Alex Karaban Potential | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Alex Karaban Potential

Taking his game to the next level if going to require some big steps in his development. Ability to drive and finish (especially off one foot) would make a lot of these bold predictions more likely.

Considering his trajectory so far, I have no reason to believe he won't put in the work to be an all-conference 2nd team type of player.
 
Would be advantageous if AK could become a strong secondary rebounder to DC..esp. on the defensive boards.. Could easily see him becoming a threat with outlet passes to the guards/wings on transition/fast break opportunities.. Nadav-like..

All about who he's on the floor with and what is needed by Dan Hurley/game situations.. His BBIQ and adaptability are among his greatest assets.
 
uconn_jack said:
I'm going to be the contrarian here, I think he'll have a bit of a sophomore slump, better than last year, with flashes of brilliance, especially toward the end of the season, but I think he struggles for a while being the center of attention and won't be as successful as we all expect/hope.
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I won't disagree with you. I based my numbers on him having some up and down games in the early season and a rougher start to conference play but really finding his groove from February on out. Once Karaban seems to figure something out, he becomes really efficient at doing it.

Very loosely, you could compare it to how Hawkins started his sophomore year and how he finished it.
 
wingsfan055 said:
His most similar comp is N. Jokic from Denver. Same body type, size and wingspan. Both good passers and shooters. Can play both the inside and outside game. Neither are particularly fast, but are quick and agile enough with their feet.
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AntG168 said:
What?
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baseball joke GIF
 
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Offensively, I think his biggest area of opportunity would be to take the ball in the mid/high post and go make a play, whether it's a shot or pass. He showed a bit of this towards the end of last season, and he did it in high school, so it's definitely in his bag already. I actually think a big step in his potential as an NBA prospect would be to be able to improve his athleticism to be able to play some SF. He's certainly not going to be a low post big man, so improving his agility to play faster on the wing would be great for him. He's already a nearly perfect stretch 4 shooting 40%, so improvement there is limited (in a good way)

We all know his defense improved throughout the season, but obviously getting quicker and stronger would help, and is expected. It feels strange for me to say he needs to get quicker and play on the wing but also get stronger to hold his own against other PFs, but if he could find a balance between the two then that would make him REALLY tough to handle on both ends of the court

Stats prediction - 13/5/3
 
pj said:
I like the Sam Dekker comp, although Alex is a better shooter and if he can remake his body and keep improving skills his ceiling will be higher. That Wisconsin 2014-15 team is a great comp for next year's UConn team: 2014-15 Wisconsin Badgers Men 's Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. A lot will depend on how quickly the freshman develop and build chemistry with the returning core.
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While true that Dekker is white, he was also a run and jump athlete….which is the antithesis of how Karaban creates his advantages
 
Yankees32123 said:
Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan = Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky
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That is a nice comparison. I think our two may have a little more athleticism (and in DC's case, size), which should give each a higher ceiling.
 
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Dekker and Karaban's stats are pretty similar in their respective freshman years. Dekker had a higher usage and had more of a playmaking role, but their splits are pretty close otherwise (Karaban a better FT shooter) and I think Karaban should develop more into that playmaking as he gets more opportunity. Not a bad comp.

Kaminsky and Clingan? Not as good.
 
We talked a lot about how Alex played better against opponents the second time around. If that holds true his sophomore season should be great
 
We were so good at the end of the season that it felt like AK had a ton of unused inventory. He could have scored more if needed but since everyone else was doing the job his number wasn't called as much as it might have.
 
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Rico444 said:
Karaban has been a revelation. You never see freshmen as composed and improve as quickly as he did. He hesitated briefly when taking a late 3 against Seton Hall and missed the shot in a game we lost at the buzzer, and he noted that and said he wouldn't hesitate to take the shot ever again. We all saw what happened from that point on. He also started driving the ball to the hoop with great success late in the season.

One thing I'd like to see Alex do more is take advantage of size mismatches by posting up more often. He's such a great passer that it can either lead to a high percentage shot near the rim or an open look from outside if the defense collapses on him.
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I’d just like to continue to push back at the notion that we don’t usually see Alex out of freshmen.

Instead, I’d say he followed a good tradition we usually have of having freshman that our composed and ready to play and step up in big moments.

He was so reliable in his role last year and I’m looking forward to seeing that grow.
 
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He can already put so much pressure on a defense due to his skill set & high IQ. His willingness to drive & finish at the rim really took his game to another level towards the end of last season. Highly skilled, has a great bball IQ, great length & solid athleticism. AJax & others have already attested to his upside potential. I think he’ll have to adjust to being the primary focal point of an offense next season, but IMO, he’s got an NBA future down the line.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
I’d just like to continue to push back at the notion that we don’t usually see Alex out of freshmen.

Instead, I’d say he followed a good tradition we usually have of having freshman that our composed and ready to play and step up in big moments.

He was so reliable in his role last year and I’m looking forward to seeing that grow.
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I don't know, what he did was pretty special even among the great freshmen we've seen. He lead a national championship team in minutes per game. As a freshman! Even Jeremy Lamb, one of the few freshmen I'd put up there with Alex as far as freshmen go, didn't play a ton early in the season. Shabazz came off the bench and was more of a sparkplug. I was too young to have watched enough of Khalid's freshman year to really know the impact he had, but from what I heard it was great. So I'd say Karaban, Khalid, and Lamb in no particular order are in a class amongst themselves when it comes to freshmen in this program.
 
Rico444 said:
I don't know, what he did was pretty special even among the great freshmen we've seen. He lead a national championship team in minutes per game. As a freshman! Even Jeremy Lamb, one of the few freshmen I'd put up there with Alex as far as freshmen go, didn't play a ton early in the season. Shabazz came off the bench and was more of a sparkplug. I was too young to have watched enough of Khalid's freshman year to really know the impact he had, but from what I heard it was great. So I'd say Karaban, Khalid, and Lamb in no particular order are in a class amongst themselves when it comes to freshmen in this program.
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If winning a National Championship is the only way to make the list than yeah, AK is in a rare class of freshmen.

Alex Karaban is GREAT, but he played the third most minutes (behind Hawkins and Andre) and was at the end of the day the 4th or 5th option on a team compared to a guy like Jeremy Lamb being the 2nd option.

We’ve had other guys who’s had remarkable freshman years too without the championship. I don’t want to discount how great they were because they didn’t win it all. Kemba put on a show in that elite 8 his freshman year which may have been one of our best freshmen performances in the tourney ever. (Not old enough to remember the 90s, but more than happy to relive them if there’s others!)

Boatright was amazing his freshman year averaging 30 minutes a game even though the team didn’t win much. I just want to respect those guys when we talk about freshman who were composed and stepped up in big moments just like Alex. Because we’ve had a lot of them. And it’s great to see Alex follow along in that line while also winning the NC.
 
Rico444 said:
Karaban has been a revelation. You never see freshmen as composed and improve as quickly as he did. He hesitated briefly when taking a late 3 against Seton Hall and missed the shot in a game we lost at the buzzer, and he noted that and said he wouldn't hesitate to take the shot ever again. We all saw what happened from that point on. He also started driving the ball to the hoop with great success late in the season.

One thing I'd like to see Alex do more is take advantage of size mismatches by posting up more often. He's such a great passer that it can either lead to a high percentage shot near the rim or an open look from outside if the defense collapses on him.
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Excellent points. I think we can respect other freshmen performances and still appreciate what Alex did.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
If winning a National Championship is the only way to make the list than yeah, AK is in a rare class of freshmen.

Alex Karaban is GREAT, but he played the third most minutes (behind Hawkins and Andre) and was at the end of the day the 4th or 5th option on a team compared to a guy like Jeremy Lamb being the 2nd option.

We’ve had other guys who’s had remarkable freshman years too without the championship. I don’t want to discount how great they were because they didn’t win it all. Kemba put on a show in that elite 8 his freshman year which may have been one of our best freshmen performances in the tourney ever. (Not old enough to remember the 90s, but more than happy to relive them if there’s others!)

Boatright was amazing his freshman year averaging 30 minutes a game even though the team didn’t win much. I just want to respect those guys when we talk about freshman who were composed and stepped up in big moments just like Alex. Because we’ve had a lot of them. And it’s great to see Alex follow along in that line while also winning the NC.
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We can agree to disagree on this. Those other guys were really good as freshmen and I don't think it's disrespectful to say that Karaban's year was at a slightly higher level.
 
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Karaban's biggest strengths are that he's a smart and efficient player. I don't think Hurley will put him in a role where he'll be asked to sacrifice any of that efficiency.

Offensively, he's great at providing spacing and not afraid to slip to the basket if his defender falls asleep. He'll probably shoot a few more shots a game, and definitely a few more 3's with Hawkins gone, but I don't think his game is built around being any sort of high-volume guy. I think he's the perfect guy to have on the roster with a bunch of freshmen coming in since he can impact the game through his shooting, on the glass, and by rotating the ball quickly, without needing a ton of touches. If he develops any ability to put the ball on the floor, he will be a really versatile offensive weapon.

Defensively, I think he really stepped up last year. With any added strength, he'll be able to defend basically any 4 in the conference in my opinion. He got punked by Bryce Hopkins in the first PC game last year and took it personally. He completely changed the way he defended, and by the latter half of the year, I was really impressed with him. I'd still be concerned that he lacks foot speed to guard most 3's and certain stretch 4's, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

I think he'll probably take about 12 shots a game (got 7 this year) and average around 15ppg. Wouldn't be surprised if the 3-point % drops a bit with teams not having to chase Hawkins around, but I think there's room to be more efficient on his 2-point attempts so it might be a wash. I agree with most of the posters in here that 15/6/3 seems very doable for him honestly. I don't think he'll shoot enough to average much more than that, but it'll be interesting to see what his role is on the new-look roster.
 
El Obrero said:
What’s funny? Jokic was the 41st pick in the NBA draft. I could see AK doing better than that in a year or two…
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Jokic is a 2x MVP and 5x All NBA player. Karaban is going to be an amazing college basketball player and I fully expect him to carve out a long NBA career, but I think we can all agree it's pretty unlikely he hits those marks
 
AntG168 said:
Just to take a break from transfers/recruiting and conference realignment…….Another thread prompted me to think about this. How good can Alex Karaban be this season? What are our expectations?

Just thinking about it today, I think he has the potential to crash the BE POY discussion this season. I think he’s still being overlooked a little.

What say you?
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Duncan Robinson
 
wingsfan055 said:
His most similar comp is N. Jokic from Denver. Same body type, size and wingspan. Both good passers and shooters. Can play both the inside and outside game. Neither are particularly fast, but are quick and agile enough with their feet.
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He's a lot better than Jokic.
 
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