Jalen Adams (Committed to UConn)

[gimber]

Should I be worried that he doesn't use his left hand at all? BTW, today is lefthanders day!

 

[RichZ]

Should I be worried that he doesn't use his left hand at all? BTW, today is lefthanders day!

And it's the day after middle child day. I get two holidays in a row!

 

[Leebo]

He uses his left hand a bunch of times in the video...

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Sherwyn Cooper– ‏@BallasTV
Dear Uconn fans the good news is Jalen Adams is amazing the bad news is he's amazing, like early entry draft pick amazing ....

 

[RipCity]

If he ends up being an above average 3 point shooter, he could be a star at any level given his athleticism.

 

[mauconnfan]

It's exciting to think a talent like Jalen will likely be coming off of our bench. But if he claims a starting spot with Gibss it could even be more exciting?

 

[CL82]

It's exciting to think a talent like Jalen will likely be coming off of our bench. But if he claims a starting spot with Gibss it could even be more exciting?

I don't think it will happen and I don't think it would be a good thing if it did. Chemistry will be key for us this year. Probably best if Jalen gets his minutes of the bench, even if they end up being "starter minutes."

 

[James]

this highlight reel is from legit a year ago

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't think it will happen and I don't think it would be a good thing if it did. Chemistry will be key for us this year. Probably best if Jalen gets his minutes of the bench, even if they end up being "starter minutes."

My point being if he is that impressive so they can't keep him off the court then it's probably good. I doubt it too and believe it to be best him as 1st guard off the bench.

 

[CL82]

I'm looking forward to having him here. Plays like that look away alley-oop assist are going to be fun to watch.

 

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, I have always said its more about playing time rather than starting - especially crunch time minutes. Having said that - no way is Adams out of the starting lineup by mid season and probably earlier. He's too good.

 

[James]

I don't think it will happen and I don't think it would be a good thing if it did. Chemistry will be key for us this year. Probably best if Jalen gets his minutes of the bench, even if they end up being "starter minutes."

So youre saying adams shouldn't start because it will mess up team chemistry? if adams is gifted enough to usurp either gibbs or purvis in crunch time, so be it, winning games is more important than keeping everyone happy with minutes to close games. Say adams keeps outplaying everybody in the backcourt in second halfs, you better believe ollie will start him with the swiftness.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Quite frankly, I have always said its more about playing time rather than starting - especially crunch time minutes. Having said that - no way is Adams out of the starting lineup by mid season and probably earlier. He's too good.

I don't know why people keep saying this. Our two ball handlers could be oiur two best players and I still wouldn't want them both on the court to start the game. I want them staggered by 5 min of game time so that one is resting the other and protecting the other from foul trouble.

It should be Gibbs Only until the first TV timeout. Then Gibbs and Adams. Then Adams only spelling Gibbs. Repeat.

If Adams is exceptional in the 2nd half, barring any foul trouble, they'll both be on the court for the bulk of the final stretch of the game. But there is no amount of talent that makes sense to start them both on minute 0.

Hypothetical: Both PG's start and one picks up two cheapies in the first 5 min and has to sit the rest of the half, who is spelling the other and running the offense when the other's typical rest rotation comes up? Purvis? Hamilton? Is the chaos of whoever is running that set worth the risk? Adams can play 25+ min off the bench, staggering with Gibbs.

 

[Kitaman]

It's exciting to think a talent like Jalen will likely be coming off of our bench. But if he claims a starting spot with Gibss it could even be more exciting?

Calm down Mau, he's high school exciting. LOL

 

[CL82]

So youre saying adams shouldn't start because it will mess up team chemistry? if adams is gifted enough to usurp either gibbs or purvis in crunch time, so be it, winning games is more important than keeping everyone happy with minutes to close games. Say adams keeps outplaying everybody in the backcourt in second halfs, you better believe ollie will start him with the swiftness.

Not worried about Gibbs so much, but yeah it likely would be a bad thing if Purvis is sitting at the start of games. Just my guess, though. The rest of your post is kind of pointless, so I won't bother with it.

There's a whole lot of new faces on this team. Building chemistry is key. I trust KO to figure it out.

 

[James]

Not worried about Gibbs so much, but yeah it likely would be a bad thing if Purvis is sitting at the start of games. Just my guess, though. The rest of your post is kind of pointless, so I won't bother with it.

There's a whole lot of new faces on this team. Building chemistry is key. I trust KO to figure it out.

Purvis is the key to this I see lol . If he is such a good locker room guy/ team leader he would accept a 6th man role in a heartbeat.

The rest of my post was pointless? I just highlighted a scenerio where purvis wouldn't start in the second part, you know the crux of this whole discussion. keep on with the condescending jabs tho

 

[Justin M]

It isn't unheard of to go small with all 3 guards, Hamilton and Brimah......

 

[OkaForPrez]

@James, what say ye to you the ball handling rotation concerns?

 

[James]

@James, what say ye to you the ball handling rotation concerns?

As you noted you don't sub both adams gibbs out at the same time. And cassell will be involved to give a breather. Let adams run with the second unit , then bring in a gibbs purvis backcourt for long spurts. close games with as many playmakers as you can , as well as enough defensive versatility. I would suggest playing purvis at the 3 in crunch time, but there is a serious need for hamilton/miller/brimah playing then.

 

[Candyman]

I'm in the minority here but I feel that Purvis is better off coming off the bench. I dont think that will happen but his skillset makes him better suited off the bench. He does one thing good and thats score (based on last March only mind you). He was a below average in rebounding and assists. He has shown to have trouble handling the basketball but again he did find ways to score. So if you keep that in mind you can see where I'm coming from. Someone who can come in and provide instant offense off the bench.

Adams and Gibbs can both create with the ball which makes them dangeorus when in the game together. I undertsand that Adams is just a freshman and yes it may take a little bit for him to catch up to the speed of the game but theres nothing that shows me his game right now wont translate to college ball.

I'm also baffled by people saying that if Purvis sits it will hurt chemistry of this team. Ollie is going to do whats best for the team not whats best for Purvis. Purvis has shown to be a stand up guy so what makes you think he will cause a distruption if not starting? He will still play a ton of minutes.

@OkaForPrez - Our only two ballhandlers for the 2014 title team were Bazz and Boat so not sure why Gibbs and Adams shouldnt start together. That theory that if your two best players are your ballhandlers then they should never play in the first half together makes absolutley no sense. Your two best players should be on the court as much as possible regardless of what their handle is. You can't coach to protect foul trouble.

 

[OkaForPrez]

@James Good point about SamIIAm. Embarrassingly I keep forgetting about him. That negates the point I was going to make to @Candyman34 which is that Tsam was an adequate 3rd ball handler and was absolutely crucial as a change of pace guard in 2014. I really wasn't seeing that 3rd PG option as a safety net but it very well could be SCJ.

 

[jibsey]

We'll see what he looks like when he's covered like a blanket by players that are his physical equal from a top team. About 3 1/2 months?

 

[CL82]

Purvis is the key to this I see lol . If he is such a good locker room guy/ team leader he would accept a 6th man role in a heartbeat.

The rest of my post was pointless? I just highlighted a scenerio where purvis wouldn't start in the second part, you know the crux of this whole discussion. keep on with the condescending jabs tho

No offense intended James. If I made up a scenario where Jalen wasn't ready so Purvis had to step up, it would be equally pointless. Let's just have faith in KO and the guys and see where these season goes.

We good?

 

[Kitaman]

We'll see what he looks like when he's covered like a blanket by players that are his physical equal from a top team. About 3 1/2 months?

Exactly, there are a ton of talented high school ballers that are marginalized at the D1 level. The expectations of Jalen are soaring with each post, but the truth is he is a freshman that hasn't touched the court yet. Ollie (along with Hobbs and Moore) will handle him correctly to maximize his talent, but that will take time, even perhaps a full season.

Rodney and Gibbs take a tremendous amount of pressure off of him, which is a good thing. To me his year (i.e. time) will be 2016-2017, when Gibbs leaves. Until then we can enjoy the show and the mistakes without much consequences.

 

[CL82]

I'm in the minority here but I feel that Purvis is better off coming off the bench. I dont think that will happen but his skillset makes him better suited off the bench. He does one thing good and thats score (based on last March only mind you). He was a below average in rebounding and assists. He has shown to have trouble handling the basketball but again he did find ways to score. So if you keep that in mind you can see where I'm coming from. Someone who can come in and provide instant offense off the bench.

Adams and Gibbs can both create with the ball which makes them dangeorus when in the game together. I undertsand that Adams is just a freshman and yes it may take a little bit for him to catch up to the speed of the game but theres nothing that shows me his game right now wont translate to college ball.

I'm also baffled by people saying that if Purvis sits it will hurt chemistry of this team. Ollie is going to do whats best for the team not whats best for Purvis. Purvis has shown to be a stand up guy so what makes you think he will cause a distruption if not starting? He will still play a ton of minutes.

@OkaForPrez - Our only two ballhandlers for the 2014 title team were Bazz and Boat so not sure why Gibbs and Adams shouldnt start together. That theory that if your two best players are your ballhandlers then they should never play in the first half together makes absolutley no sense. Your two best players should be on the court as much as possible regardless of what their handle is. You can't coach to protect foul trouble.

I don't think you are in the minority at all. A lot of people, myself included, are excited about what Jalen brings to the table. I think he's got a shot at being a really special kid for us. I agree 100% that Ollie will do what's best for the team and not for any one player. We have different guesses as to how it will pan out. We'll see.