Clingan Expectations - Year 1 and Career

[CL82]

Don't forget to mention that he'll do so while playing the point.

Well he is a good passer by all accounts and should be able to see over the Defense.

 

[yungdowork]

My question is not just on DC but DH. Will you work on defensive schemes so when he needs to play maybe they can play some zone? Hmmmm

Honestly, my guess is no. Hurley really doesn't seem to want to embrace a zone, and I think that's mostly fine. Especially with Newton coming in, we have a good blend of size and athleticism that I hope will make us a tougher matchup in man. Cole was a solid defender given his size and level of athleticism, and elite at drawing charges, but bigger guards were able to bully him or just score over the top of him.

Hopefully, Hurley realizes that hedging that hard asks too much of your big man. Maybe we could switch more (given that 6'5 will be the smallest guy in our starting 5), maybe we hedge less and rely on our guards to try to stay in front. Either way, without Whaley out there, I think the high hedge should be readdressed in some way. Kalkbrenner used it to absolutely kill us last season.

 

[BigTenFan]

I think the toughest transition from HS to D1 Basketball for big men is hands- strength and ability to keep the ball above defenders.
It is so much harder in college to get inside position and be able to finish at the rim.

 

[uconnfan68]

He's 7'2", so he doesn't have to have a ton of foot speed to be successful. He obviously can't be wearing concrete shoes out there but at his size he can function being a little slower than someone that's 6'9". This is obviously contingent on Danny conforming to the talent he's given, because if Clingan is asked to play the high hedge like Sanogo and Whaley then he's probably going to struggle.

If we're still playing hard high hedge next year, it means Danny didn't learn anything. Even with Whaley that hedge got torched by good teams. Let them shoot from 30+'.

 

[mauconnfan]

If we're still playing hard high hedge next year, it means Danny didn't learn anything. Even with Whaley that hedge got torched by good teams. Let them shoot from 30+'.

^^^This^^^

 

[yungdowork]

If we're still playing hard high hedge next year, it means Danny didn't learn anything. Even with Whaley that hedge got torched by good teams. Let them shoot from 30+'.

You don't hedge to prevent a contested three, you hedge to prevent your guard from getting blown by. It's supposed to buy time for your guard to get back in front of his man.

Our problem is that our bigs overcommit, essentially turning every screen into a double-team, which leaves whoever set the screen wide open

 

[uconnfan68]

You don't hedge to prevent a contested three, you hedge to prevent your guard from getting blown by. It's supposed to buy time for your guard to get back in front of his man.

Our problem is that our bigs overcommit, essentially turning every screen into a double-team, which leaves whoever set the screen wide open

It become a pick-and-roll for most teams, and the big is usually unguarded. I'm still seeing Kalkbrenner all alone for dunks.

 

[bendm]

Newton 30- Castle 10
Hawkins 15- Transfer 25
Jackson 25- Hawkins 15
Samson 15- Karaban 15- Jackson 5- Springs 5
Sanogo 30- Samson 5- Clingan 5

30- Newton, Hawk, Jackson, Sanogo
25- Transfer
20- Samson
15- Karaban
10- Castle
5- Clingan, Springs

 

[ToolzieFan]

It become a pick-and-roll for most teams, and the big is usually unguarded. I'm still seeing Kalkbrenner all alone for dunks.

I’ll admit that Creighton really exploited us that game. Our defense has some rough performances in big games - really big games, at that - but more teams struggled against our defense than took advantage of it. Our opponents shot 42.6% from two against us, which was fourth best in the nation. And we were fourth in the nation in block percentage. So most players didn’t get unguarded pick and rolls like Kalkbrenner. Opponents shot too well from three against us, but we were way above average at preventing three-point attempts in the first place. I think we need to be able to adjust when a team is well-equipped to handle the hard hedge, and we need to play to our personnel’s strengths more, but let’s not pretend we didn’t have awesome defensive performances.

 

[uconnfan68]

I’ll admit that Creighton really exploited us that game. Our defense has some rough performances in big games - really big games, at that - but more teams struggled against our defense than took advantage of it. Our opponents shot 42.6% from two against us, which was fourth best in the nation. And we were fourth in the nation in block percentage. So most players didn’t get unguarded pick and rolls like Kalkbrenner. Opponents shot too well from three against us, but we were way above average at preventing three-point attempts in the first place. I think we need to be able to adjust when a team is well-equipped to handle the hard hedge, and we need to play to our personnel’s strengths more, but let’s not pretend we didn’t have awesome defensive performances.

I can’t imagine how we would have ended up without a top flight defense. I’d be happy with guarding the 3 better, and getting more blocks though.

 

[superjohn]

I can’t imagine how we would have ended up without a top flight defense. I’d be happy with guarding the 3 better, and getting more blocks though.

So basically you want to be the best defense ever. Sure, that would be nice.

 

[bigknight3]

He could be Travis Knight or he could be Justin Brown.

Still haunted by Justin Brown...

 

[uconnfan68]

So basically you want to be the best defense ever. Sure, that would be nice.

Best offense too.

 

[jdb50]

If DC is averaging less than 10 minutes a game it will be a failure by Hurley. He needs to be in with a lineup that will compliment his talent. And cause problems for the opponent. He is 7'2" and can pass. Keep Adama fresh and use all your players .

 

[UofCT]

If DC is averaging less than 10 minutes a game it will be a failure by Hurley. He needs to be in with a lineup that will compliment his talent. And cause problems for the opponent. He is 7'2" and can pass. Keep Adama fresh and use all your players .

Just stop. It won’t be a failure by Hurley if Clingan sucks as a freshman.

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

Or Thabeet or Voskuhl.

...or Antric Klaiber, or Jonathan Mandeldove.. or maybe Toby Kimball, Cliff Robinson, or Chuck Alexsinas, to mention a few.

 

[navery12]

Just stop. It won’t be a failure by Hurley if Clingan sucks as a freshman.

Especially when he's a pure 5 playing behind an All Big East center who's gonna play 30+ minutes a game

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

Clingan is large presence with looming large question marks for the upcoming season. He's a big body who has shown a great penchant for being able to get buckets, albeit when functioning as Gulliver against a bunch of Lilliputians when roaming the paint for Bristol Central. Can he spell Sanago for five to ten minutes? Will he be shackled to the bench like Springs and Samson? One major red flag is his lack of foot speed which often equates into a basket full of personal fouls. Is he going to be Travis Knight or Jonathon Mandeldove over his career? Having a home grown talent helps in so many different ways. The question is what are the realistic expectations.

Anyone who expects DC to be a major force his freshman year
will be sadly disappointed. His high school team, Bristol Central would never be mistaken for other powerhouses like DeMatha, IMG Prep, or Duncanville, or Oakhill Academy.
Sure, they were ranked either 1 or 2 in Connecticut, but were not even in the top 50 teams of usbasket.com. So let's not start to anoint him as the savior of the program just yet.

 

[ucp990411]

If DC is averaging less than 10 minutes a game it will be a failure by Hurley. He needs to be in with a lineup that will compliment his talent. And cause problems for the opponent. He is 7'2" and can pass. Keep Adama fresh and use all your players .

Holy cow

 

[husky429]

Newton 30- Castle 10
Hawkins 15- Transfer 25
Jackson 25- Hawkins 15
Samson 15- Karaban 15- Jackson 5- Springs 5
Sanogo 30- Samson 5- Clingan 5

30- Newton, Hawk, Jackson, Sanogo
25- Transfer
20- Samson
15- Karaban
10- Castle
5- Clingan, Springs

If Castle reclasses to only get 10 mins a game we have failed him horribly.

 

[aburks41]

If Castle reclasses to only get 10 mins a game we have failed him horribly.

Castle said yesterday he’s going to be one and done. I don’t think he even reclasses at this point unless he is starting.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

By year 2 I expect him to be like one of those dominant Iowa big men

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yeah agree about his mindset. The fact people think there’s a chance this kid could be Mandeldove is hilarious. Some can’t see past him playing against small dudes mostly and don’t see the things he can do, at 7’2” mind you. No doubt he will need to improve his quickness especially on D but he will see time, how much is up to him every year. Great to hear he’s slimming down and getting stronger that’s a must.

My question is not just on DC but DH. Will you work on defensive schemes so when he needs to play maybe they can play some zone? Hmmmm

He’s his own player as they all are. He isn’t likely to ever have the foot speed and agility Knight had. Offensively already has more skill than Mandeldove or Brown. He can be an impact player, but it will require adapting a scheme around what he can and can’t do. It will be interesting to see if DH is willing to do that. I don’t think it will happen, if it does, until Sanogo is gone. So DC’s sophomore year perhaps.

 

[jdb50]

Holy cow

CTInsider article today Hurley says" Adama ran out of gas down the stretch. He was playing 37,38 minutes in these games. We needed him to play that many minutes for us to be in the position we were. He was pretty spent down the stretch. You could see it in the lack of lift he had at the Garden." There is a way to prevent this from happening and hopefully DH can adjust his in game coaching to do so.

 

[Purple Stein]

Does anybody else here think we need another back up big guy?
What happens if Sanogo gets hurt and is out for an extended period of time?
Not to mention he is foul prone

I really do feel this way - not to recruit over Clingan but to provide more depth.

The question is really Springs and only DH knows what we have there. I guess if we lose Adama, Johnson, or Clingan we rework the offense to play 5 out or we turn to Springs.