Bouk vs Jalen Adams

[YearoftheHusky]

Jalen is sooo underrated by UConn fans due to his teams performance his 4 years, which was not entirely his fault. Bouk is clearly the more gifted scorer/athlete.

I think this was exactly my point. I am in no way saying that Jalen was as good a player as James. I just see similarities in the way we set our expectations for them and then based their performance off of our expectations.

 

[JMick]

Bouknight has been banged up and frustrated for two games and some people are acting like he has some major attitude issue and is causing team chemistry issues.

Guys, he's just frustrated and he's clearly not 100%. He's used to being able to get wherever he wants but his legs still aren't under him and he's dealing with a bunch of nicks and bruises.

Yeah the body language the last two games hasn't been great but he's a competitor. His body language has been poor because he's not playing up to his own standards not because he's lazy or disinterested. It's like people forgot what he looked like before the elbow surgery.

 

[Kenny11]

Bouknight has been banged up and frustrated for two games and some people are acting like he has some major attitude issue and is causing team chemistry issues.

Guys, he's just frustrated and he's clearly not 100%. He's used to being able to get wherever he wants but his legs still aren't under him and he's dealing with a bunch of nicks and bruises.

Yeah the body language the last two games hasn't been great but he's a competitor. His body language has been poor because he's not playing up to his own standards not because he's lazy or disinterested. It's like people forgot what he looked like before the elbow surgery.

He's also getting hacked a lot...that last dunk was definitely frustration from that (and to get 20 points).

 

[Palatine]

Some similarities, both are great finishers around the rim. But Bouk is a much better athelte and player.

 

[Marat]

Basically what most people said. I really liked Jalen Adams. He played well but couldn't do everything himself. If he had teammates with talent like his freshman year for his soph to senior years, more UConn fans would think better of him.

Of course I really like Bouk too. He's a star. But, If you replaced Jalen Adams, with Bouk on those Jalen teams, I'm not sure if even Bouk would make those teams so much better.

 

[Balker]

He's also getting hacked a lot...that last dunk was definitely frustration from that (and to get 20 points).

He was fouled basically every time he touched the ball. And pretty much every time he tried to move without the ball, too. I think they called a hold once last night.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Anyone else see similarities?

Uber talented, Uber athletic. Sometimes so much so that they seem to be disinterested or going through the motions and still end up with 20

Neither loved contact at the rim, or tried to avoid it with their athleticism.

Decent long range shooters, better all around scorers.

Very likable kids with very lofty and perhaps unfair expectations as the next fill in the blank (Bazz, Kemba, Ray, Rip) who takes us to a better place.

Neither surrounded by a consistent supporting cast.

Each had an off court hiccup and matured from it.

Not sure my point, but I feel like everyone wants everyone to have the killer instinct and lead us to the promised land when even some very good players are just not wired that way.

Thoughts?

Bouk is surrounded by much better players
Adams had 18 and 19 year old kids
Rehabs projects or mid major retreads
Bouk has legitimate D1 talent or experienced lesser talent.
JA was playing at 20,000 feet with guys with a 5,000 ceiling
Bouk is flying at 25,000 feet but the other guys are at 15,000-18000
The only skill Adams might have been better was court vision and passing but Adams had a lot more. experience at the point.

 

[BoukofJames]

Maybe this could be fun...NBAdraft.net has the scoring system (1-10) for players and Bouk's hasn't been filled in yet. What would you score him, and based on your score, what previous players (uconn or otherwise) compare from their database?

View attachment 64963

Just for the record, NBADraft.net’s mock draft is VERY far from the consensus and quite bizarre. They have Kuminga as the #1 pick and Cunningham #3. Also have David Duke and Charles Bassey in the top 10 and Allen Flanagan and RJ Nembhard in the lottery. That is wildly different from what you’ll see at any other outlet.

 

[AntG168]

Bouknight has been banged up and frustrated for two games and some people are acting like he has some major attitude issue and is causing team chemistry issues.

Guys, he's just frustrated and he's clearly not 100%. He's used to being able to get wherever he wants but his legs still aren't under him and he's dealing with a bunch of nicks and bruises.

Yeah the body language the last two games hasn't been great but he's a competitor. His body language has been poor because he's not playing up to his own standards not because he's lazy or disinterested. It's like people forgot what he looked like before the elbow surgery.

Agree with your reasoning for the poor body language and its understandable. But it's not a stretch to say its something he needs to work on. Because he has a lot more banged up frustrating days/games ahead of him if he has the career we think he can

 

[Huskyforlife]

I always believed Adams would've been a first rounder after his sophomore year had he chosen Louisville or Kansas. Our spoiled fan base never gave him proper credit, he was a great college player.

 

[JMick]

Agree with your reasoning for the poor body language and its understandable. But it's not a stretch to say its something he needs to work on. Because he has a lot more banged up frustrating days/games ahead of him if he has the career we think he can

no he definitely needs to work on it and it's not helping at all. but it's clearly not because he's "disengaged" which is the current narrative for some people

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Watching boukright sulk and pout last night sometimes at teammates reminded me of when Jalen used to do the same thing.

 

[SubbaBub]

Someone burn this thread.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

me looking for Chief's briefs:

 

[SportsFan88]

Jalen was a great talent and with better coaching and more talent around him he would of been much more successful.. bouk is the better player but some of the takes on Jalen are just plain wrong

 

[Apollo]

Anyone else see similarities?

Uber talented, Uber athletic. Sometimes so much so that they seem to be disinterested or going through the motions and still end up with 20

Neither loved contact at the rim, or tried to avoid it with their athleticism.

Decent long range shooters, better all around scorers.

Very likable kids with very lofty and perhaps unfair expectations as the next fill in the blank (Bazz, Kemba, Ray, Rip) who takes us to a better place.

Neither surrounded by a consistent supporting cast.

Each had an off court hiccup and matured from it.

Not sure my point, but I feel like everyone wants everyone to have the killer instinct and lead us to the promised land when even some very good players are just not wired that way.

Thoughts?

Other then Bouk avoiding contact at the rim, I can see some of these similarities. Overall, we have a better player in Bouknight

 

[Spaceman213J]

I don't think Bouk avoids contact at the rim. I think he's masterful at drawing contact and still getting a pretty good shot off.
Both are fearless going to the lane. I cringe sometime at some of the contact Bouk draws. It's unfair to say Bouk isn't a good passer. He has great vision. He just has nobody who is a consistent finisher on the team. It's why I said Vital had another year with him. Martin is the most consistent of his teammates and he has struggled a little the past two games with his shot.

 

[Stinger92860]

Anyone else see similarities?

Uber talented, Uber athletic. Sometimes so much so that they seem to be disinterested or going through the motions and still end up with 20

Neither loved contact at the rim, or tried to avoid it with their athleticism.

Decent long range shooters, better all around scorers.

Very likable kids with very lofty and perhaps unfair expectations as the next fill in the blank (Bazz, Kemba, Ray, Rip) who takes us to a better place.

Neither surrounded by a consistent supporting cast.

Each had an off court hiccup and matured from it.

Not sure my point, but I feel like everyone wants everyone to have the killer instinct and lead us to the promised land when even some very good players are just not wired that way.

Thoughts?

IMO the big differences are outside shot, ball handling (slight edge to Bouk) and shiftiness.

 

[Slick]

Anyone else see similarities?

Uber talented, Uber athletic. Sometimes so much so that they seem to be disinterested or going through the motions and still end up with 20

Neither loved contact at the rim, or tried to avoid it with their athleticism.

Decent long range shooters, better all around scorers.

Very likable kids with very lofty and perhaps unfair expectations as the next fill in the blank (Bazz, Kemba, Ray, Rip) who takes us to a better place.

Neither surrounded by a consistent supporting cast.

Each had an off court hiccup and matured from it.

Not sure my point, but I feel like everyone wants everyone to have the killer instinct and lead us to the promised land when even some very good players are just not wired that way.

Thoughts?

Completely different players. No comparison. Bouknight much more explosive as well as much taller. Also Bouknight plays hard every second he is on the court.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

As others have said, Adams has be killing it in the G league this year. I could see him making an NBA roster in the future. Great ball player that unfortunately didn’t have proper coaching or the talent around him to succeed while at UConn.

Adams and Bouk each excel in different areas so hard to compare. With that said Bouk has a higher ceiling at the next level.

 

[Abe1]

I hate the comparisons because it forces you to put Jalen down while uplifting Bouk. As talented as Jalen is/was he is no James Bouknight.

 

[jibsey]

This is the worst player comparison ever. Just not in the same universe.

 

[YearoftheHusky]

Completely different players. No comparison. Bouknight much more explosive as well as much taller. Also Bouknight plays hard every second he is on the court.

No crap he’s taller. That’s really what you took from that?

(And if you think he’s playing hard every second, do me a favor and watch him when he’s away from the ball)

 

[Austin316]

Jalen was a fantastic player that was given to us at the wrong time, in the wrong atmosphere, with the wrong tools around him.

Bouk is a fantastic player that came in at the right time, in the right atmosphere, with better tools.

When I look at Bouk I can see what we hoped Jalen would be but I also see a lot of Jeremy Lamb or if comparing NBA maybe Jamal Murray. Jalen was here at the wrong time. I got the feeling Jalen liked goofing a lot, maybe not as disciplined as Bouk. I could be wrong though.

 

[MyDorona]

Maybe this could be fun...NBAdraft.net has the scoring system (1-10) for players and Bouk's hasn't been filled in yet. What would you score him, and based on your score, what previous players (uconn or otherwise) compare from their database?

View attachment 64963

Ath: 9.0
Size: 6.0
Def: 4.5+
Str: 3.0+
Quick: 7.0
Lead: 4.0
Jumper: 7.5+
NBA: 6.5+
Handles 5.5+
POT: 8.0
Pass: 5.5
INT: 6.0

Comp: Jordan Clarkson

+ Expected growth area

His weaknesses for me are strength and leadership. He gets knocked around pretty good every game, it seems. I don't know how he stays healthy playing against the grown men of the NBA unless he gets significantly stronger.

I've yet to see any leadership qualities from him. He's a supportive teammate on the bench, but I'd consider that more intangibles and the Hurley effect. I'd like to see more alpha when he's on the court.