Isaiah Whaley is back!, thread cleaned up

[UConnMike04]

Huge news! Makes the front court a lot better next year and takes pressure off everyone else.

 

[superjohn]

We don't need anymore front court help now. Whaley, Sanogo, Akok, Samson, and whatever Springs brings is a top 15 front court. Staff needs to focus all their energy on bringing in 2 more stud shooters. Diggins, Jackson, and Cole are great passers, they just need shooters around them to actually take advantage of that.

Top 5 frontcourt and will lead the country in blocks. As you say time for a shooter or two.

 

[Huskyforlife]

i agree but dont see why polley would want to return as the 3rd string SF and 3rd string PF

His other options probably aren't very enticing. I also don't think it's a given he'd be third string, especially considering how badly we need shooting.

 

[Goatmeat]

This is good news. We still need shooters. thankfully he does not take up a scholarship spot. we still need so much more than this to get out of the round of 64. This news, as exciting as some think it is, does not change the trajectory of our season in any way. I wish Isaiah the best of luck though!

 

[coachn]

Expected Whalley back and dam gla0 to see it happen.

 

[navery12]

His other options probably aren't very enticing. I also don't think it's a given he'd be third string, especially considering how badly we need shooting.

I do think there's still a chance he comes back but the minutes at the 4 are pretty locked up with Whaley/Akok/Springs and with Martin/Jackson at the 3 not sure how many are available there. Tough to see the minutes, but I'd love to have him back as an option off the bench

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Best News of the week!!! Hell Yeah Brother!!!!!!!! Almost good enough to make me forget about the sorry Mets first game. Almost!!

 

[imno1]

Whaley's coming back and bringing a jump shot with him

 

[superjohn]

i wish he were good enough to be our starting SF but he's just not that guy. already looking like we're going to have the same problem as last year given the lack of shooting in the frontcourt:

SF- aj/martin
PF- whaley/akok
C- sanogo/springs/johnson

having such bad shooters at the SF spot in particular really handcuffs the offense

I choose to look at having a top 5 frontcourt as a distinct advantage we should exploit.

 

[bendm]

I choose to look at having a top 5 frontcourt as a distinct advantage we should exploit.

frontcourt got better and backcourt got worse (we're prob not getting anyone close to bouk)

so overall is that a net positive, negative, or break even compared to last year?

 

[superjohn]

frontcourt got better and backcourt got worse (we're prob not getting anyone close to bouk)

so overall is that a net positive, negative, or break even?

That's not how it works, we'll be far more talented than we were this year and hopefully without all the headaches.

 

[bendm]

That's not how it works, we'll be far more talented than we were this year and hopefully without all the headaches.

i am comparing the backcourt talent and we lost our most talented player by a federal mile. i think we were better with a nba lotto pick playing 30 mpg than we will be with some combination of cole and gaff and 2 froshes taking those mins. i'd rather have quality over quantity.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's not how it works, we'll be far more talented than we were this year and hopefully without all the headaches.

People sometimes ignore fit. Johnson for Josh is a better fit. Healthy Akok is hugely important, and I think his shooting will be good enough. The roster better fits what Dan runs. I also think he learned from mistakes last year and will find ways to play small ball teams without giving away our advantage up front.

I still expect transfers too. A shooter sure, but a bench combo guard wouldn’t hurt to replace Adams. I still think Tyler Kolek would be a good fit.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

That's not how it works, we'll be far more talented than we were this year and hopefully without all the headaches.

Agree that the overall talent level might be higher. I still think, beyond shooting, that the absence of a guy who can manufacture buckets is cause for concern. Maybe Hawkins is ahead of schedule in that regard, but I don't think he'll be at freshman year Bouknight's level.

 

[superjohn]

i am comparing the talent and we lost our most talented player by a federal mile. i think we were better with a nba lotto pick playing 30 mpg than we will be with some combination of cole and gaff and 2 froshes taking those mins. i'd rather have quality over quantity.

It was Cole, Jackson, Martin, and Sanogo's first time playing together. Jackson was hurt during preseason and the season which greatly hurt his development and chemistry. Akok basically had a redshirt year. We're adding the 46th, 49th, and 70th ranked recruits in the country. We'll most likely be adding one more shooter. And the most important thing is players don't tend to stay stagnant, they improve from season to season. Hurley is building something and the team will continue to be more in his image.

 

[aburks41]

i am comparing the backcourt talent and we lost our most talented player by a federal mile. i think we were better with a nba lotto pick playing 30 mpg than we will be with some combination of cole and gaff and 2 froshes taking those mins. i'd rather have quality over quantity.

We don't need to replace Bouknight with another Bouknight. We're effectively replacing his production with a top 10 recruiting class, an improved Jackson (and everyone else), a healthy Akok. This team will so much better next season

 

[Peacefrog]

Agree that the overall talent level might be higher. I still think, beyond shooting, that the absence of a guy who can manufacture buckets is cause for concern. Maybe Hawkins is ahead of schedule in that regard, but I don't think he'll be at freshman year Bouknight's level.

In just before me on this point Big Earn. I really wanted Whaley back; this cements the frontcourt depth. Huge plus going into next season. Clearly we still need a very good shooter but it seems we also need a creator. The offense was painful to watch much of the time Bouk was out because nobody could create their own shot. Cole can't get past most better defenders. Gaffney has shown some flashes but I'm not sure his handle will allow him to do it either. Jackson? He might be able to break his guy down but beyond put-bank dunks he's not much of a threat to shoot once he beats his guy. I haven't heard that this has been a big part of Hawkins' game to this point. Locke, Polley et al would provide the outside shooting we need. I'd like to see someone added that can break the defense down. Just give me a Ben Gordon-type, no big whoop.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

We don't need to replace Bouknight with another Bouknight. We're effectively replacing his production with a top 10 recruiting class, an improved Jackson (and everyone else), a healthy Akok. This team will so much better next season

Replacing stats is one thing, but every really good UConn team has a guy who can manufacture offense when nothing else is working. I don't know who that is next year. Not the end of the world but I think it sort of misses the boat to just assume we're replacing his production with incremental improvements from Jackson and Akok and the addition of the freshmen. The way in which he could produce matters too.

 

[August_West]

Replacing stats is one thing, but every really good UConn team has a guy who can manufacture offense when nothing else is working. I don't know who that is next year. Not the end of the world but I think it sort of misses the boat to just assume we're replacing his production with incremental improvements from Jackson and Akok and the addition of the freshmen. The way in which he could produce matters too.

I love AJ athleticism, and his court vision. Decent defender when he’s not fouling too. I have a hard time dreaming my way into him becoming an effective outside shooter next year, or even getting to the rim. He showed me nothing on those fronts this year. Unfortunately while you expect improvement on all aspects from frosh to soph years, I don’t know how you improve on skill sets that simply don’t currently exist.

 

[SubbaBub]

Corrected your typo.

Whoever can shoot 3s above 35% gets the playing time

 

[gsmooth]

No, I don't feel that way, since he was better in every single offensive statistical category except field goal percentage last year (on 3 more FGA per game), and he started taking and making threes once in awhile as well.

maybe you are looking at some advanced stats, I don't know. But his FT is 25% and his FG% is down 6% and he missed a lot more bunnies and putbacks this year according to my eye test FWIW. His 15 footer was more reliable last year, too, but yes his 3 point shooting is a nice added dimension. Hopefully he keeps improving that.

 

[BlueDogs]

Great to have IW back. Still need some scorers and shooters.

 

[Staven]

Great news! Definitely a fan favorite and a player that leaves everything on the floor every game. How do you not love this kid!

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I do think there's still a chance he comes back but the minutes at the 4 are pretty locked up with Whaley/Akok/Springs and with Martin/Jackson at the 3 not sure how many are available there. Tough to see the minutes, but I'd love to have him back as an option off the bench

Do we really have a clue about Akok status.?

 

[navery12]

Do we really have a clue about Akok status.?

I know many here like to complain about Hurley and how he never talked about Akok's status enough, but he always said he'd be back at 100% for next season. 18 month is usually when players are fully back from an Achilles injury so that would be October which seems to line up