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
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