Welcome to another edition of the OuttaThePahk Live Blog. Tonight, we check in on the biggest regular season game to date, as No. 4 Pittburgh faces the top-ranked Huskies for the first of two meetings this season to decide the Big East regular season championship.
For UConn, tonight is the first true test of their new normal, with Jerome Dyson now officially out for the season. Hasheem Thabeet seems poised to take the scoring load on his broad shoulders, but he will be challenged tonight by a supremely confident DeJuan Blair. Levance Fields and A.J. Price will spar in the undercard.
SECOND HALF
Pitt 76-68, Final: Pitt beats a No. 1 for the first time. We'll see what Thabeet's answer is in early March.
Pitt 71-63, 30.3: Blair talked the talk and stomped the stomp tonight. His domination of Hasheem Thabeet ends with an emphatic block and the drawing of Thabeet's fifth foul. Blair has 22 points and 23 rebounds. Thabeet: 5 and 5.
Pitt 69-63, 52.8: Pitt gets a huge break, with Young rebounding a desperation three by Fields as the shot-clock ran out. Gets its break when Robinson picks up a turnover and is fouled, but Pitt gets the final break of the night, when Robinson missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
Pitt 67-63, 1:38: Kemba Walker excites on the court, and he just made a huge end-to-end play, stealing the ball, pitching it ahead and corralling it for a one-man fastbreak layup. The Huskies are still alive. Pitt 67-61, 2:20: Levance Fields had been shut out all night, going 0-for-7 from the field. But he's made his past two and they're both dagger threes to give the Panthers a six-point lead.
Pitt 59-58, 4:20: Jermaine Dixon with a three and a one-point lead.
UConn 58-56, 5:10: Thabeet intimidates Blair into a travel. Can Thabeet make the difference down the stretch?
Tied 56-56, 5:44: Blair is back in the game and back in the scoring column with another three-point play to tie the score. Thabeet comes back in with four fouls.
UConn 56-51, 7:13: The Huskies are playing with enormous energy right now, literally tearing the ball out of Pittsburgh's hands. Jeff Adrien is showing the nation his game tonight, giving the Huskies their biggest lead with a wing jumper and imposing his will on defense. UConn on an 11-2 run.
UConn 52-49, 9:00: Kemba Walker does finish the break and UConn leads. Then Stanley Robinson takes Blair out of the game with an errant elbow. Robinson then hits to give the Huskies their largest lead. Blair may be knocked out, but the Huskies aren't, a remarkable feat with out Jerome Dyson and essentially without Thabeet.
10:36: Craig Austrie can't finish a fastbreak layup that would have given UConn the lead, but the Huskies get a make-up offensive foul call against Blair at the other end.
Pitt 49-48, 11:20: Wow. Just ... wow. Mike Kitts calls Thabeet for his fourth foul on an offensive foul in the paint with the ball 30 feet from the basket. Jim Calhoun turned about five different colors. What a brutal, brutal call in a big game. UConn has still not led since 3-2.
Pitt 49-45: 12:00: Biggs picks up his fourth foul and Adrien continues his assault with a strong drive to the basket. But Young (21 points) hits his fourth three pointer to push the lead back to four.
Pitt 46-43, 13:37: Jeff Adrien is starting to make his presence felt with four straight points and a strong defensive possession against the hard-charging Blair. Thabeet is set to come back in, and he must assert himself against Blair to give the Huskies a real chance.
Pitt 41-37 17:06: Blair keeps the good times rolling with another tough post move and another rebound, giving him 17 and 16. But fouls are also piling up, with Young and Tyrell Biggs each drawing their third.
Pitt 38-36, 19:03: Craig Austrie pulls the Huskies into a tie with a transition three, but Thabeet picks up his third foul and comes out of the game.
FIRST HALF
Pitt 36-33, Halftime: Huge shot at the shot-clock buzzer with three seconds left by A.J. Price to keep the Huskies close. Price was forced to shoot an off-balance three with a man draped on him as the clock reached zero and he buired it. Price has 15 at the half to counter Blair. Blair helped UConn at the end of the half with a foolish attempt at a long range step-back, setting up that final possession and Price's three. Blair played like Bill Russell and Thabeet looked like Frederick Weis. If Thabeet returns to normal and Blair returns to earth, this game is still UConn's for the taking.
Pitt 34-28, 1:53: Blair is totally backing up his pregame trash talk, shrugging off a Thabeet block by again scoring inside and drawing Thabeet's second foul. It's all Blair, all the time, and Thabeet is riding the pine.
Pitt: 31-28, 2:13: Blair continues to dominate Thabeet at the offensive end, taking it to the Huskies big man to record a first-half double-double. Thabeet has looked passive tonight, even before Blair flipped him early in the game. If not for a huge disparity in fouls (9-3 Pitt), UConn might be down double-digits right now.
Pitt 29-26, 4:10: Blair really getting going against Thabeet, now hitting a turnaround jumper for eight points and 10 rebounds in the half. Pitt 25-24, 5:43: Gavin Edwards continues his active play in big games, picking up a loose ball after Thabeet kept an offensive rebound alive and scoring to cut the deficit to one. But Blair is taking it to Thabeet at the other end for the second time.
Pitt 23-20: 7:49: A.J. Price is heating up, hitting his second three to give him 10 points. For all the talk about the big men, it's Young and Price from the outside that has dominated the scoring so far.
Pitt 21-13, 9:09: Ouch, Fields hits Young on a deep alley-oop to force a UConn timeout. Pitt is still getting second-chance points and UConn still turning it over. Not a good combo.
Pitt 17-11, 10:20: ESPN's Doug Gottlieb talked before the game about Pitt's opportunity to find success on the weak side after Thabeet goes for the block, and Tyrell Biggs indeed scores on an offensive rebound for a 17-10 lead. UConn committing a lot of early turnovers.
Pitt, 15-10: 12:08: Thabeet has returned, and makes his presence felt with a monster dunk, but Pitt continues to make hay from the outside with Young, who has 10 points.
Pitt 8-3, 15:27: What in the world was that? It didn't look like a dirty play, but DeJaun Blair practically snapped Hasheem Thabeet's left arm in half with a Hulk Hogan takedown in the paint. It looked awful, but hopefully nothing serious. Stanley Robinson came out aggressive for the Huskies, but Sam Young has been even better as Best Supporting Actor with five points.
Showing posts with label UConn Huskies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UConn Huskies. Show all posts
Monday, February 16, 2009
Q&A With The Courant's Mike Anthony
Welcome to the first guest interview here at OuttaThePahk. With No. 1 UConn taking on No. 4 Pittsburgh at the XL Center tonight -- the first of two meetings to determine the conference regular season champion -- we are joined by Hartford Courant men's writer Mike Anthony to talk about the team and the game.
OuttaThePahk: You have seen both extremes in your years covering the team, including a disastrous 2006-07 and now a legitimate shot at a national championship. How has coach Calhoun adjusted his style with this group as it has matured into a title contender?
Mike Anthony: He's toned it down a bit. He trusts these guys. There was a point early in the season, after a lackluster victory against an overwhelmed team in early December, where he laid into each and every player for long stretches. For the Huskies, it was not a fun night. Upperclassmen were re-introduced to a most difficult side of Calhoun. Freshman met a different man than they had come to know during the recruiting process.
It was all by design. Calhoun wanted this group to understand that he thought it was capable of great things, but that it would take extraordinary effort and focus. He wanted them to know that a difficult road lay ahead and that it would never be easy. Even on a night when the scoreboard would suggest things were, indeed, easy, UConn players endured Calhoun coming down on them -- his way of preparing them for upcoming tests of endurance and character.
Since then, he's been calm - by his standards, anyway. Calhoun is full of fire and he'll never be easy to play for, but the group he's coaching has a better understanding of what he's looking for. He's been through a lot with A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie and the rest, and he's learned what they're made of over the last few years. He likes what he sees.
Two years ago, Calhoun was all over them en route to 14 losses. Last season, Calhoun was particularly animated and frustrated early on, but both he and the players found their groove in a 10-game winning streak. That was an us-against-the-world situation, Calhoun's favorite, and I think the Huskies and Calhoun came out of last season with a mutual understanding for each other. This season, expectations are high but Calhoun - again, still animated, still fiery - has a certain calm about him for knowing these players well, knowing what they've been though and knowing what they're capable of.
OTP: Tonight is the first of two matchups with Pittsburgh that will likely decide the regular season title. What do you see as the most critical individual matchup tonight?
MA: The Big guys. Hasheem Thabeet vs. DeJuan Blair. A.J. Price-Levance Fields is critical at the point. But this is a high-profile matchup in the paint between two of the nation's dominant centers. Thabeet is playing better than ever, perhaps better than some people thought he might be capable. He's a shot-blocking, rebounding and scoring machine who suddenly looks like a go-to player on offense. Blair is a bruiser with touch. He'll challenge Thabeet physically more than most players. He'll give up six inches but with throw a shoulder into him, try to out-muscle him. Can Thabeet continue to dominate without fouling? That's the key.
OTP: Thabeet put on an offensive display Saturday unlike any he's had before. Do you sense he wants to shoulder a greater scoring role the rest of the season with Jerome Dyson out?
MA: I don't think Thabeet automatically assumes he has to be a primary scoring option because Jerome is out. I just think his game has continued to evolve to the point where he's given UConn that option. Even when Thabeet was a freshman, UConn wanted to get him more and more touches. Two years later, he's getting better position, finishing some of those touches, passing well from the post and changing the look of the offense just by being an important part of the passing patterns. When he can finish like he did at Seton Hall, watch out. Thabeet wants to be a scoring option, always has. I'm sure every player is thinking they have to pick up the slack a little with Dyson out, but Thabeet becoming a scorer is more the product of three years of growth - muscle, smarts, confidence. He's ready, it seems, to consistently do more than block shots, and that means to the world to UConn.
OTP: How important will freshman Kemba Walker be over the final two months, and does he have the poise to accept a major role come tournament time?
MA: I think so. He's got poise, charisma and, of course, an incredible ability with the ball. He was clearly nervous at times early this season but he appears to have overcome that. He's still a freshman, of course, so I would expect some ups and downs - heck, he wasn't great at Seton Hall in Dyson's first game on the sideline - but I think he'll be an important factor on offense and defense for a team suddenly in need or more speed, toughness and creativity from the guard position.
OTP: Is Jeff Adrien among the most underrated players in the conference? Where would this team be without his contributions, and how would you rate his pro prospects?
MA: Well, I know Calhoun has tremendous appreciation for him and opposing coaches have tremendous respect for him. Is there a more consistent player in the Big East? It would be hard to find one. You know he'll score. You know he'll rebound. You know he'll defend. He's become a great leader. You know he won't be daunted by trying moments or the big stage. He's still, as Calhoun says, the rock for this team. He's irreplaceable.
As for his pro prospects, my initial feelings, which lasted awhile, were always that Jeff, despite his success and capabilities, was good enough to carve out a very successful European career. Now I don't know. Those around him say he's so tough and so stubborn that he's destined to find a spot on an NBA roster. If he winds up in a camp with a team that has the proper roster makeup, I wouldn't put the NBA past him. He's a little short for his position, but otherwise certainly has the body, and he definitely has the work ethic.
OTP: Two months from now, are they sweeping the streets of Hartford after one parade, two, or none?
MA: What, is the women's team good or something? That's what I hear. So I guess they have a shot to win it all. So do the men. Predictions are cheap. I would say that I think UConn has as good a chance as any team in the nation to be playing the best basketball come late March. Winning six in a row ... it's tough. No slip-ups. A tightrope. That's the case for any team. There are a handful of teams out there, at least, that have legitimate hopes for a title and UConn should be in that group. They are in a unique position of having to redefine themselves after the loss of Dyson. But they have a center who suddenly looks all-world, a tremendous senior power forward and a tremendous senior point guard. Those are pretty good pieces to work with. If others step up and fill in the rest, UConn could very well be planning a parade.
OuttaThePahk: You have seen both extremes in your years covering the team, including a disastrous 2006-07 and now a legitimate shot at a national championship. How has coach Calhoun adjusted his style with this group as it has matured into a title contender?
Mike Anthony: He's toned it down a bit. He trusts these guys. There was a point early in the season, after a lackluster victory against an overwhelmed team in early December, where he laid into each and every player for long stretches. For the Huskies, it was not a fun night. Upperclassmen were re-introduced to a most difficult side of Calhoun. Freshman met a different man than they had come to know during the recruiting process.
It was all by design. Calhoun wanted this group to understand that he thought it was capable of great things, but that it would take extraordinary effort and focus. He wanted them to know that a difficult road lay ahead and that it would never be easy. Even on a night when the scoreboard would suggest things were, indeed, easy, UConn players endured Calhoun coming down on them -- his way of preparing them for upcoming tests of endurance and character.
Since then, he's been calm - by his standards, anyway. Calhoun is full of fire and he'll never be easy to play for, but the group he's coaching has a better understanding of what he's looking for. He's been through a lot with A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie and the rest, and he's learned what they're made of over the last few years. He likes what he sees.
Two years ago, Calhoun was all over them en route to 14 losses. Last season, Calhoun was particularly animated and frustrated early on, but both he and the players found their groove in a 10-game winning streak. That was an us-against-the-world situation, Calhoun's favorite, and I think the Huskies and Calhoun came out of last season with a mutual understanding for each other. This season, expectations are high but Calhoun - again, still animated, still fiery - has a certain calm about him for knowing these players well, knowing what they've been though and knowing what they're capable of.
OTP: Tonight is the first of two matchups with Pittsburgh that will likely decide the regular season title. What do you see as the most critical individual matchup tonight?
MA: The Big guys. Hasheem Thabeet vs. DeJuan Blair. A.J. Price-Levance Fields is critical at the point. But this is a high-profile matchup in the paint between two of the nation's dominant centers. Thabeet is playing better than ever, perhaps better than some people thought he might be capable. He's a shot-blocking, rebounding and scoring machine who suddenly looks like a go-to player on offense. Blair is a bruiser with touch. He'll challenge Thabeet physically more than most players. He'll give up six inches but with throw a shoulder into him, try to out-muscle him. Can Thabeet continue to dominate without fouling? That's the key.
OTP: Thabeet put on an offensive display Saturday unlike any he's had before. Do you sense he wants to shoulder a greater scoring role the rest of the season with Jerome Dyson out?
MA: I don't think Thabeet automatically assumes he has to be a primary scoring option because Jerome is out. I just think his game has continued to evolve to the point where he's given UConn that option. Even when Thabeet was a freshman, UConn wanted to get him more and more touches. Two years later, he's getting better position, finishing some of those touches, passing well from the post and changing the look of the offense just by being an important part of the passing patterns. When he can finish like he did at Seton Hall, watch out. Thabeet wants to be a scoring option, always has. I'm sure every player is thinking they have to pick up the slack a little with Dyson out, but Thabeet becoming a scorer is more the product of three years of growth - muscle, smarts, confidence. He's ready, it seems, to consistently do more than block shots, and that means to the world to UConn.
OTP: How important will freshman Kemba Walker be over the final two months, and does he have the poise to accept a major role come tournament time?
MA: I think so. He's got poise, charisma and, of course, an incredible ability with the ball. He was clearly nervous at times early this season but he appears to have overcome that. He's still a freshman, of course, so I would expect some ups and downs - heck, he wasn't great at Seton Hall in Dyson's first game on the sideline - but I think he'll be an important factor on offense and defense for a team suddenly in need or more speed, toughness and creativity from the guard position.
OTP: Is Jeff Adrien among the most underrated players in the conference? Where would this team be without his contributions, and how would you rate his pro prospects?
MA: Well, I know Calhoun has tremendous appreciation for him and opposing coaches have tremendous respect for him. Is there a more consistent player in the Big East? It would be hard to find one. You know he'll score. You know he'll rebound. You know he'll defend. He's become a great leader. You know he won't be daunted by trying moments or the big stage. He's still, as Calhoun says, the rock for this team. He's irreplaceable.
As for his pro prospects, my initial feelings, which lasted awhile, were always that Jeff, despite his success and capabilities, was good enough to carve out a very successful European career. Now I don't know. Those around him say he's so tough and so stubborn that he's destined to find a spot on an NBA roster. If he winds up in a camp with a team that has the proper roster makeup, I wouldn't put the NBA past him. He's a little short for his position, but otherwise certainly has the body, and he definitely has the work ethic.
OTP: Two months from now, are they sweeping the streets of Hartford after one parade, two, or none?
MA: What, is the women's team good or something? That's what I hear. So I guess they have a shot to win it all. So do the men. Predictions are cheap. I would say that I think UConn has as good a chance as any team in the nation to be playing the best basketball come late March. Winning six in a row ... it's tough. No slip-ups. A tightrope. That's the case for any team. There are a handful of teams out there, at least, that have legitimate hopes for a title and UConn should be in that group. They are in a unique position of having to redefine themselves after the loss of Dyson. But they have a center who suddenly looks all-world, a tremendous senior power forward and a tremendous senior point guard. Those are pretty good pieces to work with. If others step up and fill in the rest, UConn could very well be planning a parade.
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