2020 Starting 5 & Bench

[superjohn]

As the season progresses both Jackson and Sanogo will start.

 

[UofCT]

As the season progresses both Jackson and Sanogo will start.

Source?

 

[Jbirdp5]

Rewatching 2011 Big East Championship and it got me thinking how we went 10-deep on this team. 2020 could have a similar minute distribution as that 2011 team. Below are the MPG from 2011 and what I predict for 2020-21.

37.6 Minutes | Kemba
29.1 Minutes | Oriakhi
27.8 Minutes | Lamb
25.4 Minutes | Roscoe
23.8 Minutes | Napier
16.6 Minutes | Coombs-McDaniel
15.4 Minutes | Okwandu
9.9 Minutes | Giffey
9.6 Minutes | Olander
8.5 Minutes | Beverly
4.2 Minutes | Wolf


37.6 Minutes | Bouknight
29.1 Minutes | Whaley
27.8 Minutes | Cole
25.4 Minutes | Jackson
23.8 Minutes | Gaffney
16.6 Minutes | Polley
15.4 Minutes | Adams
9.9 Minutes | Carlton
9.6 Minutes | Sanogo
8.5 Minutes | Springs
4.2 Minutes | Brown-Ferguson

*Assuming Martin is not eligible
*Assuming Akok is not playing for a few months

I can’t imagine sanogo playing less than 10 minutes a game

 

[M.S.G.]

Unless Bouknight can move past his bad habit of picking up ticky tack fouls, he won't make it past 30 minutes a game...

 

[HuskyHawk]

Source?

Dan thinks Jackson might be a one and done. Hard to do that if you don’t play. Sanogo is our most talented center.

 

[Samoo]

Exactly. It's 3 v. 5 on offense when Whaley and Carlton are in together. If Whaley is in the game, it'll have to be at the 4 with Sanogo at the 5, or at the 5 with Jackson/Polley/Martin at the 4.

This is a bit of an inaccurate take. Whaley scored over 8 points a game in conference play, 9.4 for the last ten games of the season and 14 for the final 6. Yes Carelton completely disappeared on offense, but Whaley clearly can and did score.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Unless Bouknight can move past his bad habit of picking up ticky tack fouls, he won't make it past 30 minutes a game...

The only thing stopping him is Dan, he's gotta let him play through foul trouble.

 

[UofCT]

The only thing stopping him is Dan, he's gotta let him play through foul trouble.

Ehh I’m not a fan of playing through foul trouble.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Ehh I’m not a fan of playing through foul trouble.

It's only handicapping yourself.

 

[JimHurley]

This is a bit of an inaccurate take. Whaley scored over 8 points a game in conference play, 9.4 for the last ten games of the season and 14 for the final 6. Yes Carelton completely disappeared on offense, but Whaley clearly can and did score.

Listen I love Whaley. One of the best success stories of my lifetime at UConn. Dude works his butt off, is all about the team, and is a real nice kid too. But I can’t call him an offensive threat. Most of his points were on put backs. He’s not a guy you throw it to in the post to get you a basket. Neither is he a guy to consistently hit a jumper. I think he’s a huge part of next year’s team, and hopefully is a team captain, but I would not consider him an asset on offense. I’m expecting about 8 points and 8 boards for him this season, and every team needs a guy like that.

 

[Son of Robert]

Weighing in with the officially certified version of the starting 5, 2020-2021, this is assuming all these players are healthy and their games are solid.

Hurley wants to play 4 out, spread the floor, shoot a decent percentage of threes, be able to dump it down for some post play/inside out play, and he wants ball handlers and playmakers on the floor creating ball movement a la passing and dribble drives.

He wants team play, and steady hands to lead, initiate, and guide the team on the floor, both on offense and defense. He wants to play aggressively, yet cohesively, and not have turnovers.

RJ Cole
Jalen Gaffney
James Bouknight
Tyler Polley
Josh Carlton

It is Cole's and Gaffney's team to run and they will start the game together. They are interchangeable at the 1 and the 2. Bouknight starts at the 3 with Polley at the 4. That's four shooters on the floor to open it up, with Carlton down low with legit post moves (much better this year we hope).

Hurley is very conscious of team chemistry, morale, culture, and fairness. It may come to pass that this lineup changes, but it's these players spots to lose, and when and if they do, they need to embrace a team first mentality and what their changing role might be, but these decisions will come both through practice and actual game minutes.

We have an amazing roster this year; several other players could legitimately start. We'll see how the minutes shake out, and also who is on the floor at the end of games.

Gonna be a great ride this year. Bleed Blue!

 

[Huskyforlife]

RJ Cole
Jalen Gaffney
James Bouknight
Tyler Polley
Josh Carlton

This has to be the least likely of any lineup anyone has posted.

 

[Son of Robert]

This has to be the least likely of any lineup anyone has posted.

We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[boiwerebad]

Here is how I see the rotation (start of the year):

G: RJ Cole (28) Jalen Gaffney (12)
G: James Bouknight (28) Jalen Gaffney (6) Brendan Adams (6)
Wing: Brendan Adams (14) Andre Jackson (22) James Bouknight (4)
FC: Isaiah Whaley (20) Andre Jackson (4) Richie Springs (10) Adama Sanogo (6)
FC: Adama Sanogo (16) Josh Carlton (22) Richie Springs (2)

Redshirts: Tyrese Martin (Transfer) Javonte Brown-Ferguson (RS Freshman, like Richie Springs last year)

When healthy:

G: RJ Cole (28) Jalen Gaffney (12)
G: James Bouknight (28) Jalen Gaffney (6) Brendan Adams (6)
Wing: Tyler Polley (24) Andre Jackson (6) Brendan Adams (10)
FC: Akok Akok (24) Andre Jackson (12) Richie Springs (4)
FC: Isaiah Whaley (18) Josh Carlton (14) Adama Sanogo (8)

Redshirts: Tyrese Martin (Transfer) Javonte Brown-Ferguson (RS Freshman, like Richie Springs last year)

Team Rotation going to be full if everyone is healthy, but I think Whaley will get 20 mins, Carlton and Sanogo will split the 40 minutes at center and have a small ball 4 the remaining 20 minutes that Whaley sits.

 

[Captbluefin]

Here is how I see the rotation (start of the year):

G: RJ Cole (28) Jalen Gaffney (12)
G: James Bouknight (28) Jalen Gaffney (6) Brendan Adams (6)
Wing: Brendan Adams (14) Andre Jackson (22) James Bouknight (4)
FC: Isaiah Whaley (20) Andre Jackson (4) Richie Springs (10) Adama Sanogo (6)
FC: Adama Sanogo (16) Josh Carlton (22) Richie Springs (2)

Redshirts: Tyrese Martin (Transfer) Javonte Brown-Ferguson (RS Freshman, like Richie Springs last year)

When healthy:

G: RJ Cole (28) Jalen Gaffney (12)
G: James Bouknight (28) Jalen Gaffney (6) Brendan Adams (6)
Wing: Tyler Polley (24) Andre Jackson (6) Brendan Adams (10)
FC: Akok Akok (24) Andre Jackson (12) Richie Springs (4)
FC: Isaiah Whaley (18) Josh Carlton (14) Adama Sanogo (8)

Redshirts: Tyrese Martin (Transfer) Javonte Brown-Ferguson (RS Freshman, like Richie Springs last year)

Team Rotation going to be full if everyone is healthy, but I think Whaley will get 20 mins, Carlton and Sanogo will split the 40 minutes at center and have a small ball 4 the remaining 20 minutes that Whaley sits.

You have Cole playing 10mins.more per game than Gaffney? The player who took over the point when we started winning last year.
I really really hope that Cole is the player everyone thinks he is. Or a player who should be on the floor for the same amount of mins. as Bouk.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Source?

Stop it.

 

[boiwerebad]

Gaffney only played 19 MPG last year, and this was mainly due to the fact of how little lead guards we had available (AG was the only other PG on the team). CV, Bouknight and Adams were the only other remaining guards, so someone had to get the main playmaker minutes when AG was sitting.

I'm figuring Cole may not be a transcendent player, as he was not super efficient against pretty atrocious competition, but he still seems good enough to be a quality starting PG, hopefully in the Sterling Gibbs mold from a few years prior.

I am also not a huge fan of Gaffney. He is incredibly inefficient (.336/.264 w/ under an 8 PER and 1.83 AST:TO) and really did not show much. He is a freshman, so not writing him off, but I think plenty of people are overstating how he played last year. He will certainly be a rotation worthy player, but big minutes against better competition seems like a perfect mixture for a disaster.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This has to be the least likely of any lineup anyone has posted.

By the start of conference play? Yes. Opening night? No. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts that exact lineup on opening night. Hurley certainly has an appreciation for the role of seniors.

 

[UofCT]

good point

 

[Caronimo]

From what I am hearing from people Cole is unbelievable. In regards to Martin he won’t get the waiver and will sit this year. Not a terrible thing to have him come in and play once bouknight leaves for the NBA. Exciting stuff for the program!

They are still going for the waiver. Kid has that competitor mindset.

 

[dannyHAM]

They are still going for the waiver. Kid has that competitor mindset.

Hopefully they get it! In Hurley we trust

 

[BlueDogs]

I think Whaley might get the edge over Carlton. I think carlton will just be a backup player this year.

Whaley needs to get the start. He earned it. Until Carlton can demonstrate he can catch a pass and close out by getting off the floor and finishing, he’s a role player banging on big centers.

 

[bmayuc]

You have Cole playing 10mins.more per game than Gaffney? The player who took over the point when we started winning last year.
I really really hope that Cole is the player everyone thinks he is. Or a player who should be on the floor for the same amount of mins. as Bouk.

Everyone points out that Gaffney started playing and we started winning.

They don't mention that Bouknight and Isaiah Whaley also started playing at that time. That's why we started winning.

I like Gaff, he'll be a good 4 year player. Cole is a conference player of the year.

Not on the same level.

 

[jibsey]

RJ Cole should play equal or more than Gaffney, right? He could end up being the Bazz of this team.