Depth in Atlantis

[ThabeetDown]

The Huskies played 135 minutes of game in Atlantis. This is how it was broken down by player (with % of available minutes):

I also added the cumulative +/- from the three games as well so you can see how impactful they were while they were on the court. A few observations:

• Cole most minutes and tied for the highest +/-. Not a surprise whatsoever -- obviously his foul trouble vs MSU looms large. He was +14 vs Auburn for the record.
• Lot's of mixed reviews on Jackson's play, but ultimately he was the most consistent with is +/- (+6, +5, +6) so hard to fault him so much when he does end up producing results when he's on the court. His impact shouldn't be overlooked by his flaws (which of course do need to be corrected eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later). It seems he picked up Akok's and Polley's minutes today (and part of Whaley's yesterday)
• Whaley playing the 5th most minutes despite not even playing in one of the games is all you need to know about his impact. His +19 is mostly from Auburn (+15)
• Gaffney's -13 mostly stems from Auburn (-15). He got the jump up in minutes today and responded with a +3
• Hawkins scored 16 points in 15 min vs Auburn and just never really got into either of the last 2 games. Of course he still showed flashes of his talent, but I attribute this to being an inconsistent freshman more than anything. Regardless of him being a freshman or not only playing 1/3 of available minutes is simply unacceptable given the flaws this team has and him having the tools to be part of the solution. You can only do so much learning on the bench...
• Akok's 5 minutes today is pretty glaring. We all want this kid to be a success given what he's gone through but he didn't even play after the first half today. Will be very interesting to see what his spot in the rotation looks like going forward.

At the end of the day, we went into a very difficult 3-day tournament citing depth as a strong point of the team yet it never really materialized. Only about 27% of the minutes from this week came from our bench. This should have gone UP as we went day-by-day, but instead if actually went DOWN (28.4% to 27.5% to 24.3%). That's crazy to me. What is the point of having depth when you're not going to use it -- especially on day 3 of playing in a row. I would have loved to see any of the 3 DNPs at some point this week, even if it was just for 3-5 minutes. Give them a taste of real competition and see how they react. Injuries will occur, so don't you want them at least somewhat tested? These are the games you experiment with your lineups and take some risks. Hurley did not take any risks and I do not like that.

 

[WestHartHusk]

This tells me Whaley needs more run at the 5, which would free up some time for Hawkins to work his way in. And Gaffney needs to spend even less time on the floor.

 

[businesslawyer]

You are not going to convince me that Hawkins' minutes weren't limited by his ankle being reinjured against Auburn. If he's not getting more minutes against St. Bonnies and WVU, then I'll be proven wrong.

 

[ThabeetDown]

You are not going to convince me that Hawkins' minutes weren't limited by his ankle being reinjured against Auburn. If he's not getting more minutes against St. Bonnies and WVU, then I'll be proven wrong.

I also hope this is the case. He’s too talented to not be playing 20+

 

[jibsey]

You are not going to convince me that Hawkins' minutes weren't limited by his ankle being reinjured against Auburn. If he's not getting more minutes against St. Bonnies and WVU, then I'll be proven wrong.

Hurley might have thought against a nightmare tight VCU defense that he was a liability to give up the ball.

 

[8893]

You are not going to convince me that Hawkins' minutes weren't limited by his ankle being reinjured against Auburn. If he's not getting more minutes against St. Bonnies and WVU, then I'll be proven wrong.

Was there any sign or mention of this anywhere? I am here and didn’t watch on TV so I don’t know what the commentary has been, and I haven’t seen any mention of that in the media. He certainly didn’t look hurt on the floor and Hurley teased that he was going to put him in a couple times down the stretch today, including once in OT, and then never did.

It was so glaringly obvious that he was needed; it was being yelled audibly from the stands and Hawkins had his head down for much of the game on the bench because it was so inexplicable that he wasn’t being put in.

Hurley’s insistence on this starting lineup is mind-boggling, but choosing Gaffney over Hawkins as the next option to Jackson is coaching malpractice at this point. It seems like everyone can see the problem except him. From what I saw, we won two games despite his in-game coaching, not because of it. And we definitely lost one because of it.

Great recruiter, really below average game coach. He hasn’t made a single adjustment based on the opponent or the situation. He just keeps trotting the same lineup out there stubbornly hoping against hope for a different result. But we continue to put ourselves in a hole because of the anemic offensive team he prefers on the court. His tunnel vision may be worse than Sanogo’s.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Hurley might have thought against a nightmare tight VCU defense that he was a liability to give up the ball.

Hawkins had one turnover. Besides Polley(1) and Akok (0), everyone else had 2 or more turnovers. No one's defense was stellar this game so saying he'd be a liability might be true but wouldn't make a difference. He'd make up for it on offense. Hawkins' offense and IQ make him at least a 25+ min player. He definitely needs to be in over Gaff. The offense stalls with Gaff in and there's no attacking the rim. unless it's Martin or Cole when the shotclock is under 6

 

[UConnSwag11]

You are not going to convince me that Hawkins' minutes weren't limited by his ankle being reinjured against Auburn. If he's not getting more minutes against St. Bonnies and WVU, then I'll be proven wrong.

Where was it said Hawkins hurt his ankle?

 

[NJHusky]

Great recruiter, really below average game coach. He hasn’t made a single adjustment based on the opponent or the situation. He just keeps trotting the same lineup out there stubbornly hoping against hope for a different result. But we continue to put ourselves in a hole because of the anemic offensive team he prefers on the court. His tunnel vision may be worse than Sanogo’s.

This! Hopefully his recruiting can overcome his coaching

 

[mauconnfan]

Gaff having a +3 today tells you all you need to know about these stats. There is not a chance there was a plus impact in the way he played.

Anyway 46 minutes in 3 games not enough for Hawkins. He makes a great help on D blocks a shot then takes it himself, bad behind the back dribble and he doesn’t see the floor again for quite a while. But others make a mistake and stay on the court without the quick yank. He needs to be allowed to play through some freshman errors as he is one of our very few players who can create.