JDL -Truth Forum

This matchup has received the most hype, but Sam Young was the leading scorer in Round 1.

So if any of you have tried writing creatively (music, poetry, blogs) you must have discovered that it is easier to write when you are emotionally charged about the topic. In this respect my competitive nature serves me well yet again. The team and I are currently flying somewhere over New England and in the anticipation of the game tomorrow my blood is already starting to boil (and is obviously why I am always able spit out a post right before a game).

Everyone loves to say the names Thabeet and Blair. But Sam Young was the leading scorer last game and really carried the Panthers through their lulls on offense and it was AJ Price who had a game high eight assists. There are other players who will decide this game. My X factor for tomorrow’s game is Jeff Adrien. If Jeff can put on a defensive clinic in hedge, help, and recover and disregard the Panthers on offense he will be the deciding factor in tomorrow’s game.

Needless to say, this game is incredibly important for a number of reasons:

(1) Beating the Panthers tomorrow night will secure a Big East championships. As it stands, UConn and Louisville are the only two teams with only two losses in conference play. A win at Pitt would leave us in great position to win the Big East outright. A loss tomorrow night would not necessarily mean we lose the championship. If we were to lose and Louisville were to also lose when they play at a very tough West Virginia, UConn, Pitt, and L’ville would all be sharing the Big East title with three losses. TECHNICALLY, I’m pretty sure the conference will honor all three teams as joint champions. Not that it matters, Pitt will have defeated us, Louisville beat Pitt in their meeting ealier this year, and we defeated Louisville in our matchup, in a convenient circle or wins and losses.

(2) If we are to win it would go a long way to securing the number one seed in the NCAA tournament, even if we lost the Big East Championship.

(3) We are putting our undefeated road record on the line against the undefeated home record of the Panthers.

(4) Finally, it would be yet another piece of evidence Mr. Digger Phelps would have to disregard in his ‘Connecticut Isn’t Number One’ campaign.

I’m really excited for the game tomorrow night because I truly believe, in my heart of hearts, that we are the best team in the country and we don’t need the security of 10,000 screaming UConn fans to play well. We’ve worked hard this season, this week especially and I’m excited to play in the biggest game of the year.

My anxiety about playing Marquette didn’t ease until the final buzzer sounded; they played a great game. That was one of the more nerve-racking games to watch. It was a game of runs. Each team kept stringing together good possessions, and the score kept going from 8-point leads to tie game. The fact that we pulled out ahead just speaks volumes about how the team played.

We capitalized on all the points of emphasis I mentioned last time. We out-rebounded them (44 to 25), shot 81.8% from the free-throw line, and thanks to AJ and Stanley, we were the initiators. I cannot say enough about AJ’s performance (36 points, six assists and six rebounds). Coach said AJ reminded him of Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, and Ben Gordon, and I agree.

And now to the real matter at hand, I was less than fifteen feet way from the single greatest basketball move I have ever witnessed. Playing for one of the Top 5 college programs for three years, I have a seen a lot of great moves, but nothing comes close to rivaling what happened to Jerel McNeal. Ya’ll have seen the replays and over and over again, but I just want to give you a rundown from my perspective. It was about midway through the second half, there was a long rebound that Scottie grabbed (huge performance) and handed off to AJ.  ‘Price-man’ ran the up the sideline right in front of our bench where Jerel McNeal picked him up on the right wing. AJ dribbled the ball from his right to left hand with a between the legs dribble, and then it happened. With the meanest in-and-out dribble I have ever seen, AJ dribbled hard with his left hand like he was going to the right, rocking McNeal back on his heels, and then brought it back with the same hand with head spinning speed. McNeal couldn’t help it; he fell to the ground, skidding to a halt as AJ drilled the jumper over Hayward who came out to contest the shot.

What made it the best play are the things you may not have noticed. First was how McNeal fell to the ground. AJ described it the best, “He was fighting it with everything he had…made it look that much worse.” Second, as AJ stepped back after McNeal fell, he threw his hand out and pointed at him. Finally, he looked down at Jerel with a ‘what the hell just happened to you’ expression. This is the best video I could find of the move despite its quality…congrats on 800 Coach.

I’m really worried about Marquette. Any team that has smart, strong, confident veteran guards is a team I’ve found is unnerving to play. James, McNeal, AND Lazar Hayward (plays the four but you know he’s a two/three) are all of the above.  Every coach should be envious of how this team plays together. They are an overachieving team with no real inside threat.

I felt much better after I watched the tape than I originally did. There are a lot of reasons why we beat up on them last year. First of all, we were initiators; we didn’t wait for them to engage anything. On offense we hit first. On defense we hit first. Our guards will need to control the tempo of the game by getting the ball to our big men. The Huskies will need to beat the Golden Eagles with their strength (defense) by neutralizing their strength (offense). McNeal and Mattews are both are third and fourth in scoring in the  Big East respectively.

Another big factor was our ability to hit free-throws (33-39). The only choice for smaller teams at times throughout the game is to foul our big men and make them earn their points at the free-throw line. There will be plenty of trips to the line tomorrow both teams are atop the Big East in free-throw shots attempted.

Finally, we out-rebounded them. The past few games we have been giving teams too many second chances and we are going to have to get back to one of Connecticut’s strengths (I know we are second in the country in rebounds per game but we can do better).

Of all the things we have to do tomorrow, the most important will be playing with the mindset that we are the better team.  Having the correct mentality is a huge part of college and high school basketball. If we play with the correct mentality we will succeed in repeating last year’s performance.

Tell me how this makes sense? Outside of Pitt, try and convince me how Memphis and Louisville could jump five and six spots respectively to get to the number one spot.

The following is the email my friend sent to CBS.

Just wanted to drop you a line and inform you that your current poll on the front page “Who should be No.1?” is an insult to any fan who even has a moderate level of intelligence. Louisville? Really? a 5 loss team is going to jump Pitt, UConn, Oklahoma, and UNC? Cmon. Memphis? I’m pretty sure Oak Hill Academy has a harder strength of schedule then they do. Get a clue.

Thanks, Keith

I think this is a sign I should test the waters as an analyst after graduation. I’ll throw my hat in the ring, see what happens.

Senior night is coming up and it is time to get very emotional and reflect on what its been like to be part of a perennial top five NCAA basketball program for three years and the people I’ve met. PSYCH. We still got games to play and ‘ships’ to win. What the Huskies are prepared do in the next two months is going to blow the memories of the past two and half years out of the water.

Jimmy Veronick (Bash Brother) and I were featured in an article in the New Haven Register. It is very flattering and I couldn’t help but post it. Enjoy:

STORRS — They bang with the big boys nearly every day in practice, muscling up against Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien — occasionally even blocking their shots — and doing their part to make them better players.

They travel with the team and dress for every game, cheer loudly from the bench, and in the event of a 30-point blowout, occasionally even get a minute or two of playing time.

And when a teammate goes down with a knee injury, John Lindner and Jim Veronick are always there to carry him off the floor, as they did recently with Jerome Dyson (and Lindner did last March with A.J. Price).

Granted, that’s not a job they relish or hope they’ll ever have to do again. But it does guarantee them some court time — and a little face time in the next day’s paper.

“Whatever. Any press is good press,” Lindner says with a shrug. “I’m going to do my job. If that’s what it entails, I have no problem helping a teammate.”

Lindner and Veronick, both seniors, are easily the two most anonymous members of the top-ranked UConn men’s basketball team. They are non-scholarship walk-ons, and though Lindner hails from Cheshire and Veronick from Durham, it’s a strong bet that very few UConn fans even realize they’re on the team.

Barring a minute or two of garbage time somewhere along the next month or so, Lindner will graduate with exactly one point (on a free throw last season) and one rebound (earlier this season) in his Husky career. Veronick will have played in just one game, without a point or a rebound.

See Men, D4

Continued from D1

But both players take great pride in their contributions during their three seasons with the team, originally as practice players and the latter two seasons as walk-ons.

“I’m most proud of the fact that I show up every day, even if it’s just on the practice court, and go as hard as I can, knowing the coaches appreciate that,” said Lindner. “It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.”

On Senior Day a week from tomorrow at Gampel Pavilion, the biggest cheers will rightfully go to Adrien, Price and Craig Austrie — UConn’s three graduating scholarship seniors. But Lindner and Veronick will be feted as well.

“Hopefully, I won’t cry in front of everybody,” Lindner said. “I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

Whatever thanks they receive from the crowd, their teammates and coaching staff that day will pale in comparison to how grateful they’ve been to play a role — however small — in UConn’s success.

“I’m starting to realize how big of an opportunity it was for me and the other walk-ons to be a part of this team,” said Veronick, a 2005 Coginchaug High graduate. “When I was in high school and middle school watching games, seeing how talented these players were, it never crossed my mind that I’d be on this team. Now, seeing how talented they are, it makes me appreciate it even more.”

What’s Your Name?

There are a few facts of life for walk-ons at UConn. Sure, you get to travel to different cities, shoot around at places like Madison Square Garden and have the best seats in the house for every game. But there are drawbacks.

Often, you don’t even know if you’ll be in uniform until an hour before tip-off — Lindner and Veronick have dressed for each game the past two seasons but Johnnie Bird, Kyle Bailey and Alex Hornat rotate on who gets the other spot on the bench. Your name doesn’t get in the media guide — or on the back of your jersey, for that matter — and often gets forgotten by head coach Jim Calhoun. Lindner, however, has been lucky in that respect.

“For some reason, (Calhoun) remembered my name out of the gate,” Lindner said. “The assistant coaches made it a point to tell me I’m lucky. It’s nice to have a Hall of Famer remember your name.”

Practices aren’t always fun — when the scholarship players mess up at a drill and have to run sprints or laps, the walk-ons have to run, too — and have been even tougher for Lindner and Veronick.

Lindner (“Lumberjack,” as he’s often called) checks in at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds; Veronick at 6-8, 220. As the two biggest players on the “Green Team,” they’ve had to go up against UConn’s big men — Thabeet, Adrien, Gavin Edwards, Jonathan Mandeldove, Charles Okwandu — for much of the season. That can be bruising after a while.

“They work hard every day,” said assistant coach Patrick Sellers. “They have to play against both the ‘White’ and the ‘Blue’ teams. They’re getting beat up twice, and they come in and do it every day.”

It’s been a bit different lately. Okwandu, a 7-footer who was recently declared academically ineligible for the rest of the season, and 6-10 Ater Majok, recently admitted as a partial-qualifier, now spend most of the time going up against Thabeet and the other bigs in practice. But Lindner and Veronick are still doing their part.

“I would like to think,” said Lindner, “that I’m one of the reasons they’re getting better and better every year.”

Added Sellers: “They’re great kids. John has taken it to a different level. His game has gotten so much better — his footwork, the whole package. He gives guys lots of problems. Against Hasheem and Jeff, he gets beat up, but he’s resilient. The guys all like him and pull for him. He’s a big part of it.”

Veronick underwent knee surgery last year and hasn’t yet fully recovered. Still, as Sellers pointed out, “he’s a shot-blocker, and he can really jump. If you go up kind of half-speed, he’ll block your shot. And he’ll sneak a dunk in practice every now and then.

“Those guys add a lot to the team.”

Double-Dribbles,

Jumping Jacks

UConn walk-ons also require some thick skin. A day or two after each game, associate head coach George Blaney holds a chalk talk while reviewing the previous game on tape.

“After games the walk-ons get in … we usually do something stupid, and Coach Blaney will put it at the end of the tape,” Lindner said. “We’ll be having a very serious chalk talk, and then the last play, one of the walk-ons will be throwing the ball out of bounds.”

After last March’s 96-51 demolition of Cincinnati, Lindner made the blooper reel.

“We were up 50, and I was posting up (John) Williamson,” Lindner recalled. “They got me the ball, and I double-dribbled. The ref wasn’t going to call it, because he knew it was my moment of glory. But I just handed the ball to the ref, and he called it out of bounds. I just felt like the biggest idiot ever. But I didn’t want to score off the double-dribble, I wanted to score the real way.”

He had a chance earlier this season against Delaware State, when he was wide-open under the basket.

“I was doing jumping jacks under the hoop,” Lindner recalled, “but Chuck (Okwandu) missed me.”

When Lindner blocks a Thabeet shot in practice (it’s happened three times in three years), or when Veronick, notoriously weak to his left, throws down a left-handed slam during shootaround, it can break some tension and give everybody — coaches, players — a good laugh. But the walk-ons are hardly just foils.

“I definitely get my shots in,” said Lindner, referring to his bouts with Thabeet and Adrien in practice. “It’s something you learn to do, the right time to get those hits in. I’m able to hold my own.”

Last year in the weight room, the Huskies held sort of a “World’s Strongest Man” competition. Each player had to carry two huge weights around the room. Adrien made it around three times; Lindner made it four.

“I’m living the dream,” Lindner often likes to tell his teammates. He says it jokingly, but he means it.

“I never really considered this in high school,” Lindner, a Cheshire High grad, added. “My guidance counselor really pushed me to come to UConn. She thought it would be a good school for me, and she kicked me in the butt and said try out for the team and just do it. I’m very thankful for where I am.”

And his teammates — some of them future NBA standouts — are thankful that John Lindner and Jim Veronick have been here, too.

David Borges can be reached at [email protected].

OK, so the loss to Pitt sucks. Despite everything we did wrong, despite everything that went wrong, we still should have won.  That was probably the best crowd we’ve had in 3 years and its a shame it went to waste. BUT the world is not ending and we still happen to be in first place in the Big East. We have a rematch with Pitt in a couple of weeks and we will have our chance to tame the Panthers on their home court.

Now looking forward, we have three teams before our rematch with Pitt whose strength is guard play; South Florida, Marquette, and then a rematch with Notre Dame. All are must wins for us to be in command of our Big East regular season title hopes. If we win out, we will win the Big East title simple as that. The latest loss will surely tune our focus in to playing our game. In this league you can’t sleep on anyone (USF upset the then unbeaten Golden Eagles).

In order to beat these next three teams, we will need to prevent their guards from being a factor. South Florida has one of the premier up-and-coming scorers in the Big East, Dominique Jones, Marquette has the BEST guards in America, and Notre Dame has one of the best shooting guards in the country, Kyle McAlarney. Thats the thing about the Big East…every opponent is worthy of breaking a sweat over.

Finishing out our schedule with four wins will be essential for getting to where we want to go in the post season. We have been shaky down the stretch for the past two years. We need to prove that we can finish. This will also start us on our next ten game winning streak.

Five games to go.

I had forgotten how much I don’t like playing in the Prudential Center. Seton Hall’s home arena doubles as the home site for the New Jersey Devils and is an ice box with seats. Good thing we’re Huskies.

Hash and Jeff both had solid performances anchoring our team on both offense and defense. Hash had a monster double-double; twentyfive points and twenty rebounds. Hash was also given credit for nine blocks, which shocked all of us in the locker room when we saw the box score because it seemed he had plenty more. On the way home, when the coaches watched the game film they counted atleast eleven blocks. In my opinion there should have been thirteen blocks because the two goaltending calls were bogus.

Saying our guards had a tough shooting day would be putting it lightly. They shot an abysmal 6-25 from the floor. I thought we had trouble initiating out offense but that happens from game to game. What I found comforting was our defense was solid and we prevented their perimeter players from playing to their strengths (shooting the crap out of the ball). I truly believe the aphorism ‘defense wins championships’. The Steelers and the Celtics both believed it, and look where they ended up, with giant diamond encrusted rings on their fingers (price tag is worth tens of thousands of dollars). Our team has the best defense in the league. We are the team to beat.

Pittsburgh is a great team; a roster full of men, a great offense, and has confidence and swagger. Levance Fields is a seasoned guard whose middle name is ‘Efficiency’. Fields is averaging 11.1 points and 7.6 assists per game which is second in the country. The other half of Pitt’s dynamic duo is DeJuan Blair, literally a man-child, at 6’7″  Blair leads the nation in offensive rebounds with an uncanny ability to get his hands on loose rebounds. Not to mention their leading scorer Sam Young (insane athlete). They are a worthy opponent and if you do not respect Pitt, it is because you have not seen enough of them.

In order to win we’ll have to stick to our strengths defense, hustle, and sheer will.

Five as one.