I was able to catch yesterday’s game between Gonzaga and UConn, which ended up being an 85-82 win for Gonzaga. The game was as close as the final score indicates, and UConn could have tied it at the end of the game with a Dyson heave, but it wasn’t meant to be. It was my first time seeing UConn this year, so I thought I’d go through my first impressions:

• UConn is much better than last year: Thank God! They were horrible last year. This year they are much improved and will be somewhere in the middle of the pack in the Big East. It will still be tough for UConn fans, who have been spoiled by nationally ranked teams for years.
• Bad shot selection combined with poor shooting: Oh my…what an awful combination to have. Kobe Bryant may have bad shot selection, but he is a great shooter. Then there are others like Dwight Howard or Shaquille O’Neal who are awful shooters, but have great shot selection (i.e. only feet from the basket). Much of this UConn team suffers from both problems — Dyson, Price, Stanley Robinson. The difficulty with yesterday’s game was that Dyson and Price were both shooting well in the first half, which only led to worse shot selection (and worse yet, settling for outside shots). But it was clear to me that it was luck — you’d see a few swishes followed by an airball. The shot selection problem is also exacerbated by Calhoun’s inability to coach a set offense in the half court.
• Thabeet still can’t catch or finish: Sigh.
• New uniforms…again?: Sigh. They are so ugly. Maybe not as ugly as Syracuse’s jersey’s, but still pretty bad.
  What’s with those lines bordering the number?

• I heart Jay Bilas: He may be a Dookie, but the man knows his basketball.

The upside is that UConn will be entertaining to watch this year. I liked the effort they put in yesterday.

Categories: Commentary, Connecticut, donald