UConn and Maui
- Thread starter NYShoreGuy
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Eventually the high intensity near manic at times crazed type coach will see diminishing returns.
Wow they have a buy game saturday then they have baylor texas gonzaga in next few weeks before big east
Newton and castle meeting guards and then Donovan on the back side was very formidable
And it was the right call. He made no attempt on the ball and hip checked a guy in the air.
That the conference sucks this year? 10-14 is unacceptable for a basketball only conference wanting to be big time.
Karaban to hospital as UConn loses all 3 in Maui
UConn forward Alex Karaban was taken to a hospital for a head injury following an 85-67 loss to Dayton that sent the No. 2 Huskies to an 0-3 finish at the Maui Invitational.
UConn's Alex Karaban taken to hospital as Huskies swept in Maui
UConn forward Alex Karaban was taken to a hospital for a head injury after an 85-67 loss to Dayton on Wednesday that sent the No. 2 Huskies to an 0-3 finish at the Maui Invitational.
Karaban's head hit the floor after being fouled with about 2½ minutes left. He stayed in the game but was later placed in the concussion protocol and sent to the hospital for further testing.
UConn team doctor Robert Arciero said he was optimistic as they await the test results.
Karaban made four of his team's eight 3-pointers and scored 15 of his team-high 21 points in the first half to lead the Huskies (4-3), who lost all three games they played at the tournament.
"When you come to a tournament like this, and it's three games in three days, it starts to go bad, there's no way of fixing it because there's no time to," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "You just have to deal with the situation. It was a humbling trip obviously for the program that's accomplished what we've accomplished."
The Flyers (6-2) got 20 points from Enoch Cheeks, 18 from Nate Santos, 16 from Posh Alexander and 15 from Zed Key, who also led the team with nine rebounds. Cheeks shot 8-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Karaban hit a 3-pointer that put UConn ahead 30-27 with 4:34 left before halftime, but Dayton closed out the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 41-34 halftime lead.
UConn got within 52-49 on Solo Ball's bucket in transition at the 11:20 mark of the second half, but Dayton found separation with Alexander's 3-point play that stretched it back to a six-point lead with 10:34 to play.
All three of the Huskies' losses on Maui came against unranked teams. They dropped their first two games -- against Memphis on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday -- by a combined three points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You lose Newton, Castle, Spencer, and Clingan all in one offseason, you're not going to be nearly as good. I don't care who you are, just a fact.
Yikes. When was their last three-game losing streak?
Last three-game OOC losing streak?
Last three-game unranked OOC losing streak?
Last three-game OOC losing streak?
Last three-game unranked OOC losing streak?
We are not a good defensive team right now. That's a consequence of all the turnover. I do believe that that will not be true when February rolls around and people get used to the system.
Point guard has been a problem for us. Aidan Mahaney seems to be struggling with the physicality of high major basketball. At this point, it looks like he is not the answer for us at point guard. That means that freshman. Nowell is going to have to step up for us to have a successful season. He's shown some good moments. Mahaney is probably best used off the bench as an instant offense shooting guard in short verse where people won't be able to exploit his defensive shortcomings as well.
Obviously, we weren't going to replace Clingan this year. Reed, is having his moments. I was hopeful Johnson would make a jump, but I think that he's going to be the same player we saw last year. Not horrible, but not a defensive piece that we can build around.
TLDR: this looks to be a transition year for us. I think we're going to look much better by the end of the season, but, three championships in a row may be a bridge too far.
Point guard has been a problem for us. Aidan Mahaney seems to be struggling with the physicality of high major basketball. At this point, it looks like he is not the answer for us at point guard. That means that freshman. Nowell is going to have to step up for us to have a successful season. He's shown some good moments. Mahaney is probably best used off the bench as an instant offense shooting guard in short verse where people won't be able to exploit his defensive shortcomings as well.
Obviously, we weren't going to replace Clingan this year. Reed, is having his moments. I was hopeful Johnson would make a jump, but I think that he's going to be the same player we saw last year. Not horrible, but not a defensive piece that we can build around.
TLDR: this looks to be a transition year for us. I think we're going to look much better by the end of the season, but, three championships in a row may be a bridge too far.
If you talk with the players, you might think differently. Hurley is high intensity in practices, but I'm game day, during shoot around and in the game he is supportive and pumps players up. The players tolerate the high energy in practice for a few reasons. First, it's not a surprise. By now it's generally known, but Hurley also tells players specifically what's going to happen and he won't even consider a player until they've seen a practice. Players say they understand it comes from love and desire to make them the best that they can be. Most recently, Kataban said this at Maui.
Calhoun was notoriously, high intensity impact, and his players loved him. I think it can't be random and it needs to be with the purpose.
Though, interestingly, he didn't handle PJ's "intensity" particularly well.
There was a lot more than PJ going on - Dan was his own worst critic, had brother Bob at Duke and a highly accomplished coach in his dad. He's spoken at length and bravely about his profound disappointment with how he handled those times, his depression and how he just was not enjoying basketball anymore. I give him tons of credit for his honesty and willingness to share that story. His struggles helped make him the coach and person he is today.
That was my point above. Nit everyone handles it well. And the years that have passed since his playing days have seen players more outspoken about coach behavior. Add in the big NIL checks and you might see less returns.
@CL 82 you always bring an informed and unemotional take. Enjoy reading your musings on the Conn. So refreshing after reading the yahoo's on the Boneyard. The three peat has everyone's expectations far too high for essentially a new team. They have a lot of high profile dudes who aren't cohesive right now. The pressure that Hurley has put on himself is manifesting in guys being far too uptight. Afraid to make a mistake and get PT pulled. Needs to shorten the rotation (not unlike our guy Sha). The three loses in Maui don't help especially with three tough games. Need a quality win outside of the conference. The cupcakes filled with sprinkles from the first four tomatoe cans (plus Maryland Eastern Shore this weekend) aren't helping the NET. Leaves it up to quality wins in conference.
Unless this turns around fast, the “powers that be” (committee/power 4 vs everyone else/NIL money pits/Sports-industrial complex/pick your poison) going to use this trash as justification for giving the Big East only 3-4 bids again this season.
We've got a few more games coming up that will help our RPI, most notably Gonzaga in MSG. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little concerned about that game right now.
Our post season aspirations are going to be based on we do in the Big East. I don't love digging a hole in the preseason, but it is what it is. We have enough talent to be a NCAA tourney team. We just need to keep improving, especially on defense.
(For what it's worth, I think most of The Boneyard is in the same place that I am on this team. It has potential, but it also has work to do.)
