2008/2009 Big East Thread

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

G'Town handled UConn because Monroe could pull Thabeet away from the basket. Thabeet doesn't like to leave the rim area and struggles to cover guys away from the rim. Our big guys can't do that. I wish Ricky P would've went with a smaller lineup and put E5 at the center spot to make Thabeet have to come out and guard the perimeter but he didn't.

I know people keep saying that UofL's guards aren't very good, and we can debate that to no end, but thats not what beat UofL last night. UofL got beat because outside of T-Will, nobody challenged UConn inside 15ft. We needed Earl to post up and draw Thabeet over and dish to the five or to post up and make his moves, but he was bitched out by Thabeet that he played like a 6'9 shooting guard last night.

To answer the last question, UConn is one of the 2 best teams in the country. They are a complete team. They are only rivaled by North Carolina. Carolina is the better offensive team in my opinion, UConn is the better defensive team. I'd love to see the two meet this year on a neutral site. I'd even watch it pay per view.

[fishepa]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

UL shooting 34% and Earl Clark going 2-16 helped UL lose as well. Just a bad overall night for the Cards.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

UL shooting 34% and Earl Clark going 2-16 helped UL lose as well. Just a bad overall night for the Cards.

I agree. We're a better team than we showcased last night.

Anyone remember the last time UofL was beaten by 17 at Freedom Hall? Happened against Memphis in 2005, the year the Cards went to the Final Four in St.Louis.

[Trapper700]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

G'Town handled UConn because Monroe could pull Thabeet away from the basket. Thabeet doesn't like to leave the rim area and struggles to cover guys away from the rim. Our big guys can't do that. I wish Ricky P would've went with a smaller lineup and put E5 at the center spot to make Thabeet have to come out and guard the perimeter but he didn't.

I know people keep saying that UofL's guards aren't very good, and we can debate that to no end, but thats not what beat UofL last night. UofL got beat because outside of T-Will, nobody challenged UConn inside 15ft. We needed Earl to post up and draw Thabeet over and dish to the five or to post up and make his moves, but he was bitched out by Thabeet that he played like a 6'9 shooting guard last night.

To answer the last question, UConn is one of the 2 best teams in the country. They are a complete team. They are only rivaled by North Carolina. Carolina is the better offensive team in my opinion, UConn is the better defensive team. I'd love to see the two meet this year on a neutral site. I'd even watch it pay per view.

Which is why I'm surprised UConn doesn't use a lot more 3-2 (or possibly 1-3-1) zone in those types of situations, even if they threw it out there just to show a different look every once in a while.

I think Louisville really looked like they missed Padgett (and maybe even Caracter). They always seemed to give us trouble, even with Thabeet down low. The young guys looked like they just didn't know what to do about Thabeet.

It saddens me knowing that the team could have been *really* special this year if we had Miles and Majok. Right now our only "big" off the bench is Edwards, and we're basically screwed if both Thabeet and Adrien get into foul trouble, especially now that Okwandu (not that he was a big factor) was declared academically ineligible.

[KG]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

G'Town handled UConn because Monroe could pull Thabeet away from the basket. Thabeet doesn't like to leave the rim area and struggles to cover guys away from the rim. Our big guys can't do that. I wish Ricky P would've went with a smaller lineup and put E5 at the center spot to make Thabeet have to come out and guard the perimeter but he didn't.

I know people keep saying that UofL's guards aren't very good, and we can debate that to no end, but thats not what beat UofL last night. UofL got beat because outside of T-Will, nobody challenged UConn inside 15ft. We needed Earl to post up and draw Thabeet over and dish to the five or to post up and make his moves, but he was bitched out by Thabeet that he played like a 6'9 shooting guard last night.

To answer the last question, UConn is one of the 2 best teams in the country. They are a complete team. They are only rivaled by North Carolina. Carolina is the better offensive team in my opinion, UConn is the better defensive team. I'd love to see the two meet this year on a neutral site. I'd even watch it pay per view.

You put E5 at center last night and you guys lose by even more. He's not strong enough or physical enough to bang with Adrien or Thabeet on the defensive end.

Gtown beat UCONN because Dyson was ice-cold, Thabeet & Adrien only got 12 shots combined, and Gtown jump on them. It's hard to catch a team like Gtown who slows it down and is that efficient offensively.

UCONN is just tough and I was really really high on Louisville before last night. Hell, I'm still high on them which tells you how good UCONN is. Terrance Williams and Gerald Henderson are playing better than any swingmen in the country right now. It looked like Calhoun gave Williams an earful of encouragement last night, one of those "we just spanked you but you're a hell of player speeches".

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Yeah it was a combination of things in the G'Town loss, Monroe's mismatch with Thabeet was only a small part. G'Town came out strong and smacked UConn on the mouth and played tough the entire game. UConn was flat, didn't defend anyone and didn't rebound - plus no one could hit a jumper (not all that uncommon though, lol). Ever since that game though we've been the best defensive team in the country. Calhoun lit a fire under them after that loss.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

You put E5 at center last night and you guys lose by even more. He's not strong enough or physical enough to bang with Adrien or Thabeet on the defensive end.

I'm not sure about that. Earl is a strong kid and if he's matched up with Thabeet he can pull him away from the basket and use his quickness to try and get Thabeet into foul trouble. He could also use his skill set to post Adrien which is what he should've done.

And I think Clark is strong enough to bang with them both in the post and his physical enough when he wants to be.

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I'm not sure about that. Earl is a strong kid and if he's matched up with Thabeet he can pull him away from the basket and use his quickness to try and get Thabeet into foul trouble. He could also use his skill set to post Adrien which is what he should've done.

And I think Clark is strong enough to bang with them both in the post and his physical enough when he wants to be.

There is no way Clark is strong enough to bang with Adrien and Thabeet, CB. Adrien is as strong of a player as their is in college basketball and Clark is giving up 40+ lbs to Thabeet. Not a chance.

Calhoun doesn't think so either.

"The two young kids inside can't handle Hash, and they can't handle Jeff," Calhoun said. "Clark is not going to handle him, and the other two kids are young. They're going to be great, and Clark's a terrific player, but they're not going to be able to handle those guys.

Plus if you have Clark at the five what in the world are you going to do on the defensive end of the court? UConn would get so many points in the paint and offensive boards it'd be counter productive.

[justamush]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Why isn't anybody mentioning Pitt's rivalry win over Robert Morris last night???? Anyone?????

Seriously thought, UConn looked awesome last night. I have always loved Jeff Adrien's game.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

There is no way Clark is strong enough to bang with Adrien and Thabeet, CB. Adrien is as strong of a player as their is in college basketball and Clark is giving up 40+ lbs to Thabeet. Not a chance.

Calhoun doesn't think so either.

Ok

Plus if you have Clark at the five what in the world are you going to do on the defensive end of the court? UConn would get so many points in the paint and offensive boards it'd be counter productive.

play zone

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

play zone

Zone is even worse, teams always rebound more poorly in zones because they don't have an assigned man to box out every time. UConn would high-low a zone that small to death.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Zone is even worse, teams always rebound more poorly in zones because they don't have an assigned man to box out every time. UConn would high-low a zone that small to death.

[KG]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I'm not sure about that. Earl is a strong kid and if he's matched up with Thabeet he can pull him away from the basket and use his quickness to try and get Thabeet into foul trouble. He could also use his skill set to post Adrien which is what he should've done.

And I think Clark is strong enough to bang with them both in the post and his physical enough when he wants to be.

I agree with ehh, Clark is a 3man. He has a lot of skills which translate to the next level but he's not a banger. Once Stanley got into foul trouble I thought he could do enough with the bounce to get by Adrien. It's no knock on Louisville at all, but UCONN is just a bad matchup for them. Samuels & Jennings just aren't skilled enough to compete with Thabeet & Adrien.

On a sidenote, I love the style contrasts in the BE this year. One night you're preparing for a slow down game with Gtown, the next a bruiser vs Pitt, then up & down with Marquette. That's not even getting into UCONN who can do it all and Louisville who is somewhere in the middle. Throw in the Cuse, West VA, and Providence and it's a nightmare.

I just hope that whoever survives the BE this year isn't beat up to bad for a March run.

[crques]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Well I'll take my crow with a dash of salt please. I thought for sure that Louisville would take out the Huskies last night. UConn was nothing short of impressive in nailing down that road win. Hats off to the Huskies and their big win and my apologies to UConn and their fans for underestimating what they were capable of on the road against the Cardinals.

[Trapper700]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

After watching the replay of the game again on my DVR, it seems like at times UConn played a pseudo-zone. It looked like at points they were playing a reverse box & 1, with Thabeet staying under the glass...