Jalen Gaffney Transferring

[CONN78SEJ]

Boneyarders have the advantage of watching play for the last 3 years since his original recruitment. I would think they know better.

Oh yeah, right. Boneyarders know better after watching a highly recruited kid play sparingly for three years for a coach who just had almost all of his guards and a key forward enter the transfer portal.

 

[Huskybass]

Oh yeah, right. Boneyarders know better after watching a highly recruited kid play sparingly for three years for coach who just had almost all of his guards and a key forward enter the transfer portal.

Gaffney did not play sparingly, he logged hundreds of minutes each of the 3 seasons. He had plenty of chances to prove himself and outside of a good performance here and there, it never worked out. I'm hoping he lands somewhere and takes advantage of a fresh start.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Gaffney did not play sparingly, he logged hundreds of minutes each of the 3 seasons. He had plenty of chances to prove himself and outside of a good performance here and there, it never worked out. I'm hoping he lands somewhere and takes advantage of a fresh start.

How many times did Diggins play? How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? How come Floyd left? How come Akok left? Something’s rotten in Denmark.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Oh yeah, right. Boneyarders know better after watching a highly recruited kid play sparingly for three years for a coach who just had almost all of his guards and a key forward enter the transfer portal.

I may not agree with, but can at least understand, the folks that are concerned about the transfers of Floyd, Diggins, and Akok, but Gaffney? I'm not sure if you're personally connected to Gaffney in some way, but he got ample opportunity here (probably more than he should have) and just could not get out of his own way. I hope he gets his confidence back at his next stop and kills it, but if we had started next season with Gaffney looking at meaningful minutes off the bench, that would have been a huge failure of Hurley as a coach. And in no way do I blame Gaffney for not wanting to be glued to the bench his senior year.

 

[navery12]

How many times did Diggins play? How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? How come Floyd left? How come Akok left? Something’s rotten in Denmark.

Thank you for interest in UConn basketball Jalen

 

[imno1]

How many times did Diggins play? How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? How come Floyd left? How come Akok left? Something’s rotten in Denmark.

 

[ctchamps]

How many times did Diggins play? How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? How come Floyd left? How come Akok left? Something’s rotten in Denmark.

I don’t know about Denmark. But I don’t have any doubts about this forum.

 

[UofCT]

How many times did Diggins play? How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? How come Floyd left? How come Akok left? Something’s rotten in Denmark.

They left because they are not good enough to play at UConn. Diggins, Gaffney and Akok were horrendous this year and Floyd is afraid of competition.

 

[UofCT]

Let's not pretend like Calhoun didn't lose players to portal. While I was at UConn from 05-09 Calhoun lost the following players to the portal. What a !@#$ show!!!

4* Marcus Johnson after he lost playing time to Dyson
3* Rob Garrison after he lost playing time to Austrie
4* Doug Wiggins due to off the court issues
3* Ben Eaves
5* Curtis Kelly after he lost playing time to 3* Gavin Edwards
3* Scottie Haralson
5* Ater Majok
4* Darius Smith
4* Jamal Coombs McDaniel
3* Jamal Trice

 

[djct1999]

Let's not pretend like Calhoun didn't lose players to portal. While I was at UConn from 05-09 Calhoun lost the following players to the portal. What a !@#$ show!!!

4* Marcus Johnson after he lost playing time to Dyson
3* Rob Garrison after he lost playing time to Austrie
4* Doug Wiggins due to off the court issues
3* Ben Eaves
5* Curtis Kelly after he lost playing time to 3* Gavin Edwards
3* Scottie Haralson
5* Ater Majok
4* Darius Smith
4* Jamal Coombs McDaniel
3* Jamal Trice

Been saying it for a while now. This is the Boneyard. The facts don't matter when it doesn't support a narrative. Most on here believe whatever it is they want to.

 

[mauconnfan]

Oh yeah, right. Boneyarders know better after watching a highly recruited kid play sparingly for three years for a coach who just had almost all of his guards and a key forward enter the transfer portal.

Gaffney was awful the last 2 years and because of that his minutes dwindled as they should have. If you happen to see anything different new glasses or a new sport to watch is the suggestion!

 

[HuskyFich]

Let's not pretend like Calhoun didn't lose players to portal. While I was at UConn from 05-09 Calhoun lost the following players to the portal. What a !@#$ show!!!

4* Marcus Johnson after he lost playing time to Dyson
3* Rob Garrison after he lost playing time to Austrie
4* Doug Wiggins due to off the court issues
3* Ben Eaves
5* Curtis Kelly after he lost playing time to 3* Gavin Edwards
3* Scottie Haralson
5* Ater Majok
4* Darius Smith
4* Jamal Coombs McDaniel
3* Jamal Trice

you might want to take this one down....

People won't have an argument anymore....

 

[2north]

you might want to take this one down....

People won't have an argument anymore....

Not exactly the same but understand the point. In the Calhoun years there were much better options already in house. Not the case for Gaffney/Sool (lack of point guards).

 

[Rico444]

Let's not pretend like Calhoun didn't lose players to portal. While I was at UConn from 05-09 Calhoun lost the following players to the portal. What a !@#$ show!!!

4* Marcus Johnson after he lost playing time to Dyson
3* Rob Garrison after he lost playing time to Austrie
4* Doug Wiggins due to off the court issues
3* Ben Eaves
5* Curtis Kelly after he lost playing time to 3* Gavin Edwards
3* Scottie Haralson
5* Ater Majok
4* Darius Smith
4* Jamal Coombs McDaniel
3* Jamal Trice

Coombs-McDaniel was on the 2011 team? Smith, Majok, and Trice were freshmen on the '09-'10 team and Majok went into the NBA draft, not the transfer portal.

 

[UofCT]

Coombs-McDaniel was on the 2011 team?

Good call. He was part of 2009-10 recruiting class so I added him. I think he left after we won the championship, I think.

 

[Rico444]

Good call. He was part of 2009-10 recruiting class so I added him. I think he left after we won the championship, I think.

Yeah he did transfer but it was a few years later.

 

[LStudfellow]

How many times did Diggins play? How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? How come Floyd left? How come Akok left? Something’s rotten in Denmark.

Interesting that as soon as you see you are losing this debate on Gaffney you go right to Diggins, Floyd and Akok... although each situation is unique unto its own. Proof positive you are on the wrong side on Gaffney, no matter how many immaterial points you want to make to try and "bolster" your argument.

Before I go any further, because I am loathe to disparage anyone who has played for us, let alone a young man who came here and put in blood, sweat and tears for 3 years as an upstanding member of this team. I 100% hope that Gaffney goes somewhere and has the type of senior year that Josh Carlton just had as a post grad transfer at Houston. I truly mean that. Furthermore, I am by no means a blind Hurley sycophant.

But for you to post here Jalen Gaffney got shafted by this coaching staff is not only nonsensical, it is non-factual. Do you actually watch the games?

FACT: Jalen was a net negative the overwhelming percentage of the time he was on the court, particularly in high pressure situations. It is the main reason why Hurley had to play Cole more (particularly in the 2nd half of games) then he wanted to.
FACT: If he had worked at improving his defense, he still could have been a valuable member of this team... but his defense was below average, to the point that Hurley didn't feel confident having him on the court at the end of games, despite his decent free throw shooting numbers.
FACT: His statistics all went DOWN this year from Sophomore year. So that is 100% Hurley's fault? Sorry, no.
Sophomore #'s: 41% shooting, 36% from 3-pt., 6.1 ppg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 rpg
Junior #'s: 34.5% shooting, 29.5% from 3-pt., 4.0 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 rpg
Dig a little deeper and this is what you find, which is most telling: his best 4 statistical games this year were against: Central Connecticut, Coppin State, LIU and Grambling. This highlights that he is best suited playing at that level.
Here are his stats this year in 19 regular season Big East games: 30% shooting, 20% from 3-pt., 2.3 ppg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 rpg.
and 3 post season games (he played 16 cumulative minutes) 0 points, 1 assist, 0 rebounds, 1 steal.

Under the crucible of playing against higher level Division 1 competition, he wasn't good enough.

This narrative that losing Jalen Gaffney is such a big black mark against Hurley is... not supported by the facts of his 3 years here, particularly this last one. The truth is he became unplayable. You want to blame Hurley for this? Fine. But Jalen was given plenty of opportunity to prove he could play at this level, and more often than not he did not positively influence the game for us when he was on the court against good competition.

But you go ahead with dying on this hill... no matter how much the actual statistics (and his actual overall in-game play) do not support your stance.

Unfortunately, this play from the end of the Battle For Atlantis game best encapsulates Jalen's time at UConn:

✂️ Jalen Gaffney missed 3 against Michigan St.

 

[HuskyFich]

Interesting that as soon as you see you are losing this debate on Gaffney you go right to Diggins, Floyd and Akok... although each situation is unique unto its own. Proof positive you are on the wrong side on Gaffney, no matter how many immaterial points you want to make to try and "bolster" your argument.

Before I go any further, because I am loathe to disparage anyone who has played for us, let alone a young man who came here and put in blood, sweat and tears for 3 years as an upstanding member of this team. I 100% hope that Gaffney goes somewhere and has the type of senior year that Josh Carlton just had as a post grad transfer at Houston. I truly mean that. Furthermore, I am by no means a blind Hurley sycophant.

But for you to post here Jalen Gaffney got shafted by this coaching staff is not only nonsensical, it is non-factual. Do you actually watch the games?

FACT: Jalen was a net negative the overwhelming percentage of the time he was on the court, particularly in high pressure situations. It is the main reason why Hurley had to play Cole more (particularly in the 2nd half of games) then he wanted to.
FACT: If he had worked at improving his defense, he still could have been a valuable member of this team... but his defense was below average, to the point that Hurley didn't feel confident having him on the court at the end of games, despite his decent free throw shooting numbers.
FACT: His statistics all went DOWN this year from Sophomore year. So that is 100% Hurley's fault? Sorry, no.
Sophomore #'s: 41% shooting, 36% from 3-pt., 6.1 ppg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 rpg
Junior #'s: 34.5% shooting, 29.5% from 3-pt., 4.0 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 rpg
Dig a little deeper and this is what you find, which is most telling: his best 4 statistical games this year were against: Central Connecticut, Coppin State, LIU and Grambling. This highlights that he is best suited playing at that level.
Here are his stats this year in 19 regular season Big East games: 30% shooting, 20% from 3-pt., 2.3 ppg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 rpg.
and 3 post season games (he played 16 cumulative minutes) 0 points, 1 assist, 0 rebounds, 1 steal.

Under the crucible of playing against higher level Division 1 competition, he wasn't good enough.

This narrative that losing Jalen Gaffney is such a big black mark against Hurley is... not supported by the facts of his 3 years here, particularly this last one. The truth is he became unplayable. You want to blame Hurley for this? Fine. But Jalen was given plenty of opportunity to prove he could play at this level, and more often than not he did not positively influence the game for us when he was on the court against good competition.

But you go ahead with dying on this hill... no matter how much the actual statistics (and his actual overall in-game play) do not support your stance.

Unfortunately, this play from the end of the Battle For Atlantis game best encapsulates Jalen's time at UConn:

✂️ Jalen Gaffney missed 3 against Michigan St.

Let's also remember that Gaffney was Hurley's first recruit to commit to UConn. I'm sure Hurley "reached" a bit to get someone in who had the mental demeanor, ability, and long term potential of a strong team contributor. Gaffney always seemed to be a bridge over troubled water.

 

[bigknight3]

How many times did Diggins play? Enough

(How many times did he struggle under pressure? Every time)

How many times did Gaffney start this year or last? He didn't earn starting. Therefore he wasn't a starter.

How come Floyd left? We don't know

How come Akok left? We don't know. But fresh start more playing time makes sense.

 

[Waquoit]

Yeah he did transfer but it was a few years later.

After his big rebound.

 

[UCDaveD]

Oriakhi transferred under Calhoun as well.

 

[Lefty2one]

Let's not pretend like Calhoun didn't lose players to portal. While I was at UConn from 05-09 Calhoun lost the following players to the portal. What a !@#$ show!!!

4* Marcus Johnson after he lost playing time to Dyson
3* Rob Garrison after he lost playing time to Austrie
4* Doug Wiggins due to off the court issues
3* Ben Eaves
5* Curtis Kelly after he lost playing time to 3* Gavin Edwards
3* Scottie Haralson
5* Ater Majok
4* Darius Smith
4* Jamal Coombs McDaniel
3* Jamal Trice

For sure. And if one looks at this list they'll notice that almost all of the guys who left weren't good enough to play at UConn. Very few guys who had success at UConn voluntarily left. The same will likely hold true under Hurley.

My memory doesn't always serve me well as I've never followed recruiting religiously but I think most of the guys were last-minute spring signings to fill in gaps. Garrison, Eaves, Haralson, Smith, Trice--I'm almost sure of that group.

Johnson & Kelly did next to nothing here. Don't forget that those guys were here during peak UConn. Kelly was solid but unspectacular at Kansas State. He wasn't good enough to earn consistent minutes on a powerhouse UConn team. Johnson was an average starter in a weak Pac 10 as a 5th year senior.

Wiggins would have had a nice career but he, like Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, had their issues off the court. Doug Wrenn is another one; he's probably the most talented guy who transferred out during Calhoun's tenure. Scott Hazelton couldn't stay healthy and wasn't very good during his time here. Oriakhi left because of the postseason ban his senior year. Can't blame him for that.

Calhoun certainly had his fair share of busts too, as every college coach does. Ajou Deng, Scott Hazelton, Marcus Cox, etc. Those guys were more highly regarded than Diggins or certainly Gaffney and couldn't play at this level.

Given the new landscape of college basketball and how the transfer game works, I'm sure we'll lose some solid players along the way, especially if Hurley continues to improve the program. Maybe CFJ will be one of those players, maybe not, but it's clear what the rest of the DI landscape feels about Diggins and Gaffney. All of the movement, all of the open roster spots, and not a single high-major wanted either kid.

 

[HuskyFich]

Not exactly the same but understand the point. In the Calhoun years there were much better options already in house. Not the case for Gaffney/Sool (lack of point guards).

So I was thinking more about this...I agree that much better options were already in house, but JC's roster construction is eerily similar. 3-4 pillars that you can expect consistent production (Top 50 players then vs. Top 100 players now, I agree), and 1 or 2 long term bigman projects, but the secondary guards never stuck around...

You had the bigs who knew they were long term projects, like g.edwards, hilton, adrien, nelson, etc. that made such an impact over time (maybe Richie), but looking at the list from earlier, it's clear that ball dominant players who do not outperform starters said "peace out" to Storrs. It also makes sense, as we are constantly attracting PGs/CGs who know we will get them to the league.

This is definitely not JUST a Storrs problem, but in reality it's a great problem to have.

 

[mrl2016]

Has anyone heard Gaffney being linked to any programs?

Floyd I hear providence, rahsool UMass, but I haven’t heard anything re Gaffney

It could be interesting if he garners no interest would Hurley take him back as a depth piece

 

[bendm]

Has anyone heard Gaffney being linked to any programs?

Floyd I hear providence, rahsool UMass, but I haven’t heard anything re Gaffney

It could be interesting if he garners no interest would Hurley take him back as a depth piece

that would be kinda sad but sure. even with alleyne and castle we'd still have 3 open schollys.

 

[UofCT]

I was searching Twitter the other day and found nothing. This is why the transfer portal is dangerous. There are more HS seniors + prep school seniors + players in the portal than open D1 scholarships. (I heard this on ESPNU radio the other day, might not be factual)

 

[Deleted at users request]

So I was thinking more about this...I agree that much better options were already in house, but JC's roster construction is eerily similar. 3-4 pillars that you can expect consistent production (Top 50 players then vs. Top 100 players now, I agree), and 1 or 2 long term bigman projects, but the secondary guards never stuck around...

You had the bigs who knew they were long term projects, like g.edwards, hilton, adrien, nelson, etc. that made such an impact over time (maybe Richie), but looking at the list from earlier, it's clear that ball dominant players who do not outperform starters said "peace out" to Storrs. It also makes sense, as we are constantly attracting PGs/CGs who know we will get them to the league.

This is definitely not JUST a Storrs problem, but in reality it's a great problem to have.

Yes I would say most of those guys who left had players in their class or lower who passed them up and had no minutes available. Kelly and Marcus being prime examples (Rudy and Stanley) Jamal Coombs-McDaniel had Roscoe and Lamb, younger guys who played over him for a whole season.

I wouldn’t say this would be the same as players leaving with playing time in front of them and were somewhat playing already.

I agree though we did a pretty good job of developing guys and bringing in good young players who came off the bench to get their feet wet and learn the ropes. These guys didn’t all play together but things like,

Taliek/Ben to Marcus Williams
Williams to AJ Price
AJ to Kemba
Kemba to Bazz
Bazz to Boat

If only Jalen reclassified and came in a year earlier to play with Boat.

 

[PNolanFan]

I was searching Twitter the other day and found nothing. This is why the transfer portal is dangerous. There are more HS seniors + prep school seniors + players in the portal than open D1 scholarships. (I heard this on ESPNU radio the other day, might not be factual)

there is absolutely exponentially more guys who want a scholarship than open scholarships

 

[M.S.G.]

I saw Gaffney's tweet today... Some just flat out awful people in the replies, truly hope that was no one here. I am just disgusted by the things people say to each other online, I never get used to it.

 

[UKemba15]

I saw Gaffney's tweet today... Some just flat out awful people in the replies, truly hope that was no one here. I am just disgusted by the things people say to each other online, I never get used to it.

I saw that too. Pretty sickening how folks will go out of their way to trash on a college kid. I just don’t think I’ll ever understand how some people get their kicks by trying to make other people miserable…