I fell in love with Christian Vital Saturday

[Hankster]

I would like to bring Gilbert along slowly next year. Plus I worry about his outside shooting. I like the idea if bringing him off the bench like we did with Shabazz when he was freshman. Change of pace guard. Vital to me is exactly what this team has been missing the last couple of years. He will play a TON next year.

AND he played well with Adams. Many times during the year Adams was coaching him on the floor. It was only a couple of weeks ago when Adams put both hands on his face and looked him the eye to tell him what went wrong or you should of done this. Tough call next year. I go with Vital.

 

[Hankster]

My younger daughter is sitting next to me on the plane. She just looked over at my iPad and was trying to figure out what I am doing. She saw this thread title and said, "Dad, is Christian pretty? Does mom know you like her?"

That is funny!!! How adorable is that. Of course, what did mom say.

 

[imno1]

There's something about this Vital kid. He has leader written all over him. If we win a championship or go far in the tournament he will have a lot to do with it. His passion is awesome. His motor runs full throttle and his improvement from the beginning of the season has been remarkable. Although this season was a huge disappointment he was a reason to continue watching the games. I think he deserves a shot to start but if AG comes in healthy and ready to go it doesn't matter because CV will probably be in there when it's crunch time

 

[TRUCONN76]

Alterique will be the starting point guard next year by the time conference schedule comes up. Vital will be first guard off the bench and will play a lot in a 3 guard rotation. To play the style that Ollie wants to play he needs to have four guards constantly rotating in to keep legs fresh and get the running game going. All four guards will get plenty of PT.

In basketball more so than other sports it becomes very clear in practice who the best players are and the best will play. Vital is a tough kid, a UCONN guard who understands defense. But for anyone to say he is a shoo-in to start next year is wrong. Unless you could point to him and say he was all conference caliber there is no way you can point to him and say he is a sure starter. I do think you can point to him and say we are glad he is on the team, he brings toughness, defense and ability to provide some scoring, the type of player needed to win championships.

I think Alterique will be an all conference player, not next year but before his career is over. I do not know if Vital has that in him or not. But as I said to the coachs who will see them in practice it will be very obvious who should start.

 

[intlzncster]

Olliewood is correct. Vital is the closest thing we have to Shabazz on this team. He is the best of this freshman recruiting class in overall game and performance. He is much better than Craig Austrie and he is only a freshman. Vital has a chance to be an NBA player if he keeps improving.

There is no way Alterique who is a 5'9 with a bad shoulder should be starting over Vital. Vital is a player with swagger and the talent to back it up like UCONN legends of past. He's also got a connection with Adams. I wouldn't mess with it. Alterique and MAL would have to be NBA one and done guys to beat out Vital

What have you been smoking? Even without playing this year, AG is a better player than Vital. Not only that, playing AG allows Jalen to spend more time off the ball, where he will BLOW up.

 

[intlzncster]

Can we all stop with this Craig Austrie stuff? I'm tired of hearing how we "hope" Vital can be "as good" as Austrie. He is far and away beyond anything we got from Austrie. You're comparing our extremely underrated freshman who averaged over 9 points/game to a guy that averaged 6 points/game his entire UConn career. Vital just put up better numbers as a freshman than Austrie had in any year at Uconn.

Vital has a ceiling, but Craig Austrie is not it. If he improves his handle a bit and improves his jump shot, the kid could be flirting with the the NBA in 3-4 years.

Flirting in the NBA is a bit much. He's a 6'2 shooting guard. Basically needs to convert to a PG. I don't see him becoming a more than passable college PG at best. Realistically, he'll be a combo that spends more time in a 2 guard role.

 

[JSM1970]

By a mile. He's an elite and explosive playmaker who will speed up tempo.

Vital can spot up as a guy getting no defensive interest and make 37% 3s against terrible AAC teams.

MAL will be the 1st guard in.

What have you been smoking? Even without playing this year, AG is a better player than Vital. Not only that, playing AG allows Jalen to spend more time off the ball, where he will BLOW up.

 

[intlzncster]

Where the hell would he be going?

In terms of starters for next year, there will be a hell of a competition, something we could use more of.

The only starter etched in stone is Adams. Everyone else has to earn it. But I expect each of Adams, Vital, Gilbert, MAL, Larrier, and Jackson to earn upwards of 20 mpg, with a few above 30 mpg.

As long as he can jog up and down the court, Larrier will be starting, for the simple fact that there's no other player ron the roster like him. They don't have another real wing with that size/ability.

 

[6xChamps]

Why compare Gilbert to Vital? They're completely different players. This is a weird debate because Vital, Gilbert, Adams, and MAL will all play a lot next year and I think we could roll three of those guys at once. In that scenario I think Vital would play the three as he can rebound very well for a guard

 

[The Funster]

I loved that Vital improved from day one. He deserves to be a starter next year until someone TAKES the job away from him. Kid's got ONIONS!

 

[intlzncster]

Why compare Gilbert to Vital? They're completely different players. This is a weird debate because Vital, Gilbert, Adams, and MAL will all play a lot next year and I think we could roll three of those guys at once. In that scenario I think Vital would play the three as he can rebound very well for a guard

Very true, but we're just arguing about who'd start over who. Hence the comparison. No doubt they can play together and will.

 

[intlzncster]

I loved that Vital improved from day one. He deserves to be a starter next year until someone TAKES the job away from him. Kid's got ONIONS!

As usual, the starting job will be earned in practice. Last year is over, and does not impact at all on the next one, in terms of who earns what.

 

[JSM1970]

Job? Isn't a QB in the NFL

They will all compete and who knows, KO may change it up at times.

I loved that Vital improved from day one. He deserves to be a starter next year until someone TAKES the job away from him. Kid's got ONIONS!

 

[Rocktheworld]

I agree CV should start to begin the year. With that said I think you all are severely underestimating the "dog" that rique has in him. He's a tough SOB. Him and Vital are actually very similar in that way. Terry Larrier is also a terrific competitor. This is a problem every coach in America would like to have next yr. 3 stud guards and possibly 4. We can throw waves of pressure at team constantly all game. While at the same time having shot makers on the other end. The only thing missing is a big man. Lets just pray that one of the 4 bigs on the roster become servicable. Because we could be really good. But for the mojo we'll be absolutely horrible

I can definitely see Vital's and others' cuts melding well with Durham's passing ability.

TBH I think KO is loyal to a fault and took valuable minutes from Durham for Brimah.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Can we all stop with this Craig Austrie stuff? I'm tired of hearing how we "hope" Vital can be "as good" as Austrie. He is far and away beyond anything we got from Austrie. You're comparing our extremely underrated freshman who averaged over 9 points/game to a guy that averaged 6 points/game his entire UConn career. Vital just put up better numbers as a freshman than Austrie had in any year at Uconn.

Vital has a ceiling, but Craig Austrie is not it. If he improves his handle a bit and improves his jump shot, the kid could be flirting with the the NBA in 3-4 years.

I could absolutely see him becoming a Marcus Smart; an actualized version of Rodney Purvis's potential

 

[Tenspro2002]

As long as he can jog up and down the court, Larrier will be starting, for the simple fact that there's no other player ron the roster like him. They don't have another real wing with that size/ability.

I agree -- if any other starter is etched in stone, it's probably Larrier. That said, I don't think anyone coming off an ACL injury in the last 12 months is any guarantee.

 

[ASweet3781]

Vital was definitely a standout for me. Loved the fight and competitiveness.

 

[UChusky916]

Welcome to the love-fest. I've been in love with CV since November:
So stoked to have CV for 4 years


Comparing CV to Austrie is an ENORMOUS disservice to CV. It boggles my mind that I've seen this comparison multiple times on this board. Take high school recruiting rankings out of the picture, and make your similarities based on numbers. Because outside of Austrie's and CV's high school recruiting class rankings, you'll see CV is in an entirely different stratosphere.

In fact, you'll see that CV has had one of the best freshman performances we've seen in some time, especially from 3-pt range:

Per Sports Reference, Vital had:

• Best 3-pt% by a UConn freshman (36.6% on 142 att) since... Ryan Boatright (37.7% on 69 att) in 2011-2012.
  • Boat only had 69 attempts compared to CV's 142, so CV's % is more impressive having shot more than twice the # of attempts.
  • Excluding Boat, the next freshman with better 3 pt % was Jeremy Lamb (36.8% on 125 att) in 2010-2011. Again, smaller sample size for Lamb with relatively equivalent percentages.
  • If you wanted to find a freshman who shot nearly equivalent volume, CV had the best 3pt % since Rashad Anderson (39% on 140 att)
  • CV had better freshman 3 pt % than: Napier, Kemba, D Daniels, AJ Price, N Giffey, and J Adams.

• Best Offensive Rating per 100 possessions (105.8) by a UConn freshman since Jeremy Lamb (118.1) in 2010-2011.

• Best Defensive Rating per 100 possessions (102.0) by a UConn freshman since Ryan Boatright (104.2) in 2011-2012.

So offensively and defensively, CV as a freshman was most comparable to Jeremy Lamb and Ryan Boatright. Again, nowhere near Austrie or Beverly. CV is a MUCH BETTER PLAYER.

My head tells me his outstanding 3-pt % from this year is bound to regress, but he had so many attempts that I just don't think he will -- it's a big enough sample size to show he's an above-average 3-pt shooter. And he was asked to do A LOT for this team very early, let's see how he performs with more experience.

The team's overall underachievement and poor performance clearly overshadowed just HOW GREAT Vital was for us this year. He's a stud in the making.

 

[huskymagic]

What have you been smoking? Even without playing this year, AG is a better player than Vital. Not only that, playing AG allows Jalen to spend more time off the ball, where he will BLOW up.

Vital is better right now and is proving it game by game. Oh yea I'm sure having Jalen off the ball with Rique will have him blow up just like what happened against Wagner, Northeastern, and almost Loyola if not for Vital's heroics late. I like Gilbert, but Vital is the better player right now and provides more to the team and alongside Jalen on the backcourt. Vital is a shot maker, an excellent defender, high IQ player, tough, good rebounder, can handle a little bit, has swagger/intensity. Vital is everything we hoped Rodney Purvis would be.

I call it like I see it, and Vital is the better fit alongside Jalen because he understands his role and does it well. He has a chance to be a Ben Gordon type player with Boatright/Napier defensive qualities if he keeps going. At minimum he will be a Devonte Graham for us. We won't have WTF losses with Vital in there that's for sure. Gilbert and Makai are excellent subs for both Jalen and Vital.

PS: I have no idea how people still think Jalen will play off the ball most his time next year. Jalen is the man next year and will handle the rock majority of the time like he should.

 

[JSM1970]

No way. Let AG and JA go 100 MPH, and then have MAL come in. CV is not a good shooter, he gets open looks against terrible AAC teams who lay off of him. I'd rather get a shooter for a 4th player.

He was a big player on a sub .500 team. I like his energy, but want to upgrade the talent. He's limited to bad.

I can definitely see Vital's and others' cuts melding well with Durham's passing ability.

TBH I think KO is loyal to a fault and took valuable minutes from Durham for Brimah.

Vital is better right now and is proving it game by game. Oh yea I'm sure having Jalen off the ball with Rique will have him blow up just like what happened against Wagner, Northeastern, and almost Loyola if not for Vital's heroics late. I like Gilbert, but Vital is the better player right now and provides more to the team and alongside Jalen on the backcourt. Vital is a shot maker, an excellent defender, high IQ player, tough, good rebounder, can handle a little bit, has swagger/intensity. Vital is everything we hoped Rodney Purvis would be.

I call it like I see it, and Vital is the better fit alongside Jalen because he understands his role and does it well. He has a chance to be a Ben Gordon type player with Boatright/Napier defensive qualities if he keeps going. At minimum he will be a Devonte Graham for us. We won't have WTF losses with Vital in there that's for sure. Gilbert and Makai are excellent subs for both Jalen and Vital.

PS: I have no idea how people still think Jalen will play off the ball most his time next year. Jalen is the man next year and will handle the rock majority of the time like he should.

 

[Stainmaster]

Vital can spot up as a guy getting no defensive interest and make 37% 3s against terrible AAC teams.

No way. Let AG and JA go 100 MPH, and then have MAL come in. CV is not a good shooter, he gets open looks against terrible AAC teams who lay off of him. I'd rather get a shooter for a 4th player.

He was a big player on a sub .500 team. I like his energy, but want to upgrade the talent. He's limited to bad.

Yeah that Cincinnati team sure is terrible/crummy/whatever you want to call it. In no way is he "limited to bad" - then again, I realize in your mind everyone and everything is limited to bad so what's the point?

 

[JSM1970]

My baseline is elite teams, not garbage AAC ones.

i only care about FFs and NCs

Yeah that Cincinnati team sure is terrible/crummy/whatever you want to call it. In no way is he "limited to bad" - then again, I realize in your mind everyone and everything is limited to bad so what's the point?

 

[Stainmaster]

My baseline is elite teams, not garbage AAC ones.

i only care about FFs and NCs

Well aren't you a special young man!

 

[eireman]

Well aren't you a special young man!

That's right....i forgot jsm knows cv's ceiling........must be special.......he basks in rarified air....... fool loves attention and will do or say anything for ratings.....must think he's a tv pundit....and besides that he's brilliant, i say brilliant .....i'm surprised pudge hasn't recognized that and commented on it.

 

[JSM1970]

Did you predict T Sam as AA after his play in 2014?

Get a grip and clue

That's right....i forgot jsm knows cv's ceiling...must be special..he basks in rarified air.. fool loves attention and will do or say anything for ratings....and besides that he's brilliant, i say brilliant .....i'm surprised pudge hasn't recognized that and commented on it.