AJ at the 4

[WhereistheDove?]

Yeah. That's a solid example.

The Dham example also makes me further question the 'Jackson is a PG' discussion. DHam was a better ball handler and passer than Jackson. And yet, I don't remember claims that Dham should be PG. Or claims that he will be a PG at the next level. Dham was just a swing player with above average handle and passing. So why the claims that Jackson is a PG.

Repeat after me. No one here thinks that Andre Jackson should or will be the main point guard next year.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Repeat after me. No one here thinks that Andre Jackson should or will be the main point guard next year.

But it’s absurd to say that Hamilton is a better ball handler. Not even close. Jackson is a much, much better ball handler. Hamilton was a point forward with more limited athleticism but better shooting skills. Jackson really is a big guard that just doesn’t have a jump shot.

 

[mauconnfan]

But it’s absurd to say that Hamilton is a better ball handler. Not even close. Jackson is a much, much better ball handler. Hamilton was a point forward with more limited athleticism but better shooting skills. Jackson really is a big guard that just doesn’t have a jump shot.

Better shooter yeah but that was a weakness for him as well. Remember his final season as a Husky he had a stretch where he shot an awful 30% or so from everywhere on the court had a lid on the basket. But yeah overall he was a better more capable shooter and a far better scorer. Not quite as good a ball handler as AJ but certainly as good or better ball handler in traffic. I mean he got to the hole and scored a lot more than AJ this far and you need a handle to do that as he began on the perimeter most of the time.

Good comparison and we’d hope AJ can find some of his getting to the rim game starting this coming year.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Better shooter yeah but that was a weakness for him as well. Remember his final season as a Husky he had a stretch where he shot an awful 30% or so from everywhere on the court had a lid on the basket. But yeah overall he was a better more capable shooter and a far better scorer. Not quite as good a ball handler as AJ but certainly as good or better ball handler in traffic. I mean he got to the hole and scored a lot more than AJ this far and you need a handle to do that as he began on the perimeter most of the time.

Good comparison and we’d hope AJ can find some of his getting to the rim game starting this coming year.

Yeah, he could get to the rim. Better finisher for sure, despite not having the same hops. But he couldn’t quite play fast or dribble fast like AJ. He was an odd player, sort of calm and in slow motion at times, just read the floor so well. Really wish he stayed but he did get drafted.

As for the “small ball” stuff, looked at the Bucks lineup today. 6’9, 6’11, 7’0” (and all well built) with 6’3” and 6’4” guards. They are as big as the 80’s Celtics teams.

 

[bendm]

As for the “small ball” stuff, looked at the Bucks lineup today. 6’9, 6’11, 7’0” (and all well built) with 6’3” and 6’4” guards. They are as big as the 80’s Celtics teams.

good grief. as if this has any applicability to our roster next season.

the only traditional big among the 3 you listed is portis. lopez is a stretch 5 and giannis is the best basketball player in the world.

i'd love if samson or karaban are good enough to start but right now it looks like 4 of our 5 best players are Gs so they should all start until proven otherwise.

 

[HuskyHawk]

good grief. as if this has any applicability to our roster next season.

the only traditional big among the 3 you listed is portis. lopez is a stretch 5 and giannis is the best basketball player in the world.

i'd love if samson or karaban are good enough to start but right now it looks like 4 of our 5 best players are Gs so they should all start until proven otherwise.

No, it doesn't look like that at all. We have no idea how good these guys are or how good Johnson and Karaban will be. We certainly don't know who else is coming or how good they are, but I doubt they will be better than anybody on the roster now other than Springs. I can't even confidently say that Hawkins is better than Johnson or Karaban, just that he got minutes because we had nobody else and has nice potential.

Even if we add guys, there is good chance they are Gaffney level at best. In which case, I'd want a quality CG/wing like Alleyne coming off the bench so we don't have the problems we had last year.

 

[NotADime89]

No, it doesn't look like that at all. We have no idea how good these guys are or how good Johnson and Karaban will be. We certainly don't know who else is coming or how good they are, but I doubt they will be better than anybody on the roster now other than Springs. I can't even confidently say that Hawkins is better than Johnson or Karaban, just that he got minutes because we had nobody else and has nice potential.

Even if we add guys, there is good chance they are Gaffney level at best. In which case, I'd want a quality CG/wing like Alleyne coming off the bench so we don't have the problems we had last year.

You can't confidently say Hawk is better than Samson based on what we saw this season when Samson was on the court? Stop it

 

[HuskyHawk]

You can't confidently say Hawk is better than Samson based on what we saw this season when Samson was on the court? Stop it

No, because Samson barely played. Hawk was, in his early minutes, horrifically bad on defense and he missed most of his shots. Do we not remember how disappointing he was early on? He was given time to play through that and got much better. I expect the same would have happened for Johnson.

 

[NotADime89]

No, because Samson barely played. Hawk was, in his early minutes, horrifically bad on defense and he missed most of his shots. Do we not remember how disappointing he was early on? He was given time to play through that and got much better. I expect the same would have happened for Johnson.

So you are admitting Hawk is better than Samson. All of your Samson comments are "what if's". We saw what Hawk is capable of and how much he improved by the end of the season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So you are admitting Hawk is better than Samson. All of your Samson comments are "what if's". We saw what Hawk is capable of and how much he improved by the end of the season.

Better? No. He played more, so I have greater information. Until a guy plays significant minutes I don't know if he's good or not. Johnson could be the best player on the team. Karaban might be. Who the hell knows? And no, I don't buy "if he was that good he'd play", because Hurley has pretty consistently misjudged players so far.

 

[AntG168]

Better? No. He played more, so I have greater information. Until a guy plays significant minutes I don't know if he's good or not. Johnson could be the best player on the team. Karaban might be. Who the hell knows? And no, I don't buy "if he was that good he'd play", because Hurley has pretty consistently misjudged players so far.

Man your putting a lot of pressure on Samson Johnson. After this campaign of yours you’d better hope he’s what you think he is next season

 

[navery12]

Better? No. He played more, so I have greater information. Until a guy plays significant minutes I don't know if he's good or not. Johnson could be the best player on the team. Karaban might be. Who the hell knows? And no, I don't buy "if he was that good he'd play", because Hurley has pretty consistently misjudged players so far.

Piece of advice, when you're in a huge hole stop digging

 

[NotADime89]

And no, I don't buy "if he was that good he'd play", because Hurley has pretty consistently misjudged players so far.

Pretty consistently misjudged players? Are you referring to Diggins who took a huge step down to UMass and Floyd who you haven't seen play a minute of college basketball yet?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Man your putting a lot of pressure on Samson Johnson. After this campaign of yours you’d better hope he’s what you think he is next season

Yep. If he (or Karaban) doesn't do the job (if given legitimate minutes) then I'll own the fail. I don't have a problem with that. My concern with AJ at the 4 is that it's Dan once again trying to force a lineup and over-correcting his own past mistakes. The team would be too small, and wouldn't have a chance to compete for anything meaningful. So if, as others say, our best lineup has Jackson at the 4, then our best lineup isn't going to be very good.

He mentioned his URI teams and how he lacked a center. Sorry, no. Those URI teams lacked more than a center. That can't be the vision for UConn basketball, URI but with better centers. That team isn't winning a 5th championship.

 

[superjohn]

You can't confidently say Hawk is better than Samson based on what we saw this season when Samson was on the court? Stop it

You're talking to HuskyHawk, Akok is Garnett and Samson is Dirk.

 

[HuskyHawk]

You're talking to HuskyHawk, Akok is Garnett and Samson is Dirk.

I gave you a like, but come on, Samson is obviously Garnett. Akok is Dominique Wilkins.