Either Stewart or Ross needs to start | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Either Stewart or Ross needs to start

superjohn said:
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.
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On a scale of 1-10 on defense, Solo is a 1 and Ross is a 5.5.
 
Orc said:
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
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Have you seen him - looks like a fly in the winter when he's out there.
 
PAHusky said:
Do you want to see a higher floor or a higher ceiling?

Solo is a mess right now but we know that when his head is on right and he's healthy he's all big east caliber on the offensive end and only awful on defense. Right now his shot is a mess and his defense is atrocious. You fix some of that with Ross or Stewart - though Ross's defense is wildly overrated and Stewart is only serviceable - but you give up offensive ceiling (though Ross has admittedly canned some nice shots recently). The other issue, in year three now, is that Ross and Stewart frequently tantalize us by playing very well in limited minutes against some opponents and then, when given more time, promptly turn back into pumpkins.

Watching the leashes on some of these players I think Danny has made his peace with the idea that he needs Reed/Solo/Karaban to hit their ceilings for this team to go anywhere. Looks like he's fine with letting them work their issues out on the court so long as they come around eventually. Lack of bench depth dictates a lot of that too.

I think a sneaky key issue is lack of ballhandling on this team. If you could play another guard next to Silas that played more pg and let him focus on scoring more could open things up, but Solo isn't a pg and Malachi out there like that spells trouble.
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He actually shot well for a couple games prior to last night. It's more than that - he hoists a lot of poorly time threes, has no sense on how to be anything but a gunner.

I think if we give Ross some leash and run, he can make the most of it.
 
i started to read these comments and about to lose my mind . 1) we are 22-3 ,although not playing well recently, having beaten some very good teams 2) our best lineup and rotation is the one we usually play 3) everyone needs to play better at what they do best and strengthen the things that aren’t what they do best; drastic changes will not help only hurt … small things that might help and i am guessing will occur 1) Mullins will get more “looks”/ touches . he is our best player and can create 2) if alex is hurt and needs time to get better give it to him ; he doesn’t have great foot speed and quickness and if those are compromised his smarts can’t cover that 3) take better shots 4) defensively stop overplaying as much , number 23 is playing in portland… if however we get blown out in next two then PANIC !!
 
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Compare this year’s squad to 2023 and 2024:
Both of those championship teams started a defensive specialist. Clearly AJax was limited offensively (although he could playmake) and Castle sacrificed offense. UConn needs to start Ross. At his height, he can take the toughest assignment from 1-4.
Ball should come off the bench like Joey California
 
husky429 said:
I hate to make a scapegot of Solo after a loss. The issues have been glaring for a while. It's hard for me to swallow a kid being allowed to take the shots he does. Take 3s, but take them open and in the flow of the offense. The early offense contested shots really frustrate me. That's on the COACHES.

This season he's had 3/10, 1/8, 1/6, 2/9, 1/7, 0/5, 2/10 games.... at a certain point someone has to say STOP SHOOTING. No one player needs that volume, particularly one who is shooting 30% from deep. Get to the rack, break pressure, find your mid-range J, pass and rebound. There are so many more options to positively impact the team than taking 10% or more of our possessions on a shot you can't make right now.

Solo's offensive rating is 116 and defensive rating is 105.

Silas: 127/97
Mullins: 117/100
AK: 131/102
Reed: 121/92

Jayden: 122/100
Jaylin: 107/101
Smith: 108/103
Reibe: 128/98

Obviously these two stats aren't everything. But it's fair to say that Solo's defense is worse than the rest of this team by a decent margin.
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Also it seems like in the more recent games wherein he didn’t shoot well from three, he didn’t really look to get to the rim as an alternative path to scoring like he did so well in the first half of the season.
 
Stewart has been a good passer on the interior. I would start him over Ball. And then we can still bring in Ross for his energy in the frontcourt. We need Stewart to be a factor and not an invisible man. Ball can sub in for Braylon. Hurley needs to get his 3 point shooters to be more disciplined in shooting closer to the 3 point line and not so early in the shot clock. Some of our early 3s from way out are just momentum killers. Also make the opponent play defense.
 
Until we can stop people from blowing past our guards to the hole we need to reestablish a post presence (Tarris/Riebe) both for shot blocking and rebounding. We cannot surrender the paint/boards in order to have them out near the perimeter hedging etc. while the interior is unguarded. As done in the past the driver still has to get around them at the hoop or pass off. Also, having Ross playing more minutes will help the interior play as well as being a better option guarding those slashing to the basket. I agree that it is not to late to try have Solo coming off the bench and let him try to light things up that way. Otherwise take him out and then bring him back again later. We are going to be watched closely going into the season ending games and BE tournament. The present setup has proven to depend too much on offense three pointers and sacrificing defense. We need to be polished and ready for the YE tournaments. Also, free throws and inbounds. Hurley needs to take some responsibility at aftergame briefings and quit dumping on the defensive performance of the players he is coaching. If its not working fix it; don't just blame.
 
Jaydumo20 said:
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.
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Mullins has to play 36 mins a game.
Ross needs to start and play a ton.
Ball is the microwave off the bench aka Tony Gwynn.
Cargo Karaban has to get healthy.
Love to see Smith get it going again.
 
brihman said:
Mullins has to play 36 mins a game.
Ross needs to start and play a ton.
Ball is the microwave off the bench aka Tony Gwynn.
Cargo Karaban has to get healthy.
Love to see Smith get it going again.
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John Gwynn
 
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I have no problem with a shock to the lineup.

I am 100% convinced this current rotation of starters and bench players is a Sweet 16 team at best.

And as an official spoiled and arrogant fan who has witnessed the rise of UConn from the bottom of the BE to the top of the basketball world......I could care less if any UConn team loses in the first round or the E8. Final Four is a minimum for me to consider a season a success.

So, start Ross and bring Ball off the bench. Does it work? IDK. But I know the current rotation will not work. So, is it six one, half dozen the other?

Potential benefits- Clarifies roles on the starting unit and potential John Gwynn fire off the bench from Ball. Shifts the ratio of time Ball is chasing starters as compared to playing against opponents bench players.

Potential downfalls- Welp. Could just be another way of scrambling the same eggs and the team still goes nowhere.

Me? Put me in the camp of the status quo isn't getting this team to Indy for the FF. So, any change, is worth a shot.
 
Silas 32/Smith 8
Mullins 20/Solo 20
Ross 24/Mullins12/Stew4
AK 33/Stew 7
Reed 28/Reibe 12

Give Ross some starter minutes and see how he responds.
brihman said:
Mullins has to play 36 mins a game.
Ross needs to start and play a ton.
Ball is the microwave off the bench aka Tony Gwynn.
Cargo Karaban has to get healthy.
Love to see Smith get it going again.
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RuffRuff said:
Silas 32/Smith 8
Mullins 20/Solo 20
Ross 24/Mullins12/Stew4
AK 33/Stew 7
Reed 28/Reibe 12

Give Ross some starter minutes and see how he responds.
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In some bizarro world, as this season has progressed, Smith has become a lights out 3 point shooter but can't make a layup.
 
HW611 said:
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.
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And his ft percentage is?
 
Orc said:
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
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He is clearly not ready. Look at all the prior players people were saying needed pt. Abraham, singare etc. non have done anything with pt elsewhere
 
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superjohn said:
Correct and he's still a lot better on defense than Solo.
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And offensively it will be 4 vs 5. A team can always take the risk of leaving Ross open and double team anyone else w the ball. We won’t score. Ross is energy and a change pace guy. No way he starts on any team playing even the second weekend. Forget about the third. Danny’s only chance is to get the starters right. Starting w ball.
 
My hope would be that by splitting up Mullins and Ball, they would both be a little more selective with their 3 point shots as well. There are times where they are both on the court that they both seem to jack up a 3 at the first chance they get because if the ball goes the other way they know they won't get it back.
 
Last edited:
Whether Solo starts and Jayden plays high minutes if he’s cold, or Jayden starts and Solo plays more minutes if the offense isn’t working, doesn’t really matter. But I think Solo’s leash has to be tighter

When he’s off offensively, it magnifies his defensive issues. That’s when quick rotations are needed

I do think we only pay attention when he does poorly. Let’s not forget he was our leading scorer in the two games before Creighton, and the leading scorer of our best BE win (Villanova). He’s still a really valuable player, but with his defensive problems, he HAS to be on offensively
 
lateralous said:
My hope would be that by splitting up Mullins and Ball, they would both be a little more selective with their 3 point shots as well. There are times where they are both on the court where they both seem to jack up a 3 the first chance they get because if the ball goes the other way they won't get it back.
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So true and sometimes Alex as well, and when all 3 are missing....well we have a game like last night. I often wonder how many points Ross, Silas, Stewie or Smith would score if they also launched it with reckless abandon like those 3 do.
 
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Scrappy3 said:
It’s a tough time to reinvent yourself but
Our defense needs it
My thinking is use Mullins as sixth man for 25-27 start Ross and solo
Also don’t play karaban hurt
Play Stewart there
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You trying to lose out? That’s what would happen.
 
Drfla said:
Got to give Ross a chance. Look what happened last night. McDermott gave Zugic a chance and he responded. Maybe Ross will too.

What’s the common denominator in last year’s disappointment and this year’s regression from the good start to the season: SB’s terrible defense is the answer. He even makes others look worse defensively because they are forced to cover for him. He scores 14 and gives up 20+. Last year, at least, he tried to fit into the offensive scheme and took good shots. This year he seems to think he is the man and his 3 point shot selection is terrible. I’ve seen him numerous times on the break take the ball to the basket while being guarded on the break, instead of passing out to a wide open Mullins for 3.

Hate to be down on him, but he is playing selfish basketball, not making anyone else better. He was a team player last year despite his defensive deficiencies, but not this year.
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🎯
 
HW611 said:
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.
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Of course you do, we know that by now. He’s a nice bench guy, hustle guy, solid defender but if he’s starting in your top 5/10 team you’re not that team any more.
 
mauconnfan said:
Of course you do, we know that by now. He’s a nice bench guy, hustle guy, solid defender but if he’s starting in your top 5/10 team you’re not that team any more.
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I'm starting to think HW611 is actually Jayden Ross and KingAG is Alex Karaban.
 
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