Jalen Adams

[CTBasketball]

Can you be good without leading?

Junior year Jerome Dyson!

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Junior year Jerome Dyson!

Jerome was the anti-Leader he though he could take over at crunch time usually with the opposite desired effect.
Jaylen is like sophomore Kemba.
That season could have had a far different outcome if only Kemba assumed the total leadership role.
I know some of you guys will hate this observation , but Kemba’s confidence surged when KO came on board as the guard coach maybe it’s a coincidence but I don’t believe in them.

 

[intlzncster]

My 2 cents. And great list, and oh where's Chris Smith?

He specified 'last 20 years'. For the record (and added Doron and Scotty), I posted the same thing then deleted it upon reread of the OP.

 

[intlzncster]

This complexity, Chief doesn’t quite have a handle on how to optimally coach it, even in his senior year. The riddle that is Jalen. But, for those who don’t like him, let me say he is a great kid. You are right to get frustrated for moments with his play - but he loves UConn and he’s a nice guy.

It's not a riddle, it's a box. You're trapped in that box, because there's simply not enough talent around to give you viable options/solutions to the problem.

Jalen's got some things in his game that I really don't like. Too sloppy with the ball) is number 1 for me. And I don't think he quite has that focus (maybe even killer instinct--he's too nice) that some of our other greats did.

But he's been left with an absolute dearth of talent his entire career. Unless you are truly a transcendent, once in a generation talent, it's really tough to combat that.

 

[pj]

It's not a riddle, it's a box. You're trapped in that box, because there's simply not enough talent around to give you viable options/solutions to the problem.

Jalen's got some things in his game that I really don't like. Too sloppy with the ball) is number 1 for me. And I don't think he quite has that focus (maybe even killer instinct--he's too nice) that some of our other greats did.

But he's been left with an absolute dearth of talent his entire career. Unless you are truly a transcendent, once in a generation talent, it's really tough to combat that.

Lacking the complementary talent is what makes Jalen look worse than he is. Everybody needs it. Even Kemba, who is superior to Jalen, led us through a 4-7 stretch in 2011 as the team was waiting for Jeremy Lamb to emerge as that knockdown perimeter scoring threat that would open the court for Kemba.

Had Jalen had more talent around him, and the coaches found a way to exploit his strengths and hide his weaknesses, we'd think he was a great player. As it is he's clearly a very good player.

 

[husky429]

Lacking the complementary talent is what makes Jalen look worse than he is. Everybody needs it. Even Kemba, who is superior to Jalen, led us through a 4-7 stretch in 2011 as the team was waiting for Jeremy Lamb to emerge as that knockdown perimeter scoring threat that would open the court for Kemba.

Had Jalen had more talent around him, and the coaches found a way to exploit his strengths and hide his weaknesses, we'd think he was a great player. As it is he's clearly a very good player.

Yes and no. I think this is truenfor his finishing.

His lack of of a three ball? Not so much.

How about bad defense? Not so much.

He would look BETTER for sute with a higher quality supporting cast.

 

[pj]

Yes and no. I think this is truenfor his finishing.

His lack of of a three ball? Not so much.

How about bad defense? Not so much.

He would look BETTER for sute with a higher quality supporting cast.

Agreed. It's defense and three point shooting that will keep him from the NBA, and from elite status in college.

 

[AdamaNation]

It is very hard to make these comparisons.

El-Amin was instrumental in a national championship, a clear leader.

On the other hand, his last season at UConn did not go that well when he was featured. If you didn't know who either player was and what they had accomplished, and you watched video tape of their last seasons, you'd be hard-pressed to choose between them.

Both of them had no help their last seasons at UConn. Freeman similarly flamed out at SF in that last year for El-Amin. This also happened to Boatright who put up lots of points with great effort in what turned out to be a dud of a season at UConn.

It would be easier to compare them when they had people to play with.

El Amin backs my idea that the best player isn’t always the leader. I’m pretty sure R.I.P. was the guy here as was Donny Marshall and Ollie with ray

 

[superjohn]

Lacking the complementary talent is what makes Jalen look worse than he is. Everybody needs it. Even Kemba, who is superior to Jalen, led us through a 4-7 stretch in 2011 as the team was waiting for Jeremy Lamb to emerge as that knockdown perimeter scoring threat that would open the court for Kemba.

Had Jalen had more talent around him, and the coaches found a way to exploit his strengths and hide his weaknesses, we'd think he was a great player. As it is he's clearly a very good player.

Kemba already dominated and won the Maui, he was going against the best conference of the last 10-15 years night in and night out. Went undefeated outside of conference play, hit more clutch shots and buzzer beaters than you could count on two hands. Comparing anything from Kemba's junior year to anything Jalen has ever done at UConn is insane even for this board.

 

[superjohn]

It's not a riddle, it's a box. You're trapped in that box, because there's simply not enough talent around to give you viable options/solutions to the problem.

Jalen's got some things in his game that I really don't like. Too sloppy with the ball) is number 1 for me. And I don't think he quite has that focus (maybe even killer instinct--he's too nice) that some of our other greats did.

But he's been left with an absolute dearth of talent his entire career. Unless you are truly a transcendent, once in a generation talent, it's really tough to combat that.

He floats, doesn't have any of the competitiveness of past top players at UConn.

He gets by on his natural talent but has never locked himself into the game mentally and literally (locked himself in the gym) like our past greats. It shows up when things aren't going his way and he looks aloof and it shows up in him never tightening up his flaws. Never developed the left, doesn't know how to draw fouls, never improved his three ball.

It's a shame because coming out of high school he pretty much looked like a lock for an early entrance into the league.

 

[intlzncster]

El Amin backs my idea that the best player isn’t always the leader. I’m pretty sure R.I.P. was the guy here as was Donny Marshall and Ollie with ray

A lot of this is simply positional. The PG, especially in college, is generally the natural leader of the team.