Hurley high on Tyler Polley

[Kenny11]

I'll stick my neck out, and y'all can make fun of me. I think the BY will be surprised by the substantial improvement in Polley and Whaley this year. Both will be major contributors, and Polley may start at the 3 because his length will give him huge mismatches against a lot of opponents. Plus, for rebounds he won't be banging with much stronger 4's but will be reaching above leaner 3's. Whaley will be seeing minutes spelling Akok and Carlton at both 4 and 5.

I totally agree with your prediction. We had a few years of guys not improving at all or as much as they should have and it made a lot of the board seem to believe that guys aren't going to get better from year to year. Sid is working hard is going to be much better. Polley had a pretty good season as a sophomore considering he played petrified as a Freshman. This year he will make another jump.

Hurley will have to find the right lineups that work. Last season he rightfully tried to be very consistent with starters and lineups until the injuries hit. This season he should be able to experiment more early in the season.

 

[jibsey]

I mean earn more than Akok. Akok is good. He is very inconsistent and weak on the boards at times. But he is an elite shot blocker and quick as can be. Unfortunately polley brings nothing BUT 3 point shooting currently.

We hope Akok is good. How much college basketball has he played so far?

 

[HuskyHawk]

We hope Akok is good. How much college basketball has he played so far?

How much had Zion, Barrett and Reddish played at this time last year? Not saying he's at that level, but I think it is reasonable to assume he will be good. Having spent a half year with the team should make him better than he would have been as an ordinary freshman with a similar ranking.

 

[huskyinfl]

Maybe they were actually talking about jumping. Personally, I've always felt Polley could jump higher.

 

[jkfer98]

Def gonna get more minutes this year. Also look for him (and Sid) to get more time at the 2.

 

[kansashusky]

Was hoping to hear good things about Sid, but not much there. Also saw Sid is last on the team in wins this summer.

 

[husky429]

Was hoping to hear good things about Sid, but not much there. Also saw Sid is last on the team in wins this summer.

Where'd you see that? Too bad to hear. I don't have a great feeling about his ability to improve and make an impact.

 

[kansashusky]

Where'd you see that? Too bad to hear. I don't have a great feeling about his ability to improve and make an impact.

 

[kansashusky]

Where'd you see that? Too bad to hear. I don't have a great feeling about his ability to improve and make an impact.

Agree. To really get minutes he will have to be a lock down defender.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Against abysmal front lines, possibly. Akok is long, but he's barely cracking 200lbs. If the other team has an interior scoring threat AT ALL, I can't imagine that happening.

But Polley should be better. 6'8-9 shooters aren't cheap in basketball. If he can knock down 3s and be passable on defense, he will earn minutes. Anything else is gravy

Well he knocked down 3s and was much better than passable on D last year. So I’d say we are into the gravy now and can expect a lot of gravy. From all accounts he’s been bulking up. If that gives him the confidence to bang with guys down low, we may have a heck of a basketball player. Give him some confidence and he could take off.

 

[UconnU]

If he makes a leap in rebounding he’s going to grade very effectively next year. He was already neutral defensively (in DBPM) despite some ridiculously low rebounding levels for a 4.

His usage was ridiculously low for the minutes he played. All year I was saying we should be using him more. Run plays for him, use him in the pick n roll. He shot 38% from 3 was over 40% much of the year. His shot passes the eye test when the ball leaves his hand it looks like it’s always going in. Perfect form.

Def gonna get more minutes this year. Also look for him (and Sid) to get more time at the 2.

This has to be a troll.

 

[gtcam]

Can't train heart and toughness
I just haven't seen either in the kid since he stepped on the court
His shooting is so streaky and never saw a rebound he liked
IF he comes around and improves his shooting and defense it would be a great start
But the kid has to be willing to mix it up and get down and dirty
Would absolutely love to see him do it but it's gotta come from within
Can't wait until October

 

[HuskyHawk]

His usage was ridiculously low for the minutes he played. All year I was saying we should be using him more. Run plays for him, use him in the pick n roll. He shot 38% from 3 was over 40% much of the year. His shot passes the eye test when the ball leaves his hand it looks like it’s always going in. Perfect form.

This has to be a troll.

That’s where he needs confidence. I can’t begin to count the number of good shot opportunities he passed up and instead moved the ball. Sometimes he never even thought about trying to score. His confidence needs a boost.

 

[the Q]

His usage was ridiculously low for the minutes he played. All year I was saying we should be using him more. Run plays for him, use him in the pick n roll. He shot 38% from 3 was over 40% much of the year. His shot passes the eye test when the ball leaves his hand it looks like it’s always going in. Perfect form.

This has to be a troll.

I’d like him to pick and pop. But he needs to also be an effective roller/rim runner as well.

 

[uconnever]

I'll stick my neck out, and y'all can make fun of me. I think the BY will be surprised by the substantial improvement in Polley and Whaley this year. Both will be major contributors, and Polley may start at the 3 because his length will give him huge mismatches against a lot of opponents. Plus, for rebounds he won't be banging with much stronger 4's but will be reaching above leaner 3's. Whaley will be seeing minutes spelling Akok and Carlton at both 4 and 5.

Don’t post to much on here, but I ve always liked Whaley’contributions and after last year felt that Polley could end up being really good player

 

[husky429]

Well he knocked down 3s and was much better than passable on D last year. So I’d say we are into the gravy now and can expect a lot of gravy. From all accounts he’s been bulking up. If that gives him the confidence to bang with guys down low, we may have a heck of a basketball player. Give him some confidence and he could take off.

He was a terrible defender last year. Don't gove credit where it's nogt close to due. If you don't include rebounding (at which he was the worst in the country at the 4), he was still debatably passable.

Hurley said he could make a jump because he was bad. If he wasn't bad there isn't much of a jump to make.

 

[Danzz]

So a starting line-up of Al, CV, Polley, Akok, Carlton?

That would be my guess for a starting lineup to begin the season. Others could start or at least get starters minutes with possibly CV as 6th man.

 

[mauconnfan]

He was a terrible defender last year. Don't gove credit where it's nogt close to due. If you don't include rebounding (at which he was the worst in the country at the 4), he was still debatably passable.

Hurley said he could make a jump because he was bad. If he wasn't bad there isn't much of a jump to make.

Well he was not terrible but have your way. Rebounding aside he improved defensively and you only need to look at the Shocker games to know that you're wrong. He needs to rebound the basketball and anything less than 4.5-5.5 a game is unacceptable if he is to get close to the same minutes. And of course he was one of the worst in the country at the "4" he's not a 4 and certainly shouldn't have been one as a 6'9" 190 lb soph.. He wasn't "bad" last year except at rebounding the ball so yeah there's a nice jump to be had there. If he can get to the basket off the dribble with more authority as well as maybe jump to 40% plus from 3 he will be a nice junior player for us. The reason there's a potential jump, at least from my point of view, is not because he is bad but instead because he was just scraping his potential. Kids a pretty nice athlete for a 6'9" kid who can shoot. Mix the rest of the game which needs to come with maturity as a JR and you have may have something.

 

[husky429]

Well he was not terrible but have your way. Rebounding aside he improved defensively and you only need to look at the Shocker games to know that you're wrong. He needs to rebound the basketball and anything less than 4.5-5.5 a game is unacceptable if he is to get close to the same minutes. And of course he was one of the worst in the country at the "4" he's not a 4 and certainly shouldn't have been one as a 6'9" 190 lb soph.. He wasn't "bad" last year except at rebounding the ball so yeah there's a nice jump to be had there. If he can get to the basket off the dribble with more authority as well as maybe jump to 40% plus from 3 he will be a nice junior player for us. The reason there's a potential jump, at least from my point of view, is not because he is bad but instead because he was just scraping his potential. Kids a pretty nice athlete for a 6'9" kid who can shoot. Mix the rest of the game which needs to come with maturity as a JR and you have may have something.

Two games vs Wichita are the determining factor in someone's defensive ability, got it. Thank you for clarifying--I had no idea.

 

[mauconnfan]

Two games vs Wichita are the determining factor in someone's defensive ability, got it. Thank you for clarifying--I had no idea.

Obvious not what I meant but have fun with your hammering of Polley you are really solid with that! lol

Hey let's be sure we listen to a guy who "coaches" out there because it must be gospel coming from you. How dare we throw our 2 cents in and doubt you

 

[husky429]

Obvious not what I meant but have fun with your hammering of Polley you are really solid with that! lol

Hey let's be sure we listen to a guy who "coaches" out there because it must be gospel coming from you. How dare we throw our 2 cents in and doubt you

Wrote a response and deleted it.

Let's just hope you're wrong because Hurley said our defense was soft last year. He is certainly right. If 2018-2019 was adequate we're in trouble.

Polley has super high potential with his length but isn't tough enough yet. That's a big yet.

 

[mauconnfan]

Wrote a response and deleted it.

Let's just hope you're wrong because Hurley said our defense was soft last year. He is certainly right. If 2018-2019 was adequate we're in trouble.

Polley has super high potential with his length but isn't tough enough yet. That's a big yet.

Don't be afraid no reason to delete. I get it you know it all some day I hope I can be half of that!

 

[husky429]

Don't be afraid no reason to delete. I get it you know it all some day I hope I can be half of that!

Haha definitely don't know it all. Never said I could teach the kid to rebound. Just that he sucks at it

 

[Rico444]

Well he was not terrible but have your way. Rebounding aside he improved defensively and you only need to look at the Shocker games to know that you're wrong.

Rebounding is a big part of defense though...you can play great defense for 30 seconds, but if you're terrible at rebounding your opponent is going to get the offensive rebound and then you have to defend all over again.

If you're a decent defender but a terrible rebounder, then you're ultimately a net negative on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[browndog319]

I think the keys to next year are CV developing into what we’ve seen glimpses of - explosive scoring, ability to hit clutch 3s, quickness. His problem has been keeping it together for a whole game. He’s got plenty of years behind him now and a year with Hurley... if he can pull it together he should be amazing.
And Akok with that half a year head start practicing with the team should take advantage of his raw talent and adjust some of the deficits he has. If he can help on defense and CV scores consistently, j think we’ve got ourselves a .500 team (that shouldn’t be too much to ask).