Leading Scorer Poll

[10TOES]

Think it’s been asked but not sure if it has in a poll. I asked myself the question and think it can probably be anyone. I think Castle is least likely because he’s not a huge 3pt threat and it’s already been mentioned that he’s going to be a facilitator. I’d say my gut is saying it’s a toss up between Newton and Karaban but Spencer is kind of an unknown for me personally. I can also see me looking back at this post laughing when Clingan is putting up 18-20pts a game and it’s not even close.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Good problem to have when you can make a case for 5 guys leading the team in scoring.

 

[aburks41]

I think all 5 starters will be within the 12-17 PPG range. No clue who ends up where though aside from Clingan likely being the one who is closer to the 17 PPG mark

 

[husky429]

I'm going Newton but they're all within the 10-15 range. I expect around 75ppg (last year was 78, but we had a STRONG bench).

Newton: 14.8
Cam: 12.4
Stephon: 10.1
Karaban: 13.4
Clingan: 12.2

That's 63 ppg from the starters. 15 from the bench seems reasonable.

 

[Palatine]

Newton will probably get up the most shots since he will have the ball in his hands. So I'm guessing he'll also have the most points.

 

[Punkbo]

I’m going with AK. I think he’ll have a monster year.

 

[navery12]

 

[Samoo]

Can Spencer? Spencer can.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I'm going Newton but they're all within the 10-15 range. I expect around 75ppg (last year was 78, but we had a STRONG bench).

Newton: 14.8
Cam: 12.4
Stephon: 10.1
Karaban: 13.4
Clingan: 12.2

That's 63 ppg from the starters. 15 from the bench seems reasonable.

This feels close, maybe a little high on Spencer and a little low on Castle, though I also wouldn't be surprised to see Hurley keep Castle's minutes down.

 

[husky429]

This feels close, maybe a little high on Spencer and a little low on Castle, though I also wouldn't be surprised to see Hurley keep Castle's minutes down.

I'm just assuming some freshman hiccups in here. By March he could be our best player sans Clingan.

 

[HooperScooper]

I think Castle is least likely because he’s not a huge 3pt threat and it’s already been mentioned that he’s going to be a facilitator.

FWIW he was the leading scorer in the 3 game European tour.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Yeah I’d go either Donovan or Castle. Wouldn’t be surprised if he averaged above 15 a game.

 

[REB1094]

This is super hard because literally all of these guys could do it and I wouldn't be surprised

Clingan because he is the most dominant
Karaban because he will feast off of the attention the other guys get (9PPG as the 4th option last year)
Cam because he already managed 13 on a horrible offensive team last year and will get lots of open shots
Castle because he will have the ball in his hands all the time and already led the team in scoring on our Euro tour

I'm going Newton for a few reasons. 2nd year transfers have a good track record for improvements under Hurley (thinking RJ and Tyrese). He has a year of BE experience and won't need a playstyle adjustment like he did last year. 5th year champion maturity and focus should hopefully avoid long stretches of unconfident play like he had had last year

Castle might take a while to get adjusted. I'm sure he will be a top 2 or 3 player on our team by the end of the season

 

[Edward Sargent]

I will go with Newton followed by Karaban and Spencer

 

[HuskyHawk]

Newton - Karaban - Castle my first three. But I expect it to vary widely game to game.

 

[Scottzer]

This is tough. I don’t quite see it being Spencer or Karaban (i want to maintain their past efficiency and not increase volume too much). Clingan will have some days with early foul trouble and might not yet have the ability to return with monster second halves that Emeka and Sanogo could pull off. With Tristan being the primary pg, I think I’m going Castle. But, I am not at all confident in my assessment.

 

[mauconnfan]

Bunched up at 13-14 not sure who, every game will have a different match up therefore different go to guys. But it will be really close no one will have separation by 2-3 ppg more once we get halfway through.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Newton if he gets to the line. He's money.

 

[nomar]

Really difficult question. It could be Newton but I'm surprised he's the runaway winner.

You can make a case for any of them, but I said DC. He's our best, least guardable player right now and as long as he stays on the court he's going to put up 15+ every night. All of those guys should be in the 12-15 range.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Looks more like a Can di-Spencer

 

[Dogdeacon]

Really difficult question. It could be Newton but I'm surprised he's the runaway winner.

You can make a case for any of them, but I said DC. He's our best, least guardable player right now and as long as he stays on the court he's going to put up 15+ every night. All of those guys should be in the 12-15 range.

Agree surprised its a landslide for Newton.
IF there is no true 'leading scorer' and its a bunch of guys in the 12-15pt range then its likely topped by Newton at something right around 15ppg. But there is real chance that either Castle or Clingan emerge as an 18-20ppg scorer on a consistent basis.
And all that said I voted for AK. DEPTH!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Really difficult question. It could be Newton but I'm surprised he's the runaway winner.

You can make a case for any of them, but I said DC. He's our best, least guardable player right now and as long as he stays on the court he's going to put up 15+ every night. All of those guys should be in the 12-15 range.

Well he has the ball in his hands the most. He's 5th year. We know he can shoot and score in the paint or at the line. Spencer is stepping up a bit and I think gets the least minutes of the starters, with Solo getting SG minutes. Castle is a freshman and isn't known as a great shooter, so I'm guessing he has big games and quiet games, but could surprise. Karaban is the most skilled offensive player other than Newton, so he could lead us in scoring. Clingan is the least skilled offensive player among the starters. He'll get dunks, layups and I hope he takes some 3's but I don't see him putting up Adama like numbers on the offensive end (he will have way more blocks though, and more assists).

Honestly, it's a pretty good problem to have when all 5 starters are likely double figure scorers and then you have more coming off the bench. Hurley suggested as much in that NY Post interview. This team will be very hard to defend.

 

[nomar]

Well he has the ball in his hands the most. He's 5th year. We know he can shoot and score in the paint or at the line. Spencer is stepping up a bit and I think gets the least minutes of the starters, with Solo getting SG minutes. Castle is a freshman and isn't known as a great shooter, so I'm guessing he has big games and quiet games, but could surprise. Karaban is the most skilled offensive player other than Newton, so he could lead us in scoring. Clingan is the least skilled offensive player among the starters. He'll get dunks, layups and I hope he takes some 3's but I don't see him putting up Adama like numbers on the offensive end (he will have way more blocks though, and more assists).

Honestly, it's a pretty good problem to have when all 5 starters are likely double figure scorers and then you have more coming off the bench. Hurley suggested as much in that NY Post interview. This team will be very hard to defend.

Yeah I certainly can see the case for Newton -- and the rest. He can certainly get to the line and stroke it from 3, but if he's shooting 37% overall we're not going to want him to be taking the most shots. I hope he gets back to his 2021-22 TS%.

Although I haven't actually watched Spencer play like I have the returnees, I have pretty high hopes for him. He may not be as good as Newton as a creator but I view him as a better all-around player. Shooting, defense, ball protection.

I'm trying not to get too excited about Clingan but OTOH it seems you're expecting very little. I have to think we're going to be feeding him a lot. Of all our guys he has the most upside this season. Then again, he also could be a garbage man and average 12 a game. We'll see!

Having this many scorers isn't a good problem to have -- it's a great problem to have. That's what the Celtics are throwing out there, too -- except UConn, unlike Boston, has depth too!

 

[Rico444]

I went with Clingan, but like everyone else has said it could realistically be any of the 5 starters. Clingan was so dominant when he was on the floor and with our ball movement he's going to get so many easy opportunities that he gets the nod for me.

 

[CL82]

Agree it's going to be pretty close. I'm going to go with Alex. I think he's a tough matchup and will be difficult to keep off the floor. Spencer is talking about passing so I think he's going to be looking to distribute the ball more. Castle has the ability, but as a freshman I look for him to defer and distribute and also wonder if he'll have some games where he struggles to stay on the floor due to defense and fouling. Tristen is going to have some huge games. Spencer and Castle will take some of the ball handling/play making pressure off him but I feel like there will be games that he is steady hand on the team will be needed. I feel like people are actually underestimating Donovan's scoring this year. He was pretty effective in limited minutes last year and this season he's going to have a lot of miss matches where dishing to him is going to be the easy basket.

This year's team is a hydra. Teams are going to have to pick their poison as to who they want to stop and that'll create opportunities for other players. I think it's going to be a different guy every night leading the scoring. That makes us an incredibly difficult team to stop.