Hassan Diarra | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Hassan Diarra

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Good thing I'm not taking a course on this.

Otherwise, I'd be on the other thread about what we don't do well or as well as we should.
 
NJHoops said:
He was in Texas finishing up his semester. When NYC is home, no need to fly across the country for a visit before school is done. I like him as a player, but he also understands what he can get out of the game beyond that. His brother has thrived at UConn (two degrees and a job), even when he couldn’t play anymore.
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The handling of the whole MD situation was the proudest As a fan I’ve been during the Hurley Era & when I realized we had the right guy
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Yeah, I really don't understand the "it's hard to get excited about a backup" when a lot of the same people lamented "wish we had a quality backup to spell Cole for a few minutes" last year.
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I think he’s a great fit. I do wonder what will happen with Castle, though. In my opinion, there are still minutes available if he were to reclassify. If that’s the case I think our staff deserves a ton of credit for their offseason efforts. Newton, Alleyne, Diarra, & Castle would all be fantastic additions.

However, let’s say Castle does not reclass. While the off-season was still successful, part of me thinks the staff could’ve landed a truly elite transfer for the scholarship that was given to Alleyne. I don’t mean that as a knock on Alleyne, but given our roster construction, we had the ability to recruit practically any guard on the market & offer a starting role (I.e. Terrence Shannon, Antonio Reeves, Scheierman).
 
lange10 said:
I think he’s a great fit. I do wonder what will happen with Castle, though. In my opinion, there are still minutes available if he were to reclassify. If that’s the case I think our staff deserves a ton of credit for their offseason efforts. Newton, Alleyne, Diarra, & Castle would all be fantastic additions.

However, let’s say Castle does not reclass. While the off-season was still successful, part of me thinks the staff could’ve landed a truly elite transfer for the scholarship that was given to Alleyne. I don’t mean that as a knock on Alleyne, but given our roster construction, we had the ability to recruit practically any guard on the market & offer a starting role (I.e. Terrence Shannon, Antonio Reeves, Scheierman).
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Did we? I keep seeing that view, but honestly Andre Jackson is a guard. Hawkins is a guard. Newton is a guard. There is certainly time available for Alleyne, and even somebody else. But It's probably not 30+ minutes. We nailed the guy we needed to get with Newton. After that Alleyne is a good fit as a flexible guard with some size. Johnson and Karaban are going to play. Four out doesn't mean 4 guards. Ideally it still only means two.
 
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lange10 said:
I think he’s a great fit. I do wonder what will happen with Castle, though. In my opinion, there are still minutes available if he were to reclassify. If that’s the case I think our staff deserves a ton of credit for their offseason efforts. Newton, Alleyne, Diarra, & Castle would all be fantastic additions.

However, let’s say Castle does not reclass. While the off-season was still successful, part of me thinks the staff could’ve landed a truly elite transfer for the scholarship that was given to Alleyne. I don’t mean that as a knock on Alleyne, but given our roster construction, we had the ability to recruit practically any guard on the market & offer a starting role (I.e. Terrence Shannon, Antonio Reeves, Scheierman).
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I'm not sure if this is really the case. We know the staff was still pursuing Jahmir Young because it was announced he had a visit set up, but he canceled it once Newton committed. Any elite player is going to command 30+ minutes and that was not available at that point
 
lange10 said:
While the off-season was still successful, part of me thinks the staff could’ve landed a truly elite transfer for the scholarship that was given to Alleyne. I don’t mean that as a knock on Alleyne, but given our roster construction, we had the ability to recruit practically any guard on the market & offer a starting role (I.e. Terrence Shannon, Antonio Reeves, Scheierman).
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we were still recruiting shannon and ramey and young etc after newton committed so it wasnt for lack of trying. you can criticize the result if you must but not the intent.
 
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bendm said:
we were still recruiting shannon and ramey and young etc after newton committed so it wasnt for lack of trying. you can criticize the results if you must but not the intent.
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We never had a chance with Shannon and Young was done as soon as Newton committed. I agree with @lange10 that the Alleyne spot was probably the last desirable one the staff had to offer and they filled it rather quickly to a meh player.
 
lange10 said:
However, let’s say Castle does not reclass. While the off-season was still successful, part of me thinks the staff could’ve landed a truly elite transfer for the scholarship that was given to Alleyne. I don’t mean that as a knock on Alleyne, but given our roster construction, we had the ability to recruit practically any guard on the market & offer a starting role (I.e. Terrence Shannon, Antonio Reeves, Scheierman).
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I think part of it is that for the 2nd transfer slot (after Newton), we were looking for (mostly) off-ball players. Not necessarily players that can't create, but that don't have a game that relies on dominating the ball. And also the top combos/2s want situations where the ball is in their hands all the time or all the shots. That's why they're the "top" players, in a way. They have the most production and impact. We could no longer offer that and weren't necessarily looking for that.

But we're building a team. We wanted defense, shooting, and a certain role. If you narrow down on that role, Alleyne is a top 20 guy in that role in the market (top 5 or so of those still available now). We were looking at Richard and Ramey also in the same role.

The Castle connection both helped to land him and will help to keep Castle in the fold. 2 birds in the hand beats none in the bush, if you will.

And on top of all that a lot of them wanted a hefty NIL bag, which I have no idea how competitive we've been. Reeves went to Kentucky. Scheierman got a major bag and had a somewhat local connection. Shannon went to Michigan. Big bags $.
 
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auror said:
I think part of it is that for the 2nd transfer slot (after Newton), we were looking for (mostly) off-ball players. Not necessarily players that can't create, but that don't have a game that relies on dominating the ball. And also the top combos/2s want situations where the ball is in their hands all the time or all the shots. That's why they're the "top" players, in a way. They have the most production and impact. We could no longer offer that and weren't necessarily looking for that.

But we're building a team. We wanted defense, shooting, and a certain role. If you narrow down on that role, Alleyne is a top 20 guy in that role in the market (top 5 or so of those still available now). We were looking at Richard and Ramey also in the same role.

The Castle connection both helped to land him and will help to keep Castle in the fold. 2 birds in the hand beats none in the bush, if you will.

And on top of all that a lot of them wanted a hefty NIL bag, which I have no idea how competitive we've been. Reeves went to Kentucky. Scheierman got a major bag and had a somewhat local connection. Shannon went to Michigan. Big bags $.
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Very well said. I think defense, toughness, rebounding and decent shooting are the requirements for the role. It's similar to the Martin role and he was a good get (if probably not as good as Martin). I find myself perplexed that somehow people think we need to play 4 guys who are all ball dominant and can beat their man, create and score. With Newton and Jackson on the floor at the same time, we already have maxed out on ball dominant players. One of the reasons Newton is such a good fit is that he can slide off the ball and be a solid SG. The other guys need to convert what those two and the overall motion offense creates. I think Alleyne will have more open shots at UConn than he had at VT.
 
Hungryhusky99 said:
We never had a chance with Shannon and Young was done as soon as Newton committed. I agree with @lange10 that the Alleyne spot was probably the last desirable one the staff had to offer and they filled it rather quickly to a meh player.
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if alleyne is meh yet we didnt have a chance with guys like shannon and young once newton committed then who was the magical fit? as auror just posted, there were only a couple better options for an off-ball G. staff made the smart play taking alleyne versus waiting and hoping on a guy like ramey.
 
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bendm said:
if alleyne is meh yet we didnt have a chance with guys like shannon and young once newton committed then who was the magical fit? as auror just posted, there were only a couple better options for an off-ball G.
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Shannon was always going to the Big Ten and I don't know what happened with Young. I don't understand why we should be so set on an off-ball G though. Our problem last year was we didn't have enough ball handling and shot creating and that still hasn't really been fixed yet.
 
auror said:
I think part of it is that for the 2nd transfer slot (after Newton), we were looking for (mostly) off-ball players. Not necessarily players that can't create, but that don't have a game that relies on dominating the ball. And also the top combos/2s want situations where the ball is in their hands all the time or all the shots. That's why they're the "top" players, in a way. They have the most production and impact. We could no longer offer that and weren't necessarily looking for that.

But we're building a team. We wanted defense, shooting, and a certain role. If you narrow down on that role, Alleyne is a top 20 guy in that role in the market (top 5 or so of those still available now). We were looking at Richard and Ramey also in the same role.

The Castle connection both helped to land him and will help to keep Castle in the fold. 2 birds in the hand beats none in the bush, if you will.

And on top of all that a lot of them wanted a hefty NIL bag, which I have no idea how competitive we've been. Reeves went to Kentucky. Scheierman got a major bag and had a somewhat local connection. Shannon went to Michigan. Big bags $.
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Fair rebuttal. Appreciate the insight. I knew the names I mentioned were all potentially unavailable due to NIL demands, but I think you understood my point either way.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Did we? I keep seeing that view, but honestly Andre Jackson is a guard. Hawkins is a guard. Newton is a guard. There is certainly time available for Alleyne, and even somebody else. But It's probably not 30+ minutes. We nailed the guy we needed to get with Newton. After that Alleyne is a good fit as a flexible guard with some size. Johnson and Karaban are going to play. Four out doesn't mean 4 guards. Ideally it still only means two.
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I’d hope Johnson & Karaban are getting lots of burn for us at the 4. I’m not saying four out has to mean four guards, but considering how unique Jackson is as a player, we’re not giving up much on the defensive end (if at all given his toughness & rebounding abilities) by giving him minutes at the 4.
 
Hungryhusky99 said:
I don't know what happened with Young...Our problem last year was we didn't have enough ball handling and shot creating and that still hasn't really been fixed yet.
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but you just said Young was done as soon as Newton committed, and that was probably the case for any ball dominant transfer G

i also think the problems have been addressed. let's say we play a small ball starting lineup. we have two dominant ball handlers in newton and aj surrounded by two shooters in alleyene and hawk. plus sanogo. that gives us more ball handling/passing and a lot more shooting in the starting lineup than we had last year.

off the bench we could have diarra who is a better ball handler/passer than gaff. plus karaban and samson who should give us as much shooting as polley and akok.
 
bendm said:
but you just said Young was done as soon as Newton committed, and that was probably the case for any ball dominant transfer G

i also think the problems have been fixed. let's say we play a small ball starting lineup. we have two dominant ball handlers in newton and aj surrounded by two shooters in alleyene and hawk. plus sanogo. that gives us more ball handling and a lot more shooting in the starting lineup than we had last year.

off the bench we could have diarra who is a better ball handler than gaff. plus karaban and samson who should give us as much shooting as polley and akok.
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I agree we will be a better team if the returning guys make the expected jumps and Newton's game translates over, but I still think we are another shot creator away from being really good.
 
Huskyforlife said:
Does anyone get excited over backups? We’re not adding a future superstar here.
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Can't win without competent backups. In today's NCAA world, guys who are potential stars don't come in to play backup for two seasons. And those that bloom late, unless they're so obviously talented that they replace the star that they're backing up, are going into the portal. You need a serviceable PG backup. Someone to give you're starting PG a breather without digging you a hole. Diarra seems to fit that role. Excited? No. Satisfied? Thinking yes, if and when.
 
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Don't get this tampering stuff re: HD.. UConn had mild interest in him before he made his first college choice two years ago. No mention of him by the staff since then until he made himself available in the portal. Dan Hurley/staff are continuing to fill out their roster needs for the next few years and he may be a potential fit as could other players they're looking at.
 
For anybody talking about tampering. UConn is more likely a victim than a perpetrator so

let it go GIF
 
Hungryhusky99 said:
I agree we will be a better team if the returning guys make the expected jumps and Newton's game translates over, but I still think we are another shot creator away from being really good.
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well we'll be preseason top 20-25 and assuming the things you listed happen then we have sweet 16 potential. that's really good in my book!
 
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Hungryhusky99 said:
Top 25 doesn’t mean anything at this point. We need guys who can get it done in March.
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that's why i said:
bendm said:
assuming the things you listed happen then we have sweet 16 potential.
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or is that not good enough? shouldnt we at least win a tourney game before we can have championship aspirations as a program again?
 
Kemba Time said:
You need to add another layer of context to the stats and then the real story becomes abundantly clear very quickly.

Jalen scored 131 points last year; 40 of those came in the first four games of the season against very weak competition, and to take that a step further: 56 came in those 4 games + 2 more with MD-ES and Grambling. He also had 24 of his 65 assists in those 6 games.

Against representative competition, we're talking about a sub-.300 FG% with a 3P% of 15 in 27 games. From the start of Big East play on, he shot .286% from the field, .188% from 3 and scored 44 points in 22 games with a 1.3 to 0.7 assist to turnover ratio. That is not a playable high-major player by any standard whatsoever.

You seem stuck on the assist to turnover ratio, but both Jalen's and H. Diarra's are misleading.

Jalen's fatal flaw is an inability to handle high-major ball pressure. To compensate for that, he turned his back to the defender and backed the ball up the court, eating up a large amount of the shot clock. His inability to initiate offense cratered our shot quality and offense efficiency because of the number of times it led to a game of hot potato to get a shot up for whomever ended up with the ball and less than 10 seconds to make something happen when he finally got us into a half-court set.

Diarra, meanwhile, played in a Buzz Williams system that has always led to low assist-to-turnover ratios.

Remember all those great guards he had at Marquette? Vander Blue averaged 1.8 assists to 2.3 turnovers his final year and a 2.0 assists/2.0 turnovers for his career. Darius Johnson-Odom posted a 2.7 assist to 2.4 turnover mark as an All-Big East first teamer in 2011-12. These are future NBA players on Sweet 16/Elite Eight teams. Look up and down last year's A&M roster and it's the same thing. It's the way they play.

Diarra also improved considerably as the season went on last year against high-major competition. I took his final 15 games as what seems like a fair indicator: He shot 434% from the field, .378% from 3 from that point on and as many have mentioned, there's reason in Texas A&M's roster construction change during the season to believe that is not a coincidence.

All this is to say that Jalen 100% did the right thing in leaving UConn for a level where his skillset can flourish without his inability to handle ball pressure destroying his production. And perhaps more importantly, to nip any idea of using a misrepresentation of what Gaffney was to cut down Hassan before he even plays his first game for us.
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What's the record for most likes in a single post that's all quality commentary and not a simple repost of an IG/Twitter commitment from a recruit???

Great post.
 
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bendm said:
that's why i said:

or is that not good enough? shouldnt we at least win a tourney game before we can have championship aspirations as a program again?
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Yes, but you probably said we had sweet 16 potential this year too so what does that matter.

A sweet 16 this year would be awesome, by no means do I expect a championship.
 
navery12 said:
For example, a guy in Hassan Diarra with postseason experience (albeit NIT) and who's taken tons of big shots for them in the SEC tournament/NIT
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He is a fine bench guard. I have no problems with him and understand that the role he is taking is not an easy sell. I just think they could’ve made better use of the Alleyne spot, but hopefully he is awesome and proves me wrong.
 
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