Floyd, Karaban, Clingan

[aburks41]

Diggins just wasn't good enough to usurp Gaffney. Not every ends up being a stud. It's usually 50/50 with who becomes a stud vs. a flop.

That's why I'm saying i hope the staff learns from this and goes into the portal to get a guard (or two) who is a proven player. We cannot have the same PG situation 2 years in a row. There's no excuse for that

 

[HuskyHawk]

I highly doubt a 4 star, 7'1'' in state recruit "won't see the court". DH and staff will figure out a way to get him PT. He can pass, has a high BBIQ and actually can move pretty well for a 7 foot 17 year old. He can only get better from here

Just passing along what he said. Hope they do figure it out, because he's not the normal Hurley big.

 

[navery12]

PT for freshmen in the DH scheme appears to be hard to come by. Is it a staff philosophy or lack of talent/readiness?Sometimes its hard to tell. I guess you trust the coach/staff and say they're just not ready. I'm sure DH will give him feedback in the end-of-season interview heading into late spring/summer as to what he needs to do to get the PT he's looking for.

Not sure this is really true, freshman have played plenty up until this year when there was a full extra class in college

2019: 13.2% of minutes (Wilson, Adams)
2020: 32.6% of minutes (Bouk, Akok, Gaff)
2021: 14.1% of minutes (Sanogo, Jackson)
2022: 7.8% of minutes (Hawkins, Johnson, Diggins)

 

[Umami Zen]

I know DH used those words; I'm saying he either had no idea the talent he had (unlikely) or misspoke.

I don't know if I agree with your second paragraph. Akok, Bouk, Sanogo, Hawkins all played big minutes as freshman. Springs didn't, but he's clearly just not good enough for this team at this point. The only two that really HAVEN'T played are Diggins and Johnson.

Your point is well made.. Wasn't really focused on Bouk/Sanogo when I said that.. Hawk was trending that way pre-injury with important minutes..

My hope is that Karaban/Floyd will have had the additional opportunity to familiarize the staff with their strengths as a result of being on campus prior to their freshman year .

 

[shizzle787]

That's why I'm saying i hope the staff learns from this and goes into the portal to get a guard (or two) who is a proven player. We cannot have the same PG situation 2 years in a row. There's no excuse for that

100% agree. If Cole doesn't come back, we need an instant impact PG to come in.

 

[Umami Zen]

Not sure this is really true, freshman have played plenty up until this year when there was a full extra class in college

2019: 13.2% of minutes (Wilson, Adams)
2020: 32.6% of minutes (Bouk, Akok, Gaff)
2021: 14.1% of minutes (Sanogo, Jackson)
2022: 7.8% of minutes (Hawkins, Johnson, Diggins)

Numbers don't lie.. Your comment about full extra class in college is also true/legit and was not part of my consideration re: freshman PT. Would have been nice if Samson/Sool could have had the same experience as Floyd/Karaban prior to their freshman year. But that ship sailed a long time ago.

Respect your ability to research a variety of topics and support your points with the data. Not my strength.

 

[ARIDE]

I highly doubt a 4 star, 7'1'' in state recruit "won't see the court". DH and staff will figure out a way to get him PT. He can pass, has a high BBIQ and actually can move pretty well for a 7 foot 17 year old. He can only get better from here

Time will tell..but I expect him to play and have an impact rebounding ..he is a good shooter..I believe he will surprise u ..he is skilled in many ways...

 

[ClifSpliffy]

this 'transfer, instant impact pg' stuff is, in a word, wackadoodle, for the seemingly obvious reasons.
coach dan was brought here to rebuild the program, and rebuild a culture.
other than not having a bunch of axe murderers runnin around, it's hard to define what 'culture' is, other than a winning program, so let's leave that aside.
program is far easier to define, and, like the other top and constantly competitive teams, the basic idea is to build a scheme that allows for constantly renewing the pieces as one player leaves and another arrives to expectedly fill that role. lather, rinse, repeat, and mebbe, it ends up with a championship. it can also be a program to just get the best freshmen, or a bunch of mercenaries, and hope for the best. not common. hard to do repetitively.
so, coach dan had a firm program concept in mind when he came, and not being a fool, he reasonably knew that next season would not have whaley (a big), martin (a tweener), and cole (a small). magically, coming in are donovan (a big), alex (a tweener), and corey (a small), along with 2nd year samson (a big) and diggins (a small). that would be five 'new' guys to add to the soup. great plan.
added to what's reasonably coming back, well, let's just say coach dan is a programmy guy, cuz that is how he has acted since he got here.
too obvious. imagine that. imma big fan of his plan.
top 20 right thar, even if we stand pat. good plan.
it is kinda funny how some here think this is all just a video game. pro tip: expecting to hit the lottery is not a winning retirement plan.

 

[Storrs South]

Not sure this is really true, freshman have played plenty up until this year when there was a full extra class in college

2019: 13.2% of minutes (Wilson, Adams)
2020: 32.6% of minutes (Bouk, Akok, Gaff)
2021: 14.1% of minutes (Sanogo, Jackson)
2022: 7.8% of minutes (Hawkins, Johnson, Diggins)

And that's with Hawkins basically missing 5 games (most of Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, Villanova, NMSU).

The DH not playing freshmen argument is severely overblown.

 

[husky429]

And that's with Hawkins basically missing 5 games (most of Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, Villanova, NMSU).

The DH not playing freshmen argument is severely overblown.

He probably could play Hawkins and Sanogo a bit more early on that I recall. Particularly that SJU games in 2020-2021 was bad.

But I can't imagine he'd completely bench Diggins and Johnson if they were playing better than our upperclassmen. It's just not feasible. In my experience this stuff easily works itself out in practice time.

 

[Umami Zen]

And that's with Hawkins basically missing 5 games (most of Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, Villanova, NMSU).

The DH not playing freshmen argument is severely overblown.

@navery12 point about full extra class as a result of Pandemic impacting PT as well as Hawkins end-of-year injury is certainly reflected in the 2021/2022 minutes. Have to remind myself this is not the New Normal but rather a once-in-a lifetime anomaly regarding its impact on PT.

 

[tzznandrew]

And that's with Hawkins basically missing 5 games (most of Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, Villanova, NMSU).

The DH not playing freshmen argument is severely overblown.

And Jackson missed games with injury his freshmen year as well. And Akok too.

 

[FairView]

And 7'0 freshman bigs basically never contribute, level of competition be damned, Bigs develop slower.

That kid from Creighton did some damage last year. He didn't start, but he did contribute.

 

[BGesus4]

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.

 

[elmcityboy]

How many future lotto picks don't play at all their freshman year?

He's a freak athlete with gumby proportions, but as far as we can tell, he wasn't good enough to play. He played what, 2 minutes after Akok went down and then never again?

I suspect he'll contribute next year, but star player seems unlikely to me barring a crazy productive summer.

one guy that jumped to mind was koloko for arizona. i looked it up and he averaged 2 points/game on 8 minutes/game his freshman year -- still considerably more than johnson, but he's a hopeful case at least.

 

[Lefty2one]

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.

It would not surprise me but I am optimistic until proven otherwise. Bigs are hard to peg in terms of scouting. For all we know, Clingan will be Craig Forth.

 

[Chasm64]

I’m expecting Johnson, Diggins, Floyd and Karaban to all have an impact next year. I would bet they spent a lot of time in practice this year playing against the starters and have a good idea how to play together.

 

[Huskyforlife]

These guys all need to contribute next year until we see who else the staff brings in. But I believe in, and am excited for these guys, as they’re all talented in some regard. The one thing I believe about Hurleys coaching, is he’ll find the 8 guys who deserve to play, and turn them into a top 30 team minimum. The key is just how good those top 8 play when the lights shine brightest.

 

[the Q]

I’m kinda hoping we just add Desmond and ward to this class.

 

[CL82]

I’m expecting Johnson, Diggins, Floyd and Karaban to all have an impact next year. I would bet they spent a lot of time in practice this year playing against the starters and have a good idea how to play together.

Have people given up on Diggins on The Boneyard? I mean his last two outings were extraordinarily ineffective, but I don’t view that as an indicator of his upside and ability. I fully expect him to be able to contribute next year, though I’m not at all sure how much.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

It would not surprise me but I am optimistic until proven otherwise. Bigs are hard to peg in terms of scouting. For all we know, Clingan will be Craig Forth.

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.

 

[bendm]

Have people given up on Diggins on The Boneyard? I mean his last two outings were extraordinarily ineffective, but I don’t view that as an indicator of his upside and ability. I fully expect him to be able to contribute next year, though I’m not at all sure how much.

i dont think he's going to be a difference maker next year but he'll have 2 more years remaining so i havent given up on him. on the other hand, there are 3 rising seniors on the team who, well....theyre running out of time.

 

[aburks41]

Have people given up on Diggins on The Boneyard? I mean his last two outings were extraordinarily ineffective, but I don’t view that as an indicator of his upside and ability. I fully expect him to be able to contribute next year, though I’m not at all sure how much.

I don't think anyone has given up on him. It's just that no one knows what to expect from him lol. He really needs to hit the weight room though. Gotta get a lot stronger or else he's going to have a tough time on defense against some big east guards

 

[UConnDad]

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.

Just curious, what are these raw physical tools?

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I don't think anyone has given up on him. It's just that no one knows what to expect from him lol. He really needs to hit the weight room though. Gotta get a lot stronger or else he's going to have a tough time on defense against some big east guards

Strength might be needed but I think what he really needs to focus on is quickness and speed.