Cole, Gaff, Martin, Akok, Sanogo

[Chin Diesel]

This lineup was on point today.

It's a natural lineup.

Cole can score and pass as necessary. No pressure to run the team and look for his shot.

Gaff can be the point guard and just add scoring as needed. His 3 point shot has looked sharp both games.

Martin is a better 3 than he is a 2 or 4. Can slash, rebound and will get good open looks where he is a decent shooter.

Akok is the stretch four. A pair of 3's, a heckuva catch and dunk and just gets to be the energy guy.

Sanogo is a beast.

Would love to see this lineup for about 20 mpg.

Whaley is still lost as the 4 with Sanogo. And he is noticeably less skilled as a back to basket post player than Sanogo and noticeably worse than Akok as the face up stretch 4. He can still get 20 minutes.

Jackson. Anyone who thought he was going to be a decent or semi respectable shooter can pocket those comments until Sep 2022. He has zero confidence and seemingly zero desire to shoot a J. He is still a beast on defense in passing lanes and defensive rebounding but his man to man D was less than stellar.

Polley. We know this yo yo ride with him. If his shot isn't falling, he's not going to contribute elsewhere.

Diggins and Johnson looked more comfortable today than they did game one. Springs looked more relaxed too.

If Gaff, Cole and Martin continue to play like this Hawkins is going to max out around 15 minutes.

 

[8893]

If Gaff, Cole and Martin continue to play like this Hawkins is going to max out around 15 minutes.

Pretty hot take considering none of us have seen Hawkins play yet.

 

[superjohn]

This lineup was on point today.

It's a natural lineup.

Cole can score and pass as necessary. No pressure to run the team and look for his shot.

Gaff can be the point guard and just add scoring as needed. His 3 point shot has looked sharp both games.

Martin is a better 3 than he is a 2 or 4. Can slash, rebound and will get good open looks where he is a decent shooter.

Akok is the stretch four. A pair of 3's, a heckuva catch and dunk and just gets to be the energy guy.

Sanogo is a beast.

Would love to see this lineup for about 20 mpg.

Whaley is still lost as the 4 with Sanogo. And he is noticeably less skilled as a back to basket post player than Sanogo and noticeably worse than Akok as the face up stretch 4. He can still get 20 minutes.

Jackson. Anyone who thought he was going to be a decent or semi respectable shooter can pocket those comments until Sep 2022. He has zero confidence and seemingly zero desire to shoot a J. He is still a beast on defense in passing lanes and defensive rebounding but his man to man D was less than stellar.

Polley. We know this yo yo ride with him. If his shot isn't falling, he's not going to contribute elsewhere.

Diggins and Johnson looked more comfortable today than they did game one. Springs looked more relaxed too.

If Gaff, Cole and Martin continue to play like this Hawkins is going to max out around 15 minutes.

Agree, that lineup looks really good but Cole is the point guard. He can play off the ball at times with Gaff but he's the point guard.

Don't think you realize how good Hawkins is.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Pretty hot take considering none of us have seen Hawkins play yet.

Lol at the box score and look how the team performed when they were playing.

I did qualify my comment with an "if". I would expect 11 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals and no TO's every game from Gaff? No. But the more Gaff plays to those numbers it will eat out of Hawkins minutes.

 

[navery12]

After 2 games I'd like to see the rotation look something like this. Can trim down to 9 come Big East play, and maybe Akok takes over the starting 4 spot or Hawkins the starting 2 spot by then too

PG: Cole (25), Gaffney (10), Diggins (5)
SG: Gaffney (15), Hawkins (20), Jackson (5)
SF: Martin (15), Jackson (15), Polley (10)
PF: Whaley (10), Akok (20), Martin (5), Johnson (5)
C: Sanogo (25), Whaley (15)

 

[8893]

Lol at the box score and look how the team performed when they were playing.

I did qualify my comment with an "if". I would expect 11 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals and no TO's every game from Gaff? No. But the more Gaff plays to those numbers it will eat out of Hawkins minutes.

Lol. Two games. CCSU and Coppin State.

Hard to take much away except that AJ’s coronation may be a bit premature

 

[superjohn]

Lol. Two games. CCSU and Coppin State.

Hard to take much away except that AJ’s coronation may be a bit premature

Ha but there's some big things to take away from the cupcake games, namely Akok.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

After 2 games I'd like to see the rotation look something like this. Can trim down to 9 come Big East play, and maybe Akok takes over the starting 4 spot or Hawkins the starting 2 spot by then too

PG: Cole (25), Gaffney (10), Diggins (5)
SG: Gaffney (15), Hawkins (20), Jackson (5)
SF: Martin (15), Jackson (15), Polley (10)
PF: Whaley (10), Akok (20), Martin (5), Johnson (5)
C: Sanogo (25), Whaley (15)

If Sanogo isn’t in foul trouble he needs 30+. Against good teams he is our offense.

 

[Peacefrog]

I like that lineup too if this is what Akok is going to be like consistently. There is good spacing and satisfactory shooting. Nobody seems to be playing out of position. Having Whaley sub in for Sanogo conserves fouls too. We might see this starting lineup sooner rather than later depending on the severity of Whaley's ankle. Thankfully, it didn't look too bad.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

 

[Chin Diesel]

Lol. Two games. CCSU and Coppin State.

Hard to take much away except that AJ’s coronation may be a bit premature

But you're willing to vouch for a kid who hasn't played a minute of college basketball? There's more than a bit of LOL on that take.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Don't think you realize how good Hawkins is.

None of us do until he plays.

 

[Purple Stein]

It's pretty clear through 2 games that our weak spot is the 2. Sanogo is great, Akok will man the 4, Martin and Jackson are strong at the 3, and Cole and Gaffney can run point. I don't mind having a depth unit of Whaley, Polley, Diggins, and Johnson.

If Gaffney can let Cole play off the ball some, that helps. Otherwise, we are banking on Hawkins at the 2, and that's of course a question mark for now.

Still, considering where we've been, this is a luxurious problem. This team is going places.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Agree, that lineup looks really good but Cole is the point guard. He can play off the ball at times with Gaff but he's the point guard.

Don't think you realize how good Hawkins is.

With Cole as PG when the game started Jackson was trying to run the offense and when Gaff came in Gaff ran the point.

This is the Cole I like. He is more free to play his game. Even the three charges he took are helped by being able to slide in from weakside which is harder to do if you are guarding the opponents PG.

 

[bendm]

love the hype but UK brings Obi Toppin's brother, Lance Ware, Daimion Collins (top 20 recruit) and Bryce Hopkins (top 40 recruit) off the bench. i'd take akok over any of them but still they're deeper. i also think akok should be starting...

Cole (25)---Gaffney (15)
Hawk (20)--Jackson (15)-Gaff (5)
Martin (25)--Polley (15)
Akok (25)----Whaley (15)
Sanogo (30)-Whaley (10)

 

[UConnSwag11]

Polley won't be playing much. He doesn't offer much and hasn't improved. Gaff seems to have greatly improved his shooting and aggressiveness defensively and attacking the rim. If Hawkins is the real deal like everyone here and even Kats said, Polley's minutes will be limited

 

[navery12]

If Sanogo isn’t in foul trouble he needs 30+. Against good teams he is our offense.

I have a hard time seeing anyone playing 30 minutes. The depth is what's going to be used to beat teams this year, constantly have fresh legs on the court

 

[Chin Diesel]

Polley won't be playing much. He doesn't offer much and hasn't improved. Gaff seems to have greatly improved his shooting and aggressiveness defensively and attacking the rim. If Hawkins is the real deal like everyone here and even Kats said, Polley's minutes will be limited

This is true. Polley's minutes are for the taking if Hawk is shooting well.

 

[8893]

But you're willing to vouch for a kid who hasn't played a minute of college basketball? There's more than a bit of LOL on that take.

None of us do until he plays.

Ha. Nice try. I realize that you're still trying to recover from the embarrassment of your preseason campaign against Cole, but you are the one who is capping Hawkins's minutes at 15 sight unseen. I merely pointed out that you couldn't possibly have a reasoned basis for that prediction, which you now seem to acknowledge. That, by definition, is a hot take.

I'm not vouching for anything except what my eyes told me when Hurley didn't start Gaffney in the first two games. I thought it was a no-brainer that Gaff would start once Hawkins was injured, but Hurley obviously didn't have that confidence. This leads me to conclude that Gaffney was the third option for the 2 spot before Hawkins was injured, which would also be consistent with the lineups he had for the scrimmage, as well as reports from people who had access to the team.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I have a hard time seeing anyone playing 30 minutes. The depth is what's going to be used to beat teams this year, constantly have fresh legs on the court

That’s fair but there is a lot of overlap in this team where you don’t lose much playing the next guy up, but no one else can do what Sanogo can in the post. When he gets in position he’s like 70% to get fouled or get a bucket.

 

[UConnSwag11]

This is true. Polley's minutes are for the taking if Hawk is shooting well.

It's not only that Polley can't do what he's brought into to do. He's constantly flat-footed on defense, fouls, and doesn't rebound

 

[superjohn]

None of us do until he plays.

Your post made it sound like you do when you said he'll max out at around 15 minutes if Cole, Gaffney, and Martin play like this.

 

[UConnSwag11]

That’s fair but there is a lot of overlap in this team where you don’t lose much playing the next guy up, but no one else can do what Sanogo can in the post. When he gets in position he’s like 70% to get fouled or get a bucket.

If he can stay out of foul trouble he's playing close to 30. Cole too

 

[UConnSwag11]

I have a hard time seeing anyone playing 30 minutes. The depth is what's going to be used to beat teams this year, constantly have fresh legs on the court

You play your best. I think it was against Nova or Creighton where he was the best player on the court and we were off and running. Then he gets a phantom second foul and the game completely changes. Hurley can't do hockey subs this year. there's no need to

 

[UConnSwag11]

Jackson has to start shooting the three or at least drive midrange otherwise teams will sag deep into the paint

 

[Chin Diesel]

No embarrassment anywhere. Read my posts. I don't like Cole having to run the point for a majority of the time and he was definitely playing off the ball to start the game and whenever Gaff was on there. Find where I said anything else. Cole is a lead guard not a pure point and Hurley has lineups that play to that strength.

You "pointed out" that a lineup which had Cole score 16 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and one TO; Martin 15 and 6 rebounds while hitting 3-5 3's; and Gaff 11 points, 8 assists and zero TO's won't impact Hawkins minutes. Now, that's hot.

As others have said in this thread Polley's minutes are definitely up for grabs, and if Jackson won't even look at the rim, his minutes are up for grab too.

 

[Chin Diesel]

It's not only that Polley can't do what he's brought into to do. He's constantly flat-footed on defense, fouls, and doesn't rebound

Agree. I would almost say after two games, Hawkins, Polley and Jackson are three bodies fighting for two players' minutes.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Lol. Two games. CCSU and Coppin State.

Hard to take much away except that AJ’s coronation may be a bit premature

Thank you. I get blasted here for even mentioning that he's just OK. From talking to the folks I know that are UConn fans, when compared to BY chatter, I have to say that folks on the BY are way higher on Ajax than most fans. I was with 4 other fans today, and not one of them wants Ajax on the court.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Jackson has to start shooting the three or at least drive midrange otherwise teams will sag deep into the paint

He should not be shooting the 3 and he knows it. Did you see that possession with about 5-7 minutes left? He passed on a wide open 3, drove, and missed a runner. He has less confidence in his range than I have in his range.

 

[navery12]

You play your best. I think it was against Nova or Creighton where he was the best player on the court and we were off and running. Then he gets a phantom second foul and the game completely changes. Hurley can't do hockey subs this year. there's no need to

I'm not suggesting he do hockey subs, and of course there's going to be games where Sanogo has a great matchup and plays 30 just like there's games that Polley is going off and gets 20 or we need more from one of the freshman. I'm talking larger scale over the course of the season, 25 minutes for Sanogo doesn't mean 25 every game, it'll vary as needed