Borges: Breaking down UConn's 2023 class with Adam Finkelstein

[tcf15]

How good is UConn men's basketball's vaunted recruiting class? Breaking down the incoming freshmen

Adam Finkelstein, scouting director for 247Sports.com, breaks down UConn's third-ranked...

www.ctinsider.com

 

[Chin Diesel]

Overall nice read. Was most pleasantly surprised to read about Ball really growing athletically and his body filling out and also about Ross doing better against high level competition than anticipated.

One comment about review on Stewart and one nitpick on review of Castle.

Conditioning and motor have always been the biggest question marks with Stewart.

“Allegedly, both are heading in the right direction,” Finkelstein added. “He’s gotten in a little bit better shape and is playing consistently hard. Hurley specialized in getting guys to play hard and really believe in themselves as players. I think that’s going to be a really good fit.”


If there is any need to motivate Stewart for his conditioning, pair him up with DC and show Stewart DC's high school senior year tape and Clingan's NCAA tourney tape.

It's pretty rare for a player to improve conditioning and agility in one calendar year as much as DC did. Full credit to DC for buying in to whatever he was told to do and going out and doing it.

Also not a big fan of trying to force fit a Castle to Jackson comparison. Saying Castle is like Jackson some ways but doesn't have the same high level athleticism pretty much blows up the comparison. So much of what Andre did was based on being such a high level athlete.

Andre's "steal" and pass to Karaban for and end of half 3 is a great example. Yes, Andre's brain knew what had to be done, but it was his athleticism that allowed that play to happen. A half step slower and Andre never gets to the top of the key to intercept the pass and kick it out to AK. Same thing with steals in the passing lanes, the flying rebounds, etc.

It was the athleticism combined with the skill set that set Jackson apart.

 

[husky429]

Gonna be totally honest here. I'm not sure Finkelstein has watched very much of these guys. This is nothing you couldn't have learned from watching a few highlights on Youtube. Pretty disappointed in his effort evaluating this class.

Calling Castle a versatile or talented defender at this point is pretty far from reality. I guarantee Hurley will get him to be an average or better defender if Stephon chooses to put in the work on the court and in the film room, but in something like a dozen games I've watched, he's been an absolute matador on defense.

Comparing Castle's athleticism to Andre's is absolutely nuts too. Andre's entire game is predicated on being a freak athlete--Castle's is not. Castle is a huge guard, strong, and has great body control, but isn't going to wow anyone with his vertical spacing or conditioning at this stage. Solo Ball is a much better athletic comparison to Andre.

He's right on with the rate of improvement for Ball, Ross, and Castle in particular. These guys have skyrocketed up the rankings.

I think he undersells Ross and oversells Stewart a little bit... but that's just ticky tack stuff. He's basically got them both right.

Also, I don't think Betsey is going to play SF. He looks like a modern PF to me. He's 6'8 and probably 215 at this point. Similar limited driving ability to Karaban, but super effecient.Whatever services have him at 175-185 are way out of date. He looks bigger than Karaban.

 

[aburks41]

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Gonna be totally honest here. I'm not sure Finkelstein has watched very much of these guys. This is nothing you couldn't have learned from watching a few highlights on Youtube. Pretty disappointed in his effort evaluating this class.

Calling Castle a versatile or talented defender at this point is pretty far from reality. I guarantee Hurley will get him to be an average or better defender if Stephon chooses to put in the work on the court and in the film room, but in something like a dozen games I've watched, he's been an absolute matador on defense.

Comparing Castle's athleticism to Andre's is absolutely nuts too. Andre's entire game is predicated on being a freak athlete--Castle's is not. Castle is a huge guard, strong, and has great body control, but isn't going to wow anyone with his vertical spacing or conditioning at this stage. Solo Ball is a much better athletic comparison to Andre.

He's right on with the rate of improvement for Ball, Ross, and Castle in particular. These guys have skyrocketed up the rankings.

I think he undersells Ross and oversells Stewart a little bit... but that's just ticky tack stuff. He's basically got them both right.

Also, I don't think Betsey is going to play SF. He looks like a modern PF to me. He's 6'8 and probably 215 at this point. Similar limited driving ability to Karaban, but super effecient.Whatever services have him at 175-185 are way out of date. He looks bigger than Karaban.

I like the way you think.

 

[husky429]

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

His draft position as well.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

Bit of an exaggeration, but I think this isn't wildly off. Of course, this depends in part on whether Newton or Jackson comes back.

Missing out on Timberlake means we don't have a guy (like Hawkins or even Calcaterra) who you could draw up plays for, force him the ball, and still get 40% shooting. Karaban shot 40%, but largely because his looks were open off of movement, screening action, or drive and kick. If he's the #1 shooting option and getting the Polley treatment, he won't be that effective.

A bad-shooting Castle alongside Jackson, another freshman, Clingan, and Karaban, is going to leave us in the same position on offense that we were in 2-3 years ago.

A good-shooting Castle will make us really hard to defend.

 

[karstenkibbe]

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

While it would be nice to have Castle’s three point shot fall consistently, I’m not that worried about it - if Newton returns. Having 6’7 and 6’5 guys together in the backcourt, both of whom can easily get to the rim, is a luxury I am really hoping to see next season.

 

[caw]

Gonna be totally honest here. I'm not sure Finkelstein has watched very much of these guys. This is nothing you couldn't have learned from watching a few highlights on Youtube. Pretty disappointed in his effort evaluating this class.

Calling Castle a versatile or talented defender at this point is pretty far from reality. I guarantee Hurley will get him to be an average or better defender if Stephon chooses to put in the work on the court and in the film room, but in something like a dozen games I've watched, he's been an absolute matador on defense.

Comparing Castle's athleticism to Andre's is absolutely nuts too. Andre's entire game is predicated on being a freak athlete--Castle's is not. Castle is a huge guard, strong, and has great body control, but isn't going to wow anyone with his vertical spacing or conditioning at this stage. Solo Ball is a much better athletic comparison to Andre.

He's right on with the rate of improvement for Ball, Ross, and Castle in particular. These guys have skyrocketed up the rankings.

I think he undersells Ross and oversells Stewart a little bit... but that's just ticky tack stuff. He's basically got them both right.

Also, I don't think Betsey is going to play SF. He looks like a modern PF to me. He's 6'8 and probably 215 at this point. Similar limited driving ability to Karaban, but super effecient.Whatever services have him at 175-185 are way out of date. He looks bigger than Karaban.

I kind of disagree with the bolded. Yes, he is a freak athlete and defensively he very much uses it. Offensively, it helps him a ton on the break but in the halfcourt he actually didn't utilize it as much as you would think. He rarely got to the rim on a drive (though he did great in the dunker's spot), or finished in traffic with his athleticism. Also, a large component for Andre in the halfcourt is his passing, and that really didn't have a ton to do with him being athletic. It is also the only part of Castle's game that is remotely comparable to Jackson (I don't get why Castle isn't compared to Newton, it's much more apt).

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

That, or how much he gets to the line. He got a very good amount of foul shots in high school.

I do think you may have to track his shooting percentages based on type of shot. He took a ton of contested shots in high school from all over. Hurley will need to drill into him and Stewart the idea of taking good shots. Both are willing passers, but had to take a lot of bad shots on their high school teams. Ross and Ball seemed to take better (open) shots.

It's nice to bring in guys who can create, take and make a contested shot but I hope that isn't a staple next year.

 

[aburks41]

Bit of an exaggeration, but I think this isn't wildly off. Of course, this depends in part on whether Newton or Jackson comes back.

Missing out on Timberlake means we don't have a guy (like Hawkins or even Calcaterra) who you could draw up plays for, force him the ball, and still get 40% shooting. Karaban shot 40%, but largely because his looks were open off of movement, screening action, or drive and kick. If he's the #1 shooting option and getting the Polley treatment, he won't be that effective.

A bad-shooting Castle alongside Jackson, another freshman, Clingan, and Karaban, is going to leave us in the same position on offense that we were in 2-3 years ago.

A good-shooting Castle will make us really hard to defend.

Dauster just said something similar in his latest podcast. If you have to choose between Andre and Newton coming back next year, the answer is probably Newton strictly based on how he fits in the offense with Castle. Castle can replicate some of what Jackson does with his passing and rebounding, but we need another 3pt threat to keep things open for Karaban and Clingan. If both Castle and Jackson are on the court together and aren't legit outside threats, the defense can sag off and really muck things up for us.

That being said, Castle could very well end up being a decent shooter and in which case, it doesn't even matter.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Gonna be totally honest here. I'm not sure Finkelstein has watched very much of these guys. This is nothing you couldn't have learned from watching a few highlights on Youtube. Pretty disappointed in his effort evaluating this class.

Calling Castle a versatile or talented defender at this point is pretty far from reality. I guarantee Hurley will get him to be an average or better defender if Stephon chooses to put in the work on the court and in the film room, but in something like a dozen games I've watched, he's been an absolute matador on defense.

Comparing Castle's athleticism to Andre's is absolutely nuts too. Andre's entire game is predicated on being a freak athlete--Castle's is not. Castle is a huge guard, strong, and has great body control, but isn't going to wow anyone with his vertical spacing or conditioning at this stage. Solo Ball is a much better athletic comparison to Andre.

He's right on with the rate of improvement for Ball, Ross, and Castle in particular. These guys have skyrocketed up the rankings.

I think he undersells Ross and oversells Stewart a little bit... but that's just ticky tack stuff. He's basically got them both right.

Also, I don't think Betsey is going to play SF. He looks like a modern PF to me. He's 6'8 and probably 215 at this point. Similar limited driving ability to Karaban, but super effecient.Whatever services have him at 175-185 are way out of date. He looks bigger than Karaban.

They never mention Stewart's outside shooting. I like his build (6'7" 185 for Stewart concerns me), seems he can be a physical 3 that can guard inside and out and get rebounds. But can he shoot?

I expect Castle to work on his outside shot, because he has to. So does Ball.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

Oh boyyyy Lol

 

[aburks41]

They never mention Stewart's outside shooting. I like his build (6'7" 185 for Stewart concerns me), seems he can be a physical 3 that can guard inside and out and get rebounds. But can he shoot?

I expect Castle to work on his outside shot, because he has to. So does Ball.

Are you talking about Stewart or Ross? Because Stewart is like 215 pounds, not 185...And both he and Ross can shoot from deep.

Here's Stewart from a couple days ago

 

[husky429]

They never mention Stewart's outside shooting. I like his build (6'7" 185 for Stewart concerns me), seems he can be a physical 3 that can guard inside and out and get rebounds. But can he shoot?

I expect Castle to work on his outside shot, because he has to. So does Ball.

He's a Castle-level shooter at this point. Tons of potential but inconsistent.He has as many moves off the dribble to get his shot off as we could as for. The concern is efficiency. If he plays within the offense and gets high % shots, he's going to play.

He's also definitely bigger than 185. Ross is probably about 6'8 185. Stewart is definitely closer to 220 than 185. I'd guess he's arou 215, but we may want to slim him down a bit in the off-season to help his conditioning. He's got a bit of baby fat like Clingan did coming in. He looks significantly wider than Karaban or Andre by my eye.

 

[husky429]

Are you talking about Stewart or Ross? Because Stewart is like 215 pounds, not 185...And both he and Ross can shoot from deep.

Here's Stewart from a couple days ago

Exactly what we need him to be working on. High % 3s.

His balance looks better than I saw in EYBL a year ago here. Obviously this isn't a game so it's diffferent, but he's practicing the right things. Good to see.

Will this board explode if I comment that he dips the ball?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Are you talking about Stewart or Ross? Because Stewart is like 215 pounds, not 185...And both he and Ross can shoot from deep.

Here's Stewart from a couple days ago

He's a Castle-level shooter at this point. Tons of potential but inconsistent.He has as many moves off the dribble to get his shot off as we could as for. The concern is efficiency. If he plays within the offense and gets high % shots, he's going to play.

He's also definitely bigger than 185. Ross is probably about 6'8 185. Stewart is definitely closer to 220 than 185. I'd guess he's arou 215, but we may want to slim him down a bit in the off-season to help his conditioning. He's got a bit of baby fat like Clingan did coming in. He looks significantly wider than Karaban or Andre by my eye.

Yeah, I switched talking about the two forwards without making that clear. I want Steward to be able to shoot, b/c he has a Big East ready body (I'm sure we can cut fat and add muscle in our program). I see Stewart as a Jerome Hunter sized guy that can be so useful in multiple ways. If Andre stays in the draft, he may be starting.

Ross seems like a guy that may be physically overmatched right now. But I haven't seen them except YouTube clips.

 

[husky429]

Ross seems like a guy that may be physically overmatched right now. But I haven't seen them except YouTube clips.

He's a big, big unknown. He's such a good shooter that he might just earn his PT. I think he probably will be overmatched physically, but it's hard to keep shooters off the floor. Plus he's a high effort guy. If anyone is going to make it happen on defense despite his physical limitations it's him.

I may be in the minority here, but I honestly think Ross might play over Stewart. Both of them are great players though... no knock on Stewart. I just really value high % shooters from deep. We saw the value of having shooters off the bench this year.

 

[Phoenixhusky]

Hurley will still find a shooter in the portal.

 

[ctchamps]

He's a big, big unknown. He's such a good shooter that he might just earn his PT. I think he probably will be overmatched physically, but it's hard to keep shooters off the floor. Plus he's a high effort guy. If anyone is going to make it happen on defense despite his physical limitations it's him.

I may be in the minority here, but I honestly think Ross might play over Stewart. Both of them are great players though... no knock on Stewart. I just really value high % shooters from deep. We saw the value of having shooters off the bench this year.

An elite minority.

I think it’s just as likely Ross can fill out and get stronger as Stewart can slim down and get faster. It already has happened from last year to this year.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Exactly what we need him to be working on. High % 3s.

His balance looks better than I saw in EYBL a year ago here. Obviously this isn't a game so it's diffferent, but he's practicing the right things. Good to see.

Will this board explode if I comment that he dips the ball?

You can't mention the dip without declaring yourself being pro dip or anti dip.

 

[storrsroars]

I think our season hinges on Castle's shooting abilities. If he's like a 25% 3PT shooter, we're going to have some trouble scoring. If he is a 36% guy, we're going to be back to back National Champs.

I'd love to have your confidence. The unknown variable with every recruiting class is that intangible, "Hell no, we aren't losing this game" mentality. AJax, Adama and Newton all had that (and in the case of the former two, didn't really have it last year). Karaban shows it. Clingan can get there as he'll now be the guy in the game at the end. Who from this class will show that killer instinct from the outset?

 

[aburks41]

He's a big, big unknown. He's such a good shooter that he might just earn his PT. I think he probably will be overmatched physically, but it's hard to keep shooters off the floor. Plus he's a high effort guy. If anyone is going to make it happen on defense despite his physical limitations it's him.

I may be in the minority here, but I honestly think Ross might play over Stewart. Both of them are great players though... no knock on Stewart. I just really value high % shooters from deep. We saw the value of having shooters off the bench this year.

What position would Ross be guarding? He's not guarding a 4, right? I ask that because Hawkins is a scrawny guy and he turned into quite a good defender this year. Ross is a little bit lengthier and just as good of an athlete (maybe even bouncier from what I've seen?). If he can shoot and defend, he will be getting some good burn this season

 

[Umami Zen]

Way too early prediction on shooting.. No doubt a portal add or two (ala Joey/Alleyne)..Mature guys with good strokes.. Added to our returnees.. But I can see where guys like Ball/Ross/Stewart can be/could be reliable enough as shooters if their defense can get them minutes/keep them on the floor.. In the flow of transition offense and great ball movement with open looks on good threes. Newton will obviously draw the attention of opposing teams (if back) and open things up for everyone.. Jackson the X factor if available..

IMO. .Castle should be a high assist/game PG.. One of the top guys in BE

Newton and portal adds makes everything more efficient re: offensive spurtability.. As DH/staff knows

 

[Hunt for 7]

You can't mention the dip without declaring yourself being pro dip or anti dip.

Or how disgusted you get when someone double dips

 

[aburks41]

I'd love to have your confidence. The unknown variable with every recruiting class is that intangible, "Hell no, we aren't losing this game" mentality. AJax, Adama and Newton all had that (and in the case of the former two, didn't really have it last year). Karaban shows it. Clingan can get there as he'll now be the guy in the game at the end. Who from this class will show that killer instinct from the outset?

Castle and Ball both seem like that type of player. Castle will have such a huge size advantage over 95% of PG's it's going to be hilarious. The dude is 6'7" and smooth as hell. If you're a 6'1" PG, good luck trying to defend him when he's driving to the hoop.

I suspect there will be some growing pains with this team, especially given the extremely tough OOC schedule we have lined up...but as long as they are ready for March, who cares about the regular season.