Jalen Adams as a Freshman

[maineuconnfan]

I was watching video from Jalen's Freshman year. Two thing stand out. The first is that he was so much more hungry for the game and it shows in the clips compared to today. He had a lot of fire and intensity Freshman year, with exception of how he got dominated in the Kansas game, he certainly has lost something from his game. The second thing is(and it has been said recently) how disappointing his progression has been. He played a different role his Freshman year, but he was more athletic, had better shooting form on his pull up, had a better floater his Freshman year. It is surprising looking back, that he is currently not a top player in the country. Two years of losing and lack of coaching took a toll on the kid...I would also have to say, it also shows a lack of character in the face of adversity...if at some point in his future as he makes his way into the Euro leagues maybe he reminds himself...but man, it is so sad to see some one who appeared to be the next great UConn guard, settle for such mediocrity.

 

[Jay-Bone]

I used to work with one of the assistants for Mass Rivals. When Jalen committed he told me we got a natural born winner. It must be hard for him to see all the success his HS peers like Donovan Mitchell have achieved.

 

[maineuconnfan]

I used to work with one of the assistants for his AAU team. When Jalen committed he told me we got a natural born winner. It must be hard for him to see all the success his HS peers like Donovan Mitchell have achieved.

That is exactly it...when watching him in his Freshman season, you see someone who appears to be a winner...it is certainly a strange to regress so much throughout his career.

 

[uconngb]

Whether we were winning or not, Jalen had a chance to distinguish himself given the coverage we get. The losing effort against Oregon in Hawaii was amazing. But who knows what happened. Clearly he lost the drive and it's a shame. He definitely had the talent and the stage to showcase it, even in the lowly AAC.

 

[jibsey]

I know this may be debatable but Jalen is going to get their best guard defender and the emphasis is to shut him down to beat the Huskies. As a freshman not so much. Still disappointed in him though.

 

[CTBasketball]

Three years of Ollie really takes a toll on you...

 

[jojipoji]

He’s a great player and I’m glad he stayed but Two things stick out to me. His outside shot hasn’t really improved over the years and neither has his stamina. He’s always doubled over panting really hard. Maybe more time in the gym or maybe physical limitations I dunno.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

I had extremely high hopes for him this season under Hurley.

I am not entirely sure what his relationship with Ollie was like, but he did commit to play for him. Do you think the firing could have something to do with his performance? Could he not like playing for Hurley?

 

[uconngb]

He’s a great player and I’m glad he stayed but Two things stick out to me. His outside shot hasn’t really improved over the years and neither has his stamina. He’s always doubled over panting really hard. Maybe more time in the gym or maybe physical limitations I dunno.

Agreed......he has definitely NOT worked on his body and/or stamina at all in four years. He just doesn't seem to have the inner drive to want to improve and reach his potential. I'm sure there are many, many people like that. It's just tough when he happens to be the most talented player on our roster.

 

[maineuconnfan]

I know this may be debatable but Jalen is going to get their best guard defender and the emphasis is to shut him down to beat the Huskies. As a freshman not so much. Still disappointed in him though.

It certainly does not help that we have no inside presence at all. You just need to defend the perimeter

 

[ucawn]

Makes you question if he even loves playing basketball anymore, or is it becoming a chore. Maybe he keeps coming back to get a free degree and get a job. I doubt it but it could be possible.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I was watching video from Jalen's Freshman year. Two thing stand out. The first is that he was so much more hungry for the game and it shows in the clips compared to today. He had a lot of fire and intensity Freshman year, with exception of how he got dominated in the Kansas game, he certainly has lost something from his game. The second thing is(and it has been said recently) how disappointing his progression has been. He played a different role his Freshman year, but he was more athletic, had better shooting form on his pull up, had a better floater his Freshman year. It is surprising looking back, that he is currently not a top player in the country. Two years of losing and lack of coaching took a toll on the kid...I would also have to say, it also shows a lack of character in the face of adversity...if at some point in his future as he makes his way into the Euro leagues maybe he reminds himself...but man, it is so sad to see some one who appeared to be the next great UConn guard, settle for such mediocrity.

After four years, I'm surprised he still hasn't developed his left hand around the basket.

 

[superjohn]

He's completely hit the wall as an athlete. All the losing and his mentality is broken where it doesn't even look like he enjoys games much anymore but it's more than that. He can't get by people anymore, this isn't the same guy who came here.

 

[mauconnfan]

Three years of Ollie really takes a toll on you...

Arguably a lot better under Ollie so not the reason with this guy.

 

[casual-yardin]

He's completely hit the wall as an athlete. All the losing and his mentality is broken where it doesn't even look like he enjoys games much anymore but it's more than that. He can't get by people anymore, this isn't the same guy who came here.

Doubling down on stupid?

 

[Hurleyman216]

2-3 poor games for JA does not a bad season make. I do think he’s in a slump. Not sure if it is mental or what’s going on with him. I don’t expect it to continue. I do think we see him break out and we need him to be good Jalen to win games. Don’t get me wrong he won’t ever be Kenna or Bazz, but he needs to be closer to the efficient guy we saw at the start of the season.

 

[upstater]

Jalen's best game ever was during his sophomore season against Cincy. He was unstoppable. And I wonder what happened to that guy. The only flash of that Jalen I've seen in the last 2 years was AT Houston last year, when he played a similar game.

One thing we may be overlooking with Jalen is that he was never the Shabazz and Kemba type, but even they had guys to play off of. Jeremy Lamb, Deandre, Boatright, etc. You shut down Jalen and you shut down the Huskies scoring. Full stop. CV isn't going to beat you from 3.

 

[nychuskyfan]

Agreed.he has definitely NOT worked on his body and/or stamina at all in four years. He just doesn't seem to have the inner drive to want to improve and reach his potential. I'm sure there are many, many people like that. It's just tough when he happens to be the most talented player on our roster.

You’re right - he only played 38 minutes per game last year. Unless he plays all 40 (without being winded), then it’s clear he’s lazy and lacks drive.

 

[nychuskyfan]

He's completely hit the wall as an athlete. All the losing and his mentality is broken where it doesn't even look like he enjoys games much anymore but it's more than that. He can't get by people anymore, this isn't the same guy who came here.

I know we’re all frustrated but the scapegoating of JA is infantile. How many times are you and others going to post analysis of his body language to try and prove something that the numbers don’t show? Here are some actual facts.

He’s 6th among AAC guards in effective FG% so he’s scoring pretty efficiently. 1:1 assist:turnover is not great but since Hurley can’t be criticized because of our awful front court, how can Jalen be?

He played 38 mins a game last year and 30 this year - but let’s criticize him for “tugging at his shorts.

Most importantly, he’s answered the bell time and time again - he’s played hurt (ankle 2? years ago), he’s played 45 mins in an OT game, and most of all, he’s stuck with a program that many haven’t. And let’s face it - this has been an absolute debacle for 3 years. Everyone focuses on the fact that he hasn’t given us what we expected, but do you think he’s gotten what he expected from his time here?

Lastly, anyone who can’t bring themselves to criticize Hurley because of the frontcourt (the “USF is talented” or “we’re playing 3 on 5” crew), shouldn’t criticize the player most impacted by opposing teams being able to key on him.

JA is no Kemba or Bazz and he’s probably not even the best guard in the league, so not what we all hoped for. But he’s not a disaster - he’s a damn good player that stuck it out. He does not deserve to be a scapegoat - he deserves a fair accounting of his time here.

 

[CTBasketball]

Arguably a lot better under Ollie so not the reason with this guy.

I would agree, but also disagree lol. I think Jalen’s prime at UConn was his freshman year. Then it went all downhill from there. Could also argue Gibbs, Hamilton, etc. made him better. Still doesn’t change what we’ve got now...

 

[mauconnfan]

I would agree, but also disagree lol. I think Jalen’s prime at UConn was his freshman year. Then it went all downhill from there. Could also argue Gibbs, Hamilton, etc. made him better. Still doesn’t change what we’ve got now...

What we do know from all of this it it's not the coaches. People love to say he's "coachable" we also know that is no longer the truth, he's your basic enigma.

 

[the Q]

I know we’re all frustrated but the scapegoating of JA is infantile. How many times are you and others going to post analysis of his body language to try and prove something that the numbers don’t show? Here are some actual facts.

He’s 6th among AAC guards in effective FG% so he’s scoring pretty efficiently. 1:1 assist:turnover is not great but since Hurley can’t be criticized because of our awful front court, how can Jalen be?

He played 38 mins a game last year and 30 this year - but let’s criticize him for “tugging at his shorts.

Most importantly, he’s answered the bell time and time again - he’s played hurt (ankle 2? years ago), he’s played 45 mins in an OT game, and most of all, he’s stuck with a program that many haven’t. And let’s face it - this has been an absolute debacle for 3 years. Everyone focuses on the fact that he hasn’t given us what we expected, but do you think he’s gotten what he expected from his time here?

Lastly, anyone who can’t bring themselves to criticize Hurley because of the frontcourt (the “USF is talented” or “we’re playing 3 on 5” crew), shouldn’t criticize the player most impacted by opposing teams being able to key on him.

JA is no Kemba or Bazz and he’s probably not even the best guard in the league, so not what we all hoped for. But he’s not a disaster - he’s a damn good player that stuck it out. He does not deserve to be a scapegoat - he deserves a fair accounting of his time here.

The hype on jalen has made the final returns not Nearly as sweet. If we had a lot of recruits turn out like him we’d be quite good. But not THAT recruit. We needed jalen to be more, and when he has shown he isn’t that guy, it feels so much worse.

The final piece is jalen doesn’t appear to be that much better. He’s never taken the jump like
Brunson at nova, or Kemba or bazz.

And the flaws are frustrating. He hasn’t added range to his 3. He’s still doing baffling turnovers that seniors should’ve making, and his conditioning is still a fair question mark. All problems that so many players have fixed by the time they were seniors.

Jalen is still a good player. He’s just not what we thought he’d be. And that’s the problem. When expectations don’t meet reality

 

[60'sfan]

Arguably a lot better under Ollie so not the reason with this guy.

I agree. You can't blame Ollie for everything. I'll admit that he could not recruit but part of that was the AAC influence. How quickly we forget that Ollie won an NC. There are a lot of really great coaches out there who have never done that. Yes, he inherited some good players but for most of the NC run, Uconn was the underdog primarily because other teams had more talent.

 

[Palatine]

After four years, I'm surprised he still hasn't developed his left hand around the basket.

His left hand (handle and shot) has always been weak and it was never addressed. It should have been priority one after his freshman season. His left hand handle looks slightly better this year but it looks like too little too late.

 

[Kenny11]

He’s a great player and I’m glad he stayed but Two things stick out to me. His outside shot hasn’t really improved over the years and neither has his stamina. He’s always doubled over panting really hard. Maybe more time in the gym or maybe physical limitations I dunno.

As far as stamina, being a fan of boxing I've learned that some guys with bad stamina work on their conditioning all the time and yet they still tire out easier than other guys. Often times having bad stamina is just genetic, which is possibly the case here.

You are right about his outside shot but to me the biggest thing is his regression with his handle. He has never had great handle for a pg, but it seems to have gotten worse, especially this season. I guess it could be mental but for some reason I can't really picture Jalen doing 2 ball dribbling drills for an hour every day in the summer like guards that want to be great do.