and mama in the floor together unless you want to turn the ball over on offense every other trip.

But that first half though...he can and will get better.

 

[kskenyon4]

Brooks probably had the dumbest 5th foul I have ever seen in basketball. It was a blatant foul, he rushed right into the guy ( I guess he was trying for a jump ball) but good god the lack of awareness from him in that situation knowing that there is over five minutes left and your team needs you in to get rebounds and alter shots. Just a bone head mistake from a guy who is constantly in foul trouble and cant stay on the floor longer than 5 minutes without getting pulled. Luckily it didn't come back to bite us in the butt, but as an upper classman you have to know in that situation to just get back on defense IMO, I don't care if as Mick says "he is new to the situation of being a starter and dealing with being a key player instead of just a guy off the bench" he's still been in the system for 3 years and has started 27 games now.

Mick in post game called out the 3 fouls that were 90 feet from the basket as abnormal, but huge mistakes that they made. Said we never do that, doesn't know what happened to the guys who just made bad decisions. Repeated they weren't 'bang bang unlucky' fouls just silly mistakes.

Clearly rattled, and forcing things is the obvious reason to why they occurred.

 

[[email protected]]

we called one yesterday but it didn't help. we couldn't get cumberland the ball and with jenifer/williams/scott/brooks out there we had no way to score without cumberland touching it.



why we went to post up scott and brooks ill never know. they haven't been successful doing it all season. we really got fortunate cane hit those 3's, it would have been an awful game to lose up 15 with 11:23 to go to that team without its best player. cronin really had a bad day.


also when we went with cane and jenifer it makes no sense to have jenifer on the ball and cane on the wing. cane is much better creating his own shot and jenifer is much better at catching and shooting. its very strange. when we finally ran a high pnr with cumberland bc of how they were guarding cumberland we used jenifer on the ball instead of cane. weird decisions.

Check out @SethOnHoops’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/SethOnHoops/status/1100035954298052609?s=01

 

[Emperor Snapper]

Mama is very likable, but he has some of the worst hands I’ve seen. After a terrific stretch in the 1st half his second half was not great. You certainly can’t have Scott and mama in the floor together unless you want to turn the ball over on offense every other trip.

But that first half though...he can and will get better.

Diarra has 2 TO this year in 94 minutes; Nsoseme has 10 in 325 minutes; Brooks 25 in 596 minutes. Diarra has the lowest turnover rate (TO per minutes played) of any player other than Sam Martin, who is turnover free in 12 minutes.

 

[cincyalum2014]

Mama is very likable, but he has some of the worst hands I’ve seen. After a terrific stretch in the 1st half his second half was not great. You certainly can’t have Scott and mama in the floor together unless you want to turn the ball over on offense every other trip.

But that first half though...he can and will get better.

My biggest complaint about Mama is he is not a very good screen and roll player on an offense that is predicated on off the ball screens. Now I know this is kind of knit picky but Tre and Nas are excellent off the ball screen and roll players. When I watch Mama he sets the screen but rolls before he actually makes contact for the screen so it doesn't really do anything to get anyone open because he is looking for the ball immediately whereas Tre and Nas know there job is to set screens to get the guards open.

 

[cincycpaw]

My biggest complaint about Mama is he is not a very good screen and roll player on an offense that is predicated on off the ball screens. Now I know this is kind of knit picky but Tre and Nas are excellent off the ball screen and roll players. When I watch Mama he sets the screen but rolls before he actually makes contact for the screen so it doesn't really do anything to get anyone open because he is looking for the ball immediately whereas Tre and Nas know there job is to set screens to get the guards open.

I’ll have to watch that more. I like the kid, he has great potential.

 

[cincrulz11]

I’ll have to watch that more. I like the kid, he has great potential.

shaq thomas had great potential too. he was unable to turn his athletic ability into being a good basketball player. i think that tends to happen a lot with the great athlete guys that aren't really basketball players. i think diarra falls into that type of player.



hopefully he can get it all together by his jr and sr years. its tough on these guys to try to learn how to play basketball while they're in college while at the same time learning whatever system his team runs. you can see his potential, but you can also see how much he has to learn about the game.

 

[waterhead]

My biggest complaint about Mama is he is not a very good screen and roll player on an offense that is predicated on off the ball screens. Now I know this is kind of knit picky but Tre and Nas are excellent off the ball screen and roll players. When I watch Mama he sets the screen but rolls before he actually makes contact for the screen so it doesn't really do anything to get anyone open because he is looking for the ball immediately whereas Tre and Nas know there job is to set screens to get the guards open.

There must be some serious issues with how Diara plays within the system. There is little doubt he can provide offense, rebounding, blocks, and shooting. There is some serious ability there and I hope he gets the rest of it figured out quick for his sake and ours.

It's a waste of talent to have him riding pine. Coach has to find a way to get in his head. It's one thing to tell a player what is required and it's another thing to get that out of the player if they aren't "catching on".

He should be one of the best defenders on the team with his length and athleticism. Add in his scoring pop and he should be one of the most versatile guys we have. It's somewhat of a mystery...but we know it's not his ability keeping him out so it's gotta be an x's an o's thing and it must be significant.

 

[cincyalum2014]

There must be some serious issues with how Diara plays within the system. There is little doubt he can provide offense, rebounding, blocks, and shooting. There is some serious ability there and I hope he gets the rest of it figured out quick for his sake and ours.

It's a waste of talent to have him riding pine. Coach has to find a way to get in his head. It's one thing to tell a player what is required and it's another thing to get that out of the player if they aren't "catching on".

He should be one of the best defenders on the team with his length and athleticism. Add in his scoring pop and he should be one of the most versatile guys we have. It's somewhat of a mystery...but we know it's not his ability keeping him out so it's gotta be an x's an o's thing and it must be significant.

I agree with that. I don't think Mama really has a position, he is just an athlete who is playing basketball. He is to big and doesn't have the ball skills to be a tall guard and he's not physical enough to play down in the post. With Tre and Nas what you see is what you get, you know they are going to set screens, contest shots, be physical down low and try and block shots and if they are scoring that is just a bonus. With Mama I feel like he can play in the post and be a great defender with his length but he wants to be a guard. He wants to score points and make the big plays when IMO he doesn't have those skills yet where as Tre, Nas and Eli are cool with doing the dirty work.

 

[Emperor Snapper]

My biggest complaint about Mama is he is not a very good screen and roll player on an offense that is predicated on off the ball screens. Now I know this is kind of knit picky but Tre and Nas are excellent off the ball screen and roll players. When I watch Mama he sets the screen but rolls before he actually makes contact for the screen so it doesn't really do anything to get anyone open because he is looking for the ball immediately whereas Tre and Nas know there job is to set screens to get the guards open.

True as this may be, I don't think Mama is in a spot to take minutes away from Scott or Brooks. The available minutes should come from Nsoseme, who has just been an absolute disaster for a while now. Diarra doesn't have a really huge bar to clear to outplay him.