Adams and Gaffney

[businesslawyer]

Once again, with Bouk out, we're back to where we kept getting stuck in the down years after '16 -- not enough healthy guards. We're down to 3 -- Cole, Gaffney and Adams. Yes, we got some minutes with Martin playing the 2 against DePaul, and he can presumably provide some minutes there, but is he really be going to able to handle a Villanova 2 defensively?

The bottom line is we need more out of Adams and Gaffney, who are each going to have to play 25 minutes a game. In Gaffney's case, he only needs to score when opportunities are there, but he has to be less "deer in the headlights" as he was the first half of last season and so far this year, and far more comfortable running the show and taking something if it's given to him.

Adams has to score more. You can deal with your off guard scoring the 7 points (IIRC) he had against Butler, but not the 3 he had against DePaul. He has to be able to contribute on some level to our offense every game now. I have no clue if he's going to be able to do it.

You have 13 scholarships. You need to carry a 5th scholarship guard, even if it's a grad transfer not quite up to your level but there if you need to break the glass, or a freshman who was recruited to sit and learn for a year before they are ready to start competing for minutes. I don't understand why we constantly end up starting with 4 guards and hoping none of them get hurt.

 

[aburks41]

No offense to Adams but I don't want him shooting the ball more. Driving to the hoop, sure. Leave the 3's to Polley, Martin, and hopefully Cole can heat up

 

[Palatine]

Wouldn't Dre qualify as a guard/small forward player ala RIP? Not comparing them as players just as position fillers. Andre Jackson, Connecticut Huskies, Shooting Guard

 

[MexicoHusky]

Obviously we will not be as good, but this should force some growth out of those 2.

 

[LIuconn]

Really need our PG's to be able to get by their man and collapse a defense to set up a BAdams or TP 3 ball they can step into. Polley can hit them in transition which we might have to lean on, though he's bound to cool off at some point

 

[husky429]

Adams should not have the green light to shoot more. He's prone to ridiculous hero ball as it is.

Gaffney needs to shoot more--He leaves open shots on the floor constantly.

Both of them need to get to the rim more aggressively.

 

[JB75]

I don’t really want either one of those dudes shooting much. Maybe Adams on the off Chance his “once every 6 games” three point shot is falling. I think our best bet is still obviously Polley / hope cole heats up(it’s time now) and Martin. Kinda crazy that out of all three of our guards available now- 2 have regressed (Adams gaff) and 1 has not shown what was expected(Cole). Can one of u Guys have a breakout game please? I still have faith in RJ tho. Let’s go!!!

 

[UconnU]

They made a mistake with the roster construction where they left themselves a guard short. I theorize this is because they thought Dre was going to play guard/wing but he A physically looks and moves more like a forward and B got injured.

I like the idea of giving Andrew some run, maybe 5-7 minutes per. Have him be an extension of his father on the floor, the smartest player on the floor. We have enough pieces underneath that if he gets beat on D we can make up for it.

 

[ucp990411]

You must be joking. Young Andrew is not even close to competing at our level.

 

[navery12]

I like the idea of giving Andrew some run, maybe 5-7 minutes per. Have him be an extension of his father on the floor, the smartest player on the floor. We have enough pieces underneath that if he gets beat on D we can make up for it.

I didn't think I'd find a take I disagreed with more than saying Brendan Adams should shoot more but here we are

 

[CTBasketball]

The team will rise to the occasion.

 

[husky429]

I like the idea of giving Andrew some run, maybe 5-7 minutes per. Have him be an extension of his father on the floor, the smartest player on the floor. We have enough pieces underneath that if he gets beat on D we can make up for it.

There are 350 division 1 basketball schools in this country and exactly 0 of the 1500+ head coaches and assistants thought Andrew Hurley was good enough to play for them on a scholarship. This take is at nuclear fusion levels of hot.

 

[UconnU]

There are 350 division 1 basketball schools in this country and exactly 0 of the 1500+ head coaches and assistants thought Andrew Hurley was good enough to play for them on a scholarship. This take is at nuclear fusion levels of hot.

I agree it’s not ideal but we’re heading into a 10 game in 31 day stretch with 3 active guards. They’re going to beat up our guards knowing how short we are. We can find spot minutes for a placeholder to get our guards some rest.

 

[Psolo12]

I agree it’s not ideal but we’re heading into a 10 game in 31 day stretch with 3 active guards. They’re going to beat up our guards knowing how short we are. We can find spot minutes for a placeholder to get our guards some rest.

Please stop

 

[Get a Job]

They made a mistake with the roster construction where they left themselves a guard short. I theorize this is because they thought Dre was going to play guard/wing but he A physically looks and moves more like a forward and B got injured.

I like the idea of giving Andrew some run, maybe 5-7 minutes per. Have him be an extension of his father on the floor, the smartest player on the floor. We have enough pieces underneath that if he gets beat on D we can make up for it.

What makes you think he would be the smartest player on the floor?

 

[businesslawyer]

1. We saw enough of Jackson pre-injury to know that, at least at the moment, he's not a guard. He could probably guard a 2, but he doesn't have a shot yet.

2. It's great when you have walk ons who can give you 7 minutes without hurting you too much. Calhoun always seemed to have one who you could play for a few minutes and he'd look up to level because you could hide his deficiencies. I have no clue if Hurley's son can or can't. But unlike others, given his lineage he did not fail to get a scholarship offer because he fell through the cracks.

3. I don't want Brendan Adams points to go up because he gets 10 points from 14 shots rather than 5 from 7. I want him to friggin make more of the shots he takes. We know from last year he is capable of more offensively than he has given us the last few games (other than the Butler game).

 

[Umami Zen]

Given the injury situation and roster construction as it exists right now.. Maybe Dan Hurley/staff can create viable and effective lineups that emphasize our Bigs more than a heavy orientation towards Small Ball. Fouls/Game situations/match ups obviously all play into it but I would think that we would need to protect our guards from foul trouble and letting them catch a quick rest on the bench.. The team on the court may need to look a bit different for a few weeks.. Would be nice to see AA start to catch his stride while JB/AJ are healing.

Not optimal .. Time for the depth that we have talked about to show itself.. No other choice..

 

[ucp990411]

They made a mistake with the roster construction where they left themselves a guard short. I theorize this is because they thought Dre was going to play guard/wing but he A physically looks and moves more like a forward and B got injured.

I like the idea of giving Andrew some run, maybe 5-7 minutes per. Have him be an extension of his father on the floor, the smartest player on the floor. We have enough pieces underneath that if he gets beat on D we can make up for it.

Is that you Mrs Hurley?

 

[ucp990411]

1. We saw enough of Jackson pre-injury to know that, at least at the moment, he's not a guard. He could probably guard a 2, but he doesn't have a shot yet.

2. It's great when you have walk ons who can give you 7 minutes without hurting you too much. Calhoun always seemed to have one who you could play for a few minutes and he'd look up to level because you could hide his deficiencies. I have no clue if Hurley's son can or can't. But unlike others, given his lineage he did not fail to get a scholarship offer because he fell through the cracks.

3. I don't want Brendan Adams points to go up because he gets 10 points from 14 shots rather than 5 from 7. I want him to friggin make more of the shots he takes. We know from last year he is capable of more offensively than he has given us the last few games (other than the Butler game).

What walk ons other than EJ Harrison played any meaningful minute?

 

[businesslawyer]

What walk ons other than EJ Harrison played any meaningful minute?

I'm not talking about regularly -- I'm talking about for a few games when needed.

There was an undersized power forward out of Southington I believe in the late aughts, who gave us some decent minutes when shorthanded. An off guard from I think Windsor, who early in a conference game blew by someone off the dribble for a lay in a few years later. And the UConn grad student French walk on Sami something, who ended up being our back up point the year we lost to N.C State in Worcester in the tourney. Just off the top of my head.

 

[Umami Zen]

I'm not talking about regularly -- I'm talking about for a few games when needed.

There was an undersized power forward out of Southington I believe in the late aughts, who gave us some decent minutes when shorthanded. An off guard from I think Windsor, who early in a conference game blew by someone off the dribble for a lay in a few years later. And the UConn grad student French walk on Sami something, who ended up being our back up point the year we lost to N.C State in Worcester in the tourney. Just off the top of my head.

Too bad Matt Garry is also injured.. He might have been able to help for a few minutes..

 

[Matrim55]

You have 13 scholarships. You need to carry a 5th scholarship guard, even if it's a grad transfer not quite up to your level but there if you need to break the glass, or a freshman who was recruited to sit and learn for a year before they are ready to start competing for minutes. I don't understand why we constantly end up starting with 4 guards and hoping none of them get hurt.

Yeah, this is my biggest gripe with the Hurley era so far. It's almost like b/c he never had a shot at landing NBA-potential bigs with URI that he's now overdosing on them now with us at the expense of having a more balanced squad.

Let's hope he learns from this, but five guards -- three of them being guys who can play the point -- are a necessity. We should know this by now.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I agree it’s not ideal but we’re heading into a 10 game in 31 day stretch with 3 active guards. They’re going to beat up our guards knowing how short we are. We can find spot minutes for a placeholder to get our guards some rest.

I don't think you're appreciating the gap in ability and athleticism between a walk on and even a rotation guy like Brendan Adams. There’s a reason the bench freaks out when a walk on scores.

 

[3rdbass]

Once again, with Bouk out, we're back to where we kept getting stuck in the down years after '16 -- not enough healthy guards. We're down to 3 -- Cole, Gaffney and Adams. Yes, we got some minutes with Martin playing the 2 against DePaul, and he can presumably provide some minutes there, but is he really be going to able to handle a Villanova 2 defensively?

The bottom line is we need more out of Adams and Gaffney, who are each going to have to play 25 minutes a game. In Gaffney's case, he only needs to score when opportunities are there, but he has to be less "deer in the headlights" as he was the first half of last season and so far this year, and far more comfortable running the show and taking something if it's given to him.

Adams has to score more. You can deal with your off guard scoring the 7 points (IIRC) he had against Butler, but not the 3 he had against DePaul. He has to be able to contribute on some level to our offense every game now. I have no clue if he's going to be able to do it.

You have 13 scholarships. You need to carry a 5th scholarship guard, even if it's a grad transfer not quite up to your level but there if you need to break the glass, or a freshman who was recruited to sit and learn for a year before they are ready to start competing for minutes. I don't understand why we constantly end up starting with 4 guards and hoping none of them get hurt.

I think Martin can defend the 2 better than Adams. Adams gets beat off the dribble all the time.

 

[3rdbass]

Yeah, this is my biggest gripe with the Hurley era so far. It's almost like b/c he never had a shot at landing NBA-potential bigs with URI that he's now overdosing on them now with us at the expense of having a more balanced squad.

Let's hope he learns from this, but five guards -- three of them being guys who can play the point -- are a necessity. We should know this by now.

Well technically we did have 5 guards/SF but now 2 are injured.

 

[Matrim55]

Well technically we did have 5 guards/SF but now 2 are injured.

He didn't. Martin & Jackson are 3/4s in the modern game, not 2/3s.

Next year's roster will be more balanced with RJ, Jalen and 'Shool as 1s, Brenden as a combo and Hawkins as a pure SG. Martin & Jackson will just be full-time forwards, as they should be.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I like this.

The Drew Hurley Countdown to playing time watch has commenced.

Lots of strong hot takes in this thread. Someone or Someones is going to be eating some crow.

I was on record at beginning of season of saying I thought Drew was going to get more minutes this year than Brown. Right now Brown is up 4 minutes to 3 minutes. I think Brown is done with minutes though. Also, I probably wussed out and said "might" or "wouldn't surprise me" but it's still a simmering take which isn't over yet.

 

[3rdbass]

He didn't. Martin & Jackson are 3/4s in the modern game, not 2/3s.

Next year's roster will be more balanced with RJ, Jalen and 'Shool as 1s, Brenden as a combo and Hawkins as a pure SG. Martin & Jackson will just be full-time forwards, as they should be.

Martin has the 2 tools too. He is just a big guard. Don't get stuck in positions. He really shouldn't be playing the 4. He is really a 2/3 who can play the 4 since we didn't have anyone who could play the 4 until Polley stepped up. Either way he can definitely guard 2-4 and possibly 1 at time. Good thing AJ Cole has been a great defender on 1's.

 

[UconnFanDC]

Once again, with Bouk out, we're back to where we kept getting stuck in the down years after '16 -- not enough healthy guards. We're down to 3 -- Cole, Gaffney and Adams. Yes, we got some minutes with Martin playing the 2 against DePaul, and he can presumably provide some minutes there, but is he really be going to able to handle a Villanova 2 defensively?

The bottom line is we need more out of Adams and Gaffney, who are each going to have to play 25 minutes a game. In Gaffney's case, he only needs to score when opportunities are there, but he has to be less "deer in the headlights" as he was the first half of last season and so far this year, and far more comfortable running the show and taking something if it's given to him.

Adams has to score more. You can deal with your off guard scoring the 7 points (IIRC) he had against Butler, but not the 3 he had against DePaul. He has to be able to contribute on some level to our offense every game now. I have no clue if he's going to be able to do it.

You have 13 scholarships. You need to carry a 5th scholarship guard, even if it's a grad transfer not quite up to your level but there if you need to break the glass, or a freshman who was recruited to sit and learn for a year before they are ready to start competing for minutes. I don't understand why we constantly end up starting with 4 guards and hoping none of them get hurt.

We just need everyone to step up period. Whaley has been the only other consistent player to complement Bouk. Even if guards can't handle Nova, let's dominate in other areas and get consistency from all

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You only really NEED 2 or 3 guards if the other team is pressing. I honestly didn't understand why Hurley has been playing so much small ball this year because we are better with bigger lineups. Gaff and Adams are decent backups, but they should not be playing 20+ minutes.

I would play Cole, Gaff and Adams about 70 minutes a game, play Martin the other 10 at 2, and rotate Martin, Polley, Carlton, Whalley and Sanogo at the other 3 spots.

Sanogo looks like he has dropped about 10 pounds since November, so he can cover slower 4's, which means we can play him in short stretches with Carlton.