Mahaney experiment

[uchusky32]

I think everyone agrees that the Mahaney PG experiment needs to end, but I think it's unfair to say that he is a bust or a recruiting mistake by the staff. If anything I think it's been a coaching mistake trying to make him into a point guard when that's obviously not his skill set. I understand why they have tried it, and maybe they saw something in practice that they thought justified it, but the result has been destroying the kid's confidence. That's on the coaching staff, not him, and I hope they are able to adjust and find him the role that he can thrive in. They need to find his place within the offense, not as the facilitator of it.

It is a recruiting miss if you did not plan for your freshman PG to be the #2. Doesn’t mean Dan is bad. But how can you not call it mistake if that was the plan? Not saying it’s over. But he doesn’t look fluid with the ball in his hands.

 

[Stinger92860]

People give up on players too easily.

Same thing happened with Tristen Newton.

Also Joey Calcaterra.

Heck, people wanted to permanently bench Andre Jackson Jr. during January of his junior year.

I don't know if the PG experiment is over, it would not surprise me if he played PG better as the weeks go on, but I do think at the very least he could be the sharpshooter they need at off guard.

Too early to give up though

True, but I think he will continue to be on a short leash from Hurley.

 

[Stinger92860]

Now, last night was not Karaban's best outing. But he seemed to have some trouble with his handle ( to say nothing of his 3 pt shooting).

He had a poor shooting game, but he did not let it impact the rest of his capabilities, that‘s why he was in the lane to take the pass, I think it was from Hass, and hit a big bucket.

 

[prankster]

He had a poor shooting game, but he did not let it impact the rest of his capabilities, that‘s why he was in the lane to take the pass, I think it was from Hass, and hit a big bucket.

Yeah, you are correct about that.

I was thinking more about that drive where he had his pocket picked. I believe Liam has a handle where he can dribble drive effectively. I did not see that capability in Alex last night.

This is the tyranny of small numbers, once again.

 

[3rdbass]

I think many would struggle with UConn's offense. It's different than what almost everyone else runs. Newton took a long while to get it. And he as playing PG previously

At least Newton showed some decent play at times and his size and strength helped. Tristen always played decent D too.

 

[TheChamps990411]

It seems he is a little out of his league in terms of athleticism. I feel like he struggles with the size and quickness of who is guarding him and who he is guarding. I dont think that is a coaching issue or a position issue.

I think if he accepts more of a Joey California role off the bench he could really flourish. He is not going to start here and hes not going to see alot of minutes at pg when Nowell gets healthy and gets more experience. Sucks for the kid but he seems like hes too much in his head as you can see with that backcourt violation last night. That was a mental lapse. Feel bad for the kid i hope he turns it around because i believe he has a lot to offer this team.

 

[TheHorde]

He put it on the floor and drove a couple of times I believe a couple of games ago. I love it when he and Alex mix that in, and would like both to also keep their eyes up and make plays for others when driving too, and not necessarily look to score every time they drive inside.

 

[Storrs South]

I actually felt he played a perfectly fine game until what I’ll dub “The Debacle” of the 10 seconds back court, the poorly contested shot that wasn’t within flow of offense, then going under the screen for an uncontested 3 that happened in about 90 seconds.

Prior to that he broke down a defender for an easy reverse layup, made a great pass cross court to Karaban that should have been a made 3 it was so wide open, and did an OK job on Nembhard excluding the one play he got lost in traffic

Yesterday it seemed he lost focus, got the 10 second backcourt, then tried to make up for it and in doing so made things worse.

There’s a good player in there, the staff just needs to lift the kids confidence up and put him in spots to succeed. It is 11 games in but there’s still plenty of time left to figure it out.

 

[RuffRuff]

Let's be patient. Dan Hurley saw something in him, ad saw what he did at St. Mary's. It's a long season, at some point he will show his value.

Dan Hurley saw something in Nick don’t call me Justin Timberlake. My guess is the staff over indexed on “processing” and culture fit riding the B2B confidence, not enough on physicality and skills. It happens. Not worth giving up on the kid as there is probably a place for him, but doubtful it’s as a core piece. Saw him at open practice in August and questioned the fit, and it’s played out.

He’ll get ten BE games through January against the soft underbelly of the league to figure it out. If it doesn’t happen, he’ll remain a bench breather guy. I don’t think it changes much as it comes to the potential of this team.

Can we please stop with the righteous TNewt comparison? There is no cred in comparing a big PG with a small 2G of entirely differing physical traits. AM has to show advanced mental aspects to make any sense, that of which has just not happened.

 

[Hoophound]

Need to use him as a shooter and then when he starts hitting shots, slowly give him more time with the ball. A shooter that isn’t making shots isn’t going to do anything well. It’s an ego killer.