Adam Finkelstein Roster Preview

[444JR]

 

[bendm]

who isnt expecting ball and stew to be critically important? based on givony's scouting report one of them is gonna start (prob ball) and the other is gonna be our 6th man (prob stew).

 

[husky429]

who isnt expecting ball and stew to be critically important? based on givony's scouting report one of them is gonna start (prob ball) and the other is gonna be our 6th man (prob stew).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the most common lineup projection I've seen has them both off the bench.

Diarra
Mahaney
McNeeley
Karaban
Reed/Johnson

 

[aceboon]

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

 

[Chin Diesel]

who isnt expecting ball and stew to be critically important? based on givony's scouting report one of them is gonna start (prob ball) and the other is gonna be our 6th man (prob stew).

Well, when Finkelstein qualifies his statement with "could" he can't ever be wrong. So there's that. His perspective might also means one or both of them are closer to 15 point scorers than they are 8-10 point scorers.

 

[bendm]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the most common lineup projection I've seen has them both off the bench.

Diarra
Mahaney
McNeeley
Karaban
Reed/Johnson

givony's projected starting lineup was:

diarra
ball/stew
liam
alex
samson/reed

he had glowing reviews for ball and stew, not so much for aidan. i was disappointed to read that b/c i think we need aidan's ball handling and facilitating ability in the starting lineup, but unfortunately it's consistent w/ most of the boneyard scouting reports after the open practice earlier this summer

 

[husky429]

givony's projected starting lineup was:

diarra
ball/stew
liam
alex
samson/reed

he had glowing reviews for ball and stew, not so much for aidan. i was disappointed to read that b/c i think we need aidan's ball handling and facilitating ability in the starting lineup, but unfortunately it's consistent w/ a lot of the boneyard scouting reports after the open practice earlier this summer

Correct. That's one guy. I'm talking about everyone else. I don't recall seeing a lineup without Mahaney starting anywhere, but I could be misremembering.

 

[Mooch82]

Correct. That's one guy. I'm talking about everyone else. I don't recall seeing a lineup without Mahaney starting anywhere, but I could be misremembering.

That's odd...I feel like I've seen very little starting lineup projections involving Mahaney lately - maybe right after he committed, but not much since as the reports on him have been a bit lackluster. To me, it seems like he is still finding his footing and will get better as the season goes along, but him being a starter feels like it would be surprising at this point.

 

[HuskyHawk]

givony's projected starting lineup was:

diarra
ball/stew
liam
alex
samson/reed

he had glowing reviews for ball and stew, not so much for aidan. i was disappointed to read that b/c i think we need aidan's ball handling and facilitating ability in the starting lineup, but unfortunately it's consistent w/ most of the boneyard scouting reports after the open practice earlier this summer

It will be what it is. I think Finkelstein is largely speaking to a group that doesn't know as much about our roster as we do. My take is simply: the gap between Mahaney/Ball and McNeeley/Stewart is very small, less than many outsiders might realize. Indeed the gap, if there is one, may not even been in the expected direction. Any of those four could start or come off the bench.

 

[bendm]

Correct. That's one guy. I'm talking about everyone else. I don't recall seeing a lineup without Mahaney starting anywhere, but I could be misremembering.

givony is the best nba scout right now so i'm giving his report a lot of weight

 

[navery12]

Correct. That's one guy. I'm talking about everyone else. I don't recall seeing a lineup without Mahaney starting anywhere, but I could be misremembering.

Borges also put out a starting lineup prediction without Mahaney. But I don't put much stock into any of these predictions with only 1 day of fall practice. Diarra was gonna start over Newton when they both got here, until game 1 lineups came out and it was Newton.

People seem to be really down on Mahaney on this board, but I think it's mostly just people conflating positive Ball quotes with being negative Mahaney quotes. I'd still be pretty surprised if Mahaney isn't starting, even if it's next to Ball

 

[Icehawk]

And we know that the starting lineup through (at least early) OOC play changes as the new/younger players gain real in-game experience. Last year we saw the lineup switch once we started getting deeper into the season and I'd expect to see similar this year.

 

[ec33]

givony is the best nba scout right now so i'm giving his report a lot of weight

Givony watched one practice and perhaps is judging by NBA potential instead of impact on the 2024/2025 UConn Huskies.

There is a ton of Ball talk so I won't be shocked if he starts, but there was a ton of Ball talk by commentators all last year, too.

 

[husky429]

Borges also put out a starting lineup prediction without Mahaney. But I don't put much stock into any of these predictions with only 1 day of fall practice. Diarra was gonna start over Newton when they both got here, until game 1 lineups came out and it was Newton.

People seem to be really down on Mahaney on this board, but I think it's mostly just people conflating positive Ball quotes with being negative Mahaney quotes. I'd still be pretty surprised if Mahaney isn't starting, even if it's next to Ball

Agreed.

 

[bendm]

And we know that the starting lineup through (at least early) OOC play changes as the new/younger players gain real in-game experience. Last year we saw the lineup switch once we started getting deeper into the season and I'd expect to see similar this year.

the starting lineup or the rotation? i dont recall a lineup change in either of the last 2 seasons unless youre referring to Ball/Castle which was due to Castles injury

 

[Icehawk]

Am I wrong? I thought the starting lineup had a few changes but maybe I am mistaken and it was mostly the bench order. Regardless, I do think Dan Hurley has matured as a coach and isn't afraid to shuffle players if he sees fit. I'm kinda expecting Diarra & Johnson to both start the season but either could be moved to 2nd team depending on how new players shakeout. I'd have a hard time believing we'd start a game with only AK as the vet at the beginning of the season but later on...

 

[mauconnfan]

Am I wrong? I thought the starting lineup had a few changes but maybe I am mistaken and it was mostly the bench order. Regardless, I do think Dan Hurley has matured as a coach and isn't afraid to shuffle players if he sees fit. I'm kinda expecting Diarra & Johnson to both start the season but either could be moved to 2nd team depending on how new players shakeout. I'd have a hard time believing we'd start a game with only AK as the vet at the beginning of the season but later on...

If Hassan and Mahaney start then there would be 2 more vets. Add Reed there would be 4 if with McNeeley. Will be interesting although I don’t think the first lineup thrown out game 1 will be the same as Jan-Feb.

 

[Icehawk]

I mean veteran of our team, that know the plans inside & out. I think we need at least 2 on the floor at the beginning. It's going to be an interesting season and we're almost there!

 

[UConnStats]

That's odd...I feel like I've seen very little starting lineup projections involving Mahaney lately - maybe right after he committed, but not much since as the reports on him have been a bit lackluster. To me, it seems like he is still finding his footing and will get better as the season goes along, but him being a starter feels like it would be surprising at this point.

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.

 

[gsmooth]

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.

I agree overall with the sentiment of your post. I don't know if Mahaney will be starting, but the delineation between starting and coming off the bench is a distinction without a difference. Mahaney will be getting at least 20 minutes a game.

 

[HuskyHawk]

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.

Hurley came out today and said that Alex is starting and that every other spot is an open competition. That sounds about right to me. He said Solo is the most improved Sophomore, so he might be better than Mahaney.

 

[husky429]

Hurley came out today and said that Alex is starting and that ever other spot is an open competition. That sounds about right to me. He said Solo is the most improved Sophomore, so he might be better than Mahaney.

It's definitely possible. He's got the mental and physical attributes if the stars have aligned.

If Solo is beating out the former best player on a top-25 team for a starting spot, our entire team is in good shape. That would be an absolutely bonkers level of improvement for him.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It's definitely possible. He's got the mental and physical attributes if the stars have aligned.

If Solo is beating out the former best player on a top-25 team for a starting spot, our entire team is in good shape. That would be an absolutely bonkers level of improvement for him.

I always try to remind myself that defense matters. For example, the logical backfill for Castle was Stewart, but Ball got the job despite being woefully undersized. Why? Well the wing defensive responsibilities in our offense are hard and varied depending on who was the 5. I always believed that Ball was ahead of Stew because nothing else made sense. Later, Stewart obviously figured things out.

With Mahaney, I wonder if he's 100% picked up the defensive responsibilities and rotations yet. Even if his offense is more polished, that might be enough.

 

[Mooch82]

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.

Mahaney starting be a given is a wild statement. He may, but it’s far from a given, especially at this point.

 

[Huskyforlife]

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.

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.

Mahaney could just start at point still, but it sounds like Solo became undeniable by all reports.

 

[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.