Darius Adams Decommits from UConn

[ConnHuskBask]

Honestly, I don’t care.

He wasn’t playing next year and it’s either lose him now or lose him to the portal later.

We’ve already gotten out of one ‘stage parent’ situation, so good that we’re out of another one now.

So are we supposed to dump on the kid and their family on the way out or not?

 

[Gurleyman]

No. You’re applying pre-NIL, pre-portal rules. When a coach at a top program overrates a player, by a lot of a little, that player will be gone. Floyd/Diggins/Ferguson are not REALLY misses. They’re just misses. In the mid-90s, they would stay around and see if by the end of their career they could contribute. Today, they don’t want to stay and the coaches don’t want to keep them (and have lost the belief that if a kid keeps his nose clean no matter how he plays he has a schollie until graduation).

don’t understand why anyone would worry about Floyd-Diggins-Ferguson. We weren’t re-established as a power or a destination spot at that point, the pandemic was a factor, etc. We needed pieces. And as it turns out, none of them would have been more than depth pieces. Abraham was probably just going to be a bench piece too - maybe he could have developed. But he was a reach based on recruiting rankings and it isn’t the worst thing to sign a couple kids like that. Maybe they develop, but (and I know this sounds mean) but you need practice guys too. And he was probably a good athletic defender who could make Liam and Stewie better in practice.

Floyd was maybe puzzling at the time - but thank goodness. Nice kid and he tries really hard, but it’s taken him four years to become average and we won two titles in the meantime. Maybe we win anyway with him, but that’s a parallel track we’ll never know. And I like the one we do know.

 

[HooperScooper]

I think what you’re disregarding is the feedback he got from the UConn staff. This was by all accounts a decision based on conversations with the staff and a mutual understanding.

Do we know what the UConn staff and Adams talked about? I haven't seen any quotes from the staff or Adams about that. Sorry, I guess I missed it.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

You keep pointing to the kid that was brought in to be the starting PG and was quickly relegated to an end of the bench role due to his play as evidence that Hurley does guarantee playing time. It’s quite literally direct evidence against your point.

Isn't that what you're here for?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Do we know what the UConn staff and Adams talked about? I haven't seen any quotes from the staff or Adams about that. Sorry, I guess I missed it.

Don't cloud the issue with facts. We've got a pretty good narrative cooking.

 

[SubbaBub]

Silas 25-30 pg , Malachi. 10-20 min
solo 25-35 min pg Mullins 15-25 min pg. Furphy 5 min??

This is why he left. This is modern college recruiting, especially for freshman, even more so skinny guards. He has to go somewhere desperate for min at pg in P5 or go down a level if he wants 20 min+ a game.

This, we have 4 guards that are going to get 99% of the minutes next season. We don't need any more guards for actual games, need them for practices. Slias and Ball are locks, Malachi and Mullins are also pretty solid, anyone looking to crack that backcourt is either going to need to play extremely well or hope one of the other slacks off or is just a bust. I sure when Adams committed he saw one starter in ball, one freshman in Mullins and two guys who could barely get on the floor in spite of the starting PG being more sixth man than all-conference.

Circumstances change and those circumstances were Hurley refusing to go into next season with unproven question marks at PG, burger or no burgers.

We need more rebounding, perimeter and post defense. If the goal is 75-80 ppg on offense, I'm comfortable projecting and average 40-45 ppg from Reed, Ball, and Stewart returning. Need to find the other 35 from the others. Assume 10 from the combined PG spot however it shakes out (any more would likely subtract from the returning 3). That leaves 25 from Mullins, the PF, and the backup center and the rest of the bench. Very doable.

Now rebounding, if the goal is average 40 rpg or close to it. If you assume 9 rpg for a 30 mins of Reed Jr plus another 3 for his backup, you need to find 28 more rebounds. You would hope for 5 from the combined PG spot, 4 more from Ball, leaving 19 for the two forward spots.

Stewart averaged 2.4 in 17 minutes, assume he can up that to 4 rpg, Mullins had good rebounding numbers but to expect more than 3 rpg is asking a lot until he actually plays, if Ross starts you can't expect more than 4 from him without a big leap in development, fewer if he doesn't. That's leaves us at 32 or 7-8 short. Therefore, we need to recruit another banger more than we need more backup guards which should be a notice to the guards seeking more minutes.

 

[uconn_jack]

Misses? Ryan Gomes.

Ok, not what we are talking about.

 

[Gurleyman]

There are minutes at the 3 as well. Solo and Mullins will be out there on the wings together a lot, I imagine.

Ross will sort of be a 2/3 and Stewart a 3/4 depending on need (Stewarts role probably depends a lot on AK). And Furphy is an unknown.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Jase Richardson is probably the only one you could make a case for and even he shot 10% from the field in their tournament game vs New Mexico, pretty good postseason otherwise.

I will say that saying Christian Anderson was better than JT Toppin is straight up delusion. Toppin had 3 20/10 games and 4 double-doubles while averaging 2.5 blocks a game in the tournament

My apologies on Anderson. Idk where I saw that. (see how easy it is to say you got something wrong?)

I'm not saying these guys were the best players on their teams. Just that they had big roles in their teams is true freshman who weren't top 10-15. Some not even top 50.

Are you willing to give a one word answer?

Should Hurley have played the two frosh who are now gone if he believed that every time he played them they were harming the team’s odds of winning and he didn’t believe that would change THIS season?

I’m trying to understand stand if you really believe coaches shouldn’t be focused on winning games during the current season, or you just think these two would have helped us and that believe is causing you to make these otherwise inexplicable statements.

The same process of getting Mahaney on the floor despite him not being ready and trying to develop him would've been the same for the frosh. I hope this helps.

 

[SubbaBub]

Going into the season with a lightly played Ross and Furphy at the 4 feels like a mistake.

Reed/Reibe
Ross/Stewart
Stewart/Mullins/Furphy
Ball/Mullins
Demary/Smith.

That's 9 guys, 10 if AK returns but without AK or knowing Ross is going to develop into starters minutes the 4 spot looks suspect. As a 4-out setup, it heavily leans on Reed to stay out of foul trouble and the entire team to rebound at both ends.

 

[3rdbass]

Going into the season with a lightly played Ross and Furphy at the 4 feels like a mistake.

Reed/Reibe
Ross/Stewart
Stewart/Mullins/Furphy
Ball/Mullins
Demary/Smith.

That's 9 guys, 10 if AK returns but without AK or knowing Ross is going to develop into starters minutes the 4 spot looks suspect. As a 4-out setup, it heavily leans on Reed to stay out of foul trouble and the entire team to rebound at both ends.

Mullins is starting over Ross. Stewart is starting at PF with the current personnel. C Reed, PF Stewart, SF Mullins, PG Demary and SG Ball.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Going into the season with a lightly played Ross and Furphy at the 4 feels like a mistake.

Reed/Reibe
Ross/Stewart
Stewart/Mullins/Furphy
Ball/Mullins
Demary/Smith.

That's 9 guys, 10 if AK returns but without AK or knowing Ross is going to develop into starters minutes the 4 spot looks suspect. As a 4-out setup, it heavily leans on Reed to stay out of foul trouble and the entire team to rebound at both ends.

Whether it’s AK or a portal addition, I think pretty much everyone expects the staff not to just go with Stewart at the four.

 

[amishboy]

So, if I have the sequence right, Adams commits to UConn. He’s followed by Mullins, Reibe, and Furphy. Then, UConn gets Demary and Smith from the portal. Adams then figures (either after talking to the coaching staff, or on his own) that he’s not going to get much PT for at least a year.

Out of curiosity, if you’re advising Adams, what do you tell him? 1) Stick with UConn, and even if you get minimal PT as a frosh, get as much coaching your first year as you can, and then re-evaluate? 2) De-commit from UConn, try to “re-open” your recruiting, and hope one of those teams still wants you & has a scholarship available in April? (and, if not, just “throw yourself” at any school that shows interest?).

I’m really curious what BY thoughts are, because, to me, Adams is just the most immediate example of what’s likely to be a common occurrence when there’s a “conflict” between untested high school recruits and proven talent from the portal.

 

[HooperScooper]

Going into the season with a lightly played Ross and Furphy at the 4 feels like a mistake.

There is no chance in hell that Hurley is playing either of those guys at the 4. At least for more than a few minutes. And that's why Dave Borges keeps writing that UConn's priority in the portal is for a 4 who can play some 5. I'm guessing he got this from the staff.

 

[3rdbass]

There is no chance in hell that Hurley is playing either of those guys at the 4. At least for more than a few minutes. And that's why Dave Borges keeps writing that UConn's priority in the portal is for a 4 who can play some 5. I'm guessing he got this from the staff.

That sounds pretty similar to someone who hasn't declared his intentions. Come on Alex 1 more year and win a 3rd.

 

[HooperScooper]

Don't cloud the issue with facts. We've got a pretty good narrative cooking.

nomar is a lawyer so you'd figure he would stay away from fiction to prove his point. At least an experience retired attorney like yourself understands that.

 

[FearThePups]

We're not exactly going the Pitino route, if Adams were to get minutes off the bench this coming year, I'm sure he doesn't decommit.

Other than Reed and Ball, Danny doesn’t know how players on this roster will be used this year. We expected good things last year from Mahaney and Nowell and that didn’t happen. We expected a bigger leap for Stewart and Ross and that didn’t happened. We still don’t know Alex’s status. Everyone else is new; Demary, Smith, Mullins, Reibe, Furphy. Really hard to know how all this shakes out, not only with where players will plug into a position or minutes per player. This is the downside of wholesale roster changes every year. Unknown risk.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Other than Reed and Ball, Danny doesn’t know how players on this roster will be used this year. We expected good things last year from Mahaney and Nowell and that didn’t happen. We expected a bigger leap for Stewart and Ross and that didn’t happened. We still don’t know Alex’s status. Everyone else is new; Demary, Smith, Mullins, Reibe, Furphy. Really hard to know how all this shakes out, not only with where players will plug into a position or minutes per player. This is the downside of wholesale roster changes every year. Unknown risk.

Yeah, no chance that’s true. Hurley and the staff absolutely have an idea of how players will be used and anticipated lineups. They need to know that to recruit, allocate NIL, build the roster, etc. That doesn’t mean the plan will turn out the way they expect (see: last season), but there is I’m sure a pretty defined plan.

 

[FearThePups]

Because he didn't think he was going to play much this coming season. Some say that's being realistic. I say that's a defeatist attitude. Playing time is not determined in April. He obviously isn't very confident in his abilities. He's going to have to compete for playing time wherever he goes. Should he drop down a level and go to a mid-major so he can assure he'll get a lot of playing time?

Maybe not drop down to mid major level but surely not attend a blue blood school and expect ample minutes unless you truly are a one and done.

 

[Staven]

As the saying goes one door closes another one will open. Go Huskies!

 

[FearThePups]

There is no chance in hell that Hurley is playing either of those guys at the 4. At least for more than a few minutes. And that's why Dave Borges keeps writing that UConn's priority in the portal is for a 4 who can play some 5. I'm guessing he got this from the staff.

Yes, yes and yes. We need a real 4 that can pitch in as a 5 if needed regardless of Alex’s decision.

 

[FearThePups]

Yeah, no chance that’s true. Hurley and the staff absolutely have an idea of how players will be used and anticipated lineups. They need to know that to recruit, allocate NIL, build the roster, etc. That doesn’t mean the plan will turn out the way they expect (see: last season), but there is I’m sure a pretty defined plan.

Let me clarify. Yes, I suspect there is a plan but until all the pieces are on campus and practices start, I wouldn’t bet that positional roles are locked with the exception of Reed, Ball, Demary. I keep seeing comments that Stew can play 3/4, Mullins can play 2/3, Ross can play 2/3, etc. We can all speculate but nobody here has a crystal ball.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I have a strong suspicion that after the 4 is settled (either AK returning or a portal pickup) we will add two or three low level portal guys (emergency 5, emergency 1, possibly a 4-5 or a 3-4) who will seldom see the court, but will be needed to run full practices.

There are a ton of players still in the portal. Filling out the roster with a couple practice players won't be impossible.

 

[SoCalCanine]

I've already seen it spelled "Adam's" twice, and "Darious" was among the various ways it could have been misspelled. It's possible that you're right, but he still would have fit right in...in terms of having a name that could be mangled. We're very good at this.

Maybe you can help me?
You see, in anticipation of a GREAT freshman season, I had 10K signs printed up that say:
"CARRY US, DARIUS!".
I planned on handing them out at home games. Oops.

I sure hope he goes to a high-profile school so I can unload these. Got any friends named Darius? I need my money back to sink into my other idea - T shirts that say :
"DEMARY - RHYMES WITH TEMERY"

 

[Gurleyman]

Maybe you can help me?
You see, in anticipation of a GREAT freshman season, I had 10K signs printed up that say:
"CARRY US, DARIUS!".
I planned on handing them out at home games. Oops.

I sure hope he goes to a high-profile school so I can unload these. Got any friends named Darius? I need my money back to sink into my other idea - T shirts that say :
"DEMARY - RHYMES WITH TEMERY"

There’s a generation gap at play here. But we didn’t have much luck with Darii at the turn of the century. Lane knocked us into the NIT with a buzzer beater. Rice gave us one of our worst losses ever on a buzzer beater.

It’s a cursed name.