Koby Brea entered the portal. Please please Coach Hurley

[superjohn]

I have been reading this thread shaking my head the entire time. I trust Hurley and love that Mahaney is on the team. But from a guy who watched Brea all season, trust me, this guy would absolutely kill it in Hurley’s system. So the takes are crazy about him. Again, I trust Hurley and trust he got his guy. But I still would love Brea.

To make sure I was not mis remembering, and because although I watched many SMC games, I simply don’t remember Mahaney, I went back and watched both SMC and Dayton’s opening round games of the NCAA. Interesting the games were very similar and both Brea and Mahaney had bad first halves. Both teams were down big in the second half but Brea hit four 3’s to get Dayton back in it and eventually win. Where SMC just faded and Mahaney missed tons of wide open 3’s. He also just had a really really bad game.

Look, I get this is just one game. And you can’t judge on only one game. But watch a whole game before knocking Brea. Don’t just watch highlights (highlights make everyone look like Larry Bird) or look at stats. When you see the whole game, you see so much more. Even the announcers in the Dayton game said “It is so weird, Dayton runs NOTHING for Brea. I don’t understand.” Dayton’s entire offense is trying to feed Holmes and if that doesn’t work - take your guy 1 on 1 or chuck a contested 3. Brea was kinda wasted all year. All his shots came at the end of shot clocks or at end of games when they needed 3’s.

And side note of concern, Mahaney really struggled with GCU’s athletes and could not stay with his guy defensively. He had several of his shots blocked. Again, just one game. Could be an anomaly. I will watch a few more if I can.

Also note they both started. Mahaney played the entire game. Brea sat for 2 minutes in the first half but played the entire 2nd half (38 minutes total).

Mahaney is a lot better than Brea, he fills a need, and he has two seasons. Hurley will probably turn Mahaney into an NBA player. Trust the staff.

 

[Marbles90]

Trust the staff.

Yes. I do. I said that multiple times in my post and multiple other times in this thread.

 

[UConntLose]

Mahaney is a lot better than Brea, he fills a need, and he has two seasons. Hurley will probably turn Mahaney into an NBA player. Trust the staff.

Totally agree. Although I never have seen him play, I was talking to a client of mine who is a Dayton season holder a few weeks back. The season ticket holder said Koby is honestly an all-time great kid who was content to stay but his family thought he’d owed it to himself to test the portal. The person also said that he can’t play defense up to UConn’s standards and could not create his own shot.

I’ll be rooting for Koby from afar. Hope he has a great season and thrives except in any scenario where he may encounter the Huskies.

Think we could probably lock this thread.

 

[Gurleyman]

My worry with Brea was that he shot 7 FTs his entire junior year and then 16 last year. He’s 21-23 in two years … so he should be trying to get to the line (and Dayton has won a lot so some of those 23 were probably deliberate last minute fouls where you figure Dayton would try to inbound the ball to him). He seems allergic to the territory inside the arc - just one 2 attempt a game. Theres the Joey C role he could have filled nicely, but is that what he wants? It feels like he’s not multi-dimensional enough to fit our offense the way we like to run it - perhaps he was held back by Dayton’s system, but with only one year to work with him, could he get up to speed?

His 3 percentage last year was an outlier for his four-year career. Perhaps he has developed and is simply that good now ... but it also could be an anomaly. Shooting can be prone to slumps. When Cam was cold from 3, he brought other things to the table. There isn't anything in the numbers that would give me hope that Brea is not a one-trick pony. When he played Houston he had 0 in 30 minutes. Wasn’t so much an off night as he didn't even get shots up.

I have a few worries with Mahaney too - feel like his assist numbers should be higher, but get him in our offense and out of the St. Mary’s one, and I feel like he has a higher ceiling there. And we lose so much with Newton and Spencer, just with their improvisation skills and triple-threat qualities - I feel like Mahaney gives us a better chance of filling that vacancy and I’d have prioritized him too.

Time might show I’m wrong and that Brea will show more of a multi faceted game with a new lease on life. But I figure our staff has evaluated tons of film and can give an expert opinion.

Could be wrong on this too - but I also think some of the “we aren’t recruiting him any more” leaks could be for Ball’s sake - a vote of confidence that they expect him to step up and have a big role in our rotation and that we aren’t recruiting multiple people to get in his way.

 

[Waquoit]

And I think there's something to the fact that Brea has only one year left while Mahaney had two.

 

[caw]

My worry with Brea was that he shot 7 FTs his entire junior year and then 16 last year. He’s 21-23 in two years … so he should be trying to get to the line (and Dayton has won a lot so some of those 23 were probably deliberate last minute fouls where you figure Dayton would try to inbound the ball to him). He seems allergic to the territory inside the arc - just one 2 attempt a game. Theres the Joey C role he could have filled nicely, but is that what he wants? It feels like he’s not multi-dimensional enough to fit our offense the way we like to run it - perhaps he was held back by Dayton’s system, but with only one year to work with him, could he get up to speed?

His 3 percentage last year was an outlier for his four-year career. Perhaps he has developed and is simply that good now ... but it also could be an anomaly. Shooting can be prone to slumps. When Cam was cold from 3, he brought other things to the table. There isn't anything in the numbers that would give me hope that Brea is not a one-trick pony. When he played Houston he had 0 in 30 minutes. Wasn’t so much an off night as he didn't even get shots up.

I have a few worries with Mahaney too - feel like his assist numbers should be higher, but get him in our offense and out of the St. Mary’s one, and I feel like he has a higher ceiling there. And we lose so much with Newton and Spencer, just with their improvisation skills and triple-threat qualities - I feel like Mahaney gives us a better chance of filling that vacancy and I’d have prioritized him too.

Time might show I’m wrong and that Brea will show more of a multi faceted game with a new lease on life. But I figure our staff has evaluated tons of film and can give an expert opinion.

Could be wrong on this too - but I also think some of the “we aren’t recruiting him any more” leaks could be for Ball’s sake - a vote of confidence that they expect him to step up and have a big role in our rotation and that we aren’t recruiting multiple people to get in his way.

I wouldn't worry about Mahaney's assist numbers much. He wasn't their PG and they run a super slow offense. The fact his A/TO ratio was solid is good.

 

[husky429]

You could not use AI to mold a 2024 UConn player any more perfect than Liam McNeeley.

I'm late to the party on this comment, but you're spot on. IQ through the roof for his age, good size, dynamite shooter, great culture fit. Doesn't turn the ball over, does everything else pretty well. Coachable. Winner.

 

[ctbro1999]

Could be wrong on this too - but I also think some of the “we aren’t recruiting him any more” leaks could be for Ball’s sake - a vote of confidence that they expect him to step up and have a big role in our rotation and that we aren’t recruiting multiple people to get in his way.

I'm very eager to see Ball take a leap next season. I'd be shocked if he doesn't.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Brea is Jack Gohlke who gets to the line less, but a better shooter.

Great bench spark plugs, but not a guy worth upsetting some valuable young pieces with, nor promising a role/minutes that he was likely looking for.

 

[7774]

Actually simply an opinion. Not a criticism. I'll move on to other subjects but I stand by my opinion that Dan got his priority targets.

LOL @ not a criticism.

 

[husky429]

I differentiate between talking about someone as a player and as a person. Criticism of his game is fair, doing the same to his character isn’t, especially when it is unfounded and based on unsubstantiated “word is...”

The attacks on his game are being linked to his person too. Being a less-than-stellar defender doesn't mean you are selfish. It means you lack athleticism, haven't been coached up, or just don't process the game really well.

Brea is a good kid. We wouldn't have been so close to signing him if he wasn't. Yes, he wants NIL money like everyone else. That isn't a crime or a bad character move.

And he isn't a BAD player either, he's just limited. He's like Tyler Polley with a 50% 3-ball. He's not good at much else, but he is damn talented as a specialist. He's going to be really good for some team.

 

[ctbro1999]

The attacks on his game are being linked to his person too. Being a less-than-stellar defender doesn't mean you are selfish. It means you lack athleticism, haven't been coached up, or just don't process the game really well.

Brea is a good kid. We wouldn't have been so close to signing him if he wasn't. Yes, he wants NIL money like everyone else. That isn't a crime or a bad character move.

And he isn't a BAD player either, he's just limited. He's like Tyler Polley with a 50% 3-ball. He's not good at much else, but he is damn talented as a specialist. He's going to be really good for some team.

If we invited him to campus for a visit, obviously we thought he was a player good enough to be on the team. Just happened we didn't need his services in the end. That's no indictment on his character, bball skills, or anything. GL to wherever he lands (and hopefully collects a nice bag).

 

[August_West]

The attacks on his game are being linked to his person too. Being a less-than-stellar defender doesn't mean you are selfish. It means you lack athleticism, haven't been coached up, or just don't process the game really well.

Brea is a good kid. We wouldn't have been so close to signing him if he wasn't. Yes, he wants NIL money like everyone else. That isn't a crime or a bad character move.

And he isn't a BAD player either, he's just limited. He's like Tyler Polley with a 50% 3-ball. He's not good at much else, but he is damn talented as a specialist. He's going to be really good for some team.

Here is the way iot works in a nutshell:

Brea is signed to UConn = He is Jordan Hawkins
Brea is not signed to UConn = He is (insert your mid level mid-major underachiever name here)

 

[superjohn]

Why are we still talking about him? He would be here if Hurley wanted him and he's always been Polley with a better three point shot whether he came here or not.

Lock it up

 

[Hi-Low]

Brea is off our radar it appears....so truly best of luck to him but please lock this thread.

Only roster issue left for next season is AK....if he stays in draft then back to the portal for a spot.

 

[Orc]

It will be so hilarious if he says no to Kentucky .

 

[2014DualCs]

He just committed to UK

 

[nomar]

He just committed to UK

We're in a good place when we can tell a rich man's Tyler Polley that we don't need him

 

[Bboy Lace]

Good for him. He'll have a lot of open looks in Pope's offense.

 

[Shine21]

Helluva pick up by Kentucky. I think we made the right choice with Mahaney, though. With Newton moving, we needed another guard that could handle the ball more, as well as provide shooting, and Mahoney provide that for us.

Plus, the extra year he has, allow us to have a strong core of Mahaney, Stewart, Ball, Nowell and Reed going into 25-26 season.

 

[Supes]

He just committed to UK

Good for him. He'll flourish in Pope's offense.

 

[husky99]

Best of luck.... lock this dumpster fire of a thread please.

 

[Orc]

Basically he picked Kentucky over nada . All the other schools dropped out. Lol Kentucky

 

[bjc42]

We're in a good place when we can tell a rich man's Tyler Polley that we don't need him

Kentucky fans will say they cooked us and we still suck at recruiting.

 

[Bboy Lace]

Kentucky fans will say they cooked us and we still suck at recruiting.

And we have flat pockets. We couldn't afford Brea's NIL