Carlton really impressed me tonight

[champs99and04]

Was going to post this elsewhere, but I think his play tonight merits its own thread. He only played a modest 12 minutes and scored two points, but his work defensively jumped out to me, and I'd be willing to bet - as I'm currently too lazy to look it up - his +/- was among the best on the team. We played our best ball tonight with him at the five and Adams/Vital/Anderson/Larrier/Polley filling in the gaps elsewhere.

12 minutes is a fairly meaningless sample, particularly considering the competition, but his rebound rate on the season - in a slightly less meaningless sample - tracks well and, more than anything, he just looks put together physically. It isn't that he's physically imposing like Onuorah as much as he simply takes up a lot of space and gets to the spots he needs to get to. I'd have bet he's closer to 6'11 than the 6'9 they have him listed at on ESPN, but in either event his coverage of ball screens tonight suggested that by some combination of smarts, size, and instincts we might have a player here. Again, BU is far from the best barometer, but what I saw was encouraging in that there looks to be enough juice and mobility there to the point that Ollie can shrink the floor for him defensively with his schemes and not have to worry about having a liability at the five. Not sure what he is yet on the other end, but his broad frame is certainly conducive to setting effective screens and given what we're looking at with a guy like Onuorah, he won't have to do much to be an enormous upgrade offensively.

Otherwise, I continue to be impressed with Anderson. He's another guy who plays taller than the 6'2 he's listed at. When he shares the floor with Adams, Vital, and Larrier, you get the sense we're pretty comfortable switching 1-4 and denying tight off the ball if somebody gets hot shooting. I hesitate to compare him to Kromah because I'm usually the one taking offense when Lasan's name gets bandied around as a catch-all for versatile wing types, but I think you're looking at a player in that mold who is maybe a little more inclined to attack on offense.

Last thing I'll say is that while it wasn't a great night for Larrier, he seems more comfortable - at least as a scorer - inside the zone than I can remember a UConn player being in some time. Chief actually makes a great point about his release point - he's a lot like one of those receivers in football who don't have to be open to throw him the ball. You'd rather him taking a contested shot that's his shot than working extra duty to create open space from the top of the key.

 

[uconndoit]

Nice writing style btw.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Our bigs this year seem to be better then last. Like Cobb, Carlton and Onaraoh. It's early tho.

 

[Sphinx]

Nice observations, Champs. As to Carlton, four blocks and four rebounds in 12 minutes speak pretty loudly for themselves. Most exciting thing about this team to date is that in Polley and Carlton, we've probably found our 3 and 5 for the next four years. What's impressive is that two freshmen playing their third game are the two most disciplined and under-control players on the team. Both are still a bit tentative, but when the team starts losing (dead ahead), I think both will feel more free to assert themselves.

As an aside, Champs, congrats on your recent assessments of Vital and Gilbert. Right on the mark.

 

[Sphinx]

As to the true height of the bigs, Carlton is usually listed at 6-10 in scouting reports. Using that as benchmark, I'd put Onuorah at 6-9 (under the hair), Polley at 6-8 1/2, Whaley at 6-8, Cobb at 6-7 1/2 and Diarra at 6-7. In Diarra's case, a more relevant measure would be his height sitting down, since that is the position he seems destined for.

 

[auggie22]

Hands, and coordination. More than any UCONN team in recent memory, that is what I see in this front court. They are keeping the ball alive off he glass, following their misses and hitting the bunnies.

 

[mauconnfan]

As to the true height of the bigs, Carlton is usually listed at 6-10 in scouting reports. Using that as benchmark, I'd put Onuorah at 6-9 (under the hair), Polley at 6-8 1/2, Whaley at 6-8, Cobb at 6-7 1/2 and Diarra at 6-7. In Diarra's case, a more relevant measure would be his height sitting down, since that is the position he seems destined for.

I was going to do my mau-surements in hieroglyphics for you Sphinx but you seem to have a nice handle on this. I will say if your baseline is Carlton you will need to shift a couple because he's about6'9" best I'd say.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Carlton has a frame where he looks like he can bulk up which is nice. I know this is beat to death around here but our guys just don’t develop muscle! The only three dudes on the team with any muscle tone- Dave O, Cobb, Anderson, the transfers. Yes, they’re a little older but by the time your 21-22 (Larrier, Adams) you should have something of a man’s body. Was Larrier restricted from doing upper body while he rehabbed the knee? Maybe our third S&C guy in 4 years will solve this.

 

[Sphinx]

Carlton has a frame where he looks like he can bulk up which is nice. I know this is beat to death around here but our guys just don’t develop muscle! The only three dudes on the team with any muscle tone- Dave O, Cobb, Anderson, the transfers. Yes, they’re a little older but by the time your 21-22 (Larrier, Adams) you should have something of a man’s body. Was Larrier restricted from doing upper body while he rehabbed the knee? Maybe our third S&C guy in 4 years will solve this.

I do think that Diarra, physically, is a presence on the court. Problem is, he hasn't learned how to keep his presence on the court. Also, Whaley has the shoulder spread to become an actual beast.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Carlton knows how to play organized basketball. Consistently.

Sounds like Captain Obvious and it is. However our recent bigs have had the "Still learning how to play" tag associated with them and it showed. Carlton is comfortable inside the lane and playing a game. When he is a senior and Likus is a junior, UConn will have a helluva front court. You can then pick any combination of guards and wings and be successfurl.

 

[mauconnfan]

I do think that Diarra, physically, is a presence on the court. Problem is, he hasn't learned how to keep his presence on the court. Also, Whaley has the shoulder spread to become an actual beast.

Yeah Diarra can be a physical presence but he lacks the understanding on defense which was his calling card at least. Missed a box out assignment too running to the rim rather than a butt in his man, and the rebound went over his head to his man. If he is to play he will need to learn how to cover man and will need to do those little things like be physical and box out. For now he's the last of the big men from what I see.

 

[awfuldan]

Carlton was doing some good things last night for sure!

I love that our end-of-the-rotation guys, Diarra, Williams, and Whaley, all bring such great energy. Even in limited minutes, you can pretty much count on one of those dudes dunking over some helpless fool at least once per game.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Hands, and coordination. More than any UCONN team in recent memory, that is what I see in this front court. They are keeping the ball alive off he glass, following their misses and hitting the bunnies.

I think I counted 4 different guys doing this last night, and I barely recall such things from the last few seasons. Combined nicely w/guards scoring 3/4 of the points. Overmatched competition or not, I enjoyed watching.

 

[Kembacity]

Carlton has a frame where he looks like he can bulk up which is nice. I know this is beat to death around here but our guys just don’t develop muscle! The only three dudes on the team with any muscle tone- Dave O, Cobb, Anderson, the transfers. Yes, they’re a little older but by the time your 21-22 (Larrier, Adams) you should have something of a man’s body. Was Larrier restricted from doing upper body while he rehabbed the knee? Maybe our third S&C guy in 4 years will solve this.

I agree with the bulk discussion except you're leaving out Vital who is a solid man for being a Sophomore. He's built well for his game right now I think