Floyd, Karaban, Clingan

[Hi-Low]

I'm excited for new blood next year. Whaley, Polley, Cole & Martin did admirable work past 2 - 5 years and I'm grateful but time to turn the page on that core.

I expect big things from Hawk, Sanogo & Ajax next year and expect Karaban, Floyd, Samson & Clinigan will provide reasons for optimism. Diggins is more of an unknown it seems but we'll see.

I really think Dan Hurley will add impact transfer or 2 as he almost has no choice. November a long way off but can't wait!

 

[USNavyDog]

I think it’s time for Danny to play his freshman and sophomore’s way more than he has. Develop them early and they may be real good. Relied too much on the seniors this year to the detriment of our young players. If you’re going to play cupcakes like we do early is the season let our young players develop. Big mistake not doing that this year. Will pay dividends by end of year.

One of the few Hurley did make this year was the freshman. He should have played at point guard more often. Same goes for Samson Johnson.

 

[PNolanFan]

I really don't see why we are giving up on Diggins. I understand that he looked bad but its hard to just come in when you are not playing at all for mop up duty. He was a 4 star recruit rated around 60 overall. By all accounts he has an excellent shot and handle. I am not "counting" on him but I also do not think we should write him off and I really wouldn't be surprised if he is an above average starting point guard next year

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I really don't see why we are giving up on Diggins. I understand that he looked bad but its hard to just come in when you are not playing at all for mop up duty. He was a 4 star recruit rated around 60 overall. By all accounts he has an excellent shot and handle. I am not "counting" on him but I also do not think we should write him off and I really wouldn't be surprised if he is an above average starting point guard next year

I don't think anyone with a brain is giving up on Diggins. Freshmen who are ready to run a Big East team from day one are rare.

 

[bendm]

I’m expecting Hawkins to improve his ball handling, as Martin did (when this whole board told me he wouldn’t be our SG last year because he lacked the handle). Don’t know enough about Karaban’s ball handling but it only needs to be adequate. If I’m “proven wrong” it will be on Hurley, just as it was for Carlton.

it's not hurley's fault that akok tore his achilles and ruined his career

re the ball handling- for arguments sake lets say we replace martin/whaley with hawk/akok. fine. but the big drop off in ball handling comes by replacing cole with karaban. we need another guard that can dribble and shoot in the lineup.

we still have 2 open schollies and it's too late to bring in any more freshmen. it's obvious hurley needs to use the portal to improve the starting lineup.

 

[dennismenace]

If Andre doesnt develop a shot over the summer, i feel like the chances of this increase a lot. He's got great court vision, ok handles, athletic as all hell. If he could really tighten the handles up, he'd be a nightmare for another PG but we'll see.

At 6-7 or 6-8 tightening up the handle to point guard level is really asking a lot for that kid with all the other things he needs to work on (especially shooting). If he does, however, we still need a serviceable if not starting point guard (or two) preferably one(s) that can score to a degree. Andre has immense upside but guessing ultimately not as a PG in the league.

 

[ToolzieFan]

I expect Floyd to contribute immediately. He has a college ready body and per practice reports he’s been killing it, lethal from 3.

Can I ask where you heard practice reports about him? Did I miss something from the media, or is that something you heard directly? I’ve been wondering all year how Floyd and Karaban have looked in practice. I’m so excited to watch them play.

 

[HuskyHawk]

it's not hurley's fault that akok tore his achilles and ruined his career

re the ball handling- for arguments sake lets say we replace martin/whaley with hawk/akok. fine. but the big drop off in ball handling comes by replacing cole with karaban. we need another guard that can dribble and shoot in the lineup.

we still have 2 open schollies and it's too late to bring in any more freshmen. it's obvious hurley needs to use the portal to improve the starting lineup.

Sure but my whole post said, unless Hurley finds a PG transfer then…

 

[uconnfan68]

It isn't just about BCHS. It's also AAU. He's played, what, 2 ranked centers in his entire life? Isaiah Miranda and the other one I am forgetting. Athletic kid in the 2022 class.

Being absolutely gigantic will help him a lot, but defensively he's going to have an adjustment period. IMO his greatest asset might be his passing.

What will he be next fall? 7’2”? 260#? And much stronger, with good vision and a good IQ from what I’ve seen. No more soft shots within 2’.

 

[methodology]

For those that have seen Karaban would he be a viable option as a stretch 4?

That would create more spacing and room for Adama to operate

 

[bendm]

He might be able to shoot it someday, but he'd be more of a stretch 6. He's enormous.

you're talking about karaban? enormous? a stretch 6? isnt he like a 6'8 220 3/4?

 

[auror]

you're talking about karaban? enormous? a stretch 6?

I misread as Clingan. You were too quick before I deleted.

 

[Huskyforlife]

The Jackson-Hawkins-Floyd-Johnson-Sanogo lineup should be a menace defensively. But you’d have to think Floyd would be replaced by someone like Diggins or a transfer who can create offense.

 

[ucp990411]

From what we’ve seen post injury what makes anyone think Akok should start.

I would be surprised if Akok starts ahead of Johnson

 

[ARIDE]

I expect Floyd to contribute immediately. He has a college ready body and per practice reports he’s been killing it, lethal from 3.

Where are those reports..I would luv to read them..cause I'm all in with him but bottom line Cole leaves Dan Hurley has to hit the portal for pg and or a 3 scorer..both most likely

 

[Hi-Low]

I don't think anyone with a brain is giving up on Diggins. Freshmen who are ready to run a Big East team from day one are rare.

Not so much giving up on Diggins as he didn't look close. Maybe on Dan Hurley for not playing him (& Samson) more in non-conf cupcake games to get used to college game. Basically a wasted year for Diggins & Samson except for practice, which i realize is something but not the same as games.

Kemba, Bazz, Boat, Bouk, Price, Gordon, Khalid had big roles as freshman so not rare at UConn....clearly had a need at backup PG this year but we'll see.

 

[Dove]

The time is here for Hurley do go all in on his young'uns. He was great in keeping the band together when he arrived. I have faith no one will jump ship. He simply has to commit to his young recruits and tell them the time is here and their future as Husky stars is now. We know he can recruit. Now we'll see him be able to sell.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Not so much giving up on Diggins as he didn't look close. Maybe on Dan Hurley for not playing him (& Samson) more in non-conf cupcake games to get used to college game. Basically a wasted year for Diggins & Samson except for practice, which i realize is something but not the same as games.

Kemba, Bazz, Boat, Bouk, Price, Gordon, Khalid had big roles as freshman so not rare at UConn....clearly had a need at backup PG this year but we'll see.

The reason those guys had roles as freshman is because they were that much better and deserved it. If Diggins was in that same realm, I don't think there would be a debate. But he's not.

 

[Lefty2one]

Can someone give a scouting report on Karaban?

For a highly-touted recruit, there aren't a ton of videos on him out there. The few that exist are of him slashing from the perimeter and overpowering smaller players. I cannot find a clip of his jumper.

On some sites he's listed as a PF, others as a SF. Is he a stretch 4?

 

[Doctor Hoop]

This brings up the question ... what exactly was the rationale for redshirting him this year when he is a) said to have a physically-ready body, b) our bench lacked punch, c) reliable shooting was a major issue in this year's team, and d) at the end of the season we were down to 6.5 players trusted by the head coach to be on the court?

 

[tennmike]

This brings up the question ... what exactly was the rationale for redshirting him this year when he is a) said to have a physically-ready body, b) our bench lacked punch, c) reliable shooting was a major issue in this year's team, and d) at the end of the season we were down to 6.5 players trusted by the head coach to be on the court?

Not to upset Gaffney. Dan Hurley'd father said his son is very loyal to people when they're down.

 

[8893]

Not to upset Gaffney. Dan Hurley'd father said his son is very loyal to people when they're down.

From what I heard—again, second hand—Hurley genuinely believed that Gaffney had made a big improvement over the summer based on what he was seeing.

Which is why I noted that the skepticism about whom he is high on is warranted. Practice is different than games.

But he’s far from the only one to suffer from that. Rodney “Ferrari in the garage” Purvis and Ajou Deng are but two prior era examples.

 

[UconnU]

Can someone give a scouting report on Karaban?

For a highly-touted recruit, there aren't a ton of videos on him out there. The few that exist are of him slashing from the perimeter and overpowering smaller players. I cannot find a clip of his jumper.

On some sites he's listed as a PF, others as a SF. Is he a stretch 4?

There’s not much available on him. I know he’s more of a stretch 4, perimeter shooting piece. Should fill Polley’s role nicely.

 

[auror]

From what I heard—again, second hand—Hurley genuinely believed that Gaffney had made a big improvement over the summer based on what he was seeing.

Which is why I noted that the skepticism about whom he is high on is warranted. Practice is different than games.

But he’s far from the only one to suffer from that. Rodney “Ferrari in the garage” Purvis and Ajou Deng are but two prior era examples.

Gaffney averaged over 10 points and shot 10/16 from 3 in the 6 games against cupcakes, including the first 4 games of the season. He was 3/26 on 3 against every other team. It's gotta be at least partly a mental thing.

 

[Deleted at users request]

This lineup sounds pretty exciting and versatile.

Gaffney/Diggins
Hawkins/Floyd
Jackson/Karaban
Akok/
Sanogo/Johnson

With the chance for this lineup to get cut down depending on guard play. Really excited to see how Floyd can be as a ball handler/driver and to see how Diggins can do as well. Karaban should be a much more versatile Polley.

DC is going to need some seasoning which he’ll have time to do with the bigs we have.

 

[gtcam]

AJ is not a PG
Sool should get burn (if he stays) with Floyd filing both at the 1 and 2
Dan Hurley has to allow all the freshmen and Sophomores a lot of PT no matter who comes back
He had better realize the huge mistake he made this season
I stick Clingan in at the 5 and Sanogo at the 4 and play that all year - 7"2" is not an advantage you waste

 

[Fairfield_1st]

To play the way Hurley ideally wants he shouldn’t recruit anybody who isn’t athletic and between 6’4” and 6’9”. Watching Nova right now and that’s what they have on the floor.

I completely agree. He needs to find players that fit what he's doing on O and D as you described. My hope is that he sees what we see and modifies his recruiting going forward. Early on, in recruiting, you take the best you can get. Now that we're somewhat established again, I'd like to see a more targeted approach.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Based on above posts:

I don't see Akok being anything more than a bottom of the rotation guy. Johnson will likely get the chance rather than Akok... A transfer 1G/2G will need to be added and if not, the 22-23 season will be a step backwards. The way things look now, it's not until the 23-24 season that we take another step towards being a top-15 team.

 

[HooperScooper]

Can someone give a scouting report on Karaban?

For a highly-touted recruit, there aren't a ton of videos on him out there. The few that exist are of him slashing from the perimeter and overpowering smaller players. I cannot find a clip of his jumper.

On some sites he's listed as a PF, others as a SF. Is he a stretch 4?

If you search for threads on "Karaban" in the subject line there are a bunch of videos on him. This one has a bunch:

Karaban to UConn!!!

Tom Moore is the most underrated assistant coach in the country. Love what he brings to the team. I think Karaban has an immediate impact. He's a perfect Tyrese replacement with a fantastic 3 point shot. Defends hard, rebounds. He's the kind of 4 year player than has been killing us for years...

www.the-boneyard.com

 

[Glastonhusky]

This lineup sounds pretty exciting and versatile.

Gaffney/Diggins
Hawkins/Floyd
Jackson/Karaban
Akok/
Sanogo/Johnson

With the chance for this lineup to get cut down depending on guard play. Really excited to see how Floyd can be as a ball handler/driver and to see how Diggins can do as well. Karaban should be a much more versatile Polley.

DC is going to need some seasoning which he’ll have time to do with the bigs we have.

No way Clingan doesn't get significant minutes backing up Sanogo. Assuming Cole and Martin don't return, I'd go with.

Gaffney/Diggins/transfer
Hawkins/Floyd
Jackson/Karaban
Akok/Johnson
Sanogo/Clingan