Either Stewart or Ross needs to start

[3rdbass]

Since Creighton, Ross has shot 84(!!!)% from the floor and 70% from 3.

Last night was the first time he started off a game or half and the team came out guns blazing.

Over these last few games Ross has finally been playing with the aggressiveness I’ve talked about where he is actively wanting the ball and looking to make a play. Not just hover around on offense. He has also not been getting down on himself after making a mistake.

I would be super excited at what putting him in the starting lineup would do for this team and his growing confidence. He's ready.

I feel Ross is just taking what the offense is giving him which is mostly open 3 point shots. I don't want Ross creating too much off the dribble as that really isn't his game and we don't need it. I rather see Demary and even Mullins driving more.

 

[Orc]

Is Furphy not good? I don't get why he can’t get any playing time with Solo and Stewart having a terrible year. He looked great in world games last summer

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Why do we need him doing more than helping out with ball handling and taking wide open shots? He just needs to play good D. We have enough other players who can score instead of trying to push things that really aren't in Ross's wheelhouse.

Because parking him in the corner doesn't put as much pressure on the opponent's D to make a mistake than having him be a purposeful part of the offensive sets and motion.

He doesn't have to be the feature, but he's athletic enough, quick enough, and enough of a threat to make 3's and/or penetrate into the lane to make the defense react and expend effort/make potential mistakes that he's being absolutely wasted and underutilized sitting in the corner.

Even if he was a moving decoy in an offensive set, that would be better than what they usually have him do.

 

[3rdbass]

Because parking him in the corner doesn't put as much pressure on the opponent's D to make a mistake than having him be a purposeful part of the offensive sets and motion.

He doesn't have to be the feature, but he's athletic enough, quick enough, and enough of a threat to make 3's and/or penetrate into the lane to make the defense react and expend effort/make potential mistakes that he's being absolutely wasted and underutilized sitting in the corner.

Even if he was a moving decoy in an offensive set, that would be better than what they usually have him do.

He does dribble and drive a little. I don't mind that. I just don't want him forcing shots that aren't really there on offense. His handle isn't really that tight and he is shooting 40% from 3. He is a classic 3 and D guy. He is definitely more active on offense than Stewart. With the players we have on offense he will get his wide open 3s and right now he is doing well there. He is also active on the offensive boards and should be able to score off rebounds too.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I'd be down for this (even with what HW611 would be like). In a perfect world, Ross crosses off the boxes of us having a lack of athleticism, a lockdown defender, and someone who can get downhill. Of course, Ross has only been all of those things in exhibition games, but it's got to beat Solo getting lost chasing his man around every play.

True. Also, Ross hasn't benefited from being able to get in the flow of any game except 2 - last night's game and the other game where he was our best player.
I think his tentative play at times is simply based on his desire to be "perfect" in his limited minutes. But he is a very good shooter, doesnt mind using his body to protect the rim, makes some really smart passes and if he does lose his man he really beats himself up over it.
He is a key piece to this thing moving fwd.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

He does dribble and drive a little. I don't mind that. I just don't want him forcing shots that aren't really there on offense. His handle isn't really that tight and he is shooting 40% from 3. He is a classic 3 and D guy. He is definitely more active on offense than Stewart. With the players we have on offense he will get his wide open 3s and right now he is doing well there. He is also active on the offensive boards and should be able to score off rebounds too.

I think we're in agreement in principle on this.

He's also shooting 67% from 2pt range this year too. Run some sets where he ends up in the dunker's spot, is a cutter after Silas penetrates, etc.

They did a great slip screen for him in the GTown game, he was wide open and put the ball in the hoop.

He also seems to be able to push the ball with purpose and pace in transitions reasonably effectively.

He probably threw one of our better alley-oop passes of the year last night. Unfortunately, Mullins blew the finish.

 

[navery12]

I feel Ross is just taking what the offense is giving him which is mostly open 3 point shots. I don't want Ross creating too much off the dribble as that really isn't his game and we don't need it. I rather see Demary and even Mullins driving more.

I agree. I'm good with Ross starting because he's finally taking and making 3's, and his defense is better than Solo's. But I agree, I want no part of Ross trying to drive into the lane and handle the ball. He needs to play to his strengths and that is not it

 

[aceboon]

I agree. I'm good with Ross starting because he's finally taking and making 3's, and his defense is better than Solo's. But I agree, I want no part of Ross trying to drive into the lane and handle the ball. He needs to play to his strengths and that is not it

I have to admit the play in the first half where he put the ball on the floor and drew help before kicking it out to Malachi for the corner 3 was pretty nice though. I think with more reps and a longer leash he'll get more comfortable making those type of plays.

 

[HW611]

I have to admit the play in the first half where he put the ball on the floor and drew help before kicking it out to Malachi for the corner 3 was pretty nice though. I think with more reps and a longer leash he'll get more comfortable making those type of plays.

Ross has shown flashes of being capable of being a regular playmaker in the offense. He just needs the trust and leash.

I’ve said from the beginning his role should be as a defensive specialist and secondary playmaker if he was a starter.

 

[HW611]

He does dribble and drive a little. I don't mind that. I just don't want him forcing shots that aren't really there on offense. His handle isn't really that tight and he is shooting 40% from 3. He is a classic 3 and D guy. He is definitely more active on offense than Stewart. With the players we have on offense he will get his wide open 3s and right now he is doing well there. He is also active on the offensive boards and should be able to score off rebounds too.

I think Ross is better than this board gives him credit for at making tough shots. How many times has he surprised the chat with a tough end of shot clock basket?

He just needs the trust and leash to play more freely.

 

[willstafa24]

Ross needs to start in place of Solo. It certainly isn't a cure-all but we're going to have a few more losses before the tournament if we don't fix the terrible defense and Ross while nowhere near a lockdown guy is a lot better defensively than Solo.

Hurley basically said as much in the postgame presser.

Solo played 19 min and Ross 27 and we gave up 91 points. Even if you want to keep these minutes for each player there are still defensive concerns as of right now. Honestly, I would consider switching 1-4.

I am open to the idea but more so because it gives us more of a chance to have a lob-dunk for the first time this season.

 

[aburks41]

Ross should start over Solo. But that won't fix our issue. The biggest issue arises when Stewart and Ross are on the court together. Neither of them score, they can't handle the ball, and they don't rebound. They are two giant black holes when they share the court together. And TBH, Ross has been so much better than Stewart this year. Stew has been a massive disappointment. Sorry, but he has been. He should be averaging 8-10ppg as a 6th man, with 4.5+ rebounds. He's been at basically half of that.

Mullins is still a frosh so I can give him some leeway on defense, and his offense is incredible. Silas is a stud. Karaban can't move laterally at all, and Reed has been getting punked in the PnR game, especially with Solo. He is so slow to react and doesn't protect the rim at all, regardless of what his DRtg says.

 

[uconngb]

I struggle to see this team being championship caliber without Ball getting back to last year’s form offensively, but I’m quickly losing faith that is a realistic possibility and he’s been an offensive black hole with huge volumes too often.

Stewart and Ross just haven’t shown the kind of offensive skillset to really be much of a threat on that end, but at least they bring some defensive stability. We’re trying to make the best of a bad situation at that spot in the lineup and I’m really not sure what the best answer is here.

Unfortunately where we are selecting the lesser of evils. I’d rather redistribute 2/3 of Solos shots to Braylen and Silas in exchange for the uptick of Ross’ defense.

Never in a million years did I ever think I would advocate for Ross starting, but that’s how awful Solo has been.

 

[djct1999]

If Stewart or Ross start we lose. It’s that simple.

 

[Chin Diesel]

It's not that simple though. We've always had a fouling problem but we were at least doing a good job of not getting beat much. Now everyone is going one on one and blowing by our guys on the perimeter.

And too many of those blow by's end up with a made hoop and an And-1 foul, or a foul while in the act of shooting, giving the opponent two FT's.

 

[uconn_jack]

I don't think it needs to get much more complicated than "how do we stop fouling so much?"

We have one loss this season to the #2 team in the country if we send SJU and Creighton to the line 20x instead of 30+.

Or making our damn FTs.

 

[DW1361]

If Stewart or Ross start we lose. It’s that simple.

This is the customary start Ross or Stewart thread after every UConn loss. Temporary insanity is expected and any simple rational thought only breaks the delusion and is not encouraged here ………

 

[AdamaNation]

I'd be down for this (even with what HW611 would be like). In a perfect world, Ross crosses off the boxes of us having a lack of athleticism, a lockdown defender, and someone who can get downhill. Of course, Ross has only been all of those things in exhibition games, but it's got to beat Solo getting lost chasing his man around every play.

And get o boards.

 

[uconn_jack]

Solo was just starting to come back offensively and seems less bothered by his wrist. That's no excuse for his poor D, but I would be nervous about demoting him now and potentially stunting an offensive comeback since we will absolutely need that from him if we have any hope of going deep in the tournament.

Luckily I (and everyone here) don't need to make the decision on how to manage that, our 2x national championship coaching team does, whom I have much more trust in to make the right decision. Hurley did make a very thinly veiled threat to Ball in his post game last night, so he is obviously considering it.

Also, dismissing AKs importance to this team by so many here is a huge mistake. He has been battling something the last couple games, and does not reflect what he does for this team.

 

[DW1361]

Karaban goes into a funk every year at this time. Plays too many minutes is my thought. He could be playing through some fatigue and minor injuries. I have not heard anything definitive.

 

[dennismenace]

Ross needs to start in place of Solo. It certainly isn't a cure-all but we're going to have a few more losses before the tournament if we don't fix the terrible defense and Ross while nowhere near a lockdown guy is a lot better defensively than Solo.

Hurley basically said as much in the postgame presser.

Ross played 27 mins vs Creighton and Solo 19 mins. Looks like that's likely the plan but could be games where Jaylen would be the better defender depending on the opponent. Staff will assess this game to game but you can see that our lack of D has been exploited by opponents. Time for the bench to arrive and assist the staff game by game. All hands on deck.

 

[DW1361]

I agree with everyone Solo needs more time on the bench for playing poorly on D, but beats me what to do about it. Last night’s loss was a team effort. Ross deserves to play more, but is a huge increase in minutes really the spark we need? I think this team is an Elite 8, maybe final four, but they are running out of time to fix what is likely going to be our downfall.

 

[bendm]

I said Ball needs to be benched for Ross in the postgame thread and got half a dozen ?s

But it has to be Ross. He would directly help our D by guarding the opposing teams best perimeter player and he would indirectly help the O. We don’t need the fifth option taking anything but wide open 3s and dunks so those extra shots will go to the other starters, mullins and Reed in particular.

 

[upstater]

Stop applying backcourt pressure and light pressure on the inbounds. Drop back, set up your defense. I promise you that when UConn did this last night, the players weren't on their heels and they played much better defense.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

With Ross playing well we can try to emulate the Sanogo year game plans. Use Ross in the AJ role. He's nowhere near as good defensively but maybe Reed/Mullins Ross Combo can make up for that with better offensive production to compensate.