Upcoming Team's Assets and Liabilities

[jibsey]

I was wondering what everyone thinks will be the the things that potentially end up being our strengths and weaknesses against premier competition this year. I'm not good at this knowing what others have but if we stack our personnel against top 5 or 10 teams where are we? Since we are considered top 20 we should potentially be a 5-7 seed? Our guards pop out as a potential A grade in my mind. Yes we have more new faces but it's offseason and there's nothing else to do for the obsessed.

 

[Kitaman]

I can't answer but team leadership, chemistry and on-court communication needs to be 'resolved' to get a good answer.

I assume Purvis and Amida will be the leaders yet Jalen seems to have the gene. Oh and AG may emerge as a leader over the season, however I expect him to defer like Bazz and Kemba did as freshman.

The big ifs are are bigs (Amida, Kentan and Enoch) and how they improved. Lets hope they make that NBA type leap (performance) then we will be an excellent team, since we have all of the components (talent/experience/great recruiting class, strong bench, etc.) necessary to compete and beat premier teams.

This is Ollie's team so we will finally see his coaching prowess at work since he has everything he needs.

 

[Palatine]

I don't know if it will be a strength or weakness. But we need rebounds, rebounds, rebounds. If we board better this year, we should have a happy winter and spring.

 

[donyell34]

There's a lot riding on the bigs for sure. They should be improved just how much is a ?. Need Enoch this year, training wheels are off and would love to see him shine.

 

[eireman]

I thought big steve would need 2 years before being a regular but the armenian stint may have matured him

 

[upstater]

Shooting and rebounds.

Ball handling, athleticism and penetration are not problems for this team, and defense should not be a problem either--though you never know.

 

[champs99and04]

Shooting sticks out to me as a potential liability. We're going to miss Gibbs in this regard more than people think, IMO. Jackson is billed as a shooter but he's a freshman so my expectations aren't high. Larrier is another unknown, as is Adams. Entering the season, Purvis is our only proven three point shooter. That could be a problem, but I'm guessing at least one other guy will emerge as a consistent threat from deep.

I'm also not sold on the half-court offense. Purvis hasn't proven to be a 'get-your-own' guy, and I still think Adams is probably a year away from being that guy on a consistent basis. Larrier will score some, but we don't know whether he'll be able to solidify a sustainable role within a functional offense. If he's a sophomore DeAndre Daniels or a sophomore Rodney Purvis, I don't think that moves the needle much.

As others have mentioned, rebounding could be an issue, particularly if it becomes clear that Gilbert, Adams, Purvis, Larrier, and Brimah are our best five.

Broadly, a strength should be athleticism, which should translate to defensive success and precious transition points that could vitalize a weltering half-court offense. More specifically, where we lost a lot with a guy like Gibbs (and for all the complaining, Ollie was able to construct a top 25 defense around his shortcomings) was help defense, the sort of spontaneous, play-saving plays that Napier and Boatright spoiled us with. Gilbert and Adams won't be that from day one, of course, but you know at his core Ollie is a guy who wants his defense to fly around and pump out teaching tape type stuff like they did in 2014. Hamilton and Gibbs both improved greatly as the season went on, but they weren't the type of guys who were going to dig down from the weak side on a dump off pass to a big (check out the Maryland tape, Trimble killed us with this; the Boneyard predictably blamed Brimah) and still be able to splurge back out to a shooter on a reversal.

I don't know if we're going to be markedly better than we were last year. If I had to bet on it, I'd say no. But I'd wager we're more fun to watch than the last couple teams, and hopefully, that will set the stage for a special 2017-18.

 

[James]

People apoplectic about rebounds , seems like a boneyard specific meme. Newsflash plenty of average rebounding teams Are successfull in both the L and college. How about conjuring about a good offensive scheme that features solid screener/rolling and skip passes . We have some of the worst screeninh bigs, they should all go study andrew bogut.

And I disagree with @champs99and04 , we will not miss sterling on the floor. He was high volume gunner who couldnt beat my grandma off the dribble.

Big thing to keep an eye on his Adams assists and overall efficiency as a scoring pg. also KO offensive scheme because last year he wasn't basically like mike Brown in 09.

 

[jibsey]

People apoplectic about rebounds , seems like a boneyard specific meme. Newsflash plenty of average rebounding teams Are successfull in both the L and college. How about conjuring about a good offensive scheme that features solid screener/rolling and skip passes . We have some of the worst screeninh bigs, they should all go study andrew bogut.

And I disagree with @champs99and04 , we will not miss sterling on the floor. He was high volume gunner who couldnt beat my grandma off the dribble.

Big thing to keep an eye on his Adams assists and overall efficiency as a scoring pg. also KO offensive scheme because last year he wasn't basically like mike Brown in 09.

I could be wrong here but I don't remember Enoch getting the ball on pick and roll last year. He can catch and make a layup. Gibert and Adams should work that. These are the easy baskets that other teams always seem to get us on.

 

[champs99and04]

@James not saying Gibbs was an efficient offensive player in every respect, but as a spot up shooter he provided value (39% from three on a healthy number of attempts). Agreed that isos/pick-and-rolls with him frequently resulted in disaster.

 

[James]

I can't complain a defense that was elite last year, while adding some better tools to add to the general scheme. I would enjoy if Ollie smartens up and introduces not having brimah 30 ft from basket hedging like the pnr player is steph curry.

I could be wrong here but I don't remember Enoch getting the ball on pick and roll last year. He can catch and make a layup. Gibert and Adams should work that. These are the easy baskets that other teams always seem to get us on.

Enoch strong rolls to run don't demand a pass to him, he sucks in weakside perimeter
Defenders who loosen up shooters for weak side cash. But for all his misgivings he is 100% the best screener on the team, just clueless at most other expects of offense/defense. I would like our bigs ( unless a severe mismatch) replace offense post play with bone crushing screens ( sorry not slips AB).

 

[Palatine]

People apoplectic about rebounds , seems like a boneyard specific meme. Newsflash plenty of average rebounding teams Are successfull in both the L and college. How about conjuring about a good offensive scheme that features solid screener/rolling and skip passes . We have some of the worst screeninh bigs, they should all go study andrew bogut.

And I disagree with @champs99and04 , we will not miss sterling on the floor. He was high volume gunner who couldnt beat my grandma off the dribble.

Big thing to keep an eye on his Adams assists and overall efficiency as a scoring pg. also KO offensive scheme because last year he wasn't basically like mike Brown in 09.

At times last year we gave up waaaaaaay too many offensive boards. That needs to be fixed. We were successful in spite of our rebounding in many cases.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I expect Jaalen to take a jump as a shooter.

 

[champs99and04]

I would enjoy if Ollie smartens up and introduces not having brimah 30 ft from basket hedging like the pnr player is steph curry.

+1

 

[Huskybass]

We never seem to dictate the tempo. I would love to see that change. The 60ish point games are always a crapshoot. With Adams and Gilbert at the point, I am cautiously optimistic that there will be fewer of those type games.

 

[Carduccib]

Lack of offensive post presence hurts. Swap Kentan Facey for Shonn Miller, and this is a top 5 team.

 

[lange10]

The beginning may be a bit frustrating as the freshman adjust to college play. One of our bigs needs to take the next step and make a leap on the offensive end to give us an option down low and keep defenses honest. Whether that be Durham from the get-go if he's healthy and ready to play, or one of Facey/Brimah finally figuring it out offensively. Maybe Enoch's development this summer has helped him learn to stay on the court which would allow KO to play him and Brimah on the floor at the same time. For me, there's so many factors to this upcoming season but the recent performance of Larrier at Nike Academy has made me a bit more optimistic. I expect a team that'll run and run and run; a team that'll wreak havoc on the defensive perimeter leading to a ton of fastbreak points; a team that will struggle to rebound and get second chance points; a team that is clearly talented yet equally inexperienced. And lastly, we should the heck out of the ball from the FT line so hopefully with two downhill and attacking PG's in Adams/Gilbert our FT rate will spike a bit. Free points. If this team hovers around the top 20-35, gets in the tourney and wins a game or two in the tournament I think that should be considered a success and certainly bodes well for our future with the haul of recruits that I'm expecting to come in 2017. To exceed that I think Jalen, Rodney and Terry need to become a big 3 of some sorts. Here's to hoping it happens.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Lack of offensive post presence hurts. Swap Kentan Facey for Shonn Miller, and this is a top 5 team.

you really think we're a Shonn Miller away from being top 5? Shonn was great for sure, but the top 5 has some pretty stacked teams.

 

[Carduccib]

you really think we're a Shonn Miller away from being top 5? Shonn was great for sure, but the top 5 has some pretty stacked teams.

Huskies got shooting, attackers, shot blockers, assisters, young studs, big bodies... Add in Miller's ferocious back to basket moves and rebounding, no major weakness. Especially with that schedule, if Miller on next year's team I'd peg them for no more than 4-5 loses.

 

[James]

Huskies got shooting, attackers, shot blockers, assisters, young studs, big bodies... Add in Miller's ferocious back to basket moves and rebounding, no major weakness. Especially with that schedule, if Miller on next year's team I'd peg them for no more than 4-5 loses.

miller was a great offensive player but really struggled on defense. the guy didn't know what fouling was

 

[80shusky]

Assets:
Guard play and offensive execution: This should be a strength for us with Jalen and Purvis starting and Alterique and Vital coming off the bench. I expect Jalen to be a play maker for us this year and with him running the team from go I would expect better offensive execution and more transition baskets (though this is tied to rebounding as well). Jalen will need to be a solid distributor for UConn this year to make the offense tick and not get so stagnant.
Defense: This should be another good defensive team this year from a standpoint of field goal defense. Even if Brimah does not improve much in other aspects of his game I would assume we will still be able to count on him anchoring the defense and altering games with his shot blocking. If Larrier is a better overall defender than Hamilton we could be better. If the guards can create some havoc with solid on ball defense and get some steals as the team has done in the past this should be a strength for them.

Potential Liabilities:
Shooting/3 pt shooting: UConn lost a lot of 3 point shooting with Gibbs and Hamilton leaving. Who can pick up the slack? Jalen could as a more polished shooter this year. Larrier had the ability to shoot threes though not at a very good percentage. Can Vance Jackson progress enough to come in the game and knock down a couple of threes when we need them? Can Alterique and Vital provide some 3 point shooting to fill the gaps?
Rebounding: UConn lost a lot of rebounding with Hamilton's departure. Who fills that gap for us? Does Facey step up? I'd love to see Enoch get more run this year and become a beast rebounder. Diarra may be able to pick up some slack for us in this department.
Post Scoring: Will we have any? Again Enoch could provide this, or Diarra, and Durham for sure if he is healthy.

X Factors: The 3 and the 4. If Larrier can be as good as some people think, he could be the big difference maker for us this year. With Jackson coming off the bench for him can he hold serve while on the court and possibly nail a couple of big shots? At the 4 UConn has a lot of bodies now and some are interchangeable at the 5 to help with foul trouble. We pretty much know what we are going to get out of Brimah. How the 3 and 4 spots perform however is probably the difference between mediocre, good, or great.

 

[mauconnfan]

Assets:

Rodney - Great kid, great leader, great example. Can he shoot it in the 40's from 3 this year and finish? If he does it will be special for him.
Athleticism
Depth
Guard play, ball handling
Speed

Potential Liabilities:

Everything not listed above
Shooting
PG play consistency (should be better as far as penetration but can we run sets?)
Rebounding (when you lose your best and he was good, you always wonder who will step up), guards need to rebound the ball better too
Defense (Miller's replacement (s) need to pick up some slack, but we should get better on man in DHams spot?)
Depth (ok while I did make that a strength it comes with youth and inexperience, are the kids ready?)
Can they rebound enough to utilize their speed and athleticism?
post play, both ends. Can we guard a big guy and can we score the ball on O? Need a big jump by AB and KF as seniors. Steve needs to be able to move his feet to guard in order to see the court and utilize his effective offensive game.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I would like to see the staff score a visit from Andrew White even though it is very late in the game to add a grad transfer. I think the makeup of this team in general could transition well to adding him late. It doesn't look like it will happen but as of today their still is a small window to make a push if the staff decided to go in that direction. White could fill the shooting void and add another vet to the roster. He has visited Miami, Syracuse, Michigan State and Louisville with no commitment. VCU and Richmond have been mentioned also.

 

[KemBuckets21]

I would like to see the staff score a visit from Andrew White even though it is very late in the game to add a grad transfer. I think the makeup of this team in general could transition well to adding him late. It doesn't look like it will happen but as of today their still is a small window to make a push if the staff decided to go in that direction. White could fill the shooting void and add another vet to the roster. He has visited Miami, Syracuse, Michigan State and Louisville with no commitment. VCU and Richmond have been mentioned also.

I wouldn't mind this either, but it is looking less and less likely.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I'm not worried about the shooting and this better JA's team especially at money time.
I think Larrier playing with a backcourt that can penetrate will get him easy shots and with improved shots will come much higher percentages.
This is a very athletic team but other than the starting guards not very physical unless Enoch and Diarra are the 4-5 .
Gilbert will be a factor but most are overstating his impact I see a Bazz like freshman roll.
Rebounding is concerning but chemistry is the biggest issue.
I'm hopping that four of the five have started and even Larrier was there last year will make KO job easier.
The best chance for someone other than a returnee to start is the four.
Physical teams who grind ,will be our biggest problems. I don't think I want to run against UConn.
If they click this is a legitimate top ten team.