Jalen Adams: Got Keys?

[Kitaman]

Adams played the most minutes yesterday and he seemed to control the ball most of the time on the floor. You all think Ollie has handed the keys of the team (i.e. offensively) over to Jalen?

I think its 'official' and right on time. If so it can only get better here on out.

 

[Hankster]

Adams played the most minutes yesterday and he seemed to control the ball most of the time on the floor. You all think Ollie has handed the keys of the team (i.e. offensively) over to Jalen?

I think its 'official' and right on time. If so it can only get better here on out.

It sure seems that way. AND, Adams has no problem taking them. I always said this kid is special. Now, I believe it is more than special. Jalen is doing everything. His drives to the hoop are masterful. Rodney does the same but Adams seems to finish. I agree it is only going to get better and it IS right on time.

 

[uchusky32]

Last couple of games he's been our primary ball handler. And is doing a very good job. It allows Sterling to play of the ball and get into better rhythm for his 3.

His improvement is right on time!

 

[UConnSwag11]

Last couple of games he's been our primary ball handler. And is doing a very good job. It allows Sterling to play of the ball and get into better rhythm for his 3.

His improvement is right on time!

Really liking when the ball goes into the middle of the zone and gets kicked immediately out to Gibbs for the three. Adams loves to push the tempo and gets them into the half court offense quicker. Needs to work on his defense and jumpshot

 

[HuskyHawk]

He played his best game, and is developing a knack for knowing when to distribute and when to create a shot for himself. It keeps the defense off balance. His body control around the rim is impressive, he's a great finisher for a guard. If he develops an outside shot he will be devastating.

 

[Kitaman]

He played his best game, and is developing a knack for knowing when to distribute and when to create a shot for himself. It keeps the defense off balance. His body control around the rim is impressive, he's a great finisher for a guard. If he develops an outside shot he will be devastating.

I noticed Isiah Briscoe is struggling with his outside shot. It now becoming obvious that high schoolers rarely specialize in all facets of basketball. Guards are either are ball handlers, passers, scorers, jump shooters or perhaps a combination of two of those. It takes time to develop the other 'weaker' facets. I guess I'm once again ranking on mixtapes, because Div 1 ball doesn't give them time to come in and get it going right away like in high school.

Jalen (like Kemba and the rest) will improve his shooting, its all up to him and his work ethic, commitment to excellence and determination. He's a gem that by his junior year will be polished into an AA candidate, he's already got 'it' and a foundation to build on along with an NBA guard Coach. Its coming, and add to that I feel he will be an excellent leader, especially when this year's seniors get out the way.

Lastly, he's certainly got that 'city' confidence and the swag (just like Boatright) that we love in our UConn guards.

 

[Stinger92860]

I was happy to see him hit the the pull-up jumper from the free throw line. When he starts hitting that regularly and gains more confidence, he is going to be difficult to guard.

 

[SaeHusky]

Jalen is significantly better than Briscoe in my opinion. Briscoe can't shoot a lick. I think his free throw % is in the 50's

 

[BobbySteels]

Coach has done a masterful job of bringing JA along - slowly at first, but once thrust into the starting lineup he really stepped up to the challenge. It's a great way to develop a young talent, not having to rush it. I think we can safely assume his shooting range will improve with time and experience. I'm super excited for this kids potential and I really like his attitude; owning his mistakes and showing that he wants and needs to learn from the people around him. The world is yours, JA!

 

[Kitaman]

Jalen is significantly better than Briscoe in my opinion. Briscoe can't shoot a lick. I think his free throw % is in the 50's

I was just pointing out as great as Briscoe was as an all around high school guard (especially according to mixtapes), his shooting is woeful. I won't say Jalen is 'significantly' better yet, but Jalen has a better coach, better system and the best situation to develop and excel.

With that said I'm glad we've got Jalen and not Briscoe, although Briscoe would be a 'significantly' better player under Ollie than he is under Cal. UConn never produces bad guards, all starters are 'significantly' better when they leave/graduate.

 

[Palatine]

Last game , a very good one fro JA, he had 3 assists and 3 TOs. Gibbs had 3 assists and no TOs. For the time being we will play with two PGs with JA taking the lead but SG playing a role. I expect it to remain that way.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Jalen's jumper was looking a lot better when he took some more mid-range jumpers rather than 3 pointers. His form on his shot looks very good, hopefully he will shoot better as he gets more and more comfortable.

 

[RichZ]

In the post game presser yesterday, KO said that he had hoped (or maybe expected) that Jalen would come along sooner, but that he was just about on schedule at this moment.

The difference between he and Rodney driving to the hoop, it seems to me might be either just a quicker mind or much better peripheral vision. Rodney doesn't seem to react/adjust to what the defense does, and often puts the ball and his body into harm's way on the way to the rim. Jalen does more twisting, turning, shifting the ball from one side to the other, etc., and ends up with what may be a tougher shot in theory, but is basically uncontested because of the way he moved himself and/or the ball on the way through traffic. Rodney ends up getting to the line more because he draws contact, while Jalen slithers around it.

As far as Jalen's D, he did a great job on Tyson yesterday.

 

[Silk31]

While a lot of us were consumed with the idea of Adams replacing Gibbs in the starting lineup, the real answer was starting both of them and having Purvis come off the bench as an energy 6th man.

Gibbs is the perfect catch and shoot off the ball option and while he can still handle PG duties while he's out there, he doesn't need to be exclusively on the ball like he basically was in the early part of the season.

Great job to KO and staff for recognizing this change - this lineup tweak has certainly been THE turning point in our season

 

[Rico444]

Jalen playing like that makes this team a legitimate Final Four contender. He completely opens things up on the offensive end. The kid is gonna be a superstar when it's all said and done.

 

[80shusky]

His defense has been pretty good too. Some have pointed out that his jump shot needs some work. It does, and I would guess that will be a point of emphasis over this summer for his development. However, he is giving us exactly what we need this year. We have decent jump shooters in Hamilton, Gibbs and Purvis. Jalen is better creating and going to the basket. He takes some of out of our offensive execution. I can live the turnovers in the meanwhile as long as he doesn't kill us with them.

 

[Palatine]

Love this quote from JA.

"Just hanging around the guys, I get to know them, so I know what gets them going when they're down, stuff like that," Adams said. "Daniel — sometimes you've just gotta smack him upside the head, then he'll start playing again. … Sterling, once you find him, he gets going. I just tell him, 'you're a great shooter, you're going to get your shot" and eventually he starts believing again. The big men are always fired up to play. Amida [Brimah] fires them up."

 

[CTBasketball]

Jalen playing like that makes this team a legitimate Final Four contender. He completely opens things up on the offensive end. The kid is gonna be a superstar when it's all said and done.

Lets pump the brakes a little, we beat ECU at home, and now all of a sudden we're a legit Final Four contender?

The kid is good no doubt, but he's a freshman. Inconsistency is a great word to describe that.

 

[Rico444]

Lets pump the brakes a little, we beat ECU at home, and now all of a sudden we're a legit Final Four contender?

The kid is good no doubt, but he's a freshman. Inconsistency is a great word to describe that.

I never said he's GOING to play like that, just that when he's playing like that we're going to be really tough to beat. We've got a top 5 defense in the country this year, so yeah, I think our offense coming together and playing well gives us a chance to go on a deep run.

 

[tzznandrew]

Jalen playing like that makes this team a legitimate Final Four contender. He completely opens things up on the offensive end. The kid is gonna be a superstar when it's all said and done.

This team has the potential to be in the Final Four. If our best players play up to their ability, they're a legit Top 10 team like we thought in the preseason.

There will be two problems:

1) getting them all to play that way consistently: KO may have them on the way, but I'm skeptical until they beat better teams;
2) they'll get seeded lower than their talent. Their absolute ceiling is probably a 4 if they win out. That means they're getting good teams by Round 2. More likely, they're a 6 or 7, which means every game will be a war. Hard to advance when every game is tough.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I watched him power dribble over the two ECU defenders about 30 times. It's a dam fine move and Adams made it look routine.

 

[UCFan1513]

Jalen is significantly better than Briscoe in my opinion. Briscoe can't shoot a lick. I think his free throw % is in the 50's

He's all the way down to 40%. Absolutely atrocious

 

[UChusky916]

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-uconn-men-follow-0209-20160208-story.html

Great article by Amore on Jalen

 

[CL82]

Really liking when the ball goes into the middle of the zone and gets kicked immediately out to Gibbs for the three. Adams loves to push the tempo and gets them into the half court offense quicker. Needs to work on his defense and jumpshot

Agree. When we were doing that at the start of the year we were effective.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Lets pump the brakes a little, we beat ECU at home, and now all of a sudden we're a legit Final Four contender?

The kid is good no doubt, but he's a freshman. Inconsistency is a great word to describe that.

We've now laid the wood to three teams in a row, two on the road. If not for a late collapse on a 4 point lead with a minute left against cinci we'd have won 7 in a row. We've made teams quit back to back. Let's pump the breaks on pumping the breaks too. We know we have an elite defensive team. We've seen all of our offensive pieces firing at different times throughout the season and lately we're seeing more of them fire together. The only game that ended out of reach for us was Maryland and after 38 minutes we were down a bucket. There are no clear favorites this year. Of course were a final four contender.