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What ever happened to @AidanFan20? Probably a good thing for him that he's not around here.
Mahaney
- Thread starter Huskydog45
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That's Mojo Mahaney!
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What the hell is “play strength”? I can just imagine Bill Murray asking Luke what play strength is.
He's in the chat sometimes. Was there for the last game.
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I'd love to get his honest take on why Mahaney hasn't worked out as well as planned.
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Joey C had a simple role and he played it well. He was a gunslinger. He played one speed - he ran around hard off of screens trying to get a sliver of daylight to let it fly. He didn’t need any time to process anything (“I can see the rim? You’ve made a big mistake”).
And he also developed a little bit of a two-man game connection with Clingan so he had his plan B as well. You’ve rushed out on me to take away the three? Now I’ll get by you and shoot a runner or throw a lob to DC if his man helps.
Mahaney has all the tools. He can shoot, he can attack the rim, he can create his own shot, he can pass. But he over-processes everything and has turned into sort of a jack of all trades, master of none. He doesn’t come off screens ready to shoot. Or even wanting to shoot. And then if the ball sticks to his hands, he’s not attacking the defense with much of a plan. After all this time of watching him - I really don’t know what his Plan A is. What’s his “thing” that the other team is trying to take away?
The unicorn-ness of Spencer was he could really do both things equally well - he was as good of a gunslinger as Joey C, but then he could take the ball and patiently carve you up with his Plan C or Plan D. You’ve shut all my options down? Oh well. Time to just do an unblockable fadeaway and you’ll have to hope I miss. Just about every possession when he had the ball played out on his terms.
I hope Mahaney can treat this as a new season and just play. Feel like a gunslinger a bit more and hunt a few shots and just not try to over-think things. He’s not managing a game for 40 minutes - he can take some risks.
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I think he didn’t have experience with ball handling against tough physical ball pressure, which lead to a bunch of mistakes (turnovers) and a loss of confidence. Everyone on this board and social meeting blasted him repeatedly after every mistake and bad game which further eroded confidence.
On the defensive side, UConn’s team defense and help and rotations were just a complete disaster which made everyone on UConn look bad.
Self doubt can really impact a player’s performance.
Hopefully now he has gotten more comfortable and hopefully the team as a whole is better as a team on defense which puts less pressure on each individual.
Alleyne a couple of years ago went through a similar thing, but finally broke out of the funk towards the end of the season. Calcaterra also has a horrible extended slump in the middle of the season.
Also Mahaney comes from Moraga, CA where it is 70 degrees and sunny 3/4 of the year and never colder than 40. He goes to Storrs where it is freezing and everyone has the flu off and on all winter.
Mr. Wonderful
Whistleblower
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Hang him! Get the noose! Skip the trial. It's straight to the gallows with this one.
Chin Diesel
The timing could not possibly be worse
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agree about Mahaney going through the motions on the court rather than moving with a purpose. That characteristic is what surprises me the most.
For a shooter or a scorer, he doesn't have that immediate threat to the defense when he touches the ball. He gives the defense time to adjust to him and reset away from the ball. It kills momentum for offensive flow.
I'd rather him catch and shoot and clang the shot than catch and stagnate.
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In defense of Mahaney he started out trying to be starting PG and now his best role is backup PG, he can't or shouldn't have a shoot first mentality in the PG role especially with UConn's offense. So we are asking him to bring the ball up, initiate offense (hard if physical defenders) AND if/when he gets the ball back THEN transform his mentality to a shooter or driver. It has been harder than expected to be a PG in the BE. He struggles dealing with pressure and isn't quick enough to get by most defenders off the dribble. Those difficulties have also hamstrung his ability to morph into a SG creating offense off the catch. He should be more effective given his shooting prowess/threat yet I think its understandable that its hard to play both roles and toggle between being a 'game manager' run the offense PG and a scorer.
The Joey C role is the one Mahaney appears best suited for, but there aren't minutes for that role unless McNeeley is playing PG while Diarra rests. Competent don't make any mistakes backup PG to keep Diarra fresh is what UConn needs out of him in the postseason - I'd rather he just focus on that as trying to be both has paralyzed his play.
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There’s some truth to that - although in our offense, the point guard can become an off the ball cutter pretty often too. Newton would give it up and be one of the cogs in motion and shoot coming off screens as much as anyone. But on last years team, all five starters were really good passers for their positions - whereas this year Solo and Samson/Tarris are probably below average in that regard (although they’ve improved as the year has gone on).
I kinda don’t want Mahaney to think about what his role is - just want him to use his minutes and just play. If openings come to take good shots, take them. He could change a game if he knocks a few down and becomes a player the other team has to adjust to - the entire scouting report on him right now is just one line: “get up in his shirt and rattle him”
This times 100. Just give us 10 mins of serviceable play and no turnovers.
Understanding that we now know Mahaney's role is off the bench with spot minutes- And he has his strengths and weaknesses backing up Hass. I look around the BE and the guard play. Who does Aidan closely resemble size-wise and play style wise? Different teams/roster construction/roles. I keep coming back to Ashworth-Creighton.About the same size and smaller than most of the defenders they go up against. How can Ashworth consistently break the press (frequently on his own) and Aidan appears to be challenged? Is it handle-foot speed- change of pace dribbling rhythm-using screens better to get into the front court? Ashworth clearly a classic PG?
Still expect him to be productive in the minutes he gets this post season. Just a head scratcher for me re: his floor game. Maybe its just as simple as he's a combo guard who has been asked to play out of position-Square peg-round hole.
Still expect him to be productive in the minutes he gets this post season. Just a head scratcher for me re: his floor game. Maybe its just as simple as he's a combo guard who has been asked to play out of position-Square peg-round hole.
Agree with lots written above. It seems to me he hasn’t adjusted to pace of play. He’s getting better but still waaay too methodical. Seems like he can’t shed the St Mary’s style.
At least he hasn’t gotten a 10 sec violation recently
At least he hasn’t gotten a 10 sec violation recently
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......sure
Mahaney has the potential to score double digits off the bench. He has done that multiple time. We don’t need that every night. We just need him to be solid ball handler and backup PG on the other nights and he is exactly what we need.
Jaylen Stewart is very similar. Has the potential to explode for some points off bench, and on the other nights we just need solid play, some rebounds and no turnovers and again we have what we need.
Jaylen Stewart is very similar. Has the potential to explode for some points off bench, and on the other nights we just need solid play, some rebounds and no turnovers and again we have what we need.