I'm not saying we're going to win the Natty | The Boneyard

I'm not saying we're going to win the Natty

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nadavtheman

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But what I am saying is that with the addition of two 6'7" shooters as practice players I am echoing Dan Hurley's comments that we have the deepest, most talented and most competitive roster that we've had in many years. Stud nucleus of Adama/Ajax/Hawk, three impact transfers, 2 frosh who should contribute immediately, and solid bench players. Richie Springs and Joey C would be playing for most other BE teams and they may not see the floor here. No one thought we were winning the Natty going into 2011 or 2014. Should be a fun year however it plays out. Let's all enjoy the ride. Just saying.
 
nadavtheman said:
But what I am saying is that with the addition of two 6'7" shooters as practice players I am echoing Dan Hurley's comments that we have the deepest, most talented and most competitive roster that we've had in many years. Stud nucleus of Adama/Ajax/Hawk, three impact transfers, 2 frosh who should contribute immediately, and solid bench players. Richie Springs and Joey C would be playing for most other BE teams and they may not see the floor here. No one thought we were winning the Natty going into 2011 or 2014. Should be a fun year however it plays out. Let's all enjoy the ride. Just saying.
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Show me a Kemba or Bazz and we’ll talk. It’s an issue of court smarts, who fills that role?
 
jibsey said:
Show me a Kemba or Bazz and we’ll talk. It’s an issue of court smarts, who fills that role?
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077CA7D2-DADC-4519-BAC1-F003A5A66590.jpeg
 
I'm excited about the season as well but I'm not content until I see us win and win convincingly. And atleast can we make the darn sweet 16 if nothing else. NIT and NCAA 1st rnd exits have to be a thing of the past.
 
navery12 said:
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I hope so. I think the difference, for me, is that the season before both kemba and bazz took the natty mantle, I saw real Alpha performances. Not that you're claiming Natty this year. But I think with AJax and Hawk that we are "hoping" they become something great based on projection, build, basketball smarts, body weight and all the other metrics. they haven't instilled a knowing confidence in me yet, from what I've seen (which is every game they've played)
 
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uconnever said:
We don’t have one thing for me. That guy that can consistently get a shot who is battle tested. Ben Gordon, Shabazz, Kemba, Rip. That one super stud. If we had Bouknight, then we could talk titles. We’re good but not there YET.
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We need Hawk to develop into that guy
 
I think our success was always based on team cohesion and fundamentals. Less flash and more toughness with role players stepping up when called for. Loved seeing our guys at Rucker too back in the day battling it out.
 
jibsey said:
Show me a Kemba or Bazz and we’ll talk. It’s an issue of court smarts, who fills that role?
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All our NC had a leader at the point
As great a 2004 was with Emeka and Ben . Talik was the leader of that team . So the guy running the team translating the coaches plan to the floor is critical to its ultimate success.
Can an outsider ,Newton , assume that floor leadership or does Jackson ?
Successful teams rarely have ambiguity of leadership.
Every team goes into a year with questions , even 1999,and 2004 ,having them is normal,How and by whom their answered is part of the excitement
That’s why I can’t wait. Each year is like a new movie with multiple possibilities for endings.
 
At this point, I would say a Sweet Sixteen this season would be considered a success. There's a LOT of unknowns. I'd say the only confident assumptions are that Sanogo will be a monster, Andre will refine his game even further, and Newton will be a solid scorer.

Listing some unknowns off the top of my head - can Hawkins be a consistent 15+ PPG takeover scorer like we think? Will Newton just be a solid scorer behind Sanogo or will he be able to take over the offense when needed like at ECU? Will Andre and Sanogo be able to shoot like the offseason videos suggest? Did Samson develop enough to be a serviceable BE starting PF? Will Karaban and/or Clingan produce year 1 or will they need a year to get accustomed to college? Are Diarra/Alleyne/Calcaterra going to be powerful bench pieces, or are they going to be Polley/Gaffney/Hawkins v2 (for what it's worth, I think this is the least unknown part of the unknowns. They should be much better). Who's going to replace the absolute DOG from RJ/Tyrese? And most importantly of all, how is Dan Hurley going to design and implement his new 5 out offense?

If we hit on 50% of those, which we should, I'd say we can be a Sweet Sixteen team. If we hit on more, we're going to be very dangerous. The talent level on the roster is the highest we've seen in a while, and I think there's realistically 3-4 guys that can go pro.

Should be a fun season. I really am excited to see how they play at the PKI
 
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uconngb said:
We need Hawk to develop into that guy
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His handle was at times so shaky last year, almost like he was a year behind in that department. Really hope he's been able to clean that up. His defense had really come along at the end of last season as well. I feel like the Ajax/Hawk 1-2 punch in the backcourt will be nightmarish for most teams in the same way Kemba/Lamb and Bazz/Boatright were when they made their runs.
 
With Dan Hurley, right now, let's start with winning first game and then we can worry about the rest.
 
Taking guys off the dribble and scoring at the end of shot clock and end of game situations when we need a bucket is what concerns me. Yeah we could set up a play for Sanogo or Hawkins, but when/if that play breaks down.... Newton seems like the obvious choice. AJax could create for others but has not really shown an ability to score with the ball in his hands off the dribble in the half court. Diarra may have that ability but he will be a backup most likely. Seems like Newton replaces Cole in this area but we are not deep with options. With that said, I am really optomistic about this season. 4 out, more perimeter oriented with plenty of shooters. Yes please. Music to my ears. Been waiting for this kind of change and am excited to see how it looks.
 
I’m gonna need to see high level shot creation from guys like Jackson/Hawkins before I start thinking about national championships. Newton is gonna carry a heavy load in that regard, but championship rosters normally have at least a couple guys of that caliber(think Bazz/Boat, Kemba/Bazz). Have no doubt our defensive personnel is elite, roster is built with more spacing in mind, so I’d like to say we have a high floor.
 
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Kenny11 said:
I’m not saying we’re going to win the natty, but I’m also not saying we’re not going to win the natty
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one game at a time, that’s how tiafoe made it to the us open final four. queens all day
 
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Can we stop pretending that Joey C isn’t going to play. He’s going to dominate
 
Jaydumo20 said:
I hope so. I think the difference, for me, is that the season before both kemba and bazz took the natty mantle, I saw real Alpha performances. Not that you're claiming Natty this year. But I think with AJax and Hawk that we are "hoping" they become something great based on projection, build, basketball smarts, body weight and all the other metrics. they haven't instilled a knowing confidence in me yet, from what I've seen (which is every game they've played)
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If the question was who can take a big shot at the end of a game I'd agree, that's probably not going to be Jackson. I think that'll be Newton or hopefully Hawkins if he becomes the player we all hope. But the question was who on this team has shown court smarts and I think Andre has shown that plenty of times, it's part of what makes him so unique and great
 
Andre is the shot clock winding down guy? If Hawk got stronger and more assertive he actually has the shooting ability skill to do it. If he does he becomes a lottery pick.
 
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jibsey said:
Andre is the shot clock winding down guy? If Hawk got stronger and more assertive he actually has the shooting ability skill to do it. If he does he becomes a lottery pick.
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Try reading again, I said he's NOT the end of shot clock guy. You asked who on this team has the court smarts like Kemba and Bazz
 
navery12 said:
Try reading again, I said he's NOT the end of shot clock guy. You asked who on this team has the court smarts like Kemba and Bazz
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It's the court smarts, and even more importantly perhaps, it's the leadership. It's the 'I'm going to put this team on my back, we are all going to do this together, winning is the only way we're leaving this floor.'

Having the whole team believing this together, owning that swagger, following the will and the playmaking of a Bazz and a Kemba, and now, the way things look, it's Andre's turn to try and master this leadership. He has put himself there thru his hard work and his actions. His leadership is the core of this team's overall chemistry, and if his on the court play lines up with his follow my example leadership then we will be in for one helluva ride this season. If Andre plays himself onto 1rst or 2nd team All BIG EAST look out. Surely we will be very near the top of the college basketball standings.

It's not all about Andre, and I'm not trying to say it is. We are the sum of our parts; this team is very talented, and the team is structured very well with two or three proven scorers, several players who can shoot the ball, a cast of older and veteran players, and very good depth at all positions. So many players have to rise and play at a high level, the in-game coaching has to be excellent, but if the team chemistry is extremely solid, and that seems to start with Andre this year, then we will be serious contenders. Bleed Blue!
 
Son of Robert said:
It's the court smarts, and even more importantly perhaps, it's the leadership. It's the 'I'm going to put this team on my back, we are all going to do this together, winning is the only way we're leaving this floor.'

Having the whole team believing this together, owning that swagger, following the will and the playmaking of a Bazz and a Kemba, and now, the way things look, it's Andre's turn to try and master this leadership. He has put himself there thru his hard work and his actions. His leadership is the core of this team's overall chemistry, and if his on the court play lines up with his follow my example leadership then we will be in for one helluva ride this season. If Andre plays himself onto 1rst or 2nd team All BIG EAST look out. Surely we will be very near the top of the college basketball standings.

It's not all about Andre, and I'm not trying to say it is. We are the sum of our parts; this team is very talented, and the team is structured very well with two or three proven scorers, several players who can shoot the ball, a cast of older and veteran players, and very good depth at all positions. So many players have to rise and play at a high level, the in-game coaching has to be excellent, but if the team chemistry is extremely solid, and that seems to start with Andre this year, then we will be serious contenders. Bleed Blue!
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I have no idea how we’re going to be. We’ve got a lot of really interesting pieces. With all the new faces, I feel like it is not going to be all that easy to get everyone in sync, at least at the start of the season. I’m looking forward to it.
 
navery12 said:
Try reading again, I said he's NOT the end of shot clock guy. You asked who on this team has the court smarts like Kemba and Bazz
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Correct if he doesn't have the shot it's academic. Hawkins has the shot but not the smarts that we've seen so far. Newton we gotta see what he brings but he will he creating the play so it's likely him?
 
Well, here are the Caesars odds for every Big East team winning the whole thing:

2E4A93B4-85BC-4C83-B8C0-5A6B4CC801B6.jpeg
 
nadavtheman said:
But what I am saying is that with the addition of two 6'7" shooters as practice players I am echoing Dan Hurley's comments that we have the deepest, most talented and most competitive roster that we've had in many years. Stud nucleus of Adama/Ajax/Hawk, three impact transfers, 2 frosh who should contribute immediately, and solid bench players. Richie Springs and Joey C would be playing for most other BE teams and they may not see the floor here. No one thought we were winning the Natty going into 2011 or 2014. Should be a fun year however it plays out. Let's all enjoy the ride. Just saying.
Expand ...
I have no idea what we have with this group. I don’t think you have any more of an idea. It doesn’t matter as long as the coaches do!

I really hope Newton and Alleyne can settle down our backcourt, handle the ball and run our offense. I really don’t think having AJax or Hawk handle the ball regularly is a recipe for success.
 
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