Anderson and Vital Off The Bench

[Chin Diesel]

I like bringing these two off the bench.

A few reasons.

First, they have both shown they can be productive off the bench. Like it or not, not all players can perform well coming off the bench. I'll call it now that they combine to average at least 16 ppg for the season.
Second, versatility. Vital has shown he can be effective at the SF "position" in a 3-guard set. He rebounds and brings toughness. Anderson can spell either Adams or Gilbert and shift between PG and SG as necessary.
Finally, rest for all. Both of these two can be productive for 20 mpg which gives much needed relief regardless of the rotation.

UConn has shown it has four productive guards at the D1 level. All but Gilbert can play either PG or SG and be effective in a3-guard sets. Those who want a clear delineation of "Alpha" and the subordinates will be frustrated. Adams and Gilbert aren't that player and Anderson and Vital aren't that player. Combined they are plenty good enough to give UConn a chance every game. 60+ points from those four speaks for itself.

 

[Palatine]

I agree. And they serve different purposes which is really nice. Vital comes in and brings energy and scoring. Anderson comes in and calms them down

 

[Wordbomar]

Vital is that little spark plug off the bench and Anderson can be the calming force. I agree I like it a lot

 

[upstater]

I expect the season will evolve with a lot of changes to the lineups.

What I like about what is going on now is that Polley is getting experience with the first unit. We need this kid to grow rather quickly. At some point, it just has to click for him because he is an asset on defense, has long arms, and in transition. Hopefully, this will allow us to do what we've been needing to do for 2 years already: allow Jalen to leak out to midcourt on any shot. Unfortunately, we have Jalen rebounding right now. His game is best suited for the fast break. Instead, he is the last man up the court. If Polley could take some of those duties, be the extra guy rebounding so that Jalen could leak out, it would help the team immensely with easy baskets.

 

[Fishy]

I just like that we actually have a bench after last year.

 

[The Funster]

This has the look of an ensemble team. We'll rely on different players each game to be the man.

 

[Balker]

I'll call it now, Vital will get the start over Gilbert on Thursday. More to motivate Gilbert to be smarter with the ball in his hands, than to reward Vital.

 

[8893]

I'll call it now, Vital will get the start over Gilbert on Thursday. More to motivate Gilbert to be smarter with the ball in his hands, than to reward Vital.

That may not be far off if Gilbert doesn't shake the rust off soon, but I don't think Thursday is the day.

 

[UConnStats]

Vital is shooting over 85% from 2 and getting to the line over 9 times per 40.

 

[jibsey]

Gilbert has no business starting. His poor play is helpful to our opponents getting running starts against us. Let him sit on the bench until he plays smarter. There are 2 approaches to this, 1 of which is to put him out there and hope he improves which I disagree with. He still gets minutes when KO can put him in once we're not behind by 10 points in the first 5 minutes. Against better teams we won't have the luxury like yesterday. Now some will say "how can you give up on a 5 star coming off an injury"? I'm not. Just being smart about his use.

 

[Wordbomar]

Yes Gilbert has had his freshman moments so far but do people really believe he shouldn’t start? If Ollie wants Vital in lineup it should be for Polley not Gilbert. We need AG

 

[mauconnfan]

Vital is shooting over 85% from 2 and getting to the line over 9 times per 40.

Great stats but the 3rd game is carrying those numbers. Hanging around the 3 point line the first 2 wasn't pretty nor was his first few minutes yesterday until he went back to playing basketball and not 25 foot shots out of the offense.

 

[8893]

Gilbert has no business starting.

Yes Gilbert has had his freshman moments so far but do people really believe he shouldn’t start? If Ollie wants Vital in lineup it should be for Polley not Gilbert. We need AG

I think the line is somewhere in between these two positions. We are better long term imo if AG plays to potential and is a starter; but the experiment can't go on forever if he continues to be slower out of the gate than we had hoped.

KO will make and manage that call. It sounds like his talk with Vital about that very issue before the BU game played a big part in Vital's state of mind last night, and I wouldn't mess with that right now.

 

[mauconnfan]

Yes Gilbert has had his freshman moments so far but do people really believe he shouldn’t start? If Ollie wants Vital in lineup it should be for Polley not Gilbert. We need AG

I like the first 5 as is with these guys coming off the bench. If nothing else they nee to find a way to get Polley involved a little more, kid can play.

 

[lange10]

Only change I’d make to the starting line up is Anderson over Polley. Nothing against Polley, just think a guy like Anderson will bring it from the jump and help alleviate the slow starts. Small sample size, but he started opening night and we had something like 14 points at the U-16 TO. That’s very rare with a KO team

 

[awfuldan]

I think we see the same starting line-up until we lose, which I hope won't be for some time

Love Anderson and Vital. They are both doing great things for us. Last night was a monster game for Vital. So good to see.

 

[80shusky]

I always thought Vital should be starting anyway. He had a rough first two games but plays better with minutes. When he starts to do the things other than score (rebound, steals, play D, loose balls etc.) his scoring comes along with it. Maybe we don't start the game in the hole if he starts. It's nice having him come off the bench, but it might be time to put Gilbert on the bench instead and let him work his way back in. There's no shame in that. He's a freshman.

 

[Fishy]

Vital is not a particularly good ball-handler and he’s something of a ball-stopper on offense...when he gets it, he keeps it.

He had a career night last night, but he still took ten threes which is just a ridiculous number for a bench player. The quick-three is the death of this offense and Vital has embraced it whole-heartedly. Not good.

Better off with Gilbert starting - he’s a better ball-handler, better passer and a better rebounder.

 

[Guapo]

I love Vital and the obvious pluses he brings to the team.

However, I think the potential for how dynamic this team can be goes up expedentually with Gilbert on the floor.

Also, I feel like we haven't discussed that block Gilbert made.

Big ups from the lil guy!

 

[Danzz]

Only change I’d make to the starting line up is Anderson over Polley. Nothing against Polley, just think a guy like Anderson will bring it from the jump and help alleviate the slow starts. Small sample size, but he started opening night and we had something like 14 points at the U-16 TO. That’s very rare with a KO team

I like Polley starting Thursday because we are not going to have the big height and athletic advantage we've had over the last few games. If we don't rebound we lose and it really is that simple. The 3 guard offense isn't going to work as well against athletic teams that can match or surpass our talent. KO is going to have to act fast to adjust to match ups.

 

[Palatine]

I think Gilbert is doing exactly what Ollie wants him to. He is speeding the game up. He comes out playing energetic defense and offense at 100 MPH. He would be more effective on offense by slowing down a bit and not forcing the ball into the paint against three guys. But Ollie wants to play faster and Gilbert is giving it to him.

Also, Vital is valuable coming off the bench. Same with Anderson.

We keep forgetting that Gilbert has only played 5 college games. He will get better over the course of the season. His on-the-ball defense is already pretty good, the offense will come.

 

[Fishy]

Gilbert’s got a little rust on him.

I don’t expect him to spend the entire season throwing layups at the bottom side of the rim.

Adams is a sketchy ball-handler at times; him and Vital starting in the same backcourt would result in the ball hitting spectators, cheerleaders and maybe even the ceiling.

 

[AntG168]

I like Polley starting Thursday because we are not going to have the big height and athletic advantage we've had over the last few games. If we don't rebound we lose and it really is that simple. The 3 guard offense isn't going to work as well against athletic teams that can match or surpass our talent. KO is going to have to act fast to adjust to match ups.

We actually will. Oregon doesn' start anyone over 6'8

 

[businesslawyer]

I'll call it now, Vital will get the start over Gilbert on Thursday. More to motivate Gilbert to be smarter with the ball in his hands, than to reward Vital.

Nah. Gilbert is trying to shake off rust and fear. They are going to give him a lot of rope before he doesn't start.

Am I the only one who remembers that after the three exhibition games we had to listen to why Larrier shouldn't start?

 

[uconnfan68]

Gilbert has no business starting. His poor play is helpful to our opponents getting running starts against us. Let him sit on the bench until he plays smarter. There are 2 approaches to this, 1 of which is to put him out there and hope he improves which I disagree with. He still gets minutes when KO can put him in once we're not behind by 10 points in the first 5 minutes. Against better teams we won't have the luxury like yesterday. Now some will say "how can you give up on a 5 star coming off an injury"? I'm not. Just being smart about his use.

He played much better toward the end of the game. He has a lot of rust to shake, and he’s probably still worried about his shoulder.