Cole sits in 2nd half

[Lemuel]

Not taking it as gospel, just praying to God that he does come back

 

[wheelerdog]

The guy has been exhausted during the last 4 minutes of these last two games.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

For all the talk of positionless basketball, a team just needs a point guard on the court. Gaff is not really a point guard. There is not much anyone on UConn can do about this fact at this point.

The need for a point guard has always been a fact of basketball. Chris Smith was a great basketball player, but he was not a point guard, and UConn looked kind of silly at times when he tried to play point. On the other end of the spectrum was Craig Austrie. He was barely a D1 player, but we needed a point guard on those 2006 and 2009 teams and he was a big piece of UConn's success those seasons. .

 

[uconnfan68]

Gaff doesn't play stong. Doesn't control ball. Dribbles to high and to close to his body. He is small SG.

And only a streaky shooter. Missed layups in last 2 games.

 

[superjohn]

Seriously.

I can't believe the number of people who take it as gospel that Cole, who turns 23 over the summer, will just want to come back for a 6th year of college.

That's been the plan, Cole is totally different than your average student athlete and average overall student.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

They started pressing after that lineup was in I believe, before that just aggressive D. It was a good move by Steele. Cole's 3rd foul happened at the same time as Jackson's normal rotation break. Hurley called a timeout to change it up when they cut it under 10 right after this.

Hell yeah it was a good move to press. Gaffney was the only guy who was a decent ball handler and passer on the floor. Like superjohn said it shouldn’t ever be the lineup. This is college basketball. We NEED guards.

 

[Hamms30]

Seriously.

I can't believe the number of people who take it as gospel that Cole, who turns 23 over the summer, will just want to come back for a 6th year of college.

 

[djct1999]

Sometimes Hurley is a bit conservative in sitting guys who are in foul trouble. Sat Sanogo for most of the first half after two fouls. Cole with three fouls in the second half when we're up a bunch isn't really a problem, in my opinion. Just keep him in and relatively cautious, keeping the lead and dwindling down the clock.

Sometimes Hurley is a bit conservative in sitting guys who are in foul trouble. Sat Sanogo for most of the first half after two fouls. Cole with three fouls in the second half when we're up a bunch isn't really a problem, in my opinion. Just keep him in and relatively cautious, keeping the lead and dwindling down the clock.

Hurley did what any sensible coach would do. We were up double digits. He sat him until the lead dwindled below 10. To do anything other than what Hurley did would be basketball malpractice.

 

[Storrs South]

 

[August_West]

Good kid. May surprise us yet. He has it in him. Waiting for that one game where he’s the difference.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Good kid. May surprise us yet. He has it in him. Waiting for that one game where he’s the difference.

Hurley keeps putting him in tough situations. His BPM was +9.7 on Saturday. He played 8 minutes and tied for the lead in assists with 3. Martin was +1.2 in what looked like a bad game and Jackson was -3.1 in what was clearly a bad game for him. Gaff is playing much better D, despite the board somehow thinking otherwise. He just seems to have lost confidence on offense, despite shooting well last year. Would be huge if he can shoot like last year.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

In this short interview, he seems like he has lost confidence but maybe he was tired or just being low key. Let's all hope that he can catch a tailwind the rest of the season and create controlled sparks when we need him most. He can certainly be a match-up problem given his skill set and energy. He is also effective at the FT line so that could definitely be needed down the stretch as games get tougher and foul troubles appear, we need to break the press, starters get fatigued in back-to back games, etc.

 

[HooperScooper]

Good kid. May surprise us yet. He has it in him. Waiting for that one game where he’s the difference.

Need to instill some confidence in Gaffney and get him going because they could use him playing well. Spell Cole for breathers and if he's in foul trouble, and as another ballhandler down the stretch when they're closing out games when they have the lead.