Hurley has a plan

[TheShot1990]

If that is the plan, we are not winning a title.

Yes we are.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Ross is good player but he is a sixth man. He’s not a good enough shooter to start. He’s the perfect power sub.

He’s definitely a good enough shooter to start. He’s got some offensive limitations with the ball in his hand and creating, but Khamenia being a strong creator for a 4 helps to alleviate that. Landrew is also an elite prospect that should make a quick impact. And regardless of whether you think Ross should start or come off the bench, he’s getting 20-25 minutes a game, so it’s a bit of an academic discussion.

 

[UCTitleTown]

OP is a glass half-full guy.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Ross is good player but he is a sixth man. He’s not a good enough shooter to start. He’s the perfect power sub.

I think I agree. Not sure we have the $ to splurge on a starting wing along with the bench pieces we need

 

[HuskyHawk]

Of course Hurley has a plan. This arrangement makes a lot of sense. Solo gets to fully recover and have the best possible senior year in 2027-2028. He gets a decent paycheck both years, undoubtedly much more in the year he plays. Meanwhile UConn wouldn't have been helped by a semi-impaired Solo in 2026-27 given that Mullins, Landrew, Ross, County need minutes at the 2 and 3. Given that Ross is a senior Hurley will want to find minutes for him, Mullins is being showcased for the lottery, and Landrew didn't come in to sit on the bench. That's 3 players who need starter minutes out of the 80 at the 2-3, with County as the backup (and Khamenia too who can play the 3 if needed).

So now we need center #2, backup PG, and backup PF.

Some of my posts got nuked for "speculation" but as soon as Ross came back my expectation was that he was being given significant minutes at the 3. Landrew obviously needs significant minutes at the 3 as well. That meant that Mullins, if he returned, would start and play 30 at the 2 (and I doubt he would have come back to be a 3, it doesn't help showcase his game for the NBA and it hurts our D). The logical conclusion was that Ball wouldn't be here, but I didn't expect that to happen the way it did and I'm glad for him and UConn that they found this solution. So yes, Hurley replaced Ball with Mullins. Ross/Landrew was always the plan at the 3. I think Freeman was option 1 at the 4 until Khamenia became interested and Hurley pivoted to the more talented player who is a better fit in our system.

!00% agree on the needs. While we could get a vet PF, I wonder if Hurley and staff are scouring the portal for a sophomore or junior who has some upside to seize the starting spot in 2027 or at least play a lot in 27. Nik is NBA bound next year like Mullins. Hines will be back, so we can get a vet center.

 

[Scoe]

He's a man with a plan.

 

[HW611]

With Solo out, Karabn graduated, and Reed graduated, Ross is now the highest tenured player in the program.

With it should come leadership responsibilities and the trust of his teammates. Man I cannot wait to see how Ross looks with the coaches and him being aligned on the fact he should have a big role heading into the season while being one of Hurley’s trusted players.

 

[Goose91]

Some of my posts got nuked for "speculation" but as soon as Ross came back my expectation was that he was being given significant minutes at the 3. Landrew obviously needs significant minutes at the 3 as well. That meant that Mullins, if he returned, would start and play 30 at the 2 (and I doubt he would have come back to be a 3, it doesn't help showcase his game for the NBA and it hurts our D). The logical conclusion was that Ball wouldn't be here, but I didn't expect that to happen the way it did and I'm glad for him and UConn that they found this solution. So yes, Hurley replaced Ball with Mullins. Ross/Landrew was always the plan at the 3. I think Freeman was option 1 at the 4 until Khamenia became interested and Hurley pivoted to the more talented player who is a better fit in our system.

!00% agree on the needs. While we could get a vet PF, I wonder if Hurley and staff are scouring the portal for a sophomore or junior who has some upside to seize the starting spot in 2027 or at least play a lot in 27. Nik is NBA bound next year like Mullins. Hines will be back, so we can get a vet center.

Insiders say we were definitely after both Khamenia and freeman together though.

 

[navery12]

W

We should lower expectations if we’re thinking Nik plays 30 min (he struggled to play 20-25 at Duke in a brainless system), Hines 25 (fouls way too much), and Landrew 25 minutes as a true freshman.

These are the fouls per 40 minutes of Sanogo, Clingan, Johnson, Reed, Hines for their freshman seasons (junior for Johnson since he essentially didn't play the first 2 years). All were between 13 and 18 minutes played. For a guy that everyone talks about fouling too much I assume it'll be easy to pick his foul rate out of the list here.

5.2
5.7
6.0
6.6
7.1

 

[Tenspro2002]

The fact Stew left even with Ball being out means the 3/4 rotation is still set. we prob aren’t bringing in another transfer F. We still just need a backup CG and backup C.

Silas 30 / Transfer CG 10
Mullins 30 / Transfer CG 5 / County 5
Ross 25 / Landrew 15
Nik 30 / Landrew 10
Hines 25 / Transfer 15

30: Silas / Mullins / Nik
25: Ross / Landrew / Hines
15: Transfer CG / Transfer C
5: County

This seems close, but man, can we count on Landrew being ready enough to play 25 mpg, especially at the 4?

 

[navery12]

Insiders say we were definitely after both Khamenia and freeman together though.

That was before Mullins confirmed he was back

 

[AllHusky]

If that is the plan, we are not winning a title.

Yeah, look how miserably last year turned out.

 

[AllHusky]

These are the fouls per 40 minutes of Sanogo, Clingan, Johnson, Reed, Hines for their freshman seasons (junior for Johnson since he essentially didn't play the first 2 years). All were between 13 and 18 minutes played. For a guy that everyone talks about fouling too much I assume it'll be easy to pick his foul rate out of the list here.

5.2
5.7
6.0
6.6
7.1

OK, I give up. Which one? 5.2??

 

[shizzle787]

This seems close, but man, can we count on Landrew being ready enough to play 25 mpg, especially at the 4?

Definitely not. He’s an unproven freshman. The board was crowing over Furphy last offseason and he didn’t even play. We don’t know if either County or Landrew will even make the rotation. Neither have the hype of Castle, McNeeley, or Mullins.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

These are the fouls per 40 minutes of Sanogo, Clingan, Johnson, Reed, Hines for their freshman seasons (junior for Johnson since he essentially didn't play the first 2 years). All were between 13 and 18 minutes played. For a guy that everyone talks about fouling too much I assume it'll be easy to pick his foul rate out of the list here.

5.2
5.7
6.0
6.6
7.1

He also played in a defensive system that is predicated around playing incredibly physically and playing with a ton of depth to manage inevitable foul trouble. Foul trouble should not be a big issue.

 

[shizzle787]

Yeah, look how miserably last year turned out.

Last year had a stud at every position. Ross is a good player, not a stud.

 

[navery12]

OK, I give up. Which one? 5.2??

Correct, he was the 5.2

 

[UConnJim]

Was Cam Spencer a big name in the portal when he transfered here? What about Malachi? Hassan Diarra? I ask because I think there are likely some guys under the radar that Hurley and staff might be interested in that are not getting the attention as some of the bigger names in the portal.

Cam Spencer was not an under the radar player and he was well known to people who followed the Big 10. He was late to portal as he entered the portal two months after it opened in May 2023. He was All Big 10 honorable mention, ranked #57 in college basketball by Evan Miya, and he was a 4* transfer recruit. He started all of Rutgers games, averaged 13.2 ppg, 3.1 assists, 1.4 TOs, 2 steals, shot 43.4% from 3, and 89% FT. And, he was a Patriot League all freshman and 1st team All Patriot player at Loyola Maryland.

 

[Kemba15]

Insiders say we were definitely after both Khamenia and freeman together though.

Freeman idea was scrapped after Mullins told the staff he was back, per Trilly

 

[HuskyHawk]

Definitely not. He’s an unproven freshman. The board was crowing over Furphy last offseason and he didn’t even play. We don’t know if either County or Landrew will even make the rotation. Neither have the hype of Castle, McNeeley, or Mullins.

Good Lord. How are you comparing him to Furphy? His ranking is not far from McNeeley, Castle and Mullins. He's also more physically mature than any of those guys and is ideally suited to play the 3 in our defense, like Castle was. I doubt he plays much if at all at the 4, but he's a perfect fit for the 3 in our system.

 

[bendm]

We should lower expectations if we’re thinking Nik plays 30 min (he struggled to play 20-25 at Duke in a brainless system), Hines 25 (fouls way too much), and Landrew 25 minutes as a true freshman.

I think you had lower expectations than most heading into this past season and we still made it to the finals

 

[Edward Sargent]

If that is the plan, we are not winning a title.

Why? Is your concern Ross? He was playing starter's minutes last year on a team that just missed winning it all

 

[bendm]

This seems close, but man, can we count on Landrew being ready enough to play 25 mpg, especially at the 4?

Seems realistic for a 5* recruit but a backup big like Machot can play a few minutes at PF too

 

[djct1999]

Guys, if you are going to speculate or worse,
panic, atleast get the facts straight first.

 

[Sphinx]

If the NCAA approves 5th year eligibility this summer, giving Ball two remaining years of eligibility, you can expect an almost immediate announcement that Ball will be back for the coming season, at least for the second half.

Remember that Ball isn't going anywhere. As a red shirt, he will remain on the roster, practice with the team and be available for action at a moment's notice. He may well be willing to come off the bench for a partial season, knowing he has a full year still ahead.

Hurley's plan may well have been to remove Ball as a complicating factor in getting current commitments without actually removing Ball. Ingenious -- and apparently working.

 

[controlfade]

Come on people

 

[Bigbrad1029]

Ross is good player but he is a sixth man. He’s not a good enough shooter to start. He’s the perfect power sub.

Ross has really improved his shooting but it’s on limited attempts, I agree he is sixth man and a really good defender….IMO Landrew was recruited to be a starter like Mullins, McNeeley and Castle before him

 

[MexicoHusky]

Positionless basketball is the plan!! Its the future!

 

[Gurleyman]

Don’t believe him. Without Mullins or Ball we’d need to bring in a starting SG not another F…The only way that what he said could have worked is if Hurley thinks Ross can start at either spot on the wing which I’m skeptical of:
Silas/Ross/NK/Freeman/Hines

Plus The fact that Stew still left despite Ball being out means we aren’t bringing in another F. Otherwise you’d hope stew woulda stayed.

Might have been more of an NIL/money issue than a basketball one. If Mullins went pro, we could have freed up the money for Freeman to be our top option, and then tried to find a Joey C type or a Euro on the cheap (and then in that scenario, perhaps Ball tries to come back). But we’d have been close to tapped out to pay both of them - and then maybe Nik doesn’t come.