Fall practice highlights | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Fall practice highlights

So they way I kind of see the starting lineup right now is that Cole at the 1 and Sanogo at the 5 are locks. I’m fairly certain Andre will be the 3. The 2 and the 4 are really up for grabs. If I had to guess our opening day lineup will look something like Cole, Gaff, Andre, Whaley, Sanogo. Gaff and Hawk, Akok and Whaley to me are really battling it out for those 2 spots.
 
UcannUconn said:
So they way I kind of see the starting lineup right now is that Cole at the 1 and Sanogo at the 5 are locks. I’m fairly certain Andre will be the 3. The 2 and the 4 are really up for grabs. If I had to guess our opening day lineup will look something like Cole, Gaff, Andre, Whaley, Sanogo. Gaff and Hawk, Akok and Whaley to me are really battling it out for those 2 spots.
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I could see Andre being the guy you bring in at the first time out if you need to insert some instant energy.

I also think that whoever is playing three is going to have a lot to do with who is playing the four, and vice versa.
 
UcannUconn said:
So they way I kind of see the starting lineup right now is that Cole at the 1 and Sanogo at the 5 are locks. I’m fairly certain Andre will be the 3. The 2 and the 4 are really up for grabs. If I had to guess our opening day lineup will look something like Cole, Gaff, Andre, Whaley, Sanogo. Gaff and Hawk, Akok and Whaley to me are really battling it out for those 2 spots.
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8893 said:
I could see Andre being the guy you bring in at the first time out if you need to insert some instant energy.

I also think that whoever is playing three is going to have a lot to do with who is playing the four, and vice versa.
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Agree with both regarding the 3/4 combo. If Jax is the 3, the 4 has to be able to shoot. I really hope Whaley is much more comfortable shooting 3's. I think he is a capable stand and shoot. Otherwise, I see more of Akok with Jackson at the 3/4.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Agree with both regarding the 3/4 combo. If Jax is the 3, the 4 has to be able to shoot. I really hope Whaley is much more comfortable shooting 3's. I think he is a capable stand and shoot. Otherwise, I see more of Akok with Jackson at the 3/4.
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Let us not forget that, based on what we have seen so far from each player at UConn, Whaley is at worst an equal shooter to Akok. It seems that most people on here are assuming that Whaley needs to improve his shooting to match Akok's, but the numbers say it's the other way around. I know Akok's sample size is small and came from an abbreviated freshman season, but he was nonetheless a bad 3-point shooter in that sample.
 
8893 said:
I could see Andre being the guy you bring in at the first time out if you need to insert some instant energy.

I also think that whoever is playing three is going to have a lot to do with who is playing the four, and vice versa.
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I also like Ajax to be one of the 1st set of subs. I think RJ and Gaff start.
Chin Diesel said:
Agree with both regarding the 3/4 combo. If Jax is the 3, the 4 has to be able to shoot. I really hope Whaley is much more comfortable shooting 3's. I think he is a capable stand and shoot. Otherwise, I see more of Akok with Jackson at the 3/4.
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I would like to see Tyrese and Akok to start and Sanogo is a gimmie to start. Just do not like Whaley to start game I would like him to come in for Sanogo. They will play a lot together through out the game. If Whaley and Sanogo get in foul trouble we have some issues there.
 
Get a Job said:
Let us not forget that, based on what we have seen so far from each player at UConn, Whaley is at worst an equal shooter to Akok. It seems that most people on here are assuming that Whaley needs to improve his shooting to match Akok's, but the numbers say it's the other way around. I know Akok's sample size is small and came from an abbreviated freshman season, but he was nonetheless a bad 3-point shooter in that sample.
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Many of us think Whaley is a decent shooter but lacks confidence in taking those open 3s. I believe that is what @Chin Diesel was eluding to.
 
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imno1 said:
Many of us think Whaley is a decent shooter but lacks confidence in taking those open 3s. I believe that is what @Chin Diesel was eluding to.
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Fair enough. I was not so much arguing with @Chin Diesel's post, but rather his post reminded me of a broader point on which I wanted to comment. I think the 'Yard fairly rates Squirrel's shooting ability, and overrates Akok's (based on what we've seen so far). It seems to be taken for granted that Akok is a clear-cut better shooter than Whaley.
 
Get a Job said:
Fair enough. I was not so much arguing with @Chin Diesel's post, but rather his post reminded me of a broader point on which I wanted to comment. I think the 'Yard fairly rates Squirrel's shooting ability, and overrates Akok's (based on what we've seen so far). It seems to be taken for granted that Akok is a clear-cut better shooter than Whaley.
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One thing the yard doesn't overrate is your ability to nickname :)
 
Whaley could be instant spark off bench, candidate for both 6th man and DPOY ??
I agree that he should not be paired with Ajax unless he’s automatic from 3
 
Dabutlerdidit said:
Whaley could be instant spark off bench, candidate for both 6th man and DPOY ??
I agree that he should not be paired with Ajax unless he’s automatic from 3
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Like spark off the bench. Whaley will not be automatic from 3 and I'm not disparaging him on his shooting that he has has vastly improved on.
 
Anyone else getting the sense from these clips that Hurley is planning on emphasizing the mid-range game with this team? It makes sense given the concern about our shooting from deep and given our athleticism and ability to get a quick first step, and the challenges we had finishing at the rim last season.
 
UcannUconn said:
So they way I kind of see the starting lineup right now is that Cole at the 1 and Sanogo at the 5 are locks. I’m fairly certain Andre will be the 3. The 2 and the 4 are really up for grabs. If I had to guess our opening day lineup will look something like Cole, Gaff, Andre, Whaley, Sanogo. Gaff and Hawk, Akok and Whaley to me are really battling it out for those 2 spots.
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I think Martin is strongly in the mix at the 3, and possibly the 2. I think 3 is just as up for grabs as 2 and maybe more up for grabs than 4. Akok will probably play more minutes at 4 than Whaley (with Whaley playing backup 5) but it seems likely Whaley starts, at least initially.
 
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CL82 said:
Anyone else getting the sense from these clips that Hurley is planning on emphasizing the mid-range game with this team? It makes sense given the concern about our shooting from deep and given our athleticism and ability to get a quick first step, and the challenges we had finishing at the rim last season.
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Certainly hope not.
 
CL82 said:
Anyone else getting the sense from these clips that Hurley is planning on emphasizing the mid-range game with this team? It makes sense given the concern about our shooting from deep and given our athleticism and ability to get a quick first step, and the challenges we had finishing at the rim last season.
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He isn't emphasizing the mid-range game. They're just drills.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Certainly hope not.
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I'm guessing it will be relatively early in the clock as well.

The more I think about it the more I like it, or at least understand it. These shots should be there and with our height, athleticism and aggressiveness on the O boards, we stand a decent chance of cleaning up the misses. Plus with our offensive efficiency, we need more possessions. I think Hurley look to up the tempo, which was definitely needed.
 
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CL82 said:
I'm guessing it will be relatively early in the clock as well.

The more I think about it the more I like it, or at least understand it. These shots should be there and with our height, athleticism and aggressiveness on the O boards, we stand a decent chance of cleaning up the misses. Plus with our offensive efficiency, we need more possessions. I think Hurley look to up the tempo, which was definitely needed.
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Mid-range shots are the last option or a counter. No one in America is designing their offense around them that wants to win games
 
husky429 said:
Mid-range shots are the last option or a counter. No one in America is designing their offense around them that wants to win games
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Just speculation on my part, but as I said above, I see some logic in it. I recognize that analytics don't favor it. Designing the offense around it, is too strong a phrase. Including it a part of the offense, [shrugs], I guess we will see.
 
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imno1 said:
One thing the yard doesn't overrate is your ability to nickname :)
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I dunno, man. I think it's pretty apt. Go back and watch some of his games and tell me if he doesn't look like a squirrel on a busy road.

Squirrel Come At Me Bro GIF
 
CL82 said:
Anyone else getting the sense from these clips that Hurley is planning on emphasizing the mid-range game with this team? It makes sense given the concern about our shooting from deep and given our athleticism and ability to get a quick first step, and the challenges we had finishing at the rim last season.
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This might be the only thing that would make me wish for Hurley to keep playing a slow tempo
 
navery12 said:
This might be the only thing that would make me wish for Hurley to keep playing a slow tempo
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Geesh, tough room!

This team is made to run. (Born to run?) I think the games are going to be incredibly fun to watch. I'm already pretty excited about it.
 
Dabutlerdidit said:
Whaley could be instant spark off bench, candidate for both 6th man and DPOY ??
I agree that he should not be paired with Ajax unless he’s automatic from 3
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We have the reining 6th man of the year on our roster. He’ll hold that spot.
 
The depth and balance of this team is unreal when was the last time we had a team legitimately this deep and balanced? Remember 2017-2019? We were screwed if we lost 1 kid now we can afford an injury or two. This does create some difficulty for Hurley keeping everyone happy. There’s going to be multiple kids who should be getting more minutes I suspect we may have some transfers post-season.
 
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CL82 said:
Anyone else getting the sense from these clips that Hurley is planning on emphasizing the mid-range game with this team? It makes sense given the concern about our shooting from deep and given our athleticism and ability to get a quick first step, and the challenges we had finishing at the rim last season.
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No and I hope not.

No coach should emphasize scoring in the mid range.
 
CL82 said:
Geesh, tough room!

This team is made to run. (Born to run?) I think the games are going to be incredibly fun to watch. I'm already pretty excited about it.
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Query:

Would you rather win 53-52, or lose 89-88 in a run 'n gun dunk-athon?
 
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