Ideal 2018-19 Roster

[JMick]

For sure, Akinjo committed to UConn because of Ollie but that doesn't mean hurley couldn't have won him back with a good pitch. my sense was he didn't even try. Maybe he likes bigger guards or wanted Adams because he already had a relationship with him. We'll never know what really happened but I do think Akinjo was the better recruit and not by just a little.

Where are you getting this idea that he didn't try? Besides the fact that you completely made it up

 

[Uconnfanatic]

Where are you getting this idea that he didn't try? Besides the fact that you completely made it up

Like I said, we'll probably never know but if he had wanted Akinjo I think we would have heard or seen something. We heard nothing about Akinjo. We know he didn't want Kisunas and didn't seem that interested in Matthews either. He just didn't very interested in any of Ollie's recruits. Maybe that's a misread but that's the impression I get. You are welcome to a different opinion but there is just nothing out there to suggest he wanted any of the three.

 

[JMick]

Like I said, we'll probably never know but if he had wanted Akinjo I think we would have heard or seen something. We heard nothing about Akinjo. We know he didn't want Kisunas and didn't seem that interested in Matthews either. He just didn't very interested in any of Ollie's recruits. Maybe that's a misread but that's the impression I get. You are welcome to a different opinion but there is just nothing out there to suggest he wanted any of the three.

There's literally nothing to suggest he didn't want Akinjo besides the story you've concoted

 

[Robertelamin]

Does this mean no Hami? Just kidding, there is one more scholarship left?

 

[Uconnfanatic]

There's literally nothing to suggest he didn't want Akinjo besides the story you've concoted

Not one statement from Hurley he would still like Akinjo to come to Uconn. He let all the current players know he wanted them to stay. If I had to guess, I would say he let Akinjo go without any effort to re-recruit him to UConn.

 

[3rdbass]

Not one statement from Hurley he would still like Akinjo to come to Uconn. He let all the current players know he wanted them to stay. If I had to guess, I would say he let Akinjo go without any effort to re-recruit him to UConn.

Give it up as this is getting old. Akinjo was attached to the hip of KO. Once he knew he was gone there was little to no chance we could get him here.

 

[Uconnfanatic]

Give it up as this is getting old. Akinjo was attached to the hip of KO. Once he knew he was gone there was little to no chance we could get him here.

That's what you want to believe but you don't know that. Doesn't really matter at this point because Adams is coming and Akinjo is not. The rest is just speculation on both our parts.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Adams, Vital, Wilson, Diarra, Carlton.

Polley, Gilbert, and Cobb/Whaley first ones off the bench

 

[UconnU]

Adams, Vital, Wilson, Diarra, Carlton.

Polley, Gilbert, and Cobb/Whaley first ones off the bench

I think we'll play a lot of 3 guard line ups with a stretch 4 and Carlton/Diarra at the 5. Lineups like Gilbert/CV, Adams, Adams/Smith, Polley/Wilson/Williams, Carlton/Diarra

 

[Jaybo]

Like that we have 5 guards on the roster. Only four if gilberts out. But we can still go three on the floor one on the bench and rotate.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Like that we have 5 guards on the roster. Only four if gilberts out. But we can still go three on the floor one on the bench and rotate.

Polley and wilson will have to get their handle up if they haven’t already. They can take a guard position

 

[Scrutineer]

Haven't we beaten Akinjo to UConn, and then not, enough for this decade? Hurley's the coach and most people on this site seem to have great confidence he was the right hire and will do a great job. So, let him do it.

So many talent evaluators here. Some want the five stars, others want the "under the radar" types, while others want the perfect mix. The good thing is we all, save some possible trolls, want to regain the status UConn had for so long that enabled some to puff out their chests and be as arrogant as the Duke and North Carolina fans. I tried to do it with "quiet" arrogance.

Also, all the comments about how Hurley will be able to get Lecque, Akok, Cockburn, Delaire, Quinones, and all the other highly touted recruits we all hope and wish would come to play for the Huskies makes me think of another word, other than the "insane" someone mentioned.

"Delusional" might be more appropriate. Not that most of us wouldn't want the delusions to become reality, but a bit of reality wouldn't hurt.

Especially if we give credence to some comments from NJ coaches after Hurley's hiring was announced. While we all got excited about the buzz created by his hiring, the optimism about a new regime, the terrific coaching staff he's assembled, etc., one coach stated pretty clearly his kids "are interested in the league more than the school".

Hype is everything to so many today and let's face it, ESPN doesn't hype the AAC. They are all ACC, some Big 12, B1G and SEC and, courtesy of Walton, there is still some talk about the "conference of champions".

Best case scenario is: Hurley really did hope someday he could be UConn's head coach; his focus on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic is meant to capture recruits whose elders and the recruits themselves recall UConn's national dominance over the last thirty years and felt some pride for the region as a result of UConn's successes; and he's able to communicate his passion to those recruits and get them to want to give a rebirth to the 1990-2014 era.

But, hey, everyone here's a fan and being fanatic and delusional may just be the answer to getting the recruits excited about playing in front of such an enthusiastic fan base.

 

[UConnDan97]

Adams, Vital, Wilson, Diarra, Carlton.

Polley, Gilbert, and Cobb/Whaley first ones off the bench

I've gotta believe that if Gilbert is healthy, Adams will go back to the 2 and Gilbert will run the point. I agree with the rest...

 

[UConnSwag11]

I've gotta believe that if Gilbert is healthy, Adams will go back to the 2 and Gilbert will run the point. I agree with the rest...

Adams hasn’t shown that he has a jumper. I mean, I agree he can play the 2 but we can’t have a 2 with no perimeter game. Also if those two are starting who with come in off the bench?

 

[CallMeBruce]

For sure, Akinjo committed to UConn because of Ollie but that doesn't mean hurley couldn't have won him back with a good pitch. my sense was he didn't even try. Maybe he likes bigger guards or wanted Adams because he already had a relationship with him. We'll never know what really happened but I do think Akinjo was the better recruit and not by just a little.

I'm curious, is your "sense" based on anything real? Akinjo wasn't coming here once Ollie was fired. There was nothing that Hurley could have done to change that.

 

[UConnDan97]

Adams hasn’t shown that he has a jumper. I mean, I agree he can play the 2 but we can’t have a 2 with no perimeter game. Also if those two are starting who with come in off the bench?

This is the problem with impressions. You may have the impression that Vital is the better 3-point shooter. He's not.

Last year, Jalen was 32.5% from three versus Christian's 31.8%. Not a big difference, but one that is in Jalen's favor. He was also 43.0% from 2 versus Christian's 38.3%. And all of that was while he was the focus of the opposing defense and after he played the entire game every game.

I love Christian, but I'll take Jalen over him at the 2 every day and twice on Sundays...

 

[YoungFree]

For the yard basketball experts; does it seem like we are headed towards;

For 2018: B. Adams and grad transfers T. Smith and the St Johns kid.

For 2019: Leque (spelling), Mulcahy, Delaire and Cockburn or Akok?

Still think we are dreaming about Lecque...

 

[Matt1010]

This is the problem with impressions. You may have the impression that Vital is the better 3-point shooter. He's not.

Last year, Jalen was 32.5% from three versus Christian's 31.8%. Not a big difference, but one that is in Jalen's favor. He was also 43.0% from 2 versus Christian's 38.3%. And all of that was while he was the focus of the opposing defense and after he played the entire game every game.

I love Christian, but I'll take Jalen over him at the 2 every day and twice on Sundays...

I agree that I'd take Jalen over Vital if forced to pick (fortunately we have both), but your facts are off base. Jalen did shoot better on 3 PT FG attempts but Vital shot slightly better on 2 PT FG attempts and Vital shot better on FT attempts. Vital finished with a 54.8 True Shooting Percentage (accounts for all three of the above mentioned) compared to 51.1% from Jalen.

I expect both guys to show major improvement this year from a percentage standpoint since they will be playing in a more structured offense with less hero ball.

 

[UConnDan97]

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I agree that I'd take Jalen over Vital if forced to pick (fortunately we have both), but your facts are off base. Jalen did shoot better on 3 PT FG attempts but Vital shot slightly better on 2 PT FG attempts and Vital shot better on FT attempts. Vital finished with a 54.8 True Shooting Percentage (accounts for all three of the above mentioned) compared to 51.1% from Jalen.

I expect both guys to show major improvement this year from a percentage standpoint since they will be playing in a more structured offense with less hero ball.

Yup, looks like I got Christian's overall percentage rather than 2pt percentage, although there again Jalen is the better shooter (.430 vs .383).

Like you said, both should improve next year (I hope), mostly because we should have better depth and experience, and hopefully Jalen will actually be able to take a 1-minute rest every now and then...

 

[Exit 4]

Still think we are dreaming about Lecque...

Get the other three to publicly commit and then lets see how it goes next fall. If the others commit, the momentum might be compelling.

 

[YoungFree]

Maybe 20 is optimistic but I don't think it's unreachable...even going 18-12 would be a noticeable improvement.

I'll take 18-12 every day of the week compared to the last two years.

 

[InKembaITrust]

View attachment 30736

I agree that I'd take Jalen over Vital if forced to pick (fortunately we have both), but your facts are off base. Jalen did shoot better on 3 PT FG attempts but Vital shot slightly better on 2 PT FG attempts and Vital shot better on FT attempts. Vital finished with a 54.8 True Shooting Percentage (accounts for all three of the above mentioned) compared to 51.1% from Jalen.

I expect both guys to show major improvement this year from a percentage standpoint since they will be playing in a more structured offense with less hero ball.

I expect Jalen to double his FTA per game next season. Needs to take a page out of CV's book and go to the hole harder looking for contact. He's athletic enough and has great body control to convert a lot of contact into And-1's.

Sure feels like he avoided a lot of contact this past season in fear of getting hurt. Coaching staff knew how valuable he was to the team and were probably in his ear about avoiding injuries at all cost. Not an excuse anymore and I expect Hurley to push him to create more contact.

Shabazz's senior year he was averaging around 6 FTA per game. Would like to see Jalen take some onerous and do the same...

 

[YoungFree]

Why arent you sold on delaire? Hes state POY.

Lack of elite athleticism?

I get it he is state POY but the few tapes I saw weren't impressive compared to say Lecque. I am sold on him in the sense that I'll take him over other folks but compared to Lecque, I'd rather spend the time pursuing Lecque.

 

[JMick]

I get it he is state POY but the few tapes I saw weren't impressive compared to say Lecque. I am sold on him in the sense that I'll take him over other folks but compared to Lecque, I'd rather spend the time pursuing Lecque.

They play completely different positions

 

[ZenConn]

Maybe 20 is optimistic but I don't think it's unreachable...even going 18-12 would be a noticeable improvement.

I agree. I'm optimistic with 20+ wins. I think 18 to 20 wins is more reasonable.

Looking back at last years scores, there's 3 losses decided by less than 5 points (forgive me if I miscounted). There were also 5 losses decided by 10 or less points. If we can snag half of those games with better coaching, experience and depth, we're looking at 18 wins. If we get better defensively and limit a handful of players going off on us, that might give us an extra win or two. I'd be interested to see if we'd still see blowouts though.