Do Larrier and Adams go pro? Then what

[jibsey]

I think Jalen will have a long NBA career even if it's as a backup; I'll be very surprised if he's on campus next year. The poor kid has been wasted at UConn, probably more so than any player in program history - our offense, the talent around him, etc.

I know Jalen is a bit of a divisive topic around here but I believe he'll surprise folks once he gets into the NBA style of play with a faster tempo, spaced floor, etc. My #hottake of the day is that he's the second most gifted point guard we've ever had, after Kemba. He's athletic, has a solid all-around game, can finish in traffic, decent passer, etc. His shot is fine, he's forced to take so many bad shots because of our offense, he has to force far more shots than he should. He's a career 83% FT shooter I believe, usually a good indicator of guys with solid mechanics who'll improve their jumper over time. He doesn't have a major weakness IMO and will probably develop nicely after he's in the league. The Knicks have a few second rounders this June, I hope we use one to snag Jalen if he declares.

Larrier, I don't see it. He's an inferior player to DeAndre Daniels and Daniel Hamilton.

Jalen's shot is fine? Let me start by saying I like him and he's a very good player for us, but in no way is his 3 point or 2 point jump shooting good enough. He was supposed to improve and fix that over the summer and he didn't. maybe this summer if he returns.

 

[Kitaman]

I thought about Jalen and the NBA more and more after the Nova game. I'm reigned to expecting him to declare. Ollie is playing him 35+ minutes a game and played him 40 minutes in a blowout. Talk about running a player into the ground... If he can handle one more year of this then bless him, I just feel he will be ruined if he does stick around.

He had so much potential and talent, but its practically wasted.

Sad to say Ollie has turned him into a work mule instead of a thoroughbred.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Those are two really, really terrible examples. He's not just missing the outside shot. Collectively, he doesn't have anywhere near the vision and passing ability those two had. And individually, he doesn't have Magic's height, and he doesn't have Kidd's handle.

I know you weren't comparing him to them, but those guys had other things that made them great basketball players and/or gave them advantages that Adams doesn't have.

LOL. No, not trying to compare him to them in any way other than that they developed their outside shots in the league, so that he could too. Let's just say that if he had a 40+% 3 point shot, I think he's a high second round low first round pick based on his other abilities.

 

[UConnJim]

It's more than that. The G league guys are full time athletes. They can spend all day every day working on their body and game. There is no way any college player can commit as much time to basketball. That's one reason you see the improvements from Hamilton, Purvis and Brimah. They may also be getting better coaching.

I think Larrier will go and I think Adams would like to. He's really just missing a consistent outside shot, something neither Magic Johnson or Jason Kidd had to any great degree in college. I think he'd be better able to work on that in the G league.

This is a fallacy that I see on the Boneyard. Hamilton, Purvis, and Brimah have not improved statistically in the G-League. Here are the facts:

Hamilton:
G League: 15.8 pts, 9.3 rebs, 8.1 assists and 5.2 TOs. Shooting 40.7% overall and 29.6% from 3 Pt.
UConn last season: 12.5 pts, 8.9 rebs, 4.7 assists and 2.4 TOs, Shooting 38.7% overall and 33.1% from 3 Pt.

Purvis:
G League: 19.3 pts, 3.8 rebs, 3.4 assists and 2.3 TOs. Shooting 41.8% overall and 35.5% from 3 Pt.
UConn last season: 13.8 pts, 4.2 rebs, 2.5 assists and 1.8 TOs. Shooting 37.2% overall and 34.1% from 3 Pt.

Brimah:
G League: 6.2 pts, 6.9 rebs, 0.7 assista and 1.4 TOs. Shooting 62.1% overall.
UConn last season: 7.6 pts, 6.1 rebs, 0.2 assists and 1.5 TOs. Shooting 62.3% overall.

And Brimah has the worst +/- on the Austin Spurs.

In my opinion, the players are performing as they did at UConn as each player had limitations that we all saw. Unfortunately, based on their play in the G League, none of them will get an NBA call up.

 

[notthestuff]

I hope Jalen stays. I think there's another level there if he actually gets to play with . I think he could surprise people and sneak into the first round if he had a good senior year but that will depend a lot on him and whether he improves on some of his weaknesses and the players around him being better. The G League just is not a good path to the NBA unless you've exhausted all your eligibility. The percentage of guys getting a long term NBA contract out of there is low with a razor thin margin for error. That said, I certainly couldn't blame him if he wanted to leave.

I don't see it with Terry. I couldn't blame him for saying it's time get paid somewhere because unless he regains some athleticism or dramatically improves all of his skills he's not playing in the NBA.

 

[HuskyHawk]

well beyond G League, there is always international ball

Where outside shooting is an even bigger priority. I think Larrier would fit there very well. I think Adams needs to improve his shot to even be successful there.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Larrier is gone bc of his age. Adams might go bc he’s had enough of this. If Adams leaves its rebuilding and we should have no expectations. Akinjo will be the only PG

 

[HuskyHawk]

This is a fallacy that I see on the Boneyard. Hamilton, Purvis, and Brimah have not improved statistically in the G-League. Here are the facts:

Hamilton:
G League: 15.8 pts, 9.3 rebs, 8.1 assists and 5.2 TOs. Shooting 40.7% overall and 29.6% from 3 Pt.
UConn last season: 12.5 pts, 8.9 rebs, 4.7 assists and 2.4 TOs, Shooting 38.7% overall and 33.1% from 3 Pt.

Purvis:
G League: 19.3 pts, 3.8 rebs, 3.4 assists and 2.3 TOs. Shooting 41.8% overall and 35.5% from 3 Pt.
UConn last season: 13.8 pts, 4.2 rebs, 2.5 assists and 1.8 TOs. Shooting 37.2% overall and 34.1% from 3 Pt.

Brimah:
G League: 6.2 pts, 6.9 rebs, 0.7 assista and 1.4 TOs. Shooting 62.1% overall.
UConn last season: 7.6 pts, 6.1 rebs, 0.2 assists and 1.5 TOs. Shooting 62.3% overall.

And Brimah has the worst +/- on the Austin Spurs.

In my opinion, the players are performing as they did at UConn as each player had limitations that we all saw. Unfortunately, based on their play in the G League, none of them will get an NBA call up.

Not sure what you are looking at if you don't think those are better numbers for Hamilton and Purvis. Hamilton's are much better. Purvis has a different role there than here, where he often played out of position as a SF. Brimah I think the physical changes and added muscle are what stand out to me.

But in any event, that's not the comparison you make. You compare year 1 in the G league with year 2. We don't have those numbers for anybody but Hamilton. His numbers are mostly up. Assists and rebounds in particular. He's shooting fewer 3's and making fewer. His overall FG% is up though.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Where outside shooting is an even bigger priority. I think Larrier would fit there very well. I think Adams needs to improve his shot to even be successful there.

He's athletic enough to be successful in international play.

 

[DonaldDraper]

Serious question, if you don't think we should replace KO because there are recruiting problems with replacing a coach, when would replacing a coach ever be a good idea in your opinion? It just doesn't make any sense to me. I think everyone realizes that if KO left some if not all of the recruits would leave and there may be some transfers. That's the cost of replacing a coach in the short term. The long term benefit is that eventually the ship is righted and the coach brings in his own players the next few years. If KO can't turn it around, then you're just prolonging the inevitable. I don't want to denigrate any kids individually either, but of all recruiting classes to potentially have decommitments from the one without any kids ranked in the top 100 is probably your best bet.

When the probability of performance over the next two years is as bleak (or below a deal-breaking line) as you would expect from a new coach. In 2018-19, if you're looking at bringing back Jalen, Larrier, (a hopefully healthy) Gilbert, Akinjo (Looks like he can shoot should be an improvement over AA), a more productive Carlton and incremental development of the other freshman players I would say you're throwing away a chance at a tourney team by refreshing the coaching situation. It gives him one year to fill the pipe with recruits and you can reassess after the season. If he can't win with that group, Larrier and Adams leave at the end of next year and the pipe is weak, then I think he earned his way out the door and the forecast on the team looks bleak for 2 years.

He's had to fill holes and hasn't really had the proper length of time to do it, so they've had to mix in the 5th year and transfer market which isn't the best way to build a team. Some will blame him for losing the team last year which led to the transfers (read: he created his problem). I don't know enough about that situation to blame him for it and that is a tough thing to hang on someone who has been extremely loyal to the program without serious evidence of misdeeds. The Enoch thing was a surprise, but Vance seemed like he wanted to do something he wasn't capable of an had plenty of PT to prove he could do more (we were begging people to step up). I don't know what to make of the departures, and it would take more than a boneyard bonehead's opinion to convince me either way.

If Larrier and Adams leave after this year, I think that opens up the door for a potential shift as early as next season as I can't envision a team that will perform at a midrange AAC level without them. Having three guys leave the program with eligibility for the G league in three years and having a number of guys transfer/released from LoI on top of a poor outlook for the next season is an easy decision.

Does that sound rational?

 

[PAHusky]

When the probability of performance over the next two years is as bleak (or below a deal-breaking line) as you would expect from a new coach. In 2018-19, if you're looking at bringing back Jalen, Larrier, (a hopefully healthy) Gilbert, Akinjo (Looks like he can shoot should be an improvement over AA), a more productive Carlton and incremental development of the other freshman players I would say you're throwing away a chance at a tourney team by refreshing the coaching situation. It gives him one year to fill the pipe with recruits and you can reassess after the season. If he can't win with that group, Larrier and Adams leave at the end of next year and the pipe is weak, then I think he earned his way out the door and the forecast on the team looks bleak for 2 years.

He's had to fill holes and hasn't really had the proper length of time to do it, so they've had to mix in the 5th year and transfer market which isn't the best way to build a team. Some will blame him for losing the team last year which led to the transfers (read: he created his problem). I don't know enough about that situation to blame him for it and that is a tough thing to hang on someone who has been extremely loyal to the program without serious evidence of misdeeds. The Enoch thing was a surprise, but Vance seemed like he wanted to do something he wasn't capable of an had plenty of PT to prove he could do more (we were begging people to step up). I don't know what to make of the departures, and it would take more than a boneyard bonehead's opinion to convince me either way.

If Larrier and Adams leave after this year, I think that opens up the door for a potential shift as early as next season as I can't envision a team that will perform at a midrange AAC level without them. Having three guys leave the program with eligibility for the G league in three years and having a number of guys transfer/released from LoI on top of a poor outlook for the next season is an easy decision.

Does that sound rational?

That does sound rational, thank you for taking the time to lay that all out. I don't know if we agree on how successful KO can be down the road but I do think that the scenario you laid out is definitely one possibility for how this program can escape the doldrums we seem to temporarily be in. Hopefully KO can turn the ship around and, if not, hopefully the cupboard isn't completely bare for whoever comes in.

 

[JimHurley]

I can honestly say I won't be upset if both leave. We'd be better with both next year but we will be okay without them. Jalen is an outstanding talent but I don't think he's meant to lead a team. Larrier just isn't a team player to me. Next season, give me a backcourt of Gilbert and Vital with Akinjo and Matthews off the bench. Add a frontcourt of Sid, Whaley, and Carlton with Diarra, Williams, and Kisunas as backups. That team is more than capable of making some noise.

 

[Captbluefin]

Larrier = grad transfer to ACC school to fill a void. TL gets exposure and team gets a good wing.

Jalen= stays with his horrible work ethic and attitude. You are blind if you don’t see his lack of work ethic or faulty leadership. He is by no means a gym rat. Between his lack of effort and attitude JC would have buried him on bench. KO has no choice but to ride or die with him.

What does he excel at besides going to be the hole and finishing with the wrong hand 1/2 the time??? He struggles against height also

I think he a disease on this team... No leadership skills.. He is so far from Kemba or Bazz he should never ever be mentioned in the same breath...

 

[Kenny11]

I agree that Larrier's length and shooting touch should be used better instead of asking him to do any creating on the perimeter. I don't even mind post touches for him to simply shoot over his defender. But his handle is not just bad, it is possibly the worst I have ever seen from someone who wants to play minutes at the 3. It isn't an exaggeration to say that he loses the ball or almost loses the ball nearly every time he puts it on the floor. That is impossible to hide anywhere.

 

[UConnJim]

Not sure what you are looking at if you don't think those are better numbers for Hamilton and Purvis. Hamilton's are much better. Purvis has a different role there than here, where he often played out of position as a SF. Brimah I think the physical changes and added muscle are what stand out to me.

But in any event, that's not the comparison you make. You compare year 1 in the G league with year 2. We don't have those numbers for anybody but Hamilton. His numbers are mostly up. Assists and rebounds in particular. He's shooting fewer 3's and making fewer. His overall FG% is up though.

What? Look at the shooting percentages, assist to TO ratio, and rebounds. The G League is a scoring league so scoring numbers are inflated as some players are taking more shots.

Hamilton:
Overall shooting: G League 40.7%, UConn 38.7%
3 Pt shooting: G League 29.6%, UConn 33.1%
Assist to TO ratio: G League 1.56, UConn 1.96
Rebounds: G League 9.3, UConn 8.9

Purvis:
Overall shooting: G League 41.8%, UConn 37.2%
3 Pt shooting: G League 35.5%, UConn 34.1%
Assist to TO ratio: G League 1.47, UConn 1.39
Rebounds: G League 3.8, UConn 4.2

Both players look like they looked at UConn, but they are playing in a more wide open league and taking more shots leading to more points.

 

[blackbird]

Personal opinion..

Adams stays if Ollie stays. I think Jalen is loyal there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

What? Look at the shooting percentages, assist to TO ratio, and rebounds. The G League is a scoring league so scoring numbers are inflated as some players are taking more shots.

Hamilton:
Overall shooting: G League 40.7%, UConn 38.7%
3 Pt shooting: G League 29.6%, UConn 33.1%
Assist to TO ratio: G League 1.56, UConn 1.96
Rebounds: G League 9.3, UConn 8.9

Purvis:
Overall shooting: G League 41.8%, UConn 37.2%
3 Pt shooting: G League 35.5%, UConn 34.1%
Assist to TO ratio: G League 1.47, UConn 1.39
Rebounds: G League 3.8, UConn 4.2

Both players look like they looked at UConn, but they are playing in a more wide open league and taking more shots leading to more points.

Since the Thunder called up Hamilton, I think they disagree. His raw assist numbers are way up. Yes, TOs are too, but over 8 assists a game is impressive. You focused on ratio to downplay that. Purvis has better shooting percentages, but fewer rebounds, because he's not being asked to play as a forward like he was at UConn. There is speculation that Orlando wants to trade some veterans before the deadline and bring him up.

Here is another point. Those G league teams are much better than college teams. So they put these numbers up against a higher level of competition.

 

[August_West]

Larrier is gone bc of his age. Adams might go bc he’s had enough of this. If Adams leaves its rebuilding and we should have no expectations. Akinjo will be the only PG

If Adams goes it will be because of his Age too. And maybe some other factors. But he and Larrier are both 22 right now.

I really, really want Jalen back. We need a some kind of thread of experience to start rebuilding this mess with players gaining experience.

 

[KembaStepback]

It's impossible to tell what they will do. If both stay, the team should be in great shape. Add in Wilson, Akinjo and a healthy AG and that team is deep . If only one stays, also good. With Wilson on board and Akinjo coming in with AG we have depth at guard and wing. Lets hope these guys spend a lot of time shooting jumpers.

 

[August_West]

It's impossible to tell what they will do. If both stay, the team should be in great shape. Add in Wilson, Akinjo and a healthy AG and that team is deep . If only one stays, also good. With Wilson on board and Akinjo coming in with AG we have depth at guard and wing. Lets hope these guys spend a lot of time shooting jumpers.

Im OK and expect Terry to leave if only because of those preseason comments.
I would like it if he returned but Im not counting on it.

As good a player as I think he could be with some work on his handle, his departure wont be as painful as much as Jalen's would. We really need guard consistency and having Alterique and Akinjo having Adams as a Senior will be great for them I think.

So no, the "either/or" player coming back scenario does not weigh equally in my mind.

 

[UConnJim]

Since the Thunder called up Hamilton, I think they disagree. His raw assist numbers are way up. Yes, TOs are too, but over 8 assists a game is impressive. You focused on ratio to downplay that. Purvis has better shooting percentages, but fewer rebounds, because he's not being asked to play as a forward like he was at UConn. There is speculation that Orlando wants to trade some veterans before the deadline and bring him up.

Here is another point. Those G league teams are much better than college teams. So they put these numbers up against a higher level of competition.

Hamilton is on a 2 way contract with OKC for this season, so he gets to play up to 45 days with OKC this year. 2 way players don't count against the salary cap so they are essentially part of an extended roster. Being called up was expected when Hamilton signed his 2 way.

As for his G League stats:
2016/2017: Overall FG% 42.6%, 3 PT FG%: 37.4%, assist/TO ratio 1.59, scoring per 36 minutes = 17.2 ppg.
2017/2018: Overall FG% 40.6%, 3 PT FG%: 29.2%, assist/TO ratio 1.54, scoring per 36 minutes = 17.3 ppg.

Honestly, I don't see big improvement from year 1 to year 2. His shooting %s are down and he is averaging the same PPG for 36 minutes.

Of the top 5 assist men in the G League, here are their assist/TO ratios:

#1: 2.83
#2: 2.42
#3: 2.77
#4: 1.54 Hamilton
#5: 2.96

Clearly, Hamilton's assist/TO ratio sticks out among the top assist guys.

And, look at the +/- of the top 5 assist guys:

#1: +4.9
#2: +7.4
#3: +5.4
#4: -0.4 Hamilton
#5: +9.2

I'm sick of people complaining that Ollie doesn't develop players. Players like Hamilton, Purvis, and Brimah were flawed basketball players to begin with. Based on Hamilton's 2 years in the G League, his flaws are still there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If Adams goes it will be because of his Age too. And maybe some other factors. But he and Larrier are both 22 right now.

I really, really want Jalen back. We need a some kind of thread of experience to start rebuilding this mess with players gaining experience.

He's a very good player with experience and I'd like him back for that reason. That said, he's a PG, and if he's here to be the SG to Gilbert's PG for the third year in a row this team is going to struggle. It doesn't work. Those two can't be your back-court, unless Jalen becomes a very good 3 point shooter this summer.

I'd be surprised if he isn't tired of the yo-yo act as well. He's at his best playing PG and next year would presumably be a straight 2. His PG skills are also his best path to a professional career, and he'll want to showcase them.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hamilton is on a 2 way contract with OKC for this season, so he gets to play up to 45 days with OKC this year. 2 way players don't count against the salary cap so they are essentially part of an extended roster. Being called up was expected when Hamilton signed his 2 way.

As for his G League stats:
2016/2017: Overall FG% 42.6%, 3 PT FG%: 37.4%, assist/TO ratio 1.59, scoring per 36 minutes = 17.2 ppg.
2017/2018: Overall FG% 40.6%, 3 PT FG%: 29.2%, assist/TO ratio 1.54, scoring per 36 minutes = 17.3 ppg.

Honestly, I don't see big improvement from year 1 to year 2. His shooting %s are down and he is averaging the same PPG for 36 minutes.

Of the top 5 assist men in the G League, here are their assist/TO ratios:

#1: 2.83
#2: 2.42
#3: 2.77
#4: 1.54 Hamilton
#5: 2.96

Clearly, Hamilton's assist/TO ratio sticks out among the top assist guys.

And, look at the +/- of the top 5 assist guys:

#1: +4.9
#2: +7.4
#3: +5.4
#4: -0.4 Hamilton
#5: +9.2

I'm sick of people complaining that Ollie doesn't develop players. Players like Hamilton, Purvis, and Brimah were flawed basketball players to begin with. Based on Hamilton's 2 years in the G League, his flaws are still there.

I'm not even talking about Ollie. I simply think any player would develop more rapidly at the G league than in college. It's a more focused environment.

 

[KembaStepback]

Im OK and expect Terry to leave if only because of those preseason comments.
I would like it if he returned but Im not counting on it.

As good a player as I think he could be with some work on his handle, his departure wont be as painful as much as Jalen's would. We really need guard consistency and having Alterique and Akinjo having Adams as a Senior will be great for them I think.

So no, the "either/or" player coming back scenario does not weigh equally in my mind.

No question. I just think Larrier would help give them depth at the 3 and 4. I'd love a lineup of Carlton/Whaley Larrier Wilson Gilbert Akinjo if Adams were to leave. Even adding in CV instead of Akinjo or Gilbert would be fun. My point was that if both return we're super deep. If only one returns, it certainly helps the depth and if neither return we wont be as deep, but should be ok.

 

[sammydabiz]

Personal opinion..

Adams stays if Ollie stays. I think Jalen is loyal there.

According to a recent podcast I listened to, a source inside the program stated: if Ollie was retained Jalen and Terry would def declare, as well as a good % of the current underclassmen would seriously consider transferring.

Not sure how valid the info is, but it's a scary thought nonetheless