MLK day started on a good note for the UCONN Huskies as they moved up to #8 in both National Polls (which come out with updated rankings every Monday)prior to taking on the Villanova Wildcats in an afternoon holiday tilt at Gampel Pavillion. The 'Cats came into today's contest 4-0 in the Big East and 16-1 overall; perhaps it was the unusual 3:30 afternoon game time that accounted for sluggish play and poor shooting in the first half which ended with Villanova up 22-21.
Things heated up in the second half as the pace and shooting percentages picked up and Nova held a 3 point lead with 7'30 seconds left to play as UCONN was turning up their defensive intensity and looking like some of the best Husky defensive teams in the Calhoun era. An old-fashioned "Husky run" culminated in a 5 point UCONN lead with several minutes left to play but the the "cats, led by Corey Fisher, scratched back to tie the game at 59 with 22 seconds on the clock. Although the Villanova trapping defense had forced Walker into 6-17 shooting up to this point in the game, he had scored five points in a row, including a trey to keep the game tied. It is becoming apparent that in the waning seconds of a close game you can throw out what Walker has done until then and you want the best clutch shooter in the country to take the last shot. Savvy Freshman point guard Shabazz Napier got the ball to Walker at the top of the key with about 10 seconds left. Walker, with his incredibly fast first step, blew past two defenders, fended off a third with his strength and put up a floater from 8 feet over the outstretched hands of a Nova big man. It was "nothing but net" with 2.5 seconds on the clock and a last second Nova desperation heave went wide as the Huskies upped their Big East record to 4-2.
This was a big time win and prompted a discussion on the post game show about whether the Huskies were a legitimated title contender in the Big Dance. In my opinion, still too early to tell but there is no question that this UCONN team is developing nicely and belongs in the top ten in the nation.
This was, far and away, Freshman Jeremy Lamb's best game as he scored 14 points on 6-9 shooting from the field, added 8 boards and held Nova's high scorer, Corey Stokes to 3 points. He is starting to look like the much needed third consistent scorer for UCONN. Alex Oriakhi had another strong double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds and Kemba led the scoring with 24. Napier, again was terrific in 20 minutes at the point and really triggered the 14-2 Husky run with his quickness on defense.
Husky fans, I can't help but admit that images of a trip to the Final Four are starting to dance in my head- you have to love the way Calhoun and Blaney are bringing this team along.
"You Heard it Here first"
Steve
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Huskies romp over Depaul 82-62
As expected, the UCONN huskies blew out a very weak Depaul team 82-62 in a rare Big East laugher. Kemba Walker led the way with his Big East career high of 31 points followed by Jeremy Lamb with 13 and Alex Oriakhi with 11.
The most interesting aspect of today's game is that Coach Jim Calhoun has still not settled on his rotation. Walker, Oriakhi and Freshman Roscoe Smith have established themselves as starters but Calhoun used a very different rotation than in Tuesday's win at Rutgers. It is my impression that he believes that his best back court combo as starters is Walker and Lamb. It is obvious now that Lamb saw very few minutes in the prior two games because Calhoun was sending a message that the talented Freshman needed to get more aggressive. Lamb got the message and exploited the weak Blue Demon defense for 13 points. I think that Calhoun would rather use Napier off the bench because he is one of those players who can instantaneously up the energy level of a team. Giffey continues to show little and I think Calhoun feels that if Olander can cut down on the careless fouls he is his best bet down low. The improving Combs-Mcdaniel will get time up front and Donnell Beverley continues to add some solid minutes at point.
I have to partially rescind my comments about SNY's broadcast teams. Todays duo was horrible, particularly ex Villanova star John Celestan. He called Calhoun Jim boeheim twice and referred to Jeremy Lamb as one of the best shooters on the team.
The huskies have a tougher go next week with #7 ranked Villanova away on Monday, then Tennessee at home on Saturday in a nationally broadcast game.
I think this weeks wins will essentially not effect the Huskies in the polls; my guess is that they will move up from #10 to #9 ahead of Notre Dame in the AP poll as the Irish got badly beat by unranked Marquette on Monday.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
The most interesting aspect of today's game is that Coach Jim Calhoun has still not settled on his rotation. Walker, Oriakhi and Freshman Roscoe Smith have established themselves as starters but Calhoun used a very different rotation than in Tuesday's win at Rutgers. It is my impression that he believes that his best back court combo as starters is Walker and Lamb. It is obvious now that Lamb saw very few minutes in the prior two games because Calhoun was sending a message that the talented Freshman needed to get more aggressive. Lamb got the message and exploited the weak Blue Demon defense for 13 points. I think that Calhoun would rather use Napier off the bench because he is one of those players who can instantaneously up the energy level of a team. Giffey continues to show little and I think Calhoun feels that if Olander can cut down on the careless fouls he is his best bet down low. The improving Combs-Mcdaniel will get time up front and Donnell Beverley continues to add some solid minutes at point.
I have to partially rescind my comments about SNY's broadcast teams. Todays duo was horrible, particularly ex Villanova star John Celestan. He called Calhoun Jim boeheim twice and referred to Jeremy Lamb as one of the best shooters on the team.
The huskies have a tougher go next week with #7 ranked Villanova away on Monday, then Tennessee at home on Saturday in a nationally broadcast game.
I think this weeks wins will essentially not effect the Huskies in the polls; my guess is that they will move up from #10 to #9 ahead of Notre Dame in the AP poll as the Irish got badly beat by unranked Marquette on Monday.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Oriakhi,Napier spark solid 67-53 win over Rutgers
In a contest that featured several encouraging developments the UCONN Huskies keyed off a 12-0 run to start the second half to spark a 67-53 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. As he has in every game this season, Kemba Walker led the Huskies with 18 points (7-15 from the field) followed by another strong performance by Alex Oriakhi who had 17 pts and 12 rebounds. Shabazz Napier scored 4 points but in 26 minutes at the point he ran the offense well, distributed the ball beautifully and disrupted Rutger's offense with his stifling defensive play. Roscoe Smith chipped in with 9 and the improving Donnell Beverley contributed 7 points in 8 minutes of play.
It was clear from the outset that the husky brain trust stressed more shot distribution and this was the first game where it was well executed. The most effective mix of players seems to be shaping up and was apparent in the second half. The Huskies are at their best with Napier at point, Walker at two guard, and Smith, Giffey and Combs Mcdaniel splitting the bulk of the time at Forward, with Oriakhi at center. Beverley seems to be developing into an effective second point guard and this enables Walker to play off the ball most of the game. Tonight, Kemba was not pressing on offense, looked more relaxed and took far better and fewer shots than he has since Maui. Interesting, Jamaal Combs-Mcdaniel was touted as an excellent three point shooter in last season's pre-season prognostications. He had a poor year as a Freshman, but Calhoun has been encouraging him to use his size, 6'7" and mobility to go to the hoop more this year. Tonight he had several nice drives and also added two treys- he could be a tremendous asset if he continues to develop. Finally, I just love Shabazz Napier- he gets the ball upcourt quickly in UCONN's vaunted transition game and is becoming stingier and smarter distributing the ball- In the words of the great Dickie V, Shabazz has gone from a diaper dandy to a PTPer in half a season.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
It was clear from the outset that the husky brain trust stressed more shot distribution and this was the first game where it was well executed. The most effective mix of players seems to be shaping up and was apparent in the second half. The Huskies are at their best with Napier at point, Walker at two guard, and Smith, Giffey and Combs Mcdaniel splitting the bulk of the time at Forward, with Oriakhi at center. Beverley seems to be developing into an effective second point guard and this enables Walker to play off the ball most of the game. Tonight, Kemba was not pressing on offense, looked more relaxed and took far better and fewer shots than he has since Maui. Interesting, Jamaal Combs-Mcdaniel was touted as an excellent three point shooter in last season's pre-season prognostications. He had a poor year as a Freshman, but Calhoun has been encouraging him to use his size, 6'7" and mobility to go to the hoop more this year. Tonight he had several nice drives and also added two treys- he could be a tremendous asset if he continues to develop. Finally, I just love Shabazz Napier- he gets the ball upcourt quickly in UCONN's vaunted transition game and is becoming stingier and smarter distributing the ball- In the words of the great Dickie V, Shabazz has gone from a diaper dandy to a PTPer in half a season.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Tough Loss, Good Win; ???????
In a very tough week, UCONN dropped a road contest to #14 ranked Notre Dame, and then eked out an overtime 81-80 victory, again on the road against #12 ranked Texas. I came away from a puzzling week with the same conclusion that I did after the loss to PITT; it is still too early in the season to predict how far this version of the Huskies will go.
One thing that the 73-70 loss to Notre Dame showed in spades; the Big East is one tough conference. Notre Dame, to me, is typical of the
eightBig East teams ranked in the top 25. They have a great coach (Mike Brey), do not necessarily have a superstar, play terrific defense and team ball. The Irish put a very dogged John Hansbrough on Walker and Kemba had a very difficult time getting good shots. Although he ended up with 22 points he had to go 8-23 from the field to get there. Once again Shabazz Napier was the only other Husky to step up and scored 18 points as well as another strong defensive performance. the UCONN front line produced virtually nothing and Alex Oriakhi did not score a point! Only UCONN's tenacious defense kept the final score this close as the Huskies record dropped to 1-2 in the Big East.
Against Texas, the Huskies came out looking more determined from the start and Oriakhi looked like someone lit a fire under his bed. He was a force off the boards and ended up with 11 points and 21 rebounds. In a better distribution of scoring four Huskies hit double figures led by Walker's 19, Napier's 15, Smith's 13 and Oriakhi's 11. In 18 minutes of solid play Senior Guard Donnell Beverley had 8 points and filled in nicely at the point. Calhoun was obvously upset with freshman Jeremy Lamb who saw eight minutes of playing time.
Again, Walker was hounded on defense, pressed for shots and was an abysmal 8-27 from the floor, although he came alive in the OT and scored 7 points in the extra period including the game winner. Again, the Husky defense was the constant that enabled UCONN to push this game into overtime. The split of two very tough road games only cost the Huskies one spot in both Major polls and they were ranked #10 in this mornings AP Poll and #9 in the coaches poll. In the RPI index they are #6 in the country.
So, where are we? Given the Huskies strength of schedule and wins against highly ranked teams a .500 record in the tough Big East will easily get them a Dance Card. It is obvious to everyone that other players have to contribute more offensively for Walker to step back, take fewer and better shots and have better point distribution. This is not as simple as just telling Walker to distribute the ball more; as Pete Eliot pointed out it is hard to just turn it up and down at will and Walker maybe giving something up in his attempts to look for teammates more. Good point, but in my opinion one piece of the puzzle. Walker has to have more confidence in his teammates to take fewer shots and so far he doesn't nor does he have reason to. UCONN's half courts sets are completely Guard oriented; You rarely see the Huskies make their first pass inside so there are no kick out passes to Walker for open treys. IN addition, the ball movement is almost completely around the perimeter and most of the screens that are set are designed to free up Walker for jump shots. Compare this to the motion offenses of teams like Pitt, Notre Dame, Cincinatti, etc where any number of good shooters are freed up by screens.
Of course, the final factor is the disappointing play of the Freshman and particularly Sophomore Alex Oriakhi who has been a mystery since Hawaii. He has become a non-factor on offense and has been consistently beaten off the boards. I think that this is due, in part, to a lack of confidence but also I have concluded that Oriakhi did not work hard enough on his 10-15 ft. jump shot this summer; his hands are soft enough to become a pretty good short range shooter and until he does he will continue to be inconsistent. I have also concluded that Jeremy Lamb can't shoot. He is talented but his jump shooting mechanics are terrible and have to be reconfigured for him to be a better jump shooter- this will not happen during the season so I also think his contributions will be inconsistent. Roscoe Smith is starting to show flashes of exciting play and he scored 11 and 13 points respectively last week. He is also a poor jump shooter, but I think over time will develop a good short range jump shot, but not this year. I think the Huskies will have to settle for about 11 ppg from him on put-backs and fast breaks, until next year. The Frosh who is already a PTPer is Shabazz Napier. He scored 18 and 15 points last week and his defense is sensational- a huge plus. Niels Giffey has all but moved back to Berlin and Olander and Oakwando remain spotty.
One of the most puzzling aspects of Calhoun's coaching this year is why he has not used the full court press at all. This is a terrific defensive team and definitely have the personnel to use the press in short spurts to create runs. I don't get it! In the grueling Big East the Huskies will be at least 3 games over .500 and go to the tourney; how far, again still too early to tell.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
One thing that the 73-70 loss to Notre Dame showed in spades; the Big East is one tough conference. Notre Dame, to me, is typical of the
eightBig East teams ranked in the top 25. They have a great coach (Mike Brey), do not necessarily have a superstar, play terrific defense and team ball. The Irish put a very dogged John Hansbrough on Walker and Kemba had a very difficult time getting good shots. Although he ended up with 22 points he had to go 8-23 from the field to get there. Once again Shabazz Napier was the only other Husky to step up and scored 18 points as well as another strong defensive performance. the UCONN front line produced virtually nothing and Alex Oriakhi did not score a point! Only UCONN's tenacious defense kept the final score this close as the Huskies record dropped to 1-2 in the Big East.
Against Texas, the Huskies came out looking more determined from the start and Oriakhi looked like someone lit a fire under his bed. He was a force off the boards and ended up with 11 points and 21 rebounds. In a better distribution of scoring four Huskies hit double figures led by Walker's 19, Napier's 15, Smith's 13 and Oriakhi's 11. In 18 minutes of solid play Senior Guard Donnell Beverley had 8 points and filled in nicely at the point. Calhoun was obvously upset with freshman Jeremy Lamb who saw eight minutes of playing time.
Again, Walker was hounded on defense, pressed for shots and was an abysmal 8-27 from the floor, although he came alive in the OT and scored 7 points in the extra period including the game winner. Again, the Husky defense was the constant that enabled UCONN to push this game into overtime. The split of two very tough road games only cost the Huskies one spot in both Major polls and they were ranked #10 in this mornings AP Poll and #9 in the coaches poll. In the RPI index they are #6 in the country.
So, where are we? Given the Huskies strength of schedule and wins against highly ranked teams a .500 record in the tough Big East will easily get them a Dance Card. It is obvious to everyone that other players have to contribute more offensively for Walker to step back, take fewer and better shots and have better point distribution. This is not as simple as just telling Walker to distribute the ball more; as Pete Eliot pointed out it is hard to just turn it up and down at will and Walker maybe giving something up in his attempts to look for teammates more. Good point, but in my opinion one piece of the puzzle. Walker has to have more confidence in his teammates to take fewer shots and so far he doesn't nor does he have reason to. UCONN's half courts sets are completely Guard oriented; You rarely see the Huskies make their first pass inside so there are no kick out passes to Walker for open treys. IN addition, the ball movement is almost completely around the perimeter and most of the screens that are set are designed to free up Walker for jump shots. Compare this to the motion offenses of teams like Pitt, Notre Dame, Cincinatti, etc where any number of good shooters are freed up by screens.
Of course, the final factor is the disappointing play of the Freshman and particularly Sophomore Alex Oriakhi who has been a mystery since Hawaii. He has become a non-factor on offense and has been consistently beaten off the boards. I think that this is due, in part, to a lack of confidence but also I have concluded that Oriakhi did not work hard enough on his 10-15 ft. jump shot this summer; his hands are soft enough to become a pretty good short range shooter and until he does he will continue to be inconsistent. I have also concluded that Jeremy Lamb can't shoot. He is talented but his jump shooting mechanics are terrible and have to be reconfigured for him to be a better jump shooter- this will not happen during the season so I also think his contributions will be inconsistent. Roscoe Smith is starting to show flashes of exciting play and he scored 11 and 13 points respectively last week. He is also a poor jump shooter, but I think over time will develop a good short range jump shot, but not this year. I think the Huskies will have to settle for about 11 ppg from him on put-backs and fast breaks, until next year. The Frosh who is already a PTPer is Shabazz Napier. He scored 18 and 15 points last week and his defense is sensational- a huge plus. Niels Giffey has all but moved back to Berlin and Olander and Oakwando remain spotty.
One of the most puzzling aspects of Calhoun's coaching this year is why he has not used the full court press at all. This is a terrific defensive team and definitely have the personnel to use the press in short spurts to create runs. I don't get it! In the grueling Big East the Huskies will be at least 3 games over .500 and go to the tourney; how far, again still too early to tell.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Husky Frosh "Meet the Big East": Pitt 78-UCONN 63
The UCONN Freshman five experienced their first Big East road game against a deep, talented, very well coached Pitt Panther five and took a 78-63 pounding at the Petersen Events Center last night. At the Events center Pitt is 8-0 against top ten teams that come into "their house" and 142-11 overall; it is considered one of the toughest road venues in the Big East. Like all of Pitt coach Jamie Dixon's teams this group plays hard nosed, stifling man to man defense and a beautiful, disciplined motion offense with very balanced scoring. Pitt had four players in double figures led by smooth shooting two guard Austin Gibb's 19 points. Defensively, the Panthers forced the Huskies into a 32% FG shooting night and their big men continually limited UCONN to one shot offensively.
Pitt controlled the game from start to finish and after the first three minutes the UCONN Frosh looked like they were in shock. Calhoun changed to a half court trapping defense and this slowed the Panthers down some. From 3 minutes into the first half, to about 7 minutes left in the game the Huskies kept the deficit between 6-10 points despite poor shooting from Kemba Walker and no scoring support from the rest of the team. Walker started the contest looking tight and trying to do too much and went 3-12 in the first half. He loosened up in the second half and finished with 31 points but had to hoist up 27 shots to get there. No other Husky scored in double figures; Jeremy Lamb had 9 and Alex Oriakhi a disappointing 8 points.
What significance can we read into UCONN's first loss of the season. First, it is not panic time; even the best of Calhoun's Husky squads have only amassed a 1-5 record on the road against Pitt who were heavily favored last night. I think most knowledgeable UCONN fans felt the #4 ranking was a bit high, but I still see this as a very good UCONN team with potentially a big upside.
There were, however, some concerning trends in last night's loss. In my opinion, in addition to Walker only Lamb and Napier (possibly Olander) seemed up to the task last night. Clearly, UCONN's scoring has to be better distributed if they expect to compete atop the Big East. Napier is the real deal and I liked his confidence and ability to run the offense when Walker was moved to two guard. Jeremy Lamb looks increasingly confident at both ends, but his outside shooting is suspect. Roscoe Smith's development continues to be very slow offensively and his shooting has been abysmal. Giffey has made no progress since the beginning of the year and looked eager to get the ball to Walker as quickly as he could last night. I think Olander is competing well but commits some senseless fouls, reducing his playing time; He hits the boards hard and has a nice little shooting touch. To me of most concern has been the increasngly poor play of Alex Oriakhi since his outstanding performance at the Maui Classic. He looks discouraged, is getting beat off the boards and has disappeared on offense. Calhoun, not shy about critisizing players in the press was quoted after last night's game as saying"I don't know if he (Oriakhi) was better sitting or playing. He's not the player right now I think he can be." ouch!but on target.
While it is far too early in the season to ascertain where this team will end up, I think Napier and Lamb will continue to improve and contribute but Smith and Giffey may not be significant factors this year. Oriakhi is a big question mark. He can play much better than he is right now and he is not getting much help up front so this is also a factor, however, he has to turn things around for the Huskies to a major force in March. A typical early season Big East road loss against a tough well coached opponent or a harbinger of things to come? Too early to tell.
"You Heard it here first"
Steve
Pitt controlled the game from start to finish and after the first three minutes the UCONN Frosh looked like they were in shock. Calhoun changed to a half court trapping defense and this slowed the Panthers down some. From 3 minutes into the first half, to about 7 minutes left in the game the Huskies kept the deficit between 6-10 points despite poor shooting from Kemba Walker and no scoring support from the rest of the team. Walker started the contest looking tight and trying to do too much and went 3-12 in the first half. He loosened up in the second half and finished with 31 points but had to hoist up 27 shots to get there. No other Husky scored in double figures; Jeremy Lamb had 9 and Alex Oriakhi a disappointing 8 points.
What significance can we read into UCONN's first loss of the season. First, it is not panic time; even the best of Calhoun's Husky squads have only amassed a 1-5 record on the road against Pitt who were heavily favored last night. I think most knowledgeable UCONN fans felt the #4 ranking was a bit high, but I still see this as a very good UCONN team with potentially a big upside.
There were, however, some concerning trends in last night's loss. In my opinion, in addition to Walker only Lamb and Napier (possibly Olander) seemed up to the task last night. Clearly, UCONN's scoring has to be better distributed if they expect to compete atop the Big East. Napier is the real deal and I liked his confidence and ability to run the offense when Walker was moved to two guard. Jeremy Lamb looks increasingly confident at both ends, but his outside shooting is suspect. Roscoe Smith's development continues to be very slow offensively and his shooting has been abysmal. Giffey has made no progress since the beginning of the year and looked eager to get the ball to Walker as quickly as he could last night. I think Olander is competing well but commits some senseless fouls, reducing his playing time; He hits the boards hard and has a nice little shooting touch. To me of most concern has been the increasngly poor play of Alex Oriakhi since his outstanding performance at the Maui Classic. He looks discouraged, is getting beat off the boards and has disappeared on offense. Calhoun, not shy about critisizing players in the press was quoted after last night's game as saying"I don't know if he (Oriakhi) was better sitting or playing. He's not the player right now I think he can be." ouch!but on target.
While it is far too early in the season to ascertain where this team will end up, I think Napier and Lamb will continue to improve and contribute but Smith and Giffey may not be significant factors this year. Oriakhi is a big question mark. He can play much better than he is right now and he is not getting much help up front so this is also a factor, however, he has to turn things around for the Huskies to a major force in March. A typical early season Big East road loss against a tough well coached opponent or a harbinger of things to come? Too early to tell.
"You Heard it here first"
Steve
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Huskies move up to #4 in both National Polls
On the strength of a decisive win over fairleigh Dickinson and PItt's loss to Tennessee, the UCONN Huskies were ranked fourth in both major polls on Monday. As you may know both the polls and NCAA Committee places a lot of weight in the RPi ratings. This is a ranking system which includes both a teams record and their strength of schedule. The fact the the Huskies are 6th in the RPI ratings and moved ahead of Syracuse probably explains why they also moved a head of the Orange in the polls.
The air is getting rare up there at #4 so we will see if the Huskies are this good when Big East starts on Dec.27 at Pitt after two tune ups against Coppin State and Harvard.
"YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST"
Steve
ps- I was wondering if the Walker brothers still follow college ball or they have joined a local polo club and have lost interest in
B-Ball
The air is getting rare up there at #4 so we will see if the Huskies are this good when Big East starts on Dec.27 at Pitt after two tune ups against Coppin State and Harvard.
"YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST"
Steve
ps- I was wondering if the Walker brothers still follow college ball or they have joined a local polo club and have lost interest in
B-Ball
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Huskies enter exam break 8-0, 6th in both major polls
Since the win at the Maui Invitational Tournament the UCONN Huskies have added three wins in the cupcake part of their schedule. A 62-55 outcome over a stubborn and well coached New Hampshite squad was followed by blowouts of Maryland-Baltimore
County (94-61) and Fairleigh Dickinson ( 78-64). A breakdown of the individual scoring in these three games gives some insight into the answers and the issues I said were important to look for before the start of the tough Big East Schedule on Dec. 27 against Pitt.
Knowing that not even Kemba Walker will average close to 30ppg in the Big East, Calhoun has been trying to get his "diaper dandies" to start showing more on offense. Against UNH, somewhat let down after the Maui win and surprised by UNH's tenacity, the Huskies fell back on Walker and he produced another 30 point game. Shabazz Napier, the impressive Freshman point guard was the only other Husky in double figures. However, against Maryland-Baltimore County, Walker scored 24 and UCONN had 5 other players in double figures including Lamb, Smith, Oriakhi, Giffey and Sophomore enigma Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. Against FDU, Walker scored 21 and Lamb, Smith and Napier had 12, 10 and 10 respectively.
I feel that Shabazz Napier is the Freshman who is furthest along in his development. He has great point guard instincts and is ready to relieve Walker at the point and contribute about 10ppg in the Big East. Lamb, a slashing two guard is starting to show some life on offense as he had 11 and 12 points in the last two games including some treys. Giffey, a 6'7" German import is coming along slowly but nicely. I think as the season progresses he will be a steady contributor with some big games as he finds his stroke. Roscoe Smith, UCONN's most highly touted recruit at an athletic 6'8" tall is a bit hard to read at this point and has raised some questions in my mind. Although he has produced back to back double figures the flashes of his athleticism have come on defense with some eye opening blocked shots. He has struggled offensively and I am concerned that he is a not a good jump shooter, particularly from 15 ft. out, critical for someone of his size. I think his jump shot will improve, but how much that is true this season is an important an open question.
The Huskies resume play on Dec. 20 against Coppin State, Harvard on the 22nd, then the BiG East schedule starts on Dec.27 in an away game against Pitt.
At this point, I can say unequivocably that this year's Huskies are an exciting, hustling bunch who will make the Big Dance.(If they go .500 in conference play they are in.) The development of the Freshmen is critical to how far this team can go. Napier is ready for prime time but the others are works in progress. Let's also not forget the somewhat puzzling 6'7" Sophomore, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. He has a solid all around game but came to Storrs with the reputation of a lights out three point shooter, which he has yet to show. My hope is that he will develop into a streak shooter, a la Rashad Anderson, and add some needed points in bunches.
Right now, Calhoun seems to be leaning to a starting five of Walker and Lamb in the backcourt with Oriakhi, Olander( a solid if unspectacular Freshman banger) and Smith up front. The rotation is pretty deep with 10 players that Calhoun has been using including, Napier, Coombs-Mcdaniel, an improving Senior Guard Donnell Beverley, Oakwandu and Giffey off the bench.
Enjoy the break and then let's get ready to rumble
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
County (94-61) and Fairleigh Dickinson ( 78-64). A breakdown of the individual scoring in these three games gives some insight into the answers and the issues I said were important to look for before the start of the tough Big East Schedule on Dec. 27 against Pitt.
Knowing that not even Kemba Walker will average close to 30ppg in the Big East, Calhoun has been trying to get his "diaper dandies" to start showing more on offense. Against UNH, somewhat let down after the Maui win and surprised by UNH's tenacity, the Huskies fell back on Walker and he produced another 30 point game. Shabazz Napier, the impressive Freshman point guard was the only other Husky in double figures. However, against Maryland-Baltimore County, Walker scored 24 and UCONN had 5 other players in double figures including Lamb, Smith, Oriakhi, Giffey and Sophomore enigma Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. Against FDU, Walker scored 21 and Lamb, Smith and Napier had 12, 10 and 10 respectively.
I feel that Shabazz Napier is the Freshman who is furthest along in his development. He has great point guard instincts and is ready to relieve Walker at the point and contribute about 10ppg in the Big East. Lamb, a slashing two guard is starting to show some life on offense as he had 11 and 12 points in the last two games including some treys. Giffey, a 6'7" German import is coming along slowly but nicely. I think as the season progresses he will be a steady contributor with some big games as he finds his stroke. Roscoe Smith, UCONN's most highly touted recruit at an athletic 6'8" tall is a bit hard to read at this point and has raised some questions in my mind. Although he has produced back to back double figures the flashes of his athleticism have come on defense with some eye opening blocked shots. He has struggled offensively and I am concerned that he is a not a good jump shooter, particularly from 15 ft. out, critical for someone of his size. I think his jump shot will improve, but how much that is true this season is an important an open question.
The Huskies resume play on Dec. 20 against Coppin State, Harvard on the 22nd, then the BiG East schedule starts on Dec.27 in an away game against Pitt.
At this point, I can say unequivocably that this year's Huskies are an exciting, hustling bunch who will make the Big Dance.(If they go .500 in conference play they are in.) The development of the Freshmen is critical to how far this team can go. Napier is ready for prime time but the others are works in progress. Let's also not forget the somewhat puzzling 6'7" Sophomore, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. He has a solid all around game but came to Storrs with the reputation of a lights out three point shooter, which he has yet to show. My hope is that he will develop into a streak shooter, a la Rashad Anderson, and add some needed points in bunches.
Right now, Calhoun seems to be leaning to a starting five of Walker and Lamb in the backcourt with Oriakhi, Olander( a solid if unspectacular Freshman banger) and Smith up front. The rotation is pretty deep with 10 players that Calhoun has been using including, Napier, Coombs-Mcdaniel, an improving Senior Guard Donnell Beverley, Oakwandu and Giffey off the bench.
Enjoy the break and then let's get ready to rumble
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
