Florida transfer Noah Locke

[aburks41]

I think he will. I think between COVID and the fact he had to do PT on his own for his ACL, maybe that is what hurt his ability to be aggressive in the long term and affected durability this year.

Two years ago, we saw a glimpse of what he could be in 1 game then the injury cut it off. This year we saw a glimpse of what he could be for 3 games, then teams started playing him differently.

To your point, the more time that passes since the injury, the most optimistic one can be about the player he can become. This was his worst shooting season as a Husky. I think he can get back to 40-42% from 3 and he accepted a 15-20 min per game role. That's the missing piece for next year's team.

If Polley comes back and is a 40% 3pt shooter, and Akok becomes a 37% 3pt guy, then we don't need a transfer shooter. But those are 2 very big 'ifs'

 

[aburks41]

Some of them won't get better, they are who they are. We have to replace our only dynamic scorer, you saw what our offense looks like without a guy who can break down a defense.

Please explain to the class who out of that group will not get any better. I'd love to hear your reasoning

 

[Storrs South]

If Polley comes back and is a 40% 3pt shooter, and Akok becomes a 37% 3pt guy, then we don't need a transfer shooter. But those are 2 very big 'ifs'

Polley is a career 38% shooter at UConn. 39/40% if you take out this last year dealing with COVID and coming off an ACL tear. Akok I'd peg for around 33-35%. I am also anticipating improvements from Gaff and a big jump from Andre (it was 11% this year so can only go up).

 

[RedDog]

Lord, oh Lord, please no more A10 transfers.

There are good players everywhere.

Lasan Kromah came from GW in the A10.
Shonn Miller from the IVY.
RJ Cole from the MEAC.
and Of course, Martin from Rhody in the A10.

Look at the players in the NBA:
1. Steph Curry from Davidson
2. Seth Curry started at Liberty
3. Ja Morant - Murray State

Don't be mesmerized by the big name schools

 

[ClifSpliffy]

No more Tyrese Martin's? Please...

We're in a weird gray area. We need shooters badly, but we can't expect to land a shooter who wants (and deserves) immediate starter's PT. Locke would have been great, but he's a 29 mpg player. No way he'd get close to that at UConn with Cole, Jackson, Gaffney, Diggins, Hawkins...

Tyler Kolek is a perfect fit. He's only a sophomore and will give us a great outside shooter for three seasons. Coming from George Mason, maybe he's more inclined to come into a program like UConn and play that bench shooter role right away with room to grow into his junior and senior years.

If we add Kolek and retain Polley, that gives us two excellent outside shooters that our squad direly needs.

'retain Polley, that gives us two excellent outside shooters'
seriously, what's ur evidence for this statement?
typo's overall career fg% is 39%.
not opinion, just the reality:
Tyler Polley College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com (sports-reference.com)
i totally admire and respect coach dan's thinking, urs too, but continuing on with this nonsense must, at least, give him pause to search for a legit, as opposed to fanciful, reason. it sure as heck aint boards, dimes, thefts, blocks, or handle. or even superior shooting or scoring. mebbe he sings nice on the team bus?
i don't get any of this. never did.

 

[aburks41]

Polley is a career 38% shooter at UConn. 39/40% if you take out this last year dealing with COVID and coming off an ACL tear. Akok I'd peg for around 33-35%. I am also anticipating improvements from Gaff and a big jump from Andre (it was 11% this year so can only go up).

Jackson was 9/10 from the FT line so clearly his stroke is pretty good - limited sample size I know but if your shot sucks, you are not making 9/10 free throws. I think his problem is a lack of confidence more than anything.

But yeah also part of the big IF is Polley actually coming back lol. I really hope he does

 

[husky429]

'retain Polley, that gives us two excellent outside shooters'
seriously, what's ur evidence for this statement?
typo's overall career fg% is 39%.
not opinion, just the reality:
Tyler Polley College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com (sports-reference.com)
i totally admire and respect coach dan's thinking, urs too, but continuing on with this nonsense must, at least, give him pause to search for a legit, as opposed to fanciful, reason.

When you barely take any 2 point shots, and barely any at all at the rim, you don't have a very high FG%. Tyler is obviously an "excellent" shooter in catch and shoot/1 dribble situations. This is a stupid hill to die on.

 

[TRest]

Please explain to the class who out of that group will not get any better. I'd love to hear your reasoning

Right off the top of my head I would expect Cole, Whaley and Martin to all perform very similarly on offense. Hopefully Whaley shows more confidence when shooting from outside. The other two will end up shooting similar percentages to what they have in the past. Why will they get better, just because you think so? Some kids improve every year in a program, some kids get recruited over if someone better comes in.

 

[husky429]

Jackson was 9/10 from the FT line so clearly his stroke is pretty good - limited sample size I know but if your shot sucks, you are not making 9/10 free throws. I think his problem is a lack of confidence more than anything.

But yeah also part of the big IF is Polley actually coming back lol. I really hope he does

No, his shot sucks. His stroke is terrible looking from 3, and pretty bad looking at the FT line. His shot needs to be completely and totally rebuilt from top to bottom if we expect him to get into the 30% range on limited attempts.

 

[8893]

Please explain to the class who out of that group will not get any better. I'd love to hear your reasoning

Do you think Gaffney improved between freshman and sophomore years? I didn’t see it.

Progress is not linear or guaranteed.

 

[Storrs South]

Jackson was 9/10 from the FT line so clearly his stroke is pretty good - limited sample size I know but if your shot sucks, you are not making 9/10 free throws. I think his problem is a lack of confidence more than anything.

But yeah also part of the big IF is Polley actually coming back lol. I really hope he does

I'm with @husky429 on this. Sure it was only 17 3s this year, small sample size, but 2 of 17 and a lot of them were air balls or thuds off the backboard. Part of it was probably confidence and lost time due to COVID and injury, probably would have been around 20-25% otherwise, but the shot needs some work before getting above 30%.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

When you barely take any 2 point shots, and barely any at all at the rim, you don't have a very high FG%. Tyler is obviously an "excellent" shooter in catch and shoot/1 dribble situations. This is a stupid hill to die on.

'excellent?'
data, please.

 

[Watchdog]

I am losing brain cells reading this thread.

But just think. It's preparing you for many other threads too...............

 

[McLovin]

Do you think Gaffney improved between freshman and sophomore years? I didn’t see it.

Progress is not linear or guaranteed.

Gaffney literally improved every single offensive metric this year except assists. (most recent season is on top)

GP	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
23	19.4	41.0	36.2	82.2	1.5	1.5	0.1	0.8	1.6	1.2	6.1
31	19.2	33.6	26.4	76.9	1.2	2.1	0.0	0.6	1.4	1.2	3.9

 

[McLovin]

Gaffney literally improved every single offensive metric this year except assists. (most recent season is on top)

GP	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
23	19.4	41.0	36.2	82.2	1.5	1.5	0.1	0.8	1.6	1.2	6.1
31	19.2	33.6	26.4	76.9	1.2	2.1	0.0	0.6	1.4	1.2	3.9

TBH I was a little surprised to see the 41% FG and 36% 3P. Both bode well for another step to becoming a really solid contributor. A lot of Gaffney's struggles the past 2 seasons seem mental. Always thought he had a nice looking shot & has plus athleticism.

 

[8893]

Gaffney literally improved every single offensive metric this year except assists. (most recent season is on top)

GP	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
23	19.4	41.0	36.2	82.2	1.5	1.5	0.1	0.8	1.6	1.2	6.1
31	19.2	33.6	26.4	76.9	1.2	2.1	0.0	0.6	1.4	1.2	3.9

Fair enough, although assists is a pretty big “except” for someone many expect and want to play a lot of PG for us.

He looked good in spurts and was the only one who didn’t seem beaten against UMD, but he seemed so out of sync at most other times, at least when I was paying attention.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Jackson was 9/10 from the FT line so clearly his stroke is pretty good - limited sample size I know but if your shot sucks, you are not making 9/10 free throws. I think his problem is a lack of confidence more than anything.

But yeah also part of the big IF is Polley actually coming back lol. I really hope he does

u play any pick up hoops? in reality land, there is a very common phenotype known as 'that guy.' often, especially to kick off a session once 10 bodies are in the room, everrbody lines up to shoot fts. 1st five to make it are one team, and if more than 10 are in the room, then the next 5 to make are the other team.
often, there is 'that guy,' the one who shoots 99% from the line, but in the game rarely scores, because he can't. nothing aboot ajax meant here as i like his energy very much and hope he can find a buckets game, but ft accuracy does not always equate to floor game.
everyone groans when 'that guy' is on their squad. everyone. unless there are only ten in the gym. then, everyone is very happy cuz it's game on! and we don't have to stand around with our thumbs up our reverse pie hole, just talking trash.

 

[Chin Diesel]

in his 100 game career, typo has 43 assists and 26 steals.
for example, in his 50 game career, jalen has 100 assists and 37 steals.
how on earth can anyone play 100 games and only have 43 assists and 26 steals?
we could roll auggiedoggy in a wheelchair out on an nba floor for a 100 games, and he'd blow those typo numbers away.
i'll take any athlete/playa from the portal pool over any of these 1 dimensional hacks. you see any 1 dimensional hax get a lot of time for the winning teams in the last 2 weekends of the tourney? i didn't. i did see a lot of energetic gamers flying around the court, doing whatever it takes to win tho.

I understand he’s still an option to come back but I think we need someone else also. Polley had two great games last year but a lot of blah games other than those two...and he is absolutely invisible if he isn’t shooting well. Need another guy who is a little more consistent and can provide at least something if the shot isn’t falling.

My "Polley want a cracker?" comment was in direct response to who does UConn have as a back up plan. That to me is exactly what Polley is for next year- a back up plan. I definitely would like a comparable shooter who can do more than occasionally get hot from 3.

 

[TRest]

Fair enough, although assists is a pretty big “except” for someone many expect and want to play a lot of PG for us.

He looked good in spurts and was the only one who didn’t seem beaten against UMD, but he seemed so out of sync at most other times, at least when I was paying attention.

Also, he got "better" on paper but is hardly a difference-maker scoring 2 more points a game. I would put him in the category of guys that seem to have more potential to contribute than what we have seen.

 

[8893]

Also, he got "better" on paper but is hardly a difference-maker scoring 2 more points a game. I would put him in the category of guys that seem to have more potential to contribute than what we have seen.

Next thing you know @August_West will be placing him ahead of Rashad.

 

[McLovin]

Fair enough, although assists is a pretty big “except” for someone many expect and want to play a lot of PG for us.

He looked good in spurts and was the only one who didn’t seem beaten against UMD, but he seemed so out of sync at most other times, at least when I was paying attention.

I really believe for Gaffney to unlock his potential, it's just between the ears. If he can find confidence, his fundamentals & athleticism are absolutely there. Not sure what it will take to give him that confidence boost. Hurley should text him his UMD "highlight" tape every day this summer to remind him what he's capable of.

 

[Watchdog]

if im to understand correctly that 'ville' means mr locke is going to l'ville, then cool. that one looks like an old guy, one dimensional 3 jacker to me. he's played enuf (92 games) to have a reasonable view of his ability -10 ppg at 40% fg and 40% 3fg with around 3 2pt attempts and 6 3pt attempts pg. and just 1 ft per game.
the closest to the paint this guy ever was is that time he went to home depot to pick up a brush to baste a thanksgiving turkey.
Noah Locke College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com (sports-reference.com)

Yes. Based on his "makes"and how he scored his points, he doesn't get inside or drive, nor is he aggressive on defense.

Roughly scored 7 of his 10 points per game came on three's, 2 of his 10 points per game on two's and 1 of his 10 points per game on FT's in 28 minutes. One FT per game for a guard says he's Polley Light.

And, in those 28 minutes per game he averaged 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.1 turnovers. Must be a great defender though, with only 1.3 fouls per game

Not exactly lighting it up, plus his averages stayed almost exactly the same for all three years.

 

[McLovin]

Also, he got "better" on paper but is hardly a difference-maker scoring 2 more points a game. I would put him in the category of guys that seem to have more potential to contribute than what we have seen.

Prepare to be wrong right.

Edit: I misread your post. If you think he is going to give us more than he has shown so far, I agree. I'm high on Gaffney being a big part of the rotation the next 2 years (but he won't be "the" guy).

 

[TRest]

Prepare to be wrong right.

Edit: I misread your post. If you think he is going to give us more than he has shown so far, I agree. I'm high on Gaffney being a big part of the rotation the next 2 years (but he won't be "the" guy).

he doesnt have the physical limitations some of the other guys have holding him back.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Yes. Based on his "makes"and how he scored his points, he doesn't get inside or drive, nor is he aggressive on defense.

Roughly scored 7 of his 10 points per game came on three's, 2 of his 10 points per game on two's and 1 of his 10 points per game on FT's in 28 minutes. One FT per game for a guard says he's Polley Light.

And, in those 28 minutes per game he averaged 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.1 turnovers. Must be a great defender though, with only 1.3 fouls per game

Not exactly lighting it up, plus his averages stayed almost exactly the same for all three years.

correct. not a playa, just another garden variety jacker. but, hey, he managed to get his own thread here, with 323 posts, so there's that. lol.