2020 talent level potential compared to past teams

[Jaker]

the book is still out on Bouk, but price was a great college player and a solid NBA player

 

[superjohn]

I think need to calm down about JB. Sure he’s looked good but geez let’s see how he responds to the long season. How did he do vs Iona?

Only took 2 shots. You don't have to see him for a million games, his talents are evident right away.

 

[Excalibur]

The proper comparisons are by position:

I'll take the '06 pg (Williams, the best passer in program history and a solid 3 pt. shooter) and the '09 one (Price) over the 20-21 options of AG (unlikely) or Cole (who I think will be very good but isn't an NBA prospect). Gaffney or Adams is better than Austrie as a backup, but not better than Kemba Walker . . . Depth doesn't make up for the difference in the 1st string. '09 is the best group, followed by '06 and then next year.

At the 2, you have Rashad/Denham, Dyson (09), and Bouk. Bouknight may very well end up better than the other three. That remains to be seen. But the depth is better in '06. I'll call it a wash between '06 and 2021, with '09 third.

At the 3, you have Rudy Gay in '06, Stanley in '09, and Akok/Sid/Polley/freshman Jackson next year. Denham was essentially the backup 3 in '06, and there wasn't one in '09. There's no Rudy in next year's group. '06 wins, followed by the potential of next year's team. Stanley comes in third.

Power forward -- We'll call Hilton the 4 on the '06 team, backed up by freshman Adrien and Ed Nelsen. In '09 Adrien owned the position, backed up by Edwards. Next year we are looking at a freshman Ferguson, with Akok spending some time there as well. I'll go with 06 and 09 first.

Center -- not close. Boone, with some Armstrong, Thabeet, and Carlton.

 

[superjohn]

Point guard is the only concern for next year and it's a big one but the staff is high on Cole from what I've heard, we need to start seeing more from Gaff and he needs to learn how to break down the D as the season progresses. We are going to be stacked everywhere else, IMO.

 

[johnhuskies95]

AJ Price was a 2nd team All-American. If we have guys who are that good next year I'll be very happy.

Either way, it's really tough to compare to the '09 team to almost any other team at UConn because they were so unique in how they played. They only had 2 guards on the floor most of the time and hardly ever took 3's. I remember they stomped Louisville(who would go on to be the #1 overall seed in the tournament) on their home floor and didn't make a single 3 the entire game.

 

[ctchamps]

No it’s comparing a team that hasn’t played a game (2020)

You're going down a rabbit hole that you can't win. Projection is harder to argue for than existing information. Personally I enjoy projection but most people are uncomfortable with it. I used to evaluate events and recommend people be cautious about various investments. I was handicapped given it wasn't my field, but common sense indicated higher and lower probabilities with outcomes. People preferred relying on recent prior events and got burned for it.

I'm not sure you are being irrationally exuberant. Perhaps just premature in making definitive conclusions. Player development is not linear. No one would have predicted the season Kemba had his junior season based on his freshman and sophomore years. Bazz was more linear. Jeremy was not a major factor the beginning of his freshman year but starting in the second third of the season his development was primarily upward. Still no one could rationally predict after a 9-9 conference record that team would pull off 12 straight.

I will say I like the players we have if they can continue to develop. At this point in time I'm most concerned about the point guard situation next year because I have not seen one game RJ has played in and Jalen is still learning. It would be a better situation if AG came back based on those two factors but that's with an absence of information about one player and too early a judgement on the other.

 

[ctchamps]

Point guard is the only concern for next year and it's a big one but the staff is high on Cole from what I've heard, we need to start seeing more from Gaff and he needs to learn how to break down the D as the season progresses. We are going to be stacked everywhere else, IMO.

I was typing when you posted this. Great minds!!!

 

[scuba lou]

The proper comparisons are by position:

I'll take the '06 pg (Williams, the best passer in program history and a solid 3 pt. shooter) and the '09 one (Price) over the 20-21 options of AG (unlikely) or Cole (who I think will be very good but isn't an NBA prospect). Gaffney or Adams is better than Austrie as a backup, but not better than Kemba Walker . . . Depth doesn't make up for the difference in the 1st string. '09 is the best group, followed by '06 and then next year.

At the 2, you have Rashad/Denham, Dyson (09), and Bouk. Bouknight may very well end up better than the other three. That remains to be seen. But the depth is better in '06. I'll call it a wash between '06 and 2021, with '09 third.

At the 3, you have Rudy Gay in '06, Stanley in '09, and Akok/Sid/Polley/freshman Jackson next year. Denham was essentially the backup 3 in '06, and there wasn't one in '09. There's no Rudy in next year's group. '06 wins, followed by the potential of next year's team. Stanley comes in third.

Power forward -- We'll call Hilton the 4 on the '06 team, backed up by freshman Adrien and Ed Nelsen. In '09 Adrien owned the position, backed up by Edwards. Next year we are looking at a freshman Ferguson, with Akok spending some time there as well. I'll go with 06 and 09 first.

Center -- not close. Boone, with some Armstrong, Thabeet, and Carlton.

I think this is perfect and completely right.

 

[Jluc]

AJ Price was the best point guard in the big east and arguably the best point guard in the country in 2009 (maybe behind Ty Lawson). I think we’re going to have a really good team next year but that 2009 squad might be the most underrated in UConn history. We were ranked number 1 for most of the year until Dyson went down.

 

[scuba lou]

You're going down a rabbit hole that you can't win. Projection is harder to argue for than existing information. Personally I enjoy projection but most people are uncomfortable with it. I used to evaluate events and recommend people be cautious about various investments. I was handicapped given it wasn't my field, but common sense indicated higher and lower probabilities with outcomes. People preferred relying on recent prior events and got burned for it.

I'm not sure you are being irrationally exuberant. Perhaps just premature in making definitive conclusions. Player development is not linear. No one would have predicted the season Kemba had his junior season based on his freshman and sophomore years. Bazz was more linear. Jeremy was not a major factor the beginning of his freshman year but starting in the second third of the season his development was primarily upward. Still no one could rationally predict after a 9-9 conference record that team would pull off 12 straight.

I will say I like the players we have if they can continue to develop. At this point in time I'm most concerned about the point guard situation next year because I have not seen one game RJ has played in and Jalen is still learning. It would be a better situation if AG came back based on those two factors but that's with an absence of information about one player and too early a judgement on the other.

Great breakdown, I agree. AG changes everything if he stays.

 

[willie99]

Team has potential and will be very deep, our best team in a while

The most talented team doesn't always win it all, it's as much about chemistry and timing and runs

 

[ctchamps]

Team has potential and will be very deep, our best team in a while

The most talented team doesn't always win it all, it's as much about chemistry and timing and runs

And what is the competition, matchups and some luck - sprained ankles, missing two free throws, a ball getting stuck in the rim dot, dot, dot.

 

[UofCT]

AJ Price was the best point guard in the big east and arguably the best point guard in the country in 2009 (maybe behind Ty Lawson). I think we’re going to have a really good team next year but that 2009 squad might be the most underrated in UConn history. We were ranked number 1 for most of the year until Dyson went down.

AJ was one of the best PGs in the country during the 2007-08 season as well as 2008-09. He had a ridiculous jump from 2006-07 to 2007-08. We don't talk about that enough.

 

[Minicoop69]

AJ was one of the best PGs in the country during the 2007-08 season as well as 2008-09. He had a ridiculous jump from 2006-07 to 2007-08. We don't talk about that enough.

I was watching the UNCheat vs. Ohio State game the other night and Bilas was announcing. He was talking about UNCheat in 2009 about them being the best team all year, the consensus #1. I guess he forgot about UConn that year. Nobody gives us any respect at all.

 

[ucp990411]

AJ was one of the best PGs in the country during the 2007-08 season as well as 2008-09. He had a ridiculous jump from 2006-07 to 2007-08. We don't talk about that enough.

People talk about AG’s shoulder injuries and how tough it is to come back from. AJ Price was on his death bed from a blood clot in his brain in 2006.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Bouknight is already a far better NBA prospect than Price ever was.

Yeah that's not untrue but at one point Lenny Cooke was a better NBA prospect than Price was too. The ceiling of the guys we have now may be higher but we're talking about actual productivity at the college level.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I was watching the UNCheat vs. Ohio State game the other night and Bilas was announcing. He was talking about UNCheat in 2009 about them being the best team all year, the consensus #1. I guess he forgot about UConn that year. Nobody gives us any respect at all.

They were the consensus best team in the country in 2009. UConn was probably the consensus #2 until Dyson got hurt.

 

[willie99]

And what is the competition, matchups and some luck - sprained ankles, missing two free throws, a ball getting stuck in the rim dot, dot, dot.

We've seen all of that too

 

[caw]

I wouldn’t compare the potential (with AG) of next years team with 09 or 06, those teams were stacked. However, it is probably closer to 11 or 14 and the best potential since 14 (again if AG stays).

 

[uconngb]

Bouk will have one 4-15 game and next thing you know people will be calling him a 4 year player. I know we’re desperate for success, but let’s just chill people. We’re barely into December.

 

[AntG168]

With Alterique we'd likely be a top 15 team, however everything in the preseason indicated he's gone. Without him I'd say were in the 25-30 range for 2020 with the potential to be a bit higher if Bouk and Akok make 2nd year leaps.

I think we may end up being a top 25-30 team this season.

 

[scuba lou]

AJ Price was a 2nd team All-American. If we have guys who are that good next year I'll be very happy.

Either way, it's really tough to compare to the '09 team to almost any other team at UConn because they were so unique in how they played. They only had 2 guards on the floor most of the time and hardly ever took 3's. I remember they stomped Louisville(who would go on to be the #1 overall seed in the tournament) on their home floor and didn't make a single 3 the entire game.

AJ wasn’t a second team all American.

Rudy Gay was in 06 and THABEET was in 09

 

[Jbirdp5]

I think it’s extremely premature to compare next years team to teams that were top 5 teams at this point in time. I sure hope this team has that type of potential but I don’t know if we will be quite at that level, I’d love to be a top 4 seed next year

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Most talent since 06? Or 09?

Once upon a time, not too long ago, we had a roster with Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, Ryan Boatright, DeAndre Daniels, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

 

[Horatio]

Price Adrien and Thabeet were better than anyone and everyone on next years team

Painful for me to type this but next years Bouk, Akok and even a returning AG are better than Price. That’s because we never got a 100% AJ Price due to the injuries and issues. AJ actually had more setbacks than AG.