The only difference with Gaff tonight was his efficiency from the arc. He went 2-5 against Creighton with 2 assists. Against Butler he went 2-2 tonight with three assists. It's amazing how hitting a couple of shots in a win changes the impression of your game.
His game hasn't really improved all year. He can. But we haven't seen it yet.
A rare time I actually agree with Palatine.
Gaffney wasn't any better last night than normal, aside from the fact that he hit his only 2 outside shots. Typically he's hesitant to pull the trigger because he's not a great shooter, but both shot opportunities were within the flow of the offense on good looks, and he happened to knock them down.
Offseason hype pieces mentioned Gaffney was due for a leap this year, and that last year he was really hampered by his early season ankle injury. I even saw tweets alluding to NBA potential.
Unfortunately, Gaffney hasn't shown any signs of making a leap. His ball handing is sub-par for a guard... the fact he's a PG makes it worse. I am never confident with him dribbling the ball on the perimeter. I would have thought he improved his handle over last season but it hasn't happened. He still looks really tentative and he doesn't even try to challenge anyone off the dribble. And while he's shown glimpses of athleticism, it's not something that consistently shows up in his game.
Gaffney is great when he's moving the ball, playing within the flow of the offense, and making the extra pass for nice assists. He's got above average cousin. But he hasn't shown that he can create anything on his own off the dribble. That's what typical UConn PGs have historically been able to do. And it's something the team is lacking from the guard position with Bouk out.
Really hope he imroves his handle, his shot, and his confidence. Hope he proves me wrong because the team needs him without Bouk.
