J. Adams under Ollie & Hurley

[BPT2Storrs]

We all know that Jalen did not bring his A game today against Villanova, and it's not the first time this season. I remember the last few seasons under Ollie it seemed as if Jalen was the only positive on the team. I remember him carrying the team in games in which we were either getting blown out, or would be blown out had he not been playing. He seemed to play with passion, energy and awareness. He was the best player on the court at times. I started to think to myself last season that if he had a better coach and system, he would thrive, the ability to be the next best player from UConn. When he announced his return for his senior season with Hurley as coach, I had extremely high hopes for him.

I am not sure what's happened this season, but he will show up one game, and be completely absent the next. He seems to get frustrated with his teammates when mistakes are made. He seems to get down on himself when he makes a bad play, misses a shot or doesn't get a call. Could this all stem from Ollie's coaching (or lack thereof) as well as playing on non-competitive teams?

Hurley, like all of us know and believe, has said the Jalen has it in him to be a great player. We saw it the last three seasons; and we still see it at times. I have always believed Adams could be a star. Maybe he just needs some more time under Hurley to get acclimated and adjust to a new coaching staff and playing with new players (Gilbert who was injured, T. Smith, Yawke, B.Adams). Do you think that Hurley will get the best out of Jalen?

 

[ScottBonz]

I disagree. That was Jalens A game....I just don’t think he is that good. He doesn’t shoot the 3 well, he turns the ball over way too often, and he can’t score with his left hand. He is who he is at this point.

 

[husky429]

Jalen is a 23-year-old man. Not a freshman. He needs to get it out of himself.

 

[CTBasketball]

Ollie’s tainted his development and career, but Jalens gotta go get it himself.

 

[8893]

Something something blood, stone...

 

[jdb50]

In a game that mattered or any game at crunch time when is the last time he stepped up? When we play a highly ranked team what happens when the other team plays defense like we think we are so good at playing? Seeing him get the ball ripped away twice today after his Nova performance last year about sums up Jalen.

 

[UConnDad]

If you can't hit open looks at this stage it may never happen. The major difference this year is Jalen must play D. Doesn't seem capable of both ends of the court effort.

 

[jibsey]

I don’t know what Jalen has been doing over the summers to fix the shooting holes in his game but it hasn’t worked. He’s basically a 30% 3 point shooter and his mid range has disappeared. He can drive to the hole, thats it. He’s improved at 1 thing, increasing lazy passes over the middle that get picked off.

 

[CL82]

He can drive to the hole, thats it.

Can he?

 

[dennismenace]

Way too many times in the past years the team would always fall behind by a lot and then make a furious comeback. The hallmarks with him and this team in prior years was inconsistency. Sadly, he looks worse to me than before. He either looks like he is ready to break out into laughter or tears. Hope for everyone's sake including himself he can pull it together for the league schedule.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Waiting for this to be renamed "Jalen Adams Locker Room Bulletin Board Thread."

Anticipating, "It won't make a difference" post.

 

[gtcam]

Let's pull back and take a look at the difference the past few years vs this year
JA was the person who had the ball in his hands 70% of the time in past few years - he was essentially the PG
This year he is not the PG, he is the 2
If you haven't played either position you can't understand the difference
To say KO tainted his development, IMHO, is crap. KO developed him as the 1, not the 2
JA had some absolutely amazing games the past 2 years and if memory serves me correctly, he was 1st team AAC and 2nd team AAC the past two years - if tainted then I'll take that everyday
Yes, JA is not the JA we have seen in the past BUT that is due, to a large percentage, he is adjusting his role and position. JA has always been a PG, in HS, AAU, international comp and in his UConn career prior to this year
I know many will disagree but I think he is most effective when he is running the show.
He could have been more assertive today and in a few other games this year but I don't think he deserves all the comments saying he sucks, etc.
Can he be better? yes

 

[Robertelamin]

Let's pull back and take a look at the difference the past few years vs this year
JA was the person who had the ball in his hands 70% of the time in past few years - he was essentially the PG
This year he is not the PG, he is the 2
If you haven't played either position you can't understand the difference
To say KO tainted his development, IMHO, is crap. KO developed him as the 1, not the 2
JA had some absolutely amazing games the past 2 years and if memory serves me correctly, he was 1st team AAC and 2nd team AAC the past two years - if tainted then I'll take that everyday
Yes, JA is not the JA we have seen in the past BUT that is due, to a large percentage, he is adjusting his role and position. JA has always been a PG, in HS, AAU, international comp and in his UConn career prior to this year
I know many will disagree but I think he is most effective when he is running the show.
He could have been more assertive today and in a few other games this year but I don't think he deserves all the comments saying he sucks, etc.
Can he be better? yes

Honestly I think it’s worth a shot. Jalen hasn’t worked out as the second ball handler so why not have Jalen and AG swap roles.

 

[upstater]

In a game that mattered or any game at crunch time when is the last time he stepped up?

Houston last year. At Houston. Had a big game. But he closed out the season well with good games against Wichita St, Memphis and Temple too.

He also played well against Syracuse and Arizona (good numbers at least), but he clearly is a guy who needs plays run for him. That's the big difference with this year.

 

[superjohn]

He really can't shoot threes, he can't draw fouls, and his body language isn't good. The weirdest thing is he just doesn't look to be in really good shape, and has trouble getting by his man which is something that never used to be the case. He looks like an athlete who has hit the wall athletically. It's sad to see.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Let's pull back and take a look at the difference the past few years vs this year
JA was the person who had the ball in his hands 70% of the time in past few years - he was essentially the PG
This year he is not the PG, he is the 2
If you haven't played either position you can't understand the difference
To say KO tainted his development, IMHO, is crap. KO developed him as the 1, not the 2
JA had some absolutely amazing games the past 2 years and if memory serves me correctly, he was 1st team AAC and 2nd team AAC the past two years - if tainted then I'll take that everyday
Yes, JA is not the JA we have seen in the past BUT that is due, to a large percentage, he is adjusting his role and position. JA has always been a PG, in HS, AAU, international comp and in his UConn career prior to this year
I know many will disagree but I think he is most effective when he is running the show.
He could have been more assertive today and in a few other games this year but I don't think he deserves all the comments saying he sucks, etc.
Can he be better? yes

You it it on the head .
JA is not a two guard. He is totally lost unless it’s a set play.
I cringed when people say he wasn’t a PG but if their right ,he certainly faked it with a weaker cast than we have now.
He had a great year in 2017-18 , 198 assts in 32 games is among the best ever by a UConn PG. That team lost every game he missed with the concussion or was hobbled by the ankle sprain.
As it was he got us to the AAC semifinals with a bad ankle.
He would have had a bunch more last year if anyone on that team could make a shot.
He certainly isn’t a two . In fact Gilbert would be a better two than Jaylen as he can catch and shoot . I think Hurley’s afraid of Gilbert’s size but he is the same size or taller than RB. JA when his head is screwed on has amazing court vision.
I never got the tired thing unless he is ailing he been playing 25-30 minutes a game.Mostly standing around.
Last year in our first 8-9 games he was averaging 41 minutes a game with the ball in his hands on almost every play. A poorly conditioned athlete could never accomplish anything so grueling.
He certainly isn’t engaged this year almost like he is not part of the team rather than this being his team.Thats a coaching challenge.

 

[Excalibur]

Adams looked like he was bought in during the pre-season and first six or so games this year. Since encountering some adversity, he's done a 180. He (or he and Hurley if you want to look at it that way) needs to turn it around soon, because this is a sub-.500 team in conference if Adams isn't engaged and effective.

 

[djct1999]

I disagree. That was Jalens A game....I just don’t think he is that good. He doesn’t shoot the 3 well, he turns the ball over way too often, and he can’t score with his left hand. He is who he is at this point.

This idea that Jalen is some sort of alpha basketball player manifests only here on the boneyard. Simply put, he is an above average college player. Nothing more, nothing less. His development has been minimal and he simply does not have the athletic ability to lead a program or even take over a game versus a high quality opponent. He has a medium floor and a low ceiling. This isn't a knock on Jalen. Its more a harsh reminder of where we are as a program and the fact we need him, ask him, and pretend he is something he is not.

 

[huskyrob1]

I disagree. That was Jalens A game....I just don’t think he is that good. He doesn’t shoot the 3 well, he turns the ball over way too often, and he can’t score with his left hand. He is who he is at this point.

I couldn't agree more, five minutes into the game I was screaming at the TV, "get him out of there". Make HIM sit the whole game, not Cobb. When's the last time Adams had a double double in points and assists? Although I think he has done it in points and turn overs. Lol

 

[spudzj6]

looking at his stat line in the big games this year, its typical Jalen - 3 of 13, 7/8 points, bad assist/to ratio.

I used to love watching Kemba or Shabazz in big games have an off shooting night and still put up 16-20 points. How you might ask? FREE THROWS. Kemba would shoot 2-12 and then get 10-10 from the line, putting up 16 points and leading UConn to a victory. Its absolutely crazy watching JA get nothing from the strip. You see the difference when watching Tarin this year - he's starting to rack up the "and 1s" like crazy. Maybe work with him after hours a bit more?

 

[huskyrob1]

Adams looked like he was bought in during the pre-season and first six or so games this year. Since encountering some adversity, he's done a 180. He (or he and Hurley if you want to look at it that way) needs to turn it around soon, because this is a sub-.500 team in conference if Adams isn't engaged and effective.

I think it's a better team than that with Adams not playing at all, it IS a sub 500 team with him on the court playing like Moms Mabely.

 

[Giddyup5]

Let's pull back and take a look at the difference the past few years vs this year
JA was the person who had the ball in his hands 70% of the time in past few years - he was essentially the PG
This year he is not the PG, he is the 2
If you haven't played either position you can't understand the difference
To say KO tainted his development, IMHO, is crap. KO developed him as the 1, not the 2
JA had some absolutely amazing games the past 2 years and if memory serves me correctly, he was 1st team AAC and 2nd team AAC the past two years - if tainted then I'll take that everyday
Yes, JA is not the JA we have seen in the past BUT that is due, to a large percentage, he is adjusting his role and position. JA has always been a PG, in HS, AAU, international comp and in his UConn career prior to this year
I know many will disagree but I think he is most effective when he is running the show.
He could have been more assertive today and in a few other games this year but I don't think he deserves all the comments saying he sucks, etc.
Can he be better? yes

I think you bring up a interesting concept that Jalen has always been a point guard and always had the ball in his hands. Maybe that explains why he’s playing soo poorly this year compared to last 2 years.

TS is a good player, but I don’t really think the offense is effective when he runs the point with Jalen as a 2 or 3.

Obviously with AG he has to share the duties a little bit.

 

[CL82]

KO developed him as the 1, not the 2

Interesting point. I'd say KO wanted him to be of a 2 but circumstances made him a 1. Still he's not doing much with ball in his hands. Something's up but I have no idea what it is.

 

[Giddyup5]

Tarin Smith has played well for us given his talent level. But with him and AG predominantly running point Jalen is always off the ball. That’s really the only major thing we can identify to explain why he is playing poorly.

We need to develop AG, but if he is not playing point then Jalen should and vice versa. TS should play off the ball. Or sacrifice minutes to get more time for Sid and Polley.

 

[Earls & Kings]

I’m thinking of Jalen as the Sundance Kid... he can’t sit outside and hit threes, but he will wreak havoc if coach lets him move.