HFS…Solo out next year with a wrist injury | Page 12 | The Boneyard

HFS…Solo out next year with a wrist injury

Donyell 360 said:
No way this caught coaches by surprise. One question: Was Ball taking this long to deliberate his options or were they just keeping it quite to gain some advantage? Seems like it would be better for portal players to know there are more minutes available. So an earlier announcement might have helped.

Next year takes a hit offensive but defensively this could be a plus. Overall not good for depth but not terrible. Plus we get him the following year.
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I think the delay was Solo deciding whether to sit out the whole season or if it was worth playing a few months of it. And then there's some contract ramifications that affect that
 
FearThePups said:
We should probably focus on a high tier point guard. Silas can play that role but his is really a 2. And if Solo is out next year, Silas will be gone anyway and a point guard this year could be good for next year as well.
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Josh Mullins said Braylon wants to work on becoming a facilitator next year with the ball in his hand not just running off screens. If he gets stronger with his dribble it would be great to see him get to the line frequently. We need to draw more fouls next year.
 
uconn1999 said:
The thought of Ross starting will keep me up at nights
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This will help you sleep:
Khamenia averaged more minutes, 5.7ppg, 1 assists and 3 rebounds, 34% from three and not the defender Jayden is (not many people are) and has never played in our system.
If we are amped on that guy because of athleticism and upside then we should take Jayden's undeniable progression last year the same way. Jaydens ppg was 1 less, rebounds and assists basically the same and 3pt% almost 40% .
either way, bodes well for both of them.
 
Donyell 360 said:
Josh Mullins said Braylon wants to work on becoming a facilitator next year with the ball in his hand not just running off screens. If he gets stronger with his dribble it would be great to see him get to the line frequently. We need to draw more fouls next year.
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Would be curious how deeply looped into the Mullins team was to the Solo situation and if it impacted anything. The two is clearly the better position for him.
 
uconn_jack said:
Yeah, he would move up the depth chart, but he would still be a backup. Probably go from 5-10 min to 10-15 min. I think he still wanted more than that.
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No he wouldn't be a backup exactly. He would be in a position battle. And given the outcome of the last 3 years (unfortunately last year affected by injury), and the pedigree of NK. He is wouldn't begin off season practice with the starters. And he'd be behind Mullins, and NK. and he ended this season behind Ross.

But Hurley will play the best players. Stewart still would've had the opportunity to win the position. But the odds weren't in his favor. Since he couldn't get a guarantee to start as a senior, since he knows that's not our culture and Hurley couldn't promise him that, he had to leave for a chance play more, which could improve his long term prospects for a basketball career.
 
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Jaydumo20 said:
I get the complete opposite impression from him. Maybe you know something I don't. he looked very agile in the games I watched this year. That quality and the fact that he'll be even bigger next year made him the guy I wanted before he even entered the portal
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I love him and I’m glad we got him but I see him as a Tarris clone. Frankly I think Tarris is more athletic than him and that’s not a knock on Hines. I definitely don’t see him running around off ball shooting threes. Do you?
 
Scottobot said:
I think this is best for Ball. He needs to have an incredible final season to get drafted in 1st round. With his wrist fully healed and plenty of time to get the feel back for his shot I think he will be back to knocking down 40% for 3 and with he new skills he developed this year I bet he scores 18+ his final season.
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Solo needs time to rehab and missing a whole offseason doesn't put his best foot forward in having a great final year->springboard to the pros, but he'll be a 24 year old senior(turning 25 in the year his eligibility is over), the chances of him being drafted in the first round at his age and size are pretty much next to nil
 
RuffRuff said:
Would be curious how deeply looped into the Mullins team was to the Solo situation and if it impacted anything. The two is clearly the better position for him.
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He needs to improve his handle though if he is going to facilitate. He was not particularly strong with the ball. Too many turnovers, stepping on the side line, etc. I think getting stronger will make a difference. Potential is tantalizing.
 
ddent68 said:
I love him and I’m glad we got him but I see him as a Tarris clone. Frankly I think Tarris is more athletic than him and that’s not a knock on Hines. I definitely don’t see him running around off ball shooting threes. Do you?
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I really hope not
 
This sucks. But some points:

1. Better for them to know that he is going to be out while there are a lot of options still in the portal. Staff can look to build the best roster for next season. Silver lining.

2. If we were going to lose a player to injury, the 2/3 position is where we have strengths in numbers right now. Mullins, County, and Ross can play minutes there. Once we get a backup PG, we could also move Silas there. I think for roster building purposes, it may help the team for this year to have Mullins at a more natural 2 spot, and a bigger guy on the wing with Ross and Landrew splitting time there. The staff can build around Solo in 27-28, with hopefully Landrew, Kamenia and Hines still on the roster.

3. The backup PG situation. I think prior to this injury, the staff was in a little bit of a tough spot there because they knew they needed to get County some minutes his freshman year. Bringing in a veteran or even youngish PG to back up Silas might have scared County off this year, or had him transfer after the season. Remember, the portal closes in an hour or so, but incoming freshman can still back out of their commitments even past that.

Now, the staff can play County at the 1, 2 or even the 3 position since their is one less body there. And they can recruit a backup PG, knowing they have other options to get County minutes. I know this may sound a little strange being worried about a top 40 recruit's minutes his freshman year, but one of our huge advantages over the last couple of years is roster continuity, more so than most teams in the country. We don't want to only recruit 2 freshman (which is the right move) and then lose 1 of them right away to the portal.

4. Finally, this frees up money to go get someone at the 5, and a backup PG. Those two spots get you to 9 meaningful contributors (Silas, Mullins, Ross, Khamenia, Hines, County, Landrew, Portal C, Portal PG). Maybe you can swing a backup 4, but more likely than may look to recruit someone at the 5 who can also play the 4. That is going to be expensive than finding a backup PG.
 
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Donyell 360 said:
Did they know this and tell him to not bother coming? Seems Donnie canceled because UConn told him they were going with Khamenia. But if Khamenia slides to the 3 (perhaps a more natural position for him) then it seems there is room for an athletic 4 like Freeman.
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I saw a Trilly post (i think on Rupp) that Uconn backed out on Freeman
 
Husky Alien said:
Plus there is a contract between player and university with stipulations along with NIL insurance in case of an injury.
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It’s two different things. The university can’t pay one penny of NIL. I don’t know why we keep calling it that. Revenue sharing UConn can pay. Then NIL can be arranged but then there is ordinary honest, actual NIL like Paige’s Gatorade deal. Solo got that with his investco commercial.
 
BFieldHusky said:
This sucks. But some points:

1. Better for them to know that he is going to be out while there are a lot of options still in the portal. Staff can look to build the best roster for next season. Silver lining.

2. If we were going to lose a player to injury, the 2/3 position is where we have strengths in numbers right now. Mullins, County, and Ross can play minutes there. Once we get a backup PG, we could also move Silas there. I think for roster building purposes, it may help the team for this year to have Mullins at a more natural 2 spot, and a bigger guy on the wing with Ross and Landrew splitting time there. The staff can build around Solo in 27-28, with hopefully Landrew, Kamenia and Hines still on the roster.

3. The backup PG situation. I think prior to this injury, the staff was in a little bit of a tough spot there because they knew they needed to get County some minutes his freshman year. Bringing in a veteran or even youngish PG to back up Silas might have scared County off this year, or had him transfer after the season. Remember, the portal closes in an hour or so, but incoming freshman can still back out of their commitments even past that.

Now, the staff can play County at the 1, 2 or even the 3 position since their is one less body there. And they can recruit a backup PG, knowing they have other options to get County minutes. I know this may sound a little strange being worried about a top 40 recruit's minutes his freshman year, but one of our huge advantages over the last couple of years is roster continuity, more so than most teams in the country. We don't want to only recruit 2 freshman (which is the right move) and then lose 1 of them right away to the portal.

4. Finally, this frees up money to go get someone at the 5, and a backup PG. Those two spots get you to 9 meaningful contributors (Silas, Mullins, Ross, Khamenia, Hines, County, Landrew, Portal C, Portal PG). Maybe you can swing a backup 4, but more likely than may look to recruit someone at the 5 who can also play the 4. That is going to be expensive than finding a backup PG.
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Excellent points. No doubt it sucks, but there is a path forward. I expect two more portal adds to be coming, a backup 4/5 who will could see about 20-25 minutes of game action and a backup 1/2 who could see 15-20 minutes. County then becomes the 9th man instead of the forgotten 10th guy.
 
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Donyell 360 said:
Did they know this and tell him to not bother coming? Seems Donnie canceled because UConn told him they were going with Khamenia. But if Khamenia slides to the 3 (perhaps a more natural position for him) then it seems there is room for an athletic 4 like Freeman.
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No, we wanted both Khamenia and Freeman. But freeman was all about money and we weren’t about to get into a bidding war. Freeman seems to be a mercenary with a bad attitude.
 
Absolute BAMFer for playing through these issues for 3.5 months and still being as productive as he was while likely hearing and reading all the noise about how terrible he was playing. He better get a massive ovation when he's on the bench opening night and an even bigger one on opening night 2027. The toughness and loyalty in today's environment is just unprecedented.
 
HuskyHawk said:
It’s two different things. The university can’t pay one penny of NIL. I don’t know why we keep calling it that. Revenue sharing UConn can pay. Then NIL can be arranged but then there is ordinary honest, actual NIL like Paige’s Gatorade deal. Solo got that with his investco commercial.
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That's correct it's from the collective group however in 2025 - 26 Universities can pay student athletes under contract through revenue sharing.
 
3rdbass said:
Why he is a 3 and D guy. Every team needs glue guys. We will potentially have 4 other scorers starting so that won't be an issue.
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We're losing 41 ppg of scoring from our starting lineup.

In the NCAA tournament those three averaged 45 ppg.

Braylon will score more next season and Silas should have a little bump but if people expect Hines, Khamenia and Ross to replace that it's not really a feasible ask. Hines is a beast but it will take him time to get to Reed's offensive output. Khamenia should see his scoring increase substantially but he still averaged just under 6 ppg. Ross improved a lot this season but it was primarily on the defensive side of the ball. He still averaged only 4 ppg in the NCAA tournament in a little over 20 mpg. Expecting him to replace one of our 13 ppg scorers next season isn't realistic.

The staff still really has their work cut out for them in the portal. They need to add size and scoring pop.
 
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Husky Alien said:
That's correct it's from the collective group however in 2025 - 26 Universities can pay student athletes under contract through revenue sharing.
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Sure. But that money is not “NIL”. UConn will reserve some of it for football.
 
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