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
Sunday, November 27, 2011
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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