It Isn’t Going to Be a Quick Fix
The Story: The men’s basketball team is done with the non-conference portion of its schedule and there is a lot of good with the program. But, as Saturday’s disappointing 81-58 loss to Villanova shows, Dan Hurley has a long way to go.
WHAT WE LEARNED: UConn isn’t good enough yet. We are going to have to hold the dance party for now, and perhaps, until the 2019-20 season. UConn is 9-4 out of conference and is 1-4 against the major teams on its schedule. It is 88th in the KenPom ratings and it is going to take a big American Athletic Conference season to get on the NCAA bubble.
The Huskies knew what was on the line. This was, by the NCAA’s all-important net rating (which has not been updated following Saturday’s games), the biggest non-conference game of the year and they came up empty. It wasn’t the loss, which is irritating but understandable, but rather the manner of the loss that leaves you questioning the team going into the holiday break. The Huskies simply fell apart in the second half and were outscored 51-28. The fact the Huskies gave up 51 points in one half is about as concerning as another horrid shooting half (9-of-28 and 32 percent in the second half).
NO-SHOW JALEN: Jalen Adams can be spectacular, but in a big game against a team that is known for guard play, the Huskies’ best player struggled to an eight-point, 3-of-13 performance with a team-high six turnovers. Adams was never comfortable, and when his shot isn’t falling, he has yet to figure out how to contribute in other ways. Adams’ shots were good looks, and unless he is scoring in the 20s, it is nearly impossible to conceive of a way for the Huskies to beat a good team. That’s a, lot of pressure for a player to have on his shoulders, but Adams is clearly the best player on the team and he can’t have an off game when it matters most. Part of taking the responsibility of being a star player is not shrinking in the bright lights. Everyone is due a bad game. This one came at an inopportune time.
BENCH STRUGGLES: The Huskies, who do have depth, didn’t show it on Saturday. Tarin Smith wasn’t good and went 2-of-8 for four points. Sidney Wilson played hard but went 1-of-6. Eric Cobb was a DNP-CD, which we are still scratching our heads at.
DONUT TEAM? The good news is that Josh Carlton has his first field goal against a top team, but he was only 1-of-1 for two points. Kassoum Yakwe also was 1-for-1 with two points and two rebounds. But, in 31 minutes in the pivot, the Huskies had four points, five rebounds and two blocks? Again, no Cobb? That seems like a rash decision to ignore game production and go with someone else. Cobb isn’t nearly the defender as Carlton and Yakwe are, but he can rebound and finish in traffic, which is something they don’t do.
WHAT’S THE REAL PROBLEM? UConn plays hard. This isn’t effort or heart. Anything to the contrary is nonsense. We like the spirit and attitude we see out of the Huskies. This is a basketball issue.
Positivity, energy, toughness and trying hard isn’t good enough. The Huskies haven’t played well in the big games. The shooting was suspect on Saturday (40 percent), the turnovers were mind-numbing with 17 more, including six in the early going of the second half that put the game away. There are flaws on the team, and most importantly, the Huskies can’t compound bad shooting with sloppy play. That’s how a game goes from 30-30 to a 30-point deficit.
In reality, the Huskies are only going to go as far as Adams can take them. He scored eight points and there really is no other player who can replace his production. Not yet anyhow.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY?
“When things start going badly, you’ve got to be more determined, you’ve got to get more solid. You’ve got to trust your teammates more. You’ve got to hunt offense less and try to get more stops and set better screens. That’s how you get yourself out of bad stretches — not by making a [hesitation] 17-foot pull-up. You’re not going to score your team out of trouble. You’ve got to play your team out of trouble by being solid. That’s just something that is going to take us a little bit of time to build — to change that ‘Here we go again’ mindset where things just seem to spiral and unravel.”
WHERE DOES UCONN GO FROM HERE? UConn is off until after New Year’s Day and needs a big run in the American to get onto the NCAA bubble. There are still big games left. Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF are top-40 teams and Temple, at 10-2, is also a surprise. The Huskies have to ways to get into the NCAA tournament and both will be difficult.
The American is shaping up as a two-bid league with potential for a third team. The first is a big run in the American beating the top-40 teams regularly and then no slip-ups against the bottom of the league, which has five teams ranked by KenPom at 100 or below. In an 18-game conference schedule, the Huskies might have to go to 16-2 in the league, which is a gargantuan task.
The other avenue is winning the conference tournament. That might be a more realistic course of action — and we’ve seen that they can do it before, even against all odds.
Edsall Drops Hammer on Coaching Staff
The Story: Randy Edsall exorcized his defensive staff on Friday, firing defensive coordinator Billy Crocker and defensive backs coach Curome Cox. The Huskies also axed their strength and conditioning coaches.
WHY? Is this a joke? The Huskies made a move after putting out one of the worst defenses in modern college football. UConn allowed more than 50 points per game and was a historically poor defense statistically this season. The question that needs to be asked is what took so long?
SO … WHAT TOOK SO LONG? It looks like two things. The first is that the early signing day was Wednesday and the axe didn’t drop until Friday, meaning that Crocker and Cox were out on the road reeling in players. Secondly, the semester also ended a week ago, and the players are off campus. That’s the best time to make these kinds of moves.
WHAT’S THE PROCESS: The Huskies have already posted the positions, which in football parlance means they have identified the candidates and this is just a legal thing they have to do because of state law (lest the ethics boards sue or something).
But, just in case you were one of the fans who said they could coach the defense better, go ahead and send in your resume for the job. You can even use us as one a reference. Get it in quick, however, as the jobs close Thursday at 11:59 p.m.
OUR TAKE: There is no short list we have, but any coach is going to have to be willing to come and fix this defense in the $300,000 range. That may seem like a lot of money, but former UConn defensive coordinators Don Brown, now at Michigan, and Todd Orlando, at Texas, are making $1.4 million and $1 million, respectively. That’s right, UConn is paying Edsall $1.1 million, comparable to what top-tier programs pay their coordinators. The lowest-paid Ohio State assistantgets $340,000. So, getting a position coach from a top Power 5 institution, much less a coordinator, is going to take a lot of convincing and a salary cut.
That means the Huskies can look toward the FCS or the lower levels of the FBS for its next defensive coordinator. That, or a young assistant in the NFL or a coach who is looking to get back into the mix, are your likely candidates
We liked the way Edsall filled the offensive coordinator job last year in hiring John Dunn, who was on Edsall’s staff at Maryland and then was in the NFL for two years as an offensive assistant for the Chicago Bears. It would seem like the most prudent course of action getting top talent at the right price. We question if an established, in-demand experienced coach will take the job. We are betting the Huskies will take a chance on a young coach. Edsall has had a good track record with coordinators — except for Crocker, whose vaunted 3-3-5 defense and his ties to the state spectacularly didn’t work out.
Road Warriors Remain No. 1 on West Coast
The Story: The women’s basketball team remained proved its mettle once again, defeating No. 14 California 76-66 on the road on Saturday behind yet another triple double from Katie Lou Samuelson, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
ROOM TO BREATHE: The Huskies (11-0) survived a scare at Oklahoma earlier in the week and were somewhat vulnerable heading to California, which, despite our insistence on Friday, has not been the Pac-12 doormat in recent years that we claimed. And, although the Bears (9-1) led late in the first quarter and only lost by 10, the game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated; UConn had a 17-point lead with six minutes remaining.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The Huskies shot 57.4 percent (31-of-54), a significant improvement over their performance against the Sooners, and likewise held the Bears to just 38.2 percent (26-of-68), including 10-of-30 from beyond the arc. They also successfully pounded the paint against a bigger opponent, outscoring California 26-24, and also had the 33-32 edge in rebounding, led by Samuelson’s 11 boards.
WHERE’S THE BENCH? Again, Geno Auriemma showed absolutely no trust in his reserves, with freshman Olivia Nelson-Ododa the only player freed from purgatory — and for only minutes in the second quarter. Megan Walker, who just returned after missing two games earlier this month with strep throat, played 38 minutes. It’s hard to argue with a coach who has demonstrably proven that he knows what he’s doing time and again, but we have to wonder how he’ll keep the reserves motivated come March when they know they can’t be trusted in games that matter.
UP NEXT: It’ll be another week of reflection for the Huskies, who won’t return to the court until they hit the road to face No. 6 Baylor (8-1) on Jan. 3.
Morning Read
COBB RIDES THE PINE: Where did Eric Cobb go? Dan Hurley said that it is about practice performance and Kassoum Yakwe has come on lately. Also, this is a tough job for Cobb having to cover a 3-point shooting center. OK, we get it, but UConn could have used big-game Cobb on Saturday. It is not like Emeka Okafor is out there with Josh Boone off the bench. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
FOOTBALL ADDS LINEMAN: Recruiting isn’t done until February, and the Huskies added Texas product Justin Moore to the mix. A three-star recruit who had been committed to Rice, Moore had offers from Texas Tech, Tulane, Air Force and others. He’s 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds and looks like a really good potential 4-3 defensive end in a couple of years. (Hartford Courant)
AURIEMMA, KERR TRADE QUIPS: Before the game against California, Geno Auriemma and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr discussed winning and championships at a fundraiser. (ESPN)
BENT’S INSPIRATION: Guard Molly Bent‘s younger sister has Down syndrome, which gives Bent motivation each time she plays. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
FINDING REINFORCEMENTS: Incoming freshman James Bouknight is hoping to influence some of the nation’s top high school seniors to join him in playing basketball at UConn next season. (Rivals.com)
