Borges: Breaking down UConn's 2023 class with Adam Finkelstein | Page 2 | The Boneyard

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

The Castle to Andre comparison is also silly as Castle is 10x the scorer Andre is. They’re just not the same player at all.

I’m also on board with the Ross can play more than Stewart train. He’s taller, a better athlete, and seems a lot better at playing without the ball both shooting wise and slashing wise. Think he’s going to surprise a lot of people and turn a lot of heads.

Don’t have concerns about how he’ll be defensively. Kid is used to defender PGs before the growth spurt. Hurley should be able to get him up to speed at this level and his length will be an advantage for him.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
The Castle to Andre comparison is also silly as Castle is 10x the scorer Andre is. They’re just not the same player at all.

I’m also on board with the Ross can play more than Stewart train. He’s taller, a better athlete, and seems a lot better at playing without the ball both shooting wise and slashing wise. Think he’s going to surprise a lot of people and turn a lot of heads.

Don’t have concerns about how he’ll be defensively. Kid is used to defender PGs before the growth spurt. Hurley should be able to get him up to speed at this level and his length will be an advantage for him.
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They're not the same player, but I think people are saying (at least I am) that they can be utilized in a similar way. They both are excellent passers and can rebound the ball. Castle is a much better natural scorer than Jackson, but Jackson is a lightyears better defender and better athlete.
 
There is no way Ross is 180-185 lbs. That has to be this time last year. My guess is 200/205lbs. I also doubt him at only 6'7. His team roster lists him at 6'8 and he looks all of that on the court matched up against bigs.
 
aburks41 said:
They're not the same player, but I think people are saying (at least I am) that they can be utilized in a similar way. They both are excellent passers and can rebound the ball. Castle is a much better natural scorer than Jackson, but Jackson is a lightyears better defender and better athlete.
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I’m not all the way sure about that as Castle can legit be an on ball player because of his scoring ability.

When we found success Andre had to be regulated to an off ball Draymond Green kind of role as a screener and cutter. Unless we were in transition of course then there’s no one better in the country.

Think Castle will have more of a role of past guards like Kemba, Boatright, and Shabazz who can play on ball and off ball as scorers/facilitators.

Would love for Andre to come back to be that on ball facilitator at times for Castle.
 
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aburks41 said:
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
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Ross is bouncier than Hawkins? Huh? That would put him at Jackson level as Hawkins has a great vertical leap.

 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
The Castle to Andre comparison is also silly as Castle is 10x the scorer Andre is. They’re just not the same player at all.

I’m also on board with the Ross can play more than Stewart train. He’s taller, a better athlete, and seems a lot better at playing without the ball both shooting wise and slashing wise. Think he’s going to surprise a lot of people and turn a lot of heads.

Don’t have concerns about how he’ll be defensively. Kid is used to defender PGs before the growth spurt. Hurley should be able to get him up to speed at this level and his length will be an advantage for him.
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That is a weird comparison. Castle’s game, size and style kind of reminds me of Penny Hardaway…not saying he will be that good (penny was an all nba player before injuries)
 
NJHusky said:
Exactly…no one had any idea who Joey C was before he portaled in
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Calcaterra was also one of the biggest transfer overperformers.

Hurley has an eye for talent, but we can't count on that every year.
 
husky429 said:
I think Jimmy Butler is the best comparison stylistically.
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I think that too, mostly because of how he finishes with balance on 2 feet a ton.

I was just marveling to no one in particular (my 4 year old and wife) how great Jimmy is at that, and I always love how Jay Wright teaches his Nova guys that as well. Love that style of finishing because it's consistent and tough to stop.
 
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Mr. French said:
I think that too, mostly because of how he finishes with balance on 2 feet a ton.

I was just marveling to no one in particular (my 4 year old and wife) how great Jimmy is at that, and I always love how Jay Wright teaches his Nova guys that as well. Love that style of finishing because it's consistent and tough to stop.
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We definitely recruit guys who are finishing on two feet. Karaban, Castle, Floyd, Diggins come to mind.
 
NJHusky said:
why not...it's not overperforming if Dan Hurley saw the potential...to me that's someone who is a good judge of talent, which is repeatable
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Dan Hurley is an amazing judge of talent and Calcaterra shooting 45% from 3 was overperforming, both can be true. It seems unlikely that transfers we bring in will consistently improve by such a huge amount, but over time I expect way more hits than misses.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
The Castle to Andre comparison is also silly as Castle is 10x the scorer Andre is. They’re just not the same player at all.

I’m also on board with the Ross can play more than Stewart train. He’s taller, a better athlete, and seems a lot better at playing without the ball both shooting wise and slashing wise. Think he’s going to surprise a lot of people and turn a lot of heads.

Don’t have concerns about how he’ll be defensively. Kid is used to defender PGs before the growth spurt. Hurley should be able to get him up to speed at this level and his length will be an advantage for him.
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Mr. French said:
If he's 6'8 205 and he's strumming 3s, he's DEF going to be underrated.
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Ross's path to PT is if he can shoot real well right away. Plenty of good shooters in HS need an adjustment to the college game. If Ross's shooting translates to college quickly, he has a place in the rotation. Being able to do one thing real well and consistently do it almost always translates in to the rotation.
 
NJHusky said:
why not...it's not overperforming if Dan Hurley saw the potential...to me that's someone who is a good judge of talent, which is repeatable
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Yes, I expect Hurley to be an above-average portal recruiter. That doesn't mean every recruit will be a hit.
 
3rdbass said:
Ross is bouncier than Hawkins? Huh? That would put him at Jackson level as Hawkins has a great vertical leap.

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Yes. Ross is a freak athlete. He nearly decapitates himself every time he dunks the ball lmao

Someone here posted a video the other day of him dunking and it looked like he was on an 8ft hoop. It was probably @husky429 if he knows the video I'm talking about
 
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aburks41 said:
Yes. Ross is a freak athlete. He nearly decapitates himself every time he dunks the ball lmao

Someone here posted a video the other day of him dunking and it looked like he was on an 8ft hoop. It was probably @husky429 if he knows the video I'm talking about
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I saw that video but it definitely didn't look like he was anywhere near AJ hops. Hawkins is a really good leaper too so not sure where anyone would call Ross Bouncier than Hawkins. I mean Ross is also 3 inches taller than Hawkins so he has that advantage.
 
aburks41 said:
I didn't say Jackson hops, I said bouncier than Hawkins. Which I think he is

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Yeah I know and I refuted that showing you Hawkins has elite athleticism only just below Jackson in up. I have seen Ross and he is a decent athlete but I don't see him bouncier than Hawkins. What Hawkins lack is not in in his Vertical ups. Hawkins lack more in his his lateral quickness and ability to beat people off the dribble though that could be more due to his lack of strength and weak handle.
 
Kenny11 said:
That is a weird comparison. Castle’s game, size and style kind of reminds me of Penny Hardaway…not saying he will be that good (penny was an all nba player before injuries)
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Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I don’t think his game is like those guys, just that he may be used here like those guys. Main perimeter scorers who facilitated on ball but can also go off ball to come off screens and be a scoring threat.

Comp wise I think he’s a middle class Cade Cunningham. Similar game but he’s not as tight fundamentally it seems as Cade was. But can control a game with his decision making and pace while being a very big PG.
 
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aburks41 said:
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.
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I get the argument, but to me Andre coming back makes us a national championship contender. He is such a unicorn with his size, athletic ability, defense, ability to get us out in transition, and he's the key to ball movement being elite. Him being on the team is going to raise our ceiling more than Newton will, as much as I like Tristen.
 
Castle reminds me a lot of Hood-Schifino who was a freshman at Indiana U this year and is projected to be a lottery pick in this year's draft. Same size, both great at driving, finishing and distributing but both with some room for improvement in perimeter shooting.
 
aburks41 said:
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
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I don’t profess to know much but even in practice this looks pretty good. You can never have enough shooters.
 
Mr. French said:
I think that too, mostly because of how he finishes with balance on 2 feet a ton.

I was just marveling to no one in particular (my 4 year old and wife) how great Jimmy is at that, and I always love how Jay Wright teaches his Nova guys that as well. Love that style of finishing because it's consistent and tough to stop.
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Who is Jimmy? Anyone...Anyone?
 
MuchoDogYears said:
Who is Jimmy? Anyone...Anyone?
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Chicago Bulls What GIF by NBA
 
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