UConn Huskies: 3 Thoughts on Win against the Dayton Flyers
By Daniel Tran
1. The nation needs more Ryan Boatright.
The UConn Huskies guard is one of the most exciting talents in the country. It is very rare you will find a player that can control the game the way Boatright does and UConn needs him. Boatright played 35 minutes, scored 20 points on 12 shots, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished 4 assists against the Dayton Flyers today in Puerto Rico. He also had 3 steals showing that he can get it done on both ends of the floor for the Huskies.
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As valuable as his numbers are, his intangibles maybe just as important. He has taken a leadership role with the team, calming teammates after tough calls and getting UConn reorganized on both ends of the floor. It will be no surprise if Boatright is in the running for Player of the Year by the end of the season.
2. The UConn Huskies are having a lot of trouble defending in transition.
UConn head coach Kevin Ollie loves athletic big men that can block shots and run the floor and guards that have quick hands that can induce turnovers, which equates to a lot of fast break opportunities for the Huskies. Their effort getting back when their opponents are in transition however is a bit lacking.
It seemed like every time the Huskies gave up a long rebound or even made a basket, the Dayton Flyers were already halfway down the court with an odd-man advantage the other way getting an easy basket or getting to the foul line. Dayton forward Kendall Pollard scored a good chunk of his 15 points in transition when the UConn defense wasn’t able to get back.
Fortunately for the Huskies, these easy baskets haven’t come back to bite them quite yet, but it will be something to watch for as the season progresses.
3. UConn is really dependent on their big men on defense, for better or for worse.
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When looking at the box score, Amida Brimah’s 5 blocks and Kentan Facey’s 2 will really stand out and one can assume that with so many blocks, the defense should be decent. Watching this game however, you wouldn’t be thinking the same thing. UConn actually ranks in the 102nd nation in defensive rating and their lack of anything aside from shot blocking is the problem.
The reason they got so many blocks is because the UConn defense was allowing a lot of drives to the basket that left Brimah or Facey one-on-one with the offensive player. Those blocks may have erased seven shots, but UConn’s interior aggression also led to a lot foul shots for the Flyers. A lot of the times, Dayton had either Brimah or Facey away from the basket and they were able to get open lanes to the basket for easy scores.
It is great that UConn has good shot blocking with their young big men, but depending on them to make up for deficiencies on the perimeter will cost them dearly if they are ever in foul trouble. Their lack of depth at that position will be an Achilles heel if they find themselves in that situation.
Conclusion
With help from a healthier Rodney Purvis and an emerging threat in Daniel Hamilton, Ryan Boatright and UConn was able to defeat the feisty Dayton Flyers in another close game for the Huskies. Their inability to defend in transition has hurt them the past couple games, but like in the previous games, they were able to recover and pull off a tough win. Their dependence on their big men on defense is a concerning because against teams with more talented big men, they could find themselves in foul trouble and the Huskies will be struggling to stop the opposition from scoring with their spotty perimeter defending.