Hurley Needs to Find Lineups w/ Sanogo & Clingan

[Waquoit]

We have all seen periods when Sonago is bull-headed in forcing himself to the hoop instead of passing out. So, it's not whether or not you can play Sonago with Clingan, it's whether this tourney has convinced Sonago that he can play a smarter, a better, and a more team-oriented game

I think Adama has already shown he's bought into the team concept this year.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

The Sanogo hot takes after he hovered between really good and completely dominant during every other game this year are bad even by fan message board standards.

 

[SubbaBub]

Yes, we a blowing teams off the court so let's change it up for no good reason.

There will be opponents, situations, where this makes sense and we have seen it for short stretches but having 2 bigs is not our default lineup, nor should it be because that means one of Karaban, Jackson or one of the outside shooters has to sit.

 

[Senor Blue]

Keep it as is. Hurley knows what he's doing.

Now you have 40 minutes of matchup nightmare to account for - on teams that will have maybe one person to play with either of these guys.

Imagine Sanogo bodies your starting 5 for 10 mins a half, and then when he needs to rest you bring in your "back-up" to abuse said tired starter or ill-equiped bench player.

Two bigs doesn't work in a Hurley offense. And it doesn't make sense. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[elmcityboy]

I think people don't realize the impact Sanogo had on this game. Iowa State game planned to take Sanogo out of the game. This opened up opertunities for everyone else.

came here to say this. this play seems like a really good example:



uconn is running one of their standard high-low plays to get sanogo a post touch, but iowa state takes it away by having newton's defender cheat off the corner, threatening to double (triple?) team sanogo on the catch. andre makes the correct read to get newton a wide-open three that ends up being one of the biggest shots of the game.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Nah. But it's getting closer to a consistent 25-15 minute split. Keep both of them fresh and just never let the opponent rest.

And, if Sanogo is having a bad game and Clingan is rolling, I have no problem with using Sanogo to back up Clingan.

It's this.

Clingan still doesn't have the conditioning to go 30 mpg. Sanogo wore down at the end of last year under heavy usage.

The solution is obvious and it's exactly what you suggest. Let Clingan dominate in spurts, ride him here and there. Keep Sanogo fresh.

It also mitigates concern about foul trouble.

Playing them together might also make both worse.

 

[jake14mw]

Yeah, each of them are so good that it's tough to have either of them play less than 20 minutes. I don't think they should play too many minutes together, but Hurley should experiment with seeing how effective they can be together. Sanogo is the Big East pre-season player of the year. He should be playing at least 30 minutes. Are you only going to play Clinghan 10 minutes per game?

 

[husky429]

I think Adama has already shown he's bought into the team concept this year.

People have the hardest times understanding that low passing skill =/= selfishness. Adama has never been anything but a good teammate and selfless guy. He's just a crappy passer.

 

[husky429]

Yeah, each of them are so good that it's tough to have either of them play less than 20 minutes. I don't think they should play too many minutes together, but Hurley should experiment with seeing how effective they can be together. Sanogo is the Big East pre-season player of the year. He should be playing at least 30 minutes. Are you only going to play Clinghan 10 minutes per game?

25 and 15, little bit more or less depending on matchups and fouls.

 

[auror]

People have the hardest times understanding that low passing skill =/= selfishness. Adama has never been anything but a good teammate and selfless guy. He's just a crappy passer.

And the coaches tell Adama to be aggressive, because he's incredibly skilled and mostly unstoppable. His first option should always be to attack. Only when that's stopped should he try to find someone.

 

[navery12]

Strong disagree, did everyone already forgot what our offense has looked like the past few years trying to play 2 bigs? And that's with a big in Whaley who was a positive on the defensive end when on the floor at the 4

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Yeah, each of them are so good that it's tough to have either of them play less than 20 minutes. I don't think they should play too many minutes together, but Hurley should experiment with seeing how effective they can be together. Sanogo is the Big East pre-season player of the year. He should be playing at least 30 minutes. Are you only going to play Clinghan 10 minutes per game?

I think a 25/15 split on average is pretty reasonable and pretty much what has happened this year. Just for reference, Sanogo averaged about 29 last year and definitely had times where he was worn down which led to some ineffectiveness and foul issues.

 

[Gluap]

I think we need to slow way down. The youngster was in a so so to good performance range before this weekend against weaker competition . He could just as quickly slide back there as most freshman experience. Let's not add pressure beyond what already exists at this level.

 

[Fishy]

I think we need to slow way down. The youngster was in a so so to good performance range before this weekend against weaker competition . He could just as quickly slide back there as most freshman experience. Let's not add pressure beyond what already exists at this level.

Hard disagree.

He’s been consistently quite good from the jump.

 

[Waquoit]

Strong disagree, did everyone already forgot what our offense has looked like the past few years trying to play 2 bigs?

I hope so. Because nothing can be gained by using the past few years as any kind benchmark. This is a new and vastly better team.

 

[jake14mw]

I think a 25/15 split on average is pretty reasonable and pretty much what has happened this year. Just for reference, Sanogo averaged about 29 last year and definitely had times where he was worn down which led to some ineffectiveness and foul issues.

It's reasonable, but if you have the player of the year in the conference, are you really going to limit him to 25 minutes? Tell me the last conference player of the year to average only 25 minutes? I totally agree that Sanogo was spent at the end of the year last year. Having Clingan there should ease the burden both physically and mentally so that he can finish this year strong.

We'll see how things play out here. I'm sure Clingan will have his tough stretches as a freshman. I'm thinking Sanogo getting 30 minutes, and Clingan getting 15 might be the right mix depending on matchups and situations.

 

[navery12]

It's reasonable, but if you have the player of the year in the conference, are you really going to limit him to 25 minutes? Tell me the last conference player of the year to average only 25 minutes? I totally agree that Sanogo was spent at the end of the year last year. Having Clingan there should ease the burden both physically and mentally so that he can finish this year strong.

We'll see how things play out here. I'm sure Clingan will have his tough stretches as a freshman. I'm thinking Sanogo getting 30 minutes, and Clingan getting 15 might be the right mix depending on matchups and situations.

With all due respect, I don't really care about Adama Sanogo winning BE POY. I want UConn winning games in March

 

[superjohn]

It's reasonable, but if you have the player of the year in the conference, are you really going to limit him to 25 minutes? Tell me the last conference player of the year to average only 25 minutes? I totally agree that Sanogo was spent at the end of the year last year. Having Clingan there should ease the burden both physically and mentally so that he can finish this year strong.

We'll see how things play out here. I'm sure Clingan will have his tough stretches as a freshman. I'm thinking Sanogo getting 30 minutes, and Clingan getting 15 might be the right mix depending on matchups and situations.

I don't see any way Sanogo averages 30 minutes per this season. He's averaging 24 per now and it still feels like Clingan isn't playing enough. We'll also get Samson back soon.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

It's reasonable, but if you have the player of the year in the conference, are you really going to limit him to 25 minutes? Tell me the last conference player of the year to average only 25 minutes? I totally agree that Sanogo was spent at the end of the year last year. Having Clingan there should ease the burden both physically and mentally so that he can finish this year strong.

We'll see how things play out here. I'm sure Clingan will have his tough stretches as a freshman. I'm thinking Sanogo getting 30 minutes, and Clingan getting 15 might be the right mix depending on matchups and situations.

I'm not really sure what your suggestion is here. We both agree that at 29 minutes a game, he was often gassed during games later in the year, but giving him 25 minutes is too few?

Adama is a big guy to begin with and is wildly active for a center of his size. He needs some breaks. And the reality is that foul trouble and game flow will dictate a lot of this anyways. There are going to be games with Sanogo gets 2 fouls with ten minutes to go in the first half and Clingan plays 20 minutes, there are going to be games where Sanogo dominates and Clingan gets ten minutes.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Agreed. I’d try them with Newton, Hawkins, and Joey C.

As long as there's 3 shooters on with the two bigs I suspect it'll work. Can be any three of Newton, Hawkins, Calcaterra, Karaban, and possibly Alleyne/Diarra. I think you need the three out to be dangerous from outside to clear space for the two bigs to operate. So I don't think having Jackson with them works.

On the other hand, wouldn't a lineup of Sanogo, Clingan, Karaban, Jackson and Newton be downright scary? Would we ever give up a rebound?

That's not to say I'd do either of them, but if Hurley wants time in the lab to experiment, fine.

 

[jake14mw]

Strong disagree, did everyone already forgot what our offense has looked like the past few years trying to play 2 bigs? And that's with a big in Whaley who was a positive on the defensive end when on the floor at the 4

Whaley isn't Clingan. I do agree that it may not be the right thing to have them play too much together, but if Clingan continues to develop and play the way he has, it's going to be tough not giving him 15-20 minutes. We'll see if they can/should make it work.

 

[Waquoit]

This season won't be about minutes. It will be about match-ups. This team is like the old Mission Impossible TV show. Hurley as Mr. Phelps picking out the agents he needs to accomplish the task at hand.

 

[jake14mw]

I'm not really sure what your suggestion is here. We both agree that at 29 minutes a game, he was often gassed during games later in the year, but giving him 25 minutes is too few?

Adama is a big guy to begin with and is wildly active for a center of his size. He needs some breaks. And the reality is that foul trouble and game flow will dictate a lot of this anyways. There are going to be games with Sanogo gets 2 fouls with ten minutes to go in the first half and Clingan plays 20 minutes, there are going to be games where Sanogo dominates and Clingan gets ten minutes.

That 29 minutes was an average, and includes games where he played under 20 minutes because of foul trouble. This year, yes, if he get's in foul trouble, then of course no issue with Clingan playing 20 minutes. But he has slimmed down this year, should be able to play more minutes than he could have last year. I think the important thing is that this year, the PRESSURE for him to have to play 35 minutes is gone. I think the mental pressure is just as tiring as the physical part. My main point is that he's too good of a player to only plan on playing him 25 minutes when he's on. That's my point.

 

[Scoe]

They have played together already, so it’s not off the table. I’m if the situation calls for it Hurley will play both together for a couple minutes. Maybe against Creighton? Well see these are good problems to have.

 

[HuskyFich]

I think my main point here is there’s only 40 minutes of the center position in a game. There will be games where we need 30+ minutes of Sanogo, but I think it’s unreasonable for DC to be off the floor(less than 10 minutes/game) at Sanogo’s expense. DCs defense and OREB ability is needed.

Gotta find a solution for the 4-8 times this year we will need it.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Whaley isn't Clingan. I do agree that it may not be the right thing to have them play too much together, but if Clingan continues to develop and play the way he has, it's going to be tough not giving him 15-20 minutes. We'll see if they can/should make it work.

He’s already playing 15-20 minutes. Which is working perfectly.

 

[Icehawk]

My low basketball IQ call would be wouldn't Clingan be playing center\paint and Sanogo playing a "forward" position? I definitely don't want them both in the paint. If Sanogo is going to make the jump I think he needs he can play outside the paint, or at least make drives into it successfully.

The main thing is I feel like I am finally trusting our coach and players to make it work and I'm not yelling at them to try something, anything, so another close one doesn't slip away.

 

[jake14mw]

I don't see any way Sanogo averages 30 minutes per this season. He's averaging 24 per now and it still feels like Clingan isn't playing enough. We'll also get Samson back soon.

Yeah, that is the point of this whole thread. I think Sanogo should be playing 30 minutes per game in CLOSE games. I think he's that good. And Clingan is playing so well, how do you give him only 10 minutes per game? The only answer is either Sanogo plays less, or they play together more. And it's not just Clingan and Sanogo. Hawkins has only been playing 20 mins per game, and Jackson only 23. Minutes get spread around when you're winning big.

I have no idea how you find minutes for Johnson. What I do know, it's a great problem to have! So many guys playing well, it's hard to find minutes for them! It will be very interesting to see what happens in close games.

 

[navery12]

I think my main point here is there’s only 40 minutes of the center position in a game. There will be games where we need 30+ minutes of Sanogo, but I think it’s unreasonable for DC to be off the floor(less than 10 minutes/game) at Sanogo’s expense. DCs defense and OREB ability is needed.

Gotta find a solution for the 4-8 times this year we will need it.

Nope, if we need Sanogo on the floor for 30 minutes then that's just gonna have to be a game Clingan plays less. That's the solution, minutes are a zero sum game. If you "need" Clingan's defense and offensive rebounding, then you don't need 30 minutes from Sanogo

 

[navery12]

They have played together already, so it’s not off the table. I’m if the situation calls for it Hurley will play both together for a couple minutes. Maybe against Creighton? Well see these are good problems to have.

They've played 9 possessions together in 8 games, it's going to be an incredibly rare thing to play them together