Bleacher Report on Jalen Adams

[JMick]

You guys usually seem more upset about how people think of UConn and our teams instead of sitting and asking yourselves why so many reports and analyses seem to always "disrespect us". Connect the dots guys, look at the pattern.

While I agree, I don't think we're going to be that bad. 2018 has the potential to be brutal though.

 

[MSGSeven]

While I agree, I don't think we're going to be that bad. 2018 has the potential to be brutal though.

Adams has 2 years of eligibility, Larrier has 3, Vital 3 and Gilbert 4 not to mention some of these young guys might step up and be solid players. We lose two very replaceable players after this year in Anderson and Onourah. We're in the market for some very good players in the class of 2018. There will most likely be at least a few talented grad transfers available again next year. I think the only chance that 2018 is brutal is if Adams and Larrier go pro and we completely whiff on the recruiting trial but that's highly unlikely.

 

[AntG168]

Adams has 2 years of eligibility, Larrier has 3, Vital 3 and Gilbert 4 not to mention some of these young guys might step up and be solid players. We lose two very replaceable players after this year in Anderson and Onourah. We're in the market for some very good players in the class of 2018. There will most likely be at least a few talented grad transfers available again next year. I think the only chance that 2018 is brutal is if Adams and Larrier go pro and we completely whiff on the recruiting trial but that's highly unlikely.

You have to admit 2018 could be a problem if we dont improve vastly on the recruiting trail. We can absolutely not afford another class with no top 50 players. We need to do better than just not whiff, we need to bring in an impressive class. Adams is gone and I'd bet on larrier being gone too.

 

[Sphinx]

It's either a team with a lot of question marks or one basic question mark, the question being: "Can a team composed of one returning junior, one returning sophomore, three true freshmen, two red-shirt freshmen, one red-shirt sophomore, two juco transfers and two graduate transfers be molded into a coherent unit by the coach responsible for one of the most ill-prepared D-1 basketball teams to ever take the floor -- the 2016-17 Huskies?

That is the question.

Remember that the utterly discombobulated group that started against Wagner and Northeastern consisted of three returning seniors, one returning sophomore and one red-shirt sophomore.

The prospects for next season's early games is actually frightening. But, by God, it will be interesting.

 

[MSGSeven]

You have to admit 2018 could be a problem if we dont improve vastly on the recruiting trail. We can absolutely not afford another class with no top 50 players. We need to do better than just not whiff, we need to bring in an impressive class. Adams is gone and I'd bet on larrier being gone too.

So if Adams and Larrier both leave that means they had good years and most likely UConn had a good year which will help recruiting. Ollie, Chill and Kill all have proven track records on the recruiting trail. Stop worrying so much and let these guys do their jobs. The focus should be on this upcoming season anyway which looks very promising in my opinion.

 

[Fishy]

I have no idea how good we are - there are so many new parts and so many question marks. I think the high water mark is an NCAA bubble team and the floor is disaster. If there isn't a live body or three in the front court, it doesn't matter what the backcourt does.

Best thing for Jalen is that Alterique can come in and run the point and let him move of the ball at times.

 

[AntG168]

So if Adams and Larrier both leave that means they had good years and most likely UConn had a good year which will help recruiting. Ollie, Chill and Kill all have proven track records on the recruiting trail. Stop worrying so much and let these guys do their jobs. The focus should be on this upcoming season anyway which looks very promising in my opinion.

I'm not "worrying", I'm just stating the obvious. I'm optimistic about this season as well. But what we do on the recruiting trail right now will determine how the 2018 class shakes out. We dont have the luxury of waiting until march to get commits. Kids are starting to commit to schools now

 

[Hurleyman216]

I have no idea how good we are - there are so many new parts and so many question marks. I think the high water mark is an NCAA bubble team and the floor is disaster. If there isn't a live body or three in the front court, it doesn't matter what the backcourt does.

Best thing for Jalen is that Alterique can come in and run the point and let him move of the ball at times.

I think the high water mark might be slightly better than just a bubble team, but I am an optimist. Realistically I still think we have 4 players that should be a very productive core if healthy. We then have 6-7 unknowns, and we really need 2-3 of them to contribute in some meaningful way. I think some of the others claiming Ollie had the "worst prepared" team in D1 last year is a little harsh. You can slam Ollie for transfers and poor recruiting this summer, but we actually played with some Fire last year with the limited roster we had. We lost 2 of our starters in the first 3 games, not many teams can recover from that.

 

[AntG168]

I think the high water mark might be slightly better than just a bubble team, but I am an optimist. Realistically I still think we have 4 players that should be a very productive core if healthy. We then have 6-7 unknowns, and we really need 2-3 of them to contribute in some meaningful way. I think some of the others claiming Ollie had the "worst prepared" team in D1 last year is a little harsh. You can slam Ollie for transfers and poor recruiting this summer, but we actually played with some Fire last year with the limited roster we had. We lost 2 of our starters in the first 3 games, not many teams can recover from that.

I think they meant worst prepared to start the season(wagner, northeastern)

 

[Fishy]

UConn being unprepared was a constant last season. It didn't start with the injuries - Wagner dominated UConn and even Northeastern opened the game 15-4 and controlled it most of the way. They didn't start games or halves well and they didn't finish games or halves well. The runs they gave up....up 14 against Gtown, lose. Up ten against ECU, lose. Up 12 against Houston, lose. Up eight against Tulsa, lose.

Coaching and preparedness is very much a question mark - they gotta do better.

If, if, if, if....they're a better-coached team than they were last year and if two of these front court guys are better or more ready than we think, maybe we're better than a bubble team.

My dream scenario is that Cobb is the interior mauler we've all hoped for and that Diarra is Jeff Adrien 2.0.

 

[MSGSeven]

UConn being unprepared was a constant last season. It didn't start with the injuries - Wagner dominated UConn and even Northeastern opened the game 15-4 and controlled it most of the way. They didn't start games or halves well and they didn't finish games or halves well. The runs they gave up....up 14 against Gtown, lose. Up ten against ECU, lose. Up 12 against Houston, lose. Up eight against Tulsa, lose.

Coaching and preparedness is very much a question mark - they gotta do better.

If, if, if, if....they're a better-coached team than they were last year and if two of these front court guys are better or more ready than we think, maybe we're better than a bubble team.

My dream scenario is that Cobb is the interior mauler we've all hoped for and that Diarra is Jeff Adrien 2.0.

I remember some high school basketball "analyst" compared Diarra his senior year to Trevor Mbakwe. If that's accurate we'll gladly take it.

 

[champs99and04]

I have no idea how good we are - there are so many new parts and so many question marks. I think the high water mark is an NCAA bubble team and the floor is disaster. If there isn't a live body or three in the front court, it doesn't matter what the backcourt does.

Best thing for Jalen is that Alterique can come in and run the point and let him move of the ball at times.

I don't think you're under-estimating us so much as you're over-estimating everybody else.

Jalen Adams has the potential to be a great player. Not just an all-conference guy, but an all-American level player. That alone can take you a hell of a long way in college basketball even if you're playing Olander or Nolan at the five.

The only thing we really know about anybody else - besides Vital, who is somewhat proven I suppose - is that they were talented enough to demand considerable interest out of high school. Certainly, some of the names do not correspond to what a dominant program would expect, but there's still enough variance in college basketball at large that I'm comfortable putting our ceiling a lot higher than you.

The floor? Well, you're right. Anything is in play after last year.

 

[champs99and04]

You guys usually seem more upset about how people think of UConn and our teams instead of sitting and asking yourselves why so many reports and analyses seem to always "disrespect us". Connect the dots guys, look at the pattern.

I must be reading a different thread than you, then, because I'm not sure one person in this thread has explicitly disagreed with anything that was written. If anything there is a resigned understanding to this being the consensus.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

Former 5-Star CBB Recruits Who Will Have the Biggest Impact in 2017-18

10. Jalen Adams, Connecticut
A key part of making a significant impact is playing for a team that is nationally relevant. In that regard, Jalen Adams is at a huge disadvantage compared to every other player on the list.

While most of these guys are on teams that should open the season in the AP Top 25, Connecticut isn't even projected to reach the NCAA tournament, based on Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology.

Don't blame Adams, though. He put up great numbers last season, leading the Huskies in both points and assists. Expect more of the same this year, particularly now that Rodney Purvis is out of the picture.

He just doesn't have much of a supporting cast to work with. Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey both graduated, and Vance Jackson, Juwan Durham and Steven Enoch all transferred. This leaves Terry Larrier—who has appeared in just four games in a Connecticut uniform—as the only returning player taller than 6'3" with any experience.

Connecticut did add a handful of transfers and is expecting big things from redshirt freshman Mamadou Diarra, but even in an AAC that has next to nothing worth mentioning beyond Wichita State and Cincinnati, it's going to be an uphill battle for Adams and Co.

Pretty harsh. Definitely not the kind of press you want future recruits looking at. It's not any surprise to us or anyone else, but I hate seeing it written in such a unforgiving way. Obviously we've got a win this year or think this program will be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up.

 

[Wolferowski]

fcking DOOOOOMED

 

[UconnFanNVa]

To these writers you arent good until you have a good season. And if you repeat that for 2 or 3 season in a row, then you arent bad until you prove you are bad. They've talked us up a few times and we havent produced (obviously injuries hurt us last season), so they arent going to go out on a limb for Uconn until we prove ourselves again. Hopefully this is the year, although we can all understand their hesitation we have alot of unknowns. However, i think we all like that there is alot of room for change and alot of talent that can blossom and gell and we can be a really really good team this year. We'll have to sit back and see what happens. Either way, this team has fuel and inspiration to work hard and prove the doubters wrong.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

To these writers you arent good until you have a good season. And if you repeat that for 2 or 3 season in a row, then you arent bad until you prove you are bad. They've talked us up a few times and we havent produced (obviously injuries hurt us last season), so they arent going to go out on a limb for UConn until we prove ourselves again. Hopefully this is the year, although we can all understand their hesitation we have alot of unknowns. However, i think we all like that there is alot of room for change and alot of talent that can blossom and gell and we can be a really really good team this year. We'll have to sit back and see what happens. Either way, this team has fuel and inspiration to work hard and prove the doubters wrong.

wut?

 

[UconnFanNVa]

wut?

In other words they arent going out on a limb and assessing a whole roster, they didnt even name AG on our squad. They are simply going with trends. Oh yea Uconn wasnt good last year, so they'll probably not be good this year either. The year after we won it all, we were high up in the top 25... Because we had just won it all. UK gets a top spot based on what? Expectations based on past seasons. There is nothing else to go on with a roster overhaul every single year.

 

[ctchamps]

wut?

To these writers you arent good until you have a good season. And if you repeat that for 2 or 3 season in a row, then you arent bad until you prove you are bad. They've talked us up a few times and we havent produced (obviously injuries hurt us last season), so they arent going to go out on a limb for UConn until we prove ourselves again. Hopefully this is the year, although we can all understand their hesitation we have alot of unknowns. However, i think we all like that there is alot of room for change and alot of talent that can blossom and gell and we can be a really really good team this year. We'll have to sit back and see what happens. Either way, this team has fuel and inspiration to work hard and prove the doubters wrong.

Hope this helps.

 

[Guapo]

UConn being unprepared was a constant last season. It didn't start with the injuries - Wagner dominated UConn and even Northeastern opened the game 15-4 and controlled it most of the way. They didn't start games or halves well and they didn't finish games or halves well. The runs they gave up....up 14 against Gtown, lose. Up ten against ECU, lose. Up 12 against Houston, lose. Up eight against Tulsa, lose.

Coaching and preparedness is very much a question mark - they gotta do better.

If, if, if, if....they're a better-coached team than they were last year and if two of these front court guys are better or more ready than we think, maybe we're better than a bubble team.

My dream scenario is that Cobb is the interior mauler we've all hoped for and that Diarra is Jeff Adrien 2.0.

This is exactly right. The blown leads and slow starts all point to a profound lack of preparedness on the part of the team and, thus, the coaches.

Imagine how differently the last couple years would be viewed if we didn't blow big leads or stumble out of the gate only to have our roaring comeback fall short?

I still maintain that the 2015 team had at least Sweet 16 level talent and should have never been in position to face Kansas in the second round.

 

[GetTheFacts]

Regardless of whether you agree with his analysis on Jalen and company, it's tough to see UConn garnish such little credibility on a national scale. Conference realignment is a bitch.

 

[BUConn10]

Regardless of whether you agree with his analysis on Jalen and company, it's tough to see UConn garnish such little credibility on a national scale. Conference realignment is a bitch.

Conference realignment?

More like an ill-prepared staff. That's the reality many can't fathom. The conference is a curse no doubt, but our staff hadn't even been able to maintain its relationships with the kids who have committed to them. There's more to this problem than just the AAC. I predict UConn basketball will look very, very different in one calendar year.

 

[Guapo]

Conference realignment?

More like an ill-prepared staff. That's the reality many can't fathom. The conference is a curse no doubt, but our staff hadn't even been able to maintain its relationships with the kids who have committed to them. There's more to this problem than just the AAC. I predict UConn basketball will look very, very different in one calendar year.

Different how?

 

[BUConn10]

Different how?

As in a whole new coaching staff. Simply put I don't see how Ollie and co. can produce results that keep them around this year with this current roster. I don't anticipate the AD will let another season with no tournament appearance pass us by without a change, but that's just my take on things at the moment, people won't like it.

 

[Guapo]

As in a whole new coaching staff. Simply put I don't see how Ollie and co. can produce results that keep them around this year with this current roster. I don't anticipate the AD will let another season with no tournament appearance pass us by without a change, but that's just my take on things at the moment, people won't like it.

Ok, yeah I personally think Ollie probably has a two year leash but I would not be surprised to see him fired after a bad year