Expectations: RJ Cole

[jibsey]

Undersized mid-level point guard. He’s what he is. I don’t expect a big jump or a big regression. He got his wish, which is nice. Teams with bigger quicker guards will take advantage of him, just like they did last year. Basically he is fine, not great. Not terrible. On a bell curve he is within one standard deviation of the mean.

In most cases he’s not physically gifted enough to take it into the trees but he’s a key 3 point scorer for us.

 

[Umami Zen]

RJ now knows the speed and strength of BE guards after one year under his belt. Hopefully a full uninterrupted off- season w/conditioning and SnC will allow him to use his skills more effectively this season.

It was obvious last year--against the bigger guards-- that he was having trouble getting space/separation to get his shots off.

Expect him to have a more impactful season at the point and off the ball( on occasion).

 

[gtcam]

I don't think RJ will go down as one of the top guards in UConn history, however, he could prove me wrong by playing within himself, knowing when to dish and when to score and to have faith in his teammates. What he lacks in size needs to made up with a higher BB IQ. He started to turn in that direction during the NBE Tournament earlier this year and in taking control vs Maryland.
I look forward to seeing what progress he has made during the off season

 

[freescooter]

RJ now knows the speed and strength of BE guards after one year under his belt. Hopefully a full uninterrupted off- season w/conditioning and SnC will allow him to use his skills more effectively this season.

It was obvious last year--against the bigger guards-- that he was having trouble getting space/separation to get his shots off.

Expect him to have a more impactful season at the point and off the ball( on occasion).

Knowing and being able to do much about it are two different things. He was better than I thought he would be but he is so far from being an elite guard that it can’t be seen from his spot. He is overmatched by really good guards and struggles with bigger ones. He likes to drive but isn’t big enough to do it effectively against good front courts. He is like lots of point guards actually. Not great, not awful. Just sort of an average Joe. He is Tyrese Martin of point guards. If one of the frosh is really good, of if Jackson made the leap some he think he did, he is likely a back up. If not he will play and won‘t cause problems.

 

[Jorgensen]

Undersized mid-level point guard. He’s what he is. I don’t expect a big jump or a big regression. He got his wish, which is nice. Teams with bigger quicker guards will take advantage of him, just like they did last year. Basically he is fine, not great. Not terrible. On a bell curve he is within one standard deviation of the mean.

He holds the #13 scoring season in D1 CBB history with some elite company….I think after getting used to the high major speed with a year under his belt and the cauldron of intensity in practice he will take another step forward and be more than serviceable as our starting PG.

 

[husky429]

He holds the #13 scoring season in D1 CBB history with some elite company….I think after getting used to the high major speed with a year under his belt and the cauldron of intensity in practice he will take another step forward and be more than serviceable as our starting PG.

I'm confused. Trae young did not average 29 PPG. He averaged 27. Am I just reading the graphic wrong?

 

[imno1]

I'm confused. Trae young did not average 29 PPG. He averaged 27. Am I just reading the graphic wrong?

And in D1 history? or the last 10 years?

 

[Umami Zen]

Knowing and being able to do much about it are two different things. He was better than I thought he would be but he is so far from being an elite guard that it can’t be seen from his spot. He is overmatched by really good guards and struggles with bigger ones. He likes to drive but isn’t big enough to do it effectively against good front courts. He is like lots of point guards actually. Not great, not awful. Just sort of an average Joe. He is Tyrese Martin of point guards. If one of the frosh is really good, of if Jackson made the leap some he think he did, he is likely a back up. If not he will play and won‘t cause problems.

Have never used the term elite to characterize RJ.. He is one of the guys on the team who appears to accept the role of being a leader this year.. Always good to have PGs willing to step up. Some of the preseason polls have him emerging as a second-team BE performer this season.

Will he? Don't know. But he has skills to be a valuable role player who can get the ball to our shooters in their spots. If the defense rotates to the shooters and they reverse the ball (ball movement). He should be/will be free for open shots. He'll make his fair share. Over penetration into the teeth of the defense by RJ is not a good thing as we saw last year.

Our incoming freshman will be pushing for PT and were sold on competing for minutes by Dan Hurley. Can only make the team deeper and better.

 

[navery12]

I'm confused. Trae young did not average 29 PPG. He averaged 27. Am I just reading the graphic wrong?

It's points produced per game, not just points scored, but I have no idea how these are being calculated. I thought it was just points per game + points scored off your assists, but Trae averaged 27 PPG and 8.7 assists which would definitely be higher than 29.22

 

[husky429]

It's points produced per game, not just points scored, but I have no idea how these are being calculated. I thought it was just points per game + points scored off your assists, but Trae averaged 27 PPG and 8.7 assists which would definitely be higher than 29.22

Okay so I had it wrong and it still doesn't make sense, lol. Good to know I'm crazy, but the author is too

 

[Get a Job]

It's points produced per game, not just points scored, but I have no idea how these are being calculated. I thought it was just points per game + points scored off your assists, but Trae averaged 27 PPG and 8.7 assists which would definitely be higher than 29.22

Just a guess, but maybe credit is shared for assisted buckets. So, for example, some of his 27 PPG were scored with an assist, so the total points he "produced" is some number less than 27. Similarly, he is credited with producing some fraction of the points scored off of his assists. I'm assuming the calculation works something like that.

 

[auror]

It's likely using the Dean Oliver formula, which is complicated. The numbers are on sports-reference for college, but here's the formula...

• PProd = (PProd_FG_Part + PProd_AST_Part + FTM) * (1 - (Team_ORB / Team_Scoring_Poss) * Team_ORB_Weight * Team_Play%) + PProd_ORB_Part

where:

• PProd_FG_Part = 2 * (FGM + 0.5 * 3PM) * (1 - 0.5 * ((PTS - FTM) / (2 * FGA)) * qAST)
• PProd_AST_Part = 2 * ((Team_FGM - FGM + 0.5 * (Team_3PM - 3PM)) / (Team_FGM - FGM)) * 0.5 * (((Team_PTS - Team_FTM) - (PTS - FTM)) / (2 * (Team_FGA - FGA))) * AST
• PProd_ORB_Part = ORB * Team_ORB_Weight * Team_Play% * (Team_PTS / (Team_FGM + (1 - (1 - (Team_FTM / Team_FTA))^2) * 0.4 * Team_FTA))

 

[UCLJ0211]

Something about his game reminds me of KEA. Maybe because they were both undersized PGs who could score. If he can give us similar production like 15 ppg and 5 apg, I think that’s all we can ask for.

 

[Chin Diesel]

RJ now knows the speed and strength of BE guards after one year under his belt. Hopefully a full uninterrupted off- season w/conditioning and SnC will allow him to use his skills more effectively this season.

It was obvious last year--against the bigger guards-- that he was having trouble getting space/separation to get his shots off.

Expect him to have a more impactful season at the point and off the ball( on occasion).

I hope you are right but off the top of my head I don't know too many PG's who become much faster and quicker after they've been in college 3-4 years. I yam what I yam.

 

[Husky Alien]

Have never used the term elite to characterize RJ.. He is one of the guys on the team who appears to accept the role of being a leader this year.. Always good to have PGs willing to step up. Some of the preseason polls have him emerging as a second-team BE performer this season.

Will he? Don't know. But he has skills to be a valuable role player who can get the ball to our shooters in their spots. If the defense rotates to the shooters and they reverse the ball (ball movement). He should be/will be free for open shots. He'll make his fair share. Over penetration into the teeth of the defense by RJ is not a good thing as we saw last year.

Our incoming freshman will be pushing for PT and were sold on competing for minutes by Dan Hurley. Can only make the team deeper and better.

RJ will not be a role player on this team. He will be one of our go to guys. Don't understand why RJ gets no love here. He's a dog, he will not let up.

 

[Umami Zen]

I hope you are right but off the top of my head I don't know too many PG's who become much faster and quicker after they've been in college 3-4 years. I yam what I yam.

I get what you're saying. Was thinking more about added strength helping him on D than O .He is who he is size-wise. His on- ball D with our shot blockers helping in the lane will be key.

We have had short PGs over the years who could get their shots. Maybe their footwork/foot speed was just better.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

i like tuff.
rj is tuff.
i like rj.

 

[Umami Zen]

RJ will not be a role player on this team. He will be one of our go to guys. Don't understand why RJ gets no love here. He's a dog, he will not let up.

IMO. A role player has a role to play. PG. It does not mean he is a bench player . A matter of semantics I guess.

I expect RJ to be a 15/7/game PG this yr. who has scorers/shooters around him. Does not need to be ball-dominant as he was at Howard. Too much talent here to share the ball with. Wouldn't be surprised to see him among assist leaders in the BE

 

[August_West]

Undersized mid-level point guard. He’s what he is. I don’t expect a big jump or a big regression. He got his wish, which is nice. Teams with bigger quicker guards will take advantage of him, just like they did last year. Basically he is fine, not great. Not terrible. On a bell curve he is within one standard deviation of the mean.

I still have bad dreams about Nova guards pushing him off the block like a rag doll .

 

[Chin Diesel]

Something about his game reminds me of KEA. Maybe because they were both undersized PGs who could score. If he can give us similar production like 15 ppg and 5 apg, I think that’s all we can ask for.

There's nothing similar about them other than height and build. Games are entirely different.

 

[freescooter]

He holds the #13 scoring season in D1 CBB history with some elite company….I think after getting used to the high major speed with a year under his belt and the cauldron of intensity in practice he will take another step forward and be more than serviceable as our starting PG.

You might as well include his high school stats too…good grief, you include his 2 years in the MEAC where he was the best player on the worst team in the worst team. If he didn’t play for UConn you’d be claiming this stat was totally bogus. I guess another way of looking at it using this data is he had an awful season. His scoring average was only half what it was the previous 2 seasons. LOL. Of course that is dumb just like using his MEAC results to claim he is great is dumb.

He is a very average D1 point. Honestly better than I thought he’d be, but if You replaced him with almost any other average point the results would be comparable. Back in the day, there was a thing called the gentleman’s C. That applies to RJ Coles

 

[superjohn]

You might as well include his high school stats too…good grief, you include his 2 years in the MEAC where he was the best player on the worst team in the worst team. If he didn’t play for UConn you’d be claiming this stat was totally bogus. I guess another way of looking at it using this data is he had an awful season. His scoring average was only half what it was the previous 2 seasons. LOL. Of course that is dumb just like using his MEAC results to claim he is great is dumb.

He is a very average D1 point. Honestly better than I thought he’d be, but if You replaced him with almost any other average point the results would be comparable. Back in the day, there was a thing called the gentleman’s C. That applies to RJ Coles

 

[Umami Zen]

You might as well include his high school stats too…good grief, you include his 2 years in the MEAC where he was the best player on the worst team in the worst team. If he didn’t play for UConn you’d be claiming this stat was totally bogus. I guess another way of looking at it using this data is he had an awful season. His scoring average was only half what it was the previous 2 seasons. LOL. Of course that is dumb just like using his MEAC results to claim he is great is dumb.

He is a very average D1 point. Honestly better than I thought he’d be, but if You replaced him with almost any other average point the results would be comparable. Back in the day, there was a thing called the gentleman’s C. That applies to RJ Coles

You're bumming me out.. Thought RJ impressed folks enough to have him projected as a second team BE player this year.

I'm not buying what you're putting down. If you know what I mean.

 

[boog204]

Just for checks and balances...

UConn PG's that have gone for 18+ and 5+ in a year since JC took over.

....

Bazz was close at 18 and 4.9. Regardless, RJ will not be the first. He is who he is. I expect Cole to have similar #'s as last year. 12 and 4 with hopefully better %'s.

 

[freescooter]

That’s about what I expect too. He is fine. Can’t handle big guards. But he does some things well. I also wonder if he ran out of gas late last year. Except for DePaul, struggled down the stretch. I think he had like 7 in the final regular season game, 5 against Creighton and 9 against Maryland. 14 vs DePaul*, but it was DePaul. Maybe playing against bigger stronger and faster players took a toll.

* may contain basketball like product.

 

[boog204]

I'll double-down since I see a lot of 15 and 5 predictions. UConn PGs that have done that...

Doron Sheffer 16/6
Khalid 16/5

Cole is a solid standstill shooter and can be a good defender. He lacks the athleticism to finish inside and the quickness to create his own shot. He's also not a great facilitator. He's not a bad player. But this is one of those great preseason prediction threads that completely misses the point.

Using his stats at Howard is completely irrelevant. He put up big numbers on high usage and low percentages against the worst comp in D1 on the worst team in D1. His shooting % here and there were virtually the same. I think if we are a legit great team we may actually see him have less production because that means other guys have stepped their games up.

 

[Psolo12]

That’s about what I expect too. He is fine. Can’t handle big guards. But he does some things well. I also wonder if he ran out of gas late last year. Except for DePaul, struggled down the stretch. I think he had like 7 in the final regular season game, 5 against Creighton and 9 against Maryland. 14 vs DePaul*, but it was DePaul. Maybe playing against bigger stronger and faster players took a toll.

* may contain basketball like product.

He didn't run out of gas, he got injured. Did you even watch the games?

 

[imno1]

I'll double-down since I see a lot of 15 and 5 predictions. UConn PGs that have done that...

Doron Sheffer 16/6
Khalid 16/5

Cole is a solid standstill shooter and can be a good defender. He lacks the athleticism to finish inside and the quickness to create his own shot. He's also not a great facilitator. He's not a bad player. But this is one of those great preseason prediction threads that completely misses the point.

Using his stats at Howard is completely irrelevant. He put up big numbers on high usage and low percentages against the worst comp in D1 on the worst team in D1. His shooting % here and there were virtually the same. I think if we are a legit great team we may actually see him have less production because that means other guys have stepped their games up.

He wasn't that far off last year. I still stand by my 14 -15 ppg and 5+ assists prediction. He's worked harder that ever since the end of the season. BTW Shabazz was 18 and 4.9 (essentially 5)

 

[boog204]

He wasn't that far off last year. I still stand by my 14 -15 ppg and 5+ assists prediction. He's worked harder that ever since the end of the season. BTW Shabazz was 18 and 4.9 (essentially 5)

Oops forgot Bazz... I mentioned him in the other thread. I guess I just don't see much room for improvement. If we need Cole to be a big-time scorer we will be in a lot of trouble. We desperately need several guys to pick up Bouk's scoring slack.

 

[imno1]

Oops forgot Bazz... I mentioned him in the other thread. I guess I just don't see much room for improvement. If we need Cole to be a big-time scorer we will be in a lot of trouble. We desperately need several guys to pick up Bouk's scoring slack.

RJ has always been a scorer. I don't see that changing. I hope we are a team that averages over 76 per game and Bouk's points will need to be made up and and then some.