Adam Finkelstein Roster Preview

[HooperScooper]

I think they'd want Mahaney to win the job(something Dan mentioned to reporters before, wanting certain players to win the job), but if Solo is dogging him in practice, the players know, and you can't cheat the players because you allocated more NIL to Mahaney.

“In your mind you have people that you want to win it,” Hurley said. “But they’ve got to earn it. Because if you don’t start the people that have been the best, you lose the respect of the team and everyone in that circle. So you can’t gift it, it’s got to be earned. Again, this is Day 117 so we’ve been – it’s this giant collection of plays that are running through your mind from June.”

Competition for minutes in full swing as UConn men’s basketball holds first official day of practice

The UConn men’s basketball team held its first official practice of the 2024-25 season on Friday, and intense competition for minutes is heating up.

www.courant.com

 

[Huskyforlife]

“In your mind you have people that you want to win it,” Hurley said. “But they’ve got to earn it. Because if you don’t start the people that have been the best, you lose the respect of the team and everyone in that circle. So you can’t gift it, it’s got to be earned. Again, this is Day 117 so we’ve been – it’s this giant collection of plays that are running through your mind from June.”

Competition for minutes in full swing as UConn men’s basketball holds first official day of practice

The UConn men’s basketball team held its first official practice of the 2024-25 season on Friday, and intense competition for minutes is heating up.

www.courant.com

Yeah, that entire quote was my thought. Don't think Dan is the type to start players because of NIL allocation.

 

[auror]

IMO Mahaney starting is a given. He might have not played that well when Givony was in Storrs, but he is going to be a featured player regardless. When analysts watched practices at this time last year, I remember people commenting on the lack of talk about Spencer too, and we all know how that turned out.

Mahaney is experienced in every type of situation including tournament games against the best team in the country (UConn), he’s a shooter, and they allocated a lot of resources to bring him in.

It's clear to me they're trying to push Mahaney. Praising Ball publicly is likely specifically to motivate Mahaney. I don't necessarily think it's a given he starts, though. Ball has an edge on the system, is extremely high pedigree, and even started a bunch of games last season. He was a top 50 recruit, is only 1 year behind Mahaney in experience, and has a big physical/athleticism advantage that could be important if we're also starting McNeeley and Karaban. If Hurley says he's been the best soph, then he's likely above Stewart in the pecking order which would seem to make him starter caliber.

I also believe Mahaney could thrive in a 6th man role. Less emphasis on defense and more on just coming in and being a dude. Super-charged Calcaterra role.

 

[giddyup]

It's clear to me they're trying to push Mahaney. Praising Ball publicly is likely specifically to motivate Mahaney. I don't necessarily think it's a given he starts, though. Ball has an edge on the system, is extremely high pedigree, and even started a bunch of games last season. He was a top 50 recruit, is only 1 year behind Mahaney in experience, and has a big physical/athleticism advantage that could be important if we're also starting McNeeley and Karaban. If Hurley says he's been the best soph, then he's likely above Stewart in the pecking order which would seem to make him starter caliber.

I also believe Mahaney could thrive in a 6th man role. Less emphasis on defense and more on just coming in and being a dude.

Ball must have dramatically improved off-season (which many players seem to do under Hurley). Last year he didn’t seem to offer much when he had time… . Would be great to see him catch some fire.

 

[jibsey]

Ball must have dramatically improved off-season (which many players seem to do under Hurley). Last year he didn’t seem to offer much when he had time… . Would be great to see him catch some fire.

He didn’t get the chance much last year. The kid is gifted athletically and can shoot.

 

[JerseyAlum]

All of this will come down to seeing them against real opponents...so Mohegan Sun game, then the first few non-Conf early ones.

Bench is dictated less from "who is my #1 off the bench" to "who needs to come out" in games. Ultimately Hurley does not want a Hockey lineup change, so if in his Tier 1 system, he's got 9 guys, then he has a 95% as good replacement to any starter should they come out (maybe not AK, but the other 4).

Mahaney <==> Ball
Diarra <==> Nowell
McNeeley <==> JStew
Johnson <==> Reed Jr

And if Alex is not having a great night, or winded, or fouls mount you have Ross and Abraham to help. Singare even.

The other thing DH hinted at was team chemistry - Does Diarra/Maheney work better than Diarra/Ball, etc.

 

[scotty0330]

"Solo Ball & Jaylin Stewart could be more than important than most expect"...who is the most in that statement?

The folks that aren’t die hards or are fans of other teams aka the casual fan. Outside of UConn fans most people know little about Ball and only saw a small sample from JStew.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Ball must have dramatically improved off-season (which many players seem to do under Hurley). Last year he didn’t seem to offer much when he had time… . Would be great to see him catch some fire.

You see, that is revisionist history. He was solid as a starter to begin the season. His game went down as the season went on because his PT went down. The fact that he wasn’t as good as Newton or Spencer or Has does not mean that he was not good. Solo with confidence and an improved game, holy cow! And remember that UConn players get better in the program.

 

[aceboon]

The folks that aren’t die hards or are fans of other teams aka the casual fan. Outside of UConn fans most people know little about Ball and only saw a small sample from JStew.

the way men's college basketball is promoted these days the casual would barely know anyone on most rosters