Do we have a "best" player? | The Boneyard

Do we have a "best" player?

XLCenterFan

XLCenterFan

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Was discussing this with a friend of mine (also a huge fan/total UConn hoops nutcase) and we concluded that we do not have one. That is the best part about this team. On any given night someone can go off, or any two/three players can go off, or any one or two players can be in foul trouble, or have an off night. Talk about having Ferraris in the garage! IMO we have 4 contenders for "best" player, but there cannot be just one. Thoughts?
 
tcf15 said:
Yes, Adama Sanogo is the best player on this team.
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This is subjective, no? The fact that this is debatable, makes me lean "no." I'm sure others will say someone else. Adama may be the "most important," but not sure the "best." Is there even a difference?
 
Coming into season I would have said Sanogo. I think the margin in which he is the best is getting thinner, very thin. I dont think we have 1 guy you need to stop though, which is what makes us so dangerous.
 
tcf15 said:
Yes, Adama Sanogo is the best player on this team.
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I get it, but a big argument can be made that he’s not the most impactful.

The game changes a lot when DC is in the game. The same happens with Andre Jackson too. It’s hard to feel like someone is our best player when we seem to consistently play better when he comes off the floor.
 
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XLCenterFan said:
This is subjective, no? The fact that this is debatable, makes me lean "no." I'm sure others will say someone else. Adama may be the "most important," but not sure the "best." Is there even a difference?
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There’s definitely a difference between most important and best. Most important is debatable, best I don't think is. It's Sanogo. And the objective measures say the same thing
 
navery12 said:
There’s definitely a difference between most important and best. Most important is debatable, best I don't think is. It's Sanogo. And the objective measures say the same thing
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What are the "objective measures" that make Sanogo our "best?"
 
XLCenterFan said:
What are the "objective measures" that make Sanogo our "best?"
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Here’s where he ranks in the Big East in just a few metrics
AD05513D-5D1C-4119-B5BD-49931E3D9CE2.jpeg


www.sports-reference.com

2022-23 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2022-23 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com
 
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Letsgohuskies11 said:
Coming into season I would have said Sanogo. I think the margin in which he is the best is getting thinner, very thin. I dont think we have 1 guy you need to stop though, which is what makes us so dangerous.
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The best part about this is that this isn't because Sanogo is worse than expected. He's been just as we thought he would be. But the margin has gotten thinner because the others have raised their game. Which is all good for the Huskies!
 
XLCenterFan said:
This is subjective, no? The fact that this is debatable, makes me lean "no." I'm sure others will say someone else. Adama may be the "most important," but not sure the "best." Is there even a difference?
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Of course it's subjective. That just means everyone is entitled to their opinion. But Sanogo has, so far, played up to his preseason player of the year status. Hawkins has to date been vastly improved but inconsistent, AJ is great at everything but scoring but that is a big but (as opposed to a big butt) and Clingan can't qualify playing 16 minutes a game.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
I get it, but a big argument can be made that he’s not the most impactful.

The game changes a lot when DC is in the game. The same happens with Andre Jackson too. It’s hard to feel like someone is our best player when we seem to consistently play better when he comes off the floor.
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This is not meant in any way to diminish what Clingan is doing, but he has the safety of knowing that if he fails to perform, Sanogo is right there
 
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Yes we have a 'best player'. The thing is who it us may change from game to game.

It's a good problem to have.
 
superjohn said:
They aren't including Clingan because of his minutes per game but he blows Sanogo out of the water on some of these stats. It's crazy what we have at the center position.
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PT aside, the jury is still tentative in judging Clingan, because he hasn't faced much real competition yet. As we step into the league schedule which will see us facing a strong team 2 games out of every three, he will have the opportunity to prove his mettle. Creighton will likely be his litmus test.

Meanwhile, Adama is our top guy, but if Hawkins trajectory continues in the direction he appears headed, he might just pass Adama by tourney time.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
I’m curious what this is based on when we consistently watch us go on runs when he goes on the bench (not that we’re losing with him in the game).
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Part of the reason we go on runs when Sanogo sits is that the other teams' starters are also sitting. We have an incredible 2nd unit led by the best back-up center in the country so naturally we dominate the minutes when it is bench vs. bench.
 
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RichZ said:
PT aside, the jury is still tentative in judging Clingan, because he hasn't faced much real competition yet. As we step into the league schedule which will see us facing a strong team 2 games out of every three, he will have the opportunity to prove his mettle. Creighton will likely be his litmus test.

Meanwhile, Adama is our top guy, but if Hawkins trajectory continues in the direction he appears headed, he might just pass Adama by tourney time.
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I only meant they don't have Clingan listed in some of these stats. For instance they have Sanogo leading the conference in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) at 33.9, they have #2 in the conference Kalkbrenner at 29.7 PER. Clingan's PER is 42.3 and he leads the country in PER, Sanogo is 4th in the country.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
My guess is that it's based on data as opposed to random anecdotal message board musings.
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If you don’t know how to form your own opinions with your own eyes just say that. Lol

This whole smart Alec response gets tiring. Plenty of people have pointed out on this board how we do sometimes play better with Sanogo out. And they don’t need to look at numbers to do it.
 
superjohn said:
They aren't including Clingan because of his minutes per game but he blows Sanogo out of the water on some of these stats. It's crazy what we have at the center position.
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His minutes per game are too low because he backs up the best player on our team :)
 
FfldCntyFan said:
Yes we have a 'best player'. The thing is who it us may change from game to game.

It's a good problem to have.
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Going even more nuanced, even if statistically Sanogo is the best player, UConn does not need him to be the best player in order to win. You can make the argument that in some games we don't want Sanogo to be the leading scorer, or play the most minutes, in order to win.
 
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