Castle quote that Solo Ball should paint on his wall.

[dennismenace]

The only issue with Solo Ball right now is that Spencer, Castle and Diarra are much better at this moment in time. What makes you think Hurley is any less invested in Ball just because of his PT in game which is a fraction of the time the staff spends with him?

You don't like the example and wait and be patient but when that model has proven to be effective for both the program and the players, what else is there to argue?

I think players 38 and and 39 minutes is running scared of a loss and is reverting back to the old "7 man rotation" that for some reason is so popular on this board (and at times with Dan Hurley). You think Solo is that much of a liability even to come in for 3-4 minutes each to give them a breather down the stretch even if it is more of a defensive replacement? What we can't see is that Cam and Newton might have played BETTER with a short rest. I can see your side of the argument but I just don't agree with it; that's all.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

It has shown to be effective for one guy who was a lottery pick in Jordan Hawkins. I do not consider Andre Jackson as a developmental success story when a kid that talented leaves with no scoring ability after 3 years as a second round pick. Team success? Absolutely. Individually? I don’t think he received any awards and was not a first rounder. It’s cringe to try to prop that up as a developmental success. Samson Johnson is most likely not going to be a first rounder either and after 3 years can’t get in position to grab rebounds. He is not a developmental success at this point.

Every single player who has been in this program has gotten better after each season. You're focusing on Hawkins and Jackson (for whatever reason you in spite of being in the NBA is 'cringe' to cite as an example) and ignoring everyone else. If your measure of success is a 1st round pick, that's going to be a pretty lofty goal.

I think players 38 and and 39 minutes is running scared of a loss and is reverting back to the old "7 man rotation" that for some reason is so popular on this board (and at times with Dan Hurley). You think Solo is that much of a liability even to come in for 3-4 minutes each to give them a breather down the stretch even if it is more of a defensive replacement? What we can't see is that Cam and Newton might have played BETTER with a short rest. I can see your side of the argument but I just don't agree with it; that's all.

I never said anything about Ball being a liability. I suspect that the best coach in college basketball has a better feel for it than me or anyone else on here, so I'm fine deferring to him.

 

[HooperScooper]

I think we might see more Ball as NCAA tourney play begins.

I'm confused. Can you explain that further? When one and done games come you think Hurley will play a bench player more? Doesn't he usually shorten the bench time when tournament play begins? Or are you saying there are going to be a lot of blowouts like last year and the bench will get to play more because of that?

 

[imno1]

Why hasn't Andre Johnson Jr gotten any run? I mean c'mon now, he sounds like a combination of Andre Jackson Jr and Samson Johnson. Why has Andrew Hurley played twice as many minutes as Andre? And then something about Hawkins yada, yada, yada

 

[dennismenace]

I'm confused. Can you explain that further? When one and done games come you think Hurley will play a bench player more? Doesn't he usually shorten the bench time when tournament play begins? Or are you saying there are going to be a lot of blowouts like last year and the bench will get to play more because of that?

I think that playing the bench ultimately creates the blowouts. I believe the bench is an integral part of the team. Not a bunch of afterthoughts when any game is close. I think a great way to avoid criticism is to run your best players into the ground because that seems to be less of a risk (and thus less a subject of criticism). In other words I think Dan Hurley is playing the short game (today) which is the "safe" game instead instead of utilizing all of his assets and yes I think the bench is an asset and not a liability. Unlike tournaments when there is no tomorrow there is a tomorrow here. Also, don't think that the recruits and their suitors don't see the short rotation. Admittedly this bench does not have the experience of last years team but how it is utilized may very well affect recruiting.


We don't know the whole picture and thus there is a lot of speculation by everyone on the BY because we simply do not have all the facts and/or don't know what Dan Hurley knows and is thinking. I'm just fine with that but this has been a tendency of his in the past.

Maybe his strategy will be gambling on the portal and less on recruiting after what happened to our would be recruits who wound up with Duke instead of us. We shall see.

I think we all want them to win badly but we also want them to continue winning and remain a powerhouse every year.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Every single player who has been in this program has gotten better after each season. You're focusing on Hawkins and Jackson (for whatever reason you in spite of being in the NBA is 'cringe' to cite as an example) and ignoring everyone else. If your measure of success is a 1st round pick, that's going to be a pretty lofty goal.



I never said anything about Ball being a liability. I suspect that the best coach in college basketball has a better feel for it than me or anyone else on here, so I'm fine deferring to him.

We just have different expectations if 1st rounders aren’t a measure for development success for players that have the talent to do so. And that’s fine.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

We just have different expectations if 1st rounders aren’t a measure for development success for players that have the talent to do so. And that’s fine.

The "talent to do so" as measured by who - you

Who else should have been a 1st round pick? Jackson got drafted in the NBA in 2024 with a worse jump shot than most pick up players - that's a testament in of itself.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Castle is 7-20 from 3 pt land over the past 7 games.

35% and about 3 attempts per game.

Those numbers are plenty fine and I expect he's going to be making 1 or 2 per game going forward.

 

[RedStickHusky]

We all have our pet theories and preferences. I might believe Andrew Hurley could go for 20 in a 1/16 game. I'd never be so narcissistic as to suggest that Dan Hurley is wrong for not sharing my view. I'm in the "he probably knows what he's doing" camp.

 

[Deleted at users request]

The "talent to do so" as measured by who - you

Who else should have been a 1st round pick? Jackson got drafted in the NBA in 2024 with a worse jump shot than most pick up players - that's a testament in of itself.

Okay so you think Andre isn’t that talented and that scoring is something that can’t be coached. Got it.

 

[Chin Diesel]

2-2 today from 3.

Now 10-22 over past 8 games.

10-31 for the season.

He's going to shoot 35% from 3 for the rest of the season.

 

[HooperScooper]

2-2 today from 3.

Now 10-22 over past 8 games.

10-31 for the season.

He's going to shoot 35% from 3 for the rest of the season.

I'll go over. Percentage still has room to make up for the bad start to the season.

 

[dennismenace]

Ball is going to terrorize the BE next year. This is all prep for him to do that.

He is an elite athlete. Has good instincts. If he does not get sufficient minutes let's hope he doesn't
terrorize the BE on another team because many teams would covet him. Teams like just about all of them including Rickey boy who just got his a__ kicked in his home town.

 

[dennismenace]

Don't worry, Hurley's got this. Communication is the key.

Freshman Jayden Ross saw some minutes early in the season, but is now one of the last players off the bench. Hurley believes the athletic, energetic forward has bought in to the idea that his future is still bright in Storrs.

"We try to stay in the ears and the minds of all of our young players," the coach said. "You're currently in a program that, for the last season-and-a-half, has done college basketball better than anyone else has done it, in terms of winning. But also, from a player development standpoint, this is a pretty good program to be in. But you've got to pay your dues. Andre (Jackson Jr.) did it early in his career, Jordan Hawkins did it early on in his career. You've got to just trust us. I don't think there's a better place to be than this place is for Jaylin (Stewart) and Jayden and Solo (Ball) and Youssouf (Singare). They're probably all not playing as much as they'd like to, but you're in one of the premiere places you can play, with a coaching staff that is truly committed to these guys."

The question from a media member starts at about 13:30 of this video.

That kind of speech plays well in the pre portal days but that was then and this is now. It's a gamble any way you look at it now. The portal works both ways. The portal giveth and the portal taketh away.

 

[dennismenace]

I'm confused. Can you explain that further? When one and done games come you think Hurley will play a bench player more? Doesn't he usually shorten the bench time when tournament play begins? Or are you saying there are going to be a lot of blowouts like last year and the bench will get to play more because of that?

The bench did not often come in because it was a blowout last year. They came and helped cause it. Calcaterra on offense. Alleyne on defense and at times on offense. Clingan both ways. And most importantly being fresh they helped run down the mostly 7 man rotations they were facing. That why they trounced everyone down the stretch after Hurley figured it out.

 

[REB1094]

Not sure if this is a hot take but I think Solo doesn’t get minutes is because of his defense, not his offense. Also obviously that we just have 7 guys ahead of him who are no brainer high-minute guys

He doesn’t turn the ball over. He hustles for offensive rebounds or at least keeps balls alive at the rim. I just checked his 3P numbers, he’s 32% on the year but that is dragged down from early season. Since December, he’s 13-30 (43%) with lights out performances against Xavier and UNC

But on defense he gets blown by often, gets lost off ball, and doesn’t do great zoning up. More minutes will help that, but unfortunately this needs to be taught in practice because we’re the #1 team chasing a BE title. If we run guys off the court like we did to Xavier, it’ll open up more development minutes for Solo. 2 of the next 3 are GTown and DePaul, hope that happens there

I have a feeling he’s going to explode next season when a lot of our backcourt minutes free up.

 

[rich1122]

Can only put 5 guys out there. He and Stewart just need to try and get better every day. It’ll come.

 

[huskiemaniac]

I explicitly said Hawkin’s and Solo’s situations aren’t the same.

The common denominator of all these recruits that come in is confidence issues. At some point it’s not their fault they all have confidence issues. Only one who didn’t was Karaban and that was because he HAD to play. Not counting bigs. It sounds like a cop out to not have to actually work with guys as freshmen.

It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things because Hurley’s way is going to win us games regardless. It’s just annoying to hear that as I rewatch a game where Marcus Williams is running around throwing dimes on the road during Big East play on a NC team. Playing absolutely fearless. Like most of Calhoun’s freshmen did. It’s almost like confidence can be coached.

Alex also came a year early, if I’m remembering correctly …lots of time for him to learn before he ever played in a game.

 

[jibsey]

Ball and Stewart are both very talented but we have too much experienced talent out there for them to get much more floor time. On another team in a different situation they could both be making headlines if given the chance. Next year will be great for them both.

 

[XLCenterFan]

He is an elite athlete. Has good instincts. If he does not get sufficient minutes let's hope he doesn't
terrorize the BE on another team because many teams would covet him. Teams like just about all of them including Rickey boy who just got his a__ kicked in his home town.

No way the kid leaves. Newton gone. Castle gone. Spencer gone. Ball and Nowell will be getting minutes.

 

[dennismenace]

Not sure if this is a hot take but I think Solo doesn’t get minutes is because of his defense, not his offense. Also obviously that we just have 7 guys ahead of him who are no brainer high-minute guys

He doesn’t turn the ball over. He hustles for offensive rebounds or at least keeps balls alive at the rim. I just checked his 3P numbers, he’s 32% on the year but that is dragged down from early season. Since December, he’s 13-30 (43%) with lights out performances against Xavier and UNC

But on defense he gets blown by often, gets lost off ball, and doesn’t do great zoning up. More minutes will help that, but unfortunately this needs to be taught in practice because we’re the #1 team chasing a BE title. If we run guys off the court like we did to Xavier, it’ll open up more development minutes for Solo. 2 of the next 3 are GTown and DePaul, hope that happens there

I have a feeling he’s going to explode next season when a lot of our backcourt minutes free up.

Thanks for clarifying about his defense. He has the potential to do a lot better than that. I hope he takes a page from Castle's example which seems to be staying calm and thinking out there. I hope he also gets a head start over the summer to work on everything he needs to and hope you are right about next season. He's got great athleticism and seems to have a good attitude. It's a big jump to play at a top D1 program.

 

[Palatine]

Thanks for clarifying about his defense. He has the potential to do a lot better than that. I hope he takes a page from Castle's example which seems to be staying calm and thinking out there. I hope he also gets a head start over the summer to work on everything he needs to and hope you are right about next season. He's got great athleticism and seems to have a good attitude. It's a big jump to play at a top D1 program.

Early in the season Hurley said that Ball rarely made mistakes on defense and this allowed him (Hurley) to keep Ball on the floor. Lately though his flaws on defense have been pretty visible especially the blow bys. It is pretty common for young players to play poor defense when their offense is struggling.

Hopefully Ball can regroup a little. He hit a nice little put back jumper against St Johns. Perhaps that is a first step he can build on. He is highly talented and has physical gifts. As Hurley said when Karaban went through his slump, he grabbed a rebound, cut hard and made a lay up, he didn't let one part of his game drag down the other parts.

 

[inWV]

Thanks for clarifying about his defense. He has the potential to do a lot better than that. I hope he takes a page from Castle's example which seems to be staying calm and thinking out there. I hope he also gets a head start over the summer to work on everything he needs to and hope you are right about next season. He's got great athleticism and seems to have a good attitude. It's a big jump to play at a top D1 program.

Diarra is a pest defensively and is preferred to be on the court against some lineups in conference play. Offensively he takes what is given him and is in the flow of the offense. Ball is competing for minutes with Diarra and is on the short end, just as Diarra was last year with Calcaterra and Allyne.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Early in the season Hurley said that Ball rarely made mistakes on defense and this allowed him (Hurley) to keep Ball on the floor. Lately though his flaws on defense have been pretty visible especially the blow bys. It is pretty common for young players to play poor defense when their offense is struggling.

Hopefully Ball can regroup a little. He hit a nice little put back jumper against St Johns. Perhaps that is a first step he can build on. He is highly talented and has physical gifts. As Hurley said when Karaban went through his slump, he grabbed a rebound, cut hard and made a lay up, he didn't let one part of his game drag down the other parts.

Karaban is an unfair comp to make. Hurley is currently invested in him enough to work with him to figure it out.

We aren’t that invested in Solo at the moment. If something isn’t working we just won’t play him because we have other guys who rightfully deserve more minutes who are performing like Diarra. He doesn’t really have a leash to figure things out the same way. And it’s not a need when we are winning like we do.

 

[inWV]

Karaban is an unfair comp to make. Hurley is currently invested in him enough to work with him to figure it out.

We aren’t that invested in Solo at the moment. If something isn’t working we just won’t play him because we have other guys who rightfully deserve more minutes who are performing like Diarra. He doesn’t really have a leash to figure things out the same way. And it’s not a need when we are winning like we do.

Karaban got abused by more experienced BE 4's early in the conference season last year, but pretty much had it figured out later on. Ball will play more or less in the rest of the conference games, depending on matchups.

 

[aceboon]

Karaban is an unfair comp to make. Hurley is currently invested in him enough to work with him to figure it out.

We aren’t that invested in Solo at the moment. If something isn’t working we just won’t play him because we have other guys who rightfully deserve more minutes who are performing like Diarra. He doesn’t really have a leash to figure things out the same way. And it’s not a need when we are winning like we do.

You've reached a revelation so hopefully this is the end of it

 

[Deleted at users request]

You've reached a revelation so hopefully this is the end of it

What do you mean? My opinion hasn’t changed. Things are nuanced.

 

[Palatine]

Karaban is an unfair comp to make. Hurley is currently invested in him enough to work with him to figure it out.

We aren’t that invested in Solo at the moment. If something isn’t working we just won’t play him because we have other guys who rightfully deserve more minutes who are performing like Diarra. He doesn’t really have a leash to figure things out the same way. And it’s not a need when we are winning like we do.

I an NOT comparing him to Karaban. They are completely different players. I am using Karaban as an example. How AK handled a certain situation. It could apply to Clingan although they are completely different players. If one part of your game isn't working, don't let it affect other parts of your game. Heck, it could apply in a corporate environment.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Karaban got abused by more experienced BE 4's early in the conference season last year, but pretty much had it figured out later on. Ball will play more or less in the rest of the conference games, depending on matchups.

Right. He struggled early but because we gave him big minutes (because we had no other choice) he eventually figured it out and was much better for it. Ball doesn’t have that opportunity here because of the other options we have.

I an NOT comparing him to Karaban. They are completely different players. I am using Karaban as an example. How AK handled a certain situation. It could apply to Clingan although they are completely different players. If one part of your game isn't working, don't let it affect other parts of your game. Heck, it could apply in a corporate environment.

Oh yeah sorry didn’t mean you were comparing them as players. Just meant the opportunity and situations they are in are different for Ball to do what Karaban did.