Aidan Mahaney

[boog204]

Jayden Ross is the same height as Karaban yet you inexplicably leave him off our roster in every post you make and put other guys on the roster who aren't UConn players.

You're also leaving Singare off the team.

Because they are the 10th/11th/12th guys. I'm sorry, but there is zero chance we're going that deep. DH gets his 8 man rotation by BE season and it's not really going to vary.

 

[uconnbill]

I think we all can think what the minutes will be for each player but that will be decided by how they play not only as a team but also the ability to play defense which we know Hurley loves along with his cutting and passing.

I say let the chips fall as they may come this fall.

 

[UconnU]

Isn't Karaban Ukrainian?

Idk, I grew up with a family named the Karaban’s in Southern CT. I knew them to be Irish-Americans, so I assumed Alex was.

 

[superjohn]

Isn't Karaban Ukrainian?

His mom is Ukranian, his dad is Belarusian.

 

[uconnfan68]

Because they are the 10th/11th/12th guys. I'm sorry, but there is zero chance we're going that deep. DH gets his 8 man rotation by BE season and it's not really going to vary.

We went to 9 just 2 years ago. No reason to keep good players on the bench. The key is no dropoff in production.

 

[superjohn]

Because they are the 10th/11th/12th guys. I'm sorry, but there is zero chance we're going that deep. DH gets his 8 man rotation by BE season and it's not really going to vary.

You have no idea where they will be on the depth chart and you're not factoring in how good this staff is at developing players.

We don't even know what our roster is for next season.

 

[Improviser]

With Karaban, Murray, Hurley, Calhoun floating around….are we approaching too much Irish?

You forgot Tom Moore.

 

[Rico444]

His mom is Ukranian, his dad is Belarusian.

So definitely not Irish then.

 

[Rico444]

Idk, I grew up with a family named the Karaban’s in Southern CT. I knew them to be Irish-Americans, so I assumed Alex was.

It does sound Irish but I guess he isn't.

 

[FlexOnEm]

Rebounding

I’d argue Karaban and Clingan were slightly below average rebounders for their positions. All 3 of our starting guards picked up a lot of slack on the boards. No reason to believe next year’s team can’t do the same thing.

 

[Ricker]

Because they are the 10th/11th/12th guys. I'm sorry, but there is zero chance we're going that deep. DH gets his 8 man rotation by BE season and it's not really going to vary.

We had a full on 9 man rotation just 1 year ago when Diarra, Clingan, Joey, and Alleyne all played significant roles off the bench. Plus there are always games missed due to injury and illness where we need to go deeper in the bench. He isn't stuck on 8 players and does vary by season. When Akok and Gilbert(?) were down, playing 8 or 9 gets deep in the bench. Everybody counts on the team.

 

[bendm]

Jayden Ross is the same height as Karaban yet you inexplicably leave him off our roster in every post you make and put other guys on the roster who aren't UConn players.

You're also leaving Singare off the team.

we're projecting an 8 or 9 man rotation including the 2 or 3 guys we are currently linked with. i dont think Ross or Singare would crack it and i dont include Abraham either.

 

[superjohn]

So definitely not Irish then.

Correct

 

[FreeKlaiber]

We had a full on 9 man rotation just 1 year ago when Diarra, Clingan, Joey, and Alleyne all played significant roles off the bench. Plus there are always games missed due to injury and illness where we need to go deeper in the bench. He isn't stuck on 8 players and does vary by season. When Akok and Gilbert(?) were down, playing 8 or 9 gets deep in the bench. Everybody counts on the team.

Hass played 4 minutes total in the final four 1 year ago... it became an 8 man rotation, which is where hurley seems to land. He always talks about expanding bench, but it doesnt happen

clearly if there are injuries we will go deeper than 8

 

[KemBuckets21]

if you think of our current roster construction, we dont have a power forward (other than Samson, who is our starting center.) We have Reed, and..... thats it.... if karaban isnt back Jaylin becomes our 3rd biggest guy (i dont really see Singare getting more than Springs minutes)

we really do kind of need another real 4 (stretch 4 if you like), or we will be outmuscled/rebounded at times, especially since we dont have big guards like last yr

Agree - I'm just saying that is the most glaring weakness at a quick glance to that hypothetical roster. Clingan was a luxury on the glass, so we might need to expect some regression in that regard even if we do add another big.

 

[bendm]

What am I missing? A starting lineup of Diarra, Ball, Stewart, McNeeley, and Samson with Nowell, Mahoney, and Reed off the bench isn’t scary? That’s easily a top 10 team. Point out a weakness in that rotation.

well, for one, none of those guys are proven starters, and two, rebounding. everyone in our starting lineup this year was better at rebounding than whoever the second best rebounder in your projected lineup would be (stew or liam who you have listed as the PF).

 

[FreeKlaiber]

You have no idea where they will be on the depth chart and you're not factoring in how good this staff is at developing players.

W

you think Singare is breaking into our first 8? Barring foul trouble i dont know how he sees the floor, so he's 10 or 11 on roster, just like Springs.

 

[superjohn]

we're projecting an 8 or 9 man rotation including the 2 or 3 guys we are currently linked with. i dont think Ross or Singare would crack it and i dont include Abraham either.

You do this every offseason. This time last year you had Nick Timberlake getting 25 minutes per game and Andre Jackson Jr. getting 27.5 minutes per game.

I don't see the point until we at least have a team.

 

[superjohn]

you think Singare is breaking into our first 8? Barring foul trouble i dont know how he sees the floor, so he's 10 or 11 on roster, just like Springs.

Most likely no but we don't have any idea what our team is for next season. I expect Ross to improve a lot, he's a player.

 

[FlexOnEm]

well, for one, none of those guys are proven starters, and two, rebounding. i think our entire starting lineup this year was better at rebounding than whoever our second best rebounder in your projected lineup will be (stew or liam who you have listed as the PF).

You’re discounting player development. Did you know Jordan Hawkins would go on to be the best SG in the country one year after averaging 5ppg on 35% shooting with 14mpg? Diarra, Ball, Stewart, and Samson will not be the same players we saw last year. Newton, Hawkins, and Karaban weren’t proven starters on a top 3 UConn team of all-time just a year ago. They worked out okay.

 

[boog204]

We had a full on 9 man rotation just 1 year ago when Diarra, Clingan, Joey, and Alleyne all played significant roles off the bench. Plus there are always games missed due to injury and illness where we need to go deeper in the bench. He isn't stuck on 8 players and does vary by season. When Akok and Gilbert(?) were down, playing 8 or 9 gets deep in the bench. Everybody counts on the team.

Okay, I missed the 9th guy, you are correct on that... Regardless, I would be absolutely shocked if we're going 10 deep.

 

[KemBuckets21]

I’d argue Karaban and Clingan were slightly below average rebounders for their positions. All 3 of our starting guards picked up a lot of slack on the boards. No reason to believe next year’s team can’t do the same thing.

We did have good rebounding guards. I don't think we can reasonably expect Samson to come close to Clingan's rebounding numbers, Especially if he continues to be a hedge defender rather than play drop coverage. Maybe Reed can slide into the drop/best rebounder on the team role.

But to your point, we did have great rebounding guards last season.

 

[CL82]

Creighton says, you need rings, we got rings!

Creighton Elite 8 Rings

Wow, those are so much nicer than their field of 68 rings!

 

[bendm]

Newton, Hawkins, and Karaban weren’t proven starters on a top 3 UConn team of all-time just a year ago. They worked out okay.

sanogo and jackson were proven starters that returned in 2023. newton and karaban were proven starters that returned this past year. next year we have none. big difference.

 

[navery12]

Okay, I missed the 9th guy, you are correct on that... Regardless, I would be absolutely shocked if we're going 10 deep.

You weren't even wrong though, Diarra was the 9th man 2 years ago and he barely played down the stretch.

I can see Hurley going to 9 this year where (as of now) we'll have a lot less top end talent needing 30+ minutes but it's hard to see it going beyond that