7 Man Rotation - Is It Enough?

[nelsonmuntz]

It is enough people if Johnson and Hurley are on the court together for 5 to 10 minutes a game.

 

[jibsey]

We’ve had enough evidence this season to know who should be out there, this isn’t game 1.
Mahaney can score and operate against cupcakes but that’s it. Bench.
Reed needs the bulk of the team minutes with SJ off the bench. We can’t compete with quality teams without his rebounding.
Go ahead and play Nowell enough to find out if he’s playable going forward but if not McNeeley can assist Hass and act as point in many situations.
Ross limited, more Stew.
The trial period and debate for these players is over this season and there is no room for error anymore.

 

[ARIDE]

The box score makes it clear that we're tightening up rotations as the season winds down.

Only 7 guys got more than 5 minutes, with spot minutes for Ross, Mahaney, and Nowell.

Besides the Reed/Johnson tandem at the 5 (and hopefully the minutes distribution going forward looks more like last night), we basically only have Stewart coming off the bench to spell the 1-4. That's a heavy load on Diarra, Ball, McNeeley, and Karaban, and compels us to go positionless (or PG-less) when Diarra gets a badly needed break.

Last year we basically played 7 and the results spoke for themselves, but the non-center off the bench was at least a true PG.

How are we feeling about this?

Coach is doing what he has to do!

 

[UCan3]

The box score makes it clear that we're tightening up rotations as the season winds down.

Only 7 guys got more than 5 minutes, with spot minutes for Ross, Mahaney, and Nowell.

Besides the Reed/Johnson tandem at the 5 (and hopefully the minutes distribution going forward looks more like last night), we basically only have Stewart coming off the bench to spell the 1-4. That's a heavy load on Diarra, Ball, McNeeley, and Karaban, and compels us to go positionless (or PG-less) when Diarra gets a badly needed break.

Last year we basically played 7 and the results spoke for themselves, but the non-center off the bench was at least a true PG.

How are we feeling about this?

I personally don’t like it only because our starting five, I don’t think have enough to take us all the way to the final four. I think we need some role players to develop / come off the bench and give us some quality minutes.

It doesn’t have to be scoring either it could just be intensive defensive pressure - like someone committed to locking down a hot shooter.

Or someone who can do the little things / rebound / set picks / make free throws / whatever it is.

Jim Calhoun used to have a quick hook when he saw something he didn’t like. At times I didn’t like it cause I thought that player should be able to play through errors, but as time has gone on, I can see the logic in the approach. There are some players we have that would benefit from being pulled off the floor at times for lack of effort.

 

[TheShot1990]

Who's going to guard RJ Lewis when Stewie needs a rest? If you told me we're gonna put Ross on him for a few, I'd understand. If you try to let AM guard him, I cringe.

Yes I am only looking at the next game, but this applies to Marquette and Providence...and SH too. Then we have the tourney.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Given the scholly increase from 13 to 15, it would seem logical that NEXT year, we would have a bigger rotation. THIS year we are about 10 deep (+ Reed, Jr., Stewart, Ross, Mahaney, Nowell) rotation.

It's a shame Abraham isn't getting much play, because on a per minute basis he excels and should start. That said, his is skewed by very low minutes. He is a plus defender and a tween Stewart and Ross for athleticism.

 

[inWV]

Stretch run of the season and tourneys
22-23 - 8 deep, Allyeyne last off the bench
23-24 - 8 deep, Stewart last off the bench (with some very productive minutes)
24-25 - 7 deep core rotation, Ross and Mahaney with spot minutes depending on opponent and game situation. I don't think Hurley should give up on what they might be able to provide.

 

[inWV]

Who's going to guard RJ Lewis when Stewie needs a rest? If you told me we're gonna put Ross on him for a few, I'd understand. If you try to let AM guard him, I cringe.

Yes I am only looking at the next game, but this applies to Marquette and Providence...and SH too. Then we have the tourney.

I think you preach to Ross that his defense will get him minutes and to Mahaney that getting his head in the game offensively will get him minutes. Ross needs focus, Mahaney needs confidence.

 

[businesslawyer]

Is a 7 man rotation enough? Yes and no. Yes, it's enough as long as each of your starters can catch enough minutes of rest (which should be 6 to 8). Last year, we had a 7 1/2 man rotation (Stewart played the 4 minutes Karaban would sit) and it was more than enough. But the issue is can the two men of the bench play enough and the right positions so that everyone could get a rest. And unless either Nowell or Mahaney plays when Hass comes out, we're trying to play without a point and you can bet when we get to the postseason we will be mercilessly pressed any minutes that Hass is out.

 

[Stinger92860]

7 is enough IF we don‘t run into foul trouble. Going deeper will introduce areas of weakness.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Paige could give us 5 good minutes.

OK, hate me now.

 

[dannyHAM]

Stew has got to play way more minutes IMO.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Can we settle on the 70s comedy called "8 is Enough"?

 

[RuffRuff]

Yup, although this was the offseason when Stew was going to go lottery, Aidan was Cam 2.0, and Alex was a bonafide first team AA. Oh well. I legit thought Aidan was Cam 2.0...

Also love it when people do their scoring predictions and we come out averaging 118 points a game. Mathing is hard.

I didn't see any of that. What I thought would happen was:

Tarris was talented enough where he'd be impossible not to start by this point, and he'd become an intentional part of the offense

Isiah was good enough to be getting real minutes by this point

Those two guys are built different physically.

Is AK even making third team BE at this point? No one could envision this rut. I'm not sure we have even a second team player right now. Solo has cooled off and Liam hasn't played enough games. Let's see what happens over the next 5.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

I’d feel better about it if we didn’t foul so much at the 5 spot.

You almost had the correct answer:
"I'd feel better about it if we didn't foul so much."
We foul too much to have a 7 person rotation.

 

[superjohn]

That's the Boneyard for you, over rating the depth of the roster at the beginning of the season. Bottom line, it's difficult to draw conclusions against the sub 300 ranked cupcakes on the schedule.

You just described Hurley. He's the one saying it was his deepest team ever.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

That's the Boneyard for you, over rating the depth of the roster at the beginning of the season. Bottom line, it's difficult to draw conclusions against the sub 300 ranked cupcakes on the schedule.

Oh I don't know dude. I am not a betting man, but I would have never guessed that Alex would take such a deep plunge. Freaking NBA scouts were wrong about him too. Stewart, Mahaney and Ross? yes I agree we over estimated their talent. But the tape on Tarris was nice. Great moves. Big body. Sometimes that happens.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Stew has got to play way more minutes IMO.

He definitely should be playing more minutes. He can rebound and mix it up under the basket, can play slamma jama and he is a pretty good shooter. Reminds me of Andre in some ways.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

I will say this: what a magnificent story this would be if Stewart, Ross and Mahaney have magical March runs!!! Hollywood could not script that.

 

[gsmooth]

You just described Hurley. He's the one saying it was his deepest team ever.

Well he got that one wrong then. I never bought into the hype with Ross and Stewart or Alex being an All American, although I never could have predicted him going into this tailspin shooting wise .

The player I missed the most on was Aidan. I was excited when he chose UConn as I thought our coaching staff would bring out the best in him. However, that kid is tentative, hesitant, and seems like he lost confidence .

 

[superjohn]

Well he got that one wrong then. I never bought into the hype with Ross and Stewart or Alex being an All American, although I never could have predicted him going into this tailspin shooting wise .

The player I missed the most on was Aidan. I was excited when he chose UConn as I thought our coaching staff would bring out the best in him. However, that kid is tentative, hesitant, and seems like he lost confidence .

I missed on Mahaney too.

Agree with you on Ross, Jaylin, and AK. I still think there's a lot of untapped potential in Jaylin and I want to see it come out in a UConn jersey for the rest of this season and next. There's some other players I just don't see it with.

 

[jibsey]

I missed on Mahaney too.

Agree with you on Ross, Jaylin, and AK. I still think there's a lot of untapped potential in Jaylin and I want to see it come out in a UConn jersey for the rest of this season and next. There's some other players I just don't see it with.

I don’t see that much in Ross. If he was a “wrench” then maybe.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Well he got that one wrong then. I never bought into the hype with Ross and Stewart or Alex being an All American, although I never could have predicted him going into this tailspin shooting wise .

The player I missed the most on was Aidan. I was excited when he chose UConn as I thought our coaching staff would bring out the best in him. However, that kid is tentative, hesitant, and seems like he lost confidence .

Alex seems to go on this tailspin every year around this time tbh. I don’t know what it is.

 

[Hoophound]

Alex seems to go on this tailspin every year around this time tbh. I don’t know what it is.

It may be that he plays too many minutes. Fatigue is real. The body breaks down and needs rest to build back up. He’s always on the court and he’s a gym rat too.

 

[Deleted at users request]

It may be that he plays too many minutes. Fatigue is real. The body breaks down and needs rest to build back up. He’s always on the court and he’s a gym rat too.

You’ll definitely feel dead legs on your 3 point shot too.