Hurley has touted Jayden Ross for two years. Can the UConn junior expand his role? | The Boneyard

Hurley has touted Jayden Ross for two years. Can the UConn junior expand his role?

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Very good article from Mike Anthony.

“He said, if I were to return, which obviously I did, I would have another opportunity to gain a large role,” Ross said.

If?

“I never truly wanted to leave,” Ross said. “I love this place, the connections you build with the guys and the coaches. But college basketball is changing. You’ve always got to kind of look into it, all the different options. But I knew, deep down, I never wanted to step away from a culture like this. Because I can feel myself becoming a better player and a better person every single day here.”


Free access article:
 
We’ve seen athleticism and skill in brief periods but will he have a major role? He hasn’t shown he’s a good shooter, but can defend some. His role seems like it will be the same as last year.
 
We’ve seen athleticism and skill in brief periods but will he have a major role? He hasn’t shown he’s a good shooter, but can defend some. His role seems like it will be the same as last year.
Well, in his minutes he’s got to do something special. Now in fairness to him, last year we were playing long stretches with no great ball handler and the ball wasn’t moving around like it should have. There were many players on the floor that didn’t look great for stretches. Unfortunately, he was lower on pecking order and that cost him - pine time.

This year he’ll need a coupe Kemba-like performances to change the narrative that he is good role player but that’s it.
 
We’ve seen athleticism and skill in brief periods but will he have a major role? He hasn’t shown he’s a good shooter, but can defend some. His role seems like it will be the same as last year.
I think he's got a double leap potential and great to hear that he's addressing the mental aspect. We've seen glimpses of the athleticism in games, yet its translated to making one acrobatic layup or unexpected block. It absolutely sounds like Ross impacts scrimmages with much more frequency. Quite reasonable to project a mental and physical maturity dramatically increasing his on court production.
 
We’ve seen athleticism and skill in brief periods but will he have a major role? He hasn’t shown he’s a good shooter, but can defend some. His role seems like it will be the same as last year.
During the early games last season he showed a nice stroke from deep, but as the season went on and the competition went up he seemed to struggle to handle many aspects of his game. I think it's more in his head and I hope that he begins to allow the game to slow down for him. If that happens many will be surprised how good a shooter he is. Hopefully he'll learn to score also near the basket with contact, something that he needs to develop as well. I am cautiously optimistic.
 
If you dont place upmost importance on the mental aspect of sports you've missed it.
Being in the zone? All mental.
Clutch performing? All mental.
Learning schemes, playbooks, Bball IQ? All mental.


For a little context:
There are hundreds and hundreds of kids who can throw high 90s out of high school and college. A very, very, very, small percentage of them even make high A ball or play for a competitive college program

Mental strength and fortitude is that reason.

My good friend was in the Rays organization for years as a pitcher. He was roommates with wade davis and james shields. He threw 98 with a great change and a 12-6 curveball. The only reason he couldn't Crack the majors was his mind, and he said the same about everyone else.

Ross will surprise most of you.
 
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The numbers speak for themselves. If this kid makes a leap and becomes an impact player, it will be an amazing example of player development. It would be more Hilton than Hilton.
 
I think it's more in his head and I hope that he begins to allow the game to slow down for him.
I don't know if you read the article but that is what he admitted happened and he's seeing a mental skills coach to get over that.

“Very up and down, but I took a lot away from it,” Ross said. “I think the main takeaway is that I do feel like I got so much better and I wasn't able to showcase that on the court every single day. So, just learning how important the mental side of the game is, and that's what makes the difference for players at this level. It's just how you approach it, the ability to attack every single day. I feel like I do a good job of that in practice but I get caught over-thinking in the games.”

To address that, Ross recently began working with a mental skills coach.

“Something I was never really open to,” he said. “Until now.”
 
Very good article from Mike Anthony.

“He said, if I were to return, which obviously I did, I would have another opportunity to gain a large role,” Ross said.

If?

“I never truly wanted to leave,” Ross said. “I love this place, the connections you build with the guys and the coaches. But college basketball is changing. You’ve always got to kind of look into it, all the different options. But I knew, deep down, I never wanted to step away from a culture like this. Because I can feel myself becoming a better player and a better person every single day here.”


Free access article:
Im perplexed by him. I mean athletically hes got it all except maybe strength but it seems skillwise he isnt really good at anything but isnt bad either. Also seems a bit lost in the offense and on defense most of the time which makes me question his work ethic or bbiq. I really dont get it because he shows flashes of not just being good but being an elite cbb player.
 
I don't know if you read the article but that is what he admitted happened and he's seeing a mental skills coach to get over that.

“Very up and down, but I took a lot away from it,” Ross said. “I think the main takeaway is that I do feel like I got so much better and I wasn't able to showcase that on the court every single day. So, just learning how important the mental side of the game is, and that's what makes the difference for players at this level. It's just how you approach it, the ability to attack every single day. I feel like I do a good job of that in practice but I get caught over-thinking in the games.”

To address that, Ross recently began working with a mental skills coach.

“Something I was never really open to,” he said. “Until now.”
No, I didn't read the article, but have mentioned a number of times that his struggles were in his head. You could clearly see that many of his mistakes were mental ones, and his outside shooting seemed rushed and not relaxed like he looked earlier in the season. Hopefully he will be able to overcome this. There are some players that just can't seem to get the game slowed down in their head. I just hope that's not the case with Jayden. You can see the talent and athleticism. Let's see what happens this coming season.
 
I recall Jayden putting up a nice turnaround (maybe fadeaway) around the foul line and thinking he’s got something. Hope Hurley can give him some time to develop in games where it will then benefit us down the line.
 
I'm rooting for him too, but this season is so front loaded he's going to have to come out strong early. The strongest will have to get the time on the court or we could have Maui 2.
 
I think it’s very possible he could show out as the overall 7th man who has 2-3 games where he was our best player of the day. That’s my hope for him as a loyal Husky with a good heart. Then that could set him up to be a bona fide starter with pro potential as a senior.
 
If we struggle at all with either Braylon or Stewie at the 3 on defense(don’t thing we will) there’s a very real possibility Jayden starts next year
 
Made the comment a few times last year that he was in his own head and that had a significant negative draw in his execution and performance.

There just had to be something missing for him to play so well in practice that NBA scouts were asking about him as a freshman.

If you are a UConn fan you should be rooting for this kid/young man. The fact that he is still on our roster as a junior and that his younger brother decided to come to UConn is the most clear example that our staff has created the best culture in the college game.

It will be interesting to see if he can out perform Mullins to be the starting wing. Demary, Ball, Ross/Mullins, AK and Reed Jr, with that last wing position being a dog fight between Ross and Mullins. My guess is that Ross will start the season in the starting lineup. Because so far he has been a practice player and as a junior he will out perform Mullins in early season practices.

Hopefully, he plays well and that when Mullins takes over the starting spot because he is just to good a shooter not to pair with Ball and AK. If that happens then Ross will have to fight the mental impact and hopefully be a spark off the bench.

I do think that Mullins could offer some instant offense off the bench but it is hard to imagine a player who is a clear one and done not starting by mid season. Did you see the hops he has in the video. Don’t sleep on Mullins athleticism. It is much better than I think we are giving him credit for as a collective fan base.
 
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Personally, I think Jayden is better than what he's been able to show in game situations. Should be our best perimeter defender, just needs to show some upside on offense when he gets his limited opportunities and I think he can earn minutes. It's hard for me to believe that he's a 22% 3-point shooter based on what we saw from him before college.
 
Mental aspect should not impact his defensive ability as that is sheer effort and physicality and honestly if he can even just be a defensive stopper we have enough offense from others on the team. When an star opponent gets on an offensive role you bring him in to shut them down. He can guard 1-4.
 
I don't know if you read the article but that is what he admitted happened and he's seeing a mental skills coach to get over that.

“Very up and down, but I took a lot away from it,” Ross said. “I think the main takeaway is that I do feel like I got so much better and I wasn't able to showcase that on the court every single day. So, just learning how important the mental side of the game is, and that's what makes the difference for players at this level. It's just how you approach it, the ability to attack every single day. I feel like I do a good job of that in practice but I get caught over-thinking in the games.”

To address that, Ross recently began working with a mental skills coach.

“Something I was never really open to,” he said. “Until now.”
Fact is, the mental side of the game is what separates you from being good vs great, or good vs average, or average vs bad. I've felt it myself in pickup level competition. I'm sure for someone with the kind of athleticism that Ross has, he hasn't needed that mental edge to stand out before.
 
Mental aspect should not impact his defensive ability as that is sheer effort and physicality and honestly if he can even just be a defensive stopper we have enough offense from others on the team. When an star opponent gets on an offensive role you bring him in to shut them down. He can guard 1-4.
He was bad, defensively, from being too amped up. He wouldn't just go for fakes, he's literally jump out of the play completely. That is absolutely mental and not effort.
 
The numbers speak for themselves. If this kid makes a leap and becomes an impact player, it will be an amazing example of player development. It would be more Hilton than Hilton.
Will this be measured in Hilton Units or Ross Units?
 

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