Floyd, Karaban, Clingan

[aburks41]

Just curious, what are these raw physical tools?

Gaff is a very good athlete. Maybe not the quickest, but he's got hops. And he's got pretty good size for a combo guard.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Gaff is a very good athlete. Maybe not the quickest, but he's got hops. And he's got pretty good size for a combo guard.

You see flashes of it but man is he good at hiding his athleticism a lot of the time.

 

[Pudge]

My brother grew up with Craig Forth. He is one of the nicest human beings on planet earth but Clingan already has the agility of an NFL cornerback compared to that kid.

Are you from East Greenbush or the Albany area?

I also saw Craig Forth in HS. And I have seen Clingan. That, quite frankly, is not a good comparable whatsoever. Forth was big and probably couldn't play defense in most top 50 basketball programs; the Zone covered up his real lack of lateral quicks. I am trying to think of who Clingan reminds me of. I might go way back to Aleksinas. I would love to have him just be a good Kalkbrenner next year; but there is no guarantee until they throw the ball up. He does not appear to have significant deficiencies on either O or D.

 

[HooperScooper]

Gaff is a very good athlete. Maybe not the quickest, but he's got hops. And he's got pretty good size for a combo guard.

Remember this article? He never did quite unleash that "above the rim athleticism."

UConn’s Jalen Gaffney was timid as a freshman, but now ready to unleash ‘above-the-rim athleticism’

Jalen Gaffney admits he was a bit ‘timid’ as a freshman, but the UConn guard is ready...

www.nhregister.com

Fee access link: 12ft |

 

[aburks41]

You see flashes of it but man is he good at hiding his athleticism a lot of the time.

He plays too slow to actually show it off. But maybe he’s not good enough to play faster, idk. He’s a weird situation

 

[Rico444]

He plays too slow to actually show it off. But maybe he’s not good enough to play faster, idk. He’s a weird situation

What's funny is he showed flashes of getting to the rim off the bounce really well, probably better than anyone else on the team.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Are you from East Greenbush or the Albany area?

I also saw Craig Forth in HS. And I have seen Clingan. That, quite frankly, is not a good comparable whatsoever. Forth was big and probably couldn't play defense in most top 50 basketball programs; the Zone covered up his real lack of lateral quicks. I am trying to think of who Clingan reminds me of. I might go way back to Aleksinas. I would love to have him just be a good Kalkbrenner next year; but there is no guarantee until they throw the ball up. He does not appear to have significant deficiencies on either O or D.

Yup. He and my brother were in the same class at Columbia. Craig always struck me as a kid who played basketball because he was gigantic and not because he particularly enjoyed it.

 

[HooperScooper]

What's funny is he showed flashes of getting to the rim off the bounce really well, probably better than anyone else on the team.

Yes, I do remember that this season. Unfortunately about 75% of the time he missed the lay up after getting to the rim. Gotta convert once you get there.

 

[Jmsafc]

I don't expect much Clingan to contribute much. If only because Sanogo is going to be commanding 30 minutes a game or more if he cuts down on foul trouble.

Hurley gave Akok a lot of run after he had that half-redshirt season for us, so I expect good minutes for those 2.

speed of the game and strength of the players are 2 of the hardest things for freshmant, Clingan will have a big adjustment, just like Samson this year who is more athletic

 

[ucp990411]

Floyd/Diggins, Hawkins, Jackson Point Forward, Akok/Karaban, Sanogo

That’s if we don’t bring in any quality transfers.

Samson Johnson I think will start at the
4 next year

 

[UConnSwag11]

Gaff is a very good athlete. Maybe not the quickest, but he's got hops. And he's got pretty good size for a combo guard.

It’s been three years. It’s time to move on

 

[QDOG5]

Samson Johnson I think will start at the
4 next year

10 pages in there are certainly more questions(or unknowns) than answers for next season. I hope Samson is ready to start next year but just haven't seen enough of him on the court. So, I'll ask a question. What do people think we'll see from Samson on the offensive end next year? In the limited minutes he played towards the end of the year all he did was run around trying to set screens?

 

[HuskyHawk]

10 pages in there are certainly more questions(or unknowns) than answers for next season. I hope Samson is ready to start next year but just haven't seen enough of him on the court. So, I'll ask a question. What do people think we'll see from Samson on the offensive end next year? In the limited minutes he played towards the end of the year all he did was run around trying to set screens?

I think he'll be 3rd in scoring. Dropping about 2 3's a game, plus a couple dunks and layups. Basically replacing Martin's scoring. That is...if Akok doesn't beat him out it which case I think Akok will do that, and Johnson will still give you 6-8 points and similar boards plus a block. I think he will be the primary backup 5 if he isn't the starting 4.

People here assumed he would be a huge contributor this year. He wasn't, solely because Whaley returned, and now expectations are lower. They should be higher.

 

[aburks41]

It’s been three years. It’s time to move on

I agree but his issue has never been his athleticism holding him back. That’s probably the one redeeming quality that he has at this point

 

[Husky68]

I also wouldn’t be at all surprised if Gaffney looks very good in practices and that’s part of what had the staffs expectations where they were. He’s got some of the best raw physical tools of our guards. His problems have stemmed from poise and decision making, which isn’t being tested the same way outside of games.

Isn't it the coaches job to make sure his "poise and decision making" is tested same way outside of games? Hurley needed a Gaffney who could perform and couldn't get him anywhere near what was needed. If AJ was yanked every time he pulled a "Gaffney" he'd be sitting most of the time next to Akok.

 

[dennismenace]

He plays too slow to actually show it off. But maybe he’s not good enough to play faster, idk. He’s a weird situation

I recall him at times exploding to the rim perhaps against lesser competition. But the speed and hops are there. To me he has a confidence problem and appears like he is expecting to make mistakes. I'm not sure if that's on his mind, playing time or something else. PG is leadership on the floor and should be syncing with the coach. He's not a guy to make his own shot most of the time; therefore, he should be working through offensive sets; no? I think he needs help, and it should begin now and be set up with whatever the staff and others can do to help him. This is where "team" comes in. It is in the staff's interest as well as his to work together and regularly meet to evaluate results. To me it's not too late to help him turn this around. I remember when he was a young player he would come off the bench and calm down what was a pretty frenetic and disorganized offense. I thought he brought stability and some organization on the floor and it seemed to bring better thinking and execution overall for everyone. Nothing really flashy on this part; but steady and effective to a degree. As a senior he can return to that steady guy, run through sets and occasionally use his skills of slashing or hitting an outside shot. He has the physical tools to play at this level. Hoping he has a turnaround like Josh.

 

[Pudge]

I think you can wrap the Gaffney, Diggins, SamsonJohnson, Springs, Floyd, Akok, Karaban, Clingan issue all in that one phrase; Confidence. Who knows who shows up with swagger and work ethic. YES. We can see a kid regress if he has a tough few outings and a quick hook. Someone has to rise.

As for AJ. We have one guarantee: he is gonna work at the game.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

It’s been three years. It’s time to move on

did you think that after giffey's 3rd year, cuz year number 4 for him was bigtime. you can look it up.
and oh, jmoney not only has next year availability, but the year after that, too. if he stays.

 

[ucp990411]

did you think that after giffey's 3rd year, cuz year number 4 for him was bigtime. you can look it up.
and oh, jmoney not only has next year availability, but the year after that, too. if he stays.

Unbelievable

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

My friend the coach at one of the basketball focused prep schools in RI doesn't expect him to really see the court much at UConn. I asked why and he said "too slow" for that system. So I said, why recruit him? Answer was: "had to" for the optics.

Be careful, some posters still don’t like me because of my DC comments over the summer.

 

[uchusky32]

Be careful, some posters still don’t like me because of my DC comments over the summer.

Do you think DC is better than Marvel? Wow.

 

[Kenny11]

Clingan can be valuable for us and can even get some important (but limited) backup minutes to Sanogo as a freshman. He needs to get in shape though. Unfortunately for him he can’t start his training at uconn for about 3 more months.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Do you think DC is better than Marvel? Wow.

Woah my negative comments. Don’t get me ratioed here. I still watch endgame whenever it comes on TV.

 

[the Q]

Woah my negative comments. Don’t get me ratioed here. I still watch endgame whenever it comes on TV.

I can’t watch end game.

It’s my equivalent of watching old yeller

I prefer thinking it all stops at infinity war with earths greatest hero saving us from certain doom.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Samson Johnson I think will start at the
4 next year

100% hope this happens. Samson and Adama I think will compliment each other better than Whaley and Adama. Especially if Samson can develop a reliable jump shot. Samson has just as high of a ceiling as Akok but better NBA length.