In a noon time start at the Hartford Civic Centre, UConn dominated St. Johns,83-69 with four Huskies in double figures and seven treys from their backcourt trio of Lamb, Napier and Boatright. UConn was led by Shabazz Napier 17, followed by Drummond (16), Lamb (15) and Boatright with 10. One of the emerging hallmarks of this years team, the capacity to give very different offensive looks and patterns was on full display today. The Huskies offense varied from guard dominated jumpers to Napier/ Drummond alley oops and excellent interior passing from the frontcourt. As a consequence the scoring can be balanced as it was today, or come more from any one of the four players in double figures today as the game dictates. I feel this a very unique aspect of this years team.
Drummond came back with another strong offensive performance, led the Huskies with 11 rebounds and displayed some impressive passing and ball handling for a man of his size. I continue to be VERY impressed with Freshman Ryan Boatrights ability and intelligence. He is playing about 25 minutes per game, either as Napier's back up at point or as a third guard with both Napier and Lamb on the floor. When Napier is out, Boatright becomes more assertive, and penetrates well; when he is the third guard he has shown the game sense to play a secondary role and look for more outside shots; He is outstanding on defense and slows down the opposition attack with tight man defense, particularly on the opposing point guard. When he came in the game today, he quickly swiped the ball from the St. Johns point and dunked. (he is 5'11")
With Roscoe Smith limited to four mnutes because of a hand injury, Niels Giffey played 14 very effective minutes, was 2-2 from three point land and finished with 7 points. By the way, Associate Head Coach, George Blaney did not make his first substition until there were 41/2 minutes gone in the first half. I don't think that Calhoun has ever gone that long without subbing in his career.
A couple of sidenotes - The UConn games that are not on CBS or ESPN are carried on SNY by the BIG East Channel. I think that there play by play guys, although not nationally known, are among the best I have heard. They have good, young color comentators who are knowledgeable and improving and their studio team is terrific. I particularly like Bob Picozzi who was the play by play broadcaster last night. He does his home work, knows the game, and has a very relaxed style. He does not over talk or impose himself over the game. His color commentator last night was Karen Lawson, the former star at U. Tenn. While I confess that I am not generally a fan of woman broadcaster's covering men's sporting events she is developing and is very knowledgeable. She is trying a bit too hard to impress and tends to repeat little catch phrases she thinks make her sounds like she knows BBall, however, in time she will be good. Her best observation last night was the point that the Huskies might have more upside than any of the other top ranked teams because they are such a young team.
Finally, I want to welcome Jonathan Scher to the site who immediately followed up to be a "follower". He is a friend and the dentist for my close friend Ben Cohen and is a UConn graduate
Jonathan, you will not lack for professional colleagues among my e-mail followers since you make the fifth dentist on the site.
Andre Lang Syne and Happy Napier to all,
"You heard it here first"
Steve
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Lamb leads Huskies over stubborn USF Bulls, 70-67
Even when you are the 9th ranked team in the country and defending National Champs playing unranked University of South Florida in Tampa, don't bother to pack a picnic basket or bring your beach towels when you go on the road in the Big East. The USF Bulls, sparked by their talented freshman point guard, Anthony Collings gave the Huskies all they could handle before succumbing 70-67. With Jim Calhoun serving the first of his Big East three game suspension for recruiting violations it took a dominant 16 point second half performance by Jeremy Lamb to lead a listless Husky squad over USF.
With Calhoun back in Storrs, Associate head Coach George Blaney was at the helm. Blaney was a great head coach in his day at Holy Cross and is as smart as they come, but he just doesn't have Calhoun's intensity and ability to ignite the Huskies. Looking very sluggish, the Huskies dropped behind 12-2 early in the game before waking up to take a 30-28 lead at half time. The USF big men, Augustus Gilchrist and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick were able to drive to the hoop and shoot treys respectively. This brought Husky center Andre Drummond outside and opened the middle for USF drives to the hoop. I thought that Blaney should have put either Oriakhi or Olander on Gilchrist which would have allowed Drummond to patrol the lane; I also think that Calhoun would have made that adjustment. In fairness to Blaney Oriakhi and Olander got in foul trouble, limiting their minutes and necessitating more floor time from Roscoe Smith who continues to be ineffective this year.
In the second half Blaney used his three guard offense more and the Huskies were able to turn up the defensive intensity. Boatright continued to look really good and was the Huskies second leading scorer with 9 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor, intellligent floor play and pesky defense. The story of the game, however, was Jeremy Lamb taking his first giant step towards answering the question of whether he can score the crucial points in a tough Big East contest against a defensive minded team and be the new Husky "Go To Guy". Lamb finished with 23 pts (16 in the second half), was 8-11 from the field, and scored with a variety of "floaters", spin moves and fall back jumpers. OLander, again kicked in intelligent floor play and interior passing and was second on the team with 6 boards. Freshman Forward, Deandre Daniels showed some flashes of things to come particularly on a coast to coast drive in the second half when he turned on the after burners to get to the hoop.
Any Big East road win is a good win. This Saturday at noon the Huskies take on St. Johns at the Civic Center in a game that will televised on SNY.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
With Calhoun back in Storrs, Associate head Coach George Blaney was at the helm. Blaney was a great head coach in his day at Holy Cross and is as smart as they come, but he just doesn't have Calhoun's intensity and ability to ignite the Huskies. Looking very sluggish, the Huskies dropped behind 12-2 early in the game before waking up to take a 30-28 lead at half time. The USF big men, Augustus Gilchrist and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick were able to drive to the hoop and shoot treys respectively. This brought Husky center Andre Drummond outside and opened the middle for USF drives to the hoop. I thought that Blaney should have put either Oriakhi or Olander on Gilchrist which would have allowed Drummond to patrol the lane; I also think that Calhoun would have made that adjustment. In fairness to Blaney Oriakhi and Olander got in foul trouble, limiting their minutes and necessitating more floor time from Roscoe Smith who continues to be ineffective this year.
In the second half Blaney used his three guard offense more and the Huskies were able to turn up the defensive intensity. Boatright continued to look really good and was the Huskies second leading scorer with 9 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor, intellligent floor play and pesky defense. The story of the game, however, was Jeremy Lamb taking his first giant step towards answering the question of whether he can score the crucial points in a tough Big East contest against a defensive minded team and be the new Husky "Go To Guy". Lamb finished with 23 pts (16 in the second half), was 8-11 from the field, and scored with a variety of "floaters", spin moves and fall back jumpers. OLander, again kicked in intelligent floor play and interior passing and was second on the team with 6 boards. Freshman Forward, Deandre Daniels showed some flashes of things to come particularly on a coast to coast drive in the second half when he turned on the after burners to get to the hoop.
Any Big East road win is a good win. This Saturday at noon the Huskies take on St. Johns at the Civic Center in a game that will televised on SNY.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Sunday, December 25, 2011
8th ranked Huskies look ready to start Big East play
After going 10-1 in non-conference play the UConn men's basketball team looks ready for the start of Big East play this Wednesday night in a road tilt against the University of South Florida. The Huskies are currently ranked 8th nationally and 4th in the RPI index which takes into account strength of schedule. More importantly, Calhoun and his impressive group of asst. coaches have engineered some significant results with a young team that started the season still clinging to the Kemba Walker legacy, confused about their roles, without Freshman sensation Ryan Boatright for the first six games and the 2nd nationally ranked recruit Andre Drummond not yet asserting himself.
Several key issues have been clarified:
1 - An eight man rotation of Napier, Lamb, Drummond, Oriakhi, Olander, Smith, Daniels and Boatright (an improving Giffey makes it nine in case of injury or foul trouble) has been firmly established with each player understanding their role. Calhoun seems to have settled on starting Lamb and Napier in the backcourt( each playing around 35 mpg) with Drummond, Olander, and Oriakhi upfront. This front court trio are each playing between 20-25 mpg with Smith and Daniels being used as conditions dictate. The multi-talented Freshman Ryan Boatright is coming off the bench and averaging about 27mpg, sometimes at the point to give Napier a rest and sometimes as part of a three guard offense.
2- The Huskies shot and point distribution is beginning to take shape. Lamb is leading the scoring parade at 18.9 ppg followed by Napier at 15.5, Boatright at 13.2 and Drummond at 10.0 and rising quickly. ( He had a career high 24 against Holy Cross followed by 16 against Fairfield. I think Drummond's PPg will continue to improve to around 13ppg but most of the scoring will continue to come from the backcourt trio of Napier, Lamb and Boatright. Olander, continues to impress averaging 7.0 ppg while Oriakhi is at 7.2 and should improve that number a bit.
3- This years version of the Huskies has the ability to turn up the defensive intensity and produce some iconic Husky game busting runs.
4- Drummond is now looking like he can be a dominant force and Boatright has the kind of Kemba Walker confidence that can excite the whole team.
In essence, my initial impression that this years team has final four potential has been strenghtened. They will need to improve by cutting down the turn overs and the oppositions offensive rebounds. Once again, the Big East looks very strong with six teams in the top 25 so the Huskies will be tested over the course of the season.
I am very excited by the enthusiasm and intensity of this year's Huskies. I hope to be, once again, sipping some reserve bourbon shots while I watch the Huskies in the final four; but this year not from Jerusalem or the Dead Sea.
"You heard it here first"
Steve
Several key issues have been clarified:
1 - An eight man rotation of Napier, Lamb, Drummond, Oriakhi, Olander, Smith, Daniels and Boatright (an improving Giffey makes it nine in case of injury or foul trouble) has been firmly established with each player understanding their role. Calhoun seems to have settled on starting Lamb and Napier in the backcourt( each playing around 35 mpg) with Drummond, Olander, and Oriakhi upfront. This front court trio are each playing between 20-25 mpg with Smith and Daniels being used as conditions dictate. The multi-talented Freshman Ryan Boatright is coming off the bench and averaging about 27mpg, sometimes at the point to give Napier a rest and sometimes as part of a three guard offense.
2- The Huskies shot and point distribution is beginning to take shape. Lamb is leading the scoring parade at 18.9 ppg followed by Napier at 15.5, Boatright at 13.2 and Drummond at 10.0 and rising quickly. ( He had a career high 24 against Holy Cross followed by 16 against Fairfield. I think Drummond's PPg will continue to improve to around 13ppg but most of the scoring will continue to come from the backcourt trio of Napier, Lamb and Boatright. Olander, continues to impress averaging 7.0 ppg while Oriakhi is at 7.2 and should improve that number a bit.
3- This years version of the Huskies has the ability to turn up the defensive intensity and produce some iconic Husky game busting runs.
4- Drummond is now looking like he can be a dominant force and Boatright has the kind of Kemba Walker confidence that can excite the whole team.
In essence, my initial impression that this years team has final four potential has been strenghtened. They will need to improve by cutting down the turn overs and the oppositions offensive rebounds. Once again, the Big East looks very strong with six teams in the top 25 so the Huskies will be tested over the course of the season.
I am very excited by the enthusiasm and intensity of this year's Huskies. I hope to be, once again, sipping some reserve bourbon shots while I watch the Huskies in the final four; but this year not from Jerusalem or the Dead Sea.
"You heard it here first"
Steve
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Huskies continue to gel in 67-53 win over Harvard
The previously undefeated Harvard Crimson came down to earth tonight and landed in Gampel Pavilion against an improving UConn Husky squad; The Huskies had never lost a game in Gampel against a non-conference opponent in November or December and kept that record intact tonight with a 67-53 win against a game but out- manned Crimson Five.
UConn just had too much fire power for Harvard as they were led by Jeremy Lamb with 18 points, followed by Andre Drummond with 12, Ryan Boatright with 11 and Shabazz Napier with 9 in a nicely balanced offensive effort. Calhoun started the game with his "big" squad of Lamb and Napier in the back court and Oriakhi, Olander and Smith up front. This group looked good at times but could not pull away from a stubborn Harvard defense and led by only two, 30-28 at the half. Andre Drummond, playing without a plastic face mask to protect a broken cheek bone for the first time this year, was more active and looser on offense as he posted 8 points at intermission on 4-4 from the field including three thunderous dunks.
In the second half, Calhoun went to his 3 guard offense and had Napier, Lamb and Boatright on the floor together for most of the second half. This group led to a notch up on defense as the Huskies started to pull away. Boatright was again impressive on both ends and is providing an additional offensive weapon for the Huskies. I think that the scoring configuration in tonight's game with Lamb leading the way and Boatright, Napier and Drummond all scoring in or near double figures will become UConn's offensive pattern. Olander continues to chip in 7-10ppg, play well on both ends and provide a "face-up" forward who can shoot from mid-range and find the other big men inside. Oriakhi continues to struggle but looked a little better tonight as did Smith, Giffey and Daniels in limited minutes.
As Calhoun said after the game, "this team is improving" and I say they are improving fast and the distribution of floor time is beginning to sort itself out. The Huskies do not play again until they face Holy Cross on Dec. 18. They will have that game plus one other non-conference contest against Fairfield to get the exam period rust off before league play starts on Dec. 28 at the University of Southern Florida. That game will mark the beginning of Calhoun's three league game suspension for recruiting violations.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
UConn just had too much fire power for Harvard as they were led by Jeremy Lamb with 18 points, followed by Andre Drummond with 12, Ryan Boatright with 11 and Shabazz Napier with 9 in a nicely balanced offensive effort. Calhoun started the game with his "big" squad of Lamb and Napier in the back court and Oriakhi, Olander and Smith up front. This group looked good at times but could not pull away from a stubborn Harvard defense and led by only two, 30-28 at the half. Andre Drummond, playing without a plastic face mask to protect a broken cheek bone for the first time this year, was more active and looser on offense as he posted 8 points at intermission on 4-4 from the field including three thunderous dunks.
In the second half, Calhoun went to his 3 guard offense and had Napier, Lamb and Boatright on the floor together for most of the second half. This group led to a notch up on defense as the Huskies started to pull away. Boatright was again impressive on both ends and is providing an additional offensive weapon for the Huskies. I think that the scoring configuration in tonight's game with Lamb leading the way and Boatright, Napier and Drummond all scoring in or near double figures will become UConn's offensive pattern. Olander continues to chip in 7-10ppg, play well on both ends and provide a "face-up" forward who can shoot from mid-range and find the other big men inside. Oriakhi continues to struggle but looked a little better tonight as did Smith, Giffey and Daniels in limited minutes.
As Calhoun said after the game, "this team is improving" and I say they are improving fast and the distribution of floor time is beginning to sort itself out. The Huskies do not play again until they face Holy Cross on Dec. 18. They will have that game plus one other non-conference contest against Fairfield to get the exam period rust off before league play starts on Dec. 28 at the University of Southern Florida. That game will mark the beginning of Calhoun's three league game suspension for recruiting violations.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
Huskies Play Harvard Tonight in Storrs
The #9 ranked UConn Huskies take on the #25 ranked Harvard Crimson tonight at the Gampel Pavillion on the UConn campus in Storrs. Start time is 7:00 PM and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
The Crimson are nationally ranked for the first time in their history and are the first Ivy League club in the top 25 since the 1997-98 Princeton team. The Crimson are led by last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, Keith Wright who leads the team in scoring (11.4ppg) and rebounding (6.8rpg). Other scorers averaging double figures are forward Kyle Casey at 10.9ppg and Andre Rivard at 10.1. The Crimson have a balanced scoring attack and are 10th in the country in points per game against, allowing less than 50ppg.
While I expect a Husky victory I do not think it will be a blowout. Harvard will try to slow the pace and frustrate the Huskies out of their transitional game. Expect to see Calhoun use his 3 guard offense a lot tonight against a smallish Crimson squad to pick up the pace. I hope to see Andre Drummond have another very good game after a set back against Arkansas.Ultimately, I think UConn's size and strenth up front will give them a big advantage and a win of between 5-8 points.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
The Crimson are nationally ranked for the first time in their history and are the first Ivy League club in the top 25 since the 1997-98 Princeton team. The Crimson are led by last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, Keith Wright who leads the team in scoring (11.4ppg) and rebounding (6.8rpg). Other scorers averaging double figures are forward Kyle Casey at 10.9ppg and Andre Rivard at 10.1. The Crimson have a balanced scoring attack and are 10th in the country in points per game against, allowing less than 50ppg.
While I expect a Husky victory I do not think it will be a blowout. Harvard will try to slow the pace and frustrate the Huskies out of their transitional game. Expect to see Calhoun use his 3 guard offense a lot tonight against a smallish Crimson squad to pick up the pace. I hope to see Andre Drummond have another very good game after a set back against Arkansas.Ultimately, I think UConn's size and strenth up front will give them a big advantage and a win of between 5-8 points.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The Boat(right) has left the dock; UConn 75-Arkansas 62
In the clinching game of the The Big East/SEC Jimmy V Classic the UConn Huskies provided the deciding win for the Big East in an efficient, well played 75-62 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks this afternoon at the Hartford Civic Center. Freshman Ryan Boatright, playing in only his second game for UConn, was mesmerizing as he led the Huskies with 23 pts on 8-12 two point fg attempts, 2-3 treys, 6 assists and five rebounds. This reporter was left wondering whether Boatright may be the best of UConn's sensational back court trio which also includes Napier and Lamb. Lamb added 14 points in limited playing time due to foul trouble and Tyler Olander put in another outstanding effort as he ended with 12 pts.(6-8 from the floor) 7 rebounds and his usual intelligent floor game.
The Huskies looked very sharp today; the intensity level was high after a slow start, ball movement was outstanding, and the defense ferocious (11 blocked shots) With both Boatright and Napier pushing the ball up court the Huskies famed transitional game was on full display.
Another bright spot today was Niels Giffey's best showing since he came to UConn; he is starting to look like a different more confident player. He had some nice aggressive moves to the hoop, his passing was outstanding and he was active and aggressive on defense. I think Giffey is going to develop into a nice back up for Jeremy Lamb. Alex Oriakhi also came alive today with 9 pts, 8 rebounds and much assertive play.
Calhoun is left with some thorny but good issues about line-up and playing time. I think that when match-ups allow he might go with a three guard offense with both Napier and Boatright giving defenses fits with their great penetrating ability. Against bigger teams, Orkiakhi, Drummond, and Daniels and Smith will probably get more playing time than we saw today. fortuneately, the Huskies still have three more games before conference play starts.
Expect to see a slight move up in the polls on the strength of a very strong Husky showing today.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
The Huskies looked very sharp today; the intensity level was high after a slow start, ball movement was outstanding, and the defense ferocious (11 blocked shots) With both Boatright and Napier pushing the ball up court the Huskies famed transitional game was on full display.
Another bright spot today was Niels Giffey's best showing since he came to UConn; he is starting to look like a different more confident player. He had some nice aggressive moves to the hoop, his passing was outstanding and he was active and aggressive on defense. I think Giffey is going to develop into a nice back up for Jeremy Lamb. Alex Oriakhi also came alive today with 9 pts, 8 rebounds and much assertive play.
Calhoun is left with some thorny but good issues about line-up and playing time. I think that when match-ups allow he might go with a three guard offense with both Napier and Boatright giving defenses fits with their great penetrating ability. Against bigger teams, Orkiakhi, Drummond, and Daniels and Smith will probably get more playing time than we saw today. fortuneately, the Huskies still have three more games before conference play starts.
Expect to see a slight move up in the polls on the strength of a very strong Husky showing today.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Huskies look shaky in the Bahama's win 2of 3;Boatright debut
After winning their opening round game in routine fashion over UNC- Asheville 73-63, the Huskies then had a horrendous second half in a 68-63 loss to Central Florida. In the consolation game they barely beat #22 ranked Florida State in Overtime when Freshman Ryan Boatright (playing in his first game after a six game suspension) was fouled on a 3 point shot at the buzzer and coolly made all three to tie the game. The Huskies then ended up with a 78-76 win in OT when Shabazz Napier made a key three point shot to ice the contest.
UConn comes home with a 6-1 record on the season and will probably drop down to somewhere between #8 -#12 in both polls. I think Coach Calhoun's comment in the post-game interview after the win over Florida State is the most salient assessment of where this team stands right now. "We are a very young team" said Calhoun. How true this is; the eight man rotation consists of three Freshman (Boatright, Daniels, and Drummond), four Sophomores ( Napier, Lamb, Olander, and Smith) and one Junior(Oriakhi). I do think that this team will look very different in March from the unimpressive bunch they appeared to be in the Bahamas.
In he UNC win, Napier and Lamb each had 23 points again scoring more than 50% of the teams markers. Andre Drummond looked the best he has all year and added 9 points and 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. The Huskies looked like they were on their way to an easy win over UCF when they went up by 17 points with only 16 left to play. UCF then started alternating zone and man-to-man defenses and UConn suddenly looked completely confused and disorganized as UCF went on a 17-2 run and won going away. Napier looked very confused against the zone and continued to try to penetrate despite turning the ball over 13 times. Lamb went cold and passive and led the team with 15, followed by Oriakhi with 14. The one bright spot was the continued emergence of Andre Drummond who is really beginning to emerge and showed some nice spin moves and hooks around the hoop to finish with 13 points.
The final game against Florida State belongs in a whole different category as the much heralded Freshman point guard Ryan Boatright made an impressive debut. I am not sure if it was the match-ups against a small FSU team or Calhoun was experimenting but he played most of the game in a 3 guard offense with Napier, Boatright, and Lamb on the floor at the same time mostly with Drummond and Olander. Napier finished with 26 in 41 minutes of play, Lamb added 19 in 43 minutes and Boatright had 14 in 33 minutes. Oriakhi, Smith and Daniels played only 10,12, and 15 minutes respectivelly in a puzzling distribution of minutes as the Huskies won in over time. Drummond had 12 points and 10 rebounds in another impressive showing.
It is hard to know what Calhoun is thinking at the current time. I just don't think the Huskies can get away with a 3 guard offense against bigger teams, in addition to the fact that Napier and Boatright have similar games- both excellent penetrators, passers who can shoot the trey. I really did not like the fact that Napier took 18 shots in the FSU game, twice as many as Lamb and more than Smith, Oriakhi, Olander and Daniels combined- this is not a winning formula.
With the addition of Boatright, who is very talented, I think Calhoun will be experimenting with trying to find his best combination of players. Drummond is emerging really fast and his role and minutes will increase. Oriakhi and Smith are playing poorly on offense and are seeing fewer and fewer minutes- with Oriakhi, I think Calhoun is trying to motivate him because I think he will need his size and strength in the Big East play.
After 7 games Lamb is scoring 21.1ppg and Napier is at 17.9; Drummond has upped his averaged to 8.1ppg and is the teams leading rebounder. Despite the fact that Lamb is averaging 21.1 I think he is struggling to take over the role as the go to guy. He was interviewed several times in the tourney and he is very shy and unassertive. Smith, Oriakhi and Daniels have, thus far, disappointed on offense while Olander has been a steady, positive presence whom Calhoun would like to see take more shots. The situation is fluid, a lot of young talent, but this is Calhoun's forte.
You Heard it here First
Steve
UConn comes home with a 6-1 record on the season and will probably drop down to somewhere between #8 -#12 in both polls. I think Coach Calhoun's comment in the post-game interview after the win over Florida State is the most salient assessment of where this team stands right now. "We are a very young team" said Calhoun. How true this is; the eight man rotation consists of three Freshman (Boatright, Daniels, and Drummond), four Sophomores ( Napier, Lamb, Olander, and Smith) and one Junior(Oriakhi). I do think that this team will look very different in March from the unimpressive bunch they appeared to be in the Bahamas.
In he UNC win, Napier and Lamb each had 23 points again scoring more than 50% of the teams markers. Andre Drummond looked the best he has all year and added 9 points and 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. The Huskies looked like they were on their way to an easy win over UCF when they went up by 17 points with only 16 left to play. UCF then started alternating zone and man-to-man defenses and UConn suddenly looked completely confused and disorganized as UCF went on a 17-2 run and won going away. Napier looked very confused against the zone and continued to try to penetrate despite turning the ball over 13 times. Lamb went cold and passive and led the team with 15, followed by Oriakhi with 14. The one bright spot was the continued emergence of Andre Drummond who is really beginning to emerge and showed some nice spin moves and hooks around the hoop to finish with 13 points.
The final game against Florida State belongs in a whole different category as the much heralded Freshman point guard Ryan Boatright made an impressive debut. I am not sure if it was the match-ups against a small FSU team or Calhoun was experimenting but he played most of the game in a 3 guard offense with Napier, Boatright, and Lamb on the floor at the same time mostly with Drummond and Olander. Napier finished with 26 in 41 minutes of play, Lamb added 19 in 43 minutes and Boatright had 14 in 33 minutes. Oriakhi, Smith and Daniels played only 10,12, and 15 minutes respectivelly in a puzzling distribution of minutes as the Huskies won in over time. Drummond had 12 points and 10 rebounds in another impressive showing.
It is hard to know what Calhoun is thinking at the current time. I just don't think the Huskies can get away with a 3 guard offense against bigger teams, in addition to the fact that Napier and Boatright have similar games- both excellent penetrators, passers who can shoot the trey. I really did not like the fact that Napier took 18 shots in the FSU game, twice as many as Lamb and more than Smith, Oriakhi, Olander and Daniels combined- this is not a winning formula.
With the addition of Boatright, who is very talented, I think Calhoun will be experimenting with trying to find his best combination of players. Drummond is emerging really fast and his role and minutes will increase. Oriakhi and Smith are playing poorly on offense and are seeing fewer and fewer minutes- with Oriakhi, I think Calhoun is trying to motivate him because I think he will need his size and strength in the Big East play.
After 7 games Lamb is scoring 21.1ppg and Napier is at 17.9; Drummond has upped his averaged to 8.1ppg and is the teams leading rebounder. Despite the fact that Lamb is averaging 21.1 I think he is struggling to take over the role as the go to guy. He was interviewed several times in the tourney and he is very shy and unassertive. Smith, Oriakhi and Daniels have, thus far, disappointed on offense while Olander has been a steady, positive presence whom Calhoun would like to see take more shots. The situation is fluid, a lot of young talent, but this is Calhoun's forte.
You Heard it here First
Steve
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Huskies in "Battle for Atlantis" this weekend
The 4th ranked UConn Huskies will play in the "Battle for Atlantis" basketball tournament on Paradise Island in the bahamas. There are 8 teams in the tournament including Uconn, UNC-Ashville, UCF, Coll. of Charleston, Harvard, UMass, Utah and 20th ranked Florida State. The huskies open on Thursday night at 7:00 PM against UNC-Ashville; the Bulldogs lost to Pitt in the second round of last years NCAA Tourney and are the pre-season favorites in the Big South conference. The game is listed on HDNet- I don't if that is a channel we get on Ct. Cablevision. UConn will also play on Friday and Sat. nights.
Ryan Boatright will finish his six game suspension on Friday and be eligible to play Sat. night.
"You heard it here First"
Sunday, November 20, 2011
High flying Backcourt Takes Huskies to 4-0
UConn's sensational Sophomore back court duo of Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb led the way to two Husky victories this week. On Tuesday, the Huskies over came a sluggish start to blow out Maine 80-60 and Sunday afternoon, led by Lamb's 25 points and Napier's Triple Double (Only the ninth in UConn history) erased a 13 point first half deficit to defeat Coppin State 87-70.
In the Maine game, the Huskies started slowly and Maine played them evenly for the first eleven minutes. Then they turned up the defensive intensity and led 36-31 at half-time. Five seconds into the second half Calhoun called time out and made on one of his patented "I'm sending a message coaching moves." He proceeded to yank Jeremy Lamb because he was incensed at the pace at which Lamb was bringing the ball upcourt after he had emphasized movng quickly into the offensive zone during the half time break. Lamb received a "Calhoun face job" and sat for the next three minutes looked bewildered. This seemed to spark an uptick in the Huskies intensity level on both ends and they pulled away for an 80-60 win. Although Lamb had a poor shooting night he and Alex Oriakhi both led the way with 16 pts, followed by Freshman Deandre Daniels with 15 and Olander and Drummond with 11.
In yesterday's contest with Coppin State the huskies again started poorly and were down by 13 points half way through the opening half. Lamb had sprained his left ankle in Saturday's practice and was very tentative in the early going. It was only the sensational play of Shabazz Napier that kept the Huskies in the game. When the deficit reached 13, once again the UConn defensive intensity was switched way up and they went on a long patented Husky run to take the lead at half time. In the second half Lamb's sprained ankle loosened up and he put on an an incredible offensive show to finish with a game high 25 points. Napier's penetrating, finishing and outside shooting were tremendous and he finished with 22 pts, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.
Ty Olander continued his fine play at both ends of the court and finished with 11.
So after a predictable 4-0 start against pretty weak teams can we begin to see some patterns in the Huskies play. First, in what is both a strength and vulnerability Lamb and Napier are providing about 50% of UConn's points. As predicted Lamb is scoring above 20ppg but that will settle around 20 when the tough Big East schedule starts. Napier is averaging 18 ppg and looks sensational. Of concern is that both Lamb and Napier are averaging above 34 minutes per game with Lamb at 38. The Ryan Boatright situation was finally resolved and if he as good as billed will provide some needed relief in the back court. I do feel that as the season progresses the front court will start to provide more scoring. Drummond has been inconsistent and when he learns to use his size and strength inside his scoring (now at 5.8ppg) should pick up. Roscoe Smith continues to provide little offense but his rebounding and defense will still earn him meaningful minutes of play. I do have to amend my initial take on Deandre Daniels; he is very good and will provide scoring but he will not be at the level of the great Husky small forwards. Ty Olander has looked really good and may increase his scoring (9.0 ppg ) a bit but his interior passing and hustle make that mute. Alex Oriakhi continues to look inconsistent on offense; with his size and strenth he should be able to score more than his current 7.0 ppg, but he still lacks a shooting touch around the hoop.
This team will have to, and has the potential to develop as the season progesses. Calhoun has the knack of getting his team to peak at the right time. The talent is there for a trip to the Final Four but there has to be significant development in the front court offense. Calhoun was quoted this week at a press conference that this team is searching for an identity after the loss of Kemba Walker. I think that is astute and I do think it will happen. When this team turns up their defensive intensity they are right up there with some of the great Husky defensive teams of the past and that makes them very dangerous.
You Heard it Here First,
Steve
In the Maine game, the Huskies started slowly and Maine played them evenly for the first eleven minutes. Then they turned up the defensive intensity and led 36-31 at half-time. Five seconds into the second half Calhoun called time out and made on one of his patented "I'm sending a message coaching moves." He proceeded to yank Jeremy Lamb because he was incensed at the pace at which Lamb was bringing the ball upcourt after he had emphasized movng quickly into the offensive zone during the half time break. Lamb received a "Calhoun face job" and sat for the next three minutes looked bewildered. This seemed to spark an uptick in the Huskies intensity level on both ends and they pulled away for an 80-60 win. Although Lamb had a poor shooting night he and Alex Oriakhi both led the way with 16 pts, followed by Freshman Deandre Daniels with 15 and Olander and Drummond with 11.
In yesterday's contest with Coppin State the huskies again started poorly and were down by 13 points half way through the opening half. Lamb had sprained his left ankle in Saturday's practice and was very tentative in the early going. It was only the sensational play of Shabazz Napier that kept the Huskies in the game. When the deficit reached 13, once again the UConn defensive intensity was switched way up and they went on a long patented Husky run to take the lead at half time. In the second half Lamb's sprained ankle loosened up and he put on an an incredible offensive show to finish with a game high 25 points. Napier's penetrating, finishing and outside shooting were tremendous and he finished with 22 pts, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.
Ty Olander continued his fine play at both ends of the court and finished with 11.
So after a predictable 4-0 start against pretty weak teams can we begin to see some patterns in the Huskies play. First, in what is both a strength and vulnerability Lamb and Napier are providing about 50% of UConn's points. As predicted Lamb is scoring above 20ppg but that will settle around 20 when the tough Big East schedule starts. Napier is averaging 18 ppg and looks sensational. Of concern is that both Lamb and Napier are averaging above 34 minutes per game with Lamb at 38. The Ryan Boatright situation was finally resolved and if he as good as billed will provide some needed relief in the back court. I do feel that as the season progresses the front court will start to provide more scoring. Drummond has been inconsistent and when he learns to use his size and strength inside his scoring (now at 5.8ppg) should pick up. Roscoe Smith continues to provide little offense but his rebounding and defense will still earn him meaningful minutes of play. I do have to amend my initial take on Deandre Daniels; he is very good and will provide scoring but he will not be at the level of the great Husky small forwards. Ty Olander has looked really good and may increase his scoring (9.0 ppg ) a bit but his interior passing and hustle make that mute. Alex Oriakhi continues to look inconsistent on offense; with his size and strenth he should be able to score more than his current 7.0 ppg, but he still lacks a shooting touch around the hoop.
This team will have to, and has the potential to develop as the season progesses. Calhoun has the knack of getting his team to peak at the right time. The talent is there for a trip to the Final Four but there has to be significant development in the front court offense. Calhoun was quoted this week at a press conference that this team is searching for an identity after the loss of Kemba Walker. I think that is astute and I do think it will happen. When this team turns up their defensive intensity they are right up there with some of the great Husky defensive teams of the past and that makes them very dangerous.
You Heard it Here First,
Steve
Monday, November 14, 2011
Front Court and Frosh come alive in Huskies 78-66 win over Wagner
UCONN raised their record to 2-0 with a 78-66 win over Wagner last night at the on-campus Gampel Pavillion. The frontcourt came to life and Freshmen Deandre Daniels and Andre Drummond showed flashes of why they were the #10 and #2 ranked recruits in the country. Despite this, in what I think will be a season long trend more than 1/2 the points came from the Huskies talented back-court of Sophomores Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier. It was clear that between last Friday's win over Columbia and last night the Husky brain trust has the team working on getting the ball inside more; there were more shots inside but still I am sure Calhoun wants more points from his very big, strong and talented front court.
The Huskies pulled away about 12 minutes into the game and their lead varied from between 10-17 points although Wagner, coached by Danny and Bobby Hurley ( The former Duke pt. guard who led the Blue Devils to 2 National Championships back in their glory days). Oriaki, Drummond and Daniels were more active on offense and had 8,11, and 8 pts respectively. Drummond showed some flashes of awesome speed and strength and why he will be a force. Daniels hit 2 threes and think is one of those players who will be able to come off the bench and score points in a hurry. I continue to really like the improvement in Tyler Olander; the local E.O. Smith product is an excellent interior passer, good shooter and has fine court sense.
However, the big points came from Lamb and Shabazz; despite an off shooting night, Lamb had 20 and Napier, looking sensational in the early going added 21 with 2 treys. The Huskies appear to be on track as they garner the early season wins prior to Big East play. Great interview with Calhoun before the game on SNY. He looks more relaxed and healthy than I have seen him in five years. Also, there is a great article about the UCONN defensive philosophy in this weeks Sports Illustrated College Basketball Issue where the Huskies are also ranked 4th.
You heard it here first.
Steve
The Huskies pulled away about 12 minutes into the game and their lead varied from between 10-17 points although Wagner, coached by Danny and Bobby Hurley ( The former Duke pt. guard who led the Blue Devils to 2 National Championships back in their glory days). Oriaki, Drummond and Daniels were more active on offense and had 8,11, and 8 pts respectively. Drummond showed some flashes of awesome speed and strength and why he will be a force. Daniels hit 2 threes and think is one of those players who will be able to come off the bench and score points in a hurry. I continue to really like the improvement in Tyler Olander; the local E.O. Smith product is an excellent interior passer, good shooter and has fine court sense.
However, the big points came from Lamb and Shabazz; despite an off shooting night, Lamb had 20 and Napier, looking sensational in the early going added 21 with 2 treys. The Huskies appear to be on track as they garner the early season wins prior to Big East play. Great interview with Calhoun before the game on SNY. He looks more relaxed and healthy than I have seen him in five years. Also, there is a great article about the UCONN defensive philosophy in this weeks Sports Illustrated College Basketball Issue where the Huskies are also ranked 4th.
You heard it here first.
Steve
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