Uconn V ISU Thoughts
- Thread starter awmuconn
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You didn't even mention my favorite part of that triple double. Royce was still fighting the flu and went straight to a trash can in the tunnel after he came out of the game.
I believe he's more like 6'10" 270 lbs..at least he was at the beginning of this season. Gipson on K-State is 6'7" and 275lbs and Henriquez (sp?) is 6'11" 250. A few other guys they have are like 6'8" or 6'7" and 230 lbs.
There is no denying Drummond is an athletic freak. Have known that since his prep school, but he's been semi inconsistent this year. It's the NCAA tournament so I'm sure he'll try and "bring it"
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Completely agree. UConn has superior talent across the board. Should be considered an upset if we win.
For UCONN fans, welcome to the board, he's a quick run-down by me on Iowa State.
Positives of ISU
Allen- Former player under Tom Izzo, he played against UCONN in the final four when you guys had Thabeet. He plays the 1 and 2 for us. He's been playing well of late and taking better shots for us. Experience in the big dance.
Christopherson- is a better dribbler then people think, also is our best 3-point shooter. Isn't afraid to take clutch shots for us.
Ejim- is a 3 playing the 4. He is a hustle guy. Good rebounder for his size and starts at the 4 for us.
White- Our best player. Can do anything really. Had a triple-double against A&M with sickness. Leads our team in every major category besides 3-point shooting. Can take over games. One of the best big man passers in the country. Unanimous 1st-team Big 12 selection.
Babb- Our best defender. He shuts down every player that he is guarding. Was a huge key in slowing down Pierre Jackson in the Baylor win. He plays the 3 for us and is a solid rebounder.
McGee- Our 6th man. He's a fan favorite here because of his great hustle on every play. Is an underrated defender and comes in for Allen usually. Also is one of our top 3-point shooters
Booker- He is a big wildcard for us. He is a very good shooter for a big man. He also is a good low post defender.
Gibson- Freshman. He's been a good surprise so far. He had a big part in our win over Kansas St. Very good offensive post player. Good touch.
Railey- Center that goes comes in during garbage time.
Palo- Walk-on that gained a scholarship. Came back from an injury and played well. Only true PG on our team. Fan favorite as he's from Ames.
Sledge- From New York. Freshman. Has really good hops. Point guard.
McBeth- walk-on, plays on the football team.
Negatives
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Allen- For UCONN fans, think of Napier on the offensive end. At times can take a bad shot. He's getting better at shot selection but this is the biggest flaw in his game right now. Also not a good defender and can be selfish.
SC- Tries to be Magic Johnson at times. Forces the issue. Struggles on defense and doesn't block out well for a guard.
Ejim- Undersized 4. Takes a lot of bad shots at times (3-pointers). For some reason he struggles to catch the ball at times. Plays too fast.
White- Has an anxiety disorder. While I'm not saying it's totally a bad thing, it does hurt him alot at the free-throw line. Is a pretty bad foul shooter though he is getting better. Also tries to be too fancy at times with his passing which leads to turnovers. Not a great defender.
Babb- Has struggled shooting lately. He can make 3's but is the best candidate to leave open out of the guards.
McGee- Not a whole lot wrong with McGee. He can pick up fouls quickly though he plays very hard so that's why. You guys need to make him drive as he's mostly a jump shooter.
Booker- Has a temper. Has picked up a couple technicals this year. Also has been in the coaches doghouse for a bit. He has also been injured a couple of times this season, not sure if he's 100% or not.
Gibson- Inexperienced. Needs to work on defense. You guys need to try to keep him out of the post as I've never seen him shoot a 15 foot shot.
Railey- He's pretty raw. Could be good in a couple years. Has been known to get fouls quickly.
Palo- Has struggled since coming back. Can make a boneheaded play at bad times.
Sledge- Doesn't play except garbage time. Not a jumpshooter.
McBeth- IDK, walk-on
Positives of ISU
Allen- Former player under Tom Izzo, he played against UCONN in the final four when you guys had Thabeet. He plays the 1 and 2 for us. He's been playing well of late and taking better shots for us. Experience in the big dance.
Christopherson- is a better dribbler then people think, also is our best 3-point shooter. Isn't afraid to take clutch shots for us.
Ejim- is a 3 playing the 4. He is a hustle guy. Good rebounder for his size and starts at the 4 for us.
White- Our best player. Can do anything really. Had a triple-double against A&M with sickness. Leads our team in every major category besides 3-point shooting. Can take over games. One of the best big man passers in the country. Unanimous 1st-team Big 12 selection.
Babb- Our best defender. He shuts down every player that he is guarding. Was a huge key in slowing down Pierre Jackson in the Baylor win. He plays the 3 for us and is a solid rebounder.
McGee- Our 6th man. He's a fan favorite here because of his great hustle on every play. Is an underrated defender and comes in for Allen usually. Also is one of our top 3-point shooters
Booker- He is a big wildcard for us. He is a very good shooter for a big man. He also is a good low post defender.
Gibson- Freshman. He's been a good surprise so far. He had a big part in our win over Kansas St. Very good offensive post player. Good touch.
Railey- Center that goes comes in during garbage time.
Palo- Walk-on that gained a scholarship. Came back from an injury and played well. Only true PG on our team. Fan favorite as he's from Ames.
Sledge- From New York. Freshman. Has really good hops. Point guard.
McBeth- walk-on, plays on the football team.
Negatives
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Allen- For UCONN fans, think of Napier on the offensive end. At times can take a bad shot. He's getting better at shot selection but this is the biggest flaw in his game right now. Also not a good defender and can be selfish.
SC- Tries to be Magic Johnson at times. Forces the issue. Struggles on defense and doesn't block out well for a guard.
Ejim- Undersized 4. Takes a lot of bad shots at times (3-pointers). For some reason he struggles to catch the ball at times. Plays too fast.
White- Has an anxiety disorder. While I'm not saying it's totally a bad thing, it does hurt him alot at the free-throw line. Is a pretty bad foul shooter though he is getting better. Also tries to be too fancy at times with his passing which leads to turnovers. Not a great defender.
Babb- Has struggled shooting lately. He can make 3's but is the best candidate to leave open out of the guards.
McGee- Not a whole lot wrong with McGee. He can pick up fouls quickly though he plays very hard so that's why. You guys need to make him drive as he's mostly a jump shooter.
Booker- Has a temper. Has picked up a couple technicals this year. Also has been in the coaches doghouse for a bit. He has also been injured a couple of times this season, not sure if he's 100% or not.
Gibson- Inexperienced. Needs to work on defense. You guys need to try to keep him out of the post as I've never seen him shoot a 15 foot shot.
Railey- He's pretty raw. Could be good in a couple years. Has been known to get fouls quickly.
Palo- Has struggled since coming back. Can make a boneheaded play at bad times.
Sledge- Doesn't play except garbage time. Not a jumpshooter.
McBeth- IDK, walk-on
I read only some of the posts here, so if this is redundant, accept my apology.
Does anyone else wonder if UConn has treated the entire season like ISU approached some of those early-season games (such as MVSU, Central Michigan, et al)? Like, "eh, we can show up when it matters"?
UConn has 7 wins vs. tournament teams (this includes auto-bid-level teams).
West Virginia (twice)
Harvard
UNC-Asheville
Florida State
@Notre Dame
@USF
And yes, several BE losses came against top-4 seeds (SU, GTown, Marquette)
Even though a lot was made this season about UConn's unimpressive track record, I didn't think it had put together so few marquee wins.
By comparison, ISU isn't impressive, either — also has 7. But you don't hear talk about underachievement, and ISU has more top-8 seed wins in the group
Lehigh
MVSU
Texas
KSU (twice)
KU
Baylor
High seed losses: Missouri (2), @KU, @Michigan
I suppose this explains how it came to an 8-9 game.
I'm worried UConn is going to flip the light switch just when we don't want to see it.
Does anyone else wonder if UConn has treated the entire season like ISU approached some of those early-season games (such as MVSU, Central Michigan, et al)? Like, "eh, we can show up when it matters"?
UConn has 7 wins vs. tournament teams (this includes auto-bid-level teams).
West Virginia (twice)
Harvard
UNC-Asheville
Florida State
@Notre Dame
@USF
And yes, several BE losses came against top-4 seeds (SU, GTown, Marquette)
Even though a lot was made this season about UConn's unimpressive track record, I didn't think it had put together so few marquee wins.
By comparison, ISU isn't impressive, either — also has 7. But you don't hear talk about underachievement, and ISU has more top-8 seed wins in the group
Lehigh
MVSU
Texas
KSU (twice)
KU
Baylor
High seed losses: Missouri (2), @KU, @Michigan
I suppose this explains how it came to an 8-9 game.
I'm worried UConn is going to flip the light switch just when we don't want to see it.
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For ISU it comes down to about 3-4 things:
1. Hedge screens the ENTIRE game. I am sick and tired of this team doing a great job of hedging screens only to abandon the 2nd half completely. In the Baylor game AND the Texas tournament game we didn't do it at all. It is up to Fred to both recognize and keep players accountable. IMO this is a must.
2. Defend for the ENTIRE game. We've shown we can play great defense for long stretches but we have yet to do so for an entire game. For some reason Royce is allowed to not play defense at all. If Royce doesn't rotate (when not in foul trouble) we will not win this game. We can't have perfect perimeter d all the time and it's up to the interior to pick up the slack.
3. Shot selection. We need to balance our attack by getting to the basket when the opportunity presents itself, be unselfish and pass it to the open man on the perimeter, and take set, in-rhythm jumpers. At times we throw up the most ridiculous shots ever seen, with Chris "I've never seen a bad shot" Allen being the biggest offender. We can't be throwing away possessions and expect to win in the Dance.
4. Hoiberg needs to have better game management skills. Fred has done a poor job at stemming momentum by generally refusing to call timeouts when a run is STARTING (rather than finished). He's also done a poor job in keeping players like Royce and Allen accountable. We NEED both players, but we can't have Royce consistently negating his offensive contributions with lackadaisical efforts, or Allen hoisting up stupid shots. If players do this crap they need to sit and think about it. If they do it again we need to go with another option. We also can't play Bubu when losing in crunch time or playing Booker over Gibson when the latter is the better player. Fred needs to manage the game, especially in the 2nd half, to prevent our self-inflicted collapses.
If we do these things I think we will beat UCONN and give $UK fits with the possibility of an upset. If we do at least 3 of these things we also have a good chance. If we do only 2 we lose, and 1 or less we get blown out. It's time for our coaches and our players to play their smartest basketball and show us what they are truly capable of.
1. Hedge screens the ENTIRE game. I am sick and tired of this team doing a great job of hedging screens only to abandon the 2nd half completely. In the Baylor game AND the Texas tournament game we didn't do it at all. It is up to Fred to both recognize and keep players accountable. IMO this is a must.
2. Defend for the ENTIRE game. We've shown we can play great defense for long stretches but we have yet to do so for an entire game. For some reason Royce is allowed to not play defense at all. If Royce doesn't rotate (when not in foul trouble) we will not win this game. We can't have perfect perimeter d all the time and it's up to the interior to pick up the slack.
3. Shot selection. We need to balance our attack by getting to the basket when the opportunity presents itself, be unselfish and pass it to the open man on the perimeter, and take set, in-rhythm jumpers. At times we throw up the most ridiculous shots ever seen, with Chris "I've never seen a bad shot" Allen being the biggest offender. We can't be throwing away possessions and expect to win in the Dance.
4. Hoiberg needs to have better game management skills. Fred has done a poor job at stemming momentum by generally refusing to call timeouts when a run is STARTING (rather than finished). He's also done a poor job in keeping players like Royce and Allen accountable. We NEED both players, but we can't have Royce consistently negating his offensive contributions with lackadaisical efforts, or Allen hoisting up stupid shots. If players do this crap they need to sit and think about it. If they do it again we need to go with another option. We also can't play Bubu when losing in crunch time or playing Booker over Gibson when the latter is the better player. Fred needs to manage the game, especially in the 2nd half, to prevent our self-inflicted collapses.
If we do these things I think we will beat UCONN and give $UK fits with the possibility of an upset. If we do at least 3 of these things we also have a good chance. If we do only 2 we lose, and 1 or less we get blown out. It's time for our coaches and our players to play their smartest basketball and show us what they are truly capable of.
I'd say Sledge is a true PG..but he doesn't play. So I think the correct thing is more "Only true PG on our team THAT GETS PLAYING TIME. :smile:
4. It is like you haven't watched confernece play at all. Fred doesn't even hesitate to pull Allen when he launches up something stupid. When Allen throws up a poor three, McGee is off the bench before the ball hits the rim. He also has no issue giving Royce an earful. I don't get the timeout issue either. I thought he has doen a good job calling timeouts when runs start. Texas was a different story as they scored 9 points in 0:30.
I am not saying that White is going to go off or that UConn won't shut him down but it isn't like these defensive tactics haven't been employed before. White has been bringing the ball upcourt all season and has had bodies thrown at him. I think you will find he has seen just about every defensiv3e tactic thrown at him possible. The best thing to do is defend him one on one and make him shoot the ball. Don't give him help leaving a shooter open.
I really don't remember anyone that guarded him straight up one on one. Everyone has always had at least a second player hedging towards him at all times. The main problem is that if they put a big guy on him, Royce will draw them out and drive around them, and if it's a little guy, he'll post him up.
The unique thing about Royce is that if you try to lay back, he's just as likely to use that to his advantage in passing as in getting to the bucket for his own points.
Texas came as close to one on one as anyone. They were content letting Royce get his as long as our shooters were covered. If they hedged anyone, it was a post and they took away the passing lane as they hedged They did this in their two wins against us.
True. I think, at that point, Royce really needs to look for his, or at least drive and dish to the opposite post if they collapse. He has the ability to get in really deep if he wants to (and if the opponent doesn't flop and get the ridiculous call).
I will say he has had problems with tall shot blockers, as he hasn't learned to body into them rather than fade away just yet.
I think that you'll be surprised by the athleticism of Drummond. White is too good a player to shut down but he will have to work hard to get his shots. That's tough to do for 40 minutes. On the other hand, Andre lacks experience since he's a 18 year old kid. I worry about him trying to do too much and fouling. He's our best match up with White but I think White will see 4 of our guys over the course of the game - Drummond, Oriaki, Smith and Olander. Again he's too good a player to stop but we have the tools to make him work very hard.
The trick is making him work hard to pass, which is a difficult task indeed. He took one shot in our Oklahoma road win (a late dunk) and was still a major factor
Iowa State Cyclones vs. Oklahoma Sooners - Box Score - February 04, 2012 - ESPN
3 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists
Or he may come out and attack like he did against Kansas
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Iowa State Cyclones - Box Score - January 28, 2012 - ESPN
18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
He will do whatever the defense gives him, and sometimes just takes what he wants.