Maybe not as deep a team as we thought....

[Hi-Low]

if Akok & Gaffney give us very little in back to back games against better competition. We know that Gaffney can have the occasional breakout game & that Akok was special as a freshman but right now I don't know if they are going to step up against better teams.

Maybe after Atlantis we give Diggins, Johnson & Springs extended looks against MD East Shore & Grambling to see what we have. Once BE starts not much time to tinker.

Just a thought, clearly we need some plan "B" & "C"'s if Gaff & Akok don't progress...hopefully they will but now we have 7 guys I trust not 9 and if 1 goes down like Whaley today or fouls out like Cole then depth is needed to close games against good teams.

 

[aburks41]

Akok and Gaff will still be fine against middle of the pack Big East teams. Maybe in big games we need to tighten up the rotation a bit though.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Depth is always overrated. The best teams have 5-7 great players. Diggins Johnson and Springs were overrated as depth because they won't actually play in tough games. We have to hope we can find 7 guys who are consistent.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Still think we are extremely deep. I'd be more worried come Jan if we weren't getting anything from gaff/akok

 

[UCfor3]

You have to develop depth to have it. Akok and Gaffney are effective against certain teams/players. And not so effective against certain teams due to their physical limitations. I wish Diggins and Johnson played more against cupcakes. Im not saying they are the answer or this is backup QB syndrome, but it wouldn't hurt them to get them more ready for a potential role. I mean we are completely unprepared for a Cole injury.

 

[UConnSwag11]

More worried about lineups at the end of games, who handles the ball at end of games, and letting the opposing team get a double digit lead and not calling a timeout

 

[uconntoatl]

Seems like outside of Cole on occasion or Martin in transition, this team is very hesitant to drive the basketball. Got to put more pressure on the defense by doing that more. Right now its swing passes at the top of the key and dish into Sanogo

 

[USNavyDog]

More worried about lineups at the end of games, who handles the ball at end of games, and letting the opposing team get a double digit lead and not calling a timeout

Will Sampson Johnson and Ritchie Springs ever be ready add some some depth to our frontcourt? They need to be in order to give this team some extra fouls.

Also, don't forget Rasool Diggins adding more depth and point guard.. if Bob Hurley will ever decide to utilize his skill set more?

 

[Milo65]

i just don’t understand some of the rotations? Jackson gets a ton of minutes and does a lot of good things, but creating a shot, shooting and ball handling are not his strong suite. At times Cole is the only guard on the court. Some of the substitutions are hard scratchers?

 

[Horatio]

Akok, Gaffney, Hawkins and Diggins will get developmental reps during the conference games / regular season. That’s the usual process for guys like that. We’ve seen it 1000 times already

 

[ktuck911]

If this was a mid-season game in January I'd be a little bit concerned. It's not. It's way too early.
We have a deep team. We're learning how to utilize our pieces. I think some games we'll need certain guys Moreno than others.
Tough close loss but we'll bounce back.

Remember, we've been playing a cupcake city schedule up and until these past few days. Other teams a appeared to be a little more battle tested it seemed these past few games.

I think by season's end we'll be considered an elite team. We've got legit firepower to make that happen

 

[Kenny11]

We have just as deep of a team as we thought. Akok will be better…gaffney was bad today but he will be fine too. Everyone else in the rotation can play. We just have to play smarter. Too many careless plays. Martin had several today

 

[Huskygamble19]

are you kidding me? The officials handed that game to MState. that was a clear block by AJ. Terrible call by an official 2 miles away from the play.

 

[UCTitleTown]

We win if Whaley played.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Keep playing Akok. if diggings was better I’m sure they play him. But yeah gaffney just isn’t very good.

 

[gtcam]

are you kidding me? The officials handed that game to MState. that was a clear block by AJ. Terrible call by an official 2 miles away from the play.

are you kidding yourself? Yeah it was a horrid call but that didn't enable MSU to destroy UConn in the final 2 minutes. No game plan but to throw the ball into Sanogo who refuses to find an open man when double and triple teamed and throw up 10-15 foot prayers killed the UConn team today. Many factors hurt the team and that call stung for a moment but the hurt was already underway. Cole was spent so him fouling out was a non-factor, Gaff had his head up his and Sool and Hawkins were nailed to the bench.
Not having Whaley was a HUGE loss.

 

[inWV]

Whaley centers the team defensively. Not having him means giving up some stops that would happen if he were playing. There is a reason he starts.

 

[Huskygamble19]

are you kidding me? The officials handed that game to MState. that was a clear block by AJ. Terrible call by an official 2 miles away from the play.

Edit: RJ not AJ. I know better.

 

[Dove]

The team is as deep as we think. Its Game 5. We were down a 5th year playa.

 

[Huskygamble19]

are you kidding yourself? Yeah it was a horrid call but that didn't enable MSU to destroy UConn in the final 2 minutes. No game plan but to throw the ball into Sanogo who refuses to find an open man when double and triple teamed and throw up 10-15 foot prayers killed the UConn team today. Many factors hurt the team and that call stung for a moment but the hurt was already underway. Cole was spent so him fouling out was a non-factor, Gaff had his head up his and Sool and Hawkins were nailed to the bench.
Not having Whaley was a HUGE loss.

I understand that, but with UCONN up one with the ball and that foul called changed the way the next play was handled. they would have worked some clock and got fouled for some free throws instead of a force into Sanogo. another problem I have is the play before the foul when Martin made a clear rebound but MState had the ball leading to the foul. that was never explained by the announcers.

 

[USNavyDog]

Keep playing Akok. if diggings was better I’m sure they play him. But yeah gaffney just isn’t very good.

I see your point about Diggins if he was better he would play. But that does mean its true until it becomes official which it isn't yet. Maybe he's still being groomed and mentored for now and might just be a few extra games behind Hawkins as far as being ready to make a major impact on the team.

I can tell you one thing, we need one more addition reliable point guard to make the quality of this team's backcourt go from being very good to elite.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I see your point about Diggins if he was better he would play. But that does mean its true until it becomes official which it isn't yet. Maybe he's still being groomed and mentored for now and might just be a few extra games behind Hawkins as far as being ready to make a major impact on the team.

I can tell you one thing, we need one more addition reliable point guard to make the quality of this team's backcourt go from being very good to elite.

I hope So. I’d be open to trying him.

 

[Watchdog]

Dan Hurley clearly stated he only has nine players in whom he's confident when interviewed after the Auburn game. The three out? RD, SJ and RS.

Coaches like Izzo find time to get his highly rated freshmen into games early in the season because winning championships in November are nice but the ones in March and April should be what Dan Hurley focuses on.

 

[GotNets?]

What was the story with Akok today? You’ve gotta be cheering for him but he was getting whipped on D and might not have had a single positive stat. I think I saw one rebound. Was he hurt?

 

[UConnDad]

It’s difficult reading that Gaff will be fine. Will that ever happen? He lacks confidence, struggles on D, never on the attack. It’s tough to watch.