Cole, Sanogo and...?

[Tampahusky]

Whaley is definitely starting

 

[RMoore1999]

Sanogo needs to stay out of foul trouble or he has no chance of starting, assuming that's more important than who gets more minutes.

I see Hurley rotating 4 bigs through 2.5 frontcourt spots and 5 guys through 2.5 backcourt spots unless a star emerges to claim 35 minutes at one position.

Sanogo will start, but people here definitely underestimate the negative impact his propensity to foul will have on this team if he doesn't evolve.

If Akok starts over Whaley to begin the season, we are in for a very enjoyable season...

 

[TheChamps990411]

Simply because Akok (if fully healthy) has legit NBA potential. It's no knock on Whaley, but rather a reflection of finally having great depth.

If Akok beats out Whaley to start the season either Whaley digressed or Akok took a big leap forward. I fully expect Whaley to start in the beginning but Akok has the talent to overtake Whaley even if Whaley is playing at his best thats how good Akok can potentially be.

 

[jibsey]

Do we know that Akok is sturdy enough with that skinny body and spindly legs to even hold up to BE abuse? Whaley is.

 

[UCPharma11]

Boy what if we had a in game junk lineup of G-G-Akok at the 3, Samson at 4, Sanogo at 5. Me likey

 

[scuba lou]

I don't understand how after 4 years of proving people wrong Whaley continues to be disrespected. How could the reigning DPOTY not start?

People are forgetting how clutch Whaley played at points during the end of last season. He was literally taking over games when Bouk was out. I get Akok has more potential in the long run but Whaley’s a animal. And I just don’t see how 5th year Whaley doesn’t start.

 

[Excalibur]

Sanogo, Whaley, Martin, open (jackson/Hawkins/Diggins), Cole. The two bigs could be a problem, but I believe that both will be more effective beyond 4 feet from the basket this year.

Whaley, Sanogo, and Akok (if healthy) will probably split minutes fairly evenly, with Sanogo closer to 28 minutes and Whaley/Akok just below that (25-26).

 

[Chin Diesel]

People are forgetting how clutch Whaley played at points during the end of last season. He was literally taking over games when Bouk was out. I get Akok has more potential in the long run but Whaley’s a animal. And I just don’t see how 5th year Whaley doesn’t start.

Which games was he taking over?

His stat line over the last 15 games shows 5 games with double digit points. Out of those five games, his high game was 17 and the remainder were 13 or less points. Over those same 15 games he had 5 games with 8 or more rebounds. And his high rebound mark was 10 boards.

He did his best with block shots averaging 2.66 bpg.

He shot 44% from the floor, 43.5% from the FT line and 33.3% from the 3PT land.

If you had mentioned how well he played at the end of the 2019-2020 season I'd agree with you.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

People are forgetting how clutch Whaley played at points during the end of last season. He was literally taking over games when Bouk was out. I get Akok has more potential in the long run but Whaley’s a animal. And I just don’t see how 5th year Whaley doesn’t start.

'Expectation vs. performance' -wise, Whaley has more often than not been the equivalent of Sally's plain tomato sauce pizza ever since his mid-season emergence two years ago as the smartest player on the team, when nobody else was willing or able to claim such status.

He was regarded prior to last season with little expectation that his versatile play could continue. And it's happening again in this and other threads.

NB: the, "Can he really be this good?" resides in me no differently in this very moment, so I cannot make any bold claims in either direction.

But, as discussed elsewhere, I continue to love the plain tomato pie at Sally's every time I eat it, even if I approach ordering it from the menu and taking my first bite with skepticism. Every. Single. Time.

It's enough for me to put on the first Ramones album, or make a batch of finely grated purple cabbage cooked in a sauté of crushed garlic & extra virgin olive oil.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Would we play Akok at the 3?
Cole
Gaffney/Martin
Akok
Whaley
Sanogo

I think the only way this lineup works is if Whaley can hit 35% on a couple three attempts per game.

handling also an issue here but who knows.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Would we play Akok at the 3?
Cole
Gaffney/Martin
Akok
Whaley
Sanogo

I think the only way this lineup works is if Whaley can hit 35% on a couple three attempts per game.

handling also an issue here but who knows.

Can they play it? yes. Will they play it? who knows.

Should they play this for extensive periods of time? Hell no. This team would get destroyed on the perimeter.

Short answer is no, I don't think Akok can effectively defend a perimeter player all that well. Truthfully, out of Martin, Akok, Sanogo and Whaley, Whaley is by far the best perimeter defender. And that's especially true on pick and rolls and pick and pop plays.

As much as we fans have been having with lineups based on offense we also have to figure out defensively what makes sense. Good, bad or otherwise, Cole will always have trouble with athletic guards and from what we saw last year, Sanogo will get drilled tot he bench trying to defend the perimeter. So, you have to have a better athlete paired with Cole on the backcourt to defend the better athlete of the opponent, you need a solid wing defender and you need your other 4/5 who is paired with Sanogo to be able to defend on the perimeter.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Can they play it? yes. Will they play it? who knows.

Should they play this for extensive periods of time? Hell no. This team would get destroyed on the perimeter.

Short answer is no, I don't think Akok can effectively defend a perimeter player all that well. Truthfully, out of Martin, Akok, Sanogo and Whaley, Whaley is by far the best perimeter defender. And that's especially true on pick and rolls and pick and pop plays.

As much as we fans have been having with lineups based on offense we also have to figure out defensively what makes sense. Good, bad or otherwise, Cole will always have trouble with athletic guards and from what we saw last year, Sanogo will get drilled tot he bench trying to defend the perimeter. So, you have to have a better athlete paired with Cole on the backcourt to defend the better athlete of the opponent, you need a solid wing defender and you need your other 4/5 who is paired with Sanogo to be able to defend on the perimeter.

Good point, I wasn’t even thinking about Whaley guarding the wing with this lineup but that may work? It wouldn’t be our lineup lineup but I bet we see those 5

 

[Chin Diesel]

Would we play Akok at the 3?
Cole
Gaffney/Martin
Akok
Whaley
Sanogo

I think the only way this lineup works is if Whaley can hit 35% on a couple three attempts per game.

handling also an issue here but who knows.

I will also add this. If Akok has improved his skills enough to play 10-15 mpg at the 3, and another 10 minutes at the 4, this team will be very, very, very good.

 

[navery12]

I will also add this. If Akok has improved his skills enough to play 10-15 mpg at the 3, and another 10 minutes at the 4, this team will be very, very, very good.

I'm all for flexibility to solve the logjam of minutes at the 4/5 but do we really want Akok playing the 3? It takes away his best skill at defending the rim, and same would apply to Whaley if he's on the perimeter defending in this lineup

 

[Chin Diesel]

I'm all for flexibility to solve the logjam of minutes at the 4/5 but do we really want Akok playing the 3? It takes away his best skill at defending the rim, and same would apply to Whaley if he's on the perimeter defending in this lineup

that was my huge "if".

It's one thing for Akok to acquire the skills to play the 3 on offense but then you have to figure out where he best fits on defense. I ccould see him being a weakside defender guarding the wing or baseline and coming over for blocks or rebounds but invariably teams will figure out that tendency and kick it out and hit the 3.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Akok does not have the skills to play the 3. The leaps people are making on this kid over some off season hype tapes is ridiculous.

 

[bigknight3]

Why are the words "Akok playing at the 3" even making an appearance on the Boneyard.

Like, if we really thought that Sanogo, Whaley, Akok, Samson, and Springs were our best players it still wouldn't make any sense to suggest all 5 of the on the court at the same time.

Suggesting Akok play the 3 to get 3 bigs on the court isn't a thing.

 

[PAHusky]

To start the season:

Cole
Gaffney
Martin
Whaley
Sanogo

Jackson/Akok/Polley off the bench, probably in that order to start with. I think Jackson ends up supplanting Martin in the starting lineup and Akok either starts at some point or plays enough minutes/finishes enough games that it doesn't matter.

Biggest questions:

• how good is Akok
• can Jackson legitimately handle the ball, allowing us to go big with him in the lineup
• can Gaffney be Batman and not just Robin and, if not, does Hawkins step up
• is Sanogo good or first team all conference good

And obviously, who's getting buckets in crunch time.

Thankfully, we have the defense to turn the early games into rock fights so we can hopefully figure the offense out.

 

[8893]

Come on people, this has all been foretold:

Isaiah Whaley, RJ Cole, Hawkins, Akok, Sanogo....

Scoop, there is

 

[Chin Diesel]

Come on people, this has all been foretold:

Isaiah Whaley, RJ Cole, Hawkins, Akok, Sanogo....

Scoop, there is

As Meatloaf opined, "Three out of Five Ain't Bad".

 

[8893]

As Meatloaf opined, "Three out of Five Ain't Bad".

I'd love to hear him sing the "Scoop, There It Is" song with the UConn starter lyrics.

 

[freescooter]

This. He has been borderline terrible on offense. Here are Akok's career stats:
View attachment 69205
Compared to Squirrel's last 2 years:
View attachment 69206

I'm not saying Akok can't be better, or that his ceiling isn't higher. I am just saying that Akok would need to make a pretty sizable jump in offensive production to surpass Squirrel's numbers (which are not world-beating in the first place).

I’d say Akok’s 2020-21 season is pretty much irrelevant, but my view is similar to yours, I think. Whaley’s 8 ppg isn’t nothing. He was 4th in scoring behind Bouknight, Cole and Martin and while I held my breath every time Whaley took a 3, he was willing to take them when he had them and he made a reasonable number. He wasn’t Michael Jordan but he wasn’t a complete stiff or strictly a defensive guy either. I think he will be very tough to keep out of the starting lineup. I’d just add that Akok is coming off a potentially career threatening injury and is returning after Missing most of a year. And he wasn’t exactly a deadly outside shooter at least as a freshman. No opponent is putting in a special defense to stop a 26% shooter.