Observations from UConn @ Georgetown 1/8/10

Being a resident of the Washington DC metropolitan area, I had an opportunity to attend yesterday's UConn-Georgetown clash. We all know Austin Freeman was all-world and had a career-high 33 points. Below are some quick hit observations:

• Greg Monroe is poorly utilized in the Princeton style offense as engineered by Georgetown head coach John Thompson III (JT3). It seemed that he was 17 feet away from the basket on nearly every other possession. If I have a 6'11", 250-pound stud on my team (who's the most talented player on the team, bar none) who's not afraid to take some punishment down low, I'm re-designing the offense to suit his strengths.
  

• UConn has some freakishly talented athletes. I've watched Stanley Robinson many times on television. He was on another level in person.

• The Huskies were especially effective in the fast break. When Georgetown was not able to set their defense, UConn was able to utilize their athleticism to exploit 1-on-1 matchups.

• UConn's halfcourt set seemed to miss something when Gavin Edwards was not in the game.

• JT3 should have pulled Chris Wright after he rushed a 20-foot two-pointer with more than 25 seconds left on the shot clock. While Wright's moxie is likable at times, Georgetown's offense is predicated on patience. JT3 needs to sit Wright down and have him watch film of former point guard Jonathan Wallace.
  

• Georgetown's weak-side defensive rebounding is awful. And it's been awful for about two years. To make a real run in the Big East and in March, the Hoyas will need to shore this up.

• This game reduced Jim Calhoun's life expectancy by a minimum of 3 years. There's a lot of opportunity for learning, but yesterday's game was a heartbreaker. It further demonstrated that the Huskies need some guard depth. Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson are very good, but they lost a step in the 2nd half, and it was noticeable at both ends of the floor (Walker, especially on the mental side).

• Georgetown needs one more "zone buster" on the team, or in their rotation. Last season, Nikita Mescheriakov showed glimpses of being that guy, but he proved to be a defensive liability, and eventually transferred. Freeman's performance was an anomaly, and his shots really opened up opportunities down low, and vice versa.