UConn Basketball Title Run

Courtesy of Inner- City Newspaper

March 1, 2014 - April 9, 2014

I.

UConn Men’s Basketball is legit this year. They are ranked #21 as of February 19. Their overall record currently stands at 20-5, and they are 8-4 in the surprisingly good American Athletic Conference. The Huskies had a few impressive wins early in the season, but most of their wins were against mediocre competition. Their most impressive victory was against Florida in Gampel on December 2, when Shabazz Napier hit a buzzer beater win 65-64. Florida is now ranked #3 in the country. They won one-point games against Indiana and Maryland in the opener, but they lost their first two AAC games against Houston and SMU. The team had many holes, and inconsistency became a major issue. Lack of size prevented them from getting rebounds, shooters like Niels Giffey and Omar Calhoun were spotty, and backup PG Ryan Boatright was a turnover machine. Napier is summoning the spirit of Kemba Walker this year, but he is being asked to do too much. He leads the team in almost every statistical category, including rebounding. (18 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.9 SPG) Fortunately, the Huskies are clicking at the right time. The biggest difference is the emergence of center Amida Brimah. He has exhibited raw athleticism and defense all season, but he was averaging around ten minutes a game. He has been learning the game, and now he is averaging fifteen minutes a game. When he is on the court, his size makes things easier for everyone else. Phillip Nolan and Lasan Kromah have been solid, but neither is a true big man. The Huskies like to play a high tempo game, where the point guard looks to drive or kick out. Napier runs the offense, opening up shots in the wings for DeAndre Daniels, Giffey, and Boatright. Teams like this tend to be small, but some type of inside presence is needed to prevent opponents from abusing the low post. Brimah was not that presence early in the season, but he has been lately. He is averaging 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, which are very impressive numbers considering his limited minutes. Brimah has world class jumping ability, but he still struggles when the opponent plays up-tempo. This was evident in their recent overtime victory against Memphis. He only played six minutes, and UConn was dominated down low. This does not bode well moving forward, but his improvement before gives reason for optimism. DeAndre Daniels still has not lived up to his potential, evident by his 2-8 shooting night in 31 minutes against Memphis. He is long and can play four positions, but he still needs to figure out his strengths. He may have reached his ceiling considering that he is a junior. It is hard not to compare this team to the 2011 championship team because of the leader Shabazz has become. He is playing with extreme confidence and intelligence due to his four years of experience. Having a leader like this at the point guard position allows everyone else to flourish. I think they can make a run in the tournament, but only if Brimah and Nolan can shore up the frontcourt. The Huskies have the ability to match up with anyone, but they can also struggle when least expected. This season has been very intriguing, and things will be clearer come AAC tournament time.

II. 

There is no easy way to say it, but the Huskies were embarrassed by Louisville on March 8 when they lost 81-48. DeAndre Daniels had 17 points and 8 rebounds, but no one else had double-digit points. Shabazz Napier shot a dismal 2 for 13. Louisville played like a well-oiled machine, exhibiting why they are the defending champions. The 20 points and 11 rebounds from Montrezl Harrell was the story of the game, but the real star was PG Russ Smith. He had 13 assists, and the fact that four players scored in double digits is a testament to having a great distributor. The main reason this game was such a blowout was because of Louisville’s defense. Coach Ollie said after the game that he was caught off guard, but he acknowledged that this is a learning experience for him. He has the right attitude, because he is still learning the ropes. This statement troubles me, however, because the Cincinnati game seemed like an omen of things to come. Napier had a great game (18 points, 11 rebounds), but the final score was 51-45. The Bearcats smothered UConn defensively, but Cincy had their own offensive struggles. The Huskies got a little lucky, because a better opponent would have won. The Huskies had been taking a step back in general, though still winning close games. This includes a five-point win over USF, although they beat them by 43 the first time.

Size is a big issue for UConn, which is a statement I find myself saying all the time. Usually this is because of a lack of rebounding, but they have actually been improving in that regard. Surprisingly, they outrebounded Louisville 40-39. The issue now is lack of low post offense. The Huskies are becoming too dependent on the outside shot, which does not breed consistency. Daniels should be posting up more, and Kromah needs to be assertive offensively. Inside shots are high percentage shots, and they need to emphasize this. Amida Brimah has so much raw talent, but he is awkward in the up-tempo offense. He still does not play as many minutes as I would like. The Huskies are built well enough to win a few games in the NCAA tournament, but the upcoming AAC Tournament will be telling. Kevin Ollie seems to be losing the psychological battles with more experienced coaches, which comes with the territory. Unfortunately, I cannot see them getting past the Sweet 16 unless Brimah can become a consistent force in the middle.

III. 

Sweet Sixteen basketball baby! I am a lifelong UConn fan, but even I did not think this kind of run was unlikely. In my bracket (which was done after the first round), I had the Huskies losing to Villanova. I believed they could lose to a very good St. Joseph team that beat tournament darlings Dayton twice, including a 79-53 win on 2/25. They finished the season strong, but they won a lot of games that could have gone either way. This includes a loss to SMU on 2/23, a five-point win over USF on 2/26, and a six-point win over Rutgers on 3/5. Luckily they won enough considering that a 25-9 SMU was excluded from the tournament due to AAC disrespect, but inconsistency was still an issue. Both tournament games had a common theme; UConn’s opponent had great starts followed by long cold streaks. St. Joes started 13-20, but went 10-22 in the second half. Villanova took a 19-9 lead early and appeared to be the better team, only to go 11:24 without making a field goal. This is an impressive defensive feat, but it was probably due to matchups more than anything else. Neither St. Joes nor Villanova are big, which plays into UConn’s strength. Both games turned into jump shooting battles, especially against Villanova. Shabazz Napier hit three 3-pointers in a 1:32 stretch in the second half to give UConn an 11-point lead that they would not surrender. What was particularly impressive is the fact that Nova’s cold streak came with Napier on the bench with foul trouble. The rest of the team shouldered the burden of erasing the deficit, which could boost morale moving forward. Despite this, the Huskies still look beatable. Even when they were getting stops, Nova was getting good looks. They did the Huskies a favor by continuing to shoot outside shots even when they were missing. Neither DeAndre Daniels nor Ryan Boatright shot a high percentage, but they were aggressive. This shows that they will likely be able to step up as complimentary players like Napier and Jeremy Lamb during 2011. I said before that Amida Brimah had to take the next step in order for the Huskies to have a shot at the title, and he has not quite done that yet.He got nine points and six rebounds in 30 minutes against St. Joes, including a critical three-point play down the streth that was critical in sending the game to overtime. Against Nova, he only had two points and one rebound in 20 minutes. I believe that teams will eventually realize that the paint is UConn’s weakness and attack it more. Shabazz Napier is the clear leader of the team, and having that kind of type-A personality on a team cannot be underestimated. He scored over 20 in both tournament games, and many of his shots were critical ones. Iowa State was sixth in the country in scoring and first in assists, but they are not at full strength. Leading scorer Georges Niang (24.0 ppg) is out for the tournament after fracturing his foot against NCCU. This is the kind of team that would give the Huskies trouble, but this injury changes the whole dynamic. I predict that UConn will win a close game and get to the Elite Eight.

IV. 

What an incredible ride, huh? I admittedly did not foresee the UConn men’s basketball team winning their fourth National Championship, but Kevin Ollie truly showed his coaching prowess. They had a good regular season, but by no means a great one. The two Texas losses to start AAC play (Houston and SMU), the near loss to a lowly USF, and the embarrassing 35-point loss to Louisville all gave reason to question this team. It is now evident that Ollie understood much could be learned from losing, so he never lost faith in the team. I saw a great blueprint being put in place for next year, but the maturation process happened far sooner. The newfound defensive intensity was the biggest difference, but that did not really become evident until the Sweet Sixteen. UConn would have lost to St. Joes in the first round if Amida Brimah did not record a 3-point play in the last minute in regulation after a critical miss by Shabazz Napier. The Huskies would eventually win against a far less talented team, but the Nova game marked the turning point. The Huskies started the game poorly, finding themselves behind big early. Napier found himself on the bench with two fouls, and things looked dismal. The fact that the rest of the team was able to narrow the gap during this time built a lot of confidence for the team moving forward. The Huskies did not play stellar defense, but Nova fell in love with jumpshots. Making that comeback, however, sparked a belief that they could win any game. The Iowa State win was impressive, but it was evident that the Cyclones missed third-leading scorer Georges Niang, who fractured his foot earlier in the tournament. The Huskies really hit their stride against Michigan State. Having the luxury of playing the Elite Eight in Madison Square Garden created an energy that the team could rally around. They played lockdown defense, and Napier made critical shots whenever their intensity diminished. MSU Forward Adreian Payne had a good game after a poor start, but Napier took control whenever the opponent saw an opening. This became a common theme in the rest of the tournament as well. Napier played well against Florida in the semifinal, but defense was what won this game. The Huskies fell behind 16-4 early, but clawed their way back at a gradual pace. Ryan Boatright was the star of this game because he did not allow Florida PG Scottie Wilbekin to ever get comfortable. Without their point guard being effective, none of the Gators could get good looks. The National Championship game against Kentucky was challenging because the Huskies found themselves playing the frontrunner role. They led by 15 early, but they would become stagnant offensively. This allowed Kentucky to close the half on a 16-5 run and make the halftime score 35-31. The Huskies took control in the second half, in large part because Julius Randle was kept quiet. Kentucky missed 11 free throws, the same thing that killed John Calipari’s 2008 Memphis team in the title game. UConn validated their school and conference by winning the title. Coach Ollie kept his players calm through the run because he knew what they were capable of. He took the team to AT&T Stadium during the two-loss Texas trip and told the team they would be playing in the Final Four there. Napier cried in Ollie’s arms during a rough stretch. Ollie relied on Napier, but he knew how to encourage the rest of the guys. DeAndre Daniels had shown some raw talent in the regular season, but he became a consistent number two scorer despite struggling in the title game. Freshman guard Terrance Samuels made the most of his minutes, and made many of the Huskies clutch free throws at the end of games. Ollie showed his ability to make adjustments, which is something I questioned earlier in the season. This title puts UConn in the discussion of elite national programs, and it puts Ollie in high demand. Hopefully he does not bolt for the NBA.