Aidan Mahaney

[bendm]

Taliek Brown was another

My bad, 2 in 25

 

[navery12]

So who is a better fit for this team mahaney or brea? Working under the assumption that we get mcneeley commitment.

Talent wise Brea but there's more minutes for a guard to come in over a wing so for that reason I'll say Mahaney

 

[auror]

Brea is due for some regression and Mahaney is a more rounded overall offensive player. If all 5 starters are gone, we could probably use a bit more shot creation (Ball seems more like a shot finisher, whether dunk or 3 and Brea is definitely a finisher).

 

[Connecticut13]

You got Mahaney and McNeeley starting and Stew coming off the bench?

Yessir, if Karaban comes back. I know we all love Stew, but it seems to me that he’s best suited at the 4. I’d see him primarily backing up Karaban at the 4, with spot minutes at the 3.

 

[rip7774]

Taliek Brown was another

Was about to chime in on this. JC was really hoping to have KEA one more year to pass the torch onto Taliek. Think it would have helped Taliek a lot, but he obv still had a terrific run at PG on one of the most fun 4-year stretches for me as a fan.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This doesn't say anything about Hass or McNeeley. We need another guard as right now we only have Hass/Ball/Nowell on the roster for next year and Solo can't play pg. Mahaney fills a big need.

I know some will be surprised by this, I was watching him, but I think Ross is more guard than forward. We've had him bring the ball up and operate mostly in the backcourt. Think Guard in the Andre Jackson/Castle meaning of it.

 

[MrSec238]

He's a Hurley, though. His father started an 14 years old, 120 lbs freshman when they were the #1 team in the country back in the early 2000s. He also was the 2nd leading scorer on that team, too. So I say that to say this, if Nowell is ready, Hurley isn't going to be afraid to throw him to the wolves day one.

And if we go by his play in the Jordan Brand game, he definitely looks ready.

You get my point tho. Its never a bad thing to have three high end ball handlers. Whether Nowell is “ready” or not the way there would be balance would benefit him

 

[Deleted at users request]

I'd be shocked if Hass didn't come back. I'm sure Hurley has told him that either the starting 1 is his to lose and/or he'll be getting solid minutes (likely more than last season w/out Newton here logging big time minutes) as the team's sixth man again in the needed role of energizing the team, which sometimes needed a bit of a kick to run their motion offense more quickly and/or needing to attack the paint from the perimeter.

Hass was huge down the stretch knocking down kickout 3s, especially from the corners. He was pesty on D. He'll get plenty of PT when he returns. The freshman PG and whatever perimeter transfer they bring in will need time to adjust and learn Hurley's motion offense and complex defense, which Hass already knows.

By mid to latter season the newbies will hopefully have learned the system and the team will be even more deep than last season. They won't be as top heavy talented as last season, but likely have a couple more rotation players than the past two championship teams. Maybe I'm wrong and it will be predominantly 5 starter +3 rotation players, but I think Hurley will go deeper into the bench next season if we land 2 to 3 more contributors.

FWIW, from the post season interview Hurley did it seems like he likes the idea of Hass as a 6th man.

 

[NJHusky]

I know some will be surprised by this, I was watching him, but I think Ross is more guard than forward. We've had him bring the ball up and operate mostly in the backcourt. Think Guard in the Andre Jackson/Castle meaning of it.

That would help the front court rotation if AK comes back if he is serviceable in a combo guard role!

 

[AD DB Burner]

Diarra 25 / Nowell 15
McNeeley 10 / Ball 20 / Mahaney 10
Stewart 15 / McNeeley 15 / Mahaney 10
Karaban 30 / Stewart 10
Reed 20 / Johnson 20

30: Karaban
25: Diarra / McNeeley / Stewart
20: Ball / Mahaney / Reed / Johnson
15: Nowell

Mahaney isn’t coming here to play 20 minutes a game.

 

[Ricker]

Amazing that this staff is so tight lipped that a visit like this is already arranged and all our sleuthing had barely decerned that we had been one of the programs on the list that had reached out. Ever since the Dylan Cardwell ruse. (I'd still like to understand the story around that "visit"). Can I thus hope that Nolan Traore is also enroute for a visit? Lastly, is it a national secret when Aiden is visiting?

 

[Drame]

I know some will be surprised by this, I was watching him, but I think Ross is more guard than forward. We've had him bring the ball up and operate mostly in the backcourt. Think Guard in the Andre Jackson/Castle meaning of it.

I think Ross could be a two as well, maybe a 1. But yeah, mostly a three but the guy is a good passer. We'll see.

 

[ctchamps]

I know some will be surprised by this, I was watching him, but I think Ross is more guard than forward. We've had him bring the ball up and operate mostly in the backcourt. Think Guard in the Andre Jackson/Castle meaning of it.

Ross was a point guard until an eight inch growth spurt his sophomore or junior (?) year in high school.

Still working his way into this growth spurt.

 

[TheShot1990]

I know some will be surprised by this, I was watching him, but I think Ross is more guard than forward. We've had him bring the ball up and operate mostly in the backcourt. Think Guard in the Andre Jackson/Castle meaning of it.

I'm not surprised and have commented that if Ross can gain confidence and maturity, there's no reason he can't have a lil Castle-esque in his game next year. He can bring the ball up just like Steph, but has to add some slashing and slick passing to his game.

 

[Mr. French]

Unless people are ok with only having 2 legit ball handlers (diarra and Nowell) then it has to to be Mahaney

Thank you sir.

Brea is not committing if McNeeley does, by his choice OR the coaches…just my guess.

We need another handler and passer, Mahaney happens to also be able to shoot and do a little of everything.

 

[boog204]

I think Ross could be a two as well, maybe a 1. But yeah, mostly a three but the guy is a good passer. We'll see.

A 1? Really? He played like 12 minutes the whole year. I think the kid has some talent for sure but he's definitely going to get squeezed out again I'd imagine.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

We may be under selling Ball. I think the kid will come back balling.

 

[KembaRunner]

Nope

Wonder if he portals if we land a few of these guys

 

[KembaRunner]

I think this is the part a lot of people missed.

I’ve been devouring Dan Hurley content but i did not see said interview

 

[Hey Adrien!]

So who is a better fit for this team mahaney or brea? Working under the assumption that we get mcneeley commitment.

Mahaney brings more to the table than Brea.

Brea is an elite catch-and-shoot option. He hits 1/2 of his three-point attemps and over 80% of his field-goal attempts are from three.

Mahaney isn't as strong of a perimeter shooter as Brea (almost no one is), but can hit threes, but also score in a variety of ways. Out of the two, I'd prefer Mananey.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Ross isnt a 1 or 2....I think Stewart could play 2 better than Ross if need be (he's not really a 2 either). In a 4 out offense, the spots are kinda interchangeable, but I would feel scared if Ross was the 2 next to Hass or Nowell (or Traore ) Ross is a bouncy 3 and D with a really nice stroke and good energy.

 

[ThabeetDown]

We may be under selling Ball. I think the kid will come back balling.

I agree with this -- we easily forget. Go look at the game tape vs UNC -- 13 points (3-6 3P) -- his stroke is very good (even for a lefty). A full summer in the system/learning the offseason he can easily become a 10ppg+ scorer next season and be a great starting 2.

 

[Shine21]

I’ve been devouring Dan Hurley content but i did not see said interview

I think it was during the parade.

 

[dingaling]

If Diara isn't coming back it is because The staff recruited over his preferred role and couldn't convince him to take the lesser role. And I trust the staff - so like with Roumoglou, I would be sorry to see him leave, but wish him well.

Diarra is so awesome. He is not anything like Roumoglou leaving. He has been vital to this team. I would think they do everything possible to convince him to return and I doubt they are looking for someone to play over him. Looking for someone to play alongside him would make sense. He is a team first guy and I would bet he takes whatever role the staff thinks is best for him to fill.

 

[Gurleyman]

My bad, 2 in 25

Technically you could also say AJ Price. He hadn’t played yet, but had his medical condition and his suspension and was officially a sophomore since he lost a year of eligibility to the latter. If everything had gone according to plan, he’d have probably come off the bench - or maybe started at the 2 alongside Marcus - before taking over point guard duties.

Taliek also would have backed up Khalid for a year if Khalid came back. Taliek and AJ were part of teams that missed the tournament as first year point guards, so it shows it has never been the blueprint for short term success (Khalid had a good situation with the rest of the team returning around him, with Ricky to help shoulder the point guard burden).

 

[Tyler2Rings]

How about the possibility of an Aiden Mahaney/ Liam McNeeley tandem? The Irish in me would love that

 

[KemBuckets21]

How about the possibility of an Aiden Mahaney/ Liam McNeeley tandem? The Irish in me would love that

I like the idea of adding both. Have to imagine part of the pitch would be for heavy minutes for Mahaney, which would likely leave Solo coming off the bench. It's a point of contention on this board whether Solo is ready to start.

 

[AllHusky]

Khalid El Amin is the only freshmen starting PG we’ve had in 25 years. odds aren’t Nowell ain’t that

Huge El Amin fan, and I think Nowell is in his league. Huge Nowell fan also in case you didn't pick that up.
#W-W

 

[HooperScooper]

I’ve been devouring Dan Hurley content but i did not see said interview

Here's the quote.

“What (Diarra) envisions for himself next year in terms of role has got to be aligned with what ours is,” Hurley said. “I think what’s been effective for us the last two years is that the level of honesty has created great rosters. Because the players that didn’t align with what we viewed for them, they left, we brought in appropriate players in both years and then we won back-to-back championships. We’re just gonna tell the truth with players about where we see them, but we would like to return as many of the players as we can.”

Dan Hurley commits to UConn’s future, starts construction of 2024-25 roster as he hunts ‘three-peat’

Where UConn’s roster stands as a handful of players face potential NBA options and how coach Dan Hurley, committed to return, is building his next roster.

www.courant.com

 

[AllHusky]

I know some will be surprised by this, I was watching him, but I think Ross is more guard than forward. We've had him bring the ball up and operate mostly in the backcourt. Think Guard in the Andre Jackson/Castle meaning of it.

Need a Ross thread. Not much data obviously, but everyone seems so high on him. Bouncy as can be from what I've seen, just don't know what his role(s) project(s) Love to hear thoughts.

edit-saw some of them, sounds like no consensus