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Hurley on next year's team

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Dan Hurley is glad the Bobby Hurley drama is over | Zagsblog
Hurley is looking for the incoming freshmen to play key roles.

“We love their talent, skills and upside but there’s a reason why most of the teams that do really, really well in college are older, so there’ll be some tough nights and some learning experiences,” he said. “But positionally in terms of their talent I thought we got two guys [Bouknight and Gaffney] who could be as good a tandem as anyone will have down the road.”

Akok joined the team for practice in January and will suit up this fall.

“You got that stretch four man that can block shots and is super-athletic and can make threes,” he said. “You have to have a four man that can spread the court around the one big and three other skilled perimeter people because that’s the style I like coaching and the way the game is heading.”
 
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Dan Hurley is glad the Bobby Hurley drama is over | Zagsblog
Hurley is looking for the incoming freshmen to play key roles.

“We love their talent, skills and upside but there’s a reason why most of the teams that do really, really well in college are older, so there’ll be some tough nights and some learning experiences,” he said. “But positionally in terms of their talent I thought we got two guys [Bouknight and Gaffney] who could be as good a tandem as anyone will have down the road.”

Akok joined the team for practice in January and will suit up this fall.

“You got that stretch four man that can block shots and is super-athletic and can make threes,” he said. “You have to have a four man that can spread the court around the one big and three other skilled perimeter people because that’s the style I like coaching and the way the game is heading.
@HuskyHawk
 
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Talked with an NBA scout that thinks Akok will be really good

Highest potential on the team. He could be an NBA guy for a decade, or play 15 mins a game for us.

He's bought in right now and working on being more consistent.

Expect some wtf games, and some others where he looks like a AA. It's just the way he is.
 

HuskyHawk

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Sure. And in the same article he says how important it is to have big wings. “It’s a big class for us,” Hurley said, speaking generally. “We have to generally continue to get UConn-level talent and then positionally I think center is a real big spot for us with Josh Carlton graduating soon. We need a big-time center and big I think big wings are important.”

But big guys who can shoot are rare. Akok and Precious are both that kind of player.
 
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Sure. And in the same article he says how important it is to have big wings. “It’s a big class for us,” Hurley said, speaking generally. “We have to generally continue to get UConn-level talent and then positionally I think center is a real big spot for us with Josh Carlton graduating soon. We need a big-time center and big I think big wings are important.”

But big guys who can shoot are rare. Akok and Precious are both that kind of player.
Not sure what your point is. Mine was just that Hurley wants to play 4 out and 1 in. Wings play outside and I’m all for size after our miniature teams in recent years.
 

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Sure. And in the same article he says how important it is to have big wings. “It’s a big class for us,” Hurley said, speaking generally. “We have to generally continue to get UConn-level talent and then positionally I think center is a real big spot for us with Josh Carlton graduating soon. We need a big-time center and big I think big wings are important.”

But big guys who can shoot are rare. Akok and Precious are both that kind of player.
Luckily more and more forwards are good at shooting these days following the trend. Centers are a different story, but we should be able to find 4s that can hit jumpers.
 

HuskyHawk

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Not sure what your point is. Mine was just that Hurley wants to play 4 out and 1 in. Wings play outside and I’m all for size after our miniature teams in recent years.

My point is that if you gave him Jeff Adrien, who could hit 12 footers and score inside, he’d be thrilled. Many 4s who shoot threes can’t defend the post or rebound. Polley for example. You can’t expect to always have those guys.

Ideally he wants a monster shot blocker, a PG and 3 guys between 6’5- 6’9 who can all handle, drive and shoot threes. He wants the two recent Villanova championship teams. But good luck. Everybody wants those guys. Precious and Akok are pretty ideal players for him. It would be amazing if he got both.
 

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Luckily more and more forwards are good at shooting these days following the trend. Centers are a different story, but we should be able to find 4s that can hit jumpers.

Al Horford talked about that last year. Celtics signed him and Brad wanted him to shoot 3s. He never really had in college or the NBA. He busted his ass and became good at it. It’s not like those big guys can’t shoot, it just wasn’t an efficient shot for them in the past. But it doesn’t mean you can go small. You can’t just play a Rip Hamilton sized guy at the 4. The opponent would kill them inside. You need a guy who can be a traditional 4 and stretch the floor. But even guys like Karl Malone could hit 15 footers.
 
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My point is that if you gave him Jeff Adrien, who could hit 12 footers and score inside, he’d be thrilled. Many 4s who shoot threes can’t defend the post or rebound. Polley for example. You can’t expect to always have those guys.

Ideally he wants a monster shot blocker, a PG and 3 guys between 6’5- 6’9 who can all handle, drive and shoot threes. He wants the two recent Villanova championship teams. But good luck. Everybody wants those guys. Precious and Akok are pretty ideal players for him. It would be amazing if he got both.
I'm sure he'd take Jeff Adrien, but that's not the system he plans on running. He wants to play 4 out and 1 big inside
 
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15 mins? Really?

He had one good weekend to earn his ranking. His motor stunk when he got here and he was literally benching less than 100lbs.

It's up to him how many minutes hell earn
 

intlzncster

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Highest potential on the team. He could be an NBA guy for a decade, or play 15 mins a game for us.

This could be a highly accurate assessment, but he's gonna get more than 15min next year for sure....cause we've got nobody else.

If he get only 15min, it's because he's limited to that by being a foul machine.
 
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This could be a highly accurate assessment, but he's gonna get more than 15m next year for sure....cause we've got nobody else.

If he get only 15min, it's because he's limited to that by being a foul machine.

True. Let's say hell get 25 mins. And it could be a disastrous 25 or a AA 25 on any given night.

He's working hard though to get more balanced/mobile/strong. Sal made him eat during games a few times lol
 

gtcam

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We all know he is high on his new guards and from film I can understand, again, from film
Akok is a twig - I ve seen him up close and have spoken to him on numerous occasions. I have no doubt he can shoot and can block a shot but I cannot see him going against those older, mature, junkyard dogs that he will see plenty of this upcoming season.
A lot of work has to be done in the off season and I was mildly disappointed in the lack of muscle on some of the returning players. If Polley doesn't come back with the urgency to play D and rebound while hitting his shots above a 35% click - the experiment with him is over
I am of the school that UConn still needs a talented big for next year
Carlton looked good the last few games but that doesn't instill full faith that he will be the consistent big that the team needs but I am hopeful he works hard in the off season and gets to a big man camp. He has a huge upside but it needs to come from within.
Thrilled that CV is coming back because the kid is a gamer and has a attitude with an edge - the team needs that type of person
I understand that this rebuild is not an overnight thing and the chances that UConn will return to the glory days are in the far distance - if at all (due to conference/P5 crap)
IMO, DH needs to make a quality big man signing soon, be it JUCO or xfer and then get another for 2020 from the HS ranks
Can't wait to see what shakes out in September/October
I miss college hoops already
 
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We all know he is high on his new guards and from film I can understand, again, from film
Akok is a twig - I ve seen him up close and have spoken to him on numerous occasions. I have no doubt he can shoot and can block a shot but I cannot see him going against those older, mature, junkyard dogs that he will see plenty of this upcoming season.
A lot of work has to be done in the off season and I was mildly disappointed in the lack of muscle on some of the returning players. If Polley doesn't come back with the urgency to play D and rebound while hitting his shots above a 35% click - the experiment with him is over
I am of the school that UConn still needs a talented big for next year
Carlton looked good the last few games but that doesn't instill full faith that he will be the consistent big that the team needs but I am hopeful he works hard in the off season and gets to a big man camp. He has a huge upside but it needs to come from within.
Thrilled that CV is coming back because the kid is a gamer and has a attitude with an edge - the team needs that type of person
I understand that this rebuild is not an overnight thing and the chances that UConn will return to the glory days are in the far distance - if at all (due to conference/P5 crap)
IMO, Dan Hurley needs to make a quality big man signing soon, be it JUCO or xfer and then get another for 2020 from the HS ranks
Can't wait to see what shakes out in September/October
I miss college hoops already
Carlton actually won most improved player in the AAC and was pretty consistent from the SMU game at home in January until end of the season. I’m sure he will improve more and hopefully can control the fouls this upcoming year as we have nobody to back him up right now which is kind of scary.
 
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We all know he is high on his new guards and from film I can understand, again, from film
Akok is a twig - I ve seen him up close and have spoken to him on numerous occasions. I have no doubt he can shoot and can block a shot but I cannot see him going against those older, mature, junkyard dogs that he will see plenty of this upcoming season.
A lot of work has to be done in the off season and I was mildly disappointed in the lack of muscle on some of the returning players. If Polley doesn't come back with the urgency to play D and rebound while hitting his shots above a 35% click - the experiment with him is over
I am of the school that UConn still needs a talented big for next year
Carlton looked good the last few games but that doesn't instill full faith that he will be the consistent big that the team needs but I am hopeful he works hard in the off season and gets to a big man camp. He has a huge upside but it needs to come from within.
Thrilled that CV is coming back because the kid is a gamer and has a attitude with an edge - the team needs that type of person
I understand that this rebuild is not an overnight thing and the chances that UConn will return to the glory days are in the far distance - if at all (due to conference/P5 crap)
IMO, Dan Hurley needs to make a quality big man signing soon, be it JUCO or xfer and then get another for 2020 from the HS ranks
Can't wait to see what shakes out in September/October
I miss college hoops already
Spot on except for Carlton because he is already solid and should only be better next year. He needs someone to share the position for foul trouble and that player is not on the roster at this point. The guys we currently have do not fit the bill of what we need. Polley is the best chance to give us offense but what is he on rebounding and defense? Need 2 recruits center and power 4.
 
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True. Let's say hell get 25 mins. And it could be a disastrous 25 or a AA 25 on any given night.

He's working hard though to get more balanced/mobile/strong. Sal made him eat during games a few times lol

It's a guarantee that he is going to wildly inconsistent and I don't think most of our fanbase realizes this.

I won't be surprised if this team makes the sweet 16 or if we barely make the NIT. There is a huge level of variance depending on how good the rookies are. Occasionally mid to low 4* are borderline all league caliber immediately and sometimes they take 2 or 3 years to be good.
 
C

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Unless you have a Dre, which we don’t, Chief doesn’t buy the 4 out and 1 in thing.
For our talent you need two dudes regularly going to the boards on offense. Often one creates disruptions and the other gets the ball. Poor offensive rebounding was one reason we lost last season. In several key games our opponents killed us in that category. We have no one guy who is going to change that statistic that makes us lose.
 
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Need a bigger forward strength wise but Whaley has the quickness to be effective and help out. Really should play along side Josh.
 

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