I'm sure this has been posted, but how stupid is it that the portal is open while the tournament is still going on. It puts teams that are still playing at a disadvantage. I just hope that once Hurley knows who's leaving and who's staying, that there will be some players still undecided that fit UConn's culture and what we need.
With that said, they know they'll need at the 5. I doubt that Clingan returns, but even if he decided to return we could still use another center. And with Cam not granted another year, they could use another deep shooter who can pass, knock down midrange shots, and has the BBIQ to pick up Hurley's motion O. Finding one in the portal who can do all that at a high level won't be easy. I think Stewart, Ball and maybe even Roumaglou have the potential to fill some of that. We all know how valuable it is to add a couple of experienced skilled players to maintain an elite level of play.
I think AK returns, but if he were to move on, we probably could use a versatile 4. Stewart should be able to fill that starting spot. If Roumaglou can add a little muscle, he could get some minutes at the 4. He's got an excellent handle for player his size and is a very good deep shooter.
I think we'll be fine at the 1 if Hass returns. The Freshman Nowell should give us some good minutes and Ball can play the 1 or the 2. Adding a big lead guard like Newton would be nice, but that's hard to find and could push one or more of the potential returning guards to the portal.
Can't hurt adding experienced skilled players at any position that will fit UConn's system. Just hoping there are such players available once the staff is ready to shift their attention to to the portal. Though it's sort of a shell game where bringing in a player could chase an existing player to enter the portal. I'm hoping that won't be the case if Hurley thinks the potential returning players have a good shot at carving out a role.
I have mixed emotions about all this. I like how Hurley has been able to fill a few needs via the portal without having to do wholesale changes like some programs have had to do. And you never know what current players that would have wanted to return are promised big NIL elsewhere and recruited away from UConn.
