2025 Recruiting: - Meleek Thomas to UConn Crystal Ball | Page 10 | The Boneyard

2025 Recruiting: Meleek Thomas to UConn Crystal Ball

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I stopped listening. Representing UConn basketball, yawns, butchers players names regularly, and because he's forced to podcast every day, in the off-season, there's mostly speculation and random what if scenarios presented as fact that l than actual news.
100%. I am also turned off with the constant "Look!" or "Listen!" declarations as if he is trying to wake us up. Further I can't stand his constant reference to being a pro tennis prospect. Who cares. I have removed this one from my rotation. Someone let me know if Locked On gets someone better.
 
McNeeley doesn’t play the same spot as Ball
They are both wings so overlap by definition. McNeeley could be the starting 2 this year with Stew at the 3 for all we know and Ball was starting at the 3 as the 3rd guard when castle was out.
 
They are both wings so overlap by definition. McNeeley could be the starting 2 this year with Stew at the 3 for all we know and Ball was starting at the 3 as the 3rd guard when castle was out.
Agree to disagree but it’s all good. McNeeley is also listed as a Forward and Ball is listed as a Guard on the official UConn roster. Their defensive assignments as far as who they’d be expected to guard and how much they’d be expected to rebound would not be the same in my view. There’s also about a 5 inch height difference between them.
 
Agree to disagree but it’s all good. McNeeley is also listed as a Forward and Ball is listed as a Guard on the official UConn roster. Their defensive assignments as far as who they’d be expected to guard and how much they’d be expected to rebound would not be the same in my view. There’s also about a 5 inch height difference between them.
Nothing you said is objectively wrong but the only way to get our top 2 draft prospects (Liam and Stew) both in the starting lineup is to play Liam at the 2. I want the starting lineup to be
Mahaney / McNeeley / Stew / AK / Reed
 
Nothing you said is objectively wrong but the only way to get our top 2 draft prospects (Liam and Stew) both in the starting lineup is to play Liam at the 2. I want the starting lineup to be
Mahaney / McNeeley / Stew / AK / Reed
I like that lineup. Reed should be a good rebounder and allow for more shooting to be on the floor with less size at certain positions. My hunch is that Danny will play slightly more uptempo this year with more trapping and full court pressure. With the exception of Alex, I don’t think anyone else will play 30 minutes a game. There will be a definite need to test guys and try lots of lineup combinations until the postseason. I see a large number of guys playing in the 15-25 minute per game range next season.
 
Nothing you said is objectively wrong but the only way to get our top 2 draft prospects (Liam and Stew) both in the starting lineup is to play Liam at the 2. I want the starting lineup to be
Mahaney / McNeeley / Stew / AK / Reed
Liam and AK are our top two draft prospects, right now by far
 
That's an odd example since more than a few folks would argue the latter, that diarra will be starting over mahaney...in fact there's a pretty solid chance they're starting alongside each other
Yeah it baffles me to think it is either mahaney or diarra starting. I think they both start and Ball is backup at sg and Nowell at pg.
 
That seems pretty unlikely. I have a very hard time seeing a starting lineup that doesn't include 2 of the 5 best players on the team

The best 6 players are probably Diarra, Mahaney, McNeeley, Stewart, Karaban, Reed. Which one doesn't start? Probably Diarra or Stewart.
 
I can’t believe people have definite opinions on who is our 2nd, 3rd, 4th best player…other than AK does anyone know anything?

There’s 8 dudes that can start on 97% of D1 teams. You can only start 5. Anyone who’s positive about someone beyond AK is just guessing.
 
I can’t believe people have definite opinions on who is our 2nd, 3rd, 4th best player…other than AK does anyone know anything?

There’s 8 dudes that can start on 97% of D1 teams. You can only start 5. Anyone who’s positive about someone beyond AK is just guessing.
This. Speculation is fine, but it’s speculation — we shouldn’t pretend we know things that we’re just speculating on. AK has proven he can play at an all conference level in our league. Diarra has proven that, playing half a game, he can be extremely productive for us. Everyone else is just wild speculation, some with more evidence for speculating than others.

My point isn’t that any position is right or wrong. Just that there needs to be more respect for differing opinions on what is really nothing more than wild butt guesses.
 
It's not about who starts. Whoever is playing well is going to get minutes, and that may vary from game to game
Based on Hurley’s history. He likes to have a pretty set starter group to lean on throughout the year.

The bench minutes may change some. But the starters usually remain the same.
 
Over and over again, the lineups projected here assume that we can put on the floor an offensive juggernaut that doesn't have to rebound and doesn't have to defend.

Fact is, we have lost, and not replaced, nearly all our rebounding from last year -- not just Clingan but Newton, Castle and Spencer. We have lost, and not replaced, our best interior defender and our best perimeter defender. Diarra is the only proven defender on the team, and I respectfully suggest that any lineup that does not include Diarra is a defensive sieve, based on what we know now.

The nearly unanimous projection of McNeeley and Mahaney as starters is an especially egregious example of this offensive tunnel vision. If they start, they will have to not only outshoot four solid shooters in Diarra, Ball, Stewart and Karaban but out-rebound them and out-defend them as well..
 
the assumption isn't that they don't have to rebound or defend. just trust the staff to get guys like mahaney to defend at a good level. it's early in the summer they played for offense. the defense and rebounding will be there.
 
After the rush of the addition of Liam and Mahaney, the highlight tapes, and the success of our young pro's, one word is starting to emerge as a consistent theme, DEFENSE. Who is going to play it and who isn't going to play because of it?

Karaban improved over the season to where he was a sneaky good defender, Diarra is nails, Stewart was emerging as a reliable defender in the tourney. After that we have suspects, not prospects.

The Luke offense(I'm convinced he's the man) has been impossible to defend for opponents when it is clicking. Hurley on the other hand, came here as a renowned defend first guy. I think you are going to see him revert to that, and dole out playing time accordingly.

We may be able to outscore anybody, but if we commit to outdefending them also, threepeat is even more attainable.
 
That seems pretty unlikely. I have a very hard time seeing a starting lineup that doesn't include 2 of the 5 best players on the team
Right now Diarra is better basketball player than Ball. Ball can't drive like Diarra and doesn't play a lick of defense that I saw. It is funny that people totally disregard Diarra as was 6th man of the year in the big east for a reason. He could of started and did play big minutes in games as he is just better than Ball at this stage.
 
The best 6 players are probably Diarra, Mahaney, McNeeley, Stewart, Karaban, Reed. Which one doesn't start? Probably Diarra or Stewart.
I would have Ball above Diarra and Reed. No idea who starts but I'd be shocked if 2 of Ball, McNeeley, Stewart aren't starting
 
look at isaiah abraham. big defense.
Can't say I've seen enough to know anything beyond "passes the eyeball test". The level of enthusiasm for his whole game is exciting. "Big Defense" is a great eval to have, Big D=minutes!
 
Right now Diarra is better basketball player than Ball. Ball can't drive like Diarra and doesn't play a lick of defense that I saw. It is funny that people totally disregard Diarra as was 6th man of the year in the big east for a reason. He could of started and did play big minutes in games as he is just better than Ball at this stage.
That's just blatantly wrong about Ball's defense. I'll admit there's some projecting on Ball to say he's better, but the sophomore leap is real under Hurley. We've seen it with basically all the top recruits. It just reminds me of all the people who laughed at the idea of a sophomore Hawkins starting.

And that's nothing against Diarra, he's a great player. I just think you nailed it with he was the BE 6th man of the year for a reason. He was and I think him doing the same thing again next year is ideal
 
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