Is Solo Ball joining UConn teammates on path to the NBA?

[Huskyforlife]

I think Hurley would spit out his Bai if you told him Solo didn't have a finishing problem.

 

[auror]

Last year his finishing problem was accuracy. This year it's his number of rim attempts for his minutes. Related but separate issue.

 

[Umami Zen]

Solo is taking the shots that his coaches want him to and what the offensive sets are designed to provide for him. At a very high percentage. The next level of his development is working on the improvisational part of his game when the offense breaks down and/or when the defense breaks down on an obvious coverage/rotation mistake. His spacing on the perimeter allows the lane to be open for others. Since Maui-I'd say its been working pretty good for us.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He was doing a pretty good job with contact rebounding in the DePaul game. It was the first game that I felt his timing was decent as to when to stay with his player and when to leave and help out with rebounding.

His lateral and backwards movement was significantly improved as well on defense. For the most part he stayed in front of his player. He just has to improve on his timing on the up and under fakes and learn how to body the players making it more difficult to drive on him. There is a long way to go in this season before I can proclaim what his NBA chances will be.

Yeah, I think he's absolutely working on this stuff. He became a really good shooter. Ok, now do those other things, as Hurley said. I think he's a worker, I'm sure he's working on defense, rebounding, ball handling and attacking the rim.

 

[Kembacity]

These guys are basketball players on full rides to the best college basketball team in the nation? What are you on about here? Layups are hard now?

PS, I’ve played basketball for 20 years and was on a club team in college. I understand how to play. And yeah, I get disappointed when a guy like Solo misses repeatedly at the rim, sue me.

Oooooh everyone’s VERY impressed

Have you considered submitting an application to join the coaching staff?

 

[Kembacity]

Solo Ball is shooting 60% on shots at the rim this year, he is certainly not struggling in that area, even if it's a small sample of his shots

Nope, he missed some shots so clearly he stinks at basketball and 45 year old dudes could do better.

I was watching the Celtics vs Wolves last night. In the last minute Edwards got a wide open drive to the hoop, layup rolled off the side of the rim. I guess he completely stinks and he’ll be jobless by June. Or, it’s impossible to make every shot

 

[ctbro1999]

Yep, I don't think his height will be detrimental to him. His arms are really long and he has huge hands.

View attachment 105929

Lol holy crap, his fingers almost go down to his knees!

 

[ctbro1999]

I really hope next game Solo pump fakes a guy into the 3rd row and then drives and completely posterizes someone on a huge dunk so people can stop arguing about whether he's a good finisher at the rim or not.

 

[IndyLives]

If Solo listens to Danny, he's a lottery pick next year. The kid wants the ball and is a natural scorer. Just needs another year of development. But, I think he has more upside than Karaban at the next level.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Oooooh everyone’s VERY impressed

Have you considered submitting an application to join the coaching staff?

You made a stupid statement originally, now you’re just being a jerk. Good stuff my man.

 

[gtcam]

Ball, if he reaches the next level will be a 1 or 2. Does he have the handle to do this at this point? Does he grab those rebounds and is in there fighting for those rebounds? If he can't get a 3 off, is he looking to make a move and drive to the hoop?
Castle may have been suspect with his outside shooting, but he could clamp down on D and he could drive to the hoop. Cam, Newton- both were more than one dimensional.
When Ball works on these things next season at UConn, perhaps we can talk playing at the next level.
He can shoot the 3 for sure but just doing that is not going to make it, CV was/is a more complete player and he can't sniff the league.

I really hope next game Solo pump fakes a guy into the 3rd row and then drives and completely posterizes someone on a huge dunk so people can stop arguing about whether he's a good finisher at the rim or not.

If he does I will he elated but he needs to do that on a consistent basis - one time does not make anyone sure that it can happen again.

 

[dennismenace]

Man, it's cray just how good our team was last year. Our starting 5 (Newton, Spencer, Castle, Karaban, Clingan) all ranked in the top 20 overall on Evanmiya.com, and Clingan, Newton, and Spencer were top 7. Diarra was 43rd for good measure.

This year Evanmiya's rankings aren't nearly as kind...only Diarra and Karaban are top 50 (47th, 49th). McNeeley is 52nd and no one else in the top 100.

Uconn being disrespected again? Bring it on. Bulletin board. Our guys look good because they are a team more than anything else. Run you silly on offense. The defense has become a priority to the staff. "Better get us now".

 

[dennismenace]

He is though, we all watch the games.

Driving and finishing is not a part of his game at this point. I don't remember a single attack of the rim for a dunk in the halfcourt so he's basically getting about two shots at the rim per game and he makes about one of them a game.

I liked that he drove some yesterday even though it didn't go too well.

I think he will be fine when he learns how to harness his gifts of speed and leaping. He has off the charts athleticism and is quickly developing into a deadly distance shooter. This is just the midpoint of his second season. Give the kid a break and a little patience. His facial expressions on the floor show that he cares and is trying. He could be gone after this year if he finishes strong just based on potential alone. So maybe year three at Uconn or the G league. Let's watch the kid grow. I don't find him to be nearly as frustrating as "the Ferrari." Having Kimani on our bench a huge plus for perfect balance with DH. Remember how this worked out with Hawkins. And think what DH and Kimani
et al can do with the tribe of warriors coming next year.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Wrote the following about Solo an hour ago:

This season he's an integral part of the offense. They have him running around the court, setting picks for him to free him up. It appears they are now pushing Solo to drive to the basket and not worry about getting blocked. He did this more in this game than any I can recall. He failed at every attempt but it's obvious, at least to me, they never told him to stop. I believe once he gets proficient at this they'll work on his playmaking.

Now that hes going to the basket thats a good start hes not worried about getting blocked. Next he has to get the mentallity that hes going to throw it down hard so no one can block it. When he gets that aggression in his game he can really be something special on the court.

 

[uconnfan68]

I think this is part of the perception we have. We see that muscular, body, we know he has great hops, and long arms, so naturally when he attacks the rim we kind of expect Dwayne Wade. We expect him to get up and posterize guys, even bigger guys.

The only thing I can come back to on that also ties into his relative lack of rebounding, I don't think he likes contact very much. Strength aside, he's just not a very physical player.

I want Dr J.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yeah I don't see his great jumping ability in the game too. Sometimes dunks look fugly like he isn't getting proper lift.

He’s had a couple highlight reel putback dunks.

 

[3rdbass]

He’s had a couple highlight reel putback dunks.

Alot of his dunks are due to his long reach and not his ups even though he seems have them. Jordan Hawkins showed them off it seemed more.

Jordan Hawkins unleashes another thunderous jam for UConn - ESPN Video

Jordan Hawkins lights up the Gampel Pavilion once again with this majestic one-handed slam.

www.espn.ph

 

[imno1]

I believe Solo will get drafted just not this year.

If Solo listens to Danny, he's a lottery pick next year. The kid wants the ball and is a natural scorer. Just needs another year of development. But, I think he has more upside than Karaban at the next level.

i love you enthusiasm and I‘m a Ball guy but I cannot realistically see Solo becoming a lottery pick.

 

[dennismenace]

Solo is taking the shots that his coaches want him to and what the offensive sets are designed to provide for him. At a very high percentage. The next level of his development is working on the improvisational part of his game when the offense breaks down and/or when the defense breaks down on an obvious coverage/rotation mistake. His spacing on the perimeter allows the lane to be open for others. Since Maui-I'd say its been working pretty good for us.

Very good reminder on how our offense is very much designed (and really enjoyable to watch). Very much team oriented and not one on one stuff unless the percentages are there. Coaches are excellent at breaking down defenses.

 

[RuffRuff]

I believe Solo will get drafted just not this year.

i love you enthusiasm and I‘m a Ball guy but I cannot realistically see Solo becoming a lottery pick.

It’s hard to say that now as his development upside is impossible to gauge. What we know is he has an amazing shot (great start), he’s got terrific length and a great frame. What he’s not is tall, and not as explosive as his body type would suggest. One offseason of getting stronger and working on the floor game could do things that are hard to see now.

He tends to feel a little aloof, but who knows, with a full year and offseason to let it sink in, maybe that develops. It feels like 8-9lbs of muscle could help as his long game will be more about strength than quickness. He doesn’t have particularly quick feet.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Interesting takes on this player. By the end of next year Ball will be a better than average defender have some ability to get to the rim and either make a shot or draw a foul.

When that all happens my guess is that his three point % may drop a bit because he is going to have to sell out in the off season and work on ball handling, which will allow him to penetrate and the easiest fix is his defense. He is too athletic to be such a bad defender. He loses his man and has trouble with the whole ball, you, man pillars of man to man defense. That can be fixed but he will have to show the effort.

If he can make all those things happen and still hit 3’s at a 40% clip and make the big ones, I think he has a chance to be a first round pick. Right now he is shooting 44.7% from 3 on 85 attempts. Sample size gets much larger and it would be tough to make an argument that he is just hot. To me he looks like a pure shooter.

May be a better pure shooter than Hawkins. And we know Hawkins was very streaky.

As I was researching Ball’s stats I saw that AK is shooting 42% from 3. He is so good he is shooting that percentage from 3 and if you would have asked me to evaluate him I would say he is having an average year shooting the ball.

 

[mauconnfan]

Interesting takes on this player. By the end of next year Ball will be a better than average defender have some ability to get to the rim and either make a shot or draw a foul.

When that all happens my guess is that his three point % may drop a bit because he is going to have to sell out in the off season and work on ball handling, which will allow him to penetrate and the easiest fix is his defense. He is too athletic to be such a bad defender. He loses his man and has trouble with the whole ball, you, man pillars of man to man defense. That can be fixed but he will have to show the effort.

If he can make all those things happen and still hit 3’s at a 40% clip and make the big ones, I think he has a chance to be a first round pick. Right now he is shooting 44.7% from 3 on 85 attempts. Sample size gets much larger and it would be tough to make an argument that he is just hot. To me he looks like a pure shooter.

May be a better pure shooter than Hawkins. And we know Hawkins was very streaky.

As I was researching Ball’s stats I saw that AK is shooting 42% from 3. He is so good he is shooting that percentage from 3 and if you would have asked me to evaluate him I would say he is having an average year shooting the ball.

His defense hadn’t shown any improvement at all. He got beat badly 3-4 times off the dribble against DePaul and also sent a few to the FT line. He needs to make shots to make up for what he gives on the other end. Good news is he makes shots, big shots too. He’s always on his heels needs to be more ready instead of consistently back pedaling and also leave some space as his first reaction step is slow. Way too athletic not to get better but it needs to happen soon. Loved the 6 rebounds the other day he stuck his nose in more than prior and that’s a great sign.

 

[Hunt for 7]

His defense hadn’t shown any improvement at all. He got beat badly 3-4 times off the dribble against DePaul and also sent a few to the FT line. He needs to make shots to make up for what he gives on the other end. Good news is he makes shots, big shots too. He’s always on his heels needs to be more ready instead of consistently back pedaling and also leave some space as his first reaction step is slow. Way too athletic not to get better but it needs to happen soon. Loved the 6 rebounds the other day he stuck his nose in more than prior and that’s a great sign.

I think Danny will get him to improve defensively. And now without Liam for a month Ball is going to have to step up. Stewart is going to have to step up. And dare I say this may an opportunity for Nowell. We are going to need ball handlers and there are only so many minutes Mahaney can play before his size and defensive short comings start being a problem.

 

[mauconnfan]

I think Danny will get him to improve defensively. And now without Liam for a month Ball is going to have to step up. Stewart is going to have to step up. And dare I say this may an opportunity for Nowell. We are going to need ball handlers and there are only so many minutes Mahaney can play before his size and defensive short comings start being a problem.

Nowell as well as Abraham may get some chances to earn more PT. Their depth will need to be real good now or a couple guys a game will need to step up. We could struggle in the half court against good defensive teams especially if Alex and Solo aren’t making shots. Mahaney needs to be good and be the guy Dan expected.