Freshman

[Javjudah]

All three of our Freshmen look like diamonds in rough. They may not had been highly regarded recruits by most but in Coach Ollie eyes, this is a top 10 class.

 

[Travelman6]

Yes! Back to what Uconn is known for. Never really get the highly touted recruits all that much but they excel at finding those lesser known players.

 

[Javjudah]

Yes! Back to what Uconn is known for. Never really get the highly touted recruits all that much but they excel at finding those lesser known players.

I love the effort, defensive intensity, basketball IQ and quick feet by each Freshmen.

 

[Rico444]

I love Isaiah Whaley

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Reminds me of the JMC-Rosco-Bazz-Niels-Olander class of blue collar tough dudes. Love how Whaley attacks the O boards. Polley has a better shot than I expected.

 

[cohenzone]

The overall quickness is terrific. And I like that when Cobb or Carlton are in the game they are active and trying to make an impact.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Question.....if enoch, jackson and Durham returned. And we also still got the new guys. Do the new kids play over the guys who transferred?

 

[Javjudah]

Question.....if enoch, jackson and Durham returned. And we also still got the new guys. Do the new kids play over the guys who transferred?

I think Jackson would have played tonight over Polley because he's a very good shooter but if he wanted to stay on the court he had to improve defensively. Enoch and Durham would have played sparingly. They are both terrible defensively, very slow feet and slow reaction. They both must improve on this if they are going to be a factor going forward. Durham needs to gets healthy and stronger. This season off could do wonders for him to work on his game and body. I can see Enoch improve offensively but I can't see him improve much defensively. If you look at a replay of the video you will see the foot speed of the Freshmen class. Whaley was almost always in the right spot defensively. Phil Nolan was similar but Whaley is faster, more athletic and talented.

 

[UC313]

Question.....if enoch, jackson and Durham returned. And we also still got the new guys. Do the new kids play over the guys who transferred?

Who??? Ive got no idea who those guys are.

We got sone scrappy freshman. I didnt see much "deer in headlights" from whalley, pilley or carlton and thats a great start. Good confidence boost.

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

Whaley with 3 blocks, love it.

He might not put up Amidah-esque block numbers, but he looks like he can develop into a much more complete player with his energy, basketball IQ and instincts

 

[UConnStats]

Question.....if enoch, jackson and Durham returned. And we also still got the new guys. Do the new kids play over the guys who transferred?

Whaley probably played better in his first game than Enoch or Durham ever did.

Polley played within himself, was efficient, and gave us 30 good minutes.

Jackson would have played for sure, but Enoch is a flat out worse basketball player than Whaley and Carlton. He’s just big and athletic, but he can’t put it together on the court.

Durham needs time, I think Brey will make him very good.

 

[Javjudah]

The past few years it seems like our guys were stuck in mud on defense. I watch the NBA every night and I am always impressed with the foot speed of these guys. Very rarely you will find someone with slow feet in the NBA but those guys get burn every time on defense.

 

[James]

I think polley just moves better than Jackson did, he seems to have a more fast twitch bounce to his first step. I’m a big believer in Whaley and polley, they give me some lamb+scoe vibes...

 

[JonnyRI]

I think polley just moves better than Jackson did, he seems to have a more fast twitch bounce to his first step. I’m a big believer in Whaley and polley, they give me some lamb+scoe vibes...

Good compare. Polley and Whaley both have hops and just seem lightning quick in their reactions in getting to the ball

 

[Stinger92860]

The past few years it seems like our guys were stuck in mud on defense. I watch the NBA every night and I am always impressed with the foot speed of these guys. Very rarely you will find someone with slow feet in the NBA but those guys get burn every time on defense.

 

[Rico444]

I think polley just moves better than Jackson did, he seems to have a more fast twitch bounce to his first step. I’m a big believer in Whaley and polley, they give me some lamb+scoe vibes...

Polley made more plays on defense last night than Vance did all last season.

 

[ctchamps]

Polley made more plays on defense last night than Vance did all last season.

I'm with you and James about Polley. He's almost Henefeld like in his ability to anticipate passes and deflect or steal.

Vance developed into a decent defensive player by the end of last season. His shooting was inconsistent during the season but certainly better than Tyler's in the short amount of Tyler's playing time at UConn. But I like his upside a lot.

 

[Danzz]

Question.....if enoch, jackson and Durham returned. And we also still got the new guys. Do the new kids play over the guys who transferred?

Yes. The new kids may not have better offensive skills but they are better overall basketball players. The one exception may be Durham because of sitting out from injury but we'll have to see how he develops.

 

[80shusky]

I really liked what I saw out of the Freshmen. Polley, Whaley and Carlton all look like they could develop into nice players. A good foundation for the future and they can play a little bit right now. As far as the others, Gilbert had some trouble last night but I expect him to be ok. Diarra looks like a work in progress but has a nice big build and could be a nice contributor as he gets more experience. Cobb is surprisingly nimble for a big man and actually has a decent handle. Would like to see him score a few points. Anderson looks like a nice guard off the bench that won't get you into to much trouble if you have to play him extended minutes for foul trouble or injury and he's a pretty decent defender. I think the team will struggle a little bit against better teams if the wheels come off but it is at least exciting to have some nice new pieces on the floor. The only redeeming part of watching the games last year was watching Vital blossom. I hope to see more from him and am excited to watch the younger players develop. With some good development this year and adding in Akinjo, Matthews and Kisunas next year I like that the team seems to be building toward a better foundation. Land a couple of top 50 peeps for 2019, including a real center (7' with some post moves and shot blocking ability), and the next few years could be pretty fun.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Question.....if enoch, jackson and Durham returned. And we also still got the new guys. Do the new kids play over the guys who transferred?

I don't know, but here's another question that sticks to only what we've seen and does not speculate on what's ahead: Was there anyone from last year's team who you were missing during last night's game?

 

[Danzz]

I don't know, but here's another question that sticks to only what we've seen and does not speculate on what's ahead: Was there anyone from last year's team who you were missing during last night's game?

Nope.

 

[80shusky]

I don't know, but here's another question that sticks to only what we've seen and does not speculate on what's ahead: Was there anyone from last year's team who you were missing during last night's game?

I was kind of pining for Enoch to be perpetually out of position on D.

 

[ctchamps]

I don't know, but here's another question that sticks to only what we've seen and does not speculate on what's ahead: Was there anyone from last year's team who you were missing during last night's game?

Rodney. But of course you were talking about the transfers.

 

[UConnStats]

Whaley’s rim protection is better than advertised too, which is good if he’s going to be used in conjunction with Cobb, Carlton, and Kisunas, whom aren’t big shot blockers.

 

[Mazhude]

I don't know, but here's another question that sticks to only what we've seen and does not speculate on what's ahead: Was there anyone from last year's team who you were missing during last night's game?

Nope.