Addition by subtraction

[pnow15]

If we lose both Larrier and Alterique, could this team benefit?
Sounds really dumb, but I am liking what I see with Jackson, Adams, Vital and even(gulp) Purvis.
Maybe, the other guys were standing around deferring to Larrier's talent the first couple of games. Now that they know they are the show, maybe they will pick up their games.
Hey, you gotta hope. It's a long season.

 

[krinklecut]

No, we do not benefit from a shorter bench.

 

[Kitaman]

To me there is no benefit. We are down to 8 players and I'm not certain that Ollie can manage a depleted team.

Sure playing time and experience will increase but at what expense?

If those two and Diarra are out long term then we have to just be ready for 2017-2018 and enjoy Brimah, Facey and Purvis while we can.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Playing a lot can only benefit a guy like Enoch. It may be hard to watch at times but he won't improve from the bench.

 

[upstater]

Good defensive teams will stifle UConn's ballhandling and limit everything that UConn can do.

 

[EBonz30]

Just silly, lose two of our top players, really hurts.

 

[businesslawyer]

It's worse than just being down to 8 players. Four of them can only play the 4 or 5, and can't be asked to play the 3 for even a minute or two without it really hurting us. That means we only have 4 scholarship players for 3 positions and 120 minutes a game. I don't know how we even deal with normal foul trouble, much less illness or another injury.

This would have been a year where a walk on who you could ask to play 10 minutes a game without hurting you would be really, really helpful. A Dan Guest or that kid from Windsor who played off guard or something. Plus, because we get no scoring from any of our bigs against real competition, even finding a 2 or 3 who doesn't kill you only leaves you with two scoring options on the floor.

This is going to be very, very tough. Even if we were better individually and as a team, it is going to be very tough to get this mix of 8 through the year without Gilbert and Larrier if neither comes back. And Diarra wouldn't solve any of the major problems, as it only gives us more options at the 4 and 5.

 

[Horatio]

These are desperate times. Play the best available walk -on if it's neccessary and it might be necessary.

 

[tentoes4rings]

I think the OP makes a valid post in one respect. I see a big silver lining here for NEXT year. We know TL and Alterique can play. They're certainly two of our 3 best players. Vance, Vital, Durham, Enoch, etc getting huge minutes will really help their development for next year. Plus, it ensures TL will probably be back here next year, when it was probably likely he could go to the NBA after this year.

To reason that losing these two guys helps this year's squad in any way though is beyond ridiculous. An undermanned team without two of its 3 best players is never better off. Let's enjoy the development of all the young guys and hope for a huge bounce back season next year.

 

[80shusky]

No.

 

[UConn990411]

Addition by subtraction is definitely not the right phrase, but there could be some long-term benefits. Jalen potentially emerging is the big one (not ready to say he's there yet), and we could see some accelerated development for the likes of Jackson, Vital, Enoch, and Howard.

For this year, though? It's only a matter of time until it catches up with them, if it hasn't already.

 

[Huskyforlife]

If Jalen keeps this up, and nobody else gets hurt, you could make the case based on offensive output since they've been injured. But like everyone else has said, the short bench is a killer.

 

[huskyharry]

Also, it did seem like the team deferred to Larrier too much. But the depth at guard is wading pool shallow now.

 

[HuskyFich]

Let's worry about defense, not offense. We put up 90+ in b2b games

But we gave up 82 to Chaminade and 98 to Ok St.

This is gonna be a longggggggggggggggg year

 

[Chin Diesel]

Eight healthy players is enough to get through the season. IF,,,they are versatile. UConn's remaining right are not the ideal skillset to run an eight man rotation.

I expect zones on defense.

I am excited for the minutes Jackson, Vital, Durham and Enoch will get. I am really hoping to see chemistry between Enoch and Durham. They are the 4/5 for the next 2-3 years.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

Not enough guard depth. Can't have JA and RP playing 40 minutes,each game.
Think we can make up for the loss of Larrier pointswise.

 

[husky429]

8 man rotation?

1 freshman coming off two ACL tears;
1 gigantic sophomore who barely played last year;
2 freshman, one unheralded;
a streaky sophomore--could be the next Damien Lillard, could never play a second in the NBA;
a fallen-from-grace former McD's All-American. Must have killed him to not be "the man" like he dreamed of out of hs;
2 senior bigs who never put it all together.

Let's be that blue-collar team that everyone hates to play. This is UCONN basketball in the early 90s when we had no respect. Prove everyone wrong, boys. Get nasty and play together; no one respects this team any more, what do you have to lose?

I suspect we will see tremendous growth as this season goes on.

Will Adams adapt to being the focus of every team's defense? That's what separated GREAT uconn guards from the just good.
Will the freshman learn fast enough to put some Ws in the left hand column?
Will Enoch learn defense out of necessity? He is desperately needed now.
Will Durham's knees hold up?
Can Rodney consistently score for us?
Can we score enough? Defense has always been Ollie's forte.

We'll find out!

 

[David 76]

Don't think the OP meant it that way but that is a pretty insulting expression to anyone, especially if the subtraction is due to an injury.
But the loss of two of our most promising players is a big loss. Yeah, it will benefit Jackson and Vital so that is a silver lining.
As far as next year, everyone seems sure we can replace our seniors.
I'm not so sure. Purvis will be easier to substitute for than Brimah.
I know his limitations, but he is still the best we have. I don't see Carlton having as good a year and I see nothing to tell me Enoch will do it. I hope Durham really develops. Will Diarra even get a chance to develop this year? Our frontcourt is very limited but it could be worse next year.

 

[scotty0330]

Addition by subtraction no. But could this opportunity spur the growth of Adams, vitale and Jackson....quite possibly. All three will be required to play a ton and no one gets better riding pine. Almost certainly crippled whatever hopes we had of turning season around when conference play started. But come next year those three will have invaluable experience to draw upon.

 

[champs99and04]

Gilbert, no. Larrier, maybe.