2026 roster needs | Page 8 | The Boneyard

2026 roster needs

With like five threads all on roughly the same topic (which is the only topic available these days) we end up with five people posting on the Dan Patrick interview or whatever
 
Irvine said:
FYI - Hurley said he expects around 5 players back on the Dan Patrick show. Guess that would mean about 6 or 7 from the portal then.
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he said he knows 5 who will be back. it's a big difference. we likely have abother 3-5 who might, or are even likely to return.

But also, when in reality you need 8 people on a championship team, how many of those 5 are part of that 8 or not? Of the "maybes"

reibe
solo
stew
ross
mullins
demary

If 5 of THOSE 6 are ones he "expects" back? holy cow, i'm throwing a crab boil.
 
I bet every high major coach is at a crossroads on how they want to build their roster. Every coach wants to win, and right now. So does this mean that outside of the very top high school recruits, coaches take all transfers and most high school recruits go mid or low major and then transfer up to high major after 1, 2 or 3 years? And with the portal most players want to play now and don't want to develop. I think the entire system sucks now.

“We’ve got to decide, who do we want to be? Do we want to try to hold the line and just go retention, high school recruiting and maybe cherry pick a need in the portal? Or are we at a point where it’s like, wipe the board every year and try to put together the most talented team that you can? We have our first national champion that was comprised of (almost) all transfers in Michigan,” he said. “Right now we’re processing the best way for us to move forward because you’ve got players on your team that are obviously right now weighing what they want to do.

“But also, from a program standpoint, you also have all these players that have entered the portal who are also reaching out to UConn that would like to potentially play here, too.”


The RuffRuff Alternate Access™:
Why Hurley says UConn men are ‘at a crossroads’ deciding how to construct future rosters
 
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I hope we get in on PF David Punch from TCU....in the Tourney he popped off the screen as someone to go after full throttle. He may be a tough get but I hope we're in the mix at a major position of need.
 
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Lafayette said:
until any announcements of leaving…

1. Silas / transfer
2. Ball / Mullins / County
3. Ross / Landrew / Stewart
4. transfer / transfer
5. transfer / Reibe

starters: Demary, Ball, Mullins, transfer 4, transfer 5

subject to change with any announcements
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lol you’re out of your mind if you think Mullins isn’t starting if he comes back
 
TrueBlue22 said:
Geez, all this Reibe negativity has me wondering if we were all watching the same team this season.

This kid might be the most offensively developed freshman big we have had under Hurley, and people are acting like he’s a scrub.

Needs to add strength to bang down low on defense. That’s about it, outside of his normal growth progressions.
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You’re 100% right about Reibe. He was awesome for us when Tarris was hurt. He hit the freshman wall at the end of the year, so everyone thinks he’s not the answer?? You guys are nutz, he’ll definitely be our starter next year
 
Colin G said:
One of the biggest predictors of roster success in the modern era are still continuity and experience, particularly deep tournament experience.

Hot take: I think we are underrating the value of running it back to the fullest extent we are able to.

The Reibe slander needs to die. When he played a lot of minutes he was very solid to fantastic. It was clear he just needs a summer in the weight room.

Silas
Solo
Jayden
Jaylin
Reibe

Gives us an experienced core with a team led by a group of dudes who have all played many tournament games TOGETHER. This is a very underrated defensive group. I think the key is to go after younger transfers who realize that even if some of these guys start it might be like how Samson Johnson started, but tarris played more minutes some games.

Top picks to fill out the roster

Sayon Keita C (2027 but hearing rumblings of a reclass, could be a lotto pick)
Alex Wilkins - 6th man type role helps him better/ more successfully transition to high major basketball with plenty of minutes to spare.
Isaac Celiscar - transfer from Yale 57% fg 40% 3 (low volume) 6 boards 3.2 assists, big guard or 3 man, perfect connective piece, year gives him plenty of minutes but doesn’t over rely on him
Landrew and County (duh) - additional playmaking/offensive ability and plenty of talent - Landrew more closely fits a team need and has a clearer path to more minutes next year.

Furphy- who knows but I’d love to see him play a lot, think he solves the “playmaker” problem if he’s able to play minutes
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We’ve already been connected to multiple starting caliber PFs in the portal. It should have been obvious before but now it should be crystal clear that Stew is not going into next year as the starter.
 
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Colin G said:
One of the biggest predictors of roster success in the modern era are still continuity and experience, particularly deep tournament experience.

Hot take: I think we are underrating the value of running it back to the fullest extent we are able to.

The Reibe slander needs to die. When he played a lot of minutes he was very solid to fantastic. It was clear he just needs a summer in the weight room.

Silas
Solo
Jayden
Jaylin
Reibe

Gives us an experienced core with a team led by a group of dudes who have all played many tournament games TOGETHER. This is a very underrated defensive group. I think the key is to go after younger transfers who realize that even if some of these guys start it might be like how Samson Johnson started, but tarris played more minutes some games.

Top picks to fill out the roster

Sayon Keita C (2027 but hearing rumblings of a reclass, could be a lotto pick)
Alex Wilkins - 6th man type role helps him better/ more successfully transition to high major basketball with plenty of minutes to spare.
Isaac Celiscar - transfer from Yale 57% fg 40% 3 (low volume) 6 boards 3.2 assists, big guard or 3 man, perfect connective piece, year gives him plenty of minutes but doesn’t over rely on him
Landrew and County (duh) - additional playmaking/offensive ability and plenty of talent - Landrew more closely fits a team need and has a clearer path to more minutes next year.

Furphy- who knows but I’d love to see him play a lot, think he solves the “playmaker” problem if he’s able to play minutes
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We just lost in the championship game to a team with five starters who started at five different schools. Where are you getting this continuity thing from?

It’s not slander on Reibe. The kid was good at the beginning of the year. He regressed tremendously by the end and by the tournament he was having trouble with the fundamentals.

Loyalty is great but any lineup with Stewart/Ross/Reibe starting isn’t contending for the big east title, let alone the national championship. We need to at least add starter level competition if not outright starters to the roster for next year.
 
Does anyone know where the two European players stand with playing time? Are they projects or practice players?
 
Horatio said:
Does anyone know where the two European players stand with playing time? Are they projects or practice players?
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Doubt they play much. Especially since Paunovic will be a senior and Elezaj will be a junior this year, not much time to develop still
 
If we want to have a shot at winning the NC next season, I feel like we need an additional star scorer even if BM returns, a physical rim protector, more dribble penetration at PG and some physical defenders on the perimeter.
 
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DogMania said:
I'm concerned with Reibe's weight and strength. His situation is problemstic. I would like them to add a bigger and more physical 5 who can rebound, take away the paint and block shots. Not sure what impact on Reibe if they add a 5 that will compete with him for the starting center. What's important is not who starts but who gets more PT and is on the floor during winning time.
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Taking from me. Putting on weight isn't all that hard.

Reibe -- after a full offseason at UConn -- will be back significantly larger. As would Mullins (should he return).
 
Irvine said:
FYI - Hurley said he expects around 5 players back on the Dan Patrick show. Guess that would mean about 6 or 7 from the portal then.
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It’s a bit scary to hear that but that’s not how I interpreted it. It seemed like he meant there’s only 5 players he’s currently 100% sure about. That could mean there’s 3-4 more who haven’t decided/officially told him but are very likely.
 
Felt like this needed to be cleared up, and maybe it’s been said before.

Eric Reibe will not be our backup center by default.

If the expectation is that he will be the backup, he will transfer.

If it’s his job to lose, he stays.
 
uh-no said:
he said he knows 5 who will be back. it's a big difference. we likely have abother 3-5 who might, or are even likely to return.

But also, when in reality you need 8 people on a championship team, how many of those 5 are part of that 8 or not? Of the "maybes"

reibe
solo
stew
ross
mullins
demary

If 5 of THOSE 6 are ones he "expects" back? holy cow, i'm throwing a crab boil.
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Demary and Mullins are not on that list.
 
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ec33 said:
Demary and Mullins are not on that list.
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The late Euros are not being counted. Nor are the grads (AK, Reed, Smith, Koroma, Millender).

Demary and Mullins are going into the process.

That leaves Ball, Ross, Stewart, Reibe, and Furphy (5) with potentially "the other" Ross (6).

Sounds like Hurley expects full retention, although I wouldn't hold him -- or the players -- to that off-hand remark to Dan Patrick.
 
My $0.02...
Demary is the most important player and they absolutely need him back. Open the piggy bank for him. He defends, he distributes, he needs to improve the scoring some but I believe he can.

Mullins is a bonus. But he changes the entire offseason. If hes gone, they need a 3/4 who can score. If he comes back, they can change up the roster composition. I think he would be smart to return. It would be good for him and us.

If mullins is gone they need a good scoring 4 man. I think landrew can fill the 3 and be a beast. Him not getting McD was a HUGE snub. If Mullins is back they can pivot to an athletic/energy defender/rebounder who can make 3s but isnt a shot creator.

At the 5 Reibe is starting. I think you need a Samson style player to push Reibe but play close to half the time. Someone who can protect the rim and catch lobs. This will help against certain matchups but allow Reibe to start/develop but also gives good depth.

They need a malachi replacement. He was a good archetype. Scrappy defender good ball handler. Would like someone to draw more fouls and be a better shooter at the line and from 3 but id sign up for malachi again if we could.

Projected rotation
Starters:
Demary - 30 mins
Ball - 25 mins
Mullins - 25 mins
Transfer 4 - 25 mins
Reibe - 20 mins
Bench:
Transfer 5 - 20 mins
Landrew - 20 mins
Ross - 15 mins
Stewart - 10 mins
Transfer 1 - 10 mins

I understand Ross and Stewart may not go for this...but i think there will be more opportunities to play with injuries fouls or if Mullins leaves.

Also not sure where County or Furphy fit in. probably more if Mullins is gone.
 
TrueBlue22 said:
Felt like this needed to be cleared up, and maybe it’s been said before.

Eric Reibe will not be our backup center by default.

If the expectation is that he will be the backup, he will transfer.

If it’s his job to lose, he stays.
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There is no backup. It takes 2 starting centers no matter who we bring in and Reibe has to be confident that he deserves most minutes and then show it. And Reibe has shooting ability so for 5 minutes a game both can be on the floor with him at PF.
 
I see Reibe as a legit starter, but only if there's a very capable backup 5. Maybe someone so good that Reibe can play the 4, especially if he keeps working on his shot. I want us to be able to matchup with big lineups, because we will see them from the top teams.

I would love Mullins to come back, that said, Mullins and Ball can't both be on the court at the same time. We can't play that small at the 3. I think and hope that the staff sees it the same way. Size is king now, we've seen it a couple years in a row.

A combo of Ross and Landrew at the 3 is probably adequate. Even better if Stewart is available as well, although he's much better as a 4.

Demary is key. I'm confident we can find another backup PG. I do not know how much County can play the position. Anybody know if he can be a distributor? I know he's billed as a combo.
 
Edward Sargent said:
I keep hearing people talk about Reibe's shot. Does he have one? I haven't seen it
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He shot throughout his HS career and international tournaments. He shot a few in the early season.

UConn staff are sticklers about guys needing to prove it in practice (and possibly on the free throw line) before they can do it in the games, though.
 
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